Know Your ABCs: An Album, a Book & a Cat

Jan 22 2012

Know Your ABCs: An Album, a Book, and a Cat

Here’s your Sunday edition of Know Your ABCs…

Your Album:  The Scenic Route, by Kamikaze Ground Crew
Your Book:  The Masked Man, a comic series by BC Boyer.
Your Cats:  Thomas O’Mally & Marie

 

THE SCENIC ROUTE, an Album by the Kamikaze Ground Crew

Consisting of Downtown New York musicians who begun their collaboration as a pit band for the Flying Karamazov Brothers, the Kamikaze Ground Crew has an ever-evolving sound that changes with their ever-changing line-up.  Able to play jazz and blues with a straight-ahead approach that can quickly veer into avant-garde territory.  Active on both the jazz and theater scenes, not to mention collaborations and projects of their own that fall over the genre map.  As a collective, they’re fantastic, and individually, they’re a treasure map to all types of other great music.

Your album personnel:  Gina Leishman (alto sax, bass clarinet, accordion, ukelele, piano, keyboards, vocals), Doug Wieselman (clarinets, saxophones, guitars, mandolin, penny whistle), Bob Lipton (tuba), Danny Frankel (drums, percussion), Jeff Cressman (trombone, baritone horn, slide whistle), Steven Bernstein (trumpet, piccolo trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, Tuba), and Peter Apfelbaum (tenor sax, claro-sax, clarinet, recorder).  They all chip in for the Bottle Choir part.

The Scenic Route was released in 1990 on the New World Records label.  It ain’t an album that sounds the same from beginning to end.  There are the joyous shouts of New Orleans jazz, deconstructed assemblages of dustbowl blues, trapeze displays of avant-garde shenanigans, and enigmatic Frankensteins of cabaret, classical, and R&B.  There’s something here for everybody, but nobody gets to have it all.

There are moments of heartbreaking beauty…

… where sometimes I feel Miles Davis and sometimes I hear Tom Waits.  The impressions, I suppose, are limitless with collectives like Kamikaze Ground Crew, because the shifting sounds and alternating personnel mean a limitless supply of contributing voices and visions.

Sometimes they lean back and shout out the blues…

… drenched with the euphoric joy that seems so contradictory to the place the blues comes from.  I can’t get enough of it.

I discovered this album on one of my random browsing trips to Reckless Records (Chicago, IL).  If an album or artist isn’t familiar to me, I give it a listen, and sometimes I am stunned by the simple majesty of discovering a moment of creativity that, somehow, never made it onto my radar.  I think I purchased The Scenic Route back in 2006 (or thereabout), and I’m still in love with it.  I’ve also purchased several other albums my KGC, all wonderful, and continue to collect other recordings.  Also, let me reemphasize, the musicians involved with KGC, on this recording and others, have worked on some fantastic projects of their own.  Steven Bernstein with his Millenial Territorial Orchestra received some Best of 2011 recognition recently, and Kenny Wollesen (who appears on other KGC albums) has been mentioned glowingly on this site, too.  Highly recommended.

Available at Amazon: CD | MP3
*****

 

THE MASKED MAN, a Book by BC Boyer

The Masked Man is really Dick Carstairs, a private detective, who originally dons his simple blue mask as a way of drumming up some stories for his buddy reporter Barney McCallister (the sidekick). He has no special powers. He uses his fists. He’s a brawler. He keeps a watch over his neighborhood. And he’s shows as not just a man-of-the-street, but a superhero-of-the-street, too; no angelic imagery of a caped crusader standing on rooftops and looking benevolently down over the city. He fights muggers, gangsters, various neighborhood lowlifes, and the occasional odd personality.  B.C. Boyer handles both script and art.

By way of comparison, I would describe the Masked Man as Will Eisner’s The Spirit living in a Twin Peaks world.

There are fistfights with mobsters, encounters with inept copycat “superheroes”, a love interest with the mysterious Maggie Brown (who may or may not actually be blind), an undercover cop disguised as a neighborhood weirdo, a newspaper editor who has it in for MM, a wily reporter looking to push Barney out of the way and become MM’s new sidekick, the Architecture Terrorists, and the Rigatoni (a treasure of immense value and unknown identity).

There are stories of what it means to be a hero, of what it means to value friendship, to learn how to trust and hope and strive to be a better person.  The stories are of common themes in an exaggerated world.  They are stories that wear their heart on their sleeve, but express no amount of preachiness or naivete.  These are nuanced tales of good versus evil, with some acknowledgment of the grey areas in between and some thoughtful investigation into the identity of the extremes.  There is also some tongue-in-cheek deconstruction of superhero story themes (as was beginning to happen during the 80s & 90s as the comics industry began to explore its own identity).

What appeals to me about the character: I enjoy the minimalist superhero approach, how the Masked Man barely has a disguise and no powers other than his natural physical abilities, his intelligence, and his courage.  I like how he fights everyday-type criminals and doesn’t have any arch enemies with trillion dollar ray-guns looking to hold the world hostage or mutant genes that turned them into criminal deities. He could’ve just as easily been me.  Or, more to the point, anybody could be a Masked Man.  It was that same quality that made me forever a fan of Daredevil during the Frank Miller run, when DD lost his “powers” and Stick had to mentor DD back to health, telling him that the radioactive isotope that blinded him as a child wasn’t the source of his powers, that the “powers” that DD had were in him all along, that they were in everyone.  That particular view of power, that everyone possesses the ability to be a superhero like DD or The Masked Man, of bringing the heroes back to our level by saying we’re are all made of the same heroic clay, it makes it so easy to personalize people in masks and secret identities as “just one of us”, while still admiring them and calling them heroes because they achieved a plateau of strength and accomplishment that all of us could attain but few of us actually do.  That they direct their achievement for the betterment of society, that’s what makes those like The Masked Man a hero.

The Masked Man was published by Eclipse Comics (RIP).  It doesn’t appear to have ever been collected into a trade.

According to Wikipedia, these are the issues that The Masked Man has made an appearance:
* Eclipse Magazine #7 & #8 (November 1982 & January 1983)
* Eclipse Monthly #1 – #10 (August 1983 – July 1984)
* The Masked Man #1 – #12 (December 1984 – April 1988)

This appears to be B.C. Boyer’s singular contribution to the comics medium.  He had a brief title called Hilly Rose: Space Reporter, and he contributed some art to other Eclipse titles, but Masked Man seems to be the primary dealio.  It’s a hell of an accomplishment.

Available (occasionally) at Amazon: Single Issues
*****

 

THOMAS O’MALLY & MARIE, two tiny Cats looking for a home.

Thomas O'Mally

Meet Thomas O’Mally and Marie.  They are brother and sister who were part of a litter discovered on a farm out in the county.  The farm owners have been wonderful in getting them scooped up, working with us to get the mother and kittens fixed and all their vaccinations, and trying to find them homes.  Out here, cats don’t have much of a life expectancy living wild on farmland… too many natural predators.

Anyways, Thomas and Marie are the only two remaining from the litter who need homes.  They are both sweet as pie and playful as one would expect kittens to be.  While not finicky with their toys, Thomas seems to be more of a “string guy”, whereas Marie likes a fuzzy toy mouse to attack, then cuddle with.  They are both still in that stage where they inexplicably jump straight up into the air, then spin around dizzily chasing after invisible objects.  They also sleep like furry little angels and do nothing to hide the big smiles splashed across their faces when a ray of sunlight falls upon them during a nap or when they find a big pair of arms to cuddle them tight.

Marie

They are both fixed, up to date with their shots, tested negative for feline leukemia, and they both use their litter boxes just like the big cats do.

More information on Thomas O’Mally and Marie is available at the Mercer (KY) Humane Society at (859) 734-9500, mercerhumane.com. If you are unable to adopt, you may sponsor their adoptions, or the adoption of any cat, by contacting the office.

By • Know Your ABCs: An Album, a Book & a Cat • 0 • Tags: ,

Jan 15 2012

Know Your ABCs: An Album, a Book, and a Cat

Here’s your new Sunday edition of Know Your ABCs…

Your Album:  Tiny Resistors, by Todd Sickafoose
Your Book:  Nevermen, by Phil Amara & Guy Davis
Your Cat:  Moe Tippy Toes, a farm cat who’s ready to move up to the sofa set.

 

TINY RESISTORS, an Album by Todd Sickafoose

Bassist Todd Sickfoose, perhaps better known as a mainstay in Ani DiFranco’s band, released one of 2008’s best jazz albums.  Tiny Resistors is justifiably regarded as one the finest examples of fusing the modern Indie-Rock sound in a jazz framework.  Resplendent with odd meters, drifting melodies, and an eclectic array of instrumentation, Sickafoose has created an epic story-like album perched firmly on the fringes of jazz.  And in this instance, the fringes probably ain’t even found on this planet.

Your album personnel:  Todd Sickafoose (acoustic & electric bass, piano, Wurlitzer, vibraphone, marimba, bells, celeste, accordion), Shane Endsley (trumpet) Ben Wendel (tenor sax, bassoon), Alan Ferber (trombone), Skerik (baritone sax), Adam Levy (guitar), Mike Gamble (guitar, effects), Allison Miller (drums, percussion), Simon Lott (drums, percussion), Andrew Bird (violin, whistling, loops), and Ani DiFranco (voice & electric ukulele).

Great albums have the effect of removing me from the spot where my feet are touching the ground, of creating a subtle shift in perception whereby everything looks a little bit different, a little more hopeful, a bit more happy, and kinda cool. I’m not talking about an out-of-body experience, but something transcendent about the moments that fall between the album’s first note and its last. It’s why I treasure music and why I spend way more hours than I probably should scouring new releases lists and streaming countless samples in the search for the next uplifting, challenging, and joyful album to include in my life.  Tiny Resistors is one of those albums.

Bouncy strings, long high calls of trumpet, sax growls, trombone pronouncements, baritone sax back-alley muggings, forlorn piano lines, and the oddly identifiable whistling of Indie-darling Andrew Bird.  Those are just some of the sounds that are added to the mix.  It’s a complex soup with plenty of ingredients, but somehow they all work together (an excellent flavor profile, I believe, is how it would be phrased on Top Chef).

But no matter how Sickafoose dissects a melody and rearranges it into his own personal Frankenstein, he also knows how to shape one that’s simple, polish it, and let it shine…

Another aspect of this album I enjoy is how Sickafoose arranges the various instruments, layers them atop one another, hemming them in, and stringing them together.  It forces me to engage the album on its own terms, and its depth is why I discover different facets of the album on subsequent listenings.  It keeps me coming back to it…

… And it creates a celebratory mood that gets me smiling no matter what kind of day I’ve had.  That is, I suppose, a pretty powerful effect to have upon a listener.  It is, for me, and it’s why I still trumpet this album years after it came out.  Just brilliant.

Released on the Cryptogramophone label.  Jazz from the Brooklyn scene.

Download a free album track at AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist and label.

Available at Amazon: CD | MP3
*****

 

NEVERMEN, a Book by Phil Amara & Guy Davis

The scene is The City.  It looks very much like New York.  The time is Today.  Today looks very much like the roaring twenties.  There are heroes and villains.  They have no powers, per se, but are the result of science and experimental genetic mutation.  What we’re given is a mob story, a la The Untouchables, where the main players aren’t the Feds, but mutated skin-grated individuals, a la Neuromancer.  For the serious comics fans, it’s Marshall Law set in the world of Sandman Mystery Theatre.

The Nevermen protect The City.  They wear the fedoras and trench coats of the times.  They’re equipped with a variety of handy technology.  Also, it’s tough to kill them.  One of their own has gone missing.  As they protect The City from extortionists and arsonists and mob bosses and the leader of an undead army, the Nevermen search for clues as to their partner’s disappearance.

Meanwhile, the League of Crows, a society of professional thieves, have stolen the blueprints for the city’s power network.  Cadaver, a crime boss who can detach every part of his body and function fully, is making a move on the other mob leaders.  Manboulian leads his army of zombies through the city to plunder its riches and its ancient artifacts; he speaks only in poetic form and riddles.  A former Neverman, who goes by the name of Murderist, has gone rogue in his search for the missing Neverman, crossing paths with them to the detriment of both.  There is a mad scientist building a machine that will destroy time and everything else with it; he misses his son terribly.  And then there is the Professor, who lives in a tower high atop a hill that overlooks The City and all its skyscrapers.  He watches everything.  The Nevermen begin to suspect that he has something to do with their missing partner, the increasing strangeness of crimes being committed, and maybe even their origin.  The Professor has a child, an android seven feet tall and not unlike a skeletal angel; he is learning about life and, perhaps, ready to be his own man.  All of these elements merge together as the story approaches its conclusion.  Also, giant fighting robots and motorcycle chases, which is always pretty cool.

Phil Amara does the scripting.  He appears to have worked almost exclusively for Dark Horse Comics titles, mostly on Aliens and Predator titles, and some Star Wars, too.  Guy Davis handles the art.  He first gained some recognition, when his title Baker Street was nominated for a Harvey Award.  Later, he went on to work for Vertigo’s noir mystery title Sandman Mystery Theatre.  More recently, he’s worked on the Hellboy spinoff B.P.R.D.  Amara succinct deadpan voice matched seamlessly with Davis’s sharp sketch-pad lines and angles.  In most comics, it’s easy to point to either the writer or artist as the major contributor to the feel or vibe of the story, but on Nevermen, it looks like a dead tie.

The story begins in black & white, which I typically don’t much care for, but in this instance, it fits the story perfectly, and later on when it moves to color, I found myself missing the old black & white format a bit.  But the inking is in dark autumn colors and they enhance the noirish ambiance of the story to a tee.  The earliest chapters to the story are very clipped, more like vignettes than actual storyline.  I found myself re-reading them several times, certain that I was missing something.  However, as the story unfolds, those vignettes become clearer, both in the way that they set the table for the complexities to come, but also in how they frame the style of the story, too.  A brilliant effort, and one of those titles that flew under the radar, but deserves much better.

Put out on the Darkhorse Comics imprint.  It was collected into a trade.

Available at Amazon: Paperback
*****

 

MOE TIPPY-TOES, a farm Cat ready for a sofa set

Meet Moe Tippy-Toes.  He was one of three siblings, all boys, who were dropped off at the Humane Society from a nearby farm.  They were all kittens when they first got here, and feral as hell.  They were kept in a tall cat condo (cage), and whenever I got inside it to remove their litter for cleaning or to give them fresh food and water, they’d hiss dramatically at me from the top shelves.  Sometimes one of them (usually Moe) would swat at the top of my head and yank my cap off.  They were the most ferocious puffs of fur ever seen.

Obviously one of Moe’s parents was a manx, because Moe’s two siblings had no tail, just rumpies; they were adopted pretty quick.  Moe has a full tail, domestic short hair, and all black except for tiny blocks of white on his paws.  In the time we’ve had him, he’s gone from feral to homebody.  He has become the sweetest cat around.  Whenever a new cat comes to us, he takes care of them, grooms them, plays with them, and cuddles with them during naps.  If an older bigger cat tries bullying a smaller cat, Moe comes to their rescue and chases the bigger cat off.  It’s amazing what a love bug he’s become.

He’s fixed, up to date on all his shots, and tested negative for feline leukemia.  He knows what a litter box is and how to use it.  He’s not a noisy cat; I can’t recall him ever making a racket meowing like mad.

Moe Tippy-Toes, done chasing his toy mouse and ready for a nice long nap

More information on Moe Tippy-Toes is available at the Mercer (KY) Humane Society at (859) 734-9500, mercerhumane.com. If you are unable to adopt, you may sponsor his adoption, or the adoption of any cat, by contacting the office.

By • Jazz Recommendations, Know Your ABCs: An Album, a Book & a Cat • 0 • Tags: ,

Jan 8 2012

Know Your ABCs: an Album, a Book, and a Cat

Here’s your new Sunday edition of Know Your ABCs…

Your Album:  Tuesday Wonderland, by the Esbjorn Svensson Trio
Your Book:  Powers, by Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Avon Oeming.
Your Cat: Sassy, a black domestic short hair

 

TUESDAY WONDERLAND, an Album by the Esbjorn Svensson Trio

Everybody has someone in their life who wears their heart on their sleeve, is unafraid to show their vulnerabilities and their emotions, to be brutally honest about the sincerity of both, and rather than come off as cloying or sappy, instead engenders a decent amount of respect and a whole lot of trust.  The music of the Esbjorn Svensson Trio is like one of those people for me.

Your album personnel:  Esbjorn Svensson on piano, Dan Berglund on bass, and Magnus Öström at the drums.

When people talk about E.S.T., inevitably, his groundbreaking use of electronics in a jazz trio setting gets mentioned right quick.  While Svensson’s influence on jazz with that medium is inarguable, it’s not where a discussion of E.S.T. should begin.  The melody is where it all begins.

I talk in the opening paragraph about wearing emotions on the sleeve… that’s E.S.T. and melody.  You’ll find on most E.S.T. compositions, the melodies aren’t hidden or deconstructed or terribly subtle, but they’re also not ostentatious or cloying.  There’s a delicacy to the typical E.S.T. melody that is both beautiful and heartbreaking, and it’s why many of their albums never gather dust on my shelves.  Tuesday Wonderland is one of my two favorite albums.

But it’s not just about delicate unguarded melodies… E.S.T. is also about tension.

Their use of electronics and recording techniques atypical for jazz, their embrace of rock drama, and their empathic interplay, they utilize all these elements to construct a tension from within, so that the tunes resonate with an anxiousness regardless of tempo or volume.  Even at their prettiest, many E.S.T. tunes emanate a quiet unease, as if a darkness could descend upon the composition the exact moment the bright and shiny notes fade.  And the juxtaposition of the fragile melodies against the backdrop of tension makes for some thrilling moments.

Tuesday Wonderland was released in 2006 on the ACT Music label.

Available at Amazon: CD | MP3

*****

 

POWERS: WHO KILLED RETRO GIRL? – a Book by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming

The scene is a detective squad at an inner city police station.  Detective Christian Walker has a new partner, Deena Pilgrim.  They work for District 55 of the Homicide Dept.  They work in Powers.

In a world where superheroes are not only uncommon, but viewed as freakish as often as they are exalted, the Powers Homicide detective squad investigates deaths that have anything to do with superhuman individuals.  The introductions still hang in the air when they get their first assignment together.  The superhero Retro Girl has been murdered, her body brutalized and discarded in a school playground.

Christian and Deena begin investigating.  They question Retro Girl’s fellow superheroes.  They question her enemies.  No one, it seems, knows anything.  Not Triphammer, a former partner of Retro Girl, both in crimefighting and in bed, and whose unique metallic red paint was found at the crime scene, even though Triphammer claims not to have had contact with Retro Girl for months.  Also claiming innocence is Johnny Royale, who uses his powers for evil and his intelligence to run a crime family.  Royale says he is a simple businessman, and while, yes, he did take out a restraining order against Retro Girl, he has nothing against her personally.  Instead of answers, they gain only more questions.

Why does superhero Zora keep visiting Christian on the police station rooftop and why do so many of the Powers talk to Christian with an obvious familiarity?  Why was Kaotic Chic spraypainted near Retro Girl’s corpse and why is the sight of those words occurring more frequently as graffiti across the city?  Does Deena recognize the resemblance between Christian and missing superhero Diamond, and is it true that Diamond went missing not long after mysteriously losing his powers?  Who killed Retro Girl?

Written by Brian Michael Bendis, one of the best writers on the comics/trade scene.  He has a raw style of prose, perfect for a crime story, and not unlike in style from shows like Homicide Life on the Street and The Wire.  Michael Avon Oeming handles the art, possessing a highly reductive style that’s simply fascinating to watch develop over the course of the story.  The inking is equally simplified, using just a couple basic colors, which enhances the story’s bleak and gritty urban landscape.  I’ve always been a fan of superhero comics where the capes and masks aren’t central to the story, if they exist at all.  Just real people in extraordinary circumstances.

This is volume one of a thirteen volume series, but is perfectly able to stand on its own (in other words, you don’t need to invest in the entire series; just can read volume one and walk away quite content).  Originally released on the Image imprint, it’s now on Icon, which is a subsidiary of Marvel Comics.  Powers earned several Eisner Awards, both as a title and for Bendis as a writer.  This is easily one of my favorite series.

Available at Amazon: Paperback | Hardcover
*****

 

SASSY – a Cat who needs a home

Sassy was a neighborhood stray who was getting bullied by stronger bigger neighborhood cats and stray dogs.  Once I recognized the pattern of attacks inflicted upon her, I scooped her up, got her some medical attention, and then brought her to the office to recuperate and socialize.  Sassy has calmed down and very much acts like a domesticated cat.  She’s ready for a home.

Sassy is all black, domestic shorthair.  She’s a girl’s girl.  When we first got her into the office, she was nervous around most everybody… unless you were a girl age 10 – 40.  Sassy would hiss at any guy who came near her in the office, but the moment a girl picked her up, Sassy would just melt into her arms, burying her head into the crook of the girl’s elbow and fall asleep.  If you’re looking for an explanation, forget about it.  I love cats like crazy, but I stopped trying to explain their behavior long ago.

Sassy doesn’t like dogs and she’s not a happy camper around aggressive cats.  She’d probably be happy remaining exclusively indoors, but under the right conditions could be an inside-outside cat, too.  She’s been fixed, is up to date on all her shots, and is negative for feline leukemia.  She knows what a litter box is and how to use it.  Sassy is a heavy sleeper.  Chasing string seems to be her favorite pastime.  She’s way happier simply watching birds through the window than she is chasing them.  Some strays just don’t have a good experience outdoors, and when they get the opportunity to be an indoor cat, they embrace it with all their heart; Sassy is likely one of those cats.  She doesn’t want to climb trees; she wants to spend the night watching HBO with you.

Sassy - Still drowsy from a nap

More information on Sassy is available at the Mercer (KY) Humane Society at (859) 734-9500, mercerhumane.com.  If you are unable to adopt, you may sponsor her adoption, or the adoption of any cat, by contacting the office.

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Jan 1 2012

Know Your ABCs: An Album, a Book, and a Cat

Here’s your new Sunday edition of Know Your ABCs…

Your Album:  O’o, by John Zorn’s Dreamers
Your Book:  Hellboy, by Mike Mignola.
Your Cat:  Faith, a black domestic shorthair, three legs.

 

O’o, an Album by John Zorn’s Dreamers

John Zorn may be better known for his free jazz full of skronks and screeches, but to dismiss him as such and move on is a pretty unfortunate mistake.  Over the course of his career, he’s expanded his sound and the reach of his compositions to where his most recognizable aspect is the difficulty in which it is to categorize him.  His albums with the Dreamers ensemble is an excellent case in point.

On O’o, he’s cooked up a soup of jazz, klezmer, surf, rock and field sounds resulting in a mesmerizing set of tunes, often quite ambient even when they show some bite.

Your album personnel:  John Zorn (conductor, arrangements), Kenny Wollesen (vibes), Jamie Saft (keyboards), Marc Ribot (guitar), Trevor Dunn (bass), Joey Baron (drums), and Cyro Baptista (percussion).

The field recordings that play through many of the songs are the sound of birds, not coincidentally, as the album title and songs are named after birds that have gone extinct.  That they don’t come off as some gimmick is testament to the obvious care that Zorn took to the recording of this album.  As to the tunes themselves, it’s an album that wears its melodies on its sleeve; the melodies are catchy as hell, but not out of some vapid simplicity, the kind of lyrical saccharine that makes the pop song of the day instantly recognizable, then instantly forgettable when the day is over.  Zorn seems to have encrypted the melodies into his odd fusion of different music styles, and voiced slightly differently by the various instruments.  The effect is that the melody isn’t drilled into you, but whispered in your ear a little bit at a time.

For me, the highlight of the album is the way Marc Ribot’s shimmering guitar notes weave around Wollesen’s bright vibe runs, but that’s just personal taste.  Overall, the musicians create an ambiance that is difficult to break from once the first note sounds.  The album tunes all have a cohesion from one to the next, but also when taken as a whole.

This is the kind of album I like to sit back on a lazy Sunday afternoon and just stare into space, enjoying my time off.  Peaceful music that has tension to engage but plenty of serene moments on which to drift away.  It’s coming up on two years since I purchased O’o and I can’t see there being any chance I ever tire of it.  Highly recommended.

Released on the Tzadik label.

Available on Amazon: CD | MP3

*****

 

HELLBOY, a Book by Mike Mignola & John Byrne

It is World War II.  We are looking back upon events that occurred of an occult variety.  The evil axis is using ancient texts and Stonehenge to call upon supernatural forces to aid them in the war effort.  The Allied forces also have their supernatural weapons.  A group of American and English heroes and psychics descend upon an old church in France.  Something is going to happen; both sides are sure of it.  Lightning strikes, the moment arrives, and at Stonehenge… nothing.  At the church, a small child, demon red with innocent eyes emerges from the smoke… he is given the name Hellboy.

It is back to the present day.  Hellboy is an adult and a member of the Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense, a supernatural defense squad.  BPRD is like several of the misunderstood curiosities from X-Files got together and formed a supergroup (it is what it is; accept it, and the story is so much more fun).  Things are happening; strange things.  Members of the Allied group that discovered Hellboy are showing up dead.  There are frightened whispers of an Arctic discovery gone wrong, of memory loss and delirious wandering, of a mansion on a dead lake whose residents date back to pioneer days and whose ancestors all died while searching for ancient ruins gleaned from a bit of cryptic text.  Hellboy and the BPRD go to this house.  Waiting for them are a nice old lady and a mystic with ties to Hellboy’s first breath on the planet’s surface.

I’ve been familiar with this title for quite some time, but I’m just now delving into it.  Seeds of Destruction is the first volume in the Hellboy series.  The imprint, Darkhorse Comics, has published several more, including a bunch of spin-offs.  I am in the process of collecting them all.  Mike Mignola’s sharp lines, the contrast of bright reds and yellows against foreboding black, and the dispersal of corny humor amongst the genuinely creepy imagery leaves for a very fun read.  Very recommended.

Here’s a link to the Darkhorse Comics site where they focus on the Hellboy series.

Available at Amazon: Paperback | Library Edition

*****

 

FAITH – a Cat who needs a home

Faith is a neighborhood stray who was rescued from a vicious dog attack.  One of his legs was badly mangled and had to be amputated.  He’s been without his leg since he was a tiny kitten, and he manages just fine now without it.  Having one less leg doesn’t appear to be an obstacle to leaping up on the office desk and knocking pens to the floor or diving into a stack of papers like a child will a pile of leaves and making a big mess.  The missing leg also doesn’t stop him from being a snuggle bug.  He squirms with happiness when he’s held and will give kisses.  He also lost part of a whisker in that dog attack, but that just adds to his cuteness.

 

Faith is all black, domestic shorthair.  We’re estimating his age at six months as of the end of 2011.  His rehabilitation period is over from the surgery and he’s as playful as any kitty around.  He gets along real well with cats, likes to play and roughhouse.  He should definitely be an indoor cat because of his missing leg.  He’s up to date on all shots and is negative for feline leukemia.  He knows what a litter box is and how to use it.  Other than the missing leg, he’s a healthy little kitten.

If you’re looking for a cat that likes being a snuggle-bug and who will curl up with you, Faith is a real good choice.  He likes to chase any thrown toy, especially those with bells.  He’s a real sweetheart and we really need to find a home for him.  He needs a real home.

More information on Faith is available at the Mercer (KY) Humane Society at (859) 734-9500, mercerhumane.com.  If you are unable to adopt, you may sponsor his adoption, or the adoption of any cat, by contacting the office.

By • Know Your ABCs: An Album, a Book & a Cat • 0 • Tags: ,

Dec 19 2011

Know Your ABCs: An Album, a Book, and a Cat

 

Your Album: From Seed to Stone by County Road X
Your Book: Toadswart d’Amplestone by Tim A. Conrad
Your Cat: Bea, a domestic short hair bundle of love

 

(***Originally published, in part, at MusicisGood.org***)

EDITOR’S NOTE:  I actually meant to publish this yesterday.  My intent is to have the Know Your ABCs article as a continuing series to be published on Sundays.  It just seems like a Sunday-type article to me.  But, hey, you may spend your Sundays waaaay different than I do, so feel free to read this any day of the week you choose.  As noted above, this was originally going to be an ongoing series published on the excellent music blog MusicIsGood, but I’m kinda re-envisioning my contribution there, and BirdistheWorm seems like a more appropriate home for it.   Anyways, expect more of these every Sunday.

Enjoy!

-Dave

 

Let’s begin…

 

From Seed To Stone, an Album by County Road X

On this atypical jazz album, County Road X leader Erik Deutsch doesn’t so much stand on jazz soil and reach over the fence to other genres as just simply drop his jazz compositions into a soup of bluegrass, folk, rock, and children’s lullaby, then lets the listener decide what to call the dish.  It’s an album of enchanting and curious tunes.

Your personnel:  Erik Deutsch (piano & keyboards), Jon Gray (trumpet), Jon Stewart (reeds), James Hoskins (cello), Doug Anderson (upright bass & accordion) Tadd Vancil (percussion), Glenn Taylor (pedal steel guitar).

Refreshingly simple melodies performed by a complex combination of instruments is what makes this album so intriguing for me.  The interplay between piano and flute, sax and cello, trumpet calling out from far away as pedal steel swerves between everyone else’s notes.  I mention children’s lullabies in my opening, and much in the same way those lullabies are innocent on their face, yet when traced back to their folktale roots are a bit more ominous, so does From Seed to Stone seem to possess qualities far deeper than a simple story. Most of the livelier tunes share that sense of victory, like soundtrack songs played just after the hero overcomes the Big Conflict.  The softer tunes on the album are a little bit of sadness, a little bit of hopefulness, and a whole lot of pretty.

Released in 2004 by Adventure Records.  Jazz from the Denver scene.

Available on Amazon: CD | MP3

*****

 

TOADSWART D’AMPLESTONE, a Book by TIM A. CONRAD

Conrad’s Gothic tale of revenge and the occult was originally printed in the monthly science fiction fantasy magazine Epic Illustrated back in 1986.  Unfortunately, the Epic company folded before the serialized version of the story reached its end.  In 1990, however, Eclipse Books was kind enough to collect the story in graphic novel form before they, too, went under.

Drawn brilliantly in black & white, the shading imbues the shadows with an oppressive foreboding while simultaneously giving a comforting warmth and brightness to the fireplaces and torches that fight back the shadows and to the daylight that occasionally cuts through the gloomy medieval countryside.

Shamshadow, a traveling artist arrives one stormy night at d’Amplestone castle seeking employment.  His timing is excellent,  as it was merely a fortnight ago that the previous artist had thrown himself out his studio window to his death in the courtyard below.  Prince Waxwroth hires Shamshadow without fanfare.  The Prince’s son’s investiture is near, and family portraits will be made to celebrate the boy’s ceremony into manhood.  Toadswart, a dwarfish hunchback and the Prince’s servant, observes the odd coincidences and strangely detached behavior of the participants with suspicion and fear.  Something isn’t right.  But then again, nothing has been right since the King suddenly went missing.  And there is much to worry about.  Spies have been reported, and there are rumors that armed forces have been amassing in the hills.  The Princess, Waxwroth’s wife, has taken sick, and it may or may not have anything to do with the nights Waxwroth has been spending in the castle dungeon reading arcane tomes.

Toadswart assists the artist in getting settled and acquainted with the castle.  Shamshadow begins the royal family’s portraits.  The leaders of the castle garrison search for spies and prepare for war.  The Princess lies sick in bed.  Prince Waxwroth is in the basement building a golem.

Toadswart d’Amplestone is a 104-page black & white graphic novel, Gothic mystery.

Available at Amazon: Paperback | Hardcover

*****

 

BEA – a Cat that needs a home

Bea is a female, domestic short-hair.  She has white fur with black spots, much like a feline cow.  She is approximately two years old.  She was pulled from a local shelter when her name was placed on a euth list.  She has been in a variety of foster homes, and is looking for a permanent place to lay her water bowl.

Bea is very sweet, but can be a bit bossy, too.  She will let you know when it is time to pet her.  She doesn’t want to be scooped up like a little baby, but she will sit in your lap for hours and will never require an invitation to curl up with you in bed.  She sleeps like an angel in a ray of sunlight, but she also gets her night crazies and chases after her tail.  Bea would prefer to be the only cat in the house.  She has been spayed, is up to date with her shots, and is negative for feline leukemia.  She should probably remain an indoor cat, but would probably thrive outdoors, too, under the right conditions.

More information on Bea is available at the Mercer (KY) Humane Society at (859) 734-9500, mercerhumane.com.  If you are unable to adopt, you may sponsor her adoption, or the adoption of any cat, by contacting the office.

(Warning:  Don’t Tweet near the cat!)

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