Just found out that Sloan has released their Twice Removed deluxe edition as a digital download which has me torn. I really wanted to pick this up when I saw them on tour but it was $90 and I had to pass at the time. Now there's a digital option for $20 and it seems like a no brainer to get. What has me torn is, do I want a physical book to peruse or is the digital copy fine? Something to ponder.
Thinking of Christmas, here's a free Sloan holiday themed track...
Later!
mike
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Sunday, December 09, 2012
Ponderous Things
I don't know about you, but this place is really looking like it could use a facelift. I'm coming up on my eighth year of blogging (not a peep out of you who want to bring up the alarming irregularity of my posts in the last few) and I might need to rethink the whole idea of the blog. Or just spruce it up and write more for it.
I think when you have more people reading and commenting on your Twitter feed or Facebook page it kind of takes away from the desire to do anything lengthy or blog-worthy. If the roles were reversed, I'd probably spend more time here pondering and writing rather than going for the cheap and quick social media thrills provided by the "other guys".
Anyway, I'm going to put some thought into it and see what I come up with.
Until then...
mike
I think when you have more people reading and commenting on your Twitter feed or Facebook page it kind of takes away from the desire to do anything lengthy or blog-worthy. If the roles were reversed, I'd probably spend more time here pondering and writing rather than going for the cheap and quick social media thrills provided by the "other guys".
Anyway, I'm going to put some thought into it and see what I come up with.
Until then...
mike
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Zoinks!
Saw this the other day in the parking lot where we take our recycling:
I really wanted to get around to the front to see if they had the spare tire there as well, but this was all full of awesome as it was.
Really short post, today, I know. Considering it's been a few months since I've been posting, I thought just about any new content was worthwhile.
Anyway, that's it for me for now.
Later!
m
Really short post, today, I know. Considering it's been a few months since I've been posting, I thought just about any new content was worthwhile.
Anyway, that's it for me for now.
Later!
m
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Infinite Playlist
So, yeah. I got it into my head to make a friend a mixtape (there really is no equivalent or comparable term for the burned playlist so I stick with mixtape) and while compiling the 17 tracks that would ultimately make up the hour of music I also got it into my head to create a cover for the disc from scratch, much like Nick in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.
Sounded simple but, really, it was a bit more complicated than I'd hoped. I actually thought I would stress over the tunes more than the sleeve art but I was very, very, wrong. The music came quickly and the actual design came to me very late in the process. I knew that it had to be Jelly bean themed, but other than that I had no idea what I was going to do. Do I paint something? Are there a bunch of dancing Jelly beans all over it like some twisted California Raisin knock off? What materials do I use to accomplish this unknown project?
I knew, at least, that I would need a digi-tray to set the disc in but soon discovered they are harder to find than you might think. Digi-trays are not in high demand on a retail level and do not get stocked by your average, and even your not-so-average, music stores or big box stores. I found some online but I didn't need to order 200 of them, nor did I want to pay $40 for overnight delivery. I wracked my brains and came up with, what I thought was, an ingenious plan.
Hit the music stores that carry used CDs. They often have bargain discs for $5 or less and if they happen to have a disc held in a digi-tray I could buy it for a paltry couple of bucks, peel out the tray, and utilize it in my own far-out disc sleeve. This was something I was able to accomplish at a local shop called The Vinyl Exchange. I found a couple of weird world music discs in cardboard sleeves with digi-trays for $2 each and I was in business!!
I also found an Imogen Heap album and the first volume of Freakazoid!, both for $2, so that was equally awesome.
I grabbed some craft supplies from a local dollar store (cardstock, construction paper to cut into jelly beans, etc.) and proceeded to assemble the case for the disc.
It wasn't a difficult process but it was time consuming. I created and folded the cardstock cover and glued the digi-tray in. Then I cut out each individual jelly bean (all different colours) and glued them on to the cover one-by-one. Lastly, I grabbed a Sharpie and wrote up the liner notes and song info. I wanted to do something design oriented on the disc itself but I didn't have the time or materials so I just left it blank.
I was pretty happy with the results with the exception of how egg-like many of the jelly beans came out, and I attributed the image on the inside of the case to Monet rather than Van Gogh which, as an Art History student, shames me greatly. The person I gave it to doesn't know the difference but I felt like I should still cop to the fubar publicly so perhaps that will go some way to evening out the karma.
I enjoyed the experience, overall, and will likely try it again. I've put together another playlist for the same friend but I don't think the effort for the first one was appreciated much so I may shift the next project to someone else. I'll post images of that one as well when that happens.
Later!
mike
Sounded simple but, really, it was a bit more complicated than I'd hoped. I actually thought I would stress over the tunes more than the sleeve art but I was very, very, wrong. The music came quickly and the actual design came to me very late in the process. I knew that it had to be Jelly bean themed, but other than that I had no idea what I was going to do. Do I paint something? Are there a bunch of dancing Jelly beans all over it like some twisted California Raisin knock off? What materials do I use to accomplish this unknown project?I knew, at least, that I would need a digi-tray to set the disc in but soon discovered they are harder to find than you might think. Digi-trays are not in high demand on a retail level and do not get stocked by your average, and even your not-so-average, music stores or big box stores. I found some online but I didn't need to order 200 of them, nor did I want to pay $40 for overnight delivery. I wracked my brains and came up with, what I thought was, an ingenious plan.
Hit the music stores that carry used CDs. They often have bargain discs for $5 or less and if they happen to have a disc held in a digi-tray I could buy it for a paltry couple of bucks, peel out the tray, and utilize it in my own far-out disc sleeve. This was something I was able to accomplish at a local shop called The Vinyl Exchange. I found a couple of weird world music discs in cardboard sleeves with digi-trays for $2 each and I was in business!!I also found an Imogen Heap album and the first volume of Freakazoid!, both for $2, so that was equally awesome.
I grabbed some craft supplies from a local dollar store (cardstock, construction paper to cut into jelly beans, etc.) and proceeded to assemble the case for the disc.
It wasn't a difficult process but it was time consuming. I created and folded the cardstock cover and glued the digi-tray in. Then I cut out each individual jelly bean (all different colours) and glued them on to the cover one-by-one. Lastly, I grabbed a Sharpie and wrote up the liner notes and song info. I wanted to do something design oriented on the disc itself but I didn't have the time or materials so I just left it blank.
I was pretty happy with the results with the exception of how egg-like many of the jelly beans came out, and I attributed the image on the inside of the case to Monet rather than Van Gogh which, as an Art History student, shames me greatly. The person I gave it to doesn't know the difference but I felt like I should still cop to the fubar publicly so perhaps that will go some way to evening out the karma.I enjoyed the experience, overall, and will likely try it again. I've put together another playlist for the same friend but I don't think the effort for the first one was appreciated much so I may shift the next project to someone else. I'll post images of that one as well when that happens.
Later!
mike
Friday, June 15, 2012
Let Them Eat Cake
A little while ago I made a cake. That doesn't sound like a big deal, I know, but there's a bit of a story behind it and the expectation for how it would eventually turn out was the subject of much speculation here at Jozic HQ. I forgot to take any pictures until very late in the process so I grabbed what I could (it's a pretty amateur effort at chronicling the experience compared to what my bud Carly over at the Citric Sugar blog does on a regular basis).
The story behind the cake takes us back to Ottawa and a trip I took there with my lovely wife about 2 years ago. We stayed with a couple of friends, Meg and Ian, and after supper on one of the nights we were there Meg brings out this chocolate cake. It's the most delicious chocolate cake I have ever tasted in my life. I can eat piece after piece of this thing but, of course, I'm only allotted the one. I beg for the recipe, which she mails me, and I sit on it for 2 years until I finally decide on my holidays that, yes, by gum, I'm going to make this durn cake for myself and see if I can recreate the magic.
Overall it went well, I guess. There were parts of it that I was unhappy with, and despite being told the frosting was perfect, I didn't really think I nailed it. It was good, though. It was eaten fairly quickly. I shared with friends and family and, although there were critiques, nobody just flat-out disliked it or refused to eat it.
A success on some levels, but I'm hoping with the next effort I can achieve better results. Even slightly better results would make me happy.
Laters!
mike
The story behind the cake takes us back to Ottawa and a trip I took there with my lovely wife about 2 years ago. We stayed with a couple of friends, Meg and Ian, and after supper on one of the nights we were there Meg brings out this chocolate cake. It's the most delicious chocolate cake I have ever tasted in my life. I can eat piece after piece of this thing but, of course, I'm only allotted the one. I beg for the recipe, which she mails me, and I sit on it for 2 years until I finally decide on my holidays that, yes, by gum, I'm going to make this durn cake for myself and see if I can recreate the magic.
Overall it went well, I guess. There were parts of it that I was unhappy with, and despite being told the frosting was perfect, I didn't really think I nailed it. It was good, though. It was eaten fairly quickly. I shared with friends and family and, although there were critiques, nobody just flat-out disliked it or refused to eat it.
A success on some levels, but I'm hoping with the next effort I can achieve better results. Even slightly better results would make me happy.
Laters!
mike
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Passion Pit
I've kind of been ignoring the ol' blog of late. I managed to restore the settings after my last bit of experimentation with Blogger and templates and what-not, then summarily bailed on it. That was a bit uncool.
So, I've returned, ever-so-briefly to share with you a band I've recently discovered called Passion Pit. There's a lot I like about this group, and some I don't, but I dig this song and thought I would share it with you. The site I got it from described it as alternating "between car crash drum-and-bass explosions and a plodding melodic pop that bemoans the many stages of grief inherent in heartbreak." That was all they had to say to hook me, what can I say?
Hope you enjoy.
m
So, I've returned, ever-so-briefly to share with you a band I've recently discovered called Passion Pit. There's a lot I like about this group, and some I don't, but I dig this song and thought I would share it with you. The site I got it from described it as alternating "between car crash drum-and-bass explosions and a plodding melodic pop that bemoans the many stages of grief inherent in heartbreak." That was all they had to say to hook me, what can I say?
Hope you enjoy.
m
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Under Construction
Well, I decided to play around with the customizer and, as it turns out, I probably shouldn't have. What ultimately happened was I mucked about until I mucked it up and now all the presets and sidebar info and everything custom about the blog has been jettisoned. So, the posts are still here but nothing else is. Which, I suppose isn't a tragedy, seeing as I don't post nearly as often as I should, and I don't get a great deal of traffic, so it's likely nobody has even noticed yet.
Ah, well.
I'll probably have to come on a little later and do some adjusting to get things back the way I would like them to be. Until then, it's going to remain pretty bare bones here. Maybe I'll compensate by posting more. You never know.
Later!
mike
ADDENDUM
Obviously I figured out how to restore my old template. I'll still probably try and tweak it at some point. Everything else is changing, so I may as well. More on this later.
m.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Siamese Dreaming
I've got a little free time on my hands and I've been going through my music collection, filling holes, organizing what's already there, and listening to a lot of stuff I haven't had on rotation for a while.
One such album/srtist would be Siamese Dream by Smashing Pumpkins which I consider to be one of the best rock albums ever. No hyperbole. The songs, the words, the sounds, are all tremendously good and so very tight. The layered guitars, the insane drums, the ethereal quality of Corgan's voice and lyrics which, I would say, has never been recaptured on any other Pumpkins album make this album near-perfect for me. If I'm trying to get someone to listen to the Pumpkins, I usually toss them Siamese Dream.
Now, from everything I've read and heard, after all the tracks had been put down, Corgan went back and rerecorded the guitars and bass originally played by D'arcy and James Iha. The only tracks he didn't mess with were those of Jimmy Chamberlin because Corgan did not know how to play the drums. This would, if the stories are true, make the whole album a collaboration between Corgan and Chamberlin and all that implies.
Other albums followed but most without Chamberlin as he was kicked out of the band after a keyboardist they were touring with died as a result of a drug overdose which Chamberlin was involved with. I won't get into details but the story is probably detailed here.
Flash forward to the 2007 release of the newly reformed Pumpkins album, Zeitgeist. Now, when I say newly reformed, I should qualify that D'arcy and Iha did not return to the lineup for the same reasons they left the band in the first place. Chamberlin, however, did take the opportunity to reconnect with his old band as Corgan had never agreed to losing him in the first place. So, we have Corgan and Chamberlin together again working on this 'new' album - the same guys who were essentially responsible for Siamese Dream - and it turns out to be utter shit. I don't even consider it a part of the true Pumpkins canon because it sounds like a band trying to sound like the Pumpkins rather than actual founding members of the band making up for lost time.
So, what went wrong? I dunno. Maybe D'arcy and Iha had a much stronger influence on the music than people give them credit for. Maybe Butch Vig was instrumental in bringing everything on SD together the way it did. All I know is that the same guys did it perfectly once and cocked it up royally the second time around. Go figure. Maybe it's true what they say about how you can never really go home again.
And on that note...
Later!
mike
One such album/srtist would be Siamese Dream by Smashing Pumpkins which I consider to be one of the best rock albums ever. No hyperbole. The songs, the words, the sounds, are all tremendously good and so very tight. The layered guitars, the insane drums, the ethereal quality of Corgan's voice and lyrics which, I would say, has never been recaptured on any other Pumpkins album make this album near-perfect for me. If I'm trying to get someone to listen to the Pumpkins, I usually toss them Siamese Dream.Now, from everything I've read and heard, after all the tracks had been put down, Corgan went back and rerecorded the guitars and bass originally played by D'arcy and James Iha. The only tracks he didn't mess with were those of Jimmy Chamberlin because Corgan did not know how to play the drums. This would, if the stories are true, make the whole album a collaboration between Corgan and Chamberlin and all that implies.
Other albums followed but most without Chamberlin as he was kicked out of the band after a keyboardist they were touring with died as a result of a drug overdose which Chamberlin was involved with. I won't get into details but the story is probably detailed here.
Flash forward to the 2007 release of the newly reformed Pumpkins album, Zeitgeist. Now, when I say newly reformed, I should qualify that D'arcy and Iha did not return to the lineup for the same reasons they left the band in the first place. Chamberlin, however, did take the opportunity to reconnect with his old band as Corgan had never agreed to losing him in the first place. So, we have Corgan and Chamberlin together again working on this 'new' album - the same guys who were essentially responsible for Siamese Dream - and it turns out to be utter shit. I don't even consider it a part of the true Pumpkins canon because it sounds like a band trying to sound like the Pumpkins rather than actual founding members of the band making up for lost time.So, what went wrong? I dunno. Maybe D'arcy and Iha had a much stronger influence on the music than people give them credit for. Maybe Butch Vig was instrumental in bringing everything on SD together the way it did. All I know is that the same guys did it perfectly once and cocked it up royally the second time around. Go figure. Maybe it's true what they say about how you can never really go home again.
And on that note...
Later!
mike
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Happy Birthday Superman
If you didn't know (and until today, I didn't know, so if you feel bad, don't), today, February 29th, is Superman's birthday. A big Superman fan I know was having a get-together tonight to celebrate and I couldn't attend so I figured I would, at the very least, post something here on the blog, especially since I've been silent on here for roughly two months. I wish I could have been there to celebrate big blue but in lieu of actually being there and debating whether or not the New 52 Superman is better or worse than the previous incarnation, I did do something Superman related today; I picked up the first season of the 1950s television show The Adventures of Superman on DVD for $10. A little less camraderie involved, sure, but I did my part. I'll probably watch an episode or two and maybe some features before bed, I'm sure.mike
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Size Isn't Everything
I'm going through some of my books to find and record where I'd left off in each of them for my GoodReads page when I came to a particular volume entitled "Vicious Circle" by Mike Carey. This is the second of five novels featuring the occult investigator, Felix Castor, and runs for a lengthy 512 pages, or so. Tracking down my last known place in the book I was reminded of just how god-awful long this thing was, and remembered why I put the book down in the first place. I hit 3 or 400 pages in and just sort of petered out. This is not a story that requires 500 or more pages to tell. It is well written, sure, but I think someone needed to reign him in on this one. It's not even the longest of the series, but it's still a marathon read. I was honestly considering picking it up again to finish it off, but now, probably not anytime soon.I know it's probably a quirk of my own reading habits, but when there are a dozen other books that are waiting in the wings that I've started, and a dozen more that I'm waiting to get to, "Vicious Circle" just falls a little short on the priority level.
Cheers!
mike
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Face of the Goblin
This is something I've just stumbled upon, and I think it's pretty cool. Original make-up test for the Green Goblin in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. I actually wish they would have gone this direction. I was never too much of a fan of the version they used, but what's past is past. As it is, it's just nice to be able to have the chance to see this, finally.
I also kind of like hearing Raimi giving direction from the sidelines.
Later!
I also kind of like hearing Raimi giving direction from the sidelines.
Later!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Second Chances
I went to see Raiders of the Lost Ark at a local theatre today and found it to be a near-biblical event as far as my cinematic experiences go. I'll probably post about it in the near future but, for now, and seeing as how I'm kind of in an Indy mood now, I thought I would post this video about sequels that should get a little more credit because of the number one movie included on the list, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The reviewer/commentator makes some interesting points throughout which I think many internet reviewer/commentators should maybe take to heart.
Now, I'm going to go read a bit, then hit the sack.
Take care!
mike
Now, I'm going to go read a bit, then hit the sack.
Take care!
mike
Sunday, November 20, 2011
We Gotta Get Outta This Place
Well, I just handed in another application today. It's not a step up job-wise seeing as I'm a de facto supervisor in my area and I'm essentially applying to go down to a lesser position, but I've done the math and decided that getting paid $4000 more a year for none of the responsibility and 1/5 of the work is an okay trade-off with me. We'll see what I think if, and after, I get an interview. Because of our collective agreement, I have 3 months to decide if I want to stay at the new position and have the option of resuming my old position again at any time within that time frame. It may be a win-win situation.
In honour of the subject line and the sentiment that started the whole job search, here are Eric Burden and The Animals with a song that pretty much sums up things in the Jozic household of late:
Wish me luck!
mike
In honour of the subject line and the sentiment that started the whole job search, here are Eric Burden and The Animals with a song that pretty much sums up things in the Jozic household of late:
Wish me luck!
mike
Saturday, November 19, 2011
"Would it have changed some of the ways we looked at one another? "
As my previous post should have made clear, I am on a bit of an X-Files kick at the moment. While I was surfing the 'net earlier and listening to the 4 CD Mark SNow soundtrack collection, I ran across the track, "Dim Memories", and it reminded me of one of my favourite teasers from the whole nine seasons of the show. It's from an episode titled, "The Field Where I Died" and was directed, I think, by Rob Bowman, my a-number one X-Files director.
I liked revisiting it on YouTube so much, that I thought I would make a post out of it, so without further ado...
Later!
mike
I liked revisiting it on YouTube so much, that I thought I would make a post out of it, so without further ado...
Later!
mike
Every Agent Needs a Partner
I know I've probably said this before, but I've kind of wanted to do a podcast for some time, now. I've rolled topics over in my head for ages, wondering what I could possibly do that would be interesting to me and that wasn't already being done by a million other podcasters out there. After a lot of mulling, I thought that the possibility of tackling The X-Files in a podcast might be a fun and worthwhile venture for me. I'm a huge fan, the passion for the series has never faded, there is an active campaign to get a third film made, and there's still questions I have about the series' mytharc that might become clearer after rewatching everything and commenting on it. The subject also provides some interesting possibilities that I find intriguing but will not comment on at this time.
The main spanner in the proverbial works is the fact that, after brainstorming the thing for an hour, it occurred to me that without a Scully to comment alongside my Mulder, as it were, I don't think it would be very interesting thing to listen to. I'm known for talking at length about my stuff and the media that I love, so much so that I think some people actually steer clear of certain subjects around me to avoid a lengthy chat about something pop culture related. However, I've tried recording some solo audio commentaries for fun and without someone to respond and bounce something back at me, I just don't think there's any compelling reason to listen to me.
So, I've finally come up with the idea that might actually get something creative rolling, but I don't know anyone else who watches The X-Files, never mind enjoys it. For a short time I entertained the idea of having my wife (a redhead, no joke) play the skeptic to my believer but I think that may be a recipe for disaster, leaving me with something of a conundrum.
It'll take more mulling, I think, before I decide to venture off on my own with this. Until then, little to nothing will happen on this front. I will keep y'all posted, though, and we'll see what happens.
Cheers!
mike
The main spanner in the proverbial works is the fact that, after brainstorming the thing for an hour, it occurred to me that without a Scully to comment alongside my Mulder, as it were, I don't think it would be very interesting thing to listen to. I'm known for talking at length about my stuff and the media that I love, so much so that I think some people actually steer clear of certain subjects around me to avoid a lengthy chat about something pop culture related. However, I've tried recording some solo audio commentaries for fun and without someone to respond and bounce something back at me, I just don't think there's any compelling reason to listen to me.
So, I've finally come up with the idea that might actually get something creative rolling, but I don't know anyone else who watches The X-Files, never mind enjoys it. For a short time I entertained the idea of having my wife (a redhead, no joke) play the skeptic to my believer but I think that may be a recipe for disaster, leaving me with something of a conundrum.
It'll take more mulling, I think, before I decide to venture off on my own with this. Until then, little to nothing will happen on this front. I will keep y'all posted, though, and we'll see what happens.
Cheers!
mike
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
"Stay Gold"
Very excited by the idea of a new Big Pink album coming out next week. Especially if the rest of the tracks are anywhere near as good as this one...
Stay gold, Pony Boy!
mike
Stay gold, Pony Boy!
mike
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Getting My Read On
I went into something of a reading frenzy on Thursday night. I pulled out a bunch of comics I hadn't yet read, and some books that I'm in the middle of, and stayed up until the wee hours of the night getting my read on. Considering I had to be up at six the next morning, it probably wasn't a wise choice, but I don't have a time machine so, whatever. I then hit the library with my son yesterday with the intention of letting him browse around for some drawing books, and somehow I ended up grabbing a whole schwackload of trades and a Joe Kubert biography which, over the course of the day, I've been having trouble putting down.
I think it is entirely possible that my brain is trying to purge the Star Wars that I've been stuffing into it for two months.
So, with all the new reading material around, I thought I would mention a few of them here, give some thoughts on them, and then be on my merry way.
First up is Simon Oliver and Tony Moore's The Exterminators, which is a strange, disgusting, yet strangely compelling read. I don't know where Oliver got the idea for this one, but I had heard through the grapevine that it was a worthwhile read and I decided to grab it when I saw it. Glad I did, too. It was also a treat to see Tony Moore's stuff in colour. I've only ever seen his stuff on The Walking Dead before this, and it was nice to see another side to Tony's work. Not for the squeemish, though. If you don't like bugs, or exploding organs, stay clear of this one.
I also read Stan Sakai's original GN Usagi Yojimbo: Yokai, which was very nice book to look at (Sakai did it all in watercolour), and a pleasant read, overall, but I think I was expecting something with a little more punch to it since it was a special 25th anniversary book and it just didn't live up to some of the great Usagi stories that have appeared in his monthly book. I'd still pick it up in an instant, and the presentation of it is beautifully done from cover to cover, it just didn't blow me away.
Next up is Harlan Ellison's Dream Corridor, a collection of stories from the five (or six, if you count the special as part of the numbering) issues of the Dark Horse series of the same name. I don't know why this was something I ignored when it first hit the stands in the mid-1990s. Could have been the price point, could have been an ignorance of Harlan's work, or maybe I just wasn't into anthologies. I honestly don't remember, although I distinctly remember seeing these original books on the shelves at the comic shop. Regardless of that, I'm about sixty pages into the first collection and I'm enjoying the heck out of it. The stories are decent, sometimes a little bit on the broad side, but the artwork is quite good, the adaptations are well done and the interstitial bits written by Harlan and illustrated by Eric Shanower are fun to read.
The last one I'm going to get into right now is Man of Rock, the aforementioned biography of comics legend, Joe Kubert, by Bill Schelly. I've only just begun to read this one and am about 60 pages in. From a chronological standpoint, I'm around the early 1940s in Kubert's life and he has just been given the job to do Hawkman under Sheldon Mayer. I'm not a huge fan of the writing style or the organization of the information, but I do love me some Kubert so I am thoroughly enjoying learning more about his life and early works. I wasn't planning on picking up and reading another biography for a bit, but this one has kind of grabbed my attention and refuses to let go.
Anyway, those are a few of the things that on my mind and on my reading table at the moment.
Cheers!
mike
I think it is entirely possible that my brain is trying to purge the Star Wars that I've been stuffing into it for two months.
So, with all the new reading material around, I thought I would mention a few of them here, give some thoughts on them, and then be on my merry way.
First up is Simon Oliver and Tony Moore's The Exterminators, which is a strange, disgusting, yet strangely compelling read. I don't know where Oliver got the idea for this one, but I had heard through the grapevine that it was a worthwhile read and I decided to grab it when I saw it. Glad I did, too. It was also a treat to see Tony Moore's stuff in colour. I've only ever seen his stuff on The Walking Dead before this, and it was nice to see another side to Tony's work. Not for the squeemish, though. If you don't like bugs, or exploding organs, stay clear of this one.I also read Stan Sakai's original GN Usagi Yojimbo: Yokai, which was very nice book to look at (Sakai did it all in watercolour), and a pleasant read, overall, but I think I was expecting something with a little more punch to it since it was a special 25th anniversary book and it just didn't live up to some of the great Usagi stories that have appeared in his monthly book. I'd still pick it up in an instant, and the presentation of it is beautifully done from cover to cover, it just didn't blow me away.
Next up is Harlan Ellison's Dream Corridor, a collection of stories from the five (or six, if you count the special as part of the numbering) issues of the Dark Horse series of the same name. I don't know why this was something I ignored when it first hit the stands in the mid-1990s. Could have been the price point, could have been an ignorance of Harlan's work, or maybe I just wasn't into anthologies. I honestly don't remember, although I distinctly remember seeing these original books on the shelves at the comic shop. Regardless of that, I'm about sixty pages into the first collection and I'm enjoying the heck out of it. The stories are decent, sometimes a little bit on the broad side, but the artwork is quite good, the adaptations are well done and the interstitial bits written by Harlan and illustrated by Eric Shanower are fun to read.
The last one I'm going to get into right now is Man of Rock, the aforementioned biography of comics legend, Joe Kubert, by Bill Schelly. I've only just begun to read this one and am about 60 pages in. From a chronological standpoint, I'm around the early 1940s in Kubert's life and he has just been given the job to do Hawkman under Sheldon Mayer. I'm not a huge fan of the writing style or the organization of the information, but I do love me some Kubert so I am thoroughly enjoying learning more about his life and early works. I wasn't planning on picking up and reading another biography for a bit, but this one has kind of grabbed my attention and refuses to let go.Anyway, those are a few of the things that on my mind and on my reading table at the moment.
Cheers!
mike
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Walk With the Dead...Again
I realized that the season two premiere of The Walking Dead was airing last Sunday and, although I missed the 'live' broadcast of the show, I did manage to catch an encore presentation that same night. The timing worked out really well, actually, with Jen and the kids all going to bed about ten minutes before it started, which was nice. There's sort of a spoken rule that I can't watch anything too gross or terrifying while there are people who may object to it in the house or conscious.
Anyway, I watched the first season, in its entirety, on Blu-ray so it was kind of a treat to see it 'as it happens', and have that anticipation for watching it again the next week. The episodes (they aired the first two as an hour-and-a-half event) were quite good, both having their share of tension and a few surprises. It felt very much like the comic book where you really don't know who is going to survive and who will not. [POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT] There's a scene early on where the group encounters a herd of walkers and have to hide from them and, honestly, I didn't know how it was going to play out. It's a long scene, too, and the whole time you just sit there, breathless, waiting for something to happen, but also hoping that nothing happens. It was really well executed.
I'm also a little surprised that I'm so into the show again because there was a time, there, where I very much considered giving up on it. I was a little shaky at the end of season one, and then when they re-released the season set on home video as a 3-disc set with new features and commentaries on every episode, I was pissed. I bought season one at a time when I didn't really have the means to do so, but I made an exception to have it, watch it, and support it, and remember lamenting at the time how few good features were on it. I figured they'd make up for it on season two, but lo and behold, they toss another one out there on the market just in time for Halloween and season two.
Yeah, I'm still a little bitter.
Needless to say, I didn't give up on the show, despite everything. I'm very glad that I stuck with it, though, and I'm looking forward to this Sunday's episode. I've even started reading the comic book again, polishing off four volumes yesterday in an effort to catch up. I think when I do manage to get up to speed, I may start buying the book monthly, too. We'll see. What I won't be doing, however, is buying the home video release until well after it hits store shelves in the event that they decide to pull another one of these ridiculous double-dips.
And, with that, I leave you with the season two premiere which is now streaming on the AMC website, which is all kinds of awesome.
Later!
mike
Anyway, I watched the first season, in its entirety, on Blu-ray so it was kind of a treat to see it 'as it happens', and have that anticipation for watching it again the next week. The episodes (they aired the first two as an hour-and-a-half event) were quite good, both having their share of tension and a few surprises. It felt very much like the comic book where you really don't know who is going to survive and who will not. [POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT] There's a scene early on where the group encounters a herd of walkers and have to hide from them and, honestly, I didn't know how it was going to play out. It's a long scene, too, and the whole time you just sit there, breathless, waiting for something to happen, but also hoping that nothing happens. It was really well executed.
I'm also a little surprised that I'm so into the show again because there was a time, there, where I very much considered giving up on it. I was a little shaky at the end of season one, and then when they re-released the season set on home video as a 3-disc set with new features and commentaries on every episode, I was pissed. I bought season one at a time when I didn't really have the means to do so, but I made an exception to have it, watch it, and support it, and remember lamenting at the time how few good features were on it. I figured they'd make up for it on season two, but lo and behold, they toss another one out there on the market just in time for Halloween and season two.
Yeah, I'm still a little bitter.
Needless to say, I didn't give up on the show, despite everything. I'm very glad that I stuck with it, though, and I'm looking forward to this Sunday's episode. I've even started reading the comic book again, polishing off four volumes yesterday in an effort to catch up. I think when I do manage to get up to speed, I may start buying the book monthly, too. We'll see. What I won't be doing, however, is buying the home video release until well after it hits store shelves in the event that they decide to pull another one of these ridiculous double-dips.
And, with that, I leave you with the season two premiere which is now streaming on the AMC website, which is all kinds of awesome.
Later!
mike
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