This time around, the victim-- errr... I mean the subject... in the hot seat is none other than Todd Rogers of the Junk Fed blog. Todd and I travel in some of the same internet circles, and have been aware of each other for some time now. We Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at each other occasionally (click on those respective links to investigate and ultimately follow him if you know what's good for you...), he once won a Mayor McCheese from the giveaway right here on Goodwill Hunting 4 Geeks, and we even set up a glorious trade a while back which was documented here as well.
Todd is an artist, a writer, a geek, a fan, a collector, and is in and of himself an online presence to be reckoned with. The following is an instant messaging conversation we had the other morning when we both sat down to do the interview. Enjoy!
Also a quick note to let you know that (unless otherwise noted) ALL of the photography from this blog post is Todd's own photography, most of it picked fresh from his blog, his Instagram feed, or supplied directly by him.
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| This is Todd. I have never seen him in person but I assume he is not the Dalek. |
Goodwill Geek: First off, thanks
for meeting with me, and agreeing to subject yourself to this! I truly
appreciate it.
Todd Rogers: You're welcome. And
thanks for having me. Let me just say that I love your house band.
Goodwill Geek: Aw thanks! Let me
get right down to it then: Tell me a little about your blog, and what you do
over there. Where did the name “Junk Fed” come from and what does it mean to
you?
Todd Rogers: Half-jokingly, I
refer to myself as a nostalgia junkie. I love thinking about my place in time
and feeling connected to the ghosts of old moments. My blog was a way to
distill some of the memories from the past, and evaluate how they relate to who
I am today. Naturally, I labored over what to call the website. Eventually, I
realized that the common thread in my timeline was a love for American popular
culture (which isn't always the most nutritious stuff) and the name fell into place.
Goodwill Geek: That actually leads
perfectly into my next question then: On the blog you describe yourself as “a
pop culture enthusiast, a chronic nostalgist, a creative escapist, and a
lunatic completist.” Explain those four aspects and how they combine together
to make the giant multicolored robot that is “Junk Fed”.
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| "Do we combine? So... do we climb on each other's shoulders?" "Why did he use this picture?" |
Todd Rogers: The pop culture
enthusiasm is something that has always been with me. My mind isn't a very good
container for useful or practical, but it is super absorbent when it comes to
movies, television, and the like. I've always been the guy that people come to
when they can’t recall the name of a movie, or what else they've seen Hal
Linden in. The creative escapist is indicative of my love for getting lost in a
story, be it one I am consuming, or one I am creating. As mentioned before, the
chronic nostalgist part, is my need for time travel. I qualify it as
"chronic" because nostalgia historically, gets a bad rap. It's
sometimes viewed as unhealthy. I disagree. I think it's a useful way to
understand one’s own relativity in time. Lunatic completist speaks to my
obsessive need to follow through to the end. This trait, at times is a bit
unhealthy. (*Pardon my loquaciousness!)
Goodwill Geek: I love
loquaciousness!
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| Oh man... not one of THOSE guys. |
Todd Rogers: My completist tendencies are problematic at
times. More often than I’d like to admit, I find myself plodding through a
terrible movie, or book that I'm really not enjoying. This can be a bit of a time waster.
Goodwill Geek: I've certainly been
in that same boat before, you feel like you've invested a certain amount of
time and energy that you can't get back in something and now you have to see it
out to the grim finish... when most people would just kind of toss it aside say,
"Bored now!" and start the next thing.
Todd Rogers: Exactly! It can be
maddening, and I’m getting better at breaking out of that habit. I have OCD
(not in the “OMG I am sooo OCD” sense), so for me, it's important to
escape such behaviors
Goodwill Geek: I want to come back
to the OCD in a little while, since you have written about it on the blog in
detail... but first, I want to talk about the nostalgia piece. One of the
reasons I’ve been dying to talk to you for so long has been your writing on
nostalgia. You don’t approach it as just a “Hey, remember that thing?” kind of
concept, but as a springboard to talk about your personal experiences.
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| There is nothing I can write in this caption to enhance your digestion of this picture. |
Todd Rogers: Well, the internet
is rife with "Hey remember that thing" types of articles. They have their
place. But I was more interested in examining "that thing's"
importance, place in time, and what it means to me. I think even though my
stories are uniquely mine, there are bound to be people out there who can
relate. There's nothing I find more gratifying than to connect with another
human through a similar experience.
Goodwill Geek: You definitely spend
a lot of time dissecting your own feelings about your own past on your blog. It
never seems to simply be “I liked this, it was cool,” as much as it is some
deeper experience tied to things as varied as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and
Bobcat Goldthwaite. Did you set out with the express purpose of "finding
the deeper meaning" of your love of nostalgia, or is that just kind of
where the blog has gone?
Todd Rogers: I think it just
happened. I wasn't sure what my goal was.
Goodwill Geek: I think a lot of
blogs start out that way. We're sort of looking for a way to express a love of
something and it then evolves into whatever the theme just organically becomes.
Todd Rogers: Right, and that
evolution usually brings forth something infinitely more interesting. Otherwise
it's like that old Chris Farley skit... “Member that thing? That was cool.”
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| "'Member that time I interviewed Todd Rogers? That was cool." |
Goodwill Geek: Some of your topics
seem to come from some outer limits orbit that a lot of people don't tap into.
It's refreshing because the reader really never knows what to expect from your
blog. One day I’m reading a feminist treatise a la Ms. Pacman, or the next I'mtearing up over a post about Spaghettios-with-Franks and hugging my kids and
they’re looking at me like I’m crazy. I'm not going to ask "where do you
get your ideas?" so much as I'm going to ask "How do you prioritize
what's blog-worthy?" You're pretty up front in each post where the impetus
for the post came from... how do you filter out what is blog worthy and what
just kind of fades off into the ether? I imagine you sculpting your mashed
potatoes at dinner and asking “Does this mean something?” and then slumping
your shoulders and saying “Nah… But Brim coffee… I can spin a post out of that…”
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| I forgot to ask Todd any questions about Quint here, his cat. Todd LOVES his cat. He's been quoted as saying he wishes he could BE a cat. Quint likes to sniff... a lot of Todd's stuff. -Sniff- |
Todd Rogers: How did you know
about my mashed potato sculptures? Are you spying on me? Anything is blog
worthy. There's a story be told anywhere. Naturally, not all stories will
appeal to all audiences, but that's not my goal: The idea that something I had
to say could affect someone is. If it makes me feel a little bit of nostalgic melancholy,
I figure it's worth telling. I've been told a couple of times now that some of
my articles have moved people to tears. It may sound weird to say, but I
consider that a high honor. Not because I'm a sadist that finds pleasure in
making folks cry, but because I've simply made them feel something. It's about human connection. We are all alone inside
these vessels, and it's so easy to forget the other.
Goodwill Geek: I seriously teared
up over the Spaghettios post. It spoke a lot to my own childhood honestly. I
think that's another part of the power your blog has. In exploring your own
nostalgia and experiences, you open up yourself as a person and let the reader
share those memories. I see a lot of myself in some of those posts. I think a
lot of the "weird kids" who played off in the corner by themselves
quietly with their toys can really relate to a lot of the feelings you put out
there. And none of the posts feel orchestrated to "make" the reader
feel anything. There's good in with the bad... it is what it is. It's memory,
it's the past. It's how we look at those experiences as adults now and how we
feel them and analyze them.
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| The emotional depths of this bowl are... Haunting. (Go read the post and see if you can laugh at this then, chuckles.) |
Todd Rogers: Yeah, Spaghettios
can be pretty emotional. Seriously, though. Thanks for saying that. I'm
honored. The whole point is sharing. Our stories might not be exact, but we’re
more alike than we think. And yes, the good with the bad is a common theme in
my writing. Life isn't black and white. I'm just now recognizing that there's a
whole spectrum that needs to be honored in order to get the whole experience, if
that makes any sense.
Goodwill Geek: Has blogging helped
you find perspective on your life events and memories… or did your perspective
on those things lead to the blog? It’s kind of a chicken-or-egg question in a
way: Is the blog leading you to explore concepts or are you just using the blog
to present your explorations?
Todd Rogers: I think blogging has
opened me up quite a bit, and helped me to feel more whole. But really, it's a
little of both. Sometimes I’ll set out to write about something that I'd
previously unlocked, and other times it's the directionless writing that helps
me unlock something.
Goodwill Geek: So now I want to ask
you about your OCD. Not so much your personal experiences, but on your decisionto blog about it. In fact, you're pretty open and raw about a lot of personal
issues on your blog. Family members with addiction, your own feelings of isolation
and loneliness... and your frustrations both personally and culturally with
OCD. Has putting all this out there helped you deal with those issues? Have you
heard from any readers who have been able to relate to what you've shared?
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| I started counting the number of times people around me casually tossed the term "OCD" around. I started asking myself how often I did it. |
Todd Rogers: I still wonder if
being so open about my OCD was a wise choice. It's not an easy subject, and
folks can get spooked reading something like that. But it's out there, and I
feel okay about it ultimately. Like with the rest of my subject matter,
blogging about it has helped me process it, ultimately defanging the big bad
monster. And if it should chase anyone off, I’ll consider that a litmus test pf
people worth knowing. I actually have heard from some readers with OCD thanking
me for sharing my experiences. When OCD first sunk its teeth into me, I felt so
uniquely crazy. Over the years, learning about it, and reading about the
experiences of others has been immensely helpful. My intention with sharing was
to hopefully pass on that helpfulness to another.
Goodwill Geek: I hope you don't feel
a single regret about that decision. I don't have OCD, but I also think that
absolutely everyone out there has some baggage (heavy or light) that they carry
around in shame, thinking they are absolutely alone. And the more people that
speak out (You mention some very high
profile (OCD) sufferers on your blog that have taken the same step to share
their experiences) and give a voice to that feeling, the more people just
don't feel alone. I think the geek community is desperately in need of more
voices like that, speaking up and pointing out that there's no real such thing
as the classic idea of "normal" so let's all just relax.
Todd Rogers: I stand by my
decision to post it. And should I ever change my mind, I can always delete the
post, erasing it from the internet forever. That's how the internet works,
right?
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| How the internet works. |
Goodwill Geek: You've... met the
internet right? Let's move on.
Todd Rogers: Hahah
Goodwill Geek: Halloween seems to
get a special dose of attention on your blog. There are posts about your
obsession with Ben Cooper Masks, Fangoria Magazine, and various experiencesyou've had with the holiday. Do you consider yourself a Halloween nut? Why does
it resonate do you think?
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| Toddferatu. |
Todd Rogers: Oh, that's a tough
one… Up until about the ages of 10 or 11, I was pretty terrified of scary
movies and gore. Perhaps excessively. My father was a bit of a movie freak, who
didn't filter his viewing choices when I was present, so I was exposed to a lot
of pretty graphic horror at a young age. At the same time, my dad, also a
Vietnam Vet, would recount some pretty vivid horror stories from the war. The
man has no filter. I think I had trouble differentiating the real from the
fake. These fears subsided when I was introduced to Fangoria magazine. The
behind the scenes pictorials really took the edge off. Otherwise, I think
Halloween resonates with me because it's a season in which it's socially
acceptable to honor your inner child.
Goodwill Geek: That's really got to
be a big part of it for me too, I think. There's this balance I like to strike
every year between the legitimately scary, and juvenile. I firmly believe
Halloween is not just "for kids" but I think it definitely honors a
big part of that magic you felt AS a kid. Except as an adult you're in on how
to... create (?) that magic a bit more. My Aunt was constantly renting films
like Creepshow or taking me to see things like American Werewolf in London at
the drive in at a ridiculously young age. I think those kinds of experiences
that repulse you a bit as a kid tend to be what kind of draw you back as an
adult as well.
Todd Rogers: Indeed. Being in on
the magic is pretty special.
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| -Sniff- |
Goodwill Geek: Besides Halloween or
horror, what are some of your old favorites from when you were a kid? Things you
really miss or pine for? Toys or movies? Comics or cartoons? (Your display of Burger King Star Wars glasses is a thing of pure beauty by the way…)
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| I want to go to there. |
Todd Rogers: Thanks. I do love
those old glasses. Since completing that set, I've acquired full sets of Star
Trek the Animated Series, E.T., and Battlestar Galactica glasses. Those old
fast food premiums embody the Junk Fed idea for me.
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| If you think of a caption for this one, put it in the comments. I'm too busy weeping with jealousy. |
Goodwill Geek: I think I was
talking with someone awhile back about how much I hate myself for loving Fast
Food premiums so much. They're so ingrained in my childhood I can't help it. The
food is just terrible, but it feels like a childhood rite of passage or
something.
Todd Rogers: Yes, the fast food
stuff truly is junk, but such wonderful
junk. There's no way in hell that I would support any of the fast food places
that were a staple of my youth, but oh the memories. Otherwise, thanks to the
internet, and eBay, I don't have to pine for too long. I love that I can catch
up with a show like Voyagers, or Manimal through streaming services.
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| I was trying to think of a "They see me rollin'" joke here... But damned if I don't just want to go out and ride my big wheel RIGHT NOW. A young Todd Rogers in the 'hood. |
Goodwill Geek: Oh there are so many
outlets available for the nostalgia-obsessed these days! What about new fandom
discoveries you’ve made that you’re excited about? I understand you’re a relative
newcomer to the Doctor Who phenomena (not
that you’ve let that stop you from getting caught up on decades worth of
material in a relatively short time)?
Todd Rogers: Oh man, I certainly
was swallowed up by Doctor Who. I remember avoiding it for so long, being fully
aware of my completist tenancies. But one day, on a whim, I found myself
watching the first episode of the revival series on Netflix, and I was in.... I
watched the full run of the revival, and then sought out the classic series,
and watched it all. Thankfully, I'm able to watch as I work, otherwise I'd get
nothing done. Employment of time AND space travel lends itself to infinite
possibilities, and I feel it really tapped directly into my imagination.
Granted, much of the classic series is pretty low quality in spots, but I think
that allows the imagination of the viewer to do the heavy lifting. Otherwise,
I've been able to parlay my nostalgic personality into more artistic endeavors.
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| The atrocities committed on this table make Frankenstein look like Frankenheimer's "Island of Dr. Moreau". |
Goodwill Geek: Well, speaking of
your artistic endeavors AND fandoms combined... I want to know more about SpaceMadness, your tongue-in-cheek hybrid sci-fi bootleg action figure/art figureline. There are obviously a couple of posts on your blog about these figuresyou Frankenstein together in your basement… but tell us more. How much work
goes into crafting a single figure from start to finish? Are there plans to
continue expanding the line?
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| Just a small sampling of the Space Madness crew. |
Todd Rogers: Yeah, I accidentally
stumbled into the weird world of designer toys a couple of years ago. It
started with an inexplicable need to combine a 3.75" Stormtrooper action
figure with a Spock action figure. The result is a remixed weirdo I call the
Imperial Spocktrooper. I illustrated a Space Madness cardback that nods to the
vintage Kenner packaging and started producing small quantities in my basement
with some level of success. Since then I've produced a handful of other hybrid
figures that combine sci-fi archetypes, and have been invited to sell them at
comic and art conventions. There will definitively be more Space Madness
figures to come, but I'm beginning to branch out into different themes, with
the ultimate goal of designing and producing original toys.
Each figure requires more work than I’d like to admit. From cobbling together parts, sculpting a prototype, to creating a mold, casting, painting, and packaging, they average at about 3 hours of work each. Thankfully I have old Doctor Who episodes to keep me entertained.
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| The basement lair of the mad artiste. |
Each figure requires more work than I’d like to admit. From cobbling together parts, sculpting a prototype, to creating a mold, casting, painting, and packaging, they average at about 3 hours of work each. Thankfully I have old Doctor Who episodes to keep me entertained.
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| -Sniff- |
Goodwill Geek: You obviously have
other projects outside of Space Madness as well. You did an incredible Andre
the Giant/They Live mashup a short while ago. Tell me the story behind that.
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| "Everybody CONSUME a peanut!" |
Todd Rogers: I liked the idea of
playing with the Obey Giant art by the street artist Shepard Fairy, which
itself is a nod to the movie They Live. I the Eighties, Fairy created the now
ubiquitous Andre the Giant Has a Posse image and campaign with has been
infinitely riffed on by other artists. My contribution to what Fairy refers to
as an experiment in phenomenology was to bring it back to the source idea. I
sculpted a “They Live” alien head onto an Andre the Giant body, and called it “Andre
the Giant's Posse has a Posse”. Now I'm just waiting on a cease and desist
letter from Shepard Fairy.
Apparently I am the ONE person left on the WHOLE f**king internet who hasn't heard of this before?
Goodwill Geek: Oh wow. I feel so out
of the loop. I wasn't aware of that at all. Errrr… NEXT QUESTION! I read on your blog that you attended your first convention in 2012. How is the
experience different now? Do you consider yourself an old pro at this point?
Are you embedded in the con-culture?
Todd Rogers: I sure do get a kick
out of the conventions. They are great hubs of creativity and imagination. They
are all also cacophonous behemoths of consumerism, but I'm more there for the
former than the latter. I’m certainly not an old pro and though I've started attending
as an exhibitor, I still have a fan's heart. It’s so great to meet likeminded
humans, and creators that you respect and admire.
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| I've never met Todd before but... wait did I do the not-the-Dalek joke already? |
Goodwill Geek: Well, as someone who
has never attended one, I am both terrified and horribly jealous. I think it is
very much a social/personal space thing for me. But it also looks great to
commune with the likeminded and put yourself out there.
Todd Rogers: Indeed it is. I
understand being terrified. I wasn't too fond of big crowds and enclosed space,
but I've approached it as a kind of exposure therapy. Now I regard it as an
adventure. A crowded, sweaty, sometimes smelly adventure.
Goodwill Geek: I think I will
continue to take your word for it for the time being... but maybe someday
soon... who knows? In the mean-time, speaking of “communing with the likeminded
and putting yourself out there”, I've heard you podcast on Nerd Lunch (this iswhere I learned of your aforementioned appreciation for all things Who) and
I’ve also read that you have plans to begin a Junk Fed podcast of your own. How
is it coming along, and what can we expect from it?
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| Coming to an iTunes near you. |
Todd Rogers: It is in the works,
but this summer has turned out to be busier than anticipated, so it has been
delayed. Hopefully, I'll be able to get into it this fall. The intention is to
touch on some of the subjects I explore in my blog, the nostalgia, joys, and
pains of childhood but with a rotating panel of guests. I'll be like the
Barbara Walters of nostalgia.
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| -Sniff- |
Goodwill Geek: Work on your Barbara
Wawa impression and ask questions like: "If you could be a Twee(Ent) what
kind of twee(Ent) would you be?" We're closing in on the end now here. Just couple more questions. First, what's up with all the tomatoes? Are you an avid gardener?
Todd Rogers: I'm more of a half-assed gardener. I'm very into it in early spring, but give up on the weeding midsummer. Even with the half assednes, I wind up with with a bunch of tomatoes, cilantro, basil, and zucchini.
Goodwill Geek: What's going on with you and They Might Be Giants? (He asked casually, trying not to freak out...)
Todd Rogers: I've been the graphic designer for Asbestos Records for nearly 15 years. Over the past few years they've been acquiring the rights to and re-releasing a bunch older titles. In almost all cases, the original artwork was lost so it's my job to restore the art from a number of sources, and redesign the art. Thanks to irresponsible art archiving, I've had the chance to work on the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Dead Milkmen, Fishbone, and They Might be Giants. It's really great work and consider myself honored. It's a bit surreal because I am recreating the very art I used to pore over as the record played in my teen years.
Goodwill Geek: Now that I'm done screaming into a pillow in the other room, here's the big one: What do you love most about toys, toy collecting (and/or creating), being a geek, fandoms, all of it?
Todd Rogers: I'm more of a half-assed gardener. I'm very into it in early spring, but give up on the weeding midsummer. Even with the half assednes, I wind up with with a bunch of tomatoes, cilantro, basil, and zucchini.
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| "You say tomato, I say tomato.." that song doesn't work in text really. |
Todd Rogers: I've been the graphic designer for Asbestos Records for nearly 15 years. Over the past few years they've been acquiring the rights to and re-releasing a bunch older titles. In almost all cases, the original artwork was lost so it's my job to restore the art from a number of sources, and redesign the art. Thanks to irresponsible art archiving, I've had the chance to work on the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Dead Milkmen, Fishbone, and They Might be Giants. It's really great work and consider myself honored. It's a bit surreal because I am recreating the very art I used to pore over as the record played in my teen years.
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| ukeiuyjgh;ohgogoie |
Goodwill Geek: Now that I'm done screaming into a pillow in the other room, here's the big one: What do you love most about toys, toy collecting (and/or creating), being a geek, fandoms, all of it?
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| Yet another of my Gracelands. |
Todd Rogers: Oh boy. I feel more
like an art collector than a toy collector. My collection focuses on vintage
stuff from the 60s to 80s. I find these artifacts to be pieces of art. I
suppose it's not too dissimilar to how Warhol found beauty and value in a soup
can. Also, these crude plastic objects are totems of a time past. I appreciate
them on an almost anthropological level. Perhaps I'm making it more highbrow
than it actually is, but it's what makes me a fan.
Goodwill Geek: I don't think it comes
off as too highbrow or pretentious if that's what you're worried about... I
think we all have our reasons for collecting what we collect. I think "toy
collecting" here could really be better phrased as "pop-culture
paraphernalia collecting" and we all have our reasons for doing that.
Yours is no more or less valid.
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| Zayre's baby! |
All
right. That was it! I want to thank you again for joining me for this chat and
for sharing your blog and yourself with my readers. Any other big projects
coming down the pipeline? Anything else you’d like to share with us before I
let you go?
Todd Rogers: Thanks for the
interest. I'm truly happy to have had this opportunity to connect with you and
your readers. For folks who plan on attending, I will be exhibiting at New York
Comic Con in October, so stop by and say hello. Otherwise, I think we've covered
all things Junk Fed. Excelsior!
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| Some days you just can't get rid of a trick or treat pail. |
Well that's it for tonight kids! I want to take one last opportunity to thank Todd for sitting down to what was supposed to be an hour long interview and that quickly spiralled out of control. Days later, when the interview ended, I was pretty happy with the results though! Todd, you have a gift for writing that I both envy and admire! Your ability to tap into the past and bring forth the good the bad, the melancholy, and the whimsical is amazing.
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| Yes little Todd, that is an adult you up there in a Batman mask. Be afraid. |
I want to of course urge everyone reading this to go check out Junkfed.com where Todd regularly time travels and comes back with ephemera and tchotchkes and artifacts of the past that he then analyses for us online. Don't miss it. Also check out his Junkfed store, so he doesn't have to be a starving artist. He has that cat to feed too. At the time of this writing there were still some Space Madness figures and even a coloring book available over there, so be sure to give him all your money.
So I guess it's time to sign off now kids! I'll be back soon with some Geeky Goodwill Goodies! In the meantime, Happy Hunting!
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| -Sniff- |
