I sing of Roland, glad & big

I'm a big fan of cooking and design shows. The usual challenge is to take something (potatoes, an old t-shirt) and transfrom it into something new.

In movies, this is the difference between remake (Let's do the 15th version of The Front Page) & Tim Burton's Batman.

In literature, this is the difference between plagiarism & backstory.

Backstory only matters if the work is any good. There's a medieval tale called The Song of Roland.  Of course you've heard of it - 12th century anti-Muslim propaganda about a hero betrayed, who doesn't let a little thing like a mortal wound slow him down. Got respun into a tale of some near-forgotten African bush wars of the mid-late 20th century:



Anyhow, since it's Kulturkampf time, might as well open a new front.


A couple more (earlier recs )online comics - Questionable Content has run for years about a Northampton coffeeshop.

&  SuperRedundant

come from a modern cultural perspective - geeky, freely fantastic, with none of the old time hangups.

One of the more intense battlegrounds of cultural perspective is the comment section of Luann. When Luann finally went into her bedroom with her not-quite boyfriend, the battle was on between those who thought it was just nasty & those who thought it was about fucking time. As the inaction stretched over days, it was nice to see them finally unite

in fierce condemnation of Greg Evans for recycling his cop-out from her last beau.

Happy National Blow Stuff Up Day!