Tom Spurgeon Birthday Memorial Episode

Virtual Memories Show:
Tom Spurgeon
Birthday Memorial Episode

“The thing about Tom was, he wasn’t necessarily interested in everything you were interested in, but he was interested in learning about WHY you were interested in it. That sort of curiosity is rare, and it’s part of what made him a special person.”

Today (Dec. 16) would have been Tom Spurgeon‘s birthday. To honor my best friend after his untimely death, this mini-episode has my remarks from his memorial service this past weekend at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum in Columbus, OH. Give it a listen! And go support your favorite artists, whether by Patreon, direct donation, or buying some of their artwork!

“Tom provided support, raised attention to injustices in the field, directed people to lesser-known creators who he thought deserved a look, and — I know it sounds hokey — tried to make a better world for people. And he did it without expectation of financial reward.”

“His combo of intellect, passion, sociability and lack of an angle is not going to be seen again, and I dread what the years ahead will look like for that field.”

“Since we mainly communicated by e-mail over the decades, we got to try to be closer to our ideal selves for each other.”

“A few nights ago, when I was trying to write this, I thought, ‘Man, I should zap Tom a draft of this. He’d know how to make it work.’ So if it sucks, blame Tom.”

Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes!

Lots of ways to follow The Virtual Memories Show! iTunes, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TuneIn, Tumblr, and RSS!

Credits: These remarks were recorded at Tom Spurgeon’s memorial service at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum on a Zoom H5 digital recorder. I recorded the intro and outro on a Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone feeding into a Cloudlifter CL-1 and a Mackie Onyx Blackjack 2×2 USB Recording Interface. All processing and editing done in Adobe Audition CC. Photo of Tom by Meghan Ralston. Photo of me by Amy Roth. 

Episode 149 – Keith Knight

slipperyrockkeithknight

Virtual Memories Show #149: Keith Knight

“The talk about race in America hinges on how comfortable white people are with it. Because once white people are too uncomfortable, they’ll either say you’re pulling the race card, or just say, ‘Enough.'”

IMG_3026-500x375

We kick off 2016 with gentleman cartoonist Keith Knight! Keith & I met up at a cafe in Chapel Hill to talk about comics, race, fixing the Star Wars prequels, his career as a Michael Jackson impersonator, the literature course that made him a political artist, his campus lecture tour on race relations, the importance of crowdfunding, the reasons he continues with a daily comic strip (and two more strips), why you never see black people on Antiques Roadshow, the songs that will turn any party out (excluding tracks by MJ and Prince), the case for Off The Wall over Thriller, whether it’s an honor or a disgrace to be the first non-white guest on this podcast in two years, and more! Give it a listen! (the conversation starts at the 7:30 mark)

“The comics industry needs to catch up to its audience, because the creative side is not as diverse is not as diverse as their readers.”

BONUS: I launch a Patreon for the Virtual Memories Show! You get to hear me talk about all the neat stuff I’m planning for the show if we get enough support from listeners like you!

23273299040_e9a147f98d_z

Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes! You might like:

Follow The Virtual Memories Show on iTunes, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and RSS!

About our Guest

Keith Knight is many things to many people–rapper, social activist, father and educator among them. He’s also one of the funniest and most highly regarded cartoonists in America, and the creator of three popular comic strips: the Knight Life, (th)ink, and the K Chronicles. For nearly two decades, this multi-award-winning artist has brought the funny back to the funny pages with a uniquely personal style that’s a cross between Calvin & Hobbes, MAD, and underground comix. Keith Knight is part of a generation of African-American artists who were raised on hip-hop, and infuse their work with urgency, edge, humor, satire, politics and race. His art has appeared in various publications worldwide, including the Washington Post, Daily KOS, San Francisco Chronicle, Salon.com, Ebony, ESPN the Magazine, L.A. Weekly, MAD Magazine, and the Funny Times. His comic musings on race have garnered accolades and stirred controversies, prompting CNN to tap him to grade America on its progress concerning issues of race. Follow him on Twitter and support his work on Patreon.

Credits: This episode’s music is Nothing’s Gonna Bring Me Down by David Baerwald, used with permission of the artist. The conversation was recorded at Caffe Driade in Chapel Hill on a pair of Blue enCORE 200 microphones feeding into a Zoom H5 digital recorder. I recorded the intro and outro on a Blue Yeti USB Microphone. Processing was done in Audacity and Logic Pro. “Yellow scarf” photos of Mr. Knight by me, no credit for the photo of him with a marker..

Podcast: The Whimsical Barracuda

Virtual Memories – season 3 episode 31 –
The Whimsical Barracuda

“With my brothers, it was like ‘Resistance is futile! You will enjoy horror movies! You will go to comic book conventions! You will learn to love B-movies and worship Tor Johnson and Plan 9 from Outer Space! Shemp Howard must be worshipped!’”

Kipp Friedman is the latest member of a comedic dynasty (so says the subtitle of his new memoir, Barracuda in the Attic). The son of novelist, journalist, playwright and screenwriter Bruce Jay Friedman and brother of cartoonist Drew Friedman and writer/musician Josh Alan Friedman, Kipp has tossed his hat into the ring with a book filled with tales of New York City in the 1960’s and ‘70s, of pop culture education, of living with his divorced dad during his days writing “The Lonely Guy” columns, and more!

“My father was so prolific for so many years as a writer, people would wonder why he never seemed to be working. And yet his stuff kept on being published. I think making it seem effortless rubbed off on his kids. We agonize over everything.”

While in NYC for a series of book readings, Kipp sat down to talk with me about Barracuda in the Attic (Fantagraphics Books), the joys of “growing up Friedman,” hunting for comics and Mad magazines with his brothers, what he misses about New York, what he’ll never forgive the Knicks for, how he ended up with a “real job,” and what it felt like to add a volume to the bookshelf of works by his family. It’s a wonderful perspective on the most creative family any of us will likely ever see!

Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes! Related conversations:

Follow The Virtual Memories Show on iTunes, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and RSS!

About our Guest

Kipp Friedman is a native New Yorker who holds B.A.s in history and journalism from the Universit of Wisconsin-Madison. He began his career as a reporter for several newspapers in south Florida before moving to Wisconsin, where he worked in PR for GE Medical Systems, as marketing and PR director at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, and as a PR consultant for Jewish Family Services of Milwaukee. He is also a professional photographer and has shot more than 300 bar and bat mitzvahs (despite not having been bar mitzvah’d himself). He currently resides in Milwaukee with his wife, Anne. They have a grown son, Max, who is studying to be an architect. Barracuda in the Attic is his first book.

Credits: This episode’s music is When I Write a Book by Rockpile. The conversation was recorded at a hotel in SoHo on a pair of Blue enCORE 200 microphones feeding into a Zoom H4n recorder. The intro and outro were recorded at home on a Blue Yeti USB Microphone. Processing was done in Audacity and Garage Band. Photo of Kipp Friedman by me.

A Little Updatery

Here’s a short post to keep you apprised of things, dear reader/listener!

  • The Virtual Memories Show (VMS) podcast just had its most successful month yet, busting the previous monthly record for downloads by 13%. I don’t chase numbers, but I admit that it makes me happy to know that people are downloading (and maybe listening) to the show.
  • I wrote my first short story in 20+ years last week, after a trip to the Art Institute in Chicago. It’s called Loesser and the Six-Faced Conqueror of Death on a Buffalo. If you want to read it, make a donation of at least $1 in the tip jar! I added a Paypal “donate” button to the site; it’s also at the end of the Podcast Archive page.
  • I put that in place because it’d be nice to get a little money specifically for VMS-related stuff. My day job subsidizes the show (and gives me opportunities to travel and interview guests), and I don’t have any illusions about making a living based on the podcast, but it’d be nice to know if people put any monetary value on the work I do to bring out the show.
  • About Jason Collins: I’m very glad that he felt ready to come out. I was a Nets fan when he played for them, and in those days I was conflicted about cheering for Jason Kidd, despite the fact that Kidd’s arrival turned the team around and propelled them to two NBA Finals appearances. That’s because Kidd got traded to NJ because he beat his wife. But they won, so I rationalized.
  • This is one of those lists. I read 31 of them.

Unrequired Reading: Jewel Eye

It’s time for another month’s worth of my tweets from twitter! First the retweets (the ones that begin with RT) and then the marginally more original ones! Remember, you can get these regularly by following groth18!

In honor of July 4th, we’ll start off with a bang!

RT @felixsalmon (Felix Salmon):

 

* * *

RT @radleybalko (Radley Balko) – Letter from Cory Maye

* * *

RT @sharilynj – Read about @marcmaron‘s powerful keynote address, opening up this year’s #JustForLaughs #jfl

* * *

RT @kylevanblerk (Kyle van Blerk) – A bear. Made out of 20,000 zip ties. As you do.

* * *

RT @susanorlean (Susan Orlean) – Wonderful!! “@NewYorkTheaterNiagara Falls lit with colors of rainbow on 1st day of N.Y.’s Marriage Equality

* * *

RT @LettersOfNote – There’s so much to love about this photo of Jimi Hendrix

* * *

RT FishbowlDC – Find out how the bridge of someone’s nose figures into The Atlantic‘s Megan McArdle’s (@asymmetricinfo) interviews.

* * *

I don’t have kids, and that’s why I side with #GayTalese on dropping serious cash on clothes: #notthatIspendTHATmuch

* * *

Because I don’t like kids, that’s why.

* * *

Heartbreaking article about treating vs. screening #DownSyndrome

* * *

Chinese govt. tries to disprove adage that there’s no such thing as bad publicity: #weallcrashedthetrain

* * *

The art of #RickyGervais.

* * *

The #JewishAutonomousRegion sounds like the Off-World Colonies in Bladerunner: #Jewsinspace

* * *

A Bentley SUV? But what if the NBA lockout doesn’t end soon?

* * *

I’m disappointed the Hercules machine isn’t on this list: #pinball (Hercules is over here)

* * *

Beetlejuice in NJ, via @nycscout

* * *

I thought #PillowTie was the best Skymall product ever, but it’s no match for #DribbleBib

* * *

Oh, look! It’s the scariest goddamned thing ever! #dummyland #ventmyrage

* * *

Oliver’s Army is here to stay: #andiwouldratherbeanywhereelsethanheretoday #cromwell

* * *

Timmy, have you even been in a Norwegian prison?

* * *

The Midgard Serpent sleeps below Park Ave.

* * *

Just #FranLebowitz and her awesome car

* * *

@SimonDoonan on getting married to Jonathan Adler.

* * *

A “thoroughly generic bookstore” (as per my 40th bday post) is closing: #bookberries

* * *

Euroleague’s greatest hoopster is from West Memphis. #MarcusBrown

* * *

Freelove: sister of Increase, mother of Wealthy: #nydutch

* * *

“I’m looking for something hipster-y“: http://nyr.kr/p5opGB

* * *

Can you tell us more often in 1 article that there was no internet in 1981, please? #shittywriting #tigerwoods

* * *

Set taser to #KTFO: #zotz

* * *

The #StopMakingSense fashion collection: #thisisnotmybeautifulcoat (does @davidbyrne know about this?)

* * *

To quote #Nirvana, I think I’m dumb.

* * *

(Hilarious) summer fashion trends, courtesy of @simondoonan.

* * *

Leopard goes ape: #donotconfrontangryleopard

* * *

5 major factors in the #Borders collapse: #bookswithoutborders

* * *

Speaking of: Proving that people surrounded by books can still be total retards: #bookswithoutborders

* * *

Bob Colacello, whose #Warhol memoir Holy Terror I enjoyed the heck out of, auctioned off his portrait by AW.

* * *

On escaping and not escaping #Auschwitz

* * *

Interview Your Own Damn Self!” the #Nabokov way: http://bit.ly/nrtMZQ

* * *

Boy, #SeanBean sure does get killed a lot.

* * *

Transocean: the “I didn’t do it” kid of the gulf oil disaster

* * *

#WoodyAllen on Rilke, selling out Hannah & Her Sisters, and that new movie of his

* * *

Lovely photos of writers & their dogs by #JillKrementz (no greyhounds, I notice)

* * *

“Using .NET is like Fred Flintstone building a database”: Why #Myspace went boom

* * *

Why is weed wacky? #potluck

* * *

M(ormon)BA: Mormons are the new Jews? #wedressbetter

* * *

Does the mind rule the body, or does the body rule the Ren? #renandstimpy

* * *

Holocaust theory: #saturdaynightreading

* * *

Busch-basching: http://buswk.co/pJrg9k

* * *

Peter O’Toole on being awesome. #doublephallicname

* * *

Nothing harder than getting laughs from a room full of comedy writers: http://bit.ly/poW20I

* * *

I miss Karen Allen, but I’m still glad I skipped that last #IndianaJones flick.

* * *

A stoic and a zen buddhist walk into a bar…

* * *

Neat profile of @MaerRoshan that i missed till now: #offmyradar #harhar

* * *

#Hitchens, on the Gandhi myth

* * *

Mob scene: #mafiaTV

* * *

Psst! It’s a secret bookstore! #brazenhead

* * *

Pad See Yew Later, Addiction! #ThaiRehab

* * *

Writer procrastination: (I bought a super-cheap PC laptop and deleted everything but @ommwriter) #mustdisablewifi

* * *

Final meal . . . Cajun-style! (via @wadecortez) http://bit.ly/rukM1M

* * *

Signal-to-noise and old-cooterism, by @binarybits: onforb.es/nRWJTq

* * *

Crisis in Swedish Ballet Training: #WhyILoveMonocle

* * *

The next generation of painkillers will come in small nuggets that you heat up in a pipe and inhale. #drugdelivery

* * *

I still think that #CCTV building’s gonna tip over

* * *

I guess it’s a good thing Brooding Persian isn’t on Twitter. #associationsanddisassociations

* * *

Hegemony from column B: http://bit.ly/ott95H #SinoTheTimes

* * *

Chimpanzee that! He’s a photographer! #GoApe #monkeynews

* * *

@SimonDoonan on the Cute & the Savage: #notanewsoapopera

* * *

Sometimes the gorilla gets the banana, and sometimes the banana gets the gorilla. #GoApe

* * *

Nowhere, special: #NoUtopiaWithoutToddRundgren

* * *

Orwell vs. God

* * *

Building the perfect #KingLear: #Shakespeare

* * *

#WinstonGroom on #TrumanCapote: #getyourmindouttathegutter

* * *

I just want to stay ahead of my illiterate dad: http://bit.ly/kuJPUt (okay, here are all the books I’ve read)

* * *

Chess computers are using PEDs?

* * *

High school time capsule, courtesy of #BourgeoisSurrdender

* * *

In this particular instance, I’ll chose NOT to #belikeMike, thank you: http://bit.ly/iYSriE

* * *

The accordion market gets squeezed: #bwahhaha

* * *

John Lindsay: one suave mofo: #mayorofcool

* * *

To end this month’s installment, I offer 1 Lap of Manhattan in 26 minutes (soundtrack set to Underworld, of course):