Was thinking about an ol' pen pal recently, and unfortunately learned she passed away in 2021. I hadn't corresponded with her since the early 2ooos, but I always appreciated the work she put in supporting and creating music around Hampton Roads.

When I knew Holly, her last name was Womack, but I remember she used stage names when playing in bands. And in her online obit, it looked like she had a married name. One of her zines was Fresh Rag, and then Cranked Up (and looking at this cover ^, maybe also Cranked Up Really High?)

(Cover model: Ms. April May)

I had already moved to LA when Holly was publishing her 'zines, but I was still in touch with several zine publishers covering Hampton Roads' rock. And appreciated the reports on Norfolk..

(from Fresh Rag, prophetic about what was happening in Norfolk real estate too)

I think Holly was also interviewed for the documentary Hardcore Norfolk, which did a good job covering the history of Hampton Roads rock, and how it was unfortunately fading. But truth is, organic local rock scenes are dwindling in most areas. It's not like the stretch between the mid 70s thru mid 90s, where a number of live, local music scenes (LA hardcore, NYC punk, Seattle/Washington State grunge etc) were being locally grown, honed and fostered by local 'zines and record labels. It's a different time, with different technologies, appetites, local media etc. But Holly did good, reporting and uplifting her local music community.

(I had also done some art for her website..)

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proto-Gronk

Everybody knows the great Gronk (Rob Gronkowski).

But before Gronk's football fame, there was an obscure Gronk on the ol' Masters of the Universe series. A brief, esoteric cameo..

(Gronk: from the episode Orko Loses His Magic Powers)

contact: nat.rain@gmail.com

 

Want to mention this book real quick. A recounting of Hurricane Katrina, told thru the illustrated (and personal) accounts of a handful of New Orleans' residents. Basically, the author (Neufeld) is an illustrator who was in New Orleans doing post-Katrina volunteer work. If I remember right, he was eventually commissioned to gather, then recreate the accounts of survivors he encountered. I think Neufeld did a really good job selecting a cross-section of survivors. He definitely humanizes each person. My only (unsolicited) criticism would be the glaring, virtual omission of the many reported crimes/depravities during Katrina. But in Neufeld's defense, he admits the depicted accounts are "quite particular and highly personal".. fair enough.

The first chapter The Storm, was really well done. Neufeld shows the arrival of the storm with some strong, ominous images using very little dialog or text (see the top half of the book cover ^). For me, this first chapter was probably the most memorable part.. And the book is a nice historical document of positive Katrina survival stories.

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Americanus Superfanus

For more superfan content: http://natrrain.blogspot.com/2021/03/second-act-of-lower-learning-act-one.html

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Added color to this Nat family portrait. Contains a lot of the recurring characters. Flanked on the front row by Creeps & Nathaniel, then Sharpie and Pudgy Nauseous on the other side. Also got Edgar Allan Toe and the Texas Weiner Man lurking in there.

On a note of nostalgic Nat Rrain friends & cast, I touched up an old page. There's some 'Loose Screws' graffiti visible in there. I used to collaborate with them from time-to-time on zine releases. This re-release is dedicated to my cousin, Big Philly.. Rest in peace.

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Over the last decade, and a couple funerals, I've been thinking about our society's beliefs on the afterlife. There seems to be a universal belief both within Christianity and America's wider pop culture, that Heaven is the (righteous) soul's final destination. But my understanding is that Christianity actually teaches that our final destination is living in a resurrected body, on a renewed Earth.

If you attend a Protestant church, you're probably reciting the Nicene Creed every week, which states.. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come

This pretty clearly refutes the idea of Christians awaiting Heaven as the anticipated, final destination..

I came across a valuable table of Bible verses, that expounds on the idea that Christians (and earthly creation) are awaiting a resurrection of the body, and not a disembodied soul that ends up in Heaven. 

And this understanding of Christian eschatology doesn't deny there is a Heaven, but it explains that Heaven is not where human souls are ultimately destined for.. We are waiting for perfected, resurrected bodies, designed for God's renewed planet. I guess there are different interpretations tho, because I even hear (some) pastors doing the bit about loved ones in Heaven looking down on us, awaiting our arrival in to that eternity.

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Sharpie Stands

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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)..

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 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.

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