Whatcha reading?

Sweet action for kids 'n' cretins. Marjoram and capers.
Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Silent Majority wrote:
21 Jun 2021, 6:55am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
21 Jun 2021, 6:28am
Silent Majority wrote:
21 Jun 2021, 6:18am
26) Last Words - George Carlin. Kindle. 2009. What's great about this book, ghostwritten with the guy who played the manager in Spinal Tap, is the hyper aware journey we go through Carlin's creative boundaries and his striving to be a better, more authentic artist. The life stuff is non-sentimental and accepts responsibilities for his failures as a husband and a father without tedious self recriminations. The last few chapters, when George's work is at its peak, are best and his ideas of where the craft was going to be taken to next are an enticing big tease considering the reaper slashed him down before he got there. I also loved the boyhood stuff, which is usually the dullest shit a biography or autobiography has to offer. A little shit of a Brooklyn Irish wiseass is an interesting kid to spend time with and his time in the military is defined by getting drunk, smoking grass and bucking authority. Recommended.
Read it when it came out and loved it. He'll always be one of my inspirations. If you want a darker side, his daughter wrote a memoir relating growing up in the 70s with two addict parents. She's not bitter, but the story can be rough.
I'll probably not get to it, but it's a good reminder that even a well-balanced artist in later life can't have the culpability record erased on their past behaviour.
And, once again, there's a lot of darkness and struggle that propels exceptional comedy. Great for the public, less so for people who live with those private lives.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Whatcha reading?

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27) Tales from the Crypt Vol 1 - EC Comics. 1950. I read these and immediately became a juvenile delinquent, robbing old ladies and shoplifting race records. I love the sincerity of the story telling which was front and center while retaining a goofy sense of fun and the artwork, which had previously looked square and hack, revealed itself to be full of passion and ingenuity on the actual paper page.
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Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Silent Majority wrote:
24 Jun 2021, 5:59am
27) Tales from the Crypt Vol 1 - EC Comics. 1950. I read these and immediately became a juvenile delinquent, robbing old ladies and shoplifting race records. I love the sincerity of the story telling which was front and center while retaining a goofy sense of fun and the artwork, which had previously looked square and hack, revealed itself to be full of passion and ingenuity on the actual paper page.
If you've got access to them, I prefer Shock SuspenStories, which were the clearer social criticism and morality tales. They captured the fundamental liberalism of EC (as Gaines summarized it, "People ain't no good"), especially in the context of McCarthyism.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Silent Majority »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
24 Jun 2021, 6:28am
Silent Majority wrote:
24 Jun 2021, 5:59am
27) Tales from the Crypt Vol 1 - EC Comics. 1950. I read these and immediately became a juvenile delinquent, robbing old ladies and shoplifting race records. I love the sincerity of the story telling which was front and center while retaining a goofy sense of fun and the artwork, which had previously looked square and hack, revealed itself to be full of passion and ingenuity on the actual paper page.
If you've got access to them, I prefer Shock SuspenStories, which were the clearer social criticism and morality tales. They captured the fundamental liberalism of EC (as Gaines summarized it, "People ain't no good"), especially in the context of McCarthyism.
Cool, I'll put 'em on the long list.
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Silent Majority wrote:
24 Jun 2021, 7:33am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
24 Jun 2021, 6:28am
Silent Majority wrote:
24 Jun 2021, 5:59am
27) Tales from the Crypt Vol 1 - EC Comics. 1950. I read these and immediately became a juvenile delinquent, robbing old ladies and shoplifting race records. I love the sincerity of the story telling which was front and center while retaining a goofy sense of fun and the artwork, which had previously looked square and hack, revealed itself to be full of passion and ingenuity on the actual paper page.
If you've got access to them, I prefer Shock SuspenStories, which were the clearer social criticism and morality tales. They captured the fundamental liberalism of EC (as Gaines summarized it, "People ain't no good"), especially in the context of McCarthyism.
Cool, I'll put 'em on the long list.
Also, haven't read it yet (it's on my short list), but this looks super good:
Image
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Silent Majority
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
24 Jun 2021, 8:33am
Silent Majority wrote:
24 Jun 2021, 7:33am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
24 Jun 2021, 6:28am
Silent Majority wrote:
24 Jun 2021, 5:59am
27) Tales from the Crypt Vol 1 - EC Comics. 1950. I read these and immediately became a juvenile delinquent, robbing old ladies and shoplifting race records. I love the sincerity of the story telling which was front and center while retaining a goofy sense of fun and the artwork, which had previously looked square and hack, revealed itself to be full of passion and ingenuity on the actual paper page.
If you've got access to them, I prefer Shock SuspenStories, which were the clearer social criticism and morality tales. They captured the fundamental liberalism of EC (as Gaines summarized it, "People ain't no good"), especially in the context of McCarthyism.
Cool, I'll put 'em on the long list.
Also, haven't read it yet (it's on my short list), but this looks super good:
Image
Definitely interested - almost more interested in the story behind than the comics themselves.
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Silent Majority
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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27) The Colorado Kid - Stephen King. 2005. Paperback. Here King has himself a good old time writing too elderly reporters telling an unsolved mystery to a promising young cub intern. The story itself is not the point, the dialogue, the ayuhs, the slow revealing of a newsman's value system is what's on display here. It's a worthwhile read wrapped up in pretty, hardboiled packaging.
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Is ten times worse than prison


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Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Silent Majority wrote:
24 Jun 2021, 9:47am
27) The Colorado Kid - Stephen King. 2005. Paperback. Here King has himself a good old time writing too elderly reporters telling an unsolved mystery to a promising young cub intern. The story itself is not the point, the dialogue, the ayuhs, the slow revealing of a newsman's value system is what's on display here. It's a worthwhile read wrapped up in pretty, hardboiled packaging.
You're kinder than I was on my first reading. I came around on a later reading to your assessment, but I initially thought it was a King jerkin' himself off, all styling and no care for narrative. Which I tend to think latter day King suffers from, and he rarely pulls off styling (he's better with story than aesthetics), but I like this one.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Finished the Whiskey Rebellion book. Very little to say about because I was utterly bored by it all. Little of that period excites my curiosity, unfortunately. One amusing scene stuck out, tho, when a group of rebels are told that there is every likelihood that they would hang for their actions. The room was stunned. Wouldn't the national government just roll over? It reminded me of today's alt-right warriors, tough guys who weep with outrage when they find out that the federal govt has real punitive power. I've said before that at least New Left militants in the 60s and 70s knew they were dealing with a serious enemy.

Started today:
Image

Grim is with The Intercept, and this charts the split in the Democratic Party between its corporate and populist sides. I expect something in the Tom Frank vein.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Silent Majority
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
24 Jun 2021, 11:09am
Finished the Whiskey Rebellion book. Very little to say about because I was utterly bored by it all. Little of that period excites my curiosity, unfortunately. One amusing scene stuck out, tho, when a group of rebels are told that there is every likelihood that they would hang for their actions. The room was stunned. Wouldn't the national government just roll over? It reminded me of today's alt-right warriors, tough guys who weep with outrage when they find out that the federal govt has real punitive power. I've said before that at least New Left militants in the 60s and 70s knew they were dealing with a serious enemy.
I will walk, not run toward that one. The left has a better awareness of the power structures formed against it because being in that position means you've felt that power flex towards you in the past.
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Is ten times worse than prison


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Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Silent Majority wrote:
24 Jun 2021, 1:45pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
24 Jun 2021, 11:09am
Finished the Whiskey Rebellion book. Very little to say about because I was utterly bored by it all. Little of that period excites my curiosity, unfortunately. One amusing scene stuck out, tho, when a group of rebels are told that there is every likelihood that they would hang for their actions. The room was stunned. Wouldn't the national government just roll over? It reminded me of today's alt-right warriors, tough guys who weep with outrage when they find out that the federal govt has real punitive power. I've said before that at least New Left militants in the 60s and 70s knew they were dealing with a serious enemy.
I will walk, not run toward that one. The left has a better awareness of the power structures formed against it because being in that position means you've felt that power flex towards you in the past.
Generally true, tho stranger in the case of the New Left, which was dominated by middle-class suburban white kids who'd never not known the world to bend to their wishes. That they never underestimated the sinister nature of the FBI or the Nixon administration was pretty remarkable given their upbringing.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Whatcha reading?

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28) Long Halloween - Loeb and Sale. 1996. Comic. Unlike most of the acclaimed Batman Canon works I've read, this has a genuine maturity. Not the stubbled grimdark, 14 year old boys power fantasy of a Frank Miller, but a sensitivity and heart which grapples with the costs of trying to do good in a bad world. Lovely noirish artwork too. Now I'm itching to find a good collection for the Neal Adams /Denny O'Neil years.
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Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Silent Majority wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 11:28am
28) Long Halloween - Loeb and Sale. 1996. Comic. Unlike most of the acclaimed Batman Canon works I've read, this has a genuine maturity. Not the stubbled grimdark, 14 year old boys power fantasy of a Frank Miller, but a sensitivity and heart which grapples with the costs of trying to do good in a bad world. Lovely noirish artwork too. Now I'm itching to find a good collection for the Neal Adams /Denny O'Neil years.
If you've never read Snyder and Capullo's Batman run—esp. the Court of Owls and Death of the Family—I recommend it highly. I'm not a serious Batman fan, but I was engrossed by the stuff of theirs I read. Dark but mature, not despairing.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Kory
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Silent Majority wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 11:28am
28) Long Halloween - Loeb and Sale. 1996. Comic. Unlike most of the acclaimed Batman Canon works I've read, this has a genuine maturity. Not the stubbled grimdark, 14 year old boys power fantasy of a Frank Miller, but a sensitivity and heart which grapples with the costs of trying to do good in a bad world. Lovely noirish artwork too. Now I'm itching to find a good collection for the Neal Adams /Denny O'Neil years.
I liked Loeb and Sale's run of color-coded Marvel books if you haven't read those yet. Except the Capt. America one.
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Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Kory wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 12:44pm
Silent Majority wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 11:28am
28) Long Halloween - Loeb and Sale. 1996. Comic. Unlike most of the acclaimed Batman Canon works I've read, this has a genuine maturity. Not the stubbled grimdark, 14 year old boys power fantasy of a Frank Miller, but a sensitivity and heart which grapples with the costs of trying to do good in a bad world. Lovely noirish artwork too. Now I'm itching to find a good collection for the Neal Adams /Denny O'Neil years.
I liked Loeb and Sale's run of color-coded Marvel books if you haven't read those yet. Except the Capt. America one.
Yeah, that wasn't especially compelling. The other three were all a superb balance of joyful nostalgia and heartbreak.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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