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Posts for August 2009
One of our favorite things to do at The Spark is to compare notes with our fellow Yahoo!s -- and you, our readers -- on things that we have in common. In the past, we've polled folks about things we hate or which celebrities we had our first teen crushes on.
In researching items for today’s Spark, though, we noted that August 31st marks the 35th anniversary of the last network airing of "The Partridge Family." Seeing this, I was reminded of the fact that I've never seen an episode of either "The Partridge Family" or "The Brady Bunch." Now, I like to think of myself as something of a maven on popular culture, so how have I dodged these particular bullets for nearly 40 years? Well, it hasn’t been easy, I'll admit. As a kid, I just thought they were stupid (I still do, for that matter) and after a while, because of their endless reruns, it became a challenge to avoid them, and a point of pride (not to mention a great conversational gambit) to say I’d never watched them.
With that fun fact in mind, I decided to ask my fellow Yahoo!s to detail things they had never done; the kind of thing that, when they would mention them, the average person would probably reply "really?"
Looking at the list, it's surprising to me how many of them revolve around television. For example:
Liz: I have never seen a full episode of either "Sex and the City or
"Desperate Housewives."
Chandra: I have never watched ""The Simpsons." Are those characters supposed to be funny? (Maybe we should keep this one anonymous ...)
Micaela: I've never actually watched a whole episode of "Lost." (I am a fan of "Heroes," though! (Editor's note: I've never watched "Heroes" myself.)
Brian: I've never watched a single episode of "Survivor," I think I should win something for that.
We're not just avoiders of television, though; there are other aspects of entertainment and pop culture of which we're blissfully aware:
Jasmin: I have never seen the original "Star Wars" movies, "The Big Lebowski," or "The Godfather." Thanks to my friends and family, who insist that I have thus far led an incomplete life, all of the aforementioned films are in my Netflix queue.
Richard: I've never danced the Macarena. I've also never seen Leo and Kate in "Titanic." Of these minor accomplishments, I am boastfully proud.
And just what are you blissfully proud of? Tell us, and we'll be back tomorrow with more Things We've Never Done.
Suggested Sites...
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Directory categories:
The Partridge Family, The Brady Bunch, Television Comedies, Movies and Film, Television Shows |
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Archived under: 1970s, Actors, Anniversaries, Entertainment, In Character, Lost, Movies, Reality TV, Star Wars, Survivor, TV, The Simpsons, The Spark, Yahoo! |
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How did a kid from the Lower East Side of New York grew up to become the "King of Comics," and have an immeasurable impact on the world’s popular culture? That’s the story of Jacob Kurtzberg, better known as Jack Kirby, who was born on August 28, 1917.
As a child, Kirby was likelier to get into fistfights than study art, but he was captivated by such masters of the comic strip as Alex Raymond ("Flash Gordon"), Hal Foster ("Prince Valiant"), and Milton Caniff ("Terry and the Pirates"). He enrolled at the Pratt Art Institute, but soon left because they wanted him to linger over his work, and he wanted to "get things done." His imagination was so full and his creativity so profound that he rarely lingered over anything, turning out dozens of pages of brilliant comic art every week.
From Pratt, he went to the Fleischer animation studios (working on their "Popeye" cartoons), but left because of the "production line" way the movies were turned out). He then tried creating a number of comic strips (under an equal number of pseudonyms: Curt Davis, Fred Sande, Jack Curtiss, Ted Grey, and even just "Teddy").
While his work was good, nothing stuck until he met fellow writer and artist Joe Simon. With Simon, he created the character Captain America for Timely Comics (the precursor of today's Marvel Comics), and the rest was history. Simon and Kirby became one of the top teams in comics history, but when they suspected they were being underpaid, they moved to DC Comics, revitalizing such characters as Manhunter and The Sandman, and creating The Guardian and The Boy Commandos.
After World War II, the duo went back to work, creating the classic "Boys’ Ranch," the tongue-in-cheek "Fighting American," any number of crime comics, and even found time to invent the romance comic genre. But good things can last only so long, and the partnership split up. Kirby went back to DC, where he created "The Challengers of the Unknown." But after another legal battle, he returned to Marvel, where he began an unparalleled run that saw him co-create scores of characters, including The Fantastic Four, The Hulk, The X-Men, The Avengers, Thor, The Silver Surfer, Dr. Doom, and The Black Panther, mainstream comics' first black superhero. His muscular and dynamic style was credited by the New York Times as creating "a new grammar of storytelling and a cinematic style of motion ... Even at rest, a Kirby character pulsed with tension and energy in a way that makes movie versions of the same characters seem static by comparison."
But the comics business being what it is, and Kirby being Kirby, following a dust-up over creator's rights and original art, he again went back to DC, creating the "Fourth World," a series of characters (The Demon, Mister Miracle, The New Gods, and Darkseid, DC's ultimate supervillain) and storylines that were nothing less than cosmic in scope. After only four years, though, he was back at Marvel yet again, leaving only three years later to work in animation (becoming an inadvertent footnote in the Iran Hostage Crisis of the 1980s).
But ink was always in Kirby's blood, and after another brief stint at DC, he went to smaller publishers that allowed him not only full creative freedom, but also the ownership of his characters -- something he'd always craved.
He died in 1994, never having lost any of his talent or creativity.
It's hard today to find a comics artist -- or even a film director -- who has not been influenced in some way by Kirby's dramatic and dynamic style. He set the standard, and even 15 years after his death, he is still "the King."
Suggested Sites...
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Directory categories:
Jack Kirby, Comic Book Artists, Comic Books, Marvel Comics, DC Comics |
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Archived under: 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Animation, Artists, Arts, Biographies, Birthdays, Captain America, Cartoonists, Celebrities, Comic Books, Comic Strips, Comics, Entertainment, History, Men, Popeye, Science Fiction, Superheroes, Villains, Writers |
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The Principality of Sealand --
all of it |
There's an old saying that, in America, anyone can grow up to be the President -- and it's true. You could be President tomorrow. Of course, you couldn't be the President of the United States of America, but if you lower your expectations just a little, you could rule your own country -- or, more to the point, your own micronation.
Creating a micronation of your very own is an easier task than you might think. You can do it for political reasons, as an act of protest, or to create a safe haven for a like-minded community of people. Do it as an experiment in diplomacy, an educational project, or just for kicks, we don't care. You don't even need to own a private island or a prime piece of real estate. For that matter, you don't even need any real estate at all. All you need is a dream and a flag.
Some micronations exist only online, or as sketches in the journals of their monarchs. In fact, we could declare this space Sparkylvania or Sparkistan right now if we wanted to ... but, frankly, going to all the trouble of setting up a constitution and establishing diplomatic relations and printing our own passports and currency and stamps sounds like too much hassle.
Of course, you could save yourself the trouble and just buy an pre-existing country. Sealand, possibly the world's most famous micronation, could be yours for a mere 750 million Euros. Of course, if you buy it, it'll be you who's responsible for fighting off all those invading armies, and who needs that headache?
Suggested Sites...
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Directory categories:
Micronations, Sealand, Countries of the World, Hutt River Province, International Law |
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Archived under: Cultures, Government, Invention, Micronations, Regional, Society and Culture, Travel |
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So if it got really hot,
would the building pop?
(Photo by brendagayle) |
Just west of Sioux Falls, in the small South Dakota community of Mitchell, there stands an elaborate palace of corn, complete with onion domes and minarets. Sounds nutritious, delicious, and downright fascinating, doesn't it? We thought so, too. Today, on the first day of the annual Corn Palace Festival, we here at the Spark would like to honor Mitchell's most renowned landmark: the world's one and only Corn Palace.
For over 100 years, the Corn Palace has served as a place where city residents and their rural neighbors could gather to celebrate the end of the crop-growing season and harvest. It was originally built as an artistic expression to extol the fertility of South Dakota soil. Just to be clear, the palace isn't itself made of corn, but is instead covered in it: Large murals constructed entirely from locally-grown corn and other grains adorn the many facades of the structure.
Each year (with the exception of 2006, when the redesign was nixed due to drought) invites a new theme -- subjects like "Lewis and Clark" and "Everyday Heroes" have been interpreted in painstaking, granular detail by local artists, including the distinguished Native American painter, Oscar Howe. This year's theme, "American Destinations," was developed and crafted by Cherie Ramsdell, who has been at the artistic helm since 2003. It honors the United States' most celebrated tourist destinations, including the Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate Bridge, Kennedy Space Center, and, naturally, the Corn Palace itself.
If, in your travels, you happen to be near South Dakota this week, we urge you to stop by Mitchell for some great music, fantastic food, and a tour of the nation's "corniest" (argh!) roadside attraction. You can't miss it -- just follow the hungry birds.
Suggested Sites...
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Directory categories:
Entertainment and Arts in Mitchell, SD, Roadside Attractions, Buildings and Structures, Corn, Mitchell, South Dakots |
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Archived under: Architecture, Arts, Buildings, Corn, Corn Palace, Creativity, Decorating, Design, Events, Festivals, Food and Drink, Midsummer, Popcorn, Recreation and Travel, Regional, Roadside Attractions, Sculpture, Small Towns, Summer, Tourist Attractions, Travel, United States, Vegetables, Weird Stuff |
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Who knows what bargains
lurk in secondhand stores?
(Photo by Janne Hellsten)
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Today is National Secondhand Wardrobe Day, which got me thinking about one of the perks of being an oldest child. Usually, being the first-born works against you: you're forced to spend your Saturday afternoons as free slave labor, babysitting younger siblings while your mother attends her Tupperware parties. But being the eldest also means that you avoid the dreaded hand-me-down; those secondhand atrocities with stubborn zippers and frayed hems that get passed down by older brothers and sisters.
What recycled clothes I did inherit as a child were passed on by neighbors whose parents had better fashion sense than mine. I wore ill-fitting sweaters knitted by well-intentioned godparents, while my friends wore bright sundresses with ruffles in all the right places. As my friends grew out of their clothes, I reaped the benefits, collecting eighties-style jumpers with cute bows, trendy denim dresses, and shirts that didn't look like they were ordered out of a Land’s End catalogue (no offense, Mom).
As I got older and was no longer reliant on my parents for my wardrobe choices, I discovered that having friends with good taste and an addiction to shopping worked to my advantage. Over the years, I've inherited form-fitting trench coats, black leather pumps, sexy strapless dresses, and other chic pieces I would have lacked the confidence to purchase myself.
I've since moved on from my geeky childhood and adolescent years, eventually learning how to build a wardrobe and style of my own. But I haven't given up on the secondhand experience quite yet. While dropping off some odds and ends at a local Goodwill store recently, I happened to wander in and stumble across a gently-used velvet blazer from Banana Republic. I grinned, and snatched it up for a fifteenth of the original price. How’s that for being fashionable?
Suggested Sites...
- Hand-Me-Downs - secondhand website for parents to swap and sell used childrens' clothing, furniture, and more.
- Freecycle - organization that helps people trade everything from clothes to electronics locally for free.
- Vintage Shopping Guide - directory of vintage stores nationwide, plus articles on recycled clothing and fashion.
- How to Host a Swap Shop - how to host parties toswap clothing with your friends.
- Clothing Swap - hints on trading and swapping clothes online and in person.
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Directory categories:
Vintage Clothing, Bartering and Swapping, Freecycling, Fashion and Beauty |
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Archived under: 1980s, Apparel, Beauty, Celebrations, Charity, Clothing and Accessories, Creativity, Events, Fashion, Freecycling, Green Living, In Character, Philanthropy, Recycling, Shopping |
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