Let's get serious for a second. The deadline for voter registration is next Monday, October 6th. Please please please, if you are not registered to vote yet, take (literally) a few minutes and do so. This site right here can tell you if you're already registered (it doesn't hurt to make sure) and get you registered if you're not. It's super easy.
Now, I'm not going to tell you who which candidate to vote for. Just vote. Educate yourself, watch the debates, listen to what's being said and done and what's not being said and not being done and vote for who you think will best get us out of this mess. Because it's pretty crazy out there right now.
That is all.
9.30.2008
9.29.2008
Mystical Mysticness!
I recently asked for you all to ask me "Yes" or "No" questions that would be answered by magical means. And now that one of you has actually asked a question, I can consult my magical device to divine an answer for you.
But first, you may ask "From whence do these answers come? What magical tome holds the answer to any question that can be answered either positively or negatively?" and to that I answer: it comes from This Old Box Of Comics. But more specifically, it comes from here:
The Original Ghost Rider Rides Again #4 of 5, a Ghost Rider reprint book published November 1991. It has magic powers. One time I had a headache and I held it up to my head and the pain disappeared. It holds every answer to every question in the history of the world. Because it is full of magic like a unicorn on drugs or something. For serious.
But I, as they say, digest.
Let's answer Chris' question, "What should I do?"
Oops! It looks like Ghost Rider is not too pleased that Chris' question cannot be answered by "Yes" or "No" and is threatening him with a beat-down of immense proportions.
Because Ghost Rider is a jerk like that.
I know, totally magic, right? What question will he answer next?! Only you can decide! Well, you and the magical forces that permeate the ether, but you know what I mean. Ask your question in the comments or you or someone close to you will get athlete's foot. It happened to a friend of mine' uncle's girlfriend. For serious. Spooky, right?
But first, you may ask "From whence do these answers come? What magical tome holds the answer to any question that can be answered either positively or negatively?" and to that I answer: it comes from This Old Box Of Comics. But more specifically, it comes from here:
The Original Ghost Rider Rides Again #4 of 5, a Ghost Rider reprint book published November 1991. It has magic powers. One time I had a headache and I held it up to my head and the pain disappeared. It holds every answer to every question in the history of the world. Because it is full of magic like a unicorn on drugs or something. For serious.
But I, as they say, digest.
Let's answer Chris' question, "What should I do?"
Oops! It looks like Ghost Rider is not too pleased that Chris' question cannot be answered by "Yes" or "No" and is threatening him with a beat-down of immense proportions.
Because Ghost Rider is a jerk like that.
I know, totally magic, right? What question will he answer next?! Only you can decide! Well, you and the magical forces that permeate the ether, but you know what I mean. Ask your question in the comments or you or someone close to you will get athlete's foot. It happened to a friend of mine' uncle's girlfriend. For serious. Spooky, right?
9.28.2008
Kisses For the Crying Cooks
On a housekeeping note: I apologize for the lack of posting but this week was - and it's looking like next week will be - pretty nuts, so I may drop off until next weekend. Just so you know. I didn't die or anything. I just let real life get in the way of the Internet. I know, "priorities" right? Anyway, yeah.
Oh, and if you have some questions for the Magic Question Answerer, Please leave them here. The Mystical Powers await!
Oh, and if you have some questions for the Magic Question Answerer, Please leave them here. The Mystical Powers await!
The Music Of Chance
If you know me at all, you know that I love the satirical fake newspaper, The Onion, like a baby loves, uh baby food? Anyway, I love it. But Did You Know? that The Onion has a "legitimate" pop culture wing called The A.V. Club? Well, they do. So now you know.
One of my favorite segments over at The A.V. Club is a feature they call Random Rules where they take a celebrity like, say, Patton Oswalt (or just some random hipster like Randall Poster, the guy who put together, among others, the killer Rushmore soundtrack) and have them shuffle through their iDevices and talk about what comes up. No skipping allowed.
Now, I'm no celebrity. But then again, neither are half the people that they refer to as "celebrities" on those dancing/circus/quiz/competitive BB-stacking shows that are all the rage with the kids these days. So today, I'm gonna play a celebrity and we're gonna do a Random Rules session. Except I skipped a couple doo-wop tracks and removed a Stephen Stills track to make room for something cooler. Because I must look super-cool at all times. Otherwise, I'm just some tall, handsome, pasty white guy in his 30's who just wants to talk about how cool his taste in music is in order to not feel like he's totally losing whatever amount of hipness he once had. And who wants to read that?
Nobody, that's who.
Morphine - "Kerouac"
Morphine makes music for some postmodern noir movie that has yet to be made. Like the sequel to Zero Effect (Speaking of which, have you seen that movie? Because it's really good.) or something. Something sort of seamy, smoldering, morally labyrinthine. Morphine makes that kind of music.
The Kinks - "I’ve Been Driving on Bald Mountain"
Not the best Kinks song or the best Kinks album (off of their self-titled debut), but it is good, classic rock & roll.
Tom Waits - "Army Ants"
I really love this album (Orphans). I'm guessing that this is off of the "Bastards" disc, as it sounds like he's reading from some sort of science textbook over a weird jazz scale. Tom Waits is on my "Must See Before He/I Die" list for sure.
Oranger - "Just a Little Dumb"
These guys are really good. Totally adept at crafting solid fractured (or is that a contradiction?) pop music. I read a review of their Doorway To Norway album a while back and when I saw they had a song titled "Mike Love, Not War" I immediately set about tracking down their work. It was not easy, but like the motivational poster says, it was worth it. This is off their Shutdown the Sun album, which is pretty excellent.
Marvin Gaye - "Baby Don't You Do It"
For a long time I'd only heard the Band version of this. Marvin's version is just as good. And that's saying something because I think that the Band version is aces.
The Creation - "Cool Jerk"
The Creation were a bunch of producers who decided they'd put out some Who-esque (and later Dylan-esque) rock and roll records. Their "Making Time" is on the indispensable soundtrack to Wes Anderson's Rushmore. This is a cover of The Capitols' song that you've probably heard on oldies radio like a million times. Not their best track, but still passable for sure.
Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - "Who Are The Brain Police?"
I really never thought I'd ever be the type of music snob who was "into Zappa." But here we are. And while I'm not all gaga over him (I only have his first few albums with the Mothers. I don't think I'm adventurous enough to delve into the skronky, jazzy stuff of his later career. But who knows, right?), I must say, he makes some very interesting music. As in "This song makes me question my mental health, like, seriously"-type of "interesting." Still it's not as disconcerting as the music made my Zappa's former roommate, Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart. Seriously, Trout Mask Replica is possibly the most disturbing music I have ever heard. Ever. And I'm not convinced that that's a bad thing either, if that makes sense.
The Who - "Sally Simpson"
I love the Who. Honest I do. But I hate Tommy. I think the songs sort of suck and the story is lame. Sorry. But I do. So yeah, this song, not may fave.
The Clash - "Washington Bullets"
Ah, the Clash. Who else could write a nice little punk tune about US foreign policy and make it sound this good? From their triple-album ¡Sandanista!
Old 97's - "Barrier Reef"
These guys are just plain great and this is one of their better songs. Clever without being too clever, the title refers to the narrator's drunken philosophizing as he chats up a girl at a bar. "What's so 'Great' about the Barrier Reef? What's so 'fine' about art? And what's so 'good' about a Good Times van?" These are the questions we need to address, people.
Anyway, so there it is, my installment of Random Rules. Here's your challenge: post the next 10 songs that come up on "Shuffle" in the comments section. I will send a prize to someone who does so. Because I am nice like that.
One of my favorite segments over at The A.V. Club is a feature they call Random Rules where they take a celebrity like, say, Patton Oswalt (or just some random hipster like Randall Poster, the guy who put together, among others, the killer Rushmore soundtrack) and have them shuffle through their iDevices and talk about what comes up. No skipping allowed.
Now, I'm no celebrity. But then again, neither are half the people that they refer to as "celebrities" on those dancing/circus/quiz/competitive BB-stacking shows that are all the rage with the kids these days. So today, I'm gonna play a celebrity and we're gonna do a Random Rules session. Except I skipped a couple doo-wop tracks and removed a Stephen Stills track to make room for something cooler. Because I must look super-cool at all times. Otherwise, I'm just some tall, handsome, pasty white guy in his 30's who just wants to talk about how cool his taste in music is in order to not feel like he's totally losing whatever amount of hipness he once had. And who wants to read that?
Nobody, that's who.
Morphine - "Kerouac"
Morphine makes music for some postmodern noir movie that has yet to be made. Like the sequel to Zero Effect (Speaking of which, have you seen that movie? Because it's really good.) or something. Something sort of seamy, smoldering, morally labyrinthine. Morphine makes that kind of music.
The Kinks - "I’ve Been Driving on Bald Mountain"
Not the best Kinks song or the best Kinks album (off of their self-titled debut), but it is good, classic rock & roll.
Tom Waits - "Army Ants"
I really love this album (Orphans). I'm guessing that this is off of the "Bastards" disc, as it sounds like he's reading from some sort of science textbook over a weird jazz scale. Tom Waits is on my "Must See Before He/I Die" list for sure.
Oranger - "Just a Little Dumb"
These guys are really good. Totally adept at crafting solid fractured (or is that a contradiction?) pop music. I read a review of their Doorway To Norway album a while back and when I saw they had a song titled "Mike Love, Not War" I immediately set about tracking down their work. It was not easy, but like the motivational poster says, it was worth it. This is off their Shutdown the Sun album, which is pretty excellent.
Marvin Gaye - "Baby Don't You Do It"
For a long time I'd only heard the Band version of this. Marvin's version is just as good. And that's saying something because I think that the Band version is aces.
The Creation - "Cool Jerk"
The Creation were a bunch of producers who decided they'd put out some Who-esque (and later Dylan-esque) rock and roll records. Their "Making Time" is on the indispensable soundtrack to Wes Anderson's Rushmore. This is a cover of The Capitols' song that you've probably heard on oldies radio like a million times. Not their best track, but still passable for sure.
Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - "Who Are The Brain Police?"
I really never thought I'd ever be the type of music snob who was "into Zappa." But here we are. And while I'm not all gaga over him (I only have his first few albums with the Mothers. I don't think I'm adventurous enough to delve into the skronky, jazzy stuff of his later career. But who knows, right?), I must say, he makes some very interesting music. As in "This song makes me question my mental health, like, seriously"-type of "interesting." Still it's not as disconcerting as the music made my Zappa's former roommate, Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart. Seriously, Trout Mask Replica is possibly the most disturbing music I have ever heard. Ever. And I'm not convinced that that's a bad thing either, if that makes sense.
The Who - "Sally Simpson"
I love the Who. Honest I do. But I hate Tommy. I think the songs sort of suck and the story is lame. Sorry. But I do. So yeah, this song, not may fave.
The Clash - "Washington Bullets"
Ah, the Clash. Who else could write a nice little punk tune about US foreign policy and make it sound this good? From their triple-album ¡Sandanista!
Old 97's - "Barrier Reef"
These guys are just plain great and this is one of their better songs. Clever without being too clever, the title refers to the narrator's drunken philosophizing as he chats up a girl at a bar. "What's so 'Great' about the Barrier Reef? What's so 'fine' about art? And what's so 'good' about a Good Times van?" These are the questions we need to address, people.
Anyway, so there it is, my installment of Random Rules. Here's your challenge: post the next 10 songs that come up on "Shuffle" in the comments section. I will send a prize to someone who does so. Because I am nice like that.
9.27.2008
Punk Rock Will Kill You If the Government Don't Get You First
Another excerpt from This Old Box Of Comics and a perfect example of why I read this stuff:
Yes, that was a mutated wolf getting exploded by a magic floating baby head. Who talks. If that's not awesome, I will eat my hat.
*******
From Star Brand #13, published May 1988, part of Marvel's failed New Universe experiment.
Yes, that was a mutated wolf getting exploded by a magic floating baby head. Who talks. If that's not awesome, I will eat my hat.
*******
From Star Brand #13, published May 1988, part of Marvel's failed New Universe experiment.
9.22.2008
Monday Morning Meeting Doodles
I feel all left out because all my art buddies are posting their doodles and I have not. Boo hoo. So anyway: doodles! I did these during our staff meeting this morning because I totally have adult ADD. These can all be see in my Flickr photostream as well.
And while you're there, check out the beginning of my first real comic book work, a Sticky Note comic called Unauthorized Autobiography. It's very much a work in progress but I'd welcome any feedback on what I have up so far. It's the story of my life, with some minor embellishments for dramatic effect.
It's Magic!
You know about the Magic 8 Ball, right? You ask it a "Yes" or "No" question and it magically answers it using magic. Like so:
Well, I now possess a magic question-answering device. Only it's not a ball. It's a ... well, I can't tell you what it is because that would ruin the surprise. And I love surprises.
S U R P R I S E ! ! !
See? Now this won't be like that time when I answered questions you didn't even know that you wanted to ask. No, this time you'll have to ask the questions. So, how about it? Anything you just need to know? Ask now and the magic magicness will magically answer your questions. Magically.
Well, I now possess a magic question-answering device. Only it's not a ball. It's a ... well, I can't tell you what it is because that would ruin the surprise. And I love surprises.
S U R P R I S E ! ! !
See? Now this won't be like that time when I answered questions you didn't even know that you wanted to ask. No, this time you'll have to ask the questions. So, how about it? Anything you just need to know? Ask now and the magic magicness will magically answer your questions. Magically.
9.21.2008
Like A Cowboy Boot!
There's really too much funny stuff in this clip for me to properly break it down for you, but suffice it to say that whispering "What's a panini?" has become our new catchphrase. Allow me to indulge in some hyperbole when I say that John C. Reilly as Dr. Steve Brule is one of the most inspired character that ever charactered.
9.20.2008
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