the stuffs inside my head that must get out
archives
Thu, 28 Dec 2006
100 things we didn't know last year
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Tue, 19 Dec 2006
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Thu, 14 Dec 2006
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Fri, 08 Dec 2006
Another new comics community website that recently started is Comicspace.com. It's basically like Friendster or MySpace but dedicated to the comics community. Check out my page and add me to your list of friends!
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Mon, 04 Dec 2006
help me test my secret project
www.comicbookshelf.com
I've been working on and off for about a year on a top secret new website for rating and reviewing graphic novels called ComicBookShelf.com that I think some of you may like. Please help me out by going to the site and creating an account and review some graphic novels. If you run into any trouble. Please click on the 'help' link and leave a message on the help board. Thanks in advance!
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Mon, 27 Nov 2006
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Sun, 26 Nov 2006
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Fri, 24 Nov 2006
Alan Moore's lost crossover epic
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Wed, 22 Nov 2006
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Mon, 20 Nov 2006
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Sun, 19 Nov 2006
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Sat, 11 Nov 2006
2 great tastes that taste great together!
If you know me well, you know that two of my favorite passtimes are reading comic books and picking locks. In fact, I had plans to do a comic book guide to picking locks, but it looks like the guys at Locksport International beat me to the punch!
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hulk for hire
This is some funny stuff:
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Sat, 04 Nov 2006First up we've got free passes for a sneak preview of Harsh Times with the best Batman since Adam West: Christian Bale. Each pass admits 2 people on Monday November 6 at 7pm. Here's the trailer.
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World of Warcraft Card Game in stock
If you can take a moment between your epic battles online, you may want to check out the red hot World of Warcraft Customizable Card Game. The cards contain codes that will unlock cosmetic upgrades within the MMORPG of the same name. Get them while they last!
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In a somewhat morbid story Forbes makes a list of the top 10 dead money-makers. Cartoonist Charles Schulz comes in at 3rd place, just after Kurt Cobain and Elvis Presley. Something tells me ol' Sparky will still be clocking major ducats long after people stop caring about Cobain.
Thu, 26 Oct 2006
I've had customers asking me about drawer boxes for a while now. It's basically a long comics box within a stackable sleeve that lets you get to the boxes at the bottom of your stack without breaking your back. Come on in and check out the demo unit today.
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Tue, 24 Oct 2006
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Mon, 23 Oct 2006
Doonesbury's Garry Trudeau profiled
I've been a huge Doonesbury fan for many years. I've been reading it since well before I had any idea what any of the strips actually meant politically, I just read it for the gags and the funny characters. Over the years I really got into the strip and searched out the old books so I could read it from the early years, many of which were published before I was even born, let alone knew how to read.
It's more than just political satire, although it is that. It's really a satire of modern life and the people who surround us. I simply can't say enough good things about the strip. Go read this article that looks in-depth at the man I consider to be America's greatest active (and living) newspaper strip cartoonist.
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Sat, 21 Oct 2006I'm not sure how long the video embedded above these words will last, but I just felt like linking to one of my all time favorite cartoons. Enjoy it while it lasts. Below these words you will find the 1995 sequel, Another Froggy Evening also directed by master animator Chuck Jones. I think the original is a lot better for a lot of reasons, but I'll let you judge for yourself.
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some things never go out of style
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Steve Ditko's high school yearbook
Now's your chance to get a piece of the private life of the most reclusive man in comics. That's something like the world's slowest 3-toed sloth. That picture makes me think that Peter Parker was practically a self-portrait.
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Mon, 16 Oct 2006
Greatest American Hero Costume
There are links at the bottom to some other silly superhero costumes and the saddest looking Captain America shield since Reb Brown's windscreen.
Sat, 14 Oct 2006
There's been a lot of Marmaduke madness going on lately. Supermasterpiece.com runs The Marmaduke Project as a public resource to round up all the bits of Marmaduke effluvia floating around the internet. Marmaduke Can Vote is a blog dedicated to altering the content of Marmaduke to function as a political cartoon. My very favorite is the aptly named Joe Mathlete Explains Today's Marmaduke which is exactly what it claims to be, but it much funnier than I can even explain.
Needless to say, Brad Anderson is not affiliated with any of these sites, which may explain why they're so doggone funny. Enjoy!
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Thu, 12 Oct 2006
Better late than never, Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's macabre masterpiece From Hell is back in print and in stock now at Hijinx. Besides the new cover on the softcover, we've also got a small quantity of the new hardcover version that looks like the scariest high school history book I've ever seen. This book wasn't solicited through the normal channels, so you probably won't see them many other places.
If you haven't read From Hell yet, you're in for a treat. It's a dense work full of historical allusions and conspiracies as old and dark as any known. Terrifying and magnificent, this book delivers on many levels. A must read for any Alan Moore fan that makes V for Vendetta look like a warm-up exercise!
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Wed, 11 Oct 2006
Frank Miller's 300 trailer
Here's a trailer for the big screen adaptation of Frank Miller's period epic 300.
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Tue, 10 Oct 2006
The server move is complete and the store's operations have been upgraded with the very latest in high tech gizmos and gewgaws. The dynamo has been refitted with a spry young hamster and a year's worth of feeding pellets. You should see that little guy run!
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Fri, 06 Oct 2006
Sorry for the sluggish performance on the site lately, but it's for good reason. Our site is moving from the teeny little Munchkinland of a server it's on now to a colossal Emerald City of a machine somewhere deep in the heart of a magical realm known as Texas. And everyone knows you don't mess with Texas.
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Wed, 27 Sep 2006
Can you guess who painted the quaint picture above, titled "tea kitchen"? Make a guess and then click on the painting to see who did it and to see more of their work.
Mon, 25 Sep 2006
Apparently September 25th is National Comic Book Day. I've never even heard of such a holiday until another retailer said he heard about it on NPR today. He googled it and came up with this rather sketchy definition. If an entire messageboard full of comic shop owners has never heard of it, what chance does it have of permeating the collective conciousness of Joe and Jane Punchclock?
Starting now, National Comic Book Day will no longer wallow in obscurity. I vow to celebrate it every year from now on. So if you come in the store today and say "Happy National Comic Book Day", you'll get a free comic book!
Tue, 05 Sep 2006Finally, the question is answered: What if Stan Lee wrote the Watchmen? Funny stuff!
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Wed, 30 Aug 2006
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Sun, 27 Aug 2006
what I've always wanted for Christmas but never known
logarithmic image transformation
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Sat, 19 Aug 2006
Wally Wood's 22 panels that always work
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Orson Welles and the frozen peas
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Tue, 25 Jul 2006
happy birthday to me
Today the Hijinx Head Honcho turns 31. An old man and still reading funny books.
Hey hep-cats, go check out the first new Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers strip in over ten years! Enjoy.
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Fri, 23 Jun 2006
led mod for free Green Lantern ring
Some customers have expressed disappointment over the new Green Lantern Corps power rings we've been giving away with purchase of Green Lantern Corps #1. Besides the fact that they barely fit an adult hand, older customers remember the glow in the dark goodness of the last power ring giveaway back in the early nineties.
Never one to let down my customers, I just finished work on modifying my ring to sport a mini green led and a thumb activated switch to make it light up in your hand! Just follow these steps:
- drill a 3mm hole through the center of the ring
- superglue a 3mm green led through the bottom of the ring
- attach wires to positive and negative
- connect the positive wire to bump switch
- solder switch to positive and negative sides of a 3v coin cell
- recite green lantern corps oath
guess who?
Check out this member profile on the SanJose.com business reviews. Can you guess which local chain of comic book stores that this user owns? Now don't get me wrong, rating your own stores as great is natural, but rating every other store in the area as the lowest and yours as the highest is a pretty lame move if you ask me.
You didn't ask me, but I'm asking you to check out that page and to honestly rate any of the stores you've been to. I'm not asking you to give Hijinx the highest rating, just be honest in your assessment of the various shops featured.
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Mon, 05 Jun 2006
One fan who admits he had too much time on his hands went and did what I'll dare say we've all wanted to do at one time in our lives: He made a Thing suit out of real rocks. Then he wore it in public and actually won awards with it. I love America!
Fri, 02 Jun 2006
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Sun, 28 May 2006
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Mon, 22 May 2006
happy birthday Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
5/22/1859
10 Things I Hate About Commandments
Did you know that the banjo is one of very few musical instruments invented in these here United States? Check out this segment of The Late Show with David Letterman featuring a group called Men with Banjos Who Know How to Use Them featuring a very familiar and funny face sitting in. Along with some hardcore banjo pickin' by Earl Scruggs and a piano solo by Paul Schafer that's really fantastic.
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Fri, 12 May 2006
how Batman really spent that missing year
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Sun, 30 Apr 2006
essential elements of life #1 sriracha
This is the first in a series of posts dedicated to items that I find essential in my day to day activities. If you are ever looking for a gift for me, anything from these posts will do nicely.
We'll kick it off with the official website of the most delicious condiment on earth. Sriracha is more than just a hot sauce, it's one of those ingredients I find myself reaching for again and again. A delicious sauce can be made with 4 parts spicy brown mustard and 1 part sriracha. Perfect on hotdogs or for dipping eggrolls!
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Fri, 28 Apr 2006Bad haircuts and myspace.com just seem to go together. Demonbaby has made two lists comparing haircuts found on myspace with super-hair from both Marvel and DC respectively. This is very funny stuff.
Mon, 24 Apr 2006Sunday at the Maker Faire was tons of fun, and I saw tons of customers there too. I was rocking my Free Comic Book Day hat and taking pictures of all the cool stuff I saw. I was inspired by all the homebrew tech, so I came home that evening and came up with an ultra-simple LED flashlight using only one LED, a battery, a bottle cap and a bit of gaffer's tape. The result is the gafflite:
You actually don't even need the bottle cap, all of the connections are made with the gaff tape. One prong of the led is taped flat to the bottom side of the battery (make sure the longest prong is connected to the positive side of the battery). The other prong is bent so it is just out of contact. Then it's wrapped in tape and it lights up when you squeeze gently. I decided to put the whole shebang in a plastic soda bottle cap to add some structural stability, and so that it wouldn't turn on in my pocket. I then added another layer of gaff tape (truly, the adhesive tape of the gods) and the whole thing is ready to go!
I was shocked at how simple it was to make, yet how well it works. I'll try to post more details here soon, or just come into the store and I'll show you how to do it. If you don't have any gaffer's tape handy you can probably use duct tape or some other lesser grade of tape, but nothing beats the real deal!
Sun, 23 Apr 2006
maker faire day 1
I spent a good 5 hours at the Maker Faire, and I can't wait to get back there tomorrow! Everything from DIY robots to home windmills to steam-powered rc vehicles and anything else interesting you can think of! Then just when it seems like there's there's nothing left that could surprise you, you spy the Woz playing Segway polo.
There were all kinds of nutty hacked bicycles just lying around, and folks were encouraged to ride around on them. In fact, here's a picture of the one I was riding around on:
I came away with my head swimming with great ideas for wacky projects and kooky contraptions. Watch for them coming soon!
Thu, 20 Apr 2006
Remember ads like the one above? It was ususally a pirate or a hobo or something, but it was always a pitch for the Famous Artists correspondence course. You'd send for a free test that had you draw various pictures and send it in for evaluation and admission to the correspondence school. It always sort of seemed like a scam to me, but in reality it was really cool.
As for the "famous artists" who contributed chapters to the course, how's this for a list of luminaries:
- Norman Rockwell
- Rube Goldberg
- Al Capp
- Milton Caniff
- and many more...
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Wed, 19 Apr 2006
Ever wonder who the genius was to come up with the name "He-Man" as the main character in the Masters of the Universe toy line? How unoriginal can you get, right? Turns out there was a method to this mediocrity, and it was masterminded by a man named Roger Sweet.
Tue, 18 Apr 2006
Secret Wars Re-Enactment Society
Pure genius!
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Sun, 16 Apr 2006
Happy Easter!
Ever get up in the morning and wonder where the closest labyrinth to your home is? Me neither, but in case you ever do, check out this labyrinth locator. Just supply your zip code and you'll be served up with the closest maze to your home. I put in the store zip code just for a larf and I found one not even a block away from my house! Truly a-MAZE-ing. God, that's a lame joke....
Sat, 08 Apr 2006
mentos + diet coke = too much fun!
The Flintstones was the first ever prime-time animated series on television. Hanna Barbara studios wanted to expand the market for animation beyond just children's entertainment. This ad is a good example of the demographic they were trying to reach. I just wish I could find the fabled Yogi Bear Colt 45 malt liquor commercial!
Sun, 02 Apr 2006
I read about this cool LED animation project for bike wheels on Make magazine's website. It seems like a cool idea, so I may have to do this to my bike soon.
Sat, 01 Apr 2006
happy customers make me happy!
excerpted from an email from one such customer:
I am the gentleman that visited you from Humboldt county (as your friend made the joke about) and had my son with me. I have to say I appreciate you being courteous to my son. It wasn't so much the Spider-man Hero Clix (as you could have probably made a sale out of your case), but more with letting him read the trade paperbacks. He is fairly careful but people still tend to be a bit nervous with a child handling their product. Obviously the longer he is occupied, the more I could buy, but I didn't get that feeling from you. I think you were just polite.
I did enjoy your store and you were right that I did find something, but I still get excited about back issues or discounted comics. Trades are nice, but I would prefer the actual issues (just my preference). Everyone is different. Regardless, I found some at the other stores, but you were by far, the best in customer relations. Not too pushy, but available. I also thought the store had a very clean appearance (as too much propaganda can bog a store down) and the stools to invite people to really take the time to decide on a purchase or not was the first I have seen at a comic store that didn't include gaming.
Nice store location and professional web site. I actually visited your web site prior to my trip and scanned it briefly. The last thing I will mention is that you (and most of the other people in San Jose) were incredibly friendly. I come from southern California and politeness is a thing of the past. I moved to Humboldt because of the general nature of the town and the fact that there wasn't as many people.. Yet your city is very large, I still felt very comfortable there. Keep up the great service and demeanor (plus your enthusiasm) and I'm sure you won't have any problems wherever you go. Thanks again for the Hero Clix and the comics. I hope to do business with you again someday.
-Adam
I'm misting up over here! Now I just need to know if somebody sent this as an April Fool's Day joke!
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Fri, 31 Mar 2006
April 1 marks my 4th year in business, and the 24th year of continuous customer service in our humble Willow Glen location. It simply wouldn't be possible without the most loyal customers in creation. You've put up with a million new floorplan designs (new one coming soon!) and have really responded well to the changes I've put into place.
People still come in and ask where the action figures and baseball cards went, but more often than not they still end up leaving with comics. That's a good feeling. An even better one are the frequent family shopping trips by moms and dads with kids in tow. It really jazzes me when I hear a kid talking about how they just can't wait for the next volume of Fruits Basket or the latest issue of Ultimate Spider-Man.
I've honestly never been more excited about what I'm doing, and every day brings new challenges and a chance to interact with fun people. I promise to do this until it isn't fun anymore, and the good news is that doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon. I've learned more in the past 4 years than I did in the same amount of time in college.
Thanks again for letting me live out my childhood dream. Speaking of dreams come true, keep watching this space for details about the 24th anniversary sale. I know I say this every year, but this year is going to be the craziest sale ever, as I add hundreds of $1 graphic novels to the infamous sidewalk sale experience!
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Mon, 20 Mar 2006
Cleaning up the mess
Bear with me folks, I'm finally getting all of the loose ends tied up in getting this website moved over to another server. I'd been mooching free web hosting from a buddy for years now, and everything went ker-blooey while he was vacationing in Egypt. Sorry for the interruption of service, but we're back and things are looking better than ever. I've got some cool new features ready to roll out soon, so get ready.
If there's stuff that you usually use on this site that is broken or working funny, please email me and let me know. Thanks for your patience!
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Mon, 27 Feb 2006
democracy at work
You may not know it yet, but you need democracy. Democracy is like having a Tivo for internet videos, also known as podcasts. It combines bittorrent downloads with syndicated RSS "channels" and the open source VLC video player to make a rock simple interface for downloading and watching video on your computer, in full-screen. Think of it like Itunes for video, except everything is free, including the tools for making your own channels. This may be the killer app of the coming age of entertainment. Get it and have fun!
Wondercon has come and gone, and I had a blast. Moscone West is a little smaller than the Eastern complex, but it's also newer, nicer and easier to navigate.
My panel on the future of comic book retailing went swell, thanks to the sparkling banter of panelists Lee Hester (Lee's Comics),Steve Mortensen (Colossus Comics), Rory Root (Comic Relief) and James Sime (The Isotope). I'm proud to consider all of these fine comics retailers friends and colleagues, not merely competitors. Each brings their own unique approach to selling comics, and I suggest you check them all out for yourself.
There were guest stars galore and tons of new projects announced. Nothing excited me as much as the return of Gumby to comics.
I loved the old Comico Gumby Summer Fun and Winter Fun Specials. Besides lovely full-color art by Art Adams and hilarious scripts by Bob "Flaming Carrot" Burden and Steve "Sam and Max" Purcell, these comics also had a goofy sense of fun that's been absent from mainstream comics for a long time.
A new bi-monthly Gumby series is coming, again written by Bob Burden, but this time with art by the legendary Rick Geary! The publisher also told be there was a new Art Adams Gumby comic coming, followed by a collection of the originals soon. I'm in Gumby heaven!
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Mon, 13 Feb 2006
Little Boy is an art exhibition of Japanese subculture. Amazing stuff
like the above Gamera dissection and more weird stuff than you can
shake a chopstick at. As first seen on BoingBoing.
Pleo is an autonomous robotic lifeform in the shape of a baby dinosaur. It will be for sale later this year and should go for about $200. I think I may need one for the store, but first I need to build a miniature scale model of Tokyo.
Fri, 27 Jan 2006
legos + rubik's cube = lonely nights
As if a rubik's cube made out of legos wasn't dorky enough:
Here's a rubik's cube solving machine made out of legos:
an answer to that age old question:
I get a lot of hits on this website from folks all over the world and I'm often asked if I know of any good shops in their area. To help answer this question I've created the ultimate comic shop map. It's a google map with a listing of stores who've contacted me via the internet. It's pitifully far from complete, but with some help from you folks and folks like you, we can flesh out the list.
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Mon, 16 Jan 2006I came across an awesome website about penny stacking structures today on boingboing and I had to make some of my own. They are surprisingly sturdy and easy to make, even with ham hands like mine. There's no glue involved, it's purely the weight of the pennies keeping it all up.
They make some pretty incredible structures on the website and I really recommend checking it out and trying this yourself. You can use any denomination of coin you want, or even poker chips, but for really big structures the cost starts adding up quickly.
Thu, 12 Jan 2006
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The pigs are also subject to another anomaly in which the angrier they get the tastier they become when barbecued.
Wed, 11 Jan 2006
A Refinement of Markov Models Using Hew
Some of you may know that I'm a bit of an amateur scientist, and in my spare time I work on papers for various scientific journals. Please take a look at my latest paper, A Refinement of Markov Models Using Hew. This is a fairly revolutionary text that threatens to unseat conventional thinking in several disciplines.
Actually, that paper was automatically generated via SciGen, a program that generates grammatically correct scientifict gobbledy-gook. Much like what they spout off in a typical episode of Star Trek, but with just enough current buzzwords to sound correct. Several of the papers generated by SciGen have actually been published in peer-reviewed journals!
Fri, 06 Jan 2006
I was an early adopter of the original Lego Mindstorms robotics kit. I built some cool stuff with it, but I quickly got frustrated with it's limitations. This new kit looks a lot slicker, and it comes with some new sensors that look like they'd be fun to fool around with. I think I'll need to wait a few years before I can have that robot cashier I've always wanted.
Does this website remind you of another site? Perhaps the one you're reading right now? It should, since it is built using the same software. Software that you can download here if you care about such things.
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