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journal - 2000-0827 - sun 2130 CDs and Donald Duck The heat wave continues unabated, withering and mummifying the region. If you goes outside, the only sounds will be the swish of the sprinklers and the whirl of the air conditioners. Rain has become an alien concept. Liquid mirages glimmer and boil on the asphalt. Alas, there is little to report of significant value. Existence flows on around me. That which pricks my imagination is neither dramatic or startling. No sexual escapades with a Marine. No emotional involvement with a jockey. But then, this is nothing new. The highlight of my overheated day was a visit to the second-hand CD store. For the first time, I took a list. The very young clerk, who looks like he might be 16, asked if he could be of help. So he and I searched their database for a variety of artists from Son Volt to Moby. Very knowlegable guy. Shared with him a couple of Internet sites - wfmu.org and radio-gogaga. At least one of life's pleasures is discovering some great sounds and groups. Or playing a CD you've had for a couple of years and realizing how great it is. Or stumbling across a great find. In this case, last Monday evening, I was listening to one of the Music Choice Channels on cable, Showcase I think, and bumped into a program called "Outsounds" - new works by gay and lesbian artists. Will need to check the web site at twcjam.com for more info. (I was trying to figure out what twcjam stood for, then I got it - Duuuuhhhh - Time Warner Cable.) The great comic artist, Carl Barks, has died at the age of 99. In the 40s he started work for Disney doing the Donald Duck stories for Four Color Comics and Walt Disney Comic and Stories. He managed to imbue his drawings with wit, charm and vitality. Wonderful plots and funny dialogue. He made Donald into this splendid character at the mercy of "the benign indifference of the universe." I can remember reading the Disney comics as a wee kid and realizing that some were so much better than others. Of course, those were the ones done by Barks. It has only been recently that comic artists have become known to the outside world, so I had no idea who the artist was. Then I came upon my first copy of the Overstreet Price Guide which featured a piece about Barks. It turned out to be a wonderful discovery. On and off for about ten years, I collected comics by Barks. But the prices and values have soared to such an extent that I can no longer afford to. PAX!
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