You know you're safely ensconced just on the outside of true technological geekiness when you read a Scripting News post about ZIP coming undone and you're concerned that the USPS is changing how the zoning improvement plan works.
Or you learn you're just a different kind of geek. File under: Just fine, thanks.
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
Workaday World XXXIV
Bonding with a bicycle messenger in the elevator.
If it weren't for Common Rider, all we'd be left with is Rancid. Oh, Common Rider broke up. Rancid it is, then.
Messenger: Op Ivy, huh? (commenting on my Operation Ivy T-shirt.)
Me: They were quite a band.
Messenger: I haven't seen an Operation Ivy reference for a long time.
Me: They're much missed.
Messenger: Sure are.
If it weren't for Common Rider, all we'd be left with is Rancid. Oh, Common Rider broke up. Rancid it is, then.
Hiking History XI
This Kuro5hin account of an urban exploration south of London makes me want to organize another Boston World Explorers Foundation expedition soon. What a wonderful vicarious read!
Monday, August 11, 2003
The Movie I Watched Last Night LXXIV
Hair
Based on the musical by the same name, this 1979 movie doesn't quite capture the spirit of the '60s but sure tries hard. (This might be because the movie was made 11 years after the musical's original staging.) A young man from Oklahoma travels to New York City to enlist in the Army so he can serve in Viet Nam. Why he couldn't enlist in Oklahoma is unclear, but perhaps he wanted to go to the Big City before he was shipped overseas. Once in the Big Apple, he encounters a playful gang of hippies and an uppercrust debutante who steals his heart. Mmm, Beverly D'Angelo! The hippies turn him onto free love, sleeping in Central Park, smoking pot, taking acid, and anti-war rhetoric, but the country boy still plans to join the Army. The leader of the hippies, played by Treat Williams, decides they should follow him to Nevada, where he's stationed. They sneak him off base for a picnic, but -- much to his dismay -- Williams' character Berger is accidentally shipped overseas in his stead. A dark ending I wasn't quite expecting! For the most part I felt like the musical sequences gave the original book short shrift (even the rendition of "Hair" was disappointing) -- and that the story didn't hook onto the song order as well as it could have. Regardless, the back-to-back "Black Boys" and "White Boys" were awesome numbers, and the ending reminded me a little of Dr. Strangelove. What a twisted conclusion! Worth watching as a detached period piece, but not as valid a time capsule as Jesus Christ Superstar.
Based on the musical by the same name, this 1979 movie doesn't quite capture the spirit of the '60s but sure tries hard. (This might be because the movie was made 11 years after the musical's original staging.) A young man from Oklahoma travels to New York City to enlist in the Army so he can serve in Viet Nam. Why he couldn't enlist in Oklahoma is unclear, but perhaps he wanted to go to the Big City before he was shipped overseas. Once in the Big Apple, he encounters a playful gang of hippies and an uppercrust debutante who steals his heart. Mmm, Beverly D'Angelo! The hippies turn him onto free love, sleeping in Central Park, smoking pot, taking acid, and anti-war rhetoric, but the country boy still plans to join the Army. The leader of the hippies, played by Treat Williams, decides they should follow him to Nevada, where he's stationed. They sneak him off base for a picnic, but -- much to his dismay -- Williams' character Berger is accidentally shipped overseas in his stead. A dark ending I wasn't quite expecting! For the most part I felt like the musical sequences gave the original book short shrift (even the rendition of "Hair" was disappointing) -- and that the story didn't hook onto the song order as well as it could have. Regardless, the back-to-back "Black Boys" and "White Boys" were awesome numbers, and the ending reminded me a little of Dr. Strangelove. What a twisted conclusion! Worth watching as a detached period piece, but not as valid a time capsule as Jesus Christ Superstar.
Event-O-Dex LXXIII
Friday, Aug. 15: Scrapple premieres Tromo, a sci-fi, lo-fi, techno-popera -- and Travers revisits his multimedia performance piece -- at the Milky Way in Jamaica Plain.
Comics and Computers V
Donna Barr now offers two books through BookSurge, which provides on-demand distribution services for books listed in R.R. Bowker databases, including Books In Print, Global Books In Print, and BookWire. Available as paperbacks and PDF's -- e-books -- Barr's available titles include The Grandmothers' Hive and An Insupportable Light. Barr emailed me the PDF for An Insupportable Light this weekend, and to my surprise, it's a 280-page novel, not a Stinz comic at all!
Friday, August 08, 2003
Corollary: Blogging About Blogging LXVI
Fast Company Now, Fast Company's new staff blog, is now live. It'll "officially" launch Monday, but check it out. I'm pretty jazzed.
Thursday, August 07, 2003
Street Media
This is cool. The Publicity Club of New York now offers an online interactive map of media companies in Manhattan. Mouse over Forbes and learn they're near 14th and Broadway. Gruner + Jahr's near 42nd and Lexington. I hope they continue to expand this. It'd be awesome to see where every newspaper and magazine is located, not just the big boys.
Thanks to I Want Media.
Thanks to I Want Media.
Ego Tripping
In an email news release transmitted yesterday, Tony Perkins' new Web network project AlwaysOn claims responsibility for Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to enter the California gubernatorial race.
Um, OK. Perhaps AlwaysOn's tongue is firmly planted in cheek, but really. This is a weak current events hook to promote the Web site, and it's unbelievable that AlwaysOn would have such effect. Still, maybe I should watch my Media Diet mouth. After all, Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie did break up.
Am I to blame? Shudder to think.
Just days ago, AO launched a "Grudge Match" between Mr. Schwarzenegger and Gray Davis in the right hand column of its home page, and Arnold has been consistently running ahead of Davis by a 3-to-1 margin.
"I think it is the AO poll that ultimately pushed the Terminator into the race," said Matthew Falzone, the AO team member who creates the "Grudge Match" series.
Um, OK. Perhaps AlwaysOn's tongue is firmly planted in cheek, but really. This is a weak current events hook to promote the Web site, and it's unbelievable that AlwaysOn would have such effect. Still, maybe I should watch my Media Diet mouth. After all, Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie did break up.
Am I to blame? Shudder to think.
Comics and Community XV
Modern Tales will launch a new Web hosting service for comics creators next month. As an adjunct to Modern Tales focused online anthologies Girlamatic and Serializer, as well as Modern Tales proper, Webcomics Nation will be open to any cartoonist wanting to offer online comics.
Joey Manley, Modern Tales' mastermind, says that all the programming and back-end database work needed for creators to sell subscriptions or specific pieces of work via micropayment will be provided. "All you have to do is make your comics," he says. Webcomics Nation will also organize, promote, and spotlight the hosted comics.
If you'd like to help beta test the service, get on board now.
Joey Manley, Modern Tales' mastermind, says that all the programming and back-end database work needed for creators to sell subscriptions or specific pieces of work via micropayment will be provided. "All you have to do is make your comics," he says. Webcomics Nation will also organize, promote, and spotlight the hosted comics.
If you'd like to help beta test the service, get on board now.
Event-O-Dex LXXII
Thursday, Aug. 7: Drugless Douglas' Farewell Party at TT the Bear's in Cambridge features 17 local rock acts, including Kenne Highland, the Red Telephone, Ad Frank, Dave Aaronoff and the Details, and the Pills. All proceeds will be donated to the Mikey Dee Musician's Benefit Trust.
Thursday, Aug. 14: Spoilsport, Shumai, and Mercury Charm Offensive get defensive at the Milky Way in Jamaica Plain.
Thursday, Aug. 14: Spoilsport, Shumai, and Mercury Charm Offensive get defensive at the Milky Way in Jamaica Plain.
Cobblestone Pie II
Near the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and State Street across from the Miracle of Science, there are several patches of exposed granite paving stones that haven't been covered by asphalt yet.
Here's hoping they don't pave them all over like they did along Franklin Street back in May.
Here's hoping they don't pave them all over like they did along Franklin Street back in May.
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
Magazine Me XL
When I read the September 2003 edition of YM earlier this week, I fully expected to get hip to the Olsen twins, hallway makeout sessions, and 432 ways to stay in school -- and be cool. Instead, I got a surprising reminder why I'm glad I'm not environmentally sensitive. In addition to two bind-in samples of Bonnebell's strawberry LipLix lip gloss and L'Oreal's Diva glam shine "lipcolour," I was subjected to no fewer than four perfume samples. Ralph Lauren scalped me with the Ralph scented hair collection. Scented hair? Esprit's Life fragrance lifted off the page and into the air. Davidoff's Cool Water Woman and Cool Water (for men) eau de toilette made me cough. And J. Lo's Glow eau de toilette made me go, "Oh, no!" I want my magazines writ to peruse, not fit to ooze. Sensory overload!
Compare that with the Aug. 5 issue of Family Circle. Only two scented samples surprise. In addition to a clever insert promoting Botanical Bliss, a new "scent" by Snuggle brand fabric softener, there's a faux strip for Lever Bros. Co.'s Sunkissed Breeze.
Compare that with the Aug. 5 issue of Family Circle. Only two scented samples surprise. In addition to a clever insert promoting Botanical Bliss, a new "scent" by Snuggle brand fabric softener, there's a faux strip for Lever Bros. Co.'s Sunkissed Breeze.
Technofetishism XLII
I just downloaded and installed Apple's iCal as another step away from Outlook. Were it not for my sizable email archives and Outlook folder organization, I'd start using Mail in a minute. Any iCal tips and tricks? Any ideas on moving from Outlook to Mail without maintaining email archives in two locations?
Among the Literati XLVIII
Jim Munroe's Perpetual Motion Roadshow performance art party series, which combines DIY lit and media, might nix the Boston stop. "No local agent to help us out there," Jim says. The previous event happened in June, and another Roadshow is scheduled for this fall. If you're local to Boston and interested in getting involved, contact Jim.
Tuesday, August 05, 2003
Blogging About Blogging LXVI
I've really tried not to post about this in Media Diet. Really, I have. But I'm currently working on a blog-related project for a certain business magazine, and I am so excited about its launch. You have no idea. More to come as it develops, but if I'm quiet for the next few days, it's because my blogging energy is being expended elsewhere.
Science-Fiction Spam III
Yay.
No, thank you. Some spam makes me smile.
Hello,
I'm a time traveler stuck here in 2003. Upon arriving here my dimensional warp generator stopped working. I trusted a company here by the name of LLC Lasers to repair my Generation 3 52 4350A watch unit, and they fled on me. I am going to need a new DWG unit, prefereably the rechargeable AMD wrist watch model with the GRC79 induction motor, four I80200 warp stabilizers, 512GB of SRAM and the menu driven GUI with front panel XID display.
I will take whatever model you have in stock, as long as its received certification for being safe on carbon based life forms.
In terms of payment: I dont have any Galactic Credits left. Payment can be made in platinum gold or 2003 currency upon safe delivery of unit.
INSTRUCTIONS MUST BE FOLLOWED EXACTLY: Please transport unit in either a brown paper bag or box to below coordinates on Tuesday August 5th at (exactly 5:00pm) Eastern Standard Time on the dot. A few minutes prior will be ok, but it cannot be after. If you miss this timeframe please email me. I will not be there prior to 4:45pm EST, so do not transport before then.
Item is to be delivered at (out of service tennis court) located at: Latitude N 42.47935 & Longitude W 071.17355 and the Elevation is 119. WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TRANSPORT ITEM BY REGULAR MEANS OF TELEPORTATION. THEY ARE MONITORING AND WILL REDIRECT THE SIGNAL!!
I DO NOT CARE HOW YOU HAVE TO GET IT HERE, JUST DO IT IN A WAY THAT NO SPYING EYES WILL POSSIBLY BE ABLE TO REDIRECT THE TRANSFERENCE. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU BE ABLE TO MONITOR THE TRANSFER.
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SEND IT SO THAT THEY CANNOT REDIRECT IT??? If in doubt do not transport actual unit until your method of transfer can be confirmed as a success. You just might need to send a intergalactic courier to deliver item safely to me. If so be VERY careful at how they approach me IN MY WHITE CAR.
After unit has been delivered please email me with payment instructions. Do not reply directly back to this email.
Thank You
No, thank you. Some spam makes me smile.
Monday, August 04, 2003
Among the Literati XLVII
There's a new online pomo popcult mag online, the High Hat. Ostensibly a monthly, the first edition of this Net-based newcomer includes content and commentary addressing cover songs, the marriage of comics and movies, reality TV, infomercials, media bias, and other topics of possible interest to Media Dieticians.
Corollary: Magazine Me XXXIX
Harf! I didn't have to wait long. Ken Gordon's look at the business media scene in Boston ran recently in Folio magazine. Gordon considers the fate of former Boston-based magazines -- as well as the city's immediate media future. I said it best myself: "Inc. and Fast Company were anomalies. They were founded by Bostonians. Staffed by Bostonians. They were outliers, indicating that quality magazines could be located outside of New York." The same goes for the Bay Area, as Dan Fost tells it.
The Height of Vanity
Just as the zine Baby Split Bowling News spawned Office Supply Junkie, the fine folks behind Lost Armadillos in Heat have a side project of their own going. Big-Headed Pygmies is a laugh-a-minute look at the height of vanity -- or the vanity that comes with a, well, lack of height.
What do I mean? Most celebrities, most actors, are shorter than they seem. In a rear-view mirror, they actually appear further away than they actually are. Or something. Why? Because they're small. Long on ego, perhaps, but lacking in the stature department. And with a lack of stature comes status. Russell Crowe wears special "tall" shoes. Corey Feldman is only slightly larger than a picnic table. And the Internet Movie Database over-reports Julia Roberts height by a good 3 inches.
Thanks to Media Dietician Joe-O for the tip off.
What do I mean? Most celebrities, most actors, are shorter than they seem. In a rear-view mirror, they actually appear further away than they actually are. Or something. Why? Because they're small. Long on ego, perhaps, but lacking in the stature department. And with a lack of stature comes status. Russell Crowe wears special "tall" shoes. Corey Feldman is only slightly larger than a picnic table. And the Internet Movie Database over-reports Julia Roberts height by a good 3 inches.
Thanks to Media Dietician Joe-O for the tip off.
Magazine Me XXXIX
Media Dietician Laura Goldberg turned me onto a great piece in the San Francisco Chronicle about the magazine publishing scene in Northern California. Writer Dan Fost considers the role the Net economy boom played in attracting media moguls to the Bay Area and takes names of the magazines that remain post-bust -- including some brilliant smaller magazines.
Citing the move of Parenting, Health, and Rolling Stone, Fost lists several innovative titles that still make the Bay Area their home: ReadyMade, Bark, and Dwell. And his mention of Bitch magazine's recent plea for readers indicates that Fost dug deeper than most mainstream journos would have. Kudos.
Additionally, Business 2.0 editor Josh Quittner's comments on what it was like to relocate from New York to take over the title -- including his struggle finding solid staffers -- are well worth considering. But really, is Business 2.0 the only "last man standing among the new economy magazines"? Either Fost is only considering Bay Area books, he doesn't consider Fast Company a new economy mag -- which is good, actually -- or he doesn't consider us standing. Well, we're still here.
Can't wait to see a similar piece about Boston's media scene soon.
Citing the move of Parenting, Health, and Rolling Stone, Fost lists several innovative titles that still make the Bay Area their home: ReadyMade, Bark, and Dwell. And his mention of Bitch magazine's recent plea for readers indicates that Fost dug deeper than most mainstream journos would have. Kudos.
Additionally, Business 2.0 editor Josh Quittner's comments on what it was like to relocate from New York to take over the title -- including his struggle finding solid staffers -- are well worth considering. But really, is Business 2.0 the only "last man standing among the new economy magazines"? Either Fost is only considering Bay Area books, he doesn't consider Fast Company a new economy mag -- which is good, actually -- or he doesn't consider us standing. Well, we're still here.
Can't wait to see a similar piece about Boston's media scene soon.
Products I Love IX
GP Markham has compiled a comprehensive illustrated catalog of ACME products as featured in various Warner Bros. cartoons between 1935 and 1964. The product listings are quite brief but include an image from the cartoon in which the item was featured, title and animator credits, and either a guarantee or usage warning based on the content of the cartoon. Fun stuff!
Thanks to Memepool.
Thanks to Memepool.
Technofetishism XLI
Comedy of Terror
Wait, so now Bob Hope isn't funny? Leave it to Christopher Hitchens to whip a dead horse laugh. I don't think that Hope was that funny, either, but, dude, he's dead. Let the people who liked him continue to like him. I don't need to read about why he wasn't funny. I don't need validation for thinking he's not funny. I can just choose not to read the appreciations and respect a grand old man of humor in his passing. Can't wait to see what Hitchens has to say about Tim Conway. Sheesh.
Thanks to Daypop.
Thanks to Daypop.
The Movie I Watched Last Night LXXIII
Daredevil
I didn't see this when it was in the theaters -- just as I missed X2 and Hulk -- but I did pick up the DVD to validate my comic book geekdom. And even though I had my doubts going in -- Ben Affleck? -- this movie could have been much, much worse. Not having been a big reader of the comic since the '80s, I don't think the director played up the darkness of the character as much as he could of. I remember Daredevil being so desolate and despairing. The production team tried to capture some of that by portraying a Tim Burton-era Batman-like world blending modern-day elements and gothic overtones. But outside of the nighttime scenes, it didn't really carry. For the long-running comic-based romance and storyline with Elektra, it's a shame that their relationship was so shallow in the movie -- and that she was killed off. Likewise with Bullseye, who was demoted to a cartoony ethnic tough. So what did I like? The repositioning of Daredevil's origin was interesting, with hazardous waste physically affecting his optic nerves. And the special effects during the sequences in which viewers got a taste of Daredevil's radar-like vision were extremely well done, particularly the scenes in the rain (which beg the question: Following Spider-Man, do all superhero movies now require a rainy romantic scene?). Two action sequences stand out: the scene in which young Matt Murdock fights the neighborhood bullies shortly after his blinding, and the scene in which Elektra and Murdock first meet and spar in the playground. But above all, I think it is the repositioning of the Kingpin that I think has the most promise. The ending opens up the opportunity for a sequel -- which might not be the wisest of decisions -- with the Kingpin put up against Daredevil as Magneto has been put up against the X-Men in their respective movies. Worth seeing if you're interested in comic books, but not overly satisfying if you don't have prior exposure to the characters.
I didn't see this when it was in the theaters -- just as I missed X2 and Hulk -- but I did pick up the DVD to validate my comic book geekdom. And even though I had my doubts going in -- Ben Affleck? -- this movie could have been much, much worse. Not having been a big reader of the comic since the '80s, I don't think the director played up the darkness of the character as much as he could of. I remember Daredevil being so desolate and despairing. The production team tried to capture some of that by portraying a Tim Burton-era Batman-like world blending modern-day elements and gothic overtones. But outside of the nighttime scenes, it didn't really carry. For the long-running comic-based romance and storyline with Elektra, it's a shame that their relationship was so shallow in the movie -- and that she was killed off. Likewise with Bullseye, who was demoted to a cartoony ethnic tough. So what did I like? The repositioning of Daredevil's origin was interesting, with hazardous waste physically affecting his optic nerves. And the special effects during the sequences in which viewers got a taste of Daredevil's radar-like vision were extremely well done, particularly the scenes in the rain (which beg the question: Following Spider-Man, do all superhero movies now require a rainy romantic scene?). Two action sequences stand out: the scene in which young Matt Murdock fights the neighborhood bullies shortly after his blinding, and the scene in which Elektra and Murdock first meet and spar in the playground. But above all, I think it is the repositioning of the Kingpin that I think has the most promise. The ending opens up the opportunity for a sequel -- which might not be the wisest of decisions -- with the Kingpin put up against Daredevil as Magneto has been put up against the X-Men in their respective movies. Worth seeing if you're interested in comic books, but not overly satisfying if you don't have prior exposure to the characters.
Friday, August 01, 2003
From the Reading Pile XX
The Big Mess
Produced for Free Comic Book Day this year, this is a 16-page prelude to T.J.G./Rocket Nova's fully fledged first issue, which was scheduled to be published in June. With an Andy Ristaino-meets-Bruce Orr artistic flair, the digest describes a roundup of robots' reactions to new comic day, the weekly point at which new comics are sold. Meanwhile, the Yezzah Nozzuh Brothers duke it out, characters' tongues tell tall tales, robots go to the flea market, Frankenstein eats spaghetti, and Nippy McGee gives readers advice. I get the sense that this is some sort of ADD-addled sampler, but Rocket Nova's work shows promise, and I hope to see some proper comics soon. Write 107 Conwell Ave., Somerville, MA 02145 for more information.
Mini-Sulk
Published in honor of Free Comic Book Day, this 24-page mini by Jeffrey Brown contains excerpts of Sulk #1, the forthcoming book "Any Easy Intimacy," and previously unpublished work. Brown's my new favorite autobiographical comics maker. His art is less clean than the usual cute brut school I appreciate but gentle enough to worm its way under my skin. And his writing -- John Porcellino meets Ben Snakepit -- is pleasantly revelatory yet self-effacing. The mostly brief vignettes featured in this mini address making comics, supermodels, childhood birthday parties and embarrassment, crushes, the safety of friends, making love, and dishonesty. My favorite pieces include "My Pathetic Day," the four-panel piece on p. 21, and the page-long foldout "(So He Says.)" I think we have a hot new talent in our midst. Write Jeffrey Brown, P.O. Box 120, Deerfield, IL 60015 for more information.
Misfit Toy
A cartoon skeleton gives a princess his heart. Meanwhile, Vix shares stories about stuffed animals, reviews a book about a transsexual, appreciates the Muppets, counts down 10 scary toys and analyzes a poll's results, considers "creatures I wish were real," and reviews related movies in this 28-page digest. While slightly disorganized and disjointed, this zine is an interesting look at morbid pop culture. Vix has unexpected insights, enjoys folk singer Richard Shindell (who recently played in Cambridge), and dabbles in photocopy collage. Best of luck with the next issue! Write Vix Spooky, 125 Earl Pl. #234, Toronto, ON, Canada M4Y 1M4 for more information.
True Confessions of a Big Geek
Starting with the premise that "Gays are geeks, too," editrix Sarah helped form the organization Action Grrrlz, and this 16-page "zinelette" was launched. The mini includes "Geek Confessions 101," a top 10 list of gay geek identifiers; Michele Collins' "Just 5 of the Reasons I'm a Big Geek" (hankies!); Siue's explanation of what it's like having trouble talking to strangers; Jonathan Culp's appreciation of Robert Christgau; and Steven Bereznai's writing about Bangkok, the Oriental city. While I don't think this zine is overly confessional or contextual, it's a nice almost-manifesto. Extra credit for the "alternate geek titles" for the zine and the snapshot on p. 14. Write Sarah, 57 Aziel St., Toronto, ON, Canada M6P 2N8 for more information.
Underground Surrealist #11
This 36-page standard-sized comic reminds me a lot of Rodney Schroeter's Bat Comix out of Random Lake, Wisconsin, c. 1982. I wonder if I still have my issues stowed somewhere. Published in 1999, this edition leads with some Steve Jackson Games-like cards featuring the Ambassador's Daughter, Russell Rooster, and Phil I. Stine, the comic's characters. Ramses gets his. Augustus is defrocked. India and Pakistan get it on. People fall down the stairs. (P. 7 is awesome!) A London raver spills some brain cells and changes his life. The Loch Ness Monster swallow Excalibur. Mike Cusimano misspells "renowned." Phil pollutes a river. And the rooster runs away. Then there's a photography spread by Alik Olisevich from the Ukraine before a solid comic by R.J. Pentzell and some ads. It's no Rodney Schroeter, but it's not bad in its silly surrealism. $3 to Mike Cusimano, P.O. Box 382565, Cambridge, MA 02238.
Produced for Free Comic Book Day this year, this is a 16-page prelude to T.J.G./Rocket Nova's fully fledged first issue, which was scheduled to be published in June. With an Andy Ristaino-meets-Bruce Orr artistic flair, the digest describes a roundup of robots' reactions to new comic day, the weekly point at which new comics are sold. Meanwhile, the Yezzah Nozzuh Brothers duke it out, characters' tongues tell tall tales, robots go to the flea market, Frankenstein eats spaghetti, and Nippy McGee gives readers advice. I get the sense that this is some sort of ADD-addled sampler, but Rocket Nova's work shows promise, and I hope to see some proper comics soon. Write 107 Conwell Ave., Somerville, MA 02145 for more information.
Mini-Sulk
Published in honor of Free Comic Book Day, this 24-page mini by Jeffrey Brown contains excerpts of Sulk #1, the forthcoming book "Any Easy Intimacy," and previously unpublished work. Brown's my new favorite autobiographical comics maker. His art is less clean than the usual cute brut school I appreciate but gentle enough to worm its way under my skin. And his writing -- John Porcellino meets Ben Snakepit -- is pleasantly revelatory yet self-effacing. The mostly brief vignettes featured in this mini address making comics, supermodels, childhood birthday parties and embarrassment, crushes, the safety of friends, making love, and dishonesty. My favorite pieces include "My Pathetic Day," the four-panel piece on p. 21, and the page-long foldout "(So He Says.)" I think we have a hot new talent in our midst. Write Jeffrey Brown, P.O. Box 120, Deerfield, IL 60015 for more information.
Misfit Toy
A cartoon skeleton gives a princess his heart. Meanwhile, Vix shares stories about stuffed animals, reviews a book about a transsexual, appreciates the Muppets, counts down 10 scary toys and analyzes a poll's results, considers "creatures I wish were real," and reviews related movies in this 28-page digest. While slightly disorganized and disjointed, this zine is an interesting look at morbid pop culture. Vix has unexpected insights, enjoys folk singer Richard Shindell (who recently played in Cambridge), and dabbles in photocopy collage. Best of luck with the next issue! Write Vix Spooky, 125 Earl Pl. #234, Toronto, ON, Canada M4Y 1M4 for more information.
True Confessions of a Big Geek
Starting with the premise that "Gays are geeks, too," editrix Sarah helped form the organization Action Grrrlz, and this 16-page "zinelette" was launched. The mini includes "Geek Confessions 101," a top 10 list of gay geek identifiers; Michele Collins' "Just 5 of the Reasons I'm a Big Geek" (hankies!); Siue's explanation of what it's like having trouble talking to strangers; Jonathan Culp's appreciation of Robert Christgau; and Steven Bereznai's writing about Bangkok, the Oriental city. While I don't think this zine is overly confessional or contextual, it's a nice almost-manifesto. Extra credit for the "alternate geek titles" for the zine and the snapshot on p. 14. Write Sarah, 57 Aziel St., Toronto, ON, Canada M6P 2N8 for more information.
Underground Surrealist #11
This 36-page standard-sized comic reminds me a lot of Rodney Schroeter's Bat Comix out of Random Lake, Wisconsin, c. 1982. I wonder if I still have my issues stowed somewhere. Published in 1999, this edition leads with some Steve Jackson Games-like cards featuring the Ambassador's Daughter, Russell Rooster, and Phil I. Stine, the comic's characters. Ramses gets his. Augustus is defrocked. India and Pakistan get it on. People fall down the stairs. (P. 7 is awesome!) A London raver spills some brain cells and changes his life. The Loch Ness Monster swallow Excalibur. Mike Cusimano misspells "renowned." Phil pollutes a river. And the rooster runs away. Then there's a photography spread by Alik Olisevich from the Ukraine before a solid comic by R.J. Pentzell and some ads. It's no Rodney Schroeter, but it's not bad in its silly surrealism. $3 to Mike Cusimano, P.O. Box 382565, Cambridge, MA 02238.
Books Worth a Look XVI
These are the books I read in June 2003.
All Gothic 1: The Boats of the Glen Garrig and the House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson (Xlibris, 2000)
If the PBS special "Lucky Jim" inspired me to read Kingsley Amis' novel this month, I need to credit reading this pairing of classic gothic horror novels to Richard Corben's recent "House on the Borderlands" graphic novel. The first two books of Hodgson's trilogy helped inspire H.P. Lovecraft's weird fiction, which means that these books' original publication predates the '30s at least. Yet they hold up. The first novel outlines the nautical misadventures of a crew lost in the Land of Lonesomeness. Encountering a placeless state of terror, humanoid fungi, a weed-choked sea, a ghost ship protecting a stranded band, and a slew of hulking horrors, the story is a largely linear tale. The second story, which Corben adapted almost accurately, is much more Lovecraftian in nature. An abandoned house rests not so comfortably above an ancient horror that evokes Ramsey Campbell-like time travel-triggered disease. While Corben's adaptation casts the hero's sister as his demon lover, Hodgson's original text portrays her as an alien adulteress. The description of the heat death of the universe and its aftermath is well worth the price of acquisition alone.
Pages: 317. Days to read: NA. Rating: Good.
Beemer by Glenn Gaslin (Soho, 2003)
I went to college with Glenn. He married the journalistic girl most wanted. He co-authored a Might-like book that sank like a stone. And his first novel is absolutely amazing. Like Maxx Barry's Syrup on uppers, Beemer is an awesome parallel read to D.B. Weiss' Lucky Wander Boy. A wandering wastrel seeks to secure success by establishing himself as a brand. Combining the occasional cliche with the life-changing lesson, Gaslin attacks pop culture proponents -- comic books, magazines, TV -- as his hero gains work in the advertising world, rekindles a lost advert icon, and gets into the virtual vortex of video games, values, and Variety. The book comes complete with a Brandon Tartikoff fetish and a Fast Company name drop. Required reading for Media Dieticians.
Pages: 261. Days to read: 2. Rating: Excellent.
Buddy the Dreamer by Peter Bagge (Fantagraphics, 1994)
I was inspired to revisit Bagge's earlier comics work after a recent email exchange with him about his page-long pieces in Reason magazine and his new comic Sweatshop. The second volume of the Buddy Bradley reprint series collects seven stories taken from Hate #6-10. "Valerie's Parents" shows that there's some gentleness and good in Buddy when it comes to relationships. In "Paranoia Reigns Supreme," Lisa tries to seduce George, reaffirming that "it's a very sick world out there." In the two-part "Follow That Dream," Buddy and Stinky get involved with a touring band, adding some expected Pacific Northwest grunge-rock color. And "The Nut" continues the stereotypical themes of early Fantagraphics books, particularly because of its setting in a used bookstore. Despite the introduction of these pop culture concepts, Bagge continues his character study, establishing Buddy as a mostly helpless -- and hapless -- bystander and expanding Stinky's self-centeredness and Lisa's self-loathing. Not as impressive as the first volume, but still worth revisiting.
Pages: 120. Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Col-Dee by Jordan Crane (Red Ink, 2001)
This slim graphic novelette by Jordan Crane is a well-designed item comprising a tenderly mature two-color story about a young boy and his relationship with his mother. The 7 year old copes with securing status among his circle of friends, his family's poverty, guilt about a small theft, his sick cat, and wanting to do well. The children do the things kids do -- flip off truckers, run errands, tell white lies, believe in magic, enjoy burping, try to one up each other, feel cheated when they lose faith, and try to hide their shortcomings -- but overall, the boy acts quite adult, expressing compassion, love, and remorse. Jordan's artwork is clean and gentle, but it is his writing and sense of design and presentation that really wows me. This book and his other recent work secures Jordan as one of the best comics makers -- and designers -- active in DIY media today.
Pages: 96. Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Cosmic Trigger Vol. 1 by Robert Anton Wilson (New Falcon, 1977)
One of Wilson's most controversial books, this first of three volumes helps expand on the agnosticism and intersubjectivity established by his co-authored magnum opus Illuminatus! And while I've yet to read the volume he wrote with collaborator and co-conspirator Robert Shea, I'd almost rather read Wilson's nonfiction than his fiction. Name dropping luminaries such as Aleister Crowley, Tim Leary, Aldous Huxley, and Uri Geller, Wilson riffs on UFO's, Sirius, the Kennedy assassination, psychedelic drugs, his time working at Playboy (about which I'd like to know more, back-issue hunt begun!), Discordianism, the channeling of ascended masters, space travel, the Masons, synchronicity, and multiple intelligences. It's a wide-ranging and rollicking ride that's a clear precursor to Everything in This Book is False but It's Exactly How Things Are, but it's certainly better written and more legitimate regardless of whether you decide to step across the threshold to enter Wilson's chapel perilous. I wouldn't say the book is mind blowing, but it does make one think.
Pages: 269. Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Dancing Barefoot by Wil Wheaton (Monolith, 2003)
These five stories were cut from Wheaton's autobiography Just a Geek because "they didn't fit." Offering a nice companion read to that volume, the golden boy child actor-turned-active blogger who just turned 31 isn't a bad writer. But I hope his fans can keep him afloat because it's his Star Trek experience that helps him stand out the most. Adam Curry:MTV::Wil Wheaton:STTNG. Including "short but true stories about life in the so-called space age," the book might be one of the first published under the Creative Commons. All of the pieces originally appeared in Wil's blog, which makes it a nice Web-to-print project. Sharing short stories about losing an aunt, playing hide and seek, getting a girl's phone number, and walking in the rain, the book is largely a container for the standout selection "The Saga of SpongeBob Vegas Pants." That story, which accounts for about two-thirds of the book, considers the science-fiction convention experience, the cultural progeny of William Fucking Shatner, and the creative risks of sketch comedy. The recollection of Wil's talk at the con is priceless, blending narrative with commentary on his personal experience of the speech. Students of fandom will be fascinated. Throughout the book, several aspects of Wil's life become clear: his helpless geekiness, which is charming; his intense love for his wife, which is enviable; and his adoration of the pop-punk band the Ataris, which I hope was slightly lessened by their most recent record. I believe he even name drops Oingo Boingo. That's rad. Not a brilliant read, but not bad at all. Get it for the convention story.
Pages: 116. Days to read: 4. Rating: Good.
Flying Leap by Judy Budnitz (Picador, 1998)
I bought this collection of short stories because Budnitz blurbed the jacket of another book I read recently -- perhaps Matthew Derby's Super Flat Times -- and I figured like likes like. I quite liked the 23 stories collected in this volume. From the Ben Marcus-like tale about a man in a dog suit to the closing first-person piece about a professional baby maker, Budnitz's simple, surreal stories shine with a concrete sense of impressionistic wonder. Themes include affection and loneliness, difficult choices, the heroism of fashion, the roles place and presence can play, popularity, entrapment, lies, the lowest common denominator and how quickly it can change, accelerated relationships, secrets, the love of leprosy, the stories people carry, and noisy neighbors. Like glimpses into an alternate reality, Budnitz's fiction feels like home yet horrible. I need to read more.
Pages: 244. Days to read: 31. Rating: Excellent.
Hey, Buddy! by Peter Bagge (Fantagraphics, 1993)
Collecting material from the first five issues of the comic book Hate, which was published in the early '90s, the first volume of the "complete Buddy Bradley stories" comprises nine selections. Readers are introduced to Buddy, his living space, his friends, his love life, his lifestyle, his cultural tastes, and his roommates. Those, as well as other people in his life, may be more interesting than Buddy himself, but he serves as an excellent centerpiece for the other characters. Stinky, Buddy's cheap, complaining, and duplicitious roommate, stands out, making Buddy look more mature and responsible by comparison. Conversely, George Cecil Hamilton III is a conspiracy theorist and obsessive martyr who wallows in popular TV programs as "research." Their interactions, in addition to Buddy's relationships with Lisa and Valerie -- much less Buddy's brother -- provide rich material for storytelling and character study. The bonus piece, "Prisoners of Hate Island," is a self-deprecating poke in the ribs of Bagge, Gary Groth, and Kim Thompson, offering some jokey context for the other stories. Reading this book now doesn't feel as epiphanal as reading Hate did when it was first published, but it's still more solid and important than the quaint example of early '90s indy comics that it could be. That speaks well of Bagge's body of work.
Pages: 116. Days to read: 2. Rating: Good.
Keeping Two Part 2 by Jordan Crane (Red Ink)
As the printed version of part two of Jordan's comics story originally published on Highwater Books' Web site, this is more comic book than book, but I read it as a book rather than as part of a batch of comics and zines. So here we go. Perhaps Jordan's most serious work to date, the story includes two intertwining storylines, one in which a young couple experiences a miscarriage, and another in which a second young couple deals with the ups and downs in their relationship, as well as the loss of the man's mother's dog. The ending is foreboding, as the man imagines the passing of his partner, and the overall impression is one of remorse and loneliness, even in the company of others. I can't wait until the entire storyline is collected into a book of its own.
Pages: 48. Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (Penguin, 1961)
After watching the PBS adaptation of this witty British novel originally published in 1954, I had to read the book. And it is such a good read. Amis' comedy of manners involving the denizens of a second-rate post-war preparatory school is wickedly funny and includes several intriguing characters. Teacher Jim's entanglement with the daft but dedicated Margaret, love of pints, scheduled cigarette smoking, and befuddlement about buffoons adds up to create a forlorn hero out of his element. His love for Christine, who is likewise entangled with the asinine artist Bertrand, is worth cheering for, and while the conclusion of the novel doesn't quite match the TV program's righteous -- though thoroughly ripped -- call for quality education, Jim gets lucky and the ill-suffered fools get their comeuppance in the end. Wonderful.
Pages: 251. Days to read: 8. Rating: Excellent.
Purple Cow by Seth Godin (Portfolio, 2002)
Seth Godin's the greatest guy. He's bald. He's brilliant. He's hyperactively innovative. One Fast Company editor recently described him as a Unit of 20. So it's no surprise that the post-Yahoo marketing maven's most recent manifesto is a quick hit. Focusing on "how to transform your business by being remarkable," Seth ups the ante on his thought virus marketing theories by calling for an increase in quality and character during a downturn economy's days of grey. In about 75 easily digestible chunks, Seth describes the value of vigor, the death of the TV-industrial complex, what's wrong with the Wall Street Journal, the deficits of the attention economy, the mishaps of measurement, the parody paradox, and what it means to be a marketer. Like Chinese food, Seth's writing isn't always filling, but it's still nutritious food for thought. The man's a brand. He's a master of the sound bite. And he walks the talk, supporting the book with a viral marketing campaign and book-mentioned Web that works additional wonders. The airplane ride it takes to read this book, which I nibbled at over time, is well worth yours.
Pages: 145. Days to read: 13. Rating: Good.
All Gothic 1: The Boats of the Glen Garrig and the House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson (Xlibris, 2000)
If the PBS special "Lucky Jim" inspired me to read Kingsley Amis' novel this month, I need to credit reading this pairing of classic gothic horror novels to Richard Corben's recent "House on the Borderlands" graphic novel. The first two books of Hodgson's trilogy helped inspire H.P. Lovecraft's weird fiction, which means that these books' original publication predates the '30s at least. Yet they hold up. The first novel outlines the nautical misadventures of a crew lost in the Land of Lonesomeness. Encountering a placeless state of terror, humanoid fungi, a weed-choked sea, a ghost ship protecting a stranded band, and a slew of hulking horrors, the story is a largely linear tale. The second story, which Corben adapted almost accurately, is much more Lovecraftian in nature. An abandoned house rests not so comfortably above an ancient horror that evokes Ramsey Campbell-like time travel-triggered disease. While Corben's adaptation casts the hero's sister as his demon lover, Hodgson's original text portrays her as an alien adulteress. The description of the heat death of the universe and its aftermath is well worth the price of acquisition alone.
Pages: 317. Days to read: NA. Rating: Good.
Beemer by Glenn Gaslin (Soho, 2003)
I went to college with Glenn. He married the journalistic girl most wanted. He co-authored a Might-like book that sank like a stone. And his first novel is absolutely amazing. Like Maxx Barry's Syrup on uppers, Beemer is an awesome parallel read to D.B. Weiss' Lucky Wander Boy. A wandering wastrel seeks to secure success by establishing himself as a brand. Combining the occasional cliche with the life-changing lesson, Gaslin attacks pop culture proponents -- comic books, magazines, TV -- as his hero gains work in the advertising world, rekindles a lost advert icon, and gets into the virtual vortex of video games, values, and Variety. The book comes complete with a Brandon Tartikoff fetish and a Fast Company name drop. Required reading for Media Dieticians.
Pages: 261. Days to read: 2. Rating: Excellent.
Buddy the Dreamer by Peter Bagge (Fantagraphics, 1994)
I was inspired to revisit Bagge's earlier comics work after a recent email exchange with him about his page-long pieces in Reason magazine and his new comic Sweatshop. The second volume of the Buddy Bradley reprint series collects seven stories taken from Hate #6-10. "Valerie's Parents" shows that there's some gentleness and good in Buddy when it comes to relationships. In "Paranoia Reigns Supreme," Lisa tries to seduce George, reaffirming that "it's a very sick world out there." In the two-part "Follow That Dream," Buddy and Stinky get involved with a touring band, adding some expected Pacific Northwest grunge-rock color. And "The Nut" continues the stereotypical themes of early Fantagraphics books, particularly because of its setting in a used bookstore. Despite the introduction of these pop culture concepts, Bagge continues his character study, establishing Buddy as a mostly helpless -- and hapless -- bystander and expanding Stinky's self-centeredness and Lisa's self-loathing. Not as impressive as the first volume, but still worth revisiting.
Pages: 120. Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Col-Dee by Jordan Crane (Red Ink, 2001)
This slim graphic novelette by Jordan Crane is a well-designed item comprising a tenderly mature two-color story about a young boy and his relationship with his mother. The 7 year old copes with securing status among his circle of friends, his family's poverty, guilt about a small theft, his sick cat, and wanting to do well. The children do the things kids do -- flip off truckers, run errands, tell white lies, believe in magic, enjoy burping, try to one up each other, feel cheated when they lose faith, and try to hide their shortcomings -- but overall, the boy acts quite adult, expressing compassion, love, and remorse. Jordan's artwork is clean and gentle, but it is his writing and sense of design and presentation that really wows me. This book and his other recent work secures Jordan as one of the best comics makers -- and designers -- active in DIY media today.
Pages: 96. Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Cosmic Trigger Vol. 1 by Robert Anton Wilson (New Falcon, 1977)
One of Wilson's most controversial books, this first of three volumes helps expand on the agnosticism and intersubjectivity established by his co-authored magnum opus Illuminatus! And while I've yet to read the volume he wrote with collaborator and co-conspirator Robert Shea, I'd almost rather read Wilson's nonfiction than his fiction. Name dropping luminaries such as Aleister Crowley, Tim Leary, Aldous Huxley, and Uri Geller, Wilson riffs on UFO's, Sirius, the Kennedy assassination, psychedelic drugs, his time working at Playboy (about which I'd like to know more, back-issue hunt begun!), Discordianism, the channeling of ascended masters, space travel, the Masons, synchronicity, and multiple intelligences. It's a wide-ranging and rollicking ride that's a clear precursor to Everything in This Book is False but It's Exactly How Things Are, but it's certainly better written and more legitimate regardless of whether you decide to step across the threshold to enter Wilson's chapel perilous. I wouldn't say the book is mind blowing, but it does make one think.
Pages: 269. Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Dancing Barefoot by Wil Wheaton (Monolith, 2003)
These five stories were cut from Wheaton's autobiography Just a Geek because "they didn't fit." Offering a nice companion read to that volume, the golden boy child actor-turned-active blogger who just turned 31 isn't a bad writer. But I hope his fans can keep him afloat because it's his Star Trek experience that helps him stand out the most. Adam Curry:MTV::Wil Wheaton:STTNG. Including "short but true stories about life in the so-called space age," the book might be one of the first published under the Creative Commons. All of the pieces originally appeared in Wil's blog, which makes it a nice Web-to-print project. Sharing short stories about losing an aunt, playing hide and seek, getting a girl's phone number, and walking in the rain, the book is largely a container for the standout selection "The Saga of SpongeBob Vegas Pants." That story, which accounts for about two-thirds of the book, considers the science-fiction convention experience, the cultural progeny of William Fucking Shatner, and the creative risks of sketch comedy. The recollection of Wil's talk at the con is priceless, blending narrative with commentary on his personal experience of the speech. Students of fandom will be fascinated. Throughout the book, several aspects of Wil's life become clear: his helpless geekiness, which is charming; his intense love for his wife, which is enviable; and his adoration of the pop-punk band the Ataris, which I hope was slightly lessened by their most recent record. I believe he even name drops Oingo Boingo. That's rad. Not a brilliant read, but not bad at all. Get it for the convention story.
Pages: 116. Days to read: 4. Rating: Good.
Flying Leap by Judy Budnitz (Picador, 1998)
I bought this collection of short stories because Budnitz blurbed the jacket of another book I read recently -- perhaps Matthew Derby's Super Flat Times -- and I figured like likes like. I quite liked the 23 stories collected in this volume. From the Ben Marcus-like tale about a man in a dog suit to the closing first-person piece about a professional baby maker, Budnitz's simple, surreal stories shine with a concrete sense of impressionistic wonder. Themes include affection and loneliness, difficult choices, the heroism of fashion, the roles place and presence can play, popularity, entrapment, lies, the lowest common denominator and how quickly it can change, accelerated relationships, secrets, the love of leprosy, the stories people carry, and noisy neighbors. Like glimpses into an alternate reality, Budnitz's fiction feels like home yet horrible. I need to read more.
Pages: 244. Days to read: 31. Rating: Excellent.
Hey, Buddy! by Peter Bagge (Fantagraphics, 1993)
Collecting material from the first five issues of the comic book Hate, which was published in the early '90s, the first volume of the "complete Buddy Bradley stories" comprises nine selections. Readers are introduced to Buddy, his living space, his friends, his love life, his lifestyle, his cultural tastes, and his roommates. Those, as well as other people in his life, may be more interesting than Buddy himself, but he serves as an excellent centerpiece for the other characters. Stinky, Buddy's cheap, complaining, and duplicitious roommate, stands out, making Buddy look more mature and responsible by comparison. Conversely, George Cecil Hamilton III is a conspiracy theorist and obsessive martyr who wallows in popular TV programs as "research." Their interactions, in addition to Buddy's relationships with Lisa and Valerie -- much less Buddy's brother -- provide rich material for storytelling and character study. The bonus piece, "Prisoners of Hate Island," is a self-deprecating poke in the ribs of Bagge, Gary Groth, and Kim Thompson, offering some jokey context for the other stories. Reading this book now doesn't feel as epiphanal as reading Hate did when it was first published, but it's still more solid and important than the quaint example of early '90s indy comics that it could be. That speaks well of Bagge's body of work.
Pages: 116. Days to read: 2. Rating: Good.
Keeping Two Part 2 by Jordan Crane (Red Ink)
As the printed version of part two of Jordan's comics story originally published on Highwater Books' Web site, this is more comic book than book, but I read it as a book rather than as part of a batch of comics and zines. So here we go. Perhaps Jordan's most serious work to date, the story includes two intertwining storylines, one in which a young couple experiences a miscarriage, and another in which a second young couple deals with the ups and downs in their relationship, as well as the loss of the man's mother's dog. The ending is foreboding, as the man imagines the passing of his partner, and the overall impression is one of remorse and loneliness, even in the company of others. I can't wait until the entire storyline is collected into a book of its own.
Pages: 48. Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (Penguin, 1961)
After watching the PBS adaptation of this witty British novel originally published in 1954, I had to read the book. And it is such a good read. Amis' comedy of manners involving the denizens of a second-rate post-war preparatory school is wickedly funny and includes several intriguing characters. Teacher Jim's entanglement with the daft but dedicated Margaret, love of pints, scheduled cigarette smoking, and befuddlement about buffoons adds up to create a forlorn hero out of his element. His love for Christine, who is likewise entangled with the asinine artist Bertrand, is worth cheering for, and while the conclusion of the novel doesn't quite match the TV program's righteous -- though thoroughly ripped -- call for quality education, Jim gets lucky and the ill-suffered fools get their comeuppance in the end. Wonderful.
Pages: 251. Days to read: 8. Rating: Excellent.
Purple Cow by Seth Godin (Portfolio, 2002)
Seth Godin's the greatest guy. He's bald. He's brilliant. He's hyperactively innovative. One Fast Company editor recently described him as a Unit of 20. So it's no surprise that the post-Yahoo marketing maven's most recent manifesto is a quick hit. Focusing on "how to transform your business by being remarkable," Seth ups the ante on his thought virus marketing theories by calling for an increase in quality and character during a downturn economy's days of grey. In about 75 easily digestible chunks, Seth describes the value of vigor, the death of the TV-industrial complex, what's wrong with the Wall Street Journal, the deficits of the attention economy, the mishaps of measurement, the parody paradox, and what it means to be a marketer. Like Chinese food, Seth's writing isn't always filling, but it's still nutritious food for thought. The man's a brand. He's a master of the sound bite. And he walks the talk, supporting the book with a viral marketing campaign and book-mentioned Web that works additional wonders. The airplane ride it takes to read this book, which I nibbled at over time, is well worth yours.
Pages: 145. Days to read: 13. Rating: Good.
Markets, Flash Mobs, and Mayhem II
Brad Searles has done a good job of rounding up the documentation of Boston's first Flash Mob. Today, he offers his description and photographs of the experience, commentary on the resulting media coverage, and pointers to other reports.
I wasn't able to join in on the fun because the Anchormen were stuffing envelopes to send our new CD to zines and magazines for review, but I hope to get in on the next one. Despite the unwise pre-mob attention, it looks as though the gathering was a success. Next time, let's do it right.
I wasn't able to join in on the fun because the Anchormen were stuffing envelopes to send our new CD to zines and magazines for review, but I hope to get in on the next one. Despite the unwise pre-mob attention, it looks as though the gathering was a success. Next time, let's do it right.
Thursday, July 31, 2003
Music to My Eyes XX
Photographs and videos from the Handstand Command residency at the Choppin' Block last month are now available online.
Hiking History X
Last night, I went on a history walk titled "What Makes Harvard Square a Square?" through the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. What follows are my rough notes and photographs taken during the walk and talk. I have not fact checked the dates or names, so there may be some inaccuracies.
Cambridge founded 1630 as capital of Massachusetts Bay Colony... Originally a planned city on a three-by-four grid... Now mostly Harvard dorms... 64 house lots in a one-third mile radius surrounded by a fence... On the Charles so only small craft can access... Elected officials built homes in Boston and Charlestown... Didn't want to move... After a year, only 10 families... By 1635, 500 people, 86 families because of the Great Migration... 1635, Hooker's parishioners all moved to Hartford, Connecticut... Only 11 families remain... Shepard's flock moved into abandoned homes... Founded first college in British America... 400 pounds pledged in 1636... Will be located in Newtowne...
Changed name because of Cambridge, England... Classes start in 1638... Harvard named for minister in Charlestown... Died of consumption and gave half of estate and 300-book library to college... Died 1638... Town 35 miles long from Billerica to Newton... V shaped... Less than a mile wide at Harvard Square... 70 acres dedicated to pasture... Only college in America for 50 years... Even at Revolution, only 12... Attracted first printing press... Provincial Congress met here... Continental army based here... Massachusetts constitution drafted here 1779... Brattle house... Reclaimed by son Thomas in 1776... Street not as wide, formal garden... Also a little creek where sidewalk is...
Brattle Hall built in 1789 as a live theater and meeting space for Cambridge Social Union, now CCAE... 1948 theater converted to movies... Also Architect's Corner built in 1966... Design Research one of first furnishings importer... Also Architects Collaborative... Blacksmith's house... Longfellow lived nearby... Chestnut tree near Cafe of India... 1946 the Window Shop helped European resettlers... Christ Church oldest church still standing... First Parish on other side of burial ground... First church has rooster on top... Puritans weren't separatists, Pilgrims were... Puritans Congregationalist... 1686 Church of England imposed, resulting in King's Chapel...
No Church of England in Cambridge until 1759... Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts... Opened 1761... Originally five windows, split in half, added two... Designed by architect of King's Chapel... East Apthorpe first priest... Fears of Anglican bishop... Apthorpe's house called the Bishop's Palace... Unitarianism started in England, first Unitarian church in Boston 1789, 1810 a major movement... Cambridge's church split, original church in center of square... Burial ground 1635 not the original site... Churches postdate ground by 100-200 years... Vassal family tomb in basement of Anglican church... Cambridge Common shared pasture land...
Originally to Linian Street... Shrunk, fenced in... Need to feed 10,000 soldiers... Slaughterhouses on Charlestown side, cattle would graze on common... Mt. Auburn Cemetery founded 1835... Old milestone 1734... William Dawes' route... Five milestones remain... Originally stood in center of square... Other side 1794 directions to new bridge... Unitarian parish building paid for by Harvard... Used for graduation until Memorial Hall... Emerson gave address in 1837... First bit of Transcendentalism... Churches are 0 Church and Garden Street... Movie theater originally University Theater... Entrance originally on Massachusetts Avenue, cut through...
Known for 1970 live performances, Leonard Bernstein lectures, play "Oh, Calcutta!" banned in Boston but staged in Cambridge, and Bob Dylan/Bruce Springsteen concert... Rolling Stone review.. Used to be one auditorium... 1827 house... Palmer Street originally an alley with stables... Coop built in 60s... Starbucks a carriage house... Nearby firehouse... Abercrombie building on site of 1790 wooden building with posts, 1896 electric street car couldn't make corner with sharp point, so they remodeled it as rounded, removed one post, 1990s debate about demolishment, removed all but 1890 facade, preserving next door brick building...
Brattle Street from a creek leading to a pond in Harvard Yard... Brattle Square originally Creek Lane... Subway opened in 1912, sidewalks 5-6 feet lower originally... Creeks converged at 1 Brattle Square... Tunnel for subway under here no longer used, trains once stored near Kennedy School... Winthrop Street part of original 1630 layout... Ground level behind Charlie's is original level... Stone wall 1700s... Until 1909, Charles was tidal... Newtowne Market 1635-1699... Stone thing only 15 years old... Winthrop Street part of grid... Harvard undergraduate life on original grid... JFK originally Boylston originally Wood...
Harvard didn't have enough dorms until 1920, wealthy didn't live on campus, gold coast apartments along Mount Auburn... No fraternities, but dine in clubs, final clubs... Used to be 12-plus along Mount Auburn... Some still operate, building used otherwise.. Fox Club green shutters on corner... Grendel's Den Pi Eta... Brick with green shutters near For Eyes was Sigma Alpha Epsilon... John Hick's house, white with shutters originally a couple blocks over, killed in British ambush... 1920 Harvard dorms built (called houses)... Still lumberyards, coal docks, subway power plant... Harvard bought up land... ice house with freight dock at end of Dunster...
Houses named after Harvard prexy... Dorms copy historic building elements... Tower has 17 bells bought from Bolshevik monastery, rung Sunday afternoons... Mount Auburn all private dorms, Ridgely Hall, Claverly Hall bought by Harvard... Each dorm had own identity, Adams House with older recycled buildings had fringe elements, theater, leftists, gays... Also dorms in yard itself... Now for first years... Now you don't choose dorms, too cliquey, random assignment... Lampoon building designed by Edwin Wheelright... Ibis pranks with Crimson...
Fly Club, Phoenix SK, Iroquois Club, Spee Club... Nantucket Nectars headquarters used to be in old Delta Upsilon club with ivy... East Apthorp's home 1760 10 Linden St., yellow wood with shutters... Now housing for Adams House master... Fairfax actually three buildings... Gnomon Copy storefront dates to 1907, French art nouveau...
J. August building houses Porcellian Club, top of the line, named after roast pig at inaugural banquet... George Washington didn't want to stay in Wadsworth because of Longfellow house... College house dorm built 1832-1870... Coop was site of courthouse... Lyceum Hall built there, Emerson, Charles Dickens, glee club... Out of Town News is old subway entrance... Old Harvard Yard.
As time allows, I will add links to some of the people, places, and things encountered during the tour.
Cambridge founded 1630 as capital of Massachusetts Bay Colony... Originally a planned city on a three-by-four grid... Now mostly Harvard dorms... 64 house lots in a one-third mile radius surrounded by a fence... On the Charles so only small craft can access... Elected officials built homes in Boston and Charlestown... Didn't want to move... After a year, only 10 families... By 1635, 500 people, 86 families because of the Great Migration... 1635, Hooker's parishioners all moved to Hartford, Connecticut... Only 11 families remain... Shepard's flock moved into abandoned homes... Founded first college in British America... 400 pounds pledged in 1636... Will be located in Newtowne...
Changed name because of Cambridge, England... Classes start in 1638... Harvard named for minister in Charlestown... Died of consumption and gave half of estate and 300-book library to college... Died 1638... Town 35 miles long from Billerica to Newton... V shaped... Less than a mile wide at Harvard Square... 70 acres dedicated to pasture... Only college in America for 50 years... Even at Revolution, only 12... Attracted first printing press... Provincial Congress met here... Continental army based here... Massachusetts constitution drafted here 1779... Brattle house... Reclaimed by son Thomas in 1776... Street not as wide, formal garden... Also a little creek where sidewalk is...
Brattle Hall built in 1789 as a live theater and meeting space for Cambridge Social Union, now CCAE... 1948 theater converted to movies... Also Architect's Corner built in 1966... Design Research one of first furnishings importer... Also Architects Collaborative... Blacksmith's house... Longfellow lived nearby... Chestnut tree near Cafe of India... 1946 the Window Shop helped European resettlers... Christ Church oldest church still standing... First Parish on other side of burial ground... First church has rooster on top... Puritans weren't separatists, Pilgrims were... Puritans Congregationalist... 1686 Church of England imposed, resulting in King's Chapel...
No Church of England in Cambridge until 1759... Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts... Opened 1761... Originally five windows, split in half, added two... Designed by architect of King's Chapel... East Apthorpe first priest... Fears of Anglican bishop... Apthorpe's house called the Bishop's Palace... Unitarianism started in England, first Unitarian church in Boston 1789, 1810 a major movement... Cambridge's church split, original church in center of square... Burial ground 1635 not the original site... Churches postdate ground by 100-200 years... Vassal family tomb in basement of Anglican church... Cambridge Common shared pasture land...
Originally to Linian Street... Shrunk, fenced in... Need to feed 10,000 soldiers... Slaughterhouses on Charlestown side, cattle would graze on common... Mt. Auburn Cemetery founded 1835... Old milestone 1734... William Dawes' route... Five milestones remain... Originally stood in center of square... Other side 1794 directions to new bridge... Unitarian parish building paid for by Harvard... Used for graduation until Memorial Hall... Emerson gave address in 1837... First bit of Transcendentalism... Churches are 0 Church and Garden Street... Movie theater originally University Theater... Entrance originally on Massachusetts Avenue, cut through...
Known for 1970 live performances, Leonard Bernstein lectures, play "Oh, Calcutta!" banned in Boston but staged in Cambridge, and Bob Dylan/Bruce Springsteen concert... Rolling Stone review.. Used to be one auditorium... 1827 house... Palmer Street originally an alley with stables... Coop built in 60s... Starbucks a carriage house... Nearby firehouse... Abercrombie building on site of 1790 wooden building with posts, 1896 electric street car couldn't make corner with sharp point, so they remodeled it as rounded, removed one post, 1990s debate about demolishment, removed all but 1890 facade, preserving next door brick building...
Brattle Street from a creek leading to a pond in Harvard Yard... Brattle Square originally Creek Lane... Subway opened in 1912, sidewalks 5-6 feet lower originally... Creeks converged at 1 Brattle Square... Tunnel for subway under here no longer used, trains once stored near Kennedy School... Winthrop Street part of original 1630 layout... Ground level behind Charlie's is original level... Stone wall 1700s... Until 1909, Charles was tidal... Newtowne Market 1635-1699... Stone thing only 15 years old... Winthrop Street part of grid... Harvard undergraduate life on original grid... JFK originally Boylston originally Wood...
Harvard didn't have enough dorms until 1920, wealthy didn't live on campus, gold coast apartments along Mount Auburn... No fraternities, but dine in clubs, final clubs... Used to be 12-plus along Mount Auburn... Some still operate, building used otherwise.. Fox Club green shutters on corner... Grendel's Den Pi Eta... Brick with green shutters near For Eyes was Sigma Alpha Epsilon... John Hick's house, white with shutters originally a couple blocks over, killed in British ambush... 1920 Harvard dorms built (called houses)... Still lumberyards, coal docks, subway power plant... Harvard bought up land... ice house with freight dock at end of Dunster...
Houses named after Harvard prexy... Dorms copy historic building elements... Tower has 17 bells bought from Bolshevik monastery, rung Sunday afternoons... Mount Auburn all private dorms, Ridgely Hall, Claverly Hall bought by Harvard... Each dorm had own identity, Adams House with older recycled buildings had fringe elements, theater, leftists, gays... Also dorms in yard itself... Now for first years... Now you don't choose dorms, too cliquey, random assignment... Lampoon building designed by Edwin Wheelright... Ibis pranks with Crimson...
Fly Club, Phoenix SK, Iroquois Club, Spee Club... Nantucket Nectars headquarters used to be in old Delta Upsilon club with ivy... East Apthorp's home 1760 10 Linden St., yellow wood with shutters... Now housing for Adams House master... Fairfax actually three buildings... Gnomon Copy storefront dates to 1907, French art nouveau...
J. August building houses Porcellian Club, top of the line, named after roast pig at inaugural banquet... George Washington didn't want to stay in Wadsworth because of Longfellow house... College house dorm built 1832-1870... Coop was site of courthouse... Lyceum Hall built there, Emerson, Charles Dickens, glee club... Out of Town News is old subway entrance... Old Harvard Yard.
As time allows, I will add links to some of the people, places, and things encountered during the tour.
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Among the Literati XLVI
Mayrav Saar, an old college chum, now has a column in the Orange County Register. The first installment, published yesterday, is a hoot.
Sites on the Side of the Road IX
Kurumi's Web site is a rich resource for road geeks. Tools include a field guide to interchanges, a Java applet that enables you to make your own road signs, and a virtual drive through 1971-style Hartford, Connecticut. But the most interesting part of the site is the section on "secret routes" -- state-maintained roads that are unsigned and usually not visible on maps. Kurumi outlines what the different route numbers mean and offers a brief history of these secret routes. While I need to track down a Massachusetts corollary, Kurumi did turn me onto the book Turnpikes of New England. A fascinating read, I'm sure.
Thanks to Metafilter.
Thanks to Metafilter.
Rock Shows of Note LXXII
Last night was the weirdest. I kept hearing friends' voices through the window outside as people walked past my house -- when they weren't the voices of my friends. I thought I saw a friend walk by talking on her cell phone. It wasn't her -- and she doesn't even have a cell phone. I even thought I heard a friend calling my name at one point. Bizarre. Clearly, I had people on my mind, so I went for a walk around the block to find some.
Stopping by the Middle East to see who was playing, I bumped into Brett Rosenberg, and then I heard some of the music emanating from the back room. Deciding that I liked what I heard even though I didn't know who was playing, I plunked down some money to check out the Fugue. Am I ever glad I did!
They were amazing. And even though I heard just a few songs at the end of their set, I think they are my favorite band of today. Herky-jerky angular guitar stabs punctuating the vocalist's frenetic singing -- and tons of energy. The singer was insane. At one point he leapt off the stage into the crowd, then catapulted himself back on stage in a tuck and roll only to barrel into the guitarist, who collapsed on top of him. They kept playing the whole time, and the guitarist regained his feet without dropping a note, ending the song by throwing his guitar to the floor with a satisfying final squall and thunk. Wow. Well worth seeing live.
I don't remember the name of the next band that played, but they were a five-piece that played energetic alt.rock. The lead singers voice was pretty cool, and the bassist and second guitarist jumped around a lot together. My one gripe was that the band didn't just under-utilize the female vocalist, they pushed her way over to the side so she was almost waiting in the wings. She had a great voice and should be featured more prominently instead of relegated to the edge.
Stopping by the Middle East to see who was playing, I bumped into Brett Rosenberg, and then I heard some of the music emanating from the back room. Deciding that I liked what I heard even though I didn't know who was playing, I plunked down some money to check out the Fugue. Am I ever glad I did!
They were amazing. And even though I heard just a few songs at the end of their set, I think they are my favorite band of today. Herky-jerky angular guitar stabs punctuating the vocalist's frenetic singing -- and tons of energy. The singer was insane. At one point he leapt off the stage into the crowd, then catapulted himself back on stage in a tuck and roll only to barrel into the guitarist, who collapsed on top of him. They kept playing the whole time, and the guitarist regained his feet without dropping a note, ending the song by throwing his guitar to the floor with a satisfying final squall and thunk. Wow. Well worth seeing live.
I don't remember the name of the next band that played, but they were a five-piece that played energetic alt.rock. The lead singers voice was pretty cool, and the bassist and second guitarist jumped around a lot together. My one gripe was that the band didn't just under-utilize the female vocalist, they pushed her way over to the side so she was almost waiting in the wings. She had a great voice and should be featured more prominently instead of relegated to the edge.
Event-O-Dex LXXI
Thursday, July 31: Mittens, Choo Choo la Rouge, and Fearsome Earsome give an ear full at P.A.'s Lounge in Somerville.
Friday, August 1: Mike Tremoulet and Christine Selleck, two Houston-based bloggers, are visiting Boston and convening area Web writers for a meet and greet.
Friday, August 1: Mike Tremoulet and Christine Selleck, two Houston-based bloggers, are visiting Boston and convening area Web writers for a meet and greet.
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
From the In Box: NetWork VIII
What we really need is a common data format for all of these different services to manipulate and "decorate" (in the pattern-language sense).
Well, we have that common data format: FoaF. It would be cool if these sites let you export/import your friends list as an FoaF file. It wouldn't be hard at all.
Well maybe not that cool; I don't really use those sites that much. But it would be
Well, we have that common data format: FoaF. It would be cool if these sites let you export/import your friends list as an FoaF file. It wouldn't be hard at all.
Well maybe not that cool; I don't really use those sites that much. But it would be