Aliens 30th Anniversary / What Am I Doing Here?

Issue No. 68

ALIENS 30TH ANNIVERSARY: THE ORIGINAL COMIC SERIES

Aliens 30th Anniversary: The Original Comic Series
by Mark Verheiden (author) and Mark A. Nelson (illustrator)
Dark Horse Books
2016, 184 pages, 8.3 x 12.4 x 1 inches (hardback)

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Aliens is one of my all-time favorite movies. A perfect mix of action, sci-fi and horror, which I would argue hasn’t been replicated. Then there’s Alien 3, and everything that came after it. I don’t like to talk about that. But, in 1988 after Aliens came and four years before the next movie would come out, this comic series ran which gave me the followup story I wanted.

The series has been published as Aliens: Book One, Aliens: Outbreak, and in novel form as Aliens: Earth Hive (a lot to keep track of), but since these publications were made after Alien 3 came out, names were changed to avoid confusion from the films continuation of the story. So Wilcks = Hicks and Billie = Newt. Thankfully this comic doesn’t do that. This printing features the comic as it was intended to be read with the characters we’re familiar with.

The story picks up a few years after the film ended. An adult Newt and aged Hicks are struggling to deal with the horrors they witnessed, and Ripley is ominously missing. The black-and-white comics really capture the gritty world that the movies take place in, expanding on it in the best way. Although the comic ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, the story is continued in Aliens: Nightmare Asylum, but you will have to deal with the name change of the main characters.

The book itself is beautiful. And black. Very black. It feels like something that was designed by H.R. Giger himself. Why I’m most excited about this rerun of the series is because it gives me some hope at seeing a movie that truly succeeds Aliens. There’s been a lot of back and forth, but Sigourney Weaver, Ellen Ripley herself, has been in talks with Neill Blomkamp (director ofDistrict 9), and the two are championing a new Alien movie. One which might retcon everything that happened in the later movies. This would mean that the cinematic world might very well line up with these comics. It’s a stretch, and might never happen, but I like to dream. Aliens fans will definitely appreciate this one. – JP LeRoux

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WHAT AM I DOING HERE? EXISTENTIAL ABSURDIST CARTOONS FROM THE 1940S

What Am I Doing Here?
by Abner Dean
New York Review Comics
2016, 168 pages, 7 x 0.75 x 9.5 inches

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In the 1930s and 1940s, Abner Dean was a highly sought-after illustrator who drew covers, cartoons, and illustrations for The New Yorker, Esquire, Time, Life, and Newsweek, as well as advertising illustrations for insurance companies and product manufacturers. In 1945, Dean quit his day job and drew the first of seven books that have been described as “existential gag cartoons.”

What Am I Doing Here? is Dean’s second book, and is generally regarded as his best work. It was originally published in 1947. This facsimile edition just came out today and contains about 100 single panel drawings, rendered in India ink and graytone washes (in the classic New Yorker style of gag cartoons).

Dean’s drawings look like cartoons but they aren’t very funny, at least not in the traditional sense. They’re absurdist and disquieting. Everyone is naked and the action takes place either in decrepit urban settings, living rooms filled with grinning desperate characters, or barren surrealistic wastelands. Each drawing features the same hapless character, a lonely youngish man who questions his role in the human race, represented by a crowd that changes its form and behavior from page to page. The people are sometimes club-swinging brutes, other times they are blinkered sleepwalkers, insincere mask-wearers, bloodthirsty mobs, hysterical celebrators, suicidal lemmings, or guru-seeking fools. They often look more like animals than people. The protagonist is at times foolhardy, delusional, disappointed, fearful, proud, insecure, ruthless, or bewildered.

In the introduction, Clifton Fadiman (chief editor of Simon & Schuster in the 1920s and 1930s, and editor of The New Yorker’s book review section for ten years after that) wrote:>

It is pointless to try to “explain” Abner Dean. His pictures are trick mirrors in which we catch sight of those absurd fragments of ourselves that we never see in the smooth glass of habit. Formulae for the art of Abner Dean are irrelevant. What is important is the fact that it jolts you into sudden awareness of your own pathos, your own plight, your own unending and gigantic laughableness.

– Mark Frauenfelder

Books That Belong On Paper first appeared on the web as Wink Books and was edited by Carla Sinclair. Sign up here to get the issues a week early in your inbox.

05/27/25

Pliers and Grips

Tools for Possibilities: issue no. 139

Lightweight ratchets

Pittsburgh Pro Composite Ratchets

I have multiple Snap On, SK, and Craftsman ratchets so when I first head how smooth and nice the action is on the Pittsburgh Pro Composite Ratchets from Harbor Freight I scoffed. A metal mechanism inside a plastic and rubber covered ratchet?

So I tried the 1/4″ and 3/8″ models and all I can say is WOW! I have not tried the 1/2″ model yet, but all three sizes are dirt cheap at under $10, feature lifetime warranties, are light-weight, have a non-conductive body, are “warmer” to use in cold weather, and have a butter smooth 72-tooth ultra-fine ratcheting mechanism. This isn’t to suggest you ditch your regular ratchets for high torque applications (use a breaker bar) but these are quite nice and have earned a place alongside my other ratchets. These are a real gem. — Warren Flearl

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Ergonomic ratcheting wrench

GearWrench X-Beam

These are not your standard combination wrenches. They literally put a twist in it. The working ends are offset from each other by 90 degrees, which makes for a great handle that reduces stress and increases leverage. Beyond its heft and balance, the design of this crescent wrench/box wrench ratchet is much more comfortable, especially for repetitive tasks. By twisting the axis, that non-working end now makes for a more natural handle that diffuses pressure into the palm and across the fingers. The shaft of the tool is also slightly longer than many combo wrenches (small increases in shaft length greatly increase torque, or conversely decrease force required to achieve required torque).

I’ve been using this wrench for three months in near daily use. As a solar installer I use my gear heavily in adverse conditions: bolting solar modules to rooftops. When other installers tipped me off to this brand, I did some investigating. They are the only tools I have ever seen endorsed by the Arthritis Foundation. I figured that if they are good for arthritis sufferers, it has to be good for me, too. I was right. — Mark Colacito

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Screwed up pliers

Screw Pliers

The first time I used these screw pliers I was amazed that I had lived without a pair for so long. These pliers are designed for screw removal in cases of corroded or stripped heads.

Regular pliers tend to have straight jaws. This works if you grab the screw from the side (horizontally), but if you are in a cramped space and attacking the screw from the end regular pliers fail. I have had many pliers slip off a difficult screw because the jaws are straight where contact is made with the screw, which limits the gripping surface area.

The jaws of these pliers are curved with teeth on the inside of the clamping surfaces. Since the jaws have both horizontal and vertical teeth, these pliers will bite into the circumference of the screw head regardless of the orientation – this makes stubborn screws very, very easy to remove.

It won’t handle stripped countersunk screws (those are suited to the extractor bits on the drill) but for other surface screws or bolts it should be fine. — Ezra Reynolds

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Universal farm tool

Fence Pliers

Most useful farm tool No.1 is a pair of Fencing Pliers. These little beauties cost me about $13 and represent the best value for money of any of my tools. In one device it is a wire cutter, a staple puller, a hammer and a great source of leverage on any object unlucky enough to be in it’s grasp or impaled on it’s horn.

While most multi-function tools tend to be a jack of all trades and master of none, the fencing pliers hardly compromise at all. They will cut high tensile fencing wire (including our famous New Zealand#8 wire) that would simply blunt most plier-design wire cutters. When it comes to removing staples, they don’t only excel at pulling staples that are proud of the post. The flat hammering face can be hit with another hammer to drive the horn into a staple that has been driven too far into the wood. Once you have hooked the staple, levering it out is pretty simple. Try that with a hammer or nipper-design staple puller. The jaws can also be locked over the head of a nail for the same leverage effect. As a hammer, they work pretty well and have a nice weight balance. The only negative is the smaller striking surface, but you can’t have everything!

My pair is about 5 years old and despite a few signs of wear and tear, they still function perfectly well. They rate #1 in my farm tool arsenal. When you factor in the relatively low cost, they are an absolute essential in any tool kit. — John Hart

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Clippers that cut anything

Knipex High Leverage Cutters

This is one of my favorite tools. I own at least two of these nippers. The difference between these and every other cutter is that they are drop-forged and they’ve got some specific hardening at the tip. They cut through everything. I’ve snipped through quarter inch bolts with these. I can cut the bane of all cutters — piano wire — all day long and these will never be marred by it. I have ruined so many other tools by cutting the wrong wire or nails. There may be other brands that do this, but this is the one I’ve been using for 20 years. The Knipex are expensive — they’re about $60 a pair — but it is one of those classic examples of how you can ruin a couple of pairs of something else and you’ve paid for these. I’ve never had these fail. — Adam Savage

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Rapid, safe, strong pliers wrench

Knipex Pliers Wrenches

The Knipex Pliers Wrench is best described in the US as a smooth-faced channel lock plier/wrench. Or, as a pliers-handled crescent wrench. I have a set of 3 different sizes and have used them for a year. They allow one to rapidly, safely and strongly grip nuts or bolt heads for tightening or loosening.

Rapidly: an adjustable crescent wrench is not rapid. One must adjust the opening to the nut or bolt head, and between tightening turns, in removing and replacing the wrench, inevitably the wrench loosens a bit and must be retightened. An open-ended or box wrench or socket is the best tool to use, but then one must keep in hand a range of sizes for each size of nut/head. In contrast the Knipex pliers wrench loosens and tightens like a pair of pliers or channel lock wrench.

Safely: an adjustable crescent wrench tends to loosen, rounding off the corners of the nut or bolt head. Pliers or vice-grips are worse, putting teeth-marks on the nut or head. In contrast the Knipex pliers wrench has flat, smooth, and parallel heads ensuring no rounding or gouging of the nut/head.

Strongly: the lever arm of the Knipex ensures a strong grip on the nut/head. I’ve used them to squeeze small solid aluminum rivets in building an experimental airplane.

To summarize, the Knipex pliers wrench combines the best features of other tools, enabling one to grip and turn nuts and bolts with a single tool, and apply considerable squeezing pressure on objects without gouging or tooth marks. — Ralph Fincher

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Tenacious wrench

Knipex Cobra Pliers

This unique tool provides instant adjustment, memory retention of jaw opening, and single-handed, self-gripping operation with a grip that won’t let go. The Knipex jaws really grip. You can literally hang from the handles and they will not slip. The upper and lower jaws are notched. This allows the user to grip a hex nut on the corner and the flat side so as not to round off the nut. They have a flat nose where the jaws meet that allows you to do some pretty fine work. The jaws are very tough. The Cobra is designed to eliminate “knuckle-busting” and the “burring” of nuts, bolts, and fittings. Its thin profile and lightweight ensure ease of operation.

On first glance, they look like the classic Channel Locks (on the right in the picture below). But the Channel Lock handles actually touch together in the extreme “wide” position. This can and has led to pinched hands and fingers if you slip off the workpiece. The Knipex handles do not touch, which leaves you with that little bit of saving grace if you slip off the workpiece. Also, the Channel Lock has 5 jaw positions that slip/slide into place, while the Knipex has 12 jaw positions and, each position is spring-pin locked into place. For example, you are working in a blind, tight space and drop the Knipex: the jaw will still be set to the position you started with and you suffer no aggravation except that due to your own clumsiness. Not so with Channel locks. You will have to fiddle around with them to get them back where you want them, and if you bump or roll them around the work while trying to get a bite, the jaws will slip back out of position.

I have used this tool almost every day for the past 18 years working with elevator and escalator system installations, repairs, servicing, and maintenance. It is always the first tool I grab to take with me to do a job at home or at work. — Shaler Derickson

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Old reliable

Vise-grips

If one needs a single tool, Vise-grips are it. On a motorcycle I have used one as clutch or shift lever or attached to a broken throttle cable. You can turn a screw if you can reach the side of it with this tool . Lock one down to something under the hood; you might not like to bugger up a bolt, but you won’t care if you are no where near tools. If required, you can rip sheet metal with one. Wire cutting too. You can clamp it down hard enough to hit it with a hammer. Vise-grips and a crowbar are thieves’ favorite tools. Buy the small size; and only the brand name: these are made of high-strength steel. — C. Bridger

And they come in a whole tribe of specialty varieties. The standard should be in everyone’s tool box, the small one in every emergency pouch, and you should at least know about the others. The same relentless leveraged but sensitive clamping action works with super wide vise-grips, narrow ones, wide necked ones, nut cutters, curved necks and so on. They are extremely handy. — KK

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Essential wrench

Vise-Grip Locking Wrench

There are some tools that belong in every tool box, and most of us already have locking pliers from one manufacturer or another. Irwin Tools, maker of the original Vise Grips brand product, is the best known. This new version of the tool looks and works nearly the same, but has a vastly improved jaw shape made specifically for grabbing on to damaged hex nuts and bolts.

I used mine just yesterday while working on restoring an old car for my daughter. I had to remove the heat shield from the exhaust manifold, and after 10 years of service those bolts were not in good shape at all. One of them was so bad that my sockets and box wrenches would just spin, getting no bite at all. My usual pair of locking pliers didn’t help either. The unique jaw shape on the Irwin Locking Wrench grabbed the head of the bolt from three sides and fastened firmly enough to do the job. In just a few seconds I had that old bolt out without having to resort to cutting it with an angle grinder or torch.

I’ve seen these online for less than fifteen dollars, and for the amount of headache they save I’d call it well worth adding to any tool box. If you’ve ever used regular locking pliers to try to get a stripped bolt out, you’ll find this new style of locking wrench works wonders. — Andrew Pollack

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Once a week we’ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, and the links to them may or may not work. We present these vintage recommendations as is because the possibilities they inspire are new. Sign up here to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.

05/26/25

Smokeless fire pit/Pirate radio map/Human laws

Recomendo - issue #463

Smokeless fire pit

We wanted a portable fire pit for our patio, and my wife insisted that it be as smokeless as possible, so we settled on an East Oak Smokeless Fire Pit. I was pretty dubious about the smokeless part, but much to our delight, the East Oak burns all kinds of wood (from split firewood to 2×4 scraps) with almost no smoke once it gets going. We got the 21-inch version which is large enough. It is made of stainless steel so it has withstood standing outside for all seasons well. The retail price is listed as $270, however recently it has been selling for $160 or less. (Reminder you can use Camelcamelcamel to alert you to a target price on Amazon.) — KK

Human behavior rules

The Grand Encyclopedia of Eponymous Laws is a collection of 200 playful observations about human nature. Many of them are new to me. A few samples:

• Time Cube Law: “As the length of a webpage grows linearly, the likelihood of the author being a lunatic increases exponentially.”
• Wadsworth Constant: “The first 30% of any video can be skipped because it contains no worthwhile or interesting information.”
• Akin’s 10th Law: “When in doubt, estimate. In an emergency, guess. But be sure to go back and clean up the mess when the real numbers come along.”

— MF

Pirate Radio Map

This sound map of Brooklyn’s pirate radio stations is an audio archival project that lets you tune into the underground and countercultural broadcasts of past eras. When I was a child, my dad was a long-haul truck driver, so I would listen to Coast to Coast AM to feel close to him. I’ve always been fascinated by all things radio-CB radios, ham radios, pirate radios. The little girl in me still loves the lo-fi quality and fringeness of it all. — CD

Sprinkler key hide

If you still use keys for your front door lock, this small $4 hard plastic holder is the most perfect one I’ve found to hide a spare key. It is disguised exactly as the black top of a sprinkler in your garden or lawn. — KK

Park poetry service

Oliva Dodd goes to public parks with a folding table and a manual typewriter. She invites strangers to open up and tell her something personal about their lives. After a moment’s reflection, Dodd types a poem on a card, which she reads out loud to the person. As you can see on her Instagram, the recipients are sometimes moved to tears by the poignancy of the poems. — MF

5 Habits of Super Calm People

This article explores the perspectives necessary to cultivate calmness, but I think the key takeaway is that super calm people are not free from chaos. Instead, they have developed the ability to respond to chaos with acceptance, self-responsibility, flexible thinking, presence, and a natural alignment with the cycles of life. — CD

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05/25/25

Sneaky Carry-ons/Summer Flight Trends/New Vaccine Requirement

Nomadico issue #156

Sneaky Packing Aids

If you’re flying on a budget airline, some accessories can help you pack more items without triggering surprise extra baggage fees. SCOTTeVEST is still standing after lots of Kickstarter competitors have come and gone. I have a vest of theirs that I find kind of useless after the flight ends. Their jackets with 19 to 26 pockets are a better double-duty bet for cool places. Then the TUBE Travel Pillow is just a fabric tube you stuff with clothing and it becomes a neck pillow. After flying it packs down into a little pouch.

Summer Flight Booking Trends

I wouldn’t have put “more legroom on Spirit Air” or “overall airfare prices down 7%” on my travel predictions list a year ago. Apparently, the tariff-related economic chaos and resulting USA travel boycotts didn’t take long to start impacting supply and demand. To see the effect on bookings, check out this detailed new report from Kayak.com. It shows that flights from the USA to Asia (-11%), Europe (-8%), and Africa (-5%) are all cheaper than last summer, plus there’s a big drop in fares to Canada. The best times for deals are May 19–June 8 and August 11–31.

FlightConnections.com

Want to know which carriers fly in and out of an airport? Want to see where you can get to from your home airport on a direct flight? Head to FlightConnections.com and see all the info in one place, laid out on a map you can zoom in on. When I pulled up my former home of Tampa, I could see lots of international direct flight options I didn’t know about, including five in Europe plus Panama and Colombia.

Yellow Fever Shot for Ecuador

It’s hard to find official information about this online yet, but Ecuador and some neighboring countries have had yellow fever outbreaks in some areas this year and now you may need a vaccine if you’re traveling long-term in South America. Per the Ecuador tourism bureau, proof of vaccination against yellow fever will now be required for nationals of Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia entering Ecuador, as well as “any travelers of any other nationality who have stayed for more than 10 days in any of these countries.” You need to get the shot at least 10 days prior to entry but the good news is, it is valid for life. For some reason, if you’re over 60 you’re exempt.

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A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.

05/22/25

What’s in my NOW? — Jim Lord

issue #214

I’m a father, husband, author, and a business professional that appreciates inspiration and isn’t afraid of perspiration to succeed. — Jim Lord

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PHYSICAL

• I’m addicted to these Bluetooth headphones built into a soft sleep-mask. I travel frequently on long flights and sleeping with air pods or traditional over-the-ear headphones is uncomfortable to say the least! These Bluetooth sleep masks are affordable and a lifesaver on long flights!
• I recently purchased a knife from Origin Handcrafted. These knives are hand crafted from antique sawmill blades that have historically high levels of carbon, making them the perfect hard steel for long-lasting knife blades. Each knife is unique and is a great addition to any home or workshop.
• I absolutely love listening to vinyl records on my Sonos turntable and speaker. It’s a bit pricey, but the craftsmanship and sound quality of Sonos are second-to-none. I’m listening to Simon and Garfunkel’s greatest hits while creating this post right now!

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DIGITAL

• Picstudio has been one of the best AI sites I’ve found to create amazing portraits and headshots with a huge variety of themes, helping with your social media profiles without having to hire a professional photographer. My family couldn’t tell my images were created by AI!
• When your kids go away to college, you’ll want to make sure you maintain power-of-attorney for medical decisions. We trusted Mama Bear Legal Forms to help secure multi-state legal documentation to protect our kids in the event of a medical emergency while being out-of-state and away from home.

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INVISIBLE

“Be patient, but don’t wait.”

My son and his best friend were having a discussion when his friend offered this simple yet profound piece of advice. I’m often amazed when someone cites and impressive quote or one-liner, but it’s even more profound when it comes from this younger generation! You can view it here.

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05/21/25

Little Blue Truck / We Found a Hat

Issue No. 67

LITTLE BLUE TRUCK CONJURES UP A HARVEST-TIME HALLOWEEN ATMOSPHERE FOR YOUNG READERS

Little Blue Truck
by Alice Schertle (author) and Jill McElmurry (illustrator)
HMH Books for Young Readers
2016, 16 pages, 9 x 8.1 x 0.7 inches (board book)

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Little Blue Truck, an antique pickup, and his best friend, top-hatted Toad, take a ride through an autumn countryside, as owls, ravens, and black cats wait by the road for a lift to a barn celebration. On the way, they meet animals dressed in Halloween garb. These holiday revelers join the duo as they travel through the dusk to the party. The pair meets a duck masquerading as a ballerina, a sheep as a harlequin, a pig as a witch, and a cow as a queen. Evening gradually approaches, and the truck’s headlights cut through the darkness. A golden fall moon, orange pumpkins, exotic fall plants, and burnt umber trees fill the rolling, rural landscape. They arrive at their brightly-lit, festively decorated destination. Within the barn, guests bob for apples and sip punch. Rollicking musicians with accordion and banjo play music for dancing, as everyone joins in the fun. Finally, one last party guest appears, dressed as a ghost. Who could it be?

Vintage-inspired paintings created with sponge and brush conjure a harvest-time atmosphere, complete with grinning jack-o’-lanterns, golden ripened fields, falling leaves, and animals attired in lovely, ornate disguises. The rhyming storyline describes each partygoer, and the flap on each page lifts to reveal the costumed characters’ identity. A charming, humorously-illustrated story that wouldn’t frighten even the youngest reader, Little Blue Truck’s Halloween is perfect for fall. – S. Deathrage

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WE FOUND A HAT IS FULL OF BRILLIANCE, AND TO BE FULLY APPRECIATED, IT HELPS TO KNOW THE TRILOGY

We Found a Hat
by Jon Klassen
Candlewick
2016, 56 pages, 8.2 x 11.3 x 0.4 inches (hardcover)

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It’s a classic problem: two turtles, one hat. Well, maybe not classic, but you get the idea. In the just-released and last book of his Hat series, Jon Klassen’s wit shines. Though his previous two Hat stories feature different characters, they both begin with a common problem – a stolen hat. We Found A Hat, however, is all about the moments before the grab.

There is so much brilliance in this book, and to be fully appreciated, it helps to know the series, as the pace and place of each differs subtly but smartly. In I Want My Hat Back, we clod through the forest with a bear, who slowly comes to the realization of who stole his hat at a pace not unlike that of one waking up from a long winter’s rest. In This Is Not My Hat, readers tail an underwater chase that is slow but necessarily suspenseful, with images and ending that, like vision under water, are clear enough, but not quite. We Found A Hat, perhaps fittingly for the last in the series, takes place in the desert. Who better than turtles to force the reader to slow down and savor the moral agony of friendship versus fashion? In this barren landscape, there are sounds in the pictures – the shape of the cacti echoes that of the newly found 10-gallon hat and the rocks echoes the turtles’ shells. The overall design of word and text calls back to each of the previous books.

The only thing that could make this book better is if Klassen partnered with a milliner to offer a box set complete with accompanying headwear. One could only hope. – Mk Smith Despres

Books That Belong On Paper first appeared on the web as Wink Books and was edited by Carla Sinclair. Sign up here to get the issues a week early in your inbox.

05/20/25

What’s in my NOW? — Jim Lord