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.)

Thursday, February 6, 2014

T-shirt #322 - Curious George Space Monkey



T-shirt #322 - Curious George Space Monkey

I clicked on the 1970s Nostalgia simply because I discovered Curious George with my sister when she was little starting in 1969. I do not recall having Curious George stories prior to her birth (though I may have) even though Curious George was published from 1941-1966 by "H.A. Rey," aka Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey.

I was never a huge fan of the TV adaptations or films.



But I do rather like the Jack Johnson album Sing-a-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George (2008). This is actually a good impetus to post some videos. Check them out farther below. I was a fan of this album even before meeting my wife, though she is a huge fan because is from Hawaii.


I have been in delay mode because my friend the Lord of Chaos has been visiting (seen in in pictures today and yesterday).

Because of his ties to the chaos realms, the Lord of Chaos also likes Curious George. When he was last here we reveled in our mutual affection of Underdog -- T-shirt #288 -- and it was from him that I obtained my QUISP shirt -- T-shirt #90. I group Curious George in a similar category of these types of childhood things.

Once again, I add to my category about letting go and growing up. Being adult does not mean that I stop liking Curious George.

In fact, Curious George is an excellent template FOR BEING ADULT. Many of the lessons that we need to guide us in life our found in our stories that are enjoyed by BOTH children and adults: Curious George, Winnie the Pooh, and Calvin and Hobbes.

Today's entry (mostly written two days later) is dedicated to things about which I am CURIOUS. Or more accurately, things about which I have been curious and sated my curiosity by investigating.

Or another way to express this theme is just all the stuff open in my browser right now and a few comic book covers.

Because there always must be comic book covers on this blog.

Is that a surprise?

Various thoughts....

I like pictures of the stuffed animals in the extreme foreground.

Liesel already owned a Christmas Tree ornament of the picture on the back of this T-shirt.

Right now, I feel like typing the following title because it pooped in my head (a typo I am not fixing):

The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

My dog just barked randomly. This happens sometimes. It should not happen when I am trying to take a drink of a full glass of liquid.

I am easily startled.

I have a spilling disorder.

I do not like dishes in the sink.

I often do not like to go buy groceries.

Today, the day I am writing this, which is Saturday, I had a massage.

The little stuffed Curious George has been stationed atop the daredevil toy box to the right of my current position in my office for sometime.

The larger Gund Curious George now sits atop the Kingdom Come Hawkman toy the left of my position.

I need little shelves high on the walls of my office to perch these toys. Once perched with toys, I will need the spray cans of air to blow dust off the toys.

I have not yet unpacked my small bobble head and plush beanie collection.

I have four bobble heads in my office: A Sleestak from The Land of the Lost, the Vision from The Avengers, Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet, and The B-9 Robot from Lost in Space (mint in box). I have a Harry Houdini and an Albert Einstein bobble among those packed in a box downstairs.

And now more curious items.




AMC Sets ‘Preacher’ Drama Adaptation With Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg & Sony TV

I have not read Preacher, so I am not sure how I feel about this. The news item simply provokes me to read Preacher. I have the first volume around here somewhere.

From the link above: "Preacher follows Reverend Jesse Custer, a tough Texas preacher who has lost his faith, has learned that God has left Heaven and goldbergrogenabandoned His responsibilities. He finds himself the only person capable of tracking God down, demanding answers, and making Him answer for His dereliction of duty. Accompanying Jesse on his journey is his former girlfriend and a friendly vampire who seems to prefer a pint in the pub to the blood of the innocent. On his tail is an immortal, unstoppable killing machine named the Saint of Killers – a western lone gunman archetype whose sole purpose is to hunt and kill Jesse."



Did I mention The Vision already?

Paul Bettany Cast as The Vision in THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

I am super excited that the VISION is going to be in the next Avengers movie. As I have already claimed, the Vision is one of my top five favorite non-franchise Marvel heroes.

As explained here: T-shirt #119: Doctor Strange.

The Doctor Strange blog entry was so huge that it bears repeating.
 The superhero list I made in that blog is important to this item and my excitement about the prospect of the Vision in the Avengers movie.

The story of the Vision and the Scarlet Witch falling in love and all the ramifications this pairing had in the Marvel Universe is the kind of story that the current Avengers comics are all lacking.

Trusting Joss Whedon to execute this properly as I do, I am thrilled to learn that these characters (plus the Witch's brother Quicksilver) will be in the movie as reported by your source for all that is nerd (and more): the blog of Charles Skaggs as linked above.

MARVEL TOP TWENTY NON-FLAGSHIP SUPERHEROES - MEN
Yes, here it is, the list you have been waiting for. It was difficult to make this list. I had to confine myself to male Marvel heroes who either did not have their own books or who had/have solo books but are not considered the pillars of the Franchise (like Spider-Man and Captain America). Doctor Strange heads the list.
  1. Doctor Strange
  2. The Silver Surfer
  3. The Black Panther
  4. The Vision
  5. Adam Warlock
  6. The Black Knight
  7. Son of Satan
  8. Iron Fist
  9. Killraven
  10. Falcon
  11. Ka-Zar
  12. Deathlok
  13. Hawkeye
  14. Black Bolt
  15. Ghost Rider
  16. 3D Man
  17. Machine Man
  18. Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu
  19. Quasar
  20. Captain Marvel

While I am delving, I noticed that the entry for  T-shirt #119: Doctor Strange also contained some content about the great game Magic the Gathering, which I have played three times in the last week due to the visit of the Lord of Chaos and my step-son Ivan's enjoyment of this particular game. I think that content bears repeating too.

MAGIC NOT MAGIC THE GATHERING

Given that I have written about my affection for and current playing of Dungeons and Dragons on this blog before, it should come as no surprise that I also played Magic the Gathering, the customizable "trading card" game. Though I think re-sale is a more accurate term as I have not seen so much trading where this game is concerned. I am not going to write about also playing Magic the Gathering, at least not today. In the mid-1990s, I was quite obsessed with the game. I made decks. I planned strategies. It all ruined a relationship (which was best in the long run).

So, at this point, I do not own a Magic the Gathering shirt, but you never know. If you have not figured this out, I like T-shirts.

Now, why am I mentioning MTG? Well, Dr. Strange is one of the most magic-oriented of superheroes, and magic makes me think of Magic The Gathering as well as the magic spells in D&D, the latter I borrowed many of the greater spellcaster/creators, such as Oshtur, Hoggoth, and the Vishanti for magic in the game. I mean, really, the "Crimson Bands of Cyttorak" and the "Flames of Faltine" are just too cool not to swipe and use in D&D.


DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING LINK OR CONTENT IF YOU HAVE NOT READ RED SHIRTS.

FX Adapting Sci-Fi Novel ‘Redshirts’ As Limited Series

I am very amused that Scalzi's book about how a 21st century TV show warps the reality of a future starship and its crew will be made into a 21st century TV show.

Is your mind blown, too?

OKAY YOU CAN START READING AGAIN.

For safe content on Red Shirts, check T-shirt #13 or read on. I am reprinting again.


If you have read to this point, then you are to be thanked. Whether you are a new reader or a returning reader, I am thankful for your patronage and for following my project. I promise not to keep you too much longer.

Scrolling back through the blog, you will find T-shirt #4 (The Gold Command shirt) and T-shirt #11 (The Blue Science/Medical shirt). As I confessed in those blogs, when the ad from NoMoreRack on Facebook snared me, I bought all three shirts. And, so, today April third, I feature the red shirt.

This shirt has special importance as I am just now finishing the audio edition of John Scalzi'sRed Shirtswhich is  narrated by Wil Wheaton. The novel has been nominated for one of SF's most prestigious awards: the Hugo Award for Best Novel. Scalzi is an excellent writer. With a fusion of influences from Star Trek to Heinlein, he is a funny, original, entertaining, and deftly-skilled writer of some of the best science fiction being published today. He is releasing his latest novel, The Human Division, as a multi-part series of episodes released via Kindle each week on Tuesday. I am also reading those and enjoying them immensely. Check out my Good Reads page for more information and mini-reviews.

Red Shirts, the novel, is hilarious on its own. Wil Wheaton's narration amps up the hilarity to 11 (on a scale of 1-10). If you take my recommendation and check out this book (and audio), then you may also love the retread of the inspiration for the Ewoks: Fuzzy Nation (also by Scalzi and also narrated by Wheaton).

For more from SCALZI himself and his fun blog called "Whatever" (and please note, Scalzi enjoys pie), look here:

SCALZI ON RED SHIRTS TV SHOW

It's actually safe to read the Scalzi bits if you have not read Red Shirts because Scalzi, unlike FX, does not SPOIL plot elements of Red Shirts in his blog post.

Okay, here's the last thing. I am burying this here because I am concerned about offending people. I don't think what I share should offend people. But I did not post to Facebook because I am just not interested in comments or fall out. Though do not let such an admission stop you, if you want to leave a comment here. I get so few.

I am just being lazy and pasting in the Wikipedia entry on Porpentine (which is archaic for porcupine).
It also provides contrast to break up my sections as it's the Wiki page. For references, follow the link to Wikipedia.
Porpentine (game designer)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Porpentine is a feminist video game designer, writer and curator. She is primarily a developer of hypertext games and interactive fiction.[1] Alongside VVVVVV developer Terry Cavanagh and several others, she is an editor for freeindiegam.es, a curated collection of free, independently produced games.[2][3] She is a columnist for online PC gaming magazine Rock, Paper, Shotgun.[4]Game design[edit]Porpentine's games are mainly built using Twine.
Howling Dogs[edit]Porpentine's 2012 Twine game Howling Dogs incorporates themes of escapism, violence and religious experience, though she has stated that it should be open to interpretation.[5] It won the 2012 XYZZY awards in the "Best story" and "Best writing" categories.[6] The Boston Phoenix listed it as one of their "Top 5 indie games of 2012".[7]During the 2013 Game Developers Conference, game designer Richard Hofmeier vandalised the booth he had been given to showcase his award-winning game Cart Life, spray-painting the words "Howling Dogs". He stated he wished to give greater exposure to Porpentine's game.[8][9]Jump up

I came across the following via, who else, WARREN ELLIS. This person, who goes by the Twitter handle of PORPENTINE is selling a "cute cyber book" called MY WITCH ANCESTORS DIED FOR MY RIGHT TO FUCK SATAN, I think, mainly, just to get your attention. Did it work?

The book itself (at least so far) is a strange collection of art images and writings that meld computer game lingo, strange colors, sex talk, and other ephemera into an eclectic and quite strange whole. I was curious so I purchased.

Check it here: LINK TO CUTE CYBER BOOK.



"WRONG TURN" - JACK JOHNSON


"THE SHARING SONG"- JACK JOHNSON


HIATUS TEXT: I am taking a short hiatus. A "hiatus" for the 365 T-shirts Blog does not mean that there will not be shirts or that I will skip posting on any forthcoming day. There will be shirts. But the shirts will not be exciting or the featured shirts will not require me to write a small novel to properly generate the content I feel is sufficient. I created a category for my hiatus so as to group together those "easy" shirts that I consider to be "hiatus shirts." The goal of the hiatus is to fill in many blog days with easy shirts in order to complete longer love letters to beloved popular culture icons on more special shirts and to write more complex entries AHEAD OF TIME. The daily grind is becoming too much and causing me to fall behind and to be forced to post incomplete entries. I am hoping that a series of hiatus shirts will allow me to catch up, get ahead, and stay ahead. Ideally, I would like to be writing the bulk of each entry three days ahead while always working on at least one other. I have a lot of great shirts to share before the end of my blog year (after all I was just given SIXTEEN shirts for my birthday). Stay tuned. I promise to post the more interesting and longer T-shirt entries as I finish them. Thanks for reading. BTW, this is the standard HIATUS TEXT that I will include in every "hiatus shirt" entry.

COVER GALLERY

These are just covers (and one splash page) that I downloaded lately from various sources. Random set. No theme. CURIOUS? Enjoy.


Jan 20, 2014
Iron Fist v1 #11 - John Byrne art: Rating and review by Pencil Ink, a vintage comic book artists blog & checklist.




NEW AVENGERS (2010) #11 (THOR HOLLYWOOD VARIANT)
Published: April 13, 2011
Rating: T+
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller: Howard Chaykin
Cover Artist: Amanda Conner
The past comes crashing into the present as the secret history of Nick Fury and the Avenger Initiative has come to haunt the New Avengers in the modern day. As one of the Avengers lays near death ... more



May 10, 2013
Power Man v1 #50, 1978 - The masthead heralds the beginning of a new partnership between the two heroes. Having his innocence finally proven, this special issue briefly retells Power Man's origin from Luke Cage, Hero for ...




Feb 03, 2014
X-men v1 #63, 1969 - Magneto reveals himself as he begins his conquest of the Savage Land. In response, the X-men join forces with the jungle lord Ka-Zar. Neal Adams' cover hints at the birth of a newly created mutant ...


Nov 23, 2011
Astonishing Tales v1 #16 featuring Ka-Zar, 1972 - Bursting through a comics page, Ka-Zar and his saber-tooth tiger Zabu reach out towards the reader in true heroic fashion. Jim Starlin's figures appear more cohesive due to ...



Jun 08, 2008
House of Mystery v1 #203, 1972 - Nestor Redondo's lengthiest DC tale yet tells of a crooked real estate tycoon and a rotund, mysterious old woman. Nicely illustrated in his classical style, the story's highlight is a montage ...


Jan 30, 2014
Iron Fist v1 #10 - John Byrne art: Rating and review by Pencil Ink, a vintage comic book artists blog & checklist.


Jan 28, 2014
Witching Hour v1 #21, 1972 - After finding treasure in an old Italian church, two GIs vow to return after the war to claim it. Nestor Redondo opens with an exceptional opening splash. The incessant barrage of enemy artillery ...


COUNTDOWN TO END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 43 shirts remaining

- chris tower - first published - 1402.06 - 9:59
Final Publication - 1402.08 - 20:22

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