Blog Horse

Fell off the blog horse this week. Work got very hectic, and the weather took a famous turn around these parts. Between the ice, the editing, and everything else I just couldn't keep up.

My reflections on the inauguration are forthcoming. I started working on it last week and realized it could be even better than I anticipated. Look forward to it!

In the meantime, here are some things I think you should know about.
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George Herriman has finally been immortalized and digitized. Take a look at this fascinating digital shrine to him and his seminal creation: Krazy Kat.

For those unaware, Krazy Kat is a delightfully surreal comic strip from the 30's/40's based around a simple premise: Ignatz the mouse throws bricks at Krazy Kat, which Krazy takes as signs of affection, and Offica Pup tries to intervene on Krazy's behalf to win her heart.

With this simple, Sisyphusian triangle at its core Herriman was able to experiment wildly with the setting and the dialogue eventually creating a bizarre desert world with it's own inflected language for the residents. Like Pogo, Lil' Abner, and the writings of Mark Twain, the language and setting become almost as important (if not more so) than the stories themselves.


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From out of nowhere comes SPACE GIRL! In the proud tradition of newspaper adventure comics (see: Flash Gordon, Prince Valiant) Travis Charest (who I know I have seen the art of, but can't remember where) gives us a beautiful side project that is sure to please. Though it has older, prouder roots, I cannot help being reminded of the occasional Calvin and Hobbes feature SPACE MAN SPIFF! In fact, I am almost certain that Waterson did a panel identical to Space Girl! #3.

It's a hoot.


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Noted friend and artist Kris Jacque has a moving reflection on the end of VHS casettes. The only thing I can add is:

Remember duplicating bootleg anime tapes to exchange with friends? Remember taping every episode of the Simpsons between 1991 and 1998? I do.
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Gorgeous photos of the most destructive devices made by humanity. Beautiful and terrifying. A must-see.


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And to cleanse your pallet: a car covered in singing fish. It even has a conductor.

A Journey

Sometimes I forget that the primary purpose of this blog is to reassure the world that I am, in fact, still alive.

I am mere moments away from climbing aboard Bucephalus and embarking on a journey westward, to the quaint village of Chicago Town. Claire has arranged tickets for me to see an opera featuring Rene Flemming (sic), and so the journey begins.

UPDATE!
1. The Gargoyle is done! Issue four is ahead!

2. My classes have all met at least twice now and things seem alright. Sure, I have complaints, but it's not going to be too painful a semester.

3. It's lunch time!

So I had better eat.

More upon my return!

A Moment

I think I am going to take a little bit to continue kicking back.

Back soon -- promise!

Things I've Said

I know, I am way off the schedule that I hinted in the last post.
But I have a really good excuse this time.

The whole alum thing last week dominated my time, but it was completely awesome. I love the alums - there will be more on this later, and I do promise that.
Anyway, the Alums were here and Kris was staying with me (RAD!) but that meant we got no work done on the issue that weekend. So we've been burning the midnight oil all week to layout the issue and also do fun things -- like carve pumpkins.

We just finished. The issue is entirely done. We're doing the copy-edit corrections Friday afternoon, and it will be sent to the printer's before end of business tomorrow.

I'm going to sleep so well.

Quick!

Last night just did not happen in terms of the Blog - my apologies! I did, however, write a pretty awesome paper, so I think it's a worthy tradeoff.

RESERVE THIS SPOT FOR A POST - SOON!