The Moment

Grad

Prom

He cleans up pretty good

Sunset Two

sunset one

Monroeville Mall Pics

The one zombie painting is part of a very large mural that apparently shows the history of the Monroeville...its the only direct reference I could find to the movie in the mall. Oh yes and one fat zombie.

A Trip to Grover's Mill New jersey

First photo is of a small water tower that is hidden away behind the Grover's Mill Company Store - on October 30, 1938, this water tower was mistaken for a Martian Tripod and locals fired at it. It is apparently the same water tower that was there that night seventy years ago.

Conowingo Dam and Environs

Andy Samberg is a genius as of NOW

A Place to Bury Strangers

Billed often as "New York's loudest band", heres an elegiac, ethereal-sounding song from their eponymous album - what I like about the video is that it captures that 70's dystopia look you see in Charlton Heston movies and such from the period. Its a bit long but worth the effort - thanks to Pitchfork.tv.

Dystopia Makes Me Smile

Apparently the demon children of Unca Walt built this hotel at Disney World some time ago and it has never been occupied. I love stuff like this - modern ruins. Here's three minutes of lonely creepiness, courtesy of Boing Boing.

I dont know what the hell this is, but I like it.

Laurie Anderson Is One Of the Five or Seven Coolest People On Earth. Here are a few reasons why:

Episodes 1,2,3 in 1 Picture

see more crazy cat pics

Stephen Colbert Was Right

Star Wars is everywhere. Star Wars is everything. Star Wars is everybody. Star Wars is Everything.

The world changed for me forever the night we saw Star Wars the first time. Nothing has ever been the same. I'm watching the so-called "A New Hope" on Spike right now and I feel like I could cry. It is one of the great moments, frankly, in the history of mankind. Landing on the Moon, and the premiere of Star Wars happened in my lifetime. Beautiful.

Luxury

Utter brilliance, pre-Python. John Cleese, Marty Feldman, Graham Chapman, and Tim Brooke-Taylor, from "At Last The 1948 Show". Stay with it. Kids today have no idea.

Bikini Samurai Girls Vs. Zombies

Courtesy of Twitchfilm.net

Great Moments With Mr. Murderface: 1

What I Did Last Year:1

While the Mole was not blogging, he was rocking. This was one of the great shows of my life - Jack and Meg at the relatively small (1200 seat?) Grand Opera House in beautiful downtown Wilmington Delaware. The Stripes were touring places they had never toured before and it was a sight to behold - just to give you some perspective, a few nights previous they had played Madison Square Garden in front of something like 12,000 people. Here we felt like we could reach out and touch them.

They rocked. They produced more beautiful noise than bands of five or ten. While the sound here isnt the best its a great view of awesome Jack and his beautiful Sister Meg. Peace.

Fear and Loathing with Nostradamus

I have been reading Hunter Thompson's book "Hey Rube", a collection of the columns he wrote for ESPN.com in 2000 - 2003 or so. I found it cheap on the bargain table somewhere, and while I could care less about the sports aspect of the book, I love HST's style and humor. I certainly miss Raoul Duke and if there was ever a presidential campaign that needed him, its this one.

I read also somewhere or the other that there is now a conspiracy theory making the rounds that HST did not commit suicide but was murdered because he was about to go public with the information that what really destroyed the Twin Towers back on 9/11 was not the planes but explosives in the towers set in place by the US government. I read this at almost the same time I read Hunter's column in Hey Rube that he wrote on 9/12/01, just hours after the event.

While I dont believe the government set the bombs, I was struck by how Hunter's column predicted what would happen as a result of 9/11. He really laid it all out, Nostradamus-wise, and reading it in light of the conspiracy talk ran a slight shiver up my spine.

Without further ado, here's an excerpt:

"The towers are gone now, reduced to bloody rubble, along with all hopes for Peace in Our Time, in the U.S. or any other country. Make no mistake about it: we are At War now - with somebody- and we will stay At War with that strange and mysterious Enemy for the rest of our lives.

"It will be a Religious War, a sort of Christian Jihad,fueled by religious hatred and led by merciless fanatics on both sides. It will be a guerrilla warfare on a global scale, with no front lines and no identifiable enemy. Osama bin Laden will be a primitive "figurehead"- or even dead, for all we know- but whoever put those all-American jet planes loaded with all-American fuel into the 110-story-high Twin Towers and the Pentagon did it with chilling precision and accuracy. The second one was a dead-on bull's-eye. Straight into the middle of the skyscraper....

"...We are going to punish somebody for this attack but just who or where will be blown to smithereens for it is hard to say. Maybe Afghanistan, maybe Pakistan or Iraq, or possible all three at once. Who knows? Not even the Generals in what remains of the Pentagon or the New York papers calling for war seem to know who did it or where to look for them.

"This is going to be a very expensive war, and Victory is not guaranteed-for anyone, and certainly not for a baffled little creep like George W. Bush. All he knows is that his father started a war a long time ago, and that he, the goofy child-President, has been chosen by Fate and the global Oil Industry to finish it off. He can declare a National Security Emergency and clamp
down Hard on Everybody, no matter where they live or why. If the guilty won'y hold up their hands and confess, he and the Generals will ferret them out by force."

California Is Hell

Well, okay maybe not hell per se (I mean, the Mole was born there, f'rgoshsakes) but what with the fires, earthquakes, windstorms, and other wrath of god type stuff its a little hard not to believe it.  Still, I did spend a very pleasant week in San Diego last week (thanks to The Job) and saw only the above evidence of my stated hypothesis.

And now, Ron Burgundy explains the name "San Diego":

Somebody Asked Me What Evil Is

I will let Keith Olberman explain it to you (hang on through the beginning part):

Inducted

Well, the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees were announced, and for once I really cant complain about them - a pretty decent bunch, all meritorious in their service of the Teenage God of Rock (as Bernie Taupin once put it). I had my misgivings about Van Halen but they really did launch a thousand metal(ish) ships over the years and I do love many of their works...so we'll give them a pass on any of my own personal qualms. Though I do still ask, if Van Halen, why not then Kiss? And if Kiss, why not Rush? Those are my major questions of the Rock Hall.

R.E.M, certainly a no-brainer. The band that practically invented all things "indie" and made college rock an actual category. While they have done almost nothing of note in nearly a decade or more, their achievements up through, say, Document are legendary and almost flawless and their work up through, say, Automatic for the People or Monster is outstanding. After that, well....but Murmur, Reckoning, Fables, Lifes Rich Pageant, even Dead Letter Office are indicative of a truly powerful and original collective voice at work and will forever be among the Mole's favorites.

And The Ronettes are sorely overdue for inclusion, leaving hope for other groups that have been left in the dust in the past - perhaps later and more inclusing Rock Hall boards will be kinder as time goes on. The Ronettes are one of those great girl groups that sound like one voice singing three voices OR vice versa all at once. While they had a long wait, thankfully Patti Smith and Grandmaster Flash did not - both highly deserving and certainly an indication that Punk and Rap will continue to get their due in the hall.

Finally, Van Halen. First of all, I'll be interested to see who all shows up for the ceremony; I heard a rumor through my teenage son that Edward VH has fired Michael Anthony and installed his son Wolfgang in the bassist slot, whilst trying to get David Lee back in the fold once again. But whither Mr. Hagar? Assuming any of the above is true, it will be an interesting reunion on the night of the show.

I'm looking for that Jam session - unlikely partners, big egos, disparate styles. But thats what Rock and Roll is all about, boyee. Peace out.

Anybody else notice...

....that leftover hippies from the '60's are now starting to sound as hidebound and boring as the old guys they were rebelling against? All their stories about tripping and rebellion sound like the stories their own fathers told them about what they did in the war. Give it a rest, bro. Give peace a chance. Timothy Leary, Hunter Thompson, Lenny Bruce, and most of the other people that made the '60's interesting are now dead. It's never too late to get a life.

...that Battlestar:Galactica (the new version) isn't really, uhm, all that interesting? I find it tedious, and the real find on the Sci Fi channel is the new Dr. Who with some of the best writing, acting, and special effects on TV. David Tennant makes a fabulous Doctor (and Christopher Eccleston before him in season one) and I cant wait for season three. If I want Galactica, I want Lorne Greene and Richard Hatch. Nothing else suffices.

...that unclogging a bathtub is a real pain in the neck? I poured two bottles of Drano Extra Mega Super Nuclear Formula One Million down my drain and still STILL had standing water. My landlord has now informed the Mole that Drano is BAD. They came and snaked that puppy and now I have my tub back. But it took weeks. Yes, it is true, the cause was probably the Mole's voluminous hair, but still gross and disgusting. I will attempt to keep the drain clean going forward.

Peace in our time. Live long and prosper. He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghost. Nite nite.

The smell of hospitals in winter, and the feeling that it's all a lot of oysters, but no pearls.

I have a list of things here to my immediate left (that would be your right) that I could be writing about - reviews of things, media stuff I could wax slightly poetic about. But none of them seem terribly inspiring right now. Plus, I've had a glass of wine and I'm listening to a slightly melancholic mixtape I made for a friend of mine - one that includes the Cure, and the Decemberists, and "Here Comes The Flood" by Peter Gabriel, maybe the saddest sounding song ever recorded. It includes "Long December", the song that contains the lyrics at the top of this post - a song by Counting Crows that is just about the most perfect song about melancholy ever recorded.

In short, it's a tape for "the deep midwinter" as the old carol goes, when the days are short and the nights are somehow darker than normal. There's something akin to a full moon tonight, and I sit in my tiny darkened office involuntarily ruminating on the year that ended about 48 hours ago.

It was a weird year, and it ended weird - CNN was truly surreal in the last days of ought-6 (is that like a 30-ought-6?), with overlapping celebrity deaths - the pomp and solemnity of Gerald Ford, the boisterous gospel party of James Brown, the ugly, brutal hanging of the ugly, brutal Saddam Hussein. For all the death, it seemed an appropriate end to an especially troubling year, both on a national scale and a personal one, for the Mole. A year that included more legal activity than I had known in the previous 39 years; a year that was full of heart palpitations and fear and loathing and outright hatred. At the end of 2006 I have a doctor, a lawyer, and a therapist. If you have those three figures in your life you are both cursed and blessed - cursed that you need them, blessed that they are there.

I am older, this year - and that isn't just about turning 40 - its about learning, and experience, and pain, and disappointment. As ugly and vulgar as the last few years have been, this one seemed to contain the most body blows, the most eye-opening, awakening kinds of moments. I feel 40 years old, whereas when I was 39 I think I still felt about 30. In the course of one year I aged ten.

At the same time, I have found more true hope and peace in the last year than I ever have before - rediscovered the path I was on before I took a major detour about 16 years ago. As old as I feel, I also dont want to waste a minute of what's next, because I have much to make up for. Turning 40 still involves music, and comic books, and creativity, and friends, and love. But its all very different now, in ways that I cant put my finger on. But some nights, when all the cares that belong to me sit heavy 'pon my brow, it all still feels the way that line does up there, that beautiful couplet that says so much. It feels like a shock of recognition.

A later line in that song says "It's been a long December, and there's reason to believe that maybe this year will be better than the last." That's what hope feels like to me - maybe this year will be a little better than the last one - that's about all I can manage and still be honest. So here's to all of you three or four people who might read this little tome - here's hoping this year will be better than last year. Or even maybe a little better than that.

Hey Kids! New Links!

Over there on the right (my left, your right) you see my lengthy list of links to various worthwhile websites, all of which will thankfully open in a new window so that you can easily find your way back here to the merry, madcap, moribund Motherbox (is Stan Lee in here?). In my New Year Effort to revitalize the ol' MB I added and subtracted from the list and I thought a few explanations might be in order...so here's some quick one-liners on a few:

Beaucoup Kevin - is the blog of comic writer and critic Kevin Church; I find him always entertaining and his posts and links very worthwhile. A Kirby fan to boot.

Hyaena Gallery - Earlier this year, the Hyaena Gallery hosted an exhibit of artwork done by artist Michael Kelleher which were exact reproductions of early Marvel covers to be used in their high-end "Marvel Masterworks" reprint hardcovers. These were covers for which the originals were too damaged to be reproduced from the originals, so Mr. K reproduced them as original comic art so they would look close to the originals. The show, hosted in November, was a benefit for the HERO Intiative, a cause that raises money for the needs of older comic creators who often worked without benefits or pensions and need the help for medical, living, and other needs. Well, my 40th birthday present to myself was to buy Mr. K's reproduction of Jack Kirby's 1959 cover to Tales of Suspense #4, (that link takes you the original cover, not my piece) probably the closest I will ever get to owning an actual piece of original Kirby art as their prices continue to spiral into the thousands of dollars per page. I will write more about the whole original art thing in the future but Hyaena does some interesting things in their gallery shows so you might want to check it out.

The Original Comic Art Section - As I said, more about this soon, but these are four vendors that I peruse regularly, and dream and drool.

Mastodon - the current standard bearers of the heavy metal scene, these guys to me sound like a really good progressive jazz band, only playing really fast and really loud metal. Something like that. Their current album, "Blood Mountain" continues to intrigue, and I am looking forward at some point to picking up their album "Leviathan", a metal album based on Moby Dick. As Uncle Duke once said to Zonker Harris, "Their music will sterilize frogs at 50 yards." Thats a compliment.

JBox - A friend of mine let me know about this: this guy sells all things Japanese pop culture, from Miyazaki related stuff to CD's to books to clothes. Direct from Japan! There is also a sister site, J-List, the primary difference of which is that J-List includes porn. JBox is safe for family viewing - Hello Kitty! items notwithstanding. You will be amazed at what you can get for your favority kaiju junkie or harajuku girl.

There are more, but that's a start. I will be focusing on other sites in upcoming posts. Enjoy your January 2 and we'll talk soon.....

Captain's Log, Supplemental: See? 2007 is better already....

New Indiana Jones movie to film in '07! -- via CNN

The quote about it being a "character piece" makes me a tad nervous, but at least Lucas isn't writing or directing....

Great Comic Book Covers #1: Nextwave #11

Happy New Year! Already 2007 feels like the downy fuzz of a newborn chick. Or something. Anyway - a new feature here on the 'box - comic book covers old and new, the finest of the lot, in yours truly's humble opinion, for your dining and dancing pleasure. Unfortunately I cant seem to get blogger to upload my images this morning and I am rapidly running out of patience - so here is a link to the cover I would have loaded here, courtesy of www.warrenellis.com:

http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=3037

Nextwave: Agents of Hate is one of the weirdest comic books ever produced by one of the "big two" comic book companies - Marvel and DC - therefore as you might expect, it is about to end. Basically, five B-list Marvel characters were put in the hands of prolific comic mad genius Warren Ellis and this what came out - five heroes hired by an international conglomerate to fight terrorism, only to discover that the company itself was the terrorist. Breaking away, they are hunted by their former employer's lead wacko, a cross-dressing, suicidal (and in this issue, undead) loony named Dirk Anger. And that's a very thin summary of the story....

This cover relates, of course, to the current Civil War stories occupying the rest of the Marvel Universe, in which the A-list heroes (Captain America, Spider-man, etc.) are lining up on opposite sides of a new Federal superhero registration law. Nextwave has had nothing whatsoever to do with that plot line, which is selling in the bajillions. Nextwave as a series is also ending with the next issue, so obviously they have nothing to lose by openly mocking the sober and serious tone of Civil War (and the distinctive cover design of CW-related comic books) with this gem. (In relation to the above cover, Mark Millar is the writer for Civil War. I hope he is Warren Ellis's friend).

If you are a fan of clever comic book art, I would suggest you pick up this particular issue of Nextwave for the completely over-the-top designs of artist Stuart Immonen. Part of the reason Nextwave is ending is that Immonen has been assigned to take over Ultimate Spider-man soon and can't do both - Ellis doesn't want to continue without him, and for that I am grateful. There are a number of two-page spreads showing the Nextwave team in battle with the bizarre creations of the Beyond Corporation, including giant Wolverine-costumed monkeys, Modok units that look like Elvis and fire hamburgers at our heroes, and a giant purple brachiosaurus that shoots Cyclops-style eyebeams. And so much more. You really have to see it to believe it - any one of those pages could be posters. And hilarious.

As far as how I got into Nextwave, well, as you might expect, there's a Kirby connection. One of the team is Aaron Stack, occasionally known as Machine Man, created by Jack Kirby in 2001: A Space Odyssey #8 about 30 years ago. Here, he is a snarky, irritating comedy relief, annoyed by the "fleshy" foibles of regular humans. Apparently Immonen and Ellis will continue the Nextwave saga in future mini-series and such as time permits, and I for one will be awaiting with open arms.

They are producing trade paperbacks of the series, so if you've missed issues up to this point, you can still catch up.

Next up: New links on the sidebar!

Sex With Monkeys

That headline is primarily just to get your attention; maybe it will draw some perverse souls plugging bizarre search terms into Google on this fine New Year's Eve - if there's anybody like that in the crowd, know now that I have no pictures of or stories about sex with monkeys. It's a cruel joke and you need help. Call 1-800-Ape-Lovr.

Yes, it has been eons since the Motherbox was updated. I toyed with the idea of a new blog, but why? It was largely a symbolic idea and ultimately doomed to failure. This has been a strange year for the Mole: amidst medical and legal issues, such things as blogs seemed cumbersome at times, primarily from the notion that few if any were reading. But now, with a new year beginning, I thought I would again give it a try. While the world is still an ugly, violent place full of deviants (who probably have had sex with monkeys), there are signs of hope hyar and thar, as Eric Cartman says. The Democrats taking back the Congress (come on Senator Johnson!!!!) and only two years till evil pseudo-president "Shrub" Bushmeister is ousted from his comfy chair.

Watching the proceedings surrounding Gerald Ford's funeral, I am struck by the number of times people almost wistfully talk about Mr. Ford's gentlemanliness, his willingness to compromise, his moderation, his sense of fair play and getting the job done. A guy who never wanted to be President, he wanted to be speaker of the house. I think one of the rules for being president should be that you never wanted to be president. Vote for the person who seems most qualified and least interested, instead of the other way around. What a wonderful world it would be.

So, anyway, the Mole will come back out into the light, and give it a shot. Wake up the old Motherbox and give her a run around the park. My goal is to post daily, if not more often, and make this a compendium of the many things that catch my easily distracted interest. Occasionally I'll rant, but thats what the blogosphere is for, right?

Anywho. Peace in our time. And if anybody has any good ideas for unclogging a tub drain that dont involve a plumber, nows the time to speak up.

I Wished I'd'a Thoughta That Dept., or.....

Supplemental Edition

Over at the Jack Kirby Blog, now connected to the website of the Kirby Museum (links to your right), is the blogger's very inventive use of modern technology to create himself an actual functioning motherbox, like your favorite 4th Worlder got at birth! The link to the posting is here: http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/kirby/archives/852 -- but do come back.

This is a good time for Kirby fans. Lots of interesting reimaginings of classic Kirby Concepts. Of course there is the aforementioned Gaiman/Romita Eternals at Marvel, but over at DC there's the new OMAC series (where there is, finally, just one One Man Army Corps) - first issue of which came out last week. Havent had a chance to peruse yet but will review, and may do so alongside the first issue of Marvel's new Kirby-based mag, Galactic Bounty Hunters, which is being put together by the King's daughter, Lisa, and erstwhile Kirby partner Greg Thibodeaux. GBH will include some Kirby art and previously unused concepts and looks to be fun. First ish of that is out next week as well.

And with all the hinting going on that something related to the Fourth World is in the works (note the New Gods redesigned selves in the recent Mister Miracle/7 Soldiers mini) this could be a very good year for fans of ol'Jack....would that he were still here to see the outpouring...who knows, maybe he is.