Yes, I am working hard on this post-Thanksgiving Friday.
Friday, November 28, 2003
The new Best-Of-slash-Singles-Collection from Pet Shop Boys is out now in the UK. Pop Art comes in two varieties - regular (2 CDs, one called Pop the other called Art and the Pop Art Mix version that has a third CD of, you guessed it, remixes. To use the Reading Rainbow method of analysis, I think this is a fine collection, especially since it includes two new songs, "Miracles" (pitch-perfect pop) and "Flamboyant" (very electroclash, that one) and it has all the songs you know and some you should. Apparently, there's not a US release date firmed up for this yet. Let's hope it's sooner rather than later, eh?
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
Once again. Laura is my friend and not yours. Nyah.
OK, she may be your friend, but I'm sure she likes me more.
So, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. There is where I give thanks to a very brief list of people and things.
I give thanks for the American media, with its obvious liberal slant, deciding to not focus on Michael Jackson and instead report on things of import to its citizens, like Tom DeLay's rather dodgy charity and the fact that Bush's welcome in England wasn't exactly a warm one. (Jay Leno gets special thanks, for managing to laugh about the destruction of the garden at Buckingham Palace, which had plants that had been in place since the days of Queen Victoria. Top notch, there.)
I give thanks for our president, proving that he cares about the soldiers he sent to their deaths in a war against a country that was totally successful in getting rid of those pesky terrorists while managing to totally find those weapons of mass destruction while winning the support of the majority of our country's citizens.
I give thanks to the corporations out there who have no agenda at all, honest and who know when to say "enough is enough, we're too big already!" and who would never do anything to scar young people for life.
Yeah, I give a lot of thanks.
No, I'm not bitter. Why do you ask?
I give thanks for the American media, with its obvious liberal slant, deciding to not focus on Michael Jackson and instead report on things of import to its citizens, like Tom DeLay's rather dodgy charity and the fact that Bush's welcome in England wasn't exactly a warm one. (Jay Leno gets special thanks, for managing to laugh about the destruction of the garden at Buckingham Palace, which had plants that had been in place since the days of Queen Victoria. Top notch, there.)
I give thanks for our president, proving that he cares about the soldiers he sent to their deaths in a war against a country that was totally successful in getting rid of those pesky terrorists while managing to totally find those weapons of mass destruction while winning the support of the majority of our country's citizens.
I give thanks to the corporations out there who have no agenda at all, honest and who know when to say "enough is enough, we're too big already!" and who would never do anything to scar young people for life.
Yeah, I give a lot of thanks.
No, I'm not bitter. Why do you ask?
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Monday, November 24, 2003
AIT/PlanetLAR has put out an excellent new comic called Scurvy Dogs and despite the creators' apparent anti-monkey stance, it's a laugh-fest and a half. Never before has the idea of a pirate working in a record store been used to such comedic brilliance, if the idea has indeed been used before.
Friday, November 21, 2003
Thursday, November 20, 2003
You've got to work hard, you've got to work hard
If you want anything at all
You've got to work hard, you've got to work hard
If you want anything at all
(Hi, Tasha.)
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
I thought The Matrix was great fun. I enjoyed Reloaded, despite its reliance on long bits of dialogue to explain things. There were maybe fifteen minutes of Revolutions that I want to keep in my memory, and about half of them involve Jada Pinkett-Smith and Monica Belluci's cleavage.
So, so disappointed.
So, so disappointed.
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
Challenge for you. Top ten songs for you. Just ten, don't cheat. These are
ten songs that you know by heart, will always want to hear, and have been
important to you. Here's what I came up with after a good deal of brainwork
and a conversation with Doug.
1. Miles Davis, "So What"
2. Kraftwerk, "The Robots"
3. The KLF, "What Time Is Love"
4. The Beatles, "Eleanor Rigby"
5. John Coltrane, "Acknowledgement" (from A LOVE SUPREME)
6. Underworld, "Born Slippy.nuxx"
7. Elvis, "Suspicious Minds"
8. Depeche Mode, "Just Can't Get Enough"
9. Pet Shop Boys, "Can you forgive her?"
10. Marvin Gaye, "What's Going On?"
(Note that I didn't manage to put Frank Sinatra, Sonny Rollins, Joy Division or New Order on there, to begin with. It's a hard, hard thing to do.)
ten songs that you know by heart, will always want to hear, and have been
important to you. Here's what I came up with after a good deal of brainwork
and a conversation with Doug.
1. Miles Davis, "So What"
2. Kraftwerk, "The Robots"
3. The KLF, "What Time Is Love"
4. The Beatles, "Eleanor Rigby"
5. John Coltrane, "Acknowledgement" (from A LOVE SUPREME)
6. Underworld, "Born Slippy.nuxx"
7. Elvis, "Suspicious Minds"
8. Depeche Mode, "Just Can't Get Enough"
9. Pet Shop Boys, "Can you forgive her?"
10. Marvin Gaye, "What's Going On?"
(Note that I didn't manage to put Frank Sinatra, Sonny Rollins, Joy Division or New Order on there, to begin with. It's a hard, hard thing to do.)
Six-year-old powerlifter Tyanna Madsen performs a deadlift at the Des Moines Strength Institute in Indiana.
(From The BBC's Day In Pictures site.)
You know how it is with most blogs / livejournals / deadjournals / monkeyjournals. You look at them, scan them, make sure you're not mentioned for wrecking that person's life, and move on. There's one, though, that I always sit down and read every. Word. Of. Keef lives in crappy-ass Texas1, but he doesn't let that get his ass down. No, sir. He works hard to make sure that his life is as entertaining to you as possible. So, go visit his blog and if you're OK with the image of a chubby guy dressed as a luchadore, visit keef.org.
1I originally thought he lived in Iowa for some stupid reason. Both states are crappy-ass.
1I originally thought he lived in Iowa for some stupid reason. Both states are crappy-ass.
Monday, November 17, 2003
So, I got the new Erasure Hits DVD and boy, do I feel way macho after watching it. I mean, the boys craft a fine, fine pop tune, but sometimes I wonder if they are from some strange universe where Bob Mackie Spacesuits (hi, Kari), spangled blazers, and tight biker shorts are the norm. (Yes, I know that Andy, at least, is gay. No biggie, that. Do whatever you want with whoever you want, as long as no children or animals are involved.)
I finished my second re-reading of The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier And Clay and yeah, it's still one of my favorite books. I feel so much empathy for Chabon's characters in this one, something that's notably absent in his other books, especially the dreary Mysteries Of Pittsburg or whatever it was. I then immediately went from Pulitzer-Prize Winner to the latest (and last, it looks like) book in the New Jedi Order series.
I finished my second re-reading of The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier And Clay and yeah, it's still one of my favorite books. I feel so much empathy for Chabon's characters in this one, something that's notably absent in his other books, especially the dreary Mysteries Of Pittsburg or whatever it was. I then immediately went from Pulitzer-Prize Winner to the latest (and last, it looks like) book in the New Jedi Order series.
Saturday, November 15, 2003
I got a spam email.
This, in and of itself, is nothing unusual, but check this text in the middle of it...
own machine grew broke strong under board sun phrase train equal produce remember lift engine special write skin while talk protect bar family next still boat quotient learn told point push him lead care low dress men woman form hard remember syllable rich person happy share problem tire steel tree phrase should between feel good ball rich land noise leave picture smile grass women slave name red spell saw unit guide milk middle neighbor soldier milk rain written smell suffix only ride hill want force shop suffix does home village hurry seat history thought road speak operate roll noise place men box divide drive team laugh young sail hundred instant before ride paragraph wheel small receive road head animal always few roll trouble along mount plane possible like wrote require fruit touch bell master hunt stone spring master earth spring house song position subtract type plain knew house fast temperature subject science love flower speed why protect steel road such also window south feel stream happen down back grand low lady very feel low blood egg modern wing joy rub foot stretch leg divide order best little noise word stick past path truck made divide symbol sense past head tree include house father man lay appear solution young end gave segment include invent teeth first rose poem poor together down bought double saw ring flower moment plan both make distant always drive suit snow trouble gave language rub office village soldier yard flower wood major best keep repeat same figure product similar event dress oil slow down young famous port paper especially provide also sight instrument yard fast wall speech move grass fill wall final early pick valley weight simple wrote wood again liquid party suit trouble ear reason divide dress fill hundred school between bone measure kind natural range able stood expect machine can women every fig word particular sun another against office turn track west except several ocean girl hard subject school ways test rest home should pitch reason king hear miss summer written apple each right proper path quick fig walk blue heat law third black fat gave valley sell office equal car similar weather moon indicate born wheel valley build plain school suit over tail sure equal natural planet left dress feel heavy least matter three nation young planet often what boat equate repeat warm talk other rule blow sheet prepare along especially liquid pound bad meet send area distant also experiment atom poor hunt include took operate rule scale road remember month still piece shell group hear west care were print valley wind line sense family opposite fear west music second thing true . equate surface street sound bone finish sharp winter period strong element organ spread populate earth unit miss feed family state heart fell plane example numeral neighbor rain heard ground before track born girl size third huge steel allow land mother dream turn shoe across question lake large row pose multiply parent lady late visit important drive stay sharp huge captain final truck how always key tail sometimes does twenty map face kind neighbor might forest length opposite mouth kept white meant anger wrong smile observe bed agree food invent triangle walk power back bar beauty break egg pretty does look direct ways sea gold hundred populate yellow rub beat wave read fair modern walk snow value party tell page fraction forest air happen asked great miss bone never steam noise figure science join electric probable three power temperature unit what quick half road once him play position right send person through get please skin please seven bed across music view joy reach whole power wash long make temperature lost usual sugar spend subject season few path suit straight stay team bottom another large race fast store possible human ball branch ear table three begin area quiet three each phrase select born stay neck solve only should next paper success group saw indicate position don't share fraction feet direct word discuss lead eat guide trouble most talk thin enough property fresh mountain east four knew hear thought end tire mass heat scale hair molecule meat lost while wash air nature main wear whose suggest reply land month kill happy night black ring follow such which late bone run next sky glad dog track sometimes agree reply mix electric sent self real loud natural king want station village north night track travel half quick hole branch learn left object key song salt present thank pick finger month spot leg short silver plain length suggest excite post property energy know lady floor prove enough music pretty imagine east stood problem plural final thick who whether wife ice stream east fish written name wife point wall listen why round force stone original populate winter low lift steam afraid wash favor ride question bed going sent duck east tree knew solve better today band being among syllable last broad
There's something beautiful about it.
This, in and of itself, is nothing unusual, but check this text in the middle of it...
own machine grew broke strong under board sun phrase train equal produce remember lift engine special write skin while talk protect bar family next still boat quotient learn told point push him lead care low dress men woman form hard remember syllable rich person happy share problem tire steel tree phrase should between feel good ball rich land noise leave picture smile grass women slave name red spell saw unit guide milk middle neighbor soldier milk rain written smell suffix only ride hill want force shop suffix does home village hurry seat history thought road speak operate roll noise place men box divide drive team laugh young sail hundred instant before ride paragraph wheel small receive road head animal always few roll trouble along mount plane possible like wrote require fruit touch bell master hunt stone spring master earth spring house song position subtract type plain knew house fast temperature subject science love flower speed why protect steel road such also window south feel stream happen down back grand low lady very feel low blood egg modern wing joy rub foot stretch leg divide order best little noise word stick past path truck made divide symbol sense past head tree include house father man lay appear solution young end gave segment include invent teeth first rose poem poor together down bought double saw ring flower moment plan both make distant always drive suit snow trouble gave language rub office village soldier yard flower wood major best keep repeat same figure product similar event dress oil slow down young famous port paper especially provide also sight instrument yard fast wall speech move grass fill wall final early pick valley weight simple wrote wood again liquid party suit trouble ear reason divide dress fill hundred school between bone measure kind natural range able stood expect machine can women every fig word particular sun another against office turn track west except several ocean girl hard subject school ways test rest home should pitch reason king hear miss summer written apple each right proper path quick fig walk blue heat law third black fat gave valley sell office equal car similar weather moon indicate born wheel valley build plain school suit over tail sure equal natural planet left dress feel heavy least matter three nation young planet often what boat equate repeat warm talk other rule blow sheet prepare along especially liquid pound bad meet send area distant also experiment atom poor hunt include took operate rule scale road remember month still piece shell group hear west care were print valley wind line sense family opposite fear west music second thing true . equate surface street sound bone finish sharp winter period strong element organ spread populate earth unit miss feed family state heart fell plane example numeral neighbor rain heard ground before track born girl size third huge steel allow land mother dream turn shoe across question lake large row pose multiply parent lady late visit important drive stay sharp huge captain final truck how always key tail sometimes does twenty map face kind neighbor might forest length opposite mouth kept white meant anger wrong smile observe bed agree food invent triangle walk power back bar beauty break egg pretty does look direct ways sea gold hundred populate yellow rub beat wave read fair modern walk snow value party tell page fraction forest air happen asked great miss bone never steam noise figure science join electric probable three power temperature unit what quick half road once him play position right send person through get please skin please seven bed across music view joy reach whole power wash long make temperature lost usual sugar spend subject season few path suit straight stay team bottom another large race fast store possible human ball branch ear table three begin area quiet three each phrase select born stay neck solve only should next paper success group saw indicate position don't share fraction feet direct word discuss lead eat guide trouble most talk thin enough property fresh mountain east four knew hear thought end tire mass heat scale hair molecule meat lost while wash air nature main wear whose suggest reply land month kill happy night black ring follow such which late bone run next sky glad dog track sometimes agree reply mix electric sent self real loud natural king want station village north night track travel half quick hole branch learn left object key song salt present thank pick finger month spot leg short silver plain length suggest excite post property energy know lady floor prove enough music pretty imagine east stood problem plural final thick who whether wife ice stream east fish written name wife point wall listen why round force stone original populate winter low lift steam afraid wash favor ride question bed going sent duck east tree knew solve better today band being among syllable last broad
There's something beautiful about it.
Friday, November 14, 2003
Kraftwerk Live at the MTV Europe awards. Still some of the coolest fuckers on the planet. Kylie introduces.
Mmm.
Kylie.
Mmm.
Kylie.
Thursday, November 13, 2003
So, after depositing my meager paycheck, I popped into Starbucks and ordered, out of morbid curiousity, the Gingerbread Latte. Now, look, I got no problem with the syrups of the vanilla and chocolate nature - they make sense, but the fact that she pumped something and liquid that's supposed to be like gingerbread came out was tres disturbing.
"Um. Is that...gingerbread juice?" I asked.
"Kevin, eet iz syrup." She responded in her husky euro-voice.
"Oh, big difference."
"Eef it zuckz, I will make you ze peppermint mocha. Or zee eggnog latte. Free." (Do you see why I love this particular outlet of the corporate beast?)
It's on my desk now, sucking massively, but I don't want her to try either of them on me. I like the basics, maybe a mocha on occasion, and the idea of "eggnog" and "latte" being wihin, oh, 20 characters of each other, makes me shiver.
"Um. Is that...gingerbread juice?" I asked.
"Kevin, eet iz syrup." She responded in her husky euro-voice.
"Oh, big difference."
"Eef it zuckz, I will make you ze peppermint mocha. Or zee eggnog latte. Free." (Do you see why I love this particular outlet of the corporate beast?)
It's on my desk now, sucking massively, but I don't want her to try either of them on me. I like the basics, maybe a mocha on occasion, and the idea of "eggnog" and "latte" being wihin, oh, 20 characters of each other, makes me shiver.
From BoingBoing, an interesting thing. A German Fotonovel about currency exchange. Actually pretty interesting. And I know which two people will read the German version first.
From Scott Kurtz's PVP strip commentary/whatever.
Hey kids. I was just talking tongue in cheek when I recommended that you start taking DayQuil instead of energy drinks. I've been getting some emails chastizing me (probably with good reason) for recommending drug use on the site. Of course, I'm not trying to do that, but maybe I do have to spell it out for some people. I was just amazed at the power an over the counter drug had on me. I wasn't trying to suggest abuse. Okay? Okay.
Ok, for the love of god, who bitches about a man joking about taking DayQuil? And what sort of thin-skinned gimp apologizes to people about it? Going forward, be safe in the knowledge Kevin Church endorses the abuse of all over-the-counter drugs that keep you awake, help you sleep, help you breathe, keep your nose clean, get the red out, or even just make you walk around in a daze, thinking about ducks.
(By the way - the doctor visit was so-so. He think's I'm a fat fucker, and I'm inclined to agree. When we get my asthma in shape, he's gonna talk to me about that.)
Hey kids. I was just talking tongue in cheek when I recommended that you start taking DayQuil instead of energy drinks. I've been getting some emails chastizing me (probably with good reason) for recommending drug use on the site. Of course, I'm not trying to do that, but maybe I do have to spell it out for some people. I was just amazed at the power an over the counter drug had on me. I wasn't trying to suggest abuse. Okay? Okay.
Ok, for the love of god, who bitches about a man joking about taking DayQuil? And what sort of thin-skinned gimp apologizes to people about it? Going forward, be safe in the knowledge Kevin Church endorses the abuse of all over-the-counter drugs that keep you awake, help you sleep, help you breathe, keep your nose clean, get the red out, or even just make you walk around in a daze, thinking about ducks.
(By the way - the doctor visit was so-so. He think's I'm a fat fucker, and I'm inclined to agree. When we get my asthma in shape, he's gonna talk to me about that.)
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
Monday, November 10, 2003
So, Thursday morning at nine, I go to see a doctor about my lungs. I was blessed with the wonderful gift of asthma by my mother's genetic bounty and winters in Boston are cruel, cruel things. This year has been worse than most and I'm getting to the doctor while I have a job that has more-than-decent health coverage. Various friends have been telling me to do this for months, and ok, you guys were right. Happy?
Yesterday, I got into the car with Kristin and her brother to head north, towards Kittery, Maine, our favorite shopping destination. On the way there, a few stops were made, the first to Kristin's favorite store on the planet, Absolutely Everything to look at paper and paper-related goods. Then, Tim and I insisted on a visit to the Strip Mall Of Iniquity in Seabrook, NH. This strip mall has, check this:
Chris's Comics is very frustrating; it's overly crowded, badly lit, really unfriendly to anyone who's not familiar with cards1 or comics, and I know Kristin hates trying to move around in the place, as it induces claustrophobia. They do, however, have many inexpensive Silver Age comics, such as issues of Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen and Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane that I need, dammit. However, to get to these, you have to ask specifically for them and then the employee on duty points you to boxes stacked on the floor with "SILVER AGE" written on the side. Usually, there's some cluttered junk on top of these boxes and you have to be willing to breathe in some serious dust. There's also an appalling lack of organization outside of the back-issue bins. It just seems that stuff is stuck on the wall almost-randomly and it's near impossible to find one book amongst the thousands they've opted to clutter the shelves with. Enough grousing,though. They sell stuff cheap and I'm not there that often. Still, it does make me realize how nice the shop and Comicopia are with their floorspace and fairly-well-organized inventories.
I did score some fine paperbacks of classic novels while visiting one of the thousands of Book Warehouse locations that exist in shopping-oriented areas like Kittery. I finally got a copy of King Solomon's Mines to call my own, along with Alice In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass and Don Quixote, which I've never read. Once I'm done with my re-reading of Kavalier And Clay, I'll either dig into these or the Banks novels I picked up. So many goddamn books, so little time. Oh, in case that's not enough, there was also a pair of Get Fuzzy collections that had to come home. Fucking literacy.
1CARDS? How fucking useless can a collectible get? Really? "I'm going to look at this picture of some person who played sports!" At least toys can be played with, theoretically, and comics provide replay value. What do cards provide? Something to look at while chewing your bad gum, not that they include gum anymore.
- An adult "book" store.
- A tattoo parlor.
- A "head shop" with items to be used for tobacco only.
- Chris's Comics.
Chris's Comics is very frustrating; it's overly crowded, badly lit, really unfriendly to anyone who's not familiar with cards1 or comics, and I know Kristin hates trying to move around in the place, as it induces claustrophobia. They do, however, have many inexpensive Silver Age comics, such as issues of Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen and Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane that I need, dammit. However, to get to these, you have to ask specifically for them and then the employee on duty points you to boxes stacked on the floor with "SILVER AGE" written on the side. Usually, there's some cluttered junk on top of these boxes and you have to be willing to breathe in some serious dust. There's also an appalling lack of organization outside of the back-issue bins. It just seems that stuff is stuck on the wall almost-randomly and it's near impossible to find one book amongst the thousands they've opted to clutter the shelves with. Enough grousing,though. They sell stuff cheap and I'm not there that often. Still, it does make me realize how nice the shop and Comicopia are with their floorspace and fairly-well-organized inventories.
I did score some fine paperbacks of classic novels while visiting one of the thousands of Book Warehouse locations that exist in shopping-oriented areas like Kittery. I finally got a copy of King Solomon's Mines to call my own, along with Alice In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass and Don Quixote, which I've never read. Once I'm done with my re-reading of Kavalier And Clay, I'll either dig into these or the Banks novels I picked up. So many goddamn books, so little time. Oh, in case that's not enough, there was also a pair of Get Fuzzy collections that had to come home. Fucking literacy.
1CARDS? How fucking useless can a collectible get? Really? "I'm going to look at this picture of some person who played sports!" At least toys can be played with, theoretically, and comics provide replay value. What do cards provide? Something to look at while chewing your bad gum, not that they include gum anymore.
Friday, November 07, 2003
Thursday, November 06, 2003
How to judge an Underworld remix, by someone on the Dirty forums. It's a 100 point scale.
Snob/wank factor (10 points)
Current trends factor (10 points)
Technical merit (10 points)
Booty-shaking/fist-pumping/party-rocking factor aka all that actually matters cause this is DANCE music after all (70 points)
Cheap CDs at Newbury. Got that the limited-edition version of the last Nightmares On Wax album and two used Bowie records (Earthling and Black Tie, White Noise) for $20. Nice, eh? I rule. Or my record-fu does.
Snob/wank factor (10 points)
Current trends factor (10 points)
Technical merit (10 points)
Booty-shaking/fist-pumping/party-rocking factor aka all that actually matters cause this is DANCE music after all (70 points)
Cheap CDs at Newbury. Got that the limited-edition version of the last Nightmares On Wax album and two used Bowie records (Earthling and Black Tie, White Noise) for $20. Nice, eh? I rule. Or my record-fu does.
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
Best. Space Ghost. Moment. Ever. From Ghost Planet Central.
Space Ghost: ATTENTION!
(Space Ghost is standing outside his apartment speaking through a megaphone.)
Space Ghost: I HAVE THE KEYS! IT IS MY APARTMENT!
Zorak: Oh no, the keys!
Space Ghost: IF YOU'RE WATCHING MY CABLE, PLEASE DESCRIBE WHAT'S ON!
Zorak: What about our unreasonable demands?
Space Ghost: YOU DIDN'T LIST ANY. LOOKS LIKE YOUR MOVIE IS GOING DIRECTLY TO VIDEO. VIDEO PRISON!
Zorak: Oh yeah? Well, we're sending Benjamin out in pieces!
Space Ghost: THAT'LL BE FINE. JUST DON'T TOUCH MY TV, OKAY? OR YOU'RE --KING DEAD! (CLEARS THROAT) SO, UH, WHAT ARE YOU ALL WATCHING?
Zorak: Hang on. It's, it's on, but we're not watching it.
Space Ghost: YOU'RE WASTING IT! I'M COMING IN!
(Space Ghost enters his apartment, where Moltar and Zorak are standing with lampshades on their heads.)
Space Ghost: Hmm. These aren't my lamps. These have feet. This must not be my apartment.
(Jon Benjamin laughs from the guest monitor, which is also under a lampshade.)
Space Ghost: I'd better go get a new apartment.
Space Ghost: ATTENTION!
(Space Ghost is standing outside his apartment speaking through a megaphone.)
Space Ghost: I HAVE THE KEYS! IT IS MY APARTMENT!
Zorak: Oh no, the keys!
Space Ghost: IF YOU'RE WATCHING MY CABLE, PLEASE DESCRIBE WHAT'S ON!
Zorak: What about our unreasonable demands?
Space Ghost: YOU DIDN'T LIST ANY. LOOKS LIKE YOUR MOVIE IS GOING DIRECTLY TO VIDEO. VIDEO PRISON!
Zorak: Oh yeah? Well, we're sending Benjamin out in pieces!
Space Ghost: THAT'LL BE FINE. JUST DON'T TOUCH MY TV, OKAY? OR YOU'RE --KING DEAD! (CLEARS THROAT) SO, UH, WHAT ARE YOU ALL WATCHING?
Zorak: Hang on. It's, it's on, but we're not watching it.
Space Ghost: YOU'RE WASTING IT! I'M COMING IN!
(Space Ghost enters his apartment, where Moltar and Zorak are standing with lampshades on their heads.)
Space Ghost: Hmm. These aren't my lamps. These have feet. This must not be my apartment.
(Jon Benjamin laughs from the guest monitor, which is also under a lampshade.)
Space Ghost: I'd better go get a new apartment.
This photo is the only high-res shot I took on the trip, as I knew it was going to be in the blog. It gets big when you click. It's the view from the stairs leading down the center of the Big Ass Rose Garden or whatever it's called.
Here's the rest of the photos. The ones below are of my excellent hosts, Doug and Kari. I can not say enough kind things about the two of them. Believe me, I've tried.
Here's the rest of the photos. The ones below are of my excellent hosts, Doug and Kari. I can not say enough kind things about the two of them. Believe me, I've tried.
More photos. Day two and three mornings. That's Rob. He's small. He's fierce. Roar. His parents were nice enough to have me over for brunch. Mmm. Lox. Two thumbs up to Stephanie and Chris on their fine hospitality.
First day of the trip pictures are up. Nothing with ninjas, but there's a nice shot of Doug driving and some random shots. The first is Kristin the night before I left. I just like it a lot.
Sunday, November 02, 2003
In Portland. Will post photos when I get back to the office. Impressions follow.
Beautiful hills and so fucking green, my eyes can't get over it.
Coffee is actually more common than water here, and that's saying something with all the bubblers/fountains in the area due to some guy's obsession with temperence and making sure that you don't dive into the bottle because there's tasty H20 available. Stumptown Coffee buys their own beans direct, using fair trade practices, roasts them themselves, and then french press the dark brew. Oh, it is tasty, my friends.
Book and reading are king here - Powell's takes up a whole city block and required a great deal of willpower for me not to spend all my available cash there. Reading Frenzy supplied me with enough zines to keep Kristin happy with me for the next few months. I think I could actually burn down the house and as long as she had her Moonlight Chronicles issues. They also had the best t-shirt I've seen in a while - a cat looking very, very angry and the phrase CLAWS BEAT SKIN in bold letters. I'd buy one if it wasn't only available in Tiny Hipster Sizes.
There's a lot of hippies. But they don't bug you as long as you're not wearing a Bush/Cheney 04 shirt.
Excalibur Comics on Hawthorne in South East Portland (they've got their own system of splitting the city in two, based on streets and the Williamette river) is a damned fine shop. I picked up some odds and ends and had an outrageous deal cut for me on a Superman book that I had to turn down. It hurt. Bad.
Doug and Kari are the world's best hosts, making sure that I was always comfortable and putting up with my stupid questions, especially the most common, "Where are we, again?" They also got me invited over to brunch at Stephanie and Chris's place, where I had tasty lox and met two groovy kids. All in all, it's been a good fact-finding and sight-seeing trip. I've picked up a copy of The Zinesters Guide To Portland and it appears that I may have to visit again real soon now.
Beautiful hills and so fucking green, my eyes can't get over it.
Coffee is actually more common than water here, and that's saying something with all the bubblers/fountains in the area due to some guy's obsession with temperence and making sure that you don't dive into the bottle because there's tasty H20 available. Stumptown Coffee buys their own beans direct, using fair trade practices, roasts them themselves, and then french press the dark brew. Oh, it is tasty, my friends.
Book and reading are king here - Powell's takes up a whole city block and required a great deal of willpower for me not to spend all my available cash there. Reading Frenzy supplied me with enough zines to keep Kristin happy with me for the next few months. I think I could actually burn down the house and as long as she had her Moonlight Chronicles issues. They also had the best t-shirt I've seen in a while - a cat looking very, very angry and the phrase CLAWS BEAT SKIN in bold letters. I'd buy one if it wasn't only available in Tiny Hipster Sizes.
There's a lot of hippies. But they don't bug you as long as you're not wearing a Bush/Cheney 04 shirt.
Excalibur Comics on Hawthorne in South East Portland (they've got their own system of splitting the city in two, based on streets and the Williamette river) is a damned fine shop. I picked up some odds and ends and had an outrageous deal cut for me on a Superman book that I had to turn down. It hurt. Bad.
Doug and Kari are the world's best hosts, making sure that I was always comfortable and putting up with my stupid questions, especially the most common, "Where are we, again?" They also got me invited over to brunch at Stephanie and Chris's place, where I had tasty lox and met two groovy kids. All in all, it's been a good fact-finding and sight-seeing trip. I've picked up a copy of The Zinesters Guide To Portland and it appears that I may have to visit again real soon now.
Ego.
- I'm Kevin Church, a 33-year-old comics writer and commentator as well as a fair-to-middling photographer.
I drink more than I probably should and obsess over stuff that, really, isn't worth obsessing over.
Publishers: Contact me for samples.
Contact.
- AIM/YIM: beaucoupkevin
Email: beaucoupkevin(at)gmail.com
In addition to those, you can be my fake internet friend on MySpace and follow me on Twitter and look at my photographs on Flickr before buying me a present from my Amazon wishlist. Heck, you can even shop at my Amazon shop if you want to help make sure I have booze money.
Feeds.
My Webcomics.
- The Rack
Waimea
Nitroglycerin (Defunct)
My Print Comics.
- Cover Girl
Cthulhu Tales: The Rising
Cthulhu Tales: Tainted
What Were They Thinking?!: Go West Young Man
What Were They Thinking?!: Monster Mash-up
Other Projects.
-
Get Off The Internet: A group blog.
SearchPeers: Small Business SEO.
Very: A blog about Pet Shop Boys.
Whiskey and Failure: My photoblog.
Lawyerbear: A bear that is a lawyer.
AskCerebra:Comics blog search.
The City Desk: Fictionalia.
Links To Right-Minded People.
-
Benjamin Birdie
Amanda Stanke
John Rogers
Linda Park
Tangognat
Clarence
Ragnell
Andrew
Maggie
Benari
Cole +
Novice
Dave L
Sophie
Kitty
Doug
Jenn
Jodi
Ryan
Keef
Mark
Pete
Music.
-
Underworldlive
Underworld discography
Sparks
Erasure
Morrissey
DJ Shadow
Saint Etienne
Pet Shop Boys
Stephin Merritt
Belle and Sebastian
Comics Blogs.
-
The ISB
Neilalien
Bahlactus
Bully Says…
Successless
Journalista!
Size Matters
Kirby Comics
Polite Dissent
Random Panels
comics212.net
Dave's Long Box
Progressive Ruin
Postmodern Barney
Great Caesar's Post!
The Comics Reporter
Yet Another Comics Blog
Genius.
Affiliations.
My provider rocks.
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