T-shirt #121 - Ani Fuckin' DiFranco

T-shirt #121 - Ani Fuckin' DiFranco

Technical difficulties in Magical Blogging Land. There were massive thunderstorms here in Kalamazoo last night that were supposed to go north of us and instead popped right over us and felled hundreds of trees and power lines, which...

had no effect on us at all.

The storm did nothing. That was not the technical difficulty.

The technical difficulty was life. I slept in and then I frittered away some hours. I started working on an entry that is shaping up to be longer than I expected. Aren't they all, you are asking. Maybe. Even this one. Anyway, then I taught two classes, went to a house warming party, went to two stores, and helped with dishes and pool maintenance. And now...

Now, I need a quickie.

These are my first words on the subject of Ani DiFranco, who I have seen live at least ten times, but they will not be my last words because I have other Ani T-shirts, though this one is my favorite for obvious reasons.

Instead, with the exception of a few words, I am going to let Ani's words and music do the talking via some videos and get a quick post up and get back to work. And, yes, I am aware that the previous sentence contained three "ands." It's poetical. Rubbish.

This first video and the text of the poem that follows via a link to a safe site  is something that I thought was SO INSPIRING that I started my Women's Studies Media & the Sexes classes with it for most of ten years. No introduction. No "Hello, my name is..." No attendance roll call. Just got the attention of the classes, called for quiet, and launched into this FANTASTIC poem. Check the video. And yes, I am MR. DRAMA.

Ani DiFranco - Grand Canyon

FIND THE TEXT HERE: GRAND CANYON by Ani DiFranco

Here's two of my favorite Ani DiFranco songs, both from my favorite album: Revelling/Reckoning (2001).
I debated going with two songs from the same album. But I will revisit Ani DiFranco another time and share other songs.

Both the "Grand Canyon" and the "The Next Bold Move" videos come from Ani's appearance at the 2003 Philadelphia Folk Festival. Enjoy.

Ani DiFranco - School night

Your Next Bold Move - Ani DiFranco

Indeed.

Ani Fuckin' DiFranco.

"but then what kind of scale
compares the weight of two beauties
the gravity of duties
or the ground speed of joy?" - "School Night"

Peace. Out. See you tomorrow.

- chris tower - 1307.20 - 17:10

T-shirt #120: Bless You Boys: 1984 Tigers

T-shirt #120: Bless You Boys: 1984 Tigers

Regular Baseball games resume today, and I would like to dedicate myself to a few words (okay, A LOT of words depending on your definition of "few") about one of the greatest Detroit Tigers teams of all time and one of the greatest sports teams ever: THE 1984 DETROIT TIGERS and other related topics.

I would also like to dedicate some content to one of my top five favourite people in the history of Baseball, and the only one who is not a player: ERNIE HARWELL, the voice of the Detroit Tigers as well as my favourite Baseball player ever.

Ernie is responsible for coining the phrase "Bless You, Boys" that was the theme of that magical 1984 season and World Series victory. (See one of the comments. Actually, Ernie did not coin this phrase. I was wrong!)

1984 was the last time the Detroit Tigers won the World Series.

Today has been a bit crazy as I was out at my parents' house taking care of my mother while my father goes to Detroit to see his mother when I started writing this entry and finished later at home. I am sharing that fact because I had originally planned a long, essay, love-letter for this post, and now I am simply in a hurry just to finish the blog entry. So, instead of the long, love letter to the 1984 Detroit Tigers team, let me try something else: short (I think they are short) nuggets of observation, reflection, and/or opinion linked by pictures.

THE CORNER OF MICHIGAN AND TRUMBULL: As much as I love Comerica Park, I grew up going to games at Tigers Stadium. Though I did not make it to any playoff or World Series games in 1984, I did make it over to Detroit in the summer for one game. I like that this shirt features the stadium's location and years of service on the back with the 1984 team's World Series games and scores.

This shirt was a commemorative souvenir created for the celebration of the last year at Tigers Stadium for fans to remember some of their favourite memories from Tigers Stadium. I went to dozens of games at the old Corner of Michigan and Trumbull. It was a very special place for me.

ALAN TRAMMELL

My all-time favourite Baseball player is Alan Trammell and has been since 1984. I did not have one favourite Baseball player let alone one Detroit Tiger prior to crowning Trammell as my champion. I had many favourite players and many favourite Detroit Tigers.

Trammell was everything I wanted to be. He was smart and consistent. He was intense and focused. He was a winner. He was smooth and defensively solid. He was quiet. He led by example. Did I mention the smarts?

Bill James rated Alan Trammell as the ninth best shortstop in the history of the game in the same Historical Abstract book that I wrote about in T-shirt #115 and the Chicago Cubs (Ron Santo).

Trammell is Hall of Fame bound. He has been on the ballot since 2001. Eventually, he and Sweet Lou will be inducted. Not yet.

Trammell was World Series MVP in 1984.

He sat at Sparky's side and learned from one of the greatest managers in the history of the game. And though Tram's first run as Detroit Tigers manager was not the most stellar, he is getting more seasoning as Kirk Gibson's bench coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are currently in first place in the NL West.

Though Tram was not a power home run hitter (only 185), and though he did not hit enough to reach the lofty and exclusive 3000 hit club (only 28 players have so far in MLB history), he knocked 2365 hits in his career, which is not too shabby and a feat few have accomplished. Though I am not going to report Tram's position in MLB history with his career hit total, he is seventh on the all-time Tigers list after two of the Tigers in 3000 hit club (Ty Cobb and Al Kaline) plus Gehringer, Heilmann, Crawford, and Sweet Lou Whitaker (who has just four more hits than Tram, his infield partner for all those years).

Here's a great blog entry from last year that expresses many sentiments I share about the grand old ball park.

ALAN TRAMMELL REMEMBERS TIGERS STADIUM

Trammell embodied the best spirit of that time and the very nature of Ernie's phrase "Bless You Boys!"

THE DETROIT TIGERS 1984 SEASON

Commemorative hat from the
2012 World Series

The Tigers exploded out of the gate in 1984 like no other team that year, no other Tigers team in history, with one of the best starts in Major League history.

The Tigers cruised to a 35-5 record in the first 40 games and one of the top ten best starts by a team in major league history.

A writer collected these starts at BLEACHER REPORT.

The Tigers ended up  with 104 wins and 58 losses, which is not the best record in Baseball history, but it is one of the best. And in 1984, the Tigers' record was far and away the best of that year with the next best team back at 96 wins (The Chicago Cubs).

But 1984 is special to me because it brought me back to Baseball and reminded me of how much I loved the Tigers and Baseball.

Unlike the last time when the Tigers won the World Series (1968) when I was only six years old, the 1984 win meant a lot more to me because I was watching the games with my college friends (and sometimes my father) and engaging in adult conversations about the Tigers and Baseball.

The Tigers have not won the World Series since.

Most of all, I remember the summer of 1984 and how it re-kindled my forgotten love of Baseball.

I think puberty turned me temporarily insane. I didn't really fully grow out of the insanity until I was in my forties.

But early on, I remembered how much I loved Baseball, and I have been devoted ever since.

Hat is from Spring Training 2009
which I attended with my best pal.
Hat is a purged gift from him.
Photo courtesy of Robert Tower

BOOKS ABOUT BASEBALL

I love books about Baseball. Here's a picture of me posing with some of my books about the Tigers (though not all of my books about the Tigers) and all my books written by Ernie Harwell, most of which are signed.

This love of Baseball books should not surprise anyone. After all, I am the writerly, bookish type. Naturally, one of the things I love best about Baseball is the study of Baseball: statistics, stories, and history. The LORE. This is what Ernie gave me a passion for: THE LORE. He told the legends of Baseball both big and small like no other storyteller I have ever heard speak about Baseball.

I have written eight posts (including this one) about Baseball since I started the blog. I have written all but one of these Baseball posts about the Detroit Tigers.

And if you think I am out of Baseball shirts, you do not understand me at all. I have much more to share about Baseball, The Detroit Tigers, the 1984 team, Alan Trammell, Tigers Stadium, and Ernie Harwell. Stay tuned. Oh, and I should not forget to mention: Sparky Anderson.

ERNIE HARWELL

Ernie took over as the voice of the Detroit Tigers two years before I was born (1960) and finally retired the year I was 38 years old (which was also the year my mother almost died from bacterial meningitis). For 38 years of my life, Ernie was the voice of the Detroit Tigers. As I wrote in T-shirt #115, I think I nailed it:

"I love listening to Baseball on the radio. This is one of the central truths of my love for Baseball. It is presented in its most classic form on the radio. I grew up listening to the Detroit Tigers on the radio, the sonorous voice of Ernie Harwell crackling across my AM band, hand-sized transistor late into the night."

I am nothing if not self-referential and meticulous about the ongoing story I am constructing in these virtual pages.

Thank you, Ernie. I miss you.

2013 TIGERS

There are high hopes for our Detroit Tigers this year. They made it to the World Series last year but lost to the San Francisco Giants. A lot of chatter holds with the idea that if the Tigers had opened that series at home, they would have won.

Most Tigers fans expect the Tigers to go back and win it this year. Surely that's possible. But for many fans, it's almost a certainty, and they place unreasonable expectations on this year's team.

True, Six players were All Stars.

True, the team is much the same as last year's with the addition of a returned Victor Martinez. Pitching from Scherzer has been epic. And though many grumble that the Tigers need a bonafide "closer," I do not hold with the magic of a special person that closes games. They just need good pitchers in the pen. Anyone can pitch at the end of the game. If the pitcher is a good one, he will not give up runs very often. If he is not so good, he will often be shelled.

After the Tigers won the World Series in 1984, given the talent of the team, given the number of great players on the team, people expected a dynasty, expected them to return every year for at least the rest of the 1980s. They did not play in the Series again for 22 years.

Some of the players on the current team have done what neither the 1968 nor the 1984 team could do: play in the World Series twice (2006 and 2012) in six years.

They say that "three times is the charm."

BLESS YOU BOYS!

Have a great second half of the season. First pitch of game 95 is minutes away.

GO TIGERS!

- chris tower - 1307.19 - 20:07 (first pitch tonight at 20:10).

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.