Trivia: I first heard of Love & Rockets in the early nineties from a TV show called Prisoners of Gravity. The show was on TV Ontario (though I think it got some distribution internationally, too) and covered s-f and comics with interviews and commentary from "Commander Rick", who was supposedly broadcasting from a space station where he lived. They even opened with a short comic story about how he got there. Commander Rick was actually Rick Green of the Canadian comedy troupe The Frantics. The producer was Daniel Richler, whose late father Mordecai is a legend in CanLit (Canadian Literature).
Been reading the first volume of Love & Rockets. The original comics came out about 40 years ago and were part of an early wave of indie comics and graphic novels (ie. not from big publishers like Marvel and DC) that told stories very much not about superheroes. While L&R is told in a odd, magic realist version of our world at the time, the stories are about fairly ordinary people living their lives, having relationships, and so on. There's weird stuff there, for sure, but the characters are fairly ordinary and relatable. The brains behind the series were brothers Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez. This arc is by Jaime (IIRC). As I understand it, Gilbert had another whole arc of his own about a fictitious Latin American town which is covered in other volumes of the collection.
Also, the series is fairly LGBTQ friendly (the lead in the early issues is a bi woman and one of her friends is a lesbian who is also sometimes her lover). It gets sexy, but softcore. So some nudity and sexuality, but nothing horribly explicit. Could probably go on here as an 18+ for the most part.
FYI, I am getting my graphic novels from Hoopla. it's a library e-lending service that my local public library subscribes to. We get to borrow 6 items per month and they have e-books, audiobooks, videos (divided into TV and Movies), and comics/graphic novels.
Currently working my way slowly through Heaven & Hell : A History of the Afterlife by Dr. Bart Ehrman. Dr. Ehrman is a liberal/progressive professor of New Testament and early Christianity. In this book, he looks at how the doctrines and images of Heaven and Hell developed in early Christianity, given that Jesus himself did not really teach them (he was more about an imminent judgement and resurrection). It looks at the ideas of the two cultures most influential on Christian thought, classical Greek and Jewish, as well as going back further into cultures like the Babylonians and Sumerians who influenced the Greeks and Jews. Good, if a bit dry, book. I am actually leading a book study on it on another board.
Somewhere in the middle. Onions, maybe lettuce and tomato. Depends on the burger, though.
Hot dog or sausage?
(FYI, best burgers I know are from Weber's in Orillia, Ontario. They have a place out on Highway 11 that was our traditional lunch stop en route to the cottage)
Started watching Russian Doll on Netflix. It's listed under Comedy but it's more of a magic realist dramedy. It's about a woman who dies after her 36th birthday party, but keeps looping back to a moment at the party and then carrying on until she dies again. Each version of the party, aftermath, and death is different (I have kind of lost count of how many different ways she has kicked the bucket). Clearly, there's some deeper meaning here. It's only 8 episodes (with a second season starting production this coming Spring) so I should know soon.
Oo, someone who has seen the old movie serial Batman. You get major cool points from me for that. I'll should see if it is floating around on Youtube or something.
Hope everyone is having some fun today. I actually made pancakes on the weekend but I celebrated in spirit today.
Got my new tea shipment including their Lunar New Year tea, which is actually an herbal (I assumed it would be a Chinese green or something).
Not too much snow here yet but they are promising round 2 overnight tonight so we shall see.
Yeah, Mardi Gras will probably be a bit restrained again this year. Have never had the pleasure of being in NOLA for Mardi Gras. The conference that was my usual excuse for going there was usually a few weeks after. Sigh. The year Microsoft stopped that conference, it was supposed to be in New Orleans. Have not been back in a while now, though I've nudged my family about taking a cruise out of there sometime so I can show them the city.
Wine. Not a fan of anything in the beer family.
Red or white?
Dublin. I've spent a total of about a week in London over my two trips to the UK, but only a couple days in Dublin.
Out to a stage play or a movie?
Both scare the s**t out of me, but I prefer Roller Coasters and have survived a few over the years.
Drive yourself or take an Uber?
Good morning! Got the coffee going and the kettle boiling. New tea is ordered and on the way but there's plenty from the last batch if you need it.
Sunny but cold here in Southwestern Ontario. So I'll just hunker down by the fireplace with a hot tea if you don't mind.
Oo, toughie. In the right hands, I can go for either. In a pinch, though, I'd say sax.
Jazz or Classical
