I'm not very good at singing songs...

Another video is making the round in YouTube-land that has caught my attention, and compelled me to watch it a half-dozen times in a row. It's one of those things that's just bizarre, campy, strange... yet affecting in a way that appeals to the little kid in me who used to leaf through books on space, and who still enjoys a star-filled night sky today. Enjoy!



..and something tells me that Carl Sagan might have enjoyed it himself.

A still more glorious dawn awaits
Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise
A morning filled with 400 billion suns
The rising of the milky way...

Bi-Czar

Generally speaking (sic), I don't get into politics much here at General Admission. Partially, that out of respect for friends and family members that might disagree with my opinions, but who follow this blog. But, its also because, if you really want to read someone's political opinions, there are definitely more informed (or at least more passionate) sites out there than this one.

That said, some things just beg to be posted here. For example...



Seriously?! I mean, wow. Where to start? Oh, how about here...

I'd think that, if you were going to go through the effort of making signs and T-shirts demonizing "Czars," you might at least want to have a vague functioning understanding of what the roll of a Czar is, in US politics. I mean, its one thing to oppose Obama's somewhat hyperactive tendency to appoint Czars for everything on the basis that maybe it's not the best usage of government money (at least that's a debatable argument). But, it's a whole different ball-o-crazy to be against Czars because you think they are the masterminds behind some sort of Neo-Communist-Illuminati-style takeover of the United States based on the historical lineage of the name "Czar" alone. It's not like the roll of Czars in US politics is Top Secret or something.

Big Words

It's been a while since I posted anything here, so I figured it was time to spam those of you who actually stop by with some random knowledge... or, at the very least, some random thoughts and ideas by Milton Glaser (of the "I ♥ New York" logo fame).

Fig 1: Milton Glaser.

Over on the Other Internet, Thaddeus Gunn pointed out this excerpt from a talk Milton Glaser gave at an AIGA function in London back in 2001. In it he discusses "Ten Things I Have Learned," and while I'm sure a lot of people can probably find something on his list to disagree with, it's still a pretty interesting read. I was originally going to cut and paste the whole thing here, but that might be too intimidating, so I figured that I could just do a bullet list of the things he's learned instead...

10 Things Milton Glaser has Learned

• YOU CAN ONLY WORK FOR PEOPLE THAT YOU LIKE.
• IF YOU HAVE A CHOICE NEVER HAVE A JOB.
• SOME PEOPLE ARE TOXIC AVOID THEM.
• PROFESSIONALISM IS NOT ENOUGH or THE GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF THE GREAT.
• LESS IS NOT NECESSARILY MORE.
• STYLE IS NOT TO BE TRUSTED.
• HOW YOU LIVE CHANGES YOUR BRAIN.
• DOUBT IS BETTER THAN CERTAINTY.
• ON AGING.
• TELL THE TRUTH.

There, now that you've read the Online Marketing Bullet Point-style list, go read the whole thing here! As Glaser points out himself, "less is not necessarily more" so do you really want to only read the condensed version?

Look! Up in the sky! ...or, er, wait...

Sometimes, I come across a news story that leaves me struggling to figure out which response to embrace. Do I A) mock the easily mockable (oh, so very, very tempting), B) let my inner fanboy geek out a little, or C) try to turn it into some sort of poorly conceived commentary on the modern world. In these cases, I think it's better to just D) post it here...

(As I find myself saying here way to often: You can't make this stuff up.... oh, well, unless your a comic book writer, I guess.)

From CNN.com

Amid hard times, an influx in real superheroes



By Craig Johnson
Special to CNN

(CNN) -- Mr. Ravenblade, Mr. Xtreme, Dark Guardian and hundreds of others. Some with elaborate costumes, others with haphazardly stitched outfits, they are appearing on city streets worldwide watching over the populace like Superman watched over Metropolis and Batman over Gotham City.

Geist patrols the Rochester, Minnesota, area, with a group of like-minded and similarly dressed colleagues.

As people become disillusioned from financial woes and a downtrodden economy and look to put new purpose in their lives, everyday folks are taking on new personas to perform community service, help the homeless and even fight crime.

"The movement is growing," said Ben Goldman, a real-life superhero historian. Goldman, along with Chaim "Life" Lazaros and David "Civitron" Civitarese, runs the New York-based Web site Superheroes Anonymous as part of an initiative dedicated to organizing and making alliances with superhero groups.

According to Goldman, who goes by the moniker Cameraman because of his prowess in documenting the movement, economic troubles are spawning real life superheroes.

"A lot of them have gone through a sort of existential crisis and have had to discover who they are," Goldman said. People are starting to put value in what they can do rather than what they have, he said. "They realize that money is fleeting, it's in fact imaginary."

Estimates from the few groups that keep tabs put the worldwide total of real-life superheroes between 250 and 300. Goldman said the numbers were around 200 just last summer.

Mr. Ravenblade, laid off after a stint with a huge computer technology corporation, found inspiration for his new avocation a few years ago from an early morning incident in Walla Walla, Washington.

"I literally stepped into a woman's attempted rape/mugging," Mr. Ravenblade said. While details were lost in the fog of the fight, he remembers this much: "I did what I could," he said, adding that he stopped the crime and broke no laws. "And I realized after doing what I did, that people don't really look after people."

Public response to real-life superheroes has been mixed, according to Mr. Xtreme, who founded the Xtreme Justice League in San Diego, California.

"Sometimes it's been really positive with people saying, 'Woohoo, the superheroes are here,' and then the usual barrage, saying 'Oh, these guys are losers.' Other times people will look kind of freaked out, and then sometimes people just don't know what to think about us."

Like Peter Parker kept his Spider-Man identity from his editor boss, Mr. Extreme and Mr. Ravenblade have asked CNN editors to keep their identities secret.

The current superhero movement started a few years ago on MySpace, as people interested in comics and cool caped crusaders joined forces, Goldman said. It goes beyond the Guardian Angel citizen patrols of the early 1980s, as the real-life superheroes of today apply themselves to a broadly defined ethos of simply doing good works.

Chris Pollak, 24, of Brooklyn, New York, can attest to the appeal. "A lot more people are either following it or wanting to go out and do it," Pollack, who goes by the name Dark Guardian, said. By "do it," he means patrol the harrowing streets late at night.

"A lot of kids say they're real-life superheroes [on MySpace]," Mr. Ravenblade said. "But what are you doing? Being in front of a computer is not helping anybody."

Comic book legend Stan Lee, the brain behind heroes such as Spider-Man and the X-Men, said in his comic books doing good -- and availing one's self -- was indeed the calling card for superheroes.

"If somebody is committing a crime, if somebody is hurting some innocent person, that's when the superhero has to take over."

"I think it's a good thing that people are eager enough to want to help their community. They think to do it is to emulate the superheroes," Lee said. "Now if they had said they had super powers [that would be another thing]."

Without super powers, real life superheroes confess to a mere-mortal workload, including helping the homeless, handing out fliers in high-crime areas and patrolling areas known for drug-dealing.

Mr. Ravenblade said he and some of his superfriends would soon be trying to organize a Walk for Babies fundraiser in Portland, Oregon.

"We work with charities that help children," he said. "We think a lot of crimes happen because of people who didn't get a lot of love when they were younger. We do what we can to help that there."

"Homeless outreach is the main thing I like to do," said Chaim "Life" Lazaros, of Superheroes Anonymous. "We give out food, water, vitamins, toothbrushes. A lot of homeless people in my area know me, and they tell us about what they need. One homeless guy said 'I need a couple pair of clean underwear.'"

For Christmas, Lazaros said his group raised $700 in gifts and brought them to kids at St. Mary's Children's Hospital in New York. "They were so excited to see real-life superheroes," Lazaros said. iReport.com: Searching for Cincinnati's caped crusader

Many of the real-life superheroes even initiate citizen's arrests, but what's legal varies by state. And in North Carolina citizen's arrests are illegal. Real-life superheroes who grab a suspected villain may find themselves under a specter of trouble.

"Not a good idea," said Katy Parker, legal director for the ACLU of North Carolina. "Seeing as how there's no citizen's arrest statute [in the state], people who do this are running a serious risk of getting arrested for kidnapping, and being liable for false imprisonment."

"Vigilantism is never a good thing," said Bernard Gonzales, public information officer for the Chula Vista, California, Police Department. He's had some interactions with real-life superheroes. "The very best thing a private citizen can do is be a good witness."

Mr. Ravenblade said he's just that.

"If you're a real-life superhero you follow the law. If you catch somebody you can't just tie them up and leave them for the cops, that's for the comics. You have to wait for the cops and give them a statement," Mr. Ravenblade said.

While citizens helping out in the community is encouraged, Gonzales said the costumes can go.

"Where these people are out in public, and there's children around and everything, and these people are not revealing their identities, it's not a safe thing."

But the costumes go with the gig, right down to the do-it-yourself approach to good deeds, including, apparently, recycling.

"The costume I have is simple," said Mr. Xtreme. "I made it myself. I had a graphic designer design it for me and just took it down to the swap meet and had somebody imprint it on for me."

"The mask," an old bullfighter's piece, "I got from Tijuana."

Want to see photos? Check out giggle-worthy World Superhero Registry.

¡Ole!

Having a bit of a bummer day today.

My dream job of working as a freelance designer and illustrator has been, shall we say, less than dreamy. But, it's always nice to stumble upon the right sort inspiration at the right time. And, today, that inspiration takes the form of a TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert that I came across and decided to watch because it dealt with the idea of "creative genius" ...something I'm lacking today.

I initially encountered Elizabeth Gilbert's book, Eat, Pray, Love, when a friend loaned it to Sarah and I while travelling in Vietnam. With its combination of food, travel and loosey-goosey Eastern spirituality, it was another thing that I think I encountered at the right place and time. In this talk, she discusses the idea of creative inspiration and how current views on where creativity comes from can often lead to doubt, depression and worse for people who work in creative fields. And then she goes on to present an alternate view of where creative inspiration might come from that maybe be a little more healthy to the artist's psyche.

Anyhow, its worth the 19 minutes it takes to watch it...



Now, I know I'm not in a position where I'm grappling with already having created my best creative work (in fact, I feel like I'm still working toward something great). But, still, on a day like today, when doing creative works seems daunting and, well, less than fun; it was still the type of message I needed to hear.

¡Ole!

What's a "Pucat"?

...oh, wait.

Anyhow, the other day, my friend, Jimmy, mentioned a website called EatPoopUCat.com. Eat Poop U Cat is a game that is a mix of Pictionary and Exquisite Corpse. The basic idea is that one person writes a sentence. Then, the next person draws a picture of that sentence. Then, without seeing the original sentence, the third person writes a sentence discribing the picture. And on and on...

The basic effect is rather like the game Telephone, where the final sentence usually bears little resemblance to the original sentence... usually with humorous results.

And, anyhow EatPoopUCat.com is the online version of that game... and really massively addicting. Y'know because I need another way to waste my time!

If you are looking for a way to waste your time, I recommend checking it out. If you do, maybe we shall cross paths.

Oh, and for the record, I have no idea why it's called "Eat Poop You Cat." All attempts to research the history of this name led to pages of concerned parents wondering if it is OK that their toddler just ate cat poop.

My Comic Collection

Wanna see my comic collection?

Today, on one of the comic book message boards I frequent, it was suggested that we all take pictures of our comic book collections to share how we store them, where we store them, and compare their... er... size. And, while the undertones of such activity might seem a little too much like the Fanboy equivalent of similar competitions and comparisons that jocks might participate in while changing in the locker room, I still figured it was worth posting the pictures here for the world to see.

As they say, I'll show you mine, if you show me yours.

...um, let's get started shall we!



The bookshelf in the living room. It's only about one third to one half trade paper backs and graphic novels, but it's sort of our "statement" saying: "Comics are literature, just like regular books." Bold, aren't we. These are primarily the comics that I might suggest to people when they are visiting. I have all sorts of fantasies where Sarah and I have dinner guests over, and suddenly I get to say something like: "Oh, you haven't read Osamu Tezuka's Buddha graphic novel? I you reallly should, it's enlightening (get it!)"

Or, something witty and comic related like that. One can dream.



Next to the bed you'll find just a small stack of comics (between the diaper holder and angry looking kitty cat). Actually, these are just the comics from the last month or so. In a weeks time they'll be read be read and moved into the basement. Speaking of which...



The basement, and the main portion of my collection and where most of my comics end up gathering dust. There's actually an additional small stack of comics lying nearby, which need to be filed away, but their existence is a source of torment for me, so I didn't take a photo of them. On the shelf beneath the boxes you can see trades that weren't deemed worthy enough to go on the "literary bookshelf" upstairs... in addition to books that also didn't make the cut. You'll notice on the boxes are little labels that say what comics are in them. But, what might be less obvious is that probably a fourth of those labels read "unsorted."

Anyhow, as I mentioned at the awkward lead-in to this entry, feel free to treat this like a meme and post your own collections. Maybe, if I hear about other people doing this, I can create a list of links of comic collection photos.

You can't make this stuff up...

Honestly, I can't even come up with a witty headline to go with this little news blurb that was just pointed out to my in Variety. In fact, I'm not even going to try to add anything witty myself, just read on:

Rocket launches 'Predator'
Clark to direct aliens vs. Jane Austen pic
By MICHAEL FLEMING

Elton John's Rocket Pictures hopes to make the first Jane Austen adaptation to which men will drag their girlfriends.

Will Clark is set to direct "Pride and Predator," which veers from the traditional period costume drama when an alien crash lands and begins to butcher the mannered protags, who suddenly have more than marriage and inheritance to worry about.

Shooting will begin in London later this year. John exec produces, and his Rocket partners Steve Hamilton Shaw and David Furnish are producing.

Clark, who directed award-winning short "The Amazing Trousers," wrote the script with Andrew Kemble and John Pape.

"It felt like a fresh and funny way to blow apart the done-to-death Jane Austen genre by literally dropping this alien into the middle of a costume drama, where he stalks and slashes to horrific effect," Furnish said.

John will supervise the music, as he does in each Rocket-produced film.

The company is in production on the CG-animated "Gnomeo and Juliet" for Miramax/Disney; James McAvoy and Emily Blunt voice the title characters. Rocket is also behind the Sundance series "Spectacle: Elvis Costello With ..."

So, Elton John's production company is backing a picture where the Predator attacks the characters from a Jane Austin novel. I notice that the article sidesteps saying whether or not it will truly be the Predator or the characters from Pride and Prejudice. But, one can only hope, if for no other reason than to hear Mr. Darcy say:

"I dare say, you are one ugly mother..." ROAR!

(Edit: Thanks to Skybar for pointing out that I was getting "the Amazing Trousers" and "the Wrong Trousers" confused. Oops. Too many trousers.)

Drat! My bidding limit was $14,825!

With Quantum of Solace being released this weekend, I wanted to do an entry talking about my obsession with James Bond. But, maybe, I'll wait until after I've seen it (hopefully this weekend) before I ramble about Bond. James Bond.

So, instead, I think I'm just going to post a link to a story talking about a real, true-life vampire hunting kit that apparently fetched nearly $15,000 at in auction in Mississippi recently.

1800s Vampire Killing Kit Nabs $14,850 At Stevens Auction
Nov 11th, 2008

A complete and authentic vampire killing kit, circa 1800 and housed in a walnut case, achieved $14,850. Natchez, Miss.:A complete and authentic vampire killing kit — made around 1800 and complete with stakes, mirrors, a gun with silver bullets, crosses, a Bible, holy water, candles and even garlic, all housed in a American walnut case with a carved cross on top — attained $14,850 in the Jimmy Pippen estate sale by Stevens October 3–4 in the new Natchez Convention Center.

The sale comprised the contents of Pippen's stores (Pippen Antiques and Pippen Interiors), items from his personal residence (which he considered a perfect creation and called "Paradise"), the contents of another home (a three-story, 1850s townhouse called "The Orchard" that he restored with fine appointments and rented out) and treasures from several warehouses.

Rest of the article

Now, far be it from me to fawn over something that would generally appeal to a 13 year old, suburban, Goth kid... but that's pretty cool. I didn't think that something like this actually existed outside of Joss Whedon's mind. I just find it interesting and intriguing that some person back in the 1800's was concerned enough about vampire attacks that they to assembled this kit, complete with silver bullets. I mean, I can't even get my act together enough to throw together an earthquake survival kit even though I live in Seattle.

Maybe I should put together a Sasquatch Hunting Kit.

Well, no more need for this site...

Well, I might as well go ahead, throw in the towel and close up shop on this blog. "Why?" You ask. Because, I found another site that does want I always secretly intended this site to do... but better.

Way back in the day, when I first fired up Ye Ole General Admission, I had planned on making it a place where I could post information and links on everything that I think is awesome in the world. Well, fast forward several years, and what do I stumble upon? A site dedicated to awesome things.

Or, specifically... 1000 Awesome Things.

Each day, the author of 1000 Awesome Things offers up his thoughts on a different awesome thing. So far, he's only done about 80 entries, but those entries range from Real Beard Santas to Opening and Sniffing a Pack of Tennis Ball and from Your Pillow to Old, Dangerous Playground Equipment. If you can't find at least one thing on the list that you think is awesome. Then, you might have to reevaluate your definition of the word.

And, to the writers credit, he doesn't just list things he thinks are awesome, but instead each entry is a miniature study of that thing, and why it is awesome. It's some clever writing, and it makes the site worth revisiting.

Awesome. (Or, as I say here, Awarsome.)

The heavy and the light

I generally don't dwell on politics here too much, but I stumbled across this TED video that seems entirely too timely, and which honestly shifted the way I think about Conservatives and Liberals. In it, the speaker, psychologist Jonathan Haidt, looks at how Five Moral Values (harm/care, fairness/reciprocity, ingroup/loyalty, authority/respect, purity/sanctity) influence both sides and affect their political choices. In addition, he goes on further to explain that these underlying motivators have both healthy and negative side-effects on society. Before concluding that, like many Eastern Relgions suggest, its ultimately balance that is the goal.



Whether or not we currently have balance right now is another matter (and one that both "sides" contest)... but still, really interesting stuff.

And, just to keep things from getting too heavy around here, I thought I'd also post this preview for No Heroics, a British superhero comedy TV series that we will probably never see on this side of the pond. It's got an interesting Office meets Justice League vibe to it.



...OK, so maybe it looks a little dumb. But, you rarely see superheroes in costume on the small screen. And, I still bet that twice as many people watch that preview over the number that watch the "Morality of Politics" one I started this entry off with.

(Oh, and sorry that this blog has just been video clips lately. I swear there is other interesting stuff out there. And I swear I'll post about it someday.)

Uncanny Valleys, Unlimited Budgets and The Mystery Box

"The Uncanny Valley"

Earlier this week, a friend posted a link on the Tater Board showing "Big Boy," a new robot with deer-like legs, which the amazing ability to walk over difficult terrain, recover from slips on ice, and stay standing when someone tries to kick it over. Really, it's quite impressive. Look!



After watching the video, I made a comment to the effect of "Wow, that's creepy! What is it about robots that creeps people out? Is it naturally born into us, or is it just a byproduct to of having seen too many robots-take-over-the-world movies?"

And, in response, my friend introduced me to the concept of the "Uncanny Valley."



From Wikipedia.org:

Mori's hypothesis states that as a robot is made more human like in its appearance and motion, the emotional response from a human being to the robot will become increasingly positive and empathic, until a point is reached beyond which the response quickly becomes that of strong repulsion. However, as the appearance and motion continue to become less distinguishable from a human being, the emotional response becomes positive once more and approaches human-to-human empathy levels.[2]

This area of repulsive response aroused by a robot with appearance and motion between a "barely-human" and "fully human" entity is called the uncanny valley. The name captures the idea that a robot which is "almost human" will seem overly "strange" to a human being and thus will fail to evoke the empathetic response required for productive human-robot interaction

What I think is interesting about this (beyond the fact that they include "zombie" on the chart above), is the fact that it dovetails nicely with a theory that Scott McCloud proposes in his Understanding Comics.

In Understanding Comics, Scott discusses how more abstract illustration styles (like Peanuts) will often be more successful than the realistic illustration styles (like what you might find in your typical Marvel or DC comicbook) at gaining the readers empathy. He maintains that the more simplistic or abstract the illustrations style is, the more the used has to activate their imaginations. And that by engaging the viewers imagination, it actually allows the reader to put themselves "in the characters shoes." Thus creating a great sense of empathy with the character.

On the flip side, the more photo-realistic an illustration is, the more the person evaluates it on a technical level. This, in turn, actually creates a greater degree of emotional distance from the illustrated character; as the viewer spends their time thinking "y'know, that one detail doesn't quite look right!"

I don't know, maybe McCloud's theory and the Uncanny Valley aren't related. But, at the same time, there just seems to be too much of a parallel. Abstraction and impression seem to lead to more empathy and connection than duplication and realism, anyhow.

Unlimited Budgets

Meanwhile, over on the Bad Genious, I found myself in an interesting discussion with a couple other members of the board. Basically, it ended up being a fairly candid conversation in which a bunch of comic fans were more of less admitting: Even though we all love comics, in many regards they aren't the best option for telling most stories.

Because that board is a private board, and because I'm fond of patting myself on the back. I thought I'd copy and paste one of my posts from that blog, so that maybe more people out in the Interweb might read it and weigh in:

Yeah, I think that every media form has its fair share of crap out there. For every good show on TV, I'm positive there are dozens of awful ones, and the same with movies, novels and... well... comics.

I think my complaint lies with the fact that each form of media has its strengths and weaknesses. But I feel like a lot of comics these days don't play toward their formats strengths. And, here's the two strengths that seem immediately apparent to me.

1) Unlimited budget - Unlike, say, TV or movies, you can do anything in comics without massively effecting the budget to produce it. You want a giant guy in a purple suit who eats planets? Fine. It's no more expensive than having two people standing around talking in their apartment. There aren't many forms of media that allow you that flexibility's.

2) Singular Creative Vision - While most comics we (on the Bad Genious) collect are produced by Marvel, DC, Image, etc. The reality is that it's one of the few media that can be completely produced from start to finish by one person. If a comic like Cerebrus proved anything its that one person can effectively make a comic that is his or her personal vision without creative interference from others. That one person can control everything, and with some time and money, get that personal vision and one-of a-kind story produced and into the hands of an audience.

What I think is unfortunate is that those two strengths are rarely combined. Rarely to you get a "singular creative vision" that also happens to involve the "unlimited budget" capabilities of a comic book. The "big budget" stuff seems to be mass produced, corporate comics. While the singularly created stuff ends up all being autobiographical stories about neurotic 20-somethings.

(Edit ted for clarity, but not content.)

So, yeah. I'm sure that other people out there have made the point better, but I figured it was worth repeating because it's something I've been thinking about recently. And, it's the type of discussion I'd like to continue at some point.

Also, it allows me to harp on another point that I seem to keep coming back to these days: That I feel like a lot of comic creators these days don't seem as interested in that sense of "out-there" wonder that previous generations of comic creators have been. Actually, creators started moving away from the overtly fantastical back in the early 80's. But still, where are the the planet-eating giants in purple headgears, teleporting bulldogs with tuning forks coming out of their heads and over-sized, world-conquering starfish of today?

Where have all the Lockjaws gone?

The Mystery Box

Feeling a little grouchy about the down-to-Earth nature of today's comicbooks, it was nice stumbling across this lecture by JJ Abrams for TED. TED stands for "Technology, Entertainment, Design," and the TED website is dedicated to "Ideas worth spreading."

Most of those ideas come in the form of what appears to be an ongoing lecture series. And, since all three of those topics interest me, I've been finding myself checking out their videos more an more.

JJ Abrams, as I'm sure you all know, is the creator and director of TV shows such as Lost and Alias. And, in his discussion, he talks about where he gets him inspiration for the mysteries and intrigue that run through his work.

Most of that discussion hinges on a "Mystery Box" of magic tricks that his grandfather bought him. To this day the box, which is a blank box with a big question mark on it, has remained unopened. The mystery of what it may contain being more fascinating than whatever cheap tricks it might actually contain if opened.

Who says you can't box wonder and mystery.

A wonderful and intriguing image. And one that you can't help but be inspired by.

A penny for my thoughts.

Pennies from heaven, or pennies from... hell?
I've found myself picking up pennies off the street on the way to work recently. I'm not sure why, but I think at some point something in my head clicked, and I reverted back to that fourth grade level of thinking that just sort of goes "hey, free penny!" I mean, it can't hurt, right?

Or, then again, maybe it can. I mean, it's a fairly well known fact that it costs the US government more to make pennies than they are worth. Add to that the fact that you can't really buy anything for one penny. If you think about it, it just might be possible that every time I stop to pick up a penny, I'm actually accumulating debt.

Or, maybe my math is just wrong.

Either that, or picking up pennies is the ultimate Zen activity. A ritual act that has no imediate benefit. But, after many, many year just might pay off. Either way... oh look! A penny!

Stop making cents

As I mentioned several entries ago, I got the Talking Heads' Once in a Lifetime box set for Christmas. The other day I finally got around to throwing the video DVD in and checking out the library of Talking Heads videos on it. In addition to all the old favorites, like Burning Down the House, I saw the video for Blind for the first time.

And, oh what a lost treasure it is! In addition to featuring the creepiest facial distortion special effects this side of Aphex Twin's "Come to Daddy", it also features some inspired sequences involving a slobbering crescent wrench holding a political rally. And, in these seemingly endless days leading up to the election, it just feels oddly timely. So, let's watch it together, shall we?



Citizen Freak

I've also been watching a number of old movies recently. Movies that I really should have seen long ago, and have no real excuse for missing until my 32 year on this planet. I mean, one of them was Citizen Kane, for pete sake!

The funny thing about seeing Citizen Kane is that you go into the movie with so much background. I mean, for one, a large portion of the population considers it the Greatest Movie Ever™. As a result, another almost equally large portion of the Earth's population has deemed it Over-Rated™.

I, being a wishy-washy Washingtonian, have dubbed it Pretty Darned Good™. I mean, it's no Big Trouble In Little China, but I still wish that more movies these days were made like Citizen Kane. I manages to have energy, creativity and visual style without drowning in quick cuts and quirky characters the way most movies with "energy, creativity, and visual style" do today. I think that, in today's world of MTV Editing, more directors could stand to learn from Welles example and dial things back a bit.

For example, look at how much energy this scene has, with comparatively few cuts by todays standards...



Or, maybe, more films just need chorus lines, hollering newsmen and a dancing Orson Welles in them. That's probably it.

Another movie that I really should have seen ages ago was Tod Browning's cult classic Freaks. (And, actually, I've seen several parts of it, but mostly in college and after a half dozen beers.) Freaks is famous (or rather infamous) for starring a cast made up largely of circus freaks. Midgets. Pinheads. Legless men. Armless women.

All of this makes Freaks the type of movie that is difficult to review because its a bit morally complex. And its not complex not because of the movies plot, but instead because it's hard to work out the morals behind it being made, and your own morals for watching it. Is it championing and humanizing the people in it? Or exploiting them for voyeuristic purposes? Am I watching it because its place in cinematic history? Or am I watching it for voyeuristic purposes? Probably a little of both in both cases.

And, I'm almost possible that, if you haven't seen it, you are at least a little curious. Because, face it, you are one of us... one of us.... one of us...

The Road Less Taken

The other day, while visiting a friend, he loaned me a DVD called Monster Road and suggested I watch it. It's a documentary about local artist, Bruce Bickford, who was famous in the 60's for his claymation work he did with Frank Zappa. To be honest, I took it from him and promised to watch it, but wasn't particularly interested. But, last night, with nothing else to watch, my wife and I decided to throw it on.

It turns out that it's actually quite good. In fact, its one of those films that sticks in your head long after the film is over.


Wisely, the filmmakers gloss over the Zappa connection and instead focuses more on Bickford as an artist, his childhood and (most importantly) his relationship with his aging father who is suffering from alzheimers. This interaction with his father -who is an interesting and tragic character himself- ended up being the emotional core of the film and makes it resonate in a way that most documentaries about artists fail to. It certainly impressed me more than its closest cinematic relation: Crumb.

Both men come off as these fragile creatures with almost otherworldly views of life, and who both in very key ways fail to connect with those around them. This disconnect, reflected against the amazing and obsessively created art work of the younger Bickford helps give a peek at a family that ultimately has spun off the rails and really has no way of reassembling itself.

But, that's not to say that the film is bleak. In fact, its far from it. More wonderous and bitter-sweet than depressing and defeatist, the art and the two individuals musings keep things unique and watchable. Bruce maintains that Bill Gates should use his money to create 50 claymation studios, while his father calls Elvis a thug while trying to remember if they ever shook hands. In addition, it becomes a bit of a portrait of Seattle, and the unique mildewed personalities that the area produces.

Esquivalience

Esquivalience—n. the willful avoidance of one’s official responsibilities . . . late 19th cent.: perhaps from French esquiver, “dodge, slink away.”

The fun thing about the word "esquivalience" is that it isn't an actual word. Instead, it is a fake entry (or Mountweazel)that the New Oxford American Dictionary placed in their 2005 edition as a sort of copyright protection tool. The New Yorker ran an article on this some time ago, but I just now heard about the concept for the first time from one of my coworkers.

From the sounds of it, it’s been a practice of dictionaries and encyclopedias to include a single fake entry in order to help keep other references from just plagiarizing their work. The idea being that, if another source copies them word for word, they'll also copy the fake information... thereby proving where the source stole their information from.

I just think the whole idea is really cool, and would love to find out some more of these fake words and entries. Alternately, you can go over to Digg and read a bunch of people getting bent out of shape about it. I like this one in particular:

"Kind've lame in my opinion. This type of information should be FREE, anyways. You should just be paying for the paper it's printed on."

Or, "The Dictionary, instead of the stupid Goddamn Bible, is the one book that should be free on request. I find this analog drm crap appalling. The one book you should be able to trust is a dictionary."

Apparently, in my US Citzenship class, I missed the part where every American was guaranteed the Freedom of Dictionary Access. And, I love the whole idea of comparing these fake entries to DRM (Digital Right Management) for digital music and videos. C'mon people, let's find a little perspective here!

Perhaps, their indignation is just another example of their esquivalience.

Regardless, I think it would be great if these words slowly do become part of the English language.

Don't Let's Talk About Art Tonight

Right before Christmas, I managed to finish Alexandra Fuller's first novel Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight.



The story recalls her childhood growing up in Africa, the daughter of two tough living, alcoholic, down on their luck white farmers in war-torn Rhodesia. It's an amazing, visceral tale which is at turns both horrific and humorous. Alexandra writing captures her childhood experience amazingly, while never becoming precious or affected. She writes the way I wished I could have during NaNoWriMo several years ago.

I'm pretty sure this will be my favorite book of the year, in a year where I've read several exceptional books.

But, at the same time, I'm glad that I was able to finish it before I began opening my Christmas presents, because I got quite a few books this year, including (un)Fashion (which I was pining about a few entries back) and David Byrne's newest book Arboretum.



Arboretum is Byrne's attempt to create organic graphs, forms and charts to show the connection of various words and concepts. The resulting forms and charts are interesting enough, but the real meat-and-potatoes can be found in the four foot long fold out section at the back of the book. In it, he discusses a number of the charts, their meaning and his process in creating them. It reads like the Director Commentary on the Musings of David Byrne's Brain.

It's the sort of high-minded silliness that he's known for. Which is fine by me, because Byrne could write about planting potatoes and I'd still find it interesting. In fact, his latest blog entry pretty much proves it.

In it, he begins by talking about his theories (and those of an author who's book he’d just read) on the role of art in society. Particularly its role in attracting members of the opposite sex, and how that was all inverted and had to be redefined after the industrial revolution and the invention of the camera. This then segues into him recounting his recent trip to Miami for a gallery show, and the work he saw there. Which, in turn, segues into his discussing Miami, its evolving culture and architecture*. And I find the whole thing captivating.

In fact, after being under whelmed and frustrated at Seattle's last First Thursday (the monthly gallery walk), I actually found that reading his thoughts on art got me interested and excited about fine art again. Just in time to stumble across this today...

With few wolves scattered in the front gallery, all ninety-nine 99 life-sized replicas of wolves run, gallop, and jump toward the far end of the exhibition hall, where a wall stands. The bravery of the wolves is met head on by the unyielding wall. As the leading wolves go down, many more follow with force and determination. As those in the front fall and pile up, those behind take up their positions.

Now, regardless of meaning, I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't find that impressive to see.OK, and a little grisly too. But, I know I'd love to see it in person. I don't really know anything about the artist, Cao Guoqiang but that piece (as well as some others in his collection, like these arrow-filled tigers) are amazing.

Or at least more interesting that anything I saw a couple weeks ago.


* The architecture was particularly interesting to me since he talked about some of the hotels seen in the James Bond movie, Goldfinger. I just watched the movie last night, as part of my recent obsession with James Bond… something I’ll most likely bore you all with later.

Something dramatic about the future.

I've got a weird fascination with Futurists. I think it started when I first got to hear Alvin Toffler speak at work a few months ago. And then purchased and read his latest book Revolutionary Wealth. There's something about the idea of being a "futurist" that interests me. It’s like the modern day version of an oracle, without the blind, hide-in-a-cave lifestyle. Or, maybe it’s because its like reading Science Fiction... with less fiction to it.

Then, again, maybe it’s just because a lot of superheroes, like Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic claim to be Futurists. In which case, maybe it still is the fiction part that appeals to me.

Regardless, I find myself reading anything written be a self-proclaimed Futurist whenever I stumble across it. Like, My Final Prediction by Bruce Sterling, which is worth reading is for no other reason than a few melodramatic quotes like this:

Technophobic refuseniks are likely to carry out violent resistance, and they may have good reason: Out-of-control technology is a distinct risk. The Lexus has collided with the olive tree, and its crumpled hulk spins in a ditch as the orchard smolders.

The other thing of note in that article is that Bruce is predicting the end of Futurism. So, I guess I should enjoy it while I can.

Speaking of things I'm enjoying currently, the illustrator in me is completely infatuated with Patchbox, an art portfolio site that gives each artist an 80x80 pixel space to provide and image and link it to his or her portfolio site. It’s a great way to spend several hours drooling over some amazing illustrations.



For example Joy Ang's art just levels me. She's got a great sense of color and shape, similar to James Jean's work. But, the kicker is that she was born in '85, which makes her, like, 10 years younger than me.

And here I was just coming to grips with Colin Farrell being younger than me. Sheesh.

Listening to the Pope

...no, not that Pope, silly! I'm referring to the popular indie comic book illustrator, Paul Pope.



There’s a sort of beautiful ugliness (or, perhaps, ugly beautifulness) to Pope's work that I've always appreciated. And the level of success he's achieved by doing things his own way is pretty admirable. But, I was still presently surprised by how interesting his blog, PulpHope, is. Whether he's giving interviews to Polish magazines, copying articles about the effects of coffee, or just posting current art projects he's working on, Pope seems to be consistently adding something new to his blog on a daily basis. In fact, while it appears he's only been keeping the blog since the beginning of the month, I'm surprised by how much he's already posted. Often adding two or three entries a day.

Which is a lot better than I've been doing maintaining this blog. But, I'm blaming the holiday season. In fact, while out running around in the rain the other day, I stumbled across a book (at Urban Outfitters of all places) that I really need to add to my Christmas list: (un)Fashion.



To quote the book description itself:

From cardboard shoes in Africa to body paint in New Guinea, from chimney sweeps in France to an Indian Elvis, (un)Fashion scans the globe to show how real people dress: at work, on the street, or for ceremonial occasions. With virtually no text, (un)Fashion pokes gentle fun at the elitism of the fashion world, presenting its provocative observations through dynamic images by some of the world's foremost photojournalists.

I was only able to flip through it for a minute or two, but it seems like it would not only be a wonderful coffee-table book, but would also be something that would be endlessly useful when coming up with sci-fi, superhero and other costume ideas in my sketchbook.

Speaking of interesting artistic references, I received Blackstock's Collection: The Drawings of an Autistic Savant for my Birthday over the weekend.



Gregory Blackstock, as the books title points out, is both autistic and an artistic savant. His art manifests itself in the form of detailed illustrated lists of everything from "the garden pest control beetles" (above) to "our states king sized jails." His dedication and skill is staggering in its ambition. And the book does a good job of displaying the breadth of his work.

Finally, I thought I'd point out the Ninja Words online dictionary. As it is subtitled: "A really fast dictionary... fast like a ninja." No longer am I bound to the slow-loading and clunky Dictionary.com. Yay!

Plus, I like to support all things ninja related.

Waits for Words

After reading my last blog entry, my Beautiful Wife pointed out that we saw even another movie last week while in Dallas: Wordplay. Wordplay is a documentary about crosswords and the people who do them. The movie hinged on a tournament for crossworders which is held annually to determine the world crossword champion. But, the "characters" in Wordplay weren't quite as colorful as those depicted in the slightly superior Scrabble movie, Word Wars, so the whole documentary came off as not quite as entertaining. Still, it was quite good at times and contained entertaining sequences with celebrity crossworders ranging from Jon Stewart to Bill Clinton. And, a very interesting sequence where they detail how crosswords get made.

Since being home, I've been catching up on new music that has been released on Rhapsody, and have found a couple a great new CDs. The first is Tom Waits' Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards.



I've been a fan of Tom Waits for some time, but have never been as fanatical as some of my friends. Still, listening to this three disk collections of rarities and B-sides makes me feel like a pig wallowing in Tom Waits’ slop... in all the best ways. Tom is still the only singer who can deliver a line like "shake your fist and your poo-poo part" and make it sounds completely bad-ass.

I've also been listening to Swan Lake's Beast Moans. Swan Lake is the new Canadian "super-group" made up of Dan Bejar (New Pornographers, Destroyer), Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown) and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes... which, ok, I've never heard of before). Canada just seems to be loaded with talents musicians and bands these days (the previously mentioned bands, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, etc). And, in addition, they seem to be fond of playing musical chairs, and forming new groups at the drop of a hat. I'm not complaining, though.

A couple of other quick notes: After my last Blog entry, my brother (the infamous Gypsy Rockstar) pointed out Max Berry's blog. Max Berry is the writer of the novel Jennifer Government, and while he tends to paint in broad brush strokes, his rants are pretty entertaining. For example, his comments on someone getting a corporate logo tattoo:

I offer into evidence the choice of Peter McBride, who is the proud new owner of a Polo pony logo just above his left nipple.

Now, I don’t want to come right out and say that Pete is the low point of human civilization—I mean, there was Hitler. But looking at that photo… gee, it’s a tough call.

Also fellow Tater Boarder, Because, pointed out this awe-some design blog: Coolhunter.net. Every entry is filled with something conceptually cool or visually compelling. Like this:



(Don't worry, that woman is actually a decal on the ground. It's an ad promoting CPR. Scary. But cool.)

NEW COMICS: 11.8.06

Yay! I'm a happy-camper! Not because comics were great this week, but because they've added Broken Social Scene to Rhapsody. Which means I can rock out with them all day long while I work. Or, at least while I create the convincing illusion of working, while I rock out.

Also, as a quick note, Kirk Cameron and Company have proven that God exists. Their primary (well, only) piece of evidence is a banana. So, I guess that settles that.

Anyhow, on to comics!

New X-men #32 - After its year long Nimrod story, this book takes a little bit of a breather. Which, while I enjoyed the last arc, it probably needed. Unfortunately, they also take this opportunity to use a fill-in penciler, and the title suffers a bit for the generic visuals he provides. In addition, since so many characters were killed off over the last year, they provide the obligatory funeral sequence which I'm sure was supposed to be touching, but just seemed clunky and sort of dorky.

Luckily, this issue isn't a complete misstep, since there are some good character moments. In addition, they are introducing a storyline and conflict involving Wither, which I'm certain will be the next big conflict. Frotunately, it includes another baddie from my early days collecting X-men, and seems like it could be entertaining too.



Ultimate X-men #76 - Part two of the Cable storyline, and I actually find myself really enjoying what Kirkman is doing here. To be fair, the number of time travelers from dystopian futures who have joined the ranks of the main Marvel Universe's X-men is silly to say the least. So, I think it’s nice that Kirkman is introducing the time travel theme to the title, but also seems to be streamlining it. Cable is not longer Cyclops and a clone of Jean Grey's son from the future, now he just appears to be Wolverine... from the future. And Bishop's storyline is being folded smoothly into Cable's, which makes the entire time traveling pill easier to swallow.

So, yeah, I'm enjoying this overall. The art is a little confused in some of the fight scenes, but that's a comparatively minor complaint.