Top Ten Comic Strips from Comics Kingdom: We Like Bizarro

 

 

 

Greetings to our blog readers in Panama, Denmark, and Singapore.

 

Happy 72nd birthday to Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones.

 

This week, we take a look at our ten favorite Sunday comic strips from the Kings Comics Distributor, which features strips as diverse as "Barney Google and Snuffy Smith" by John Rose of Harrisonburg, Va., and "Zippy the Pinhead" by Bill Griffith, from Hartford, Conn., actually we are not really sure where the cult cartoonist lives, but last we heard it was somewhere in the Nutmeg State.

 

The images are of 1) The original "King Kong" (1933) with the late Fay Wray is an image we are using for "Bizarro," which showed King Kong's fist and Fay Wray (the barefoot woman in his hand has also been played by Jessica Lange and Naomi Watts) going through the Empire State Building; 2) Tony Hawk, the skateboarding legend now in his mid-40s, is used for "Bleeker the Rechargeable Dog" which showed the boy in the strip getting carried with skateboarding tricks; and 3) a chemistry lab is used for "The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee."

 

Those three comic strips are three of our top favorites from Kings Comics, but we also  liked "Rhymes with Orange," which featured a man on a couch.

 

Today, we will also mark which comic strips are in "The Washington Post" (Sunday edition) with a WP, and "The Denver Post" (also Sunday edition) with a DP as well as the "Mrytle Beach Sun" in Myrtle Beach, SC, with a MBS.

 

1. Bizarro

 

2. Dustin WP; MBS

 

3. Bleeker the Rechargeable Dog

 

4. The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee

 

5. Rhymes with Orange WP; DP

 

6. Take It from the Tinkersons

 

7. Pardon My Planet

 

8. Retail

 

9. Zippy the Pinhead

 

10. Hagar the Horrible WP, MBS

 

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/comics/

 

http://www.denverpost.com/comics

 

 

Very Expensive Things to Buy for the Holidays

Well, we didn't get around to posting an entry time for Cyber Monday, which is our annual tradition (uhmmm......we better get Javier the Intern to verify that).

But, here are some expensive as heck things you can get a friend or family member should you be as loaded as Mitt Romney or Bill Gates, and, of course, you should expect nothing in return:)

1) Outer Banks vacation home in Nags Head, NC, (yeah, thats the reason for the loggerhead turtle image): $600,000.........hey, it's cheaper than a private island in Brazil

2) 2012 Rolls-Royce Phantom: It retails from between $380,000-$450,000_ be sure to kick the tires, at least twice.

3) A round-trip Quatar Airways flight from Washington, DC to Singapore: $2,599.

4) A Rolling Stones signed tongue logo poster with Mick, Keith, et al: $995

5) Jimmy Choo gold leather sandals (pictured top): $600

6) Tony Lama antique men's alligator boots (pictured bottom) $504.99

SIDEBAR: We want to wish the University of North Carolina Tarheels' women's volleyball team well as they face Cal-Berkeley in the first round; that tournament game wlll be played at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, on Thursday at 6:00 p.m., Chapel Hill time.

We also want to wish the 'other UNC,' the University of Northern Colorado Bears from Greeley, Colo. well as they face Oregon on the Ducks' home court, Friday at 11;00 eastern time, which is the same as 9:00 p.m. Colorado time.

Another North Carolina college team, the North Carolina State Wolfpack face Texas A & M on Turs. at 5:00 p.m. Raleigh time in Austin, Tex.

Lastly, one can expect a competitive women's NCAA volleybal game when Brigham Young hosts New Mexico State in Provo, Utah, at 9:00 p.m., eastern time, which is the same as 7:00 p.m. Utah time.

http://www.us.jimmychoo.com

http://www.tonylama.com

http://www.outerbankshome.com

http://www.quatarairways.com

http://www.goheels.com

http://www.uncbars.com

From the Record Collection (5 of 8)_ U2 "The Unforgettable Fire"

Since we are discussing U2's album "The Unforgettable Fire" (1984) today, we send out special greetings to everyone in Dublin, Ireland, where the band originally formed in 1976 when lead singer Bono was just 16 years old. The band's first album "Boy" (1980) was released four years later.

This record is my personal favorite from U2, though fans of the band said on Twitter that the recently re-released "Achtung Baby" (1991) was the best album from the band. For many years, that distinction also belonged to U2's major commercial break-through record "The Joshua Tree" (1987).

But, for me, the fourth studio album from U2 will also be the most special one. It was released in October of 1984, which is a bit ironic because U2's second record (released in 1981) was called "October."

With a running time of 42:38, "The Unforgettable Fire" refers to an art exhibit about the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945.

There are two songs dedicated to African-American Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., including the landmark song "Pride (in the Name of Love" and "MLK."

The record was produced by Brian Eno, who is also known for producing many exceptional Talking Heads records, and Daniel Lanois, who worked with Peter Gabriel. In more recent years, Lanois has also worked with Willie Nelson, Neil Young and Bob Dylan.

"The Unforgettable Fire," which also includes my personal favorite U2 song "A Sort of Homecoming" a song about the contradiction between rock and roll and spiritual life, was partially recorded at Shane Castle in Ireland, and footage of the album's recording is included in the video for "Pride (in the Name of Love)."

The title track, which was the record's second single, features a stirring use of a guitar solo from The Edge.

In a recent documentary about U2's recording of "Achtung Baby," it was revealed that for that album's popular song "One" that The Edge came up with music for the song first and then Bono figured out some lyrics that would match it.

The band is widely considered to be the most prolific active band behind The Rolling Stones, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a band this year. But, unlike The Rolling Stones, U2 has maintained its lineup which also includes Adam Clayton (bass) and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums) since the band was founded.

From the LP Collection_ "Goats Head Soup" by The Rolling Stones (1 of 8)

Today, we start a feature about a few of the records in my own personal lp collection, which I have become increasingly interested in within the last six months.

The first one of these records we'll be profiling is "Goats Head Soup," the 13th studio record by The Rollins Stones. Released in 1973, the album fatures what is arguably the band's most popular ballad "Angie." It also contains the the track "Doo Doo Doo Doo Dooo (Heartbreaker)," which according to Wkipedia is about the NYPD's accidental shooting of a ten-year-old.

The album was recorded at Dynamic Sound Studio in Kingston, Jamaica, at a time when lead singer Mick Jagger was becoming influenced by the reggae music of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.

The album came after "Exile on Main St." (1972) and before "It's Only Rock n Roll"
(1974). It was one of five albums from the band that were produced by the late Jimmy Miller (1942-1998).

Coincidentally, Miller was not the only person involved with "Goats Head Soup" who died at a relative young age or relative young age as that fate also bestowed the musicians Billy Preston (1946-2006), Ian Stewart (1938-1985) and Nicky Hopkins (1944-1994) who each played on the record.

"Goats Head Soup" runs for 46:56, and it also contains the songs "100 Years Ago," "Silver Train" and "Star Star."

The album brings back humorous memories for me as I jokingly sang the song "Angie" while on a group of Belize, which proved I was not quite ready for the karaoke scene.

I found this record at either a yard sale, an antique shop or the now defunct regional record chain "The Record Exchange," but if you are looking for vinyl to your own collection and you reside in North Carolina, I highly recommend All Day Records in Carrboro (Chapel Hill).

NOTE: Since there any things we need to do (carving turkey is actually not one of them) during this upcoming Thanksgiving week, we will be on temporary hiatus until Tuesday.