Lady, That's My Skull

Hayley Mills on Loose Women

2012-01-30T14:49:00.000-08:00

Hayley Mills talks about Wild at Heart (Now starting a 7th season YAY but still can't see it in America BOO!) and the power of nature from January 2011.

You'll feel your heart skip when Hayley replies to a question from the panel by saying "No, Dear...[SPOILERS]", just see. It's those familiar Hayley Mills speech inflections that does it.

A failure to communicate

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

I've used Discount Tires for my vehicle needs for years. Like most people I first became familiar with their company through their classic, hilarious and highly-effective commercial touting their return and replacement policy. Their service and price is why I began going to them when I started to drive.

But I'm going to have to think pretty hard about going in again any time soon. A few weeks ago I went to my usual location to get a new tire, which was worn. When I went in I told the salesperson what I needed and why and let them know that was all I was purchasing that day. Getting only one tire at a time is a young man's gamble. When you change one tire you should change all of them so they all wear evenly, everything balances right and you have no surprises a week later when an old tire fails. But I had been out sick from work for a few months and cash was tight. So I made myself clear about my needs that day

Apparently, through no fault of the employees I'm sure since they are very likely pressured to make sales from upper management, my desires as a customer where pushed aside. Before I left I received no less than six attempts to up-sell my purchase. Quoting a price, then lowering it, adding services and then discounted incentives (still adding up to more than I told them I would spend). Between my last visit to Discount Tires and this one it was like I had visited two different companies. At least at least on the front end experience. The exception being the swiftness and quality of their labor service in replacing the tire which remained great and if anything was better than before.

I understand the hard up-sell. The economy has been in the dumps for years and companies are desperate for every nickle and dime from their brick and mortar outlets as they can be (while still somehow being able to afford using private jets to fly to meetings to exotic vacation resorts). My current employer tried the hard-sells at every opportunity until they realized the customer backlash wasn't worth it and dropped the requirement for most departments. When a customer says no that should be the end of it. No guilt trips, no acting like I just duct-taped loaded guns with filed down sears to the heads of the passengers of my car, no miming like Pontius Pilate washing his hands of the whole deal and so be it, the fiery deaths of my passengers is on my head.

The pitches that the tire crew was giving me were presented in terms of my safety. I can appreciate that message. They pointed out the others tires were worn (Meh, not so much. All four were new less than a year ago. I wanted one changed because it kept getting scraped on a curb) and that I should change them and here's a great deal on 4 tires, etc., etc.

But the intent and sincerity perceived by the customer is important. If the pitch doesn't come off as sincere then I would think you are playing me for a sucker. The first tell that the clerk really was only saying what he had to was that he wouldn't look at me. Our last conversation before I left went like this:

"Have we told you that you really should replace all those tires? They are getting worn."
"Yes. Four times now in the last half an hour."
"Well, that shows you how important it is."

Sure, except you were looking everywhere but at me when you said all that. It doesn't mean he was a bad salesman, just that he was uncomfortable pushing another sales pitch on me. At least I hope that is what it was and he wasn't some predatory huckster. Also, one thing the clerk wasn't aware of: Their company's email message.

During the purchase the clerk asked for and I gave my email address. I didn't mind. This is important because that way I can receive tire recall notices, a handy and necessary service. So while seated in the lobby waiting for the tire to be replaced I did what anyone else would do: Browse the internet, check email and read some news. While waiting I got hit up again for more tires and shortly after received an email from Discount Tires thanking me for my purchase. I read it, knowing I needed to head off a barrage of emails and catalogs mailed to my house by changing my marketing preferences. It was after going to their website via the email and personalizing my visit I felt like was nothing more than a mark with a wallet.

In the image above there are several options for receiving messages from Discount Tires. This is an original, cropped screenshot with the only the customer name changed. In the initial view the message options default to sales pitches and one service reminder which would just be a sales pitch when you go in to the store. The two safety notices, really the most important part for the consumer and in the worst case scenario can mean life or death for a driver, is left unchecked by the company.

So this is the business plan? Hit me up for another sale but, in the case of the many who don't bother to sign up, or those that do but don't update their marketing preferences, not receive any notification that they might be driving on a faulty tire?

I guess ultimately the responsibility for checking the warranties and disposition of almost anything anyone purchases is on the buyer but only to a point. Any company has a moral if not legal obligation to inform someone using their product it may be faulty. The government regularly posts information about faulty products and recommends or orders companies to do so on their own. But if there was a recall of tires how would one find out? If they did, would I receive any notification because I did not opt in to the service? Is regular mail an option? Is it still an option if one did not opt in on the website? Would it take weeks or months to mail me a letter when email goes out almost immediately?

It wouldn't hurt to have the communication preferences default to choose all options, none of them or prioritize the safety notifications and then let the customer decide. Hold the sales pitches and default to caring about your customers a little bit more. The front end sales pitches and the way the customer notification service may be unrelated but it looks like it is a part of a narrowly focused top-down business strategy that prefers making a sale over any other consideration.

By the way, guys? Don't bother to contact me with offers or that "you are sorry I wasn't satisfied with my experience" or even as I know happens on occasion...threats. The tire service was great, the annoying hard up-sells were not. I know you won't change the front end sales pitches because if you did, let's be honest, sales would drop and that's the reality of business. In my experience few respond to those ads and instead search for the best deal they can through the internet going to their favored supplier first, based on their past experiences. Instead, just think about maybe changing the set up of those initial customer communication options.

A Thing I Spontaneously Said

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

gesturing dramatically in front of a group of people as I passed by it on the street.

A few people got it but the rest were stupid and screw them I don't care because they are stupid and I hate them.

PSA: Teach Your Children Well

2012-01-24T17:31:00.001-08:00

Monday with Hayley Mills: Parents offered a Renoir for Lolita role

2012-01-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

In an interview last year with Penelope Andrew, actress Hayley Mills reveals she was considered a primary choice to star in the 1962 film Lolita.

Her parents were reportedly to even have been offered a Renoir painting if they allowed their daughter to star in the notorious film.

While I'm sure Hayley could have acquitted herself in the role quite well I am glad she never did it. It would have been a major shift in Hayley's career path and I doubt we would have ever received The Parent Trap, That Darn Cat and many other great films.

Read more about it at the link...

PICTO-DIGITIZING IS NOT UNLAWFUL

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

TRITTSYC

Jeepers! Got to escape that robot!

2012-01-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

TRITTSYC

A delicious part of this complete lifestyle change

2012-01-10T23:30:00.000-08:00

I don't mind the dietary changes that come with being diagnosed with diabetes. What is frying my eggs is the misleading, dissembling, fact-twisting and downright lies of most labeling, advertising and packaging of food stuffs that purport to be healthier and "low sugar" or "low sodium" when they contain the same or greater amounts of ingredients I am trying to avoid.

All the marketing that appeals to hippies, hipsters and the health-conscious is really a shameless scam that borders on criminal negligence. Reading between the lies, their products are not necessarily healthier but is a part of a managed diet of people weighing portions and counting ingredients. 700 mg of sodium in a serving of a "healthier, all-natural, low-sodium" bread compared to 500 mg of it per slice in a far less expensive, cheaply made, junk-food processed loaf doesn't seem too beneficial to me.

It really is caveat emptor when it comes to food.

Monday with Hayley Mills: Parent Trap

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Twisted Nerve (1968) and The Parent Trap (1961) mash-up!

In the made-for-TV sequel Lindsey Lohan doesn't live past the opening credits.

The Hydra Club

2012-01-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

The Hydra Club, a function-less invite-only organization of science fiction contributors from the pulp days of yore.

From Marvel Science Fiction (November 1951). Written by Judith Merril, art by H. Harrison.

Aholeoids A-Plenty

2012-01-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Click to make Hubble-sized!

Monday With Hayley Mills: A Retrospective

2012-01-02T22:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the first installment of 2012's Monday With Hayley Mills! Rather than try to create something original I'm doing what amounts to a clip show. Thank the pain meds and exhaustion from my medical issue for that.

Never fear, though! More original items featuring America's Sweetheart, Hayley Mills to come in 2012!

It's lazy on my part but clicking the below link will load up your browser with nothing but Hayley goodness.

Everything Hayley Mills on Lady, That's My Skull!

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Click to make humungous, print and put it together to usher in 2012!

From Child Life (January 1928).

Happy Birthday, Son!

2011-12-31T15:00:00.000-08:00

23 years old today?

Wow.

This kid is pretty lucky. Having a birthday so close to Christmas in most families means that the youngster often gets ripped off gift and party-wise. The holiday and the celebration are often combined. That sucks! But not only did we as parents make sure his birthday and Christmas were as equitable as if they were months apart, we also gave him two parties. One would be low-key in December because friends and families are burnt out. The other party would be a few months later and would be the big blow-out par-tay!. Not only would people be recovered emotionally from the holidays but financially as well, ensuring enough time had passed so my son didn't get re-gifted the crappy Christmas presents that nobody wanted.

Oh, like no one else would do or has done that, too. Liars.

If anyone wants to send presents then please make it in the form of cash or something that can be readily changed into cash.

HE isn't from outer space, he's the AUTHOR

2011-12-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

Still feeling unclean from that purposefully horribly-structured X-Files "fan-fic" I posted yesterday. It was more of an exercise in provenance than anything else, though I did enjoy the idea of a sequel of sorts to the Bat Thing episode and the idea of a Dana Scully ready to open up a barrel of whoop-ass. Also, a reference to Mulder showing and feeling his age because he doesn't trust the benefits of medical advances that everyone else takes advantage of was funny. I was amused by the thought of Dana appearing 35 and grrrrrr-hot while Mulder is thin, turkey-necked, creaking and firmly in his 70s.

The concept of the Sof-Wall© comes from Tru Dat. An as yet unpublished opus of mine, Tru Dat is about what happens to a person during an era of unprecedented access to private information. Due to a compromised suite of programs called True Data released into the wild, personal privacy is all but gone and the most trivial, minute detail of anyone's life is open for casual perusal. Being boring is one's only haven from constant intrusion and meddling by friends and strangers.

The Sof-Wall© is just my idea of taking the interactive environment that exists today mostly as art installations to an extreme. In the future, I see people totally immersed in sensation, shapes and images, based upon their personalized Tru Dat preferences, that is reflected in their physical environments via shifting, malleable objects and structures. Residential walls will be the least of the advances, serving mostly as interfaces for entertainment and information.

I think it is inevitable that gesture and voice commands will relatively soon be commonplace in our environments. It is already available in a nascent form for entertainment and communication purposes. A universal user interface for technology, that can adapt to needs and requirements is not only very likely but also necessary.

Winding up season 9 of the X-Files on the tablet. I watch about one episode a day sitting in the car during lunch at work. Our break room is a freak show, uncomfortable and no one SHUTS UP and LEAVES ME ALONE. Yes, some of those episodes are nearly unwatchable but the good episodes are great. Looking around the internet I noticed there are no decent pictures (other than Scully in her dirty, dirty shoes*) of the fictional book cover From Outer Space written by two-off X-Files character Jose Chung.

So in LTMS-style I decided to create one of my own. I found a nice painting of a classic Roswell alien (from the book Communion that From Outer Space is riffing on), shifted some colors, added some science fiction-y text, a cigarette and some smoke. The smoke was the hardest part given my level of photo manipulation skills (somewhere south of a North Korean propaganda minister).

The result was a reasonable facsimile of the cover to Jose Chung's From Outer Space, as seen in the 1996 X-Files episode of the same name. Use it as wallpaper, a treeware notebook cover, tarantula habitat liner or however you want. This is fair-use fan-art so be cool and don't stick it on anything for sale without entering into some agreement with the original artist for the painting of the alien and probably whoever owns the X-Files franchise. It's also uncool to gank it, put your logo on it and slap it on your site. You know who you are.

I'm a big science and science-fiction nerd-fan but I don't believe for a moment in anything supernatural or of super-nature. Science as we know it just doesn't support all the fringe claims of weirdness out there. But when I first read Communion back in 1987 I have to admit it was the only thing in my life as an adult that ever gave me recurring screaming nightmares. I'd read a chapter and that night have the most awful dreams. Typically, I embrace nightmares. They are not at all scary and like thunderstorms, I think they are great and entertaining. Fear is the mind-killer, you know.

Yet reading the book by Whitley Streiber messed me up on a predictable basis. It got so bad that as an experiment I'd forego reading it for a couple of days just to see what happened and would sleep like a baby on whiskey and sedatives. Then I'd read a chapter and that night wake up to the sound of an apple being crunched in my head** and losing my crap. I mean I was shaking, sweating and had the whole feeling like I'm dying thing.

Someone who believed in aliens (don't get me wrong, I want to believe. Aliens would be great!) would propose that the book was bringing repressed memories of when I was abducted by aliens to the surface. But that is stupid. Unless of course I repressed memories of being kidnapped by a pervert when I was young and the descriptions of Streiber's "true story" was causing me to recall them and causing my discomfort. Nah.

I eventually made it through the book but it was a rough couple of weeks. A few years later I saw the movie based on the novel and it was hilarious***.

*What?
** FYI, Whit. It's called "waking up during mid-snore".
*** An alien glory-hole vacuum probe. Are you kidding me?

X-Files: 2025

2011-12-30T06:00:00.006-08:00

The bed room air quickly cooling to her preferred temperature, lights slowly dialing up and the soft trill of her phone connection roused Dana Scully from her sleep. A glance at the shifting patterns of the malleable Sof-Wall© revealed it was 2:09 in the morning. With an irritated gesture of one hand that was detected and interpreted by the house sensors Scully halted the standardized announcements and home preparation of a phone call. Scully knew a call that early was never a good thing and another gesture dimmed the lights back to their previous darkened setting. years of sharply-honed instincts told Scully it was better to remain in a covert mode until she was better informed.

"This better not be you, Mulder." Scully grumbled. In spite of advanced medicine she often felt, if not appeared physically, all of her more than 60 years. "I'm retired from the FBI, NSA and medicine and too old for chasing monsters."

Scully sighed and rose from the bed, pulling her robe closed around her. "Ugh. I'm a mess. Audio only, answer call."

A wave form representing the connection rippled on the Sof-Wall© followed by the sound hisses and crackles. Scully frowned. "What, it's 1993?" she mused. There was another moment of static and then a male voice could be heard. "Mom? Are you there?" The voice sounded as if it came from an incredible distance but it was instantly recognizable to Scully. It was her long missing son!

"William? William! It's been over ten years! Where are you? What's wrong?" Scully felt her heart beat rapidly, over-riding the software in the coronary nan-bots of her health prescription. "It's been years! Where are you?" There was a pause and then William responded. "No time to explain, Mom! Do you still have your old field weapon? You need to protect yourself right now! Hurry!"

The house pinged and symbols for a lost connection scrolled across the wall. Not hesitating any further Scully gestured at her bed and the Sof-Wall© opened a secure pocket, ejecting a shiny SIG-Sauer P228. Scully snatched it from the temporary shelf-tongue, grabbed the magazine and slammed the it into the weapon, jacking a round into he chamber and taking the safety off in smooth, well-remembered actions. The gun was an old nearly obsolete weapon but still deadly. "Kind of like myself." Scully muttered grimly. Somehow, William had known his mother was in danger and she was experienced enough not to dismiss the warning as some conspiratorial feint to deceive, inveigle or obfuscate.

Suddenly, the bedroom window shuddered under a terrific impact. The Sof-Wall© shifted and the artifice of a window vanished and merged with the rest of the wall as the house responded to the attack, transforming into a protective mode. Scully chuckled. Whatever was seeking to gain entrance through the mock windows wasn't very smart, not being aware enough to realize that actual windows and doors were nothing but programmable and temporary transparent sections or portals in the structure of modern Sof-Wall© housing.

Scully heard a piercing shriek of frustrated rage and then there was a rapid pounding of fists on the wall. A short thrill of fear arced through her but Scully swiftly crushed it down. She was used to weirdness. Standing directly in front the area of the raucous disturbance Scully calmly took up a shooter's stance and said "Interrogation room." A section of the wall immediately cleared but only one way. She could see out through the wall but the raging attacker could not see in, like an the one-way mirror into a law enforcement interview room. It was a common privacy setting for most homes, only the name was personalized. To Scully's irritation, Mulder called the one-way setting the "Sexy Exhibitionist Peep Show."

Scully shook her head, recognizing the pale, scrabbling shape and vestigial but functional wings that beat on the exterior of the nigh-impenetrable house. "Well." She said. "It took you long enough. House...STARBUCK"

The house data net pinged an acknowledgement and in a matter of a few seconds it responded. Swiftly, a long narrow slit in the shape of a crucifix formed in the Sof-Wall©, mimicking in design the arrow slit favored by ancient castle builders to fire projectiles through at enemy soldiers. Sensing the gap opening in the wall the maddened bat creature put it's face up to the opening and screamed. Scully stepped up to the arrow slit and aimed her gun directly into the toothy maw of the monster. It had hunted for Scully over many decades out of revenge for a fallen mate and moments from perceived victory it realized that something was wrong. A strange guttural noise of surprised issued from the red-lipped mouth. "That's right." Scully said grimly. "Ruh-Roh!"

The creature made a motion to flee put Scully was too fast, too prepared. She fired her gun, emptying the entire clip into the face of the bat-creature before it could duck out of sight or fly away. Smoke filled the arrow slit but only briefly as the house whisked away harmful or unpleasant pollutants. Scully peered through the gap in the wall and a medical diagnostic screen appeared on the Sof-Wall©, confirming the creature was indeed truly dead, though the absence of most of it's head by the impact of twenty-four high powered rounds of ammunition was confirmation enough for Scully. She was sure it would not leap up and attack when she least expected it to. After all, she was a medical doctor. Tucking the warm gun into the pocket of her robe Scully turned away from the still form of the creature, remarking, "There is no scientific explanation for you being so stupid."

Snapping her fingers and gesturing, Scully let the house return to normal mode after confirming that law enforcement was indeed notified and on it's way. While she waited she poured herself a glass of wine and wondered where William, her baby, was now and how he managed to glean she was being threatened. She hoped he was thriving though there was no conclusive evidence to suggest otherwise. She knew, though, that she would not rest until she was able to hold William in her arms again. She would have to locate William, wherever he may be. Scully made a decision, knowing she might regret it. "House...Call You-Know-Who."

The Sof-Wall© formed a video screen and moments later it connected, depicting the image of a handsome man with a heavily lined face that showed the results of eschewing medical nano-bots. Scully sighed. "Mulder, it's me."

Separated at Birth?

2011-12-17T22:18:00.000-08:00

Interesting that in the absence of the classic Fourth World characters to yet be fully realized in the NewDCU that Professor Insidd, the sadistic Yellow Lantern has a look similar to the Jack Kirby design of Desaad. While the Prof and the Apokolptian interrogator have the same sadistic predilections and toothy grin it is Desaad's hair and the skull designs on Insidd that are creepily similar.

From the Collection: From Friend to Friend

2011-12-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

From Friend to Friend: A Partnership in Friendship (1916) by Edwin Osgood Grover.

Monday With Hayley Mills: Our Ways Will Part

2011-12-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

Eerie, suspenseful music by Hans Zimmer inserted by a fan into a scene from the 1961 Hayley Mills film Whistle Down the Wind (1961). Fans really like using this song in other movies.

Here's the opening scene with original soundtrack intact. Be shocked at the casual cruelty, rejoice as HAYLEY SAVES SOME KITTENS!

Little thing, you have taught me only hygiene

2011-12-10T23:41:00.000-08:00

Swamp Thing #50 represent!

Ad from Baffling Mysteries #22 (1954).

Ripping the curtain

2011-12-09T20:22:00.000-08:00

As a kid I was a voracious reader of science fiction, fantasy and science and this book is definitely firmly of the first and second category. I like how the publisher got their money's worth from the photo shoot for including pics of the "It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Vartox!"crowd on the front and back covers.

What comic book fans of the 70s obsessed about

2011-12-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

Way back in March of 1970 the comic book everyone was talking about was Iron Man #23. The reason all the Marvel aficionados were abuzz was due to the unusual printing format of the issue itself. Upon picking up the magazine of the spinner rack at the local 7-11 many Iron Fans were stunned that there was no real splash or title page to the issue. We all said What The..? Within days all the cool kids were talking about it and without a steady stream of info from the internet that exists today we had to resort to speculation, anger, threats and yes, even some tears as frustration set in.
What was odd about Iron Man #23 was that it appears the splash page, that first introductory full page panel that grabs your attention and sets the scene for thrills and excitement to follow, was used for the cover itself! In the two page spread above one can see that the story begins on the cover! It didn't seemed to have been originally planned that way as the credits seem rather perfunctory and placed more in mind for the little space available than giving full creator credits like most issues. Pretty unusual for the day indeed and what was even more odd that the cover is not artistically disconnected from the interior story! As all Marvel fans know each cover of their magazines that does not exactly match up to the story is not false or misleading advertising. No! It is actually a snapshot of an alternate and wholly separate Marvel reality!

When you think about it (and I do) Iron Man #23 is probably the only comic book published by Marvel where the cover is actually a part of the 616 multiverse! Minds were blown. Not right then, though. That happened years later, when the 616 universe began to be explored and fully realized. But comic book fans have the amazing ability to obsess upon and recall even the tiniest and most insignificant occurrence. So when the Marvel multiverse began to receive full saturation over the various titles many fans did indeed lose their crap when they remembered Iron Man #23.

One wonders what occurred that caused the planned cover for Iron Man #23 to have been replaced by the splash page. Lost in the mail? The Dreaded Deadline Doom? Screw up? We may never know. But Marvel made up for it later in that very same issue with this full pager by George Tuska, Mike Gaudioso (aka Esposito) and letterer Jean Izzo. The colorist is uncredited and that's a shame because it was a pretty good effort.

Pretty neat, huh? This page would have made a great Third Eye poster like those funky Doctor Strange ones!

Alias Mr. Sanders

2011-12-06T16:30:00.000-08:00

Monday With Hayley Mills: Flame Trees of Thika

2011-12-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

From 1984 comes this small entertainment show interview with Hayley Mills regarding her career, marriage and television drama The Flame Trees of Thika.

Based on a novel by prolific author Elspeth Huxley, Flame Trees documents the difficulties of an immigrant family adapting to a harsh African region, albeit one controlled by the British Empire. The dramatic struggles and hard-ships of the occupying population should be taken with a grain of salt and especially so in the film version. Much of the drama comes from what people today call First World Problems. Elspeth Huxley, taking from her own experiences growing up in Thika (pronounced Tee-ka), documented the negative effects of colonialism caused by various invading or meddling foreign countries. Perhaps given perceived audience sensibilities and time constraints the horrible social inequalities between cultures is somewhat thin, something the book explored in richer detail.

Hayley Mills and the rest of the cast does a good job with the material that was given them. I would have preferred that everyone stretched a bit more but this film was made for the purpose of entertainment, not education or to deliver a scolding. But maybe early 1980s Britain wasn't ready to have their past laid bare and exposed to them to the extent the mini-series could have done had it followed the novel a bit more faithfully.

A Topical 2011 Season's Greeting from Lady, That's My Skull

2011-12-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

It's a holiday e-card! I usually don't put in attribution of anything I make just for the joy of sharing but this year to heck with it because screw those guys. If anyone is going to gank this image then they will have to do a little bit of work to claim it as their own.

Hope this year finds everybody doing great.

Remember those days?

2011-12-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

THAT PERIOD WHERE FRANK MILLER WASN'T DRAWING MUCH OTHER THAN COVERSBECAUSE MARVEL KNEW WE WOULD BUY ANYTHING BY FRANK MILLER WITHOUT CHECKING THE INTERIOR ART FIRST

I would have bought this issue anyways because ROM that's why!

Dark Invasion

2011-12-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

Marvel Science Stories #5 (1935)

OWS 1138

2011-12-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Watching and reading about the Occupy Wall Street protests and the out of proportion responses initially left me having trouble reconciling the image of heroic police officers I maintain with the violent thugs that seem to be acting to protect the status quo of the powerful.

But that confusion did not last long. What I quickly realized was that the authorities acting in brutish ways are not new. It was just new to me. There exists in America entire cultures that for them the authorities sweeping in and busting their skulls is just same stuff, different day. There are communities in every city that rarely or never observe an heroic action, a helpful hand or someone who promises to make it all better. To the disenfranchised "To Protect and To Serve" means nothing except state-sponsored graffiti on official cars and vans.

It was by accident of birth and economic status that I was surprised the local governments and their foot soldiers would douse protestors with chemicals, arrest them without cause or as a flimsy excuse for convenience to teach the uppity a lesson and inflict injuries. It was me being a Caucasian, middle-class male that afforded me the opportunity to be insulated from the atrocities and violation of rights many others are victim to on a daily basis.

I should have known better. When I was in The Biz many years ago I made it a point to not issue citations to the economically challenged dude operating a rusted-out Chevy if I couldn't write a ticket to the wealthy guy driving a Porsche for the same offense. I knew position had privileges but I tried to make things a bit more equal. I was never in a situation to witness or be a part of the kind of crack-down Law Enforcement is currently inflicting on peaceful activists.

The dismay, shock and anger so many are now expressing is probably also an eye-opening experience. This generation is removed from the repercussions of crossing the bosses and monkey-wrenching their plans. The scale of what is going on today with Occupy Wall Street is similar in scope, if not message, to the 1960s Peace and Civil Rights movements. The practices of the Occupy movement are something that today's protestors have only heard about from their parents, grandparents or read about online or in books. Many were not prepared for the depths the powerful will sink to in order to force obedience, obeisance and to ensure everyone keeps buying junk, junk and more junk on ever-dwindling paychecks.

I've even come to believe that for the most part the only reason crimes are solved and police intercede at all is because the populace at large absolutely would not accept utter anarchy. If common street crime many live with daily encroached on their manicured lawns a certain group of people would do more than change donations to the political candidate of their choice. They would be shrill as an air raid siren with a broken off-switch. Annoy a few million of the upper-class base and changes would definitely be made starting at the top, something those in charge are terrified of. So a thin blue line is drawn, not between chaos and order but between those in power and the people. Once again stating the obvious there are already a vast number of Americans who have been experiencing this for decades if not centuries.

I'm not saying that Law Enforcement is bad from top to bottom. There are caring, heroic members out there who are just doing their jobs in the best way they can. But it is clear that when the pepper spray canisters and riot batons come out, they reveal who they really work for.

It isn't us.

Creepy, Lolita-ish comic book story from Chamber of Secrets #28

2011-12-01T16:00:00.000-08:00

I've long maintained that the creative teams of comic books, chafing under restrictions of the pre and post-Comics Code era, took extra pains to include imagery and situations that managed to sneak in under the radar of the editors and censors. Quite a few examples can be found in the 1955 issue of Chamber of Secrets #28. The entire story is rife with Lolita-ish situations between the seemingly under-aged Julep and the much older hero, Detective Kerry Drake. In the above sequence of panels the artist managed to not only ensure that Julep showed her underwear (technically, part of her bathing suit ensemble) at nearly every opportunity to the audience and Drake, but also managed to sneak in a faux-bondage scene in the third panel that is oddly bereft of dialog.

The entire story jumps around a bit and the the tale of how Kerry Drake smashed a smuggling ring is not as interesting as the rinteraction between Julep and the Detective. The following panel of Julep and Drake, after a make-out session on the beach (to fool a gang of smugglers into believing the pair isn't snooping), definitely gives the appearance of being in the inappropriate relationship category.

It Has Become Fashionable to Use Chemicals on People with Opinions

2011-12-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Not what he meant, but it was a fun few minutes to make anyway.

Later that day...

2011-11-30T22:59:00.001-08:00

Never ceases to amuse when the spambots scrape content and network items that are not positive or otherwise supportive of the product or services someone is posting about.

"Close enough" is loser talk

2011-11-29T16:56:00.006-08:00

I really want an on-model Parade Hater Horace sweater for Christmas. Sadly, I can't trust anyone in my family to have one made and to do it right. Invariably they would get something wrong. Something about the sweater, probably more than one element, would be off and ruin everything. The color, style, size, material or the all important typography of the garment would be "close enough" or sub-par. I want to squeal with joy and pump my fist in the air, not look disappointingly at my clan, lip curling with barely concealed distaste, and mutter a halfhearted thanks. Since my stated gift-giving goal every Christmas is to absolutely crush the giving abilities of others it is obvious I'll have to do it myself if I want it done right.

Operation Awesome Christmas has begun!

Egnarts Rotcod

2011-11-29T06:00:00.006-08:00

Even with the recent successes of Iron Man, Captain America and Thor movies this is about as close as fans will ever get to a Doctor Strange flick, the 1992 direct-to-VHS Doctor Mordrid, Master of the Unknown.

Any comic book fan with even a passing familiarity to the early history of Doctor Strange will recognize this cheesy though enjoyable film as as an adaptation of the classic Doctor Strange vs. Dormamuu story arc as told in the Strange Tales comic book series of the 1960s. This entry into cult film status was an improvement over the 1978 Doctor Strange television movie (as was the Doctor Strange-ish F/X short by animator and filmmaker Mike Jittlov, which I believe was called Doctor Magic or something, which you should watch if you ever get a chance).

As 90s as this movie is there was no moss was growing on lead actor Jeffery Coombs as the Master of the Unknown. He's a great addition to many films and television shows, The Frighteners and Deep Space Nine for a few examples. The reason why Marvel didn't sue the Agamotto out of the production company for DM: TMOTU was because the script was initially intended for another live-action Doc Strange film but was re-written when the option expired.

Monday with Hayley Mills: Seek and ye shall find

2011-11-28T16:28:00.006-08:00

I have noticed a huge increase in searches for Hayley Mills over the last few weeks, mostly leading people to the LTMS entry about her first uncredited screen appearance as an infant in the 1947 film So Well Remembered.

I don't know what in the public consciousness has created the buzz and interest but it is extremely gratifying for this fan. Thankfully, again, the search terms are not queries about her state of undress and a lot of the searches are not based in England. Many of the searches are originating from all over the world.

Not that Hayley doesn't have fans from all over the planet (ticket sales at the Hayley Mills Celebratory Complex are brisk as ever) regularly checking up on her status but this is more than usual.

Today on Monday With Hayley Mills is a 1960s clip from a Disney newsreel or television episode featuring the Mills family visiting the newly opened Swiss Family Tree House. The Mills family toured the tree house in support of the film The Swiss Family Robinson starring her father, John Mills. No, Hayley did not appear in that film though I've had quite a few people insist she did. The role of "Bertie" that Hayley would have been perfectly adorable in was ably played by Janet Munroe.

Robots with Brains

2011-11-26T15:19:00.005-08:00

Credited to Nathaniel Nitkin (N. N. Nathaniel) is this two page pulp-inspired illustrated story Robots with Brains from Weird Comics #11 (February 1941).

No surprises here and the story seems to be missing a few paragraphs in the beginning but the image of the robot chauffeur taking the hero for a ride is postable.

Text stories are seemingly out of place in old comics but they were often included in comic books and comic magazines to allow the periodical to qualify for better shipping rates.

I mean it, really

2011-11-25T17:22:00.004-08:00

Update in three months.

Lost Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T06:00:00.001-08:00

For those of you who can't get enough this Thanksgiving of an unwilling gathering of hairy, cretinous members of an extended family, bickering siblings and manipulative parents desperately seeking an escape from their surroundings I present a classic Land of the Lost episode in two online parts.

Originally broadcast in December of 1974, "Stone Soup" tells the story of Rick Marshall, who tires of his children Will and Holly constantly fighting. Rick is also attempting to gain the reluctant and opportunistic acceptance of the native Pakuni tribe. Rick employs a cooperative lesson based on the old Stone Soup fable, from which the episode takes it name, to bring the families together and save the region from an environmental disaster.

Stone Soup, Part One

Stone Soup, Part Two

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth

2011-11-23T06:00:00.004-08:00

Oh, no! Susie Derkins and Mr. Bun have taken an unscheduled trip into the past to when dinosaurs ruled the Earth! Calvin should not have left the keys in the time machine for just anyone to stumble upon but then again he isn't the most responsible little guy.

I was nostalgic for Calvin and Hobbes so I threw this image together as a lark. The idea that Calvin would just shrug and go play when he discovered his time machine was missing tickled me. Only Hobbes would be likely to show some curiosity or concern when he realized Susie was also nowhere to be found. He would have to badger Calvin into a rescue mission, the result being that both of them would probably get sidetracked by mutants, homework and clones until long after Susie made it back to present day on her own, no thanks to Calvin and his tiger. I just wrote 2 weeks worth of dailies and a full color Sunday strip in my head just now.

All original art elements by Bill Watterson and amateurish cut-and-paste by me. If he sees this I hope he approves.

What have I done?

2011-11-21T06:00:00.001-08:00

This Pollyanna tribute for Hayley Mills turned out way more disturbing than I thought it would be. Somewhere it lost the goofy cuteness. Don't play with photos when on pain medication, kids.

More like FUNGLASSES, am I right?

2011-11-19T06:00:00.003-08:00

In what will surely be a boon to fashion houses and the international economy, Saudi women with attractive or tempting eyes may soon be forced to wear concealing sunglasses. I have no doubt that right this moment there are executives from eye wear manufacturing companies everywhere dancing on their chairs, high fiving each other and scrambling to get prototypes approved for export.

If the resolution passes and concealing eye wear is a mandatory attire for Islamic women how long until some wingnut pundit declares that wearing sunglasses is un-American?

Well, at least if America sells spectacles to the middle east the most we have to worry about is getting re-gifted a scratched pair of Oakleys. That's an improvement over the the guns and bombs we export that later get used against us.

What is it, Lassie? Sleestak needs insulin?

2011-11-18T13:24:00.003-08:00

I'm not going to turn into one of those bloggers who constantly share my health problems but the other night I went to the ER for crippling back pain. After about 7 hours I left with mighty, mighty fine pain-killers and pills that lower my ridiculously high blood sugar. Apparently the blood sugar issue was why I felt so exhausted the last few months.

It was a good thing I changed my diet a few years ago or I would have been in quite the fix today. Fortunately I don't have to make a major lifestyle change and instead just a few tweaks here and there should do the trick. I'm not going cold turkey on cheeseburgers and pizza since I rarely eat those anyways but I do have to cut way back on the fruit though.

Man, I'm gonna miss the daily bananas and melon for breakfast.

Diabetes has a way of sneaking up on you and once it sets in there is no going back. Considering my diet and lifestyle I was pretty surprised when the doctor told me I was borderline. So whatever condition you are in, even if you feel otherwise healthy like I do, get to a doctor, free clinic or whatever you need to do to get a physical every so often.

Thanks, genetics!

Missed Message

2011-11-16T14:16:00.003-08:00

Classic Beatles tune that is as adapted and attached to various causes about as much "We Gotta Get Outta This Place" by the Animals. Amusingly and somewhat disappointingly most comments on video sites and forums seem centered on what George says to Paul at eleven seconds into the clip.

Another American Gothic gag

2011-11-15T20:58:00.003-08:00

A recent episode of Dexter depicted the serial killer and his murderous impulse, in the form of his dead brother, standing in front of a power mower advertisement after dispatching a blackmailer in an homage to American Gothic, the famous painting by Grant Wood.

Farmers Market Fruit and Produce

2011-11-14T10:03:00.003-08:00

I bet Hayley Mills never shouted, threw a tantrum and assaulted a grocery store clerk because some item was sold out or there were more than three people waiting in a line at a register.

Take a cue from Hayley Mills, folks and behave yourself. Life is too short to go aggro about long supermarket lines.

Also, eat your vegetables!

WHAT

2011-11-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

Man, I forgot how bat-crazy this country once was.

Seven Billion

2011-11-10T22:33:00.004-08:00

A few weeks ago it was determined that there are approximately seven billion human beings alive on planet Earth. It has been estimated that in 1370 world population was only about 370 million. Yeesh. Humanity is having a huge impact on the planet and something's got to give. How do we keep that up?

Click the picture to see more, please.

I think George Bailey would approve

2011-11-04T07:05:00.006-07:00

A credit union in San Diego is culturally savvy and timely enough to insert an OWS-inspired Guy Fawkes image in their hustle to bring customers over to them from the big banks for Bank Transfer Day tomorrow. I changed the name of the credit union to something fictional but the rest of the ad is real.

No one can go on being a rebel too long without turning into an autocrat

2011-11-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a while so I think it is time to revisit The Futura Saga!

For those not familiar with Futura, here is a synopsis: Futura is the story of an office secretary named Marcia Reynolds who was shanghaied into space to serve as the test-subject of aliens seeking to repopulate their waning empire. Futura nee Marcia Reynolds experienced a hero's journey in a tale that lasted nearly a decade in a late 1940s Planet Comics serial published by Fiction House publications.

Even as they necessarily catered to a primarily young male market Fiction House was known for their depiction of strong, empowered females. Futura in particular usually held her own without the story resorting to the cliche of the heroine being rescued by a man at the last moment.

You can read all the Planet Comics chapters of Futura and the 1980s revival here: The Futura Saga.

I'm Slutty, Fly Me

2011-11-02T21:50:00.006-07:00

There are a lot of reasons why the 1990s nearly caused the extinction of the comic book industry and this recent male-fantasy scene transplanted from that era to the 2011 issue of Hood and the Outlaws #2 is one of them.

While enthusiastic that DC Comics is trying to rejuvenate their product line I'm less happy about their repeating the same mistakes of the 90s today.

Hyper-sexualized and idealized characters have always existed in comics but it is the distinct and ridiculous art stylings and themes of over a decade past that is proving irritating for the company-wide do-over for the "New 52".

It is not just the art in this issue that is notable. The shift in characterization of the alien Starfire, who in issue #1 was treated and depicted as little more than a life support system for a vagina, is much more sensitive to the ribald shenanigans of one of her team mates then she was previously portrayed. She was scripted to act annoyed and offended, which was pretty much against her recent characterization as oblivious to earthling mores.

What might issue #3 hold, monogamy and celibacy?

A repost, but hey, it's Halloween and Jack Kirby

2011-10-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

The Master of Terror

2011-10-31T11:48:00.008-07:00

What is the most terrifying piece of cinema ever created?

Was it Frankenstein? The Ring? Dawn of the Dead? The Blob? Godzilla? That episode of Trilogy of Terror with the doll? Some have voted Psycho or the Exorcist as two of the most frightening movies ever made. Alien is right up there near the top as its theme of infection and horrible death resonates with people.

But for my money most films are too transparent in their gore or attempts to shock to be truly frightening. Subtlety was often lost as film technology allowed creators to show in graphic detail what film-makers of the past could only hint at. While the immediate payoff and shock value rose the true fear, that of the unknown, waned. One over-looked "Master of Terror" who understood that horror usually requires some subtle direction is from Warner Bros. Studios and he worked exclusively in the animation department. That director is none other than Chuck Jones of Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes fame.

Along with a crew of talented creators Chuck Jones helped produce for the movie theater market one of the scariest 7 minutes of film ever made, the animated short Claws For Alarm, featuring Sylvester the Cat and Porky Pig. Originally presented en masse to unsuspecting children during movie matinees in 1954 the film probably caused untold thousands in steam-cleaning bills to theater seats after each subsequent showing.

See for yourself at this link for those who can't detect the embedded video: Claws for Alarm

Claws For Alarm is actually a remake of Scaredy Cat (1948) and absolutely nails it by keeping the horror elements less obvious. Viewers may find the plot of Claws For Alarm familiar as later films have presented similar themes most famously the 1973 and 2011 creep-fests Don't Be Afraid of the Dark.

How to induce a migraine

2011-10-30T12:34:00.003-07:00

Watch the trailer for Columbiana.

Created, apparently, by a recent film school grad who watched too much reality tv and video game commercials as a kid. Try to count up to "2 Mississippi" before the scene vibrates and flashes to another, taking a piece of a retina with it.

Pssst! Hey...

2011-10-27T22:15:00.001-07:00

Da boys want a chat witchu.

Meatier Crater, Arizona

2011-10-26T06:00:00.002-07:00

"50,000 years ago during the Pleistocene era a T-Bone steak weighing an estimated 300,000 metric tons impacted the earth in Arizona at a speed of approximately 13 kilometers per second. Heated to an internal temperature of 180 degrees by passage through the atmosphere the steak's impact formed a 1,200 meter in diameter, 170 meter deep crater. The tasty impact crater, designated as Site A1 by the U.S. Geological survey has since become a popular tourist destination. It is claimed by Texas as a registered historical landmark even though it is situated in the Arizona region. While the high arid desert has preserved the crater from overgrowth several large deciduous trees have grown in the vicinity of the meateor, making it fancy."

Occupy the Temple

2011-10-25T06:00:00.001-07:00

Apologetics try to forget the fable from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas 4:1 of a boy murdered by the Son of God for being innocently disrespectful of a King. A very valuable tool of control was creating out of whole cloth a culturally relevant history to teach people they better not dare to oppose their Earthly masters and remain slaves under the yoke of oppression. It is an old and continuing trick. Rebels will suffer God's Will and be destroyed by magic or through His proxies, people with knives, stones and clubs if they do not fall in line. Life was hard and cheap 2000 years ago. Everyone in a village working hard for most of a 24-hour period meant a person might get a full meal if they were lucky. Fear of punishment or death from righteous torture via the Church or for the more gullible, divine wrath, was a way that the parasites of any community, the religious leaders, got away with not contributing anything to society.

Sorry, sweetheart. I haven't got time for anything else

2011-10-17T23:10:00.003-07:00

Hayley Mills: Cooler than you even with a pink light sabre.

Maj. Joshua Sleestak (ret.) Continental Army, 1806

2011-10-16T06:00:00.003-07:00

Took a bit of internet searching on and off during the last year but I finally found some real world provenance for the origin of the 'Sleestak' name for the fictional lizard creatures populating the pocket universe of the classic 1970s television show The Land of the Lost. According to the episode Follow That Dinosaur (Season 1, Episode 13) the native Altrusians were colloquially named 'Sleestak' by a time-lost soldier from the Revolutionary War because they reminded him of his commanding officer from his service in the Continental Army, Major Joshua Sleestak. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Executive Producer for the show David Gerrold must have been a history buff.

That's Some Ditko

2011-10-14T18:45:00.005-07:00

A lot of the Deep Space 9 good/bad character design of the exiled Cardassian secret policeman Garak seems inspired by Steve Ditko. The clothing pattern and the alien facial structure (via Amazing Spider-Man #2) always impressed me as very Ditko-ish.

Making a point

2011-10-12T06:00:00.006-07:00

"And your total today is $6.66."

"Oh. Don't you think I should buy something else?"

"Uh...If you want."

"You know...666."

"What?"

"I don't like that number."

"Okay. Do you want me to void something off? Add something else?"

"Yes. That's..That's the bad number."

"I guess. If you are gullible and dim-witted."

"WHAT?"

"The total of your order is not six six six. It is six POINT six six. Even if the number you fear wasn't mistranslated from fictional text and actually held some sort of magical power it isn't exactly the same. The decimal makes all the difference. So...Still want to change the total?"

"..."

"I'm sorry?"

"No."

"Okay! And would you like to make a donation to fight prostate cancer today?"

"No, thank you."

"Would you like some carry out service?"

"No."

"Okay! Have a nice day. Thanks for shopping at HayleyMart."

It is bizarre that customers lose their crap, scream, throw things, phone-bombard the corporate office and twitter-rage when a cashier opens up an additional register and they were not first in line but not when they are put in a position to shift a personal paradigm. Maybe it is the thinking that makes all the difference.

Girl Power Rules!

2011-10-11T06:00:00.003-07:00

While not on a par with the JC Penny Homework t-shirt argle-bargle, one company thinks that the best possible declaration of female empowerment is by wearing clothing that exclusively depicts super-powerful male characters.

As published in various Marvel comic books (Oct 2011).

Hayley Mills in The V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-

2011-10-10T13:41:00.005-07:00

No.

No way.

Must be a photoshop.

Workplace Safety

2011-10-04T06:00:00.002-07:00

World's Best-Known Teen-Ager

2011-10-03T20:11:00.003-07:00

Remember when young celebrities were renown for their personality and accomplishments and not their drug and booze fueled public embarrassments?

Hayley Mills in an August 1963 snippet from National Geographic.

I'd never order Hayley off of my lawn.

Hayley and Hamlet

2011-09-26T15:43:00.003-07:00

Sky West and Crooked (1966).

What About Jack? (2011)

2011-09-24T23:51:00.000-07:00

Least Exciting Comic Book Action Sequence Ever

2011-09-22T13:00:00.005-07:00

Frank Frollo drew for Funny Picture Stories #11 (Nov 1938) one of the most economical comic book action sequences I've ever read.

Probably in the interest of filling space Frollo decompressed the action so far that often a pivotal panel has all the typical excitement one would expect from an Indiana Jones-type adventurer occurring off page and is merely implied. Many of the characters don't react to what should be a frightening or anxious moment and are depicted either staring at objects, gesturing or not reacting at all.

The lion threatening one of the characters is about a half mile away, something that doesn't really inspire tension and even the captions in the word balloons are spaced out, making it appear that everyone speaks while interjecting extended pauses.

While hero Jack Strand contemplating an open gate for an unknown time prior to climbing over an uncompleted crowd barrier is amusing, the most glaring example of economical artistry or script not matching the finished product is the hilarious scene where the enraged lion leaps from the arena and rushes into the crowd of spectators. Not that you'd know it from reading the story.

Donald and Hayley

2011-09-19T14:15:00.000-07:00

Donald Duck and Hayley Mills from Illusion of Life (1981).

I'm Your Seoul Map

2011-09-19T09:37:00.003-07:00

A diagram of the Seoul, Korea subway transportation line for all you subway map lovers out there.

Remember, do you remember...The times of your life

2011-09-18T21:41:00.002-07:00

Really. If I never see another movie like The Tree of Life it will be too soon. There are chick-flicks, and then there is this weepy, dull, Kodak moment-filled shallow miasma of an idealized Americana gone wrong only because people are just sad all the damn time that sucked the will to live from my body.

Wife liked it, though.

Send Error Report

2011-09-18T06:00:00.005-07:00

Say what you will about the MS OS, but it worked well enough to detect bugs in other operating systems not connected to mine and shut down for safety reasons.

Ironic that only science could repair her problem.

GD HTT HRM TSK PTHHFT ACK

2011-09-16T13:00:00.002-07:00

Recently a comic book shop proprietor made a bit of a kerfuffle in the claim that DC Comics was blasphemous in depicting Superman, who was hit in the back with a bursting tank shell, taking a deity's name in vain. Hilariously, the guy declared he was boycotting the DC Comics title.

In reading the new Action Comics #1, I myself didn't take the "GD" uttered by Superman as blasphemous. Firstly, something is blasphemous only if you are negatively invoking something that exists. Since magic doesn't exist, Grant Morrison and DC Comics were not doing anything in vain except for rebooting the DCU. Dramatically, it was most obviously a grunt. Admittedly, Superman often swore in comic books in a trend going back decades. In nearly every appearance he can be read taking the name of his personal lord and savior in vain whenever he expressed a "Merciful Rao" when surprised or injured. I notice that no one ever seemed to have a problem with it. Not too many Sun God followers out there read comic books, I guess.

Most ridiculous is a person who sells and presumably reads comic books getting all huffy about a supposed negative biblical reference. Comic books are nothing if not the kind of fantasy material typically frowned upon by the devout. Comics are full of examples of naughty ideas god-botherers hate such as magic, science, civil rights, witches, demons, talking animals, people that fly and false idols. It's like a pornographer being offended by genitalia.

Indeed, the big cross-over event from Marvel of the last several months is a story of the Creator returning to Earth during the end times. Spoiler: It isn't Jesus and his dad who shows up. Did this comic book guy previously voice any problem with the heresy of an entire line of books featuring an Asgardian pantheon? Probably not but all things being equal, he should have. Focusing on Action Comics #1 while ignoring all the other examples of "blasphemy" seems hypocritical and smells of a publicity stunt. But ranting online about Marvel being heretical likely would have resulted in a forum ban and not being taken seriously enough to have the local news drive up to the store with a camera.

But personal affronts aside Free Speech is allowed in this country. Along with saying what you ant in various formats one is also free not to pay any attention to it. Even if DC intended to blaspheme, then so what? It is fiction. It is also a word (among others) almost anyone would say if hit hard in the back. It isn't like they included a racial slur or anything. For instance what would a real person say if slammed hard enough from behind to break the skin? I'm willing to show anyone who cares to find out. FYI, clicking on this NSFW Superman link is not compulsory. If easily offended, don't click. If stupid, have someone else stop you from clicking. You are free to ignore it: Reaction #1 (Sept 2011).

But where the Action Comics #1 panel was a non-event there is something far more upsetting in many other DC Comic titles lately. If there is anything in comic books to circle the wagons for then it is the threat to modern civilization contained within this panel depicting Batman:

HRM is clearly a DC Comics typesetting contraction for Human Resources Management. Take it from one who has been there, HRM is one of the leading causes of corporate economic failure in our times. If businesses fail then so does America and then the world. HRM embodies a decay beyond the spiritual and including the term in comic books must be some kind of evil agenda to poison the minds of children and 50 year old men.

HRM positions are typically staffed by those who have nowhere to go, are on their way down and are too stupid to sign up for Welfare. HR Managers often hire the wrong people and the best employees are usually terminated from a company without cause. Outrageous policies are implemented like Health Care plans being offered to part time employees. Casual Fridays are stilled called Casual Fridays but business attire is mandatory, no jeans allowed. I don't know why HRM is being promoted by the boys upstairs at DC Comics but it shows up in just about every title featuring Batman. "Business Blasphemy" is rampant at that company, much like how anti-christian themes are prevalent at Marvel. It seems counter-productive. Probably involved is a similar inverted thinking where religious fundamentalists exclusively recruit the crazy to publicize their cause. Kind of a two steps forwards, two steps back kind of approach to proselytizing.

Who knows what ultimate goal DC has in mind for their staffing requirements? But their anti-employee agenda goes against all intuitive processes in effectively training newly hired personnel. All I know is until DC reverses their position on Human Resources Management and apologizes I'm boycotting all the New 52 titles featuring members of the Bat Family.

Lucky Dog

2011-09-12T20:58:00.001-07:00

Deluxe Model Shown

2011-09-11T21:28:00.003-07:00

I don't understand why all PC repair kits don't already have a partially straightened paper clip included. So dang useful.

This Omnivore's Dilemma

2011-09-10T16:05:00.005-07:00

I don't know whether to slather this stuff onto my feet or spread it on toast.

From a local San Diego Asian market 9-5-11.

The Great San Diego Blackout

2011-09-09T18:45:00.006-07:00

Not that you'd know it from the national news media but yesterday San Diego suffered a major and nearly unprecedented power outage that lasted about 12 hours.

At about 3:30 p.m. the electricity failed due to some event in Arizona. The grocery store where I worked went into power-saving mode, which means the back-up generator can run the registers and some other systems for a time, but not for very long. Apparently, the contingencies some nationwide companies have in place for regions of extreme weather that have frequent and extended power outages are not distributed or adapted to the franchises in the relative paradise of Southern California. Historically for businesses outages in San Diego rarely last more than a few hours. This time though we lost untold thousands of dollars worth of product. Some stores are reporting up to $70,000 in spoiled product. Fingers are pointing at the heads that are expected to roll but this wasn't a disaster that began and ended at the store-level. Little or no local contingencies for extended power outages, few refrigerated trucks, limited and seemingly random ice and dry ice deliveries, many back up generators that were limited to support only registers and some lighting and not the refrigerated cases and freezers is a problem that started at and can only be fixed from a higher level.

Once the power went out we shut the doors, only letting customers out and none were allowed entry. This was for safety, mostly. The store was dark and we couldn't have people stumbling around and possibly getting hurt.

Initially, we did let in a mother and her newborn infant so she could get some baby formula and a bottle. We escorted her with us carrying flashlights. Being in panic mode from the power being out she forgot her payment card, didn't have cash and the ATM's were inoperative anyways so we just let her have the items. If she pays us back great, if not we are not worried about it. Babies gotta eat. Of course, when we let the mother and newborn inside another person outside threw a tantrum about being excluded. She wanted in so we let her grab a few things.

A bit later while we were prepping the store another person arrived and went all "Trigger Effect" on the person watching the front doors, claiming an emergency. He was pretty out of line about it and in interest of keeping peace the guy was allowed inside. I don't know what type of emergency is handled with the tortilla chips and strawberries he purchased but it is an odd world sometimes so who knows what his situation was. When I was notified of his behavior I made sure I checked this person out at a register. I dropped a few suggestions that in the future, he should behave better and that I would understand if he wanted to shop elsewhere from now on. FYI: You don't threaten people, not any I am responsible for and basically if I am anywhere in the vicinity. I won't stand for it. Threats will usually get you two things: At my place of work at minimum a banning and maybe a trip to the slammer. I've worked too many places where workplace violence is a reality to let things like that slide and hope the person doesn't get the "Big Headache" and return with a weapon or flip out and attack.

EMERGENCY TIP: Always check the International aisles of the store when panic/emergency shopping. Often people don't think outside their usual frames of reference and when the hardware aisle is cleaned out of regular emergency supplies the International foods section will usually still carry a good supply of veladoras (those prayer candles with religious icons on them) and Shabbat candles.

After the customers were out of the store all the employees pitched in and went to work covering all the cold items. Open chill cases are great for shopping but lousy for keeping things cold. If the power was restored in a few hours then everything would be alright (with the exception of the ice cream). Once we were all done with that we opened the store again. Taking advantage of the emergency lighting in the aisles, sunlight through the windows and using flashlights propped up on the checkstands we were able to remain open until later in the evening when it just became too dark for customer safety and we were unwilling to sell the remaining refrigerated items.

With a few exceptions the customers pretty much remained calm and didn't act out. No one mentioned terrorism without it clearly being a light-hearted jest. I heard more people suggesting that the Grocery Workers Union was responsible for the event than al Qaeda. I did observe one couple taking advantage of the chaos by walking out the door without paying for a bunch of stuff (among the loot was a bouquet of flowers. Not even the edible ones, just a pretty arrangement!), but over all thievery was at a minimum. I guess there will always be people who take advantage. Those kind of people would rifle through wallets and pull rings off of fingers at the scene of a disastrous jet crash so stealing munchies and a flower arrangement during a power outage probably won't cause them to lose any sleep. The truth was if anyone without access to funds (like the mother with the newborn) discreetly asked us (so others wouldn't jump on the idea) we probably would have just let them grab whatever they needed at no cost. I wasn't mad, mostly I was just disappointed.

Once the store was closed for the day I drove home. By then the streets and highways were clear. My neighborhood was still without power and the house was hot, hot, hot. I don't live in the kind of area where windows and doors can remain open unguarded so even though it was cooler and tolerable outside I just went to bed. The first I was aware the power was restored was at about 3:00 a.m. when the air conditioner kicked on and woke me up with a blast of sweet, cool oxygen.

What sold the most at the grocery store during the power outage? Ice, water and booze. All three items are obvious, at least for our regional climate. Whatever fear-mongering or distortions might be reported on later I didn't observe anyone really scared, just mostly unprepared. After everyone dumped ice in their respective fridges to prevent spoilage then it was Big Fun Party Time! Nearly every order had alcohol in it. And 13 hours without power? I wonder what kind of baby boom we can expect in the San Diego area 9 months from now.

Comic Book Spam

2011-09-08T09:33:00.003-07:00

Did anyone ever fall for this?

Slightly modified for lol from from Spellbound #20 (March 1954).

The Last Man

2011-09-06T21:15:00.005-07:00

Human rights tale in the ironic-ending style common to comic books of the era. Hopefully the end of the story made some sort of impression on young readers. From Spellbound #20 (March 1954).

Click to embiggen like a noble soul.

Peek-a-Boo

2011-09-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

iKirby

2011-09-05T06:00:00.033-07:00

My birthday is this week and in celebration my lovely wife purchased for me an iPad. I'm not crazy about (a) the price and (b) the DRM but she received a substantial employee discount from her work that brought the tablet down to a reasonable price. I have to admit the tablet is a lot of fun. I don't have the kind of job where I will use it for work so it will primarily be a source for entertainment though it does have some useful tools available. The tablet is easier to carry around than a laptop and larger than a phone so it is in my "Goldilocks Zone" for personal devices. That is, it is just right.

The moment I opened the box I was determined to personalize my iPad before I looked for nifty applications and games. Being a comic book aficionado there is little better a source to declare your comic book geek cred than by displaying art created Jack "King" Kirby. The late artist and conceptualizer Jack Kirby is famous his work on Captain America, the ground-breaking run on Fantastic Four with Marvel Comics and his Fourth World space opera saga for DC Comics. Jack Kirby routinely drew over-the-top, rule-smashing spectacle that sometimes was not appreciated in his day. But even during those periods when some companies and readers didn't always support Jack Kirby's output he always had fans who never let him or his employers forget just how much they appreciated him.

There are few creators in the comic book field past and present that could get away with the artistic stunts Jack Kirby routinely excelled at. Those that try and succeed usually emulate Kirby's unique line style or layouts. Other than unique characters and landscapes Kirby also drew fantastic, impossible and arcane machines that in one story operate by magic and others via super-science, though Kirby often made no distinction between the two, particularly when it came to his depictions of the Asgardian gods in Marvel's Thor series.

Jack Kirby drew for the floppy. In his day the trade paperback consisting of many collected stories was rare and as a concept was underutilized. Kirby didn't generally create art that would serve a purpose much beyond that month's entertainment in what was then considered a disposable format, the comic book. Much of today's comic book art is created with multiple forms of formats in mind for immediate use specifically designed to fully exploit other forms of media. As a marketing tool, an entire industry exists just to supply fans with the extra art and prose outside of the regular periodicals to fulfill their needs. One of the most popular and easiest image types to be found are those created as background pictures for phones and computer monitors, commonly known as "wallpaper". There exists plenty of comic book covers and pages created by Kirby that would serve as a good background image to express my appreciation of the King but a die hard fan such as myself wants something unique.

I had something definite in mind for iPad wallpaper but I couldn't find anything suitable outside scans of Kirby panels. The closest I came to what I wanted was some fan art in the Kirby style. Cool images to be sure but not precisely what I was looking for. What I really wanted for my iPad wallpaper was the ultimate Kirby gadget: The Control Box, the emotion-controlling weapon wielded by the 1960s Fantastic Four villain the Psycho-Man. In the Marvel comic books the Psycho-Man is a despot from another universe who uses the emotions of fear, doubt and hate as weapons to terrify and manipulate human beings, torturing them until they become subjugated to his will. The Psycho-Man has been an semi-recurring character in various Marvel series since 1967.

Looking around the web I found only a few fan-made Kirby-inspired images of the "Mother Box" device designed for the cellphone. The Mother Box is a sentient and benevolent computerized nanny that guides and assists both the good and evil New Gods of Jack Kirby's Fourth World series. Examples of the Mother Box for the phone can be found here and here and here.

My searches for a suitable image of the Psycho-Man's Control Box met with negative results so I decided to create one of my own. My photoshop skills are nearly non-existent but I thought I'd try to create my own Control Box anyway. Initially, I tried to emulate a comic book style of the Control Box but quickly discarded that in favor of a more realistic depiction.

Firstly, I chose a minimalist metallic wallpaper for the background. That gave the surface of the Control Box a texture that made it seem more real, as if it was cut and shaped out of some alien sheet metal in a hidden lab by some insane, cursing alien who muttered to himself, swearing dire retribution on all those who wronged him. Because you just know the young BEM who grew up to become the Psycho-Man got beat up everyday for his lunch credits at Microverse Junior High. After that I created the FEAR, DOUBT and HATE status screens, throwing in some drop shadows to make them appear 3-D. For the control switches I used a standard power button image. I chose a green light for the button because there was enough red adjacent to it.

I then embossed a couple of over-lapping trapezoid shapes on the left side, cut out some sections and added some more generic control buttons. I created a couple of textured surfaces for the right and left sides to add depth. Of course the Control Box would not have that special Kirby touch without some gratuitous zig-zag lines running across the surface. This was for me the most difficult part of creating the Control Box. Initially, I intended to make some curvy lines but the simplistic line art distracted from the other more photo-realistic parts of the Control Box. I considered a more 3-D effect by inserting a wave-style bike rack into the image but again, I didn't like how it fit into the overall style.

Then I considered using standard circuit boards. Reversing the image of a circuit board would make any text on the surfaces appear sufficiently alien so the English words and numbers wouldn't be too distracting. I kind of liked the idea of Psycho-Man building a prototype Control Box showing exposed circuitry. But none of the ones I found online or had in the garage I scanned worked for me. I wasn't enthused about making a jagged or wavy circuit board myself as my PS skills would have made it obvious I shaped the image by deleting sections defined with a polygonal lasso tool.

I was kind of stuck with what to do to finish off the Control Box. It just would not do not to include the ultimate in stylized Kirbyism. Then I had the idea of using an image of a flexible printed circuit. Cutting and pasting the image of a length of FCB across the surface of the Control Box gave me that special Kirbyesque zig-zag of actual circuitry and I really liked the end result. So I loaded the Control Box image into my iPad and I couldn't be more pleased with how it looks. I've decided to share it with any other fans to put onto their phones or tablets if they want. So take a gander. Here is my re-imagining of the Psycho-Man's Control Box, created by Sleestak after Jack Kirby. Hope you dig it.

Click picture for all sizes including Hi-Res, suitable for framing

It's a process

2011-09-04T06:00:00.001-07:00

The character of "Racist" Bannon in the 1964 animated Johnny Quest adventure series was quickly re-imagined when he didn't scale well with focus groups.

See the original Johnny Quest title sequence here and the fantastic stop-motion homage here.

FREEEEEEE-BIIIIIIIIRD!

2011-09-03T17:45:00.005-07:00

This simple drawing on a chopstick wrapper is a fine example of beautiful art under everyone's noses that is ignored or overlooked. Who could look at this bird taking flight, expressing such joy at quitting the Earth by sheer force of will and remain annoyed or angered or sad? And now, I share it with you. The world is a better place for it. You're welcome.

Regretfully, the artist that gave so much to the world will probably never be known.

From a local Asian eatery San Diego, 9-3-11.

Now that's a cross-over event!

2011-08-30T06:00:00.002-07:00

Marvel Adventures - Fear Itself: The Worthy (August 2011).

Love is just around the corner

2011-08-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today I bring your attention to a 17-years old Hayley Mills interview from a 1963 issue of Photoplay, reproduced at SeedShip.com, a Hayley Mills fan site. It's so adorable!

Click the photo to read the interview.

Image from The Moon-Spinners (1963) ganked from SS.

Love by Ondol's Light

2011-08-28T08:43:00.003-07:00

Awwww. Burning charcoal makes him wistful.

Back in the day when serving in Korea the wife and I had to move out of one house heated by an ondol system, a series of heated pipes that run under the floors of a residence, due to carbon monoxide leaks. By regulations, U.S. service members living off the base were required to live in homes that had been upgraded to use heated water pipes in the floor instead of the more dangerous hot air systems that were notorious for leaking poison gas. One morning shortly after moving into our new apartment the wife and I woke up each of us with pounding headaches and nausea. After our IQ's returned to normal we decided "We're outta here." We discovered the landlord had lied about what heating system he had installed, being greedy for rent money. We were lucky we woke up at all.

The ondol heating systems may be behind the Korean urban myth of "fan death" that remains a concern primarily through fear-mongering by the media. In the public panic over illness or death that may have been caused by carbon monoxide poisoning it was often blamed on fans "stealing the air" or dehydrating sleepers. Most fans, even those sold today, have a timer that shuts the device off not to save electricity but to prevent death. That a fan is in the room of a person allegedly affected by a "fan death" is incidental. The fan death myth is persistent and even the skeptical blame it on dehydration and suffocation using rather shaky science to support their beliefs. But more than likely fans are blamed because one happens to be present in the room of the elderly or ill. more likely explanation that death through natural causes or carbon monoxide is ignored in favor of the scary idea that death can strike anyone, anywhere caused by nothing more than a gentle breeze.

The remote possibility may be that if a fan was involved in a death or illness at all it could have been from disturbing carbon monoxide gas that had settled under the floors from leaking heating pipes. It is possible the gas may have been disturbed by moving air from a fan that caused it to swirl and rise up through the floor to the level of a sleeping person who, in traditional Korean homes slept on mats on the floor, could then have then been in direct contact with the gas. Any "fan death" reports that had a basis in fact would probably have come from the passing of elderly residents in older style homes heated by older ondol. It is unlikely the one or two deaths per year attributed to "fan death" occur in modern homes with safer heating systems and are probably due to natural causes.

Toy Surprise Inside!

2011-08-27T22:37:00.002-07:00

Found in a box of candy from a local Asian market here in San Diego is this weird (to my American eyes) toy surprise figure holding an egg in its prehensile tail against a backdrop of a pretty sunset.

This was a bigger deal before microwave ovens

2011-08-26T21:03:00.005-07:00

BERT

CAN TAKE OF HIMSELF

Brides in Love #4 (July 1957)

Hal Jordan what a Unicorn?

2011-08-25T12:56:00.005-07:00

Ranked #6 in search query? I don't want to know what the number one website is all about.

The Record Bar

2011-08-24T06:00:00.001-07:00

Decades ago when people wanted to browse, listen to and purchase music they had to leave the comfort of their home and journey miles away to a large department or specialty store to do so. One of the ploys used by stores to entice shoppers was naming the departments creatively. In some instances the music section was called the Record Bar (a practice that existed prior to the store of the same name). It was a way of differentiating the music department from the staid sections of necessities like shoes and clothing and implied luxury and fun. Hanging a sign that just read "Music Department" was too boring even though over the years stores have returned such naming simplicity even if made in flashing lights or neon. Calling a corner of a department store containing alphabetized shelves of long playing records a "Record Bar" promises fun, excitement and possibly illicit nightclub acts.

Other than branding a department in exciting ways what most promoted sales of LP's is the usually fascinating and sometimes lurid cover art. The 1950s and 1960s were famous for their cover disconnects, where the artists cleverly relied on sexual imagery to boost sales of polka or lounge music. The greatest disparity in using sex to sell LP's occurs in those categories of music that one doesn't normally associate with fun times and parties such as highway motel lounge ensembles, nightclub musicians and organ soloists.

While enough people went out to such places to justify employing them for a few decades no one really wanted to buy their music and take it home with them. Drinking a highball after a hard day of selling reverse-threaded screws to gas stations while decompressing in the orange and aqua booth of a Howard Johnsons doesn't usually make one wistful for the musical stylings of the guy at the piano that has a mop and bucket in view leaning against the turquoise burlap-covered wall behind him. Those purchases were typically reserved for the headline and more heavily promoted and polished acts that were marketed at the national level. So when browsing the aisles of the Record Bar the tired serf of the Camelot lifestyle had to be promised wild parties and lewd play times by way of a woman with large breasts who worships the man who plays the organ at the local park pavilion on alternating Saturdays.

Gilligan at Retrospace (from whom I ganked a few images) exhaustively details the practice of using sex to sell music and other products. Click the link to check out his entry on Cheesecake Album Covers. He hosts many fine examples and even more links to consumer-baiting LP covers.

The following cartoon by Art Lutner from Bachelor #2 (1961) is a good example of the logical progression of the use of sexual imagery to sell records and would have rung true with most readers of the era.

While Lutner was making a comical statement about using sex to sell children's LP's he wasn't far off from reality. Quite often advertising for children's products is aimed at the adult who holds the money and has little to do with the content of the purchase.

The TYMAGA Award: Jenny McCarthy

2011-08-23T06:00:00.008-07:00

With the recent news that even more parents are declining to immunize their children against preventable diseases I have created the first ever TYMAGA Award. What is the TYMAGA? Well, TYMAGA stands for Take Your Money and Go Away and it goes out to those rich, powerful, famous or infamous that abuse or misuse their position or entitlement to make things worse in the world we live in. When those people, entities or companies know, or should know, better than to do the things they do but still endeavor to make any situation worse then they get a TYMAGA. The TYMAGA is a plea to stop it, just stop it by withdrawing from the public dialog for a while, roll around on your big pile of cash and give us all a break.

Anti-Vaccination advocate Jenny McCarthy is the first person honored for a TYMAGA. Why should Jenny McCarthy pick up her bags of money and depart the public consciousness? Why pick on her? Jenny is not the only person out there wrongly speaking out on the dangers of vaccinating children. Primarily, it is her influence as a celebrity coupled with her steadfast adherence to junk science and support of discredited anti-immunization studies. Simply put, many people believe that vaccinations could and do cause syndromes like autism in children. Jenny McCarthy promotes not immunizing children using certain methods because of alleged negative reactions to vaccines. She is part of a movement that has had the effect of seeing a resurgence in formerly rare childhood diseases that in some instances resulted in death. One of the main problems with the anti-vaccination movement is that much of the evidence they base their decisions on originated in a thoroughly discredited study. Sadly the onset of some of these diseases and fatalities could have been prevented through routine vaccination and probably would have if not for Jenny McCarthy and her ilk supporting the study.

Over the last several years Jenny McCarthy has managed to avoid sinking into the bog of obscurity most celebrities fear drowning in by attaching herself to anti-immunization hysteria. Jenny McCarthy has remained one of the most influential spokespersons advocating not vaccinating a child long past when people should have recognized that the supposed risks of preventive health are far outweighed by the benefits. But Jenny, who uses her far-reaching platform of celebrity to misinform the masses and stoke fear in the stupid and gullible, remains steadfast in her support of discredited research and fraud. To lead people to believe that a child contracting and spreading to others measles or whooping cough is preferable to getting preventive medicine that almost no one in scientific circles believes will cause an undesirable side-effect is sadly negligent if not criminal in nature.

Her adherence to the cause is perplexing. Surely she has seen evidence the vaccine study that initially created the controversy was overturned and the person most responsible has had his license to practice medicine stripped away? Why then is Jenny not able or is unwilling to reverse her stance? Is there a reason she is not willing to accept the facts? Would doing so devastate and alienate her victim-hood worshiping fan-base? Would it invalidate her own sense of self?

Look, Jenny, you may have been fooled just like a lot of people were. Your personal situation may have blinded you to the fact that data was manipulated for money. That was then. It's been a few years since the study was discredited. I don't think anyone wants an apology from you, just acknowledge that everything you have advocated up until then was based on fraud and new information has allowed you to revise your position. This is a chance to change your mission and use your celebrity for good instead of perpetuating the damage. Check into the science yourself. If you don't understand it, have someone (more than one, preferably) respected and accredited in the field explain it to you and your organization.

It is incredulous that in spite of all the facts you continue supporting something that has almost no evidence, that certain immunizations cause autism. One would almost think money is the reason for your unwillingness to break from the anti-vac movement. Hopefully not, as that would make you a terrible person in light of your personal experiences. You probably had money before joining the cause, you probably will have money after you leave it. No one should begrudge you making a good living. But are you so lacking in confidence that you believe you have no other options left for a career other than supporting ignorance and exploiting worry and fear? If so, you are no better than the psychic that preys on a wealthy widow.

So, Jenny McCarthy, until you do the right thing do us all a favor and move somewhere sunny and exclusive far away from us and shut up so you do no more harm. Just please...

I'm America's Sweetheart, bitch!

2011-08-22T14:23:00.002-07:00

Adorably, Hayley Mills delivers the smack-down to a bunch of snobby, upscale, husband-hunting gold-diggers.

Take that, you skank!

From the Truth About Spring (1964).

Shoo-Be-Doo-Bah

2011-08-21T06:00:00.001-07:00

On this lazy Sunday here's some more Korean pop music I'm familiar with only because they play on the televisions (alternating with sports) that provide atmosphere in my favorite Korean restaurant in San Diego. As ever it is the choreography, costumes and set changes that drives these videos almost as much as the catchy tunes.

Rainbow - Sweet Dream (2011): I have no idea what they are saying but it has a good beat and you can dance to it. As one video commenter puts it, "Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are" fits the bridge just right.

SISTAR19 - Ma Boy (2010): This K-pop entry is really hot and sexy and not part of the reserved Korean image I remember from the 1980s. Wow to this. I doubt the positioning of that monkey arm was a coincidence. Marketing!

Secret - Starlight Moonlight (2010): This group is just 100% Hayley Mills-level adorable in this video. They are incredibly cute in this, but not all of their videos have them appearing so sweet and innocent. This music video looked ridiculously expensive to make.

Voyage to the Bitch-Slap of the Sea (1961)

2011-08-19T15:00:00.002-07:00

Words to the wise: Don't get in Walter Pidgeon's way when he is trying to save the world.

Walter Pidgeon bitch-slaps a hella lot of people in the film Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Frankie Avalon gets it like six times. He should get a few more just for the opening theme song, which is about as disconnected from science fiction as you can get.

From the Collection: Glory Lane

2011-08-19T06:00:00.002-07:00

Alan Dean Foster rarely delivers a bad read and he typically adds a lot of depth to slim scripts in his adaptations of movies and other shows. His Flinx universe is a favorite of mine even though the publishers have been marketing the series the last few years as Young Adult and not mature science fiction.

Glory Lane is a fun time though it is the cover I find interesting. Not so much for the unique aliens crowding the interstellar bazaar but the fact that on the back cover the bar-codes in the background above the actual fourth wall-breaking UPC code were scribbled out. It's amusing to think that the publisher was concerned that 1978 scanning technology would have been interfered with by the faux codes in the background. It's also possible that the UPC labels on the mech-dino would have been the place holder for the actual UPC code given different art direction and layout if a close-up of the tourist transporting walker were discarded in favor of the UPC-toting aliens. If so, good thinking by artist Jim Gurney, planning greater flexibility in his art to decrease chances of rejection or having to repaint the scene.
Glory Lane (1978).

Tigers are cool

2011-08-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Dang, I love tigers.

From the Collection: Let's Get Together

2011-08-15T15:25:00.005-07:00

Just received my original sheet music for the song Let's Get Together from the Hayley Mills 1961 opus The Parent Trap. Not hard to find but most are priced way out of my price range. This copy was in great shape and at reasonable cost. Digital copies of sheet music like this can be found for a few dollars on line that can be downloaded but it is mostly in a proprietary format. Nothing like owning the real thing that can't be taken away from you if the company maintaining the DRM or reading software folds or sells out to another company that no longer supports it.

For those of you who still have joy in your heart here is a link to the video of Hayley and Hayley singing her first big hit...Yeah yeah yeah!

Pro-Tip: Get final assignment BEFORE you fire someone

2011-08-14T06:00:00.002-07:00

From Girls' Romances #33 (August-September 1955).

I'll tihte the lifeguards

2011-08-12T08:24:00.004-07:00

"O mighty Jeebus, please guide these dedicated and highly-skilled lifeguards who without your assistance will be unable to rescue the floating form of your most beloved child who you saw fit in your infinite love and mercy to drown. Also, please intercede and use your mighty healing powers in conjunction with the likewise dedicated and skilled medical professionals using advanced medical equipment whom without your aid will surely fail as they fall prey to Satan. Amen."

From the Collection: Stalker from the Stars

2011-08-10T13:01:00.006-07:00

Those unfamiliar with Marvel comic book history would find the Hulk prose novel Stalker From the Stars reminiscent of cold war SF cinema but the book is really a blend of a 1950s Atlas/Timely alien invasion story (inspired of course by real world fears and concerns) featuring an un-evolved 1970s Hulk. This had precedent at the time as several Marvel heroes had come up against old villains from Marvel's SF and Horror books of the past. While the dialog of SHIELD agent Clay Quartermain made me want to travel to the Fictionverse just to beat him up overall the book is not a bad read for a young adult novel.

Front and back covers of Stalker from the Stars (1978).

Disneyshop Disasters

2011-08-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

Hey, Imagineers! Why don't you imagine a bio photo that doesn't look like Hayley Mills blew a pupil after having a stroke?

You've got six films and probably thousands of PR photos featuring Hayley in your catalog to gank a great image from and you pick this? Do I really have to provide you with a better photo?

A lean and athirst housing market

2011-08-08T13:15:00.006-07:00

Imagine living in a world where magic exists. What if the supernatural was real?

Our world would be a shambles. It is doubtful civilization would exist. Assuming a civilization could be built against all the interference of hostile entities hours of daily life would be extraordinarily consumed with the trappings of protection against evil forces. All the praying and hexing would barely leave time to eat a meal, much less forage for and prepare it.

Proof of life after death, angels and demons would be as obvious and physically evident as the sun. If those entities existed, eternal war would be the result with humans as pawns or casualties. Millions of people would be taken, killed or possessed by entities hostile to all that was good, shambling through the streets like extras in a George Romero film. Only the insane would act in a manner they know for a certainty would cause torment in limbo or fire as the proof of it would be in front of their eyes everyday and night without misinterpretation. But would the mentally ill or any disease even exist? In a world of magic they would be healed through faith and the laying on of hands or potions the moment symptoms manifested.

Physics as we know it now would be radically different than it is. No mysteries would remain as sensitives prove that they can cast their minds through time and space seeking answers and bringing back irrefutable evidence of the way the universe works. Their talents would not be negated, hindered or defeated by cameras, the nearby presence of unbelievers and double-blind tests. If any of the Woo was real it would not be hidden, it would obvious, verifiable and most of all reproducible. Like science is.

SCIENCE vs. SUPERSTITION

SCIENCE WINS