Thought for the day.

So, you’d have to be locked away somewhere not to know about the rising cost of a barrel of oil. I was reading in the paper the other day where oil topped $108 a barrel... you know gasoline is going up, natural gas is going up but, no matter how much I fart I still can’t get rich.

It seems.

I should be doing something special to celebrate my upcoming blogoversary but, life has been so very hectic of late, I have had little time of late being concerned at all about the blog in the slightest. It’s just the way things work sometimes I imagine. Thinking about it though, makes me realize now is probably a great time to run through the draft queue and just finish and put out there all those unvoiced thoughts so the new year will start with a fresh slate.

Unnerving.

In just under two weeks I will mark my fifth blogoversary:



Of course, I will be accepting gifts of Wood or Silverware? (feh)

Not from around here.

So, I’ve been very busy of late. The schlep to work is time-consuming but bearable. One part of that schlep is the subway ride downtown from Grand Central.

Riding the subway is an experience in and of itself but, living in New York for most of my life I have become inured to it. It just has become one of those necessities of the day, some days being better than others depending on whether the trains are bunched up or not. Last week I had one day where I rode the express (which was a bit misleading because the thing crawled downtown) only to get to my stop when something happened and the train just died a car short of being totally in the station. So, there we sat with the doors closed for a good bit of time while the maddening if vague announcements about there being a problem with the train were repeated every five minutes or so.

One thing I notice now is that there is this big campaign about security down in the subways. They make it all well and clear that just by riding the train you are subject to random searches of your person (or bag) and there is a pronounced presence of police underground. It’s all very ironic in a way to someone who has lived here in New York from the seventies and who can well remember the wild west kind of atmosphere that at one time existed. Those days where riding the train was really a little unsafe, graffiti was everywhere and you just made sure to always be aware of the people around you.

Nowadays they have this ubiquitous campaign to heighten riders who may have been lulled into a false sense of security. I’m sure you’ve seen the signs if you been down in the subway... the campaign is ‘If you see something...’ well if you’ve seen it you know the rest.

Just reading it though, I know it’s one of those things that wasn’t thought up by a true New Yorker. True New Yorkers are a different breed and I’m not saying we’re a heartless bunch, just maybe a little more realistic where the world is concerned. So, taking that campaign I thought I would give it the true New Yawk slant it deserves. Just remember if you see it anywhere else, you saw it here first:

Two months and counting.

This year one (perhaps my only) New Year’s resolution was a simple one - it was to kick the weekly comic book habit. Two months in it seems I am having little problem keeping to it.

There are a few reasons for the decision I took.

Oddly enough, comics have never been more mainstream than they are now in perhaps the past 40 years. If you look at Hollywood fare, we are regularly treated today to comic originated properties being bought to the big or small screen. Comics has proven to be a very fertile ground for the medium of film and TV and reaches a broader audience than ever before because of it.

Still, there is a certain stigma to the image of the comic book reader or store proprietor that remains firmly etched in the minds of most people.

So, there’s that.

Second, the monthly book is becoming prohibitively expensive in comparison to what is was when I started out buying the damn things. While I date myself by saying that I started buying comics just at the tail end of the 10¢ cover price period, today the things cost at a minimum $2.99. That $3 proportionally puts a bigger dent in the wallet than 10¢ ever did.

Comics. at the price point they are at today, are just getting way too expensive!

Well, at least they are getting too expensive for me.

So there’s that too.

But, that’s not all there was into the decision.

Another thing very prevalent in the industry today are ‘event’ comics. Event comics are these big publisher-wide story arcs that have chapters across many titles and issues. I suppose it makes some business sense in promoting readers to go out and buy titles they wouldn’t ordinarily follow to keep up on all the chapters of the story but, if you are a regular reader of title ‘A’ and don’t have a great deal of interest in title ‘B’ (or spare cash lying around) you wind up in the unsatisfying position of missing a chapter (think of reading a paperback where pages have just been held back or cut out entirely).

Then, finally there is the style of writing today.

Well... maybe I should qualify that.

There are a lot of good writers out in comic book land today but for every good writer there are five times as many copycats or lesser imitations of those writers. Where a writer might use something as a plot device and may do so eloquently and deftly not all the writers the industry today have the same skill and there is a certain ham handedness in plots or dialog that is painful to read.

Finally, there is the art.

Look, I understand everyone wants to contribute when they work on a project but modeling a frame that will ultimately be 1.25" X 2" in Photoshop over already dark pencils and inks just makes for a muddy mess. Surprisingly enough I have a bunch of people I know in the industry who are pencilers and inkers and it’s something they are aware of too. These are the days when I desperately miss Glynis Oliver and Christie Sheele (among others), people who understood the limitations of the medium and who didn’t try to be DaVinci on a pinhead.

So, like I said, two months into the new year and you know what?

I’m not missing them at all.

Now to get about selling the oh too many boxes of the things I have lying around here and getting some coin for the effort.

Meantime, if you think I’m off the medium as a whole, you would be mistaken. I just find that hardcovers and trades are more of a way to go and I’m being much more selective in what, and when, I get something. I don’t know about other fans but, I have to say if I was a shop owner I would begin to worry.

When desperation sets in.

What I first thought to be a joke, turns out to be only too real. Guess the writing is on the wall and the flailing is beginning in earnest:

It’s not really all that quiet.

There has been a dearth of activity recently around these parts. There are a couple of reasons for this.

First off, last month I had two occasions where I found myself vomiting. Spaced exactly two weeks apart, I had just really, really horrible nights - the second time I actually was either going to drive myself to the hospital or call 911.

Vomiting for kids or as a young person is a big deal but, at this point in life it is absolutely traumatic.

The first time I finished my volunteer work and came home to some dinner after which while I can’t say I felt off... I just didn’t feel right. My mouth was coated, I was burping and well... without going into detail lots was happening. Later on I tried unsuccessfully just to sleep through it.

I don’t know what it is but, I spoken to people round about my age and whenever you’re feeling off, the first thing you hope is that a good dose of sleep will allow whatever is wrong to work its way through the system and when you wake up you’ll feel a lot better. I laid in bed for a few hours before I got to a point sometime around 3 am where the thought struck me that I may in fact vomit. Literally, it was just like that! I got up to make my way to the bathroom in preparation and only made it as far as the nearest trashcan.

Not fun.

So, after lying on the floor for a good twenty or so minutes (and this actually felt good), a few more trips to the bathroom and finally I was able to rest for a bunch of hours. Two days later I was back on solid food again and things were slowly returning to normal.

Hey, it happens! I figured it was just something off with dinner (although it didn’t taste off) and wrote it off to food poisoning.

Two weeks passed and again, I did my volunteer work and returned home to dinner (something entirely different). No burping or anything but, a few hours later I got to thinking I felt like it might happen again!

Sure enough, whammo - this time I didn’t fight it but it was incredibly more violent. So much so that for a bunch of days later my sides hurt from the strain. Well, that night was way worse, I even thought I was going to pass out at one point. I went to the doc the following week, got checked out and the doc wrote it off to coincidence and food poisoning.

Thing is, I spoke to a bunch of people over the next few weeks and heard a bunch of similar stories about people getting rapidly sick to the point of puking. I got the feeling there has been some kind of really nasty bug that‘s been going around this winter.

Well, that was one thing, the other was that I wasn’t the only sick creature.

My beloved little furry beast had taken to just willy-nilly not using the box. I mean there was a minefield of poop that had to be cleaned up. It was horrible and very much unlike her. So, she has been confined to a single room – this sucks if only because I am really accustomed to having my little companion by my side pretty much all the time when I am home and I miss her.

I did some reading and found that sometimes kitties just do this. So, the whole confinement in a single room was a bit of an experiment to determine two things:

One, was the kitty getting into something that was causing her system distress and

Two, would confining her keep her out of whatever it was she had gotten into.

So, a week went past and there was much mournful crying (on kitty’s part). However, on the good side the frequency of kitty puking that had been going on decreased noticeably so, it proved kitty was in fact getting into something. However, usage of the kitty box was still not up to normal standards.

So, a trip to the vet was in order where it was discovered kitty has feline hyperthyroidism. Fortunately, it is something treatable but, in the interim before the new medication takes hold, my little buddy is demanding quite a bit of attention in terms of maintenance and the like. I can hardly deny her. She at this point is somewhere in the neighborhood of 14 (at least) years old and I am compelled to care for her to the best of my ability as my love for such a tiny critter is so great.

Finally, the work situation has just taken off, incredibly so. It has just been as busy as busy can be and between all these other things there is too much spare time and what there is of it I am trying to cram in some things to make life fun. So, for the time being the thing that suffers is the blog.

Crap. crap and more crap...

Back on the 23rd of January, I posted this:

We interrupt this program...


I just wanted to make a quick point... there are a lot of times when we wish we had said something to someone when we had a chance. This usually happens when a person is no longer around and the choice of saying something is taken away from us.

Growing up, there was a group of writers I was weaned on if you will. Besides all the adolescent standards of Authur C Clarke, Robert Heinlein, L. Sprague De Camp, Robert E. Howard... well I could go on and on. There were also a good group of writers in comics at that time who were coming of age. They were the second generation of Silver Age writers and I eagerly gobbled up their works.

I’m talking about the likes of Roy Thomas, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Gerry Conway, Don McGregor, Steve Englehart, Mike Freidrich, Gary Freidrich, Doug Moench, Tony Isabella and of course Steve Gerber.

Before there was a Grant Morrison, there was Steve Gerber. Whether or not Morrison was influenced by Gerber’s work I can’t say, but I don’t think there would have been a place in mainstream comics for one without the other. Comic book fans of the last decade or two will always talk with amazement over the work of Grant Morrison and I like Morrison’s work quite a bit. I enjoy his work so much that, I will generally figure if Morrison’s name is attached to a project, I’ll want to check it out. Still Gerber did it first. All that wonderfully odd material that came out of Vertigo at one time finds its origins in things like Man Thing, Howard the Duck, Omega the Unknown and Foolkiller. Material like Doom Patrol, Animal Man, Shade the Changing Man and Kid Eternity can find some of their origins in Gerber’s work from a decade before.

Void Indigo, something that looks relatively mild given today’s tastes was deemed far too outré to even warrant finishing the series! A few years later it would’ve fit perfectly with the market.

Anyway, not to digress... Steve Gerber has been sick, real sick for some time. It’s the kind of sick where a person is facing their mortality and it becomes a battle.

It‘s at these times I think that a person’s outlook has a lot to do with whether or not they succeed in that battle against disease and I wanted to point people over to Steve Gerber’s blog with the idea that each well wishing comment, helps in some small way in improving the man‘s chances in the battle he‘s in. Steve Gerber is part of a generation of creators we are losing (just off the top of my head John Buscema, Marshall Rogers, Dave Cockrum come to mind) and such a small thing can mean so much.

Well, Steve Gerber passed away just today. He battled pulmonary fibrosis for a long time and it’s a horrible disease to battle with. He left a legacy of characters that speak to his wonderful creative genius and there isn’t much more to say aside from the fact that he will be missed.

While I am otherwise occupied.

Something for your listening enjoyment:

Some truths are self evident.

The end of every relationship begins with the words “I need some space.” That line indicates that the distance between you and your one time beloved has become polluted like the lake near a toxic dump. Whether it is your farts or armpit, the stink has made the distance between the both of you rancid and unliveable. The clarity of “we have to separate” clearly reflects the inability to rehabilitate your relationship. The stench of your testicals, buttocks and general anatomy drives your girlfriend to nausea and vomiting fits.

You know if you‘re not reading Al Goldstein‘s blog, the question is why not? Regardless of your opinion of him, there is some good writing to be found there.

VIDEO VAULT THURSDAYS!

Today’s video vault entry is a rarity and has a bit of a story behind it!

Costello wanted to play “Radio Radio” on SNL. Columbia Records (Costello’s US label) on the other hand, was interested in having an already-established song performed on SNL to stoke the fires of interest prior to the American release of My Aim Is True and This Year’s Model. Costello began the SNL performance playing “Less than Zero.” After a few bars however, he turned to the Attractions waving his hand yelling, “Stop! Stop!” Then, he said to the audience, “I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen, there’s no reason to do this song here.” This was perhaps a reference to the obscure story behind “Less than Zero,” written as a reply to British fascist Oswald Mosley. The band then broke into a rousing live version of “Radio Radio.” As a result, Costello was banned from Saturday Night Live for twelve years. This version of “Radio Radio” (fading into the “false start”) can be found (in monaural) on Saturday Night Live: 25 Years of Musical Performances, Vol. 1 (track time - 3:08).

I’m a big Elvis Costello fan - I saw him perform an open-air concert in Manchester New Hampshire back in ’89 (f*ck that’s closing in on 20 years ago!) So, any piece of obscure Costello trivia is welcome indeed and now that YouTube is around it‘s a helluva a lot easier to find things like this:


Also, I’ve included the clip of Costello’s performance when he returned during a special celebration many years later:

It’s coming, it’s coming!



...and I can’t wait!

We interrupt this program...


I just wanted to make a quick point... there are a lot of times when we wish we had said something to someone when we had a chance. This usually happens when a person is no longer around and the choice of saying something is taken away from us.

Growing up, there was a group of writers I was weaned on if you will. Besides all the adolescent standards of Authur C Clarke, Robert Heinlein, L. Sprague De Camp, Robert E. Howard... well I could go on and on. There were also a good group of writers in comics at that time who were coming of age. They were the second generation of Silver Age writers and I eagerly gobbled up their works.

I’m talking about the likes of Roy Thomas, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Gerry Conway, Don McGregor, Steve Englehart, Mike Freidrich, Gary Freidrich, Doug Moench, Tony Isabella and of course Steve Gerber.

Before there was a Grant Morrison, there was Steve Gerber. Whether or not Morrison was influenced by Gerber’s work I can’t say, but I don’t think there would have been a place in mainstream comics for one without the other. Comic book fans of the last decade or two will always talk with amazement over the work of Grant Morrison and I like Morrison’s work quite a bit. I enjoy his work so much that, I will generally figure if Morrison’s name is attached to a project, I’ll want to check it out. Still Gerber did it first. All that wonderfully odd material that came out of Vertigo at one time finds its origins in things like Man Thing, Howard the Duck, Omega the Unknown and Foolkiller. Material like Doom Patrol, Animal Man, Shade the Changing Man and Kid Eternity can find some of their origins in Gerber’s work from a decade before.

Void Indigo, something that looks relatively mild given today’s tastes was deemed far too outré to even warrant finishing the series! A few years later it would’ve fit perfectly with the market.

Anyway, not to digress... Steve Gerber has been sick, real sick for some time. It’s the kind of sick where a person is facing their mortality and it becomes a battle.

It‘s at these times I think that a person’s outlook has a lot to do with whether or not they succeed in that battle against disease and I wanted to point people over to Steve Gerber’s blog with the idea that each well wishing comment, helps in some small way in improving the man‘s chances in the battle he‘s in. Steve Gerber is part of a generation of creators we are losing (just off the top of my head John Buscema, Marshall Rogers, Dave Cockrum come to mind) and such a small thing can mean so much.

Another reason to be smitten.

So, while Jamelah is recently bemoaning bumping into one of her young charges when she was a babysitter and finding herself lusting after him, I have for a long time now wrestled with the fact that although my number keeps getting bigger I still find myself looking at young women. I consider this a bit of a good thing/bad thing. Good in that I haven’t yet lost interest in that part of life, bad in the sense that as my number (age) increases, so does my perv quotient (unfortunately).

Anyway, when I was watching The 40 Year Old Virgin, I couldn’t help but be wowed by the young woman playing the daughter of Catherine Keeler’s character. Turns out the woman was 19 at the time of the films’ release but damn if she there wasn’t something about her - those eyes, those lips! Ah, I descend into lecherdom yet again! Alas!

Well, the last time I got that vibe from someone in a movie was watching Scarlett Johansson in Ghost World (probably because she reminded me of an old girlfriend).

Anyway, so every once in awhile I will look in on Kat Dennings blog and that was where I came across this (something I really loved watching):

Caught the new Rambo movie!

The best part was when he shot the rockets from the sides of his wheelchair! I mean, chrissakes! Sylvester Stallone is 62, isn’t he a little long in the tooth for these roles? What’s next, Dirty Harry in a walker?

Last week’s entry into TERROR FILLED MONDAYS! is considered a scifi classic so, it’s an only fitting segue this week to follow up with another classic by the same director.

I can remember seeing this film during its original theatrical run...

I remember seeing it and having nightmares afterward.

Looking back I’m not entirely sure why that was the case but, I do remember being fascinated by the lobby display of the germ of the film’s title, exhibited in a mirrored showcase with blinking green lights.

It left such a clear mark on my young and impressionable mind, that over three decades later, I still remember I saw the movie at the Baronet (or the Coronet - I can’t be sure which). In retrospect, I have to wonder if I didn’t run into a young Sylvester Stallone.

A military satellite returns to earth, and a recovery team, in a single van, to avoid suspicion, is sent out to retrieve the satellite by radio detection. While on a live radio connection to the military base, the recovery team dies. A photo surveillance plane is sent to discover what has happened, and discovers the small town where the van went through to be obliterated; apparently the entire population has been killed. The base commander, upon seeing the film returned by the plane, dials a special tie line number in which a recording takes his message urging that the Wildfire team be activated because of a suspected extraterrestrial organism having been brought to earth.

This flick was helmed by the very talented Robert Wise and I have to wonder in some ways if it didn’t give him further cred to later direct the first Star Trek Motion Picture. Of course, it was Wise’s opportunity to work with the renowned special effects maven Douglas Trumbull who would also go on to work on Star Trek 1.

This I believe is Michael Crichton’s first work to be translated to the big screen, Crichton of course would later have great success in Hollywood and of course create the long running ER.

Andromeda Strain also is another one of those favorites of yore that are being remade for today’s audiences, it will be interesting to see what the result is.

Best quote ever?

I was doing some reading this morning and came across this jewel of a quote that is possibly one of the most interesting quotes I’ve ever read, certainly one of the funniest:

“The last time the Chinese came,” he remarked, “they stayed one thousand years… I prefer to smell French turd for five years, rather than eat Chinese dung for the rest of my life.”

They just don’t make ’em like that anymore.

“FOR ME, TO POOP ON!”

Peter David was talking over at his blog today about American Idol (a show I never watch) and Star Wars fans. I made me track the short below down, something I think is one of the funniest bits of television that I’ve seen in a long time and still has me laughing as much as I did on the night it was first broadcast:

VIDEO VAULT THURSDAYS!

Today’s video vault entry is over 20 YEARS OLD! Simply astounding how quickly time passes.

Thing is, it stands the test of time and has made those lists for best music video ever. If they ever make some kind of msuic video hall of fame there is no question that today’s video should definitely be included.

Funny thing though, today MTV - Music Television rarely shows music videos anymore! What is doubly ironic about that is how much more accessible the tools to make video and edit it have become! Now, it‘s not as if there weren’t sucky music videos back then because there were more than a few but, something happened along the way and the people who did videos became less creative? Does that make sense?

This video has a tremendous song behind it, no question but, what makes it a great video is how it was approached, the imagery in it. It’s accessible to young and old alike and I think that had a lot to do with its popularity and persistance. Then again, judge for yourself:

Trying to see myself in the background.

Last weekend, I was flipping channels this evening and came across a rebroadcast of a Law and Order CI episode I caught them filming in Washington Square awhile back. It was funny watching the episode and remembering them shooting it. I kept looking to see if I could catch myself in the background.


Click through for the full set.