The Bookhouse Boys discussion
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message 401:
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Jason, Walking Allergen
(new)
Oct 07, 2012 11:58AM
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Isn't that how you get rid of crabs? ;)
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I'm not sure, but I can tell you that scratching doesn't work.
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http://bookhouseboyspodcast.podomatic...
Jason and Dave narrowly help Matt avoid Child Protective Services with a short-ish show covering Bram Stoker (The Primrose Path, Dracula, and more), cheap public domain literary collections, Thomas Ligotti and Noctuary, more on Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle, Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis' reboot of Aquaman, Vol. 1: The Trench, Guy Delisle's Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City, Go-Go Live: The Musical Life and Death of a Chocolate City, and odds and ends, emphasis on the odd.
Funny how you went from Matt's review of Empire of Illusion into Jason's sort-of-mashup of Guy Delisle and Joe Sacco. Funny because I've been eyeing Days of Destruction, a collaboration between Hedges and Sacco that came out a few months ago. It's about so-called "sacrifice zones" in America, wherein the social contract has been destroyed and unfettered capitalism has taken over (Native American reservations, coal mining towns).Haven't gotten it yet, but it looks like a laff a minute.
I did read Delisle's Pyongyang earlier this year. I found it funny and sad. Unsurprisingly, North Korea is a country in which independence of thought and movement are unwelcome.
"Turn down your jazz! It could be a bad influence on other!" one of the author's interpreter-slash-handlers shouts at him one evening. The mere fact that Delisle managed to smuggle in a CD not approved by the government was a small victory. As I said, funny and sad.
Jim wrote: "Funny how you went from Matt's review of Empire of Illusion into Jason's sort-of-mashup of Guy Delisle and Joe Sacco."Vice versa, actually. Whoops.
Wanted to mention that I've been listening to some go-go this evening. Some really nice stuff, funky and upbeat. Can't listen to it without at least nodding along. It's gotta be great to hear it performed live. So thanks, Dave.
But as with most music, I don't want to read about it. I hear it's like dancing about architecture.
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It's Dave's burdddday>?!Happy birfdayy!!
Jim wrote: "Happy birthday, I recycle.
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It is, however, Matt's birthday today. Whatta co-inky-dink, eh? Libra reprezinttttttt
On a happier note than my being a year closer to the grave, I got my copies of Man of the Hour, a goofy little comic book written by some jerk and drawn by the fabuloso Jesus Marquez, in the mail this afternoon. Jesus included two sketch cards with each copy. Everything looks VERY cool. I'm excited.
Anyone else around here who wants a copy should email Jesus directly at jmexploder@aol.com. The book costs $2, shipping and handling is $3... kind of a drag, but we're working on some solutions (including making a digital edition available). Jesus informs me that he's running low on copies from the first print run already, so grab 'em while they're still available if'n ya want one.
Jim wrote: "Jim wrote: "Happy birthday, Dave! Matt!"I recycle."
I RT.
Fuck me, now goodreads has spambots too?
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"Albert and the Others - By Guy Delisle/Drawn & Quarterly. This is a tough book to describe. Not in form: there are 26 stories here, all told in fifteen panel grids, wordless, and named after a male first name from A to Z. Thus the title.
What's more difficult to put a finger on is what these things are about. In this world, the connections between body parts and emotions are literal: a woman reaches into her chest and pulls out her heart to show a knight how to win her affection. A man removes his head and changes it to another one, with a different expression, to change his mood. A psychiatrist pulls body parts out of his patient's head, and squirrels away some breasts to continue building his perfect woman. A man changes the shape of his head to change his thoughts, hoping to stimulate new conversations with a wife who always agrees with him.
At stake in these stories usually are basic human needs; for sex, for companionship, etc. but twisted in grotesque ways. It's not always clear where Delisle is weighing in on some of these issues and they are occasionally uncomfortable, such as in a strip where an impressionable young son is forced to take up smoking to please dear old dad. For the most part, though, it is fairly clear, and Delisle's insights are always freshly told, if not original, and some of them are both.
This was the second such volume he did, the first being called "Aline and the Others", which is just as good, if generally creepier. I recommend them both for those in the mood for something different."
I also found Dave's response to the above review, for this book he's "never heard of."
"Dude... this sounds right up my alley! I need to track one of those volumes down, thanks for the head's up."
I blame the booze.
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You're a peach, Jim!
Aw shucks.Dave wrote: "I think I said on the podcast that A to Z sounded like my kind of thing. Do it come in a Kindle edition?"
Checked the Amazon site, and unfortunately none of Delisle's stuff is available for Kindle. A letter to Drawn and Quarterly may be in order.
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I don't know anything about converting print to ebooks, but it seems like it would be a relatively simple conversion and a good fit. There's little to no color, and the layouts are standard panel grids.
You guys should add Mo Yan to the reading list! I want to read more of his stuff, and a BHB episode would be just the incentive I needed ;)
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Good suggestion, Jeppe! I am not familiar with Yan, but now I'm intrigued.Jason wrote: "Big Breasts and Wide Hips and Life and Death are Wearing Me Out both sound good to me."
Red Sorghum looks interesting too.
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Could be, but I'm shying away from that one. I would want to get some feedback from someone who's read it first. Sounds to me like it could be overwrought, and epic and grim to the point of tediousness.
(Jim's thinking: just like The Hotel New Hampshire!")
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Well, to clarify, they're free if you have Amazon Prime (which we do). Certain books (not many that I've looked up, but Yan's seem to mostly be available for this) you can check out indefinitely for free if you have Prime. The caveat is that you can only have one out at a time.
The ones available for this are The Garlic Ballads; Big Breasts and Wide Hips; Life and Death are Wearing Me Out; and Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh. If you could lean toward one of those, that'd be aces.
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Gotcha. I already told you which ones I'm leaning toward and they're both on your list.
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Matt
Keep
It
Simple,
Stupid
Howell
a/k/a
Knight
In
Satan's
Service
Jason wrote: "Sounds to me like it could be overwrought, and epic and grim to the point of tediousness.(Jim's thinking: just like The Hotel New Hampshire!")"
Git outta my brain, you!
What I like about Red Sorghum is it looks sprawling, and we don't generally do "sprawling." And I see Jason's already selected Life and Death... so if I dig that one, I'll try RS on my own sometime.
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Sprawling how? I felt like HNH sprawled all over me and scratched its bear balls and farted a lot.
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And yeah, I'm aware that I'm drawing a lot of inferences from not very much information, but this is what my instincts are telling me.
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I'm glad that you all seem to like the suggestion! BBWH and Life and Death are also at the top of my list of titles to read, leaning towards Life and Death. Brendan O'Kane wrote a good little piece on why Mo isn't a party stooge (http://rectified.name/2012/10/15/is-m...).
This is what the Nobel committee said of his work:
“Through a mixture of fantasy and reality, historical and social perspectives, Mo Yan has created a world reminiscent in its complexity of those in the writings of William Faulkner and Gabriel García Márquez, at the same time finding a departure point in old Chinese literature and in oral tradition..."
Quick thank-you to the BBoys crew for inviting me to sit-on the latest recording session. It was a blast, fellas! Thank you!
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That's my dad. We're very proud of him.
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Thank you!"
No, thank you!
Robert wrote: "Quick thank-you to the BBoys crew for inviting me to sit-on the latest recording session. It was a blast, fellas!"Sweet! Can't wait to hear it, Rob.
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I'll be sharing random reviews that rub me the wrong way.
One of my favorite categories: "I hate this genre; here's my review...."
Hellboy, vol. 5: Conqueror Worm -
"Pre-reading:I agreed to read another graphic novel (comic book??) from one of my student's collection; he told me this one has many Poe references.
Post-reading: Hellboy the movie wasn't bad, but I am definitely not a comic book guy, and this is definitely a comic book (not graphic novel!!). First, you really need to be a fan of the series (I assume)to appreciate many of the references and even characters: I could just get interested in a cast of characters including a Homunculus, nazi ghosts, space ghosts w/o form, a giant worm from space, frog creatures from space, a "guy" named Lobster Johnson, a floating head in a jar, an electronic killer monkey, a medusa, a dragon hidden in the center of the earth, and other weird shit."
Nice work, dipshit!
Matt wrote: "My new blog within a message board: Attack of the douchebag reviewer! "Funny, I was thinking recently that you needed a blog.
Matt wrote: ""Pre-reading:I agreed to read another graphic novel (comic book??) from one of my student's collection; he told me this one has many Poe references.""
This asshole has "student's"???
Chris Hedges, right again.
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OUTRO: "All Black and Hairy" by Screaming Lord Sutch
Step right up: http://bookhouseboyspodcast.podomatic...
I'm mildly obsessed with the horn arrangement in that outro.
Awwww yeah!Jason wrote: "This week we're joined by artist, professional dad, and friend of the podcast Robert Hafferman, A.K.A. Vernson, for a typically fun and unfocused romp..."
The meandering shows are my favorites. Rob is a bonus.
The timbre of my voice always cracks me up. It's like listening to a muppet doing morning talk radio.
Super fun show, fellas. Rob, you held up your end beautifully. Especially considering that Dave maybe seemed... maybe just a bit... distracted?Another outstanding episode of the
whoops, the
dammit! the Bookhouse Boys!
Jim wrote: "Super fun show, fellas. Rob, you held up your end beautifully. Especially considering that Dave maybe seemed... maybe just a bit... distracted?Another outstanding episode of the Arthouse
whoops..."
That means a lot to me, Jim. Sincere thanks!
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I was watching the Cardinals lose to the Giants. BOOOOOO
I was thinking it was pregnancy-related "distracted," but yeah, I hear ya. Condolences on your Cards.At least they didn't look god-awful while getting swept, unlike certain Bronx-based teams for which I root but refuse to mention by name.
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