Category Archives: Pop Culture

Having won the title of World’s Best Comic Book Store, Ann Arbor’s Vault of Midnight plots global domination

By Mark | February 25, 2013

After years of shopping at Ann Arbor’s much-beloved comic book shop Vault of Midnight, I finally had the occasion a few weeks ago, at an event hosted by Concentrate Media, to meet the store’s founder Curtis Sullivan. What started as a friendly conversation on the current state of Ann Arbor retail quickly escalated into an [...]

Also posted in Ann Arbor, Art and Culture, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Retail, Uncategorized | Tagged Ann Arbor Skate Park, Art Prize, Batman, Comic Book Men, comic books, comics, Conan, Concentrate Media, Curtis Sullivan, Doctor Strange, Elizabeth Sullivan, entrepreneurism, entrepreneurship, Eye of Agamotto, games, Grand Rapids, graphic novels, Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash, Jim Ottaviani, Kevin Smith, Ming Chen, Morrison Restaurants, Norm Harris, retail in Ann Arbor, Ruby Tuesdays, Steve Fodale, superheroes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, toys, Vault of Midnight, vinyl figures, Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award | 18 Comments

The making of a Shirley Hemphill

By Mark | January 6, 2013

I have no idea how accurate my memory is, but, about 25 years ago, while flipping through television stations late one night, I happened across one of Shirley Hemphill’s comedy routines. Shirley Hemphill, for those of you who don’t recognize the name, is probably best known for her portrayal of Shirley Wilson, the short-tempered but [...]

Also posted in Observations, Other, Special Projects, Uncategorized | Tagged Asheville, auditing, bootlegging, cocktails, Doobie Brothers, Elijah Muhammad, Flip Wilson, Good Times, Haywood Nelson, Jenny Jones, L. Ron Hubbard, Louis Farrakhan, Love Boat, Nation of Islam, Puerto Vallarta, Scientology, Shirley Hemphill, Shirley Temple, What's Happening, Xenu, Yakub | 16 Comments

On the possibility that David Lynch will return to television and rapture us into pop culture heaven

By Mark | January 2, 2013

When I said on New Year’s Eve that I had the sense that something better was on the horizon, I was lying. Fearful that a significant number of you might take your lives while watching Ryan Seacrest usher in the new year, I decided to scrap the article that I’d been working on… which was [...]

Also posted in Art and Culture | Tagged Dale Cooper, David Lynch, NBC, rapture, Ryan Seacrest, Twin Peaks | 13 Comments

Spin subscribers get fucked

By Mark | December 26, 2012

When ReadyMade magazine stopped publishing, they sent a letter to Linette, telling her that, for the remainder of her subscription, she’d be receiving the decidedly less hip 1950s journal of the American housewife intent on keeping up with the Joneses, Better Homes and Gardens. I thought that was hilarious, but it’s no where near as [...]