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8 November 2005
[comics] The T.M. Maple Memorial Leaf Pit — a website on the King of 80’s Comic Letter Hacks. ‘…a legendary Canadian letter hack who wrote thousands of letters to comic book letter columns through the years. Burke first started writing letters in 1977 as “The Mad Maple”, but Tom DeFalco, in order to get around a new stipulation of the time at Marvel (thanks to Jim Shooter) that pseudonymous letter writers couldn’t get published, shortened it to “T.M. Maple” to sound like a real name. His letters kept getting printed, and Burke liked the new name, so he kept it for the rest of his letter-writing career.’ [via Progressive Ruin]
[tags: Comics][ permalink][ Comments Off on An Appreciation of T. M. Maple – an 80’s Comics Letter Hack]
9 November 2005
[books] The Curious Case of Malcolm Gladwell — profile of the author Blink … ‘Henry Finder says that Gladwell’s “real accomplishment is to develop a new genre of journalism — ‘a Gladwell piece.’ Everybody knows what you mean by that — a piece with an argument that is bound together by narrative and character, which often makes you take a second look at things you take for granted…”‘
10 November 2005
[comics] Alan Moore on Terrorism, America and Britain: ‘…You have to remember that over here there were teenagers being taken out of cellar bars in separate carrier bags all through the ’70s and ’80s because of the war in Northern Ireland. In that case, the IRA were largely being supported by donations from America. That was why I was a bit worried when George Bush said he was going to attack people who supported terrorism, I thought, oh my god, Chicago is going to be declared a rogue state and they’ll hunt down Teddy Kennedy.’
13 November 2005
[books] If You Haven’t A Clue — profile of Ben Schott … ‘The curious thing about Schott is that, despite his arcane tastes and instincts for privacy, he has a highly marketable persona: the blend of self-assurance and innocence you find in polished talkshow guests, and a nice turn of phrase. (“Google is about as good as going into the street and saying, ‘Does anyone know how much the registration threshold for VAT went up?’ And someone goes, ‘I think it’s 49,000.’ And you go, ‘Oh, 49,000, great.’ That’s Google.”)’
14 November 2005
[blogs] Rachel from North London … ‘This blog was started to provide a place to continue my online diary that I started after surviving the 7/7/2005 London bombings, when I was travelling in the first carriage of the Picadilly line tube from Kings Cross to Russell Square. The bomb went off in my carriage, 7 feet behind me in carriage 1. 26 people died in that blast and dozens were maimed and wounded.’
[blogs] Diary of a London Cokehead — another UK Blog … ‘Soooo, Benny scale of Fuckedness = 900… Well done that man!!’
16 November 2005
[comics] The Killing Joke Script — the first 40 pages from Alan Moore’s script … ‘As far as the characters themselves go, I’ll describe them in detail when they make their appearances, but my only general note would be that like the landscape and the various props, they have a sort of timeless and mythic quality to them which doesn’t fix them firmly in any one age-range or time-period. The Joker looks either old or badly depraved, but then he’s always looked that way. The Batman is big and grim and older than we are, because as I remember the Batman he’s always been bigger and older than I am and I’ll fight any man that says different.’
17 November 2005
[comics] Grant Morrison’s Six Rules for Writing “All-Star Superman” … ‘PLAY CLARK AS A ROLE WITH A GOAL – We’re playing Clark as a big, clever country guy who’s used to wide-open horizons and who can’t seem to move in a confined space without knocking something over. The real wizardry is in Frank Quitely’s art, which captures a lot of physical nuances and subtle body language that previous Superman artists have often overlooked in their portrayal of Clark. He’s not just Superman with glasses on. He’s a performer. He allows Superman to experience humility, among other things.’ [Related: Official Preview from DC]
[blogs] The New Commentariat — the Guardian on the UK’s Political Blogs … ‘Britain’s bloggers are divided not just by ideology, it turns out, but by their perception of their own importance: while Samizdata proclaims that blogs are the future, for example, Oliver Kamm insists they are an essentially parasitic medium, that can only exist insofar as it feasts on the output of traditional media.’
18 November 2005
[books] Blink: The Movie — Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink to be turned into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio?! ‘…we were curious to hear what [Gladwell] had in mind for the movie. He tells us, “It takes a single character from Blink — Silvan Tompkins — and fashions an entirely new story around him, about what it means to be someone who can read other people’s thoughts.”‘
20 November 2005
[shops] Your Life in their Hands — The Observer goes behind the scenes at Muji. ‘…here on the second floor of the Yurakucho store I’d stumbled across a neat display of Muji Earthquake Emergency Packs. The black, 6,300 yen, zip-up cases open to reveal a wind-up torch/radio (in violently bright orange – not very Muji), a white towel, two small bottles of water, wet-wipes, a candle, plasters, a collapsible water-collecting bag, a roll of packing tape and, lastly, a pair of folding slippers…’
[music] 99 Luftballons, Side by Side Comparison — a comparison of the German and English Translations of Nena’s 99 Red Balloons … ‘If you have some time for me… Then I’ll sing a song for you… ‘ vs. ‘You and I in a little toy shop… buy a bag of balloons with the money we’ve got…’
[tags: Music][ permalink][ Comments Off on Translating the 80’s song 99 Red Balloons…]
21 November 2005
[travel] Blogjam in North Korea — Fraser visited the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and produced some great reports… From Day Four: ‘…[We are] taken to the Arch of Triumph, built in 1982 and (as we’re repeatedly told) three meters taller than its more famous Parisienne counterpart. The construction is dedicated to “the home return of the Great Leader Kim Il-sung who liberated Korea from Japanese colonialism”. To be honest, there’s not much that this fella didn’t do.’
22 November 2005
[science] An Appraisal of the Utility of a Chocolate Teapot … ‘Events started to diverge from the course expected of a standard teapot in a very short timescale. The first evidence of loss of containment was observed at approximately T+5s, in the form of a major leak in the vicinity of the handle. By T+10s major structural failure was clearly in progress…’
23 November 2005
[graffiti] The Writings on the Stall — website of writings found on toilet walls … ‘This toilet paper is like John Wayne. Tough as nails and don’t take shit off nobody.’
25 November 2005
[comics] Amazing Heroes #176 Cover — in an interview Grant Morrison points out the Greatest Ever Line in Comics: ‘It was really a traumatic period, crammed with adolescent horrors. But all the stuff in St Swithins Day has come out of that time. The whole strip is lifted from my teenage diaries. I actually found the greatest ever line in comics in one of those diaries. It’s the first time that a character has ever just sat down and said, “Why am I such a wanker?” That came from the 1979 diary, some tortured moment on the M6.’ (from Feb 1990)
[football] The Long Goodbye — George Best summed up by Gordon Burns … ‘It seems remarkable, given his career of drunk-driving, philandering and domestic violence, and his multiple addictions to alcohol, gambling and sex, that Best only went to prison once. That happened in 1984 when, after failing to appear in court on a drunk-driving charge and resisting arrest after the police cornered him in a girlfriend’s flat, he served two months. But it’s an exchange that took place in the canteen at Southwark crown court before sentencing that has entered Best lore. His friends and defence team were staring into the bottom of their coffee cups, with nothing to say. Then George glanced across at them with a smile. “Well, I suppose that’s the knighthood fucked,” he said.’
26 November 2005
[ebay] Bayraider — a blog about eBay from Shiny Media … ‘You Flog It. We Blog It.’
27 November 2005
[distraction] The Scribbler — fun, web doodling toy (which has just reminded me to link to Doodleblog)
28 November 2005
[microsoft] Use Excel? A couple of good blogs from Experts: Daily Dose of Excel and Andrew’s Excel Tips.
[bbc] BBC pulls plug on Dalek Lesbian Romp Flick — DVD pulled from eBay … ‘The director of Terry Nation’s estate, Tim Hancock, told the paper: “The reason the Daleks are still the most sinister thing in the universe is because they do not make things like porn. They weren’t ever intended to be sexual creatures. It’s simple, Daleks do not do porn.”‘
29 November 2005
[celebs] Finding Stalking Billie Piper — a Blogger’s Odyssey in search of Billie Piper … ‘Previously: Triforce decides it wants to find Billie Biper. Uses Google. Tracks down approximate location. Decides to go drinking and find her. And keep her.’
[comics] I’ll Thank You Not To Call My Collection Of Sequential-Art Erotica ‘Dirty Comics’ — a classic Onion: ‘…your familiarity with comics is so limited, you couldn’t identify Aquaman’s wife without recourse to the Justice League FAQ! To think I believed you capable of appreciating the works of the finest erotic artists working in the medium today!’
30 November 2005
[myspace] The Hit Factory — Wired on MySpace … ‘[MySpace] encouraged creativity to the point of chaos. For MySpace’s mostly young demographic, their pages were multimedia outgrowths of their jackets, lockers, and notebooks – a place for band stickers, poems, personality quizzes, R-rated photos, and anything else HTML allows.’
1 December 2005
[comics] Where’s Barry? — Barry Allen isn’t Dead. He’s just Resting… ‘Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash, has been called “DC’s first official saint.” He died saving the entire universe, after all, and to avoid cheapening that sacrifice he is likely to be one of the few comic book characters whose death will actually stick. However, his virtual sainthood has led to Barry being sighted as often as Elvis…’
[tags: Comics][ permalink][ Comments Off on Barry Allen – the Elvis of the DC Universe?]
2 December 2005
[comics] The Dawn of Dilbert — online version of the original Dilbert submission package which Scott Adams sent to various cartoon syndicates – includes 50 Strips … ‘Synopsis: Dilbert is an engineer. He is about thirty, and works at an undisclosed high-tech company in Northern California. He lives with his dog, Dogbert, who bears a striking resemblance to Dilbert (including glasses and the ability to speak). Dilbert is very intelligent and kind-hearted, which makes him particularly ill-suited for life on this planet. Dogbert is also intelligent, but with a cynical edge. In contrast to his master, Dogbert has such a simple, yet keen understanding of human nature that his perceptions seem ridiculous to Dilbert.’
4 December 2005
[web] When Murder Hits the Blogosphere — this actually should be titled “Murder on MySpace”. ‘…[Kara Borden’s MySpace] page was brightly colored with pink-lined black boxes listing her friends and hobbies, a rainbow striped white background and a picture of her in a pink top, smiling with lips closed to hide her braces. She listed her interests as soccer, talking on the phone, the beach and partying. “Books are gay,” she wrote. She lied about her age, listing it as 17. A few hours later she allegedly stood by as her boyfriend, David Ludwig, 18, shot and killed her parents.’
[food] Why McDonald’s Fries Taste So Good — exerpt from Fast Food Nation … ‘[As] he opened each bottle, I dipped a fragrance-testing filter into it — a long white strip of paper designed to absorb aroma chemicals without producing off notes. Before placing each strip of paper in front of my nose, I closed my eyes. Then I inhaled deeply, and one food after another was conjured from the glass bottles. I smelled fresh cherries, black olives, sautéed onions, and shrimp. Grainger’s most remarkable creation took me by surprise. After closing my eyes, I suddenly smelled a grilled hamburger. The aroma was uncanny, almost miraculous — as if someone in the room were flipping burgers on a hot grill. But when I opened my eyes, I saw just a narrow strip of white paper and a flavorist with a grin.’
[comics] Intellectual Marijuana: Comics and their Critics — an essay on the perception of comics by “intellectuals” in America during the last Century. Marya Mannes: ‘Every hour spent in reading comics is an hour in which all inner growth has stopped.’ [thanks John]
[tags: Comics][ permalink][ Comments Off on Reading Comics Stunts Your Inner Growth]
5 December 2005
[politics] CIA Sabotage Manual — used in Central America in the 1980’s – reminiscent of Jack Chick. [via jzw] 
6 December 2005
[comics] Interview with Brendan McCarthy … ‘I was sitting in a taxi with Grant [Morrison] – we’d got pissed at a comic convention and he was saying he couldn’t think of a headquarters for the Doom Patrol. So I said – what about the Beatles in a Hard Day’s Night? They used to live in that house where they were all connected together. I don’t know if you remember the sequence, but the Fab 4 lived in 4 terraced houses that were basically hollow inside so it was one giant house. So I said – why don’t you make it so that they live on a street and the street moves around and hides among other streets? It fit into the surreal Doom Patrol style? We started talking about streets and I said – you know what’s bugged me all my life? It’s that that the singer Danny Le Rue – he’s basically called Danny the Street – isn’t that just a fucking weird name? Why don’t you call it Danny the Street and make it a transvestite cross-dressing street?’
[bdj] Sex: An interview with Belle de Jour – Part 1 | Part 2 … ‘Q: How close is your own life to that of Belle de Jour as we know her as a percentage? A: The aspect of my life that was reported in the book is probably within 95% correct – obviously some dates and locations had to be changed to protect my and others’ anonymity. However, there is a very large part of my life that was not involved with the book at all.’
7 December 2005
[blogs] Nick Robinson’s Newslog — apparently the first official Blog on BBC News.
8 December 2005
[food] The London Review of Breakfasts — a guide to the best breakfasts in London… ‘We love the hungry hours of anticipation before we decide on a venue. We love the splendid taste of expertly cooked, herb-filled sausages, the aromatic texture of crispy bacon, the burst of yellow yolk as a knife breaks the surface tension. We love piping hot beans, buttered toast and squidgy grilled tomatoes. We love to wash it all down with a reassuring cup of tea…’ [Related: eggbaconchipsandbeans]
9 December 2005
[comics] Comic Book Habit — from Toothpaste for Dinner … ‘I found this comic book in your room… before this becomes a habit, I want you to think very carefully about this, and ask yourself if you want to get addicted…’ [via scans_daily]
11 December 2005
[quote] “The Church says that the Earth is flat, but I know that it is round. For I have seen the shadow of the earth on the moon and I have more faith in the Shadow than in the Church.” — Ferdinand Magellan
12 December 2005
[london] Evening Standard Headline Crisis 2005 — I’ve been taking pictures of the Evening Standard’s Headline Posters and posting them on Flickr for about a year now… 
Click on the images for the full set
13 December 2005
[news] Cardiff Terrifies Me — headline posters from the South Wales Echo … ‘CARDIFF – Muslim Pupils in Sausage Roll Blunder’ [via Metafilter]
[comics] Dr. Fredric Wertham’s Weblog — the infamous anti-comics crusader has a posthumous blog (he died in 1981) … ‘Flooding the market with love-confession comics is so successful in diverting attention from crime comic books that it has been entirely overlooked that many of them are crime comic books, with a seasoning of love added. Unless the love comics are sprinkled with some crime they do not sell. Apparently love does not pay.’
14 December 2005
[news] Suburb Lawyer Shoots Pirates — a North London Headline Crisis from Sashinka.
15 December 2005
[movies] Letters to Walken — amusing Christmas Letters to Christopher Walken … ‘Mr Walken, Please, will you come Dance at my Birthday Party?’ [via linkbunnies.org]
16 December 2005
[movies] Vision of Hell — a Guardian article which asks: What Makes a Great War Film? … ‘It is easy to understand why Jane Fonda abominated The Deer Hunter. The Vietnamese characters are not sympathetic or deep, the American soldiers are, and the movie ends with the survivors sitting around the table, singing God Bless America. But that simplistic summary, and Fonda’s hostility, mischaracterise the subtlety and complexity of Cimino’s feature: the tender slowness with which he describes the home town the conscripts come from, which makes you understand the coldness of the American war machine, the depth of the betrayal involved in hurling trusting young patriots into an incomprehensible nightmare for which their upbringing has not prepared them, and the true, lingering nature of war wounds.’
17 December 2005
[flu] Jon Ronson: ‘Recently I mentioned here that I have a stash of Tamiflu, bought over the internet. I keep it safely in the medicine cabinet, even though I’ve appraised the situation and don’t believe that an avian flu pandemic will hit. I base this assessment on the fact that we didn’t all die of CJD, and also I’ve an idea that the sort of people who don’t believe in the imminence of a bird flu pandemic are enlightened freethinkers and that’s how I like to see myself.’
18 December 2005
[art] The Cat Pictures of Louis Wain — some examples of the Cat pictures of Louis Wain – a famous Victorian artist and schizophrenic. ‘…a foundation was set up for him by his peers (including the famous H.G. Wells) which enabled Wain to spend the last years of his life in comfort in private asylums in Southwark and Napsbury, where he continued to paint and draw his cats. Wain allows us a unique insight into the delusions and course of illness in a late onset schizophrenic.’
19 December 2005
[stalking] Stalking for Beginners — a Howto guide on ruining someone’s life … ‘After he fell asleep, I took down all the phone numbers in his cell while hiding in the bathroom. Mom, Dad, Susan, Rita, Jeff, and some guy named “Coke Delivery.” Real subtle, dude. I went back to bed with him and murmured “I love you.” He moved away from me. Everything was working as planned. He was getting stalked.’ [via iamcal.com]
22 December 2005
[survival] Important Question of the Day: Is it a good idea to drink your own urine? … ‘Dr Stroud says there is just one situation where urine might be useful – if, just as your ship sinks, you happen to be completely drunk. “Like you just had eight pints of lager and you were peeing like crazy,” he says. “Arguably, the first couple of urines, if you kept those, might just possibly give you more water than salt.” As for non-emergency situations, Stroud dismisses those who believe urine could be beneficial…’
23 December 2005
[toys] The Toy That Ate Christmas — the Guardian looks at the story behind the Roboraptor. ‘… when Roboraptor behaves “intelligently” you catch yourself feeling impressed, and when it doesn’t, you catch yourself responding as you would to a clumsy toddler, rather than as you ought to respond to an assemblage of 132 plastic parts, 235 metal ones and 191 electrical components. But Roboraptor is not, primarily, intended to be cute. “This is the first robot that really has the ability to scare small children,” Tilden says proudly. “Our previous robots could annoy your cat. Roboraptor can hunt him.” All this is achieved with a radically simple design: the toy’s decision-making circuits are modelled on the chip in a musical Christmas card.’
[tags: Xmas][ permalink][ Comments Off on The Story behind the Roboraptor…]
27 December 2005
[ebay] eBay Auction: Cooked, Unwanted Christmas Dinner Item! … ‘You are bidding on One Cooked Brussels Sprout’ [via Random Acts of Reality]
28 December 2005
[comics] They Dealt with Dan. Now Dana and Yasmin target Dennis — the Guardian looks at Children’s Xmas Comic Annuals … ‘Al Notton is not convinced that comics of any kind have a future. “I was speaking to my seven-year-old nephew about comics recently, and he said, ‘Uncle Alan, what’s a comic?'”‘ [via Bugpowder]
[tags: Weird][ permalink][ Comments Off on Radio Program on Numbers Stations]
30 December 2005
[games] Mornington Crescent on Wikipedia — contains spoilers for the game … ‘Item #101 of the 2005 University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt was for one player on each team to “participate in an email adaptation of the classic game Mornington Crescent”, using the CTA rail system. Participants were warned, “We shall follow the standard Thurgood-Hamilton conversion algorithm, but banning semi-lateral shunts.”‘ [via Metafilter]
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