T-shirt #119: Doctor Strange

T-shirt #119: Doctor Strange

I love Doctor Strange. I should start today's entry with that confession. I would be hard pressed to select a favourite Marvel superhero, but if I was forced to do so, the good doctor would definitely make the top five. (Do you sense a list coming? Yes, you should.)

Doctor Strange has one of the coolest CAPES in all of superhero comics.

PREPARE for a HEFTY posting.
*sigh*

PROCESS
Today's blog entry had been in the works for several weeks, like an elaborate magic spell. I do not think it is fully crystallized yet but I have grown weary of re-numbering and delaying writing it, so here is what I have so far.

Right now, I am working about a week ahead with the blog. This may not be as fascinating to you as it is to me, but I do like to analyze process continually and in depth.

I have found that sketching the entries and planning ahead helps with composition, though this only works well when I am actually working ahead, drafting at least a day in advance, and spending time thinking about the composition of each entry.

As I shared, this entry has been in the works for weeks. Originally, it was to be T-shirt #89, and as I listed the topics between then and T-shirt #100, I kept moving my draft of this entry as my process evolved. One such evolution came about when I realized that I did not need to compose one, long, contiguous essay for each blog entry (in fact, some people are now muttering "please,don't" under their breath), and that I could work with labeled sections in short (or what I think of as short) inter-related topics. Though today's work hardly constitutes short by any definition.

And, yes, I have a Doctor Strange toy.

How could I not?

DOCTOR STRANGE RESEARCH

Meanwhile, I often research in bed at night using my Nexus-7 tablet. I look up various sites on the Internet, usually starting with the Wikipedia site.

I found some strange and wonderful things on the Internet devoted to Doctor Strange.

The DOCTOR STRANGE WIKIPEDIA site is pretty decent, though hardly fantastic.

I found many HUGE Doctor Strange fans. Like Ptor, who runs a blog dedicated to Dr. Strange:

SANCTUM SANCTORUM COMIX

MARVEL DIRECTORY: DOCTOR STRANGE

MARVEL WIKI: DOCTOR STRANGE

BROKEN FAN SITE: DOCTOR STRANGE

COVER BROWSER: DOCTOR STRANGE

Doctor Strange Tumblr

Many of my favorite 1970s Doctor Strange comics were written by Steve Englehart, who discusses them here.

STEVE ENGLEHART on DOCTOR STRANGE

And, of course, there is talk of a Doctor Strange movie (tentatively for 2016) with many posts one can find via Google for Joseph Gordon Leavitt as the front runner to play the good doctor.

DR. STRANGE MOVIE?

Of all the research, one of the craziest sites (and by crazy I mean wonderfully crazy) is

THE LESSER BOOK OF THE VISHANTI: all contents

THE LESSER BOOK OF THE VISHANTI: The religion

and related materials at

LUCKY MOJO.

Crazy and wonderful stuff. First of all, the Vishanti book is compiled by Cat Yronwode. I recognized that name when I started reading but I could not place it. Luckily, all these questions are answered on the Internet. Cat Yronwode is one of the leaders/founders of Eclipse Comics, which I wrote about back around the time I first conceived of writing about Doctor Strange in T-shirt #89: Lone Wolf & Cub. I mentioned Mai the Psychic Girl in that blog entry, and how this comic and Cat Yronwode connected to another blog entry I had already started, which is this one, Doctor Strange. It all comes full circle, eh?

Eclipse Comics published all sorts of great stuff back in the 1980s, such as Miracleman (Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman), The Rocketeer (Dave Stevens), and Zot! (Scott McCloud) among many other great and wonderful things.

Apparently, Catherine "Cat" Yronwode is one of the biggest Doctor Strange fans on the planet. She also happens to be a practitioner of folk magic.

Cat's LESSER BOOK OF THE VISHANTI was a project she originally completed in the early 1970s as she was an active participant in various Zines and APAs (Amateur Press Associations). A decade later, I belonged to one devoted to the Teen Titans as I described in T-shirt #62: Nightwing. I wish I had been active in fandom when Cat created this book. It's astounding and super cool.

In 1979, Yronwode printed 177 copies of THE LESSER BOOK OF THE VISHANTI and sent copies to everyone she knew in fandom and in the comics industry. The publication became highly respected, and many creators who tackled Doctor Strange thereafter sought copies for its meticulous research and as a compendium of Doctor Strange lore, spells, and facts.


The contents page shows dozens of links and related articles and appendices.

One core of the work which has many cores is found in the second link I posted in which Yronwode compounds a "Vishanti Cosmology" from what readers have learned of the Vishanti through Doctor Strange comics. It is a 15 page essay with an enormous glossary following. This is the kind of crazy and wonderful thing that makes me love comics even more than I already do. And I think Cat Yronwode is amazingly cool.

If you like comics even a little, but more so, if you like fantasy (as in fiction or role playing games) or magic (as in real spells that actually work in our world), then you might want to do some exploring on your own of the links for Vishanti book and Lucky Mojo. The materials and links and content are all a bit overwhelming, but there is amazing stuff to be uncovered, such as "A proposed Revision of the Theory of Fractional Dimensions" and the "Sacred Sex Home Page."

A MOST INTERESTING SECTION FROM THE COSMOLOGY ARTICLE: "This brief survey of the Vishantist faith would be incomplete without one final note: on the letters page of STRANGE TALES 129 a reader wrote to ask whether the deities mentioned in hte stories were "the gods of some long-dead religion" or whether Stan Lee "made them up as [he] went along". Lee offered "a late-model no-prize" to the person who could come up with the best answer to this question...The Vishantist faith, as documented above, embraces a world-view which can best be labeled "intersubjective." If one were to ask Baron Mordo or Dr. Strange whether their deities had been "made up" or were remnants of an ancient cult, they would probably laugh and turn away. To even ask would be to reveal oneself as a cowan, an outsider. Actually, to the subjectivist-magician, the question, as phrased, is utterly meaningless. It matters not at all whether the deities were or were not at one time "made up" because they are now in Dormammu's words, "a shared belief" and, as such, they have become the goddesses and gods of a cult as ancient and as "real" as its collective adherents believe it to be...The existence of "other dimensions" cannot be disproved by any known objective science, at least not at this time, and the nature of "other dimensions" is open to any interpretation one chooses to make. One theory of "other dimensions", the so-called "Omniversal Theory", postulates that "all 'fiction' is 'real' -- somewhere" and that there are "alternative universes" where "comic books" are "reality." Omniversally speaking, the Vishantist pantheon was neither "made up", nor is it the remnant of "some long-dead religion." Vishantist deities are exactly what they purport to be -- the living goddesses and gods of an active Occult Order on another continuum, the "alternative universe" we call Earth-Marvel. 'Nuff said, Hoggoth-lovers -- and may your Amulet never tickle!" (Yronwode, 1978-2010).

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.

PERFORMING MAGIC

I performed magic semi-professionally as a young boy (ages 13-19). I went by the stage name El Christo. As a freshman in high school, I was cast as the Wizard in Gull Lake High School's production of Once Upon a Mattress, and I had to devise a costume. My aunt sewed the costume for me, and the cape was based on Doctor Strange's cape. You can see the cape in the two photos here (above and left). Obviously, these are not photos from my magic performing days. I have no scans of those handy. However, I may add some at a future date in an update here or in a future blog entry.

These photos also reveal a future T-shirt for Captain Marvel or Shazam as he is known by many for the name he utters to activate the hero within. I will feature this shirt separately another time and probably include the rest of the photos from this party at the home of my friend Darrough West.

My goal in dressing up in these photos was to attend a superhero-themed party in which I was attempting to dress like Doctor Strange; however, I did not have the actual shirt with the symbol Strange wears, so this was the best I could do.

As for performing magic, I do not perform anymore, though I am still interested. I am considering going to the magic get together in Colon for the first time since I was 17 or 18 years old. I do not have any T-shirts featuring magic as an entertainment and performance art form, like theatre. But that may change...



DOCTOR STRANGE - PSYCHEDELIA

Of all the heroes of the 1960s and early 1970s, Doctor Strange is probably the best example of one that embodies the psychedelic culture of the times.

I do not usually dump so much quoted material (and quotes within quotes for which I provided the Wiki reference list), but all of this is written so clearly that I can hardly improve on it. AND if I have kept your attention this far, dear reader, then I am honored to serve, much like Wong is honored to serve Doctor Strange despite the racist-laden stereotypes of the original depiction.

 "Comics historian Mike Benton wrote, "The Dr. Strange stories of the 1960s constructed a cohesive cosmology that would have thrilled any self-respecting theosophist. College students, minds freshly opened by psychedelic experiences and Eastern mysticism, read Ditko and Lee's Dr. Strange stories with the belief of a recent Hare Krishna convert. Meaning was everywhere, and readers analyzed the Dr. Strange stories for their relationship to Egyptian myths, Sumarian gods, and Jungian archetypes"[3].
"People who read 'Doctor Strange' thought people at Marvel must be heads [i.e., drug users]," recalled then-associate editor and former Doctor Strange writer Roy Thomas in 1971, "because they had had similar experiences high on mushrooms. But ... I don't use hallucinogens, nor do I think any artists do."[4]
As co-plotter and later sole plotter, (in the "Marvel Method"), Ditko would take Strange into ever-more-abstract realms. In an epic 17-issue story arc in Strange Tales #130-146 (July 1965 - July 1966), Ditko introduced the cosmic character Eternity, who personified the universe and was depicted as a silhouette whose outlines are filled with the cosmos.[5] As historian Bradford W. Wright describes,

Steve Ditko contributed some of his most surrealistic work to the comic book and gave it a disorienting, hallucinogenic quality. Dr. Strange's adventures take place in bizarre worlds and twisting dimensions that resembled Salvador Dalí paintings. ...Inspired by the pulp-fiction magicians of Stan Lee's childhood as well as by contemporary Beat culture. Dr. Strange remarkably predicted the youth counterculture's fascination with Eastern mysticism and psychedelia. Never among Marvel's more popular or accessible characters, Dr. Strange still found a niche among an audience seeking a challenging alternative to more conventional superhero fare.[6]
From the beginning, Doctor Strange used magical artifacts to augment his power, such as the Cloak of Levitation,[7] the Eye of Agamotto,[8] the Book of the Vishanti,[9] and the Orb of Agamotto.[10] From the first story, Strange's residence, the Sanctum Sanctorum, was a part of the character's mythos" (DOCTOR STRANGE WIKIPEDIA, 2013).

1. [3]^ Benton, Mike (1991). Superhero Comics of the Silver Age: The Illustrated History. Dallas, Texas: Taylor Publishing Company. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-87833-746-0.
2. [4]^ Green, Robin (September 16, 1971). "Face Front! Clap Your Hands, You're on the Winning Team!". Rolling Stone(via fan site Green Skin's Grab-Bag) (91): page 31 of print version. Archived from the original on September 14, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2011 deadurl= no.
3. [5]^ "Strange Tales #134". Grand Comics Database. "Indexer notes: Part 5 of 17. First mention of Eternity. Strange would finally find it in Strange Tales #138 (Nov. 1965)."
4. [6]^ Wright, Bradford W. (2001). Comic Book Nation: Transformation of a Youth Culture. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 213. ISBN 0-8018-7450-5.
5. [7]^ The blue "novice" version first appeared in Strange Tales #110 (July 1963), with the red "master" version first appearing in Strange Tales #127 (Dec. 1964).
6. [8]^ ^a b Lee, Stan (w), Ditko, Steve (p), Ditko, Steve (i). "The Origin of Dr. Strange" Strange Tales 115 (December 1963)
7. [9]^ Lee, Stan (w), Ditko, Steve (p), Ditko, Steve (i). "Return to the Nightmare World!" Strange Tales 116 (January 1964)
8. [10]^ Lee, Stan (w), Ditko, Steve (p), Ditko, Steve (i). "The Possessed!" Strange Tales 118 (March 1964)

JUNG? Did someone say JUNG? Look for more Jungian rhetoric hereabouts soon since I already have some posts in the works. I am a huge Jungian, and I take every chance I can get to pander and promote, advocate and proffer the ideas of Carl Jung.

Surreal landscapes have always been a favourite of mine, and Steve Ditko's work in this arena is unparalleled in comics. Many great artists followed creating their own excellence with Doctor Strange, such as one of my all-time favorites: Gene Colan.

And yet, I could not include Steve Ditko, as much as I love his work, in the top five favourite 1960s comic artists, which I detailed in T-shirt #83. After Kirby, Kane, Adams, Colan, and Romita, I would surely place Ditko sixth.

THE POCKET BOOK CIRCA 1979

I like collected editions. Back in the 1970s, there were few collected editions of comic books. Origins of Marvel Comics and the series of books that followed were among the very few.

As you know, and if you don't know it, then you are learning now, I am an extremely sentimental soul. So not only is this Pocket Book of Doctor Strange dear to me, but so is the inscription written by my mother. It was a tradition in our family to inscribe books given as gifts, as this one was for my birthday in 1979. I debated sharing such a personal thing as this inscription written by my mother. But since my mother has lost the ability to write at all, examples of her careful and beautiful cursive handwriting are very dear to me.

REMEMBER WHAT I SAID ABOUT CAPES?


Cape are cool. It's a rule. Doctor Strange's cape is the special Cloak of Levitation given to him by the Ancient One in Strange Tales 126-127. It is a magical artifact that floats of its own accord.

How cool is that?

Very.
















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

WEEKLY COMIC BOOK STACK 
I am not reading quickly enough, so I am not getting through the weekly stack each week, which means comics that I usually read before the next one comes out are falling into the back log. The solution to this problem is two-fold: Read more comics before bed each night; schedule a comic-reading marathon.

Often I have comic marathons on Sundays when Liesel is at work and I can lie on the couch with the puppy and watch sports. Football is great for this. Last Sunday, when I would have done this, I chose to play D&D (Pathfinder actually but it's D&D). So, I fell farther behind in the comic reading avocation.

ALSO, my current book, Homeland by Cory Doctorow, is getting good, so I am reading that or I am reading for this blog, which limits the number of comics I read per night. There's only so much time in each day.

All New X-Men #14

Now that I have some more data I can look back four weeks to the corresponding week in June and its comic shipments, though the companies are less precise about ship dates as some titles that came out four weeks ago did not come out this week.

Still, if you wish to dial back to the first installment in T-shirt #92, you will see some shifting. Ultimate Spider-Man claims top spot because though it may not be the best of all these comics, it is one of my most enjoyable reads. The last two titles before the back log list are up in the main list simply because within the last month I cleared some back log, and so I have none of those titles back-logged. Originally, I placed JLA in the second spot, but after some consideration, I just like Fantastic Four better. Fraction and Bagley are doing great things with that book, and I have just always loved the book's family dynamic. All New X-Men probably takes third due solely to the cover seen here. Jean Grey in the thrall of Mastermind gets me because of the history of the story plus I like Bendis, and think he's in a Golden Age as a comic writer, and Stuart Immonen has always been a favourite artist. I am quite enjoying Thor and Nova, and they get high ratings as do the others. Avengers is good, but the art puts me off; I prefer Deodato, who draws New Avengers. Buying Red Sonja was one part nostalgia for the 1970s, one part support for a company who wrestled a trademark away from Marvel, and one part because I really like Gail Simone as a writer.

COMICS FOR 1307.17 (JULY 17 2013)
Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #25
Fantastic Four #010
All New X-Men #014
Justice League of America #6
Thor - God of Thunder # 010
Nova #006
Iron Man #013
Avengers #016
Red Sonja #1 (From Dynamite Comics)
Wonder Woman #22
Morbius #007

BACK LOG FROM THIS WEEK - 1307.17
Fables#131
FF #009
Legion of Superheroes #22
Batman and Catwoman #22
Thunderbolts #013
Birds of Prey #22
- And I fell off the X-Force wagon. I bought issues #1-2 and quite liked them and then forgot I was reading the book. So I grabbed issues #3, and 5-8, but Fanfare was missing issue #4. We are working to rectify this oversight.

- chris tower - 1307.18 - 8:50

PS: There is chatter about a Doctor Strange movie, as I wrote. This is "proposed art" for it.

T-shirt #118: WWKD: What Would Kirk Do?

T-shirt #118: What Would Kirk Do? 
- On the case of Trayvon Martin

Please do not think I am making light of the recent "verdict" handed down in the case of George Zimmerman and the "death" of Trayvon Martin. If I want to write a few words about something topical, like this case, I need a T-shirt as my vehicle. Looking through my closet, I selected this shirt because I did not need to really write much more than I already have about Star Trek in six total posts (see my Star Trek category for a list if you're interested). Though I did make plenty of jokes Monday during Ultimate about this case and this so-called "verdict," they were of the sarcastic variety, as in "I am so proud to live in a country that functions this way" kind of thing.

George Zimmerman not guilty of murder or manslaughter.

I was appalled to learn that a jury would acquit George Zimmerman.

David Simon, creator of The Wire, who runs a very interesting blog called The Audacity of Despair wrote that he felt "ashamed to be an American" or rather that's how a news service sort of misquoted him. Specifically, he wrote: "anyone who truly understands what justice is and what it requires of a society is ashamed to call himself an American" (Simon, 2013).

Simon's most recent post on the Trayvon Martin case refers back to his original post and a second post that generated over 500 responses of fascinating debate, which is by and large, mostly, unedited. This and his other posts plus the comments are worth reading.

COMMENTS ON MARTIN-ZIMMERMAN. TO REITERATE

Here is one of the best comments:

I have not watched The Wire, though I hear it is great stuff. It is on my to-do list. After finding this great blog, it has moved up on my to-do list.

Perhaps I should take a lesson from his brevity and succinct impact. I am trying.

In fact, David Simon's entire post is worth sharing. Find it at Trayvon.

As a resource for material written on this travesty of justice, I like Bitch Magazine, which has always been a favourite source of mine for news and views.

The first Bitch post I saw was a capsule of much of the web's best content on the Trayvon Martin case.

Six Perspectives on George Zimmerman's "Not Guilty" Verdict

I like what Roxane Gay of Salon had to say: "This verdict tells us everything we need to know about our laws, whom they are designed to protect, and why. It tells us about the power of the gun lobby, the power of stereotypes, and the value of a black person’s life" (Gay, 2013).

Simple. Nails it.

Since that post on July 14th, Bitch has had a few more posts on the subject, such as

We are NOT all Trayvon Martin

"I believe that even had Zimmerman been found guilty, justice would not have been done. The problems revealed here are bigger than just one legal verdict. There is something bigger here, and it's not that "We are all Trayvon." This country is full of systems that treat people differently based on their race...a guilty verdict ...would not address the need to change the ways we talk about race and racism in this country...however, a guilty verdict would have given some closure to the Martin family" (Law, "We are NOT all Trayvon Martin," 2013).


and

The Jury in George Zimmerman's Case Never Once Discussed Race—That's a Problem

"Forcing the jury to at least have racial issues on their radar may not have changed the verdict in this case. Numerous court-watchers have noted that the prosecution's case was flimsy for various reasons. But changing "racial profiling" to just "profiling" fundamentally changes the discussion of what happened that night. The judge's decision to nix race from the courtroom certainly influenced the jury's perspective that race had no role whatsoever in the death of Trayvon Martin. This is exactly why it's important to talk about race—not talking about race allows people to ignore its realities" (Mirk, "The Jury ...Never ...Discussed Race...Problem," 2013).

Some more from Bitch Magazine:

Here's what's on our radar! First some Zimmerman trial reflections... 

• Mimi Thi Nguyen shares an excerpt from a talk she gave about the salience the hoodie and racial profiling played in the Trayvon Martin case. [Threadbared]

• The legal system "worked" for George Zimmerman. But for most other folks in court, that's not what happens. [Salon]

• Alice Walker reflects on the verdict: "So many killings of black men in my lifetime." [The Guardian]

• In more "I can't believe he got acquitted news," the Texas man who murdered an escort was also let go. [Think Progress]

• One of the jury members had a book deal lined up by Monday. Thanks to the work of one woman on Twitter last night, the publisher dropped her. [Uproxx]

A really cool Twitter message:

WHAT WOULD KIRK DO?

Back to the subject of the T-shirt. Not to make light of the Trayvon Martin case, which I take very seriously, but I think this is a legitimate question: What would Kirk do?


The shirt plays on the popular bracelets of a few years back: "What Would Jesus Do?" After the proliferation of that phrase, there were many others asking what Gandhi would do or what Tyler Durden would do.

Kirk would try to fix the situation.

Like in the Star Trek episode "A Piece of the Action," (TOS #49, 2.17), Kirk "fixed" the gangster-based society by unifying the gangs with a concept they would all understand: The Federation will back every few years for its percentage of the "take." Kirk's novel solution worked for the culture that the planet had developed. Yes, the episode is campy and humorous, but the idea is serious. What would work for our culture? Why take race out of consideration when race is clearly the number one consideration in the Trayvon Martin case?

In the episode "A Private Little War," (TOS #45, 2.19), Kirk solves the tribal warfare problem on Neural by arming both sides of the conflict equally, beginning an arms race he knows will escalate and introducing "100 serpents to the Garden of Eden." Though some interpret that the episode's end leaves viewers doubting whether Kirk gave the Hill People weapons or not, I believe it's clear that he did. This solution of Kirk's would have changed the outcome in the death of Trayvon Martin. What would have happened if they both had Concealed Weapons Permits and firearms?

Or what about how Kirk resolved the situation in "The Omega Glory" (TOS#54, 2.23) and the war between the Yangs and Kohms of Omega IV? Kirk finds that the crumbling document in the possession of the Yangs  is the American Constitution, which he recites, pleading with the Yangs to apply these principles equally for both Yangs and Kohms because the words "must apply to everyone or they mean nothing."

A dramatic reading of the American Constitution in the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman case by Captain James T. Kirk might be just what is needed.

The Omega Glory: Kirk's Greatest Speech.

"They must apply to everyone or they mean nothing."

This morning there was a baby bird outside my window learning to fly.

It seemed an apt message for this situation with Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman.

Here's the video:



BABY BIRD LEARNING TO FLY

You work and work and work to raise your children, to teach them right from wrong, to protect them, to let them loose so that they can fly. And then what?

"Live long and prosper." - chris tower - 1307.17 - 12:05 PS: As a matter of record keeping, I am relatively certain that this shirt was a gift, and so I should note that fact. But I do not remember from whom.

T-shirt #117: Snoopy and Friends

T-shirt #117: Snoopy and Friends

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SATCHEL!!

Our puppy Satchel is ONE YEARS OLD today, July 16 2013 (or 1307.16 as I like to note dates).

Satchel Paige Tower, named for both a name that ends with -el like Liesel and Satchel Paige the Baseball player, is our baby child and we, her mom and her dad, dote on her passionately and incessantly.


Though Satchel was born a year ago today, we did not adopt her and bring her home until August 24th 2012.

She is a beagle and springer-spaniel mix, known as a spreagle, though, since she is mostly beagle, I thought that today's shirt devoted to Snoopy and Friends was a good choice.

This Snoopy and Friends shirt was a gift several years ago from my sister. She knows how much I love Snoopy.

I am also obligated to include a picture of my childhood Peanuts books. Note the wear and tear.

I did not imagine ever being lucky enough to have a beagle, and they do howl. Though Satchel is relatively quiet as beagles go.

LOVE beagles.

HAPPINESS IS A WARM PUPPY

I would be rich if I could genetically-engineer the puppy to either always stay a puppy or extend the baby-sized, tiny, puppy stage to a couple of years as opposed to a couple of months.

I have been a Snoopy fan for all of my life as evidenced by owning a Snoopy toy with different outfits for Snoopy as seen in the photos, such as the Sherlock Holmes Snoopy outfit as pictured.

So far, we have not dressed up Satchel in any outfits.

We are crazy dog people. I narrate the puppy's life. I speak for the puppy with my own special puppy voice, vocalizing what the puppy is thinking.

What the puppy is doing at all times is of great interest to us.

We have wished more than once that we could have streaming video when she is home alone or at one of her favorite places: CAMP FIDO.

Satchel is also known as "the Boo Boo," "Boo," "Satchel Boo," "Puppy Doodle," "Poopsy Doodle," "Poopsy Doodler," "The Doodler," "Pastry Strudel," and "Sneaky Pickle."

As you may note, I like making up names for the puppy.

My new thing is calling her "Pooper" and then replying for her: "Dad... why do you say "Pooper" to me."

Today's entry will be mostly pictures as I devote it all to Satchel and her birthday.

Happy birthday my wonderful, sweet puppy girl.

We plan to dote on you extra much today.

And now some videos and photos...

Satchel Special Time Video 1307.12

Satchel likes to "nurse" blankets. She was weaned too soon. She was the runt. You will see her knead the "breast."

SATCHEL BOO BOO STUCK IN A CUP

SATCHEL FIRST DAY AT OUR HOME = 39 DAYS OLD

SATCHEL PHOTO GALLERY

I could go nuts here with Satchel pictures. But I am going to restrict myself to recent favourites and some all-time favourites.

Satchel perching a la Snoopy 1306.24

Satchel sleeping 1307.04, tired of explosions in the night

Satchel sleeping with dad later in the day 1307.04

"Dad. Why do you say Pooper to me? You know I don't like that, Dad."

Satchel playing 1208.31

Satchel held by Ivan 1209.03

Satchel on the dash of Liesel's car waiting for her to get out of work
1209.13

Satchel in an Instagram photo created by Liesel
1305.17

Satchel Camp Fido Pick of the Week
1212.12

Re-assuring mom and dad that the puppy is happy
after we left her in Piper's care to go on a trip
Friday 1209.28

Another Instagram photo by Liesel 1212.26

- chris tower - 1307.16 - 10:48

T-shirt #116: KUDL: Orange Team 2008

Pictured here Left to Right: Back Row: Derrick Rosenberg, Me, Cody Leonard, Pat Dingle, Ryan Walters, Nick Palfey.
Front: Chris "High School or Schoolie" Hayen, some guy we picked up for the tournament,
Diane Nguyen, Jamie Prouse, Kater Tots Lankford.
NOT PICTURED: Jen Blacker, Bill Brieger, Marc Korn, Jason Mirjah, Jessi Prouse, Darrough West, and Keith Wikle.

T-shirt #116: KUDL: Orange Team 2008

Welcome to the entry for T-shirt #116 and KUDL (Kalamazoo Ultimate Disc League) Monday.

I am a little late getting the blog up the last two days (not as late today actually) because things are a bit "kerflooey" here at good old Blog Central, located in Uncle Beaver's office in the palatial Eldorado Ranch and Hoosegow.

This shirt color looks orange but is officially tilted "Mandarin."

Today, I am featuring the shirt from our 2008 KUDL team, which, if memory serves, was named Orange-Handled Scissors. Design on the shirt by teammate Mr. Ryan Walters or better known to all of you haters as Touchdown Jesus.

I have listed the individual players as seen in the photo in the caption along with the players who could not attend the tournament and thus are not pictured. The dude in the center is unknown to me. We picked him up the day of the tournament. Also, note the cool haircut. Previous photos of my ultimate days (such as in T-shirt #88 from 2007 or better seen in T-shirt #106), I had the long hair up until the summer of 2008, when, upon losing my job in the Gender and Women's Studies department at WMU, I cut my hair. Luckily, just in time, as my wife likes the shorter hair better, and I met her not long after this picture was taken (if not not long, one means four and a half months).

This good looking and quite sexy crew of Ultimate players you see in the photo actually played in the finals that year after winning all the games up to the finals.

We won our place in the finals after a decisive and hotly contested game against the Canary team. Our teams were arguing calls back and forth throughout the game. It came down to a time cap and what is called a "universe point" in Ultimate. For Ultimate players, I need not explain the universe point concept. For others, it simply means the game is tied and whichever team wins the point, then, wins the game.

Both our team and the Canary team (whose name had something to do with urine, unfortunately) were very determined to win the point due to all the arguments and contesting of calls throughout the game. We had the disc or got the disc on D. I do not remember. Cody Leonard broke long, and Schoolie hucked it to him. The disc sailed toward the back corner of the end zone. Cody knew that there would be some question as to whether he caught it "in-bounds" or not. Since our teams had almost come to having a fist fight over calls (no kidding; it was this serious), Cody caught the disc, checked his feet, called himself "in," tapped the disc to the ground, and ran off the field.

As you can imagine, the Canary team erupted with protests, and I do not blame them. But Cody knew his status as "in-bounds" would be hotly contested. In the rules of Ultimate, he makes the call as to whether he is in or out. He called himself in, and before the arguments could begin, he ran off the field. 

Game over.

Cody's heart was in the right place, surely. He wanted to avoid conflict. But, unfortunately, what he did just made matters worse. Canary insisted that the point be re-played and that the game was not over. Canary wanted to determine if Cody was in or out with their own examinations but that was no longer possible. Given that fist fights almost happened already, the ensuing argument came very, very close to a fist fight situation. One of my players had to tell a Canary player to stop back, to "not do this," as blows were about to be thrown. 

Thankfully, the argument ended, but the Canary players were not happy, and they shared their unhappiness with the rest of KUDL. As our team tried to play in the Finals against the Black team led by Kent Elliot, we were booed and jeered and heckled mercilessly. The entire league joined in, which is part of the fun in watching the finals, and now they had an evil villain to root against. Every time one of our players made a catch or a good throw, and certainly a score, we were booed. As it was, the Canary game had wiped us out, and we had very little left in the tank. We lost, and the Black team won the game and the summer season. Kent Elliot--one of the original KUDL founders, though not one of the car poolers--won his championship to go with then winners Matt Frayer/Natalie Dale (year one-2006), and Ed Kenny (year two-2007) as original captains who won championships in our league. My turn to win would not come for another two years when my team won in 2010 as featured in T-shirt #74.

Tonight is costume night, an annual tradition at KUDL. The photo above is from last year's costume night when I was the Canary-colored team (turnabout is fairplay indeed), though you can only barely see my T-shirt under the yellow night gown. We're zombies, if that is not obvious from the look of line leader Josh Danks.

My post for T-shirt #106 also features a picture from a past KUDL costume night, and a hint for those reading about what I am going to wear THIS YEAR for costume night. I know you all have been following closely to catch my clues. :-)

Obviously, expect pictures of this year's costume night here and all over Facebook very soon.

Everything written here today, though especially costume night, are just a few of the reasons I love Ultimate and KUDL.

Cheers Orange Handled Scissors!! You were a super fun team.

If you are reading, and you are not KUDLer, do you play Ultimate?

Why not? Can't you see how fun it is? Does your sport have costume night?

- chris tower - 1307.15 - 16:01