Happy 200th Edgar

On January 19th, Edgar Allen Poe’s 200th birthday will be observed. He is the man who invented the detective story (Poe’s creation of C. Auguste Dupin predates Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes). He worked his craft in short fiction, poetry and being a literary critic. He died when he was 40 under unknown circumstances. Wikipedia, my favorite second brain, has much to say on Mr. Poe and his life and it can all be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allen_Poe. It seems an utter disservice to Poe that “Ludwig” (R.W. Griswold) spun so many lies about him after his death. History continues to remember Poe but has forgotten Griswold all together. The Hop Frog in me likes to believe that this omission is the universe healing itself from poison of such a man. “Hop Frog”, by the by, remains for this reader one of the best tales of revenge and madness ever written. When one considers Poe, you really have many options to choose from – there are many “favorites” when it comes to his body of work. “The Mask of the Red Death”, “The Cask of Amontillado”, “The Tell Tale Heart”, “The Black Cat”, and “The Fall of the House of Usher” are all prime examples of Poe at his best.

It is easy to automatically think of Baltimore when you consider Poe, his work and his life (and his death for that matter) but some of his best and most prolific work took place right across the Delaware River in Philadelphia. Again from Wikipedia, “While living in Philadelphia, Poe published some of his most well-known works, including "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," and "The Gold-Bug". It has been called his most prolific period. In all, Poe published 31 stories during his time in Philadelphia as well as several literary criticism pieces, including his February 1841 review of Charles Dickens's novel Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty. In reviewing the novel, which later inspired Poe's poem "The Raven", he correctly predicted the novel's resolution before its final serialized installment was published. Dickens is said to have remarked, "The man must be the devil". Poe's five years in the city have been described as the happiest of his life.” The Edgar Allen Poe National Historical Site in Philly is just about to reopen to celebrate Poe’s 200th Birthday (those gory details can be found here: http://www.nps.gov/edal/). I’m looking forward to taking the girls. We have already shared the reading of some of his tales.

So, Gentle Reader, the dreary midnight hour draws close at hand. I am weak and weary and I have been pondering over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore… It is with a spirit of kinsmanship that I join the Poe Toaster (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe_Toaster) from right here in South Jersey in raising a glass and laying down one more rose at his grave.

Happy 200th Edgar.

AC/DC or For Those About to Rock – We Salute You

Mr. Brian Johnson is 61 years old. Mr. Angus Young is 53 years old. Evil Chicken was given a ticket to the AC/DC concert tonight due to his pending 40th birthday. Let me just say, we all had a blast tonight. Mother Hen had given me this premature birthday gift and God bless her for it.

Oh, what a night.

I traveled to Philadelphia PA, on 11/17/08 to see AC/DC, with three other gentleman of similar age and interest. We are friends and have known each other since Hector was a pup and it truly was an honor to share the experience with them since much of the music pertains to our own developmental milestones. In other words, we grew up with AC/DC. There has never been a band that has kicked high-knee on such a level as AC/DC.

Bottom line.

The guitarmanship that I witnessed tonight was simply uncompromising. Unbelievable. I’m just pleased that I saw it happen before my eyes. Angus has secured his place in the Valhalla of guitar gods; seriously. The original lineup was wonderful to see too. And I must say, Mr. Brian Johnson was in amazing form. It appears that the band has decided to collect the cream from top of their concert performances over the years and give it directly to the fans; we saw, the inflatable Rosie, Hell’s Bell, and Angus’s striptease during “The Jack”.

Amazing.

Please, let it be known, I enjoy the whole concert experience. I love seeing artists perform in the medium in which they choose. I find musicians and interesting breed of artist. The gifts that they bring are reproducible, to a certain degree, but must fully be appreciated LIVE – and by those who wrote and are displaying their efforts. For musicians, their art is an act; and, oh what an act it can be. For AC/DC, it is an affirmation.

With our backsides literally kicked from what we had witnessed, we paused to watch the sold out crowd disperse. We took a couple of pictures with our cell phones to save the moment but we know that, in all actuality, this will probably be the last time that the band will tour. So for Brian Johnson, Cliff Williams, Phil Rudd, Malcolm, and Angus Young – you have ROCKED and we salute you.

The goofy similes on our faces will stay there for weeks to come. We have seen art in motion and in sound and we ate it up. Past, present, and future collided on stage tonight at the Wachovia Center in Philly. I’m just happy to have been a part of it. If you get the chance and if you are so inclined, go see AC/DC. See them now because the Rock and Roll Train can not last forever.

I promise that you will not be disappointed.

Neil Gaiman in Philadelphia

On Wednesday evening, myself and chicks 1.0 and 2.0 saddled up the ole Ford, crossed the bridge into Philadelphia and made our way to the University of the Arts to the Levitt Auditorium in the Gershman Y to be exact, to see Mr. Neil Gaiman read a chapter from his new book, “The Graveyard Book”. I have been a Neil Gaiman fan for years and I’ve been subversively including my children in my madness for quite some time. They are now hopeless geeks, much like myself. ...Oh yes.

Please forgive me Gentle Reader, I digress; as I was saying, I’ve been a fan of Neil Gaiman ever since I read “The Sandman” Vertigo Comics series. I haven’t read the entire story arc but I’ve read enough to say that this is the book that you put in front of someone who asks, “Why would you want to read a comic book?” Gaiman has a unique narrative quality to the stories he tells. There is an underlying intelligence and humor that he brings to the conversation that exists between an author and a reader. And once you start you will have a hard time not wanting to continue reading from his works. “The Anansi Boys” is one of my favorites. It follows the sons of the mischievous African spider god Anansi on their journey to discover just who they are and who killed their father. Karaoke, for yours truly, will never be the same. The whole family and I enjoyed the films “Mirrormask” and “Stardust”; both written by Gaiman. If you haven’t seen the movies or read the books you should give them a try. You won’t be disappointed. He’s one of my favorites – which, oddly enough, is hard for me to pin down. I forget who it was that said when asked the question “who’s your favorite author?” The reply was that it was whomever they were reading at that moment. I resemble that statement. Gaiman, however, is one of my favorites; so it was with great joy that I was able to take 3 out of 5 of us and go listen to the man read a chapter (Chapter Two – that is) from, “The Graveyard Book”.

After the introduction by Vincent Price who came back from the dead for the event (very cool BTW) and some guy from Borders Books, Mr. Gaiman took the stage and explained what was going on with this particular book tour. He said that this was an experiment in that he was reading a chapter of “The Graveyard Book” at each of his stops, filming it and posting it to his website. The theory is that once the book tour is done you can go to his website, click away and have him read you the whole thing. There are three chapters up so far. You can see them here: http://www.neilgaiman.com/ (click on Journal) or here: http://www.mousecircus.com/. He further explained that in the past at book signings that he would read about 15 minutes from something that he wrote, have a brief Q & A, he would begin to sign books and “you” the people who came would "get into long lines that would snake around the book store" and that, “it would be 11:00 PM before you got to me. You would have forgotten the question that was fresh in your mind 5 hours previous.” He said something about muscle spasms from repeating his signature and he said that he was sorry that he couldn’t meet with everyone to sign and personalize their books. He showed the crowd his broken finger and said, “But now… I’m not that sorry.” He explained that he broke his finger in China while slipping on a moss covered stone. Pre-signed books were available and - yes – I got one. After he read chapter two there was a short intermission and then the trailer for “Coraline” was presented, followed by a healthy Q & A session. “Coraline” is adapted by Neil Gaiman based on his novel about a girl who finds an alternate universe and life behind a wall in her bedroom. The same man who did, “A Nightmare Before Christmas”, Henry Selick, has directing duty. No CGI will be used instead it will be stop motion animation – just like Nightmare. There will be a 3D version that will really highlight the use of the models and landscapes.

Yeah, I’ll be buying about 5 tickets come February of 2009. What can I say – I’m a geek; it’s what I do.

If you get the chance to see Neil Gaiman, take it. You’ll be glad you did.

…Now where is that book?

Den of Antiquity

We, the EC-5, just got back from the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia; we celebrated Mother Hen’s birthday (29) by taking everyone to the “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” exhibit. “The exhibition includes approximately 130 objects from the tomb of King Tut and other valley of the King Ancestors.” The majority of the artifacts have never been on American soil. If you enjoy seeing antiquities from a long gone age and shining moment in history then go. Know also that you will pay $27.50 a head (adult) and $17.50 per child (ages 4-11). Know that Tutankhamun’s death mask is not part of the exhibition since “The death mask is not allowed to leave Egypt and therefore is not included in the exhibition.” And know that you will not be allowed to use your camera – photography is strictly prohibited. You can buy all of the pictures you want from the gift shop, which is conveniently located at the end of the exhibition.

Yeah.

It took us roughly an hour and a half to tour through the artifacts. We went at the 2:30 PM, cattle call and, at the end of the day I believe that it was worth it. The kids (the three chicks) absolutely love this period of history. Chick 2.0 was telling me how many jars were usually used in the mummification process and that was well before we were unleashed on the antiquities. Actually seeing some of these items up close and personal gave me a new respect for Egypt’s golden age. The detail in the gold inlays and the hieroglyphs – simply amazing; that and I’ve never seen a solid gold ceremonial dagger before. BTW it was a dagger that was buried with Tut himself. Amazing.

Thanks to the Birthday Girl, Mother Hen, for sharing her 29th birthday with us in such a fashion. I love you Lady. Like you said, “for my birthday I want to make some memories with my family.”

Mission accomplished.