365 T-shirts - the reasoning

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sunday, November 17, 2013

T-shirt #241- Advice from a Volcano - Blog Recap

T-shirt #241- 
Advice from a Volcano - 
Blog Recap

Today is my day off. I do not get that many days, and I wish I could report that it had been a completely work-free day; however, I had to grade all morning. But I managed to complete the set of grades that needed to be done in time to rest and relax while watching the Detroit Lions game. There's a storm, so I lost signal for a short period of time. But I have managed to read several comic books, a report that I will delve into in a future blog. In fact, most of the content in today's post was going to be part of yesterday's post, but I am trying to compartmentalize better and to keep my blog entries to a shorter average length than many of the gargantuan entries of many of the previous two hundred and forty entries.

THE BLOG JOURNEY

I started writing about The Blog Journey the other day and created a category for the subject. So far, each entry (two) has focused on the Blog Journey and how I have come to work on this project. I found it very edifying that yesterday's shirt for the Veronica Mars Kickstarter coincided with my cancer diagnosis in a way that I did not anticipate when I started writing the entry. I did not remember that my discovery of and funding of the Kickstarter came the same day as learning I had prostate cancer.

My therapist asked me if the momentum shifted in regards to the blog after my surgery. I believe I have mentioned this before, but I have a new point to make. Yes, the momentum shifted. There was less of a sense of urgency. Before the surgery, I was driven by the feeling that I had to get it all in before that dead end date of August 16th. I had this quite irrational feeling that the surgery was the end of my life and that if I did not accomplish certain things before the surgery, I would not be able to finish the things after. Rationally, I knew this was not true. But like I wrote, it was an irrational feeling. Also, I felt as if I had permission to do certain bucket list type things because I had cancer, was having surgery, and so I deserved these things. The sense of urgency came in at trying to get the things I was permitted to do done in time. This urgency also propelled the blog forward. Would I have time to generate all the content I wanted to generate in time?

Since the surgery that feeling of urgency has changed, but the bucket list has remained. After all, we went to Hawaii because of that list and today's shirt comes from that trip. Since the surgery, I have a renewed sense of the need for the journey of self-discovery and self-definition that this blog represents. Today's shirt factors well into this journey and this self analysis process. The T-shirt's message may need to be incorporated into the Rules of Chris.

The journey continues...


BLOG RECAP

This week the top viewed blog entry is the one on the Clash -- T-shirt #238 - The Clash --
two others are tied for second most views:
T-shirt #235 - Fantastic Four Long-Sleeved and T-shirt #236 - Happy Ending Massage.

High views for the week came on November 11th when the blog received 87 page views. The second spike came on Friday with 67 views. Today, others had shown hits, such as yesterday's Veronica Mars entry, T-shirt #100: Kalamazoo College, and T-shirt #45: Star Wars: The Evolution of Darth Vader.

For the month, and I think this is interesting as I am not sure why it hit so much, T-shirt #220: Star Trek Red Shirt Gift, scored the most page views. I suspect this one was popular because it was shared with all the people included in the photo and shared by my wife who took the picture.

Here's the grid (the links are hot in the grid):


I am happy to see the post on my Dad score well. I am very proud of that entry. Nightwing and Batgirl continue to be popular, I assume, because of DC Comics related searching of the Internet. I find it very interesting that the Powell's Books entry has drawn a lot of views. Is it the Jim Leyland content? The content on Night Film? Or my last blog recap like this one?

In terms of all time most frequented pages, the Nightwing page bumped the What Would Kirk Do page that I dedicated to Trayvon Martin. I am happy to see the Nightwing love, but I am sad to see what I feel is an important issue losing ground to a comic book character.

More »

Posts


TODAY'S SHIRT

Words to live by. Potential content for more Rules of Chris.

Stay active.
Keep your inner fire burning.
It's OK to let off steam.
Go with the flow.
Be uplifting.
It's all a matter of time.
Have a blast!





















RANDOM FACTS

Fantasy sports recap - I am doing very well with fantasy sports this week. I have started basketball and actually joined more leagues to expand to six leagues. I am starting to be more competitive with the league I let Yahoo's terrible AI draft. I do not care as much about fantasy football. I much prefer the daily challenge of basketball and Baseball.

And so far today, I am picking football games better than last week's terrible record (4-11). I already have more wins in the early games than total last week = 5-2-2.

The storm - We're having high winds and thunderstorms. As usual, the most severe stuff veers north and south of us.

Time with my parents - Spent quality time with my parents yesterday and did some work on my stuff in their basement. This is a sign that things are better in balance in my life, and I am able to fit in more things. It's also made possible by hiring a friend to be a dog sitter for Satchel, so I can be away for the day.

Wife at home - Liesel stayed home from work today, and so I am having quality time with my love, which is excellent.

Kimchi update - The Kimchi is a little extra salty but it's nearly pickled. One more day on the counter and then to the fridge.

Day of rest - Today is my day of rest as I wrote earlier. I am keen to return to my reading.

DORIS LESSING HAS DIED - Sadness. A very good writer whose books I have not explored nearly well enough.

THE GUARDIAN UK - DORIS LESSING DIES AGED 94


  

Mauna Loa volcano in the night


government shutdown closed the park where the
volcano is located

Volcano at night

Liesel and I standing at the volcano at night


COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE BLOG YEAR: 124 shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1311.17 - 19:07

Saturday, November 16, 2013

T-shirt #240 - Veronica Mars - Kickstarter - shirt-1

T-shirt #240 - Veronica Mars - Kickstarter - shirt-1

I am excited about the impending Veronica Mars movie. I thank my intrepid step-daughter Piper for spotting the Kickstarter campaign and alerting me immediately to the fund-raising for the film. I jumped right into that band wagon.

For those looking for their next binge watching candidate, choose Veronica Mars. It's less of a commitment than many shows with only 64 episodes. And with the feature film due next year, it is the best time ever to binge watch this fantastic program in time to better understand the movie.

For those not "in the know," Veronica Mars was a television show on the UPN and then subsequently the CW network.

A modernization of the Nancy Drew model, the show featured a smart and sassy main character, Veronica Mars, daughter of the former Neptune county Sheriff, who, after being ousted from office in a recall election, opens his own private investigation firm, where Veronica works part time.

The show only lasted three seasons, but it was a hit with its fans. Given the fervor and intensity of the fan support, it is surprising that the show did not survive for a fourth season.

Creator Rob Thomas experimented with a variety of approaches for story telling in the episodic format. Like most hour-long dramas, the show featured a "case-of-the-week" for Veronica to solve as well as progress on the over-arching mystery, which in the first two years encompassed the entire season, but in the last year, Thomas broke up the larger mystery format and presented two extended mysteries and several stand alone episodes. For those who love episodic fiction, like me, the mixture of weekly mysteries and larger, season-long story lines was an addictive combination. Adding strong characterization and compelling subject matter (such as Veronica's muddled memory of a rape and her search for her mother), the series is arguably one of the best teen dramas of the more recent UPN, WB, and CW set.

Like many shows of its kind, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the main character, in this case Veronica Mars, played BRILLIANTLY by Kristin Bell, begins as a high school student (a junior in this show) and each year grows one year older. The third season of Veronica Mars takes place in the main character's first year of college. The proposed fourth season would have followed Veronica Mars to her first job at the F.B.I.

The show's writing was superb: witty, gritty, pathos-laden, dark, light, and endlessly inventive. The cast of characters surrounding Veronica were fresh and well-rounded. The introduction of new characters when she went to college added rather than detracted from the cast synergy. And the show dealt well with the classic love triangle between Veronica and two hunky males: Duncan Kane (Teddy Dunn) and Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring), both of whom figured in key ways into the ongoing and weekly stories and mysteries.

Without hyperbole, I would count this in my top ten favorite TV shows of all time. In an objective ranking, it would probably be demoted from being among the top ten best ever shows only due to its short run. I made a partial list of favorite shows in the entry for T-shirt #73, in which I discussed the merits of Battlestar Galactica. Though after my wife's recent experience with Breaking Bad, this list may have to be revised. After all, my list of favorite TV shows is quite obviously restricted by the TV shows I have actually seen.

Season Three cast
Veronica Mars set Kickstarter records when it launched the Kickstarter in March. I ordered TWO incentive T-shirts when I donated, and I have been waiting months for them to arrive. I may try to hold off on featuring the other one in the hopes I can use it when the movie is released.

VERONICA MARS KICKSTARTER PROJECT

The Kickstarter project page features all sorts of news and nifty and videos, such as the initial pitch and updates by Kristin Bell. The video at the top of the page will give you a GREAT idea of why the show is so hilarious and wonderful.

Did you click the link? Oh you mean THIS LINK BELOW???

VERONICA MARS KICKSTARTER PROJECT

Why didn't you click the link. CLICK IT  and watch the first video.

OMG.

Come on, CLICK AND VIEW: VERONICA MARS KICKSTARTER PROJECT.

Seriously.

I think you will understand why I funded this IMMEDIATELY with my hard earned dollars.

(BTW, I created a Kickstarter category, so you can see other Kickstarters I funded and one I wrote about but missed out on funding, though I would have funded it had I known. There's one Kickstarter that I have funded that I have not yet written about so STAY TUNED, Marshmallows.)

FROM WIKIPEDIA:
On March 13, 2013, Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell launched a Kickstarter fundraiser in an attempt to get the film made, with the help of fans to reach the goal of $2 million. The campaign offered various incentives to those who donated more than $10. Thomas and Bell stated that they approached Warner Bros. with the idea and they approved and will be distributing the finished title. Bell, Thomas, Enrico Colantoni, Ryan Hansen, and Jason Dohring appeared in a video promoting the campaign that was shot in February 2012. The goal was met within 10 hours of the start of the campaign. The project broke several Kickstarter records, including being the largest successful film project on Kickstarter. The Kickstarter campaign ended on April 13, with 91,585 donors raising $5,702,153. Production began in June 2013, with a projected early 2014 release. 
On April 5, Thomas had completed the first draft of the script. Several casting announcements were made through April to June, with confirmation of several returning cast members, including Jason Dohring (Logan Echolls), Enrico Colantoni (Keith Mars), Percy Daggs III (Wallace Fennel), Chris Lowell (Stosh "Piz" Piznarski), Francis Capra (Eli "Weevil" Navarro), Ryan Hansen (Dick Casablancas), and Tina Majorino (Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie), among several others (Veronica Mars, WIKIPEDIA, 2013).
I joined the Kickstarter in that early surge and added my money to the first wave, the original investment that funded the movie's goal in ten hours and set it on its way to breaking all KICKSTARTER and indie-Internet funding records. OH YEAH.

Also, this Kickstarter factors into my Blog Journey (which I just started writing about yesterday). The good crew of the good ship Veronica Mars launched their lovely Kickstarter the DAY I found out I had cancer. Dear readers of this blog will know that this diagnosis prompted me to start the blog eleven days later on March 22, 2013, beginning my T-shirt odyssey. If I remember correctly, Piper texted me the morning of my follow appointment, and shared a link on Facebook, and I banked my money into the Kickstarter immediately. Later that day, a very nice doctor told me as nicely as possible that I had prostate cancer. Good news and bad news in the same day. Really?

I guess that's how it happens. Good news, bad news. Then the bad news turns into good news? Sometimes.



Two hundred and fifty-one days later, I am on day #240 of my daily blog. Is that insane or what?

Did you click the link above? Want convenience? The video on the Kickstarter is the original viral video, but here's the San Diego Comic Con sneak peek with trailer. Oh yeah.

Veronica Mars Official Comic-Con Sneak Peek (2014) 


And I have another Veronica Mars T-shirt left to feature. Woot! Woot!

"Bring it now, Sugar. Bring it on, bring it on, yeah. Just remember me when"
- Dandy Warhols, Veronica Mars theme song "We Used to Be Friends"

COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE BLOG YEAR: 125 shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1311.16 - 18:15







Friday, November 15, 2013

T-shirt #239 - Superman - Classic Logo

T-shirt #239 - Superman - Classic Logo

Welcome to Comic Book Friday. Though the new comics go out for sale each week on Wednesday, my schedule does not allow me to stop by Fanfare and purchase them until Thursday or Friday of each week, either way I have been consistently sharing my weekly comics lists on Fridays for many weeks in a row. I am not going to count. If you really want a number, check out the Lists-Weekly Comics Stack category. Okay, it's twenty-one weeks.


I bought this shirt a few weeks ago (T-shirt #218). I realized that I did not have a traditional Superman logo T-shirt, and I needed one. I wanted to feature the traditional symbol shirt. But I really do not have new Superman content to share. If interested in past Superman content, I have created a Superman Related category, which, once this shirt joins the group, contains seven posts. However, I will endeavor to share some Superman content, at least in regards to recent Superman comic books.

I am hoping to feel renewed Superman love before my blog is over. I already wrote about the Superman movie (in T-shirt #110), and though not included in the Superman related category, I wrote about the Superman Unchained comic book in past weekly comics roundups. Superman Unchained started out well but did not sustain the punch of the first three issues in the fourth issue (as I reported last week in T-shirt #232). Recently, the other two main Superman books (Action Comics and Superman) have been dreadful.

I am shocked that a comic book company can have a moderately decent blockbuster summer movie and run out issue after issue of total dreck in its wake, when capitalizing on sales should be paramount.

I discuss Superman issues frequently at Fanfare with one of the managers, Bill Artis, who is a HUGE Superman fan. Even he admits that the recent Superman comics have been horribly bad. And then last week Action Comics #25 came out. It was quite refreshing. Though there were some flaws, it was a good story from Superman's earliest years as part of DC's current ZERO YEAR theme. I am hoping this comic signals better Superman content to come.

"Everyone is the age of his/her heart." Guatemalan Proverb

Today, Liesel and I took the puppy for a walk. This is something of a special occasion, though it really should not be. We got on the subject of Jung's Process of Individuation because of some comment Liesel made about people she knows and my recent teaching experiences last week both at University of Phoenix and WMU. I remarked that many people remain stuck in the earliest stages in the Process of Individuation because not everyone lives at a deeper level; a lot of people live a surface existence (though I would suspect that no one reading these sentences fits that description).



Liesel made a very true comment that nailed the issue (as she so often does): "people are afraid to individuate." 

I seized on this remark immediately. As the "Bene Gesserit" said in the book Dune, which I just finished reading, "fear is the mind killer."

Fear shuts down the system. There's no growth in the grip of fear. As I have written before, this blog came to be in the face of fear. My initial dismissal of the idea was based on fear of being labeled narcissistic or overly self-involved. I doubted that people would care, which is a kind of self-immolating fear.

But then my attitude changed after I learned I had cancer, and so I went forward with the blog, dismissing the fear. So what? So what if people labeled me a narcissist or worse? Writing makes me happy. Thus, I realized that writing the blog would make me happy, and so far, it has been a rousing success.

Liesel and I veered into a discussion of conformity next. Why do we live in a world that encourages conformity rather than difference? We assessed that some of those people who are encouraged to chart their own course, to blaze a new trail through new territory, do not have the courage to sustain the new course and surrender to the social pressures to conform. Here's the second part of the fear. A person afraid of being different projects that fear as loathing on to other people for being different. Those so threatened may take an easy route and simply avoid what makes them afraid, but others will actively judge or seek to eradicate the difference. This enforcement of normal is best seen in the microcosm of most pre-college schools, in which conformity is the highest value, and those who are different are bullied into submission. Those trying to be individuals are faced with either being social outcasts on the fringe with the others so bullied (which is often a lonely and solitary place depending how the bullying is perpetrated and if the fringe accepts the bullied one) or the individual tries to conform and fit into the dominant social group. For some, "fitting in" is impossible due to physical appearance or something else that's unalterable. Others simply do not wish to conform and prefer to be outcast, whether they can find other outcasts to form a fringe group or whether they have to go on their own way, alone, it does not matter.

Again, I connected these discussion ideas to Jung and my own recent teaching. I am still working on what The Blog Journey means. This exercise is surely part of my own Process of Individuation. I am not only assessing the work I have done previously in the Process, but acknowledging the work I have left to do. I am accepting the aspects of my personality that relate to one of the most important things in my life: the world of ideas. As I take this Blog Journey (purposeful capitals as I just made a category and wish to distinguish this idea as a proper name), I can move forward by carrying my past and my present with me. I can revel in nostalgia, but I can also frame the memories and the fondness for things past into whom I want to be now and in the future. Most importantly, I can strive to achieve balance. Deeply rooted in Gnosticism and Buddhism and other ideologies, Jung wrote frequently of dualities: the Shadow and the Ego or the Anima and the Animus. By making conscious that which has been made unconscious, Jung says, is the path of growth for the individual and the achievement of "self," the central and unifying principle of individuation, of life.

I love comic books, but I also love fine art, music, and Asian food. All things in balance. Moderation. Deep breaths. There's the framework. Now, I have a great amount of detail to fill in during the weeks to come (exactly 18 weeks today).

And so, FORWARD.

Thank you for reading.

And now today's feature.


THE WEEKLY COMICS LIST

Last week was a good week for comics and reading comics. With the exception of one comic, the last on the list, I read the entire list of comic books from last week. Unlike last week, I am not working ahead, and so I have not read a single comic from this week's list.

Looking back on the week, there are several excellent comics, but one of the greatest standouts (maybe the greatest) was Detective Comics #25. The Zero Year story of an incident early in the career of Jim  Gordon (and consequently Batman), which supplied him with the idea for the signal light, was deftly written and beautifully illustrated by Jason Fabok. Though I have been critical of the Earth Two comic, last week's issue with a new creative team was very well done, and I felt for the first time in months that it was worth my money. I already mentioned Action Comics. I felt that Uber was a bit of a let down, but Cataclysm was well done, and I liked Captain America very much.




This week, The Walking Dead takes its top spot as usual. Batman earns a higher rank based on the strength of the last issue, which I reviewed in T-shirt #217. Justice League always rates highly, but Cataclysm jumps from tenth last week to fourth this week based on the strength of the last issue, earning a place over The All-New X-Men, which is often in the top group (#16 was second in its week and #17 was fifth).

Lastly, I am excited about the Uber hard cover. I did not order it, but after reading Gillen's description of what it contained in the back matter for last week's issue #7, I had to snag it. Gillen is single-handedly re-kindling my interest in World War Two. I already plan to read one of the books he recommends, and I may need to delve more deeply into his research. In this volume, there are issue notes that Gillen had published online, there is an interview with Gillen (which looks to be at least three dozen pages long), and there's an article originally published at Multiversity about the process and pitfalls of writing fiction about Nazis. There's also more juicy back matter with designs, creator bios, script pages, and more. It is one of the best volumes I have ever seen in what it offers readers to enrich their experience beyond the collection of original issues themselves. I cannot wait to sink in my teeth in an extended reading session.

COMICS FOR 1311.13

Walking Dead #116
Batman #25
Justice League #9
Cataclysm: Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #001
The All-New X-Men #018
Thor: God of Thunder #015
The Superior Spider-Man #021
Batgirl #25
Superman/Wonder Woman #2
Nightwing #25
Avengers Arena #017
The Fearless Defenders #011
Suicide Squad #25
World's Finest: Power Girl and Huntress #17
The Shaolin Cowboy #2

BACK LOG
Astro City #6
CodeName Action #3
Wolverine #011
Rocket Girl #2

SPECIAL PURCHASES

Uber - Collected Hardcover Edition Vol. 1
Locus vol. 71 #5

COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE BLOG YEAR: 126 shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1311.15 - 19:05


Thursday, November 14, 2013

T-shirt #238 - The Clash

T-shirt #238 - The Clash

After pushing the warp engines to 139% capacity and shedding excess molecular waste which will shorten the longevity of the unit, Grading Robot has powered down to half power.

It has been a rough week for Grading Robot. Other classes queue up now, but time opens like a flower blooming.

How do you spell relief?

It has been a while since I featured some music on the blog. It has been exactly ...

a week.

A week ago today, I showcased T-shirt #231: my CBGB shirt dedicated my post to Lou Reed.

Okay, true enough, a week is not a very long time.

Before that, although I snuck in some music content in T-shirt #209 after my wife discovered Lucius, a great band, the last blog entry with a shirt that featured a musical artist on the actual shirt front was T-shirt #190 for Stereolab. Forty-one days is a long time between music-themed T-shirts. Partially, the reason for the gap is my fear of running out of music shirts. I have fewer music shirts than ultimate-themed or comic- book-themed shirts. Also, I have been holding back some of my music T-shirts because the love letter I want to write will take time and research. Though I have been thinking, perhaps I need to dispense with writing lengthy love letters for EVERYTHING. Right now, I am trying to create an extended posting once a week. With that in mind, this post will not be too elaborate or long. Though how I define "not too long" may be different than how others define it.

Today's shirt, quite obviously, features ONE OF THE GREATEST BANDS EVER: The Clash.

I could write a HUGE entry about the Clash, my experiences with their music, basics on their history. But I will restrict myself to a couple anecdotes and connections.

Every time I think of the Clash, I think about how when I was in college, I met a guy named George Constas, better known as "γιώργος" or "yiorgos" in Greek (which are both Greek for George). He was from Greece (obviously). He could drink like a fish, and he only liked The Clash and the Psychedelic Furs, of which he would remind us frequently when drunk by yelling "Play the Clash!" or "Play the Furs!" George's English was all right but not fantastic. I never spoke down to him or tried to simplify things so that he might understand them (or talk louder or slower, which is what some people stupidly do with people who do not know English well). I just spoke normally, at my normal speed, with my normal vocabulary, which in my early years of college was extra-pretentious. George always responded with the same one liner: "you stupid fucking Americans; you don't know shit." George was a classic. And he loved the Clash.

These pictures are a bit of a cheat, but I like props. I don't really play the guitar, but my wife and step-son do, and so we have a lot of guitars around the house.

THE CLASH ON WIKI

The Clash was one of the greatest bands ever and certainly one of the greatest punk bands of all time. I would argue that the Clash is the single greatest punk band ever and one of the top five greatest bands of all time (Beatles, Stones, Who, Led Zep, the Jam... I know that's six then and leaves out Radiohead, Talking Heads, Pink Floyd, and so many others... I may need to work on this list.)

After starting in 1976, the Clash disbanded in 1986. The band's lead vocalist and spiritual center, Joe Strummer, died in 2002, dashing forever the hope of a Clash reunion and robbing the world of a musical giant.

The Clash are best known for their third album London Calling, which by unanimous agreement sits at eighth place on Rolling Stone's Top 100 Albums of all time list. It's great. Though I love dozens of Clash songs, in picking some videos to share (I was going to just share three and it grew to five before I cut myself off), four of the five are from London Calling.

I saw The Clash in 1984 in Chicago after Mick Jones had left the group.

The music speaks for itself.

The Clash are amazing. I am sure that most of my readers already know their music well.

Last comment on today's shirt: Like my memory of George, which is an instructive anecdote, I always remember Rule of Chris Number Two when talking about the Clash, as I did each semester when I made them one of the featured artists in my women's studies course. I have only written about the Rules of Chris twice before: T-shirt #64: Embrace Uncertainty and T-shirt #103: Aloha. Rule of Chris #1 is the Golden Rule because it's the abiding principle of life and living. But Rule of Chris #2 is "always have a book." Before the modern age when I gained the ability to carry around a computer that fits in the palm of my hand with five times more computing power than my first two computers combined (at least), I needed a book more desperately. Now, I carry a Kindle, which is a computer containing many books, though I often have an old-fashioned, paper book anyway.

I was reading Gravity's Rainbow for a class when I saw the Clash in concert, and I toted a huge, trade paperback sized tome in the pocket of my Army fatigue cargo pants and read many pages while standing in line to get in to the concert. I wanted to get a picture of the book, but I can't find it. If I ever do, I may update here. On a side note, I read Moby Dick between Santana and the Rolling Stones at the Pontiac Silverdome. There was a two hour wait in the three act concert (Iggy Pop, Santana, and the Rolling Stones). This was in 1981. I spent a lot of time reading that damn Moby Dick book.

Hence...

RULE OF CHRIS #2: Always have a book to read; one never knows when one has to wait a long time for someone or something.


Here are my five favorite Clash songs (though  it was a close call with "Straight to Hell" and "Clash City Rockers" and several others... basically the entire London Calling album).

The Clash - London Calling





Lost in the supermarket - the clash




The Clash - Magnificent Seven - Tom Synder Show 1981


The Clash - Death Or Glory


The Clash - Clampdown 1980


COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE YEAR: 127 shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1311.14 - 18:46