Below is a typical, contemporary (pitchfork) look for Arizona State hockey. It's pretty clean. But I've always preferred Arizona State's semi-retired mascot Sparky. So I've created an alternate Arizona State hockey logo. One including Sparky with a stereotypical missing tooth (no disrespect intended)..

contact: nat.rain@gmail.com

 

 Haven't reviewed a book for a while, so..

I currently have about 30 Columbus books in my personal library. I didn't wanna collect repetitive biographies, so most of my books cover more obscure and/or esoteric aspects of Columbus' life. But this biography (Columbus: The Grand Design) is kinda unique, because it only covers his earlier life, and ends with his first voyage. Instead of documenting the most famous (or infamous) achievements/days of his life, it's a chronology of events and theories that led up to planning his first voyage. And it's the most insightful report I've read on the people and experiences that influenced him.

It's a detailed recounting of sea voyages Columbus took as a young sailor to the edges of the known world,  people he met who influenced his travel projections. Columbus' family, his long deceased father-in-law who left behind important, cutting-edge maps that Columbus studied. The Atlantic islands Columbus lived on, & began noticing non-native plants washing up on their shores.. helping him recognize that land lay further west in the foreboding Atlantic.. Columbus' relationship with Toscanelli, and other progressive thinkers of the time. The Vivaldi brothers who may have been attempting a Columbian voyage 200 years earlier than Columbus, but disappeared at sea.

Columbus' legacy has gone thru a lot of ups & downs over the centuries.. it's an environment now where most (non children's) books are fundamentally written to attack, or to a lesser extent, defend, Columbus' character. But this one was originally written in Italian in the (less Columbus-polarized) early 70s, and is a pretty objective, amoral evaluation. I got an English language edition, that was printed several years later, and it feels like it used high quality, coated paper that's really sturdy. The book feels like a cinder block. 

It thoroughly answers one of the enduring questions about Columbus.. How did a seemingly ordinary, self-educated sailor formulate, then execute this game-changing grand design.

                                                       contact- nat.rain@gmail.com

Sharpie's Plea

^ Page one, of California Streamin', more to come.. (click on image(s) to enlarge).

Contact: nat.rain@gmail.com

 

Back in the 70s & 80s, there was a drivable Cardinals helmet parked on the sidelines of Busch Stadium. In this shot, over Neil Lomax's shoulder, you can see a pilot and co-pilot sitting in it..

It was a cool novelty. Even in black & white it looked sharp. In this publicity photo with the family of the team owner, you see the deck of the cart. I assume it was a topless golf cart carrying the helmet..

This one is of author Greg Marecek (& son), who wrote & assembled a pictorial history of the Cards, from their franchise years in St. Louis. (The St. Louis Football Cardinals: A Celebration of the Big Red. 2009). The whole book is filled with cool nostalgic photos & insights.

After the Cards fled to Arizona, I don't ever remember seeing the helmet cart on the Phoenix sidelines. A great NFL relic, wonder what it's fate was..

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Recently rewatched all the movies in the Elm Street franchise. And was reminded of a cool, subtle cliffhanger from the end of Elm Street 4 (The Dream Master). Alice and Dan are walking to a wishing well/fountain that I guess was supposed to be in Springwood. (But I recognized as the Mulholland Fountain from Griffith Park in LA. I used to hike around there).

It's been a wild trip, and Dan is trying to cheer Alice up with a coin-tossed wish in to the fountain..

The coin, weighted with optimism for a better future, hits the water.. and in the ripples an image of Freddy briefly appears..

A shell-shocked Alice is concerned, but unsure what she really saw in the fleeting mirage..

But Alice (Lisa Wilcox) seems content she's just seeing things, so she and Dan start to walk into the better life that awaits them. She's looking good swinging that skirt, and Dan is there for mutual support. Cue '80s outro music. It was a perfect ending. A brief omen that Freddy (and another sequel) could still be lurking..

contact- nat.rain@gmail.com 

Cool book from the early '50s. I realize when people hear Monsters of Los Angeles, they think it's referring to casting directors, but it's slice of life at the La Brea Tar Pits, seen thru the eyes of a slightly anthropomorphic raccoon. The savvy raccoon watches from the edge of the pits, as other animals sink in to the tar, and are subsequently eaten by prehistoric scavengers. 

The depictions of the Pleistocene cast were illustrated by Herb Rayburn, really cool black & white stuff, that I'm sure captivated readers back in the '50s.

A lot of the book catalogs predator & prey. 

This style is similar to what I aspired to create in the black & white days of Natrrain. In the top center, you can see the tree-bound raccoon, who is recounting all the events.

The author weaved a lot of 20th century LA geographical references in to the book. I assume he was based out of Los Angeles, or spent time driving around town as he authored it.

At one point, I was working within walking distance of the Tar Pits, and used to loiter around there on my lunch break. Even after tens of thousands of years, it's still cool for spectators.

contact- nat.rain@gmail.com