BRAIN DRAIN

The usual family vacation carried on this year but with a twist: this time, my parents and my brother came over to New York to visit, which served as a jumping off point for what in retrospect was a two-part road trip on the East and West coasts. These past two weeks were most definitely a welcome change of scene and change of pace, allowing me both to see more of the US (after a fashion) as well as to touch base with my folks (and the creature also known as my brother).

From New York, we took a day trip to Long Island to see the sights (or a lighthouse, depending on how you look at it), and thereafter a few hours drive to Bethesda, Maryland and by extension Virginia and Washington DC. Highlights included an impromptu visit to Georgetown University (where we nearly attended convocation), swinging by Book Expo America 2006, frequenting a Thai restaurant in the heart of Bethesda, and finally satisfying a craving by dining at a Cheescake Factory branch in Maryland (don’t ask).

After that, we spent over a week in California, nominally in my parents’ place near San Francisco. Highlights included driving up five hours to the Santa Ynez Valley, which afforded us the opportunity to visit nearby Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. Along the way, we dropped by Solvang, a Dutch replica town seemingly in the middle of nowhere; drove around UC Santa Barbara, with flawed directions from Google Maps that pointed us towards the right street in the wrong place; and fulfilled what can only be described as an irrational need to eat at El Pollo Loco by way of a rest stop at Salinas on the return trip to San Francisco (again, don’t ask).

The past two weeks of activity have afforded me the opportunity to reflect on a number of things:

I am overweight. That non sequitur aside, more to the point:

New York operates at a totally different rhythm compared to anywhere else in the world. I used to think that people were exaggerating when they’d say as much, but now I believe them. It’s not that New Yorkers are an impatient high-strung bunch and by comparison everyone else seems provincial and everywhere else moving at a snail’s pace – although a case could be made to that effect – but more like elsewhere feels unnecessarily laid back by comparison (even for someone like me). Why? I don’t know; it’s hard to put into words. But suffice it to say that I can now understand why some say that New York is the capital of the world, something I once thought such hubris.

The world is getting smaller. One moment, I’m finishing up the last of my exams for the term; the next, I’m standing in the same room with my parents, who decide all by themselves that I need to rearrange the furniture in my apartment. In New York one minute, then Washington the next, and San Francisco after that. And in no time at all, with a drowsy salute from my brother, my parents see me off to the airport and just as quickly I find myself back where I started. It’s really incredible.

The world isn’t small enough. Sure, everything is more convenient now. Travel. Communication. But there is still no substitute for what really matters. The past few weeks were great: my family came over and brought a dose of “home” along with them; good times. But it can’t replace actually being at home. Never will.

Well, my spring semester officially ended last night at 7:08 pm, which was when I turned in my Macroeconomic Theory exam. I’m just glad it’s over. It’s odd: I didn’t feel particularly pressured, and in spite of that there’s nothing I wanted more than to get everything over and done with.

Now that that’s out of the way, I have time to get some much needed spring cleaning done. And there’s no better time for this seeing as my parents are coming over tomorrow for a visit. Knowing my mom, it might just be harder to win her approval for how I’ve been keeping my apartment than it is to get an A in any of my classes.

I feel like such a college student.

Another online diversion: Pendulumeca. It’s a simple flash game where you see how far along you can get by swinging off your platform and across the screen. I wonder how Spider-man does it…?

I have this obsession with the video games I grew up with (and continue to grow up with). Having said that, check out this video clip. It’s a live Mario Brothers presentation that seems to have been staged at a school. Suffice it to say I was thoroughly amused. How I wish I thought of this one…

You can see by the DC comic titles I’ve collected my affinity for following particular writers and artists.

First: Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. Easily one of the most engaging and enjoyable reads I’ve had in a while. The story follows Batman in his early years as he, Commissioner Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent investigate a series of murders targeting the prominent mob families of Gotham City, beginning on Halloween and on some holiday or another for a year thereafter. Essentially, it’s a retelling of the origins of Two-Face. Everything about the story is simply brilliant. Loeb does an excellent job weaving together a noir murder mystery depicting Batman (properly) as a detective. And Sale’s artwork fits like a glove. So taken was I with this one that I had to get the creative team’s sequel, Batman: Dark Victory. If your Batman experience will be limited to these two books together with Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One and Dark Knight Returns, it will be a very rich one.

You will, however, want to stay away from Batman: Haunted Knight, also by Loeb and Sale, a collection of halloween stories. Prepared early in their collaboration, it’s just not up to par with their later work. You won’t miss anything if you never encounter the book in your life (unless you have a knack for completeness).

Next: Superman for All Seasons, again by Loeb and Sale. This graphic novel offers a poignant, possibly even lighthearted story emphasizing Superman’s strength of character. I thought it was a thoroughly enjoyable read, although anyone hoping for the typical superhero story with the token mega-battle may be disappointed.

On a whim, I decided to try out Joe Kelly and Chris Bachalo’s Steampunk and was sadly quite disappointed. The story follows Cole Blaquesmith, a fisherman in mid-1700s London who seeks help from a madman to save the life of the woman he loves, travels to the future precisely for that purpose and in the process alters the fabric of reality. On the face of it, the plot had promise, but the finished product couldn’t pull it off. Joe Kelly’s style of storytelling was rushed and all over the place, and Chris Bachalo’s art, and the intricate details that I’m a big fan of, was just an utter mess. Trust me: if you leaf through the two volumes, you’ll understand why the series was cancelled prematurely.

Thankfully, my faith in Chris Bachalo’s talents were restored when I picked up a copy of The Witching Hour, where his pencils perfectly matched (suprise, surprise) Jeph Loeb’s story. This was just fantastic: a tale about modern-day witches who work to set right certain injustices and shortcomings in people’s lives, and help them see the possibilities that lie in store for them. Loeb is able to weave an intricate story that goes back and forth between the witches’ history, the mission they are on and the lives of the people they try to help, all coming together by the end of the book. Bachalo’s imaginative artwork, penchant for details and creative use of panels suit the story perfectly. Reading the book I couldn’t help but be reminded of Neil Gaiman and Chris Bachalo’s work on the two volumes of Death. This one may just be that good.

So those are the titles I’ve enjoyed (mostly) since getting back to New York. There’s plenty more I’m looking forward to collecting (DC: The New Frontier, Green Lantern: Rebirth, Neil Gaiman’s run on Eternals, et cetera), so I suspect I’ll be writing about them in the future. Who knows? I might just end up getting a degree in comic books on my way to finishing my PhD in economics. I’m sure I wouldn’t be the first.