Roland, the Headless Thompson Gunner

Okay, so this post isn't about any Warren Zevon characters, but another famous Roland. Roland Deschain to be exact.

If you're any fan of Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series, then you may be excited to know(I certainly am) that there is a comic book adaptation coming in April of 2006.

This series will be written by King, and have the artwork of Jae Lee. Jae's art style is spot on for this subject material, and should make for some very good visual storytelling. If you'd like to see a sampling of Jae's comic book work, then spin over this-a-way.

The very best news here is that this isn't going to be a re-telling of the seven novels, but rather the backstory of Roland. This series is for those of us that think Wizard & Glass is the best novel, and can't get enough of Roland's tales.

This could be something special, but you don't have to take my work for it click here for the story at AICN with an additional link to the official Marvel site and art.

Ka is a wheel, and this is burning rubber down the Route 66 of cool for me...

You've Got A Friend

Have you ever had a really good friend that forced you to tell them some things that you thought may damage your relationship?

I was recently compelled to let a longstanding best friend of mine know how I felt about his dealings with his fiance. This wasn't in any preachy or teachy way, where I was trying to tell him how to love a girl, or anything like that. It's a situation where I care about her as a person, and he's done some very wrong things to her.

I know who he is better than he does himself, and I know enough about her to see how things are unfolding.

I know that I probably sound like some sort of busybody, but I really felt the need to let him know that he's being unkind to her. I'm not going to go into details, but the gist of the situation is a man who doesn't know what he wants betraying the trust of a relationship on several separate dalliances, and a woman who's too in love with an idea to move on from a guy who is happy to keep stringing her along.

I know that this may not be the right forum for this, and I don't really know why I'm writing this. It was easy for me to try to offer some advice, even though I knew that it might not be received well. Now that it's done, and I've told him how I feel, I know there's a very real chance that I'll lose that friendship.

I swear I'm not looking for any sort of sympathy here. I have a very highly developed sense of decency when it comes to romance, and I just couldn't be his "boy" or "homey" on this one. I couldn't play the complacent friend that could hear the sordid details of his escapades, and just chuckle along with it.

Aside from his dealings with females, he's always been a genuine person. He is a talented person using about a tenth of his potential. I can say that without rancor, because I know that I'm not nearly all that I can be most of the time either.

The closest thing that I can compare my aims to in all of this is a biblical term. In the New Testament, there are a lot of mentions of edification. The way it's couched has always sounded to me like what a true friend would do for another. First of all love, and always be willing to help each other be a better person. I don't want to go with a cliche, and say "tough love", but something akin to that is needed at times. A friendship where you can tell someone when you think they're off the path(and I'm not just talking about Christianity here, but life in general), and offer your experiences and advice to make them strive to be more. I would hope that if I was making a mistake, I'd have a good enough friend that they would tell me. Someone who wouldn't let pride or fear get in the way of helping me avoid a pitfall.

I suppose I'm writing here because I need the outlet to vent. I'm still hopeful that what I said to him will be received in the way it was intended, and we can continue to build each other up.

I just don't think it's a good sign when his email reply contains the formality of his complete name in the closing. Maybe it's just the initial shock of hearing it, and he'll come around.

I'm beginning to think that maybe I'm not a good friend. Maybe I need someone to step in and tell me what I've done wrong, because I seem to lose all my friends. I know that sounds like the coup de grace on a pity party, but I'm really just trying to sort this all out objectively.

I don't make a habit of interjecting my opinions into the lives of other people. There are even some that actually seek my insights out(God help them for that). I'm old enough to know that a good friendship is an invaluable thing that can stand the test of time and distance as long as it's foundation is sure.

I want more friendships, and not fewer. I hope I can salvage this one, and cultivate some new ones too. Although I may have a middling dose of the graces, I am a social beast. I look forward to putting down the gauntlet of my current schedule, and enjoying entertaining more, and being around people more than an office...

Hearts and Bones

Well, it's the anniversary of the best decision I've made in my life today, and I'm basking in the happiness of the moment.

My lovely wife, Amena, and I have been together 6 years today, and we're still in love with each other.

Although I know I got the better end of the bargain, she still hasn't chosen to get rid of me. I think she lost the receipt anyway.

I do believe that we're stronger together now, and have learned a lot from each other already. We're struggling with the demands of my schedule, and missing each other so much, but we're in this for the long haul.

She knows that she's my only light and love, but I'll say it here again in case she happens by.

I hope that wherever God has our paths planned for the next 6 years it finds us even happier and closer to one another.

Amena's mother asked her the other day how a girl that grew up drawing hearts on everything could end up with a guy fascinated with dark things, death and skulls and bones.

I suppose the easy answer is to chalk it up to opposites attracting.

Although I'm not a disciple of zen, I tend to think we're more like yin and yang. We achieve perfect balance together, because even though she's bright and beautiful and giving, there's her dark, mischievous side. At the same time, even though I appear to be under a cloud, with flashes of violence and anger towards the whole world, she is where I show my tenderness.

Although this day has special meaning for us, we spend each one making our feelings for each other clear. We may not be a textbook happy couple, but then again, curriculum always needs to be updated...

Happy Birthday Blues

Well, here it is. Another year in the bag for yours truly, and I celebrated it with the vigor it deserved. I went to both of my jobs, and did all of my work, and would have been downright depressed, but...

I was able to receive a gift from my wife this morning before I left (and not that one, because I get that all the time cuz I'm lucky), and now I have the #1 gift on my birthday list.

I was greeted at my first job by a delivery of roses just like these. They are just like the picture, and a very nice surprise. If your woman hasn't bought you flowers recently, then you ought to give her a reason to.

I came to the second job here and was treated to cards from a great friend and his wife, and some assorted cheesecake. The chocolate that I tried was phenomenally good.

So, for a birthday that I worked all day, this wasn't too bad. I have a few underlying dark feelings about the day as a whole, but the people that love me managed to make things seem alright.

I have to wait till Sunday to celebrate my birthday with my family, consisting of the traditional meal of my choosing, and presents and cake deal-a-ma-jig. I'm sure that everyone will be overly generous for someone like me.

Overall, I'm a blessed man. I'm grateful for all that I've been given. Although my life is a bit of a lonely blur right now, I'm confident that there are better things on the horizon for me.

I suppose whether you have a good birthday, even if you're not in the best spirits, is in how you decide to look at things.

I could take my cue from a famous quote like this:

Death borders upon our birth, and our cradle stands in the grave. Our birth is nothing but our death begun.
- Bishop Hall

or I could do my best to put some perspective on things, and enjoy my day in the light of higher things and ideals like this:

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting;
The soul that rises with us, our life's star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar;
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come from God,
who is our home.
- William Wordsworth

I'm going with the poet, despite myself...