Best tweeter: Matt Fraction. A shining example from the writer’s Twitter feed (@mattfraction): “dont care what her personalized license plate said im pretty sure that old lady wasnt a real druid. like a lady-druid would drive a festiva.” Another: ” “Pancakes and Suicide” is the name of my Crab Apple Cove-themed M*A*S*H b&b.”

…

Best writer who would rock a major crossover event series: (Tie) Kelly Sue DeConnick and Adam Glass. DeConnick proved adept on penning the machinations of an incarcerated supervillain with her Osborne miniseries, and that’s key for a big honkin’ superhero event. (Heck, just have a whole event be confined to a supervillain breakout at The Raft or something. I’d read that.) As for Glass, he’s the major rising star for stuff involving bad guys with Flashpoint: Legion of Doom and the new Suicide Squad under his belt. Give him some heroes to toss in there, too, and let him loose. And his writing on the TV series Supernatural as a supervising executive producer shows he can add some nuance to all the punching, shooting and more punching.

…

Best use of bad guys:Fear Itself. Matt Fraction put mystical hammers in the hands of Attuma, Titania, Absorbing Man, Grey Gargoyle, Juggernaut and others of the Marvel Universe’s heaviest hitters in his event series. Even worse for the do-gooders: A possessed Hulk and Thing joining them to pummel the world just when it needed them the most.

Click here to read the rest.

I put these lists together in a feeble attempt to communicate “my style” to Ariana when she was setting up this blog. I post them now because, uh, it’s the new year and I’m kind of dying to make lists but I don’t have the time or mental energy to craft new ones.

Nothing that follows should be considered exhaustive and I reserve the right to change my mind about anything at any moment.

Color Combinations:
Lipstick red and Robin’s Egg blue
pink and lime green
pink and tiffany blue
orange and red

Random Items:
zebra stripes
leopard prints
purses and shoes
poppies
black damask
Lois Lane
stupid-high heels
the smell of parsnips
the smell of fresh tomatoes
the word “tomato”
Modesty Blaise
baking
pretty cupcakes
Marchesa Luisa Casati
dark chocolate
navy blue stripes
Mediterranean festivals
Andy Warhol’s handwriting
Joan Didion
Anne Lamott
John Irving
Mary McCarthy’s The Company She Keeps
JD Salinger’s Nine Stories
patterns and textures
big hair, big hats
Ann-Margret
Shaun White
clean sheets
manners
crime scene photography
the history of burlesque
the suffragettes
the Women’s Movement
Anna Magnani
Marcello Mastroianni
Giulietta Masina
Dean Martin
Steve McQueen
Robert Conrad
mens suits, cut slim
Meiko Kaji
Japanese “pinky violence” films
Domino magazine (RIP)

Movies:
Lady Snowblood
Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion
All That Jazz
Amelie
The Princess Bride
The World According to Garp
The Royal Tenenbaums
Unbearable Lightness of Being
Secretary
Unbreakable
Robocop
The Iron Giant
Real Genius

Designers:
Kate Spade
Jonathan Adler
Alexander McQueen
Vera Wang
John Galliano

Artists:
Taiyo Matsumoto
the whole collection of rococo artists
John Singer Sargent
Evaline Ness
Rachel Stuart-Haas
Ashley G & Drew

Music:
Queen
AC/DC
Meiko Kaji
Mike Doughty
Soul Coughing
Johnny Cash
Lyle Lovett
FUNNY FACE soundtrack
TANK GIRL soundtrack
Helen Reddy
Tori Amos
Puffy AmiYumi
Jacques Brel
Gwen Stefani
anything I might have listened to on a swim team bus in 1978

• Flickr
• iS Clinical Active Serum
• Estee Lauder Lash Primer Plus and Double Wear Zero-Smudge mascara
• Happiest Baby on the Block (though not so much Happiest Toddler on the Block)
• Ergobaby
• Vitacost.com
• DieselSweeties.com Cloud Pixel Socks
• dancing
• Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Wii
• SodaClub
• Casanova (Image Comics)
• Babies and Moms radio/podcasts
• Baby Signing Time
• Twitter
• geni.com
• The Darling Room
• Ashley G + Drew
• Kiwi magazine
• Flip video
• Mrs Meyers’ geranium-scented anything
• Miss April
• We Are Happy To Serve You cups
• Alton Brown
• Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey (Bite me)
• Peter Walsh
• slim stirrup leg warmers
• these camisoles from Anthropologie
• Spanx
• Making the Moves private lessons
• Posie Gets Cozy
• Angry Chicken
• Hello Yarn
• The Thrifty Knitter
• The ISB
• Remarkable
• The Comics Reporter
• Andy MacDonald (the artist)
• Shaun White (the young man what can fly)
• AC/DC
• Eden Alley Cafe
• The Little Book of Hindu Deities
• Lush’s BIG shampoo
• doulas
• Marvel Saga
• Simply Vera
• KitchenAid
• date nights
• chandeliers
• thrift and consignment stores
• Kdog Photographers
• Last Night’s Dinner

• My CBT interview on Globecat is up. If you want to check it out, it’s here.
• Fall trend I’m kind of into: ombre. Reminds me of Perrin from 2001 (2000?) Haven’t picked anything up, but I’m keeping an eye out.
• Too old for HL yet, but still cool: Crayon Rocks
• We’re shopping for a chair for HL. I put four options on his Amazon list here. Moms and Dads out there: any thoughts? Suggestions?
• NPR did a piece on Gaiman’s THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. Check it out here. (I was honored to have been sent a .pdf file of the book to read before it went to print. Unfortunately, I was a little too raw after the birth of my own son for a story that opened with a toddler in peril, but I have since, uh, girded my loins, and had another go and I must say that (unsurprisingly) I love it. I’ll write more in good time, but for the moment: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.)
• We’re having a very hippy dinner tonight. Fraction’s father would be appalled. Luckily, he’s not dining with us this evening!

• The Laugh-Out-Loud Kats Salute to COOL HAND LUKE.
• Billie Sue Textiles’ Etsy Shop. I got two scarves for Henry and if I had the scratch, believe me, I’d have one for myself as well. Gorgeous stuff and all handmade.
• Playdates.
• Anthropologie‘s Harvest Sun sweatercoat and white rose scarf. I don’t actually own either one, they’re working for me in theory. Meaning, I like looking at them in the catalog.
• The Kansas City Public Library. Why do I always forget about the library? So many books! And they’re all FREE! I’m making my way through a stack of espionage books at the moment. I also have THE POWER OF MYTH on CD and a SIGNING TIME DVD for Henry. Free!!
• The Tax Policy Center’s site, for helping me understand the candidates’ tax plans.
• The Cap Wiz media guide.
• Megavote.
• Christina Applegate on Oprah. (Yeah, sometimes I watch Oprah. I also like Martha. Bite me.) Not only did she share the story of her mastectomy with grace, but she did it while wearing what is possibly the most beautiful teal blouse I’ve ever seen. What? Does that make me shallow? Sorry. She was incredible… but so was that blouse.
• Scranton seniors laughing at Fox reporter. This link from Wonkette. The best part? The one guy who does raise his hand to say he’s voting for McCain also raises his hand to say he’s voting for Obama.

• Laura Hudson calls my Blog@Newsarama piece “can’t miss.” Nice.
• The Uncanny Matt Fraction – CBR talks X-Men with Fraction
• Fraction and I went to the Kemper last night for Jane Almirall’s slide presentation. I was already a huge fan of Jane’s and coveted one of those hummingbirds-with-red-string paintings, but now? More so.
• We were also treated to presentations by Peregrine Honig and Mike Hill. I was familiar with Peregrine’s work but Mike’s was new to me and OH MY GOD. DUDE. So. Much. Fun. Witness: here and here.
• After a bit of email correspondence, I met Kate Murr in person! (And her lovely family.) She’s considering joining me in the Iron Cupcake Challenge. Neither of us are swimming in free time, but it was fun to talk about it anyway.
• I don’t want to jinx anything, but it seems I am back on the workout wagon. So yay! And also… ow.
• A site overhaul is immanent. I’m doing the work myself (ahem… mostly) with the guidance of Danielle Henderson and the fine people at Squarespace. The goal is to construct it such that I can manage updates and tweaks myself without constantly having to bug my friends for help. [Read: Harold, Merry, Droob, Ariana, Han, Ryan... ] I haaaate that. I always feel like such a leech. Anyway, I didn’t work on it yesterday, but previous to that I was putting in a little time every morning. I ought to have it up and running before too long, I think. More news as I have it.
• Now, I’m going to go scoop the dog poop out of the back yard so that Fraction can mow today. Then, I’m stealing away to a cafe to get a little writing done. I am glamour incarnate.

I should have taken a photo yesterday.  Yesterday, the flowers were just perfect.

• ScreenCastsOnline.  I need a little handholding, I admit it.  Programs that friends claim are intuitive I find… not so much.  The “low cost membership scheme” is a little rich for my blood at the moment, but I’m making my way through the free tutorials and I’m loving them. 
• Yellow.  (Also, the yellow and giraffe print bag I saw at Standard Style this weekend.  Alas, I cannot possibly justify another bag.)
• Purples.
• Greens.
• Orange… should I just say “color”?
• 1/4 c. Purely Decadent soy ice cream (Chocolate Obsession) + 1 c. frozen wild blueberries.  (I’d like very much to try the pomegranate chip and the mint chocolate, but our Wild Oats doesn’t stock them.  Ahem.)
• The Whitney Artist t-shirts from The Gap
• Comics.  I lost my enthusiasm for comics for reading comics for a while, but I’m having fun again.  Yay, comics!  (Currently reading Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.; just finished Essential Marvel Saga, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials).)  
• Debbie Meyer Green Bags.  Seriously. 
• American Apparel Baby Rib Karate Pants.
• BPA Free Kids.
• I got this great flex tub for Henry’s toys at Target (for $5.99!) and now I’m wishing I’d picked up two…or four, but they don’t seem to have them any more.  Gah.
• This super-cute Wee-go bottle.  We’re trying to move Henry away from plastics (eek), and I love the sleeves on these.  They’re spendy, so fingers crossed.  I just ordered one yellow and one orange.  He doesn’t drink from a bottle that much any more, so if he likes them, we can switch over pretty easily with just two.  
• Miss April.  OhthankgodforMissApril.
• Japanese Monkey Pants.
• Claesen’s.
• Peter Walsh.
• I’m itching to start knitting again.  Thus: Ravelry.
• My new Heeley perfume, Vervaine.
• Daydreaming about gardening. 

EDITED TO ADD: 

•  Niles is on the CNN!

http://money.cnn.com/video/#/video/news/2008/04/25/news.comiccon.darkhorse.history.cnnmoney

http://money.cnn.com/video/#/video/news/2008/04/24/news.comiccon.darkhorse.universal.cnnmoney

• I’m linking to this Spider-Man tattoo not because I’m passing judgment on the guy, but rather because I think the shredded skin technique is really effective.  (Confession: when I got my tattoo, I went in asking for something that looked like my skin had been scraped off and I had tiger stripes underneath.  The artist told me it couldn’t be done — which is how I ended up with the piece I’ve got now.  Perhaps she meant that it shouldn’t be done.  Who knows?  Part of me does look at this though and goes, “Aw, man!”)  (Don’t judge me.)  (Oh, like you’re perfect.)