"JLA/Avengers" is on book 2 (of 4) and it is an absolute fanboy dream. It's the kind of book that rewards readers who know their comics history. Every page includes something to recognize, a character in the background, a famous setting, a spoken reference. Although I could do without the requisite annoying Crime Syndicate cameo.

Thus far, it strikes me as the story that could have been "DC vs. Marvel" if that miniseries hadn't devolved into a marketing gimmick of Popular Character X fights Popular Character Y. In "JLA/Avengers," the two teams are forced to collect various items of power (including such storied trinkets as the Spear of Destiny, GL's Power Battery, the Cosmic Cube, and the Ultimate Nullifier.) As the two groups find out, they're being manipulated by the Grandmaster into playing an interdimensional game as part of a wager with Krona... who intends to destroy the Marvel Universe as part of his endless quest for knowledge.

We live in a development of townhouses, one that is loosely managed by a volunteer group of homeowners. Perhaps unrealistically, our Homeowners' Assocation has lately developed a need to create some kind of community amongst the 266 homes in the development. I find this sort of thing extremely unecessary, given as I am to stay to myself. I don't begrudge the desire to manufacture friends out of neighbors, but I don't feel especially obliged to participate. I pay my $20/month to cover whatever crackbaby schemes the Association might choose to fund, hope that my own lawn and garbage gets taken care of, and continue about my innocent existence.

But we get this newsletter approximately every month, which amounts to a fibercon dosage of the strange dichotomy of begging for friends on one hand and warning everyone to keep their noses clean or else. Each photocopied issue usually swings erratically between "Please let us know how we can help you" and "Keep your pets inside and quiet or we will call the police." It strikes me as being very normal and typical... and the unashamed use of Microsoft Clip Art seems to bear this out.

We picked up the Finding Nemo DVD this weekend, along with millions of other US consumers. I didn't see the film in theaters because I'm on an extended Pixar holiday. I've grown very weary of the Pixar formula and the irrepressible public opinion that Whatever Pixar Does Is Amazing.

This is an entirely blasphemous thought, I know. I'm not saying that Pixar movies stink... just that I'm tired of it all. And that I fully expect them to have a crushing failure at some future point so that newly-cynical reviewers can use the headline "PIXAR PIC PLOPS." I don't know when that will be, but I feel it's coming.

Try to guess which Pixar film I'm summarizing: Isolated hidden sub-culture with ensemble cast of well-meaning misfits is forced to interact with the greater world.

Assuming you actually named a Pixar movie, you're right! It's all of them.

Tomorrow at this time, I'll be playing Double Dash.

In the meantime, take a look at this paperback I found in our collection of kids' books. It's an early 80's kids craft book, back when crafting was almost exclusively a Vacation Bible School activity.

Notice anything supremely crazy about that cover? Sock doll? Looks fine. Pressed flower bookmark? Wonderful. Heart-shaped necklace keychain? So appropriate it should come packed-in. Ed Asner photo puzzle...

What?

Yep, that's Ed Asner on the cover of a 1982 crafts-for-young-girls Scholastic pocket book. We did live in interesting times back then, didn't we? Not Tom Selleck or David Cassidy or Simon LeBon. Ed Asner. And I'll bet he didn't see a damn penny from The Glamorous Gift Book either.

The holiday video game release schedule has thrown me way off plan. My "active pile" is currently so stacked that it could easily be mistaken for a lesser man's entire collection. I'm at various stages of completion with Starsky & Hutch, Viewtiful Joe, Return of the King, Mario & Luigi, Mario Party 5, and Double Dash. Not to mention perennial players like DDR, Pokemon Sapphire, Animal Crossing... and the PS2's answer to Nintendo's stranglehold on gimmicky underutilized peripherals, EyeToy. I haven't even started Ratchet & Clank 2 yet.

Being the newest, Double Dash has been getting the majority share of playtime. Rhonda and I have scored gold medals on almost every Cup. The only ones left to conquer are the 100cc and 150 cc tracks of All Cup mode. I just did the 50cc All Cup series tonight, and it was intensely tedious. 16 tracks in a row in 50cc is absurd, since the computer players are so sadly inept. My final score was over 43 minutes of race time, first place in all 16 tracks. Truly an endurance test! Spoiler: You receive NOTHING for getting a gold medal in 50cc All Cup.