well, i finally began seeing schlafly winter ESB on store shelves here in the last couple of weeks--first at wine center (snatched up the two shelved 6 packs), then at the brown derby central (campus) location. this year's batch is good as ever, and i'll be buying a lot more of it before february hits. if you don't already have a particular beer picked out for your afternoon, and you see schlafly winter ESB on the shelf, i would highly, strongly, passionately, encourage you to pick that up.
when i was at the central derb, i also spotted two seasonals from NBB that had slipped my mind completely: frambozen (raspberry brown ale) and 2 below (ESB!).
i picked up the 2 below out of love for ESB style ales (and allegiance to New Belgium), and i do enjoy it, but the thing that limits it compared to schlafly's ESB is it has that one NBB note pervading it, that 'fat tire' note that has started to end up in all their beers. I love fat tire! but not in my ESB; though its still just fine, it gets a minus for tasting like everything else NBB is making.
part of my christmas schwag haul this year was a sampler box of beer from arcadia ales; the lineup within consists of their amber ale, starboard stout, IPA, and "angler's ale", a british-style pale. so far its been pretty good drinking although i do suspect the box was a little less than fresh, but what can you do? right now the IPA is my favorite, with a neat fruity finish (i think i even tasted a pear note?). i read a review that complained of lack of head on the stout, so i poured mine with extra agitation in mind... which was a bad idea as this particular bottle produced a TON of head. very satisfying outside of my blunder though, with a great stout smell in particular.
haven't tried this year's batch of the previously mentioned NBB frambozen, but i read elsewhere in the blogosphere that its on the dry side this year, as opposed to the sweet side. i never thought this frambozen was very sweet, but it seems like if a fruit beer tastes anything at all like that fruit (outside of a puckering bitterness), that it gets bashed all over the place by people who won't accept it as real beer. i thought that schlafly's raspberry hefeweisen was excellently balanced, but ive heard people bash it for being too sweet. oh well.
we're on the eve of a great supposed drinker's holiday, new years, and i'd like to say that, as a veteran drinker and established hermit, i don't do shit for new years. i usually go to sleep extra early. but all the same, good luck with your plans this evening. prost!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
i didn't realize
that the santa pic i took from CNN was attached to such a hilarious story. don't get me wrong, gifts for the troops is great. it just makes for funny news copy. witness the funny:
Santa strapped on his body armor and sidearm today and got an early start on his rounds, taking candy canes and holiday wishes to U.S. troops in Iraq. Santa is Army Maj. Harold Riggins of the 101st Airborne Division. His sleigh is an Army Black Hawk helicopter.
i kind of want to do a comic with that tag line. "santa is army major harold riggins of the 101st airborne division. this is his story."
Santa strapped on his body armor and sidearm today and got an early start on his rounds, taking candy canes and holiday wishes to U.S. troops in Iraq. Santa is Army Maj. Harold Riggins of the 101st Airborne Division. His sleigh is an Army Black Hawk helicopter.
i kind of want to do a comic with that tag line. "santa is army major harold riggins of the 101st airborne division. this is his story."
BREAKING NEWS: SANTA POOPS CORNISH GAME HEN
i love fictional things that take the news hostage.
like when the news does reports on santa claus making his deliveries. this stuff is awesome.
why dont they let me write fake news?
i'm excited about several things im getting for christmas this evening:
-trainspotting DVD. porsche is really excited about it too, having downloaded a pirate of the movie onto her laptop, which then messed up a good-ways in. so she gets to finish it tonight. in highschool i actually had to replace my VHS of trainspotting on at least 2 occasions, so i can't believe i don't have it already. i likes the movie, i likes the book. its been a long time too since ive seen it last.
-superbad DVD. so much less crafted feeling than knocked up, but you know what? i like that about it. the lead actors are a perfect comedy team. every line coming out of jonah hill's mouth is gold-plated funny, you could have him tell me i have cancer, and it would be funny. and bill hader & seth rogen make hilarious cops. between trainspotting, this, a replacement copy of knocked up (which i already misplaced around the house), and our old 40 year old virgin copy, we may end up running a movie marathon tonight.
-dip pen stuff. yeah, i already have black and white ink bottles. and porsche has a few nibs and two nib holders, plus a holder FOR YOUR HOLDERS. but ive never actually owned or even really tried using that sort of thing. so tonight, i get a speedball nib holder and a couple of different nib sampler sets, and a little box to hold all our loose nibs. HOORAY! god. i need to become cooler someday. but for now, its dip pens baby. dip pens all the way.
-two whole cds of sufjan stevens music! that'd be his "come on feel the illinois" release, plus the cd of leftovers from those sessions. awesome. his michigan cd doesn't have a single bad track on it, and it somehow finds a way to haunt me, but cheerily.
-the new drawing on the right side of the brain. this is an art instruction book that i see listed everywhere, when someone asks for a book that would be good for learning to draw. its on every list like that. finally, twill be mine. flipped through it at the store and wanted to read the whole thing right there.
-peanuts collected reprintstwo volumes of the fantagraphics reprints, in a neat little case. peanuts was ubiquitous enough by the time i was exposed to it, that i just kind of took it for granted growing up. and now, the older i get, the more i like these strips, and the less i understand how young wes shrugged them off so easily. these are going to be really good reading, healing-type reading.
god, there's so much more too. porsche and i have already decided we are staying up late tonight. we'll have to, there's going to be too much cool stuff to play with!
merry christmas!
stubborn old wood
patient: are you going to have christmas this afternoon?
me: this evening.
patient: this afternoon.
sometimes speaking happens and you don't know what to make of it.
more random tibdits like this as the day drags on. its christmas eve at work and no ones doing anything--can you tell?
me: this evening.
patient: this afternoon.
sometimes speaking happens and you don't know what to make of it.
more random tibdits like this as the day drags on. its christmas eve at work and no ones doing anything--can you tell?
"across the universe" reconsidered
being as porsche is a rabid beatles fan, we had to see 'across the universe' in the theatre (if you didn't know, 'across the universe' is a movie wherein an original story is set to beatles music, ala moulin rouge). i was thoroughly unimpressed by it, but porsche insisted that it was done in the style of a beatles movie, 'help!' for instance, and achieved a different sort of standard set therein. i couldn't really comment at the time, having not seen a single beatles movie.
well, i got porsche a HELP! dvd set for early christmas, and its given me an opportunity to see what all the fuss is about. having now viewed HELP!, i feel like i have new expertise which which to comment on 'across the universe'.
1. HELP! is a really cool, loose, campy, nonsensically goofy movie, and i dig it. to whatever extent other beatles movies are similar to this one, i know i will enjoy them.
2. 'across the universe' is a ship of the damned and fails as any sort of movie, beatles or no. damn you, 'across the universe'. god. its like i thought maybe i'd get it more after HELP! but i actually get it less. ATU is a mess. what a horrible thing to have done to the beatles. i think that, outside of the licensed songs, the movie is entirely distinctly non-beatlesish.
yuck.
this years "can't believe it got made and released" award goes to across the universe. may ye rest in peace.
well, i got porsche a HELP! dvd set for early christmas, and its given me an opportunity to see what all the fuss is about. having now viewed HELP!, i feel like i have new expertise which which to comment on 'across the universe'.
1. HELP! is a really cool, loose, campy, nonsensically goofy movie, and i dig it. to whatever extent other beatles movies are similar to this one, i know i will enjoy them.
2. 'across the universe' is a ship of the damned and fails as any sort of movie, beatles or no. damn you, 'across the universe'. god. its like i thought maybe i'd get it more after HELP! but i actually get it less. ATU is a mess. what a horrible thing to have done to the beatles. i think that, outside of the licensed songs, the movie is entirely distinctly non-beatlesish.
yuck.
this years "can't believe it got made and released" award goes to across the universe. may ye rest in peace.
oh, jesus, its christmas eve
well here it is, christmas eve. i was dissapointed that i hadn't heard as much christmas music this year, but they've got it going on the radio @ work this morning, which is nice. i think all the artificial cheer in christmas music is deranged, and it entertains me to no end. its such a big holiday and it insists on being goofy, and thats awesome.
i love the forced manufactured nature of christmas. that and the narcotic effect it has on people. porsche and i were at walmart and porsche, who loves walmart, almost had an aneurysm because of all the people standing around. they could not be reached, they were lost in the holiday stupor. there's no helping it. santa takes hold and you just can't be bothered; you stand in the middle of the doorways at walmart, gob-struck, staring off into the lights.
you know, if anyone can unite the people again like hitler did, it'll be santa:
i'll get most of my schwag-haul this evening, at mom's christmas eve party! better yet, we don't have to go to the george family christmas eve after all--just stuff on christmas day. add in breakfast @ dad's house and i'll be done with this sweaty hog of a holiday!
if you are looking for last minute gifts for me, might i suggest HB pencils. any HB grade pencil. thanks.
or scotch. you know, thats always good.
here at warmth and green paper, our cockels are truly warmed by the holiday season, and so, in keeping with tradition, let me wish:
a happy christmachuanakwanzika to you and yours!
i love the forced manufactured nature of christmas. that and the narcotic effect it has on people. porsche and i were at walmart and porsche, who loves walmart, almost had an aneurysm because of all the people standing around. they could not be reached, they were lost in the holiday stupor. there's no helping it. santa takes hold and you just can't be bothered; you stand in the middle of the doorways at walmart, gob-struck, staring off into the lights.
you know, if anyone can unite the people again like hitler did, it'll be santa:
i'll get most of my schwag-haul this evening, at mom's christmas eve party! better yet, we don't have to go to the george family christmas eve after all--just stuff on christmas day. add in breakfast @ dad's house and i'll be done with this sweaty hog of a holiday!
if you are looking for last minute gifts for me, might i suggest HB pencils. any HB grade pencil. thanks.
or scotch. you know, thats always good.
here at warmth and green paper, our cockels are truly warmed by the holiday season, and so, in keeping with tradition, let me wish:
a happy christmachuanakwanzika to you and yours!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
whoop de do and hickory dock
almost no post at all today; check the old archive if you are absolutely friggin starved for my opinion.
todays title comes courtesy of a goofy-ass andy williams song, that loves to get stuck in my head because the lyrics are just funny. take this fragment for instance:
"its the holiday season/so whoop de do, and hickory dock/and don't forget to hang up your sock"
doesn't whoop-de-doo mean "who cares?" thats how i use whoop-de-doo. so it sounds to me like andy williams is saying 'its the holiday season, whatever, fuck it'. which is funny.
someone started a thread over @ the rpg.net forums, about bashing the lord of the rings movies. i was really excited to hear about the production for the first movie while they were filming it, up to the release, and then was so incredibly underwhelmed that i still haven't seen the other two. what cracks me up in the thread is a great impression of tolkien's writing style:
Trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees Ah, of old we had much better trees than theese trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees you were knocked out at the beginning of the battle, frodo, let me recount the events trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees ah, the planting of such trees is lost to us now trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees.
the best part? "you were knocked out at the beginning of the battle, frodo, let me recount the events". thats good soup.
fridays almost here, christmas looming. i have 2 places i have to go on christmas eve and 2 more on christmas day. wow thats kind of a lot.
todays title comes courtesy of a goofy-ass andy williams song, that loves to get stuck in my head because the lyrics are just funny. take this fragment for instance:
"its the holiday season/so whoop de do, and hickory dock/and don't forget to hang up your sock"
doesn't whoop-de-doo mean "who cares?" thats how i use whoop-de-doo. so it sounds to me like andy williams is saying 'its the holiday season, whatever, fuck it'. which is funny.
someone started a thread over @ the rpg.net forums, about bashing the lord of the rings movies. i was really excited to hear about the production for the first movie while they were filming it, up to the release, and then was so incredibly underwhelmed that i still haven't seen the other two. what cracks me up in the thread is a great impression of tolkien's writing style:
Trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees Ah, of old we had much better trees than theese trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees you were knocked out at the beginning of the battle, frodo, let me recount the events trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees ah, the planting of such trees is lost to us now trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees.
the best part? "you were knocked out at the beginning of the battle, frodo, let me recount the events". thats good soup.
fridays almost here, christmas looming. i have 2 places i have to go on christmas eve and 2 more on christmas day. wow thats kind of a lot.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
i am a lineman for the county
the title of today's blog comes to us courtesy of glen campbell's singularly shitty song, 'wichita lineman'. im having to listen to it at work right now. this song. IS. SO. BAD. it should become a mascot for really truly genuinely shitty songs.
the fourth most popular story on cnn.com right now is that britney spears's sister is pregnant.
time named its person of the year today, vladimir putin. runner up was al gore, third place runner up was j. k. rowling.
cnn.com, i know you're not listening. but incase you are.
BRITNEY'S SISTER = PREGNANT = NOT NEWSWORTHY = NO ONE FUCKING CARES.
time, i know you're not listening. but incase you are.
J. K ROWLING = 3RD PLACE FOR PERSON OF THE YEAR = YOU ARE MOTHERFUCKING KIDDING ME.
the fourth most popular story on cnn.com right now is that britney spears's sister is pregnant.
time named its person of the year today, vladimir putin. runner up was al gore, third place runner up was j. k. rowling.
cnn.com, i know you're not listening. but incase you are.
BRITNEY'S SISTER = PREGNANT = NOT NEWSWORTHY = NO ONE FUCKING CARES.
time, i know you're not listening. but incase you are.
J. K ROWLING = 3RD PLACE FOR PERSON OF THE YEAR = YOU ARE MOTHERFUCKING KIDDING ME.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
more truth than you deserve
i dont like christmas all that much; christmas is a concept and i don't like concepts. i like potatoes.
its not even jesus's birthday, yo.
friends of mine are having a big year end party tonight, so of course that falls right on the same night as porsche's dinner thing--her brother has come from california for christmas, and porsche agreed for the family dinner in his honor to happen at our house. so i don't know if im going to john's thing at sam & ches. it sucks because i haven't seen the hitchcocks in like, forever, and haven't really seen anyone else from my friend group in at least a month. its fucking tough, distance is killing my friendships.
i disposed of 3 months of cat litter today at lunch. it was very heavy. note to self: there are a lot of things one could do creatively, with one's giant bag of 3 months of cat shit, if one were so inclined to plan things a little more. hmm.
man the holidays. its too busy and i couldn't even handle things when they were half this busy.
its not even jesus's birthday, yo.
friends of mine are having a big year end party tonight, so of course that falls right on the same night as porsche's dinner thing--her brother has come from california for christmas, and porsche agreed for the family dinner in his honor to happen at our house. so i don't know if im going to john's thing at sam & ches. it sucks because i haven't seen the hitchcocks in like, forever, and haven't really seen anyone else from my friend group in at least a month. its fucking tough, distance is killing my friendships.
i disposed of 3 months of cat litter today at lunch. it was very heavy. note to self: there are a lot of things one could do creatively, with one's giant bag of 3 months of cat shit, if one were so inclined to plan things a little more. hmm.
man the holidays. its too busy and i couldn't even handle things when they were half this busy.
Monday, December 17, 2007
choral hymns + marimba = bad and wrong
there's a stereo radio playing where i work, its usually turned to either 99.9 KBFL, "the music of your life". if i'm unlucky, then its turned to KTTS (country) instead.
occasionally a patient asks if they could bring in a cd to put in, and the nurses say 'oh sure' and i cringe. i cringe because historically, this is a bad idea. some of the worst music ive ever heard has been brought in by patients.
and so here we are at work listening to dry hymns + piano, or for the sizzling opening track, dry hymns + marimba. this sounds like a homemade tape, but it does beat the quality on the last tape a patient brought in, which was 'folk about the plight of the school-teacher'-type novelty stuff, if i recall correctly.
on that last occasion, the heavens intervened and the stereo, posessed through what i can only attribute to divine intervention, attempted to eat the tape.
can a stereo eat a cd? this choral stuff is a cd. god i hope a stereo can eat a cd.
of course it could be worse. one time this douche brought in 'los lonely boys' and we had to listen to a couple of loops of that crap.
occasionally a patient asks if they could bring in a cd to put in, and the nurses say 'oh sure' and i cringe. i cringe because historically, this is a bad idea. some of the worst music ive ever heard has been brought in by patients.
and so here we are at work listening to dry hymns + piano, or for the sizzling opening track, dry hymns + marimba. this sounds like a homemade tape, but it does beat the quality on the last tape a patient brought in, which was 'folk about the plight of the school-teacher'-type novelty stuff, if i recall correctly.
on that last occasion, the heavens intervened and the stereo, posessed through what i can only attribute to divine intervention, attempted to eat the tape.
can a stereo eat a cd? this choral stuff is a cd. god i hope a stereo can eat a cd.
of course it could be worse. one time this douche brought in 'los lonely boys' and we had to listen to a couple of loops of that crap.
Friday, December 14, 2007
possibly white weekend
so, everyone in southwest missouri is preparing for snow storms, supposedly coming this weekend, starting as early as this evening. ive heard all kinds of wacky numbers on how many feet we're to be expecting.
so if you don't get a post here monday, you'll know i was buried in snow.
so if you don't get a post here monday, you'll know i was buried in snow.
comics highlights for 2007
time.com put out a list of top 10 graphic novels for 2007 and its a stupid list. they could have made it 'top 10 comics of 2007' and i wouldn't be so pissed. but no, they themselves said it would be a top 10 graphic novels list.
well there's two entries on the list for webcomics. the author even states in the achewood entry, that it may not qualify as a graphic novel by any definition. i'd say that neither it nor 'erfworld' are graphic novels, by any stretch. they aren't bad comics, just serial webcomics that haven't been collected in print.
the problem here is, by this definition of graphic novel, i could "publish" a "graphic novel" merely by doing a daily strip on the web for a year or however long, provided i archive the strips on my site (and im not even sure if that last bit is required). guys, that's not a graphic novel. can't be.
nevermind that another spot on the list, is just the collected edition of 'all star superman' floppies. im ignoring this stupid shit, TIME can't get me down about comics, because 2007 has been my return-to-comics year, and i couldn't have picked a better time.
here's my top ten list, of comics that inspired me this year. note i said COMICS, not graphic novels. kramer's ergot is awesome but its not a graphic novel. why don't we just call it all comics? then you can include everything whilst keeping your definitions sound and not pissing me off. anyways. one last disclaimer: some of this stuff may not even be 07 material--i know the frank book certainly isn't. but it got to me in 07. so fuck off.
10. the quotidian- a great weird digest-size mini i ordered from optical sloth, the quotidian is by paul allusio (i think its paul? might be pat) and, while its rough around the edges, its also wonderfully weird and organic. i don't want to piss on his drawing skills when i say that this mini encourages me to think that anyone can make interesting comics--that i don't need to be jim lee or j scott campbell; i dont even have to try for that. the quotidian has a lot of heart.
09. clumsy- the book by jeffrey brown. i havent finished a lot of it yet, but i love jeff's tone and his simplified drawing style. i like how he captures day-to-day stuff and i know, its autobio so its SUPPOSED TO feel personal and intimate and real. but damned if he doesn't do just a great job of that.
08. king-cat comics- i recieved my first issue of king-cat (by john porcellino) this year. im kicking my ass constantly that this series has been going on under my nose, pretty much as long as ive been able to read, and i just found out about it this year. i think all of the king-cat material that ive seen so far, is a great lesson in design. this is also auto-bio that feels really genuine.
07. aranzi machine gun- aranzi aronzo is, apparently, two guys from japan who like sewing, comics, cuteness, nonsense, and terriers. aranzi machine gun defies definition: part comics, part cross-stitch patterns, heavy on photos of plush dolls and short gag strips. i get a strong 'hello kitty, but not' vibe out of aranzi machine gun. did i mention they like nonsense?
06. exit wounds- this graphic novel by rutu modan is going to make a lot of top ten lists in 07. its rendered in the clear line style you may know from tin-tin, with eye-popping colors and ambitiously detailed, immaculate backgrounds. the story is grounded in the ambiguities of modern living in tel aviv. i hate using words over and over again but the book is simply immaculate, artful and elegant.
05. sounds of your name- this collection of nate powell material really wows me visually, i'm in love with his art style. i haven't really penetrated the storytelling yet, and i don't think that aspect is quite as strong for him. but man do these pages look striking. nate has awesome style in spades.
04. tekkon kinkreet- originally published in the US as 'black and white', and i had book one of that but not two (both are quite rare), so this complete edition is a dream come true. Taiyō Matsumoto is a great example of how japanese art styles are much more varied than one might think from the manga we get to see in the US--his moebius-influenced linework stands out instantly from the crowd. the pages in this edition are much much larger than the 'black and white' collected editions- the wonderful art has space to breath here. what a great book.
03. maggots- brian chippendale's maggots was apparently held up in publishing limbo for A DECADE. this work is strongly associated with the 'fort thunder' phenomenon going on in alt-comics. i like maggots (and a lot of the new stuff im reading) because of how different it is, from anything else in comics ever up to this point. the whole thing was inked over a japanese book catalog. brian pummels those pages with a legion of tiny obsessive lines and marks, until you can barely see the kanji detritus that remains under the panels. oh, the panels. jillions of tiny panels on each page, detailing twitchy moment-to-moment changes and animation cycles. god is maggots dense, and weird, and hard to penetrate. and oh yeah, superb.
02. kramers ergot #6- i'll try and not go on and on about this book because i already have elsewhere on the blog. there's tons of variety here, most of it in brain-busting full-on acid-rainbow colors, none of it too straightforward. there's paper rad in there, matthew thurber (my favorite stuff in the issue), dan zettwoch, even reprints of some japanese war-propaganda comics. a very interesting book that i'll be reading, and finding new stuff in, probably forever.
01. the frank book- like i said, its been out awhile, but until this year i had not read any frank stories. this collects nearly everything that jim woodring has done with his 'frank' character (that i've been aware, but ignorant of, since like middleschool), and in a handsome, hardcover, coffee-table edition. frank comics are beyond weird, they are hypnotic. a common reaction to frank is tepid at first, and then it just grows on you, and begins to haunt your dreams and shit like that. the frank book is nothing short of a religious experience.
well there's two entries on the list for webcomics. the author even states in the achewood entry, that it may not qualify as a graphic novel by any definition. i'd say that neither it nor 'erfworld' are graphic novels, by any stretch. they aren't bad comics, just serial webcomics that haven't been collected in print.
the problem here is, by this definition of graphic novel, i could "publish" a "graphic novel" merely by doing a daily strip on the web for a year or however long, provided i archive the strips on my site (and im not even sure if that last bit is required). guys, that's not a graphic novel. can't be.
nevermind that another spot on the list, is just the collected edition of 'all star superman' floppies. im ignoring this stupid shit, TIME can't get me down about comics, because 2007 has been my return-to-comics year, and i couldn't have picked a better time.
here's my top ten list, of comics that inspired me this year. note i said COMICS, not graphic novels. kramer's ergot is awesome but its not a graphic novel. why don't we just call it all comics? then you can include everything whilst keeping your definitions sound and not pissing me off. anyways. one last disclaimer: some of this stuff may not even be 07 material--i know the frank book certainly isn't. but it got to me in 07. so fuck off.
10. the quotidian- a great weird digest-size mini i ordered from optical sloth, the quotidian is by paul allusio (i think its paul? might be pat) and, while its rough around the edges, its also wonderfully weird and organic. i don't want to piss on his drawing skills when i say that this mini encourages me to think that anyone can make interesting comics--that i don't need to be jim lee or j scott campbell; i dont even have to try for that. the quotidian has a lot of heart.
09. clumsy- the book by jeffrey brown. i havent finished a lot of it yet, but i love jeff's tone and his simplified drawing style. i like how he captures day-to-day stuff and i know, its autobio so its SUPPOSED TO feel personal and intimate and real. but damned if he doesn't do just a great job of that.
08. king-cat comics- i recieved my first issue of king-cat (by john porcellino) this year. im kicking my ass constantly that this series has been going on under my nose, pretty much as long as ive been able to read, and i just found out about it this year. i think all of the king-cat material that ive seen so far, is a great lesson in design. this is also auto-bio that feels really genuine.
07. aranzi machine gun- aranzi aronzo is, apparently, two guys from japan who like sewing, comics, cuteness, nonsense, and terriers. aranzi machine gun defies definition: part comics, part cross-stitch patterns, heavy on photos of plush dolls and short gag strips. i get a strong 'hello kitty, but not' vibe out of aranzi machine gun. did i mention they like nonsense?
06. exit wounds- this graphic novel by rutu modan is going to make a lot of top ten lists in 07. its rendered in the clear line style you may know from tin-tin, with eye-popping colors and ambitiously detailed, immaculate backgrounds. the story is grounded in the ambiguities of modern living in tel aviv. i hate using words over and over again but the book is simply immaculate, artful and elegant.
05. sounds of your name- this collection of nate powell material really wows me visually, i'm in love with his art style. i haven't really penetrated the storytelling yet, and i don't think that aspect is quite as strong for him. but man do these pages look striking. nate has awesome style in spades.
04. tekkon kinkreet- originally published in the US as 'black and white', and i had book one of that but not two (both are quite rare), so this complete edition is a dream come true. Taiyō Matsumoto is a great example of how japanese art styles are much more varied than one might think from the manga we get to see in the US--his moebius-influenced linework stands out instantly from the crowd. the pages in this edition are much much larger than the 'black and white' collected editions- the wonderful art has space to breath here. what a great book.
03. maggots- brian chippendale's maggots was apparently held up in publishing limbo for A DECADE. this work is strongly associated with the 'fort thunder' phenomenon going on in alt-comics. i like maggots (and a lot of the new stuff im reading) because of how different it is, from anything else in comics ever up to this point. the whole thing was inked over a japanese book catalog. brian pummels those pages with a legion of tiny obsessive lines and marks, until you can barely see the kanji detritus that remains under the panels. oh, the panels. jillions of tiny panels on each page, detailing twitchy moment-to-moment changes and animation cycles. god is maggots dense, and weird, and hard to penetrate. and oh yeah, superb.
02. kramers ergot #6- i'll try and not go on and on about this book because i already have elsewhere on the blog. there's tons of variety here, most of it in brain-busting full-on acid-rainbow colors, none of it too straightforward. there's paper rad in there, matthew thurber (my favorite stuff in the issue), dan zettwoch, even reprints of some japanese war-propaganda comics. a very interesting book that i'll be reading, and finding new stuff in, probably forever.
01. the frank book- like i said, its been out awhile, but until this year i had not read any frank stories. this collects nearly everything that jim woodring has done with his 'frank' character (that i've been aware, but ignorant of, since like middleschool), and in a handsome, hardcover, coffee-table edition. frank comics are beyond weird, they are hypnotic. a common reaction to frank is tepid at first, and then it just grows on you, and begins to haunt your dreams and shit like that. the frank book is nothing short of a religious experience.
thoughts on 1408
porsche had heard good things about '1408', and likes adaptations of stephen king material, so we bought the dvd semi-recently and have watched it a couple of times.
i'll admit i have a problem in the last couple years, where its hard for me to take 'serious' movies seriously. ive had this problem for a long time really, bone collector was when i really started to notice it. its like, these drama movies are executed in such a goofy manner.
i can take american beauty seriously; i can take donnie darko or eternal sunshine of the spotless mind seriously. its weird to me because donnie darko and eternal sunshine have surreal elements in them that SHOULD make it harder for me to suspend my disbelief while im watching.
even in a lot of comedy movies (say the big lebowski or being john malkovich), i can take their settings seriously; i can believe in the world going on around 'the dude' or even 'the 40 year old virgin'. i can even believe that the soundstages used in the exterior shots for 'eyes wide shut' are actually somewhere in new york, even though they didn't capture the feel right. it works enough for me--i can take that serious movie seriously.
i can't take 1408 seriously; i can't take most 'horror' premises seriously anymore and certainly not most king premises. its all the same old shit, "x is evil/haunted. BoOoOoOoOoOoOoh!!!". it seems like every other stephen king idea, at least, is "what if x was evil".
"there's this house and its evil"
"its about a car that's evil"
"all the cellphones go evil and start turning people into fucking zombies"
"theres this house plant, and its evil"
the 1408 pitch is like
stephen king:"so theres this hotel room, and something unusual is going on with it"
me: "like, its evil?"
stephen king: "yeah, how'd you guess?"
samuel l jackson: " its an evil fucking room." he actually says that in the movie, and that character is dead serious, and man, i can't take it.
i'll give the movie one thing: i like the sound design. everything sounds crisp and punchy, and when that evil hotel slams the windowsill down, or makes the alarm clock go off, it is FUCKING LOUD AND SUDDEN to scare the shit out of you. i don't know if this was in the king story, or added for the movie, but the radio plays karen carpenter when it turns on by itself, "weve only just begun" with this weird flutter sending it out of tune. i have to give someone credit for that. karen carpenter's voice is really genuinely creepy, and creepier when its blasting out of a shitty alarm clock, all wobbly and distorted. so that's a nice touch.
whats not creepy at this point? "theres this X and its evil!". fucking gag me with a spoon.
i'll admit i have a problem in the last couple years, where its hard for me to take 'serious' movies seriously. ive had this problem for a long time really, bone collector was when i really started to notice it. its like, these drama movies are executed in such a goofy manner.
i can take american beauty seriously; i can take donnie darko or eternal sunshine of the spotless mind seriously. its weird to me because donnie darko and eternal sunshine have surreal elements in them that SHOULD make it harder for me to suspend my disbelief while im watching.
even in a lot of comedy movies (say the big lebowski or being john malkovich), i can take their settings seriously; i can believe in the world going on around 'the dude' or even 'the 40 year old virgin'. i can even believe that the soundstages used in the exterior shots for 'eyes wide shut' are actually somewhere in new york, even though they didn't capture the feel right. it works enough for me--i can take that serious movie seriously.
i can't take 1408 seriously; i can't take most 'horror' premises seriously anymore and certainly not most king premises. its all the same old shit, "x is evil/haunted. BoOoOoOoOoOoOoh!!!". it seems like every other stephen king idea, at least, is "what if x was evil".
"there's this house and its evil"
"its about a car that's evil"
"all the cellphones go evil and start turning people into fucking zombies"
"theres this house plant, and its evil"
the 1408 pitch is like
stephen king:"so theres this hotel room, and something unusual is going on with it"
me: "like, its evil?"
stephen king: "yeah, how'd you guess?"
samuel l jackson: " its an evil fucking room." he actually says that in the movie, and that character is dead serious, and man, i can't take it.
i'll give the movie one thing: i like the sound design. everything sounds crisp and punchy, and when that evil hotel slams the windowsill down, or makes the alarm clock go off, it is FUCKING LOUD AND SUDDEN to scare the shit out of you. i don't know if this was in the king story, or added for the movie, but the radio plays karen carpenter when it turns on by itself, "weve only just begun" with this weird flutter sending it out of tune. i have to give someone credit for that. karen carpenter's voice is really genuinely creepy, and creepier when its blasting out of a shitty alarm clock, all wobbly and distorted. so that's a nice touch.
whats not creepy at this point? "theres this X and its evil!". fucking gag me with a spoon.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
a quick bit from your friends at the dictionary people
merriam-webster, the dictionary people, have named their official 2007 word of the year.
and it is woot.
WOOT
and it is woot.
WOOT
full breakfast.
rummaging around the archives of bully's site, "comics ought to be fun", reminded me this morning of just how good a full english breakfast sounds.
oh man just look at that. closer.
actually, this mouth-watering picture is of an 'ulster fry', the irish edition of a full breakfast. you can read about it on wikipedia, or try wiki's writeup of the full breakfast. ulster fry links to it, so i wont repeat that here. just one more torturous picture. man, i wish baked beans were an ingrained part of american breakfast.
we had ice this weekend in southwest missouri, not that it excuses me not posting or anything. but monday i got a nice snow day from work (if bolivar schools are closed, the department i work for in the hospital is closed). sleeping in = good. this morning either my alarm didn't go off, or i chose to ignore it, which means i had about 20 minutes less to get to work. oh wells. everything has melted and now polk county is being hit with drizzle, for what seems like the last couple of days straight. its yucky outside. but warmer at least.
oh man just look at that. closer.
actually, this mouth-watering picture is of an 'ulster fry', the irish edition of a full breakfast. you can read about it on wikipedia, or try wiki's writeup of the full breakfast. ulster fry links to it, so i wont repeat that here. just one more torturous picture. man, i wish baked beans were an ingrained part of american breakfast.
we had ice this weekend in southwest missouri, not that it excuses me not posting or anything. but monday i got a nice snow day from work (if bolivar schools are closed, the department i work for in the hospital is closed). sleeping in = good. this morning either my alarm didn't go off, or i chose to ignore it, which means i had about 20 minutes less to get to work. oh wells. everything has melted and now polk county is being hit with drizzle, for what seems like the last couple of days straight. its yucky outside. but warmer at least.
Friday, December 7, 2007
friday edition
today's blog almost didn't get pooped out, but here i am.
stockhausen has passed on into the nether, check the cnn obithere or his wikipedia entry here. i have read many mentions of this guy's name, and never actually heard any of his music. he gets name-dropped when people talk about influential pioneers in experimental and electronic music.
cnn and wikipedia mention a 9/11 comments controversy, that i hadn't heard about before, and the mentions make you think completely different things. here's cnn's take on it:
He provoked controversy in 2001 after describing the September 11 attacks as "the greatest work of art one can imagine" during a news conference in the northern German city of Hamburg, where several of the hijackers had lived.
The composer later apologized for his remarks, but the city still canceled performances of his works.
and wiki:
After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, Stockhausen was alleged to have made the statement that the attacks were "works of art". In a subsequent message, he stated that the press had hideously misinterpreted his meaning, and clarified as follows:
At the press conference in Hamburg, I was asked if Michael, Eve and Lucifer were historical figures of the past and I answered that they exist now, for example Lucifer in New York. In my work, I have defined Lucifer as the cosmic spirit of rebellion, of anarchy. He uses his high degree of intelligence to destroy creation. He does not know love. After further questions about the events in America, I said that such a plan appeared to be Lucifer's greatest work of art. Of course I used the designation "work of art" to mean the work of destruction personified in Lucifer. In the context of my other comments this was unequivocal.[2]
so, this is a great way to highlight how sensationalist cnn is right?
also kind of a sad thing to note out of the CNN article, is the sentence they reduce stockhausen down to. the link on the main page says 'avant-garde composer on "pepper" cover dies'. it might be a little galling to this guy where he to discover that his most notable achievement in the eyes of cnn was being on the sgt. pepper cover somewhere.
in other news, ive heard various reports this afternoon that we may be seeing some ice stormin' here in southwest missouri this weekend. specifically saturday thru tuesday, there is apparently a big chance of ice storm. i hate to say this because of what hell the ice storm was last spring, but if god wants to give me a snow-day monday, that'd be pretty swell.
i realized that i haven't been writing anything comics related this week; i'll try and rectify the problem when i return on monday.
stockhausen has passed on into the nether, check the cnn obithere or his wikipedia entry here. i have read many mentions of this guy's name, and never actually heard any of his music. he gets name-dropped when people talk about influential pioneers in experimental and electronic music.
cnn and wikipedia mention a 9/11 comments controversy, that i hadn't heard about before, and the mentions make you think completely different things. here's cnn's take on it:
He provoked controversy in 2001 after describing the September 11 attacks as "the greatest work of art one can imagine" during a news conference in the northern German city of Hamburg, where several of the hijackers had lived.
The composer later apologized for his remarks, but the city still canceled performances of his works.
and wiki:
After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, Stockhausen was alleged to have made the statement that the attacks were "works of art". In a subsequent message, he stated that the press had hideously misinterpreted his meaning, and clarified as follows:
At the press conference in Hamburg, I was asked if Michael, Eve and Lucifer were historical figures of the past and I answered that they exist now, for example Lucifer in New York. In my work, I have defined Lucifer as the cosmic spirit of rebellion, of anarchy. He uses his high degree of intelligence to destroy creation. He does not know love. After further questions about the events in America, I said that such a plan appeared to be Lucifer's greatest work of art. Of course I used the designation "work of art" to mean the work of destruction personified in Lucifer. In the context of my other comments this was unequivocal.[2]
so, this is a great way to highlight how sensationalist cnn is right?
also kind of a sad thing to note out of the CNN article, is the sentence they reduce stockhausen down to. the link on the main page says 'avant-garde composer on "pepper" cover dies'. it might be a little galling to this guy where he to discover that his most notable achievement in the eyes of cnn was being on the sgt. pepper cover somewhere.
in other news, ive heard various reports this afternoon that we may be seeing some ice stormin' here in southwest missouri this weekend. specifically saturday thru tuesday, there is apparently a big chance of ice storm. i hate to say this because of what hell the ice storm was last spring, but if god wants to give me a snow-day monday, that'd be pretty swell.
i realized that i haven't been writing anything comics related this week; i'll try and rectify the problem when i return on monday.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
beer inventory
represented, in some quantity, in my fridge at this moment:
-genesse cream ale
-boddington's pub ale
-st. peters cream stout
-schlafly oatmeal stout
still on the lookout for schlafy winter ESB. i actually saw a schlafly page yesterday that listed their ESB as being produced in OCTOBER instead of november, and placed it out ahead of other seasonals by schlafly that ive seen by now. so, thats VERY worrisome. ratebeer has entries being posted from the beginning of november, so it HAS to be out somewhere. the clerk i talked to at the central location for brown derby tried to say that its too early to look for the ESB. anymore, derb' employees sort of piss me off (drews coo tho).
my girlfriend went to the wine center back in october looking for a beer glass to buy for my birthday, and some bitch clerk she asked about it apparently said "well this is the WINE center". which is snobby shit to begin with but is inexcusable when you're working for somewhere that also has a great BEER selection and BEER GLASSES FOR SALE.
but i digress.
-genesse cream ale
-boddington's pub ale
-st. peters cream stout
-schlafly oatmeal stout
still on the lookout for schlafy winter ESB. i actually saw a schlafly page yesterday that listed their ESB as being produced in OCTOBER instead of november, and placed it out ahead of other seasonals by schlafly that ive seen by now. so, thats VERY worrisome. ratebeer has entries being posted from the beginning of november, so it HAS to be out somewhere. the clerk i talked to at the central location for brown derby tried to say that its too early to look for the ESB. anymore, derb' employees sort of piss me off (drews coo tho).
my girlfriend went to the wine center back in october looking for a beer glass to buy for my birthday, and some bitch clerk she asked about it apparently said "well this is the WINE center". which is snobby shit to begin with but is inexcusable when you're working for somewhere that also has a great BEER selection and BEER GLASSES FOR SALE.
but i digress.
confoozled
"Freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom."-excerpted from media statements of one mit romney today (he's a presidential hopeful this year, incase you were unaware).
im trying to figure this statement out, CNN grabbed it as a good headline soundbyte, specifically this portion: 'freedom requires religion'. im trying really really hard to figure out this statement. i dont have anything snarky to say about religion or mit or mormons right now. im just trying to grok how freedom requires religion.
im just kind of dumbfounded.
im trying to figure this statement out, CNN grabbed it as a good headline soundbyte, specifically this portion: 'freedom requires religion'. im trying really really hard to figure out this statement. i dont have anything snarky to say about religion or mit or mormons right now. im just trying to grok how freedom requires religion.
im just kind of dumbfounded.
social commentary
this guy shot up people at the mall and HOW DO YOU FEEL about it.
time flies. my left eye is gonna go lazy soon, the way it used to get if i got really drunk? i think thats coming as a more permanent thing. and then whos going to love me?
oh, boddingtons pub ale,
you are my only friend.
i had to clip the editorial from wednesday's herald-free press (bolivar's newspaper). the title is 'Are parts of the Bible boring?' and that line is hilarious to read in print, in a newspaper. its the kind of hard-hitting journalism you usually find in the herald-free press. 'are parts of the bible boring?'
'are you shitting me?'
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
cleanup/december beer choices
cosmic reboot!
i wanted to clean up the site, so the former content of http://bossapplesauce.blogspot.com has been moved to http://oldbossapplesauce.blogspot.com.
in lieu of a better post today, you'll have to content yourself with the new links section (spotlighting mainly comics/art interests) and a brief mention of what i've been drinking as of late.
i say this every other week but i'll say it again: the liquor warehouse, in bolivar missouri (the generally not too impressive area that i hail from), has a great beer selection at both locations. infact they had bell's expedition stout @ the larger store when i was there last week. if you haven't tried bells expedition stout, just know that it is pure liquid satisfaction for an admirer of stout. liquor warehouse consistently carries beers that you don't deserve to find in such a small town. its awesome.
so what am i drinking recently? genesse cream ale, tillburgs dutch brown ale, schlafly dry-hopped apa, and schlafly oatmeal stout. if you went to the wine center looking for those, you'd be shit out of luck on 3 of the 4. liquor warehouse? has them all. thanks liquor warehouse.
i wanted to clean up the site, so the former content of http://bossapplesauce.blogspot.com has been moved to http://oldbossapplesauce.blogspot.com.
in lieu of a better post today, you'll have to content yourself with the new links section (spotlighting mainly comics/art interests) and a brief mention of what i've been drinking as of late.
i say this every other week but i'll say it again: the liquor warehouse, in bolivar missouri (the generally not too impressive area that i hail from), has a great beer selection at both locations. infact they had bell's expedition stout @ the larger store when i was there last week. if you haven't tried bells expedition stout, just know that it is pure liquid satisfaction for an admirer of stout. liquor warehouse consistently carries beers that you don't deserve to find in such a small town. its awesome.
so what am i drinking recently? genesse cream ale, tillburgs dutch brown ale, schlafly dry-hopped apa, and schlafly oatmeal stout. if you went to the wine center looking for those, you'd be shit out of luck on 3 of the 4. liquor warehouse? has them all. thanks liquor warehouse.
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