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London Bloggers [Comic Blogs][Other Blogs] | 13 December 2001
[comics] Scott McCloud’s 24 Hour Comic Site — an old comic project finds a home on the web … ‘To create a complete 24 page comic book in 24 continuous hours. That means everything: Story, finished art, lettering, colors (if you want ’em), paste-up, everything! Once pen hits paper, the clock starts ticking. 24 hours later, the pen lifts off the paper, never to descend again.’ [via WEF]
[nyc] Tom Wolfe on the City of Change … ‘The case could be made that any post-9/11 federal appropriations to prop up business in New York should go first to the places where you can get Chilean sea bass with a Georgia plum marmalade glaze on a bed of mashed Hayman potatoes laced with leeks, broccoli rabe and emulsion of braised Vidalia onions infused with Marsala vinegar.’ [via Robot Wisdom]
12 December 2001
[war] Broken al-Qaida driven from their last fortress — Another report from Rory McCarthy… this time from Tora Bora. ‘To one side lay a large sheet of American metal marked “Dispenser and bomb, aircraft CBU 87B/B”, the casing for the cluster bomb unit which levelled this ridgeline. A handful of desperate mojahedin soldiers scavenged for scraps of metal among the dozens of unexploded, yellow, cylindrical anti-personnel bomblets scattered across the hillside. On a second sheet of green metal casing nearby an American soldier named Gary had scribbled his own brief marking before loading the cluster bomb into the hold of one of the B-52s. “For those whose dreams were taken,” he wrote, “here are a few nightmares. This is gonna shine like a diamond in a goat’s ass”.’
[tv] Nancy Banks-Smith on Lynne and Gary’s Marriage in Eastenders … ‘This was the first really funny EastEnders – an astonishing novelty. Of course, little Mo was being raped and Jane was dying of cancer and Pauline was giving us her Widow Twankey, but you have to take the rough with the smooth. Gary was marrying Lynne. Their first wedding was called off when Lynne’s sister slit her wrists. This time they got as far as the registrar’s, when who should arrive but Beppe, a barely intelligible Italian with a complicated beard. Beppe usually sounds like a cough drops ad, but love gave him lucidity: “Lynne, Lynne! Don’t do this! Marry him and everybody ends up unhappy!” Everybody, in fact, ended up in the ladies loo.’
11 December 2001
[tv] Something weird about Louis — Gyles Brandreth interviews Louis Theroux … ‘Why did Louis decide to make a film about the Hamiltons? “For a start, I thought they’d agree, which is quite important. And I’m interested in people who invent or reinvent themselves through the media. The Hamiltons have gone from being a serious politician and his wife to being media caricatures. Also, I thought there was something more, something going on under the surface.” As he says this, Louis is pulling a strange face, making saucer eyes at me. I raise an enquiring eyebrow. He hesitates. “Possibly,” he mutters, “some mysterious dimension to their relationship . . .possibly sexual in nature.”‘
[comics] Warren Ellis on Friends Reunited [login required] … ‘Just got back from San Francisco on a speaking gig, narrowly missing 9-11 (decided to head straight home via Chicago instead of heading into NYC to see some people — touched down at Heathrow just as the first airliner hit the WTC).’
10 December 2001
[cartoon] Weblog Angst … ‘Hmm. Actually, this snot tastes pretty good.’
[email] Excellent post on the life-cycle of a mailing list. Stage Five: ‘Discomfort with diversity (the number of messages increases dramatically; not every thread is fascinating to every reader; people start complaining about the signal-to-noise ratio; person 1 threatens to quit if *other* people don’t limit discussion to person 1’s pet topic; person 2 agrees with person 1; person 3 tells 1 & 2 to lighten up; more bandwidth is wasted complaining about off-topic threads than is used for the threads themselves; everyone gets annoyed)’
[celeb] Happy Camper — Independent profile of Julian Clary … ‘He’s done quite a few lengthy profiles over the years and I wonder how it feels, picking up a newspaper or magazine and reading all about yourself. “I always get bored halfway through. It’s a formula, isn’t it. You start with: ‘Julian turns up wearing an expensive-looking jumper and too much jewellery.’ Then it’s the potted history, which is when I glaze over, and then there might be an interesting bit at the end.” “That does sound slightly familiar,” I concede. “Change the formula,” he says. “How?” “I dunno.” “Ho-hum. That’s a nice jumper you’re wearing, Julian. Expensive?” “Yes. And rather hot.”‘
 [comics] First there were storTroopers… then blogTroopers… now comes various Micro Heroes and Villians. [via Neilalien] More:9 December 2001
[photoshop] Something Awful photoshops Bin Laden’s Mountain Fortress … ‘Wow, Osama is like a villain in a James Bond movie… except that he doesn’t speak English and doesn’t have any sexy female underlings because he thinks the sight of a woman’s bared ankle will scorch his retinas.’
[comics] The genius of Jimmy — Raymond Briggs on Jimmy Corrigan … ‘Jonathan Cape also publish Rushdie, Amis, McEwan and Barnes, so can this mean that the modest Mr F C Ware has got a foot in the door of this pantheon? After all, his book is thicker and more expensive than theirs. Full colour throughout! And does it mean that we will live to see an ancient Dame Posy Simmonds go tottering by? ‘
Bugpowder posts a transcript of a Late Show Review of Corrigan between Tom Paulin, Dominic Lawson, Craig Brown and Miranda Sawyer. Paulin: ‘…the colours are dreadful, it’s like looking at a bottle of Domestos or Harpic or Ajax. Awful bleak colours, revolting to look at, it’s on it’s way to the Oxfam shop.’ 8 December 2001
[profiles] First Among Gonzos — yet another Louis Theroux profile… ‘There have been moments when the Theroux charm hasn’t worked. “I’ve been surprised at some of the animosity,” says Clifford. “I had to take Westlife to a hospital which Louis was supposed to film. But the hospital said, ‘We don’t like the programme. We don’t want him to be there’. I suppose it’s because people think he’s taking the piss.” Although Theroux is friendly to his subjects to the point of deference, he does put some backs up. He was once found to be on a Combat 18 hit-list, proving in the nasty post-Dando world that anything is possible for a high-profile personality.’
[reading] DK2 … ‘Kids, these days. Can’t tell the difference between just plain old and classic.’
7 December 2001
[reaction] Heartbreaking Work — interview with Dave Eggers on his reaction to 911 … ‘They made 6,000 people, all with families and loves and dreams, into one amorphous symbol. The challenge now is for us to refrain from the same thing. Those lost do not, I don’t think, symbolize anything, nor does the attack. No act of murder can be symbolic–it’s always barbaric and should never be dignified in any such way at all. Six thousand individuals were murdered, and the best way to dignify the victims is to resist making sense of a mass murder.’ [via Bitstream]
[comics] I still have overwhelming doubt about my ability — an interview with Chris Ware from The Guardian today… ‘Purposelessness. Ware likes this, the fact that the art-school snobs think his work is trivial. It strengthens his faith in the crooked path, the unorthodox way. For example, in the book, the story is interrupted by cute little sections to cut out and make into 3-D sets. Ware doesn’t imagine that anyone will actually do this. But he put them in anyway. “They hold the promise of enjoyment through lonely activity, which I like. And I’ve always thought there’s something very delicate and innocent about paper assemblage.”‘ [Related: ACME Novelty Toy Gallery]
[comics] Graphic novel wins First Book Award — Chris Ware wins the Guardian First Book Award for 2001 with Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth. ‘Claire Armitstead, chair of the judges and literary editor of the Guardian, said: “Jimmy Corrigan is a fantastic winner, because it so clearly shows what the Guardian First Book Award is about – originality and energy and star quality, both in imagination and in execution. Chris Ware has produced a book as beautiful as any published this year, but also one which challenges us to think again about what literature is and where it is going at the start of the 21st century.”‘
6 December 2001
[comics] Passnotes #1,967: Bobby Fischer … ‘[Q] Why does he hate the US? [A] Fischer, who was born in Brooklyn, believes it is part of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy to destroy him. He is being pursued for back taxes; the FBI issued an arrest warrant for playing a match against Boris Spassky in outlawed Serbia in 1992; and, worst of all, the government raided a storage depot in Pasadena and confiscated his possessions, including a large collection of comics and a signed photograph of President Nixon.’
[columbine] I’m Full of Hate and I Love It — The Secret Diary of Eric Harris… ‘Right now I’m trying to get fucked and trying to finish off these time bombs. Why the fuck can’t I get any? I mean, I’m nice and considerate and all that shit, but nooooo… […] I hate you people for leaving me out of so many fun things. And no, don’t fucking say, ‘Well, that’s your fault’ because it isn’t, you people had my phone #, and I asked and all, but no no no no no don’t let the weird looking Eric kid come along, oooh fucking nooo.” That is how the journal ends — not with the howl of the wolf-god, but the whine of the pathetic geek who can’t land a prom date. And decides everybody deserves to die.’ [via Metafilter]
5 December 2001
[weblogs] Watch the UK Bloggers update… Recently Updated GBlogs is back and is vastly improved — it cycles through the list of 369 GBlogs every thirty minutes to find out what has changed… [Related: Jezuk’s Version]
[comics] Great Frank Miller interview from the Onion AV Club … ‘I remember opening up this Batman comic and just basically falling into it. I can’t tell you which one it was or anything, but I just remember, the way the city was drawn, and the fact that this guy was dressed like a bat, just took my breath away. When I was doing Dark Knight, I was essentially trying to evoke that same feeling, but to an older and more sophisticated audience. Of course, the guy dresses like a bat — what kind of guy would do that? He’s got to be kind of strange.’ [via I Love Everything]
[politics] The Guardian has the inside story on the Tory Leadership race from Ken Clarke’s campaign manager … ‘The party I joined was full of nice old people; today, it is full of nasty old people. Their hatred of gays, blacks, successful women and the European Union is as extraordinary as it is offensive. [..] They cannot be reasoned with.’
[celebs] Cruise speaks out on Cruz — Tom Cruise on Penelope Cruz and Scientology… ‘The actor vigorously defended his religion, Scientology, which he said had kept him on the straight and narrow since he was 24 years old. “I started reading books on it and I thought “God, this makes sense’,” he said.’
Who is Xenu? …described as the core belief of Scientology by Operation Clambake. ‘Once upon a time (75 million years ago to be more precise) there was an alien galactic ruler named Xenu. Xenu was in charge of all the planets in this part of the galaxy including our own planet Earth, except in those days it was called Teegeeack.’ 4 December 2001
[comics] UK TV Advert for the first
[distraction] Addictive Car Game — Yet another frustrating and addictive game… [via Bifurcated Rivets]
[comics] Classic Spider-Man Television Series 1967-1970 — New Real Audio episode every Saturday… ‘This is a true icon of television and it captures the spirit, the feel and the smell of the 1960’s Lee / Ditko / Romita era of our favorite wallcrawler.’
3 December 2001
[watching] True Romance … ‘Wanna see what Spiderman number one looks like?’
[blogs] Who or what is the Orbyt Collective? ‘So, if you, the “readership” think that Team Orbyt are a bunch of twatsticks and chimneyfuckers, tell us what you’d do differently. Prove wrong the theory that weblogging occupies the time of those unable to write and those unable to edit. Make us better.’
[web] A Cunt Compendium … The Nathan Barley Extravaganza — All your favourite Cunts in one place. ‘The continuing adventures of a total wank stain.’ [Related: TVGoHome]
 2 December 2001
[evil] Honestly, you haven’t Changed a Bit … an Observer Journalist meets her first love and profiles Friends Reunited … ‘…others take a darker view [of Friends Reunited]. ‘The majority of people leave school feeling like a failure,’ says Oliver James, clinical psychologist and author of Britain on the Couch . ‘They’ve failed academically, or on the sports field, or sexually. That’s why so many people have recurring dreams about school examinations – it’s a way of managing anxiety. These people may desire to return to the past, but this time they want it to be a different experience, a more positive one. To be given the opportunity to do that is obviously very attractive.’ Hence all the biographies on the FriendsReunited site in which people refer to the fact that they are no longer fat or spotty, and boast that they are happily married with two gorgeous children. These people are bolstering their self-esteem, something that school – and especially the horrid little beasts in the playground – singularly failed to do.’
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