Whatever Happened To... Bubbles The Chimp?

Still, airless late summer nights lend themselves to thoughts, and late night thoughts are often the ones that you shouldn't dwell upon. for instance, a passing thought on this silent and nearly stifling summer evening is "whatever happened to Bubbles The Chimp"? He was there, and then he was not. The silence surrounding the transition certainly belies what is likely a terrifying truth -- from a cancer reasearch center he came, and perhaps to a cancer research center he was dispatched.

Whatever the fate of Bubbles (and it is all merely conjecture), it is certainly no less horrifying or heartbreaking than the fate of Nim Chimpsky. No need to get into a lengthy diatribe on the ethics of animal research, and merely let that account speak for itself.


Photo by Herbert Terrace

Amy Winehouse :: Fabulous, tragic, and HILARIOUS

Oh, Amy... Watching this, it's better if you close your eyes and imagine Helena Bonham Carter in Sweeney Todd; it's magical, I tell you, magical!

"Oh, no, she's dead..."
"This isn't even a pop quiz anymore, it's an intervention, Amy!"

Impressive, and not even lipsynching! Also, in a fight? Bitch will take you down. (And then maybe/likely fall over herself.)

Dakin and the Rats of NIMH

Recently, while enjoying a bbq in the back yard with friends, we had an uninvited guest. A very large and not appropriately shy rat. Having lived in Seattle and Honolulu, which likely both rival New York City in terms of frequent rat sightings, it wasn’t nearly as traumatic as it would have been in comparatively rat free Kansas. Nor was it nearly as traumatic as the rats that took up residence in our storage room (or who tried to eat through our floors) in Hawaii. Also, on a scale of rat trauma, it fell significantly below the time that we had the rats fighting and chewing in the walls above the bed in Seattle years ago. No, this was pretty mild, and, at most, prompted me to jump up and close the door to the back porch. No biggie.

A few days later. I was taking laundry to the basement laundry room, and I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Oh yes, it was my rat friend, skirting along the rock retaining wall that borders my backyard and the neighbors above -- in broad daylight. This seemed like rather ballsy behaviour , and I went over to the wall to take a look; and also with the intent to give him a good scare and say “you’re not welcome here! and tell your friends!” What I discovered gave me a little scare instead.

When I approached the wall, the rat darted into a hole in the rocks, turned around, peered out, looked back at me, and disappeared. Into a burrow. In the wall. I stepped back and took a long look at the wall, and discovered that it was full of holes. Holes that led into what was likely a lengthy network of tunnels that in turn led to the Rats of NIMH. The Rats of NIMH that fear neither man nor daylight and had taken up residence in my backyard, a mere twenty or so feet from my house.

Upon discovery, I ran into the house and called a friend, leaving a voicemail that said simply “I have a horrible question for you that I already know the answer to... Rats live in colonies, yes?” I then sat down on the couch aware of the fact that I had likely fifty or more rats living in my backyard, and, more importantly, what am I going to do about it?

Having been a vegetarian for thirteen or so years (but no longer), I have qualms about killing things. I leave spiders alone (and sleep with one eye open), have never set a mouse trap (hoping that maybe they’ll just leave on their own), and have been known to escort cockroaches the size of my thumb outside in a covered wine glass. While I’m also unable to kill flies, I have, however, been known to poison and spray the swarms of ants that invaded our cottage in Hawaii, all the while telling them that really, you brought this on yourselves. Poisoning something soft and brown, however crawling with pestilence, on the other hand, is just beyond my capacities. I’m in an ethical quandary, you see. The rats and I likely cannot coexist for more than a finite period of time, and something must be done, but I just don’t want to be the one that does it. Neither do I want to phone the landlord and say “hey, there’s some killing to be done”, and what if one of the neighborhood cats gets into the poison? Or catches a poisoned rat and dies? I just couldn’t live with myself. No, better to do nothing and avoid the consequences.

So we wait. The rats becoming larger (they could go one on one with the cats) and more emboldened; why just today I saw one the size of a yorkshire terrier dragging a ham back into the burrow! I’m left to ask: “Is my reluctance to act based on a childhood filled with animated films of rodents railing against the totalitarian machine (The Secret of NIMH, as well as favorite Watership Down), or is it a general soft heartedness that has left me ill equipped to deal with the modern world? Don’t get me wrong, I doubt that I would have lasted a week on a farm once I learned where the delicious steak really comes from, but somehow this is different. It feels as though there’s a decision to be made, and that I’m just forestalling the inevitable and tragic conflagration to come.

In the meantime, I’m left wincing at the rustle of leaves, turning and expecting a hundred beady blood red eyes prepared to settle an age old score.

above, the burrow

From the Archives: ::(We Really Like) Daytrotter.com::

Sometimes, a lot of the time, and to be honest, most of the time, there are things that we like at Duck & Cover that we, for whatever reason, never get around to talking about. There are countless bands that we love love love, like Lennie and his mouse, but, instead of loving them lifeless, we do something worse. We fail to mention them; and it's not that we have illusions about having some great influence, but little bands need all of the love and support that they can find, especially the really good ones.

Fortunately for everyone there are many, many other sites on the internet that do take the time to promote music that they love, and give it to the world instead of keeping it in their pocket as if it were some magical talisman. At Duck & Cover, we like to consider ourselves Enthusiasts, and not critics. Musical criticism is mostly all bosh, frankly, and I'd rather talk about something that I really love than deconstruct something that I don't think is all that great. Besides, what if I'm wrong? (It happens often.)

One such site that we have enjoyed for the past year plus is Daytrotter. Daytrotter is the internet home of Futureappletree Studio 1 in Rock Island, Illinois, and they exemplify how the internet can be such an exciting and vital place for music. You see, at Daytrotter, they invite artists into the studio to record a special session, and then they distribute the tracks as free downloads. The novelty of this, to me, is two-fold. First, people like free music, but free music that an artist had to pay to record is not so great for the artist -- it's something of a losing proposition, aside from esoteric "exposure". Secondly, the sets are typically 3-4 songs in length, and are the perfect format to get to know a band's sound. I can't begin to tell how many stunning bands that I've gotten to know via Daytrotter's format, and the most exciting thing is that it's top quality one off live material, so it automatically appeals to the collector/completist in me. (There's also always the excitement of checking back in after a month away from the site, and finding a handful of favorite artists just waiting to be downloaded.)

Artists who have participated in the Daytrotter sessions include, but are certainly not limited to: Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Vampire Weekend, My Brightest Diamond, Dappled Cities, Quasi, Death Cab For Cutie, Thao Nguyen, Dirty Projectors, Sunset Rubdown, Six Parts Seven, Shearwater, Okkervil River, Low, Fleet Foxes... so, so many bands all deserving of your adoration! See the complete list here, and happy downloading. Hopefully you'll see some old friends and discover some new favorites in the process!

Oh! And before I forget! The accompanying illustrations by Johnnie Cluney make it all the more better!

From the Archives: ::WEB COMICS ROUNDUP:: the final word

Oh Noes! Here it is the last day of April, and "Internet Comics Month" failed to deliver the grandeur promised all those many days ago. In fact, it could be said to have ground to a screeching halt through a near willful lack of followthrough from one half of Duck & Cover. In my defense, if you were able to view our drafts folder, you would see that there are many, many writeups of many, many comic artists that were begun, walked away from, and never returned to. Good intentions, road to hell, broken promises, typical, etc.

So. This is going to have to serve as a bit of a roundup, and for that, I do apologize. Each and everyone of these artists has something very cool to offer, and deserve much more attention than what they're about to receive.

::Cat And Girl::
Much as the title implies, it is about a cat and a girl. It is an "experimental meta narrative". It is also awesome. Cat and Girl had won my heart with Dorothy Gambrell's character's delightful cynicism, long before I discovered the first reference to Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Cat and Girl ably navigates the circumstances and quandaries that your typical self aware quasi hipster encounters in their day to day life with a dry and cutting wit that also hits uncomfortably close to home. But in a fun way, like Stuff White People Like -- but before the book deal, and before they officially (circled if not) jumped the shark with that Oscar Parties entry on Oscar Day. (Boo!) Also, look for Bad Decision Dinosaur, who pops up to advocate bad decisions. (Duh! Napoleon so never should have listened to him!)

Gambrell's Girl is possessed by the horror and ennui that so many of us encounter when confronted by the reality of Life In America. Sad? Buy more. Angry? Buy more. Happy? Buy more! Disturbed by the albatross that is the Iraq "war"? BUY MORE. Also, hit up the all you can eat buffet before those food prices limit us to two plates per visit!


(not the best illustrative example of the above, but an inside joke at D&C)

::Marlys Magazine::
This is not so much a "web comic", but it is the internet home of Lynda Barry and the characters that populate her fantastic Ernie Pook comic strips, and you should absolutely make the time for a visit. For those familair with Lynda Barry and the divine Ernie Pook series that was routinely found in the back of "alternative newspapers" in the late '90s (and now, too... I think?) you know that Barry writes from an unhappily nostalgic place. Barry's comics center on growing up poor and other, with her main characters covered in freckles, with outrageous hair, unattractive glasses, and seem generally isolated in their sometimes claustrophobic lives. There is a busily austere beauty to Barry's work, and I have always greatly enjoyed reading everything that she has done (and am one of the few people that I know who purchased and own a copy of her 1999 novel Cruddy), and her collection of 100 Demons can never fail to break your heart or cause you to cringe in recognition of your own failings. For we are Lynda Barry, and Lynda Barry is we.




:: Laura Park::
Laura Park is an artist residing in Chicago, who, while not publishing a web comic per se, does have a webernet home for her comics and art. I'm not sure what to say about Laura Park, other than that I am absolutely crazy about her work. Her draftsmanship is impeccable, and, while her work tends towards and autobiographical bent, I feel that her work has more of a graphic novel feel than a comic feel. Of course, a graphic novel is indeed a comic, and I know nothing about these things, but those are my thoughts. Also, look for the occasional cameo from Duck & Cover favorite Julia Wertz of the Fart Party. (It was through Wertz' work that I had the good fortune to discover Ms. Park.) Laura Park loves great music, cooking, and has a cat and a pet pigeon -- named Nixon. A pigeon! Take the time to read every single on of her comics, and you can love her as well. Laura Park also deserves a much more extensive write up than this. Perhaps sometime in the future?

From the Archives: Sigur Ros :: Two Videos From Some Time Ago

Stumbling through some old cds long in storage, I stumbled across a Sigur Ros 2 disc set that, according to my itunes is ( ) Untitled #1. One of these two discs was a dvd of video work -- two taken from the band's dreamy first release Aegetis Byrjun, and the third from the just then released ( ). The first two songs, "Svefn-G-Englar" and "Vidrar Vel Til Loftarasa" are stunning and heartbreaking, and the videos capture the spirit of the music (and Sigur Ros) very well. The third, a video by Floria Sigismondi (whom you may recall from the Marilyn Manson video for "Beautiful People") for the song "Untitled #1 (Vaka)" is very pretty as well, but a bit more bleak and conceptual. I mean, it's nice, but it won't break your heart, and it's not nearly as visually arresting, so what's the point, y'know? (Which makes me feel like a horrible person and a bad critic, because I really do like this video, just not nearly as much as the other two. Mainly this is because, though I may pretend to be edgy, at heart I'm a terrible sap who loves to be emotionally manipulated by any sort of media. Books, music, film, visual art, email, voicemail, whatever; I am putty in your hands.)

I'm not going to go into any detail with the following videos, and am instead just going to encourage you to watch them. If you have seen them, it was likely a very long time ago (like me!), so you should watch them again. If you don't shed a few stray tears, you've only your black cinder of a soul to blame. Please note, however, that Sigur Ros is best listened to on headphones, and loud. (It puts you in the moment, you see.)

From the Archives: Daft Punk :: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Somehow winter still has her claws in the Pacific Northwest. It's almost May, and we're forecast snow this coming weekend. Snow! (I'll spare you my usual tirade about what physically impossible acts may be performed on this particular part of the country, my own little corner of hell.) In any event, we were teased by 80 degrees over the past weekend, only to be thrust back into the 50s and below (with rain!) immediately after.

Needless to say, it has not been happy times. I am on day three of a nonstop Neko Case marathon, and, while it is indeed comforting, Neko tends to be a little, dare we say, dark? Sometimes you just need to take pause and make your own sunshine, or perhaps be steered to some on YouTube, as is certainly the case here. (Even though I firmly believe that YouTube is leading to the complete downfall of Western Civilization, and exposing the ugly underbelly of the American experience, I can sometimes forgive it. Times like this.)

Back story? Dunno. Two french boys, "Jay" and "KIng Julian" made an absolutely hands down amazing video for Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" (as a response to a similar video by two girls), and then put it on the interwebs. This is about as much homework as you can expect from a blog. I mean, I'm not sure if you noticed or not, but the internet's not really big on fact checking. Anyway, enjoy.

F

From the Archives: Fruit Mystery :: What Did Happen At The Zoo??

In the Edward Albee play Zoo Story, something has happened at the zoo. We learn this because a man (Jerry) has approached another man on a park bench (Peter) and told him as much. (Among other things -- other very personal and inappropriate things-- and, by and large, it is far from any conversation that we've had or would care to have on a park bench.) In any event, something, something awful, happened at the zoo, and we never learn just what that thing was.

In the flash game Fruit Mystery (developed by Australian Brett Graham) something has also happened at the zoo. However, this time, we have been made privy to just what that something was -- someone has fed the animals, and there have been dire consequences. However, sometimes, as is certainly the case with Fruit Mystery, answers spawn more questions. Of course now, our thinking has shifted from "What happened at the zoo?" to "What really happened at the zoo, if anything at all?' This glimpse of a half truth, or exaggerated truth, or complete falsehood is far, far more vexing than than the implied and ominous "something" that Albee had goaded us with.

Without giving too much away, we revisit Brett's trip to the zoo and are able to feed the animals from a selection of fruits, vegetables, and corn chips at the bottom of the page. This seldom ends well, and the game is paused. Why? So that we can read and learn. Again, it's best not to give too much away, and really just urge you to play the game immediately and repeatedly. Be sure to navigate the rest of Brett's site, as more questions are posed than are answered in many, many ways.

PLAY FRUIT MYSTERY **NOW**!

From the Archives: The Fart Party

Before leaving Honolulu I found myself spending a lot of time drinking away the sad and surfing the internet (much, um, much like now, in Seattle, but I, uh, wear pants instead of shorts[?]), and I happened to stumble across The Fart Party, an autobiographical comic written and drawn by Julia Wertz. The Fart Party manages to come across as both remarkably vulgar and deeply touching. (I'm reminded of the later work of R. Crumb, but I know next to nothing about comic art, and I did just see a retrospective, so likely I'm just full of it.) Wertz presents comics that are either fully fleshed out and beautifully minimal or quick stylized stick figure vignettes, that, while "easy" succeed due to her impeccable sense of framing and narrative. (To clarify, that means that they are not "easy" at all, and are just as enjoyable as her more "formal" work.)

When I first discovered the Fart Party, I literally read through the entire site in one sitting, absolutely unable to get enough, and deeply saddened when I was done. Wertz, as portrayed in her comics, is the type of person that you can imagine becoming fast friends with. An accomplished drinker with a highly developed sense of pathos, as well as a delightfully self deprecating sense of humor, an (apparent) unabashed fondness for poo, a filthy mouth, and, above all, a good heart. All of this combines in The Fart Party to create a wonderful, hilarious, and readable comic. What am I talking about? It's just fucking hilarious. Go buy the book from Amazon (now!) and read it every day at fartparty.org (even though it's apparently only updated "thrice weekly", but you should still check in. Just in case.)

Of the comics below, I can immediately relate to both of them; especially drunk email (seriously -- breathalyzer; how hard could that be?), drunk dialing your mother (shockingly this has never happened -- on accident. [cringe]), and reflecting on major life changes and the manner that it relates to who you are as a person. See, you can laugh and your heart can break a little, and sometimes at the same time.

From the Archives: Bea Arthur and Rock Hudson sing about Teh Drugz

Sometimes the internet is a horrible place, like when YouTube comments reveal the true base nature of humanity, or a site can't be navigated to simply change the billing address on a credit card (Bank Of America?!?!?). Other times the internet is a wonderful time machine, a veritable cabinet of curiosities; and today is certainly one of those days.

Via a commenter on Gawker, this gem was happened across. Rock Hudson and Bea Arthur singing a catchy little song together lamenting the times "when 'smoke' was Luckies, and 'high' was gin" on "The Beatrice Arthur Special" on CBS, from January of 1980

Easily the gayest thing posted since those Gay Unicorns. And Hey! This is a song too! Just like those unicorns! And it's a catchy one that will be stuck in your head for days! Months even! I think I want this as a ringtone! How do I make one of those!

In any event, enjoy a beautiful campy moment from the history of American television, and marvel that Rock Hudson can manage an irony free reference to "Amyl Nitrate".