tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48956872410859487612024-03-13T07:06:46.582-04:00It's Duck SoupPart diary / confessional, part pop-culture blather, now home to a growing range of Books, Tarot and Oracle Decks and more!Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.comBlogger804125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-90964937631785932062023-09-15T15:48:00.002-04:002023-09-15T15:48:30.602-04:00"The Midnight Cinema" is New at YouTube!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSEQhja_lM_9hrUetMuqyNO5ne4DhoAJS84Hq0D83vvtfximk7tcHOnyzo4OuJo_MrtOBzO5bd6K_c3HDmTHhwDGQmFqo1wZrGNUUNngpJGQHY7lOvYlKEpxurL64y32JYx1-fSsuzrJZwmx3Vm9QfwnIfPqygnNHnSfGK6souwJqs_j_azIyOMR4Usc/s1440/Midnight%20Title%20Card%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1440" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSEQhja_lM_9hrUetMuqyNO5ne4DhoAJS84Hq0D83vvtfximk7tcHOnyzo4OuJo_MrtOBzO5bd6K_c3HDmTHhwDGQmFqo1wZrGNUUNngpJGQHY7lOvYlKEpxurL64y32JYx1-fSsuzrJZwmx3Vm9QfwnIfPqygnNHnSfGK6souwJqs_j_azIyOMR4Usc/w640-h361/Midnight%20Title%20Card%201.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The latest Duck Soup Production has emerged from the Amuseum & Industrial Complex, is now live at YouTube!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"The Midnight Cinema" explores some movies that you may not have heard of, but which are worth remembering, and deserve to be revisited by contemporary audiences. Episode One covers three features, a serial and a cartoon. Episode Two will be an October Halloween Special, and it's coming soon. <a href="https://youtu.be/-3IlTsCY9To" target="_blank">Click here </a>or visit <a href="https://youtu.be/-3IlTsCY9To">https://youtu.be/-3IlTsCY9To</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We hope you like the show!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-- Thorn.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.ducksoup.me"><span style="font-family: inherit;">www.ducksoup.me</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.tarotbyducksoup.com"><span style="font-family: inherit;">www.tarotbyducksoup.com</span></a></div><br /><p></p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-65442471090311802452023-07-24T14:29:00.001-04:002023-07-24T14:29:07.172-04:00Millennial Audiences<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMhX13YYg2ils1iNd4XXv-w68xBuX0tdp_4yMBpReB6gQISNW8FGdhBxjwXbUokH-OcGSnWpnKqONnWaVxgD-ZFWNbzyIXoOkUqxIq7I28Ucz0bad1NBIoO99s591drw-3fmRVMCmwhWPIYcoBkgabUs7inhb07WcvLhDI7kOmhtUKvL_lQxJZXpgFSY/s2018/Modern%20Audiences.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1456" data-original-width="2018" height="463" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMhX13YYg2ils1iNd4XXv-w68xBuX0tdp_4yMBpReB6gQISNW8FGdhBxjwXbUokH-OcGSnWpnKqONnWaVxgD-ZFWNbzyIXoOkUqxIq7I28Ucz0bad1NBIoO99s591drw-3fmRVMCmwhWPIYcoBkgabUs7inhb07WcvLhDI7kOmhtUKvL_lQxJZXpgFSY/w643-h463/Modern%20Audiences.jpg" width="643" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">--Thorn</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">www.ducksoup.me</div><p></p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-46811344793040878702023-07-02T12:41:00.001-04:002023-07-02T12:41:21.557-04:00THE PRUNES OF IRE starts TODAY!<p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"> <span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a href="https://quirk-the-comic.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><b>"THE PRUNES OF IRE," The new QUIRK story</b></a> by <a href="http://libraryofamericancomics.com/" target="_blank"><b>Special Guest Writer BRUCE CANWELL,</b></a> starts today! Part One is online now, with more to come on a weekly basis at</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: transparent solid 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://quirk-the-comic.blogspot.com/" style="background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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"); background-position: right center; background-repeat: no-repeat; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; font-weight: bold; opacity: 0.6; outline: transparent solid 0px; padding-right: 18px; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">https://quirk-the-comic.blogspot.com/</span></a></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: transparent solid 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: transparent solid 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETktq-N0L9riCMHDykQg5-rU-ysLN_PZkJg1MruVqBveE5yBxbb6nU09CQ-OpTK2PEpfZvMiEawgTRViQB3oyUAqIhCw7gROnrapbtX3vqf6kD7OExg26BJC-wUB-qqS6TlklL8b_Jgy88Ih1k6LhSIPGxCALz1LIk2Ibtkfg7KW5bxWzmb3RWgt1qwo/s216/prunes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="216" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETktq-N0L9riCMHDykQg5-rU-ysLN_PZkJg1MruVqBveE5yBxbb6nU09CQ-OpTK2PEpfZvMiEawgTRViQB3oyUAqIhCw7gROnrapbtX3vqf6kD7OExg26BJC-wUB-qqS6TlklL8b_Jgy88Ih1k6LhSIPGxCALz1LIk2Ibtkfg7KW5bxWzmb3RWgt1qwo/w450-h390/prunes.jpg" width="450" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Please give it a look! And thank you!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">--Thorn.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">www,tarotbyducksoup.com</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">www.ducksoup.me</div></div>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-91435497224946350072023-06-08T13:03:00.002-04:002023-06-08T13:03:30.887-04:00QUIRK: The PRUNES of IRE prelude is LIVE!<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> The NEW Quirk story by</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Special Guest Writer <a href="http://libraryofamericancomics.com/" target="_blank">BRUCE CANWELL</a> starts on July 2, 2023!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://quirk-the-comic.blogspot.com/">Until then, you can read the special PRELUDE,</a></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://quirk-the-comic.blogspot.com/">which is now LIVE at the QUIRK mini-site!</a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://quirk-the-comic.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="161" data-original-width="1950" height="46" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmhaXtb_6VV-lkWvnD2C5fjMbOTYfDNe-SfEMWakDKSZMULFbWwGMTV7-a-v95At6FrvH9G-qM3OTCTI7-MwdvkAzdgBbNae1He6a-vvh2y26h679eK58JDoz9gH0Tce3v7V7WSLvz410Ef5vFstVtPtyJau8CmrFQK1ahph1cWHdPJMBldDTvvnk/w567-h46/header.jpg" width="567" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-54154597663095430352023-05-17T18:26:00.008-04:002023-05-17T18:26:59.219-04:00You Can't Keep a Good Magician in the Trunk<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMvq37jxbXWa7y2dkTEvFDvSJuWisfl_QVXd8TaYgtyO9_0DPcVR3HHvXHZG4YmRpGgtFp2kCQ19fUvBdz-MjDb91TbKtvKzQ0mtqDEC49mZbaXvxH76aegayU3fyV5Hezr9UxGYYoyPctWNXXr1SSRUPkYds_7Sj600EMNZVftDH8qJ2Ygytnj1Hd/s1422/Mystic%2002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1422" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMvq37jxbXWa7y2dkTEvFDvSJuWisfl_QVXd8TaYgtyO9_0DPcVR3HHvXHZG4YmRpGgtFp2kCQ19fUvBdz-MjDb91TbKtvKzQ0mtqDEC49mZbaXvxH76aegayU3fyV5Hezr9UxGYYoyPctWNXXr1SSRUPkYds_7Sj600EMNZVftDH8qJ2Ygytnj1Hd/w636-h357/Mystic%2002.jpg" width="636" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Abracadabra! Alakazam!</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Speak the Magic Words:<b> MYSTIC TAROT </b>has arrived in both Standard Tarot and Collector’s large sizes.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Standard Tarot size is limited to 1,000 copies. Jumbo Collector’s size is limited to 500 copies.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">See them both at my website www.tarotbyducksoup.com - along with more than 30 other original, unusual and eccentric tarot, Lenormand & oracle packs, created for the adventurous practitioner and the curious beginner alike.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">--Thorn.</div></div><p><br /> </p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-49447903186076432292023-05-13T12:37:00.002-04:002023-05-13T12:37:50.843-04:00Someone Had to Do It<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEorTmfOoFfTcPHXr3GS5SRTR9c6mB3nDc43-1g-k5VvS0o4imiVGduI4PSCx7wqcFEqptCSykIzr2e5-5MZ8l9tCl76mZNBQHlE30_ZjtxbcBEI-jVzu6ZdA3Hz3WkrFlY8ly9P4t1BeI7tbVsXulovIOpw5s1tizMVATal5jTI0Sx3hTX_Ukun3Y/s1360/torch_full%20frontal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="881" height="792" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEorTmfOoFfTcPHXr3GS5SRTR9c6mB3nDc43-1g-k5VvS0o4imiVGduI4PSCx7wqcFEqptCSykIzr2e5-5MZ8l9tCl76mZNBQHlE30_ZjtxbcBEI-jVzu6ZdA3Hz3WkrFlY8ly9P4t1BeI7tbVsXulovIOpw5s1tizMVATal5jTI0Sx3hTX_Ukun3Y/w513-h792/torch_full%20frontal.jpg" width="513" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I’m going to do something that I rarely do here, and push my second novel at you.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The few people who’ve read PERSEPHONE’S TORCH all seemed to like it. Even people who don’t know me and have no reason to SAY that they like it. For example, Kara L. Wolf said “I give this book a standing 5-star ovation.” And she said some other nice things, too. Shanna Biondine said “A wonderful and thought-provoking story to the very end,” and ditto about the other nice things. An actual Amazon customer unknown to me says, “It’s a reminder that magic, or the perception and creation thereof, is primarily a way of seeing the world.”</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I particularly appreciate that last comment; they “got” what I was trying to do.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I suspect that the reason it’s failed to find any significant audience is simply that it doesn’t neatly conform to any of the accepted standard genres or tropes that people expect — and if you know me, why should that surprise you?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Is it a Mystery? Well, yes, but not in the conventional sense. Is it a Fantasy? Well, yes, but not in the conventional sense. Is it a Romance? Well, yes, but not in the conventional sense. Are you starting to sense a pattern?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">It’s a Drama About Drama.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">And I immodestly assert that whatever ever else it is, it’s better WRITTEN than 98 percent of everything else out there. I think you should get it and read it. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">There, I said it. It can be found at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Persephones-Torch-Novel-Three-Acts/dp/148250667X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1XDXRMCEE9M0Q&keywords=Persephone%27s+Torch&qid=1683818643&s=books&sprefix=persephone%27s+torch%2Cstripbooks%2C111&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and other online outfits, and it can be found (in both paper and ebook versions) in the book section of my own online emporium, <a href="http://www.tarotbyducksoup.com">www.tarotbyducksoup.com</a> .</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Thanks for checking it out!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">-- Thorn.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.tarotbyducksoup.com">www.tarotbyducksoup.com</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">www.ducksoup.me</span></div><p></p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-71080604101693227382023-05-03T13:06:00.000-04:002023-05-03T13:06:44.471-04:00(Not) The End of Flight<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjha3hZre_lLVvDOyvPORZv7ZKy100SLCKaJxK-QNYyb-Wx0MdFubllXQamsfhJ8kXHEhqvSCMO_F5H2iYbkOR6bBZpixQkXsJy8Ba_WqehKvlPB1k15QURPu_cVoXIYNU5l63O9E1-vWi_JnyoIMgfez_n5FaKZHAl3ZCwBmm_DhSVN9zabs2U8TYs/s1280/peter%20and%20tinkerbell.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjha3hZre_lLVvDOyvPORZv7ZKy100SLCKaJxK-QNYyb-Wx0MdFubllXQamsfhJ8kXHEhqvSCMO_F5H2iYbkOR6bBZpixQkXsJy8Ba_WqehKvlPB1k15QURPu_cVoXIYNU5l63O9E1-vWi_JnyoIMgfez_n5FaKZHAl3ZCwBmm_DhSVN9zabs2U8TYs/w628-h354/peter%20and%20tinkerbell.jpeg" width="628" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">If you are looking for a really fine modern rendering of <b>PETER PAN</b>, look no further than <b>P. J. Hogan</b>’s 2003 version starring <b>Jeremy Sumpter, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Jason Isaacs, Lynn Redgrave</b> and <b>Richard Briars</b>. It is a beautiful and under-rated incarnation of the story that fully embraces all its themes. Roger Ebert totally Got It. <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/peter-pan-2003" target="_blank">Here’s a link to his review.</a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Now, then. Let’s discuss the latest cinematic turd bearing Peter’s name.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>No fictional character in history has been more misused, abused or maltreated than Peter Pan.</b> By my count, the new film (which I will not name nor link to in this post) is merely the third time in just the last decade that Hollywood has been unable to find anything better to do with its time and money than gang-rape <b>Peter Pan</b>.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">This latest assault is pure revisionist Social Justice finger-wagging made by people who actively detest the original story, and see it only as a “problem” (their words) that needed to be “fixed” (also their words).</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Their only talent is Arrogance.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Their laudable hatred of Injustice extends to a much less creditable hatred of all things from the past, all of history, all of art, and ultimately to all of humanity itself. People like this are incapable of creating anything original, because they hate originality.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">This what happens when Hatred becomes so endemic to a culture that the people who Hate the Haters become worse than the thing that they Hate.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Here’s a principle that I wish more filmmakers would embrace:<b><i> if you don’t respect the source material, find some other story to tell.</i></b> Preferably something that hasn’t already been done literally dozens of times before. It shouldn’t be that hard. My bookshelves alone are filled with hundreds of great fantasy stories that have never even once been adapted to film.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The ignorance of the people who made this abortion is almost palpable. Bereft of any kind of creative instinct, brainless, ill-educated and one hundred percent talent-free they seek only to dismantle the work of their betters.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">In fact they hate Talent itself: because talent is something that divides people into classes. And something they don’t, and never will, possess.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">In theory, Talent is one of the more Egalitarian forces on earth, admitting anyone to its ranks regardless of things like background, ethnicity or education; and yet it divides people into haves and have-nots. Certain branches of Higher Education have trying to rid the culture of it for years, and sometimes to me it seems that they have finally succeeded.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">It’s just a fact that Hollywood has never been more bereft of the stuff in the century-plus of its existence. And they know it. But the principle that they should be held to some semblance of Creative Standards causes them become Indignant. Why should wealthy, entitled, ethically challenged people living in luxury be denied a mouthpiece simply because they have no talent?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Rather than accept the blame of their own inadequacies, they behave like petulant children and point the finger of blame squarely at the audience. How dare we hold them to standards?</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">To paraphrase Patrick McGoohan’s<b> THE PRISONER</b> (a TV series that has seen no equal in the fifty-six years since its premiere) Standards are Un-Mutual.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Getting back to <b>PETER PAN</b>: James M. Barrie is not and has never been my favorite playwright by a long pinch, and yet he is by far the superior of the creatively bankrupt “filmmakers” who continue to lay siege to his most enduring creation — in this case, the Disney Company, which has devolved into an entity that Walt himself would despise, incapable or anything even remotely resembling invention or innovation.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">And yet I see a positive side to all this.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The only thing that this newest assault on <b>PETER PAN</b> proves is that originality, insight and creativity that connects at a deep level with universal human experience can survive <b><i>anything.</i></b></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Pirates of every stripe and breed have laid down an almost relentless broadside barrage against Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up — but he’s endured and survived for over a century now, and done so in the face of almost unprecedented Hatred and Abuse.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><i>“Cock-a-doodle-doo!”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Crow on, Peter. You’ve earned it. You are eternal. And they can’t keep an eternal boy down.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">—Thorn.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.tarotbyducksoup.com">www.tarotbyducksoup.com</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.ducksoup.me">www.ducksoup.me</a></span></p></div>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-65017710270131828992023-05-01T12:05:00.000-04:002023-05-01T12:05:11.973-04:00Give a Shout: AROO!<p> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFUIuQGcx0B5Oyej6IbcpKsNIheWgDIqUexZuGqA8DEyX6WKW0A4tjY7BR4djLDlU9B4yAZEQWmqFHx3vzQDlEBxkHLR4cdMOrO1gJCqN8EszPMk0_UOp0JqBLQto1whYZ18EJarUeB5DDaSdUtDJX4S6VlP6C4evhoHNIipNSZYbQosfv3tfKcAYc/s660/Aroo2_cover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="660" height="499" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFUIuQGcx0B5Oyej6IbcpKsNIheWgDIqUexZuGqA8DEyX6WKW0A4tjY7BR4djLDlU9B4yAZEQWmqFHx3vzQDlEBxkHLR4cdMOrO1gJCqN8EszPMk0_UOp0JqBLQto1whYZ18EJarUeB5DDaSdUtDJX4S6VlP6C4evhoHNIipNSZYbQosfv3tfKcAYc/w640-h499/Aroo2_cover.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>Bruce Canwell,</b> my good friend at <b><a href="http://libraryofamericancomics.com" target="_blank">The Library of American Comics</a></b> (and not coincidentally the author of <b>"The Prunes of Ire,"</b> debuting on this website this summer) has today posted at the LOAC website four new-to-the-interwebs installments of Jack Kent's delightful comic strip <b>KING AROO. </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">If you missed my earlier post about KING AROO, it's right there down below. And either way, you should go over and see the four new dailies posted at the LOAC website right here: <a href="http://libraryofamericancomics.com/what-came-next-king-aroo/">http://libraryofamericancomics.com/what-came-next-king-aroo/</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Because KING AROO is good for the Soul. Period.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">-- Thorn.</span></div><p></p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-88684761227430849502023-04-23T17:25:00.001-04:002023-04-23T17:25:09.686-04:00Previews of Coming Attractions<p> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="384" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fhwKkFx2YOk" width="651" youtube-src-id="fhwKkFx2YOk"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Check out the trailer for the new <b>QUIRK</b> story <b>"The Prunes of Ire,"</b> landing in <b>July</b>, right here at <b>Duck Soup Productions!</b></span></div><p></p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-88739633821078452322023-03-28T15:22:00.001-04:002023-03-28T15:22:51.872-04:00It Can Happen Here.<p><span style="text-align: justify;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOwJp8qK3jbzf1IM7Jwc4nhVmCT7F-j7wozLtq85vnzmDWEINwmrGN3ZzG_7_YxBnUaa2-e85-xpWtIwdlyA34Sp4GvY84P67Y3zIp5Sg8Fjqr8PRBXlPW4J6UuIN7Bb4Au3qGjyZ4AIvxjyp0xE-gmXULr4EQGctHlhToLvJDh_Na2_0KQvSfOx0g/s700/cultural%20revolution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="700" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOwJp8qK3jbzf1IM7Jwc4nhVmCT7F-j7wozLtq85vnzmDWEINwmrGN3ZzG_7_YxBnUaa2-e85-xpWtIwdlyA34Sp4GvY84P67Y3zIp5Sg8Fjqr8PRBXlPW4J6UuIN7Bb4Au3qGjyZ4AIvxjyp0xE-gmXULr4EQGctHlhToLvJDh_Na2_0KQvSfOx0g/w634-h381/cultural%20revolution.jpg" width="634" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2023, if you are a creative person working in any genre, you and your freedom to create are both in danger.</span></p></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you stray, even unintentionally, even in a small way, from the boundaries of what is considered to be socially acceptable art as determined by a small handful of very loud and self-important people, you will be silenced.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An apology for your Heinous Crimes will be demanded — and if you refuse to apologize for something that you didn’t do, or something that you reasonably should not have to apologize for, you and all your future projects, no matter how inoffensive, will be shut down.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">God help you if you piss off the Entitled Minority.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you don’t see the danger here, you’re part of the problem. Look it up: as many as eighty million people died in China's Cultural Revolution. Don't think it couldn't happen in the West.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-- Thorn.</span></p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-74783507473581612782023-02-21T16:03:00.003-05:002023-02-21T16:03:44.895-05:00Looking Ahead Into the Past<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="364" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wD5YJOx1rO4" width="624" youtube-src-id="wD5YJOx1rO4"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Hard as it is to believe, 2023 marks the ten-year anniversary of <b>TAROT OF THE ZIRKIS MÄGI,</b> the project that quite literally saved my life. The correct pronunciation, by the way, is “Maggie” — as with the old comic strip characters <b>Maggie and Jiggs,</b> or <b>Maggie O’Connell,</b> the free spirited lady pilot of <b>NORTHERN EXPOSURE</b> whose boyfriends are known for their mortality rate. It is an Estonian surname.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Don’t feel bad if you didn’t know this. I didn’t know the correct pronunciation myself until years after the deck had been published! This is particularly embarrassing, as before the deck arrived I wrote an entire novel centered around a circus family named <b>Mägi</b> — and I was mispronouncing the name in my head the whole time! The misperception within the tarot community is that the deck is named for the <b>Biblical Magi,</b> who were the three Kings “following yonder star” of the song. It’s not: it’s named for a circus which is the focus of all the action in my novel <b>SEE THEM DANCE</b> (which is still in print, by the way!).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So now you know! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Ten years seems like a long time when those years are in front of you, but once they’ve passed into the rear-view mirror they seem like Nothing At All, Really. Just little “phht,” and then they’re gone.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Life Never Waits</b>, always remember that. I wish I could remember it more consistently myself, or at least live as if I remembered it!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">When I worked in the library at a local college, I used to say to my work study students, <b>“Nothing in the first twenty years of your life prepares you for how fast the next twenty go by.”</b> That still holds true, but I must say it gets Markedly Worse after forty. Some of you already know what I’m talking about. Those of you who don’t, will. Surviving ten years in any business would have seemed like a Big Accomplishment to my Younger Self. Now I’m old enough to understand that it’s nothing more then pure stubbornness!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The big news this month is that I have Mostly Finished work on my latest deck, <b>MYSTIC TAROT,</b> and hope to fund the publication of a nice offset edition in 2023. <b>Watch this space for future announcements.</b> In the meantime, you can see all the cards in the short teaser film that’s currently playing <b>right up there at the top of this post!</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">My main inspiration for this one comes from the strikingly gorgeous posters produced in Victorian and Edwardian times for the great magicians of that era — <b>Thurston, Blacksone, Kellar, Houdini,</b> and others less well-remembered. These images often dealt in supernatural themes, and were designed and made with a lushness of detail that is unequaled to this day. Not surprisingly, since our modern mode of tarot derives from works created in the same time period, I was able to find many connections between the two art forms. This was another labor of love that combined several of my enthusiasms, and I hope that the resulting deck will resonate with Tarot readers and collectors. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">You don’t have to live in the past or blind yourself to the many injustices and hardships of the past to appreciate the historic accomplishments that humanity made with fewer technological advances than are available to us now. But after all, there is still injustice in the world, and just as in the past, much of it is perpetrated by self-righteous chest-beaters who are convinced that right is on their side. I do not advocate living in the past. I never have advocated that. I <b>*do*</b> advocate familiarity with the past, warts and roses and all, to inform the work we do now, and help us decide how we move into the future. That’s where I’m coming from with the tagline I’m using for this deck, <b>“Look Ahead into the Past.”</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Watch for a crowdfunding campaign, coming soon! In the meantime, I want to thank everyone who has supported my work for the last decade. Without you, I might very well not have survived these ten years. You are my hope for a better future.</div><div><br /></div><div>--Thorn.</div><div><a href="http://www.tarotbyducksoup">www.tarotbyducksoup</a></div><div><a href="http://www.ducksoup.me">www.ducksoup.me</a></div></div><p><br /></p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-64224108794872872452023-02-17T16:15:00.002-05:002023-02-17T16:15:37.177-05:00A Dose of Happiness<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXv7ySD5uJv3xlPn4Ku9t5Bf6N3ic5DWax6jjVeyOvWoMjdGTntHjac__e9_iMK8KeFNLbKh6qAjnvg7ewGOlZ_DhCQtWTTDupjSNoUsuizlAEnTdxRUydWRA6P_8YzmvCxB41gJKz_ztUED9WSzTJvfg4Wj1J1wiC-4e2sIO0aOvFuNAEm9yAh7x/s1158/King%20Aroo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1158" height="481" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXv7ySD5uJv3xlPn4Ku9t5Bf6N3ic5DWax6jjVeyOvWoMjdGTntHjac__e9_iMK8KeFNLbKh6qAjnvg7ewGOlZ_DhCQtWTTDupjSNoUsuizlAEnTdxRUydWRA6P_8YzmvCxB41gJKz_ztUED9WSzTJvfg4Wj1J1wiC-4e2sIO0aOvFuNAEm9yAh7x/w617-h481/King%20Aroo.jpeg" width="617" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was with a mixture of Bliss and sadness that I finished reading volume 2 of Jack Kent's KING AROO the other day. AROO is a genuine Hidden Gem, a not-widely syndicated comic strip that ran in newspapers for a decade and a half, from 1950 to 1965, kept afloat during that time more by its ardent supporters within the industry than by the kind of reader success found by Charles Schulz and others. <a href="http://libraryofamericancomics.com/product-category/loac/kingaroo/" target="_blank">The Library of American Comics was able to bring two volumes of the strip back into print in 2012 and 2013</a>, covering adventures through 1954, but as <a href="http://libraryofamericancomics.com" target="_blank">LOAC</a> Associate Editor (and longtime personal friend) <a href="http://libraryofamericancomics.com/blog/" target="_blank">Bruce Canwell</a> informed me, humor does not seem to be performing well with the modern audience.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is probably because no one under the age of about fifty even knows what humor is anymore, or has been exposed to genuine humor in any of the available mediums, but that's a subject for another post, maybe.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The message I want to get through here is that KING AROO is a rare joy and a delight: dealing in the adventures and conflations had by the citizens of the little kingdom of Myopia. There's Aroo himself of course, the pudgy, earnest and well-meaning if ineffectual ruler of the land, aided and abetted by his jack-of-all trades retainer, Yupyop. There's Wanda Witch (a personal favorite), and Professor Yorgle, and Mister Elephant (who is of course the most forgetful resident), and Mr. Pennipost (a kangaroo who serves as the local postman) -- and a host of others, as has sometimes been said; even, occasionally, the Beautiful Princess from the kingdom next door, who may or may not be a frog under a spell. The humor is frequently reliant on whimsey and puns; and it's always gentle, kind-hearted and charming -- something we need more of in the 21st century!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was saving the second volume for Someday, and this winter proved to be That Day. I'm very sad that it's over, I love it that much, but I know that I will return to these books (which I believe are still available, hint hint) again in the future. They are Just That Delightful. They make me Happy in a world that is currently crushing happiness as fast as it can push its shoots through the surface.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For your edification, I include a few AROO strips below (click to enlarge, I think) that I was able to glean from online sources. If you like the samples, you will LOVE the books, as I do. And Because Reasons, <a href="https://www.tcj.com/bruce-canwell-a-conversation-with-a-comics-historian/" target="_blank">here is an interview with LOAC Associate Editor Bruce Canwell</a> -- who additionally, wrote the new QUIRK adventure which I'll be posting at this site, come Springtime. Everything that The Library of American Comics publishes is worth your attention, but KING AROO is good for the SOUL. It will pick you up, dust you off make you smile and put a bounce in your step.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">--Thorn.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghUrS0zi37TWdmqDNXLD67AZ01T50gXUqK2izy_5GSNODzJRLKVlJ8g6x6EAv8UbhFmOQJ_jSkW8ANQxkcTt-fFgDKsf9MZOBKW6x1ZGCuLJEMpyv6FwDxgFz2165WjIntcrWbuBoj6nsMB0k1xu8OoG1_NLYoUovhF--fgtRBRoURb1g-zgaRW7Mx/s1100/Kent-King-Aroo-sunday-sm.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="1100" height="415" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghUrS0zi37TWdmqDNXLD67AZ01T50gXUqK2izy_5GSNODzJRLKVlJ8g6x6EAv8UbhFmOQJ_jSkW8ANQxkcTt-fFgDKsf9MZOBKW6x1ZGCuLJEMpyv6FwDxgFz2165WjIntcrWbuBoj6nsMB0k1xu8OoG1_NLYoUovhF--fgtRBRoURb1g-zgaRW7Mx/w609-h415/Kent-King-Aroo-sunday-sm.jpeg" width="609" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBw1N1JupcDuKvsI13Sqq_khM8bmaQcsqrEL8DK2Jcgo3YbnM38s9qSdl7F_9rtGVaZklRrg01fB7wIGseyhxSWeYYqWqwEhrQKnkKIH2lr-rQSh2M93c5EbghFr7HnpMKdApp66-jPADbokq4l90T0uiJsTE-WCKUv79uwrECdwixrytdOeGILlZ/s1317/King-Aroo-Nov-25-1956.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1317" data-original-width="971" height="826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBw1N1JupcDuKvsI13Sqq_khM8bmaQcsqrEL8DK2Jcgo3YbnM38s9qSdl7F_9rtGVaZklRrg01fB7wIGseyhxSWeYYqWqwEhrQKnkKIH2lr-rQSh2M93c5EbghFr7HnpMKdApp66-jPADbokq4l90T0uiJsTE-WCKUv79uwrECdwixrytdOeGILlZ/w610-h826/King-Aroo-Nov-25-1956.jpeg" width="610" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVycdFgKtrh8iabGk4ceqvEI2GRL2drdSOzvbNh2c8YnxKYR4Fm-qZJKVdG4UOL5_JbBw8xGh8p0DPLifyHc0hrZ0ib5SNPwjG1ahzH5f4JZ9sP7V2LLDngtGu_aPVnd1TMvD6Xw0_jV2S1DPbufPF2ha7laE0v7xe8p8VUq68pevSjrs_CwUacfNT/s1600/s-l1600.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="1600" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVycdFgKtrh8iabGk4ceqvEI2GRL2drdSOzvbNh2c8YnxKYR4Fm-qZJKVdG4UOL5_JbBw8xGh8p0DPLifyHc0hrZ0ib5SNPwjG1ahzH5f4JZ9sP7V2LLDngtGu_aPVnd1TMvD6Xw0_jV2S1DPbufPF2ha7laE0v7xe8p8VUq68pevSjrs_CwUacfNT/w613-h295/s-l1600.jpeg" width="613" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr35tvYOJAsV-q1eXBBIRaQJVrmj4AMYgjkBxx95NX3zOnXFuTaAh_buni32WDUyhbD88kb97dyGyLgYhWL5RZyRhY2j3H9oNDQw9GGFNuKgAxZtXYvySZupNe1zA3DaLF5fm3LAUd1WfEdg5t6tW0Y7BDWs_XTidB_QcgsFbSQBLPiZdYFvrThKHp/s1600/s-l1600s.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr35tvYOJAsV-q1eXBBIRaQJVrmj4AMYgjkBxx95NX3zOnXFuTaAh_buni32WDUyhbD88kb97dyGyLgYhWL5RZyRhY2j3H9oNDQw9GGFNuKgAxZtXYvySZupNe1zA3DaLF5fm3LAUd1WfEdg5t6tW0Y7BDWs_XTidB_QcgsFbSQBLPiZdYFvrThKHp/w617-h462/s-l1600s.jpeg" width="617" /></a></div><p></p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-22906657597268543162023-02-13T23:24:00.001-05:002023-02-13T23:25:51.559-05:00Back to Gont<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiib5ENfWyq_UgDROZFEdCBChj7UdwEFKHTBKb0NWETtLu8PV_dWAm051tQbDBw0nGDUWWsXFOYx13rQwozhcLAGgU1WD5iMN40Jpu9jDbSdRSh3KIHnUG3Jl_3RIiC7A4tG4as1ASBDZecYddlDsO3jtuqwG6EsImx_r7DpKKGn0pxLFluudktGJAe/s2100/wizard.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2100" data-original-width="1228" height="861" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiib5ENfWyq_UgDROZFEdCBChj7UdwEFKHTBKb0NWETtLu8PV_dWAm051tQbDBw0nGDUWWsXFOYx13rQwozhcLAGgU1WD5iMN40Jpu9jDbSdRSh3KIHnUG3Jl_3RIiC7A4tG4as1ASBDZecYddlDsO3jtuqwG6EsImx_r7DpKKGn0pxLFluudktGJAe/w503-h861/wizard.jpeg" width="503" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xdj266r x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Because Reasons, it seems to have taken me sixteen years to get around to Goro Miyazaki's TALES FROM EARTHSEA. Despite its deliberate slow pace (and it is sometimes VERY slow) I thought it was Kind of a Masterpiece -- especially for a first-time director. I was a little bit shocked afterward to discover how badly the critics savaged it, and by how wide a mark they missed the whole point of the thing. I was a little bit less surprised to learn of Ursula Le Guin's <a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer;" tabindex="-1"></a>disappointment with it, although reading her full comments I could at least understand why she felt that way. </span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA was one of the first fantasy novels I read as a young teenager, and it made a big impression on me: although I was not smart enough to grasp all the implications of Le Guin's themes, I could at least see and understand that she was dealing with Big Stuff: like, quite literally in this case, coming to grips with one's own mortality. It remains a favorite, although I never went on to any of the other Earthsea stories that Le Guin wrote later. To some extent I afraid of being disappointed; and Ged's story was complete in this one volume; I didn't feel a need for continuation. I feel differently now, and suspect I'll headed back to this realm after all.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Because it was a joy to see Ged turn up forty years later, very well realized on film. Some of his story was given to another character, but despite the author's disappointment I very much felt her presence in this picture.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was forced to watch this in the English dub, which is NEVER my choice for foreign language movies; but this is a better than average job with a good cast.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I say the critics and the author are both wrong here! This is a very good (though slow and measured!) film fantasy, and MUCH more thoughtful than the average.</span></div></div></div><p>-- Thorn.</p><p><a href="http://www.tarotbyducksoup.com">www.tarotbyducksoup.com</a></p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-8749679316917965722023-02-10T11:44:00.000-05:002023-02-10T11:44:29.556-05:00"D'you Want Onion Rings With That?"<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ_hV0Cw-TcCUiH5VGqw58U07XcrVr1DsH_4xuOc8OA7Sl-yDSf33mpeW61OhB0IQYriaCwYcnV8U-8IVnhV5Ybu8mstKbPfqPL2UJgLmJtuIntG2exUGXbuSbOw_EYpRHY5xUgziJQia55KeVNGn4V8ubwkMTeHF9AocmbBPonltKBfZYBQsBi7NQ/s1600/CREATE%20SOMETHING%20NEW.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ_hV0Cw-TcCUiH5VGqw58U07XcrVr1DsH_4xuOc8OA7Sl-yDSf33mpeW61OhB0IQYriaCwYcnV8U-8IVnhV5Ybu8mstKbPfqPL2UJgLmJtuIntG2exUGXbuSbOw_EYpRHY5xUgziJQia55KeVNGn4V8ubwkMTeHF9AocmbBPonltKBfZYBQsBi7NQ/w564-h423/CREATE%20SOMETHING%20NEW.png" width="564" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Something at the heart of Popular Culture died on the day that we started to accept the notion that our heroes are nothing more than “franchises.”</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I hear it all the time: the STAR WARS “franchise,” the MCU “franchise,” the DOCTOR WHO “franchise” — even The Universal Monsters “franchise,” although the franchising of anything, even food, was scarcely a phenomenon back in the 1930s when Universal was first spinning its shambling, misfit anti-heroes into sequels. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But fiction, art, film and pop culture are not hamburgers, although the huge multi-national conglomerates that own everything in the twenty-first century have certainly been treating them as if they should be served with a side order of fries. Today, it’s considered simpler and more cost-effective (as it probably is) to keep artificially pumping life into an existing “property” than to create something new. There’s no profit in originality, at least not a profit that’s perceptible to their tiny little business-college trained minds.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The problem is that, inevitably nowadays, the management of a “franchise” falls into the hands of someone who would rather be doing something else, and the “property” falls into disrepair in a way that is painful for the fans.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once upon a time, people made Entertainment. Even when Television was a meat-grinder and series producers were expected to churn out as many as thirty-eight weekly episodes a year, producers still took some pride in what they were doing, in delivering real stories about interesting characters — and when those series had run their course, as happens in the real world, the tent was folded and everyone moved on to the next Big Thing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Characters and stories. Cycles that end. What a concept!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fictional characters, just like living people, have a lifespan. They live, and they die. We have reached a time in the death cycle of Popular Culture when long-established characters like Batman, Spider-Man, Doctor Who and Superman have been done, and done again, and again, and again, until all that is left is ridicule and disgrace. They have long outlived their natural lifespan. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps their ethics and character become incompatible with a new generation; perhaps they exhaust the potential of their notions. The time comes for them to pass on, and join the Immortals in another realm. Those of us who love them can still hold them in our memories, and continue to enjoy their adventures in the same way that we watch old serials and read old comic books, but the window for new adventures has long been closed, though we hate to admit it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The world of the present seems inhospitable for my dusty old heroes. Time for new adventures from a new generation of heroes — if a new generation of creators can step up to the plate and deliver fresh characters and stories worthy of our time and support. The failing here is that not much of value has come down the pike, and the only thing that young creators seem capable of is mocking the work of their betters. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And so rather than give the heroes of a more civilized world a decent burial, we are forced forever to watch their crumbling, reanimated corpses lumber across our screens in an ever more tragic state of decomposition and decay. I for one am tired of it. Let our heroes rest in peace. They have earned it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-- Thorn.</span></div></div><p><br /></p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-30015890347626563432023-02-02T10:50:00.005-05:002023-02-02T15:24:21.842-05:00Quirk: Resurrection<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfBu8oron4rlgzFTyqsktsDN0k3T2G-oN7M7z5f-2Xl8ht8wnx_vkrbgVjFZ1Rw7ECA0UN0yhyh-BV7x1lIklMIvBeoSk_mnwVwBZs1tOsaXuqoa18Gdkxj6ydSTuCzbT6_6AbCG-OhS-WrPFUYYJqIbh4ZUyPVSnmTjBkyclNqszDWLCo-PC0xis8/s1953/quirk%20ressurection.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1091" data-original-width="1953" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfBu8oron4rlgzFTyqsktsDN0k3T2G-oN7M7z5f-2Xl8ht8wnx_vkrbgVjFZ1Rw7ECA0UN0yhyh-BV7x1lIklMIvBeoSk_mnwVwBZs1tOsaXuqoa18Gdkxj6ydSTuCzbT6_6AbCG-OhS-WrPFUYYJqIbh4ZUyPVSnmTjBkyclNqszDWLCo-PC0xis8/w586-h328/quirk%20ressurection.jpg" width="586" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm happy to announce that <b>QUIRK</b> will return in 2023!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For something like five years in the late '90s it ran as a weekly webcomic on my old site. I'm not going to go into the whole backstory at this time, but if you're curious about <b>QUIRK</b>, the place to start is the dedicated mini-site attached to this blog, linked <a href="http://quirk-the-comic.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">here</a> and in the sidebar. There you will find character descriptions, story synopses and more.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The comic ended right in the middle of a terrific story written for me by my good friend <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/Bruce-Canwell/author/B001K8N8TQ?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true" target="_blank">Bruce Canwell,</a></b> associate editor of <b><a href="https://libraryofamericancomics.com/" target="_blank">The Library of American Comics</a></b> and co-creator (with <b><a href="https://www.leeweeks.com/" target="_blank">Lee Weeks</a></b>) of a little something you might have heard of: <b><a href="https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Batman_Chronicles:_The_Gauntlet" target="_blank">BATMAN CHRONICLES: THE GAUNTLET</a></b>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For reasons that you will probably be able to infer if you're familiar with the contents of this blog, I was unable to finish drawing Bruce's story. I made several attempts to complete it over the past decade, but it was a struggle. I was never able to finish the story until now. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>It's done. </b>"In the can," so to speak. And it will FINALLY premiere here (and on the page linked above), starting probably in April. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If it goes well, there are several other untold <b>QUIRK</b> stories that I would quite like to get out of my system. Stories that will allow me to finally write "THE END" to the whole saga. We'll see about that. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The main thing is <b>"The Prunes of Ire"</b> is at last seeing the light of day. Keep watching this space for more on this, that, and the other thing!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Onward!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">--Thorn.</div><p></p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-22440044060782334762023-01-28T11:03:00.001-05:002023-01-28T11:03:26.403-05:00After Time After<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWm341Nsw8a4oLbU_fiD1h8YZNbNh74v_ORcXiwNE6R38UmTASzJXD852Inx-RPNc8fnD2_iI8zntBuMz_3HXqpiRil3O18I8vstHcCoey-x6xSF0V0g_qiIwBVqylnarm_QNtkpa-YsfZNMXPtQDMY9ycZixWluGXLa2P_-X9KpIj-xd0rhuIJ-_/s1463/Time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1463" data-original-width="960" height="843" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWm341Nsw8a4oLbU_fiD1h8YZNbNh74v_ORcXiwNE6R38UmTASzJXD852Inx-RPNc8fnD2_iI8zntBuMz_3HXqpiRil3O18I8vstHcCoey-x6xSF0V0g_qiIwBVqylnarm_QNtkpa-YsfZNMXPtQDMY9ycZixWluGXLa2P_-X9KpIj-xd0rhuIJ-_/w554-h843/Time.jpg" width="554" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Last night Essie I and traveled back to 1979 to watch TIME AFTER TIME, the directorial debut of Nicholas Meyer, featuring Malcom McDowell, a very young Mary Steenburgen, and the recently late David Warner. This was one of those very talked-up, log-rolled pictures back in the day, receiving glowing notices from the critics, that now seems largely forgotten. Film criticism was not then the lost art that it is today, film critics had not yet become mere shills for the huge corporate conglomerates that now own the studios; even so I had already learned a healthy mistrust of certain critical types. Janet Maslin of the (New York) Times thought it was terrific, and I respected her opinion a lot; still, I stayed away from this one, until now.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was probably for the best; there’s much more to appreciate about TIME AFTER TIME in 2023, with the movie industry in absolute tatters, than there was in the late seventies, when far better movies were still relatively abundant.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's very much “all right.” Meyer does love those High Concepts, and that's fine; but this one involves Jack the Ripper, a figure who is probably not as “old hat” nowadays as he was in ’79. In Victorian England, yet-to-be Famous Novelist H.G. Wells has invented a real Time Machine, which the nefarious Jack avails himself of to escape apprehension. Wells (McDowell) then pursues Jack through time, which might have been an even higher concept if that pursuit wasn’t confined to 1979 San Francisco.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Meyer instinctively knows how to tell a story and frame a shot, which guarantees a strong first effort, but a visual stylist he is not. In a way, that made him perfect for STAR TREK a couple of years later, because he brought to the table everything they needed and nothing that they didn't need. But this picture? It really could have used the visual flair of a Terry Gilliam. Just as an example, the Victorian scenes look dreadful: very artificial and inauthentic. The time machine itself looks as if it’s made of plastic, which it probably was. A good production designer could have concealed this; perhaps the studio was not entirely convinced that Meyer, who rose to sudden fame with a clever pastiche novel about Sherlock Holmes, could hold down a picture with a larger budget.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Warner is fine, Steenburgen is TERRIFIC, but McDowell looks like a fish out of water. He was trying to shed the mayhem that saturated his acting image thanks to a certain couple of movies, and this doesn’t quite do the trick. He’d already attempted this to greater effect a year earlier, in SHE FELL AMONG THIEVES, a terrific television melodrama starring Eileen Atkins in the villainous, Cruella DeVille-type of role, but neither part succeeded in washing Alec or Caligula from his shadow, did they? Not all that long after, he was back to Evil Things like killing Captain Kirk and harassing Tank Girl.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Meyer really is kind of the smartest guy in the room, and yet he still can't come up with a time travel story that isn't riddled with gaping holes. It's just the nature of the beast.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">— Thorn.</span></div></div>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-54588067863478245982023-01-27T11:34:00.001-05:002023-01-27T11:34:26.873-05:00Winter (Be)Wilderland<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNVKFiAW2t7TebI81rFZGJZBtBhgoT6kFxhLTuF0puytodrUQBvAmQQPhiMyJBrtG5TB8Vk7EbWwy-D31NzQcO7-nR_WTmcm96q2pPFKTVdnp6CpiK34LfOc4Vf235AHEj-VM7zGJtyexE--vqPXsjLuXIDRUZJSjVJlAMAsoY-JEiu0lOO3e_4sf/s1837/fifth-business-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1837" data-original-width="1200" height="811" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNVKFiAW2t7TebI81rFZGJZBtBhgoT6kFxhLTuF0puytodrUQBvAmQQPhiMyJBrtG5TB8Vk7EbWwy-D31NzQcO7-nR_WTmcm96q2pPFKTVdnp6CpiK34LfOc4Vf235AHEj-VM7zGJtyexE--vqPXsjLuXIDRUZJSjVJlAMAsoY-JEiu0lOO3e_4sf/w530-h811/fifth-business-1.jpeg" width="530" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Yes, it’s Winter here in the northeast United States, and although the season has been notably kind to us until now, she has finally gone into Full Queen Bitch mode. Although some people persist in characterizing Winter as an Old White Man, those of us who have lived through a few bad ones know better. Winter is Female. And She is Not To Be Trifled With.</div><div><br /></div><div>The cold spell that was her first gambit wasn’t nearly as bad as some that I wish I hadn’t experienced. Once, in a December still within human memory, the temperatures never rose above fifteen below zero during the day, for an entire month, and at night regularly dipped down to thirty below. Cold like that kills: Misty the horse went out of our barn one morning dragging a foot as she walked; by night she was dead, and we could not even bury her because the ground was frozen too hard.</div><div><br /></div><div>But this winter we’ve yet to reach temperatures significantly below zero, and have hardly seen single digits. The snow held off almost entirely until last week. The fifteen inches we got at that time was bothersome but not an extreme hardship, as it was feather-light, halfway between powder and fluff.</div><div><br /></div><div>But the two inches that we got overnight Wednesday? That was a different story. Two inches doesn’t look so bad on the ground, compared to fifteen or more, until you try to shovel it and discover that it’s saturated with two more inches (at least) of Freezing Rain. This is the kind of snow that makes you feel your age, no matter what your age is; and quite suddenly you begin to understand that you are not as young as you used to be. That’s the message that Lady Winter delivered to me yesterday: “I’m coming for you, and you can’t escape me forever.” Death comes not with a scythe, but with a freezing thick coating of white.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you’re casting around for something to read this winter, I would heartily recommend Robertson Davies’ “Deptford Trilogy,” comprised of FIFTH BUSINESS, THE MANTICORE, and WORLD OF WONDERS — in which the lives of at least four people are forever changed by One Single Snowball. Actions Have Consequence, after all: this is a lesson that the human race never seems to learn. The second book is the real climax of the series, with WORLD OF WONDERS acting as a pleasing, prolonged epilogue. If you enjoy it, Davies was a prolific writer who found real magic in life and left many volumes of it behind for us when he left. </div><div><br /></div><div>Stay warm.</div><div><br /></div><div>—Thorn.</div><p></p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-30152148693757649362023-01-25T10:45:00.000-05:002023-01-25T10:45:16.773-05:00I've (Finally) Got a Little List<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpElJJXPqOGGDRuGnuKGrlSJMIhAlFdFMOaR__Sgtb_7FLEokEY6_GlaeqWdOsc8wlsxpGyq5_phuEaB3VMo2O5t1Dtt23UKTKGZl2JiY6MqqP3hVrj-_GQ78vxSiFzmgW9_ReKLo4Pd9pqAnofz_ghiMZBi8CJqej2Ol2bfONCNjfYIuPrz4kfDqp/s1200/king-kong.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1200" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpElJJXPqOGGDRuGnuKGrlSJMIhAlFdFMOaR__Sgtb_7FLEokEY6_GlaeqWdOsc8wlsxpGyq5_phuEaB3VMo2O5t1Dtt23UKTKGZl2JiY6MqqP3hVrj-_GQ78vxSiFzmgW9_ReKLo4Pd9pqAnofz_ghiMZBi8CJqej2Ol2bfONCNjfYIuPrz4kfDqp/w628-h434/king-kong.jpeg" width="628" /></span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Folks often talk about their "Top Ten" or "Top Fifty" favorite films -- I never made a formal list until the other day. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was hard! At the start I had a list of <b>130 movies all wanting to be in my Top Fifty!</b> As I whittled titles away, the choice of what to keep and what to cut was often pretty arbitrary, and often turned on whether the director or stars already had one or more pictures on the list. On any given day, most of the titles that got cut might outrank some of the titles that stayed. At least a couple of titles only made the final cut because better movies were culled for the above reasons, and others. Ask me tomorrow, and the list might be different.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also, this is a list of <b>FAVORITES,</b> not a <b>BEST</b> list. A "Best" list would look very different indeed. It also wouldn't tell you as much about me as <i><b>this</b></i> list does.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The films are listed are in no particular order, not ranked in any way -- other than that the first ten or fifteen titles probably do rank higher the ones that follow. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've already written about some of these pictures here on the blog: a quick search should take you right to those posts. I'll be writing about some of the other titles here in the coming days.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Why did I do this? "Just Because." I'm twelve years older than I was wren I started this blog. As you start getting on in years, you start wanting to codify things, if only to bolster your sense of perspective.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><u>Here we go: "Doug's Favorite Fifty, Sort Of"</u></i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sherlock, Jr. - 1924</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oliver! - 1968</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">King Kong -1933</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Metropolis - 1927</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">M. Hulot’s Holiday - 1953</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain - 2001</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Modern Times - 1936</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My Little Chickadee - 1940</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yellow Submarine - 1968</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kid Millions - 1934</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lawrence of Arabia - 1962</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They Might Be Giants - 1971</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Maltese Falcon - 1941</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lili - 1953</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Wizard of Oz - 1939</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Godspell - 1973</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Adventures of Baron Munchausen - 1988</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - 1947</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Horse Without a Head - 1963</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean - 1972</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rose Marie - 1936</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Late Show - 1976</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Magician - 1958</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Bride of Frankenstein - 1935</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dumbo - 1941</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? - 1969</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Fearless Vampire Killers - 1966</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Crimson Pig / Porco Rosso - 1992</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Annie Hall - 1977</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Babes In Toyland - 1934</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Duck Soup - 1933</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Way Out West - 1937</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ninotchka - 1939</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sweet November - 1968</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Paper Moon - 1973</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Commitments - 1991</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7 Faces of Dr. Lao - 1963</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Return to Oz - 1985</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Peter Pan - 2003</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Mummy - 1932</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Abominable Dr. Phibes - 1971</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Black Narcissus - 1947</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Night Stalker - 1972</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Carousel - 1956</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Flash Gordon (serial) - 1936</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Duel In the Sun - 1948</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Ladykillers - 1955</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pay It Again, Sam - 1972</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Willard - 1971</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Mark of Zorro - 1940</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">**************************</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">More later! I really am going to make an effort to post here more often. Thanks for stopping by,</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">--Thorn.</span></p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-41708689826358663922023-01-24T17:58:00.000-05:002023-01-24T17:58:44.269-05:00Something's Coming<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiniJwLc82CbeP_ed914Ehvx9RNoPCaNXqOsOeAfQZTOIBwOpbW8KHEwfK7yNoL2_6J9N8N-chDXw_15wQdVGQjFYYd4BGl7niqXTrg8jOyJwXrPtUBJBKXk147p8MUp0cLHRe209FtmF7gPTHiygrUhapsDOOiCQfOkfh9aikfMg0sWPWZvrK4xuTl/s851/02-magician%20copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="510" height="932" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiniJwLc82CbeP_ed914Ehvx9RNoPCaNXqOsOeAfQZTOIBwOpbW8KHEwfK7yNoL2_6J9N8N-chDXw_15wQdVGQjFYYd4BGl7niqXTrg8jOyJwXrPtUBJBKXk147p8MUp0cLHRe209FtmF7gPTHiygrUhapsDOOiCQfOkfh9aikfMg0sWPWZvrK4xuTl/w559-h932/02-magician%20copy.png" width="559" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For reasons that I vaguely remember writing about here, some time in the distant past, This Ol' Website has lain Mostly Fallow for some time now. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That's about to change, because for the first time in ages, I actually have Things to Post and possibly even some Things to Say. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I can't promise you that it'll be The Greatest Thing since the invention of toenail clippers, especially in a world that's resoundingly flooded by content and drowning in voices. Everyone's talking at once, fewer people than ever are actually listening, but Because Reasons I've got the clutch down to the floorboards and am toying with the notion of actually throwing the vehicle into gear. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We'll see what comes of it, okay?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-- Thorn.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">www.tarotbyducksoup.com</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">www.ducksoup.me</span></div><br /><p></p>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-55355926141951891882020-12-31T14:56:00.000-05:002020-12-31T14:56:07.227-05:00End of Days<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXU9jryGmKamMaeT1autI_GrSRGGi6kw5Q5Em8gZYOVpNvX1-szUpa3n2vdqT2oMf5ooO9nzQP8u7j1Uk1Gl0BPb_NLuGdUKSkIsOzI8-hEAZsZUwrbtLckx5LZkXfAUQ9hROtETRpRJY/s1497/17-tower.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1497" data-original-width="897" height="964" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXU9jryGmKamMaeT1autI_GrSRGGi6kw5Q5Em8gZYOVpNvX1-szUpa3n2vdqT2oMf5ooO9nzQP8u7j1Uk1Gl0BPb_NLuGdUKSkIsOzI8-hEAZsZUwrbtLckx5LZkXfAUQ9hROtETRpRJY/w578-h964/17-tower.png" width="578" /></a></div><br /> <span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The winter solstice of 2020 is unique in history in that the world just keeps getting darker and darker when it should be getting lighter.</span><p></p><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Some Random Observations. People keep blathering at me about the supposedly Multicultural world they claim is on the horizon. I'm going to say this once: WE DO NOT LIVE IN A MULTICULTURAL WORLD. We live in an Omnicultural, MICRO-cultural World in which, by definition, everyone can create their own facts, live in their own bubble, believe what they want to believe, and find others who will support and agree with them. The Internet has done this to us. First it killed Pop Culture and then it killed anything and everything that Unified us as a people. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Tolerance and respect is a thing of the past. The New Liberals are as much of a danger to the culture as the Old Conservatives were. They are not even True Liberals, because they do not believe in freedom of speech: they believe that any idea, theology, concept or opinion that differs from theirs must be stamped out, silenced, and banished to what Harry Nilsson once called The Pointless Forest (track down a copy of the short animated film THE POINT for reference. It'll do you good).</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">In 2020, it is impossible for any two people to be "on the same page" of ANY-damn-thing, because the structure that supported a stable body of reliable news sources has been utterly destroyed. People get their news now from whatever source supports and encourages their particular beliefs, and they can find professionally-produced sources to support ANY beliefs they might have, no matter how crackpot.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">In 2020, everyone is their own Programming Director. Everyone with a keypad is a damn critic. Everyone believes they are an authority on any and every subject, no matter their level of education or where their information comes from.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">We've been living in dangerous times for a long while now. The pandemic is merely a headstone marking the grave of a culture that has been decaying since the advent of the internet and the election of Ronald Reagan. Ask not for whom the bell tolls.</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">-- Thorn.</div></div>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-37126207754471359102020-05-12T17:26:00.003-04:002020-05-12T17:26:36.152-04:00Tribute to Hunny<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KDnTEojlD0o" width="560"></iframe></div>
Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-20894453744257282302020-05-09T17:29:00.000-04:002020-05-09T17:29:37.760-04:00Hunny<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Nb8oig8ATYw7N_Y4Jf7INZxqM2-NyinA8HNRtyB5wN-jQYEWfK7xeMhb5gFKq82UYSFO7W6aPM3XNdwtNRonZPEX2usKlxlNrRH8F2tQ39713r5uOc2d4Vut4NS3VyaGFfF6LjKuW-k/s1600/20-sun+mk+II.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="510" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Nb8oig8ATYw7N_Y4Jf7INZxqM2-NyinA8HNRtyB5wN-jQYEWfK7xeMhb5gFKq82UYSFO7W6aPM3XNdwtNRonZPEX2usKlxlNrRH8F2tQ39713r5uOc2d4Vut4NS3VyaGFfF6LjKuW-k/s640/20-sun+mk+II.png" width="376" /></span></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On Sunday, May 3, 2020, I was forced to make the decision to end the life of my little Hunny. You may know her from the SUN card from my TINKER'S DAMN TAROT revised second edition. There was a reason she graced that card with her presence. For fifteen years she was the light of my life, the best part of my life, the best thing that ever happened to me. And now she's gone.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She died from a combination of heart disease AND kidney disease, both of which were farther along than I think the vet ever admitted to me. In late March, I noticed that she was breathing awfully hard. By the last week of April, I knew that the end was near. There were no good days -- just every day worse than the one before it.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My heart is broken. Even now, I can hardly bear to type these words. I miss her so much.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'll try to write her whole story out here on the blog; I think I have to. But it will have to wait until I think I can get through the task with a minimum of waterworks. For now, this is all I can bear to do,</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hunny, my little sweetie, my angel, my baby -- I miss you so much. I loved you so much. Please forgive me. </span></em></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">--Thorn.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.tarotbyducksoup.com/">www.tarotbyducksoup.com</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.ducksoup.me/">www.ducksoup.me</a></span></div>
Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-90259207604983018392020-04-11T01:46:00.000-04:002020-04-11T01:46:12.584-04:00In the Midst of Pandemic....<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVI98SotvRhXL_lGJwB8EURPIsAsAOT9xZ9aPL2gH3ZtoSriY0X-vAROpphEZalVPkRim6NUcTExyTwTLAdKBRmrGNCcorETZVrbRL_qjw2F-Yp1XFhInskY5tGyf02zzZvuIlXDLyR8s/s1600/64-six+of+swords+copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVI98SotvRhXL_lGJwB8EURPIsAsAOT9xZ9aPL2gH3ZtoSriY0X-vAROpphEZalVPkRim6NUcTExyTwTLAdKBRmrGNCcorETZVrbRL_qjw2F-Yp1XFhInskY5tGyf02zzZvuIlXDLyR8s/s640/64-six+of+swords+copy.png" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image from LES TAROTS DES ANIMALERIES, coming soon from Duck Soup Productions © 2020</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What a night and morning it's been. On Wednesday it was sunny and in the 50s, then last night a ginormous storm blew in and blasted the whole state with heavy wet snow. In the early stages (NOT making this up!!) the snowflakes were the size of vintage half-dollar coins.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It came down and it came down. My only worry was just that I had an 8:30 AM vet appointment for Hunny, and I well know the length of my driveway and the limits of my car in getting through heavy wet snow.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Just after midnight, the power went out. From years of living in the country (and from recent New Agey Interests) I have plenty of candles in the house, so that was not a problem I was concerned about, either. Except that my phone and internet both go out when the power does. And as the night rolled on and on, I began to imagine not being able to get out of my house to make the appointment, and not even being able to call to cancel it!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But by 7:00 AM the power was back, and my plow guy had been here, too. It was still a bit of a struggle to get out at 8:15, because there was a solid ten inches of heavy wet snow all over everywhere, and the damn stuff was still coming down.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Due to the Covid-19 protections that my vet has in place, the New England Animal Hospital offices in Waterville are now virtually a Drive-In service. They don't you in the building, and I don't blame them! They picked up my little Hunny at the car and took her in, and I waited. I knew this was going to happen, so I'd written all the information I had down on a piece of paper that went in with the cat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Then you wait in the car. Ten minutes seems like a long time under the circumstances.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you have a cellphone, they call you with the exam results. I don't, so the vet -- trusted, caring and lovely Dr. O'Brien -- came out to fill me in personally. She thinks Hunny may be having a flare-up of feline herpes; but she also said that in all other respects (heart, lungs, and other vitals) Hunny is doing fine. That news alone was worth the $80. In addition to the Clavemox I'm already giving her, they gave her (I think) an antibiotic. I'd have to look at the receipt to be sure. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hunny is now sleeping comfortably by the fireplace, after she almost threw up her morning does of Clavemox.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After all that, I ordered a face-mask on Etsy. I've been getting by with a couple of bandannas, doubled-up, tied at the ears and stuffed with three coffee filters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And I haven't even checked my email yet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This afternoon I'm going out to the post-office to mail out the few little orders that I have, and then make a stop at the supermarket. I hope they have something left to buy..... Mainly, I need two particular flavors of Fancy Feast Quat Fud, and whatever garbage is on the shelves at eye level for me to eat on...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Have a Good Day, and pray that the peak is really here....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Thorn.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.tarotbyducksoup.com/">www.tarotbyducksoup.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.ducksoup.me/">www.ducksoup.me</a></span><br />
<div style="height: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">x</span></div>
Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-19151161828820748622020-04-01T16:31:00.000-04:002020-04-01T16:31:10.232-04:00April Fool's Day<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4gu_LsB-2iForXMQVymmYGQwAw_iNVQIUgr89Rxiy_b1FGEEmqDqw7SjIshWWQy5mS-H_CRgJhJ48GzhTc5uJh8yxVR__QJlwZ7ol1hGvBLUEB4URwQI1d9XJznGXASPQX6Uvcr0KBY/s1600/13-hanged+man+copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="511" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4gu_LsB-2iForXMQVymmYGQwAw_iNVQIUgr89Rxiy_b1FGEEmqDqw7SjIshWWQy5mS-H_CRgJhJ48GzhTc5uJh8yxVR__QJlwZ7ol1hGvBLUEB4URwQI1d9XJznGXASPQX6Uvcr0KBY/s640/13-hanged+man+copy.png" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Hanged Man" from TAROT DADA, ™ and © Duck Soup Productions, 2020.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As today is the last day that Mainers can legally leave the house for "less than essential" reasons, I feared that there would be another run on the stores.... waking at 5:55, I threw on some clothes and went out to catch "senior hour" at the supermarket. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Aside from the personal disgust at the fact of being old enough to partake of such a thing, I actually felt less safe shopping with the geriatric crowd than I did last week during normal hours. But under the circumstances, I was afraid they would run out of eggs -- if they even had any. And I need eggs to make Whitey's Magic Tummy Mixture.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I needn't have worried, the supermarket had tons of eggs, and really, they have done a smashing job re-stocking everything: which reinforces the fact that THERE ARE NO SHORTAGES. THERE IS PLENTY TO GO AROUND, if you just don't panic and buy up a shit-ton more than you really need.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But they were out of hand-sanitizing wipes for the carts and I was glad I was wearing gloves. Even then, I panicked when I absent-mindedly touched my cheek because it was itching. I thought, "It's all over. I touched the side of my nose. Contagion will surely follow."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Returning home was not the happy experience it usually is, because I knew that I needed to go back out again in a few hours. Not enough time to do anything productive, too much time to have on your hands. And I did worry about what I had brought back on my hands. I washed my hands and face intensely, killing my iPhone (which I'd absent-mindedly left in my shirt pocket) as a result. Pussyquats being the perceptive creatures they are, both Whitey and Hunny picked up on my distress. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I did venture back out into the war zone after about 2 PM. The mailman did deliver my last paycheck for my freelance job, bless him -- and really, bless and keep the U.S. and Worldwide Postal Services for keeping the world up and running. Imagine how bad this would be without a basic service like the mail. I have heard rumblings that the USPS will be forced to shut down within three months. Folks, if that happens, especially without a viable replacement service, it's literally the end of Civilization as we know it. Burn the set: it will all be over. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Part of the </span>reason<span style="font-family: inherit;"> for my going out this afternoon was to ship out the tiny handful of Tarot orders that have trickled in. The Post Office was open, and the folks there were safe and friendly behind new plexiglass panels. Clearly marked intervals on the floor showed the safe distance to stand in all areas, and with mechanical door openers in place, I didn't have to touch any surface at all while I was there. Honestly, it felt like the safest place in town.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, once again, raise a cheer for the mail system: keeping the whole world going in a time of genuine crisis.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In other areas of the town, traffic was about close to normal as the people of Maine took advantage of their last day as Free Range Cattle. The local bank has wisely closed its lobby. All business now being transacted at the drive-through. This made me feel good about the safety of the people inside. And if they're safe, I am too. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The vet was shuttered. Not a big, deal, I have enough meds to last Whitey a few days, and because I have a good relationship with them, I know I can drop them an email and pop down to pick up the pills Whitey needs sometime in the next few days.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If the first part of my day had been as angst-free as the second part, I'd be feeling pretty complacent by now. Unfortunately, ANY trip out these days means that the infection clock re-sets. Covid-19 has a 2-14 day incubation period, with 5 days the average. No matter what, I'll be a little bit on tinter-hooks until next Monday rolls along. By then, the numbers should be getting genuinely alarming. Stay at home, folks, and stay safe.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">--Thorn.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">www.tarotbyducksoup.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">www.ducksoup.me</span>Frederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895687241085948761.post-55695601527058765632020-03-27T15:39:00.001-04:002020-03-27T15:39:48.024-04:00A REPORT FROM THE FIELD: WATERVILLE, ME: LIFE UNDER COVID WEEK THREE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Xb0doYn0oXEOUXBEiN69X7_i93cVxf40W8zlTxgOw-ZKVSyOvmBL64resGAitSDi6cpWNOBV2ebE_T7TCk6Y6JoOGsDRRgfH5-S0sSjygyvaMToawlqKKkoKryLHnk7wHp4g2f88O9s/s1600/09-adjustment+copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="817" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Xb0doYn0oXEOUXBEiN69X7_i93cVxf40W8zlTxgOw-ZKVSyOvmBL64resGAitSDi6cpWNOBV2ebE_T7TCk6Y6JoOGsDRRgfH5-S0sSjygyvaMToawlqKKkoKryLHnk7wHp4g2f88O9s/s640/09-adjustment+copy.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Just back from venturing Out for the first time in a week.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's looking more and more like LOGAN'S RUN out there. Last week I reported that the traffic was down by probably about a third, to about 65 percent. This week I think those numbers are about reversed: traffic only about 1/3rd of normal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Except at the stupormarket, of course. That felt very normal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>CONVERSATION BETWEEN BRAIN AND GUT, </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>JUST BEFORE ENTERING THE SUPERMARKET:</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>BRAIN:</b> Calm down. Relax. Most of the people in there are probably not infected.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>GUT:</b> And THAT'S supposed to relax me? Do you HEAR yourself?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>BRAIN:</b> They're taking all kinds of measures to keep it safe.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>GUT:</b> Are you INSANE? I can FEEL myself getting infected just from LOOKING at the place!!!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>BRAIN:</b> Go on in. Look: See? They have hand sanitizer wipes so you can mop down the handles of your cart, and they have hand sanitizer in a dispenser.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>GUT:</b> GIMME THAT!!!!!!!!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>BRAIN</b>: See? It's all very normal in here. No one is dying in the aisles.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>GUT:</b> I'm STILL not touching the cart handle.....</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway. The supermarkets are doing a great job of keeping things in stock despite the panic-driven run on things. After last week, it was most re-assuring to see the meat counters full up again. I was able to get dishwasher detergent at last -- not a moment too soon! (Why would there be a run on dishwasher detergent? Go figure.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You won't be able to get absolutely everything on your list, and you might not have your pick of brands, but the essentials are all there (so long as you don't buy more than your fair share) and produce and meat were available in abundance.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">At the registers, they've put up plexiglass barriers between customer and cashier: a good idea. At the post office (which looked like a Ghost Town inside, if not in the lobby and parking lot), tape has been put down at six-foot intervals to show how far you need to stand back from each other.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't plan on going out now for another week. We shall cross that bridge when we come to it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hopefully I managed to transact my chores without swallowing a whole bunch of Covid-19 germs. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Life Goes On.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
-- Thorn.<br />
www.tarotbyducksoup.com<br />
www.ducksoup.meFrederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541101078258130096noreply@blogger.com0