Here’s what I ended up with. I sent this off for approval. We’ll see if I need to do any tinkering.

I didn’t get that much more done today, but I’m at least starting to get some of the background filled in. I was hoping to get this finished by today (after hoping to get it finished yesterday, and Tuesday, and Monday…) but I might have time to come back to it tonight.

All of the pages of Weird Thrills #2 are finished, so I’m now working on the cover. It’s basically a blown-up version of one of the panels in the book, which the publisher and I agreed was a pretty good representation of the issue. So I worked from that initial panel, added some other elements from the issue in the background, and then started working on the “painting” of it today (I put painting in quotes because I’m using Photoshop).

I’m taking a break from it right now, probably for the rest of the night, but I thought it had kind of a cool eerie look at this point (obviously heightened by the fact that the kid currently has no eyes). I’m using a different technique than I normally do, just kind of experimenting with the process, and I kind of like how it’s coming along.

Hobby, the writer-editor-publisher, has been posting some pages from the issue over at the Powerpop Comics blog.

Going to mass in Auburn with my family is always a trip. Today was no exception.

Mass started out with a very loud plea (as in the microphone was way too hot for this naturally projecting speaker) to urge parishioners to contact their congressmen about the Freedom of Choice Act, the “most radical and divisive” piece of legislation ever, according to the courtesy postcards that were available in each pew. Those in attendance were urged to fill out these cards, and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church would do the grunt work of stamping and mailing them.

Highlights of the anti-FOCA speech included several popular e-mail-forward urban legends, including 1) FOCA will force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions and 2) all doctors would be forced to perform any elective abortions, even partial-birth, throughout the whole nine months if the mother so chooses. (Here is a link to Snopes if you’re worried.) The speech also included an appeal to the pocketbooks of the pro-lifers in attendance. “FOCA is an entitlement the government must fund,” the speaker warned, “with your tax dollars.” Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s — so he can kill babies!

A half hour or so later, the priest included what he described as “a sad statistic” in his homily: “52 percent of Catholics voted for our present president.” He couldn’t even bring himself to mention that one’s name.

The absolute best part, though, was the closing hymn; mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church ended with “America, the Beautiful.” If God’s not a Republican, he’s a masochist.

The official drink of downtown Lincoln (among many other places) will undergo a reinvention — the people of Pabst will not only tinker with the flavor of Heileman’s Old Style, but it’s going to cost more too.

Pabst Brewing Co., which owns the Old Style brand, said this week it will soon be marketing Old Style as “authentically kraeusened.” That process more thoroughly ferments beer to give it additional flavor, along with a smoother finish, said Keith Hill, a Pabst brand manager.
[...]
Old Style, like most Pabst brands, has been sold as a bargain beer for years.

The “new” Old Style will be in stores and taverns by February. It will be more expensive to brew and will be sold at higher prices, similar to prices for Budweiser and Miller Lite, Hill said.

I’m kind of torn about this. Old Style is probably my favorite of the cheap beers. You can get a pitcher of it at O’Rourke’s for what you pay for a pint of beer at many Omaha bars. Recrafting it and making it more expensive seems to kind of miss the point — that poor people, college students and slumming hipsters like it for its cheapness.

At the same time, though, I’m kind of curious about the “original” Old Style taste, which this move claims to restore. I think I might be more receptive to a new “premium” Old Style — Old Style Classic, if you will — sold alongside the Old Style I’ve grown to know and love. As it is, I’m probably just going to revert back to Milwaukee’s Best Light.

Check out Too Jaded Failures, a podcast from a couple of friends of mine. If you’ve been around Lincoln for a while, you may remember co-host Tony Bock from KRNU’s “Hot Lunch” from several years back.

The Lincoln marathon is in less than four months. That means you’ve only got four weeks until Hal Higdon’s 12-week half-marathon training schedule kicks in.

Commentary on the public release of WWE steroid testimony is doing the rounds, including Marc Ambinder @ the Atlantic and Michael Scherer @ Swampland and Ambinder again.

But to get the full effect, and hours of entertainment, check out the full supply of testimony released last week from the House Oversight committee. You get interviews with Vince McMahon (122 pages of Vince, with a testy exchange at the end where Vince refuses to answer whether or not he’s ever taken performance enhancing drugs), Linda McMahon, Stephanie McMahon (source of the “Hulk Hogan was a terrible wrestler” quote), TNA President Dixie Carter, various doctors and more. It’s an interesting look into what the world of wrestling is and the world that promoters pretend it is.

Sara and I ate at the Gordon Biersch brewery restaurant in Kansas City Saturday. It was kind of a letdown, because they didn’t have the Blonde Bock on tap.

Gordon Biersch was the first beer I loved. It’s a California microbrewery that I discovered when I lived in San Diego. I think it was recommended by someone who lived there. But I tried the Blonde Bock and realized that I could love a beer. This was news to me at the time.

Whenever I made a trip to California — with my friend Jeremy in 2003 and most recently in 2006 — I would buy about a half dozen six packs of Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock (and then maybe another of some other flavor to experiment) and stick them in my trunk and hurry home. I would be reluctant to drink any of them, because they were such a finite commodity in my fridge, so I wanted each consumption to be a special occasion. I usually saved them for holidays and stuff like that.

My most recent Blonde Bock was on tap at the Las Vegas restaurant in February 2007. I found out earlier this fall that Kansas City is now home to a GB restaurant, so I was excited to go there and drink a Blonde Bock this close to home. So we finally went Saturday and the Blonde Bock wasn’t on the menu. I asked the server if they had it, thinking maybe it was possible they changed the name. He claimed that Gordon Biersch has never had a blonde bock. I immediately hated him for being a stupid liar.

I got out my iPhone and got on gordonbiersch.com. I was worried they discontinued the Blonde Bock. Their website said they still serve it, so I emailed them, asking why the Kansas City restaurant didn’t have it. “It’s why we came here,” I said. I was saddened to see that, according to gordonbiersch.com, Ohio was the closest state that carried their beer in bottles — the only state they distribute to that’s not on the west coast.

So we were at Hy-Vee tonight, buying some beer, when Sara stopped me. “Neal,” she said, pointing at the cooler. There was a sick pack of Gordon Biersch Hefeweizen right in front of us. A high-school looking kid was beside us, stocking the cooler. I asked him, “Do you know if you’ll be carrying any other kinds of Gordon Biersch?” He gestured for me to turn around, and there was an entire display of stacks and stacks of Gordon Biersch six packs in boxes — the Golden Export, the Märzen, and in the beautiful blue box, there was the Blonde Bock.

I told him, “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this. I used to make trips to California to stock up and I’d fill my trunk. I am so excited.” Sara thought I was going to hug him or cry or both. So we have our six packs in the fridge now, and I’m excited to try my first bottle of Gordon Biersch in years. It’s the first time I’ve purchased Gordon Biersch and then taken it home to drink that night since 2002.

As we drove home, I said to Sara, “I hope I still like it.”

UPDATE!! (Dec 31) Tom Dargen, Director of Brewing Operations with Gordon Biersch, responded to my email this morning. He informed me

We have dropped making Blonde Bock as a year round beer and instead make it occasionally as a seasonal beer that pops up occasionally. In spite of the passion that the people such as yourself have for the Blonde, it just is not that great of a seller compared to other styles, and we are leery of serving such a high alcohol beer that is so easy to drink.

I checked and double-checked to make sure everything in the list was released in 2008, but inevitably I made some goofs. Songs denoted by * were actually released in 2007. Apologies.

50. Jetway Junior - Head Of Femur listen @ myspace
49. SON - Pepi Ginsberg download mp3 @ stereogum
48. Toca’s Miracle 2008 - Fragma watch @ youtube
*47. Elvis - These New Puritans watch @ youtube
46. Can’t Stop Moving - Sonny J watch @ youtube
45. The Snow Leopard - Shearwater listen @ youtube | download mp3 @ stereogum
44. Flashing Lights - Kanye West watch @ youtube
*43. Leyendecker - Battles listen @ youtube | download mp3 @ stereogum
42. Dream On - Christian Falk feat Robyn watch @ youtube
41. Womanizer - Britney Spears watch @ youtube
40. Danny Callahan - Conor Oberst listen @ youtube
39. Girls - Sugababes watch @ youtube
38. Sweet About Me - Gabriella Cilmi watch @ youtube
37. Get Up On The Dance Floor - George Sampson watch @ youtube
36. Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis watch @ youtube
35. Paper Planes - MIA watch @ youtube
34. Kids - MGMT watch @ youtube
33. Cry For You - September watch @ youtube
32. Isn’t It A Shame - Head Of Femur listen @ myspace
31. Fascination - Alphabeat watch @ youtube
30. Up - The Saturdays watch @ youtube
29. I Decided (Mr. Mig Radio Edit) - Solange listen @ youtube
28. Just Dance - Lady GaGa watch @ youtube
27. That’s Not My Name - The Ting Tings watch @ youtube
26. In A Cave - Tokyo Police Club watch @ youtube | download mp3 @ stereogum
25. Ready For The Floor - Hot Chip watch @ youtube
24. Dog Park - The Saturday Nights download mp3 @ stereogum
23. Praying for Time (Idol Gives Back Performance) - Carrie Underwood watch @ youtube
22. Reach Out - Music Go Music download mp3 @ secretcanadian.com
21. Warwick Avenue - Duffy watch @ youtube
20. In This City - Iglu and Hartly watch @ youtube
19. 5 Years Time - Noah & The Whale watch @ youtube
18. Denial - Sugababes watch @ youtube
17. Lost Coastlines - Okkervil River watch @ youtube | download mp3 @ stereogum
16. Beggin - Madcon watch @ youtube
15. Love Is Noise - The Verve watch @ youtube
14. This Is The Life - Amy MacDonald watch @ youtube
13. Sex On Fire - Kings Of Leon watch @ youtube
12. Spiralling - Keane watch @ youtube
11. River Ramble - Head Of Femur
10. Enemy Within - Frida Hyvönen download mp3 @ secretlycanadian
9. The World Should Revolve Around Me - Little Jackie watch @ youtube
8. Black & Gold - Sam Sparro watch @ youtube
7. Girls Around the World - Lloyd & Lil Wayne watch @ youtube
6. Boyfriend - Alphabeat watch @ youtube
5. Dance Wiv Me - Dizzee Rascal feat. Calvin Harris & Chrome watch @ youtube
4. Closer - Ne-Yo watch @ youtube
3. Never Miss A Beat - Kaiser Chiefs watch @ youtube
2. The Promise - Girls Aloud watch @ youtube
1. Time to Pretend - MGMT watch @ youtube | download mp3 @ stereogum