From the Chicago Sun Times
“So a coyote walks into a Quiznos . . .
Sounds like the start of a joke.
It’s not — although dozens of downtown folks got a good laugh out of it Tuesday.
A male coyote really did wander into the Quiznos sandwich shop at Wabash and Adams — in the Loop! — just before 2 p.m. Tuesday. Workers had propped open the front door for the warm afternoon, and in sauntered the roughly 30-pound, 18-month-old wild animal.”
Occasionally, I’ll get a minor epiphany, where I’ll realize a cool facet about something (usually music/movies/pop culture stuff) that to my knowledge has not been remarked on by someone. So, here’s a first post trying to convey my geeky excitement about one of these occasions. Hopefully you get at least 1/3 the pleasure from it as I did.
First of all, if you haven’t read the Watchmen, read it.
Okay, now that we have that out of the way, a little background. I used to be big with the comic book collecting and reading, mostly of the superhero variety. I was more into Marvel stuff, Spider-Man mostly.
I stopped collecting comix in the mid-80’s. The last comics I bought were a DC mini-series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons called the Watchmen, which pretty made every other superhero comic look like a big pile of superpoo. The comic is incredibly dense, with many, many references, puns, intricate storylines, all that stuff. It’s an impressive piece of work.
Anyways, I had a hankering to reread it again recently, and didn’t have the original comics on hand. I was able to obtain a digital copy of it (basically a zipped-up file of jpegs) and in quickly flipping through the images suddenly realized something I had never noticed when I was reading the actual comic.
There is this part where Dr. Manhattan, a very powerful superhero, has his sense of time all messed up, and he starts acting a little goofy as if he is not in complete control of his own actions. So, by flipping through the digitized images of the comic I noticed that in two consecutive pages the artwork is completely different except for two images of Dr. Manhattan, which remain completely still…
This is something I doubt I would never have noticed had I not viewed the comic digitally. For God’s Sakes, look at Dr. Manhattan’s word balloons in the second detail. Even those are in the same position!
Once again I geekily bow to the feet of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
I recently saw Elia Kazan’s 1957 film A Face In The Crowd, starring Andy Griffith as a drunk in a county jail, who through a variety of circumstances quickly rises to a position of power, predominantly through his charismatic behavior on radio and television.
It was the first time I had seen the film, and it had a lot of interesting echoes given the current situation the world is in. I’d recommend you see it if you haven’t, and see it again if it’s been a while.
I thought the movie was very well-made. Andy Griffith had a great scenery-chewing role, and Walter Matthau gave a nice early career performance.
The film had a pretty strong political message, which I took it to be mostly an apprehension to the new media (television) coming down the pike, and how it could be used by a common rube to sway the masses of common American rubes and possibly ruin our country.
I know a little about the politics of director Elia Kazan — he considered himself liberal, but testified and named names in the HUAC hearings in the 50’s. This film –and don’t get me wrong, I liked it — seemed really threatened about the rise of some form of populism, that could spread virulently through the airwaves of television and radio.
This kind of grassroots populism never really took root, at least via the medium of television. The best example I can think of this is when Ross Perot spent millions of his own money booking airtime to show us pie charts. People were excited, but then it just sort of fell apart. What’s wrong with being excited? Isn’t it offensive to paint the involvement of everyday Americans as a threat, or something to be ridiculed?
From time to time I’ve seen the mainstream media belittle the involvement of the American people. I remember seeing a puff piece on the NBC news where it showed everyday Americans running for President. Tom Brokaw chuckled at the audacity of American citizens attempting to run for office. Don’t they know how the political process works?
Now, decades later, people are somewhat empowered by the rise of the Internet. I don’t want to paint an overly romantic picture about it, but there seem to be more options and a give-and-take, perhaps the faintest whiff of a new populism.
One thing that the film sort of glosses over, or doesn’t make much of, is that Andy Griffith’s character is being shaped by various people in power in order to further their own agenda. I remember reading a while back about how neocon George Schultz convinced Dubya to run for President. The two situations seem very similar, except for the fact that Dubya’s charisma seems a little forced and manufactured. For me, this is the big threat — unaccountable people pushing chess pieces on a board, outside the realm of a democracy. But, for Kazan, it’s the rubes.
In case you weren’t aware, honey bees have been disappearing rapidly in the last year or so:
Colony Collapse Disorder [wikipedia.org]
Of course, the first thing that sprung to my mind was how “Colony Collapse Disorder” sounded like an indie or hardcore band name.
Here’s a few more bandnames, along with what I imagine they sound like:
Massive Bee Death
..sounds like..
The Rollins Band OR 10,000 Maniacs
No More Honey
..sounds like..
The Stranglers
Where Are The Honey Bees?
..sounds like..
Belle and Sebastian
So apparently to begin blogging one must actually do an initial post. So, here it is.
I was getting a sandwich at a local megachain grocery store with a coworker a while back, and I, for some reason, posed a “Dawn of the Dead”-inspired question:
If you were stuck in this grocery store for the rest of your natural life (and assuming your natural life would continue for several decades), would you be able to subsist solely on things within the store?
My friend indicated most definitely, and basically was able to convince me, though a nagging doubt still is in the back of my mind about it.
Now I find myself going through a mental exercise when going shopping (something I don’t really enjoy that much). If the world went all zombie very, very quickly, and I chose this store I was purchasing my Cheetos in to be my last stand, how long would I last? How long would I last in a Walgreen’s? Six weeks? Six months?
This mental exercise doesn’t need to be limited to stores having food. Imagine you’re stuck in a Dress Barn — what could you convert to weapons to hunt animals and kill zombies? The possibilities are endless! This might give you Scrooges some enjoyment on your next reluctant Xmas or Birthday shopping excursion.
the continuing saga of …
THE BEAST OF BERWYN
You cross your arms and legs, trying your best not to disturb Enos, the alligator.
Enos spots the bag of nuts under your thigh. He gently nuzzles you.
He nibbles at you playfully.
The nibbling turns into biting.
Your left leg is now gone.
As you lose consciousness, you hear Bubs moan, “Aw, EEEEEeeeeenos. Come on!”
THE END
There are many paths to adventure in this story. Try again and you may have more luck next time!
the continuing saga of …
THE BEAST OF BERWYN
“Bill, I can’t talk right now. I’ll come over later.”
“Okay, Arny.” Bill walks away.
You dash to the phone.
“Hello? Police? I have a dead body at my house. Thank you. Buh-bye.”
Minutes later an unmarked police car arrives.
A large, burly man dressed as a mime steps out.
“Sir, my name is Sergeant Andy. Please come with me to the station.”
You slide into the back seat, suddenly realizing you are sitting, once more, face-to-face with another alligator.
“Say hi to Enos,” Andy says.
“I know Enos. Enos is dead. I watched him die.”
“Hey, that quote is from Batman Begins!” Andy shouts. The alligator, startled, latches onto your head and rips it off in a jerking motion.
THE END
There are many paths to adventure in this story. Try again and you may have more luck next time!
the continuing saga of …
THE BEAST OF BERWYN
“Bill, I have a situation.”
“What is it? Holy carp! Dead clown! Dead cop clown!”
“What should we do? I don’t want to go to jail!” you cry.
“Calm down, Arny. Let’s think about our options.”
Several moments of silence pass.
“Arny, first things first. Let’s hide the body. Then we can think straight.”
“Where? In the basement?”
“No, not the basement. That’s the first place they look. Believe me.”
Bill taps his lips with his finger. His bathrobe is still unsettlingly open. “Let’s stuff the clown in the oven!” he exclaims.
“Before we do anything, I have to check my blog,” you say. “It’s been almost a day since I’ve been on.”
You rush to your study. Your laptop has been rendered inoperable by a bullet hole.
Do you…
1) Ask Bill to hide the body while you get your spare laptop from the basement
2) Ask Bill to get your spare laptop while you hide the body
the continuing saga of …
THE BEAST OF BERWYN
You turn the laptop over in your hand.
“Hmmm,” you say to yourself. “Doesn’t look like the hard drive is damaged.”
BANG!
You feel a jolt as a bullet shatters your spine. You fall to the ground.
As your life winks out, you comfort yourself with the knowledge that at least it was you, not your laptop, that took a fatal hit.
THE END
There are many paths to adventure in this story. Try again and you may have more luck next time!
the continuing saga of …
THE BEAST OF BERWYN
You dash to the kitchen and dial the local law enforcement.
“I’d like to report a shooting,” you say.
“Yes, we know,” says the voice on the other line. “Officer is en route. [CLICK]”
More screams and gunfire erupt outside. The sound of glass breaking somewhere in the house. Red and blue flashing lights suddenly flood your kitchen.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A few quiet moments pass.
There is a loud knocking at your front door. You cautiously make your way there and look out the peephole.
A sinister-looking clown in a patrolman’s uniform stands at your door, seemingly looking through the peephole straight into your eyes.
“Officer Bubs,” the clown announces. “Somebody call the poh-leeeeeece?”
Do you…
1) Open the door
2) Call the police again
3) Hide in the basement