Diaily Thoughts 6/9/2009

Prang's Fine Art Books, Poster

Daily Thoughts 6/9/2009

I watched some of The Battle For Algiers on dvd. It reminds me of many things which are happening in both Iraq and Afghanistan. It is a classic film about terrorism, colonialism, and change.

I am standing at the main library of Queens Public Library. One of the things which Queens Public Library does is not create special reference collections for books on library management. I will be taking three books on librarianship out; Guide to Developing A Library Music Collection by R. Michael Fling, Fundamentals of Technical Services Management by Sheila S. Intner with Peggy Johnson, and The Thriving Library Successful Strategies for Challenging Times, Edited by Marylaine Block. One of the things I was looking for was books on managing non-print materials. We have lots of information on selecting books, but not enough information on selecting dvds and cds.

I also picked up two graphic novels, Drinky Crow's Maakies Treasury by Tony Millionaire. This book is irreverent, gross, violent, and funny. Maakies is a comic strip printed mainly in alternative newspapers. It features a drunken crow (Drinky Crow) and drunken monkey (Uncle Gabby) who often sail around on a sailing ship. It draws a little bit from the early strips like Krazy Kat or other early animal funnies. The other book which I selected was Conan and The Jewels of Gwahlur by P. Craig Russell. P. Craig Russell is known for his opera adaptations like Parsifal and the Ring of the Nibelung. http://www.pcraigrussell.net/

I am standing here using the computer at the library. It has no printer attached to it. Nobody minds if I continue to use it for a few extra sessions because everyone wants to print something. I also used the self-checkout machine. It was rather interesting. All you had to do was place your card on top of a plate and it was read automatically. Then you placed all your books on top of the plate in a stack and it read the barcodes automatically and gave a printout of what you had checked out. Queens Library is using radio frequency identification self checkout. http://www.queenslibrary.org/index.aspx?page_nm=Annual_Report05_RFID

I read Maakies on the bus home. It was grossly funny. They even had a few people showing off their tattoos of Drinky Crow in some of the comic strips which was very outrageous. This is a link to the comic strip on the web. http://www.maakies.com/archive/index.html

I enjoyed reading the Conan story. It was very true to the original character who is a charlatan, trickster, and thief in his early years. Conan is off to steal some jewels and become rich. This is not a story of constant fighting, but treachery, intrigue, and cunning with a beautiful woman and some monsters thrown in for good measure.

The art work is beautiful. In addition to the story, there is a sketch book after the story which includes drawing from Barry Windsor Smith and Roy Thomas of Conan. P. Craig Russell is trying to keep the feel of the earlier comic versions of Conan. Despite this, it does not feel like a traditional Conan story. It is much more dramatic than most Conan stories. There is also more background story and art.

Good Afternoon, Comfortable

Johnny Gruelle Rapunzel-- Just a little touch of bedtime stories.


Good Afternoon



This morning, I read more of Prince of Stories The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman. Every time I pick this book up, I learn a little more. P. Craig Russell who is one of my favorite comic book artists drew a number of the Sandman comics. I really like Russell's opera comic adaptations, Parsifal, The Magic Flute, and Bluebeard. http://www.pcraigrussell.net/



I also found out that Jonathan Carroll who wrote Outside The Dog Museum and Sleeping In Flame is a major influence on Neil Gaiman's writing. Jonathan Carroll is one of my favorite authors. His web site is absolutely fantastic. http://www.jonathancarroll.com/index.php



This morning, I did some weeding of the finance section, spent some more time clearing out my desk, and made some minor adjustments to the displays. It was not a bad morning.

Comfortable

Sometimes I wish I could

Live like everyone else

Big car, big house, dreams

Perfect wife, perfect child, perfect

I wish the American Dream

Cloudy, sweet, false, pretentious

Working husband, working wife, working

Two incomes prosperous happy

But likes so many people

Cracks break up the dream

I am not a comfortable

American dreamer in Neverland

Graphic Novels and Opera, Random Thoughts

Brunnhilde The Valkyrie by Arthur Rackham

There is a relation between comic books and opera. This is not discussed that much. I hear it in passing at many comic book shops. The superhero dresses in a cape and tights, so does the opera hero. Opera heros and villains are larger than life and exaggerated. Batman and Superman couldn't be more exaggerated in presentation. Batman's parents die after a night watching Faust. The opera is as full of dramatic flourishes as the comic book.

P. Craig Russell is the comic artist who is best known for translating operas into comic books. His best known translation is the Ring of the Nibelungen. It is very beautiful full color work. He has also translated Bluebeard, Salome, the Magic Flute, Parsifal, and many other operas into comic book form. The illustrations are very beautiful to look at. He has a series of books called the P. Craig Russell Library of Opera Adapatations which is a multivolume set.

Another recent graphic novel which draws heavily from the opera is V for Vendetta by Alan Moore. There are many parallels between this graphic novel and The Phantom of the Opera. The costume of the hero includes a Guy Fawkes mask, cape, and hat. The hero is also prone to dramatic presentation.

This is just a thought for the moment to discuss. I am trying to find academic references to these parallels but they are not there. It should be looked at more closely. Please comment on this.