Great Moments in Comics: Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #6

1968. Love that Steranko cover. And the rest of the issue wasn't bad either. To me, as a comic book reading kid of about 10 or 11 who hadn't yet heard of EC Comics, this illustration was just too cool for words. It was years later that I found out about Frank Frazetta and realized that this cover had to be an homage to EC's stable of science fiction comics and the unique imagery made famous by Frazetta.

Princeton Record Exchange

On Saturday I spent the day in Princeton, NJ and got to visit one of my favorite places: the Princeton Record Exchange. This amazing store has everything a pop culture fanatic like me would want: new and used CDs, vinyl, DVDs and accessories. Whenever I go to the store, I end up spending several hours there...I always find something great. When you go, be sure to check out their New Arrival used bins, which are always overflowing with great stuff at great prices. Their music and video bargain bins have some of the best used product in the state too. The Princeton Record Exchange is not to be missed and is worth the drive from anywhere. You can find out more at the Princeton Record Exchange website. Be sure to check out the video tours of the store! You'll be amazed! General Manager Jon Lambert and the entire crew of the Princeton Record Exchange deserve great praise for maintaining such a wonderfully unique music and video store. You guys are the best! Click on the photo for a closer look at the front of the store.

Watchmen Production Video #7

More from the Watchmen movie camp. Looks like the movie is coming along nicely. Here's the link to the official Production Video #7. It deals with how the filmmakers are creating Dr. Manhattan's look via CG and other methods. 4.5 months until the film's release and counting. Enjoy.

Rick Wakeman - Excerpts From The Six Wives Of Henry VIII

Rick Wakeman. I first heard of this amazing person way back in the early 1970's. There was this "progressive rock" band called Yes with this skinny guy with long blond hair that could play a mean keyboard. And it went way beyond mean, to be sure. I can't imagine my life without his music. This video posted on YouTube is one of my favorite Wakeman moments and is a distillation of the music from The Six Wives of Henry the VIII, his first solo album after joining Yes. The album was an absolutely amazing tour de force. It was entertaining and it proved that a talented artist like Wakeman could create a complex musical tapestry (in which he demonstrated the personalities of the six wives) through the versatility of the keyboard. I believe this is the solo segment he did when touring with Yes in late 1972 which was recorded at the Christmas Night concert at London's Rainbow Theatre (hence some Christmas music as part of his keyboard antics).

MonstersHD

When I moved from Monmouth to Mercer counties, I had to switch cable companies from Comcast to Cablevision. One pleasant surprise was a Cablevision exclusive HD channel: MonstersHD. This channel is something unique and is right up my alley: all monster movies, all the time. The line-up is great (if somewhat repetitive). All movies are uncut and in HD. They run horror and sci-fi movie series marathons all the time, which is something that I really enjoy. MonstersHD is part of the Voom series of HD channels. Click on the thumbnail for an example of some of the MonstersHD marathons.

Blogs of Note: WoW Insider

We fans of World of Warcraft have had our favorite sites and databases over the years; Thottbot, Allakhazam and WoWiki are just three of those that I have used. One that I have been coming back to on a daily basis within the last year or so has been WoW Insider. This is a blog about WoW and has the best fan coverage, IMHO. It does it with a great deal of humor too. Yesterday, for example, was a major WoW patch day (3.0.2). WoW Insider helps all of us be as informed as possible about all of the patch changes. Their coverage of the different classes in the game is particularly useful to me, as is their helpful professions details. They also covered Blizzcon this past weekend with aplomb. Once the Wrath of the Lich King expansion arrives on November 13th, you can be sure I will be tuned to WoW Insider for all of the coverage of this event. A site that covers a game well is treasure to that game's fans. WoW Insider is just that.

World of Warcraft 3.0.2 Patch Day FAQs

Today is World of Warcraft 3.0.2 Patch Day! This is a very important patch as it provides the Wrath of the Lich King expansion content to accompany the retail game, which will be released on November 13th. There are two good FAQs that you can read that will bring you up to date on today's patching activity. WoW Insider's Patch FAQ and Venorize's Patch FAQ. It's 7:30 pm Eastern as I'm writing this and some realms are up and some aren't. In the meantime, click on the thumbnail to see another Wrath Beta screenshot, this time of everyone waiting in the new Stormwind Harbor for the boat that will carry them to Northrend, the new continent that will be introduced in Wrath. Enjoy the patch and see you in the world!