Bringing ‘Here in Duckburg’ to an End…Sorta

Hey folks, I wanted to take a moment to let you know that I’m closing shop on Here in Duckburg in order to switch gears a little. I originally started up the blog a couple of years ago to talk comics, with an emphasis on Disney comics, Usagi Yojimbo, and other interests of mine. I had a great time posting about all of this, and won’t completely stop posting about it as I plan to keep covering Usagi, Disney, Independent books and creators, and several others over at my Follow That Raven blog spot. There I plan to combine my interests in comics with my interest in speculative fiction, where I hope things will mesh pretty well and I can talk about books and comics together, streamlining things a bit. Duckburg will remain there for all intents and purposes.

I wanted to thank everyone that’s visited for stopping by, and for all of your support of the site. I hope you’ll make the jump over to Follow That Raven if you’ve enjoyed your time here and that I’ll be talking to you soon!

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The Gear: Left of Center of the Universe and “Deploy”

I had been so busy the end of last year that it completely slipped my mind that Mike Allred and his band, The Gear would be releasing their newest album: To the Left of the Center of the Universe in August ’09. So, after checking last night on the availability, I happily found the album on iTunes and quickly downloaded the puppy.

My long commute each day is not something that I necessarily look forward to, but I was able to take advantage of it this morning by listening to the album in its entirety, and having done so, I wanted to take a few moments to say just how impressed I was with The Gear’s newest effort, and no doubt I’ll be spending a lot more commute time digesting all of the messages unique to each of the dynamic tracks, and enjoying the instrumentals that are nothing if not interesting.

“Deploy,” the first song on the album, is undoubtedly my favorite song in the collection. Even if its themes of eternity hadn’t’ hit home due to their familiar religious echoes, honest questions and bold declarations (and it certainly did!) then I would still have been blown away by the Pink Floyd-esque melody and style. I don’t know if Pink Floyd acted as sole inspiration for the track but I do know that they remain a major influence on The Gear and this one could have easily lay nestled in any number of their albums and I would’ve felt it appropriate. “Deploy” just hit on all cylinders for me and I find that I can’t get it out of my head, humming it often since previewing it last summer, thanks to Mike sharing a variation of it with CBR (I was in Tokyo, Japan at the time and it was just the shot from home that I needed). I haven’t consciously caught those “secret messages” yet, but I’ll ahem…keep it in mind. ; )

I will admit that not all of the songs are quite my style of music, but the majority of them definitely resonate with me to one degree or another and I can’t wait to spend more time dissecting “Pop Rocket” in particular, after re-reading my shiny new paperback copy of Red Rocket 7. A great effort all around guys! The album will provide me some great entertainment and I honestly can’t wait for the next one!

But if we’re not from here, when will we leave here and how…

Deployed…deployed…

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A Season of Thanks!

Had the unfortunate experience of being in an auto collision last week which completely totaled my car. But despite the destruction to my (poor) ’08 Focus, I managed to open the driver side door and walk out of the accident with only minor bruising to my chest, which I count as something of a miracle and definitely something to be thankful for this season amidst all the insurance claims to come (no worries, I wasn’t at fault). It could have been a lot worse, but I’m now a lot more aware that disasters really can happen to any of us at a moments notice — so please take those few precious moments out of the day to give thanks for the many blessings you enjoy (whether it’s Thanksgiving or not) and live life to the fullest as best you can.

Just saying, and I hope y’all have a great holiday season and a Merry Christmas with family and friends!

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Back From Japan!

Ultraman by Alex Ross

Well, it was an extremely fun, if not exhausting trip to Japan and despite it being the first chance I had to spend some serious time with my fiancee’s parents (who call Tokyo their home) and that I had to face down those jitters, it was a pure joy to have met them and to experience the culture in what turned out to be a whirlwind of a tour.

If there’s any interest in where I visited, who I met, what I brought back, etc. let me know and I’ll take some time to write up something. Fortunately, I’ll actually be going back within a year for the actual wedding, so I’ll call it “Part One.”

Should be up and running again soon…after walking miles and miles each day, and a 12 hour flight, I think I need a nap. ; )

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Off to the Land of the Rising Sun!

Hey folks, just wanted to let you know that I’m heading off on a much anticipated two week adventure to Tokyo, Japan (to finally meet my fiancees parents) and that I probably won’t be able to chime in until I return later in the month. Should I get some extra down time I’ll try to check in, but otherwise I plan to take advantage of a much needed vacation on what is my first of what I hope will be many a trip to Japan. Enjoy the books you’re currently engrossed in and I hope to return with a fresh review or two thanks to a 13-hour plane trip each way.

In the meantime, if you’ve been to Tokyo, Kyoto, or Osaka and there’s something I’ve just gotta see (or that I’ve gotta eat) by all means drop me a note so that I can try to check it out when I’m there.

“Ja Ne!”

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Follow That Raven…

Hey folks, for one reason or another I decided to go the insane route of starting an additional blog entitled Follow That Raven on ‘fantasie’ / sci-fi books, with reviews, “insights”, etc. and that you’re certainly invited to stop by, hang your hat, and read/comment on or about a number of like-minded books, etc.

Hope to see you there!

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