Author: Roger

I'm a librarian. I hear music, even when it's not being played. I used to work at a comic book store, and it still informs my life. I won once on JEOPARDY! - ditto.

Herschell Gordon Lewis

One thing watching the movie Juno took me right out of it for a minute. That was a reference to Herschell Gordon Lewis. I shan’t expand on that in terms of the movie.

Herschell Gordon Lewis is, more than anything, a businessman. He discovered that one way to make money is to make films filled with blood and/or sexual titillation that the major studios wouldn’t get caught dead doing back in the early 1960s. Read this particular description by Steve Bissette, who knows a WHOLE lot more than I do:
“BLOOD FEAST (1963) Notorious Herschell Gordon Lewis shocker dared to go where no major studio would, crudely carving out brains, tongues, limbs, and its unique niche as the first true ‘gore’ film. This widely-imitated breakthrough hit of the 1960s drive-in circuit was filmed in and around the beaches of Sarasota, Florida.”

I was working at FantaCo, primarily a comic book store, in 1983. Splatter Movies (1981), written by John McCarty, was, after we found a sales niche advertising in FANGORIA magazine every issue, became a huge success. So what do we do next? As I hope I made clear, it’s not my genre, so I haven’t a clue. But Tom Skulan, the owner, and John McCarty somehow team up with Daniel Krogh, cinematographer on Lewis’ The Wizard of Gore (1970), and decide to put out a book called The Amazing Herschell Gordon Lewis, and His World of Exploitation Films by Krogh, with McCarty.

The book premiered at the 1983 FantaCon, and HGL, as I referred to him, was making an appearance. What kind of man makes these kind of films? Well, as it turns out, the guy was very much a gentleman, sweet, soft-spoken, at least in that setting. He was a natty dresser. I didn’t spend a whole lot of time with him, but I did get him to sign my copy of the book, which read: “To my friend Roger”. Daniel Krogh signed it “TO ROGER OF FANTACO”. John McCarty, who I had gotten to know from Splatter Movies, wrote, “To Roger – Whose job I don’t envy”. That was in reference to the fact that my task, once the convention was over, was to ship hundreds and hundreds of these to the comic book distributors. Ultimately, we also sold directly to non-comic book shops and at retail. As FantaCo subsequently published scripts for 2000 Maniacs and Blood Feast, HGL dominated my life until I left FantaCo in 1988.

I started my new job as a librarian in 1992. Perusing the shelves of the SBDC Research Network, what should I see but a book on direct marketing by someone named Herschell Gordon Lewis! Could it be the same guy? It could, and it was – check out his bibliography and filmography, right on his own website. He doesn’t shy away from his past – or his present – there is a Blood Feast 2 listed for 2002.

So seeing the HGL reference in Juno brought it full circle for me.
ROG

ROG

Legacy QUESTION

In a year and a day, George W. Bush will no longer be President. What will his legacy be on: 9/11, the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, peace initiatives in the Middle East and elsewhere, the economy, the environment, Constitutional issues, human rights, security, etc.?
Will it improve in the next year or get worse?
Will history be more kind to him than we are?
Is there any cause to impeach him, as George McGovern called for recently? Or is it too late?
For me – well, if you’ve read this blog enough, you probably have a good idea.

The distortions that ran up to the Iraq war were revisited last fall, when former W henchman Karl Rove said the White House was opposed to having the Senate vote on the Iraq war so close to the elections, fearing it would “politicize” the process. (The Senate voted October 11, 2002.)
VIDEO.
That, of course, was utter bullsh nonsense. Google any number of articles, including this White House press conference of September 24, 2002:
THE PRESIDENT: I’m confident a lot of Democrats here in Washington, D.C. will understand that Saddam is a true threat to America. And I look forward to working with them to get a strong resolution passed.
From CNN, October 11, 2002
“Bush also must certify that action against Iraq would not hinder efforts to pursue the al Qaeda terrorist network that attacked New York and Washington last year.” As the forgotten war in Afghanistan is now getting more troops, that seems to have worked well.
I do think that people might get a little soft-headed about W as he moseys off into the sunset over Iraq if American deaths diminish, but this will be countered by rising anxiety over recessionary concerns of higher prices, higher unemployment, shrinking investments in a bear stock market, and fear of losing one’s home really sink in.

I don’t think history will see him as another Truman, as much as he has invoked his equally beleaguered predecessor.

Yes, he should be impeached – him and his little dog, too – but I know it won’t happen.
***
2008 Presidential Primary Info. Voter Registration Deadlines, Delegate Allocation, Polling Hours.

ROG

ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: Juno


Here’s why I like to go to the movies early in the run of a film: I don’t like to have preconceived notions. So, it was only mildly problematic that I knew this film, and its star, Ellen Page, were critically acclaimed. This was Roger Ebert’s favorite film of the past year. Conversely, it has suffered a certain backlash of perhaps being too cute and clever and trendy – it was 0 for 3 in the Golden Globes! And there was one other antipathetic strain I heard: Juno is about [if you have seen the trailer or the poster, or the cover of the soundtrack, this absolutely CANNOT be a SPOILER] pregnant and 16, and she is, some feel, too glib for that situation.

Carol and I got a babysitter and went to the Spectrum Theatre in Albany to see it anyway. It is a smart and warm comedy, though I can see that in lesser hands, this could have traveled into treacle. As it was, I really enjoyed the film, especially the co-stars Alison Janney (West Wing) as the stepmom, with one particularly great scene with Page; JK Simmons (The Closer; the Spider-Man movies) as the dad, totally credible. Two guys from Arrested Development, Michael Cera as the baby’s father and Jason Bateman as the would-be adoptive father, are also strong, though they don’t share a scene.

But the real surprise here is Jennifer Garner (Alias) as the would-be adoptive mom. Would it be catty to say that I didn’t know she could act? Probably.

The other revelation is the music, much of it by someone named Kimya Dawson, which integrated quite well with the storyline. But the most affecting songs were by Cat Power and by Sonic Youth, oh, and the last song in the movie before the credits; I won’t ruin it any further.

So, it may be “overrated” compared with the hype, but but it was a good time at the cinema.
***
The Ultimate Adventure.

ROG

ROG

Buy Dave’s Comic Books

“I am helping Dave Cockrum’s widow sell Dave’s personal collection of comics–from his X-Men file copies to his Silver Age and Golden Age books. Dave was an important creator, a wonderful man, and his widow can use the money… Would you help me spread the word?” — Clifford Meth. Well, since I have met Dave and Paty Cockrum once or twice, as explained here, absolutely, I will. Go here.
***
I was reading about a group called Empire State Troopers, who were featured on the cover of Metroland, the local news/arts weekly. I’m not familiar with the group, but the members, from Saratoga Springs and the Buffalo area, commissioned a friend of theirs to come up with this declaration:
“We are the Empire State because we alone have all the makings of a great empire. Coal. Grain. Timber. Iron. Granite and Slate. Livestock. Game. Fresh Water. Our per-acre agricultural output far exceeds that of any other state. We are too far inland to be hurt by hurricanes, yet too coastal and hilly to see tornadoes of any significance. Long after the world’s oil is gone, and the deserts once again are parched, we will still have our canals, our rivers and our lakes. This is our birthright, and from all this—from the hardcore squats of mid-1990s Buffalo to the North Country metal parties in July, from the explosives, the grease fires, the dog fights and homemade tattoos—Empire State Troopers make their rock.” The part about the topography IS particularly why I do like being where I am.
***
Someone asked me last week: If twice something is double, three is triple, four is quadruple, etc., what is it for nine and ten? I had no idea. “Nonuple and decuple?” I guessed. Turns out I was right, and those terms are known as tuples; that I did not know .
***
I think the thing that bothered me most about Chris Matthews’ remarks about Hillary Clinton was how utterly wrong his bluster was. She went to 62 of 62 New York State counties and convinced conservative Republican men and women that she could bring home the bacon to her state.
***
JEOPARDY! fans: The Online Test is back! These tests are for adults 18 and over only to qualify for the regional auditions. Eligible adults must register before taking the test.
TEST DATES & TIMES
EAST COAST Tuesday, January 29th at 8PM EST
CENTRAL/MOUNTAIN Wednesday, January 30th at 8PM CST/7PM MST
PACIFIC COAST (Including Alaska and Hawaii) Thursday, January 31st at 8PM PST
Registration will close at 7:30PST on Thursday, January 31st. Visit jeopardy.com now to register, take the online test tutorial, and read through all instructions and information.

ROG

ROG

Tosy Was Wrong

Tosy wrote: For some reason, I get the feeling that everyone knows about Coverville. But maybe I’m wrong. Yup, Tosy, you were wrong, ’cause I wasn’t familiar with this eclectic website that offers a podcast two or three times a week consisting of cover songs, nothing but cover songs. Now I’ve subscribed to it via iTunes. I was considering listening to some of the earlier episodes, but there are 407 of them, so I thought the better of it.

I love cover tunes. I have whole albums dedicated to the works of Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, The Eagles, Marvin Gaye, George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, John Lennon, Curtis Mayfield, Charlie Mingus, Harry Nilsson, Doc Pomus, Pete Seeger, Richard Thompson, Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Who, and Neil Young. The Red, Hot Blue albums tend to be filled with covers. I have Motown artists covering other Motown artists, and pop versions of West Side Story. And Beatles – LOTS of Beatles covers.

Coverville also features a search mechanism by which one can find who covered what songs. The main search page was offline last I checked; however, Brian Ibbott, host and producer of the radio broadcast, has sent me a link to the beta search site that works much better. I’m loath to put the beta link on this page because the original search page will be back online soon, but if the original search engine is not working, e-mail me and I’ll get you the beta site.

It also has a discussion board, where I found this cover of Stairway to Heaven, if it had been done by four moptops:

Thank you for being wrong, Tosy.
***
There are other sites to search cover versions such as The Covers Project and Second Hand Songs.
***
Singing in a choir will keep you young
Misty Harris, CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, January 05, 2008

Though Brahms and Beethoven aren’t what Richard Simmons had in mind with “Sweatin’ to the Oldies,” new research suggests the composers’ choral work might be just what your body wants.

According to Victoria Meredith, a University of Western Ontario professor who used the school’s adult choirs as a “live research lab,” participation in choral music leads to increased respiratory function, improved overall health, a heightened immune system and improved brain function. Meredith also concludes that performing in a choir “can keep you younger and healthier for longer,” pointing to similar studies that found people who sing on a regular basis require fewer doctors’ visits, are less prone to falls, don’t need as much medication, and are less likely to be depressed.

More: http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist.

ROG

ROG
Ramblin' with Roger
Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial