Almost forgot to blog, even. My latest Aquaman reader survey is about Aquaman's new look. I'm still not quite sure about it, even after reading the sneak peek of issue #4. Anyway, here's a link to my feature review on my page.

This Aquaman story was in my first ever Golden Age comic book, a nice coverless copy that I picked up at a con. I remember being slightly surprised that Aquaman's gloves were yellow... something that doesn't show up in any of the older Aquaman reprints because of recoloring. Thank goodness the Archive stuck with the original colors!

I have an old audio cassette tape with some songs on it that I recorded off of some of my Mom's records one fine day, using my best friend's turntable stereo system. One of the songs is from The Northwest Suite which was a piece of music one of the local TV stations (I think) put together as promotional music. I recall that the fourth movement (instrumental version) was used in ads for the station with pictures of the ferries crossing the Sound. I could be misremembering the whole thing, though, which is why I've asked my Mom if she can dig out the album and give me all the particulars. I couldn't find anything about it doing a web search, so some small part of me, despite the audio tape of the song, doubts it exists.

I am attempting to convert this poor audio-cassette-from-record-player version into a good MP3, and I'm making some very good progress. Maybe I can one day convert all my Mom's old records into CDs for her.

I forgot to mention the best way to listen to current filk! Filk.com has a radio station through the annoying live365.com, but if you've got an mp3 player on your machine and don't mind not knowing the names of the songs, you can avoid all the annoying pop-up ads, although there will still be audio ads every four or five songs. The filk radio station page tells you how to log into the system, but you will have to register at live365.com first. The page on live365.com for the filk station is http://www.live365.com/stations/filk_com.

The station has a bit over 6 hours worth of songs which are repeated throughout the day. Yeah, you stand a good chance of hearing the same song more than once in a day. The song list changes every weekend, with about 1/3 to 1/2 of the songs being replaced with new ones.

After my recent commentary on filk music, I got an e-mail that basically said, "What the heck is 'filk'? Are you misspelling folk?" As I said, filk is the folk music of the science fiction/fantasy community. I was first introduced to it in college, entirely through recordings. People whose main exposure to filk is through sing-alongs at conventions often think of filk as bad singers singing loudly. But I never had that experience, and haven't actually ever attended a real filking session. Thus my experiences with filk could be considered atypical of most filk fans.

Ahem, I'm getting off the track. Yes, 'filk' is a misspelling of 'folk'. A typo, actually, that was embraced by the community to differentiate their music from typical folk music. Filk music ranges from really silly to incredibly touching and powerful. Just like any other genre of music, actually. A really good overview of filk music is at filk.com in their Filk 101 section and also in Kay Shapero's Filk FAQ.

Being limited to recordings means that I've missed a lot of filk, but what I hear is generally pretty good. Unfortunately, most of my collection is on cassette, and I don't have a really good way to turn them into CDs, though I've started to work on it. And whenever a CD is released of an album I already have and love, I put it on my must get list for buying when I actually have spending money again.

So, if you are curious, here's how to listen to some filk for free. The first place to visit is The Virtual Filksing which has a collection of links to various filksongs you can either download or listen to streaming. The ones that jump out at me as good to download are "Fellowship Going South" and "Hope Eyrie". If you want some space shuttle music, there are three songs from the classic album Minus Ten And Counting at this site. There are samples of Meg Davis' work at her site. There are also a number of Filkers on mp3.com, and many of them have songs that are downloadable.

• Three Weird Sisters - I love the haunting "Song of Fey Cross"
  
• Kathy Mar at mp3.com - I like "Acts of Creation" most.
  
• Prometheus Music at mp3.com - "Surprise!" is a lighthearted look at why we went to space.
  
• Julia Ecklar at mp3.com - "Hand of God" is a fantastic song about blindly trusting religious leaders.
  
• Bob Kanefsky at mp3.com - pure parody.
  
• Cynthia McQuillin
  
• Urban Tapestry - definitely listen to "The Lady" and "Sex and Chocolate". But don't let the kids listen to the second one, it's a bit naughty.
  
• Sable
  
• Tom Smith - very funny guy, the "Trans Poly U" song is about the Girl Genius comic.
  
• Carla Ulbrich - more folk than filk, but "Please Do Something Stupid" is a great song.
  
• Annwn - I'm still not sure what to make of "Penguin Lust".
  

Comments (1)

Although not truly filk, Uncle Bonsai is one of my all-time favorite acts, and they have some filkish tendencies. Their song "Lois Lane" would definitely fit right in with filk, and they generally do delightfully silly stuff. Some filkers have even done covers of some Uncle Bonsai songs. So check them out at http://www.unclebonsai.com.

Hubby | Email | Homepage | 03.07.03 - 6:57 pm

Powers #29: HOLY FLAMING COW!! Ok, yeah, I put the pieces together and had already figured it out, and agreed that there wasn't a-heckuva lot our foul-mouthed heroes could do about it. But I really didn't expect the further events of this issue. So I'm really seriously curious as to how this thing is going to end.

Young Justice #55: Speaking of flaming cows... there aren't any in this book. But ONLY Peter David could write a final issue like this. This shouldn't be the final issue. This book should continue. It was great, it sold well, the fans loved it... so of course DC had to cancel it.

Animated Justice League Aquaman Maquette: Very nice. Yes, my first one was damaged, but the replacement is just fine. I like him. He's a ringer for the character from the show (which is a completely different interpretation of Aquaman, like none before). He'll fit in with the rest of my Aquaman figures. Someday I'll have to make a proper display for my Aquaman stuff.

Aquaman #4: Got the preview copy out of the sneak peek package. The critical urge is setting in, but I'm still finding this series really good. I'm not positive that Veitch got Tempest right, but I'm sure the Tempest fans will have their own views. I know the colorist didn't get Tempest's eyes correct, but, again, I'm sure the Tempest fans will let DC know. Beyond that...

Next Week: Amelia Rules #9, Superman Last Stand on Krypton, Age of Bronze #16, Superman/Batman Generations III #3, JSA #46 and PS238 #1 (and Aquaman #4 for the rest of you).

Spectre #27: Final Issue. This was a book with a message and it kept repeating the message in the hopes that the audience would get it. At least there was also a little plot there, so the message only mostly overran the issue instead of being the entire story.

Green Lantern #160: An in-betweener issue, setting up several plots. Not a lot of real happenings, but lots to interest the modern Lantern fan.

Way of the Rat #11: While this issue was, once again, mostly fighting, it was also terribly good with several characters finally showing their abilities all at once fighting a common foe. I really liked this one.

Still to Review: Powers, Young Justice, and Aquaman.

Man arrested for refusing to take off 'give peace a chance' T-Shirt. While it's probably not as simple as that, though it sure looks like it, the fact that the guy was apparently arrested for his opinion should worry any intelligent person.

I haven't gone out and protested the war publicly. I haven't even put up a sign on my house, though I printed one out thinking I would. The only outward protests I've offered have been here on this blog. But I tell you, hearing about this guy's arrest has definitely made me more inclined to go out and protest. The day Americans aren't allowed to have and express their opinions is the day we are no longer free.

I support the troops. I even generally am willing to support the government. But this war is just plain wrong. I find it hard to understand how anyone with any semblance of a conscience could support this war. I can't see how anyone with a mote of intelligence could believe the lies being thrown at us by the ruling party (I mean, duct tape? Hello? Anyone have brains left at the top?). The fact that many Americans actually support military action confuses me. I know Americans are stupid, but are we really that stupid? We've been fed so many lies that we're gagging, doesn't anybody notice?

I don't know what the answer is. I know that people being arrested for expressing their opinion peacefully is a truly frightening thing that shouldn't be happening in a free country. But then, perhaps thanks to the so-called Patriot Act, maybe we aren't free at all any more.

I have Mark Evanier to thank for this morning's links. First off, check out Bill Moyer on Taking back the Flag. Then be sure to read about The Big Lie, all about the current US government's amazing lack of credibility, even among some of its insiders. Even if you are for the war, it's a good idea to read these and get an idea of why some of us think this whole thing is just plain wrong.

As I read the newspaper yesterday morning, I started to ignore the Sports Section, but found myself drawn into it, looking for information on the Seattle Mariners. And I felt the first unmistakable tickling deep inside... yes... I'm coming down with Baseball Fever.

I don't really consider myself a sports fan. I follow Seattle teams, and sometimes watch other games when I'm exercising and there's nothing else to watch. But I don't define myself as being a sports fan (I'm a comic book fan, but not a sports fan). And yet, I can get a horrible case of Baseball Fever. The worst was a couple of years ago, when I was unemployed much of the baseball season, and my little sister was in Paraguay. So I had the ability to watch the games and the neccessity of telling Lisa about the incredible run the M's were having. Between the two factors, I began to live and breathe baseball. And, thanks to the season the M's had that year, it was quite a pleasant summer, even if the fall was a bit of a disappointment.

I can't tell you when I went to my first baseball game. I know I was very young. I remember first being a fan of Mariner player Alvin Davis, and I know that I never cared if the M's won or lost. They were my team. And I still felt that way even when they started winning.

One of the first things I collected, long before I collected comic books, was baseball cards. I didn't care about the other teams and players... all I wanted was Seattle Mariners and Pilots. Ok, so I only have one Pilots card, but I have a whole bunch of Mariners cards, including a few who never actually played for the team. My dream of collecting every single Mariners baseball card vanished when Ken Griffey Jr joined the team and it suddenly became impossible to afford even team sets. I still collect them, just not as madly as I used to. And I still only care about getting Mariner cards.

My favorite player nowadays is Edgar Martinez. While I'm not a big fan of the Designated Hitter rule (I think it's rather stupid, actually) I do have to admit that it extended Edgar's career long enough for him to have a major impact on Seattle baseball, and that's been a good thing. And I like Ichiro, too.

Ahem. So, what's bringing on this early spike of fever? I think it may have something to do with the Mariners success thus far in Spring Training. Today the Mariners beat Milwaukee 6-3, yesterday they beat Kansas City 8-7. On Sunday they walloped San Diego 13-2, on Saturday they beat San Diego 7-1. They lost both split squad games on Friday, but won their first Spring Training game on Thursday. In short, they are on a four game winning streak, and showing early signs of being a good team. Yeah, the spring means nothing for the regular season, but it's nice to see them winning.

Ah well. I guess I'd better take a couple of aspirin and call the doctor in the morning.

Here's some political cartoonists' tributes to Mr Rogers. Link from Mark Evanier's site.

And, courtesy of Neilalien is an interesting story of Daisy Shortman, who's life has been made into a comic book story to promote museums in England.

There's a fantastic page on Seattle Hockey, and it has a section on the history of the Seattle Metropolitans that I think is the best bit of basic research you could ask for. The Mets had a couple more chances at the Stanley Cup, but never won it again after 1917.

I once thought I wanted a 1917 Seattle Mets Jersey, but I was told that I would only be able wear it at Christmas. I didn't understand then, but now I do. Yuck. (By the way, Western Hockey Legends is an interesting site to examine more thoroughly).

Comments (1)

They're not a hockey team, but I always wanted a Seattle Pilots jersey. I thought those were the coolest jerseys in the world when I was nine years old.

If I had lots of bling bling I'd buy one of those retro jerseys...

David J | Email | Homepage | 03.04.03 - 11:52 am

What was the first United States Hockey team to win the Stanley Cup? Well, duh! It was the 1917 Seattle Metropolitans. Try that on someone who knows sports but isn't a diehard hockey fan.

Comments (1)

I STILL want to know why "The Seattle Times" didn't even mention the Mets in their Decemer 1999 issue commemorating the best of the 20th century in Seattle sports...

Hubby | Email | Homepage | 03.03.03 - 11:36 pm

Yeah, I'm a fan of Filk, the folk songs of the science fiction/fantasy community. I'm currently going through one of my spurts of heavy-duty filk listening (much to poor hubby-Eric's dismay) and I've found a useful way to listen to a few new songs without having to buy a bunch of new albums. filk.com has a "radio" stations through live365.com, and they play a bunch of filk and related music. So I've been listening to it to the exclusion of many other things, including this blog.

I got into filk in college... maybe I'm just trying to recapture my youth?