T-Shirt #126: New York

T-Shirt #126: New York: Open 24 Hours

I lived in New York for a few months in 1985 while doing a college internship.

I lived on 46th street just off Broadway part of the time and on a boat on the Hudson River's 79th Street Boat Basin.

I worked at Marvel Comics. More to come about that experience.


The time I spent in New York forever changed me and my sense of identity.


I have been back many times to visit. More on the subject of New York in future entries as I have more than one T-shirt featuring the grand old Big Apple of Manhattan.

Grading robot is in full swing, so this one is short.

Ten great things about New York.

Not even the ten best things or my ten favourite things.

Just ten things, off the top of my head,

which you can see I have to hang onto in the picture above

or it won't stay sitting on my neck.

1. H&H Bagels - Broadway and 80th something - 83rd?
2. Art Museums - The Whitney, MOMA, the Guggenheim, Brooklyn
3. Tuna and Egg Salad sandwiches at 2 a.m. from the deli
4. The little park I found down Park Avenue by Gramercy
5. The secret door bookcase in the Magical Childe shoppe
6. Ray's Pizza by the Slice
7. Riding at the back or front of the subway train and watching the tunnels
8. Chinatown (just the whole thing basically, but definitely Wo Hop on Mott)
9. The Empire State (so you can always tell where you are)
10. The Village Voice (a good read)

I wish I had a picture of me in New York. Not sure that I do.

New York. It's just one of a few of my favorite things.

My Favorite Things - 

John Coltrane [FULL VERSION] HQ

WEEKLY COMIC BOOK STACK

Clone from Image Comics--which I am enjoying very much because of the great Juan Jose Ryp art--has fallen into the backlog along with some other comics I usually read every month pretty quickly (like Teen Titans). I expect to catch up with some reading marathons this weekend as I indulge in some quality time.

Aquaman continues to hold the top spot in its week. More interesting is how many slots Captain America jumps after I wrote T-shirt #106. Everything else holds pretty close to its previous position. I do prefer New Avengers, but I think it's been over a month since it came out as it was not released on June 24th according to T-shirt #99.

COMICS FOR 1307.24  (July 24, 2013)
Aquaman #22
Captain America #009
New Avengers (Infinity) #008
Young Avengers # 008
Hawkeye Annual  #1
Superior Spider-Man #014
The Flash #22
Batman/Superman #2
Justice League Dark (Trinity pt.3) #22
Uncanny Avengers #010
Lazarus #2
Hunger #001

BACK LOG
-Back log comics are not listed in any order.
Clone #9
Wolverine #007
Ultimate X-Men #29
Catwoman #22
Green Hornet #4
Teen Titans #22
Superman #22
Uncanny X-Force #004 (to go with the catch up from last week)

- chris tower - 1307.25 - 14:38

T-shirt #125: Hair and the Barn Theatre

T-shirt #125: Hair and the Barn Theatre... no wait, TARZAN

Photo Courtesy Laura Girolami

I review theatrical productions for the Battle Creek Enquirer. In ancient times (as in long ago), I wrote for the Kalamazoo Gazette, also, and before that, The Western Herald and The Kalamazoo College Index. But my longest tenure has been with the Battle Creek Enquirer, which is a Gannett company, meaning that it is owned by the same company that owns USA Today.

I am updating (1307.25) now that my review has come out. Though Gannett may have a limited number of views widget.

TARZAN REVIEW

As of next year (2014), I will have been writing for the Enquirer for 20 years. Though I have done some hard news here and there for them, mostly I do reviews of theatrical productions at local theaters, such as The Barn Theatre, The Marshall Civic Players, What A Do Theatre, Cornwell's Turkeyville Dinner Theatre, the Great Escape Theatre, and up until recently, The Tibbits Summer Theatre, though I have now begged off due to the long drive.

I first explored the topic of theatre and my favourite musicals in T-shirt #91 and Jesus Christ Superstar. Another musical in my top five is Hair as seen here, though I do not know it so well that when executive producer Brendan Ragotzy quoted from it last night upon seeing my shirt I did not recognize it right away. So shameful.

I only have one Barn T-shirt (though I also own a polo shirt with the Barn logo), which is the one featured here promoting the Barn's 2005 production of Hair, which is Brendan Ragotzy's favorite musical of all time. I wore my shirt last night to the theatre when I was sent by the paper to review the Barn's latest production, Tarzan. And though this is Disney's Tarzan adapted from the animated movie and featuring music by Phil Collins, for some odd reason, the Barn is not allowed to call it "Disney's Tarzan," even though they produced Aida, which had to be called Disney's Aida and Beauty and the Beast, among others, likewise named.

The Barn Theatre has been around since 1946, when it opened in Richland's Village Hall as the Richland Village Players. Once the Ragotzys managed to buy an old barn and renovate it, the theater moved to Augusta in 1949 where it has been ever since, offering summer stock theater for local residents and others who make the drive to visit this historic landmark. In the old days (say 1960), the summer season could consist of as many as ten shows! These days the Barn offers six-seven shows, with one every two weeks, and sometimes a late add-on final show for a short run of one week only.

The Barn uses professional actors and is considered an Equity Theatre, the trade union for thespians, in which candidates need so many hours to receive their official Equity Card, and so the larger company is often filled with Equity Candidates, usually college students or recent grads working to earn their cards.

Photo Courtesy Laura Girolami

The Barn has a history of tackling productions few (or no) regional theatres have yet to tackle, such as last season's Monty Python's Spamalot and Legally Blonde as well as original productions, such as Ragotzy and Troy Benson's Raunch and Roll. The Barn also has productions that are perennial returners and favorites of its patrons, such as The Rocky Horror Show, Escanaba in da Moonlight, and farces (both British and American), such as those written by Brit Ray Cooney or American playwrights Larry Shue and Ken Ludwig. This season the Barn is tackling three productions not yet produced by regional theaters or produced by only a few, including Tarzan, Shrek, and Young Frankenstein.

It was not that long ago that the Barn Theatre packed in so many patrons that it had to extend its run on popular shows, often ones starring famous actors who have gone on to greater success in TV and film, such as Robert Newman, Kim Zimmer, Tom Wopat, Jessica Joy Kemock, Melissa Gilbert, Marin Mazzie, Stephen Lynch, Barbara Marineau, and many others, now, also including Eric Peterson, who returned to the Barn in 2005 for this production of Hair, who toured nationally with Shrek and has recently been cast in a TV Land network situation comedy called Kirstie with Kirstie Alley and Rhea Perlman. Other celebrities who had their start at the Barn Theatre include Jennifer Garner and Lauren Graham.

In recent years, it has been more of a struggle to fill the seats despite the high quality entertainment offered at the Barn both on its mainstage and in its Rehearsal Shed Lounge in the three-set cabaret show that follows each mainstage performance (where they serve drinks, nachos, wings, and ICE CREAM). The Barn Theatre provides a night or afternoon of entertainment for the whole family, especially for this, 2013, season in which the theater has a lineup of family-friendly shows aimed at pleasing area audiences.

I have had the pleasure of seeing many great productions at the Barn and meeting many wonderful performers, some of whom I count as Facebook friends, such as Roy Brown, Brendan Ragotzy, Fred Gillette, Emily Fleming, Eric Parker (who did a wonderful job directing Tarzan), Jamey Grisham (wonderful as Tarzan), Penelope Alex Ragotzy (wonderful as Tarzan's mom), Troy Benton, and the aforementioned Eric Peterson. All of these folks are wonderful, but I only annotated those with a major role in Tarzan, last night's show.

I am proud to be a reviewer for a paper that sends me to see live, professional theatre in southwest Michigan.

What's the hidden message of this blog entry? The subtitle? GO SEE THE LIVE THEATRE.

Any live theatre will do, but this place, the Barn Theatre, is special.

- chris tower - 1307.24 - 11:39

T-shirt #124: Steely Dan

This is a good image, but
it is my t-shirt, and I am wearing it.

T-shirt #124: Steely Dan: AJA

I am going to let the music mostly carry this blog entry because that is as it should be when featuring music. But first a few comments and then a few more mixed in between musical videos.

I did not discover Steely Dan until I was in college. So many of the people I met were huge Steely Dan fans, and one of the albums in continual play in many dorm rooms was Steely Dan's AJA (1977). I love this entire album, and "Deacon Blues" is my favorite song. I found this nifty live version (see first video).

In 2006, I had the pleasure of seeing Steely Dan live and in concert at what I will always call PINE KNOB but has been renamed as the DTE Music Theatre.

At the 2006 show, I had many choices for concert T-shirts, but with my love for Aja and given that this was my first time seeing Steely Dan, then this was a no brainer. This shirt. Yup.

I have had a few chances to see Steely Dan since 2006, and I have not been able to make it. I hope they keep touring. This is a show that I would love to see with my wife, Liesel, who also loves Steely Dan.

So here's a few videos with music and some more text interspersed.

Steely Dan- "Deacon Blues" (HD) 

Live in San Francisco on 

October 23, 2009

"You call me a fool 

You say it's a crazy scheme 

This one's for real 

I already bought the dream 

So useless to ask me why 

Throw a kiss and say goodbye 

I'll make it this time 

I'm ready to cross that fine line " - "Deacon Blues"

From the You Tube clip poster: "Trivia: "The song, while contrasting winning and losing in life, does so by taking as an image the contrast between the perennial powerhouse, Crimson Tide football team, and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. In the five years before the song was written, the Crimson Tide had lost only 8 games total, while Wake Forest had a losing record every season. Group member Donald Fagen said, "Walter (Becker) and I had been working on that song at a house in Malibu. I played him that line, and he said, 'You mean it's like, they call these cracker assholes this grandiose name like the Crimson Tide, and I'm this loser, so they call me this other grandiose name, Deacon Blues?' And I said, 'Yeah!' He said, 'Cool! Let's finish it!'"- (Wiki) Recorded at Steely Dan's performance in San Francisco, California at the Masonic Hall in Nob Hill on October 23, 2009."

ON AJA: "History gives Steely Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagen the last, hearty laugh on this, the crown jewel in their remarkable canon of  '70s Mensa pop. Sneaking onto the charts a half-decade earlier with sinuous, jazz-inflected "rock," the dysfunctional duo's acerbic, anti-heroic visions had been critically lauded for their band identity and killer guitar riffs, then promptly challenged when the two songwriters retired from the road, dissolved any formal band lineup, and used the studio as laboratory. Aja carried the added indignity of its increased focus on sophisticated jazz models and musicianship, which carried the Dan's ambitions even further in terms of suave harmonies, intricate song structures, and brilliant playing. Time has proven them wiser than their rock crit detractors: These seven songs abound in knotty plots, sneaky imagery, and drop-dead brilliant performances from a blue chip studio repertory studded with first-call jazz players epitomized by Wayne Shorter's towering solo on the title song. From the hard-boiled jazz romance of "Deacon Blues" to the twisted Homeric vamp of "Home at Last," the veiled but ominous swing of "Peg" to the sci-fi eroticism of "Josie," Aja is a modern pop classic and the coolest fusion record no one ever thought to lump in that category." --Sam Sutherland

Obviously, I also love this next song ("Peg"). I will not over do it. I love the entire album of Aja, so I could post the entire thing, and I am already going to post an entire album. Stay tuned.

Steely Dan: Peg (live 2000) (HQ)

 The goal here in the picture to the left  is to show me looking at the Steely Dan greatest hits album which was my first one by them with most of my records in the background. The picture did not turn out as well as I would have liked, so I will have to try another. The picture is here courtesy of Adam Kemp.

"Peg, It will come back to you. Then the shutter falls, you see it all in 3D. It's your favorite foreign movie."

Steely Dan: "Dr. Wu" 9/17/2011 Beacon Theater NYC

"Are you with me Doctor Wu ?

Are you really just a shadow

Of the man that I once knew?" - "Doctor Wu

This next video for "Kid Charlemagne" comes from the tour I saw. And here's my ticket. :-)

The lyrics for "Kid Charlemagne" were loosely inspired by the exploits of the infamous 1960s San Francisco-based LSD chemist Owsley Stanley (WIKI).

Steely Dan 2006-Kid Charlemagne

This video above for "Kid Charlemagne" is great, but it was the closing song of the first set, so the recorder left the recording running for two full minutes after the end of the song as people cheered and clapped and called for an encore.

I could post more Steely Dan songs as there are so many that are good. I went on a rampage a couple of decades ago and collected every album and the boxed set on CD. I find that I can listen to Steely Dan ongoing and never tired of them. But if I am discussing most listened to albums, then check out T-shirt #97, in which I listed the albums I have listened to most often in my life. One album that I literally listened to every day for almost three years is Donald Fagen's solo album (one of four) Morph the Cat. I was hoping someone had posted the entire album to You Tube, and lo and behold, they have. If you have never listened to this album and you love Steely Dan's funky and jazzy style, then you owe it to yourself to LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM IMMEDIATELY and often and save it in a special place. I think it's as good as ANY of the Steely Dan albums and arguably tied with greatest albums, for me, with Aja.

Check out this link to a good review of Fagen's first three solo albums: CLASSIC ROCK REVIEW  "Fagen released two albums under his own name—the critically acclaimed The Nightfly (Warner Bros., 1982) and less well-received but equally superb Kamikiriad (Reprise, 1993). In the midst of revived Dan activity, Fagen released his last album, Morph The Cat (Reprise) in 2006, winning a Grammy for Best Surround Sound Album. While it was well-deserved, it’s a shame the disc was recognized for how good it sounded rather than how good the music was." - Jerry "allaboutjazz.com"

Donald Fagen 

Morph The Cat

From this video link follow to playlists of all videos for album, which I cannot embed.

SAVING TICKETS I am a little compulsive. After years of sticking my tickets on a bulletin board, I started saving them in binder in plastic protectors. Expect to see more from this book as I work my way through the concert T-shirts.

- chris tower - 1307.23 - 9:07

T-shirt #123: KUDL 2009-White

T-shirt #123: KUDL 2009-White & 2013 Costume Night

I am up to TEN KUDL posts so far, and I do not think I am half way through my KUDL shirts.
I already featured KUDL of 2009 in T-shirt #56. I was on the blue team that year. But I have a few other styles of the 2009 shirt as I bought extras, especially in Patagonia moisture-wicking fabrics.

Last week was KUDL costume night. An epic affair. Today, I am going to let the pictures do the talking with just a few captions.

The Co-Captain of Funktion Junktion, best team in KUDL!

I always look like I am diving even if my feet do not leave the ground.

Something is wrong with this disc. I must attack it!

Attempting to throw the shield. Cap throws his shield, right?

As I attempt to throw, the world grows darker.
Does something wicked this way come?
The Red Skull?
Arnim Zola?
Thanos?

Thankfully, I am saved by the assembling of my Avengers: Funktion Junktion.
L-R: Meredith Edwards, Woody Tauke, Sam Gulliver, Patrick Lighthall, Island Ellerby,
Kolten Chauvez, My co-captain the wonderful Evann Potts,
Patrick "Draco" Abeli, Emily "She is on this team" Diekema, and me.

The Captain gathers Funktion Junktion for a cheer:
"We must use our powers for the good of mankind!"

Ta-da!! Also pictured here and not seen previously: on the left with the white hat, Tommy Owens, to his left Stu Gulliver, To Tommy's Right and with his back to the camera Lanny Potts, To Lanny's right Amy Hovinga, Over Amy's
head Ian T. Smith...

 

A lot of KUDL though not all of them!!

De-costuming. There's today's shirt: KUDL 2009 in white: Patagonia.
It's comfy.

- chris tower - 1307.22 - 8:18

T-shirt #122: Calvin and Hobbes

T-shirt #122: Calvin and Hobbes

I am not supposed to have a Calvin and Hobbes T-shirt. Apologies to Bill Watterson. Also, thank yous to my friends Neil and Yvette Southwell who sent me this shirt from Malaysia, where American legal restrictions were not a problem.

Back in the 1990s, before the Internet was so easily accessible (hey, kids, we had to "dial" into it and it tied up the phone line) and before everything and more was actually available ON the Internet, commerce crawled along at a much slower pace. Back then, Bill Watterson's lock down on merchandising for his comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, which is the single GREATEST COMIC STRIP EVER MADE, was much more effective. Despite my greatest respect for Mr. Watterson and his choices, I still wanted a T-shirt when my friends reported seeing knock offs in Malaysia and offered to send me one. I did not wear the shirt too often as I felt intense guilt for circumventing Watterson's wishes about merchandising. Now, knock-off merchandising, such as the image of Calvin urinating on a Ford logo, are ubiquitous. AND if you Google "Calvin and Hobbes T-shirts," many delightful choices display on your screen. Times have changed. Time for owning another C&H shirt or six? PERHAPS.

Calvin and Hobbes has brought me great joy. Thank you, Mr. Watterson. You made my life richer because of your fantastic art and stories.

RANKINGS OF BEST COMIC STRIPS - CALVIN AND HOBBES WINS

There is little dispute (or there should be little dispute) that Calvin and Hobbes is the greatest comic strip ever created. A few sites do not have it as number one. I found one stupid site that did not have Calvin and Hobbes in the top ten.  In fact, I would argue that it is one of the very best entertainment works ever created in any medium or genre! (But such is an argument for another time.)

As you know -- or you may not know but are learning right now -- I am not one for ultimate or absolute statements. I have a lot of love, and I like to spread it around. But I have no hesitation in proclaiming that Calvin and Hobbes is far and away, above and beyond, infinitely THE GREATEST COMIC STRIP EVER MADE.

Back of today's shirt

There are many great strips that I love -- Bloom County, Peanuts, Dick Tracy, Buck Rogers, BC, Wizard of Id, Prince Valiant, Get Fuzzy, Speedbump, the Far Side, For Better or For Worse, Sally Forth, POGO, and more -- but Calvin and Hobbes takes the top spot. If you need more convincing, or if you agree and you want to investigate, check out the following links.

Though the following link is missing GET FUZZY, which is current and should place in a top ten, this is good one, and for the most part, I agree

IANTHECOOL - TOP TEN COMIC STRIPS

These are also good rankings though not my favorites from what I have found online.

HELIOPHON: Why Calvin and Hobbes is one of the best comic strips ever

SABOTAGE TIMES: CALVIN AND HOBBES - THE GREATEST COMIC STRIP OF ALL TIME!

BY FAN VOTE: Rankopedia - Best Comic Strip Ever

Want to vote? Try RANKER. It requires no log in and the ads are not very intrusive.

This T-shirt moved up on my blog entry list because of the following news that I just found out about (it's hardly "breaking news" as this news has been circulating since 2009 and I missed it until now):

THERE'S GOING TO BE A DOCUMENTARY!!

Check out these links and the trailer:

DOCUMENTARY!! - NEWS ARTICLE AT FANBOY

THE DOCUMENTARY WEBSITE:  Dear Mr. Watterson

I am very excited about this documentary. A film devoted to the love of Calvin and Hobbes? Really? And I thought I was excited when I kicked in to the Kickstarters for the WeAreBatman movie, the Amazing Randi movie, and the Veronica Mars movie.

Dear Mr. Watterson Trailer

It was a sad day (Nov. 9th 1995) when Watterson announced that he was ending the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip at the end of that year. Like so many fans, I felt a HUGE sense of loss. I was a devoted DAILY follower. Every day I would grab the paper to read my favorite strip. If I did not grab the paper for a couple of days, the newspapers MUST remain accessible so I could catch up. When I went on vacation, the comic pages had to be saved. When I was in Europe, I had massive withdrawal and could not believe that no one published the American strips.


Calvin and Hobbes was a part of my daily life and brought me great joy and comfort.


And yet, I understood Watterson's decision. His explanation (find it on the Wiki about him HERE) was succinct and clear. He did not want to "run it into the ground." I get it. I was sad. I am sad. But I get it. There are ten years of daily strips collected in books. It's enough.

Watterson is intensely private. He has declined many opportunities for interviews and biographies. He did speak to the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 2010, and again the remarks are on the Wiki page (see previous link) in which he explained a bit further. He does not regret ending the strrip when he did, and after much thought, neither do I.

And yet, a documentary about the strip will surely be AWESOME. As one of the earliest Kickstarters, the film Dear Mr. Watterson promises to be wonderful (if the trailer is any indication). It will premiere in November of 2013. I am counting the days.

Last comment on merchandising, and then I am going to present some of my favorite Calvin and Hobbes strips (more Watterson and less me today). It sounds like a great idea to have a Calvin and Hobbes Christmas show on TV, Calvin and Hobbes stuffed toys, stickers, play sets, polo shirts, pajamas, bed sheets, limited edition statues, book ends, lamps, waste baskets, refrigerator magnets, and so on. And yet, my love for the strip may be diminished. For the most part, despite knock offs, the strip exists just as the strip: the art and the story.

It exists JUST as Watterson intended it.

This is as it should be.

MY ALL-TIME TOP THREE FAVORITE CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIPS

NUMBER ONE - NAILS IN THE COFFEE TABLE

NUMBER TWO - THE TOASTER 

NUMBER THREE - THE RECORD (LP)

OTHER FAVOURITE CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIPS

Surely, if I re-read all my Calvin and Hobbes books (which I may do before the documentary premiere in November) , I would probably have other choices. I like a lot of "Calvin the Bold" sequences. There was also the break-in story and the raccoon story; both of which were excellent. I loved the sequence in which Calvin transformed himself into a Tiger. There's Stupendous Man and Spaceman Spiff. So many great ones.
There's omissions here simply because I am not loading up several hundred strips. But these were among the best I found skimming current online resources. Enjoy.

PERFECT strip to end with today...

FOR MORE CALVIN AND HOBBES

- 25 GREAT CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIPS

- 10 BEST CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIPS
The preceding link also has a short film inspired by Calvin and Hobbes and some other goodies.

- 10 GREAT CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIPS

- WHEN WE FIRST MET - CAST OF CALVIN AND HOBBES

- chris tower - 1307.21 - 9:38