Tuesday, August 30, 2011

The City in the Clouds


The City in the Clouds (1922) by C. Ranger Gull

"A stirring story of love, crime and adventure by the author of 'The Air Pirate'"


Produced by Mark C. Orton, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

Monday, August 29, 2011

The Invaders (1967-1968)



"Three brief promos for The Invaders ABC-TV series from 1967-1968." I read somewhere that the aliens were originally going to have an eye in the center of their palm, but by the time the series went into production they just had stiff little fingers.


[via the Internet Archive]

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Tiger & Bunny 22



Episode 22, "Bad Luck Often Brings Good Luck."

Cornered, can Kotetsu make the heroes remember who he is -- and what will he do about Bunny?

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Interkosmos


Psychedelic space rock from Europe. Far out, man.


(Run time: 63:30)

[via the Internet Archive]

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The Colour Out of Space

Mark E. Smith of The Fall has a beer and reads Lovecraft's "The Colour Out of Space" (March 1927).



If you don't know who The Fall are you automatically lose 25 punk points. Here they are doing "How I Wrote Elastic Man."



[via Dangerous Minds]

Sunday, August 21, 2011

The Image and the Likeness

(Cover by Ralph Joiner )


The Image and the Likeness by John Scott Campbell

"Up from the horror of Hiroshima came a god. He gave the people hope and for this they killed him—as they have always killed their gods."


Produced by Greg Weeks, Dianna Adair and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Tiger & Bunny 21



Episode 21, "Heaven Helps Those Who Help Themselves."

Framed for murder, Kotetsu is on the run. Who can he count on when no one remembers him?

The title of this episode of course refers to Aesop's fable, "Hercules and the Waggoner."

A Waggoner was driving his team along a muddy lane with a full load behind them, when the wheels of his waggon sank so deep in the mire that no efforts of his horses could move them. As he stood there, looking helplessly on, and calling loudly at intervals upon Hercules for assistance, the god himself appeared, and said to him, "Put your shoulder to the wheel, man, and goad on your horses, and then you may call on Hercules to assist you. If you won't lift a finger to help yourself, you can't expect Hercules or any one else to come to your aid."

Heaven helps those who help themselves.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Why Did We Stop Dreaming About Outer Space?

Neil deGrasse Tyson does a spot on Real Time with Bill Maher and explains how science suffers as a result of the warped economic distribution in the U.S.



[via Disinfo]

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's...Some Dude?!

Jon Ronson, our Boswell of 'the part of no part', turns his gaze upon the RLSH movement.


I'm rather ambivalent about all this. I have no problem with people wearing what they want, but when they start acting as vigilantes that's a horse of a different color. What if they mistakenly harass or injure an innocent citizen? What happens if some of them go after "illegal immigrants"? What if they go full-on Death Wish?

"The real-life superheroes like to portray their motives as wholly benevolent, but if they were driven purely by altruism, they'd have become police officers or firefighters or charity volunteers. Something else is evidently propelling them—a touch of narcissism. It's an odd sort of narcissism, of course, when the narcissist disguises his face, but the lust for fame and glory is unmistakable."

I can't help thinking that before long we'll see "supervillains" appearing and this will all degenerate into a street level Pro-Wrestling match.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

"Walking the Hog"

Transmitted over the æther comes the news that Michael Moorcock has new story coming out, "Walking the Hog." It features none other than my namesake, Jerry Cornelius. As Reinart der Fuchs informs us,

"Correct me if I am wrong, but we are looking at the first ever published direct to Kindle and eBook Moorcock with a brand spanking new Jerry Cornelius no less. Jerry finds himself yearning for ages past while under the modern oppressive brandocracies. Michael has done it again by producing the very first 3D HD 4G fully digital Cornelius original short. Oh what will he think of next?! Walking the hog indeed! It will be the tastiest 3,500 words you'll ever download and yearn to see in print.

But that's not the only thing you get when you buy Kizuna: Fiction for Japan! You'll get 74, count them, 74 short stories across numerous genres by know and unknown writers. Mostly original stuff, much of which has been translated from Japanese and other languages to an all English anthology for charity. Most pieces are about 1,000 words in length, perfect for reading during a short break, bus ride or bio-break.

Also, Mr. The Fox, Herr Fox, Reinart AKA Berry Sizemore contributed The Feast of the Fly, my very first stab at original Japanese mythology.

For all the details visit Kizuna: Fiction for Japan or just click on the Moorcock's Miscellany logo above and scroll down a bit.

Oh, and please help us spread the word so we can help ease the suffering of kids affected by the terrible earthquake and tsunami. "

A fine contribution to a worthy cause. Not to be missed, as they say. Yet I can't help pointing out that buying something, purchasing a commodity for charity is exactly the kind of ideological mechanism that Slavoj Žižek has identified in his writings and talks like this one.



Which shouldn't discourage you from getting the book. As Žižek emphasizes, "I'm not against charity!" Just be aware of the hypocrisy at work in the system.


Monday, August 15, 2011

Supergods

Comicdom's grand shaman Grant Morrison did an interview last night on NPR to promote his new book, Supergods.


Comic Books' Secret Identity Revealed In 'Supergods'


He has an interesting take on things, especially his juxtaposition of the solar Superman with the nocturnal Batman. However, I don't think his suggestion that the dichotomy was intentional holds up. Superman didn't originally derive his powers from the sun. That was a Mort Weisinger innovation. And Bob Kane originally envisioned his character as a blonde guy in red tights. But it's still a provocative perspective.

I'm sure by now you've already seen his performance at Meltdown Comics last month. Supposedly "...Morrison was given this song by the spirit of John Lennon, which Morrison communed with in a magic ritual while writing The Invisibles." Ever since the Fox sisters heard that rapping people have been getting new works from deceased artists. New plays by Shakespeare, new poems by Keats, new arrangements by Mozart. Usually they don't compare well to artist's existing work. You can judge for yourself how this compares to Lennon's other songs.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

The Adventures of Superman



Mystery Of The Lost Planet Part 09
Mystery Of The Lost Planet Part 10
Mystery Of The Lost Planet Part 11
Mystery Of The Lost Planet Part 12
Mystery Of The Lost Planet Part 13

As our story concludes, Superman defeats the evil Zaran's plans to invade the Earth.

This is going to be the last of my posts on Superman. For more classic Superman check out the podcasts Golden Age Superman and The Thrilling Adventures of Superman.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Tiger & Bunny 20



Episode 20, "Full of Courtesy, Full of Craft"

Because Kotetsu knows too much he becomes caught up in Maverick's schemes.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Sunday, August 7, 2011

The Adventures of Superman

All-Star Superman?

Mystery Of The Lost Planet Part 05
Mystery Of The Lost Planet Part 06
Mystery Of The Lost Planet Part 07
Mystery Of The Lost Planet Part 08

Superman's "most unusual and exciting adventure" continues.

One thing to remember when listening to these old shows is that they were performed live on air. Even the sound effects were created on the spot. No retakes or post-production edits in those days.


For more classic Superman check out the podcasts Golden Age Superman and The Thrilling Adventures of Superman.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Tiger & Bunny 19



Episode 19, "There's No Way Out"

I told you that Maverick guy couldn't be trusted.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Last Halloween

Here are a couple of pictures of my costume from last Halloween.

Picture w/o flash

Picture w/flash

That second picture looks like a cartoon, doesn't it? The mask is made from cardboard, some construction paper, and a bit of green poster paint. I was going to make a papier-mâché mask, but I couldn't find any good ideas online. Plus it seemed like a messy hassle. I also thought about making a pepakura mask, but I couldn't find an good files. So I just cobbled this together in a few nights. I had to buy the paint and constuction paper, but other than that I just used what I had lying around the place. It turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Summer means tourists...

"Thunder Child attacking Martian Tripod War Machines"

"Martian Tripod War Machines Attacking London"

Some gratuitous War of the Worlds, just because I ran across these cool renders by czarnyrobert.