Do You Hear What I Hear?

While I'm not scratchin' off gnarly tunes on the tables, I like to listen to podcasts while I draw.

For no other reason than vanity, here they are!

INDIE SPINNER RACK - Charlito and Mr. Phil have been cranking out podcasts about indie comics for 5 years, and there are so many great lips that have graced their microphones that I wouldn't even know where to start. They have a passion for comics that is rare, even in the world of comics, they are dedicated and really care about what they do and who they do it to. There are fewer podcasts that are this entertaining AND informative. It will teach you how to make a mini, how to self-publish, make a pitch, table at a con or place a phone call to Steve Ditko.

InkStuds - To be honest, I haven't listened to Inkstuds in a while. I got a little burnt out on it (and Robin McConnell's nervous laughter is sometimes unnerving). But, I don't want to sound like a dick, it is a really great show and has interviews with a lot of really amazing people. The show would load every week and I'd just be stunned at the names that showed up each time. Imagine my surprise when Diamanda Galás appeared on the show! Turns out Robin McConnell's taste extends past comics and into the realm of music! Despite the dick things I said about it (I'm just trying to be honest!), you should check it out. If nothing else, find your favorite artist and hear an interview with them... they're probably on here!

The Naked Scientist - I don't know why all these British things are "naked" but this show is awesome! Write in with your wacky science questions, and every week they have an experiment you can try at home. This show is super informative, getting just technical enough to educate the layperson but they don't dumb it down so much that you don't learn anything. They cover almost every type of science... I think there is a naked astronomer show... but I haven't gone there yet. True nerds ONLY!

Comic Book Queers - These guys talk a lot about mainstream comics that I'm not too into, but it's entertaining when they do and they really nerd out. You can tell they're really close friends, so they rib each other a lot. About half the airtime is spent on tv shows that I've never even heard of/or could care less about and get REALLY into it... I usually zone out during this part, but if you're a nerdy, gay, tv-watcher it might be right up your alley!

Ye Olde Metal Shoppe - The one gripe I have with this show is that it sometimes has ads. Uh, actually I have another, but it isn't really about the show per se, it's that the sound quality is pretty poor for podcasts, so any music podcast is going to sound like shit. This show is always great, it never gets into mainstream territory and always has a theme (a certain genre, band, movement or style) and you can hear old chestnuts and discover new (well, old) bands that you've never heard of. It's about 2 hours every week, perfect for getting your energy up and into your work!

RadioLab - I almost didn't put this on here because I figured everyone would know it by now. On the off chance you haven't, listen to it now! It is the best radio show of all time, combining the story-telling traditions of classic radio drama with science and incredible stories. It's made me laugh, it's made me cry, it's made me literally stand with my mouth agape in disbelief.

BEING - This show was called "Speaking of Faith." It used to be on when I would come into work in the morning and I never listened to it. I didn't want to hear some show about religion. It turns out that it's one of the most fascinating radio shows being produced right now. Krista Tippett interviews tons of fascinating people doing extraordinary things and the show is so honest and hopeful it is hard to listen to it and not be inspired.

hmmm... I know there's more but that's probably enough for now!

Hippie Helloween

there was supposed to be some brutal Brazilian black metal here, but shit happens. well, just gaze into this image and imagine something horrific or sexy or horrific and sexy. what do i care? i've been permanently turned off of halloween.

Deathspell Omega PARACLETUS

in collaboration with Season of Mist, Deathspell Omega have a new album coming out:

Paracletus - the comforter in monotheistic traditions (and beyond).

1. Epiklesis I
2. Wings of Predation
3. Abscission
4. Dearth
5. Phosphene
6. Epiklesis II
7. Malconfort
8. Have you Beheld the Fevers?
9. Devouring Famine
10. Apokatastasis Pantôn

CATHOLOCISM:
Paraclete, Comforter (L. Consolator; Greek parakletos), an appellation of the Holy Ghost. The Greek word which, as a designation of the Holy Ghost at least, occurs only in St. John (14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7), has been variously translated "advocate", "intercessor", "teacher, "helper", "comforter".
In heaven Christ remains our parakletos or advocate (1 John 2:1). In this world, He is with us even to the consummation of the world (Matthew 28:20), but He is with us through His Spirit of whom He says : "I will send Him to you. He shall glorify me; because He shall receive of mine, and shall shew it to you" (John 16:7, 14).

JUDAISM:
hilo speaks several times of "paraclete" advocates, primarily in the sense of human intercessors.

ISLAM:
Some Muslims have argued that the paraclete, the "other counselor"—the first being Jesus—refers to the Prophet Muhammad. The earliest scholar is probably Ibn Ishaq; others who interpreted the paraclete as a reference to Muhammad include Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Kathir, Al-Qurtubi, Rahmatullah Kairanawi, and a range of contemporary scholars.

CHRISTIANITY:
In the New Testament the word appears only in Johannine writings. 'Paraclete' appears in the New Testament in the Gospel of John (14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7) where it may be translated in English as "counselor", "helper", or "comforter".[6] The early church identified the paraclete as the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5,1:8,2:4,2:38) and Christians continue to use Paraclete as a title for the Spirit of God.

NEW AGE:
You may call upon me, Paracletus, to assist you in your work and service to life. And I will come when you also call upon the Lord, for I am still in his service. And often, unbeknownst to mankind, when he is about certain great work, I go as his representative to work especially with those in the Christian churches who are not quite yet ready for the full intensity of his power and flame, for he is truly a noble one that few can withstand. And so I am, as it were, almost a step-down transformer of his fire to deliver unto many an aspect or a portion of his flame at the level in which they can receive it.

COLOR

Since I've been working on my first color comic, I've been thinking a lot about color. It is a weird and strange thing that I have taken for granted for a long long time (even though I use it at work every day).

I came across this fascinating thing.

http://colorschemedesigner.com/


It has a color wheel that lets you adjust the hues and brightness and all the other nerdy design stuff that I'm sure bores you to death.

What might not bore you to death is that you can click on a thing in the top right corner and see what the world of color looks like to someone who's fully colorblind, or say has deuteranopia (like my old man and to a lesser extent yours truly)... check out the triads, tetrads and every potentially disgusting, puke-inducing color combo that can besmirch the human eye. Oh, and if you're an internet-oriented fella or gal, you can get more hexadecimal codes than you can shake an ipad at.



This is all new to me, so perhaps you don't share my enthusiasm. I never took a painting or art class. And I have been known to fancy myself a wheel enthusiast.

Can you imagine how sad a world without color would be? I think we all know the answer to that...




exhibit A:

Got a Spare 24 Hours?

your fearless conductor

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony slowed beyond a crawl... stretched to cover a 24 hour period. It is really beautiful, sometimes eerie and as you can imagine, ambient and weird:


PAGE IS HERE:
http://www.park.nl/park_cms/public/index.php?thisarticle=118

Eat that, Sunnø)))!


CLICK HERE TO STREAM (in itunes, wmp, etc.)

Sci Fi or DIE!

These chops own. That is all.

General Johnson R.I.P.

General Johnson R.I.P.

Exile in Guyville

If you grew up in the 90s, you were probably peripherally aware of Liz Phair. She came out with an album, Exile in Guyville, before being really marketed as this semi-feminist, semi-singer/songwriter, semi-obscure alternative rock star.

Her first album is really good. I never heard it until really really recently and it has really good "relationship" songs. The lyrics are really good, and the production is pretty minimal, so the whole thing ages pretty well.

BEFORE:


Well, she signed to Matador and her second album was advertised everywhere, the "hits" off it were in heavy rotation all over the alt-rock stations, she was all over Mtv and it was ok. Super-production and overly obscure lyrics lost a lot of what made Exile in Guyville so great.

I never heard her third album. She then took time off to do family stuff, getting married, divorced, having a kid, etc. etc.

DURING:


I had all but forgotten about her until her "comeback." Suddenly she was everywhere, in these baby-doll poses with a guitar and ultra-mega-production with a slick team of songwriters giving her these middle of the road pop songs. It was almost beyond my idea of selling out, I was just fascinated by this weird transformation, which wasn't really a transformation, just a weird progression, or perhaps peeling of layers. Underneath all we think of as anti-this or the underground-version-of-that or indie-this, is the same drive to be successful, to be famous, to get our work or ourselves out there, wherever that is.

Liz Phair did what Courtney Love did just without the craziness. It was the most boring ascension/descent in music history.

NOW:


Liz Phair released an album recently. Did anyone notice? Why would they? The music industry that "made" this wonder woman is drowning in a sea of blood and the person who wrote the incredible "Fuck and Run" died somewhere along the line. So you have a dying man throwing a corpse at you.

THE NEW ALBUM (Coincidentally the absolute ugliest cover I could ever imagine for an album ever designed and I've imagined some complete shit):



Moral of the story: don't lose your soul on your way to the top. At least we can still listen to Exile in Guyville until this world goes up in flames...

Beautiful

Words can't express how beautiful and incredible this is. I cried throughout the whole thing. If every family/community were full of this much love/acceptance I would have hope for the world.

Please pass this on:

The People Have Spoken... in MAYAN HEIROGLYPHICS!

What's that, you say? You would like to learn about the Mayan people? Why is that? Oh, you know nothing about them? Oh, their calender says what? 2013? Planets aligning? My, my, well, I guess we'd better watch THIS documentary all about the Mayan people and their (lost because of colonial fuckfaces) language, in fact THE MOST beautiful language ever made... these heiroglyphics are incredible!

NOVA: Cracking the Maya Code

New York Comic Con

Comic Con was nuts, even more nuts than usual! It's such a weird con for me, but really inspiring in a way. It is soooo so diverse; it's cool to see all these people of every shape, size, gender and color all excited about different parts of one thing.

Oh yeah, and of course there were some incredible costumes! I've been trying to find pictures (with all the shutterbugs clogging the aisles, I have to wonder what went wrong?) but the few I've found are scant and uninspiring.

Deadpool was definitely the costume du-jour, although I saw a good amount of OLD SCHOOL Wonder Womans (Women?) walking around looking to pick a fight with Jim Lee (I saw one Wonder Woman with the new outfit on). It was fun, overwhelming and over-the-top nerd in every possible way.

Smokin' Valves

Inspired by Dennis Dread, I started doing art with a bic pen. It is great but hard to reproduce... His work is incredible...

Secrets and Sickness

Despite being waylayed by sickness, Comfort's Fist should still debut at comic-con this weekend! I will be tabling for an hour or two at the Indie Spinner Rack table in podcast alley.

AND if you want the soundtrack for free, you have to say the password... and the password is PRECINCT! If you say this to me at NYCC you'll get a free soundtrack to accompany Comfort's Fist; my first auto-bio minicomic!