the collection: recent additions

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Been in a bit of a collecting lull of late, mostly sticking with new comics releases and the occasional “ok I can’t pass this up” splurge, this sheet of Walter B. Gibson’s memo paper being among them…

Been on a Spectre kick lately, too…

spectre action figures

Scratch one off the “comics I must own before I die and even then” list…

With No. 6, DICK TRACY SMASHES THE BOMBING RACKET, I’ve now only one more to go to complete my set of the 1934 Goudy Big Thrill booklets…

And, finally, in “I’m sure I’m now on a list somewhere” additions...

THE LOBSTER (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015)

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Input trend of "catch up from the last 10-80 years and finally explore" – see: Cassavetes, The Safdies, Chester Himes, et al – continues with Yorgos Lanthimos (the cinematic Gogol?) and this gem: darkly hilarious in its exploration of the stupidity of extremes (no one here is immune – everyone seems to have the emotional capacity of schoolchildren at recess (which, when it comes to love, I suppose we all do), to wonderful – and horrifying – effect) and far more moving than its weird would lead one to believe. All of Lanthimos’s work duly added to the "must-watch" list.

"on a scale from 1 to 10..."

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Filled out the hospice's survey / questionnaire re: my grandfather's care (with a black pen, and yes, I was certain to fill in the entire bubble): 10+ when they showed up the day he died, 4-5 for the week and a half I didn't see them between admission and death-eve but hey at least they're paying the postage now and they did get him that bed he liked.

kinking my tubing maybe

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In order to not run out of infusion sets while I await the incoming delivery of TruSteels, I've broken into my stockpile of AutoSoft XC 90s (which I fucking hate) and am, at present, waiting to see if I've already cocked the thing either during the overly-complicated insertion or by general movement in the moments after, the only way to be sure is to see if I reach into the realm of puke-inducing hyperglycemia for the next couple of hours and spend the rest of the day feeling like ass while hunting down a supply of TruSteels because yes, I would rather have a sliver of metal stuck in me for three days than deal with these plastic little dixie cup “innovations.”

2 – Olimpia Splendid

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Another recent Bandcamp find: rollicking, undulating psychedelia (think The Necks meets Jack White by way of Tanya Tagaq – though my description barely scratches the surface). Just hit play and read their own words:

“This is Olimpia Splendid and this sound is solstice air, sharp wire on moss-dampened drumbeat, wood fire throwing shadows on all the warehouse walls. It is a whisper from the back of the throat, a chorus in the fog, a growl feeding back in triplicate.

To hear it better, ride your bike or take the bus to the second-to-last stop on the line; exit and follow the path away from the paved road and into the Finnish forest of silver birch and rowan for 500 meters until you come to the large granite outcropping – the one with a faded spray paint tag, speckled with fluorescent lichen in the shape of an old cat’s sly grin. The cave entrance is behind the slab – although you’ll surely feel it before you see it – and once you let yourself dematerialize into that long swirl of blue mist, you’ll see three figures slowly taking shape before you, like witches circling around a cauldron.

Have a feeling this – and all of their releases – will be on heavy rotation for awhile.