PODCASTS

In traveling from my home to the store, I spend at least an hour a day in the car. I find that one of the best ways to make the time go by fast is to enjoy a podcast. If you have a smart phone, you can download them easily and free. Here’s a look at some of my favorites:

The Moth

This is my very favorite podcast. Professional and amateur storytellers get up before a live audience and tell true stories. Most of these stories are extremely well told. Sometimes they are so good that you’ll stay in your car even after you’ve reached your destination, because you are so spellbound.

Radio Lab

Each episode delves into some phenomenon. It’s usually a societal issue, or a scientific question.  They skip all around in search of an answer. They mix sounds and music with the narrative, and it can mesmerize the listener. It’s really thought provoking and well done.

This American Life

This show is the father of all great podcasts. Each week is a fascinating one-hour morality play. Like Radio Lab, they mix in voices, various sounds and music. It’s very rarely less than fascinating.

Ted Talks

Most people are probably familiar with Ted Talks. These are lively lectures, featuring leading innovators and ground-breaking ideas. Usually they are quite interesting.

History of World War II

I’m a World War 2 history buff, but there is still an awful lot that I do not fully understand about the conflict. This podcast is filling in a lot of the blanks for me. So far there have been a hundred episodes, and they have not yet gotten to the invasion of Russia, or the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which prompted the US to get into the war.

The speaker and sole creator of the podcast, Ray Harris Jr. is not a polished speaker. He does not have a good radio voice, and he puts the emphasis on the wrong words. Despite this deficit, you soon overlook the verbal quirkiness, because the material is so interesting, and his research is so thorough. It takes him forever to put up new episodes, but this won’t be a handicap to you as a new listener, until you catch up with the 100 episodes he’s put up already. Hopefully me, and Ray will live long enough to get to the end.

Real Time With Bill Maher

I watch Real Time each week, so why do I listen to the Podcast? Well, the podcast contains extra features. First there’s “2 Minute Maher” which broadcasts previously unheard outtakes from the opening monologue of each week’s show. Then they play the whole episode. I usually skip that since I’ve already watched it at home. But if I missed some or all of it, it’s a good was to hear it. After that, they have “Overtime”. All the guests stick around for a few more minutes to answer questions from the audience. This is all very entertaining and lively for Real Time fans.

HALLOWEEN PARTY!

STERANKO

One of our favorite artists here is (Jaunty) Jim Steranko. Our big event featuring the first ever meeting of Steranko and Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Chabon at our Mountain View store is the stuff of legend. 

The Jaunty One has entered the world of social media, and he's taking it by storm! You won't believe the series of spellbinding tweets that he has been unleashing every night on twitter. Click on this handy link to join the fun! 

NEAL ADAMS

Thanks to all who attended our signing with master comics artist Neal Adams on Friday. I had a marvelous time hanging out with Neal and getting to know him a little better. He is an incredibly bright fellow, and he was really nice to me an all of our visitors. He had wonderful stories to tell, and he made the customers very happy.

AMAZING FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!

Free Comic Book Day just keeps getting bigger and bigger! This year there were 52 titles to choose from, and we vastly increased our orders. The crowds were bigger then ever too! We saw long lines stretching down the street at both stores until after noon. People seemed to love our give away of two complete sets of all the free comics, presented in a handsome canvas Lee's Comics tote bag. This is sure to be a treasured annual tradition from now on. Tom Rolinger stopped by at noon and did free drawings  for the fans.

The first big title to go was the Star Wars offering from Dark Horse. Not a huge surprise since it was also Star Wars day. The forth was with us though, and most of our other big titles held out at least into the evening. I was handing out comics in front of our Mountain View store along with my friend Mark Arnold. We saw wave upon wave of happy families and their kids coming up to join the fun. There were also many people who just happened by when they saw all the commotion. These were first time attendees. They all loved the idea of free comics, and many of them told me they were looking forward to attending in future years. We are in a huge shopping center that also has a Costco, Krispy Kreme, Office Max and other attractions so there are always hundreds of people milling about on weekends. Our flags, banner, tent, and the huge crowds milling about really caught the eye!

Free Comic Book day is like a national comic con. It's the time for everyone to let their geek flag fly. People love comics, and they certainly love getting something for free. We give the comics away out front, so people know there's no obligation to go in and shop. The interesting thing is that most people did go in and shop, and we had a record sales day. It's not going to be easy, but we are going to try to top ourselves next year, and we are already working on some top secret plans! Stay tuned.

JONATHAN WINTERS

Jonathan winters left us today. He was a great trendsetter in stand up comedy.  Can you think of another performing artist who had album covers by BOTH Frank Frazetta and Jack Davis? I can't. It could be that Winters was the only one with that honor. As great as an artist as Frank Frazetta was, and I think he was one the best artists who ever lived, I think Jack Davis captured his essence the best.

ANNETTE FUNICELLO

Today we sadly bid farewell to Annette Funicello, a lovely, talented lady, and the cover girl on many classic comic books.