Batman: The Long Halloween #8 (July 1997).
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mother's Day in Gotham City
Under Your Skin
Several years ago one of the duties I performed to help out at a job I had was to transport cruise or merchant ship crew from the dock to their hotel or airport and back again. During layovers some employees or crew stayed off-ship or used air travel to get back home. Due to customs and immigration laws all the crew were supposed to stay at their lodgings but few of them did. Many hit San Diego for the nightlife (what little there is of it) and sometimes when it was time to go back to work I had to detour to pick the crew up at bars instead of their hotels. The most interesting group I ever transported were about ten Aussie sailors from a merchant ship. Crazy bastards all. I nearly got arrested twice driving them the 6 miles from the dock to their hotel.
One time I drove a group of about six sailors from the Philippines to a cheap hotel in the Sports Arena area where they would stay for a few days. I didn't speak their language (as far as they knew) and they didn't speak mine (as far as I knew) but I think I managed to round up all the correct crew members for a ride to their designated lodgings.
This was the year 2000 and I typically carried about ten CD's with me to play at work and in the car. About that time I was pretty heavy into Jazz, Show Tunes and Big Band music and rotated the albums out frequently. But no matter what CD's I carried around at least two of those were from the band Texas and those were usually White On Blonde and The Hush. Nobody else I knew admitted liking the band enough to buy a CD but not being a hipster who has their entire self-worth contingent on what other people think of them I didn't really care. I was always annoyed that Texas never toured in the Unites States but the reality is that there wasn't a market for them here.
After loading up all the gear the Philippine sailors piled into the van and I prepared to drive them to their hotel. I ejected the Martha Tilton CD from the dashboard player and inserted a random CD. It began to play and it just so happened to be The Hush, the most recent Texas album. The music started and my passengers yelled and started screaming "TEXAS! YEAH!" over and over. By the time I drove onto the highway they were all singing along to the tracks. I didn't know if I should be pleased or not. Texas couldn't get arrested in America yet these hard-working sea-dogs who walked down a rusty gangway from an equally rusty foreign cargo ship without wearing shoes on their feet knew all the lyrics by heart. Music, like hate, truly is a universal language. Not that we had any real trouble communicating. It was a thing, had to be there.
The following featured clip Under Your Skin is from Texas' 2003 album Careful What You Wish For. If I didn't already know the song was from Texas I'd swear it was a lost track from the Parallel Lines-era Blondie.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Retailer Incentive Cover
This one by Adam Hughes is particularly screwing with my childhood memories.
Power Girl #1 (July 2009).
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Alibi verified
The man previously arrested for an assault on a Linda Vista woman has been released pending further investigation after his alibi that he was at work during the incident was confirmed via time card punches and video. It is good that he is free.
This means, and always has, that there is a very bad person still out there. Let's hope the San Diego Police have some solid leads and will apprehend the right guy. Anonymous tips can be sent in via the San Diego Crime Stoppers site.
Read the story here.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Can't Do Attitude
Planet Comics #29 (March 1944).
* Yep, they do.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Say What You Want
Though I had heard a few tunes from the band Texas prior to 1995 via my interest in imported music I had never really payed much attention to them. That changed when one day I was idly browsing the directory of a promotional CD given to me buy a car salesman. Not wanting to load the bloated proprietary adware that was surely bundled along with the information about a car I was interested in buying I poked around through the various folders. Looking for Easter eggs on a CD was one of those nerdy things I did back then.
Several years before companies thought it necessary to protect their product with nothing more than a warning they thought nothing of releasing promotional materials that contained free songs, videos and photos of musical bands stored in standard formats. For the most part these promotional materials were not recorded as data that could only be read via proprietary media players and files could be easily viewed and copied. Most companies did not anticipate, understand or could cope with the emerging peer-to-peer technologies and were unprepared for what could happen to their intellectual properties and how it would, for a short time, affect sales. A few years later the label that carried Texas would make them one of the first bands to flood the peer-to-peer networks with fake music files to discourage unauthorized downloading). Quite often fun and interesting stuff (relatively, that is) could be found in the folders of the random compact disc.
In one folder I found some video files and opened them. One video was an annoying animated squirrel that hosted the section featuring a car and one was random video of the car I was test driving. A few other files were interesting and were just CD extras of some sort. One was an an audio interview with the band The Cardigans and one was a music video from Paris Hampton. The final video was from the band Texas, it was 60mg big when most computers had trouble holding that much information on an entire hard drive and I played the hell out of it. I still have the original CD in storage and may be most noteworthy today for containing the only remaining existing recording of Paris Hampton performing her signature song Old Ghost.
Heavy with CGI that must have been scary expensive back when it was created in 1995 the Texas video was the song Say What You Want from their White On Blonde album. I had actually heard the song a few times before on the radio but it was the video that helped make me a Texas fan. For those who are influenced by that aspect of it in choosing your music, in the video Sharleen Spiteri has evolved from the young, scruffy-cute New Wave garage band performer into the sexy and hot woman that would be later be promoted so heavily in materials for The Hush era album. One could also see in the video the inklings of why Sharleen has such a large lesbian following.
The song received some respectable though short-lived American airplay back in 1996, possibly aided by being on the soundtrack of a movie. The Wu-Tang Clan also collaborated on the song for a later release and it was that version that was played in concert when Texas was touring.
Here is the video for Say What You Want, from their official channel.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Thank you for your interest in our company
Furthermore, please stop the daily practice of hand-delivering your art featuring creepy decapitated gnome heads floating on a rainbow in a forest glen that is in the process of being clear-cut by weird otter-beaver hybrids. The sea gull picture is actually very nice and reveals some creative talent but ethics rules prohibit the hiring of persons who give us gifts.
Just FYI, the content of the notes you are leaving with the pictures are making people nervous. Also, please stop addressing the notes to the "Queen Princess Hiring Manager" as she is already insufferable and all the attention is going straight to her head.
On a personal note may I suggest not drinking large amounts of beer immediately prior to a meeting? While I appreciate your assertion that you can "quit drinking anytime" it does not bode well for your job prospects that you drunkenly staggered around and slurred non sequiturs during your visit. As for your stated qualifications I would again remind you that begging for spare change in a parking lot is not actually "cashier experience".
While we encourage people to follow up on their interviews showing up unannounced may necessarily require you to wait until those people with appointments are seen first. Shouting at both the Store and Hiring Managers demanding to know why you were not yet hired with our company is not what I call good networking.
We appreciate your consideration as a potential employer.
Sincerely,
Human Resources
Thursday, April 30, 2009
But...
Jungle Comics #66 (June 1945).
Sunday, April 26, 2009
I Don't Want A Lover
Why would a Scottish pop band not focusing on country or western music name their group after the most embarrassing state (after Kansas) in America? Actually, they didn't!
The inspiration for the band moniker Texas came not from the state but rather the 1984 film Paris, Texas. Oddly, there exists a number of pop-culture references to the film by various music groups. It appears that Paris, Texas the film is to musicians what Catcher in the Rye the book is to serial killers. The movie must strike some special chord with creative music types. Singer/Songwriter Sharleen Spiteri is on record as acknowledging that the band name may have diminished their chances to be heard in America as anyone observing the group's title would assume they were a country band and dismiss their work.
I Don't Want A Lover was the first big musical hit for Texas way back in 1989. The rock blues influence of Johnny McElhone (formerly of the New Wave bands Altered Images and Hipsway) and Sharleen was strong on the debut album, Southside. The song I Don't Want A Lover is notable for rising to a respectable place on Top Ten music charts and then several years later unexpectedly breaking into the charts again.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
THIS IS WHY TELEVISION WAS INVENTED
TIME-TRAVELING DINOSAUR VS. HELICOPTER
Primeval (Series 3, Episode 18).
Book him, Danno
On April 22nd a suspect was apprehended in the April 18th assault of a woman in Linda Vista. That was fast! I encourage everyone to let the boys in blue know how much we appreciate their good work in finding the alleged attacker.
Story via KGTV 10 News.
UPDATE: He didn't do it.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The Complete Shakespeare for Americans
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Crime Watch: Linda Vista Road and Fulton Street
Her attacker shoved a gun to the side of her head and started to drag her away. She fought back. At least one shot was fired by her assailant that narrowly missed hitting and probably killing her. She was beaten with the pistol and received numerous injuries before her attacker fled the scene. Eventually, she was assisted by some people in nearby apartments.
She is hurt, traumatized and it is likely that she will not be returning to work for some time. She is fortunate to be alive. It is without reservation that I can attest my friend was respected and liked, if not loved by everyone who knew her. Her fellow employees are taking up a collection for her at work. This woman has some healing to do, might be out of work for a while and she and her family should not be worried about whether the electricity will be turned off during her recuperation.
Here is the initial news report: Suspect in Linda Vista Assault Still on the Loose.
The first follow-up report is mostly about public safety: Protect Yourself from an Attack with Self-Defense Training. I appreciate that the choice to fight an attacker was addressed. She was hurt and could have been killed, but common wisdom states that if taken from the scene of an attack the odds of survival drop precipitously.
The suspect was described as male, of slim build, dark-skinned, in his late 20s and wearing a white, hooded sweatshirt. It was reported that he fled the scene in a dark-colored compact vehicle. This is an initial description and may not be fully accurate.
I'm sure the Police will be doing all they can to apprehend this criminal. If the age of the attacker is as reported it is doubtful this is the first crime this person has perpetrated and he is in a database somewhere. It is during events like the recent attack that one wishes television crime shows were not so fanciful and that DNA tests would quickly identify a suspect in a matter of hours. A check of the San Diego Police Department crime statistics maps reveals a number of sexual assaults in the vicinity over the last month but it isn't possible for civilians to determine if they are related. The stats for that particular area are not any greater or less than those for nearly any section of the city so it would be foolish to speculate and better left for Police to determine.
While often it is the steady hard work of dedicated and trained individuals in Law Enforcement that solves crimes sometimes they are closed by the average person connecting some dots and passing the word along. I'm hoping that if the Police are unable to swiftly resolve this crime then maybe some civilian will help. For example: One could help by noticing that someone matching the description of the attacker and driving a similar car didn't come into work Monday. Then when they showed up on Tuesday had lots of scratches about the face and arms.
Anonymous tips can be sent in via the San Diego Crime Stoppers site.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
When We Are Together
Texas is a band that due in large part to singer/songwriter Sharleen Spiteri has creatively always sought inspiration from decades of music. Their output is somewhat eclectic in nature. They don't just jump on whatever trend that happens to be popular at the time, rather they experiment with different styles. This is typically some time after the music they are referencing has dimmed in the public consciousness. The band has been variously blues, pop, pop-urban and alternative. Sharleen Spiteri cites Motown legend Diana Ross as one of her influences and this is particularly evident in the 1999 album The Hush. Several tunes are direct homages to the vocal styling of Ross. That unique Diana Ross pacing and tone can be clearly heard in the songs When We Are Together and Black Eyed Boy from their album The Hush.
So go ahead and spend a few minutes listening to When We Are Together. Like most music videos ever it's kind of pointless but it does have Sharleen splashing around in a pool, so there is that.
Admittedly, Texas and their music are not everyone's cup of haggis but I usually enjoy their work. I found out a little while ago that Sharleen Spiteri recently released the delightfully retro solo album Melody. While on break from the group in 2008 she worked on her own project. Many of the new tunes on Melody are stylistically reminiscent of the mod atmosphere of Swingin' 60s London. Melody features Spiteri on a trip into the ancient past, accomplished by channeling the artistic spirits of the talents of Nancy Sinatra, Dusty Springfield and even Petula Clark all while retaining her own unique voice.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Nerd Libs
I'm cynical enough that I'm convinced comic book companies put out these sort of advertisements just so suckers like me post and comment on them. Yeah, Okay. It worked. Other and far more qualified and caring critics will be commenting on why the members of the JLA are so serious about Supergirl's breasts. I imagine there will be plenty of "Caption What The Guys Are Thinking" contests going around for everyone to play with.
For my efforts though it's going to be interesting to see how people are going to insert their own words in the redacted spaces in the "memo" from Dan Didio to Ian Sattler.
Why do I think it's going to be along the lines of Gang-Orgy, Supergirl and YouTube?
Friday, April 17, 2009
The finger, having accused, points
Illustrations from the May 1945 issue of the National Police Gazette. A time of grand-standing, politically power-crazed Government oppressing the brilliant by crushing dissent, fear-mongering, pandering to the gullible and telling the easily manipulated there was a bogey-man under the bed. People think they have it bad today...
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The Spirit Was Willing
From the July 1977 issue of Cosmos science fiction magazine is a short article by art director Jack Gaughan. In it he briefly reminisces about his time working for Will Eisner. Included with the article as the centerpiece of the magazine was an original work by Eisner featuring the Spirit and a few of the cast in a scene referencing the Spirit's science fiction adventures. I've never seen that particular art anywhere else so I thought I'd share it with the Eisner fans.
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