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Showing posts from March, 2009

Sorting comics is hard.

Given that there are often at least two people with authorship over a comic, and that these comics sometimes star franchise characters, it becomes hard to sort comics in a meaningful way. Going alphabetical-by-title will split up the works of authors, and often break up series. Alphabetical-by-author splits franchises and (sometimes) series, as well as leaving one to decide whether to sort by writer or artist. Switching between styles leaves a bookshelf with no logic, which can even confuse the person who placed the tomes there, and almost defeats the purpose of sorting in the first place. Like the earlier Beck problem , there is no easy solution to this petty issue, which arises from something I enjoy, albeit indirectly.

A Forest view

I'd like to thank Frank Miller for lending me this scarf. This, by the way, is from a really bad scan.

I am so, so very ambivalent about Beck.

Nevermind his stage name messing with my attempts to talk about Jeff Beck from time to time. I can live with that. But I cannot stand Guero or 'Loser', and can only tolerate Odelay due to distance of time. On the other hand, I like Modern Guilt , and think Midnight Vultures , Sea Change , and Mutations are brilliant. Beck is, therefore, one of my favourite and least favourite musicians. He presents a problem when filling out lists for sites like this or Facebook. Should I just list his albums I dig? And if I do that, should I do so for other artists? I know I'm overthinking this, but there is no way to happily solve this matter, as far as I'm concerned.

That was a fatal combination.

Villains! This is what happens when you watch too much Fist of the Northstar !

Will G. W. Bush era culture make sense to people years from now?

Listening to Sage Francis's 2005 album, A Healthy Distrust . The opening track, 'The Buzz Kill' , is, among other things, about an American denial of supposedly quintessential American values via our rhetorical offensive on the French. 'Freedom fries' are referenced, but never mentioned. These are juxtaposed with '50s-sounding clips about 'the Sage', a supercomputer protecting America from the nuclear threat of the Soviet empire. This is (sadly) complex enough to render its meaning obtuse to many. But how will future generations of those smart enough to unravel the song interpret it? If America gets the break it so clearly desires from the general feel or effects of the Bush era (perhaps as was afforded those of my generation with the fall of the USSR and its walls), how will a girl who's ten now understand Sage's lyrics when she's twenty and getting into hip-hop? Back, then, to the titular question. Those of us who were paying attention at t

The human race is awesome.

Some will counter by calling humanity a cancer upon this earth. Fie. Nature, for all its beauty is not ethically pretty. Life feeds on life. The world-without-man is no guide for moral living. It is, by and large, amoral. The awesome power of humanity is only further evinced by its impact upon the globe. Consider its scientific feats, its aesthetic achievements, its incredible willingness to crash in upon itself through war and economic strife. Humanity's arm is as God's. It's voice thunders across the globe. It is decked in majesty and excellency, arrayed with glory and beauty. It casts abroad the rage of its wrath. It looks upon every proud beast, and debases him, bringing him low, and hiding him in the dust; binding his face in secret. Even the Christian God would confess man is capable of bringing about his own salvation. --Further rambling which may readily be ignored:-- But, while the human race is amazing, most humans are less impressive. Most humans kind of suck. So