T-shirt #45: Star Wars: The Evolution of Darth Vader

T-shirt #45: Star Wars: The Evolution of Darth Vader

When I started this blog project, I realized I did not own any Star Wars shirts.
Not a single one.

Reviewing even the shirts long discarded, out grown, or converted to rags (see yesterday's T-shirt #44), I never owned a Star Wars shirt.

Even back in the day.
Not a one.
(Yes, I know I am writing fragments, but I am doing so for effect).


STAR TREK vs. STAR WARS

As I mentioned yesterday, I have featured four Star Trek shirts already of a total of eight that I own. But I am a fan of both franchises. Granted, Star Trek had a more seminal effect on my geekhood. How could it not? It's older. Though I was pretty young when the original show aired in its nightly time slot (1966-1969), I did watch it as much as possible. I was already a huge fan of Lost in Space, and so I naturally loved Star Trek. It's original time slot made it easier to watch as a young boy between the ages of six and eight as it came on early in the evening, but when NBC dumped it into the 10 p.m. Friday night slot, I missed a great deal of the show. But the show lived on in syndication, and it filled one of three slots in the triple threat of after school programming in my intermediate school years (grades fourth-sixth). Every day, from  from 4-6 p.m. as I did my homework, I would watch a 30 minute block of Bugs Bunny cartoons, followed by Gilligan's Island, and then Star Trek. I collected all the Star Trek books, toys, and models. My cousin actually joined a Star Fleet fan club and had official uniforms, of which I was envious, but I did not have such opportunities. But, please realize that for most of my childhood, there was no Star Wars to love.

By the time Star Wars came along, I was fifteen years old and taking driver's education. Though it came out in May, I am not sure if I saw it until school recessed for the summer in early June. By the time I did see it, I was blown away and quite hooked. However, I did not forsake my Star Trek love. But I put a lot of energy into Star Wars geek love from 1977 to 1983. After all, at the time, the Star Trek franchise was languishing in mediocrity. Though many of us enjoyed the animated series(1973-1974), there were no new products (other than the books) issuing forth from the Paramount pipeline until the first motion picture (1979), owing its existence to the way that the Star Wars franchise revitalized an interest in science fiction (especially "space opera") that had waned for the better part of the 1970s from its filmic heyday in the 1950s and 1960s born of its "pulpy" popularity as a written form dating back to the late 19th century.

With these two great franchises, I do not see the decision of fandom to be a dichotomy, such as the question of PC or Mac. (Honestly, I do not even see that marketing strategy segregation as necessary.)

Why not both?

T-shirt #44: What happens when a T-shirt dies?

T-shirt #44 - The Death of the Vess T-shirt

What happens when a T-shirt dies?

How does it know it's dead?

What qualifies as "death" for a T-shirt?

T-shirt #43: DEADMAN

T-shirt #43: DEADMAN

This T-shirt wanted to be today's T-shirt.

I just returned from my basement, where I was searching for a toy to use when posing with the T-shirt I had chosen for today, but instead of finding that toy,  I spotted the "M.I.B." DEADMAN toy (M.I.B. = Mint in Box).

Knowing I also own the hardcover, slipcase, collected edition of Deadman, I decided to open a box. I have not unpacked my graphic novels and collected edition hardbacks since moving them to my house in January. I slit the tape on the first box on top of the first stack, and guess what? There was The DEADMAN Collected Edition right on top. I would take that as a sign, wouldn't you?
I abandoned my plans to blog about one of my other favorite heroes and chose Deadman instead.

You know, how this Deadman came to be today's feature mirrors Deadman's power. In the DC Comics, Deadman is the stage name of the circus trapeze artist Boston Brand who is murdered and becomes a ghost with the power to possess other people's bodies.

T-shirt #42: The Daily Planet

T-shirt #42: The Daily Planet

Short blog entry today because Grading Robot is deep in it.

I like T-shirts that simulate what would really exist if the thing depicted was a real and not a fictional thing. Expect to see many examples of these types of shirts that simulate some fictional element from comic books, games, movies, and TV shows.

Today's shirt shows off what a Daily Planet newspaper staffer shirt might look like. Jimmy Olsen might be seen wearing this shirt.

T-shirt #41: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons circa 1987

T-shirt #41: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons circa 1987

BEWARE: Long meandering, semi-stream-of-consciousness post follows.

I have a confession to make: I bought today’s T-shirt since starting this blog. Some people might consider new T-shirt purchases to be out of bounds, against the blog’s stated intent. After all, I started the blog as a means to count my T-shirts. How many do I actually own? If I were to wear one T-shirt per day, do I actually have a different one for each day of the year? And if I am going to pose such a question, why not write about the T-shirts at the rate of one per day? Because, as I have stated previously, I am NEITHER wearing one, new (previously unworn during the year) T-shirt per day NOR am I necessarily wearing the T-shirt I feature that day.

Though, as a point of order, I am wearing today’s T-shirt as I type this entry. I am currently seated in the back seat of my parents’ new Cadillac enroute to see Steel Magnolias at the dinner theatre at Cornwell’s Turkeyville in Marshall, Michigan because I write reviews for the Battle Creek Enquirer, and I need to review this show.

For those making a habit of following my posts (Hello! Thanks for reading!), this is the first post I have written “offline,” as I am not currently logged into any Internet service, and so I am enjoying composing in my favorite word processor, Corel’s Word Perfect X6. Facts such as these bear relevance to our proceedings here on this blog because if it is nothing else (and I am hoping it is so much more), this blog is really a glorified, daily journal on display for all to see and read (or choose to ignore).

My dad is currently accelerating at a high rate of speed on to I-94 as I try to type on the precariously balanced laptop here in the back seat. Gee, this Cadillac has some serious horsepower.

Okay, enough stream of consciousness and positioning myself in the universe in relation to where and when I am creating today’s missive, and back to the subject at hand: Today’s T-shirt.

T-shirt #40: Indiana University in Hebrew

T-shirt #40: Indiana University in Hebrew - GO HOOSIERS

Today feels a little milestone-ish. Welcome to 365 T-shirts: Blog #40. After the last few days, I feel a bit like I have been dragged for a few miles by crazed apocalyptic warriors riding motorcycles across the hard-packed wastelands of the desert climates of Australia. (Does Australia have deserts or was that just a movie thing?)

My shirt for today features the word "Indiana" in Hebrew, meant for Indiana University. I received the shirt in the mail last week as a gift from my best friend, Tom Meyers, who attended IU back in the 1990s for law school. Tom has some Jewish heritage, which makes the gift resonate a bit more vividly. During our regular correspondence, I sent Tom links to my blog, and he was inspired to send me this shirt as a gift. Though it's a LARGE, and typically I wear an EXTRA LARGE, just to be comfortable not because I am all that extra or large, it does fit well. And though this is not the usual practice, I am wearing it right now as I type this blog entry.

T-shirt #39: The UFP symbol: United Federation of Planets

T-shirt #39: The UFP symbol: United Federation of Planets

This shirt was my first Star Trek related shirt as an adult.

In previous blog entries, I have shared about my affection for logos. And one of my favorite logos is this one for Star Trek's  United Federation of Planets, the United Nations of the future, and the overseer of organizations like Star Fleet.

Isn't this a beautiful logo? I have a book published in the late 1970s with this logo on the cover. I think it is the perfect logo for the UFP, even if it is strongly derivative of the United Nations logo.

This shirt was also a gift from my parents, and I am very fond of the shirts I have received as gifts. I have another gift shirt scheduled for tomorrow (which recently came in the mail), and I will fill in more text on the sentimentality and importance of gifts in my life in future blog entries.

This entry is very brief today because I have been buried with a huge homework project, which put me behind with the jobs I do for actual money.

Mainly, I just want to dangle a teaser for the upcoming Star Trek film, which is due on May 17th. There was also a delicious clip in the IMAX feature of the Hobbit for those who managed to spy it there. Our beloved crew (and especially Mr. Spock) are in for quite the ordeal.

Though this movie clip really does not feature the United Federation of Planets in any way, it really fuels extremely well the overall excitement I have for the upcoming JJ Abrams film Into Darkness. I am certain that I am not alone in watching the clips that are released on the Internet with an increased salivation factor and eager anticipation.

Star Trek Into Darkness Official Trailer #3 (2013) - JJ Abrams Movie HD

Enjoy!

While I wait for the film's release, I will be wearing this and other Star Trek shirts with pride.

This one was the first.

If I am going to advertise something, and I am going to advertise something all the time, then it's logos.

It's all about the logos.

-chris tower - 1304.29, 16:21 (a bit late today, school and work, you know?)
Photo courtesy of Liesel MK Tower