I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Stan Rogers Folk Festival, Canso, NS (July 3, 2005).

Back in 2005, the Rheostatics played two days at the Stan Rogers Folk Festival. The first day’s show was a kind of mash up of the Rheostatics and other bands.  Indeed, the recording includes some other artists along with the Rheos.

This second day it was apparently raining.  But it’s just the Rheos doing their best folk band impression, but not being afraid to totally rock out.

The recording opens very echoey and with a woman who is having a different kind of fun screaming quite a bit really nearby.  But after a minute or two, I assume the recording device is moved because you can no longer hear her. It’s jut Martin singing “California Dreamline.”

“Fan Letter to Michael Jackson” is particularly rocking, especially the “Michael!” part.  It’s a great version of the song, with lots of interesting bass work from Tim.  The whole band seems really into it.

Dave says, “The first European settlers stopped at Guysboro so we feel honored to do the same.  I went to the cairn…. I read the cairn.”

Mike: “Was the plaque about golfing?”

Dave: “No, it was about settling by the Mi’kmaq.”

They play a terrific, rocking “Marginalized,” a song that they seem to always play great.  It’s followed by a grooving intro to “Horses.”  Dave is really into it and the song ends really really loud and aggressive for a folk festival–Dave is screaming.

It’s followed by a terrific “Stolen Car.”  The “Kill a cop” line is really intense with a big drum roll.  And Martin is in great form throughout, especially that ending “drive away” section.

Mike: Thanks, we’ve got one more for you
Martin: Thanks, we’ve got one more for you
Dave: As a great man once said, Thanks, we’ve have one more for you

After all of that intensity, they end with a slow, pretty “Making Progress.”  Martin says, the composer of this next number in the middle: Timothy Rabbit Warren Vesely.  So that’s two songs by each singer.  As the song ends, Martin plays some interesting echoing guitar lines as the other guys leave.

The announcer says: “Rheostastics.  These guys were nominated for 3 Junos and one Genie and the Barnenaked Ladies and The Tragically Hip are constantly singing their praises and we got to hear them tonight.

[READ: April 25, 2017] The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Power

This is the reboot of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.  This edition collects issues 1-4 and a special comic from Marvel Super Heroes #8.

For the reboot, Erica Henderson has re-imagined the appearance of Squirrel Girl from the rankly really creepy and ugly early version (as seen in the Marvel issue included) into a new much cooler looking hero.  Although I find her face really distractingly strange-looking.  I suppose it’s meant to invoke a squirrel somewhat, but since I read the Shannon Hale book first, I imagined her looking less odd.  But I have since gotten over that and I find her personality is too great to care.

There are several things I love about this story line.  It is so very funny.  Every bit and piece is great.  I also love that she is, as her name suggests, unbeatable.  This is not a spoiler exactly, but she really can’t be beaten–it’s pretty great.  I also love that there is running commentary along the bottom of the page (essentially the footnotes).  Sadly in some issues it is really hard for these old eyes to read, but if you can read them, they are worth it.

But really it’s the tone that I love,  It’s so lighthearted and fun.  

As the first story opens she is trying to think of her theme song.  Of course, she has to put it to the tune of Spider-Man, which is pretty darn funny–and everyone keeps asking her if she means Spider-Man (whom they have heard of but have not heard of Squirrel Girl).

Squirrel Girl fights crime with her trusty sidekick Tiippy-Toe a squirrel with a pink bow around her neck.  Tippy-Toe speaks squirrel, but Squirrel Girl can understand her, so we know what’s happening.

I also love that, like most super heroes, Squirrel Girl needs to hide her identity.  But unlike most superheroes, she has a giant tail–this makes for some uncomfortable pants-wearing.

As book one opens, Squirrel Girl, Doreen Green, is registering for college.  A hunky guy offers to carry her boxes (she has proportional squirrel strength and is therefore very strong).  She has to pretend her heavy boxes are not so heavy.

We also meet her new roommate, Nancy.  Nancy is bad ass.  She knits (her Purl Jam poster is awesome) and has a cat named Mew (the most important thing in her life).  She isn’t supposed to have a pet in the dorm but “obeying an unjust law is itself unjust.”  We don’t see a lot of Mew, but Mew means that Squirrel Girl can let Tippy-Toe come around as her pet.

As she gets her classes in order, Kraven swings by and Doreen tells Nancy that she has to go fight him because he…messed up her course selection.  Nancy is pretty mad about that and checks to see if her courses were messed up too.

Throughout the books there are Deadpool’s “trading card” guides to super villains.  They are very funny and also informative.

In the second book the stakes are upped.  She is called in to fight Galactus.  But first, Squirrel Girl wants to check out college clubs.  We also learn about the` hunky guy Squirrel Girl is into.  His name is Tomas Lora-Perez.

It’s Tippy Toe who tells Dorren about Galactus (the squirrels have eyes and ears everywhere).  In order to fight Galactus, Doreen needs to call in a favor from Iron Man (there’s hilarious backstory about the two of them being friends–and yet not such good friends that she has his pass code or anything).

She is able to get a whole bunch of form-adjusting armor.  And then she is off…to the moon!

As books 3 opens there is a screen of texts–they are on some kind of social  network.  She trash talks Kraven.  Then Tony gets in on it complaining that someone “borrowed” his armor, which is clearly Doreen.

Then we cut to Nancy going to the bank.  Well, actually she is going to the bank because she smells falafel and the sign says “Yes!! It is totally reasonable to come use our ATM just to buy falafel!”

As Doreen and Tippy (in Iron Man armor) head off to fight Galactus, she is captured by Whiplash.  Whiplash believes she is Iron Man and there’s some amusing trash talk there. She tries to explain that she is going to fight Galactus–destroyer of worlds–and if he destroys the word, Whiplash will be destroyed too.

Meanwhile, while Nancy is at the bank robbers come in.  I love that Nancy trash talks the robbers and gets one of them to screw up.

We see Doreen control the squirrels against Whiplash.   But before she can  fight Galactus,  Tippy Toe tells her about the robbery and she has a choice–save her friend, or save the world.  She chooses her friend.

Of course she obviously has to deal with Galactus eventually, right.  And I love that book 3 opens with Squirrel Girl sitting on a prone Galactus saying “Well gosh that wasn’t so hard after all.”  And the bottom text says “All right! Now to the letters page, and then the rest of this book is just blank pages!  Ha ha,”

The rest of the book actually turns out to be flashbacks.  Of their battle and then the shocking revelation that Nancy has figured out Doreen’s Secret Identity.  But Nancy is more than cool with it, she says its going to be the best education ever.

The Marvel Super Heroes #8 dates back to Winter 1991 and it shows Squirrel Girl meeting Iron Man for the first time.It is a funny, although not as funny as the current story (sense of humor were different back in the 1990s).  I was frankly surprised at how stilted the dialogue was. [Will Murray Script, Steve Ditko Plot pencils].

As I said Squirrel Girl is really creepy with big diamond shapes around her eyes,  Iron Man isn’t that impressed with her (she is only 14 I think) but she proves to be a valuable resource with her squirrels as they overwhelm Dr Doom.

I love when the Marvel books include the letters columns.  And this one does just that.  There’s lot of funny letters and its cool to hear the voices of the creators.