Hail To The King

Neil Gaiman posted a link to a great New York Times Op Ed piece on comics legend Jack "King" Kirby, and I'm going to do the same here.
I think that even people who aren't interested in comics at all should read it because Jack really was a monumental figure not only in comics but in American life, and I say that without hyperbole or fear of contradiction.
(Bring it, Contradiction: I'm not scared of you! I'll kick your ass!)
My favorite quote from the article:

Even at rest, a Kirby character pulsed with tension and energy in a way that makes movie versions of the same characters seem static by comparison.

That was the thing that bothered me the most about the most recent Fantastic Four movie and its treatment of Galactus (and honestly, to a lesser extent, even the Ultimate version in the comics): you really thought you could do it better than Stan and Jack did it?
In any case, I'm greatly enjoying having my high(ish) speed Internet back.
(Oh porn, how I missed you!)
It turns out that the problem wasn't actually my modem, but resolving it still required that my modem be replaced.
Apparently there was a lot of mucking around going on with the network, which had resulted in things like my speed being cut by over 75% several months ago. What? You mean I didn't always have such a slow connection? You mean I wasn't lying when I said I'd had better speeds for over a year?
The contractor - the "Asian Guy" mentioned by the goober - flat-out told me, "Someone had to have set your profile for that." When I mentioned what I'd been told about it, he said, "They lied." I said, "No shit.
In any case, while my modem was still provisioned, it was no longer on the network, and he couldn't get it back on, so he simply had a new modem provisioned for me, and voila!
The "Asian Guy," by the way, was extremely apologetic for it all, and oddly deferential. When he first arrived, he asked for permission to come in, and then permission to come into the bedroom. Then he went outside to make some calls to sort the thing out, and when he came back, he asked permission all over again. I was like, "What are you, a vampire with OCD?"
After he left I went out into the world to buy a new belt and get some dinner.
I needed a belt because my other belt broke, and I've been wearing a belt of late in order to clip my phone to it, as clipping it directly to my waistband causes my pants to droop and my skin (read: flab) to get pinched if I turn the wrong way.
Last week when I got home from the comic shop and eating my "Krapow!" the buckle came flying off while I was using the facilities. Long story short, as was inevitable, given that I'm Jon, the buckled landed in the pre-flushed bowl.
There wasn't any way to repair it, so I replaced the belt. Getting a belt today was a priority, as I'll be out and about quite a bit tomorrow, so I wanted to be able to start the day with a belt on which to clip my phone.
Once I got home from belt and dinner buying I foudn that two of my comics had arrived. I was mistaken on the conditions: Next Men #21 is Near Mint, despite costing over $50 less than the Near Mint copy at Milehigh Comics, and the other, which sold for $24 in Near Mint at Milehigh, is in Fine condition.
I'm hoping the larger order from Milehigh will arrive tomrrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, among the many things I need to do is get my annual state safety inspection done on my car. I have a feeling it won't pass just because it hasn't for the last years without first having some work done, but I have to at least make the attempt before the month is over.
In any case, it feels very good to be back in the 21st century and have a high(ish) speed Internet connection again, and to be able to more easily deliver updates to you, my devoted readership, who have perhaps suffered the most from my extended loss of service.
I'll do what I can to make it up to you.