I remember the first time the guys in the comic book shop called me 'Sir.' I couldn't have been thirty, and yet to them I was already well past my prime, an old dude, the kind of guy who buys the expensive back issues, the ones printed before even their fathers were born. It was true, especially the back issue part, if a comic was out on the newsstand in the past 30+ years and I don't have it, it's because I didn't want it in the first place. For the longest time I was relegated to that lofty status of 'serious collector,' competing with the middle schoolers for the latest issue of Archie Comics. But today I've cast that status aside. Why? you may ask.
Because today I am no longer the oldest person in the comic book shop.
My comic shop here in Pasadena is a great store, and its got a very eclectic clientele. It's a stone's throw from PCC - Pasadena City College - so there are tons of just-graduated high school kids, and then are slightly older people, guys in their 20s with a little disposable income. And there are chicks too, not just the ones dragged inside by their boyfriends. And men and women about my age, who really grew up with the advent of comics as a semi-serious medium, and then there are the old dudes. I mean older than me old dudes.
A few of them write for television sitcoms, the guys in the store have told me as much, and at least one is a physician, and several are money managers. So I'm reasonably confident I haven't been the oldest in the comic shop for quite some time. But today I saw the guy that confirmed my suspicions (hopes?). He was short, thick, and with shiny white hair and a shiny white beard to match. Cut short so it's easy to manage.
He was behind me in line, and I didn't see him until I had paid and was about to leave, but when I saw him I almost heaved a sigh of relief. Seriously, I almost shook his hand because he had taken over my status as Oldest Man in the Comic Shop. And he's taken it over by long shot, so I'm not gonna regain that title any time soon. What a relief.
Now if I can just get someone to take my title of Most Indecisive Person in the Doughnut Store...
Showing posts with label DNA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DNA. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Thursday, September 17, 2009
From My Bookshelf
Wow, it's been a while since I've done a 'From My Bookshelf' post. It's not like I have a shortage of books, either. Just slipped my mind, I suppose.
This time I'm getting all science-y, but in a fun way. 'How is that possible?' you ask. 'Science isn't fun, it's done in classrooms that smell like formaldehyde and cranky old man. It's something for eggheads, not for us hip youngsters with our long hair and permissive attitudes.'
To which I say 'Au contraire, mon ami.' And this book is proof of the awesome coolness of science. And of science writers.
The Stuff of Life: a graphic guide to genetics and DNA by Mark Schultz illustrated by Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon
This is a 'graphic novel' which is a five-dollar word for 'comic book' that fools no one. However, in this case the term is apt, because it really is a very straightforward, earnest elucidation of the complexities of genetics, presented in panels of well-drawn pictures. No guys in tights punching each other here.
I remember when I was learning genetics I could read all the text in the world and have it mean nothing to me. When the teacher drew a Mendelian square on the chalkboard, it all started coming together. Imagine that clarity, but extended for all genetics, including how DNA strands are constructed and replicated. If you have a student in a biology class - or ARE a student in a biology class - you should run out and get this book, it's that good.
Mark Schultz is a longtime comics writer, who has won two Eisners. That's like winning two Oscars, if you don't know comics.
Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon are comic artists, who are responsible, along with Alan Moore, for the incredible Top 10 series, which is also something you should check out. They're not actually related, they just have the same last name. Seriously.
This time I'm getting all science-y, but in a fun way. 'How is that possible?' you ask. 'Science isn't fun, it's done in classrooms that smell like formaldehyde and cranky old man. It's something for eggheads, not for us hip youngsters with our long hair and permissive attitudes.'
To which I say 'Au contraire, mon ami.' And this book is proof of the awesome coolness of science. And of science writers.
The Stuff of Life: a graphic guide to genetics and DNA by Mark Schultz illustrated by Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon
This is a 'graphic novel' which is a five-dollar word for 'comic book' that fools no one. However, in this case the term is apt, because it really is a very straightforward, earnest elucidation of the complexities of genetics, presented in panels of well-drawn pictures. No guys in tights punching each other here.
I remember when I was learning genetics I could read all the text in the world and have it mean nothing to me. When the teacher drew a Mendelian square on the chalkboard, it all started coming together. Imagine that clarity, but extended for all genetics, including how DNA strands are constructed and replicated. If you have a student in a biology class - or ARE a student in a biology class - you should run out and get this book, it's that good.
Mark Schultz is a longtime comics writer, who has won two Eisners. That's like winning two Oscars, if you don't know comics.
Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon are comic artists, who are responsible, along with Alan Moore, for the incredible Top 10 series, which is also something you should check out. They're not actually related, they just have the same last name. Seriously.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Mom Tricks
Do you know how little kids can tell you're trying to feed them something healthy?
You won't tell them what it is until they've tasted it.
The first time I can remember my mother doing this I was between two and three years old. I know it was then because my little sister had invaded the house, but she hadn't reached her first birthday yet. My mother put some green stuff on my plate - why is it always green? - and I just stared at it, expecting it to do something. I asked her what it was, because it certainly didn't look edible to me, I thought maybe she had gotten my plate and the baby's mixed up somehow.
"Just try it, you'll like it," my mother said.
I remember the words specifically, because even to this day as far as I'm concerned that phrase is shorthand for 'I'm tricking you into eating something really, really gross.' And it was zucchini, and it was gross. But because I was three-ish, I didn't really have a choice, I had to eat it. No civil disobedience in my parents' house.
Little kids are smarter than you think, they know when you're trying to put one over on them, they just don't have the vocabulary to let you know that they know what you're doing. So if you want to really trick little kids, when you try to feed them something healthy, just lie to them. Tell them the grody zucchini is cake and then the next time you really do have cake, maybe they'll think twice before gobbling it down.
You won't tell them what it is until they've tasted it.
The first time I can remember my mother doing this I was between two and three years old. I know it was then because my little sister had invaded the house, but she hadn't reached her first birthday yet. My mother put some green stuff on my plate - why is it always green? - and I just stared at it, expecting it to do something. I asked her what it was, because it certainly didn't look edible to me, I thought maybe she had gotten my plate and the baby's mixed up somehow.
"Just try it, you'll like it," my mother said.
I remember the words specifically, because even to this day as far as I'm concerned that phrase is shorthand for 'I'm tricking you into eating something really, really gross.' And it was zucchini, and it was gross. But because I was three-ish, I didn't really have a choice, I had to eat it. No civil disobedience in my parents' house.
Little kids are smarter than you think, they know when you're trying to put one over on them, they just don't have the vocabulary to let you know that they know what you're doing. So if you want to really trick little kids, when you try to feed them something healthy, just lie to them. Tell them the grody zucchini is cake and then the next time you really do have cake, maybe they'll think twice before gobbling it down.
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