Random Musings

Between Christmas and my birthday, I usually make a pretty good haul in bookstore gift certificates. It's my favorite shopping trip of the year (OK, I do it online, so perhaps it's my favorite shopping "moment").

This year I bought a monster stack of John Constantine: Hellblazer trade paperbacks. I already had a few, but I had bought and read them out of chronological order. The day after Christmas I bought every single TPB out which I didn't already have (plus some Ursula K. LeGuin novels I didn't have yet - it wasn't all comic books). Last week I assembled the whole Helblazer stack, old and new, and read them all from start to finish.

Wow. I love the stories, and he's a singularly cool character, but the cumulative effect of all that John Constantine was a bit of a downer. At least I have something else to be thankful for: I'm not a member of the working class holding on by my fingernails during the Thatcher administration.

I finished the last one yesterday afternoon, and as I've mentioned I was a bit glum. The Constantine effect was made worse by the shadow of the upcoming Timberwolves game against the Phoenix Suns. Now granted, the Suns spanked us last time in large part because Kevin Garnett and Ricky Davis were both suspended (for acting like toddlers, frankly). But the Suns were on a 17 game winning streak, and the Timberwolves were on a 6 game losing streak. We didn't stand a chance. Well, at least it's always fun to watch Steve Nash play, I told myself. There's always that. (He must be psychic, he can always find the open guy even if he can't actually see him.)

I should have had more faith in my boys. Kevin Garnett's 44 points and 11 rebounds.... well, that's while they call him the Ticket. But it wasn't just him. I couldn't believe how well Mark Madsen was playing. He tried the sort of spin in midair and shoot move that's KG's signature move, and he nailed it!

If only Rashad McCants had been able to play, it would have been the perfect game. He's been suiting up the last two games, but only because Justin Reed is in Mississippi and we need the bodies on the bench as a technicality. They keep saying one more week, just one more week and he'll play.

But I suppose this is more frustrating for McCants than for me.