Sunday, December 23, 2007

Dr. Hal Shall Be There!*

Dr. Hal has confirmed that, * short of any travel complications impacting his own show, he will be at The Tenth Anniversary Final SubGenius Devival in Seattle this April.

If you are not familiar with Dr. Hal, AKA Dr. Howl, Dr. Howland Owll, and just plain Harry S. Robins, you just aren't paying any attention. He's one of those few men who prefer the gentleman bohemian lifestyle over making a vast fortune by selling out on just one of his immense talents. He seems utterly out of place in this century, and yet it's clear that he's far more ready for the 21st Century than most bipeds.

His stage show, Ask Dr. Hal, is beloved among San Franscisco intellegencia and hipsters for his encyclopedic grasp of almost any subject of which they might ask, and for a mere dollar apiece, they do. His presence on the 25-year-old KPFA SubGenius radio show hosted by Puzzling Evidence always adds just the right amount of weird gravitas to the antics of the other co-hosts, making him beloved of both San Francisco mutants that stay up or get up ridiculously early, and of ALL other SubGenius radio shows. That old-fashioned, mild, articulate voice of his has been occasionally lucrative, whether it's as a co-host on a cable conspiracy-theory show, as a scientist type in video games, or as added color to a documentary on the War On Drugs.

But the voice is but one aspect of the Artist, for he is one of the SubGenius greats in the world of cartooning and illustration. His most recent book, Dinosaur Alphabet, reveals his distinctively staggering level of detail balanced by a hearty use of thick, precise lines. Every SubGenius book of scripture bears his art, and so does that collection of Weirdo comics you were looking at that one time. But of course, he won't be illustrating for us, no.

He shall be preaching the very Wor of "Bob". WITH THAT VOICE.

http://www.askdrhal.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Robins
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0654516/

Prepare Thyselves.

UPDATE: The show date should be NO problem for him.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

The Show Must Go On... And On... And Onnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...!

For some of you, this is old news you've already heard; for others, this is the first you might've heard about it. Apologies to those who wish you were in the former group--it's been crazy.

A week and a day after Thanksgiving, our house was burgled, and all the good computers, among other things, were taken. This includes the computer I was using to work on the devival. The good news there is that pretty much everything of immediate importance to the devival is either online, in other hands, or written in a notebook I keep with me. The bad news is that my technological contributions to the devival will be on the backburner until I have some sort of adequate replacement.

Then it gets worse. Thanks to the flood rains of this week, our damaged roof took on more water, resulting in the living room ceiling bowing and cracking Thursday night. We left for somewhere safer, and when we returned with our handyman friend to check it out, we found a hole in the ceiling and several dozen pounds of soggy debris in the middle of the living room.

WE ARE LEAVING THIS HOUSE.

My family has already left to stay with friends in Columbus while I--with much appreciated help--will be packing, recycling, selling, giving, and throwing away everything we still have left. As a result, my involvement with the devival must be on a much more hands-off level than before.

I still remain involved, however, albeit I will be coordinating much more than contributing for the time being. I know that ChickenHed is currently looking for a venue, that Andre is ready and able to print as needed, that our financiers are ready to pay for needful expenses. Not even this double-fistful of EeHeeg EeHeen's starsodomy can stop this devival. Let me make this clear:

NOT EVEN.

THIS DEVIVAL IS WILLING ITSELF TO HAPPEN AND IS DETERMINED TO HAPPEN. DO NOT TRY TO STOP IT. YOUR SAFETY AND SANITY LIES IN DOING YOUR BEST TO HELP IT HAPPEN.

I will be emailing individuals as needed to wrap up current items or to provide updates. If any of you have questions, please let me know.