Elfquest

I make no secret of the fact that I am a big fan of Elfquest. Ever since I picked up the hardcover graphic novel collection of the stories from the Forbidden Forest and the Blue Mountain period, I had been a fan. I was even coverted to the cause of wolves. When I recall the comics I collected over the years, after GI Joe, Elfquest was the only non-manga title I had.

The elves and I enjoyed a good 20 years together. I was with them when they found the Palace, lost some good people like Skot and One-Eye and even saw the littlest ones (Ember and Suntop-excuse me, Sunstream) grow up and come into their own (Ember becomes a chieftess of a band of elves in her own right and gets a soulmate while Sunstream not only becomes an avatar for the Palace, but gets his own soulmate and becomes a father).

Elfquest has really been going places lately. For a few years, DC comics have published new and older tales, which has gotten them exposure to more audiences. In addition to having a website, they have online forums and have set about digitizing their back issues of the 'Quest.' They also have moved on the whole 'Elfquest movie' thing, which I may or may not ever see. There are very few film/animated adaptations I will ever see, much less highly recommend. 'The Last Unicorn' is an example of the few that live in this category. I trust the Pinis and their decision making skills, even when I was not thrilled about DC comics partnership though I saw the big picture.

Besides cool, quality storytelling, Elfquest is notable because it is drawn by a woman, Wendy Pini, which in the US was something of a rarity when this title debuted. She also contributed to the story. Lest anyone think that this story much be so sugary that it is diabetic because it is drawn by a woman, I direct them to some of the scenes in the war for the Palace against the Trolls. Some of that stuff is still disturbing, though it was necessary to the plot.

Warp (Wendy and Richard Pini) Graphics also is working on other titles such as Wendy's cool futuristic, cyberpunkish take on Edgar Allan Poe's Masque of Red Death.

2008 marks thirty years of Elfquest. I can't wait to see where the next thrity years will bring us.

Real Random

I have the theme song to the "Greatest American Hero" running through my head for no reason at all...

Angela Cartwright

Angela Cartwright is an example of what happens when child actors do not implode. She has become a successful mom and artist who embraces her past in a healthy, non-Norma Desmond way. One of the pleasures of the blogosphere is in reading her blog, which is beautiful, personal, and funny. She includes photos of her artwork, which can also be found at her website-http://www.angela-cartwright.com/.

One of the more interesting entries has been her chronicling how she and her family fared during the blackouts that have recently happened in California.

Angela Cartwright's blog:
http://acartwrightstudio.blogspot.com/

Another Template Update

Every so often, I decide to update the template to a colour that is more seasonal or that I feel like wanting to look at for a long period of time.

Don't get me wrong-I liked the previous template but I felt that something green was in order. The formatting also saves me having to figure out how to reformat the various links that I have collected and updated.

I have spent time checking out all of the links I have here. In a few cases, I have deleted those that are no longer valid. Others are providing me with topics to blog about. Still others have led me to more resources that I have worked hard to include here.

As we are rolling into Lammas, it seemed to me as good a time as any to take stock of the blog and how it looks and how I want to develop it. I know that I definitely want to complete some of those entries that currently live in "draft" form!

New Owner for the Apprentice Blog.com

I discovered while cruising through the various links that I have on this blog, that one of my favorites has a new owner. That's right. The Apprenticeblog.com is up and running again. There was a period of time during the 5th season where it was simply not being updated. So I actually spent more at the official blog, where Donald Trump essentially published the "tips" that he provides each episode.

Well, the original owner put it up for auction on ebay and the current owner purchased it. He seems like a nice fellow and is seeking to maintain the site.

I liked this particular blog because there was real analysis of each episode but it also cateered to the armchair critic in all of us.

I look forward to visiting the site in September when the Apprentice debuts in LA. (As in Los Angeles, I shudder to think what Mark Burnett would do with the show in Louisiana.)

Survey finds that Japanese workers are exhausted

Kjeld Duits is a journalist that reports about Japanese culture and politics at his website: http://www.ikjeld.com/

Much of his reporting has been particularly insightful since news about Japanese culture usually sways between love of manga, samurai and geisha to hatred and fear of the "yellow menace that was going to wipe us all out in the 1940s" and "the evil yellow menace that work too hard and are killing us in auto production and the sciences.'

Japan is not perfect by any means. It is also not a country that needs to be fixed necessarily by conforming to American culture. So, I appreciate Kjeld for reporting on the good, the bad and the ugly of this nation.

It seems that the Generation X and Y employees in Japan are exhausted and not liking it according to the article to be found here.

Sites that I visit-end of July edition

The African American Environmentalist Association is a blog that I visit from time to time. On a very basic level, it debunks the unspoken conventional wisdom that Blacks are not concerned with environmental issues. I appreciate the effort the author has taken time to provide a blog that is informative and topical.

And though I hate that I feel I need to to say this, but those who are not African American can also get a lot out this blog as well.