Archive for January, 2009
Friday, January 30th, 2009
It wasn’t always this way
“He realized that it must have been a long time since he had traveled on this freeway. He remembered broad, irrigated fields of string beans and strawberries stretching away on either side, but now there were “Auto Malls,” and gigantic buildings of bronze-colored glass with names like UNiSYS and WANG on them, and clusters of [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in California by Aaron Humphrey
Sunday, January 25th, 2009
Monday is Australia Day!
In honor of Australia Day, I present the BEST MUSIC VIDEO in history. Just about every scene in this video just makes me laugh and feel oh-so happy and jovial. CAN’T YOU HEAR CAN’T YOU HEAR THAT THUNDER?
3 Comments » - Posted in Australia by Aaron Humphrey
Friday, January 16th, 2009
Ranger Bravo
Today I’m profiled on The Beat @ Publisher’s Weekly, a comics industry blog that I do a bit of work for. Check it out if you want to see stumbling answers to questions about my favorite comics and a horrid picture of me imitating a camel. One of the questions was about the first comic [...]
No Comments » - Posted in blogging,comics by Aaron Humphrey
Friday, January 16th, 2009
Pokemon Battrio report
Pokemon Battrio is a mesmerizing, addictive arcade game. It is one of the strangest games I have ever played in the arcade, and it’s probably a good thing it only exists in Japan, because I developed an unhealthy fascination with it almost immediately. Like sushi and capsule hotels, Pokemon are part of the Japanese experience, [...]
4 Comments » - Posted in arcade games,japan,pokemon by Aaron Humphrey
Thursday, January 15th, 2009
Baskett Slough
I don’t care if it’s where I grew up — I still say that the Mid-Willamette Valley has some of loveliest landscapes I know of. There are more staggering and breathtaking vistas all across the world, but there’s a lush comfort here that can’t be beat. Even the car-window view driving along one of the [...]
6 Comments » - Posted in family,Oregon,photos by Aaron Humphrey
Thursday, January 15th, 2009
Spider-Man + Obama = Ultimate Team-Up!
I know he looks like a generic comic book black guy, but that is Barak Obama teaming up with Peter Parker in the latest issue of The Amazing Spider-Man. There’s a lot to like about this panel, but my favorite element has to be the way Spidey sort of awkwardly excuses himself from the conversation. [...]
5 Comments » - Posted in comics,politics by Aaron Humphrey
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
Comic Shops in Portland
Last weekend I took a mini-tour of the comic book shops in Portland, Oregon, which is one of the Comic Book Capitals of America. As a road map, I my copy of The Zinester’s Guide to Portland and this article by Steve Duin of The Oregonian. I made up a list of seven stores I [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in comics,Oregon by Aaron Humphrey
Tuesday, January 13th, 2009
True Tales of Things
Regular Apokalipsis readers will remember the late and occasionally lamented webcomic True Tales of Bravery and Honor, which was drawn by Peter Brandt and written by yours truly. We kept to a regular schedule for a year and a half until it became clear that the latest story we were telling was getting out of [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in comics by Aaron Humphrey
Monday, January 5th, 2009
Sonic Youth + Marlyin Monroe = Sugar Kane
“Sugar Kane” is a Sonic Youth song named for Marylin Monroe’s character in Some Like it Hot, which is a terrific film. It’s one of those rare songs that I remember hearing for the first time on the radio, long after it was out of regular rotation, and being transported somewhere new and different. It’s [...]
No Comments » - Posted in movies,music,videos by Aaron Humphrey
Sunday, January 4th, 2009
Hometown Fry Sauce
When my hometown finally got a McDonalds, my second grade class took field trips to see it being built. It was almost ten years before Burger King came to town, and kids from my high school lined up to spend the night in the freshly-paved parking lot just to be among the first to order [...]