Daily Thoughts 5/23/2009

Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was a British poet. She is known for her poem Goblin Market.

Daily Thoughts 5/23/2009

Harvey Pekar has a new graphic novel called The Beats A Graphic History. It is on the New York Times bestseller for graphic novels. I am looking forward to reading it soon.

I picked up two books I had on hold, Mind Over Ship by David Marusek a science fiction novel and Fool's Gold Why The Internet Is No Substitute for a Library by Mark Y. Herring.

I did a little bit of entering orders this morning in Baker and Taylor and filed some law looseleafs. It has been a fairly quiet day.

I also had some carrots and apple sauce instead of food from the snack machine. It is a first step.

I have started reading Fool's Gold by Mark Y. Herring. Mark Y. Herring is famous for writing the article, Ten Reasons The Internet Is No Substitute for a Library. http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/resources/selectedarticles/10reasonswhy.cfm I find his contrarian view quite refreshing.

I got my confirmation today for going to the Book Expo America next Friday, May 29. I also almost missed that the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art Festival was on June 6 and June 7. This is very affordable, $10 for the day. It is almost entirely independent and small press comics. The show usually has some very interesting and offbeat work. Top Shelf, Fantagraphic, DC Vertigo, Oni Press, NBM, and other independents usually are there. The feeling is more arts oriented than than fandom. It feels like crafting for comics. There are usually people selling rubber stamps, t-shirts, small toys, mini-comics and similar things. http://www.moccany.org/

More Thoughts

My car is being repaired. I was hoping it was done today so I could do laundry and shopping easily. Drat, it will take a bit more than usual today. I really enjoyed the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art Art Fair yesterday, it is much different than the New York Comic Con.

Anyways, I finished reading America's Hidden History by Kenneth C. Davis. It was an expose on aspects of American history which were brushed aside. I am going to write a review for it today.

I was looking at Twitter this morning. I found an interesting book title that one of the twitterers ContentContent suggested, Hot Text: Web Writing That Works by Jonathan Price and Lisa Price. I put it on hold at my library. It looks like it might be useful.

Because, I am not driving anywhere and I am not deeply motivated to clean house right now, I finished watching The Five Thousand Fingers of Dr. T written by Dr. Seuss. This is an entertaining movie because it is so strange. The sets are phantasmagorical, and the costuming is really really different. The costumes look like something out of a party colored cartoon.

The musica and singing is interesting if not a bit odd. It is all classical music, mainly piano. The ending, I hope could have been different. The little kid, Bart Collins, blows up the giant piano (this is a spoiler) and his dream ends. This is a very imaginative movie.

If you don't like surrealism, you might not like this film. If you want to see what Dr. Seuss would look like in a live action setting this gives a much better interpretation than the modern live action films of Dr. Seuss. It was written in 1953 when Dr. Seuss was still around.



This afternoon, I walked up to the library in the stifling heat. I returned a few items, then I read some magazines. I usually don't read magazines, but this time I decided to take a look. I browsed through several copies of Wired Magazine. I find Wired to be rather silly. There really was not anything of note in the magazines.

Then I sat down at the computer for a little bit and played with some social networking sites adding a few more "friends" to my Twitter network. I am finding Twitter to be both entertaining and easy to use. It is basically prepared soundbites.

I didn't find anything new to check out from my local branch library. I should probably look at the Manga a little more closely.

I couldn't stay too long, I had to take care of some minor things at home. Things like sorting some of the waste materials into the recycling bins outside and going for a short walk to the local produce market. I bought watermelon, bananas, oranges, cheese, cranberry juice, seltzer, cold cuts, cheese, and rolls.

It is very hot outside. This mitigated a little bit by a light wind. I would not call it picnic weather, it is too hot.

Right now, I just started reading In The Courts of the Crimson Kings by S.M. Stirling. It is about an alternate history, where aliens long ago terraformed mars and venus. It reminds me a little bit of John Carter of Mars or Carson of Venus. It has that old style touch. You can also detect a light touch of C.L. Moore's Northwest Smith, but not much. It feels like a homage to an earlier era in science fiction.

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival New York, Morning Thoughts

Hmm, let me think about this. Today, I am definitely heading over to the Puck Building. The last time I was there, there was an outsider art exhibition going on. Today should be quite interesting. I have something to read on the subway, America's Hidden History by Kenneth C. Davis.

I have had breakfast already as well, a deathwich (two scrambled eggs on a roll with swiss cheese, salt and pepper and ketchup, and a cup of coffee. It does wake you up, even if it is terribly bad for you.

I watched a little bit more of the film, The Five Thousand Fingers of Dr. T. It is truly bizarre. All of the other instruments have been locked in the dungeon by Dr. Terwilliker and only piano playing is allowed. There is a wonderful sequence where a Seussian orchestra comes out and plays a truly odd set of songs. There are trombones, accordions, strange looking trumpets, odd looking violins, piccolos, and some odd things that look like a cross between a hookah and a trumpet. Also various things are thrown at gongs. It is all very silly. Only Dr. Seuss could have come up with the things in this film.

Anyways, I am off to pursue the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival.

I got to the Puck building without incident, the trains ran on time today. There were three large ballrooms in the Puck Building filled with exhibitors. It was mostly alternative comics.

However, DC Vertigo was also there. DC Vertigo does the more offbeat titles from DC, things like John Constantine Hellblazer and DMZ. Quite a few of the DC Vertigo imprint are science fiction comics. They were giving away free copies of some of the vertigo DC series.

They also have a new series of graphic novels aimed at teenage girls called Minx. They had free Advance Copies of Water Baby, Janes In Love, and Emiko Superstar. These are all hip slice of life type comics for teenage girls. They tell stories about boyfriends, going to the beach, going to dances and concerts, and other everyday life teenage events. This is the kind of thing which we should get to balance out our collection of graphic novels and include material for girls. I think the series is entertaining. The stories are well written.




Darkhorse comics was there also. I picked up a copy of Tales of the Fear Agent created by Rick Remender and Tony Moore. The frontispiece artist signed the book, Jack Davis. This is a compilation of science fiction stories featuring a hardcore space mercenary. Jack Davis calls it similar to EC comics science fiction. It reminds me a bit of Eagle Comics, Strontium Dog, or Alien Worlds from the 1980s.

I picked up catalogs from NBM, Fantagraphics, Top Shelf, and First Second. Unfortunately, Pantheon didn't bring any catalogs. They have a catalog on their website.

There were various small independents at most of the tables. All kind of things. T-shirts, little wooden toys, plush toys, music, and videos. It was a mostly younger crowd. I picked up a few odd little comics like Space Chick and Space Chicken by http://www.beetlebugcomics.com/. People were selling a variety of mini-comics and ashcans for consumption.

One of the featured guests had a catalog for his new book, Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan by Chip Kidd. I missed his talk, but went to the next one. The museum is in a tiny unassuming space on 594 Broadway in Manhattan. Virgin Comics also has offices on the same floor which is kind of interesting.

There were pictures all over the walls for the exhibit, Moving Pictures: Comics to Film. I don't think the whole exhibit was up. It was kind of unique. There were lobby posters from Barbarella, Fritz The Cat, X-Men, Flash Gordon, and a wide variety of movies tied in with comic books. There were also movie stills from the x-men, fantastic four, hellboy, sin city, and numerous other films. In the entrance way, they had posters from the previous Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art festivals. I will definitely visit when there are less people around.

I heard David Heatley give a talk in the museum space. He gives a lot of credit to Chris Ware in helping him start his career. It was about his career as a designer and an alternative comics artist. He is going to release a new book called My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down under the publisher Pantheon. It was kind of interesting. The art work was not that interesting to me, but the process he was describing was. I recognized the cover he drew for Best American Comics 2007. This is his blog. http://drawger.com/heatley/

There were tables where people were drawing sketches for different fees. The fee went as a donation to the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. I paid $20 to have R. Sikoryak do a sketch of me. I'll probably hang it up on my wall somewhere. I remembered him because he did cover art for The Comics Journal. http://www.rsikoryak.com/

It was enjoyable walking around the festival. There was a lot to see. Much of it was very different than the mainstream comic titles. The entrance fee of $10 was well worth it for a single day. Just the lecture would have been worth the $10

More Morning Thoughts

Things have caught up with me a bit. I will be going in the afternoon to the MOCCA event. Things have been a bit busy, mostly taking care of minor personal things. Oops, things caught up with me even more. I have to go tomorrow. Life is like that sometimes, you just have to adjust and do the next best thing.

I watched a little bit of The Five Thousand Fingers of Dr. T, a film written by Dr. Seuss. It has be one of the oddest films I have ever seen. Dr. Terwilliker is planning to make 500 children play his massive piano with thousands and thousands of keys. The sets are astoundingly weird looking. They are what would happen if you had Seussian pictures in real life. I was bowled over the by the oddness. I think it is one of the first live action cartoons.

Morning Thoughts

Classic 1902 Washington Post Political Cartoon of Theodore Roosevelt and Bear

I now have two books which I am looking at which I am ambivalent about revewing that I read recently, The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushie, and One Foot In The Grave by Jeaniene Frost. I feel like, I could just sit and watch them for a while until my mind gels around them and I can start writing about them. But, then maybe not.

Tomorrow is The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival at the Puck Building In New York. I am definitely going to go see the show. It should be fun. I have gone every year since it started. http://www.moccany.org/ . It is kind of funny, I have never really had a chance to go to the actual museum. I might leave the show a bit early and go the exhibit they have at the museum, Moving Pictures Comics to Film.

I am browsing through, Theodor Seuss Geisel The Early Works of Dr. Seuss, Volume 2. It is mostly editorial cartoons with some short articles on ridiculous subjects like Sex and the Sea God, The Facts of Life, Or How Should I Tell My Child, and various other things.

Today has been pretty quiet. I made a few donations for retirement parties at work. It will be the usual cake, card, and a small gift. This morning, I brought my car in to the repair shop. Someone grazed the side of my car while it was parked near the house. It was late at night, the car that hit my car drove off before I could even get a look at it.

I have a kind of long term project at work. I have to start weeding the law books. I'll probably start with thinning out some of the books in the storage stacks, then bringing down some of the less used books. Things are quite tight in our law collection.