T-shirt #359 - Sandman - Shakespeare - Tempest

TODAY'S COUNT: 06 blog posts remaining in the T-shirt year!!

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T-shirt #359 - Sandman - Shakespeare - the Tempest


Hello and welcome to one of the few remaining installments of the DAILY TRANSMISSION of the 365 T-shirts blog project.

A couple of things before I share the main content of today's post, which will be for the most part my review of The Tempest at the WHAT A DO THEATRE of Battle Creek.

But first two subjects: COSMOS and the BLOG JOURNEY/ BLOG OUTLOOK.

COSMOS

I missed the premiere of the new Cosmos program on FOX, but Liesel and I watched it tonight (which is actually last night as I am writing this a day later but time is dilated like that).

I had already seen some Facebook posts about the program, and one of the authors I follow, John Scalzi, wrote about it on his blog: JOHN SCALZI AT WHATEVER BLOG ON COSMOS, the series.

Like many, Scalzi was disappointed in the music, which was decent but the same caliber as the original Vangelis music. Since I read his reactions, I was watching for the asteroid belt during the tour of the solar system, and I have to agree: too many asteroids.

I did not know that Neil deGrasse Tyson was so well known in memes shared on Facebook. I am not well acquainted with the man, I must admit. Though I liked his narration quite a bit.

I agree with Scalzi on most points, except that the animation sequence featuring Giordano Bruno went long. I liked it. Though watching the original transmissions of the show conflicts with our watching of The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, I have set the DVR, and Liesel and I will surely keep up with it.

Here's a bit I liked best from Scalzi's blog:

But the main reason why the show works this time is the same reason why the show worked the first time — it’s unabashedly aimed at a popular audience. I’ve said before that one of the things I learned from the original series is that so much of science is understandable to the average person; I thumbnail it as “anyone can get 80% of any scientific topic.” That other 20% is what takes real attention — but if you can get most people 80% of the way there, just by speaking plain language and being engaging while you do so, the benefits can be enormous in the long run. This series is made to provide that 80%. 

THE BLOG JOURNEY - THE BLOG OUTLOOK

I could surely go on and on rhapsodically about the blog in each of these remaining blog posts. I could treat you to a lot of "Yipee! I am going to make it!" And then, I could close with a final "YIPEE! I MADE IT!!" But I suspect that will get tedious. I cannot promise to refrain from such ecstatic, prideful exhortations of glee, but I will try to keep these cries of joy somewhat minimal and low key.

In sharing about The Tempest today, I am reminded of what it seemed to mean to Shakespeare and why Neil Gaiman invoked it at the end of his run on the Sandman comic book as seen on Today's T-shirt. Shakespeare was putting an end to his magic when he wrote The Tempest, breaking his magic staff and drowning his magic book.

In a sense, I am doing the same thing as my magical year comes to a close. I had the merest glimmer of a notion that I dismissed as difficult and narcissistic, which I revisited after being diagnosed with cancer. Could I write something every day? This question plagued me the most. I needed to know that I could keep pace with a blog that would demand a daily installment. A secondary question also occurred to me: would anyone care? Would anyone read? I was less interested in the answer to this question, but I have been pleased with the results. My links do not always get liked on Facebook, and I do not get comments there or here on a regular basis, but I see activity, and I am inspired to do more writing and writing of other kinds (not just t-shirts) in the future.

In a way, I have woven my own magic spells in daily castings with this blog. I could presume to suggest that the spell worked on you, dear reader. But this idea is very presumptuous. I would rather declare that the spell worked its magic on me. I explored many aspects of my self and my interests over the course of this year of T-shirt blogging, and the spell I made shrouds me in comfort. I am more comfortable in who I am and why I am as well as where I am going. The blog has given me a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment that I was lacking. And now I am geared for more accomplishment and challenges and tests of my fire.

The analogy with the Tempest is not quite in sync. I am neither breaking my staff nor drowning my book. Not only will the T-shirt blog continue but my writing and my blogging will also continue. I will be somewhat relieved to no longer be tied--by lashings of my own making to be sure but still ones I took seriously--to daily transmissions. I will still broadcast at least weekly, if not multiple times a week, and I am planning to continue a daily writing regimen, but the daily transmissions will cease as will the need to post an incomplete entry let alone leaving entries incomplete (there are still six incomplete entries on this blog as of this writing). And though my regular transmissions will broadcast from my other blog, the T-shirt blog will continue since I still have shirts remaining that were in my possession when I started the blog project as well as a bunch of new shirts and plans for some extensive love letters, such as my post on the soap opera The Young and the Restless (yes, I am a fan), which has languished in various states of draft and incompletion since at least August if not earlier. I late updated the Y&R blog post on September 17th.

The Blog Journey has been rich and fulfilling, and the Blog Outlook promises good weather and favorable winds to propel me through the rest of this year. I hope you will stay tuned.

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THE TEMPEST

I am blessed with the opportunity to see great local theater, write my views, and have these published in The Battle Creek Enquirer. I saw a very special production Friday night that truly was a work of art. here's the link to the published review.

Review: 'Tempest' spirits audience away to magical world

Next, I will share the promotional text for the show, some promotional videos, and my unedited review.

Thanks for reading.

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WHAT A DO'S PROMOTIONAL TEXT - 

What A Do Theatre’s second production of the New Artist Series will feature Resident Company Member Tara Bouldrey as director and welcomes Chicago-based aerial choreographer Genevieve Lally-Knuth in this enchanting version of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” Set on a remote island the exiled Duchess of Milan, Prospera, plots to restore her daughter Miranda to her rightful place using illusion and skillful manipulation. The eponymous Tempest brings to the island Prospera’s usurping sister Antonia as well as the complicit Alonso, King of Naples, and his royal entourage. Three plots are intertwined throughout the rest of the play and are eloquently told under Bouldrey’s direction and Lally-Knuth’s aerial choreography.
“It was when Genevieve Lally-Knuth came to see “Back County Crimes” last January that the idea for this production was born. A Chicago-based performer, Genevieve has a long history with physical theatre, Shakespeare and aerial acrobatics. She was instantly drawn to the steel rafters that contribute to the unique performance space at What A Do,” says Bouldrey.
The new artist series strives to spotlight up-and-coming artists and allow for that art to be incorporated into elements on the stage. Bouldrey made the decision to take the original text and cut it heavily in order to establish the mysterious and magically masque-like atmosphere under which “The Tempest” was originally performed. This production is a must-see as the space, cast and production team are utilized to their fullest capacity.
Lally-Knuth states that, “The work is all done as an ensemble so that the finished product really showcases the strengths each actors brings with them. And I love that we all have such stock in the finished piece. We built it together. This is true ensemble work.”
This production features Kristin Marie Stelter, Averi Beck, Sam Friia, Joshua Olgine, Emily James, Rachel Markillie, Heather Cerridwen, Jared Sheldon, Vanessa Banister, Quinton McDougall, Stefani Lynn Wallace, Lars J. Loofboro, Tara Bouldrey, and Genevieve Lally-Knuth.

Performance dates are: March 14 & 15 - 8PMMarch 20, 21, & 22 - 8P

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The Tempest- Shipwreck

The Tempest- Teaser What A Do Theatre

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"The Tempest”
a production of What A Do Theatre
Attended Date: March 14, 2014
reviewed by Christopher Tower

Welcome to the storm. Magic, aerial choreography, and special effects merge in an organic aesthetic quite unlike anything seen before with the second production of the New Artist Series launched by the What A Do Theatre Company. Resident artist Tara Bouldrey collaborates with Chicago-based aerial choreographer Genevieve Lally-Knuth for a unique interpretation of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.”

Upon entering the unique space of the Dickman Road theater, the magical and other dimensional ambience of this special production takes shape. Large fabric curtains shield the performance space, painted with cabala and mandala, some adorned with runic or astrological symbols, which effectively shrouds the performers in the magical spells of the show’s main character. Eerie lighting effects and insistent, infectious music add to the other worldly feel as the theatrical journey spirits the audience away from the mundane world to a magical world, much like the characters are transported in what is considered to be Shakespeare’s last play.

The spectacle of this production is unlike anything attempted yet at What A Do or anywhere in the west Michigan area. As an organic work of art, a whole, this production of “The Tempest” is unique, powerful, and beautiful. Though not perfect in every aspect, the elements that recommend this production far and away outweigh those that would count against it.

For Shakespearean purists, some adjustments will be necessary as Bouldrey not only cut the script extensively but recast many of the roles, reversing genders. The re-interpretation works very well and fits the aesthetic of the entire show, though the performances do not always well support the interpretation.
Though in the original, the magician and rightful Duke of Milan Prospero and daughter Miranda are shipwrecked on an island after he was betrayed and cast off to sea by his brother Antonio, aided by Alonso, King of Naples, for the dukedom of Milan. Here, the magician is Prospera (Kristin Marie Stelter), mother of Miranda (Averi Beck), whose sister Antonia (Vanessa Banister) has conspired with Alonso (Rachel Markillie) to depose her from her rightful place as Duchess. Prospera’s servants, Caliban (Joshua Olgine) and Ariel (Sam Friia) remain male, though other characters see gender reversals, such as Ferdinand (Emily James) and Trincula, a jester (Stefani Lynn Wallace).

The core story survives. Prospera engineers the romance between his daughter Miranda and Alonso’s son Ferdinand. Caliban hatches a plot to kill Prospera with the drunken Trincula and Stephano (Lars J. Loofboro), and Antonia and Sebastian (Jared Sheldon) conspire to kill Alonso. This last plot works all the better now with Antonia as a woman thus entangling the two romantically, which is a reading of the relationships well supported in the original text.

Much of the original Shakespearean script is supplanted by choreographed sequences by Genevieve Lally-Knuth. The performing space features hanging fabrics and one hoop that are used in various ways for amazing aerial movement sequences. The storm that shipwrecks the cast on Prospera’s island and a later sequence in which Prospera ensorcels Alonso and his cadre are among the show’s most impressive scenes. The aerial choreography is reason enough to go see this show, but Bouldrey’s strong direction and smart choices with the Shakespearean text make it all the more worthwhile. The show flows artfully and exquisitely like a masterwork symphony due to the synergy of these two brilliant creators.

And yet, direction and special effects alone might not be enough to satisfy all audiences if performances were lacking. And though Shakespeare demands much of its performers, the majority of the performances in this show are awe-inspiring.

Left: Kristin Marie Stelter as Prospera;
right: Joshua Olgine as Caliban

Kristin Marie Stelter continues to prove that she is one of the most important and talented members of the What A Do company with her majestic work as Prospera. She is regal and frightening when the role demands it and aggrieved and miserable when stripped of her powers at the end of the show. Her work is sophisticated and a driving force for the production.

Joshua Olgine has proven many times that he is an extremely talented actor, but his work in the role of Caliban is mind-blowing. He is a consummate actor with a range so vast that he is transformed to an almost unrecognizable state in this role. Olgine contorts his body in ways only a yoga master could attain. He performs for most of the show in crouched position with his torso bobbing near the stage floor. His vocal work as well as movement in addition to his shaved head and body painted skin make his role one of the most special in the show.

Sam Friia as Ariel

Sam Friia turns in his best work to date in the role of Ariel. He is true to every moment, every nuance, and subtlety in this role. Averi Beck proves once again that she has talents beyond her years with impeccable diction and stature in the role of Miranda. Beck has achieved a quality of talent and mastery of the craft by the age of fifteen rarely seen in performers of her age. The drunken clowns played by Loofboro and Wallace are over the top hilarious and without flaws. And Vanessa Banister’s Antonia is sufficiently sinister early on and later redeemed as Propsera forgives her.

In nearly every aspect, this production of “The Tempest” is a complete and organic work of art. Direction, choreography, special effects, and performances merge into a two and a half hour spectacle of magic, power, and energy rarely seen on stages in our Michigan communities. Innovative, well-conceived, appropriate, and even true to the essence of the original despite the re-interpretations this production is a special achievement that repeats through March 22nd. Don’t miss it!

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this is the shirt
I am actually wearing today

OFFICIAL BOILERPLATE TEXT OF THE LAST TWENTY POSTS COUNTDOWN: Hi. Thanks for reading. I am posting this "boilerplate" text everyday for the last TWENTY posts in the T-SHIRT blog year, which started on March 22, 2013. I will close out daily transmission on March 21st, day 365 of my T-shirt blog-tastic extravaganza spectacular. I will give myself a short hiatus of total non-transmission or  publication for an as yet undetermined period of time, though I am estimating about two weeks. After my blog vacation hiatus, I will resume T-shirt posts on a regular basis, also as yet to be determined (weekly? Twice monthly?) to finish blogging about all the T-shirts that were not featured in the blog year. At some point, once I feel I am rolling along nicely, I will begin regular posting through my main blog: SENSE OF DOUBT. T-shirt posts will direct to the T-shirt blog from SENSE OF DOUBT. I will continue to post THE WEEKLY COMIC LIST, the features of occasional T-SHIRTS I AM WEARING THIS WEEK, book reviews, comic book reviews, and other popular culture nonsense as I have been for a year now but all will go up at SENSE OF DOUBT and some will direct back here to 365 T-SHIRTS. Ultimately, I will begin Internet publication of my fiction, primarily the comic book satire episodic story called POP! among other projects. So, in summary, 365 T-SHIRTS will continue though intermittently. SENSE OF DOUBT will host my main blog presence and fiction writing as well as links to any T-shirt posts shared here. I hope you will continue to follow me in my journey as a writer and a content provider. Thank you for your kind attention and time you have spent with me on this and/or any other day this year. I am humbled and blessed by your readership. - chris tower, blogger, originated 1403.02
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COUNTDOWN TO END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 06 shirts remaining

- chris tower - first published - 1403.15 - 19:57

Final Publication - 1403.16 - 13:07

T-shirt #348 - Kalamazoo College Alumni

TODAY'S COUNT: 17 blog posts remaining in the T-shirt year!!

T-shirt #348 - Kalamazoo College Alumni

Welcome to the 365 T-shirts blog as I count down my final entries. I appreciate your readership! Lots of pictures today plus blog recap. Check it out.

Today's shirt is another of my Kalamazoo College shirts, but since I have written about K-College quite a bit (and have more T-shirts in case I have something more to share), I am going to take this opportunity to write about something else, which, in all honesty, would still have been possible even WITHOUT a Kalamazoo College education, though such education didn't hurt.

I was already a dedicated writer before I went to college. Banging away on my Smith Corona (first the manual and later the electric), or on those rare occasions I could go to work with my father (sometimes on a Saturday) and use the office's IBM Selectric (don't let the name fool you, it was still a typewriter), I applied myself diligently to writing. I wrote many short stories in my youth, starting in fourth grade. I published my own magazine in junior high. Throughout high school, I wrote a column for the local village newspaper about magic called "The Wizard's Corner," which I serialized the adventures of an action hero/ escape artist modeled on Harry Houdini for most of my senior year. I wrote a couple of short plays. I started several dozen projects that I did not finish. In junior high, I spent many days writing comic book reviews for a magazine that I never published, but I did apply myself assiduously to long days at the typewriter. And after graduating, I wrote my first short novel, a love story meant as a gift to my high school sweetheart, an unrequited love. Then in college, I wrote three book length manuscripts: an autobiography, a postmodern novel, and a collection of short stories and poems.

The upshot being that producing large volumes of content is in my blood. And so...

It's time for another BLOG RECAP because I haven't done a full one in some time.

My concern at the moment regarding content on my blog is how I may limp to the finish line simply due to time constraints and being behind on posting entries.

Had I planned smartly, I would have applied myself better during my hiatus, saving time so as to work ahead, enabling me to finish strong with the final week or even two weeks of excellent posts full of worthwhile content. I like to think I provide something fun to read every day, but I know that some days my content is better than other days. I have taken to referring to my lengthy posts as "love letters," explorations of adoration and fan affection for some pop culture; however, these are time consuming to complete. The research alone is daunting and often paralyzing. I have several half finished entries of the longer, love letter variety that have been in the works for months, one of which is actually published and is still unfinished (stay tuned; I hope to finish it soon). Thus, had I planned better, or been possessed of more time, I would have banked at least seven such love letters to spoon out in heaping, sugary goodness in my final three weeks of T-shirt bloggery. Alas, this is not the case. And with work and other time demands, there may be more shorter entries than longer ones as I conclude, which feels very much like a limp to the finish line sort of ending: a whimper not a bang.

My current plan is saving these love letters for after March 22nd when I am no longer obligated (to myself mostly) to transmit a daily post and can take my time to craft meaningful, beautiful, adoring love letters to my most favourite popular culture artifacts. We shall see.

So, on to more blog recap. As you can see by this first list, I have more white T-shirts than anything else, though black follows closely and then grey. I am impressed that 58 of the shirts I posted were gifts and that only 38 of the shirts I posted were new, as in acquired since March 22 of 2013. Then again, I have a box full of over 20 new shirts that I have not posted yet.

SHIRTS BY COLOR/PURPOSE

Shirts by Color - White (91)

Shirts By Color - Black (72)

Shirts By Color - Grey (52)

GIFTS (58)

Shirts By Color - Blue (49)

New T-shirts (38)

Shirts I Made (31)

Shirts by Color - Red (24)

Shirts By Color - Assorted (17)

Long-Sleeved Shirts (16)

Shirts By Color - Green (12)

Shirts By Color - Yellow (12)

Pajamas (10)

Shirts By Color - Purple and Pink (8)

Dead T-shirts (4)

Work Shirts (2)

Also, there's always problems with accuracy. The colors should add up to 347, as today's would not be in this count yet. However, the colors add up to 337 shirts, which means I missed ten shirts somewhere along the way. So these numbers need to be examined with some suspicion.

I do my best to keep the categories accurate, but some have fallen low due to neglect and some are just missed. But generally speaking these numbers are somewhat accurate. At the very least, every post on this blog appears under at least one of the labeled categories.

TOP TEN CATEGORIES BY SUBJECT

Comic Books (105)

Just Logos and Symbols (56)

Sports (53)

Favorite Things (50) & Posts with Music videos (50)

TV and Movies (49)

Family (48) & Ultimate (48)

Music (45)

Comic Book Artists (43) & Cover Galleries (43) & Reviews (43)

DC Comics (41)

Books (36) & Friends (36)

SUBJECT MATTER

Please note that I considered ties as one item, so the above list is a top ten list with three ties in the fourth, eighth, and tenth positions.

It should be no surprise to anyone that comic books dominates my subject matter with the top slot at 105 entries. I use this category liberally so even when the T-shirt is not comic book themed, I have categorized a shirt as "comic books" if there is comic book content in the post. Glancing through the comic book category, I count eleven posts that are not comic-book themed shirts in the three dozen or more shirts, going back to posts made in October. I could get crazy and count the ratio of comic book content to comic book imagery on the shirt, but I would suspect that it's probably no more than a third of those 105 shirts that include comic book content apart from what the shirt depicts.

As for the overall number, 105 posts is fewer than a third of the posts so far with content dedicated to comic books in some way. So though most popular this still leaves 242 posts thus far (not counting today) that examined subjects other than comic books.

Those who have been reading my blog should also find it no surprise that over half of the comic book posts I made were with T-shirts sporting the basic logos and symbols of comic book character uniforms as I have said repeatedly that this is my favorite type of shirt, the replica of the hero or villain's uniform (though mostly heroes... I have few to no villain shirts).

Sports also takes second place in general subject categories, which again is a catch all category for content as well as the actual subject matter of the shirt. However, here the vast majority of shirts are either Baseball, football, basketball, college, or Ultimate, with a few weird exceptions, such as writing about sports with a Stereolab shirt.

Favorites logged in 50 times tied with music videos in the fourth slot. Music and posts with music videos are very close, meaning that I have five more posts with videos than shirts that specifically depict some musical artist. I am not surprised to see family as a frequent subject as well as Ultimate (tied in sixth), especially since for most of the year I posted at least one Ultimate shirt a week. Comic book artists rounds out the top ten with 43 posts. This is a category I added after I realized that there were times I would specifically write about the art in comics and specific artists. Though I have made lists of favorite artists by decade, I have not yet listed my favorite all time artists as I am not sure I can. Well, I can make the list, but reducing it to a top ten or even a top five may be too difficult for my poor, fandom addled brain.

(Here's the list again as I need to see it as I write so I figure you need to see it as you read).

TOP TEN CATEGORIES BY SUBJECT

Comic Books (105)

Just Logos and Symbols (56)

Sports (53)

Favorite Things (50) & Posts with Music videos (50)

TV and Movies (49)

Family (48) & Ultimate (48)

Music (45)

Comic Book Artists (43) & Cover Galleries (43) & Reviews (43)

DC Comics (41)

Books (36) & Friends (36)

Once I decided to go nuts with sharing comic book covers (mostly, though there are a few other posts in that category with a series of non-comic book images), I have managed to share cover galleries the same number of times as the artists and reviews all of which are tied in eighth and mostly because these posts would qualify in all three categories.

DC Comics beats out Marvel as I have many more DC T-shirts, not because I love DC more but because DC's Graphitti company (or the company licensed to produce DC Comics apparel, which is probably owned by Time Warner) did a better job, in the 1990s especially, of creating, marketing, and selling cool T-shirts.

I like seeing the synergy in both books and friends being categorized an equal number of times.

SECOND TEN (11-20) SUBJECTS ON THE BLOG

Lists-Weekly Comics Stack (34) & Women in comics (34)

KUDL (30)

Science Fiction (29)

Causes and Good Stuff (27)

1970s Nostalgia (26)

Hiatus (24) & Marvel Comics (24)

1960s Nostalgia (23)

My Oldest (21)

Baseball (20)

Blog Recap (19) & Concert T-shirts (19) & Places (19)

I started the Weekly Comics List before I was halfway through the year, so the majority of the year features this weekly post, which I plan to continue even after I complete the blog year. I like that it is tied with Women in comics, which may be a category in need of updating. That one may be underserved. KUDL is in the second tier as over half my Ultimate T-shirts are from KUDL but not all of them. I am slightly more apt to write about 1970s nostalgia, my halcyon era of age eight through eighteen, when I truly came of age and was most engaged in the popular culture world around me as a child. But the 1960s is only three posts behind that 1970s mark.

It's amusing that I have posted as many Marvel Comics shirts as entries I labeled as "hiatus." I am also impressed to see that twenty-one of my posts feature images of my oldest comic books. This is how I am collecting those comics for now, though I may throw them all into one blog post at some point.

After Ultimate, Baseball ranks as the highest numbered sports category, as it should be, because these numbers reflect my fandom.

And even before today, I recapped about the blog as often as I shared concert shirts or wrote of places, which is probably more interesting to me (like this entire entry) than to anyone else.

This is the shirt I am actually wearing today.

Here's the list of the rest with various favorite shirt pictures to dress up the list a bit!

THE REST OF THE LIST OF CATEGORIES BY FREQUENCY

Beliefs (18) 

College (18)

LOVE (18)

Humor (17)

The Blog Journey (17)

Detroit Tigers (16)

Lists - Music (15)

Rules of Chris (15)

Cartoons (14)

Hawaii (14)

Top Ten Lists (14)

Flying (13)

Just Good Stuff (13)

Lists-My Ten Best Blog Entries (12)

Writing (12)

Batman Related (11)

Grading Robot (11)

Star Trek (11)

Comic Strips (10)

Dinner Party (10)

Letting Go & Growing Up (10)

Lists-Artists (10)

Satchel (10)

episodic narrative (10)

Why T-shirts? (9)

fantasy sports (9)

Dungeons and Dragons (8)

Jack Kirby (8)

Posts with videos (8)

Work (8)

Fantastic Four (7)

Food. (7)

Gene Colan (7)

Superman Related (7)

Warren Ellis (7)

Wearing T-shirts (7)

1980s Nostalgia (6)

Computer and Tech stuff (6)

Jungian Psychology (6)

Lists-Superheroes (6)

Magic (6)

Science (6)

Self Care (6)

TPTA (6)

Toys (6)

audio books (6)

Athletics Shirts (5)

Chicago Cubs (5)

Christmas (5)

Detroit Pistons (5)

George Pérez (5)

Kickstarters (5)

Liesel (5)

CBLDF (4)

Comedy (4)

Halloween (4)

Identity (4)

John Buscema (4)

Kalamazoo College (4)

Lists-Random (4)

Space (4)

Theatre (4)

UofM (4)

football (4)

whisky (4)

Detroit Lions (3)

Feminism (3)

Games (3)

Jim Starlin (3)

NBA (3)

New York (3)

Star Wars (3)

Teaching (3)

Women (3)

romance (3)

Death (2)

Expectations (2)

Gay Rights (2)

Gratitude (2)

Introversion (2)

Lists-Recommendations for non-comic book readers (2)

Narcissism (2)

Ray Kurzweil & the Singularity (2)

Sassy women (2)

Satchel. (2)

The machine (2)

Vampires (2)

Venn Diagrams (2)

WMU (2)

Why I love Comic Books (2)

Aquaman (1)

Art (1)

Basketball (1)

Brands & Products (1)

Comics (1)

Fandom (1)

Horror (1)

Japanese Related (1)

Lists-T-shirts (1)

Memory (1)

My Videos (1)

POP! (1)

Pop Culture-General (1)

Relaxing (1)

Stupidity (1)

Survival (1)

The Internet (1)

The environment (1)

advertising and brands (1)

misanthropy (1)

my Father (1)

my Mother (1)

other people's shirts (1)

shirts with sayings (1)

the Future (1)

OFFICIAL BOILERPLATE TEXT OF THE LAST TWENTY POSTS COUTNDOWN: Hi. Thanks for reading. I am posting this "boilerplate" text everyday for the last TWENTY posts in the T-SHIRT blog year, which started on March 22, 2013.

I will close out daily transmission on March 21st, day 365 of my T-shirt blog-tastic extravaganza spectacular. I will give myself a short hiatus of total non-transmission or  publication for an as yet undetermined period of time, though I am estimating about two weeks.

After my blog vacation hiatus, I will resume T-shirt posts on a regular basis, also as yet to be determined (weekly? Twice monthly?) to finish blogging about all the T-shirts that were not featured in the blog year.

At some point, once I feel I am rolling along nicely, I will begin regular posting through my main blog: SENSE OF DOUBT. T-shirt posts will direct to the T-shirt blog from SENSE OF DOUBT.

I will continue to post THE WEEKLY COMIC LIST, the features of occasional T-SHIRTS I AM WEARING THIS WEEK, book reviews, comic book reviews, and other popular culture nonsense as I have been for a year now but all will go up at SENSE OF DOUBT and some will direct back here to 365 T-SHIRTS.

Ultimately, I will begin Internet publication of my fiction, primarily the comic book satire episodic story called POP! among other projects. So, in summary, 365 T-SHIRTS will continue though intermittently.

SENSE OF DOUBT will host my main blog presence and fiction writing as well as links to any T-shirt posts shared here.

I hope you will continue to follow me in my journey as a writer and a content provider.

Thank you for your kind attention and time you have spent with me on this and/or any other day this year.
I am humbled and blessed by your readership.
- chris tower, blogger, originated 1403.02

COUNTDOWN TO END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 17 shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1403.04 - 18:42

T-shirt #320 - Back-to-Back-Dogwood-Updike&Oates

T-shirt #320 - Back-to-Back - the Dogwood Festival - John Updike & Joyce Carol Oates


Today's shirt comes from an event held by the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival in 1994, which means the shirt is now twenty years old. The Dogwood Festival is a great arts event that is primarily known for its annual writer in residence program, in which a famous and well-published writer is brought in to give a talk and participate in various community events, including some classroom visits in the schools of Dowagiac, Michigan, where the festival is located. This feature a back-to-back event the Dogwood hosted in 1994 hosting both John Updike and Joyce Carol Oates within days of each other. I was lucky enough to attend and to write coverage for the Kalamazoo Gazette. The Dogwood gave me this T-shirt as part of the promotional materials to help me write my features and reviews.

Over the years, I have enjoyed the privilege of seeing many great writers at Dogwood, including Kurt Vonnegut, Michael Cunningham, Jonathan Franzen, Sara Paretsky, Michael Chabon, and my favorite author Margaret Atwood. One of the things I LOVE about the Dogwood Festival is that the authors are not allowed to read from their work in their public address presentation. The only caveat is that the talk must be about something of interest to the author.

Vonnegut's talk is one of the most memorable. He explained that we are put on this earth to fart around. He gave many examples of running errands in his neighborhood in New York, chatting up the store owners and postal workers and others he encounters in his stroll around the few blocks near his apartment. Because of her father's career and background, Atwood talked about science, mainly entomology, which was wonderful. Peppered with her experiences taking summer vacations deep in the northern Canadian "bush," Atwood painted lovely pictures and provoked all kinds of interesting things to think about.

I was disappointed with Michael Chabon's talk as he pontificated about his achievement of reading James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake and his study and contemplation about its slippery meaning. I was not very engaged with his content, which had little resonance for those of us (and I would guess nearly everyone if not strictly everyone in the room) who had not read Finnegan's Wake. Like most English literature students, I had tried to read it in college but soon gave up because of the daunting, seemingly indecipherable, text.

Throughout Chabon's twisty, erudite, somewhat inscrutable lecture, I kept thinking to Vonnegut, who had made us laugh with his simple and very true aphorism: we are here on this earth to fart around.

I was going to write about more books, but I am keeping with the shortness.

A WONDERFUL BOOK I HAVE READ RECENTLY

I just finished Gadget Girl by my friend Suzanne Kamata. It's a year for friends with books as another friend, Helene Dunbar, has a book coming out this spring, and then Suzanne has a second book coming out. I was excited to find out from Suzanne that she is already working on another book following the success of this one, a sequel of sorts.

I loved Gadget Girl. Once I really got going with the book, it was a real page turner, and I could not put it down. Aiko Cassidy is smart and sassy, and a real inspiration for young artists finding themselves. The story moves along, and Kamata's deft, literary sensibilities craft a riveting yet well-told story.

Here's text from Suzanne Kamata's website about Gadget Girl:

Aiko Cassidy is fourteen and lives with her sculptor mother in a small Midwestern town. For most of her young life Aiko, who has cerebral palsy, has been her mother's muse. But now, she no longer wants to pose for the sculptures that have made her mother famous and have put food on the table. Aiko works hard on her own dream of becoming a great manga artist with a secret identity. When Aiko's mother invites her to Paris for a major exhibition of her work, Aiko at first resists. She'd much rather go to Japan, Manga Capital of the World, where she might be able to finally meet her father, the indigo farmer. When she gets to France, however, a hot waiter with a passion for manga and an interest in Aiko makes her wonder if being invisible is such a great thing after all. And a side trip to Lourdes, ridiculous as it seems to her, might just change her life.

Gadget Girl began as a novella published in Cicada. The story won the SCBWI Magazine Merit Award in Fiction and was included in an anthology of the best stories published in Cicada over the past ten years.

"With GADGET GIRL, Suzanne Kamata beautifully captures the essence of what it feels like when you're learning to be who you already are."
                                 --Andrea J. Buchanan, author of GIFT and coauthor of NY TIMES best-seller THE                                                                                                                    DARING BOOK FOR GIRLS

"Anyone who has ever longed to come into their own will love Gadget Girl."
                                                                              -Leza Lowitz, author of Jet Black and The Ninja Wind

THE BOOKS I AM READING NOW

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Story - Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee

Rama II - The Sequel to Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee

BOOKS I AM PLANNING TO READ

For the Win by Cory Doctorow

BOOKS I AM PLANNING TO RE-READ

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Children of Dune by Frank Herbert

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

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.

COUNTDOWN TO END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 45 shirts remaining

- chris tower - FIRST PUBLISHED - 1402.04 - 19:46
Final Publication - 1402.05 - 19:26

T-shirt #307 - TPTA Corporate Olympics 1995

T-shirt #307 - TPTA Corporate Olympics 1995

Today's shirt is similar to ones you will see frequently in the hiatus, and I think this one is the best of the lot.

This shirt comes from my father's company, TPTA (Tower, Pinkster, Titus, and Associates) and its annual participation in a local corporate Olympics competition. I do not recall ever participating myself, but there were always extra T-shirts, and I got one (or sometimes two or three).

During the hiatus, I have decided to spread out what will be a longer essay on "Why T-shirts?" which is a topic that I have not really explored yet. I plan to start this exploration tomorrow with one item at a time.

As for today, I want to share one thing.

I started re-reading Stephen King's On Writing today as an audio book. This may be my third time through, maybe even fourth. I have lost track.

I am experiencing the book as an audio book, which is narrated by Stephen King. I like that he has done his own narration here. Not only is it a personal touch, since, after all, he wrote the book in first person, HIS voice, but also King has the chops to pull it off and make it work. Not all authors have the right voice, tone, inflection, and diction to make this kind of thing work. Neil Gaiman sounds good on audio as does Orson Scott Card. I am sure others do, too, but I have not heard too many.

I am not very far into the book yet, so I am likely to have some more observations to share before I am done with it. But one thing struck me. In his "Second Foreword," King claims that "most books about writing are filled with bullshit." He goes on to recommend Strunk and White's Elements of Style, which is never far from my desk, because "there is ... no detectable bullshit in that book." King tells his reader that he went with a shorter book for On Writing to strive for less bullshit (though not as short as Elements of Style).

As I revealed something in yesterday's blog entry that I have historically kept close to the vest if not outright lied about to cover my own shame and regret, I have a renewed determination and commitment to a "no bullshit" rule on this blog. I know I can go on at length and can be quite self-involved, but that's part of The Blog Journey. In fact, "no bullshit," which is my wife's number one motto, may take a place in the developing Rules of Chris.

As a side note, I have Rober McKee's Story in the bathroom and I am chipping away at it for the third time, too. Can you tell that I am gearing up for the actual "writing" (fiction) come the end of the blog year?

Yup.

No bullshit.

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.

COUNTDOWN TO END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 58 shirts remaining

- chris tower - first published - 1401.22 - 21:26
final publication - 1401.23 - 7:52

T-shirt #274: Captain Mar-Vell Logo

T-shirt #268: Captain Mar-Vell

Greetings blog reader. T-shirt man here. Day 268. Let me repeat day 268. No, I am not stoned. I am stone cold sober, and I just like savoring my achievement thus far. Granted, 268 is not a significant number, but I am simply amazed that I have posted a blog entry every day for two hundred and sixty eight days. Okay, faithful readers. Yes, I know. Though I published yesterday's entry on U2 yesterday, it was unfinished when I originally published on Thursday. I finished it today, though, and notified the necessary social media outlets. Now, again, with today's, the original posting was "under construction." Believe me, the omnipotent... (um, okay, if I was omnipotent, I wouldn't have to publish blog entries in progress)... how about ever astonishing?


Okay, the ever astonishing and swashbuckling T-shirt blogger man does not like sharing his works in progress any more than a few of you (a very few) like finding them either via Google search (yes, you searcher bot) or because you have my blog book marked and check me frequently, a kindness for which I will always try to give you something interesting to read. How am I doing so far? More whimsy than usual, that's for sure.



Quality of content should be in the eye of the beholder but without too much knowledge of the beholder's interests, I just sally forth and meander around the forest of actual content.

You may notice that the logo of TODAY'S SHIRT matches the image in  the comic book cover to the left.

I happen to own this issue of Captain Marvel #1. It is among my earliest comics.

For those who like to peruse my blog, I am starting to collect a category for blog entries that feature images of some of my oldest comic books. Given that issue came out in May of 1968, I was six years old at the time. It may have been a reading material purchase for the move from Traverse City to Schoolcraft.

The issue is also special because it features the art of Gene Colan, who is so special to me that I devoted a category to him.

Checkout what Comic Vine had to say about this volume of Captain Marvel.

Captain Marvel Volume 1
A Marvel series featuring Mar-Vell, a former Kree soldier turned The Protector of the Universe. Captain Marvel Vol. 1 is Mar-Vell's only long running solo series. The series was launched following the success of Captain Marvel's debut in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 and picks up the story arc from Marvel Super-Heroes #13. The series started in 1968 and lasted until 1979. However due to low sales figures, it was put on hiatus after issue #19 (December 1969). The volume resumed in 1970 for 2 further issues (June and August) but another break ensued until September 1972 when the series returned with a bi-monthly release.
The creation of the Captain Marvel character led to Marvel attaining the rights to the "Captain Marvel" name and forcing DC to rename their Captain Marvel series to " Shazam!". To retain their trademark, Marvel has published a Captain Marvel title every few years since, leading to a number of ongoing and mini series' as well as one-shots featuring a number of different characters using the Captain Marvel identity.
Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan, Captain Marvel Vol. 1 also saw the introduction of Carol Danvers a.k.a. Miss Marvel, who would eventually go on to take the title of Captain Marvel (ComicVine, 2013).

The original Marvel version of Captain Marvel seemed more iconic and cool. He was a military officer of the Kree Imperial Militia. Gene Colan's amazing art carried the book, but it was not a big mega hit outside hardcore comic book fans. In 1969, Marvel re-vamped the character with a variation on the version of the character at DC--who became known as "Shazam," when DC lost the trademark to the name Captain Marvel (though the wizard who gave him his powers is Shazam and the "Big Red Cheese" into which Bill Batson transforms is often referred to as Captain Marvel)--and with Mar-Vell exiled to Negative Zone, linked with "Nega-Bands" worn by Rick Jones, could only "come out" to play when Rick clanked the bracelets (Nega Bands) together. I liked the concept much more than Billy's magic word and lightning bolt. This was something a child could mimic. I spent a lot of time knocking my toy Nega Bands together as a child. Goodbye Rick Jones. Hello Captain Mar-Vell.

The revamp gave the good Captain a different costume, which I like, but I love the original much more.

Eventually Marvel brought on board Jim Starlin to helm the comic. He is the creator of Thanos. I have already written about him and since I gave him his own category, obviously, there is more content to come. For now, if you missed it, check out T-shirt #260: Stark R&D.

One of the resources below is a crazy fan page for Captain Marvel in all incarnations. Damn, I love the Internet. Weird, wild stuff.

CAPTAIN MARVEL (MAR-VELL) RESOURCES

CAPTAIN MARVEL COMIC VINE

CAPTAIN MARVEL WIKIPEDIA

CAPTAIN MARVEL (MAR-VELL) MARVEL WIKIA

CAPTAIN MARVEL CULTURE


BOOK REPORT

Having finished these two audio books since my last update (reviews below), I am on to the audio book for Dune Messiah, second in Frank Herbert's DUNE CHRONICLES.

The Shining 
I want a better rating system here in Good Reads. I would give the book a 4.45 and the audio book edition a 5/5. I read this book a long time ago but did not remember well the differences between it and the Kubrick film, which I love. I had been meaning to watch the supposedly more faithful TV adaptation and never have (but I plan to now). I would argue that as frightening as the Kubrick film is, the book is more frightening by far. Jack Torrance's descent into madness is horrible to watch, even if it is more possession than madness. The idea of a family snowbound for the winter while the husband and father loses his mind and becomes a homicidal maniac is truly terrifying just as an idea let alone the story in its execution. Stephen King is exorcising demons here, tackling alcoholism and anger, violence and self-control, in ways that must be fueled by his own personal life, which makes the story all the more compelling. The book is more hopeful than the Kubrick film in its ending, which is appreciated, though the use of the mallet instead of the axe may be contrived solely to allow for the survival of the characters. I hesitate to give the book five stars because I find some of the plot elements a bit hokey, such as the hedge animals, which do not fit with the rest of the story. Their animation seems more out of a Harry Potter type story than this one. This one thing Kubrick wisely eliminates and replaces with the hedge maze, which is more plausible and more frightening. But I do give Campbell Scott's narration an unequivocal five stars. He's brilliant with just a few hints, a few notes, of Nicholson sprinkled into his vocals for angry Jack. I wanted to reread this book in preparation for King's sequel, _Doctor Sleep_, and I am glad I did. Profoundly disturbing. A MUST read.

The Woman in Black
This is a quick read in the Victorian style. It sounds like Dickens in its prose and its rhythms and the audio edition is brilliantly narrated. The description of the setting of the remote Eel Marsh House out the Nine Lives Causeway is definitely the best part of the book. The haunting itself and its subsequent mystery along with the final shocker are all rather predictable, though not unenjoyable. For fans of ghost stories and period pieces, it's worth a read. Though I am not inspired to read more by Susan Hill despite her deft touch and skill as a writer. Perhaps I am simply jaded and expect too much from my books.

OKAY, JUST ONE MORE WORD ON CAPTAIN MARVEL

In the cover gallery I am sharing, I will end with the most recent incarnation of Captain Marvel as Carol Danvers, the long time Ms. Marvel, Warbird, and Binary finally assumes the mantle of Captain Marvel long ago implied. A new comic features Carol as Captain Marvel. I am not reading it but maybe that will change. Here's two good articles on hero upgrades or "titles to watch" in MARVEL NOW.

TOP FIVE TITLES TO WATCH IN MARVEL NOW

TOP TEN SUPERHERO UPGRADES IN MARVEL NOW

WEEKLY COMIC LIST

Again, I want to point out the ever-shrinking back log as I get caught up on more comics. Even with catching up somewhat, I am falling behind as well because I did not read all the comics that came out last week before fetching this week's comics.

For the next two weeks, comics will come out on Tuesday. I doubt I will deviate from presenting my lists on Friday, though. I am unlikely to go fetch comics on this coming Tuesday, Christmas Eve, as that's a day for family, with my wife and kids. And given that the following Tuesday is New Year's Eve, I am unlikely to fetch comics then either, though I know better: never say never.

I would also like to point out some other changes to the weekly list. Please note (if this interests you, otherwise why are you reading this) that not only has Codename: Action broken out of the back log, it has jumped to fourth!! Daredevil enjoys a higher slot this week.

Not surprising to see Fantastic Four in my top slot, given the books that came out this week, even though Fraction and Bagley have left the book.  Uncanny Avengers jumped up some spots on the strength of the last issue. Even though Stuart Immonen did not draw All New X-Men #020, it takes the second slot on the strength of the story alone. Thank you Brian Bendis. Okay, I am lying. It jumped to number two because of the cover in the image above. Geez. I am such a stupid fan boy.

Of the list below, I have read through Young Avengers so far. I almost brought forward a book from last week, but I changed my mind after I leafed through it. all of the top eight comics were good reads, though I must say that the one with the biggest impact was The Superior Spider-Man #024. This comic had a lull in its run, but it has consistently delivered quality story lines, and as it gears up to issue #25, get ready for a blockbuster!

I decided to return one comic because I am not reading it. It's a difficult thing to order comics two months in advance and then have them fall into the back log.

COMICS FOR 1312.18

Fantastic Four #015
All New X-Men #020
Daredevil #034
Codename: Action #4
X-Men #008
Uncanny Avengers #015
The Superior Spider-Man #024
Young Avengers #014
FF # 015
Thor: God of Thunder #016
Avengers Assemble: Inhumanity #021
Avengers Assemble: Inhumanity #022
Secret Avengers #013
Red Sonja #6
Saga #17
Mind the Gap #16
Birds of Prey #26
Wonder Woman #26
Indestructible Hulk: Inhumanity #017
Black Science #2
The Amazing Spider-Man #700.4
The Amazing Spider-Man #700.5

BACK LOG
Cataclysm Ultimate X-Men #002
Uncanny X-Force #015
Ten Grand #6

OTHER
Locus v.71 #6

RETURNED
Max Brooks' Extinction Agenda

CAPTAIN MAR-VELL COVER GALLERY

This was my second Captain Marvel comic.

Oh yeah!
Did I mention that Captain Marvel died of cancer?

COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 91 shirts remaining

- chris tower - first published - 1312.20 - 20:44
final publication - 1312.21 - 13:40