The Daily Procrastinator

As you may have discerned by now, procrastinators, I’m a bit of a Led Zeppelin fan. By “a bit” I mean that I own all of their studio recordings, often wear one my dozen or so Zep t-shirts, have the “four symbols” decals on the back window of my truck, and spent years collecting every concert recording of the band that’s known to exist. In total, counting the instances in which there are multiple recordings of the same show, I have over 500 Led Zeppelin concerts on a freestanding hard drive called “The Archive.”

I’m not telling you all of this because I want you to be impressed (although I wouldn’t mind if you were). I’m telling you this so you’ll know that I’ve listened to more Led Zeppelin than anyone you’ve ever met. With that in mind, I feel qualified to make the following statement: Today, September 29, is the 38th anniversary of one of the greatest rock concerts of all time.

On September 29 of 1971, Led Zeppelin performed at the Festival Hall in Osaka, Japan. Known among ZepHeads simply as “929,” it was the final night of their first-ever tour of Japan, and, for lack of a more appropriate phrase, they played their asses off. Check out the setlist:

• Immigrant Song
• Heartbreaker
• Since I’ve Been Loving You
• Black Dog
• Dazed And Confused
• Stairway To Heaven
• Celebration Day
• That’s The Way
• Going To California
• Tangerine
• Friends
• Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
• What Is And What Should Never Be
• Moby Dick
• Whole Lotta Love
• Communication Breakdown
• Organ Solo/Thank You
• Rock And Roll

The legendary untitled fourth album had not yet been released, but the Japanese fans were treated to previews of soon-to-be famous songs like “Stairway to Heaven,” “Black Dog,” and “Rock and Roll.”

Tonight’s show features no shortage of the incredibly long songs for which Led Zeppelin concerts were famous. The band’s improvisational showcase, “Dazed and Confused,” clocks in at just over 30 minutes. Jimmy Page played a middle section of the “Dazed” solo with a violin bow throughout the band’s career, and tonight’s solo is one of the darkest and eeriest-sounding in the band’s entire recorded catalog.

This photo of of the bow solo is actually from a concert on the '71 Japan tour. WHICH night? Well, that's lost to history.

“Moby Dick,” as ever, is a 20 minute experiment in sonic assault. John Bonham plays the drums with the kind of force most people reserve for driving fence posts. The final “epic” of the evening, “Whole Lotta Love,” exceeds 30 minutes itself. As usual, the band turns it into a medley of 50s and 60s hits. Tonight, the medley includes “Boogie Woogie,” “Tossin’ & Turnin,” “Twist & Shout,” and “Fortune Teller,” along with sections of their own songs “You Shook Me” and “Good Times Bad Times.”

This show features another noteworthy moment in Led Zeppelin history: as the band ends the acoustic set with “Friends” and prepares to launch back into fully electrified rock and roll, Robert Plant fills the time by treating the audience to an impromptu version of The Platters’ “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” a song not known to exist anywhere else in the band’s recorded history.

That's right. The Platters. Robert Plant digs MoTown.

The entire show clocks in at just under three hours, and it’s a fantastic listening experience. The vast majority of the show has been preserved on what is widely and erroneously known as “the soundboard source.” Although the recording is clearly not from the soundboard, it is a truly fantastic audience tape. General consensus holds that a microphone was somehow placed on stage with the band. In places where the primary source has cuts or dropouts, they are smoothly filled with slightly inferior but very listenable alternate sources. At least three separate source tapes are known to exist for this show, so the listener never misses a moment. Listening to a well-crafted import release of the show, like Wendy Records’ “Fatally Wanderer” is as close as most of us will ever come to seeing the mighty Zeppelin at one of the highest points in their career.

Sure, I have other things to do tonight. I fully intend to ignore those things (it’s The Daily Procrastinator, right?) and spend three hours with the greatest rock band ever to walk the face of the earth. You should join me.

A woman in Indonesia has given birth to a 19.2 pound baby. The boy, named Akbar (which means “the great” in Arabic”) is 24 inches tall.

That kid is a TANK.

Much to his mother’s relief, I’m sure, he was delivered via Cesarean section. According to medical professionals, Akbar’s tremendous size is linked to his mother’s gestational diabetes. The abnormally high levels of glucose in her blood allowed the baby to absorb far more nutrients than most while in utero. Dr. Binsar Sitanggang, who delivered the baby, said, “He is greedy and has a strong appetite, nursing almost non-stop.” Thanks for the enlightening update, doc. Who’d have thought that BabyZilla would eat a lot?

I don’t have anything especially insightful to say about this baby except, “Look at that baby! He’s freakin’ huge!” Just thought you should know.

You know what we’re talking about: you can’t resist them, yet part of you cringes at the badness of it all. I want your Top 5, kids.

Mine include:

• Pepperoni pizza. Unlike my general high standards for pizza, I will eat any crappy pizza if it’s topped with pepperoni. It makes no sense at all.
• Rice Krispy treats. I suppose they’re probably not so bad in moderation, but I’ve never eaten them in moderation.
• Milkshakes, but only if they’re the massive black-and-white shakes from Nifty Fifty’s in Philly.
• Tastykakes. Yes, I’m from Philly, what do you expect?
• Funnel cakes. My favorite part of any fair or festival is the funnel cake cart. Dough cooked in oil and covered with powdered sugar? Pure genius for the carb obsessed.

Flashcap here. I’ve got plenty of guilty pleasure foods, but my top five are:

• McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder w/cheese. Yeah, yeah, Super Size Me and all that, but I can’t help it. The greasy burger beckons me every time I pull into the drive-thru. I swear I hear my arteries cursing me when I’m swallowing it down. Luckily I run long distances.
• Cheetos. Bags of the crunchy orange temptations don’t stay in the house long at all.
• Chili dogs. Even more than those Royales w/cheese, I’ll eat the hell out of chili dogs. Sadly, there’s no Wienerschnitzel close to where I live or work, so Sonic chili dogs are the quickest ones available, but not quite the same thing.
• Pepperoni rolls. We have a pizza place here in Texas called DoubleDave’s where they roll pepperoni and cheese up in twists of dough and bake them. Add either ranch or marinara dipping sauce and I’m bound to eat 10 of them in one sitting. Beware of any imitations.
• Peanut M&Ms. I’m like a vacuum when it comes to those things. I can’t stop eating them when they’re in front of me. Hey, the peanuts are lowering my cholesterol, right?

So…you want to know about BigRedPoet’s top 5 guilty pleasure foods, huh? I’m going to need a minute to whittle down my preliminary list of 462…

• Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburger from Jack In The Box. There’s no two ways about it; this is the best (worst?) hamburger available in the fast food world. Sure, you can FEEL yourself getting fatter while you eat it, but sometimes a ration of fat is worth a ration of awesome.
• Crunchwrap Supreme from Taco Bell. Oh my God. Who invented this? I want to give him/her a big sloppy kiss. This thing consists of a huge tortilla, beans, taco meat, a crispy tostada chip, lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese, melted nacho cheese, and sour cream, all wrapped up and cooked in a quesadilla press. Wow.
• Summer Sausage, Cheese, and Crackers. My inability to resist this particular snack is a vestige of being raised in the midwest, I think. Sure, my fellow southerners like summer sausage, but I don’t believe they understand my deep and abiding love for this fatty snack.
• Peanut Butter Kisses from the Mary Jane Company. I love these things. I can literally sit and eat them until my abdomen aches and my noggin rings with a sugar headache. At that point, I begin to think, “Maybe I should only eat 11 or 12 more.”
• Golden Corral. Go ahead. Click the link, then read the menu. I’ll wait… Now, tell me this: Who wouldn’t want to eat about three great big plates off that buffet? I only allow myself to go to Golden Corral once or twice a year, but when I do, it’s serious business.

Juggernaut’s turn, although I take issue with this whole “guilt” thing. I don’t feel guilty about what I eat. As a matter of fact, I don’t feel guilty about much of anything. Must be part and parcel of doing no wrong. [insert retching sounds from the others here at the DP] Anyway, here’s my list of foods that will likely kill me:

• Like BRP, I’m going with JITB’s Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburger. If at the time of my order I feel like adding a few more minutes on the end of my life, I’ll drop the bacon.
• I can honestly say that I have never had pizza that I didn’t like. Chuck E. Cheese’s version comes the closest, but I’ll eat it if I’m dragged to some 6-year-old’s birthday party. But my favorite pizza (at least chain-wise) is Pizza Hut’s Deep Dish Meat Lovers. Pepperoni, Italian sausage, ham, bacon and beef. God, I want some pizza. Whose bright idea was it to ask me for this at lunch? I’m blaming TallGirl.
• Twizzlers. Anytime I go to a movie, I have a large Mr. Pibb and a big bag of Twizzlers. It’s my routine. There are those out there who do not like licorice. I say they have no taste and should not bother expressing opinions on candy.
• Blue Bell Peppermint ice cream. I love any peppermint ice cream, but Blue Bell wins out because 1) it’s Blue Bell and 2) Blue Bell is made in Texas. Unfortunately, peppermint is considered a “seasonal” flavor and is only out around Christmas time. Damn Blue Bell.
• Last but not least, easy-made nachos at home. I take a big pile of Tostitos and dump an obscene amount of shredded cheddar on them, then nuke it for 40 seconds (yes, I have the time down). Pour a cup of salsa over the top and you have a great late night snack.

Magnus here. Nothing like peer pressure to make me actually write instead of maintaining my site and WORK. You know, to pay the bills? But here we go.

• Taco Bell #3. With mild sauce. (And two soft steak tacos. But don’t tell.)
• Swedish Chocolate. Mmm . . . Marabou.
• Herring. Pickled. With mustard sauce.
• Caviar. Kalle’s. On a sandwich. Oh wait, that’s actually good for me. Nevermind.
• Meatballs. With lots of sauce and lingon berries and mashed potatoes. Preferably made by my mom. (Hey Mom? I’m hungry, please send some, huh?)
• Bacon. How we got this far down the list without bacon, I don’t understand. It’s a major food group, people!

Coming soon to your living room?

I remember my first 3-D movie: it was Jaws 3-D, and the memory of that 35 foot long (no shit) great white shark exploding and half of its jaw bone floating right before my eyes is something I still recall fairly vividly today.

Meh. The shark still looks fake

But that’s probably because I was 10 years old at the time. The novelty of wearing those cardboard glasses and seeing the images pop out at me made that abomination of a movie different, but definitely not better. Memories of watching non-3-D movies like Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark are just as vivid in my mind.

Flash forward, oh, 20+ years later and the 3-D movie experience hasn’t changed all that much: we’re still expected to wear the glasses (now plastic and at a surcharge) and, perhaps beyond a few scenes, the 3-D experience doesn’t add a heck of a lot to the Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs movie watching experience.

Unless maybe you’re 10.

Which is why all this talk of 3-D television baffles me. Apparently Sony and Panasonic think the next big thing is television sets that will allow us the experience of 3-D right in our living rooms. But who on earth wants that? 3-D movies work (occasionally) for kid movies and as a gimmick for tired sequels (i.e., Jaws 3-D; Friday the 13th, 3-D; Final Destination 3-D), but beyond that, no one except the money-grubbing studios are clamoring for these films to be made.

Let’s look at the reasons this idea is bound for failure:

1) Size of the screen: 3-D movies work because everything is so huge. Yes, televisions are larger today, and getting larger, yet most homes will have a limit to both budget and space available. Small images floating in front of a small screen just won’t make as much of an impression.

2) 3-D is a social experience: When objects jump out at audiences in 3-D movies, the creators want a reaction out of the audience. We attempt to move out of the way when an object is thrown “at us” – and we shriek and laugh along with the rest of the audience after it happens. At home, there’s generally not going to be a large viewing audience, so that interaction is lost.

3) High Definition. HD TV is a phenomenal upgrade from standard definition, the pictures are gorgeous, and it’s practically brand new. When we upgraded to a 1080p TV, my wife and I sat stunned by the picture quality our Blu-Ray movies provided, and commented that they practically looked three dimensional. And this was without a set of those damned glasses! Speaking of which…

4) Those damned glasses. What guy wants to sit down to watch Monday Night Football wearing a pair of ill-fitting glasses? Who will watch CSI: Miami which will have only two truly 3-D moments in the entire show (one being when Caruso’s shades come flying toward you in the first two minutes)? We have 3-D televised events already (Superbowl commercials/half-times; Disney channel movies), and these are met largely with skepticism if not completely disregarded. And, hell, I have a hard enough time finding my remote – how am I going to keep up with a pair of cheap plastic glasses?

I suppose I could be wrong, but 3-D television, in my eyes, has “failed experiment” written all over it. It’s not 10 year olds buying the TVs, and, unless the technology makes giant leaps over the next year or so, 3-D television will be the next “Beta” of the entertainment industry.

Now, all bets are off if the porn industry gets involved…

Welcome back to “Beast or Bust?”, the weekly column in which I, BigRedPoet, offer my predictions for the following week’s NFL games in the hope that you can use this information to improve your fantasy football team.

For the purposes of this feature, I will make reference to Yahoo’s projected statistics. Luckily, I don’t expect statistics to vary much between fantasy football sites, so non-Yahoo users aren’t left out in the cold. Your “Beast” will be a player who I expect to exceed his projections by at least 5 points, and your “Bust” will be a player who I predict will come up at least 5 points short of what’s expected. I’ll also toss in an “OMG” pick each week; this will be a player who’s projected to score less than 5 points, and who will rise from relative obscurity to deliver an unexpected and outstanding performance. If the NFL slate for the week is particularly juicy, I might predict multiple players in any or all of those categories.

Week 3 Beast: Bears RB Matt Forte

It’s time for Forte to break out. I know he carried the ball 25 times for just 55 yards in week 1, and I saw that he gained a paltry 29 yards on 13 carries in week 2. Before anyone jumps off the bandwagon, we should all take a look at the defenses he ran against in those games, Green Bay and (God forbid) Pittsburgh. They’re both pretty solid against the run. Also, look back at last season. Forte totaled 1238 yards and 8 touchdowns. This guy is good. Projected for just 13.75 points this week, equal to 137 combined yards or 77 combined yards and a touchdown, I think he’ll exceed expectations considerably. After all, Frank Gore ran for 207 yards and two touchdowns last week against Forte’s week 3 opponent, the Seahawks.

• My prediction: 110 yards, 2 touchdowns

Week 3 Bust: Giants WR Mario Manningham

Manningham caught 10 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown last week. Six million fantasy football players immediately ran out and added him to their rosters. I’m not buying it. Look back at his totals from week 1: 3 catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. Now look back at his totals for ALL of last season combined: 4 catches for 26 yards and zero touchdowns. Now, let’s play Q&A. Is Manningham stepping up in the Giants’ offense and helping to fill the role vacated by 50 Cent…err…Plaxico Burress? Indeed, he is. Does he have any kind of history to establish him as a go-to guy for Manning? No. Are the Giants a pass-heavy team? Certainly not. Will he score the 12.75 points that are projected for him this week? Not a chance. The Giants’ week 3 opponent, Tampa Bay, is hardly a defensive powerhouse, and I’m guessing that the G-Men will return to their base strategy of running the ball and working the clock.

Note: I’m disagreeing with other “experts,” here. Who do you trust?

• My prediction: 65 yards, no touchdowns

Week 3 OMG: Broncos WR Eddie Royal

Like Forte, Eddie Royal has started slowly this year. He’s getting used to a new quarterback, and the team is dealing with the hassle of prima donna Brandon Marshall. Even so, it’s time for Royal to get back on his game. The Raiders have the best cornerback in the league in Nnamdi Asomugha (that’s NOM-dee AH-sum-WAH), but he can’t cover both Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall. There will be an open receiver someplace. Royal posted fantastic numbers in his rookie campaign last season, and he’s had several weeks to perfect his timing with new Broncos QB Kyle Orton. I think it’s time to return to the spotlight. Projected for just 4.06 points, Royal will step up and contribute considerably to the Broncos’ offense.

• My prediction: 85 yards, no touchdowns

I’m all about accountability. Each week, after I offer my predictions, I’ll take credit for the previous week’s success and/or eat crow over last week’s dismal failure.

Week 2 Picks

• Beast: Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams
• Projection: 12.14
• Actual: 15.1 points

Damn. Williams looked pretty good against the Falcons, but he didn’t put on the clinic I hoped for. He exceeded his projections by 3 points, but I don’t win until 5. I really want to take credit, here, but rules are rules. I didn’t make any allowances for partial credit, so…I lose.

• Bust: Cowboys RB Marion Barber
• Projection: 11.25 points
• Actual: 21.5 points

Well, look who made BRP look stupid. I guess Barber should come with a fine-print warning, like the commercials for investment funds: “Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns.” Barber had a huge game against the Giants. I’m still shocked. I lose.

• OMG: Saints WR Devery Henderson
• Projection: 4.43 points
• Actual: 7.1 points

Henderson didn’t exactly wreck shop in week 2, but he wasn’t as transparent as his projections predicted, either. His 71 yards were a significant contribution to the Saints’ offense, and his 7.1 points exceeded the contributions of star receivers like T.J. Who’s-Yo-Mama, Hines Ward, and Bernard Berrian. I win.

• BRP’s Win/Loss Ratio: 3/3

Dear John Edwards,

There was a time when I liked you as a person. You seemed like a good-natured guy, and you and Elizabeth seemed like a good couple. But I have to tell you how much I think you suck.

Now I know that many people jumped off the John Edwards bandwagon when it was revealed that you had the affair. Politicians survive those sorts of things all the time, though. More people were angry because of Elizabeth’s cancer and the way you betrayed her, but honestly, that wasn’t it for me. I’d imagine that when your wife is terminally ill and your life is turned upside-down, that’s probably the time when you’re most likely to do something stupid. Weird shit happens in times of crisis.

But the time of crisis has passed and here’s what gets me: even though it’s been pretty obvious from the start that the kid is yours, you’ve denied it. More importantly, you’ve denied her. And I have to tell you, John, that’s unforgivable. I don’t care if you’ve been secretly sending her money on the side. Being a father isn’t about money. It’s about being there, giving that child the love that she deserves.

Do you think that by denying her you’re being a better father to the kids from your marriage? Because honestly, John, while it would be upsetting to realize that I had a half-sister from my father’s affair, it would be devastating to learn that my father was such a callous jerk as to pretend that the kid didn’t exist.

That little girl is as much yours as the four kids you’ve had with Elizabeth. One day she will be old enough to understand that her father publicly disavowed any connection with her. And I hope that on that day she shows up at your door and kicks you in the nuts.

On Thanksgiving weekend of 1969, Betsy Aardsma was murdered in the library at Penn State.  Nearly 40 years later, the crime remains unsolved.  It’s a fascinating story, well worth reading.

Let’s start with a basic fact: I read lots of novels. In the course of my literary wanderings, I encounter dozens of new authors every year, ranging from the talented and interesting to the banal and bound for unemployment. Rarely, though, do I read an author who makes me sit up and truly take notice–the sort of author who I immediately recommend to my friends. I’m pleased to announce that I’ve discovered just such a rare and fantastic writer. Procrastinators, say hello to Jeffrey Lent.

I'm sure he's pleased to meet you.

My experience reading Jeffrey Lent began when a traveling book liquidation company set up shop in my local mall a few months ago. Because all hardcover books were priced at four dollars, I went on a spending spree. (Seriously? Four dollars? I was in heaven.) Since they cost less than a foot-long sub, I bought a huge armload of books by authors I’d never even heard of. Why not? Among them was Lent’s novel Lost Nation.

As soon as I started reading, I felt that Lost Nation was different from anything I’d read in a long time. It’s the story of a mysterious man, known only as Blood, who travels into the Vermont territory during the years when its control was still contested by the United States and Canada. Along with the wagon-load of goods Blood intends to use in setting up a general store, he also brings with him a young woman named Sally, who he recently won while playing poker in a brothel. Lent uses her relationship with Blood to examine issues of lust, love, obligation, rejection, and acceptance. About midway through the novel, some long-lost acquaintances show up in Blood’s life and add further complications to the plot. The backdrop of governmental bickering over Vermont (which materializes as backwoods hit-and-run warfare) establishes an ominous tone that looms over the more personal aspects of Blood’s story. When the interconnected plotlines of the territorial dispute, Blood’s dealings with people from his past, and his relationship with Sally all reach simultaneous crescendo, the novel delivers a conclusion every bit as dramatic and nerve-wracking as The Fall of the House of Usher.

While the plot of Lost Nation, in and of itself, is enough to convince me to recommend the novel to my fellow readers, Lent’s style is every bit as important and impressive. He employs a stark, blunt style that brings echoes of Cormac McCarthy to my ears. Lent neither shies away from nor celebrates novel’s the often dark and tragic developments. The reader is left to come to terms with Blood’s world and its implications. I suspect that some readers may feel uncomfortable with the burden Lent lays upon them, but I found it rewarding.

Since reading Lost Nation, I have also purchased and read A Peculiar Grace, which I enjoyed even more. In a future post, I’ll review it. I promise. I’ve also bought Lent’s first novel, In The Fall, and I intend to buy the recently published After You’ve Gone. I’m literally thrilled with the expectation of reading them both. If they live up to my expections, you’ll hear about them.

In the meantime, track down a copy of Lost Nation. You won’t regret it.

I have, in the past, admitted to a girl crush on Felicia Day (you should, too, especially since the release of Do You Want to Date My Avatar?). But she’s not the only actor from the Whedon world that I have a particular interest in, although she might be the only one who smells like fresh laundry and a cupcake.

I should probably say upfront that I don’t know what it is about Joss, but he attracts actors who seem so… normal. I’m not one of those deranged people who thinks that Sarah Michelle Gellar is really Buffy, or Neil Patrick Harris is actually Dr. Horrible. But if the Twitterings of Whedonites are any indication of their off-screen personalities, he has an amazing ability to attract cool and interesting people. I’d love to go to a Red Sox game with Eliza Dushku. I’d gladly have dinner with Jewel Staite. I’d have Alyson Hannigan and her family over for a low-key cookout (after all, it’s tough to make it through a restaurant meal with an infant). But the person who would leave me jabbering like an idiot is Nathan Fillion.

These are not the hammer.

I’ve been watching Nathan for a while, ever since he appeared on Buffy. I was a fan of Firefly (please tell me that you’ve already watched the series once or twice or more) and I was delighted to see him appear as Captain Hammer in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. I was thrilled to hear that Castle was renewed for a second season. I’m a huge fan of anything that means that I get to watch more Nathan Fillion.

This topic came up recently with a friend who wanted to know who my Free Pass Five were. Hers had Brad Pitt and Derek Jeter. Mine had Nathan Fillion. Much to my surprise, when I mentioned his name, she swooned. “Ooh! Captain Tightpants!” To think, I didn’t even know that she watched Firefly….

So Nathan, if you ever happen to meet a 6-foot-tall woman who babbles incoherently in your presence, say hello. And then maybe invite me out for coffee. I promise that given enough time, I’ll be able to form proper sentences and have a great conversation.

This is part 5 of a series of posts looking back at the Marvel/Epic Comics title “The Alien Legion.”

After a 20 issue first volume of The Alien Legion, the editors at Epic decided it was time for a change of the status quo for Nomad Squadron and made the call to reboot the series. Their first move? Getting rid of that pesky “The” in the title:

The powers that be wanted to streamline the series a bit, emphasizing fewer characters and providing “grittier” storylines, which meant that the environmental and other social cause subplots would disappear with more of an emphasis on violent conflict. New blood (Chuck Dixon) was also brought in to help script/plot the series, though Potts would remain on staff.

The series actually opens two years after the original series ended, where we find (now) Major Sarigar leading a new squadron into battle. What happened to Nomad, you ask? Apparently it was a mission gone bad, with all the legionnaires lost on a hostile planet on which they had been dropped, as usual, ill-prepared for what they’d find:

For the past two years, then, Sarigar has been haunted by his perceived failure and the loss of his best team. He apparently has also continually requested the opportunity to go back to Hellscape to try to find either survivors…or remains, though to no avail.

The last straw for Sarigar comes in a bar where a few legionnaires openly mock him for the loss of Nomad and declaring him a coward. He resigns his position in the Legion (then beats the HELL out of said soldiers), and makes an oath to himself to discover the fate of Nomad. Through some nice detective work, and the financial backing of his former lieutenant’s father (Torie Montroc), Sarigar learns that some members of Nomad might still be alive, and so he returns to the planet in search of answers.

Through the aid of a Quaalian prisoner, Sarigar is able to locate Jugger Grimrod and Torie first. Jugger’s pretty much unchanged, though Torie, as the first volume’s noble, at times too trusting lieutenant is now a withdrawn and blunt hardcase. Two years of being in hiding with Jugger does that to a man. So is seeing two of your legionnaires tortured and eaten by scavengers. Torqa Dun and Durge didn’t survive the planet, or, more directly, the reboot of the title:

Rounding out the survivors would be Meico, the four-armed telepathic medic; Tamara, the late addition to Nomad discussed last time; and Zeerod, a wolf-like humanoid who lost his legs on the planet. The reunion is an awkward one, though that wears off quickly as the Quaalians mount an attack on the squad allowing the troops to take out their frustrations in an appropriately violent fashion. Sarigar marvels at the changes in his former squadron, but nonetheless decides that the best thing for them is to reform as Nomad Squadron.

After some impassioned appeals and some called-in favors, Sarigar has his wish granted and Nomad is recreated as a strike force. But first, he’ll have to recruit some more legionnaires…

Next week: the new members of Nomad and Jugger gets promoted (really!)