ook Canada!
I would like to wish all my Canadian friends a Happy Canada Day!
Category: Blogposts
Posts not connected to a comic… sometimes information, sometimes just ranting, it’s a bit of a gamble when you read these.
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1982
Do Android Monkeys Dream of Electric Bananas?
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #0629
Wishing a Happy birthday to the person who puts up with me (and Cecil).
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1889
Look at the sky. It’s not dark and black and without character. The black is, in fact deep blue. And over there: lighter blue and blowing through the blues and blackness the winds swirling through the air and then shining, burning, bursting through: the stars! And you see how they roar their light. Everywhere we look, the complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes. (Vincent and the Doctor -2010)
Yes, that’s not a real quote, but it is a cool way to see the world. I recall as a kid one time realizing, as I was drawing, that what I was looking at didn’t have a nice neat black outline around it… It kind of freaked me out since I was probably 7ish at the time and had to figure out how I could draw something without a line around it. So, of course, I took up cartooning.
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1952
I’m ooking in the rain, just ooking in the rain.
When I first came to live in Indiana during college, I first encountered a “summer shower” and realized that the rain I grew up with didn’t really count as “real rain.” I learned why windshield wipers have more than one speed and why some people carry SCUBA gear in their cars during the summer. Just like people in Indiana have no idea what real traffic is, or real fog, as someone raised in Southern California, real rain was a new experience. What I still enjoy is driving along and actually watching the line of rain approaching. That wall of grey the moves closer and closer… giving me time to prepare for the drenching.
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #14-556
Every once in while I go a little political. Unfortunately, as a teacher in Indiana, that can be like taking your life in your hands. An early court case defined teachers as “moral exemplars” which can be hard when society has issues with what their actual morals are- which is Indiana in a nutshell.
As for today’s MINIon- I have many close friends who today’s SCOTUS decision impacted. I celebrate with you the only way I can- this monkey’s for you- congratulations! Sue, Cecil, & I love you all.
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1980 A-Ah!!!
I’m sure I’ve mentioned at some time that one of my most memorable comic experiences growing up was Alex Raymond’s “Flash Gordon.” It started off as far as I can tell with a way for my parents to keep my brother and I quiet as we moved. I was given volume one and my brother volume two of the original series. The artwork was amazing , the story was great and for the longest time I tracked down the entire 5 volumes that had been published leading up to Flash, Dale, & Zarkov’s return to Earth. After that as a kid I figured the story ended. It wasn’t until later that I discovered that there were more adventures (including a return to Mongo). This of course after I had lost the original compendiums I had purchased growing up. And then there’s the film versions… Buster Crabbe’s Serials and the 1980 version which drips of camp, but actually isn’t that bad when it comes to paying homage to the art of Alex Raymond and his ideas of what Mongo looked like. Tonight I have the chance to see that film again on the big screen as the opening event for Indy Pop Con. So take a walk with me down memory lane…
Flash – a-ah – saviour of the universe
Flash – a-ah – he’ll save everyone of us
Flash – a-ah – he’s a miracle
Flash – a-ah – king of the impossible
He’s for everyone of us
Stand for everyone of us
He’ll save with a mighty hand
Every man every woman
Every child – with a mighty flash
Flash – a-ah
Flash – a-ah – he’ll save everyone of us
Just a man
With a man’s courage
He knows nothing but a man
But he can never fail
No one but the pure in heart
May find the golden grail
Oh oh – oh oh
Flash
If you want a modern take on what really would happen to a spacefaring hero returning to Earth after saving a planet I highly recommend Mark Millar’s “Starlight.” Fantastic story, that I hear might become a film in the near future… sadly, I don’t think Queen will be doing the soundtrack.
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1966
I guess I should stop watching the news and all the commentary about China’s role in the world.
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1929
“SSSKREEEONKG!!!”
or at least that’s kinda what “Godzilla, King of the Monsters” comics said…
I remember watching Godzilla as a kid and just thinking how awesome it was. Then to discover the urban legend that the original film was in color, until it was brought over to the U.S. and the scenes with “Steve Martin” aka Raymond Burr had been shot in black & white so they had to reprocess the film in black & white to match the U.S. footage. Correct or not, you can tell by the interesting cuts that something had been added.
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1881
“The town of Nada, Texas was small…” That’s how one of my favorite picture books starts off. David Small’s Ruby Mae Has Something to Say is a great story about Universal understanding and the power of tinkering. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, I really suggest you do.
I decided on this specific MINIon because (Yes, I once built my own Bobatron) some close friends are expecting and one of their requests for the baby shower was to bring a copy of your favorite childhood book. Sue, having never had a childhood 😉 just defaulted to me and I had a to come up with a list. While Ruby Mae didn’t make the cut (so many books) the process reminded me that I wanted to do a MINIon based on the story. Many of the books on the list bring back memories of when I taught either first grade or preschool. Many are out of print which was something we decided would be an added bonus, knowing that no one would give the book we did. Sue couldn’t attend the shower because she’s more of a bath person… actually she was up in Ann Arbor with me.
What were on my short list?
1. Just Only John by Jack Kent – the story of a boy who wants to be something else and realizes that magic is a little fickle.
2. The Wuggie Norple Story by Daniel Pinkwater – C’mon just the character names are enough to put this on any list… “Lunchbox Louie, Bigfoot the Chipmunk, King Waffle…”
3. Big Bad Bruce by Bill Peet – uh, hello? a bear, named Bruce why shouldn’t this be on the list?
4. Ruby Mae Has Something to Say by David Small
“What no comics, or graphic novels?” you say. I knew the child’s father would be more than capable of taking care of that end, along with LEGO.