Heroes I Miss: Ulysses Bloodstone

I love Curling. It's a sport few really take the time to understand and realize, but an amazing sport to try to describe to folks. The look on their face is totally priceless when you start talking about 20 pound stones with handles, shuffleboard on ice, and lots and lots of sweeping. The blank look on most American's faces when you tell them how great the sport is is totally priceless to me. I'll sit in front of the tube 9 times outta 10, especially when I have nothing else going on, and watch Curling over any other sport except Poker.

To me, Bloodstone is to comics, what Curling is to sports. All this complexity as far as set-up and execution, but perhaps one of the BEST attention getting characters that Marvel has totally shafted. Marvel looked at their property with the same blank stare that Americans give Curling and said "Big stone in his chest? An eternal human? A monster/demon hunter?? WTF??" So, being the great creative folks that they are, they killed him off, fucked with his skeleton, had his daughter pick up his mantle, turned him into a sadistic child beating bastard, and literally pissed on this great character that could have easily been one of their main staple characters right up there with Hulk, Wolverine, and Spider-man. There's that blank look again- let me explain...

Originally created by the talented Len Wein (who helped pulled the X-men from obscurity to popularity, then let Chris Clairmont take the writing credit) and Marv Wolfman (who helped reform The Teen Titans into the powerhouse property DC still makes hard jing and stumbles over today), Ulysses Bloodstone was created during the time when adventure characters like Conan and Thor were rolling hard in the Marvel Universe. Originally a barbarian from the Hyborian Age (Conan's era btw), this blonde dude walks into a glowing cave to see a big demon screwing with a large red stone. realizing the demon was evil our barbarian smashes the gem, causing it to explode and wipe out his village, but at the same time sending shards of the big red gem through the mantle to multiple different places in the world. All except for one important piece, and that one embeds itself into the barbarian's chest keeping him alive, eternal, extra healthy (complete with quick healing factor that includes growing back any lost limbs), and able to carry on the fight with the surviving demon, who has made it a goal to recollect all the gem pieces and finish what he started- which of course is the end of the world as we know it. SO, this barbarian survives on earth throughout time, fighting the evil demon dude (as well as amassing a fortune, tons of lives worth of experience, LOTS of little red gem shards that he keeps hidden, and a hard-on for revenge again this demon dude (who's name I'm not taking the time to type here correctly, but I really never took the time to try to pronounce it right when it was first out either- and knowing Marvel, they've probably spelt it a half dozen different ways by now anyway). this demon dude tries to kill Bloodstone many,many times and screw with him, find his stashes of gemstone shards, and what-not over the entire course of recorded history (which was all shrouded in legend and folktale, or just ignored and denied- Ulysses kept it on the serious down-low anyway), all the way up to modern day.

So to sum it all up, you had a totally skilled Highlander, with Wolverine's healing factor, running around throughout time and modern day, fighting a monster making demon as well as other baddies, all while trying to put a big, big gem back together again in order to reconstitute it, along with his personal shard, in order to end his life AND keep his arch nemesis from ending the world.


So Marvel was going to use Bloodstone as a lead in to Where Monsters Dwell (like they were, or had done with Kull in Creatures On The Loose), but they canned the title instead, leaving Bloodstone to gather a little dust before using him to kick off an anthology title they started called Marvel Presents. The first two installments (both written by Jack Warner) were in the first issue that were meant tot start a long running series, and yet they ended the story with the next issue in order to move on to other also shelved projects. What a waste. Pure and simple the character, if given a chance to catch on a grow, could have been a mixture of historical and modern day tales, all wrapped up in a single continuous mission. Just think of the fun and potential; Highlander, Angel, and New Amsterdam in ninja comic form, with a tight cast, a little imagination, so0me historical research, and some tenacity, this could have- no wait SHOULD HAVE been an incredible property for Marvel, and easily as iconic as Prince Valiant, or Highlander, but instead it's just scoffed at, rewritten and re-imagined by folks with MUCH less imagination, killed off, and downright defiled by "talent" that should have had a lot more respect for this character's potential. But then again, it would have meant keeping a tight sense of continuity, and that's something Marvel has repeatedly refused to do, about as much as most Americans refuse to understand Curling. It may be just way over their heads.


WAKE UP!

Cool Places To Eat: Java Joe's

In the little town of St Ignace Michigan, just on the north side of the Mackinaw Bridge, a little bit east on US2, along the coast of Lake Huron, is a unique little eatery you HAVE to visit named Java Joe's.

From the outside Joe's looks like a beach shack, one that you would expect on some southern ocean coast city, complete with tent seating in front and open air patio in back complete with tiki torches, ceramic parrots, and bright colors. Oh, that BIG tiki looking thing at the back of the patio? That's a heater on the nights when the wind off of Port Huron is especially nippy.



Inside Joe's front part is cramped, but wiggle in anyway. Tables and walls are plastered with pictures of customers who have attended to eat one of Joe's larger desserts (mostly Strawberry Sundays it looks like) with everyone smiling at the camera assuring you that they at least tried to east the whole thing. What space on Joe's walls that isn't taken up by pictures is shelves and shelves of ceramic teapots, all of which are for sale, and I swear that no 2 teapots in the place is exactly alike. I'm sure there are some- there have to be there's HUNDREDS of teapots here, but I didn't take the time to find out. I did notice that Joe's bathroom is also jammed with shelves filled with teapots, these the ones most out of season I suppose- it was filled with Xmas teapots when I was there.

You are seated and shown where the menu sits, usually wedged between the napkins and what nots on the table, and you open a four page newspaper with everything they have to offer in amazingly small print. When I was there I wasn't sure if I wanted a personal pizza, or breakfast, so I literally settled for both: I had a delicious pizza omelet, their menu is VAST, filled with about 5 times more items than a greasy spoon that small should handle, and from what I saw of my dish and the servings of others they give you plenty to eat. I walked out of there stuff and fulfilled.



Every time I'm in St Ignace I try to stop at Joe's. I proudly have one of their coffee cups here at home that I drink from from time to time, and I really want to go visit there some evening, just to see if the patio holds the party every night that I'm pretty sure it does. I was there for breakfast once and they were jammed, but constantly rotating customers in and out at a quick pace. The last time I was there (between lunch and dinner rushes I'm sure) they were about a third full. Service was nice- getting the food was a bit slower than most fast food places, but about on par with normal restaurants, which is okay because it gives you time to look over all the craziness in the place.

Here's their website complete with legend and a hint of the huge amount of stuff they offer: http://www.javajoescafe.com You can also click on the headline above for a link to their site.

Their sign out by the side of the road says it all- they offer a lot of different things to eat, a lot to look at while you're doing it, and a great greasy spoon style atmosphere that makes it a COOL place to eat. If you get to visit please tell them Spank the Monkey recommended it to you and watch their "what the hell are you talking about?" expression cross their face

Wake Up.

RE Thinking Kafka And History

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Science RE Thinking: Our Earth Is Growing

A few years ago comic book legend Neal Adams posted online a kind of science project of his, offering a theory (which he claims to have discovered, but really is is an old theory which Adams has resurrected and put a nice amount of time into explaining)about our earth that quite frankly makes perfect sense and explains a LOT to me, but I have yet to see anyone of any science renown embrace as THE explanation that Neal says it is.

The theory simply stated is that the Earth (as well as many, if not all, other planets are expanding, and that all the continents fit directly together if you shrink the earth down to a small(er) ball of crust. I like to explain it to folks like the old jiffy pop popcorn pans on a stove, only the earth is an entire sphere. Attached here for your looking over, is a small clip from Neal's film, a more fuller explanation can be found at his website www.nealadams.com, and it'll cost you 20 bucks for a month's free reign on all his materials and shorts. YouTube has a number of other clips from these films posted, but for the full story you'll need to fork over the 20...





Is he wrong? Personally I doubt it. Like I said, it makes perfect sense to me. It certainly would screw with most every one's perception of geology, astronomy, perhaps a little physics, but most of all religion (considering that most/some religions claim that the Earth is only 6-7 thousand years old- it seem to give God more importance that way...). To me it explains a LOT, especially when it comes to earthquakes, and if you looked at my earlier blogs it would also explain the force behind the Abiotic oil that pushes it to the surface of the Earth.

On a side note- what if the expanding Earth's middle is being filled with petroleum, and our pumping it out of the ground is actually GOOD for us as a species and in whatever way is keeping the planet from expanding, or at least slowing said expansion down. Are there REALLY more earthquakes happening over the last few decades, or are our equipment to record them just getting more sensitive?

On a further side note- I bring this to your attention because I think it means that we should RE think a LOT of what we take for granted and again, the explanation seems totally plausible to me, NOT because it's fostered by Neal Adams. I have a few Neal Adams stories (especially one personal one I witnessed first hand at a comic convention) that makes him one of my least favorite people (but he CAN draw and IS one of the few true comic MASTERS left on the face of this earth in my opinion), but I feel he gets a raw deal from his detractors on this theory and totally believe him to be spot on right about it.

As with everything I present here, I invite you to make up your own mind, just please do so with an open one, and feel free to comment,or discuss it here, and DEFINITELY see for yourself. I also firmly believe that most everything we blindly accept, or were "taught" in school (ANY school, including Sunday School) is totally bogus and mostly "spin" to make up believe some sheeple style viewpoint or another. In other words:

WAKE UP!

Wake Up Rant: "A Nation Of Whiners"?

I sleep with the radio on, or at least some noise going- which explains why it's so easy for me to fall asleep in front of the television- it helps me to wake up thinking, plus "Coast to Coast" is usually on my station of choice during the night and half listening to it has given me some pretty creative dreams. Anyway, this morning I awoke to the weekly mish-mash of reruns ("Best of"- HA!) of our local morning host (the ONLY local radio talk show that covers local "news")and it started my day with my blood boiling.

There was a call from this sheeple spouting rich republican dogma. I know it was "dogma" from my brief channel surfing of last Thursday's early evening cable news trying to find out why Detroit Mayor Kwami thought it was SO important to go to Canada and violate the judge's on his last, what 10 felony convictions, enough to bust him and have him spend the night in jail (ANYONE with that much of a stripper addiction- which I gather was his reasons for going to Windsor "on business"- always gets my attention), they took a call from someone who spouted almost the exact same thought as this sad woman, practically word for word.

"We're a nation of whiners" she said. "Those too stupid to get in over their heads with their mortgage should just shut up and work harder and not expect the government to give them a hand-out"- that was the basic gist of it. It's a new dogma chant going around- just listen to you local right wing, nut job, dogma maker radio idiot and listen- it'll be there. Those sheeple are worse than the sad sheeple that they're bitching about, and frankly they make me sick.

Now, I'm NOT disagreeing with what they're preaching, just the ways and reasons why they're doing it. They want to whine that everyone else is whining, and really if I'm not careful I'll be whining about them whining about the whiners in debt. It's SO easy to complain and whine, especially about the other person's faults, and yet not take the time to try to UNDERSTAND why they're in the position they're in, so let's take a second, WAKE UP, and THINK about the whiners and the whiners who want to whine about them.

Starting at the bottom, the sheeple financially in over their heads. Are these really stupid people? Middle class idiots who buy a house with an Adjustable Rate Mortgage, buy an suv to cart their family around, squeeze out puppies (sheeple kids), and when prices jack up and their ARM catches up to them end up penniless and in the street- are these folks horribly stupid? Honestly, I don't think they are. These folks ARE sheeple who have sucummed to the corporate hypnosis more than anything. We all have been programmed since we were born, since our eyes could follow the images on the TV, to buy, buy, and buy. We go to stores and buy stuff we really don't need, we get credit cards and run them up, we eat at unhealthy fast food restaurants, we buy big cars because it's cool, we buy a house on a weird mortgage because we can, and hey, we can be like everyone else and "flip" the house and make more money to buy more shit we don't need- we are part of the American consumer society, and we're really just following orders. Their programming works. This does not mean they're stupid, a lot of these folks went to college, have multiple jobs when they can, and drive the economy of not only our country, but of most of the world (though that's changing rapidly). They do these things not only because they're sold a sad bill of goods by the advertisers (also consumers making a living), or manufacturers (also consumers making a living), the media (also ...well, you get the idea), but because they're programmed to think in the "now" and not the "what if the shit hits the fan". They are TOLD to want, want, want, and buy, buy, buy, because they're told they DESERVE it. They Are Americans after all, and it's the American Way to strive for the American Dream and acquire as much as they can afford and hey, if you can afford it NOW you'll still be able to pay on it and afford more later. It's a cycle, better still a gerbil wheel that they are programmed to get on and run, and run and run. They never save, they're retirement will be provided by social security and the thankful corporate that they work for, heck even their 401-k is deducted from their check without them really seeing the money or given a chance to spend it. "Don't Worry, Be A Consumer".

I've seen that wheel. I've run that wheel, and have spent the last few years trying to jump off of that wheel as much as possible. I was lucky. My mortgage jumped early, I had my house reassessed (greatly DOWNWARD) a couple of years before everyone else's house came due, I saw my credit card interest leap right as I started to fight to buy it off. I WAS LUCKY, and I understand most of the spoon-fed hypnosis seen in the media, I've thought about it and realized that folks who fall prey to it are NOT stupid, just easily programmed. If YOU think about it for awhile you'll see it too. We were all taught that fable early with the Emperor and his new clothes. The threads on that suit are made from the "American Dream", and we're all told to comment on how great the King looks in it. Sometimes I feel like I'm that little kid pointing at the King's wiener and saying "but he's naked!". Many, MANY more folks need to be exactly like that little kid and "wake up" and speak up. Just remember that it's okay to point and laugh as long as you don't piss the king off- that could be bad.

In future blogs I hope to help you guys as much as I can to get off that gerbil wheel. I'm not perfect by any stretch, just a little monkey who probably doesn't know any better. I'm just sick of the constant shit I'm forced to live around. It's time to throw a little bit of that shit straight into the face of the sheeple on the other side of the bars. In my mind those people are worse off than the middle class sheeple. They've received more upper class programming. Staying with the above fabled analogy they're the tailors weaving the invisible threads for the Emperor and laughing as they tell the king just how cool he looks in them. They're already in on the joke and getting paid to further it and do their best to skip out of town before their deception is found out. They are MUCH more a part of the problem than they realize.

I honestly believe there's a small part of the upper middle class and upper class who still believe that America is not in a recession, or more than likely a depression. These are the whiners whining about the penniless whiners. They have NO idea how reality works, let alone how life really is here on earth. These are your politicians, your greedy corporate big-wigs, your right wing radio whack-a-dos who are working hard to tell anyone who'll listen to not panic, everything is just a minor adjustment, and that all of their problems lie in the perception of the regular folks and that they should all goose step in line and tell the Emperor how great his new threads look. Even when faced with reality they spin it in their direction, saying our economy is caught in a "perfect storm". That "perfect storm" is little more than "corporate greed" fed by politicians fed by that greed to give the corporations more power to screw, which gives them more money to contribute to more campaigns for folks who'll make laws favorable to their greed, which just turns the hurricane of America's destruction faster and faster.

Political spin just pisses me off, and I think it's time to start calling these folks on it. that's also going to be part of my blog service, every freakin' chance I get!

I got a pal of mine (sometimes I think he's on the same level as my cousin, Shock.) who toes the right-wing line. Most times I get to know what the new line of shit-n-spin from the right wing from our conversations. He honestly believes EVERY Muslim is out to overthrow the country, Bush is one of the greatest presidents of all time, abortion and being gay should be jailable offenses, and that the middle class is just whining when they talk about their situation. It took me YEARS to convince him that there was a war on the American middle class which was going to hurt us MUCH more than anyone in Iraq. Now, after losing his job, almost losing his house, losing his phone and cable, and almost having his power shut off, he ALMOST believes me- sometimes. I love the guy like a brother because when we start thinking alike I know it's time to educate -or still, RE-educate- myself on my position. I believe you should surround yourself with folks who challenge you mentally, plus it saves me from listening to the right-wing dogma and from going insane from time-to-time.

So, instead of whining, what's the solution? Should there be a "bail-out"? Nope, I don't think there should be, not because I think those folks are stupid for getting into their financial mess, but because it does nothing to FIX the problem. I think the government should be more in touch with the majority of the folks who vote for them. There should be legislation against the mortgage companies to freeze every one's mortgage at their lowest interest rate, and THEN make ARM mortgages totally illegal. Credit Card companies should be regulated and made to play fair, as should banks, and "Cash & Go" places that prey on the financially strapped. Oil companies should be made accountable, made to reinforce their refinery structure, allowed to drill on American soil (with STIFF penalties from the Environmental Protection Agency for screwing with any of the environment they drill in), and forced to pay an adequate profit margin to the consumer and not an outrageous one.

But I also believe we should restructure the tax structure and make politicians more responsible to the sheeple they are supposed to represent. There should be a constant threat of recall and in some cases term limits, or at least made to take a breather from being a "career politician" to actually have to taste "real life" every once in awhile.

But most of all I believe there should be a sense of ethics that include a restraining of sheer corporate greed, an education campaign (perhaps funded by a windfall profits tax) to the American public about how to be financially responsible, save for the future, rely upon themselves, THINK FOR THEMSELVES, spend wisely, and make it a good thing to know and help their neighbor whenever they can.

Everyone needs to shut up and DO SOMETHING POSITIVE, no matter how small, to make their home, neighborhood, town, county, state, and country a greater place, THEN worry about making the world a better place.

All of us need to STOP WHINING, START DOING, and most of all

WAKE UP.

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On a personal note- I apologize for the delays in getting more shit up here. I almost have a handle on my workload, so expect more on the way very quickly. Finally, if you're reading this please leave a comment and let me know what you think. Suggestions, comments, and criticisms are always welcome. Whining is not. I know you're out there because my hit count is rolling- I just want to encourage more discussion, no matter how nutty or pissy you think I am.

Swamped!

I've been swamped with wonderful, wonderful work ever since I got back from my R+R weekend, so it MIGHT be a day or 2 before you see more shit from me. Sorry, but hey, dem bills GOTS ta get paid!

I'll have something up here as soon as I can, or as soon as I get bored with the paying work. I have LOTS to show you!! If I'm still this busy tommorrow I'll put up a new science lesson off of YouTube (You Tube- always thought it was a bit silly, but I'm totally converted over to it now, a regular YouTube pod person I is!).

More soon, so go look at The Consumerist, or Fark.com, or You Tube, or get out and have a Double Cheeseburger @ McD's while they're still only a buck. Better still, why not leave me a comment here or at one of my other posts just so I know I ain't doing this for my own personal shits and giggles. Oh, and if YOU have some spare time then please spread the monkey-blog word!

Later.

Wake Up Site Of The Week: The Consumerist

Hey out there, just thought I'd share a site with you that you should have bookmarked and check in on from time to time:

http://www.consumerist.com

Taglined as "Shoppers Bite Back" this is a consumer reporting site that covers a wide range of topics, corporate fraud, consumer abuse, and in general consumer news that is constantly updated and lets you know that you aren't alone in being fucked over by big corporations and what some everyday consumers are doing to fight back.

Never a dull read recent articles cover such a wide range as McDonalds talking about knocking their double cheeseburger off the dollar menu, to Circuit City sending out an edict to their employees to destroy all copies of the latest issue of Mad Magazine because of a parody they ran of CC's newspaper ad (and don't get me started on Circuit City's practices, I could take up a week's worth of blogs on their practices and screws), to the average Joe's fight(s) with big corps like Comcast just to get a little dignity and "fair play".

So check them out, bookmark them, recommend others to do the same. Consider it all part of your ongoing education in the continuing war against the middle class (a war we are all LOSING by the way), and another handy hint from this little monkey who just wants everyone to WAKE UP!

You're welcome.

Heroes I Miss: Golden Age Superman

Somewhere, Comic Relief I think, I got a bound collection of Superman Sunday comic strips, and I soaked that puppy up like it was nothing- a pure joy to read and experience! I'd never read much of the Golden Age Superman before, except for a few reprints, perhaps an early Archive and the modern bastardizations we get today (Those don't count because to me they ain't real- all MY superheroes died out somewhere in the 90's to be replaced by sad, cheap zombified immitations).

I'm talking about the "Faster that a speeding bullet, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" Superman, not the evolved, mutated, "only magic and kryptonite can stop me" guy. Give me the weaker, more vulnerable Superman, the guy who would stop a nuclear bomb from blowing up, not just to save others as much as to save his own ass. Today's Superman pales in comparison- he's way too powerful, almost godlike, compared to this Dude. This guy has a reason to be Clark Kent (so he can rest and not be mobbed in public), a reason to be a reporter (to catch news and save those he can hop to right away), and a chick he's actually got a chance with. Here, in these Sundays Lois is a fiery redhead and Supes is constantly joking with her. screwing with her head even, and constantly convincing her that Clark is a HORRIBLE milquetoast of a guy, and yet he almost always beats her to the deadline and has a GREAT nose for news.

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster knew what they were doing when they created him. A powerful figure, and yet not TOO powerful. He can lift a car over his head stop crime, and yet still have time to investigate that lumberjack murder mystery. One of the Sunday's cliffhangers had a giant tree falling on him- was he dead? Of course not, but he did sink into the ground! Today's Superman would have backhanded the tree away from him, or burned it to a crisp with his heat ray, but not this guy- WHOMPH! Uh Oh! He's been crushed until next week, when he jumps out of the ground, tree lifted high over his head WITH BOTH HANDS. These stories, all credited, and mostly done by Siegel and Shuster really drove home for me the sheer talent (yes, here I say it again- "genius") this pair had. There was no need to make Superman all powerful- I'm willing to wager that they knew what would happen if they had done just that, especially with Siegel creating The Specter a few years later, and it's a sad trap that the current Superman suffers from today.




There was more tension, more humanity, and these stories were tighter and more fun than I ever imagined they would be, but then again, this was the Superman who spawned the cartoons and movie serials, not to mention the TV show that lasted many. many seasons of George Reeves springing off a trampoline, just barely out of camera range to "Whoosh" off as fast as he could.

There's a lot to be said for limited, and yet powerful power. It keeps the character much more likable, much more vulnerable, and frankly Supes had a great sense of humor and FUN in these days- not too somber- no angst in sight- just loving life on this little mud ball called Earth and helping out his adopted home world as best as he could.

Truly classic stuff, and a character and attitude I sorely miss in today's comics. He even takes the corniness out of the cliche's somehow- the "This looks like a job for Superman" and the "Up, UP and AWAY!!" seem much more believable and sincere and why not? He was a super-MAN after all.




Look them up when you get a chance. The Sundays collection was printed by Kitchen Sink and will probably be out of print soon, if it's not already- and there seems to have been only one volume that I could find of them as well, which is a tragedy considering how much fun they were to read. There was another volume of dailies that I'll probably buy as soon as I can afford it. If it's half as entertaining as this volume it will be well worth it.

I'm trying to keep some of these blog posts a bit light on purpose. There's PLENTY for me to bitch about in today's comics, but I think sometimes you never really know what you might have missed if you don't take the time to experience it yourself. There's a reason these characters are timeless and such a deep part of our culture. The Golden Age Superman was not only a bookmark icon to comics (really starting the whole super-hero genre), but he was an icon of our American culture and way of life- a true example of the golden age "American Way" that is SO missing from comics, our culture, and our way of life today.

In future posts I plan on featuring more comic characters that I miss. If you have some favorites please let me know.

WAKE UP!

Superman copyright c)1943 DC Comics / Spank The Monkey copyright c) 2008 Randy Zimmerman

My Hero: Bill Hicks- Outlaw Comedian

I was never aware of Bill Hicks until long after he was dead. Once I was "On the Road" with my comix I had a few folks at Comic conventions ask if I was a fan and I had no idea what they were talking about. Then a friend in my own hometown (DVD Scott) showed me some of his work, downloaded a large number of his performances to listen to, and even lent me his copy of Hick's biography (which I need to replace because it is not only twice as dogeared as when he lent it to me, but it also carries a nice coffee stain (I am a coffee fiend if you didn't already know).

Bill Hicks decided, somewhere around the first Bush's presidency, that his time on stage was too important to spend repeating the same lame jokes he had written over and over and decided to try to make his audiences THINK and laugh at the same time.

A genius idea way ahead of his time Bill Hicks literally paved the way for such acts as Dennis Miller (who was just cutting his teeth on SNL when Bill was running the nightclub trenches), Bill Mahr (who freely admits that ho would not be nearly as popular if Hicks had not paved the way) Denis Leary (whose entire shtick on cancer is practically a direct lift for Hicks, who had done it just as vicious but not quite as hyper many years before), and a number of other comedians who cover more political content. Bill Hicks was the bridge between Lenny Bruce and modern political comedy. Hicks was practically ignored here in the states through much of his life, but was a HUGE hit in Canada and England. He was just "breaking" here in the states when he died of cancer, having barely a half dozen of his performances on film.

His comedy and thoughts are just as viable today as when he first spoke them. His thinking was sensible, his opinions so well thought out as to easily point out the absurdities in them. Bill was a rare genius, quick witted, as "hardcore" as comedians can get, perhaps too rough for his time, yet SO poignant for today.

You Tube has a number of his spots online, and if you've a lazy afternoon you should watch them all. Though he had a set routine most of the time it was usually his off the cuff rants that were more amazing (if you're fortunate enough to catch his appearance late in his career in Chicago he rips up a few hecklers and non-thinkers to classic proportions- just amazing). Take it from this monkey, you won't be sorry you went.

His biography is entitled American Scream, written by Cynthia True, and I'm sure it's available from Amazon (probably where I'll be getting that replacement book for Scott-bet he forgot he even gave it to me- ha!

For those too lazy, but still curious, I leave you today with his closing for a One Night Stand show recorded in London pretty far along in his career. Comedy Central still shows this one or two times a year (much to their credit- but then again I think they should take at least one weekend out once a year and play nothing but old stand up routines from comedians like Hicks and Bruce who were way too important to be forgotten), and again You Tube has a number of clips from this amazing comedian who thought it was important to try to wake people up.

Enjoy, and WAKE UP!

Weekend Wailings and Watchmen

I'm outta here for a little R & R for the weekend, but I thought I'd leave you this clip from You Tube and Comics Britannia featuring one Alan Moore talking about his Watchmen. Insightful stuff if you haven't seen it already. The rest of the interview is available under "Alan Moore" on You Tube and it's well worth your time to look.

If you've never read the Watchmen please do so, It's one of the few works in comics that I can totally geek about and is an amazing read whether you're into superheroes or not. A VERY important work, covering VERY important themes that are twice as relevant today than they were when they were done.

The visuals for the upcoming movie look incredible- but like the actual graphic novel the whole point and intensity of the work hinges on both art and story working together at the peak of their possibilities. I'm hoping the movie is even half as good as the comic.

I'm posting this to show you how comics CAN be relevant- AND imaginative. Like all good art comics can effect you on a lot of different levels and yet still have that spark of wonder and imagination that is so missing from a good portion (vast majority actually) of comics today.

This clip also shows you how a writer can THINK and approach his work. You have to appreciate genius for what it is:

WAKE UP!