365 T-shirts - the reasoning

This blog should be sub-titled: a journal of my life in geek.

I get my geek on with things about which I am geeky: comic books, Baseball, Ultimate, science fiction, my favorite bands, books I have read and loved, and Jungian psychology to name some of the most frequently traversed subjects.

I began this project simply as a way to count my T-shirts. I own a lot of T-shirts. But how many do I have? Do I have 365? We shall find out.

When I started this blog, I thought about how each T-shirt means something to me. I bought it for a reason, after all. I set myself the task to post an entry about a new T-shirt every day as a way to simply write something every day, a warm up for writing fiction, which is my passion. Writing is like exercise. Warm ups are good for exercise. But after completing a month of blogging about T-shirts, I have learned that this blog serves as a journal; it documents my life in geek, sort of a tour of my interests in pop culture. The blog serves as a tool for self-inventory, for assessment and analysis of self and the origins of self, for stepping through the process of individuation in catalogues, lists, and ranks.

The blog also made me aware that I have some serious gaps in my T-shirt ownership, and I am in the process of collecting some new T-shirts for several of the great popular culture icons that I truly love. Stay tuned.

I was also a bit surprised that people checked out my blog and continue to check it, read it, and even comment on it. I am very appreciative of this readership. Please feel free to share your thoughts in my comments section. I will respond.

Also, please note that I have moved the original introductory text to the side bar. And now, I present to you the most recent entry of 365 T-shirts: a journal of my life in geek. Thank you for reading.
(Second Update - 1310.24. First Update - 1306.05 Originally Posted - 1304.25.)

Saturday, April 20, 2013

T-shirt #30: Kid Flash: Where's Wally?

T-shirt #30: KID FLASH - The meaning of yellow - is it spring yet?

I had intended for today's blog to be dedicated to Superman in commemoration of his 75th birthday.

And then I woke up to snow on the ground.

Let me repeat that statement with emphasis in case you missed it: SNOW ON THE GROUND.

It's April 20th, by the way. Ten years ago, I was in East Lansing on April 20th playing Ultimate, and it was 90 Degrees. Not this year.

So, I have this funny thing with yellow.

For me, yellow means spring.

Maybe it's an Easter thing. Maybe it looks like sunshine. I don't know which is the core reason.

For some time, I only owned one yellow shirt (this one) as I tend to gravitate more to darker colors.

And in the spring, I wear the yellow shirt.

This one's for Kid Flash, though more in line with the cartoon animation versions of Kid Flash than the original comic book versions as seen in the images at the bottom of the entry. Kid Flash started out as Wally West, who took over as the Flash when Barry Allen died in 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths. West started as Kid Flash in 1959 as the nephew of Barry Allen's wife Iris West. The same freak accident that gave Barry his powers happened a second time granting powers to Wally West. After all, each hero needed a sidekick to fill out the roster of the original Teen Titans (along with Aqualad, Speedy, Wonder Girl, and Robin).

Though the death of Barry Allen as the Flash was a major comic event, the "death" of Wally West is a non-event. When DC rebooted its characters and their origins for the New 52, Barry Allen was no longer married to Iris West, and thus, Wally West did not existence (apparently). Currently,  Bart Allen -- Barry Allen's grandson from the future -- serves on the Teen Titans as Kid Flash.

Where's Wally? The fan community has managed to extract some answers about Wally West. Though the official DC line is that West is "benched," current Flash creators Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato claim to have submitted a proposal to deal with the character of Wally West. This is good news to a huge Kid Flash and Teen Titans fan like me.

I may have mentioned my love for the Teen Titans, and if I have not done so yet, I just did.
More Titans shirts to come.

And more of the yellow shirts here in the spring. I own more than one now.

- chris tower, hoping for a real spring and some sunshine, 1304.20





PS: Today's blog is dedicated to my sister and her husband and their 11th wedding anniversary. My sister always liked the Teen Titans. And she's more of a fan of yellow.