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Saturday, June 2nd, 2007
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5:19 pm - READ BOOKS
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| Thursday, September 7th, 2006
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8:42 pm - Celebrate September 7, 2006
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I'm declaring September 7, 2006 "Thunder Lyrics Day", a day in which we celebrate songs which mention thunder within their lyrics. Thunder is the coolest part about natural weather and deserves to be celebrated as such.
For example:
Afrika Bambaataa "Frantic Situation": Isn't it a wonder/We are the gun and thunder
Gnarls Barkely "Storm Coming": there's truth in the thunder/Love in the lightning/the feeling is frightening/
Yeah, isn't it exciting?
XTC "Season Cycle":
Darling don't you ever stop to wonder/About the clouds about the hail and thunder/'Bout the baby and its umbilical/
Who's pushing the pedals on the season cycle?
David Bowie "Richochet": Sound of thunder, sound of gold/Sound of the devil breaking parole
Johnny Cash "Love's Been Good to Me": There was a girl in Denver/Before the summer storm/Oh, her eyes were tender/Oh, her arms were warm/And she could smile away the thunder
Beach Boys "Pitter Patter": It looks like rain and it's been comin' on for hours/It looks like rain I hear the rumble of thunder showers/Pretty soon the rain will play its sweet refrain
Thunder is still somewhat of a mystery to scientists, although we do know that thunder is the cause of super-compressed air quickly expanding! Normally, this means that lightning is near, so take cover. Here, learn about thunder ----> http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_info/thunder2.html
A lot of mythologies credit thunder as being the voice of the gods, but sometimes there are curve balls. For example, the Japanese believed that thunder was caused by the god Raijin/Raiden playing his drums in the sky (be careful, he eats the belly-buttons of children!), while the Aztec thunder god Xolotl was an dog-headed skeleton god that used thunder as a cadence to send somebody to the underworld! My favorite thunder god comes from the Yoruba class of sects and her name is Oya (also referred to as "the one that puts pants on to go to war"). She uses thunder as a signal that she's going to fight to defend the underworld or to create a needed change; which means that when you hear thunder, somebody is about to get their butt kicked! Here, find your favorite thunder god ----> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_thunder_gods
And celebrate THUNDER!
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| Monday, September 4th, 2006
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10:04 am - black drugman
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Librarianing is still wholly satisfying. I'd say it puts me in a zen-like trance, but that's such a new-age bullshit thing to say that I'll settle with "a calming sense of satisfaction". It's difficult to describe but the entire concept of the damn thing is what makes it so fulfilling. The library creates no product and makes no profit, yet is capable of self-fulfillment on the part of the individual patron. This whole concept creates a great sense of self-satisfaction within myself, despite the fact that I'm not really doing anything different than I would be at a Blockbuster.
Suprisingly, I found out that the health food store out on M-120 has Blue Sky Soda! I had one today for the first time in years and years. Nostalgia has a way of changing things, and I used to think that it usually led to an awkward sense of disappointment. However, just seeing the can reminded me of camping with my family in the summertime and while the soda didn't necessarily taste better, it did put a smile on my face. That's gotta be worth something.
GONZO THE MECHANICAL BASTARD! This whole One Year Later thing in the DC Universe has really been a mixed bag, but anything that gives us GONZO THE MECHANICAL BASTARD can't be all bad. While the first few chapters of Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters has been a mixed bag, the newest issue was damn near grandiose. Not bad, I say. Uncle Sam has a magical fantasy America inside his top-hat filled with buffalo! The new Phantom Lady is actually a nuclear physicist! GONZO THE MECHANICAL BASTARD!
Are there any jazz-heads out there listening? If so, would they mind suggesting which Abdullah Ibrahim/Dollar Brand albums I should check out? I know I probably won't get a response, but what ever happens happens I guess.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Saturday, August 5th, 2006
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8:08 pm
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I've rather enjoyed participating in WMW this year. I feel like my character is entertaining to other people and that's something that I'm quite proud of.
Well, here's the new JSA and despite my dislike of Geoff Johns, I rather like the team. There's enough weird choices to make for some potentially interesting character moments (like a Wildcat/Jakeem Thunder/Obsidian team-up). Two things strike to me - Atom Smasher's costume is awful and I really dig the return of Sandman's creepy gas mask.
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| Saturday, May 20th, 2006
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11:09 am
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10:42 am
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| Friday, May 19th, 2006
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11:21 pm
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| Friday, May 12th, 2006
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11:52 pm - I've been feeling jazzy lately...
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Quite jazzy, in fact. I've noticed that everybody talks about music on livejournal except me. Here's what I've been listening to.
1. Charles Mingus - Black Saint and the Sinner Lady: Mingus is one of the most interesting figures in jazz and one thing I didn't know is that some of the liner notes to this album are written by his psychologist. It shows in this album, as his spastic moods and emotions flow across the four pieces.
2. Cibo Matto - Viva La Woman: "Shut up and eat/you know my love is sweet." This album is getting more attention than its predecessor because Stereotype A is too eclectic for its own good. Still, this album is funky as hell and should be listened to by anybody willing to start looking around their normal musical boundaries because Viva La Woman integrates so many styles and genres.
3. Dizzy Gillespie - Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods: Not his best work, but it's been really getting through to me. Supposedly, this album represents the first time Gillespie been in the same room as a synthesizer and the album just feels contemporary than his more classic works. It lacks weight, but is still interesting.
4. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale: New album from Ghostface, which I expected to be as disappointing as Bulletproof Wallets. Lucky for me that it's one of the best pure Wu style albums that's every been released as a solo project. "Underwater" and "Kilo" are real standouts.
5. John Coltrane - Giant Steps: It's not that I've stopped listening to A Love Supreme but I've started to focus on this album a bit more intently and it's really payed off. This album is a rewarding listen, and there really isn't a higher compliment.
6. Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself: Electronic spacey-pop music that serves as sort of a Dorian Grey to Goldfrapp. For every engaging and enticing line in this album (those strings on "Headlock" kill me) there's some sort of distant, adrift atmosphere Goldfrapp's work. Sort of shifting between the two is really nice.
7. Madlib - Mindfusion Vol. 1 Hip-Hop, Mindfusion Vol. 2 Funk Soul Jazz and Mindfusion Vol. 3 Scheiss Leben: The first volume is a mixtape with some good underground hip-hop stuff on it, but the second album takes this approach to jazz pieces, funk and French pop (which is a curveball) and Volume 3 is a bit more ambient. Great stuff, if you can be bothered to get it since its a Japan-only release.
8. Metric - Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?: New wave stuff mixed with balls-out power pop along with some nice ugly riffs mixed in. I really like the voice of Emily Haines (she leads this bad boy and was a member of Broken Social Scene) and there are some really strange lyrics (Tonight your ghost will ask my ghost/who here is in line for a raise?)
9. Skull Snaps - Skull Snaps: Underrated R&B/Funky stuff from the 70's pilfered on every hip-hop release EVER. It's all about in drums in this bitch and there's some nice rough vocal too.
10. XTC - The Big Express: Since immersing myself in XTC a few years ago, I've realized that I could write about the band for infinity plus one amount of time. They're so fucking good. And this is one of their most underrated album. I've read that it's Andy Partridge's favorite album and I can certainly see it. It's a modern-pop Pet Sounds, creating the lush sound that their work hedges towards in their later years, which is normally symbolized by the equally excellent Skylarking. They take the concept to an excess in the two Apple Venus releases but this album is a triumph through and through. I really love "Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her", which is just a sweet little piece.
Dead deck chairs under shrouds/And life belts gape like minstrel mouths
Her hair still smells of salt/Seagulls screaming kiss her, kiss her
Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her, kiss her/He who hesitates is lost
Mood: Zdarsky
Music: C'mon now. Wouldn't that be a bit redundant? Really? Okay. But don't tell anybody. It's Shakira - Hips Don't Lie ft. Wyclef Jean. I really love this song, it's ridiculously catchy and I love the horns. Bit foolish, ini'it?
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(comment on this)
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| Monday, May 1st, 2006
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1:12 pm
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| Sunday, March 12th, 2006
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9:16 pm - RECAP
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A recap of what we have so far with Artist/Author combos and a brief summary of the concept.
1. GUIDING LIGHT. Dan Slott/John Romita Jr. A 50-year old superhero is forced to deal with his past while reconciling with his daughter.
2. RUBBERMAIDEN & WHITESTAR. Gail Simone/Stuart Immonen. Two superheroes take a girl-power, superhero trip across the country.
3. UNION OF SUPERHEROES. Grant Morrison/Darwyn Cooke. The world's foremost superhero team in a slam-bang, sci-fi, action-movie comic book.
4. IRON JUSTICE. Kurt Busiek/Carlos Pacheco. Stories of the quintissential wholesome good guy's everyday life.
5. NEW PARAGONS. Robert Kirkman/Pete Woods. The trials and tribulations of a B-level superteam.
6. GOLDEN CLASSICS. James Robinson/Mike Allred. An anthology of stories taking place from 1880's-1940's in a metahuman world.
7. THE GUARDIANS. Keith Giffen & Marc DeMatties/Juan Bobillo. A sitcom-style look at close relationships formed in superteams.
8. UNIVERSE M. Peter "Fucking" David/George Perez. A collection of stories taking place in an alternate reality, in a Sliders-type fashion.
9. SECOND CHANCE. John Ostrander/Chris Batista. Supervillains are given a second chance at freedom by working black-ops for the government.
10. GENERATION: JUSTICE. Adam Beechan/Todd Nauck. Teenagers attempt to get through high school and become a superteam in training.
11. THE INCREDIBLE CAPTAIN MYSTERY. Brian K. Vaughn/Chris Weston. An up-close, in-depth look at a deus-ex-machina character.
12. RIPTIDE. Will Pfeifer/Jesus Saiz. A chosen warrior loses his place, and attempts to find a meaning in a non-native world.
13. HERO BRIGADE. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa/Ryan Ottley. Dispirate superheroes from different environments take residence together to honor a friend's wishes.
14. AVERAGE MAN. Ed Brubaker/Tony Harris. The ultimate average Joe becomes the President of the United States in a superhero-dominated world.
15. VILLAIN UNDERGROUND. Various Writers/Freddie Williams II. A superhero infiltrates an enormous villain infastructure while telling individual stories of fan-requested villains.
Any comments? Questions? Requests? Holla back!
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(comment on this)
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8:48 pm - He's gotta be okay
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THE VILLAIN UNDERGROUND #1 - Y'know...team-ups and banks heists don't just magically appear out of thin air. It all has to come together somewhere and that place is the VILLAIN UNDERGROUND! Each issue tells a self-contained story of a villain's experiences in the greater network of supervillain relations, which all connects to a greater, overarching story. Fans of the ACU can now learn more about their favorite villains in this anthology-style series, with each issue written by a different author! The story starts in this issue with author Jay Faerber forming a brand-new villain team called THE TRIAD! Plus - the greater story gets rolling when VILLAIN UNDERGROUND finally answers the question: WHO IS NOBODY?
WRITER: Different every issue - A good place for aspiring authors to find their grounds. Plus, anthology-style series are always really fun.
ARTIST: Freddie Williams II (Mr. Miracle/Noble Causes) - He's new, but he's done great work that has a consistant and pleasing style.
Sample Art:
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8:25 pm - AWAY WITH THEE
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AVERAGE MAN #1 - There are superheroes and supervillains; pinnacles and troughs of an idealized supernatural existence. And then there's Average Man. The brand new Average Man series chronicles the path which the ultimate everyday joe travels to become President of the United States! For fans of Ex Machina and Prez, Teen President, Average Man is a brand-new metahuman political series which can grip the attention of fans of superheroes, politics or everyday drama. For example, what does Average Man have to give away in order to run? How does he avoid an assassination attempt? And which surprise supervillain (yes, that's right!) is his running mate?
Writer: Ed Brubaker (Sleeper/Lowlife) - Brubaker does politics pretty well, but that's not important. What is important is that he can inject humanity into themes that would run rampant in a political book. Plus, I really like his Sleeper, and this book would probably have quite a bit of backroom bargaining and shady business deals.
Artist: Tony Harris (Ex Machina/Starman) - Harris is one of the only people who can combine realism, dynamic linework, strong action and unique coloring in one style.
Sample Art:
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1:15 pm - What Hieroglyphics is about
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HERO BRIGADE #1 - What happens when five superheros are forced to live in the same house? Well, they form a super-team, of course! Join new characters such as The All-New Skulker, Dr. Doodad, Shockwave and Violet Cadaver! Become more familiar with Upsurge, formerly known as Generation Justice's Quad! And get ready for a lot of fun when one of these characters attempts suicide in the first issue?! That's right, because anything can happen in the Hero Brigade!
WRITER: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (MK: Four/The excellent play "Dark Matters") - When he's on, he's completely on. He writes a lot of great character interactions and knows how to pace a good action scene. Plus, with the variety of cultures, viewpoints and personalities, I think he'd be in his element.
ARTIST: Ryan Ottley (Invincible) - He's got a great dynamic and cartoonish art style that fits this type of book and he's getting very good at facial expressions.
SAMPLE ART:
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, March 9th, 2006
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9:11 am - The child who reads at age 6
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8:30 am - It's a very typical case.
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THE INCREDIBLE CAPTIAN MYSTERY #1
Who is he? Where does he come from? And how does he affect your everyday life? His name says it all - he's mysterious; but the bandages are finally pulled back in this brand new series. He leads the Rogues, he traverses the world on his motorcycle and always seems to show up when he is needed. But why? What drives him? And will he be able to dismantle the Evangelist once and for all?
WRITER: Brian K. Vaughn (Ex Machina/Runaways) - He's a great writer when it comes to centering a series around a singular character and is wonderful at shifting tones to fit a story. Good call.
ARTIST: Chris Weston (Filth/Legends of the Dark Knight) - He's a detailed line artist who has a great sense of storytelling.
SAMPLE ART:
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8:11 am - I'm Shirleen Wallace
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GENERATION: JUSTICE #1
Kid Grip, Quad, Amp, Miss Knockout and Incredikid could be the future of the hero biz. That is, if they graduate high school. And pass inspection from heroes such as CLARITY BELLE and MAXIMUS MAN. And superhero training from Weathervein? And if that seems crazy, then wait until we tell you about the school shooting, the house fire, the crazed cult, track team racism, magic library ghosts and evil video games!
WRITER: Adam Beechan (JLU/Robin) - And you might be saying - "WHO?" And the answer is "The writer of the JLU comic book!" and then you can say, "Wow. He writes a fun, humerous, action-packed and well-balanced comic book." And then I say, "YEAH!"
ARTIST: Todd Nauck (Young Justice/Wildguard) - He does kids quite well. It's good, kinetic and uniquely stylistic. He's very consistant and has a good history with a book like this.
Sample Art:
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7:52 am - A lot of real scientists make you say Hallelujah
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7:37 am - LET'S TRY SOME BULLSHIT!
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UNIVERSE M #1
The parallel universe that has permiated the ACU finally gets its own book! Universe M is a little bit different than your average bear. And that point comes across pretty well in these two stories. The first is the tale of everyone's favorite sulker on the moon, Cosmo. Why is he there and why won't he come down? A second story examines the fallout of Schema's trip to Universe M. We trace the body count back to the source and find the stories behind these tragic victims!
Writer: Peter 'fucking' David (Young Justice/X-Force) - This is Marc's universe. This is Marc's favorite writer. Now give Marc's favorite writer his own universe to screw around in and you have quite a bit of fun.
Artist: George Perez (Avengers/Crisis on Infinite Earths) - A solid, clean artist that can add some structure and consistency to a anthology-style book like this.
Sample Art:
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7:08 am - Oh man
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I've been on spring break at my house, doing nothing. I've missed so much! What? Time to make up for all that lost time.
THE GUARDIANS #1
Spinning out of UNION OF POWER! Quartzstar's OTHER heroes struggle to overcome the sophmore curse by running afoul of Morbius Skulsky and his Skull Gang. And when your enemy is one of the most powerful businessmen in the city, it doesn't help that your team used to be a pawn of a former competitor. And if the team survives, can it prevent RATIO's anger towards the team's secret member?
WRITER: Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatties (Justice League/Hero Squared) - They wrote the definitive "team-relationship" book in Justice League. These characters only need relationships and personality, and they are the men to do it.
ARTIST: Juan Bobillo (She-Hulk/Chocolate and French Fries) - While I used to sour on him, I've really grown to love Bobillo's cartoonish expressions and bright, fun linework. His sense of anatomy is different from the normal "muscley-guy" type work that permiates the industry and I think Giffen/DeMatties can really play to his strength.
SAMPLE ART:
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| Friday, March 3rd, 2006
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9:21 am - One teaspoon of superAIDS in your butt and you're dead in three years
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GOLDEN CLASSICS #1: Telling tales from ACU's Golden Age! View the first recorded observances of such Golden Age heroes as Iron Justice, Dr. Infinity and The Mantis! Three seperate stories chronicle the beginnings of the world's greatest heroes. In the feature story, see how Iron Justice helps a small mining town fend of the threat of crazed grizzly bears! ALSO: Dr. Infinity travels the streets of Onyx Metropolis helping misguided criminals find their proper path in the universe and The Mantis makes his first appearance in 1930's Emerald City, but does he help or hurt the police force?
Writer: James Robinson - Robinson writes excellent Golden Age stories and adds a modern sensability to them. He's a master in almost every aspect and I can't think of a book better suited to him.
Artist: Mike Allred - His pop-art style jumps off the page and his renditions of classic costumes and characters are jaw-dropping in their visual appeal. Thumbs up!
Sample Art:
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