Stay on target...

I must admit I DID know there were 5 Robins...

2012-01-30T12:46:00.001-05:00

Nan says she has heard me say most of these things and one of my oldest friends put the same video on his Facebook wall a few weeks back....

Star Wars Minimalist Posters by Travis English

2012-01-25T11:53:00.002-05:00

Logan has taken to pulling out all of my Star Wars toys and having epic adventures. He puts one of the movies on in the background for inspiration. Today we found out that all 6 movies will be coming out in the theater this year...kinda excited to see them with him on the big screen...

via Jeff Is A Geek

...Sorry about that....

2012-01-24T19:19:00.000-05:00

Okay. Sunday's post was a downer. To make up for it, I offer you the following. I made it about a minute before I was laughing so hard I could not breath.

By the Sexiness of Grayskull (from Topless Robot)

2012-01-17T20:07:00.000-05:00

from Topless Robot:

"I personally find the music of LMFAO to be about as enjoyable as a savage beating, but as it turns out, adding a bit of classic Masters of the Universe animation turns it from awful to awesome. It's no Prince Adam singing "What's Goin' On", but really, what is? (Via Gorilla Mask) "

This Date In History

2011-12-29T10:58:00.003-05:00

via Iconic Photos

London Blitz: December 29th 1940

Seventy years ago, the Germans started the Blitz more or less out of frustration, without clear planning, as a sequel to the Battle of Britain. During the first half of the summer of 1940, the Luftwaffe focused on dominating British airspace, in preparation for a possible landing, and its bombardments were limited to airfields and other military installations. On 24th August, more or less by accident, a pair of Stukas dropped the first bombs on central London. Churchill seized the opportunity, and in ‘revenge’, 80 RAF bombers pounded Berlin. Hitler was infuriated. Nearly 600 German bombers came back during the next two weeks to bomb English cities, factories and airfields.

Then, at 5 p.m. on 7th September, the first major attack on London began. On that sunny afternoon, 348 Luftwaffe bombers crossed the English Channel, and for the next two hours ignited the city with incendiary bombs, the docks being their primary target. That same evening, the Germans were back, raining 625 tons of high explosives on working class neighborhoods in the East End. The Blitz went on for 57 consecutive nights and then spread to other cities in the U.K. In ‘Second Great Fire of London’ on the night of 29th December 1940, nineteen churches, thirty-one guild halls and all of Paternoster Row, including five million books went up in flames.

By the time the Blitz ended (as Luftwaffe diverted its planes east for the attacks on the Soviets) on May 16th 1941, more than 43,000 people had died in the strategic air raids. Writer Harold Nicolson compared himself to a prisoner in the Conciergerie during the French Revolution: “Every morning one is pleased to see one’s friends appearing again.” Yet, the English, being the English, just got on with it stoically. In stubborn, indignant fashion, the life went on. A survey taken during this period found that weather had a greater impact than air raids on the day-to-day worries of many Londoners. In his magisterial history The Blitz: The British Under Attack, Julian Gardiner observes, “egg rationing produced more emotion than the blitz.”

Thus predictably, most well-known of the countless photos taken during the Blitz did not depict carnage and chaos, but rather an extraordinary tale of survival and defiance. The above photograph featured on the front page of the Daily Mail, captioned as ‘War’s Greatest Picture’, was taken from the roof of the same newspaper’s Tudor Street offices by Herbert Mason two nights before (on 29th December). St. Paul’s Cathedral was surrounded not only by fires and smoke that fateful night, but an incendiary bomb did drop inside the Stone Gallery. During the Blitz, the importance of the Cathedral was so much so that Churchill insisted that if the church were to be bombed, all fire-fighting resources be directed there, and that “At all costs, St Paul’s must be saved.” The Daily Mail echoed this sentiment in the text accompanying the photo that the image is “one that all Britain will cherish – for it symbolises the steadiness of London’s stand against the enemy: the firmness of Right against Wrong”. To that effect, the editors at the Mail decided to crop the photograph quite liberally, to take out the gutted remains of houses in the foreground.

Interestingly, but not surprisingly, the photo was telling quite a different story on the continent within days. The Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung announced that “Die City von London brennt!”, and gleefully informed its readers that the conflict with England too was approaching its endgame. For Germans, the photo, with the blazing foreground ruins included, depicted nothing more than the centre of “britischen Hochfinanz” burning in London’s biggest blaze since “Jahre 1666″. Photographs never lie indeed.

I love this photo....

2011-12-28T09:19:00.000-05:00

I do not know who these people are. I hope this isn't "faked" in any way. I don't think I have ever seen one of these daguerreotypes with ANY sort of emotion. I can't recall any of the older photos from The Farm showing ANYONE enjoying themselves.... definitely not to the degree these two are...

via Twyst

Total Recall Narrated By Arnold

2011-12-27T05:19:00.000-05:00

I didn't stay with this long. I am not usually a fan of audio commentary on a DVD. I like the text ones that accompany the Star Trek movies. I found the audio on Ocean's 11 as funny as the movie itself. More often than not, commentaries are...overwhelming. too many people talking...too inside.

This one, however, has Arnold just basically TELLING you what you are seeing on the screen. Awesome.

via Fist of Blog

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T05:57:00.001-05:00

It's Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T11:34:00.001-05:00

Comic Book Crossovers....

2011-12-23T01:07:00.000-05:00

They're the best there is at what they do...and what they do is prevent cold and damp from reaching your feet, even in the most hostile of environments.

(The Little Stuffed Bull had a whole Wolverine related post tonight...this was my favorite....)

This Date In History

2011-12-07T08:10:00.000-05:00

From the address given by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the United States Capitol, Washington, D.C., on December 8, 1941:

"[On] December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific."

Lazy Saturday

2011-12-03T08:52:00.000-05:00

I was tired last night. Played a VICIOUS game of "Keep Away" with the kids in all three of my classes in the afternoon and then a BRUISING loss in our Broomball game last night (complete with a pre- and post-game gathering).

I thought I would sleep in today, however, I did not. Woke up at 6:11 AM (which is about 20 minutes later than a weekday.) So now I am in my "Man Cave" with this

on in the background and entering all of these

plus a few other eBay and ComicCollectorLive lots into my comic book data base. Doubles will either go to The Squid or Lee.

The only thing on the agenda for today (besides reading comics as much as possible) is a birthday party and getting the Christmas tree!

Boo-ya!

Community

2011-12-02T05:23:00.002-05:00

We have not officially given up on Community....but we are close. Some of the story lines became either too unbelievable or too frustrating to follow.

However, Topless Robot discovered this tidbit a little while back...

"Please note that these three scenes come from different seasons. Meaning someone uttered the word "Beetlejuice" once per season on Community. And if you still aren't sure why this is awesome, please look at the window behind Annie when she says the third "Beetlejuice."

As Community creator Dan Harmon tweeted, ""The Easter egg that took three years to hide. Our show is TOTALLY ACCESSIBLE.""

The Grinch via Star Wars

2011-12-01T20:40:00.000-05:00

Thoughts on Comics

2011-11-26T13:16:00.000-05:00

Snell recently posted these thoughts from Paul Grist on his site: Slay, Monstrobot of the Deep!

I whole-heatedly agree. I like my comics monthly. I like the anticipation of a new television show. Even when we buy a season's worth on DVD, we still parcel them out slowly...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:28:00.002-05:00

Goodreads

2011-11-22T19:57:00.002-05:00

Star Trek: Countdown by Robert Orci

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I usually read only superhero comics...and then it is usually only single issues...not trade paperbacks. However, I do like Star Trek. I thought the Next Generation cast got the short shrift, movie wise, and thought it would be neat to see more of their adventures. I haven't read a Trek book in a long time. I liked the new movie and thought that this would be the best of all possible worlds.

Not a bad way to kill an hour or so. I found it on eBay for $3.99 with free shipping which made it cheaper than hunting down the individual issues.

If you like Trek and can suspend disbelief (I think those two statements actually go hand in hand) then I honestly believe you will enjoy this.

View all my reviews

Flickchart Update

2011-11-20T19:24:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I posted that I was addicted to Flickchart. Well, twenty four-ish hours later, I have ranked 607 movies a total of 1573 times. By no means a scientific test, but the results are pretty good. I also like how the site uses a variety of posters to represent the films. Some fan made...some foreign ones.

If you want to see my whole list, look up my user name (cmock127) on the site.

Here are my top 20 movies....some I have seen a bunch of times....some only once or twice but they made an impact on me....

20. Rear Window

19. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

18. Usual Suspects

17. Monsters, Inc.

16. Caine Mutiny

15. Goldeneye

14. Spiderman 2

13. About A Boy

12. Star Wars

11. Saving Private Ryan

10. Ghostbusters

9. The Hunt For Red October

8. 12 Monkeys

7. True Lies

6. Terminator

5. Fight Club

4. The Fugitive

3. X-Men 2: X-Men United

2. Black Hawk Down

1. Die Hard

Today's Obsession....

2011-11-19T11:18:00.001-05:00

School vacation starts today. Well, it started last night with an...interesting night out. And, yes, I have In-Service on Monday but that does not count.

Regardless, Teebore posted an awesome list of things for which he is thankful.

My favorite (today) is Flickchart! What a way to waste a few hours...

He describes it thus:

flickchart
My latest online obsession, flickchart lets you create a ranked list of all the movies you've seen by tossing up two movies at a time and asking you to pick which one you like better.

Dare To Fight?

2011-11-17T19:19:00.000-05:00

Saw this on Kryptonian Warrior a while back...

It's not my birthday, but.....

2011-11-14T07:23:00.000-05:00

I am 15,000 days old today!

Veteran's Day*

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000-05:00

Thank you, Richard Howard Mock....

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

*The holiday is commonly printed as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day on calendars. While these spellings are grammatically acceptable, the United States government has declared that no apostrophe rather than the possessive case is the official spelling.

Randomness on a Sunday Night

2011-11-06T20:12:00.001-05:00

Results

The AgeAnalyzer thinks http://cmock127.blogspot.com is written by someone 36-50 years old.

Your options....according to Yoda.

2011-11-03T18:10:00.002-04:00

Great Movies from the Villain's Point of View

2011-11-02T07:49:00.000-04:00

via Cracked

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T09:27:00.002-04:00

"He's a sorcerer!"

2011-10-29T06:43:00.000-04:00

Stare at the red dot intensely for about 5 - 10 seconds and you'll notice the fuzzy blue ring disappears before your eyes!

Thank You, Theo...

2011-10-24T19:06:00.000-04:00

Conan O’Brien – “Batman Is Starting To Show His Age”

2011-10-24T08:18:00.000-04:00

I have several gaming systems in the house, but the most recent is only a PS2 (along with our Atari, PS1, Nintendo 64 and a HORRIBLY lame Wii-type knock off the kids call a "Woe"). I'll never play any of the cool new games. And I can never stay up late enough to watch Conan (those as Kate recently noted, I get up WAY too early sometimes.)

Either way, this made me laugh.

Last Book I Read....

2011-10-23T16:42:00.000-04:00

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hmm..

I really don't know where to begin. While I liked the book, at times it felt like I the translator missed some pages or the author just decided to drop plot threads. At times the book couldn't tell what kind of story it was going to become.

It is listed here on Goodreads as (Niebla, #1) which hints at a shared universe or a series....not my favorite thing right now with YA fiction. Maybe I will poke around and try to learn more.

Maybe it will need another reading at some point.

I don't know....

View all my reviews

The more things change...

2011-10-23T06:26:00.000-04:00

Carmine Infantino, writing about the expansion that led to the DC Implosion of 1977, in Back Issue #1 (December 2003)

Mostly for The Armchair Squid....a little bit of DC History for you....

Originally found HERE.

A predictable prediction....

2011-10-19T14:07:00.000-04:00

Not going against the grain here....

Texas in 6.

This Date In History

2011-09-11T11:13:00.001-04:00

Last November, The Armchair Squid shared the existence of this blog (9/11 WTC Attack Photojournal) with me. The photo here is NOT from that blog, but the photos there are breath-taking and provide a harrowing first person account of the day.

Never Forget...

"This is a photo-journal of my experience on 9/11/2001. On the day of the World Trade Center attack, I was living inside what is now known as "Ground Zero". My apartment...is one of the buildings closer to the WTC on the left side.

I found myself shooting these photographs as the entire event unfolded. Running from the falling tower, I was evacuated to New Jersey on a tugboat from Battery Park.

This photo journal is my way of sharing my experience with other people. Please feel free to share it with others. If it makes a difference, if it reaches one more person who may take away something from it, I am grateful. If you feel so inclined, I would be happy to hear from you (whether it be your experience, or otherwise - and many thanks to those who have sent me kind thoughts and wishes through this ordeal)."

Struck Me As Funny

2011-09-07T14:20:00.000-04:00

From Failblog.org

Happy Labor Day!

2011-09-05T09:25:00.001-04:00

The Post-Irene Schulz Library Needs Your Help

2011-09-04T20:22:00.000-04:00

Originally posted HERE.

Tom Spurgeon points me in the direction of this update on the Schulz Library in Vermont, post-Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene:

Against many odds, and with the amazing help of our friends, I’m thrilled to announce on behalf of The Center for Cartoon Studies community that the entire Schulz Library collection is safe and secure in the dry storage area of the Telegraph Building, a few blocks from where it once resided in the old firehouse. However, given the hectic nature of moving the books in the wee hours of the morning with the sound of risinig water a few feet away and emergency lights blazing, the collection is a bit jumbled.

The immediate task at hand is to get the books organized and ready to move to wherever the library will be next.

Volunteers in the area to help sort and store books are invited to email Caitlin McGurk at mcgurk@cartoonstudies.org to find out when and how they can help, and the rest of us can donate to the library’s reconstruction effort.

A Look At Vermont

2011-09-04T13:39:00.000-04:00

The media reports that Vermont was one of the hardest hit areas by Tropical Storm Irene. Here are some photos from the EXCELLENT site www.wingsovermont.com

While everyone I know escaped this storm relatively unscathed, this is the part of the state I grew up in and the roads we traveled to visit other relatives.

Photos are copyrighted by Wings Over Vermont Aerial Photography and Sightseeing, LLC.

The white building is the Brandon House of Pizza. Not but five days before we were driving through Brandon and debating our options for dinner. We skipped BHoP and went to McDonalds instead.

One Month From Today...

2011-08-30T08:27:00.001-04:00

October 2011

October

Phases of the moon: 3: 11: 19: 26:

Holidays and Observances: 10: Columbus Day (Most regions), 31: Halloween

American League Division Series (both A and B)
Game 1: September 30
Game 2: October 1
Game 3: October 3
Game 4: October 4*
Game 5: October 6*

American League Championship Series
Game 1: October 8
Game 2: October 9
Game 3: October 11
Game 4: October 12
Game 5: October 13*
Game 6: October 15*
Game 7: October 16*

World Series
Game 1 at NL: October 19
Game 2 at NL: October 20
Game 3 at AL: October 22
Game 4 at AL: October 23
Game 5 at AL: October 24*
Game 6 at NL: October 26*
Game 7 at NL: October 27*

* - if necessary

Festival of Sol

2011-08-28T09:22:00.001-04:00

Trying to publish one of these covers each month led to a dilemma, as this issue revolves around Carmine "The Roman" Falcone's birthday.

However, according to Wikipedia, August 28 was the Roman Festival of Sol, celebrating the sun goddess!

This is now the number one played song on my iPod!

2011-08-27T09:03:00.000-04:00

Stan Lee Throws Out First Pitch Phillies versus Nationals August 19

2011-08-22T09:55:00.000-04:00

'Nuff said....

I love The Oatmeal!

2011-08-20T00:38:00.000-04:00

Created by Oatmeal

What we are doing tonight....

2011-08-17T08:01:00.002-04:00

Tonight there is a live simulcast of "Jack The Giant Killer" from Rifftrax (aka the guys who brought you MST3K). We ordered our tickets a few weeks ago and are attending tonight's show!

Info HERE!

The Perfect Day....

2011-08-16T12:18:00.000-04:00

via Cave of Cool

Image From The Next Batch of Sherlock Episodes

2011-08-15T08:16:00.000-04:00

via Newsarama

Speaking at the “Empire Presents…Big Screen” event in the UK this weekend, Sherlock creator/writer Mark Gatkiss said shooting on season 2 was just over a week away. ”Season two is what we’re calling ‘The Woman, The Hound and The Fall’ trilogy,” he told the audience, “so there’ll be a version of ‘A Scandal In Bohemia’, a version of ‘The Hound Of The Baskervilles’ and a version of ‘The Final Problem.’”

“It’s a rare chance to do the early days of Holmes and Watson’s friendship, right from the beginning, so everything you know has not yet formed. Sherlock’s attitude to women and to crime is still forming, so it’s much more ‘plastic,’” said Gatiss. “The only heresy [about the show] is that it’s modern day, but after that it’s one of the most faithful versions there’s ever been, because Stephen [Moffat] and I just love it. Sherlock Holmes had become all about the hansom cabs and the fog, rather than about the friendship of this unlikely couple, but ours is very much inspired by the Basil Rathbone’s version.”

When asked the question of whether or not we’d be seeing Holmes’ nemesis Professor Moriarty in the new season, Gatiss wasn’t quite sure how to respond. “Wait and see!” he laughed. So is that a ‘yes’? “It’s a nnn-yes,” he said.

The Season 2 airdate of Sherlock is still under wraps.

MUTTS comic strip being adapted to film!

2011-08-10T08:14:00.006-04:00

The story is at Newsarama

I am not sure how we discovered Mutts, but the strip holds a special place in our family's collective hearts. Our two cats were featured on the official Mutts website as pets of the month when we shared our shelter story. We have some figures, a print, and both kitties have their own "Little Pink Socks".

Space....the tiny frontier...

2011-08-08T06:42:00.000-04:00

I found this to be rather cool...

This Friday, NASA will launch an Atlas V rocket that will be contain a very special payload. Not only will the rocket be carrying Juno, a space probe that is being sent to Jupiter to study the fifth planet from the Sun, but there will be a few unique stowaways. Thanks to a joint mission between NASA and Lego, there will be three very special Lego minifigs affixed to the spacecraft.

The figures, milled from aluminum, will accompany Juno on its five-year trip to Jupiter. When Juno arrives in 2016, the Lego likeness of the Roman god, Jupiter, his sister, Juno, and the Italian astronomer, Galileo, will be there to take in all the sights and bask in the immensity of the largest planet.

This (until now) secret installation was initiated by NASA scientists, who loveLego as much as anyone and wanted to do something memorable for this mission. They approached Lego and the company loved the idea. It saw the project as a way to promote children's education and STEM programs.

The brick company even underwrote the project, at a cost of $5,000 for each of the minifigs, which will soon become the farthest flying toys ever. The manufacture of the figures was a deliberate process to ensure the figures would not interfere with NASA's sensitive measurements.

...

Upon arrival in July 2016, the space probe will collect data on Jupiter, its moons and atmosphere. After orbiting the planet for a year (about 33 orbits) and relaying its data, Juno will purposefully de-orbit and crash into the planet's surface. You can track Juno's progress with the high-flying minifigsat LegoSpace.com.

(via Topless Robot)

"Every dog must have his every day..."

2011-08-04T19:10:00.001-04:00

(From Fantagraphics' The Complete Peanuts 1953-1954)

via

Slave Leia Public Service Announcement

2011-07-21T16:07:00.000-04:00

Almost as good as the one Nathan Fillion did....

via HeroPress

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 30 – Your favorite song at this time last year

2011-07-19T08:17:00.000-04:00

Exactly one year ago today, I downloaded this song from iTunes.

And with this, the challenge has ended. What fun! I might suggest, if you ever decide to undertake this challenge, or if we do it again, numbers 1 and 30 should swap. START with last year's song and BUILD up to your favorite.

Enjoy!

Under Pressure by Queen featuring David Bowie

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 29 – A song from your childhood

2011-07-18T07:48:00.000-04:00

I remember my parents had TWO '45s, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" by Crystal Gayle and "Here You Come Again" by Dolly Parton. That was it.

My stepfather brought over a thousand albums into my life. All that vinyl! He is the reason music entered my life.

The first time I ever heard this song, my mother commented that if I had been a girl it was the name she wanted to name me. Unfortunately for her, I was a boy.

Neither she nor my father could agree on a name. The story my dad used to tell was that one of the nurses recommend my name and they both liked it. Then they were asked what the middle name would be....again, no agreement. Since both of their names started with the same letter, I got the letter....with NO period....just like Harry S Truman!

Enjoy!

Amie by The Pure Prairie League

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty

2011-07-17T07:38:00.000-04:00

I am writing this post early, so I am not sure how The Squid or Marc will be handling this one.

This song was another one that started to push me and my life in a new direction. It contained a couple of lines that I shared with...someone. Their reaction gave me the strength to change things with...someone else. (I am not trying to be cryptic....I just....can't).

"I'm so alone, and I feel just like somebody else.
Man, I ain't changed, but I know I ain't the same."

The guilt I feel is looking at the way things turned out....and wishing I had found the strength sooner. I really am so happy with where my life is now (and I know everything happens for a reason....) but what if it could have happened sooner.

Enjoy!

One Headlight by The Wallflowers

30 Songs in 30 Days: Days 26 and 27: A Two Fer

2011-07-16T06:16:00.002-04:00

...and a cop out....

Day 26 – A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 – A song that you wish you could play

I can't even whistle so there is no way I play an instrument...and I am really okay with that so I got nothing for today....

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 25 – A song that makes you laugh

2011-07-15T07:36:00.000-04:00

Of all the parody songs I can think of, this one remains the best....

Enjoy!

Yoda by Weird Al Yankovic

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 24 – A song that you want to play at your funeral

2011-07-14T07:31:00.000-04:00

Wow. Really?

Okay.

I've always said I want my funeral to be as "happy" as it can be. A celebration. Haley said she liked how we remembered my father last year with no real funeral but instead we rented a hall and had food and people came and everyone shared stories.

So rather then something like "Time of Your Life" by Green Day, "The End" by The Beatles, or "Handbags and Gladrags" by The Stereophonics, I am going with this.

Enjoy!

Ooh La La by The Faces

=========================================================
The "30 Songs in 30 Days" challenge, inspired by the tumblr list. Our 30 Songs roster:

The Armchair Squid

Marc Whitman's Blog
Haley says "Hello" To You

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 23 – A song that you want to play at your wedding

2011-07-13T07:26:00.000-04:00

During this challenge I have already posted at least two songs that were played during our wedding. This one played during our reception.

I can't remember how we found our deejay. I believe he was a friend of a friend (or, now that I think of it, the friend of someone's boyfriend) and he was very enthusiastic. He did a lot of "phantom" playing, a la air guitar, but his "instrument" of choice was the drums....and he had his own drumsticks.

He also apparently only had limited amounts of "mood music" for dinner. My brother joked he apparently had "James Taylor's Greatest Hits Volume One AND Two."

I am pretty sure we heard this song THREE times during dinner. A good song, but not really wedding reception music...

ENJOY!

Fire & Rain by James Taylor

=========================================================
The "30 Songs in 30 Days" challenge, inspired by the tumblr list. Our 30 Songs roster:

The Armchair Squid

Marc Whitman's Blog
Haley says "Hello" To You

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 22 – A song that you listen to when you’re sad

2011-07-12T07:21:00.001-04:00

Two songs that aren't really supposed to make you sad....at least I don't think they are. But here are two that make me tear up....

Enjoy!

Piano Song by Meiko

Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

=========================================================
The "30 Songs in 30 Days" challenge, inspired by the tumblr list. Our 30 Songs roster:

The Armchair Squid

Marc Whitman's Blog
Haley says "Hello" To You

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 21 – A song that you listen to when you’re happy

2011-07-11T07:10:00.001-04:00

How about I take the advice of the first song here (which all along was to be this day's song) and list 5 songs I listen to when I am happy.....

Enjoy!

Take 5 by The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Merry Happy by Kate Nash

Mr. Blue Sky by E.L.O.

We're From Barcelona by I'm From Barcelona

Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon

=========================================================
The "30 Songs in 30 Days" challenge, inspired by the tumblr list. Our 30 Songs roster:

The Armchair Squid

Marc Whitman's Blog
Haley says "Hello" To You

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 20 – A song that you listen to when you’re angry

2011-07-10T08:57:00.003-04:00

I have been very fortunate in this life of mine. But, like everyone else, I have had my share of...unpleasantness.

There have been three DARK times in my life. Those times where you need help beyond the normal. Where you struggle to wake up, to keep on moving, to....just be.

This song came out during one of those times. I distinctly remember where I was when I first heard this song (and the memory makes me shudder) but it quickly fit so much of what was going on....going wrong in my life at the time. I won't be so overly dramatic as to say it "saved" me but it did help move me in the right direction.

To this day, it is one I belt out with fervor when I play it. The whole album remains one of my favorites...a desert island disc, if you will. The only reason I didn't use it with the last post was to save it for this post.

Enjoy!

Monkey Wrench by The Foo Fighters

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The "30 Songs in 30 Days" challenge, inspired by the tumblr list. Our 30 Songs roster:

The Armchair Squid

Marc Whitman's Blog
Haley says "Hello" To You

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 19 – A song from your favorite album

2011-07-09T18:54:00.000-04:00

Your FAVORITE album!?!? Good gravy, how do you decide? No matter what I pick I will be leaving SOMETHING out. There are the albums I first discovered as a boy....the ones that helped get me through high school....the ones that helped get me through DARK times...the ones that lift me up and inspire me...

I guess I will go with the first album that was MINE...sure, I picked it up because McCartney was on it, but it came out when I was away from home for the first time at college. I had heard of Elvis, but he wasn't really on my radar. By the time the album came out, I was several months removed from my brain surgery but was struggling. This eclectic album helped me a lot.

Enjoy!

Veronica by Elvis Costello

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The "30 Songs in 30 Days" challenge, inspired by the tumblr list. Our 30 Songs roster:

The Armchair Squid

Marc Whitman's Blog
Haley says "Hello" To You

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 18 – A song that you wish you heard on the radio

2011-07-08T17:31:00.001-04:00

Since I mentioned yesterday that I really do not listen to the radio, per se, this is another toughie. But I think I got one.

Our recent flooding has meant we have had to go through a LOT of boxes that were in the storage areas of our home. One such box was FULL of "mix tapes" from back in the day. I have put a few in my car to listen to while I run errands.

One song that jumped out at me was Bourgeois Tagg's one hit from 1987. It fit nicely with my steady diet of Beatle songs and the lyrics were about as angst-y as I think I could get as a teenager.

So since I had "lost" this tune for twenty years or so, I wish I had heard it on the radio sooner...

Enjoy!

"I Don't Mind At All" by Bourgeois Tagg

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The "30 Songs in 30 Days" challenge, inspired by the tumblr list. Our 30 Songs roster:

The Armchair Squid

Marc Whitman's Blog
Haley says "Hello" To You

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 17 – A song that you hear often on the radio

2011-07-07T12:18:00.000-04:00

So here comes another confession during this challenge....I really don't listen to the radio. I prefer sports talk or, when I had my satellite radio, Howard Stern. On long car trips Nan and I will listen to podcasts of "Wait, Wait" or "Car Talk", or even the occasional comedian's stand up album.

I do have distinct memories of visiting my grandparents quite often growing up. My grandfather listened to a "light" station when he would drive us around (coincidentally, the same station Nan had on in her car the first time she and I went anywhere together!).

In my memory, we heard this song EVERY TIME he drove us somewhere.

Enjoy!

"Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean

=========================================================
The "30 Songs in 30 Days" challenge, inspired by the tumblr list. Our 30 Songs roster:

The Armchair Squid

Marc Whitman's Blog
Haley says "Hello" To You

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 16 – A song that you used to love but now hate

2011-07-06T08:51:00.002-04:00

This one is also a tough one. But I think I am going to go with REM's "Losing My Religion". There was a time this one would have held a different spot on my list. I still find cassette tapes from the 90's with this song on it. Lots and lots of differnet mix tapes...Now, it leaves me cold.

Enjoy!

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 15 – A song that describes you

2011-07-05T11:49:00.000-04:00

I can't say this song describes ME per se, but it allows me to repeat a rather cool story I had heard recently.

When I first discovered "Magneto and Titanium Man" by Paul McCartney and Wings, my mind was blown. How could the two greatest things (at the time) in my life come together in such an incredible fashion?

Recently my favorite Friday destination (Comic Book Legends Revealed) shared the story.

"COMIC LEGEND: Jack Kirby had a special meeting with Paul McCartney in 1975.

STATUS: True

In case you were unfamiliar with the tune, on Paul McCartney’s 1975 Wings’ album, Venus and Mars…

there is a song called “Magneto and Titanium Man.”

It is a cute, fun song where three Marvel villains from the 60s commit a robbery.

Magneto…

Crimson Dynamo…

and Titanium Man…

The inspiration for the song came from the fact that while McCartney on vacation in Jamaica, he had to keep his kids entertained. So he and his wife Linda would buy them a bunch of comic books every Saturday. McCartney had been a comic book fan as a kid and now he found himself interested in these modern comic books (it is probably a bit of a stretch to say that McCartney was a “fan,” though) and they inspired him to write the above song when he got back to recording the album.

Later in 1975, Wings went on an international tour to support the new album. In June 1976, they made their way to California. Gary Sherman, brother to Jack Kirby assistant Steve Sherman (and therefore, friend to the Kirby family) thought that Kirby and McCartney should meet, so he came up with the story that Kirby had a drawing that he wanted to give to McCartney. Eventually, McCartney’s people agreed and Gary then, of course, had to tell Jack that he had to now do a drawing for McCartney!

Kirby being his typical awesomeness, he whipped up a great drawing of Magneto, Paul, Linda and the band in less than an hour.

Paul thanked Kirby for the drawing and thanked him for helping to entertain his kids during the vacation. He gave Jack, Gary and Jack’s daughter Lisa tickets to the show that night.

At the concert, McCartney introduced Kirby, “In the audience tonight we have the creator of Magneto and lots of other comic characters, and I’d like to dedicate this song to Jack Kirby” and then played “Magneto and Titanium Man.”

What’s awesome is that the Jack Kirby Museum actually has the drawing AND photographs of the meeting!

Here, courtesy of Rand Hoppe’s blog, is the actual drawing…

And here, courtesy of Rand Hoppe’s blog (via Lisa Kirby) is a photograph of Paul and Linda with Kirby….

Go the Kirby Museum here to see two more photographs!

Thanks to Steve Sherman for the scoop on the meeting (which he relayed in Jack Kirby Collector #8) and thanks to Rand Hoppe and the Kirby Museum (and Lisa Kirby) for the drawing and photos. I was planning on doing this bit for a couple of months now, but I should note that commenter mrclam suggested I do it a few weeks ago.

And thanks, of course, to Gary Sherman, who passed away a couple of years ago, for making the whole thing possible!"

Enjoy!

Magneto and Titanium Man by Wings

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T09:16:00.001-04:00

A Bunch of Different Clips I Have Found

2011-07-03T11:51:00.002-04:00

Since I am taking Sundays off from the 30 Day Challenge and I have a different theme going that will take up my 4th of July slot, I thought I would post all the videos I have kept in my Google Reader queue to share at some random point...

In reverse chronologically found order, via Bleeding Cool: "This video makes it clear. Michael Bay appears to have used scenes from Warner Bros/Dreamworks’ The Island in Paramount’s Transformers: Dark Of The Moon. Here are some screencaps to make it clear…"

Next via Joy of Sox:

"The video features Kevin Youkilis, Terry Francona, and Jason Varitek.

The Red Sox are the third major league team to produce an "It Gets Better" video. Earlier this year, the San Francisco Giants became the first professional sports team to join the It Gets Better campaign. The Chicago Cubs have also made a video."

via The Armchair Squid

via Slay, Monstrobot of the Deep!!

via The Onion (and FINALLY letting me know how he pronounces his name!) NSFW F-bomb at the end:

and from Bleeding Cool again: "The Best Green Lantern Themed TV Commercial Of All...and it’s not even an official Green Lantern partner. Brilliant, pure dead brilliant. Dodgy politics obviously, but hey. This is advertising."

I had a few others, but some have been yanked from YouTube (Greenpeace's anti-Volkswagen campaign the most notable one) and others just didn't stand up to a second viewing...

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 14 – A song that no one would expect you to love

2011-07-02T09:18:00.000-04:00

There are quite a few songs, especially semi-obscure one hit wonders and stuff I used to hear when I had my Sirius radio.

Today's choice might be obvious for people who see me at school, given what my teacher bag has emblazoned upon it.

Either way, I find this song infectious and fun. It is a GREAT shower song.

Enjoy!

Year 3000 by The Jonas Brothers

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 13 – A song that is a guilty pleasure

2011-07-01T09:07:00.002-04:00

I have already confessed to my utter love of "The Scissor Sisters". My guilty pleasure goes a little further.

I bought my first CD player in 1987 and immediately purchased two of my favorite albums immediately.

The obvious purchase was "Abbey Road". The other was "True Confessions" by Bananarama.

Bananarama was the first show I ever saw on my own in a bar. On March 21, 1989, they opened their first world tour in Boston, where I was attending college. I bought my ticket and had a blast. i still have newspaper articles from every Boston paper I could get my hands on.

Enjoy!

Venus by Bananarama

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 12 – A song from a band you hate

2011-06-30T09:56:00.001-04:00

As Dennis Miller might say, I don't want to get off on a rant here but there were times growing up where music was used to exclude rather than include. I never understood the "fans" who accused bands of selling out once they signed to a big label or stopped being indie darlings. I never understood the "tortured" artist who hated fame but refused to stop making albums or give back the money earned from lucrative record contracts.

I didn't read "Catcher In The Rye" until last year but I now recognize the vast amount of "phonies" I interacted with throughout high school and college who would look down at my Top 40/Oldie listening habits. I felt like I had to apologize for liking songs that had melodies or lyrics I could understand and to which I could relate.

I also did not go through any real rebellious period in my teen years. I had parents and family that loved me and a core group of strong friends...some of whom are still in my life today.

Nirvana hit it big as I became an adult. College was almost over and I just could not understand the fascination with this band or its sound.

I interpreted today's assignment differently until I read The Squid's and Marc's choices for this day. I thought I had to find a song I liked from a band I normally hated. This is much easier.

Enjoy!

About A Girl by Nirvana

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 11 – A song from your favorite band

2011-06-29T16:56:00.000-04:00

The Beatles were my first band. My stepdad had all the albums and I remember sharing cassettes with friends in junior high school. How do you pick just one?

Enjoy!

Her Majesty by The Beatles

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep

2011-06-28T10:42:00.000-04:00

I don't really use music to fall asleep. I prefer it quiet and to be reading. Both my kids listen to music as they drift off, but my boy LOVES to have music playing as he dozes off.

For the longest time he had a Jack Johnson compact disc that we would start up. It had all of the mellow surfer dudes tunes, fast and slow. Now, whenever we here a Jack Johnson song ANYWHERE Logan pretends to doze off.

Enjoy!

Upside Down by Jack Johnson

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 09 – A song that you can dance to

2011-06-27T08:07:00.000-04:00

I really, truly LOVE to dance. I am unable to do so with any amount of grace, but if the music moves me, then I will move.

As we get deeper into this list, I am already wishing I could change around a few things, as one or two of my previous choices might be better suited in this slot.

Rather than go the route of the songs that allow me to undergo the full body dry heave-type movements, I will instead choose the song I enjoyed dancing to the most....on July 15, 2000, with My Sweet Nanny..

Enjoy!

Tony Bennett: "The Way You Look Tonight"

Sunday Babble

2011-06-26T20:32:00.000-04:00

While I am in the midst of another 30 day blogging challenge, it appears that I chose to take Sundays off. I will use today to share some pictures from our recent flood.

As I sit in our still torn apart downstairs, I am trying to look on the bright side of things. The flooding did allow Nan to get rid of the carpeting in the room, which she has always hated. It has allowed me to renovate one of the closets and re-do my comic book collection area. It has also allowed me to go through those comics and catalog and read lots of them. And I didn't lose any comics, even though one of the long boxes was on the floor.

At the time, though, it was hard to see the bright side. The night before the flooding, a near by lightning strike fried two of our televisions, our cable modem, router, caller i.d. boxes and the recessed lighting I had installed in the bookcases we built. I was suffering a major relapse in my recent illness and was struggling to even stand or grasp a pencil, let alone spend the weekend filling sandbags and moving our possessions. Our insurance company informed us early on that they would not be able to help us out.

But we got through it. I had worried we would spend all of our vacation money on the cleanup effort and we pretty much did. However, my folks, Nan's mom, and an unexpected refund from my dad's estate helped out a great deal and allowed us to spend last week in Kill Devil Hills.

So here are some pictures from the weekend of May 27, 2011.

This drain USUALLY allows water to....um, drain, into our side yard. However, the side yard was so saturated that even when we pumped the water from the garage and driveway across the street into a culvert, it would flow up from the drain and fill the area almost as quickly as we emptied it.

The lowest point of the water. It measured around 3 1/2 inches at Nan's car's front tire.

The deepest point of the flood. My improvised ruler was only marked up to 6 inches. I think I pegged this at 9 inches.

The view from the front steps on day three, after three solid days of pumping the water away.

One of the reason the flooding inside was so bad was because of a tear on the seal of our garage door.

Another view looking out to the street. The water behind the mailbox was over a foot deep.

The water in the side yard was around 8 inches deep. Our first attempt at pumping the water beyond the limit of the drainage areas of our side yard.

Some of the interior damage. This is the hallway from the garage to the upstairs part of the house. We had to remove all of the carpet on these stairs.

This was when we were FINALLY able to pump the water out faster than it was backing up. You can see the beginning of the debris pile. We eventually had to call for a dumpster and spent the week filling it. We went for sandbags shortly after this picture was taken.

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to

2011-06-25T09:19:00.001-04:00

I am guessing that this is one that is easy for most folks. I'm going with this one, as I have always been proud of knowing all the pauses, hiccups, and the mini skat he performs at the end.

Enjoy!

Bruce Springsteen "I'm Going Down"

The Armchair Squid and Marc (Marc Whitman's Blog) have taken up the challenge. So has my daughter!

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a certain event

2011-06-24T09:10:00.002-04:00

This song will always remind me of my wedding. As soon as it started, my mother and I ran across the room, met on the dance floor, and BELTED this out with each other.

Enjoy!

Bobby Darin "Mack the Knife"

The Armchair Squid and Marc (Marc Whitman's Blog) have taken up the challenge. So has my daughter!

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 06 – A song that reminds you of somewhere

2011-06-23T09:06:00.000-04:00

One of my fondest high school memories involves driving around Rutland with a distinct group of friends, listening to and belting out this song. I don't think I ever understood the lyrics at the time. In retrospect....

Enjoy!

Billy Joel "Say Goodbye To Hollywood"

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 05 – A song that reminds you of someone

2011-06-22T09:03:00.000-04:00

I think this is one of those songs that entered our lives through a commercial at some point.

Regardless of the origin, it always makes me think of my wonderful wife.

Enjoy!

Emilie Mover "Ordinary Day"

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 04 – A song that makes you sad

2011-06-21T08:59:00.000-04:00

I don't think there are many songs that make me sad. This one inspires a certain...wistfulness, maybe melancholy. And that might be the intent.

Either way...."for people and things that went before..." it just gets me.

Enjoy!

The Beatles "In My Life"

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 03 – A song that makes you happy

2011-06-20T08:56:00.001-04:00

I am not sure how I first came across the Scissor Sisters. I do remember finding this video on Comcast quite a few years ago. I find this song so infectious and fun. It really makes me move and just brightens my day.

Enjoy!

Scissor Sisters "I Don't Feel Like Dancing"

Happy Father's Day?

2011-06-19T09:10:00.002-04:00

This will be my 14th Father's Day and the second Father's Day since my own father died.

Last year, it seemed so close to the day of his death that I can't even remember what we did....

I think this year I'm going to want to spend it with my stepdad who is a great guy and the reason I am ANY good at being a father to my own kids...

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 02 – Your least favorite song

2011-06-18T09:16:00.001-04:00

There are quite a few popular bands (and types of music for that matter) that I have NEVER understand the appeal. Aersomith falls into that category. This song, which I think was a "comeback" of sorts, came out when I was in high school. Ugh!

Enjoy!

Aerosmith - Love In An Elevator

The Armchair Squid and Marc (Marc Whitman's Blog) have also taken up the challenge. So has my daughter!

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 01 – Your favorite song

2011-06-17T08:42:00.001-04:00

Wow. Nothing like starting off with a toughie. How do you pick one? One of my students asked me what my favorite movie was and I replied that things like that change as you get older...it is harder to have absolutes. I have a favorite comedy, a favorite action film, and so on. She looked at me like I was nuts and then proclaimed "Grown Ups" to be the best movie of all time.

Anyway, I might have to put "Band On The Run" by Paul McCartney as my favorite song. There is something to it that I have always liked. I grew up a Beatles fan, but gravitated towards Paul's solo stuff. I am fairly confident he will show up again on the list.

Enjoy!

Another 30 Day Challenge!

2011-06-15T20:42:00.003-04:00

I am not sure when I last posted "live" as the month of May was a blur. I spent most of the month ill, had a brief stay in the hospital, suffered some flooding of our house and have rapidly moved towards the end of my first (and perhaps only) year of teaching 6th grade.

As the title of this post states, it is time for another 30 Day Challenge. The Challenge was inspired by this tumblr list. Both The Armchair Squid and Marc (Marc Whitman's Blog) have also taken up the challenge. We're kicking it off on Friday.

I will admit to some fear, as both The Squid and Marc are not only music teachers, but far more adept at blogging.

This Date In History

2011-05-25T06:26:00.003-04:00

To celebrate the May 25, 1977 release of Star Wars, enjoy this tribute to all the lightsaber battles from all of the movies set to the beat of a catchy lightsaber-y dance tune.

Batman’s Symbol Through The Years

2011-05-16T08:44:00.003-04:00

Jill Pantozzi (The Nerdy Bird) posted this at Newsarama a few weeks back. I watched it with the sound off after she noted: "Beware: U2′s “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” from Batman Forever plays in the background."

Her full post is HERE

New readers...start here!: Glossary of comic book jargon

2011-05-13T09:57:00.000-04:00

New readers...start here!: Glossary of comic book jargon

This post about Comic Book terms first appeared on "New Readers....Start Here!" April 11, 2011. I am presenting here because 1) It's fairly awesome and 2) I figured The Armchair Squid might like to know more about what he is getting himself into...

QUOTING:

At long last, we present to you the glossary of comic book terms! Listed in alphabetical order, this glossary will provide you with an explanation for comic book jargon. If you feel something is missing or you want further explanation, please let us know.

Words in bold will have their own definition elsewhere in the glossary.
For an explanation of the different publishing houses, see this post.

Artist - The person who contributes to the art for the book. A person identifying as a comic book artists may be a penciller, colourist,inker, letterer, painter, or a combination of two or all of those things. See also our article here that goes into more depth on the creative process.

Bronze Age - Superhero comics published between 1970 to the mid 1980s (approximately). Comics produced in this period started to tackle issues of social injustice and we see more diverse characters being created. Green Arrow/Green Lantern volume one is a good example of a bronze age comic. From this time period comics began to be marketed more towards adults, and so the story telling matured and continuity was taken more seriously. See also Platinum Age, Golden Age, Silver Age and Modern Age.

Canon - The accepted history for characters and universes. See alsocontinuity.

Collected Edition - This refers to a trade or graphic novel that collects several issues from an ongoing title into one thick book. Sometimes Collected Editions are branded with titles like Showcase and Essential. These are introductory volumes for characters and generally consist of old Golden Age or Silver Age stories. See alsothis explanatory post on the different formats.

Colourist - A person who contributes the colours to comic book art. See our article here that goes into more depth on the creative process.

Comic - A book containing sequential art that can be printed in a number of ways. Ongoing titles appear as monthly issues of 22 pages and are sold in specialist comic shops and online. Monthly issues are also referred to as magazines, floppies and pamphlets. These ongoing titles can be collected into trade paperbacks, graphic novels and collected editions. They can also appear as original graphic novels, having never been sold as monthly issues. Comics can be about any type of story or any genre. They are not limited to superhero stories.

Continuity - The current accepted history of ongoing comic booktitles. Titles have many different creative teams over the course of their publishing history (and some comics have been published as a singular title for several decades), but it is expected that the current creative team will be aware of what has happened in past issues and what is happening in other titles. This enables them to tell a cohesive story.
For example, if Spider-Man marries Mary-Jane in one issue, then the creative team changes, it is expected that the new creative team will write them as married. If the new creative team decides they do not want them to be married, they must come up with an in story explanation to change the situation.
Continuity applies to the whole comic universe, so if Supergirl gets her hair cut short in one title, for example in Justice League of America, then the reader would expect her to be drawn with short hair in her own title. See also Retcon and canon.

Crossover - A story arc that is dealt with in more than one title, meaning that to get the full story you must read more than oneongoing title.

Floppies - Individual issues of a title are referred to as floppies, because they are 22 pages long, and, well, floppy.

Golden Age - Superhero comic books published between 1930 and 1949 (approximately) are Golden Age comics. This is when characters like Superman, Batman and Captain America were first created. Typically, the stories have changed quite a lot since these early days, both in terms of personality and types of adventures. The main audience for these comic books were children. See also Platinum Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age and Modern Age.

Graphic Novel - This can be another word for a trade paperback. Graphic novels can be hardback or paperback, and may contain issues that have been published originally as an ongoing title, or the graphic novel may contain a brand new story that has never been seen before. The term graphic novel is sometimes preferred by people who believe that comic has too many childish connotations.
Graphic novels are large sized books, and can contain anything between 88 and 265 pages of story. Usually graphic novels are a self contained story, although this story may link in to other graphic novels.

Homo Superior - A character in the Marvel comics' universe who is the product of a genetic mutation and has gained superpowers through the mutation. Also known as mutants, many of these are in the X-Men or are the enemies of the X-Men.

Indie/Independent - A book which is published by someone other than the DC and Marvel comics companies or their subsidiaries. See also here.

Inker - The person who goes over the Penciller's work in India Ink so the pencil lines aren't lost when it's published. Inker's are not merely tracers, there is a lot of skill involved. For more information see this article here.

Letterer - The person who puts the text, word balloons, sound effects and dialogue boxes in a comic. Like the Inker, there is more skill involved in this than you would think. See our article here for a more in depth look at the creative process.

LCS/LCBS - This abbreviation stands for local comic shop or local comic book shop.

Manga - Quite simply, the Japanese word for comic. Manga is commonly used to refer to all comics produced in Asia, or comics that are perceived to have a Japanese style. See also Manwha.

Manwha - Another word for comics produced in Asia, but Manwha is usually used to refer to Korean published comics.

Metahuman - A character in the DC comics' universe who is human and has superpowers.

Mini series/maxi series/limited series - See also Title and Ongoing. Mini and maxi series differ from ongoings in that they are titles designed to end with a limited number of issues. Mini series typically last between 3 and 6 issues, where maxi series can last anything between 12 and 52 issues.

Modern Age - Superhero comics produced from the mid 1980s to the present. As a general rule, superhero comics produced in this time period became more grown up and darker. Satires of superhero comics started being produced and the industry tried to become edgier. Some superhero comics produced in the 1990s became featured hyper masculine and hyper feminine characters. This period is quite often regarded as having terrible artwork, although of course there are plenty of exceptions to this. See also Platinum Age, Golden Age, Silver Age, and Bronze Age.

One shot - A one off floppy that centres on one particular character or team. Usually the character or team do not have an ongoing title.

Ongoing - See Title.

Original Graphic Novel- also referred to as OGN. See Graphic Novel.

Painter - Some artists produce their artwork using paints, like a traditional portrait artist. In this case, pencillers, colourists and inkers are not used. Alex Ross is a well known example of a comic book painter.

Penciller - The person who does the initial sketches for a piece of comic art. They draw the characters, the background scenery, the panels and (usually) decide the layouts. See our article here for a more in depth look at the creative process.

Platinum Age - Superhero comics produced before 1930. Some less famous superheroes were invented in this period, and comics were regular features of newspaper strips. See also Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age and Modern Age.

Pull list - Monthly titles that people subscribe to, often picked up from their LCS but sometimes also online.

Retcon- Retcon stands for retroactive continuity. This occurs when a writer adds in something to a character's history, or changes a character's history, usually to fit in with a new plotline.

Runs - This refers to a particular writer or artist's stint on a comic. For example, if Peter David wrote issues 15 to 45 of a Supergirl title, you would refer to those issues as David's run.

Shonen - Manga aimed at teenage boys. A few popular titles are Bleach, Naruta and Dragonball Z. Common themes are action, adventure and sports.

Shojo - Manga aimed at teenage girls. A few popular titles are Sailor Moon, Train Man and Fruits Basket. Common themes and ideas are relationships, magic girl characters, fashion, boyfriends.

Silver Age - Superhero comic books published between 1950 and 1969 (approximately) are Silver Age comics. Characters like Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Flash were created at this point in time. Stories from this period are generally considered silly and insubstantial by modern readers. There is a lot of terrible science theory in these books. Like comics from the Golden Age, these were mostly written for children. Some social issues were tackled in this era's books, more often by Marvel. See also Platinum Age, Golden Age, Bronze Age and Modern Age.

Splash Page - A piece of art that takes up one full page or two pages. It is not broken up into panels and is one snapshot of a scene. Splash pages are usually used for dramatic emphasis and can focus on one character or many.

Title - A comic book series that comes out monthly and is about one character or one team of characters. For example, X-Men, Superman Man, Iron Man, Avengers, Justice League of America. Titles can also be referred to as Ongoings. When people talk about a Title they are generally referring to many issues published under that name, not one specific issue. See also floppy, comic and continuity.

Trade paperback - Also referred to as trades or abbreviated to tpb, this is a book that collects several issues of a ongoing title. They can be paperback or hardback and tend to be larger in size than regular prose books (think of somewhere between A5 and A4).

As trades collect ongoing titles they tend to present one story arc that is linked to stories coming immediately before and afterwards. They can contain anything between 88 and 265 pages of story. You can read them in isolation, or you can use them as a gateway into the wider world of the character. Trade paperback can be another term for Graphic Novel.

Universe - Universe usually refers to the world in which stories are based. For example, all DC published books take place in the DC universe, so characters can interact with each other across theirtitles. The same is true of Marvel published books.

However, both DC and Marvel have something called the multiverse - this means that within their universes they have lots of paralell realities, with differing versions of the same characters. In the DC Universe, the main earth is called Earth 1 and this is the primary universe in which their stories happen. In the Marvel Universe the main earth is in the 616 universe. See here for a more detailed explanation on the DC Universe's history, linked to something called the crisis. Here is a post with some information on Marvel's history.

Writer - the person who writes dialogue and plans the story in a comic.

Yaoi - a genre of manga that means 'boys love'. It is the name give to books featuring male romantic relationships and/or sex. Some yaoi books that we've reviewed can be viewed here.

Yuri - a genre of manga that means 'girls love'. It is the name give to books featuring female romantic relationships and/or sex. A yuir book that we've reviewed can be found here.

This Date In History

2011-05-10T11:02:00.000-04:00

via Iconic Photos

The Completion of Transcontinental Railroad

Six years after work began in 1862, the laborers of the Central Pacific Railroad from the west and the Union Pacific Railroad from the east met at Promontory Summit, Utah. It was there on May 10, 1869 that Governor Leland Stanford (one of the “Big Four” owners of the Central Pacific) drove the Golden Spike on the special tie of polished California laurel (later destroyed in an earthquake).

The completion of the transcontinental railroad was the world’s first live mass-media event: the hammers and spike were wired to the telegraph line so that each hammer stroke would be heard as a click at telegraph stations nationwide. Predictably, various problems occurred; the other ‘Big Three’ decided not to take the harsh journey. The ceremony was delayed by two days because of bad weather and a labor dispute, thus rendering the date engraved on the spike (May 8th) wrong. Eventually, technical problems force the hammer stroke clicks to be sent by the telegraph operators. The spike itself was merely gold plated (gold being much too soft for the purpose), and was immediately replaced by an ordinary iron spike. A message was transmitted to both the East and West Coasts that read: “DONE.” President Grant announced the message to the Capitol. The country erupted in celebration. Complete travel from coast to coast was reduced from six or more months to just one week.

I have always assumed that Leland Stanford was one of the people shaking hands at the center. Boy, was I wrong! Two people shaking hands were Samuel S. Montague (left) and Grenville M. Dodge (right), respective Chief Engineers of Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads. In fact, Stanford hated this photo by Andrew J. Russell mainly because he was not in the photo. He subsequently commissioned a painter Thomas Hill to create a cleaned-up version which removed the cheeky champagne bottle, and included Stanford and his closet associates, including Theodore Judah, the visionary behind the Transcontinental Railroad, who had died six years earlier.

Happy Mother's Day?

2011-05-08T09:07:00.001-04:00

I was torn about continuing these holiday posts with this series when I saw this one....especially knowing what the Father's Day one will be....

It Was Twenty Years Ago Today...

2011-05-01T08:36:00.001-04:00

Last month, Gary at Crisis on Earth-Prime, posted the covers of every comic he owned dated April 1991. I absolutely LOVE the idea and am copying it!

While I won't come close to the insight or commentary Gary did, here are the comics I own from May 1991. With the exception of the last two Marvel Comics Presents issues, I am pretty sure I bought them all when they came out. And except for "Batman: Full Circle", "Armageddon 2001" and "Ironwood", I don't remember what ANY of these issues were about....maybe The Armchair Squid will be getting some more back issues soon!

Blogging From A to Z: Z is for...

2011-04-30T09:37:00.000-04:00

Z....The End.

The Superhero Alphabet – Aquaman To Zorro

Now that the Blogging from A to Z Challenge has ended....I find this...

Gary put out a call to identify J and Y which were the only ones I did not know.

Originally found HERE

Blogging From A to Z: Y is for....

2011-04-29T07:49:00.000-04:00

..."Y-The Last Man".

The first non "capes and tights" comic book I ever bought faithfully. The premise of Y: The Last Man is simple, what would happen if every man on the planet was simultaneously and instantly killed by a mysterious plague. Every man except one: Yorrick Brown. The 60 issue series follows Yorrick and his eventual band of travelers as they travel the world trying to find out why Yorrick is the only man to have survived the plague.

Blogging From A To Z: X is for....

2011-04-28T16:30:00.000-04:00

X-Men....especially the John Byrne era.....great art and great stories....

Blogging From A To Z: W is for...

2011-04-27T07:45:00.000-04:00

...Watchmen....the comic that blew my 16 year old mind...I can't say I understood it and there are some parts that don't hold up for me when I re-read the trade, but the impression it made on me and the subtle shift in my reading habits persist to this day.

Blogging from A to Z: V is for...

2011-04-26T08:09:00.000-04:00

...Vision....one of my all time favorite comic book characters. When I started collecting comics, I actively sought out all of his appearances. When I returned to comics in the last few years, I found out he has become virtually unrecognizable to me as a character. But I still enjoy reading his older adventures....

The Wilhelm Scream

2011-04-25T19:55:00.000-04:00

I should probably hold on to this for "W" in the Blogging From A to Z Challenge, but Topless Robot posted this compilation of 50 years of The Wilhelm Scream and I can't NOT post it!

I have always been vaguely aware of The Wilhelm Scream from its repeated use in the Star Wars films, but had no idea it was used THIS often!

For those of you who MIGHT not know, Wikipedia tells us:

The Wilhelm Scream is a film and television stock sound effect first used in 1951 for the film Distant Drums. The effect gained new popularity after it was used in Star Wars. The scream is often used when someone is shot, falls from a great height, or is thrown from an explosion.

The sound is named for Private Wilhelm, a character in The Charge at Feather River, a 1953 western in which the character is shot with an arrow.

Blogging From A To Z: U is for

2011-04-25T10:01:00.000-04:00

...Ultimate Spider-Man.

When I returned to comics after my son was born, I had heard about this series. I had never really collected Spider-Man previously and was intrigued by this take on him. It didn't hurt that I liked this "new" writer Brian Bendis and the art was pleasing. I hunted down every back issue and today it is the 6th highest issue total of any comic book series in my collection (with 137 to Batman's 143) and the only one I am still collecting.

Marvel's next big Ultimate Universe event is entitled "Death of Spider-Man" and if it is indeed the case, I don't think I will mind, as this series seems to have gone as far as it can.

Blogging From A To Z: T is for

2011-04-23T11:32:00.001-04:00

...Time Bandits.

One of the first movies I ever saw multiple times in the theater (along with 9 to 5 the previous year, and Dragonslayer during the summer of the same year as Time Bandits.) I love everything about this movie, from the opening sequence through to the end song and little snippet after the credits.

Blogging From A To Z: S is for...

2011-04-22T06:53:00.000-04:00

Star Wars...first movie I ever saw in the theater....made me the geek I am today!

Blogging From A To Z: R is for...

2011-04-21T07:29:00.001-04:00

...Red Sox.

Blogging From A To Z: Q is for

2011-04-20T09:05:00.003-04:00

...Quantum Leap.

This was MY first science fiction television show. Yes, I had seen the Original Star Trek in reruns and had vague memories of the original Battlestar Galactica series. I did watch some of Star Trek: The Next Generation when it aired, but I lost track of it when I went to college and always considered it part of the original show.

Quantum Leap was all mine! I had no one to watch it with nor share it with but it lit the fire for the fantastic for me that continues to this day.