Friday, July 31, 2009
Commutable grossness.
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The past few days I've had run-ins with Ick on the way to work. Sometimes I really don't like living here much, and this is why.
First was the empty, crushed carton from a home pregnancy test in the parking lot of an off-brand, no-name dollar store. Didn't they read the package? It's a HOME pregnancy test.
Second was the empty medical sample cup rolling around the Septa Elevated Train (the "El").
But I suppose it could have been worse.
There actually could have been urine, sputum, feces, or spunk in the sample cup.
Small favors, I suppose.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Is it still whoring if you GET it for free?
I wrote about about the BlogHer conference last year, specifically disgust over the "mommyblogging" track of the 2008 event. This past weekend was the BlogHer 2009 conference, and judging from the coverage, it's turned into an almost complete mommyblogging conference, family friendly, bloated with sponsorship. It's a nearly useless event for non-mommybloggers (and ad-free bloggers) although the organizers stress that it's not the "BlogMom" conference.
As it usually happens in cases like this, I could care less about the actual event (i.e., the conference), although if I were to attend I would totally wear this "Childless Whore" t-shirt created by Heather Havrilesky of the Rabbit Blog. What I find more interesting is the fallout as reported in blog posts after the event. After reading some of these posts, all I can think is that many of these BlogHer attendees are entitled, pissing-and-moaning, mommybloggers who feel they have some sort of deity-granted right to as much free crap as they can carry.
First, my philosophy/ideology concerning conference swag (well, at least as applied to comic conventions). In 2007, at my first San Diego Comic Con, my roommate and I both shipped back 18"x18"x18" boxes each loaded with freebies and purchases from the event - bags, posters, books, flyers, etc. In 2008, we were able to consolidate our swag and purchases into ONE 18"x18"x12" box with room to spare for extra clothes.
I've become extremely selective in the free swag I pick up at conferences, limiting it to things that actually have use value (e.g., t-shirts, tote bags), are small (pinbacks, stickers for the laptop, small posters), or are reading material (I'll always pick up books). And, yeah, truthfully I pick up some freebies that are just fun to have. Occasionally I'll sell swag on eBay, and do a cleanout once a year and bring the extra goodies to work. So, while I completely understand the appeal of giveaways (and have seen some near smushing over them), I also don't want to clutter my life more than necessary. It's a simple question: Do I really NEED this? And I've never picked up a freebie with the sponsor's expectation that I'm to write about it on the blog.
Apparently, many of the BlogHer attendees spent the weekend picking up as much free stuff as possible, although some insist that "sponsors just handed it to them". Some attendees even "threatened" sponsors when the swag ran out. A blogger who was "denied" her free pair of Crocs threatened the company's marketing representative, seriously saying "Ya know, if you don’t give me shoes – I could totally write something bad about you on my blog". Thankfully the marketing guy shot back saying he "... could pick up my phone here and get in contact with so many people and tell them what just happened that you would be afraid to go near your computer, let alone attempt to blog again". He didn't call out this extortion-blogger on his blog, mainly because he couldn't remember who she was, and even if he had, wouldn't have bothered.
After reading that, I searched the #blogher tag on Twitter, and found many many links to posts about the conference, some critical of how the free swag was handled, others feeling that they deserved all of it. Of course, some bloggers were giving the additional duplicate items they received from sponsors on their blogs. It was kind of sickening to see Tweets like "Did you let your diet go at BlogHer? I'm giving away a pair of Spanx!".
I tried to find some posts that specifically detailed the type and volume of swag given away at BlogHer, but didn't find any itemized lists in my quick search. However, here's a post from an attendee with some photos of her swag. Please note that I do not know this woman AT ALL, and I'm not passing judgment on her swag collection, just using her as an example because she posted photos (it's a pretty good post, too).
Just look at the picture of some of the freebie load spread out on the hotel bed. And then look at the load of freebies she left behind for the housekeeping staff. That is a seriously huge pile of... stuff. Full bottles of shampoo, reusable tote bags and coffee mugs, a useless feather boa, toys, and more that the sponsors probably expect her to write about on her blog.
In fact, some bloggers now want to distance themselves from the label of mommyblogger due to how some of their peers acted during the weekend. Also, Nikon does not hate babies, despite what some mommybloggers want you to believe (read the post, it's an excellent analysis of an incident where a mom and baby were turned away from a private party at a swank, adults-only bar). Seriously, Nikon is NOT going to hurt for business even if a bunch of mommybloggers stage a "protest", no matter how loud you Tweet.
(In fact, it might make me actually consider buying a Nikon.)
As it usually happens in cases like this, I could care less about the actual event (i.e., the conference), although if I were to attend I would totally wear this "Childless Whore" t-shirt created by Heather Havrilesky of the Rabbit Blog. What I find more interesting is the fallout as reported in blog posts after the event. After reading some of these posts, all I can think is that many of these BlogHer attendees are entitled, pissing-and-moaning, mommybloggers who feel they have some sort of deity-granted right to as much free crap as they can carry.
First, my philosophy/ideology concerning conference swag (well, at least as applied to comic conventions). In 2007, at my first San Diego Comic Con, my roommate and I both shipped back 18"x18"x18" boxes each loaded with freebies and purchases from the event - bags, posters, books, flyers, etc. In 2008, we were able to consolidate our swag and purchases into ONE 18"x18"x12" box with room to spare for extra clothes.
I've become extremely selective in the free swag I pick up at conferences, limiting it to things that actually have use value (e.g., t-shirts, tote bags), are small (pinbacks, stickers for the laptop, small posters), or are reading material (I'll always pick up books). And, yeah, truthfully I pick up some freebies that are just fun to have. Occasionally I'll sell swag on eBay, and do a cleanout once a year and bring the extra goodies to work. So, while I completely understand the appeal of giveaways (and have seen some near smushing over them), I also don't want to clutter my life more than necessary. It's a simple question: Do I really NEED this? And I've never picked up a freebie with the sponsor's expectation that I'm to write about it on the blog.
Apparently, many of the BlogHer attendees spent the weekend picking up as much free stuff as possible, although some insist that "sponsors just handed it to them". Some attendees even "threatened" sponsors when the swag ran out. A blogger who was "denied" her free pair of Crocs threatened the company's marketing representative, seriously saying "Ya know, if you don’t give me shoes – I could totally write something bad about you on my blog". Thankfully the marketing guy shot back saying he "... could pick up my phone here and get in contact with so many people and tell them what just happened that you would be afraid to go near your computer, let alone attempt to blog again". He didn't call out this extortion-blogger on his blog, mainly because he couldn't remember who she was, and even if he had, wouldn't have bothered.
After reading that, I searched the #blogher tag on Twitter, and found many many links to posts about the conference, some critical of how the free swag was handled, others feeling that they deserved all of it. Of course, some bloggers were giving the additional duplicate items they received from sponsors on their blogs. It was kind of sickening to see Tweets like "Did you let your diet go at BlogHer? I'm giving away a pair of Spanx!".
I tried to find some posts that specifically detailed the type and volume of swag given away at BlogHer, but didn't find any itemized lists in my quick search. However, here's a post from an attendee with some photos of her swag. Please note that I do not know this woman AT ALL, and I'm not passing judgment on her swag collection, just using her as an example because she posted photos (it's a pretty good post, too).
Just look at the picture of some of the freebie load spread out on the hotel bed. And then look at the load of freebies she left behind for the housekeeping staff. That is a seriously huge pile of... stuff. Full bottles of shampoo, reusable tote bags and coffee mugs, a useless feather boa, toys, and more that the sponsors probably expect her to write about on her blog.
In fact, some bloggers now want to distance themselves from the label of mommyblogger due to how some of their peers acted during the weekend. Also, Nikon does not hate babies, despite what some mommybloggers want you to believe (read the post, it's an excellent analysis of an incident where a mom and baby were turned away from a private party at a swank, adults-only bar). Seriously, Nikon is NOT going to hurt for business even if a bunch of mommybloggers stage a "protest", no matter how loud you Tweet.
(In fact, it might make me actually consider buying a Nikon.)
Monday, July 27, 2009
Jeffster!!
Unfortunately, I did not attend San Diego Comic Con this year (weep weep weep), but at least I can experience some of it through YouTube. Behold, Jeffster! (And note to Zachary Levi - shave!! But, Adam Baldwin, you look tasty as always.)
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Of Interest (More Links about Buildings and Food*): 07.26.2009
+ Want (but can't seem to find!): Frank Lloyd Wright Lego sets! Two sets are available, the Guggenheim NYC and Fallingwater. Maybe I can find them at the Guggenheim Museum Store, since they are currently featuring the exhibit Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward.+ Slideshow of bank buildings repurposed as other businesses.
+ Get out your X-Atco knife, put in a new blade, and Build Your Own Chicago for free (parts of it anyway). Then head east and Build Your Own New York.
+ I've had yet to try high-end, fancy-schmancy sushi (and yes, that is the technical term), but I've eaten plenty of middle-of-the-road sushi and enjoyed it just fine. Recently I read the manga Oishinbo: Sushi, and was surpised to learn what a complex art form it is. Check out these MRI scans of sushi made by a master chef, a trainee, and a robot to see the differerences between "good" and "bad".
+ There are very few fast food items I will willingly eat, even crave: Chik-Fil-A chicken sandwiches (grilled or fried), and anything from In-N-Out Burger (it's a short menu). But if McDonalds offered some of these menu items in the U.S., I'd actually try some of them: McDonalds Menu Items from Around the World (including BEER! in Germany).
*With apologies to Talking Heads.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Parental Guidance
Original AVQ&A*: What piece of pop culture will you insist on sharing with your children, and what piece of pop culture was passed down to you from your parents?
SPCHQ A: My parents never had much use for items of popular culture, such as movies, books, and music. The best reason I can discern for this is they were both born during the (first) Great Depression, in 1930 (dad) and 1936 (mom), to poorer families that didn't really have a lot of time for leisure. Sure, they listened to the radio programs and music of the day, read comic books, and went to the movies all day on Saturday when they could, but I don't think they could specifically isolate one book, one song, one movie that they felt was important enough to "pass on" to their kids. I know one of mom's favorite movies is The Best Years of Our Lives, and in one of his early school pictures, dad is wearing a Popeye pin on his tie. Dad still has many record albums (true "albums" - sets of 45rpms in one case) from college, but if you played something for him, he probably wouldn't recognize it. Entertainment wasn't a commodity for them the way it is for me. When you've got a depression, a war, and then a bunch of kids to raise on no money, entertainment wasn't high on the list of priorities. By the time I accidentally came along (late in their lives) and was old enough to discover books, movies, and music on my own, my parents didn't influence or interfere. In other words, I wasn't one of those kids listening to Pink Floyd or The Beatles or even Buddy Holly with my parents. I wasn't technically allowed to see R-rated movies until I was about 14 or so, but they never "banned" me from reading a book or listening to music. This "hands off" approach benefited all parties involved.
What I enjoy instead is turning my parents on to movies, books, and music that they might like. A few years ago I got them a cheap DVD player and Netflix. I've gotten my mom to watch movies that were made in the past 20 years, no small feat. She loved Defending Your Life, Legally Blonde, Mother, Hairspray (the 1987 original), and Walk the Line. I drop older movies that she missed in her queue, like some of the Douglas Sirk films. She has problems with the f-word, so her ratings threshold is PG-13, unless it's something historic (like The Pianist) where use of the f-word is more understandable. I've bought Dad some old WWII movies and Godzilla films, but he seems to prefer watching the History Channel, "Dirty Jobs" on Discovery, and other engineering programs.
Concerning the first part of the original question: while I am totally, completely, 100% childfree, I have opinions about children's culture and entertainment, since it's really hard to avoid.
Ideally, the popular culture I would share with my hypothetical children would be books, movies, music, and television that isn't marketed or labeled as "kid's entertainment", but is kid-appropriate anyway. There's plenty of smart entertainment out there a kid could enjoy that doesn't come with it's own marketing plan. What little girl wouldn't like Roman Holiday? Or Treasure of the Sierra Madre for a boy? Why does crap like the "Kidz Bop" music collections exist, when there are The Beatles and plenty of other musical choices? I would make an exception for Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts, but I'd make sure they started reading the strips from 1950 going forward, and would never subject them (and me) to the lesser (and often awful) animated specials from the 80s, 90s, and beyond.
A specific example of a movie that I'd eagerly share with hypothetical offspring is the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, for a few reasons. First of all, the movie takes time to develop - the kids don't visit the factory until about 50 minutes in, giving time to build the story. What fun would it be if Charlie found a golden ticket in the first five minutes? Second, the original movie - like the novel it was based upon - demonstrates that Actions Have Consequences. If you act like a brat, don't be shocked if you get sucked into a tube of chocolate, get dumped into a gaggle of geese, or are miniaturized. It's a humorous way to demonstrate the importance of taking responsibility for your actions. Too few modern "kid movies" really teach that lesson today.
Edited to Add: Here's a photo of some of my Dad's old 45rpm collection - lots of classical, some show tunes.
Edited to Add II: Feel free to contribute to this post, in either direction: your parents --> you; and you --> kids (hypothetical or not).
* This feature is cribbed from the AV Club AVQ&A, where staffers answer a pop culture related question. Read their their answers to parentally passed on pleasures.
SPCHQ A: My parents never had much use for items of popular culture, such as movies, books, and music. The best reason I can discern for this is they were both born during the (first) Great Depression, in 1930 (dad) and 1936 (mom), to poorer families that didn't really have a lot of time for leisure. Sure, they listened to the radio programs and music of the day, read comic books, and went to the movies all day on Saturday when they could, but I don't think they could specifically isolate one book, one song, one movie that they felt was important enough to "pass on" to their kids. I know one of mom's favorite movies is The Best Years of Our Lives, and in one of his early school pictures, dad is wearing a Popeye pin on his tie. Dad still has many record albums (true "albums" - sets of 45rpms in one case) from college, but if you played something for him, he probably wouldn't recognize it. Entertainment wasn't a commodity for them the way it is for me. When you've got a depression, a war, and then a bunch of kids to raise on no money, entertainment wasn't high on the list of priorities. By the time I accidentally came along (late in their lives) and was old enough to discover books, movies, and music on my own, my parents didn't influence or interfere. In other words, I wasn't one of those kids listening to Pink Floyd or The Beatles or even Buddy Holly with my parents. I wasn't technically allowed to see R-rated movies until I was about 14 or so, but they never "banned" me from reading a book or listening to music. This "hands off" approach benefited all parties involved.
What I enjoy instead is turning my parents on to movies, books, and music that they might like. A few years ago I got them a cheap DVD player and Netflix. I've gotten my mom to watch movies that were made in the past 20 years, no small feat. She loved Defending Your Life, Legally Blonde, Mother, Hairspray (the 1987 original), and Walk the Line. I drop older movies that she missed in her queue, like some of the Douglas Sirk films. She has problems with the f-word, so her ratings threshold is PG-13, unless it's something historic (like The Pianist) where use of the f-word is more understandable. I've bought Dad some old WWII movies and Godzilla films, but he seems to prefer watching the History Channel, "Dirty Jobs" on Discovery, and other engineering programs.
Concerning the first part of the original question: while I am totally, completely, 100% childfree, I have opinions about children's culture and entertainment, since it's really hard to avoid.
Ideally, the popular culture I would share with my hypothetical children would be books, movies, music, and television that isn't marketed or labeled as "kid's entertainment", but is kid-appropriate anyway. There's plenty of smart entertainment out there a kid could enjoy that doesn't come with it's own marketing plan. What little girl wouldn't like Roman Holiday? Or Treasure of the Sierra Madre for a boy? Why does crap like the "Kidz Bop" music collections exist, when there are The Beatles and plenty of other musical choices? I would make an exception for Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts, but I'd make sure they started reading the strips from 1950 going forward, and would never subject them (and me) to the lesser (and often awful) animated specials from the 80s, 90s, and beyond.
A specific example of a movie that I'd eagerly share with hypothetical offspring is the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, for a few reasons. First of all, the movie takes time to develop - the kids don't visit the factory until about 50 minutes in, giving time to build the story. What fun would it be if Charlie found a golden ticket in the first five minutes? Second, the original movie - like the novel it was based upon - demonstrates that Actions Have Consequences. If you act like a brat, don't be shocked if you get sucked into a tube of chocolate, get dumped into a gaggle of geese, or are miniaturized. It's a humorous way to demonstrate the importance of taking responsibility for your actions. Too few modern "kid movies" really teach that lesson today.
Edited to Add: Here's a photo of some of my Dad's old 45rpm collection - lots of classical, some show tunes.
Edited to Add II: Feel free to contribute to this post, in either direction: your parents --> you; and you --> kids (hypothetical or not).
* This feature is cribbed from the AV Club AVQ&A, where staffers answer a pop culture related question. Read their their answers to parentally passed on pleasures.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
MoCCA Fest Pile 6.0
(Full disclosure: This review is a bit of a cheat, since I purchased SIDE B at my favorite indie comic shop a few days before the actual MoCCA fest, where it debuted. However, SIDE B is just too good not to mention!)Unlike some friends and colleagues, music hasn't become less important to me as I've grown older. Admittedly, I see much less live music than I used to fifteen years ago - it's an effort to get off the couch, find parking and stay up past midnight anymore. However, I still constantly search out new music and bands, dig in the discount CD bins, and listen to steaming radio stations. If they ever implemented a "no headphones" policy at work, I'd either have to (a) quit; or (b) grow my hair long to hide the earbuds. As much of a retro tech aficionado I am, it is so nice to carry around a couple of hundred songs on something the size of a cigarette lighter.
While I've always loved music, my interest in comics only developed over the past ten years or so, but it's a strong, constantly growing passion, with a special interest in small press and self-published minicomics. A few years ago I really enjoyed the anthology SIDE A: The Music Lover's Graphic Novel from Poseur Ink press. Two years later, the flip side is here, SIDE B: The Music Lovers' Comic Anthology, and it's one of those rare cases where the B-side is even better than the A-side.
Usually in a comic anthology, there are contributions not up to the quality of the rest of the book, stories that make readers wonder "Why did they include that?" However, I can totally, completely, honestly say there are no clunkers in SIDE B. Sure, there were comics I enjoyed more than others, but none that were lacking merit, talent, or substance. It's a great selection of comics, and it's obvious that the editors at Poseur Ink curated this collection carefully and lovingly. This is a fantastic book from start to finish, all bound up in Lucy Kinsely's wraparound cover (with nifty spot varnish, too!).
The comics in SIDE B cover situations and emotions familiar to music junkies, and many of the stories are autobiographical.
As to be expected, there are comics about mix tapes: remembering the days of sitting by the radio, one finger on the record button, just waiting for a real DJ to play that particular song ("Play My Song", Andy Jewett). Some comics are about finding long lost mix tapes, such as the simply titled "Mixtape" by Nicole Miles, and "Ya Know, Yeah, No" by Jon Chad.
Cristy C. Road ("Redemption Day") and Katie Shanahan ("Musical Misfit") contribute comics about music shaping their teenage identities. I really enjoyed "So Closer to the Wall, It's Witchcraft so Do It!" by Jason Marcy and Joe Meyer, especially discovering that after years of trying to decipher Peter Gabriel's lyrics, "Only to learn, years later... that he was fascinated back then with the sounds of the words as he put them together? Most of these songs... meant nothing?" Joshua Rosen ("Same Old Songs") ponders how relationships with music changes as we get older: "We don't start to outgrow music, do we? I mean... God, that sounds so dismissive. But why don't we relate to it in the same way anymore?"
Some artists write and draw about music as a way to cope when someone close to you dies - Liz Baillie's "Radio Radio Radio" (from the Rancid song) is a lovely tribute to a friend who died way too soon. In "A Beggar's Banquet" by Box Brown, family members remember a cousin through his favorite song, The Rolling Stones' "Salt of the Earth". Ed Choy Moorman recalls the musical tastes of his late cousin on a drive in "Dear Dave".
Certainly not all of SIDE B is downbeat and contemplative. Lucy Knisely loses her entire digital music library and lots of musical memories in "The Clean Slate". (Okay, that is depressing - remember to do backups, kids!). In the particularly thoughtful "Out of Step", John Isaacson tries to understand the complexities of Straight Edge, including a response from Ian MacKaye to a frustrated letter he wrote. Jim Mahfood introduces us to the obscure, slightly outsider musician Gary Wilson in "You Think You Really Know Me?". In "A (Yankee) Rose by Any Other Name" by Dino Caruso and Joshua Kemble recalls sneaking down onto the floor of a DLR show in '86 in Toronto, something that is nearly impossible to do anymore.
Of course, there's non-autobiographical selections in SIDE B. In "Torso", a lead singer finds redemption in karaoke after being kicked out of her band, written by Kat Vapid and distinctively drawn by Ryan Kelly. A deceased opera singer saves the cutest little kitty in "The Tale of Tinycat" by Elizabeth Gearhart, and Steve Orlando spins the story of an elementary school kid wants to "Rock and Roll All Fifth Period".
Both indie comic fans and music fans will enjoy SIDE B. Those that are BOTH indie comic fans AND music fans will find it more exhilarating than a perfect three-minute pop song. Highest recommendation.
(Visit the SIDE B site for samples, links to all artists, and more information.)
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Note of interest: A discussion with Karl Erickson, Director of MoCCA, about some of the problems that happened at this year's MoCCA Fest. Also, check out episode of #158 of Indie Spinner Rack, where Charlito and Mr. Phil talk with Fred Van Lente, MoCCA board member, and exhibitor at the Fest.
(See the mocca2009 tag for all reviews.)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Of Interest: 07.14.2009
+ For the linguists, semioticians, and generally geeky out there: 13 Alien Languages You Can Actually Read.
+ Latest addition to my podcast diet: The Ink Panthers Show!, featuring two of my favorite cartoonists: Alex Robinson (Box Office Poison, Too Cool to Be Forgotten) and Mike Dawson (Freddie & Me, Ace Face).
+ Someone else shares my interest in ugly signs and bad design: Your Logo Makes Me Barf. A collection of extremely unattractive, confusing, and downright scary at times logos. Check out this logo for Spa Warrior (at least that what I think it's called), which incorporates three elements of barf: "...beveling on the inside of the typeface, liberal use of gradients, and several color schemes".
However, I actually think this one for The Pool Doctor of Oklahoma City is kind of clever!
+ Latest addition to my podcast diet: The Ink Panthers Show!, featuring two of my favorite cartoonists: Alex Robinson (Box Office Poison, Too Cool to Be Forgotten) and Mike Dawson (Freddie & Me, Ace Face).
+ Someone else shares my interest in ugly signs and bad design: Your Logo Makes Me Barf. A collection of extremely unattractive, confusing, and downright scary at times logos. Check out this logo for Spa Warrior (at least that what I think it's called), which incorporates three elements of barf: "...beveling on the inside of the typeface, liberal use of gradients, and several color schemes".
However, I actually think this one for The Pool Doctor of Oklahoma City is kind of clever!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Basically Fatal
Original AVQ&A*: After looking at last week’s A.V. Club Q&A (lifetime passes), are there any actors, directors, etc. who you now consider blacklisted because of a particular work or group of works? Is there anyone you will take a lifetime pass on?
SPCHQ A: I've been baffled and repulsed by Michael Douglas's film career since the 1980s. He's a terribly over-the-top hammy actor who doesn't just chew the scenery around him, he deep throats it. It is also puzzling that he was every considered "sexy", even in his younger, non-leatherfaced years. The sex scenes in Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, and Disclosure were completely nauseating - how were they every considered hot?
I largely avoid movies where he's in a leading role, and about the only film he's done that I've really enjoyed was Traffic, which was a large ensemble production which minimized his screen time. Unlike Nicolas Cage, who I granted a lifetime pass to, if I come across a Michael Douglas film while channel surfing, I can't switch it fast enough. While it's usually possible to find at least one redeeming quality in an actor, there simply isn't anything I find likable, appealing, or talented about Michael Douglas, and I'll gladly take a lifetime pass on his work.
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* This feature is cribbed from the AV Club, AVQ&A, where staffers answer a pop culture related question. Read who they have taken lifetime passes on.
SPCHQ A: I've been baffled and repulsed by Michael Douglas's film career since the 1980s. He's a terribly over-the-top hammy actor who doesn't just chew the scenery around him, he deep throats it. It is also puzzling that he was every considered "sexy", even in his younger, non-leatherfaced years. The sex scenes in Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, and Disclosure were completely nauseating - how were they every considered hot?
I largely avoid movies where he's in a leading role, and about the only film he's done that I've really enjoyed was Traffic, which was a large ensemble production which minimized his screen time. Unlike Nicolas Cage, who I granted a lifetime pass to, if I come across a Michael Douglas film while channel surfing, I can't switch it fast enough. While it's usually possible to find at least one redeeming quality in an actor, there simply isn't anything I find likable, appealing, or talented about Michael Douglas, and I'll gladly take a lifetime pass on his work.
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* This feature is cribbed from the AV Club, AVQ&A, where staffers answer a pop culture related question. Read who they have taken lifetime passes on.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
MoCCA Fest Pile 5.0
EGG is a great name for detective comics, especially "Hard-boiled Stories" like these. EGG #1 is a collaborative effort - all stories are written and colored by Eric Skillman, and drawn by various artists (a la Harvey Pekar). The comics range from three to eight pages each, each one a complete noir tale. It takes talent to develop characters and tell a tight story in a few pages, but EGG has no clunkers. I'd gladly order another serving of EGG.
Illustration below from "Below the Fold", written by Eric Skillman and drawn by Jorge Coelho.
Peter Quach also employs lean, economical storytelling in the first issue of TRANSIT. He has a great, clean style that really captures NYC, especially the subways. It's also interesting how he grays out the art for flashbacks. Peter is kind enough to offer TRANSIT in entirety for free on his site. Hopefully this will become a multi-issue series.
THE GOOD CATHOLIC #2 is a collection by Matthew Young, a student (possibly alumnus by now) at the Center for Cartoon Studies. This issue contains three stories and a few "demos" (sketches, samples, etc.) By far my favorite is "Articles of Faith", the quest for the identity of an unknown song that just happens to play exactly when the lead character needs it the most.
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SPROCKET: GAPS IN FILM is an interesting hybrid of art and text, a guide to lost, unreleased movies that never actually existed. It's a well-written parody of film guides, and writer John Ira Thomas really knows his cinematic history. I am especially impressed at how he placed these non-existent films in the correct era. For example, "Dump, The Musical" was set for release in 1980, which was also the era of truly bad musical films like The Apple, Can't Stop the Music, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. "Quarters" was set for release in 1984, at the height of the teen sex comedy craze, but was shelved when the U.S. drinking age was raised to 21 that year. "Pericles" was an epic about the "great Athenain leader" and his plans for the city. Set for release in 1973, the actual buildings of Athens - e.g., the Acropolis - were to have speaking parts. In 1973, a film such as this could have actually been made.
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The posters that accompany each of the essays fit perfect as well. Shown here are the posters for "The Questoleros" (a Goonies rip-off from 1987, art by Will Beard), and the particularly impressive "Dump, The Musical" (Art by Will Grant). (Click to enlarge for details.)
Carter Allen is also the creator of THE ADVENTURES OF NIKKI HARRIS, an action-packed, straightforward superhero comic, set on earth after the galactic war with the Voyd. (Info about both Sprockets and Nikki Harris can be found at the Candlelight Press site.)
(See the mocca2009 tag for all reviews.)
Illustration below from "Below the Fold", written by Eric Skillman and drawn by Jorge Coelho.
Peter Quach also employs lean, economical storytelling in the first issue of TRANSIT. He has a great, clean style that really captures NYC, especially the subways. It's also interesting how he grays out the art for flashbacks. Peter is kind enough to offer TRANSIT in entirety for free on his site. Hopefully this will become a multi-issue series.
THE GOOD CATHOLIC #2 is a collection by Matthew Young, a student (possibly alumnus by now) at the Center for Cartoon Studies. This issue contains three stories and a few "demos" (sketches, samples, etc.) By far my favorite is "Articles of Faith", the quest for the identity of an unknown song that just happens to play exactly when the lead character needs it the most.
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SPROCKET: GAPS IN FILM is an interesting hybrid of art and text, a guide to lost, unreleased movies that never actually existed. It's a well-written parody of film guides, and writer John Ira Thomas really knows his cinematic history. I am especially impressed at how he placed these non-existent films in the correct era. For example, "Dump, The Musical" was set for release in 1980, which was also the era of truly bad musical films like The Apple, Can't Stop the Music, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. "Quarters" was set for release in 1984, at the height of the teen sex comedy craze, but was shelved when the U.S. drinking age was raised to 21 that year. "Pericles" was an epic about the "great Athenain leader" and his plans for the city. Set for release in 1973, the actual buildings of Athens - e.g., the Acropolis - were to have speaking parts. In 1973, a film such as this could have actually been made..jpg)
The posters that accompany each of the essays fit perfect as well. Shown here are the posters for "The Questoleros" (a Goonies rip-off from 1987, art by Will Beard), and the particularly impressive "Dump, The Musical" (Art by Will Grant). (Click to enlarge for details.)Carter Allen is also the creator of THE ADVENTURES OF NIKKI HARRIS, an action-packed, straightforward superhero comic, set on earth after the galactic war with the Voyd. (Info about both Sprockets and Nikki Harris can be found at the Candlelight Press site.)
(See the mocca2009 tag for all reviews.)
Monday, July 06, 2009
"Hey, you want a bag with that, lady?"
"Naw, I gotta husband."
(Overheard at the Columbus Farmers Market, in Columbus NJ.)
Today I was cajoled into taking a drive to the Columbus Farmers Market in lovely Columbus, NJ.
Oh hell, who am I kidding. I didn't need to be cajoled.
The Columbus Farmers Market is a mix of produce, used junk, cheap clothing, and everything else. I am not sure if these places are unique to the East coast, specifically PA, NJ, and MD, or if they are a nationwide thing. When I was living in the Midwest, there were lots of "antique barns", but those weren't scrappy places like these flea markets. I picked up a pile of 60s-era LIFE magazines, which I plan on scouring for interesting ads.
The current camera phone I use is 2.1MP, which is the same resolution of my first digital camera back around 2002 (which was bought refurbished). While the "real" digital camera takes higher resolution pictures, you can't beat a camera phone for discretion. Here's some snapshots from the day. (Unfortunately I wasn't able to take a covert photo of the porno mag and DVD stand, which had a box with the label "One Dollar Porno Mags", nor of the couple sorting through the crates of Playboys while their kids waited nearby in a stroller, which they at least turned away from the porno table.)
In the flea market area, people sell stuff from the back of their cars. Truthfully, there's a lot of crap.
Keeping the spirit of the 8-track mind alive:
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Unfortunately, this probably didn't survive the recent digital television transition:
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There were a few questionable items in the flea market area, such as this:
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Inside the sheds, most of the items for sale are new. For some reason, there are many vendors selling multipacks of socks. Next time, I'm just going to do a photographic study in socks for sale.
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If you're tired of a boring toilet brush, you can class up your bathroom with these beauties:
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There are objects at the market that just make you stop and wonder, "How did that wind up for sale in the middle of New Jersey?" Today's "how did that get here" product was packages of Japanese Tide. (Sorry, no Mr. Sparkle.)
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At the past-date, half-price newsstand inside, there was a mural that was a slight copyright infringement. Here's Bender from Futurama picking Homer Simpson's pocket, while Cartman from South Park shoplifts, followed by Family Guy's Stewie and Brian sharing a blunt.
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If you get hungry, there are lots of food choices. (Although that oil probably hasn't been changed in a while.)
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And while most customer and vendors are probably satisfied with their Columbus Farmers Market experience, there's always a dissenter.
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Today I was cajoled into taking a drive to the Columbus Farmers Market in lovely Columbus, NJ.
Oh hell, who am I kidding. I didn't need to be cajoled.
The Columbus Farmers Market is a mix of produce, used junk, cheap clothing, and everything else. I am not sure if these places are unique to the East coast, specifically PA, NJ, and MD, or if they are a nationwide thing. When I was living in the Midwest, there were lots of "antique barns", but those weren't scrappy places like these flea markets. I picked up a pile of 60s-era LIFE magazines, which I plan on scouring for interesting ads.
The current camera phone I use is 2.1MP, which is the same resolution of my first digital camera back around 2002 (which was bought refurbished). While the "real" digital camera takes higher resolution pictures, you can't beat a camera phone for discretion. Here's some snapshots from the day. (Unfortunately I wasn't able to take a covert photo of the porno mag and DVD stand, which had a box with the label "One Dollar Porno Mags", nor of the couple sorting through the crates of Playboys while their kids waited nearby in a stroller, which they at least turned away from the porno table.)
In the flea market area, people sell stuff from the back of their cars. Truthfully, there's a lot of crap.
Keeping the spirit of the 8-track mind alive:
.jpg)
Unfortunately, this probably didn't survive the recent digital television transition:
.jpg)
There were a few questionable items in the flea market area, such as this:
.jpg)
Inside the sheds, most of the items for sale are new. For some reason, there are many vendors selling multipacks of socks. Next time, I'm just going to do a photographic study in socks for sale.
.jpg)
If you're tired of a boring toilet brush, you can class up your bathroom with these beauties:
.jpg)
There are objects at the market that just make you stop and wonder, "How did that wind up for sale in the middle of New Jersey?" Today's "how did that get here" product was packages of Japanese Tide. (Sorry, no Mr. Sparkle.)
.jpg)
At the past-date, half-price newsstand inside, there was a mural that was a slight copyright infringement. Here's Bender from Futurama picking Homer Simpson's pocket, while Cartman from South Park shoplifts, followed by Family Guy's Stewie and Brian sharing a blunt.
.jpg)
.jpg)
If you get hungry, there are lots of food choices. (Although that oil probably hasn't been changed in a while.)
.jpg)
And while most customer and vendors are probably satisfied with their Columbus Farmers Market experience, there's always a dissenter.
.jpg)
Friday, July 03, 2009
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Flyin' the Flannel*
"I've got nothing left to beDo you have some plans for me?"
"Plans", Dinosaur Jr.
In heavy rotation is the newest album from Dinosaur Jr., FARM. It's a wonderful sludgy mess and I can't stop listening to it. Sure, it could have been a bit shorter (maybe lop off 2 or 3 songs), but otherwise one of the highlights of 2009 so far.
FARM just makes me want to dig out and put on my grossest jeans, thermal undershirt, cozy flannel shirt (or two), and tuck my dirty hair up under a watch cap, followed by curling up on the floor with a six pack, a copy of Ben is Dead, pack of smokes, and listening to music all night. I want to be, as an Ex once described my fashion sense, "a grunge reject from 1992" again.
Fine. I romanticize the late 80s/early 90s, up until around a certain date in 1994. I had boundless energy, a hollow leg for drinking, and a sweet cheap apartment. I was also much happier than I am now. Until recently, I didn't realize that there was another reason they were a glorious half-decade.
The (ahem) "grunge years" weren't littered with all the whimsically twee shit that clutters and clogs all aspects of today's popular media (music, films, print).
They were free of the "precious" stylings of low-fi folk musicians like Kimya Dawson, free of organized kickball leagues and other organized schoolyard games played by adults, free of toddler dance parties at hipster bars. There were no Diablo Cody-written screenplays, no men wearing $30 powder pink t-shirts with sparkly unicorns and rainbows (in fact, there were no $30 t-shirts except Calvin Klein), and I'm pretty sure that men grew beards out of laziness and need for warmth, not to be an urban gnome (or, alternately, "beardo"). Not every craft project featured an owl. Brooklyn was where people lived if they couldn't afford Manhattan, and wasn't Ground Zero for Hipsters. Yes, there was irony, perhaps even smirking irony, but at least it wasn't smugness or worse, smirking smugness.
Things weren't precious, darling, adorable, whimsical, twee, fanciful, or flighty. They were thick and sludgy and layered: the music, the clothes, and the literature. People were angry, people were depressed, and somehow that made for great music.
If Kurt Cobain hadn't shot himself in 1994, knowing sites such as Look at This Fucking Hipster needed to exist may have gotten that gun in his hand, pronto. Finding out that Look at This Fucking Hipster is being turned into a book certainly would have.
(Stream tracks from FARM at Dinosaur Jr.'s MySpace page.)
*Tip o' the hat to Mike Watt.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
MoCCA Fest Pile 4.0
Since the indie/minicomics scene is large, scattered all over the world, and lacks any sort of central review/new issue announcement location (like the old Factsheet 5 was for zines), it's very easy to completely miss good comics. Even just looking at other people's hauls from MoCCA, I wondered if I attended the same event. Of course, there's comics that I've been hearing about for a while, but for unknown reasons never picked them up or even them read on the web. Although I knew about the comics of Julia Wertz and Liz Baillie, I had never read any of their work before MoCCA Fest. Now I'm on a mission to track down more of their work.
Julia Wertz has been drawing the web-published autobiographical comic The Fart Party since 2005, and her second print collection - cleverly titled The Fart Party, Volume 2 - has just been published by Atomic Book Company. Julia writes and draws about the daily frustrations of life, self-loathing, drinking, bodily functions, city life (first in San Francisco, now in Brooklyn), bad jobs, books, music, and anything else. Her comics kind of remind me of myself 15 or so years ago, which may or may not be a good thing.
While The Fart Party is a web-published comic, the printed books contain many more comic than are archived on the site. Plus, you can safely read the printed versions of The Fart Party in the tub without fear of electrocution. Most importantly, you help to support a really good independent publisher/cartoonist.
To give you a sampling of Julia's work, here's the web versions of some of my favorite comics in The Fart Party 2:
Julia Wertz also curated one of my favorite comic anthologies of 2009, I Saw You.
Liz Baillie is another cartoonist whose work I had heard many great things about, but never read.
I have to make a full confession here: I had been avoiding reading Liz's comics because they involved punk kids. Now, I have nothing against punk music at all - much of it is good, important listening. I've seen many punk shows, bought many punk records, and played punk music on my college radio show. In 1994, I even had the Screeching Weasel logo tattooed on my back. However, for me at least, punk is mainly musical, not political. I love the music, but have found the punk "scene" of the past ten years or so to become somewhat intolerable, full of crusty, trainhopping types who stand out in front of shows and beg for change with one hand while using an iPhone with the other. I've read so many shitty punk zines that I somehow thought that Liz's My Brain Hurts was going to be a shitty punk comic filled with romanticized and whimsical tales of bike riding, dumpster diving, fighting "the system", theft, Free Mumia rallies, and other attempts at rebellion.
However, in the collected My Brain Hurts (includes issues #1 to #5 of the minicomic), there is nary a bike or a dumpster. Yes, 40 ouncers are lifted from a bodgea, and there's punk shows and barfing, but My Brain Hurts should not be labeled just as "a punk comic". These stories about confused teenagers can apply to the teens of any culture or subculture, and Liz has created characters you really do care about. I really need to know what happens to Kate and Joey (pictured below), their parents, and the other characters, and I want to apologize to Liz for not reading her comics earlier because of my anti-crusty punk kid biases. I only hope she collects issues #6 to #10 in another book soon.
Liz has also started a new comic series, a road trip adventure story (with foster kids, not punk kids this time) called FREEWHEEL. Issue #1 left me wanting more.
(See the mocca2009 tag for all reviews.)
Julia Wertz has been drawing the web-published autobiographical comic The Fart Party since 2005, and her second print collection - cleverly titled The Fart Party, Volume 2 - has just been published by Atomic Book Company. Julia writes and draws about the daily frustrations of life, self-loathing, drinking, bodily functions, city life (first in San Francisco, now in Brooklyn), bad jobs, books, music, and anything else. Her comics kind of remind me of myself 15 or so years ago, which may or may not be a good thing.
While The Fart Party is a web-published comic, the printed books contain many more comic than are archived on the site. Plus, you can safely read the printed versions of The Fart Party in the tub without fear of electrocution. Most importantly, you help to support a really good independent publisher/cartoonist.
To give you a sampling of Julia's work, here's the web versions of some of my favorite comics in The Fart Party 2:
- Fog Makes Me Whimsical
- Dustpan Vagina
- Waste of Space
- Drawing in the Attic
- Night Before Moving to New York
Julia Wertz also curated one of my favorite comic anthologies of 2009, I Saw You.
Liz Baillie is another cartoonist whose work I had heard many great things about, but never read.I have to make a full confession here: I had been avoiding reading Liz's comics because they involved punk kids. Now, I have nothing against punk music at all - much of it is good, important listening. I've seen many punk shows, bought many punk records, and played punk music on my college radio show. In 1994, I even had the Screeching Weasel logo tattooed on my back. However, for me at least, punk is mainly musical, not political. I love the music, but have found the punk "scene" of the past ten years or so to become somewhat intolerable, full of crusty, trainhopping types who stand out in front of shows and beg for change with one hand while using an iPhone with the other. I've read so many shitty punk zines that I somehow thought that Liz's My Brain Hurts was going to be a shitty punk comic filled with romanticized and whimsical tales of bike riding, dumpster diving, fighting "the system", theft, Free Mumia rallies, and other attempts at rebellion.
However, in the collected My Brain Hurts (includes issues #1 to #5 of the minicomic), there is nary a bike or a dumpster. Yes, 40 ouncers are lifted from a bodgea, and there's punk shows and barfing, but My Brain Hurts should not be labeled just as "a punk comic". These stories about confused teenagers can apply to the teens of any culture or subculture, and Liz has created characters you really do care about. I really need to know what happens to Kate and Joey (pictured below), their parents, and the other characters, and I want to apologize to Liz for not reading her comics earlier because of my anti-crusty punk kid biases. I only hope she collects issues #6 to #10 in another book soon.
Liz has also started a new comic series, a road trip adventure story (with foster kids, not punk kids this time) called FREEWHEEL. Issue #1 left me wanting more.
(See the mocca2009 tag for all reviews.)
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