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Point of Impact #1- This was a very strong start for what looks to be an interesting crime/thriller/conspiracy series. Visually it’s very striking from the cover straight through the entire book, utilizing black and white art to its full advantage to create a very strong visual narrative. I also love how the cover is essentially the first page, create an even stronger overall package. I don’t recall ever seeing Koray Kuranel’s art before, but I’ll be keeping an eye out after this series. I’ve enjoyed Faerber’s work before but he isn’t always a hit for me, so I’m glad that this issue really knocked it out of the park. The price point is ok for the twenty pages of story as it was a dense enough read, plus no ads interrupting the flow of the story. Worth checking out and jumping on early as I think this might be a sleeper success. A

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Avengers #31- Because they forgot they had a bunch of loose ends and told Bendis he needed to finish the Wonder Man sub-plot because it’s relaunch time. I think that would have been a better title instead of ‘End Times’, but what the hell do I know.  Also, having Wonder Man beat the crap out of Red Hulk is kinda like watching wrestlers beat down Kane or the Undertaker with a chair when you used to have to hit them with a truck or throw them off the top of a cage to stop them. Kind of like a silent demotion for no real good reason. C

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Mars Attacks Classics Vol 2 TP- I suddenly realized why 13 year old me stopped buying the series at this point. The very moment Keith Giffen leaves at issue #2 of this second series it goes straight down hill and keeps picking up speed like a bullet train to heck. Charles Adlard’s art  becomes less tight by issue #3 and then he’s gone by #4. It’s like the writer that took over, Dwight Zimmerman, just went crazy and decided that adding as many inane useless sub-plots would make the entire franchise more interesting. What’s even more ludicrous is that they try giving a bunch of Martians names despite them all looking the same, and trust me, this is Charles Adlard art we are talking about. Even his humans all look the same after a certain point. Try keeping track of a bunch of brain aliens with bad dialogue and see how interested you are after six issues. The final stroke is when they introduce the triple breasted human/alien hybrids along with the militant human freedom fighter that fires breast missiles. Just….firing off big ol’ boobs at the Martians. That’s what it degenerates into. Seriously, after the pleasant surprise it was to reread the first volume, this is just painful. It’s the perfect example of a license going full tilt crap and of some sort of editorial breakdown. Topps, you should have paid Giffen a crapload of extra money to stay on this thing. D

PAC-12 CONFERENCE [Scores] [Standings]

Best Wins:

• Cal turned around an ugly season by whipping up on UCLA, 43-17.
• Stanford avoided a second straight defeat with a frenzied 54-48 overtime win over Arizona.

Stats Smorgasbord:

• Even as the Bruins slide down the standings (1-2 in the conference), Jonathan Franklin of UCLA continues to lead the conference in rushing with 133.3 yards per game.
• Oregon's Kenjon Barner and Stanford's Stepfan Taylor continue right on his heels, however.
• But don't count out Arizona's Ka'Deem Carey, who has been creeping up the chart wih four 100-yard games in six tries.
• But it's another guy from the desert -- Arizona State's Taylor Kelly -- who has emerged as the passing leader.  Kelly has completed 68 percent of his attempts and is averaging 9.5 yards per attempt.
• USC and Matt Barkley haven't quite had the glamour offensive season most anticipated, but Marqise Lee has a dazzling 10.4 receptions per game and 12.5 yards per catch.

Football Factoids:

• ESPN Heisman Watch: 4.  DeAnthony Thomas, Oregon; 5. Barkley; 8-T.  Barner; 10-T Lee.
• Pac-12 in the AP poll: 2, Oregon; 10. Oregon State; 11, USC; 17,. Stanford.
• The two Oregon schools remain undefeated as they head toward their traditional matchup on Nov. 24.  The Ducks must face USC and Stanford before then, while the Beavers have an interesting non-conference tussle with BYU and their own meeting with Stanford before the Civil War game.
• Stanford rolls into South Bend for a big showdown with Notre Dame.  Imagine the hype if the Cardinal had not slipped up in Seattle and lost to Washington 17-13.  It would have been a battle of undeated top-10 teams.
• Cal will try to keep its recovery going at Washington State.

I have heard from so many people that say anti-fungal creams do not work on their ringworm. (Ringworm is a fungus, by the way, not a real worm, so don’t worry about carrying worms under your skin if you get it!) So what do you use when the creams don’t work?

Most people say go to your doctor to get either oral medication or a prescription grade topical cream. That said, I’ve also come across some very interesting home remedies that I thought I would share, such as:

• Burning notebook paper on a plate, then rubbing the residue on your breakout
• Covering the ringworm with clear nail polish to “smother” it
• Using bleach on the breakout (I also read this is very painful—but it’s a fast way that wrestlers who are in constant close contact get rid of the fungus).
• Rubbing a penny dipped in vinegar on the breakout
• Applying any cream recommended, then covering it with plastic wrap or tape to keep it dry

Have you ever had ringworm? What did you use as a cure? Have you used any of the ideas here? Share your experiences and recommendations in the comments below.

I know people who married a person on the opposite side of the political spectrum, and I just have to shake my head. If they found a way to get past such huge differences, fine; good for them. But I could never do such a thing, because I could never love anyone that far removed from the values I hold dear.

I don’t mean to say that I couldn’t love someone who has a difference of opinion with me. How boring would that be? In several ways, my husband has traditionally conservative ideals that infuriate me—the biggest one being that he’s pro-death penalty and I am not. When we met so many years ago I was in favor of it, but have learned so much now that the very thought of it makes me sick to my stomach.

But at his heart, he is a good man who also believes in the right of everyone to marry, that we should help one another as our ancestors before us did, that women should have bodily autonomy in all cases, that speaking multiple languages and embracing every culture is a good thing, that we need to focus more on the environment that so many other issues and that war is always a bad idea. Together we both identify as progressive people.

I could not be with someone who is pro-war, against a woman’s right to choose, or pro-drilling us into oblivion. I could not be with someone who spends money to support organizations that push for laws that prevent people from being able to marry, or that force women to get raped by medical instruments before obtaining an abortion. To know that this person thinks so much less of me as a woman, so much less of my loved ones because they’re gay, would make me sick. I couldn’t lie next to such a person, let alone touch him or her.

You may say that I’m being judgmental. Well, this is my choice in a mate; I’d better well damn be judgmental to an extent! Notice I’m not writing the person off as a friend; I have lots of conservative friends. I live in the Bible belt so I sort of have to anyway. But I would certainly hope that someone’s a bit choosier when it comes to potential partners.

I know Christians who refuse to date non-Christians, non-smokers who refuse to date smokers! Why is my demand for a progressive-minded person so different?