Hey, Mom! The Explanation.

Here's the permanent dedicated link to my first Hey, Mom! post and the explanation of the feature it contains.

Also,

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1743 - 536 was the worst year in history

Thomas Cole - Fall of the Roman Empire
A Sense of Doubt blog post #1743 - 536 was the worst year in history

Just this...

We should be thankful that 2019 doesn't suck this bad,




https://news.slashdot.org/story/19/11/25/1548207/why-536-was-the-worst-year-to-be-alive

Why 536 Was 'the Worst Year To Be Alive' (sciencemag.org)



Posted by msmash  from the blast-from-the-past dept.

Ask medieval historian Michael McCormick what year was the worst to be alive, and he's got an answer: "536." Not 1349, when the Black Death wiped out half of Europe. Not 1918, when the flu killed 50 million to 100 million people, mostly young adults. But 536. From a report:In Europe, "It was the beginning of one of the worst periods to be alive, if not the worst year," says McCormick, a historian and archaeologist who chairs the Harvard University Initiative for the Science of the Human Past. A mysterious fog plunged Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia into darkness, day and night -- for 18 months. "For the sun gave forth its light without brightness, like the moon, during the whole year," wrote Byzantine historian Procopius. Temperatures in the summer of 536 fell 1.5C to 2.5C, initiating the coldest decade in the past 2300 years. Snow fell that summer in China; crops failed; people starved. The Irish chronicles record "a failure of bread from the years 536-539." Then, in 541, bubonic plague struck the Roman port of Pelusium, in Egypt. What came to be called the Plague of Justinian spread rapidly, wiping out one-third to one-half of the population of the eastern Roman Empire and hastening its collapse, McCormick says. Historians have long known that the middle of the sixth century was a dark hour in what used to be called the Dark Ages, but the source of the mysterious clouds has long been a puzzle. Now, an ultraprecise analysis of ice from a Swiss glacier by a team led by McCormick and glaciologist Paul Mayewski at the Climate Change Institute of The University of Maine (UM) in Orono has fingered a culprit. At a workshop at Harvard this week, the team reported that a cataclysmic volcanic eruption in Iceland spewed ash across the Northern Hemisphere early in 536. Two other massive eruptions followed, in 540 and 547. The repeated blows, followed by plague, plunged Europe into economic stagnation that lasted until 640, when another signal in the ice -- a spike in airborne lead -- marks a resurgence of silver mining, as the team reports in Antiquity this week.
https://www.livescience.com/64132-worst-year-ever-536.html



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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1911.26 - 10:10

- Days ago = 1606 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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Monday, November 25, 2019

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1742 - True Meanings by Paul Weller - Musical Monday 1911.25



A Sense of Doubt blog post #1742 - True Meanings by Paul Weller - Musical Monday 1911.25

I have been listening to Paul Weller's True Meanings repeatedly lately. It's my go to album.

Paul Weller is a masterful writer, an elegant lyricist with a hard, apodictic edge, a visionary.

METACRITIC gives it an 81/100 -- universal acclaim.

I bought the Deluxe edition, which was released in a book form.

It's a beautiful album, rich and lush, spacious in a way that invites repeated listening.

The Telegraph gave it 100/100 and rightly so.

This album may already be my favorite solo work by Weller, which is difficult given my affections for Wildwood, Stanley Road, and Modern Classics. Though the last in the list is a greatest hits compilation from 1998 (just six years after launching his solo career and four albums), it is the album on which "Brand New Start" first appeared and, at least until True Meanings, it is my favorite Weller solo song.

Check out the WIKI content, especially the comparison to David Bowie.

From WIKI - Paul Weller -
Despite widespread critical recognition as a singer, lyricist, and guitarist, Weller has remained a national, rather than international, star and much of his songwriting is rooted in British culture. He is also the principal figure of the 1970s and 1980s mod revival, and is often referred to as "The Modfather".[1]
The Daily Telegraph said of Weller: "Apart from David Bowie, it's hard to think of any British solo artist who's had as varied, long-lasting and determinedly forward-looking a career."[2] The BBC described Weller in 2007 as "one of the most revered music writers and performers of the past 30 years".[3] In 2012, he was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork – the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover – to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life.[4] He has received four Brit Awards, winning the award for Best British Male twice, and the 2006 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.

I love Paul Weller; I love this album.



https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/paul-weller-true-meanings

Paul Weller - True Meanings

A pensive, introspective triumph, laden with jazz and folk settings...
ROBIN MURRAY 

REVIEWS

11 · 09 · 2018

Paul Weller has never liked being comfortable. He split The Jam at their arena-filling height, forced The Style Council to make a record label infuriating deep house record, and – by his own admission – split from a happy marriage with Dee C. Lee purely because “I might lose my edge”.
Perhaps the most recent iteration of this fearless/foolhardy – delete as applicable – aptitude was his decision in 2006 to completely overhaul his solo band. Out went the old, and in came the new, leading to some of his most daring, confusing, adventurous solo records yet.
‘True Meanings’ taps into this tendencies, while also resulting in some his most floral, poetic, soothing, and blissful songwriting. It’s a 14 song suite, a lush, at times orchestral folk-soul opus that pits Terry Callier against Nick Drake while emerging resolutely as the work of a punk kid from Woking. And yet it’s not all his work.
Opening cut ‘The Soul Searchers’ is, musically and lyrical, a virtual declaration of intent for the album itself, yet the words were penned by Villagers’ Conor O’Brien. It’s a sign of his openness to new ideas, to outside influences, with Weller commenting in the press note: “that’s what it’s about really, I always want to see what people can add to my ideas.”
Just reaching his 60th birthday, ‘True Meanings’ is the work of an artist who is able to bring enormous experience to the fore. The jazz-tinged lilt of ‘Old Castles’ is Pentangle meets Gil Scott-Heron, while the touching ‘What Would He Say?’ is this oddly introverted country shuffle.
The cryptic ‘Bowie’ vows to “make the best of every moment”, a vastly uplifting pearl with a pensive view of mortality. Is it the curious sight of a British music icon dipping his cap to another icon? Or advice to his son, also named Bowie? Perhaps both.
‘Wishing Well’ has a wonderfully hewn early 70s Neil Young vibe, a kind of Laurel Canyon lament transported to the Black Country. ‘Come Along’ meanwhile has a gorgeous but simple nursery rhyme feel, married to some of Weller’s most erotic lyrics yet. ‘Books’ radiates with inner peace, featuring some beautiful George Harrison style sitar-drenched wisdom.
The acoustic settings that dominate the album reach their apex on the undaunted, wonderfully ambitious ‘May Love Travel With You’, featuring the record’s most fully realised arrangement. Paul Weller’s voice dips and soars, rising almost breathlessly as horns undulate around him, a dramatic, choral, almost spiritual effect.
Curiously, the album opens and closes with the aid of other artists. The involvement of Erland Cooper on ‘White Horses’ presents a willingness by Paul Weller to step outside of himself, adopting fresh vantage points in order to re-define himself to seek out fresh areas to grow.
“White horses are taking me home,” he sings, lyrics that embody a sense of return, but only to know a place for the very first time. There’s a sense of tradition at work in ‘True Meanings’, without being slavishly traditional; continually taking chances, Paul Weller roots himself in a defiantly English soul lineage, one he himself has largely defined.
It’s a lengthy, beautiful work, and undoubtedly a late career high from one of the most important, courageous songwriters in the country.
8/10



https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/paul-weller-true-meanings-review-a-return-to-form-and-focus-1.3625540





Paul Weller: True Meanings review – A return to form and focus


Tony Clayton-Lea
Wed, Sep 12, 2018, 09:30
First published:Wed, Sep 12, 2018, 09:30
   
Album:
True Meanings
Artist:
Paul Weller
Label:
Parlophone
Genre:
Singer / Songwriter


There have been occasions in the past 40 years of Paul Weller’s career when ambitions have outstripped results, but there’s no denying the dedication of his true-blue work ethic.
While his perceived status as God’s gift to songwriting is overstating the case (too much of Weller’s solo output runs close to Noel Gallagher’s as being conspicuously average), there have always been times when he gets it completely right.
That most of True Meanings hits the mark is due to its cohesiveness. It is Weller’s singer-songwriter album, acoustic and reflective in tone, and carefully, delicately textured.
Long-time fans will know he has always had a soft spot for evocative, bucolic tunes (Tonight at Noon from This Is the Modern World; English Rose from All Mod Cons) but on True Meanings he excels with a sequence of songs that stylistically reference traditional and contemporary folk (from Britain’s Martin Carthy to Ireland’s Conor O’Brien) while touching on moods that range from physical and earthy (Come Along) to cerebral and intimate (Gravity, May Love Travel with You, Glide).
A welcome return to form and focus.


Paul Weller returns with lushly orchestrated 14th studio album ‘True Meanings’


http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2018/07/11/paul-weller-true-meanings/

Paul Weller returns this September with his 14th solo album, a record called True Meanings that features “lush orchestration” and is being described as the “most singer-songwriter style album he has ever made.” It features guest turns by Rod Argent of the Zombies and Noel Gallagher.
Due out Sept. 14, the 14-track album was largely produced by the former Jam leader himself and will be released on CD, deluxe CD edition, double vinyl and digitally — and is available now for pre-order.
The record comes after Weller marked his 60th birthday, and finds the singer in a reflective, and collaborative, mood. The new album features more collaborators than Weller ever has worked with on a project, and includes several songs that were written by others — Connor O’Brien from Villagers and Erland Cooper from Erland & The Carnival — to melodies crafted by Weller.
In addition to Argent and Gallagher, guests include folk legends Martin Carthy and Danny Thompson, Little Barrie, Lucy Rose and Tom Doyle of the White Label project.
Below, check out the full tracklist and hear one of the album’s songs, “Aspects.”

Tracklist: Paul Weller, True Meanings
1. “The Soul Searchers”
2. “Glide”
3. “Mayfly”
4. “Gravity”
5. “Old Castles”
6. “What Would He Say?”
7. “Aspects”
8. “Bowie”
9. “Wishing Well”
10. “Come Along”
11. “Books”
12. “Movin’ On”
13. “May Love Travel With You”
14. “White Horses”


A FEW MORE LINKS

https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/paul-weller-on-course-to-leave-eminem-in-a-jam-on-the-uk-albums-chart-37325140.html

https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/paul-weller-true-meanings-2-107690/






Solo discography[edit]

Main article: Paul Weller discography
See also: The Jam discography and The Style Council discography
Studio albums


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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1911.25 - 10:10

- Days ago = 1605 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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Sunday, November 24, 2019

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1741 - Captain Mar-Vell Logo T-shirt reprint - and new content



A Sense of Doubt blog post #1741 - Captain Mar-Vell Logo T-shirt reprint - and new content

Just a lot of comic book stuff today, and a reprint. LOW POWER MODE. Here you go.



https://comicvine.gamespot.com/marvel-super-heroes-12-the-coming-of-captain-marve/4000-9817/

The Coming Of Captain Marvel!

This issue features the debut of Captain Marvel.
A Kree Star Ship approaches Earth. Inside Colonel Yon-Rogg orders Captain Mar-Vell to don his battle suit and prepare for landing. The Colonel instructs Medic Una to administer a breathing potion to Mar-Vell. Una queries why the rest of the landing party are not to be given the potion and Mar-Vell reveals Yon-Rogg has ordered him to carry out the mission alone. Una protests this is against standard practice but Mar-Vell tells his beloved that he is aware Yon-Rogg is trying to keep them apart as he too is in love with her. Una feels Mar-Vell is being sent to his doom but he promises to return to her. Mar-Vell is told the potion will allow him to breathe on Earth for one hour when he removes his protective helmet.
The Kree ship arrives at the drop-off point and activates its Aura of Negativism, shielding it from human sight and sound. After saying goodbye to a tearful Una, Mar-Vell uses his jet belt to fly away. Mar-Vell’s thoughts reveal that due to Earth’s lighter gravity compared to his Kree homeland, wearing his battle suit will give him flexibility and power far greater than any humans. Mar-Vell discloses a Kree Sentry had been defeated on Earth recently, as was Ronan The Accuser, therefore Mar-Vell is on a mission to exact revenge. He stumbles upon a missile base and fearing detection begins leaving the area. Simultaneously a test missile is launched but veers off course so is destroyed in the air. At the base, engineers discover unexpected radiation caused the malfunction. Mar-Vell is spotted by security and soldiers are sent to capture him. Not wishing to fight until he has gathered more information for his mission, the Man of Kree uses his Universal Beam Blaster to project a black light over the area temporarily blinding the soldiers.
Reaching a distant highway, the space man changes his clothes and hitches a lift to the nearest town. Using the local currency he was provided for his mission, Mar-Vell checks into a hotel room under the guise of C. Marvel. In his room the anti-hero thinks of Una when his left arm is suddenly paralyzed. Yon-Rogg has immobilized Mar-Vell in order to use a transferal devise to attach a wrist monitor on his arm, allowing his every move to be tracked. The monitor, which can only be removed by the Colonel, receives a transmission from the Kree Imperial Minister telling Mar-Vell he must succeed or die. Mar-Vell realizes he alone now holds the fate of a planet in his hands!
Story #2: The Human Torch! Reprinted from Men's Adventures #27 (1954).
Story #3: The Destroyer in the Beachhead Blitz! Reprinted from All Winners Comics #12 (1944)
Story #4: Kill Captain America! Reprinted from Men's Adventures #28 (1954)
Story #5: The Abduction of King Arthur! Reprinted from The Black Knight #1 (1955)
Story #6: The Sub-Mariner Strikes! Reprinted from Sub-Mariner Comics #38 (1955)

Creators

















Issue details

Name
Volume
Marvel Super-Heroes
Issue Number
12
Cover Date
December 1967
In Store Date
N/A
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/captain-marvel/4050-2401/

 GENERAL INFO

A Marvel series featuring Mar-Vell, a former Kree soldier turned The Protector of the Universe. Captain Marvel Vol. 1 is Mar-Vell's only long running solo series. The series was launched following the success of Captain Marvel's debut in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 and picks up the story arc from Marvel Super-Heroes #13. The series started in 1968 and lasted until 1979. However due to low sales figures, it was put on hiatus after issue #19 (December 1969). The volume resumed in 1970 for 2 further issues (June and August) but another break ensued until September 1972 when the series returned with a bi-monthly release.
The creation of the Captain Marvel character led to Marvel attaining the rights to the "Captain Marvel" name and forcing DC to rename their Captain Marvel series to " Shazam!". To retain their trademark, Marvel has published a Captain Marvel title every few years since, leading to a number of ongoing and mini series' as well as one-shots featuring a number of different characters using the Captain Marvel identity.
Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan, Captain Marvel Vol. 1 also saw the introduction of Carol Danvers a.k.a. Miss Marvel, who would eventually go on to take the title of Captain Marvel.

Collected Editions




https://comicvine.gamespot.com/captain-marvel-1-out-of-the-holocaust-a-hero/4000-115896/


PREMIERE ISSUE! The Sentry continues to wreak havoc at Cape Canaveral and it's up to Captain Marvel to put an end to it.

Out Of The Holocaust… A Hero!

Continues from Marvel Super-Heroes #13
A Kree Sentry heads for the nuclear warheads at The Cape missile base. Captain Mar-Vell announces his Kree military rank but Sentry #459 doesn’t stand down as it is programmed to destroy anything that blocks its mission. Mar-Vell blasts the Sentry with his Uni-Beam and the giant retaliates. Mar-Vell escapes using his jet belt but doesn’t fly too far in case the android turns its attention to nearby troops. A soldier overhears the Man of Kree call himself Captain “Marvel” and thus it becomes his heroic name. Mar-Vell increases the intensity of his Uni-Beam and the blast makes the Sentry’s outer shell break apart. However the android gathers the broken fragments and begins self repairing to become even stronger. Meanwhile above the Earth, Colonel Yon-Rogg views the events from his star ship, sure his rival will be killed by the Sentry allowing him to win the heart of the woman they both desire, Medic Una.
Back at The Cape, Captain Marvel and Sentry #459 continue their explosive battle. The Sentry lands a blow on the antihero burying him into the ground. Seeing this, the nearby soldiers attack the Sentry who raises an invisible force field to keep them away. Elsewhere, in the hotel “C. Marvel” is staying, night clerk Jeremy Logan is ransacking Mar-Vell’s room to discover whether he is an enemy spy and comes across his metal carry-all case. Unable to open the case, Logan decides to take it to The Cape and inform them Walter Lawson – the scientist whose identity Mar-Vell has taken - is using a fake name. Back in the battle zone we see Carol Danvers is also trapped within The Sentry’s invisible barrier. Mar-Vell raises his Uni-Beam intensity to maximum and starts barraging the android from all angles. General Bridges calls off air support as Mar-Vell and Danvers are too close to the target. Mar-Vell leads his nemesis away from the troops and reduces his Uni-Beam’s ray to a pinpoint, concentrated beam, focusing on one part of the Sentry’s armor. The thin ray penetrates the armor and the robot's inner circuits start fusing together due to the magnetic charge of the ray. This causes the Sentry to implode from within, ending its destructive rampage.
Aboard the Kree ship Yon-Rogg can’t believe Captain Mar-Vell defeated one of his race's greatest weapons and decides to brand him a traitor for defending the Earthlings. Yon-Rogg contacts Ronan The Accuser who informs him of his displeasure that the Colonel jeopardized the mission for a personal vendetta, warning him not to do it again. Finally after leaving the scene of battle, Mar-Vell muses that although humans have branded him a hero, he may one day be the one who destroys them!

Issue details


Name
Volume
Captain Marvel
Issue Number
1
Cover Date
May 1968
In Store Date
N/A


t-shirt reprint WITH EXPANDED COVER GALLERY!


FROM ORIGINALLY -


https://365-tshirts.blogspot.com/2013/12/t-shirt-274-captain-mar-vell-logo.html


T-SHIRT TAGS: 1960s Nostalgia, audio books, Books, Comic Book Artists, Comic Books, Cover Galleries, Gene Colan, Jim Starlin, Lists-Weekly Comics Stack, Marvel Comics, My Oldest, Reviews, Shirts By Color - Black, Women in comics, Writing


T-shirt #268: Captain Mar-Vell

Greetings blog reader. T-shirt man here. Day 268. Let me repeat day 268. No, I am not stoned. I am stone cold sober, and I just like savoring my achievement thus far. Granted, 268 is not a significant number, but I am simply amazed that I have posted a blog entry every day for two hundred and sixty eight days. Okay, faithful readers. Yes, I know. Though I published yesterday's entry on U2 yesterday, it was unfinished when I originally published on Thursday. I finished it today, though, and notified the necessary social media outlets. Now, again, with today's, the original posting was "under construction." Believe me, the omnipotent... (um, okay, if I was omnipotent, I wouldn't have to publish blog entries in progress)... how about ever astonishing?


Okay, the ever astonishing and swashbuckling T-shirt blogger man does not like sharing his works in progress any more than a few of you (a very few) like finding them either via Google search (yes, you searcher bot) or because you have my blog book marked and check me frequently, a kindness for which I will always try to give you something interesting to read. How am I doing so far? More whimsy than usual, that's for sure.



Quality of content should be in the eye of the beholder but without too much knowledge of the beholder's interests, I just sally forth and meander around the forest of actual content.

You may notice that the logo of TODAY'S SHIRT matches the image in  the comic book cover to the left.

I happen to own this issue of Captain Marvel #1. It is among my earliest comics.

For those who like to peruse my blog, I am starting to collect a category for blog entries that feature images of some of my oldest comic books. Given that issue came out in May of 1968, I was six years old at the time. It may have been a reading material purchase for the move from Traverse City to Schoolcraft.

The issue is also special because it features the art of Gene Colan, who is so special to me that I devoted a category to him.

Checkout what Comic Vine had to say about this volume of Captain Marvel.
Captain Marvel Volume 1
A Marvel series featuring Mar-Vell, a former Kree soldier turned The Protector of the Universe. Captain Marvel Vol. 1 is Mar-Vell's only long running solo series. The series was launched following the success of Captain Marvel's debut in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 and picks up the story arc from Marvel Super-Heroes #13. The series started in 1968 and lasted until 1979. However due to low sales figures, it was put on hiatus after issue #19 (December 1969). The volume resumed in 1970 for 2 further issues (June and August) but another break ensued until September 1972 when the series returned with a bi-monthly release.
The creation of the Captain Marvel character led to Marvel attaining the rights to the "Captain Marvel" name and forcing DC to rename their Captain Marvel series to " Shazam!". To retain their trademark, Marvel has published a Captain Marvel title every few years since, leading to a number of ongoing and mini series' as well as one-shots featuring a number of different characters using the Captain Marvel identity.
Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan, Captain Marvel Vol. 1 also saw the introduction of Carol Danvers a.k.a. Miss Marvel, who would eventually go on to take the title of Captain Marvel (ComicVine, 2013).


The original Marvel version of Captain Marvel seemed more iconic and cool. He was a military officer of the Kree Imperial Militia. Gene Colan's amazing art carried the book, but it was not a big mega hit outside hardcore comic book fans. In 1969, Marvel re-vamped the character with a variation on the version of the character at DC--who became known as "Shazam," when DC lost the trademark to the name Captain Marvel (though the wizard who gave him his powers is Shazam and the "Big Red Cheese" into which Bill Batson transforms is often referred to as Captain Marvel)--and with Mar-Vell exiled to Negative Zone, linked with "Nega-Bands" worn by Rick Jones, could only "come out" to play when Rick clanked the bracelets (Nega Bands) together. I liked the concept much more than Billy's magic word and lightning bolt. This was something a child could mimic. I spent a lot of time knocking my toy Nega Bands together as a child. Goodbye Rick Jones. Hello Captain Mar-Vell.

The revamp gave the good Captain a different costume, which I like, but I love the original much more.

Eventually Marvel brought on board Jim Starlin to helm the comic. He is the creator of Thanos. I have already written about him and since I gave him his own category, obviously, there is more content to come. For now, if you missed it, check out T-shirt #260: Stark R&D.

One of the resources below is a crazy fan page for Captain Marvel in all incarnations. Damn, I love the Internet. Weird, wild stuff.

CAPTAIN MARVEL (MAR-VELL) RESOURCES

CAPTAIN MARVEL COMIC VINE

CAPTAIN MARVEL WIKIPEDIA

CAPTAIN MARVEL (MAR-VELL) MARVEL WIKIA

CAPTAIN MARVEL CULTURE


BOOK REPORT

Having finished these two audio books since my last update (reviews below), I am on to the audio book for Dune Messiah, second in Frank Herbert's DUNE CHRONICLES.

The Shining 
I want a better rating system here in Good Reads. I would give the book a 4.45 and the audio book edition a 5/5. I read this book a long time ago but did not remember well the differences between it and the Kubrick film, which I love. I had been meaning to watch the supposedly more faithful TV adaptation and never have (but I plan to now). I would argue that as frightening as the Kubrick film is, the book is more frightening by far. Jack Torrance's descent into madness is horrible to watch, even if it is more possession than madness. The idea of a family snowbound for the winter while the husband and father loses his mind and becomes a homicidal maniac is truly terrifying just as an idea let alone the story in its execution. Stephen King is exorcising demons here, tackling alcoholism and anger, violence and self-control, in ways that must be fueled by his own personal life, which makes the story all the more compelling. The book is more hopeful than the Kubrick film in its ending, which is appreciated, though the use of the mallet instead of the axe may be contrived solely to allow for the survival of the characters. I hesitate to give the book five stars because I find some of the plot elements a bit hokey, such as the hedge animals, which do not fit with the rest of the story. Their animation seems more out of a Harry Potter type story than this one. This one thing Kubrick wisely eliminates and replaces with the hedge maze, which is more plausible and more frightening. But I do give Campbell Scott's narration an unequivocal five stars. He's brilliant with just a few hints, a few notes, of Nicholson sprinkled into his vocals for angry Jack. I wanted to reread this book in preparation for King's sequel, _Doctor Sleep_, and I am glad I did. Profoundly disturbing. A MUST read.

The Woman in Black
This is a quick read in the Victorian style. It sounds like Dickens in its prose and its rhythms and the audio edition is brilliantly narrated. The description of the setting of the remote Eel Marsh House out the Nine Lives Causeway is definitely the best part of the book. The haunting itself and its subsequent mystery along with the final shocker are all rather predictable, though not unenjoyable. For fans of ghost stories and period pieces, it's worth a read. Though I am not inspired to read more by Susan Hill despite her deft touch and skill as a writer. Perhaps I am simply jaded and expect too much from my books.

OKAY, JUST ONE MORE WORD ON CAPTAIN MARVEL

In the cover gallery I am sharing, I will end with the most recent incarnation of Captain Marvel as Carol Danvers, the long time Ms. Marvel, Warbird, and Binary finally assumes the mantle of Captain Marvel long ago implied. A new comic features Carol as Captain Marvel. I am not reading it but maybe that will change. Here's two good articles on hero upgrades or "titles to watch" in MARVEL NOW.

TOP FIVE TITLES TO WATCH IN MARVEL NOW

TOP TEN SUPERHERO UPGRADES IN MARVEL NOW

WEEKLY COMIC LIST

Again, I want to point out the ever-shrinking back log as I get caught up on more comics. Even with catching up somewhat, I am falling behind as well because I did not read all the comics that came out last week before fetching this week's comics.

For the next two weeks, comics will come out on Tuesday. I doubt I will deviate from presenting my lists on Friday, though. I am unlikely to go fetch comics on this coming Tuesday, Christmas Eve, as that's a day for family, with my wife and kids. And given that the following Tuesday is New Year's Eve, I am unlikely to fetch comics then either, though I know better: never say never.

I would also like to point out some other changes to the weekly list. Please note (if this interests you, otherwise why are you reading this) that not only has Codename: Action broken out of the back log, it has jumped to fourth!! Daredevil enjoys a higher slot this week.

Not surprising to see Fantastic Four in my top slot, given the books that came out this week, even though Fraction and Bagley have left the book.  Uncanny Avengers jumped up some spots on the strength of the last issue. Even though Stuart Immonen did not draw All New X-Men #020, it takes the second slot on the strength of the story alone. Thank you Brian Bendis. Okay, I am lying. It jumped to number two because of the cover in the image above. Geez. I am such a stupid fan boy.

Of the list below, I have read through Young Avengers so far. I almost brought forward a book from last week, but I changed my mind after I leafed through it. all of the top eight comics were good reads, though I must say that the one with the biggest impact was The Superior Spider-Man #024. This comic had a lull in its run, but it has consistently delivered quality story lines, and as it gears up to issue #25, get ready for a blockbuster!

I decided to return one comic because I am not reading it. It's a difficult thing to order comics two months in advance and then have them fall into the back log.

COMICS FOR 1312.18

Fantastic Four #015
All New X-Men #020
Daredevil #034
Codename: Action #4
X-Men #008
Uncanny Avengers #015
The Superior Spider-Man #024
Young Avengers #014
FF # 015
Thor: God of Thunder #016
Avengers Assemble: Inhumanity #021
Avengers Assemble: Inhumanity #022
Secret Avengers #013
Red Sonja #6
Saga #17
Mind the Gap #16
Birds of Prey #26
Wonder Woman #26
Indestructible Hulk: Inhumanity #017
Black Science #2
The Amazing Spider-Man #700.4
The Amazing Spider-Man #700.5

BACK LOG
Cataclysm Ultimate X-Men #002
Uncanny X-Force #015
Ten Grand #6

OTHER
Locus v.71 #6

RETURNED
Max Brooks' Extinction Agenda

CAPTAIN MAR-VELL COVER GALLERY





























Oh yeah!
Did I mention that Captain Marvel died of cancer?



COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 91 shirts remaining

- chris tower - first published - 1312.20 - 20:44
final publication - 1312.21 - 13:40
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LOW POWER MODE: I sometimes put the blog in what I call LOW POWER MODE. If you see this note, the blog is operating like a sleeping computer, maintaining static memory, but making no new computations. If I am in low power mode, it's because I do not have time to do much that's inventive, original, or even substantive on the blog. This means I am posting straight shares, limited content posts, reprints, often something qualifying for the THAT ONE THING category and other easy to make posts to keep me daily. That's the deal. Thanks for reading.

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1911.24 - 10:10

- Days ago = 1604 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.


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