It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World XXIII
Ogilvy & Mather in Toronto has created an ad spot for the Television Bureau of Canada's awards, the Bessies. It's a well-produced and bittersweet short film about the birth -- and death -- of an idea.
Thanks to Media Dietician Laszlo Perlorian.
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
Corollary: The Blogging of Business
Well, one of my questions about how AlwaysOn plans to incorporate members' voices outside of comments and discussion posts has been addressed. In my in box yesterday was an email from Tony Perkins that reads:
Seems like they're heading in the right direction!
Well, one of my questions about how AlwaysOn plans to incorporate members' voices outside of comments and discussion posts has been addressed. In my in box yesterday was an email from Tony Perkins that reads:
AlwaysOn wants your opinion! But it has to be 600 words or less.
AO is your site. I would like to extend you a personal invitation to tell the rest of us what you think. This opinion piece should be 600 words or less, very specific in its point, and ideally supported by a few data points and a few links to other sites.
Once you have a proof-read version of your contribution please feel free to send it to me at this e-mail address. We look forward to seeing what you come up with.
We now have over 6,000 members, and when you browse the member profiles you can see that it is a pretty smart group. So in addition to our regular correspondents, we wanted to open up the site to our most thoughtful members.
In the next version of the site (v.75) we will be adding a member blog room so everyone can go at it. And we will be posting the entries that get the most views and highest ratings on the home page. Any other suggestions on how you think we should evolve the site would be appreciated.
Seems like they're heading in the right direction!
Monday, February 17, 2003
Comic Books and Commerce
Ninth Art's Paul O'Brien asks: Has Marvel sold its creative soul to the anti-smoking lobby?
Ninth Art's Paul O'Brien asks: Has Marvel sold its creative soul to the anti-smoking lobby?
Blogging About Blogging L
Google just bought Pyra Labs, maker of Blogger. Congratulations, Ev! And happy President's Day.
Thanks to Interesting People.
Google just bought Pyra Labs, maker of Blogger. Congratulations, Ev! And happy President's Day.
Thanks to Interesting People.
Event-O-Dex XXXVI
The Zeitgeist Gallery in Inman Square in Cambridge is hosting an exhibition of original comic art featuring R. Crumb, Dan Clowes, Rick Altergott, Ariel Bordeaux, Jack Davis, Greg Cook, Art Spiegelman, and others through the month of March. "Comics as Art" can be seen at 1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge.
The Zeitgeist Gallery in Inman Square in Cambridge is hosting an exhibition of original comic art featuring R. Crumb, Dan Clowes, Rick Altergott, Ariel Bordeaux, Jack Davis, Greg Cook, Art Spiegelman, and others through the month of March. "Comics as Art" can be seen at 1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge.
Comics and Community VIII
The March 2003 edition of Wizard includes an item about an interesting music-and-comics collaboration between Jim Mahfood and DJ Z-Trip. Now that Mahfood has moved to LA, he's done some "live art" at the El Rey Theater in December. While Z-Trip played hip-hop and funk music, Mahfood threw up some giant murals. Word is they intend to do more comics collaborations in the future.
The March 2003 edition of Wizard includes an item about an interesting music-and-comics collaboration between Jim Mahfood and DJ Z-Trip. Now that Mahfood has moved to LA, he's done some "live art" at the El Rey Theater in December. While Z-Trip played hip-hop and funk music, Mahfood threw up some giant murals. Word is they intend to do more comics collaborations in the future.
Comic Book Collections IV
Not so much comic books as s-f and punk-rock fanzines, here are two interesting DIY archival opportunities.
Per the September 2002 issue of Locus, and as mentioned here Aug. 2, 2002, the University of Calgary Library acquired the s-f book and magazine collection of William Robert Gibson, who died at the of 92 in 2001. Gibson's collection spans Jules Verne's 19th-century work to the 21st century's cyperpunk writing. It also comprises pulp magazines from the 1920s-1950s. The library estimates that it needs to raise $500,000 to clean, preserve, catalog, and house the collection, which will be open to researchers. Email Blane Hogue, director of development, information resources, for more information.
And in Maximumrocknroll #236, Mykel Board says that the Salt Lake City Library System is paying cash money for non-newsprint zines. Mail materials to Brooke Young, Salt Lake City Public Library, 209 E. 500 S., Salt Lake City, UT 84111 -- with a bill -- and the library will send you a check to cover the donation. Board's already sent them some stuff and gotten his.
Not so much comic books as s-f and punk-rock fanzines, here are two interesting DIY archival opportunities.
Per the September 2002 issue of Locus, and as mentioned here Aug. 2, 2002, the University of Calgary Library acquired the s-f book and magazine collection of William Robert Gibson, who died at the of 92 in 2001. Gibson's collection spans Jules Verne's 19th-century work to the 21st century's cyperpunk writing. It also comprises pulp magazines from the 1920s-1950s. The library estimates that it needs to raise $500,000 to clean, preserve, catalog, and house the collection, which will be open to researchers. Email Blane Hogue, director of development, information resources, for more information.
And in Maximumrocknroll #236, Mykel Board says that the Salt Lake City Library System is paying cash money for non-newsprint zines. Mail materials to Brooke Young, Salt Lake City Public Library, 209 E. 500 S., Salt Lake City, UT 84111 -- with a bill -- and the library will send you a check to cover the donation. Board's already sent them some stuff and gotten his.
Pieces, Particles XIII
With the onset of winter in Boss Town, I've been spending some real quality time on the Big Blue Couch at Church Corner. I hope to keep up with my clip file more frequently, and I apologize for the daunting entry that follows. That said, the following media-related stories recently spotted in print publications might be worth a look. Heads and decks, only. Heads and decks.
Alternative Voices on Campus by Emma Ruby-Sachs and Timothy Waligore, The Nation, Feb. 17, 2003
Progressive journals are key in creating a movement, but they lack support
Are You Addicted to TV? by Martiga Lohn, Natural Health, January/February 2003
You can turn it off whenever you want, right? Or can you? Find out what TV is really doing to you and how altering your habits can change your life
Big Brother Is Also Being Watched, with a New Alarm by Eleanor Heartney, The New York Times, Jan. 26, 2003
Even before 9/11, artists were looking at issues raised by a society of surveillance
Blabberwocky by Scot Lehigh, The Boston Globe Magazine, Feb. 9, 2003
We've all begun to talk in media-driven stupid-speak, clipped cliches and solecisms that amount to a verbal virus
Bone: The End, Wizard, February 2003
Boston's Logan International Airport by Douglas Corrigan, Airliners, September/October 2002
Gateway to New England
Cable TV System Uprooted, and Some Russian Immigrants See Vestiges of Totalitarian Past by Andy Newman, The New York Times, Jan. 5, 2003
A building manager cuts off reception of a Russian-language channel
Charles N. Brown: The Joy of SF by Jennifer Hall, Locus, September 2002
Community Rallies to Aid Creator, Wizard, February 2003
Copyright Monopolies by Andrew Shapiro, The Nation, Feb. 17, 2003
Culture Change by David Goodman, Mother Jones, January/February 2003
Does the selling of Stonyfield Farm yogurt signals the end of socially responsible business -- or a new beginning?
Dial Again by Roger Angell, The New Yorker, Feb. 10, 2003
On the Ameche
Doctor, My Eyes by Joel Achenbach, National Geographic, February 2003
How we watch TV ads
Doing Their Own Thing, Making Art Together by Holland Cotter, The New York Times, Jan. 19, 2003
A new movement of collectives, with names like rock bands, harks back to the 60's (an uncool notion for these digital-age multitaskers).
E-Epistles by Anjula Razdan, Utne, January-February 2003
A letter-writing revival
Fear of a Punk Planet by Ivan Kreilkamp, The Nation, Jan. 13-20, 2003
Flash News by Geoff Edgers, The Boston Globe, Jan. 26, 2003
Call them reality videos. They show young women willing to life their shirts, and 4.5 million were sold last year
The Forest for the Trees by Michael Ackerman, The Big Takeover, No. 51
Game School's Finest Minds by Mark Schone, Rolling Stone, Feb. 20, 2003
Meet the young stars of a university devoted to video games -- they're the happiest dorks in college
Get Ready for the Blogs by Leif Utne, Utne, January-February 2003
Making good on the Internet's promise of a global village
Getting Your War On by Camille Dodero, The Boston Phoenix, Oct. 25, 2002
Here at GQ by Martin Beiser, GQ, September 2002
Notes on forty-five years of ascendancy
Here Comes the Fuzz by Richard Linnett, Advertising Age, Jan. 13, 2003
Bat Boy crosses the line
The Hidden Life of Art Supplies by Sara Zaske, Sierra, January/February 2003
Holy Rock 'n' Rollers by Lauren Sandler, The Nation, Jan. 13-20, 2003
How to Write a Catchy Beer Ad by Chris Ballard, The New York Times Magazine, Jan. 26, 2003
Footballs, guitars -- and twins -- turned a commercial into a phenomenon
The Hush of History by Cate McQuaid, The Boston Globe, Jan. 26, 2003
Not all at Quabbin is a watery grave; relics of people and towns remain
Just Plain Folks Write Songs, Too by Jon Pareles, The New York Times, Feb. 9, 2003
For decades, song-sharking has preyed on naive, hopeful amateurs. But sometimes the racket can turn up winners
Ladder to Success by Joanna Weiss, The Boston Globe, Feb. 9, 2003
Step by step, publicists help turn shabby area into hip new district for Boston's martini crowd
The Lost Art of Reading the Newspaper at Night by A.J. Jacobs, Esquire, February 2003
Major Labels' Century-Long Abuse of Artists (and Customers), and Why Things Are Finally Starting to Change by Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover, No. 51
The Man Who Wasn't There by David Wild, Rolling Stone, Jan. 23, 2003
Being the director of Adaptation and the skate-punk husband of Hollywood royalty is one thing. Being able to talk about it, well, um...
A Meter Man with a Mission by Marilyn Berlin Snell, Sierra, January/February 2003
Mexico City's VW Bugs Are Headed for Extinction by Tim Weiner, The New York Times, Jan. 5, 2003
Mobile Afterlife by Katie Fehrenbacher, ReadyMade, No. 5
Where do cell phones go when they die?
New Plaque Marks the First Home of the Globe by Karla Kingsley, The Boston Globe, Jan. 25, 2003
Not So Funny by Mike Miliard, The Boston Phoenix, Feb. 7, 2003
"Comic" strips get serious about life
Online Treachery by Lazlow, Playboy, February 2003 (?)
Net gaming has become a sinister playground for lurkers and assholes
Orville Poundridge's GQ by David Kamp, GQ, September 2002
A scrapbook of the century past
The Power of Music by Ann Powers, The Nation, Jan. 13-20, 2003
Practical Publishers by Phil Hall, The Hartford Courant, Oct. 17, 2002
Online magazines succeed by holding down startup costs, sometimes to zero
The "Public Interest" by Bill O'Driscoll, The Nation, Jan. 6, 2003
Real People by Jenn Shreve, ReadyMade, No. 5
In advertising's new reality, the ultimate sales pitch is you
The Reconnection by Chris Wright, The Boston Phoenix, Jan. 24, 2003
Two years after his break-up with WBUR, Chris Lydon is back in business
Scientists Make Music with DNA, The Boston Globe, Jan. 19, 2003
Social Climbing by Blaize Wilkinson, ReadyMade, No. 5
How to be an urban tour guide
Spambusters by Jacqueline White, Utne, January-February 2003
How to rid your inbox of penis enlargement offers
Spammers ISO Respect by Brad Stone, Newsweek, Dec. 30, 2002/Jan. 6, 2003
Straight to Video by John Mankiewicz, The New Yorker, Feb. 10, 2003
Tangled up in Spam by James Gleick, The New York Times Magazine, Feb. 9, 2003
Those unwanted messages have become the bane of the Internet. Why we can't just say no
Teen Beat by Mark Singer, The New Yorker, Jan. 13, 2003
What happens when a high-school weekly is the only newspaper in town
That Sucking Sound by Neal Pollack, GQ, February 2003
Gimmicks, antics and ironic distance. Who needs real talent when you've mastered punk-rock foolishness?
TV on DVD: A-OK by Matthew Gilbert, The Boston Globe Magazine, Jan. 26, 2003
Several television series are now available on disc, meaning a longer afterlife and maybe even better programs in the future
Urban Legends by Michael Azerrad, The New Yorker, Aug. 12, 2002
Utopia 2.0 by Leif Utne, Utne, January-February 2003
Play games, build a future
Video Underground by Mike Miliard, The Boston Phoenix, Oct. 25, 2002
Indie film finds a home
Voices of America by Tom Sinclair, Entertainment Weekly, Feb. 14, 2003
For 50 years, ordinary folk have paid to have their verse set to music. Now song-poems are being hailed as art
Wall Street Journal Bigs Up NME!, New Musical Express, Jan. 4, 2003
Financial bible acclaims our role in breaking new talent on both sides of the pond
Was Romenesko Rebuilt in a Daze? by Greg Mitchell, Editor & Publisher, Nov. 25, 2002
Forget Iraq, Osama, and the ad-revenue blahs: When a favorite Web site gets redesigned, all hell breaks loose in media land
What It's Really Like... to Give Birth on Television by Stephanie Karp, Parents, February 2003
We agreed to let a camera crew videotape my labor and delivery and broadcast it to millions
When Uncle Sam Wanted Us by Paul Rauber, Sierra, January/February 2003
To Vice President Dick Cheney, conservation is just "a sign of personal virtue." In World War II, it was every citizen's duty
Why Information Will No Longer Be Free by Michael Scherer, Columbia Journalism Review, January/February 2003
Zen Is Not a Perfume by Jan Chozen Bays, Buddhadharma, Fall 2002
If you work for a magazine and would like to sign me up for a complimentary subscription, please feel free to do so. My address is in the grey bar over on the left.
With the onset of winter in Boss Town, I've been spending some real quality time on the Big Blue Couch at Church Corner. I hope to keep up with my clip file more frequently, and I apologize for the daunting entry that follows. That said, the following media-related stories recently spotted in print publications might be worth a look. Heads and decks, only. Heads and decks.
Alternative Voices on Campus by Emma Ruby-Sachs and Timothy Waligore, The Nation, Feb. 17, 2003
Progressive journals are key in creating a movement, but they lack support
Are You Addicted to TV? by Martiga Lohn, Natural Health, January/February 2003
You can turn it off whenever you want, right? Or can you? Find out what TV is really doing to you and how altering your habits can change your life
Big Brother Is Also Being Watched, with a New Alarm by Eleanor Heartney, The New York Times, Jan. 26, 2003
Even before 9/11, artists were looking at issues raised by a society of surveillance
Blabberwocky by Scot Lehigh, The Boston Globe Magazine, Feb. 9, 2003
We've all begun to talk in media-driven stupid-speak, clipped cliches and solecisms that amount to a verbal virus
Bone: The End, Wizard, February 2003
Boston's Logan International Airport by Douglas Corrigan, Airliners, September/October 2002
Gateway to New England
Cable TV System Uprooted, and Some Russian Immigrants See Vestiges of Totalitarian Past by Andy Newman, The New York Times, Jan. 5, 2003
A building manager cuts off reception of a Russian-language channel
Charles N. Brown: The Joy of SF by Jennifer Hall, Locus, September 2002
Community Rallies to Aid Creator, Wizard, February 2003
Copyright Monopolies by Andrew Shapiro, The Nation, Feb. 17, 2003
Culture Change by David Goodman, Mother Jones, January/February 2003
Does the selling of Stonyfield Farm yogurt signals the end of socially responsible business -- or a new beginning?
Dial Again by Roger Angell, The New Yorker, Feb. 10, 2003
On the Ameche
Doctor, My Eyes by Joel Achenbach, National Geographic, February 2003
How we watch TV ads
Doing Their Own Thing, Making Art Together by Holland Cotter, The New York Times, Jan. 19, 2003
A new movement of collectives, with names like rock bands, harks back to the 60's (an uncool notion for these digital-age multitaskers).
E-Epistles by Anjula Razdan, Utne, January-February 2003
A letter-writing revival
Fear of a Punk Planet by Ivan Kreilkamp, The Nation, Jan. 13-20, 2003
Flash News by Geoff Edgers, The Boston Globe, Jan. 26, 2003
Call them reality videos. They show young women willing to life their shirts, and 4.5 million were sold last year
The Forest for the Trees by Michael Ackerman, The Big Takeover, No. 51
Game School's Finest Minds by Mark Schone, Rolling Stone, Feb. 20, 2003
Meet the young stars of a university devoted to video games -- they're the happiest dorks in college
Get Ready for the Blogs by Leif Utne, Utne, January-February 2003
Making good on the Internet's promise of a global village
Getting Your War On by Camille Dodero, The Boston Phoenix, Oct. 25, 2002
Here at GQ by Martin Beiser, GQ, September 2002
Notes on forty-five years of ascendancy
Here Comes the Fuzz by Richard Linnett, Advertising Age, Jan. 13, 2003
Bat Boy crosses the line
The Hidden Life of Art Supplies by Sara Zaske, Sierra, January/February 2003
Holy Rock 'n' Rollers by Lauren Sandler, The Nation, Jan. 13-20, 2003
How to Write a Catchy Beer Ad by Chris Ballard, The New York Times Magazine, Jan. 26, 2003
Footballs, guitars -- and twins -- turned a commercial into a phenomenon
The Hush of History by Cate McQuaid, The Boston Globe, Jan. 26, 2003
Not all at Quabbin is a watery grave; relics of people and towns remain
Just Plain Folks Write Songs, Too by Jon Pareles, The New York Times, Feb. 9, 2003
For decades, song-sharking has preyed on naive, hopeful amateurs. But sometimes the racket can turn up winners
Ladder to Success by Joanna Weiss, The Boston Globe, Feb. 9, 2003
Step by step, publicists help turn shabby area into hip new district for Boston's martini crowd
The Lost Art of Reading the Newspaper at Night by A.J. Jacobs, Esquire, February 2003
Major Labels' Century-Long Abuse of Artists (and Customers), and Why Things Are Finally Starting to Change by Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover, No. 51
The Man Who Wasn't There by David Wild, Rolling Stone, Jan. 23, 2003
Being the director of Adaptation and the skate-punk husband of Hollywood royalty is one thing. Being able to talk about it, well, um...
A Meter Man with a Mission by Marilyn Berlin Snell, Sierra, January/February 2003
Mexico City's VW Bugs Are Headed for Extinction by Tim Weiner, The New York Times, Jan. 5, 2003
Mobile Afterlife by Katie Fehrenbacher, ReadyMade, No. 5
Where do cell phones go when they die?
New Plaque Marks the First Home of the Globe by Karla Kingsley, The Boston Globe, Jan. 25, 2003
Not So Funny by Mike Miliard, The Boston Phoenix, Feb. 7, 2003
"Comic" strips get serious about life
Online Treachery by Lazlow, Playboy, February 2003 (?)
Net gaming has become a sinister playground for lurkers and assholes
Orville Poundridge's GQ by David Kamp, GQ, September 2002
A scrapbook of the century past
The Power of Music by Ann Powers, The Nation, Jan. 13-20, 2003
Practical Publishers by Phil Hall, The Hartford Courant, Oct. 17, 2002
Online magazines succeed by holding down startup costs, sometimes to zero
The "Public Interest" by Bill O'Driscoll, The Nation, Jan. 6, 2003
Real People by Jenn Shreve, ReadyMade, No. 5
In advertising's new reality, the ultimate sales pitch is you
The Reconnection by Chris Wright, The Boston Phoenix, Jan. 24, 2003
Two years after his break-up with WBUR, Chris Lydon is back in business
Scientists Make Music with DNA, The Boston Globe, Jan. 19, 2003
Social Climbing by Blaize Wilkinson, ReadyMade, No. 5
How to be an urban tour guide
Spambusters by Jacqueline White, Utne, January-February 2003
How to rid your inbox of penis enlargement offers
Spammers ISO Respect by Brad Stone, Newsweek, Dec. 30, 2002/Jan. 6, 2003
Straight to Video by John Mankiewicz, The New Yorker, Feb. 10, 2003
Tangled up in Spam by James Gleick, The New York Times Magazine, Feb. 9, 2003
Those unwanted messages have become the bane of the Internet. Why we can't just say no
Teen Beat by Mark Singer, The New Yorker, Jan. 13, 2003
What happens when a high-school weekly is the only newspaper in town
That Sucking Sound by Neal Pollack, GQ, February 2003
Gimmicks, antics and ironic distance. Who needs real talent when you've mastered punk-rock foolishness?
TV on DVD: A-OK by Matthew Gilbert, The Boston Globe Magazine, Jan. 26, 2003
Several television series are now available on disc, meaning a longer afterlife and maybe even better programs in the future
Urban Legends by Michael Azerrad, The New Yorker, Aug. 12, 2002
Utopia 2.0 by Leif Utne, Utne, January-February 2003
Play games, build a future
Video Underground by Mike Miliard, The Boston Phoenix, Oct. 25, 2002
Indie film finds a home
Voices of America by Tom Sinclair, Entertainment Weekly, Feb. 14, 2003
For 50 years, ordinary folk have paid to have their verse set to music. Now song-poems are being hailed as art
Wall Street Journal Bigs Up NME!, New Musical Express, Jan. 4, 2003
Financial bible acclaims our role in breaking new talent on both sides of the pond
Was Romenesko Rebuilt in a Daze? by Greg Mitchell, Editor & Publisher, Nov. 25, 2002
Forget Iraq, Osama, and the ad-revenue blahs: When a favorite Web site gets redesigned, all hell breaks loose in media land
What It's Really Like... to Give Birth on Television by Stephanie Karp, Parents, February 2003
We agreed to let a camera crew videotape my labor and delivery and broadcast it to millions
When Uncle Sam Wanted Us by Paul Rauber, Sierra, January/February 2003
To Vice President Dick Cheney, conservation is just "a sign of personal virtue." In World War II, it was every citizen's duty
Why Information Will No Longer Be Free by Michael Scherer, Columbia Journalism Review, January/February 2003
Zen Is Not a Perfume by Jan Chozen Bays, Buddhadharma, Fall 2002
If you work for a magazine and would like to sign me up for a complimentary subscription, please feel free to do so. My address is in the grey bar over on the left.
Digesting the Daily VIII
Recent editions of the Daily Northwestern, the student newspaper of my alma mater, featured several media-, technology-, and activism-related items that might be of interest to Media Dieticians.
MTV correspondent battles stereotypes, bad music
Asian American dishes on celebrities, making it big, in front of crowd of 200
(Jan. 14, 2003)
A paper monopoly
Norris Bookstore is where NU gets its texts -- but what happens if service falls short?
(Jan. 16, 2003)
How Norris cornered the market
(Jan. 16, 2003)
TV star visits As-Am class
Actor Shin tells class about difficulties of getting minority roles in television
(Jan. 16, 2003)
Lord of the lingo
NU library employee has mastered the mystical tongue central to Tolkien's trilogy
(Jan. 17, 2003)
Pick-A-Prof posts profs' grade history on the Web
Site already in place at 50 universities; NU has no plans to go beyond CTEC
(Jan. 17, 2003)
Double trouble
Rumor that Olsen twins will attend NY proves false but funny
(Jan. 29, 2003)
Weekend detention to the Daily's editorial team for thinking that Janeane Garofalo's stand-up appearance on campus was worth so much ink. The Jan. 17, 2003 edition of the Daily features two (2) feature stories about the show, taking up about half of the front page (both with jumps inside). Sure, the pieces are theoretically different. Raksha Varma reports on Garofalo's act, and Jennifer Leopoldt interviews the comedian by phone. But the two stories might have worked much better if combined into one story -- and perhaps included in one of the paper's two feature sections. Access doesn't warrant so much coverage, and unless it's a hella slow news day in Evanston, you wasted a front page. Janeane's great, but she's not all that.
If you work for a college newspaper and would like to sign me up for a complimentary subscription, please feel free to do so. My address is in the grey bar over on the left.
Recent editions of the Daily Northwestern, the student newspaper of my alma mater, featured several media-, technology-, and activism-related items that might be of interest to Media Dieticians.
MTV correspondent battles stereotypes, bad music
Asian American dishes on celebrities, making it big, in front of crowd of 200
(Jan. 14, 2003)
A paper monopoly
Norris Bookstore is where NU gets its texts -- but what happens if service falls short?
(Jan. 16, 2003)
How Norris cornered the market
(Jan. 16, 2003)
TV star visits As-Am class
Actor Shin tells class about difficulties of getting minority roles in television
(Jan. 16, 2003)
Lord of the lingo
NU library employee has mastered the mystical tongue central to Tolkien's trilogy
(Jan. 17, 2003)
Pick-A-Prof posts profs' grade history on the Web
Site already in place at 50 universities; NU has no plans to go beyond CTEC
(Jan. 17, 2003)
Double trouble
Rumor that Olsen twins will attend NY proves false but funny
(Jan. 29, 2003)
Weekend detention to the Daily's editorial team for thinking that Janeane Garofalo's stand-up appearance on campus was worth so much ink. The Jan. 17, 2003 edition of the Daily features two (2) feature stories about the show, taking up about half of the front page (both with jumps inside). Sure, the pieces are theoretically different. Raksha Varma reports on Garofalo's act, and Jennifer Leopoldt interviews the comedian by phone. But the two stories might have worked much better if combined into one story -- and perhaps included in one of the paper's two feature sections. Access doesn't warrant so much coverage, and unless it's a hella slow news day in Evanston, you wasted a front page. Janeane's great, but she's not all that.
If you work for a college newspaper and would like to sign me up for a complimentary subscription, please feel free to do so. My address is in the grey bar over on the left.
Friday, February 14, 2003
Corollary: The Blogging of Business
Ev points something out about AlwaysOn that I didn't catch on to. By hooking AlwaysOn's membership database into Salesforce.com, AlwaysOn is able to offer advertisers and sponsors real-time access to the users' demographics. Ev read the service's privacy statement, which I failed to do -- I usually just breeze on by stuff like that -- and it indicates that AlwaysOn will only share aggregate information to third parties, not the individual user data that Salesforce.com affords. "Sounds like a blatant violation," Ev concludes.
Ev points something out about AlwaysOn that I didn't catch on to. By hooking AlwaysOn's membership database into Salesforce.com, AlwaysOn is able to offer advertisers and sponsors real-time access to the users' demographics. Ev read the service's privacy statement, which I failed to do -- I usually just breeze on by stuff like that -- and it indicates that AlwaysOn will only share aggregate information to third parties, not the individual user data that Salesforce.com affords. "Sounds like a blatant violation," Ev concludes.
Music to My Eyes IX
Liz Enthusiasm's new "Stakeout!" video for local synthpop band Freezepop is perfect for Valentine's Day.
Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!
Liz Enthusiasm's new "Stakeout!" video for local synthpop band Freezepop is perfect for Valentine's Day.
Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!
Thursday, February 13, 2003
Workaday World XVII
L'esprit d'elevator:
Yes, Media Dieticians, it's cold in Boss Town today. Seems much colder than 17 degrees. Sheesh.
L'esprit d'elevator:
Fellow passenger: Bitter out there!
Me: Cold, today.
Fellow passenger: Just booked a ticket to Myrtle Beach. In April.
Me: Two months away!
Fellow passenger: If only I can make it.
Me: Count down those days.
Yes, Media Dieticians, it's cold in Boss Town today. Seems much colder than 17 degrees. Sheesh.
North End Moment XXXIII
I just saw a dark blue delivery van with the URL big.express.com printed on the passenger side door. No Web site exists at that URL. What's the point?
I just saw a dark blue delivery van with the URL big.express.com printed on the passenger side door. No Web site exists at that URL. What's the point?
Blogging About Blogging XLIX
Sorry to be so blog-specific today, but that's the way the ball bounces some days. Meg's got a new game going. Blog Logic brings the online community together to discuss why they blog. Andcetera. I just signed up, and posts to date address, well, the value of blogs and online communities.
Thanks to Doc Searls.
Sorry to be so blog-specific today, but that's the way the ball bounces some days. Meg's got a new game going. Blog Logic brings the online community together to discuss why they blog. Andcetera. I just signed up, and posts to date address, well, the value of blogs and online communities.
Thanks to Doc Searls.
Media Meet Space IV
My colleague Dan Cederholm went to Dave Winer's live blogging session at Harvard on Tuesday night so I didn't have to. Dan Bricklin took photos. Other folks wrote about it, too.
I kinda wish I'd have gone.
My colleague Dan Cederholm went to Dave Winer's live blogging session at Harvard on Tuesday night so I didn't have to. Dan Bricklin took photos. Other folks wrote about it, too.
I kinda wish I'd have gone.
Comics and Community VII
Savant's Kyle Rivest has declared March 3 Read a Comic Book in Public Day. Here are his guidelines:
Right on, Kyle. Here's to March 3!
Thanks to Bookslut.
Savant's Kyle Rivest has declared March 3 Read a Comic Book in Public Day. Here are his guidelines:
The comic book you read has to be in pamphlet format. Locally made mini-comics are encouraged, but not required. Only one comic book. If you make your own comics, it has to be someone else's book that you read. It has to be in a public place where people can actually see you. It must be a book you enjoy and would be willing to recommend to a complete stranger.
Right on, Kyle. Here's to March 3!
Thanks to Bookslut.
The Blogging of Business
Fortune's David Kirkpatrick wrote this week about the new AlwaysOn insiders' network for "chiefs, geeks, investors, boosters and wonks." Created by Upside and Red Herring founder Tony Perkins, AlwaysOn is billed as a "spontaneous and uncensored arena" in which members can share their business experience, ideas, and insight.
Ostensibly combining business reportage and blogging, AlwaysOn strikes me instead as a business news service with comment and discussion tools. Organizing material in more than 10 categories, including the Always On Generation, Real-Time Economy, and the tumble-weed town of the Underground Web (perhaps indicating the site creators' limited knowledge of independent net culture), the site is currently relatively quiet, despite a growing membership roster. While Perkins' 10 commandments are praise-worthy, I'm not convinced the service, albeit young, deserves Kirkpatrick's praise and hype.
Instead of representing the "Ebay-ization of media," AlwaysOn strikes me as a business-oriented Electric Minds as it was at launch. There's site manager-created content -- and member commentary and discussion. That discussion is bolstered by a robust membership directory, complete with contact information, which will further member interaction off site. But Perkins' use of the word "blog" is worrisome. Perkins calls the site's editorial entries "blogs." He also calls member comments and discussion posts blogs. But as newsworthy as blogs have been and will be, AlwaysOn includes extremely limited self-authoring tools. I cannot find a way to add my own entry, much less a dedicated personal blogging space.
In the end, if all we're doing is responding to what others have published or written, the success of something like AlwaysOn will rest squarely on two things: the value of its staff's editorial content -- and the personalities and participation of the people reading that content.
But is AlwaysOn blogging? I'm not so sure.
Fortune's David Kirkpatrick wrote this week about the new AlwaysOn insiders' network for "chiefs, geeks, investors, boosters and wonks." Created by Upside and Red Herring founder Tony Perkins, AlwaysOn is billed as a "spontaneous and uncensored arena" in which members can share their business experience, ideas, and insight.
Ostensibly combining business reportage and blogging, AlwaysOn strikes me instead as a business news service with comment and discussion tools. Organizing material in more than 10 categories, including the Always On Generation, Real-Time Economy, and the tumble-weed town of the Underground Web (perhaps indicating the site creators' limited knowledge of independent net culture), the site is currently relatively quiet, despite a growing membership roster. While Perkins' 10 commandments are praise-worthy, I'm not convinced the service, albeit young, deserves Kirkpatrick's praise and hype.
Instead of representing the "Ebay-ization of media," AlwaysOn strikes me as a business-oriented Electric Minds as it was at launch. There's site manager-created content -- and member commentary and discussion. That discussion is bolstered by a robust membership directory, complete with contact information, which will further member interaction off site. But Perkins' use of the word "blog" is worrisome. Perkins calls the site's editorial entries "blogs." He also calls member comments and discussion posts blogs. But as newsworthy as blogs have been and will be, AlwaysOn includes extremely limited self-authoring tools. I cannot find a way to add my own entry, much less a dedicated personal blogging space.
In the end, if all we're doing is responding to what others have published or written, the success of something like AlwaysOn will rest squarely on two things: the value of its staff's editorial content -- and the personalities and participation of the people reading that content.
But is AlwaysOn blogging? I'm not so sure.
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
From the In Box: Comics and Conversation III
You are the first person to "IM'erview" me -- and although my work is not particularly your tea of choice, you manage to be respectful of it rather than slandering. Very appropiate. Regardless, thanks for the free press.
My 13-page story in NEW THING: Identity -- I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BEARD SMOKES -- does carry a resemblance to the type of dialogue displayed in LEGAL ACTION and Studygroup -- but in place of sheer SHOCK HUMOR VALUE (and that is all that BEARD AND BABY BROTHER and SUPERCAT CUM are) I made a poignant TRUE-TO-MY-LIFE tale of young love gone fucked diagnol-wise. Of all the comics I've done so far, it is the one that counts for a more mature/intellectual readership. You might even like it. -- Victor Cayro
You are the first person to "IM'erview" me -- and although my work is not particularly your tea of choice, you manage to be respectful of it rather than slandering. Very appropiate. Regardless, thanks for the free press.
My 13-page story in NEW THING: Identity -- I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BEARD SMOKES -- does carry a resemblance to the type of dialogue displayed in LEGAL ACTION and Studygroup -- but in place of sheer SHOCK HUMOR VALUE (and that is all that BEARD AND BABY BROTHER and SUPERCAT CUM are) I made a poignant TRUE-TO-MY-LIFE tale of young love gone fucked diagnol-wise. Of all the comics I've done so far, it is the one that counts for a more mature/intellectual readership. You might even like it. -- Victor Cayro
Music to My Eyes VIII
I just met Erich Thaler, a former member of the now-defunct Boston hard-rock band Stompbox. Now an employee of the Sir Speedy copy shop in the Scotch & Sirloin building, Erich has a degree in music synthesis and used to work for a large-format color printer. We discussed the difference between print production and copy shop work, what it was like to sign with a label in the early '90s, the experience of touring with a band, and the enjoyment inherent in live music.
"For every band that makes it, there are hundreds that got one shot with a label," Erich says. "I know plenty of people who slug it out into their 40's. The music industry is so youth-oriented that they're not going to sign anyone over 20. I need to find a job that'll support me into my 50's, you know?"
Before Stompbox disbanded, they released a couple of 7-inches, put out a self-released record on Wonderdrug (which also included them on a compilation, and put out two albums with a major affiliated with Columbia and Sony. Now Erich works in a copy shop located in a low-traffic part of town. Were it not for the businesses in the Scotch & Sirloin building and across the street toward North Station, the copy shop would probably disband, too.
I just met Erich Thaler, a former member of the now-defunct Boston hard-rock band Stompbox. Now an employee of the Sir Speedy copy shop in the Scotch & Sirloin building, Erich has a degree in music synthesis and used to work for a large-format color printer. We discussed the difference between print production and copy shop work, what it was like to sign with a label in the early '90s, the experience of touring with a band, and the enjoyment inherent in live music.
"For every band that makes it, there are hundreds that got one shot with a label," Erich says. "I know plenty of people who slug it out into their 40's. The music industry is so youth-oriented that they're not going to sign anyone over 20. I need to find a job that'll support me into my 50's, you know?"
Before Stompbox disbanded, they released a couple of 7-inches, put out a self-released record on Wonderdrug (which also included them on a compilation, and put out two albums with a major affiliated with Columbia and Sony. Now Erich works in a copy shop located in a low-traffic part of town. Were it not for the businesses in the Scotch & Sirloin building and across the street toward North Station, the copy shop would probably disband, too.
Weather Report IX
The sun just broke the top of the Casa Maria apartment building behind the Scotch & Sirloin building, illuminating the swirl of falling snow outside my office window. Absolutely beautiful.
The sun just broke the top of the Casa Maria apartment building behind the Scotch & Sirloin building, illuminating the swirl of falling snow outside my office window. Absolutely beautiful.
Monday, February 10, 2003
Call Me
While eating lunch at the 'Rang not long ago, I heard the pleasing strains of my Green Day ring tone as someone called me on my cell. Glad I didn't put down my BLT to take the call, because I just listened to a voicemail from someone in the 978 who thought my name was Dave, that I was going to buy a condo in North Redding, and that I was interested in getting some financing. It is not, I am not, and I am not.
Now, I don't get a lot of wrong number calls on my cell, but the Ethicist reader in me wonders whether I'm now responsible to call the fellow back and set him straight that he didn't actually leave a message for Dave. What if Dave doesn't get the financing for the condo purchase because I got this voicemail?
Debate over. I just returned the call.
Dave, I hope you find the financing you need to buy the condo of your dreams. I did my best.
While eating lunch at the 'Rang not long ago, I heard the pleasing strains of my Green Day ring tone as someone called me on my cell. Glad I didn't put down my BLT to take the call, because I just listened to a voicemail from someone in the 978 who thought my name was Dave, that I was going to buy a condo in North Redding, and that I was interested in getting some financing. It is not, I am not, and I am not.
Now, I don't get a lot of wrong number calls on my cell, but the Ethicist reader in me wonders whether I'm now responsible to call the fellow back and set him straight that he didn't actually leave a message for Dave. What if Dave doesn't get the financing for the condo purchase because I got this voicemail?
Debate over. I just returned the call.
Media Diet: Hi. I just got a voicemail from this number from someone who was calling about condo financing, and I wanted to let you know it was a wrong number.
Receptionist: Do you know who called?
Media Diet: All I know is that they were calling some guy named Dave and that the condo is in North Redding. They didn't leave their name.
Receptionist: Oh, I wouldn't even know where to begin if you don't know who called.
Media Diet: Well, I just thought you should know. I didn't want this guy to lose the opportunity because of a wrong number, you know?
Receptionist: Oh, well, thanks for calling.
Media Diet: I tried.
Dave, I hope you find the financing you need to buy the condo of your dreams. I did my best.
In the Cards
Ever wonder who writes Hallmark cards -- and how? The Washington Post Magazine's Jason puts pen to paper to take a look at Hallmark's creative process and the value of emotional content. It's a solid exploration of what makes greeting cards work, but I'm kind of glad I don't work in the Masculine Relative Birthday department.
Thanks to Pure Content.
Ever wonder who writes Hallmark cards -- and how? The Washington Post Magazine's Jason puts pen to paper to take a look at Hallmark's creative process and the value of emotional content. It's a solid exploration of what makes greeting cards work, but I'm kind of glad I don't work in the Masculine Relative Birthday department.
Thanks to Pure Content.
Big Brother Is Watching XI
Sometimes, Big Brother isn't so big. A former Boston College student has been indicted for installing a key-logging device that kept tabs on more than 100 campus computers and accessing personnel and student databases.
Thanks to EvHead.
Sometimes, Big Brother isn't so big. A former Boston College student has been indicted for installing a key-logging device that kept tabs on more than 100 campus computers and accessing personnel and student databases.
Thanks to EvHead.
Corollary: Hiking History III
Brad, a founding member of the Boston World Explorers' Foundation, has put up his photographs from our inaugural expedition last month. Trivia tidbit: The Flying Cloud is not just the name of a ship built by Donald McKay. It's also the name of one of today's water taxis! We saw it from the pier shortly after reaching the McKay monument.
Brad, a founding member of the Boston World Explorers' Foundation, has put up his photographs from our inaugural expedition last month. Trivia tidbit: The Flying Cloud is not just the name of a ship built by Donald McKay. It's also the name of one of today's water taxis! We saw it from the pier shortly after reaching the McKay monument.
Boston World Explorers' Foundation
I've been researching the second expedition for the Boston World Explorers' Foundation, and I'm thinking that if the weather cooperates, it might be nice to get out and about this Saturday or Sunday.
Based on my reading and research, it might be interesting to explore the Beacon Hill area of the city, sticking to the section bounded by Beacon, Bowdoin, Cambridge, and Charles streets. Historically home to Boston's early African-American population, the neighborhood once included Underground Railroad stops, radical discussion salons, a long-gone reservoir complex, and the Charles Street Jail.
The walk will also feature Boston's first home-owners' association, one of the city's narrowest streets, and other architectural and historical highlights.
If you'd like to be in on this second expedition, let me know what day works best for you. We'll see what comes together!
I've been researching the second expedition for the Boston World Explorers' Foundation, and I'm thinking that if the weather cooperates, it might be nice to get out and about this Saturday or Sunday.
Based on my reading and research, it might be interesting to explore the Beacon Hill area of the city, sticking to the section bounded by Beacon, Bowdoin, Cambridge, and Charles streets. Historically home to Boston's early African-American population, the neighborhood once included Underground Railroad stops, radical discussion salons, a long-gone reservoir complex, and the Charles Street Jail.
The walk will also feature Boston's first home-owners' association, one of the city's narrowest streets, and other architectural and historical highlights.
If you'd like to be in on this second expedition, let me know what day works best for you. We'll see what comes together!
Rock Shows of Note LIV
Last week was way too active on the nightlife and show-going scene. This week needs to be much quieter. That said, I did take in some excellent music over the last five nights. Wednesday night found me at the Druid on Inman Square, where I caught up with Sarah and some of her friends to see Paddy Soul, Eric Saulnier, and Martin Finke. Sonier works sound at the Abbey, so a lot of the Abbey staff was there to support him. We didn't stick around to see Finke, but I enjoyed the first two solo guitar singer-songwriter sets. Seems like music at the Druid is picking up.
Thursday night found me at the Choppin' Block near Northeastern for the Mister Records CD release party. While I wasn't too impressed by Shark Mountain, I quite enjoyed the sets by Plunge Into Death, Tunnel of Love, and Cathy Cathodic. Having met some co-workers for drinks after leaving the office -- and before taking the E line to Brigham's Circle -- the night got rather long and late, and I recall making eyes at a red-haired girl with dreadlocks.
She was at the 71 Sunbeam show Saturday at TT the Bear's, too, oddly enough. I made a point not to be so creepy this time. Not sure why I found her so captivating Thursday. In any event, Neil came up from Connecticut for the show, the band's first in Boston since he moved back there for school. And their shows in Brooklyn and Providence seem to have helped them find a new confidence and presence. Quite an impressive set, despite the low mix on Jeremy's xylophone solo. And the band has a new fan! There was a fellow standing right up in front, dancing, taking digital photos, and air drumming for much of the show. I'm glad 71 Sunbeam has been able to continue despite half the band's relocation to Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Sally Crewe, who usually plays with the Sudden Moves, performed a solo set that was enjoyable but seemingly unappreciated by the crowd. It's hard to play solo at TT's unless you're on the other side, and as Crewe's set progressed, the crowd on the floor diminished and conversation increased. Laguardia followed, but by then, I was on the other side hanging out with Neil catching up. Like Thursday, Saturday got long and late, with me heading to Shay's to meet up with Dan, Fitz, Nick, and Jenn. Dana, who waitresses at Shay's, plays in the Signal, another local band. We ended the night at Charlie's, where we hung out upstairs -- and where I saw Natalie Portman.
All in all, not a bad week for music, but a bad week for sleep.
Thanks to Media Dietician Vincent Scorziello for the research assistance.
Last week was way too active on the nightlife and show-going scene. This week needs to be much quieter. That said, I did take in some excellent music over the last five nights. Wednesday night found me at the Druid on Inman Square, where I caught up with Sarah and some of her friends to see Paddy Soul, Eric Saulnier, and Martin Finke. Sonier works sound at the Abbey, so a lot of the Abbey staff was there to support him. We didn't stick around to see Finke, but I enjoyed the first two solo guitar singer-songwriter sets. Seems like music at the Druid is picking up.
Thursday night found me at the Choppin' Block near Northeastern for the Mister Records CD release party. While I wasn't too impressed by Shark Mountain, I quite enjoyed the sets by Plunge Into Death, Tunnel of Love, and Cathy Cathodic. Having met some co-workers for drinks after leaving the office -- and before taking the E line to Brigham's Circle -- the night got rather long and late, and I recall making eyes at a red-haired girl with dreadlocks.
She was at the 71 Sunbeam show Saturday at TT the Bear's, too, oddly enough. I made a point not to be so creepy this time. Not sure why I found her so captivating Thursday. In any event, Neil came up from Connecticut for the show, the band's first in Boston since he moved back there for school. And their shows in Brooklyn and Providence seem to have helped them find a new confidence and presence. Quite an impressive set, despite the low mix on Jeremy's xylophone solo. And the band has a new fan! There was a fellow standing right up in front, dancing, taking digital photos, and air drumming for much of the show. I'm glad 71 Sunbeam has been able to continue despite half the band's relocation to Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Sally Crewe, who usually plays with the Sudden Moves, performed a solo set that was enjoyable but seemingly unappreciated by the crowd. It's hard to play solo at TT's unless you're on the other side, and as Crewe's set progressed, the crowd on the floor diminished and conversation increased. Laguardia followed, but by then, I was on the other side hanging out with Neil catching up. Like Thursday, Saturday got long and late, with me heading to Shay's to meet up with Dan, Fitz, Nick, and Jenn. Dana, who waitresses at Shay's, plays in the Signal, another local band. We ended the night at Charlie's, where we hung out upstairs -- and where I saw Natalie Portman.
All in all, not a bad week for music, but a bad week for sleep.
Thanks to Media Dietician Vincent Scorziello for the research assistance.
Comics and Conversation III
Last night's Boston Chamber Music Society concert last night snuck up on me, and I ended up staying in to read and write on the Big Blue Couch at Church Corner. Planning the itinerary for this weekend's Boston World Explorers' Foundation excursion, I had my hiptop near at hand to research sights and sites on the Web. In the midst of my research, I received an IM from Victor Cayro. Curious about my recent comments about his piece in Studygroup 12 #2, Cayro's IM query turned into a proper IM'erview about why he avoids the small press, how Jessica Abel got him into comics, and life in Dubuque, Iowa. Here's the transcript.
After finishing the IM'erview, I checked out his piece in Legal Action Comics. The story's theme and content is similar to that of "The Beard and Baby Brother" in terms of its shock value and language, but it's much better drawn than the Studygroup 12 story. Not quite my bag, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for future work by this iconoclastic Iowan.
Last night's Boston Chamber Music Society concert last night snuck up on me, and I ended up staying in to read and write on the Big Blue Couch at Church Corner. Planning the itinerary for this weekend's Boston World Explorers' Foundation excursion, I had my hiptop near at hand to research sights and sites on the Web. In the midst of my research, I received an IM from Victor Cayro. Curious about my recent comments about his piece in Studygroup 12 #2, Cayro's IM query turned into a proper IM'erview about why he avoids the small press, how Jessica Abel got him into comics, and life in Dubuque, Iowa. Here's the transcript.
VICTORJULIOCAYRO: You don't really think that my strip was offensive and insensitive, do you?
h3athrow: Memory kicking in... The bathtub strip?
V: bathh tub?
h: I don't have that anthology right here, so id need to refresh what made me say that
V: not, rivalry among siblings
V: my baby
V: my baby brother
V: who is challenged
V: chair challenge
V: Pepsi Challenge
V: RETARDED
V: Study Group number 2
h: Ah. Lemme get it.
V: yes sir
h: yep, pretty insensitive
V: how so
V: immature?
V: poorly illustrated?
V: aww schucks
h: Your portrayal of the retarded guy and the violence inflicted on him. I didn't find the punchline a payoff...
h: Wasnt a funny piece
V: Jessica helped me write the script
V: Jessica Abel
h: Was that where the piece started? You wanted to get to "tard-get"?
V: no, I wanted something to drink
V: and my Brother was looking at me funny
V: because retards have a way of looking at things funny
V: and looking funny
V: it's nature's way really
h: Is your brother really retarded? And you don't think your piece is hurtful?
V: he loves it
V: I make photocopies of the strip for him
h: I suppose all is well, then
V: and colors them with crayolas
V: and defecation
V: NO, I don't have a baby brother
V: When I was 6 yrs old I was traumitized by a severe and profound individual
h: im sorry to hear about that
V: never gotten over it
V: still hurts
V: inside
h: How do you know the studygroup people?
V: Zackary Soto saw my piece in LEGAL action comics
V: and chatted about ghost stories
V: a connection was made
V: and unbreakable bond
V: never made out or anything, be is allot of fun
V: but he, I meant
V: are friends with some of those guys?
V: are you, I meant
V: ?
h: Hung out with souther and sammy a little at ape. A friend is publishing Marc Bell's book
V: I haven't any of those guys, and I never been to the APe before
V: you do the SPX?
h: Not yet
V: its a great show
V: like of big names were there this year
V: I've been doing that show since 99
V: Art Speigleman, Charles Burns, Eddie Campbell, one of those mexican soap opera comics dudes.....
h: How long you been doing comics?
V: Evan Dorkin
V: Dean Haspiel
V: Since I was 19
V: I think
V: so that'd be in 2000
V: but my first published work is GARBAGE
V: Big Book of the &0s
V: DC/VErigo
V: GARBAGE
h: Whatd you do for that?
V: money
V: and the idea of getting published sounded cool
h: Howd you get involved in that project?
V: it had always been my dream to a published comic artist
V: Jessica Abel told me that the place to get a good basic idea of the indie comic world was through a weekend at SPX
V: she was right
V: she introduced me to Jim Higgins
V: who was the editor for the Big Book series at that time
V: he like the stuff had
V: although my old stuff sucks
V: Jim Higgins left DC and published his own book, that I will recommend
V: NEW THING: Identity, you have that?
h: It sounds familiar
V: I have a sensitive 13 page story in there, and Tomer Hanuka of Bipolar has a good story in there
V: everyone in the book couldn't be more different, style wise
h: Sounds good. New Bipolar coming soon, i hear
V: Tomer is a machine
V: hes a decent guy
V: smokes Marlboro light 100's
V: oh yeah, makes good comics
h: You have other stuff out?
V: Legal Action Comics
V: New THing: Identity
V: I'm working on my story for Legal Action Comics 2
V: and just finished a story for a book entitled True POrn
V: that will feature comics by Kochalka, Robyn Chaopman, Ivan Brunettie
V: and a slew of others
V: it will be an adventure
V: Any minis of your own?
V: no, never done a mini
V: don't think I ever will
V: I only want to do things that will see large print run
V: or at more that 5o copies
V: or at least more than 50 copies I mean
V: I can barely type or think clearly right now, excuse the grammital errors and misspellings
h: No worries. Can i use some of this in media diet? First time someone im'd me bc of a review
V: sure, go for broke
h: Where do you live?
V: although that part about Jessica Abel co writing THE BEARD AND BABY BROTHER comic, that is completely false
V: a joke
V: I live in Dubuque Iowa
h: I thought so
V: ?
V: Why do you say that?
h: That the abel thing was a joke? Didn't seem like jessica...
V: looking me up on the net?
V: Yes, I know it doesn't sound like anything Jessica Abel would even look at(the strip), THAT IS THE JOKE
V: a very small and insignificant joke...
h: Nah, the joke was good
V: regardless, I didn't want her hearing of some website saying that he had anything to do with the creation of the said strip
V: no, why did you figure I lived in Dubuque?
h: I didn't. Our lines crossed.
h: Do you think your clarification of the abel thing is good enough, or do you want that cut entirely?
V: ok, where do you live?
V: If you think that it makes for good media diet, then blow nuts with it
V: it is sort of funny, in a funny way
V: God Bless Jessica Abel
V: you can run that...
V: sincerely though, without her, I wouldn't be in comics
h: I live in boston.
h: Id kinda like to put this up just as a chat transcript...
V: I'd having sex with white trash bitchs and drawing pictures of me jacking off at late night diners on yellowed computer paper and placemats, it would be some Caruso Clown crying cradlebreak type shit
h: Is there much of a comics crew in dubuque?
V: ZILCH
V: just me
V: not really a scene of anything
V: a small music scene, that I'm a part off
h: What do you do?
V: I do all the promotional flyers
V: and great drunk
h: Good bands there?
V: sure, for young kids
h: Are you drunk now?
V: no, I don't really drink that much
V: I used to have problem
V: have A problem
V: but I drink here and there
V: I limit myself to 3 times a month
V: because I am dedicated to my comics
h: Youre 23 now? What do you do in dubuque? (outside of comics)
V: my last girlfriend broke up with me because she though I loved comics more than her cunt
V: I'm 22
V: besides comics? talk to friends, frequent the movie theatre
V: I like Chinese action films
V: I make home videos
V: and NOT JACKASS rip off garbage
V: concerts
V: foot bag
V: cigarette tricks
V: making a difference in young child's life
V: having terrible luck with women
V: I'm sure I leaving something out
V: or something
V: or nothing
V: I don't know anymore
V: how old are you?
V: 26?
h: 29
h: You in school? Have a job?
V: what do you in boston to alleviate strss troubles?
V: I work in a grocery store, and live in a apt by myself
V: its pretty CRAZY!!!
V: you make the big boston bucks?
h: Not really. Work for a magazine, go to shows, sing in a punk band
V: whats you punk band's name?
V: you like Dillinger Four? Boris the Sprinkler? Toys that Kill?
V: Groovey Ghoulies?
V: The EUrchins?
V: those are some that I know
h: The anchormen
V: are MP3s available online?
h: Yep. Anchormen.com . Dillinger 4 and boris are awesome. Good midwestern stuff!
h: What are the best punk bands in iowa?
V: I like them quite a bit, one of my best friends(and neighbors) has played with them before, but I don't know if you have ever heard of them, HOT CARL?
V: I think they are good
V: geez
h: Do they have mp3s up?
V: NO NO NO!!!!
V: geez, as in, let me think geez
V: I can't say who best are
V: Hot Carl is the only one I know that is Iowa nativwe
V: although I did hear a good band not so long ago, but I forgot the name
h: Are you an iowa native?
V: Half Peruvian, born here.
h: Know anything about peruvian comics? I'd be curious...
V: I would be to, but I have never seen one
V: althought there is allot of artists there
V: I want to move there for a year or so
V: been there a couple of times
V: loved it
h: Well, i should go. Ill look for more of your stuff
V: 75 cents for a pack of Marlboros
V: It was nice chatting with you
V: have a great evening
h: Thanks for saying hey
V: any day
After finishing the IM'erview, I checked out his piece in Legal Action Comics. The story's theme and content is similar to that of "The Beard and Baby Brother" in terms of its shock value and language, but it's much better drawn than the Studygroup 12 story. Not quite my bag, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for future work by this iconoclastic Iowan.
Thursday, February 06, 2003
Comics and Computers
James Kochalka has developed a set of icons for the Mac and PC featuring Magic Boy, Peanut Butter and Jeremy, Fancy Froglin, and Monkey vs. Robot. These are a great complement to the icon set designed by Pupino.
James Kochalka has developed a set of icons for the Mac and PC featuring Magic Boy, Peanut Butter and Jeremy, Fancy Froglin, and Monkey vs. Robot. These are a great complement to the icon set designed by Pupino.
From the In Box: From the Reading Pile XVI
I enjoyed perusing your site. Ten thousand years from now archeologists will answer the question "But how did these people live?" by mining web logs from fossilized hard drives. Immortality! -- Fred Leisen
I enjoyed perusing your site. Ten thousand years from now archeologists will answer the question "But how did these people live?" by mining web logs from fossilized hard drives. Immortality! -- Fred Leisen
Wednesday, February 05, 2003
From the Reading Pile XVI
A Modest Sample of Work for My Close Friends and Prospective Clients
An aspiring commercial artist, Fred was one of the friendliest people I met at APE this year. Currently working freelance, Fred says that his mini hasn't really helped him find any work yet, but you know what? The photocopied 12-pager is an impressive melange of Andi Watson, Shary Flenniken, Kris Dresen, Jeff Smith, Jordan Crane, and Geoff Darrow, believe it or not. Using a Scott McCloud-like approach to strutting his storytelling stuff, Fred recounts his animation, illustration, and publishing experience, basically creating a comics resume. The plane crash panel by itself is worth flipping through this. Friendly, funny, and extremely clean in its pacing and line. Somebody hire this guy. Free from Fred Leisen.
The New Adventures of Mangfish
This eight-page photocopied mini was completed at the copy shop minutes before Andy arrived at APE this past weekend. It's a slight divergence from his Life of a Fetus work for Slave Labor, both in terms of artwork and story. As the "presumed unquenchable," Mangfish is jokingly based on the "popular books on tape version of Peter Benchley's White Shark." Riffing on some of Marvel's worst monster comics ("Mangfish chooses poorly.", the Mangfish soon emerges as the "Mangfish that walks like a mang," stomping on a well-drawncoelacanth. This might be a good excuse for Andy to draw amphibians ("Good evening friends.") or it might be a solid parody of monster comics. All I know is that it's less dense that Fetus -- less psychedelic -- and a slight stretch for Andy. Keep stretching, man. I look forward to seeing the full length. Free from Andy Ristaino.
Snake Pit Anthology II
I met -- or almost met -- Ben at APE this year, and having read almost two years worth of his daily punk-rock autobio comic strips, I feel as though I know him. His simple yet complex all at the same time. Every day Ben details his daily regimen. His soundtrack. Watching movies. Smoking pot. Hooking up with girls. Drinking heavily. Going to shows. Working at a record store. Enjoying James Kochalka's work -- and getting the tat to prove it. Caring for his fish. Toruing as a roadie. Playing in a band. Visiting his parents. Going on roadtrips. It's all rather deadpan and mundane in a Doris-meets-Cometbus kind of way, but reading Ben a year at a time -- these anthologies collect Ben's monthly editions -- it's easier to track the trends in his life. People come and go. He debates whether he has a drinking problem. And he continues to discover himself through comics, friends, and music. My favorites in this edition include the full-page New Year's piece, the thrash metal song lyric adaptations, and his drawing of girls, turtles, snails, and people at parties. Wonderful. $2 to Ben White, P.O. Box 49447, Austin, TX 78765.
Stuart Ng Books Catalogue Eight
This free 28-page catalog of out-of-print, rare, and used books about illustration, animation, and comic art is an impressive, albeit expensive selection of original art, artist monographs, political cartoons, art instruction books, illustration annuals, reference books, and periodicals. A media geek's dream. Almost rivaling my favorite catalog of rare labor- and socialism-oriented texts, this catalog, though thinner, is just as tempting. Charles Addams, Jack Cole, Harold Gray, Bill Mauldin, Harry Rountree, and back issues of Nemo -- they're all here, all in early editions and well-described listings. Budget knows whether I'll place an order, but it's fun to browse -- and dream. Stuart Ng Books, 2456 W. 228th St., Torrance, CA 90501-5232.
Synthetic Universe #3
Not to relegate Alison to girlfriend status out of the gate, but this comic -- Alison's first full-sized comic, I believe -- was handed to me by Andy Hunter, former Somerville-based editorial executor of Mommy and I Are One. Oddly, having read the entire comic, a piece that Andy wrote, "Killing Time," is perhaps the best in the issue. A modern-day reworking of the frog prince fairy tale, the piece is a darkly playful look at love, separation, and opportunity. Hunter's other piece, the short-form "Walk in the Park," isn't as satisying. Of Taylor's solo pieces, "Thrifting in the 2020's" reminds me of Megan Kelso's Bottlecap stories, with its dystopic manufacturing-based future and relational considerations. (The phone panel on p. 11 of that story sings!) "The Bone Story," despite the awkward two-page spread, is a nifty twist on autobio storytelling. And, while it was fun to see Andy's mug in the third panel of p. 30, Alison's art is largely an ugly-style take on Leela Corman or Jessica Abel. The writing, I like. The art, I might need to get used to. $3.95 to Alison Taylor, Hardcut Publishing, P.O. Box 291700, Los Angeles, CA 90029.
A Modest Sample of Work for My Close Friends and Prospective Clients
An aspiring commercial artist, Fred was one of the friendliest people I met at APE this year. Currently working freelance, Fred says that his mini hasn't really helped him find any work yet, but you know what? The photocopied 12-pager is an impressive melange of Andi Watson, Shary Flenniken, Kris Dresen, Jeff Smith, Jordan Crane, and Geoff Darrow, believe it or not. Using a Scott McCloud-like approach to strutting his storytelling stuff, Fred recounts his animation, illustration, and publishing experience, basically creating a comics resume. The plane crash panel by itself is worth flipping through this. Friendly, funny, and extremely clean in its pacing and line. Somebody hire this guy. Free from Fred Leisen.
The New Adventures of Mangfish
This eight-page photocopied mini was completed at the copy shop minutes before Andy arrived at APE this past weekend. It's a slight divergence from his Life of a Fetus work for Slave Labor, both in terms of artwork and story. As the "presumed unquenchable," Mangfish is jokingly based on the "popular books on tape version of Peter Benchley's White Shark." Riffing on some of Marvel's worst monster comics ("Mangfish chooses poorly.", the Mangfish soon emerges as the "Mangfish that walks like a mang," stomping on a well-drawncoelacanth. This might be a good excuse for Andy to draw amphibians ("Good evening friends.") or it might be a solid parody of monster comics. All I know is that it's less dense that Fetus -- less psychedelic -- and a slight stretch for Andy. Keep stretching, man. I look forward to seeing the full length. Free from Andy Ristaino.
Snake Pit Anthology II
I met -- or almost met -- Ben at APE this year, and having read almost two years worth of his daily punk-rock autobio comic strips, I feel as though I know him. His simple yet complex all at the same time. Every day Ben details his daily regimen. His soundtrack. Watching movies. Smoking pot. Hooking up with girls. Drinking heavily. Going to shows. Working at a record store. Enjoying James Kochalka's work -- and getting the tat to prove it. Caring for his fish. Toruing as a roadie. Playing in a band. Visiting his parents. Going on roadtrips. It's all rather deadpan and mundane in a Doris-meets-Cometbus kind of way, but reading Ben a year at a time -- these anthologies collect Ben's monthly editions -- it's easier to track the trends in his life. People come and go. He debates whether he has a drinking problem. And he continues to discover himself through comics, friends, and music. My favorites in this edition include the full-page New Year's piece, the thrash metal song lyric adaptations, and his drawing of girls, turtles, snails, and people at parties. Wonderful. $2 to Ben White, P.O. Box 49447, Austin, TX 78765.
Stuart Ng Books Catalogue Eight
This free 28-page catalog of out-of-print, rare, and used books about illustration, animation, and comic art is an impressive, albeit expensive selection of original art, artist monographs, political cartoons, art instruction books, illustration annuals, reference books, and periodicals. A media geek's dream. Almost rivaling my favorite catalog of rare labor- and socialism-oriented texts, this catalog, though thinner, is just as tempting. Charles Addams, Jack Cole, Harold Gray, Bill Mauldin, Harry Rountree, and back issues of Nemo -- they're all here, all in early editions and well-described listings. Budget knows whether I'll place an order, but it's fun to browse -- and dream. Stuart Ng Books, 2456 W. 228th St., Torrance, CA 90501-5232.
Synthetic Universe #3
Not to relegate Alison to girlfriend status out of the gate, but this comic -- Alison's first full-sized comic, I believe -- was handed to me by Andy Hunter, former Somerville-based editorial executor of Mommy and I Are One. Oddly, having read the entire comic, a piece that Andy wrote, "Killing Time," is perhaps the best in the issue. A modern-day reworking of the frog prince fairy tale, the piece is a darkly playful look at love, separation, and opportunity. Hunter's other piece, the short-form "Walk in the Park," isn't as satisying. Of Taylor's solo pieces, "Thrifting in the 2020's" reminds me of Megan Kelso's Bottlecap stories, with its dystopic manufacturing-based future and relational considerations. (The phone panel on p. 11 of that story sings!) "The Bone Story," despite the awkward two-page spread, is a nifty twist on autobio storytelling. And, while it was fun to see Andy's mug in the third panel of p. 30, Alison's art is largely an ugly-style take on Leela Corman or Jessica Abel. The writing, I like. The art, I might need to get used to. $3.95 to Alison Taylor, Hardcut Publishing, P.O. Box 291700, Los Angeles, CA 90029.
Books Worth a Look XI
These are the books I read in January 2003.
Beneath the Axis of Evil: One Man's Journey into the Horrors of War by Neal Pollack (So New Media, 2003)
I don't know Neal Pollack. I've never met Neal Pollack. In fact, I've often confused Neal Pollack with Todd Pruzan, a much better writer, although he's much lesser known. Regardless, perhaps because of occasional email exchanges and the sheer power and possibility of Pollack's writing, I eagerly awaited the arrival of this text and read it in one sitting on the Big Blue Couch. If irony is dead, Jesus is ironic, because irony lives again. Not many people can make fun of 911 or the prospect of war without being gauche or offensive, but Neal does so with taste, tenacity, and something starting with "t" that means intelligence. Well worth reading, if not just for the hand-written personal inscription making light of where you work.
Pages: 62. Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
The Doofus Omnibus: The Definitive Collection of His Greatest Adventures in Flowertown, U.S.A. by Rick Altergott (Fantagraphics, 2002)
I'm not the biggest fan of Altergott's work. Even though he's tight with many of the Fantagraphics set, is married to cartoonist Ariel Bordeaux, and lives nearby in Providence, I've just never appreciated his art or writing. His artwork, while reminiscent of some of the old-school EC artists such as Wally Wood, is overly busy and dense for my taste, and I don't really enjoy his Doofus or Henry Hotchkiss characters. That said, there's some good in the book. His collaboration with Dan Clowes is a nice piece of near-autobiography. As is his piece with Charles Schneider. Similarly, his story with Irwin Chispid about Stan Kenton arranger Robert Graettinger is also impressive. But of his own stuff, the Tales of Young Doofus is about as close as I get to digging Altergott. But I'm glad I gave this a chance.
Pages: 112. Days to read: 1. Rating: Fair.
Exit Strategy by Douglas Rushkoff (Soft Skull, 2002)
As the "world's first open-source novel," Rushkoff's recent book, which was first serialized online by Yahoo! Internet Life, fails in principle. The idea was that, by publishing the novel online, Rushkoff would attract reader-contributed Pale Fire-like footnotes that would then be published along with the principle text. The footnotes failed. While a worthy gambit and gimmick, I read the novel once through without paying attention to the overly interrupting footnotes and then flipped back through the book to see what I missed. Not much. Footnotes aside, the novel is well worth reading. A dotcom retelling of the Biblical story of Joseph, Rushkoff susses out some excellent religious theorizing, Judaicultural commentary, and speculative technological development. The cultic aspects of the AI are quite intriguing, But the footnotes? Give 'em the boot.
Pages: 335. Days to read: 3. Rating: Good.
Fruits by Shoichi Aoki (Phaidon, 2001)
What an awesome, mind-blowing book! Compiling about 270 photographs taken by Aoki in the Harajuku shopping district of Tokyo, much of the book was originally published in the Japanese street fashion magazine Fruits. While the photographs of the various progressive modes of clothing are wide-ranging and extremely interesting, Aoki's subjects' facial expressions, body postures, and attitudes resonate even more strongly. Aoki also finds value in the minutiae. Each photo identifies the subject by name and age and details where various items of clothing came from. But it is the "point of fashion" and "current obsession" listings that really surprise. It is here that we learn what the fashion means to the wearer -- and who they really are.
Pages: 276. Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Haw! Horrible, Horrible Cartoons by Ivan Brunetti (Fantagraphics, 2001)
I know I've already read this before, but I don't think I ever got around to reviewing it. This collection of mostly single-panel gag comics represents what might have been created were Charles Schultz to channel Mike Diana. Much more far out and visceral than Brunetti's work in Schizo and for magazines such as Fast Company, Haw! is horrible, horrible indeed. Incest, pedophilia, dismemberment, homophobia, S&M, irreverence, scatology, racism, AIDS, disembowelment, drug use, rape, pornography, and suicide. It's a dreary roundup of humankind's worst foibles, and most of this would be decidedly unfunny were it not couched in cartoon art so cute. This is the real dysfunctional family circus.
Pages: 96. Days to read: 1. Rating: Fair.
Hope: Opens the Way When There Seems No Way by Norman Vincent Peale (Peale Center for Christian Living, 2002)
I'm fascinated by religions pamphlets and other easily portable, reproducible, and readable pieces of philosophical propaganda. Designed to be easily digested and distributed, they're an interesting way to move ideas fast. This slim volume, produced in the context of the economic downturn and pending war, focuses on Peale's optimistic perspective on detemination, enthusiasm, persistence, vision, and faith. Though simple and somewhat shallow, the booklet contends that belief is all we need. The section on expectations hit home.
Pages: 32. Days to read: 1. Rating: Fair.
The Illustrated Price Guide to Cult Magazines 1945 to 1969: 25 Years of Exploitation by Alan Betrock (Shake Books, 1994)
Not really a book to read as much as it is a book to refer to, this doesn't even really make that great a reference book. By now way outdated, the book does not really reflect current prices for the non-cheesecake exploitation magazines indexed here. Betrock chooses not to concentrate on magazines that specialized in nudity, instead focusing on scandal, crime, romance, and other exploitation titles such as Best Detective Cases, Exciting Romances, and Front Page Confidential. The price guide data is limited to listing the publisher, the date of the first issue, and extremely broad price ranges. But this book is important because of the almost 475 cover reproductions. An excellent visual survey of the publishing niche.
Pages: 160. Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddism by Thich Nhat Hanh (Parallal, 1987)
The Order of Interbeing grew out of the School of Yough for Social Service in the mid-'60s as a way to incubate members' Buddhist practice as well as their social activism. This thin volume comprises documentation on the order's charter, community, and 14 precepts. Hanh proceeds to expand on the 14 precepts, which balance traditional Buddhist thinking with more societally involved considerations, including consumerism, right livelihood, simplicity, and social justice. I didn't find the precept recitationceremony scripts that useful, but it's interesting that the book is designed to help people organize their own sanghas. An easy introduction to engaged Buddhism in practice.
Pages: 77. Days to read: 12. Rating: Fair.
Metrophage by Richard Kadrey (Ace, 1988)
Kadrey's first novel was part of the Terry Carr-edited New Ace Science Fiction Specials series, which also helped launch Kim Stanley Robinson, William Gibson, and Michael Swanwick. The novel is a rollicking and undisciplined exploration of a near-future Los Angeles rocked by cultural tribes of all stripes, an emergent police state, and an engineered plague that threatens to make it all even worse. I never really empathized with the novel's protagonist, but the people whose lives intersected with his haphazard sleuthing are all thoughtfully crafted and innovatively presented. A good start to a writing career worth following.
Pages: 240. Days to read: 4. Rating: Fair.
Pictorial History of Highland, Indiana edited by Matthew Figi (Highland Historical Society, 1999)
Highland is a town of roughly 25,000 peopel in northwest Indiana not far from where my grandmother lives. I'm not overly familiar with the area's layout, but I love local history books like this. At base, the book collects more than 175 phootographs dating between 1850 and 1998, capturing the people, places, and organizations that made Highland what it is today. Largely a history of founding families, civic involvement, and commercial locations, the book could have been organized chronologically. But in the end, it's an archive worth sharing -- and one that showcases some bygone faces and spaces. Highland could be anywhere.
Pages: 106. Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Tremont Street Subway: A Century of Public Service by Bradley Clarke and O.R. Cummings (Boston Street Railway Association, 1997)
This well-researched, -documented, and -illustrated history of the Tremont Street Subway, now the green line of the MBTA, is an excellent introduction to Boston's public transit history. Documenting the pre-T transportation options in the area -- horsecars and electric trolleys -- as well as the legislation that led to the T, the booklet includes vintage maps, illustrations, and photographs that date back to the late 1800s. The history touches on construction, the gas explosion of 1897, dead stations, the balance of subway and elevated service, and various extensions to the green line. Clarke and Cummings have provided a valuable, focused history of the T.
Pages: 67. Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
The Ultimate Cyberpunk: The Best Fiction from SF's New Wave edited by Pat Cadigan (iBooks, 2002)
Despite Cadigan's disappointingly apologetic introduction, "Not a Manifesto," which sidesteps the responsibility to establish a cyberpunk canon and fails to adequately define or describe the school of s-f writing, the bulk of this book -- which comprises 13 short stories -- is excellent. Highlights include Alfred Bester's 1954 "Fondly Farenheit," Philip K. Dick's Total Recall inspiration "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale," Greg Bear's nanogenetic cautionary tale "Blood Music," and Paul J. McAuley's "Dr. Luther's Assistant." What impressed me the most of Cadigan's collection was the historical scope. Instead of sticking to the school's most-known and of-the-time contributors, she expands the scope and meaning of cyberpunk, even as she refuses to pin it down or reduce it to a single definition.
Pages: 399. Days to read: 6. Rating: Good.
The Way to Happiness: A Common Sense Guide to Better Living by L. Ron Hubbard (Bridge 1989)
This slim, inexpensive pamphlet was produced by the Church of Scientology as an easy-to-digest introduction to the church's moral code. As such, it opens with encouraging instructions to distribute the booklet to friends and family before outlining a 21-point plan for happiness. While the pamphlet is simply written -- with Hubbard's characteristic footnote definitions -- and there's nothing overtly disagreeable about the booklet, several aspects stand out. One, these moral guidelines could come from any of the world's religions. Two, Scientology's mistrust of the mainstream media comes clear as the book exhorts readers to make their own decisions and determine what is true for them. The booklet's insights on observation, ownership, and the Golden Rule are especially interesting.
Pages: 45. Days to read: 1. Rating: Fair.
We're Desperate: The Punk Rock Photography of Jim Jocoy SF/LA 78-80 by Jim Jocoy with Thurston Moore, Exene Cervenka, and Marc Jacobs (Powerhouse, 2002)
This wonderfully produced book collects almost 350 full-bleed portrait photographs Jocoy took at the Mabuhay Gardens, the Masque, and other locations. Mostly capturing a series of art students, punk rockers, and show goers in similar settings, the staged poses aptly catch the moment in musical, fashion, and cultural time. While Cervenka and Jacobs'' essays add little to the collection or its context, Moore's interview with Jocoy addresses how the book came to be, Jocoy's innovative photography process (which initially involved a slide--based color photocopy projection technology!), and work with the "models." Like an issue of Fruits magazine crossed with Search & Destroy or Slash. Beautiful.
Pages: 370. Days to read: 2. Rating: Excellent.
What They Never Told You About Boston (or What They Did That Were Lies) by Walt Kelley (Down East, 1993)
A driver for Town Taxi -- for about six years when this was published and following a management career in banking -- Kelley offers a perspective of the city that stems from his experiences on the street, as well as conversations with passengers. He knows what history interests people, and he shares a lot of it in this quick read -- the origin of Boston's name; the three lies of John Harvard's statue in Harvard Yard; little-known facts about the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, and Midnight Ride of Paul Revere; the landfill that makes Boston livable; and other unsung stories. Kelley's book is well-researched yet streetwise.
Pages: 112. Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Writers and publishers may send books for Media Diet to consider for review to the address in the left-hand column. Publishers who send galleys or review copies -- if reviewed -- will receive a link as part of the review.
These are the books I read in January 2003.
Beneath the Axis of Evil: One Man's Journey into the Horrors of War by Neal Pollack (So New Media, 2003)
I don't know Neal Pollack. I've never met Neal Pollack. In fact, I've often confused Neal Pollack with Todd Pruzan, a much better writer, although he's much lesser known. Regardless, perhaps because of occasional email exchanges and the sheer power and possibility of Pollack's writing, I eagerly awaited the arrival of this text and read it in one sitting on the Big Blue Couch. If irony is dead, Jesus is ironic, because irony lives again. Not many people can make fun of 911 or the prospect of war without being gauche or offensive, but Neal does so with taste, tenacity, and something starting with "t" that means intelligence. Well worth reading, if not just for the hand-written personal inscription making light of where you work.
Pages: 62. Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
The Doofus Omnibus: The Definitive Collection of His Greatest Adventures in Flowertown, U.S.A. by Rick Altergott (Fantagraphics, 2002)
I'm not the biggest fan of Altergott's work. Even though he's tight with many of the Fantagraphics set, is married to cartoonist Ariel Bordeaux, and lives nearby in Providence, I've just never appreciated his art or writing. His artwork, while reminiscent of some of the old-school EC artists such as Wally Wood, is overly busy and dense for my taste, and I don't really enjoy his Doofus or Henry Hotchkiss characters. That said, there's some good in the book. His collaboration with Dan Clowes is a nice piece of near-autobiography. As is his piece with Charles Schneider. Similarly, his story with Irwin Chispid about Stan Kenton arranger Robert Graettinger is also impressive. But of his own stuff, the Tales of Young Doofus is about as close as I get to digging Altergott. But I'm glad I gave this a chance.
Pages: 112. Days to read: 1. Rating: Fair.
Exit Strategy by Douglas Rushkoff (Soft Skull, 2002)
As the "world's first open-source novel," Rushkoff's recent book, which was first serialized online by Yahoo! Internet Life, fails in principle. The idea was that, by publishing the novel online, Rushkoff would attract reader-contributed Pale Fire-like footnotes that would then be published along with the principle text. The footnotes failed. While a worthy gambit and gimmick, I read the novel once through without paying attention to the overly interrupting footnotes and then flipped back through the book to see what I missed. Not much. Footnotes aside, the novel is well worth reading. A dotcom retelling of the Biblical story of Joseph, Rushkoff susses out some excellent religious theorizing, Judaicultural commentary, and speculative technological development. The cultic aspects of the AI are quite intriguing, But the footnotes? Give 'em the boot.
Pages: 335. Days to read: 3. Rating: Good.
Fruits by Shoichi Aoki (Phaidon, 2001)
What an awesome, mind-blowing book! Compiling about 270 photographs taken by Aoki in the Harajuku shopping district of Tokyo, much of the book was originally published in the Japanese street fashion magazine Fruits. While the photographs of the various progressive modes of clothing are wide-ranging and extremely interesting, Aoki's subjects' facial expressions, body postures, and attitudes resonate even more strongly. Aoki also finds value in the minutiae. Each photo identifies the subject by name and age and details where various items of clothing came from. But it is the "point of fashion" and "current obsession" listings that really surprise. It is here that we learn what the fashion means to the wearer -- and who they really are.
Pages: 276. Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Haw! Horrible, Horrible Cartoons by Ivan Brunetti (Fantagraphics, 2001)
I know I've already read this before, but I don't think I ever got around to reviewing it. This collection of mostly single-panel gag comics represents what might have been created were Charles Schultz to channel Mike Diana. Much more far out and visceral than Brunetti's work in Schizo and for magazines such as Fast Company, Haw! is horrible, horrible indeed. Incest, pedophilia, dismemberment, homophobia, S&M, irreverence, scatology, racism, AIDS, disembowelment, drug use, rape, pornography, and suicide. It's a dreary roundup of humankind's worst foibles, and most of this would be decidedly unfunny were it not couched in cartoon art so cute. This is the real dysfunctional family circus.
Pages: 96. Days to read: 1. Rating: Fair.
Hope: Opens the Way When There Seems No Way by Norman Vincent Peale (Peale Center for Christian Living, 2002)
I'm fascinated by religions pamphlets and other easily portable, reproducible, and readable pieces of philosophical propaganda. Designed to be easily digested and distributed, they're an interesting way to move ideas fast. This slim volume, produced in the context of the economic downturn and pending war, focuses on Peale's optimistic perspective on detemination, enthusiasm, persistence, vision, and faith. Though simple and somewhat shallow, the booklet contends that belief is all we need. The section on expectations hit home.
Pages: 32. Days to read: 1. Rating: Fair.
The Illustrated Price Guide to Cult Magazines 1945 to 1969: 25 Years of Exploitation by Alan Betrock (Shake Books, 1994)
Not really a book to read as much as it is a book to refer to, this doesn't even really make that great a reference book. By now way outdated, the book does not really reflect current prices for the non-cheesecake exploitation magazines indexed here. Betrock chooses not to concentrate on magazines that specialized in nudity, instead focusing on scandal, crime, romance, and other exploitation titles such as Best Detective Cases, Exciting Romances, and Front Page Confidential. The price guide data is limited to listing the publisher, the date of the first issue, and extremely broad price ranges. But this book is important because of the almost 475 cover reproductions. An excellent visual survey of the publishing niche.
Pages: 160. Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddism by Thich Nhat Hanh (Parallal, 1987)
The Order of Interbeing grew out of the School of Yough for Social Service in the mid-'60s as a way to incubate members' Buddhist practice as well as their social activism. This thin volume comprises documentation on the order's charter, community, and 14 precepts. Hanh proceeds to expand on the 14 precepts, which balance traditional Buddhist thinking with more societally involved considerations, including consumerism, right livelihood, simplicity, and social justice. I didn't find the precept recitationceremony scripts that useful, but it's interesting that the book is designed to help people organize their own sanghas. An easy introduction to engaged Buddhism in practice.
Pages: 77. Days to read: 12. Rating: Fair.
Metrophage by Richard Kadrey (Ace, 1988)
Kadrey's first novel was part of the Terry Carr-edited New Ace Science Fiction Specials series, which also helped launch Kim Stanley Robinson, William Gibson, and Michael Swanwick. The novel is a rollicking and undisciplined exploration of a near-future Los Angeles rocked by cultural tribes of all stripes, an emergent police state, and an engineered plague that threatens to make it all even worse. I never really empathized with the novel's protagonist, but the people whose lives intersected with his haphazard sleuthing are all thoughtfully crafted and innovatively presented. A good start to a writing career worth following.
Pages: 240. Days to read: 4. Rating: Fair.
Pictorial History of Highland, Indiana edited by Matthew Figi (Highland Historical Society, 1999)
Highland is a town of roughly 25,000 peopel in northwest Indiana not far from where my grandmother lives. I'm not overly familiar with the area's layout, but I love local history books like this. At base, the book collects more than 175 phootographs dating between 1850 and 1998, capturing the people, places, and organizations that made Highland what it is today. Largely a history of founding families, civic involvement, and commercial locations, the book could have been organized chronologically. But in the end, it's an archive worth sharing -- and one that showcases some bygone faces and spaces. Highland could be anywhere.
Pages: 106. Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Tremont Street Subway: A Century of Public Service by Bradley Clarke and O.R. Cummings (Boston Street Railway Association, 1997)
This well-researched, -documented, and -illustrated history of the Tremont Street Subway, now the green line of the MBTA, is an excellent introduction to Boston's public transit history. Documenting the pre-T transportation options in the area -- horsecars and electric trolleys -- as well as the legislation that led to the T, the booklet includes vintage maps, illustrations, and photographs that date back to the late 1800s. The history touches on construction, the gas explosion of 1897, dead stations, the balance of subway and elevated service, and various extensions to the green line. Clarke and Cummings have provided a valuable, focused history of the T.
Pages: 67. Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
The Ultimate Cyberpunk: The Best Fiction from SF's New Wave edited by Pat Cadigan (iBooks, 2002)
Despite Cadigan's disappointingly apologetic introduction, "Not a Manifesto," which sidesteps the responsibility to establish a cyberpunk canon and fails to adequately define or describe the school of s-f writing, the bulk of this book -- which comprises 13 short stories -- is excellent. Highlights include Alfred Bester's 1954 "Fondly Farenheit," Philip K. Dick's Total Recall inspiration "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale," Greg Bear's nanogenetic cautionary tale "Blood Music," and Paul J. McAuley's "Dr. Luther's Assistant." What impressed me the most of Cadigan's collection was the historical scope. Instead of sticking to the school's most-known and of-the-time contributors, she expands the scope and meaning of cyberpunk, even as she refuses to pin it down or reduce it to a single definition.
Pages: 399. Days to read: 6. Rating: Good.
The Way to Happiness: A Common Sense Guide to Better Living by L. Ron Hubbard (Bridge 1989)
This slim, inexpensive pamphlet was produced by the Church of Scientology as an easy-to-digest introduction to the church's moral code. As such, it opens with encouraging instructions to distribute the booklet to friends and family before outlining a 21-point plan for happiness. While the pamphlet is simply written -- with Hubbard's characteristic footnote definitions -- and there's nothing overtly disagreeable about the booklet, several aspects stand out. One, these moral guidelines could come from any of the world's religions. Two, Scientology's mistrust of the mainstream media comes clear as the book exhorts readers to make their own decisions and determine what is true for them. The booklet's insights on observation, ownership, and the Golden Rule are especially interesting.
Pages: 45. Days to read: 1. Rating: Fair.
We're Desperate: The Punk Rock Photography of Jim Jocoy SF/LA 78-80 by Jim Jocoy with Thurston Moore, Exene Cervenka, and Marc Jacobs (Powerhouse, 2002)
This wonderfully produced book collects almost 350 full-bleed portrait photographs Jocoy took at the Mabuhay Gardens, the Masque, and other locations. Mostly capturing a series of art students, punk rockers, and show goers in similar settings, the staged poses aptly catch the moment in musical, fashion, and cultural time. While Cervenka and Jacobs'' essays add little to the collection or its context, Moore's interview with Jocoy addresses how the book came to be, Jocoy's innovative photography process (which initially involved a slide--based color photocopy projection technology!), and work with the "models." Like an issue of Fruits magazine crossed with Search & Destroy or Slash. Beautiful.
Pages: 370. Days to read: 2. Rating: Excellent.
What They Never Told You About Boston (or What They Did That Were Lies) by Walt Kelley (Down East, 1993)
A driver for Town Taxi -- for about six years when this was published and following a management career in banking -- Kelley offers a perspective of the city that stems from his experiences on the street, as well as conversations with passengers. He knows what history interests people, and he shares a lot of it in this quick read -- the origin of Boston's name; the three lies of John Harvard's statue in Harvard Yard; little-known facts about the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, and Midnight Ride of Paul Revere; the landfill that makes Boston livable; and other unsung stories. Kelley's book is well-researched yet streetwise.
Pages: 112. Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Writers and publishers may send books for Media Diet to consider for review to the address in the left-hand column. Publishers who send galleys or review copies -- if reviewed -- will receive a link as part of the review.
Up in Smoke III
As of two (2) minutes ago, I haven't had a cigarette in 24 hours. It's been easy for me not to smoke while traveling and visiting family -- but more difficult when in my ruts at home. So far, this quit is going pretty well. It wasn't until about noon that I started craving a cigaroo. QuitNet tells me that in the last 24 hours, I haven't smoked eight (8) cigarettes -- more like 11 -- and that I've saved $2.10 (more like $3) and an hour of my life. The last two stats are really what interest me. How much money am I saving and how much longer will I live? As they say, time is money.
As of two (2) minutes ago, I haven't had a cigarette in 24 hours. It's been easy for me not to smoke while traveling and visiting family -- but more difficult when in my ruts at home. So far, this quit is going pretty well. It wasn't until about noon that I started craving a cigaroo. QuitNet tells me that in the last 24 hours, I haven't smoked eight (8) cigarettes -- more like 11 -- and that I've saved $2.10 (more like $3) and an hour of my life. The last two stats are really what interest me. How much money am I saving and how much longer will I live? As they say, time is money.
Corollary: Born to Run Away II
Bill says that the tickets for the Bruce Springsteen/DoubleTake show at the Somerville Theater sold out in nine (9) minutes. Wow.
Bill says that the tickets for the Bruce Springsteen/DoubleTake show at the Somerville Theater sold out in nine (9) minutes. Wow.
Corollary: Event-O-Dex XXXV
Want more information on Thursday's Plunge into Death show?
Tunnel of Love is awesome. See you there!
Want more information on Thursday's Plunge into Death show?
Tunnel of Love is awesome. See you there!
Tuesday, February 04, 2003
Pulling the Plug X
Jacque's Cabaret in Bay Village is in need of Media Dieticians' support. The club's neighbors are trying to get it closed down and have its license revoked. The neighbors do not want a drag club in their neighborhood -- it's been there since Stonewall -- and claim that crime and prostitution is associated with the club. This is something that has come up again and again since the '60s, and people haven't been able to shut it down yet -- let's work so it doesn't happen now. I don't live in Bay Village, but I've been to Jacque's several times, and I don't see a negative impact on the community. The bar's staff makes sure people leave right at closing, and the crowd Jacque's attracts isn't a rowdy lot. They're drag queens. And the people who like them.
Jacque's has also been hosting punk-rock shows for years. It's a great place to hang out, drink cheap beer, see the most talented drag queens in the Northeast, play pinball, and experience life outside mainstream culture. Given it's long-running history and subculture, it'd be a shame to see it shut down. Jacque's closing would be a loss for Boston.
There is a hearing Tuesday, Feb. 4 -- that's today, I'm afraid -- at 6 p.m. about Jacque's license. They could use some support. If you're interested and able, meet at Jacque's Cabaret at 5:30 tonight, or to to the Renaissance Charter School on Stuart Street two blocks from the Arlington T stop. For directions, call 617-426-8902.
Jacque's Cabaret in Bay Village is in need of Media Dieticians' support. The club's neighbors are trying to get it closed down and have its license revoked. The neighbors do not want a drag club in their neighborhood -- it's been there since Stonewall -- and claim that crime and prostitution is associated with the club. This is something that has come up again and again since the '60s, and people haven't been able to shut it down yet -- let's work so it doesn't happen now. I don't live in Bay Village, but I've been to Jacque's several times, and I don't see a negative impact on the community. The bar's staff makes sure people leave right at closing, and the crowd Jacque's attracts isn't a rowdy lot. They're drag queens. And the people who like them.
Jacque's has also been hosting punk-rock shows for years. It's a great place to hang out, drink cheap beer, see the most talented drag queens in the Northeast, play pinball, and experience life outside mainstream culture. Given it's long-running history and subculture, it'd be a shame to see it shut down. Jacque's closing would be a loss for Boston.
There is a hearing Tuesday, Feb. 4 -- that's today, I'm afraid -- at 6 p.m. about Jacque's license. They could use some support. If you're interested and able, meet at Jacque's Cabaret at 5:30 tonight, or to to the Renaissance Charter School on Stuart Street two blocks from the Arlington T stop. For directions, call 617-426-8902.
Born to Run Away II
The Bruce Springsteen/DoubleTake benefit is back on! Tickets through Ticketmaster have been knocked down to $100 and $500, and DoubleTake is selling a limited number of tickets for $1,000. Those get you into a pre-show reception attended by Dr. Robert Coles, Springsteen, and other "prominent DoubleTake supporters."
The Bruce Springsteen/DoubleTake benefit is back on! Tickets through Ticketmaster have been knocked down to $100 and $500, and DoubleTake is selling a limited number of tickets for $1,000. Those get you into a pre-show reception attended by Dr. Robert Coles, Springsteen, and other "prominent DoubleTake supporters."
Music to My Ears XXV
Media Dietician Rob Upson is the first to take me up on my offer of a mix exchange. His CD-R of field recordings made in Suriname earns him a mix CD from yours truly. I hope to make a mix a month. If you send me a mix to the address in the left-hand column, you'll get a copy of the mix I send Rob, too. Let the exchange begin!
Media Dietician Rob Upson is the first to take me up on my offer of a mix exchange. His CD-R of field recordings made in Suriname earns him a mix CD from yours truly. I hope to make a mix a month. If you send me a mix to the address in the left-hand column, you'll get a copy of the mix I send Rob, too. Let the exchange begin!
Comics and Community VI
In a recent edition of Technology Review, MIT's Henry Jenkins compares Warren Ellis's comic book Global Frequency to Howard Rheingold's Smart Mobs. It's an impressive consideration of the relationship between dystopian science fiction and online communities.
In a recent edition of Technology Review, MIT's Henry Jenkins compares Warren Ellis's comic book Global Frequency to Howard Rheingold's Smart Mobs. It's an impressive consideration of the relationship between dystopian science fiction and online communities.
Anchormen, Aweigh! XVI
I just sent Jef the final draft of the liner notes to the Anchormen's forthcoming CD, Nation of Interns. The CD will hopefully be out in the next month or so, and you can expect some shows come spring! Here are the liners:
The Anchormen
Nation of Interns
Chris Braiotta: Accordion, bass, and vocals
Jef Czekaj: Drums, and vocals
Heath Row: Vocals
Tom Scanlon: Guitar and organ
Leslie Case: Background vocals on "Another Gentrification Song" and
"Unsung Heroes"
Another Gentrification Song Another storefront boarded up. Another homeless paper cup. Another U-Haul moving truck: Another family gone. Another big box starts to trade. Another student class turned slave. Another million dollars made, not saved: Another gentrification song. Why were we not invited? Why were the developers benighted? Why was the neighborhood so slighted? When will these wrongs be righted? Another street loses its life. Another sheltered suburban white. Another man picks up a knife.
"Central Square is the heart and soul of Cambridge." -- Chris Szabla
Audobon Park Walking down Magazine past the Abstract and Ms. Rae-Ann's grocery to le block du veterinary, the OK Shoe Shop's closed up like an oyster. Sitting on the roots of a tree, reading a book by a punk-rock nothing, writing a postcard to my family, and listening to the song sung by the pool swimming. We are going down to Audobon Park. We are house rotten at the Status Palace hanging out after dark because Alisa's on her mobile phone, and we are going home. Sitting down at the Kerry, feet are hurting, cracked just like Van Gogh. Three pints of Guinness times five minutes. Now we're late; who knows where we'll go? Going back to 316. Can't watch the movie we didn't PPV. Call room service, serving dervish. Fills our stomach; still we feel empty.
"The story might be tidier with a suicide, or a drug overdose, or a graffiti-covered tombstone in Paris. What actually happened isn't nearly as profitable for the record company, but more pleasant for his family." -- Abram Shalom Himelstein and Jamie Schweser, Tales of a Punk Rock Nothing
Celebrate Democracy In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue and proceeded to kill 3 million Arawaks. Their gold had made him woozy, but because of Amerigo Vespucci, we are not Columbians, we're Americans. Celebrate democracy with me. In 1776, we freed ourselves from the wily Brits to play out our Declaration of Independence. But despite our Constitution, there is still stark class division, and war is fought by the impoverished, not the rich. In 1983, the cover of Time magazine turned its annual man award upon its ear. And instead of a world leader, it gave laud to binary
readers and named the computer Machine of the Year.
"A country populated with shoppers is poorly prepared to assert, much less back up, its worldwide dominance." -- Herbert Schiller, Living in the Number One Country
Finger Lakes Should I take the train or should I rent a car? I would take an aeroplane, but I don't need to go that far to see you because we will meet halfway. I want to see you tomorrow. You wanted to see me yesterday. If you could see through my eyes and get a new perspective, and maybe even be surprised. If I were you and you were me, just think of all the things that we could see. I think that I could be happy. Take me to the edge. Take me to the pier. Tell me all the reasons why you wanted me to come here: to see you, to see the finger lakes. I am taking what you're giving. Now there's not much more for me to take. I haven't seen or heard from you in awhile. I wish that I could hear your voice. I wish that I could see you smile. Smile at me; smile at the things we say. Then I'd know what you are thinking. Then I'd know what kind of games we're playing.
"The ability to quote is a serviceable substitute for wit." -- W. Somerset Maugham
Idlewild You're spending the weekend in Michigan, debiting the balance sheet that our relationship is built on. I urinate in used car lots and then get in a van with poets from New York and without destination. I do not know where we are going. I hope we reap the seeds we're sowing. You say that I don't tell you how I feel, yet layer after layer of my heart's defenses you keep peeling. Your self-esteem and self-doubt make me sway. I love you; I'm not in love with you: At least that's how I feel right now, today. Idlewild, you make me feel like I've never ever felt before. Idlewild, is this love real? Are you an open door?
"In order to delay the onset of the dementia of affection I hugged foam cushions from the sofa while you were away." -- Todd Colby, "I Welcome You"
Indecision If you want to make a decision, you've got to make it with precision. You've got to make sure that you're in the right head. If you want to give an answer, you cannot be a second guesser. You've got to be correct again. I will never let you down again, my friend.
"The fish is never free to become an eagle." -- Theron Q. Dumont, The Master Mind
Unsung Heroes If history was written by the winners, then social studies textbooks were compiled by the sinners. Our social ills were not caused by the poor, and labor organizers don't lead choirs any more. The world was not created by the people who make the news. Society was built by working people: me and you. We've got to share our stories, our successes, and our loss if we want to break the iron chains forged by every boss. Unsung heroes are less than zeroes. We cannot afford to forget our past. There's a new day, a new way about to dawn. Yet we can't take steps forward without knowing where we've gone. We've lost ourselves in the language of the Left. We've got to learn a new tongue if we want to be heard by the deaf. Without collective memory we won't last.
"We are always in need of radicals who are also lovable." -- Howard Zinn, Howard Zinn on History
Basic tracks recorded starting January 2002 by the Anchormen, Paul Coleman, and Ken Kokubo at the Sound Museum in Boston. Overdubs recorded starting April 2002 at Drop-D Manor in Jamaica Plain. Technical assistance provided by Doug Vargas. Mixed starting November 2002 by Rafi Sofer and various interns at Q Division in Somerville. Mastered in January 2003 by Darron Burke at Makeshift Studio in Jamaica Plain.
Thank you: The Abbey Lounge; Emily Arkin; Katie Bryn; Darron Burke; Leslie Case; Paul Coleman; the Dilboy VFW; Mike Faloon; Dave Geissler; Jen Godfrey; Handstand Command; Hi-Fi Records; Ken Kokubo; Steven J. Lawrence; O'Brien's; Kimberly Pieters; Sarah Pikcilingis; Rafi Sofer, "Cyco" Dave Sakowski, and all of the interns at Q Division; Alisa Swindell; and Doug Vargas.
No hippies or pimps were involved in the making of this record.
I just sent Jef the final draft of the liner notes to the Anchormen's forthcoming CD, Nation of Interns. The CD will hopefully be out in the next month or so, and you can expect some shows come spring! Here are the liners:
The Anchormen
Nation of Interns
Chris Braiotta: Accordion, bass, and vocals
Jef Czekaj: Drums, and vocals
Heath Row: Vocals
Tom Scanlon: Guitar and organ
Leslie Case: Background vocals on "Another Gentrification Song" and
"Unsung Heroes"
Another Gentrification Song Another storefront boarded up. Another homeless paper cup. Another U-Haul moving truck: Another family gone. Another big box starts to trade. Another student class turned slave. Another million dollars made, not saved: Another gentrification song. Why were we not invited? Why were the developers benighted? Why was the neighborhood so slighted? When will these wrongs be righted? Another street loses its life. Another sheltered suburban white. Another man picks up a knife.
"Central Square is the heart and soul of Cambridge." -- Chris Szabla
Audobon Park Walking down Magazine past the Abstract and Ms. Rae-Ann's grocery to le block du veterinary, the OK Shoe Shop's closed up like an oyster. Sitting on the roots of a tree, reading a book by a punk-rock nothing, writing a postcard to my family, and listening to the song sung by the pool swimming. We are going down to Audobon Park. We are house rotten at the Status Palace hanging out after dark because Alisa's on her mobile phone, and we are going home. Sitting down at the Kerry, feet are hurting, cracked just like Van Gogh. Three pints of Guinness times five minutes. Now we're late; who knows where we'll go? Going back to 316. Can't watch the movie we didn't PPV. Call room service, serving dervish. Fills our stomach; still we feel empty.
"The story might be tidier with a suicide, or a drug overdose, or a graffiti-covered tombstone in Paris. What actually happened isn't nearly as profitable for the record company, but more pleasant for his family." -- Abram Shalom Himelstein and Jamie Schweser, Tales of a Punk Rock Nothing
Celebrate Democracy In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue and proceeded to kill 3 million Arawaks. Their gold had made him woozy, but because of Amerigo Vespucci, we are not Columbians, we're Americans. Celebrate democracy with me. In 1776, we freed ourselves from the wily Brits to play out our Declaration of Independence. But despite our Constitution, there is still stark class division, and war is fought by the impoverished, not the rich. In 1983, the cover of Time magazine turned its annual man award upon its ear. And instead of a world leader, it gave laud to binary
readers and named the computer Machine of the Year.
"A country populated with shoppers is poorly prepared to assert, much less back up, its worldwide dominance." -- Herbert Schiller, Living in the Number One Country
Finger Lakes Should I take the train or should I rent a car? I would take an aeroplane, but I don't need to go that far to see you because we will meet halfway. I want to see you tomorrow. You wanted to see me yesterday. If you could see through my eyes and get a new perspective, and maybe even be surprised. If I were you and you were me, just think of all the things that we could see. I think that I could be happy. Take me to the edge. Take me to the pier. Tell me all the reasons why you wanted me to come here: to see you, to see the finger lakes. I am taking what you're giving. Now there's not much more for me to take. I haven't seen or heard from you in awhile. I wish that I could hear your voice. I wish that I could see you smile. Smile at me; smile at the things we say. Then I'd know what you are thinking. Then I'd know what kind of games we're playing.
"The ability to quote is a serviceable substitute for wit." -- W. Somerset Maugham
Idlewild You're spending the weekend in Michigan, debiting the balance sheet that our relationship is built on. I urinate in used car lots and then get in a van with poets from New York and without destination. I do not know where we are going. I hope we reap the seeds we're sowing. You say that I don't tell you how I feel, yet layer after layer of my heart's defenses you keep peeling. Your self-esteem and self-doubt make me sway. I love you; I'm not in love with you: At least that's how I feel right now, today. Idlewild, you make me feel like I've never ever felt before. Idlewild, is this love real? Are you an open door?
"In order to delay the onset of the dementia of affection I hugged foam cushions from the sofa while you were away." -- Todd Colby, "I Welcome You"
Indecision If you want to make a decision, you've got to make it with precision. You've got to make sure that you're in the right head. If you want to give an answer, you cannot be a second guesser. You've got to be correct again. I will never let you down again, my friend.
"The fish is never free to become an eagle." -- Theron Q. Dumont, The Master Mind
Unsung Heroes If history was written by the winners, then social studies textbooks were compiled by the sinners. Our social ills were not caused by the poor, and labor organizers don't lead choirs any more. The world was not created by the people who make the news. Society was built by working people: me and you. We've got to share our stories, our successes, and our loss if we want to break the iron chains forged by every boss. Unsung heroes are less than zeroes. We cannot afford to forget our past. There's a new day, a new way about to dawn. Yet we can't take steps forward without knowing where we've gone. We've lost ourselves in the language of the Left. We've got to learn a new tongue if we want to be heard by the deaf. Without collective memory we won't last.
"We are always in need of radicals who are also lovable." -- Howard Zinn, Howard Zinn on History
Basic tracks recorded starting January 2002 by the Anchormen, Paul Coleman, and Ken Kokubo at the Sound Museum in Boston. Overdubs recorded starting April 2002 at Drop-D Manor in Jamaica Plain. Technical assistance provided by Doug Vargas. Mixed starting November 2002 by Rafi Sofer and various interns at Q Division in Somerville. Mastered in January 2003 by Darron Burke at Makeshift Studio in Jamaica Plain.
Thank you: The Abbey Lounge; Emily Arkin; Katie Bryn; Darron Burke; Leslie Case; Paul Coleman; the Dilboy VFW; Mike Faloon; Dave Geissler; Jen Godfrey; Handstand Command; Hi-Fi Records; Ken Kokubo; Steven J. Lawrence; O'Brien's; Kimberly Pieters; Sarah Pikcilingis; Rafi Sofer, "Cyco" Dave Sakowski, and all of the interns at Q Division; Alisa Swindell; and Doug Vargas.
No hippies or pimps were involved in the making of this record.
Event-O-Dex XXXVI
Friday, Feb. 7: Godsmacked, Armstrong, the Teen Idols, and the Queers at TT the Bear's Place in Cambridge.
Saturday, Feb. 8: 71 Sunbeam, Sally Crewe, Laguardia, and the Lincoln Conspiracy at TT the Bear's Place in Cambridge.
Friday, Feb. 7: Godsmacked, Armstrong, the Teen Idols, and the Queers at TT the Bear's Place in Cambridge.
Saturday, Feb. 8: 71 Sunbeam, Sally Crewe, Laguardia, and the Lincoln Conspiracy at TT the Bear's Place in Cambridge.
Monday, February 03, 2003
Event-O-Dex XXXV
Thursday, Feb. 6: Plunge into Death (featuring Jef of the Anchormen and Dave of Scrapple), Common Cold, and Shark Mountain at the Choppin' Block, 724 Huntington Ave., Boston. It's a Mister Records CD release party!
Thursday, Feb. 6: Plunge into Death (featuring Jef of the Anchormen and Dave of Scrapple), Common Cold, and Shark Mountain at the Choppin' Block, 724 Huntington Ave., Boston. It's a Mister Records CD release party!
The Movie I Watched Last Night LVII
Two cross-country flights, two in-flight movies.
Wednesday: The Tuxedo
This Mask-like plotline is really just an excuse for Jackie Chan to show off his martial arts mastery. The gist is this: There's this tuxedo, see? It's been augmented to give you highly skilled martial arts -- and dancing -- abilities. Chan plays a cabbie who gets recruited as the driver for a James Bond-like secret agent. After the agent is injured, Chan dons the tux and takes the agent's place. And the mission continues! The interplay between Chan and Jennifer Love Hewitt's character -- the agent's partner -- is relatively weak, and outside of the martial arts eye candy, this movie has little going for it. Fun for Chan completists, perhaps.
Sunday: Solaris
This is more like it. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, this 2002 s-f movie done in the style of '70s stalwarts such as 2001 (which isn't surprising given the novel's 1972 Russian remake) is based on the novel by Stanislaw Lem. George Clooney plays a psychologist who's sent to a space station in orbit around Solaris, a star that has intriguing psychological effects on the station's crew. Clooney's character, after a series of emotional flashbacks, falls prey to the star's power, and the movie addresses the nature of humanity, the reality of memory, and ethics. A slow-paced yet powerful film, Solaris is a sleeper hit. I'm almost surprised it was made, but I'm glad it was, and it makes me want to read the book. It also makes me hopeful that other classic s-f novels, stateside and otherwise, will be made into films as impressive as this. Soderbergh's portrayal of the future is stark and not too far from the present, and the cast, largely of unknowns -- Jeremy Davies plays a wonderfully distracted man on the edge of sanity -- performs well.
Two cross-country flights, two in-flight movies.
Wednesday: The Tuxedo
This Mask-like plotline is really just an excuse for Jackie Chan to show off his martial arts mastery. The gist is this: There's this tuxedo, see? It's been augmented to give you highly skilled martial arts -- and dancing -- abilities. Chan plays a cabbie who gets recruited as the driver for a James Bond-like secret agent. After the agent is injured, Chan dons the tux and takes the agent's place. And the mission continues! The interplay between Chan and Jennifer Love Hewitt's character -- the agent's partner -- is relatively weak, and outside of the martial arts eye candy, this movie has little going for it. Fun for Chan completists, perhaps.
Sunday: Solaris
This is more like it. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, this 2002 s-f movie done in the style of '70s stalwarts such as 2001 (which isn't surprising given the novel's 1972 Russian remake) is based on the novel by Stanislaw Lem. George Clooney plays a psychologist who's sent to a space station in orbit around Solaris, a star that has intriguing psychological effects on the station's crew. Clooney's character, after a series of emotional flashbacks, falls prey to the star's power, and the movie addresses the nature of humanity, the reality of memory, and ethics. A slow-paced yet powerful film, Solaris is a sleeper hit. I'm almost surprised it was made, but I'm glad it was, and it makes me want to read the book. It also makes me hopeful that other classic s-f novels, stateside and otherwise, will be made into films as impressive as this. Soderbergh's portrayal of the future is stark and not too far from the present, and the cast, largely of unknowns -- Jeremy Davies plays a wonderfully distracted man on the edge of sanity -- performs well.
Comics and Community V
So I went to APE in San Francisco this weekend -- for the first time since the very first APE ever down in San Jose when Dave Sim and David Moodie (ex-Might) shared the same space, almost. I admit that I didn't really do APE well this year. I stayed up pretty late Friday night after hanging out at Zeitgeist, a wonderful bicycle courier bar, with Cory, Becca and Alex. So I was pretty tired and kept behind the Highwater Books table with Tom and TD for much of the day.
We had a great space. With four tables of Highwater display right next to Jordan Crane and a lot of other Los Angeles-area comics makers, including Souther Salazar, Saelee Oh, and Sammy Harkham, as well as others, we had a fun, lively, and motley crew. And while I perched behind the table, a lot of neat people came to me. It's been ages since I've seen Seth Friedman, formerly of Factsheet 5; Larry-Bob and Nick, of Holy Titclamps; Andy Hunter, formerly of Mommy and I Are One; and some of the folks behind Cardhouse.
I didn't spend a lot of time with them, but I also chatted briefly with Charles Brownstein of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, who recently self-published a Valentines-themed zine; Bill from Giant Robot; Chris and Brett from Top Shelf; and Jeff from Alternative Comics (he corrected me when I mistakenly said Alternative Press; ouch!); Leela Corman and Tom Hart; and select other fine folks.
When I finally got some caffeine in me and decided to brave the floor, I wish I'd left the comforting confines of our table earlier in the day. I ran into John Held, Jr., a long-time mail artist and small-press archivist; V. Vale of Re/Search; David Rees and Tom Hopkins, who were working the Soft Skull/AK Press half-table; Jon and Craig from Spoilsport and Go-Go Girl. I even bought the second anthology comic from Ben, the guy in Austin who does the wonderful daily autobio punk strip Snake Pit. Didn't say hi, though.
Because I'm that lame. It felt super weird heading back to Boston early Sunday having not been in town for the con, really; not having had much quality time with my friends who were there; knowing so many local and non-local comics and zine people at the con; and not having taken the opportunity to really explore APE, much less spend the second day.
So San Diego it is. And SPX. Andcetera. I need to get back into the swing of things.
(Oh, I also didn't pick up that many new minis and stuff to review here. Because I'm that lame. I picked up some neat new stuff -- like the new tabloid paper Arthur [Jordan and Sammy as comics editors, hooray!] -- and I'll eventually get to it all here. People should just send me everything. Really, they should.)
So I went to APE in San Francisco this weekend -- for the first time since the very first APE ever down in San Jose when Dave Sim and David Moodie (ex-Might) shared the same space, almost. I admit that I didn't really do APE well this year. I stayed up pretty late Friday night after hanging out at Zeitgeist, a wonderful bicycle courier bar, with Cory, Becca and Alex. So I was pretty tired and kept behind the Highwater Books table with Tom and TD for much of the day.
We had a great space. With four tables of Highwater display right next to Jordan Crane and a lot of other Los Angeles-area comics makers, including Souther Salazar, Saelee Oh, and Sammy Harkham, as well as others, we had a fun, lively, and motley crew. And while I perched behind the table, a lot of neat people came to me. It's been ages since I've seen Seth Friedman, formerly of Factsheet 5; Larry-Bob and Nick, of Holy Titclamps; Andy Hunter, formerly of Mommy and I Are One; and some of the folks behind Cardhouse.
I didn't spend a lot of time with them, but I also chatted briefly with Charles Brownstein of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, who recently self-published a Valentines-themed zine; Bill from Giant Robot; Chris and Brett from Top Shelf; and Jeff from Alternative Comics (he corrected me when I mistakenly said Alternative Press; ouch!); Leela Corman and Tom Hart; and select other fine folks.
When I finally got some caffeine in me and decided to brave the floor, I wish I'd left the comforting confines of our table earlier in the day. I ran into John Held, Jr., a long-time mail artist and small-press archivist; V. Vale of Re/Search; David Rees and Tom Hopkins, who were working the Soft Skull/AK Press half-table; Jon and Craig from Spoilsport and Go-Go Girl. I even bought the second anthology comic from Ben, the guy in Austin who does the wonderful daily autobio punk strip Snake Pit. Didn't say hi, though.
Because I'm that lame. It felt super weird heading back to Boston early Sunday having not been in town for the con, really; not having had much quality time with my friends who were there; knowing so many local and non-local comics and zine people at the con; and not having taken the opportunity to really explore APE, much less spend the second day.
So San Diego it is. And SPX. Andcetera. I need to get back into the swing of things.
(Oh, I also didn't pick up that many new minis and stuff to review here. Because I'm that lame. I picked up some neat new stuff -- like the new tabloid paper Arthur [Jordan and Sammy as comics editors, hooray!] -- and I'll eventually get to it all here. People should just send me everything. Really, they should.)
Corollary: Everything's Coming Out, Rosie II
And the drama don't stop.
And the drama don't stop.
Workaday World XVI
You know how some days you feel like your life is as stable as a house of cards or a cabin made of popsicle sticks? I've had a lot of days like that lately.
You know how some days you feel like your life is as stable as a house of cards or a cabin made of popsicle sticks? I've had a lot of days like that lately.
Friday, January 31, 2003
No Media Res(t) for the Weary Traveler III
While I neglected to read any newspapers yesterday, I just finished flipping through today's San Francisco Chronicle and this week's SF Weekly and San Francisco Bay Guardian. The Guardian yielded some interesting tidbits.
Former publisher of Factsheet 5, Seth Friedman, now works as the Guardian's IT manager. Also from the masthead, Bay Area improv guitarist John Shiurba works as the paper's office manager. I first encountered Shiurba through the Boss Improv mailing list that I founded. Small world.
The Guardian includes several interesting media-related pieces this week. Savannah Blackwell's article on the recent antitrust case filed against New Times Media -- the parent company of the Guardian's closest competitor SF Weekly -- and Village Voice Media, is a clear exposure of the companies' attempts to collude and avoid regional competition.
Jeff Chang looks at Clear Channel's purchase of KMEL -- and former listeners' attempts to take back the urban radio station. And Camille Taiara's consideration of corporate media organizations' contributions to politicians -- and FCC chair Michael Powell's openness to big business -- offers a nice companion read addressing the evils of conglomerization.
All in all, an impressively solid edition of the Guardian. Right on, Bruce Brugmann. Alt.weeklies everywhere could learn from you.
While I neglected to read any newspapers yesterday, I just finished flipping through today's San Francisco Chronicle and this week's SF Weekly and San Francisco Bay Guardian. The Guardian yielded some interesting tidbits.
Former publisher of Factsheet 5, Seth Friedman, now works as the Guardian's IT manager. Also from the masthead, Bay Area improv guitarist John Shiurba works as the paper's office manager. I first encountered Shiurba through the Boss Improv mailing list that I founded. Small world.
The Guardian includes several interesting media-related pieces this week. Savannah Blackwell's article on the recent antitrust case filed against New Times Media -- the parent company of the Guardian's closest competitor SF Weekly -- and Village Voice Media, is a clear exposure of the companies' attempts to collude and avoid regional competition.
Jeff Chang looks at Clear Channel's purchase of KMEL -- and former listeners' attempts to take back the urban radio station. And Camille Taiara's consideration of corporate media organizations' contributions to politicians -- and FCC chair Michael Powell's openness to big business -- offers a nice companion read addressing the evils of conglomerization.
All in all, an impressively solid edition of the Guardian. Right on, Bruce Brugmann. Alt.weeklies everywhere could learn from you.
Among the Literati XXV
In the Jan. 29 edition of the SF Weekly, Tommy Craggs takes the San Francisco Chronicle to task for publishing a thinly veiled news release for 826 Valencia's October 2002 teacher of the month -- penned by Dave Eggers.
What starts as a query why Eggers would contribute to the Chronic ends up as criticism that the paper gave 826 Valencia -- quite a worthy learning center -- any ink and a snarky dismissal of Eggers as "stumbling." Give the guy a break.
In the Jan. 29 edition of the SF Weekly, Tommy Craggs takes the San Francisco Chronicle to task for publishing a thinly veiled news release for 826 Valencia's October 2002 teacher of the month -- penned by Dave Eggers.
What starts as a query why Eggers would contribute to the Chronic ends up as criticism that the paper gave 826 Valencia -- quite a worthy learning center -- any ink and a snarky dismissal of Eggers as "stumbling." Give the guy a break.
Corollary: Signs of the Times
Just talked some more with the security guard at 601 Montgomery. He says he's been changing the sign near the security desk for six or seven years. "I have three sets of letters now," he says. "I used to be restricted."
Word is that a friend interviewed him and wrote an article for a class she took. If she gives the OK, I hope to publish her piece here.
Just talked some more with the security guard at 601 Montgomery. He says he's been changing the sign near the security desk for six or seven years. "I have three sets of letters now," he says. "I used to be restricted."
Word is that a friend interviewed him and wrote an article for a class she took. If she gives the OK, I hope to publish her piece here.
Event-O-Dex XXXIV
Sunday, Feb. 2: The Tardy, the Pee Wee Fist, and Rachel McCartney at the Washington Street Arts Center, 321 Washington St., Somerville. The action starts at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 2: The Tardy, the Pee Wee Fist, and Rachel McCartney at the Washington Street Arts Center, 321 Washington St., Somerville. The action starts at 7:30 p.m.
Signs of the Times
Every day, the security guard at 601 Montgomery St. in San Francisco changes this sign.
He says that as long as it makes people laugh, he can "keep his laugh on the job."
Every day, the security guard at 601 Montgomery St. in San Francisco changes this sign.
He says that as long as it makes people laugh, he can "keep his laugh on the job."
Media Diet Eat Up
I'm meeting some friends for dinner tonight at 7:30 at Zeitgeist, 199 Valencia, in San Francisco. If you're a Media Dietician and want to join us, consider the invitation open. I've got messy hair and small glasses, and I'll be wearing a blue workshirt. Cory Doctorow from Boing Boing will be there, too, but Dr. Frank of the Mr. T Experience is on his way to LA for a solo show. He sends his regards.
I'm meeting some friends for dinner tonight at 7:30 at Zeitgeist, 199 Valencia, in San Francisco. If you're a Media Dietician and want to join us, consider the invitation open. I've got messy hair and small glasses, and I'll be wearing a blue workshirt. Cory Doctorow from Boing Boing will be there, too, but Dr. Frank of the Mr. T Experience is on his way to LA for a solo show. He sends his regards.
Corollary: Comics and Community IV
Christopher Baldwin, creator of the Bruno Daily Times is going to be at APE. I read Bruno every day!
Christopher Baldwin, creator of the Bruno Daily Times is going to be at APE. I read Bruno every day!
Dead Technology
You know how folks say that Betamax was vastly superior to VHS but VHS won out because of better distribution? Might be a myth.
Thanks to Through the Wire.
You know how folks say that Betamax was vastly superior to VHS but VHS won out because of better distribution? Might be a myth.
Thanks to Through the Wire.
Among the Literati XXIV
Charlie Stross and Cory Doctorow are kicking up some dust in the Well's Inkwell forum.
Thanks to Weblogsky.
Charlie Stross and Cory Doctorow are kicking up some dust in the Well's Inkwell forum.
Thanks to Weblogsky.
Blogging About Blogging XLVIII
Ross Mayfield's Blogmap project is now online. Looks like he's upping the ante on the social network map he created of the Ryze Blog tribe. Neat stuff.
And Corante's got a new blog rolling. Amateur Hour looks at the democratization of media, digital tools, and media making. It's the "me" in "media." Jan. 24's entry touches on how cable TV and the net are changing traditional journalism.
Ross Mayfield's Blogmap project is now online. Looks like he's upping the ante on the social network map he created of the Ryze Blog tribe. Neat stuff.
And Corante's got a new blog rolling. Amateur Hour looks at the democratization of media, digital tools, and media making. It's the "me" in "media." Jan. 24's entry touches on how cable TV and the net are changing traditional journalism.
Everything's Coming Out, Rosie II
The Rosie end-of-days drama continues.
The Rosie end-of-days drama continues.
Born to Run Away
Bruce Springsteen was slated to play a benefit performance for DoubleTake magazine at the Somerville Theater in Somerville near the end of February. The deal was that for something like a $1,000 ticket, you could see the small, intimate, acoustic performance. And for $5,000 you could share time and table with the Boss and his wife at a special dinner. The whole idea was to raise money for the ever-struggling Davis Square-based magazine.
Now Springsteen has pulled away from the deal, and the concert is canceled. Why? The Boss was upset at the steep ticket prices despite the benefit gig. And he was miffed that the magazine leaked news of the performance early to fuel ticket sales. Just goes to show: What DoubleTake can give, DoubleTake can take away.
Bruce Springsteen was slated to play a benefit performance for DoubleTake magazine at the Somerville Theater in Somerville near the end of February. The deal was that for something like a $1,000 ticket, you could see the small, intimate, acoustic performance. And for $5,000 you could share time and table with the Boss and his wife at a special dinner. The whole idea was to raise money for the ever-struggling Davis Square-based magazine.
Now Springsteen has pulled away from the deal, and the concert is canceled. Why? The Boss was upset at the steep ticket prices despite the benefit gig. And he was miffed that the magazine leaked news of the performance early to fuel ticket sales. Just goes to show: What DoubleTake can give, DoubleTake can take away.
Workaday World XV
On my way to Fast Company's Montgomery Street offices in San Francisco I saw what might very well be one of the best buskers I've ever seen. The fellow at the Montgomery Street Bart station has an extremely clear and impressive singing voice. If you come across him, give him some money.
Upon reaching the top of the exit escalator, I saw a forlorn-looking older man in a suit standing resolutely behind a sandwich board that said, "Please take my resume. I've done it all." Welcome back to San Francisco.
On my way to Fast Company's Montgomery Street offices in San Francisco I saw what might very well be one of the best buskers I've ever seen. The fellow at the Montgomery Street Bart station has an extremely clear and impressive singing voice. If you come across him, give him some money.
Upon reaching the top of the exit escalator, I saw a forlorn-looking older man in a suit standing resolutely behind a sandwich board that said, "Please take my resume. I've done it all." Welcome back to San Francisco.
Thursday, January 30, 2003
Anchormen, Aweigh! XV
Half the band mastered the final mixes of the songs we're including in our forthcoming CD, Nation of Interns, Tuesday, and the final songs are available online. Hopefully, the CD itself will be available in the next month or so!
Half the band mastered the final mixes of the songs we're including in our forthcoming CD, Nation of Interns, Tuesday, and the final songs are available online. Hopefully, the CD itself will be available in the next month or so!
Workaday World XIV
I'm in San Francisco today, camping out in Fast Company's Montgomery Street offices to catch up with the Company of Friends before the San Francisco group's event this evening.
So far today, I've had two delightful Bay Area experiences. I saw a woman on the Bart reading Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, and I heard a custodian whistle "Do You Know the Way to San Jose." Welcome back to San Francisco!
I'm in San Francisco today, camping out in Fast Company's Montgomery Street offices to catch up with the Company of Friends before the San Francisco group's event this evening.
So far today, I've had two delightful Bay Area experiences. I saw a woman on the Bart reading Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, and I heard a custodian whistle "Do You Know the Way to San Jose." Welcome back to San Francisco!
Tuesday, January 28, 2003
Corollary: Comics and Community IV
In another fit of good fortune -- to start balancing out all of today's bad -- Highwater Books will be tabling at APE this weekend. That's where I'll be spending much of my time, so if any Media Dieticians go to APE, look me up.
In another fit of good fortune -- to start balancing out all of today's bad -- Highwater Books will be tabling at APE this weekend. That's where I'll be spending much of my time, so if any Media Dieticians go to APE, look me up.
Anchormen, Aweigh! XIV
Half the band is mastering the forthcoming Anchormen CD, Nation of Interns, tonight. And we're trying to figure out what order the songs should go in. Do you like
Audubon Park
Peel Away
Celebrate Democracy
Idlewild
Another Gentrification Song
Finger Lakes
Unsung Heroes
Indecision
or
Celebrate Democracy
Unsung Heroes
Peel Away
Finger Lakes
Indecision
Idlewild
Another Gentrification Song
Audobon Park
or
Celebrate Democracy
Idlewild
Audobon Park
Another Gentrification Song
Finger Lakes
Unsung Heroes
Peel Away
Indecision
better? You can download the rough mixes. Determining song order is much more challenging than you'd think.
Half the band is mastering the forthcoming Anchormen CD, Nation of Interns, tonight. And we're trying to figure out what order the songs should go in. Do you like
or
or
better? You can download the rough mixes. Determining song order is much more challenging than you'd think.
Games People Play IV
A co-worker of mine made a board game! Lights... Camera... Action! is a Trivial Pursuit-like game in which players try to identify the name of a movie based on quote, actor, and scene clues. It's extremely well produced and looks like a lot of fun -- 800 movie moments to consider! Fun stuff. I had no idea you could just make a board game.
A co-worker of mine made a board game! Lights... Camera... Action! is a Trivial Pursuit-like game in which players try to identify the name of a movie based on quote, actor, and scene clues. It's extremely well produced and looks like a lot of fun -- 800 movie moments to consider! Fun stuff. I had no idea you could just make a board game.
Corollary: Workaday World XIII
Murphy's Law is in full effect. Let's just say that the relaunch isn't going exactly as planned. We'll get there, though. I'm just not very good at being ineffectual. I'm also not very good at being nostalgic. Last night, with all of the anticipation and excitement about the relaunch, I waxed romantic about a former girlfriend, even emailing her a thank-you message for her long-ago support and interest. I should not do things like that. Stupid, stupid Heath. That'll work itself out, too, I guess. All this shall pass.
Murphy's Law is in full effect. Let's just say that the relaunch isn't going exactly as planned. We'll get there, though. I'm just not very good at being ineffectual. I'm also not very good at being nostalgic. Last night, with all of the anticipation and excitement about the relaunch, I waxed romantic about a former girlfriend, even emailing her a thank-you message for her long-ago support and interest. I should not do things like that. Stupid, stupid Heath. That'll work itself out, too, I guess. All this shall pass.
Monday, January 27, 2003
Mention Me! XXXIII
Adam Gaffin highlights the Boston World Explorers' Foundation's inaugural outing today in Boston Common. This is a solid site I'll have to return to.
What is Boston Common? "Boston Weblogs are cool, interesting, funny, thought-provoking and sometimes maddening. Couple Boston Weblogs with Boston forums and Usenet newsgroups and you've got the makings of a great online magazine. This Weblog is an attempt to sift through all those postings to find stuff you might also find interesting."
Welcome, Boston Commoners! Now you're Media Dieticians, too.
Adam Gaffin highlights the Boston World Explorers' Foundation's inaugural outing today in Boston Common. This is a solid site I'll have to return to.
What is Boston Common? "Boston Weblogs are cool, interesting, funny, thought-provoking and sometimes maddening. Couple Boston Weblogs with Boston forums and Usenet newsgroups and you've got the makings of a great online magazine. This Weblog is an attempt to sift through all those postings to find stuff you might also find interesting."
Welcome, Boston Commoners! Now you're Media Dieticians, too.
Workaday World XIII
Tomorrow, we launch the new online community platform for the Company of Friends, Fast Company magazine's readers' network. I founded the network back in 1997 and have spent the last five-plus years coordinating and managing it.
Normally, when I email the 42,000 members, I get a little nervous. That's a lot of people. But tonight, having just queued up the relaunch and redesign announcement for emailing, I'm more than a little nervous. This is a good step for the network, but it's a big step. Excited, nervous, hopeful, curious.
I hope people like what we've done.
Tomorrow, we launch the new online community platform for the Company of Friends, Fast Company magazine's readers' network. I founded the network back in 1997 and have spent the last five-plus years coordinating and managing it.
Normally, when I email the 42,000 members, I get a little nervous. That's a lot of people. But tonight, having just queued up the relaunch and redesign announcement for emailing, I'm more than a little nervous. This is a good step for the network, but it's a big step. Excited, nervous, hopeful, curious.
I hope people like what we've done.
Hiking History III
The Boston World Explorers' Foundation held its inaugural meeting Sunday afternoon, with four founding members gathering at the statue of Captain Farragut at City Point in South Boston to explore the environs of Castle Island and Fort Independence.
Walking from Broadway station on the Red Line, Hiromi and I made our way along South Boston's main commercial street and through a decidedly industrial section before reaching City point and meeting up with Brad and Jennifer. One of the old buildings we passed on the way, just before we walked past the Edison power plant, had cryptic letters, numbers, and arrows stenciled on the building's brick corners. What are these codes for? Near Independence Square, we also passed an old factory building that's been closed down for asbestos removal.
The island is now connected to the mainland with a walkway winding around Pleasure Bay, but the fort is still largely as it was way back when. During the tourist season, the fort is open for guided tours, but in the off season -- which is now -- the fort is closed. So are the snack bar and the public restrooms. "Seasonal!" quickly became a popular cry in response to a suggestion that was difficult or impossible.
One of the highlights of the day was finding a Bruce Lee stencil spray painted on a corner of the fort building. Another highlight was finding an arrangement of broken shell pieces spelling out the word "love" -- using a concrete round set into the soil as the "o."
In addition to its history as a military outpost and the numerous war memorials -- and thin spire to honor a local boatmaker -- that line its perimeter, Castle Island comes complete with a fascinating story. Rumor is that Edgar Allen Poe, who was born in Boston and served briefly as a soldier on the island, wrote "The Cask of Amontillado" based on a legend he heard while serving in the armed forces there.
My memory may be faulty, but the general sense of the story is that an officer on the island took offense at the actions of a younger soldier. I don't recall what the action was, but it may have involved a young woman or a night watch the soldier accidentally missed. The officer challenged the soldier to a duel, and even though other people in the company protested that the young soldier's actions didn't warrant a duel, the officer insisted. The duel occurred, and the officer killed the young, innocent soldier. Some of the soldier's friends inquired about the officer's previous tours of duty and learned that in every instance, in every location, the officer had found cause to challenge someone to a duel -- killing them in that duel. The officer had found a form of officially sanctioned murder within the armed forces. The young soldier's friends ganged up on the murderous officer and sealed him into a section of brick wall, either in the fort itself or in an installation once outside the fort.
After walking around the fort, we headed around the bay along the walkway. On the far side of the walkway was a fascinating circular concrete structure that reminded us of '70s or '50s motel design. With a ladder, you could easily carry a bicycle up top to ride around the platform. We watched the geese and seagulls and enjoyed the panoramic views of the Boston skyline -- as well as the sound of sea water lapping against the rocks.
The walkway also afforded good views of the outer harbor, including an island that now houses globular sewage treatment facilities, an island that was once a dumping ground for dead horses and cattle -- and then an illegal casino and bar complex during the prohibition -- and an island once used to house an insane asylum, part of which is now ruins.
Then it was back to the car, Broadway station, and home. Thanks to Hiromi, Brad, and Jennifer for their role as founding members of the Boston World Explorers' Foundation. I think we may have even decided on a slogan for the group: "I may not know where we're going, but I've read a lot about it." The adventures will continue.
The Boston World Explorers' Foundation held its inaugural meeting Sunday afternoon, with four founding members gathering at the statue of Captain Farragut at City Point in South Boston to explore the environs of Castle Island and Fort Independence.
Walking from Broadway station on the Red Line, Hiromi and I made our way along South Boston's main commercial street and through a decidedly industrial section before reaching City point and meeting up with Brad and Jennifer. One of the old buildings we passed on the way, just before we walked past the Edison power plant, had cryptic letters, numbers, and arrows stenciled on the building's brick corners. What are these codes for? Near Independence Square, we also passed an old factory building that's been closed down for asbestos removal.
The island is now connected to the mainland with a walkway winding around Pleasure Bay, but the fort is still largely as it was way back when. During the tourist season, the fort is open for guided tours, but in the off season -- which is now -- the fort is closed. So are the snack bar and the public restrooms. "Seasonal!" quickly became a popular cry in response to a suggestion that was difficult or impossible.
One of the highlights of the day was finding a Bruce Lee stencil spray painted on a corner of the fort building. Another highlight was finding an arrangement of broken shell pieces spelling out the word "love" -- using a concrete round set into the soil as the "o."
In addition to its history as a military outpost and the numerous war memorials -- and thin spire to honor a local boatmaker -- that line its perimeter, Castle Island comes complete with a fascinating story. Rumor is that Edgar Allen Poe, who was born in Boston and served briefly as a soldier on the island, wrote "The Cask of Amontillado" based on a legend he heard while serving in the armed forces there.
My memory may be faulty, but the general sense of the story is that an officer on the island took offense at the actions of a younger soldier. I don't recall what the action was, but it may have involved a young woman or a night watch the soldier accidentally missed. The officer challenged the soldier to a duel, and even though other people in the company protested that the young soldier's actions didn't warrant a duel, the officer insisted. The duel occurred, and the officer killed the young, innocent soldier. Some of the soldier's friends inquired about the officer's previous tours of duty and learned that in every instance, in every location, the officer had found cause to challenge someone to a duel -- killing them in that duel. The officer had found a form of officially sanctioned murder within the armed forces. The young soldier's friends ganged up on the murderous officer and sealed him into a section of brick wall, either in the fort itself or in an installation once outside the fort.
After walking around the fort, we headed around the bay along the walkway. On the far side of the walkway was a fascinating circular concrete structure that reminded us of '70s or '50s motel design. With a ladder, you could easily carry a bicycle up top to ride around the platform. We watched the geese and seagulls and enjoyed the panoramic views of the Boston skyline -- as well as the sound of sea water lapping against the rocks.
The walkway also afforded good views of the outer harbor, including an island that now houses globular sewage treatment facilities, an island that was once a dumping ground for dead horses and cattle -- and then an illegal casino and bar complex during the prohibition -- and an island once used to house an insane asylum, part of which is now ruins.
Then it was back to the car, Broadway station, and home. Thanks to Hiromi, Brad, and Jennifer for their role as founding members of the Boston World Explorers' Foundation. I think we may have even decided on a slogan for the group: "I may not know where we're going, but I've read a lot about it." The adventures will continue.
The Movie I Watched Last Night LVI
The Blair Witch Project
To help pass time while reading magazines on the Big Blue Couch on Friday night, I popped in The Blair Witch Project. While I wish I'd originally seen it back in 1999 without having read so much about the movie, the film holds up well to my first viewing in the theaters. Several aspects of the film resonate with me: the need to document experiences; a fascination with lost, bizarre local history; and stomping around in the woods -- or city, for that matter -- looking for things you've read about. This viewing, I felt like they gave the interview segments with locals short shrift and that, outside of the scene at coffin rock, the history was poorly presented. I also didn't connect as much with the decay of the filmmaking trio's friendships as they got lost deeper and deeper into the woods. So I was pleasantly surprised when they finally started discovering the totems, they stumbled across the abandoned house in the night, and the movie proceeded to accelerate to its relatively anticlimactic, though satisying, end. As a faux documentary, this was done pretty well. As a horror movie, I'm not so sure. Has anyone seen the sequel? Is it a waste of time, or does it build on the witch mythos and back story?
Between the Lines
A surprisingly solid all-star cast populates this little-known 1977 movie that tells the tale of a small, scrappy alternative newspaper in Boston -- the Back Bay Mainline -- that's on the brink of being bought out by a larger, corporate publisher. Riffing on the evolution of the once-proud Real Paper into what is now the Boston Phoenix media empire, I wonder how loosely based the movie is on the alt.weekly scene in Beantown. The story, while slightly cartoony in its portrayal of the stereotypical independent journalists and the stories they pursue, is an engaging look at how a media merger affects the content of the paper, as well as the relationships among the staff. And it's the staff -- the cast -- that amazed me here. Jeff Goldblum plays a manic, down-on-his-luck rock critic who, in one scene, gives a "performance artist" who shows up at the office demanding to be interviewed a run for his money. Bruno Kirby, almost unrecognizable, plays a hapless newbie who can't quite write, and who gets stomped for trying to out a local record bootlegger. You've also got actors who went on to be in L.A. Law and Taxi. Stellar. A great, unsung media movie. If you work in journalism at all, check this out. The issues surrounding mergers remain, although the romantic portrayal of what it's like being an independent journalist is a little dated.
Shallow Hal
I never would have paid money to see this in a theater, much less rent it, but there it was on HBO on Saturday night, a night I was trying to stay in to read and have a quiet night at home for a change. So I watched it. I enjoy Jack Black, who I thought was relatively mellow in this movie, and I was pleased by the people he surrounded himself with in the movie. Nice to see Kyle Gass in the movie, and even Jason Alexander was quietly present in the movie. The gist of the story is that Black's character, Hal, gets trapped in an elevator with the motivational speaker Tony Robbins. After Robbins works his mojo, shallow Hal now only sees what's really inside people. Homely, good-hearted people appear beautiful. And duplicitous, beautiful people are seen as haggard and ugly. The jokes of the movie, which could have been much more aggressive and slapstick, are based on the premise that now Hal's only attracted to fat and ugly people who are good and pure inside. Enter Gwyneth Paltrow's character. Seen as a slim, shapely, beautiful woman, she's actually quite large. Chair-breaking large. They fall in love before Robbins' mojo is removed and Hal is able to see things as they really are. While I didn't buy his conversion and undying love for Paltrow's roly-poly Rosemary, I was touched by his affection for the children in the pediatric burn ward. I was also intrigued by the parallels to The Sixth Sense because I couldn't always tell whether I was seeing characters as Hal saw them or as they really were. In the end, an OK movie, but one torn between wanting to be a comedy -- and wanting to be a message movie. It doesn't quite succeed as either.
The Blair Witch Project
To help pass time while reading magazines on the Big Blue Couch on Friday night, I popped in The Blair Witch Project. While I wish I'd originally seen it back in 1999 without having read so much about the movie, the film holds up well to my first viewing in the theaters. Several aspects of the film resonate with me: the need to document experiences; a fascination with lost, bizarre local history; and stomping around in the woods -- or city, for that matter -- looking for things you've read about. This viewing, I felt like they gave the interview segments with locals short shrift and that, outside of the scene at coffin rock, the history was poorly presented. I also didn't connect as much with the decay of the filmmaking trio's friendships as they got lost deeper and deeper into the woods. So I was pleasantly surprised when they finally started discovering the totems, they stumbled across the abandoned house in the night, and the movie proceeded to accelerate to its relatively anticlimactic, though satisying, end. As a faux documentary, this was done pretty well. As a horror movie, I'm not so sure. Has anyone seen the sequel? Is it a waste of time, or does it build on the witch mythos and back story?
Between the Lines
A surprisingly solid all-star cast populates this little-known 1977 movie that tells the tale of a small, scrappy alternative newspaper in Boston -- the Back Bay Mainline -- that's on the brink of being bought out by a larger, corporate publisher. Riffing on the evolution of the once-proud Real Paper into what is now the Boston Phoenix media empire, I wonder how loosely based the movie is on the alt.weekly scene in Beantown. The story, while slightly cartoony in its portrayal of the stereotypical independent journalists and the stories they pursue, is an engaging look at how a media merger affects the content of the paper, as well as the relationships among the staff. And it's the staff -- the cast -- that amazed me here. Jeff Goldblum plays a manic, down-on-his-luck rock critic who, in one scene, gives a "performance artist" who shows up at the office demanding to be interviewed a run for his money. Bruno Kirby, almost unrecognizable, plays a hapless newbie who can't quite write, and who gets stomped for trying to out a local record bootlegger. You've also got actors who went on to be in L.A. Law and Taxi. Stellar. A great, unsung media movie. If you work in journalism at all, check this out. The issues surrounding mergers remain, although the romantic portrayal of what it's like being an independent journalist is a little dated.
Shallow Hal
I never would have paid money to see this in a theater, much less rent it, but there it was on HBO on Saturday night, a night I was trying to stay in to read and have a quiet night at home for a change. So I watched it. I enjoy Jack Black, who I thought was relatively mellow in this movie, and I was pleased by the people he surrounded himself with in the movie. Nice to see Kyle Gass in the movie, and even Jason Alexander was quietly present in the movie. The gist of the story is that Black's character, Hal, gets trapped in an elevator with the motivational speaker Tony Robbins. After Robbins works his mojo, shallow Hal now only sees what's really inside people. Homely, good-hearted people appear beautiful. And duplicitous, beautiful people are seen as haggard and ugly. The jokes of the movie, which could have been much more aggressive and slapstick, are based on the premise that now Hal's only attracted to fat and ugly people who are good and pure inside. Enter Gwyneth Paltrow's character. Seen as a slim, shapely, beautiful woman, she's actually quite large. Chair-breaking large. They fall in love before Robbins' mojo is removed and Hal is able to see things as they really are. While I didn't buy his conversion and undying love for Paltrow's roly-poly Rosemary, I was touched by his affection for the children in the pediatric burn ward. I was also intrigued by the parallels to The Sixth Sense because I couldn't always tell whether I was seeing characters as Hal saw them or as they really were. In the end, an OK movie, but one torn between wanting to be a comedy -- and wanting to be a message movie. It doesn't quite succeed as either.
Friday, January 24, 2003
Hiking History II
My pedestrian explorations of Boston's past continued today, straddling the North End and downtown. Davo and I set out in search of centers, starting at the Boston Stone embedded in a wall not far from Ye Olde Union Oyster House, which has been in operation since 1826. The Boston Stone was brought to the United States in 1700 and was used to grind paint pigments. Installed as a marker in 1737, the stone has been rumored to be the point from which all distances from Boston were measured. Sources conflict on that matter. Also, upstairs from the oyster house was the printing shop for the Massachusetts Spy, the first newspaper in America.
Not far from the Blackstone Block, Boston's oldest commercial block, is Faneuil Hall and Quincy Marketplace. The sidewalks and courtyard in the area are marked with building and street locations circa 1819, an interesting exercise in mapping the city's past on the city itself. Nearby are several bronze statues of note, including Anne Whitney's 1873 state of Samuel Adams and Lloyd Lillie's 1989 double of Mayor James Michael Curley. Curley held his first elected office in 1904 while in jail, and in 1946, President Truman had to pardon him to serve as mayor -- an election Curley won while in prison again.
Then we looked for the next center. And looked. And looked. According to Bizarro Boston there's a bronze plaque near Filene's and Downtown Crossing noting the exact center of the universe. The neighborhood has been rejuvenated, as marked by a stone inset near where I expected the plaque to be, so perhaps the sign has been removed or moved. Regardless, Davo and I couldn't find it.
On the way back toward the office, we walked past the Boston Globe's original location back when Washington Street was called Newspaper Row. We also made a point of stopping by 383 Salem St., now a vacant space, but once Langone's Funeral Home where Sacco and Vanzetti were laid out following their executions in 1927. Spectators spread out the length of Hanover Street. The two were later cremated at Forest Hills Cemetery.
Source: Greg and Katherine Letterman, Walking Boston
My pedestrian explorations of Boston's past continued today, straddling the North End and downtown. Davo and I set out in search of centers, starting at the Boston Stone embedded in a wall not far from Ye Olde Union Oyster House, which has been in operation since 1826. The Boston Stone was brought to the United States in 1700 and was used to grind paint pigments. Installed as a marker in 1737, the stone has been rumored to be the point from which all distances from Boston were measured. Sources conflict on that matter. Also, upstairs from the oyster house was the printing shop for the Massachusetts Spy, the first newspaper in America.
Not far from the Blackstone Block, Boston's oldest commercial block, is Faneuil Hall and Quincy Marketplace. The sidewalks and courtyard in the area are marked with building and street locations circa 1819, an interesting exercise in mapping the city's past on the city itself. Nearby are several bronze statues of note, including Anne Whitney's 1873 state of Samuel Adams and Lloyd Lillie's 1989 double of Mayor James Michael Curley. Curley held his first elected office in 1904 while in jail, and in 1946, President Truman had to pardon him to serve as mayor -- an election Curley won while in prison again.
Then we looked for the next center. And looked. And looked. According to Bizarro Boston there's a bronze plaque near Filene's and Downtown Crossing noting the exact center of the universe. The neighborhood has been rejuvenated, as marked by a stone inset near where I expected the plaque to be, so perhaps the sign has been removed or moved. Regardless, Davo and I couldn't find it.
On the way back toward the office, we walked past the Boston Globe's original location back when Washington Street was called Newspaper Row. We also made a point of stopping by 383 Salem St., now a vacant space, but once Langone's Funeral Home where Sacco and Vanzetti were laid out following their executions in 1927. Spectators spread out the length of Hanover Street. The two were later cremated at Forest Hills Cemetery.
Source: Greg and Katherine Letterman, Walking Boston
The Movie I Watched Last Night LV
Johnny Mnemonic
I so wanted this movie to be good. Based on a short story by William Gibson, this is one of the most important cyberpunk pieces to date. Robert Longo's screen adaptation, despite a screenplay by Gibson himself, falls far short of what the movie could have been. Keanu Reeves performs at his wooden, mangling most of the dramatically necessary dialogue with a ham-handed delivery. Henry Rollins is similarly doltish, failing entirely as the heroic, principled medico. Udo Kier's Ralfi is satisfyingly creepy, although I could easily see Dean Stockwell or Dennis Hopper in that role. Of the cast, Ice-T stands out far above the others regardless of an underused presence until the end of the movie. His Low-tech parallel society with a media network in an elevated city state constructed out of garbage emerges as the most successful meme in the film. Stronger than the uber-dolphin, and stronger than Dolph Lundgren's street preacher. Lastly, compared to the graphic representations of the net in The Net and Hackers, the animations developed by Braid Media Arts shine quite brightly. Read the story. The movie is merely a curiosity.
The Lawnmower Man
Not that there have been many successful TV or movie adaptations of Stephen King's writing, but you know a movie is bad if the original author takes legal action to stop the filmmakers from associating his name with the movie and its promotion. "The Lawnmower Man" is one of King's most delightfully dark short stories, and the movie, while drawing lightly on some scenes and images from the story, adds and reworks so much, that the lineage is hardly direct. The King connection aside, this is a forward-thinking look at how virtual reality could be used to improve and augment human cognition. Pierce Brosnan's researcher improves the intelligence of an abused, developmentally disabled man, who rises up as a superhuman in the end, able to tap into the VR space while still in the real world. Jeff Fahey's Jobe Smith develops well -- intellectually and physically -- throughout the film, and the representations of VR aren't that bad. But in the end, the ethical quandary of messing with the human psyche gets short shrift, the director resorts to special effects, and the plot is left hanging, ripe for a sequel. The film doesn't capture King's original vision, and the resulting vision is so far removed -- and so unsatisyfing -- that The Lawnmower Man ends up as so much mulch.
Johnny Mnemonic
I so wanted this movie to be good. Based on a short story by William Gibson, this is one of the most important cyberpunk pieces to date. Robert Longo's screen adaptation, despite a screenplay by Gibson himself, falls far short of what the movie could have been. Keanu Reeves performs at his wooden, mangling most of the dramatically necessary dialogue with a ham-handed delivery. Henry Rollins is similarly doltish, failing entirely as the heroic, principled medico. Udo Kier's Ralfi is satisfyingly creepy, although I could easily see Dean Stockwell or Dennis Hopper in that role. Of the cast, Ice-T stands out far above the others regardless of an underused presence until the end of the movie. His Low-tech parallel society with a media network in an elevated city state constructed out of garbage emerges as the most successful meme in the film. Stronger than the uber-dolphin, and stronger than Dolph Lundgren's street preacher. Lastly, compared to the graphic representations of the net in The Net and Hackers, the animations developed by Braid Media Arts shine quite brightly. Read the story. The movie is merely a curiosity.
The Lawnmower Man
Not that there have been many successful TV or movie adaptations of Stephen King's writing, but you know a movie is bad if the original author takes legal action to stop the filmmakers from associating his name with the movie and its promotion. "The Lawnmower Man" is one of King's most delightfully dark short stories, and the movie, while drawing lightly on some scenes and images from the story, adds and reworks so much, that the lineage is hardly direct. The King connection aside, this is a forward-thinking look at how virtual reality could be used to improve and augment human cognition. Pierce Brosnan's researcher improves the intelligence of an abused, developmentally disabled man, who rises up as a superhuman in the end, able to tap into the VR space while still in the real world. Jeff Fahey's Jobe Smith develops well -- intellectually and physically -- throughout the film, and the representations of VR aren't that bad. But in the end, the ethical quandary of messing with the human psyche gets short shrift, the director resorts to special effects, and the plot is left hanging, ripe for a sequel. The film doesn't capture King's original vision, and the resulting vision is so far removed -- and so unsatisyfing -- that The Lawnmower Man ends up as so much mulch.
Products I Love VI
Just as I re-sleeve my CD's in space-saving slip cases from Univenture, I've started thinking that my DVD's are starting to take up too much room, too. So I recently ordered a couple of DVD albums from Case Logic.
While I certainly don't need to retain the bulky plastic packaging DVD's come with, I was wondering what I'd do with the jacket inserts -- if they were worth keeping at all. A pleasant surprise: Case Logic's DVD albums (I opted for the 40-count case) come with pages outfitted to hold the DVD's as well as the jacket inserts -- so there's no loss of content or art, and the DVD's are more easily found. Good call, Case Logic.
Case Logic also offers DVD storage trays and other products, but I think these DVD albums are spot on. Space saved!
Just as I re-sleeve my CD's in space-saving slip cases from Univenture, I've started thinking that my DVD's are starting to take up too much room, too. So I recently ordered a couple of DVD albums from Case Logic.
While I certainly don't need to retain the bulky plastic packaging DVD's come with, I was wondering what I'd do with the jacket inserts -- if they were worth keeping at all. A pleasant surprise: Case Logic's DVD albums (I opted for the 40-count case) come with pages outfitted to hold the DVD's as well as the jacket inserts -- so there's no loss of content or art, and the DVD's are more easily found. Good call, Case Logic.
Case Logic also offers DVD storage trays and other products, but I think these DVD albums are spot on. Space saved!
Comic Strip Crossover
Courtesy of OzComics:
I know I could be slow on the uptake, but am I learning about this from Australia? Fun stuff.
Courtesy of OzComics:
This coming Tuesday, January 28, will bring a special post-holiday treat to fans of the alternative weekly comics genre. Ted Rall, whose controversial, politically-themed strip "Seach & Destroy" is published weekly in over 100 newspapers in the US and abroad) will for one week take the reigns of Tony Millionaire's popular weekly strip "Maakies", (three-time Eisner award winner Millionaire is also the creator of the acclaimed Fantagraphics book "The House at Maakies Corner"; also Dark Horse's "Sock Monkey).
Both cartoonists had exchanged harsh words in the wake of a 1999 lawsuit concerning a critical article Rall wrote about Pulitzer Prize-winning "MAUS" creator Art Spiegelman; thankfully, Rall and Millionaire have chosen to holster their guns in the interest of creating great comics, for the benefit of fans worldwide.
I know I could be slow on the uptake, but am I learning about this from Australia? Fun stuff.
Making Radio Waves
From Bob Dubrow, proprietor of Kimchee Records and now-former host of WMBR-FM's Pipeline:
Wow. Nine years hosting Pipeline. Thanks for all you've done, Bob, and may you continue to do even more!
From Bob Dubrow, proprietor of Kimchee Records and now-former host of WMBR-FM's Pipeline:
Bob Dubrow is leaving WMBR's Pipeline! show after 9 years as host.
He will be passing the reigns to Jeff Breeze, editor of the Northeast Performer magazine.
Bob's final show is on Tuesday, February 11. It will be extended to 4 hours, from 8:00 pm to midnight.
To celebrate, Robin Lane & The Chartbusters will be playing a full live electric set during the show . 4/5s of her original band has reformed after 20 years and they've added a fifth member. They have a new album entitled Piece of Mind due for release on February 15, coinciding with the day of their release party at the Middle East.
In addition to the Chartbusters, many guests have been invited to take to the mics and play a tune or two throughout the show's 4-hour span. Verified guests include:
Charlie Chesterman Chris Brokaw Thalia Zedek John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard 27 and possibly some by Big Dipper folk.
Plus there will be more to be announced. (Inquiries are out to Roger Miller, Nat Freedburg, Robert Fisher, and more...)
We especially want to make you press folk aware so such a fun night of live music doesn't get lost in the air...
There will be updates sent out to you on additional live guests or changes as the show approaches. We hope to have the final line-up by the end of the month...
Bob will be moving on to host Lost & Found on WMBR alternate Mondays from noon-2:00. Lost & Found airs every weekday at that time and features mostly non-commercial music (and an occassional hit) from the '60s-early '70s.
Wow. Nine years hosting Pipeline. Thanks for all you've done, Bob, and may you continue to do even more!
Thursday, January 23, 2003
Games People Play III
A co-worker developed an Unreal Tournament mod of the Fast Company offices. In fact, right now, colleagues of mine are "running" around the space "killing" each other. Pretty weird seeing the game taking place in the office!
A co-worker developed an Unreal Tournament mod of the Fast Company offices. In fact, right now, colleagues of mine are "running" around the space "killing" each other. Pretty weird seeing the game taking place in the office!
Mention Me! XXXII
This made me laugh. Tim Bauer, whom I mentioned in Media Diet way back in May, hasn't updated his blog NewsWrap since July last year. Yet in the referral logs today, there was some traffic from his site. Just goes to show that the Web can be a ghost town.
Bauer linked to Media Diet in his Blogs roundup, and his page features the following item in a little "About NewsWrap with Tim Bauer" Q&A:
Ha! A claim to fame, to be sure. And now he's been mentioned twice.
This made me laugh. Tim Bauer, whom I mentioned in Media Diet way back in May, hasn't updated his blog NewsWrap since July last year. Yet in the referral logs today, there was some traffic from his site. Just goes to show that the Web can be a ghost town.
Bauer linked to Media Diet in his Blogs roundup, and his page features the following item in a little "About NewsWrap with Tim Bauer" Q&A:
Has he ever been mentioned in Heath Row's "Media Diet"?
Yes.
Ha! A claim to fame, to be sure. And now he's been mentioned twice.
Among the Literati XXII
Glenn Gaslin doesn't update his site Scrawlings often, but when he does, he says things like, "You can pre-order my novel!"
Good news, Glenn. Good news.
Glenn Gaslin doesn't update his site Scrawlings often, but when he does, he says things like, "You can pre-order my novel!"
Good news, Glenn. Good news.
Corollary: Blogging About Blogging XXXII
While my LiveJournal lasted about as long as Neil's chocolate chip cookies, I'm still intrigued by the different content tactics and strategies used in journals as compared to blogs. Ross Mayfield recently shared some preliminary anecdotal findings based on a survey of bloggers' perceptions of journals. His comments on the insular nature of LiveJournal's community and communication -- you can even link to people's sites via their LiveJournal usernames, which introduces an interesting social network dynamic and user-navigated content vetting -- are interesting.
While my LiveJournal lasted about as long as Neil's chocolate chip cookies, I'm still intrigued by the different content tactics and strategies used in journals as compared to blogs. Ross Mayfield recently shared some preliminary anecdotal findings based on a survey of bloggers' perceptions of journals. His comments on the insular nature of LiveJournal's community and communication -- you can even link to people's sites via their LiveJournal usernames, which introduces an interesting social network dynamic and user-navigated content vetting -- are interesting.
Comics and Calamity III
Rob G., artist of the comic TFM and the upcoming Couriers graphic novel with Brian Wood, recently lost everything he owned outside of the clothes on his back in a fire. While Rob, his roommate, and his cat are safe and OK, their apartment building and everything they own -- including his art for TFM, Couriers, and a Batman story -- is gone. You can help.
Rob G., artist of the comic TFM and the upcoming Couriers graphic novel with Brian Wood, recently lost everything he owned outside of the clothes on his back in a fire. While Rob, his roommate, and his cat are safe and OK, their apartment building and everything they own -- including his art for TFM, Couriers, and a Batman story -- is gone. You can help.
Rock Shows of Note LIII
Around 10 last night, and with a last-minute invitation to Hiromi, I went to the Middle East Upstairs to see Choo Choo La Rouge. I arrived just as they were finishing their set, unfortunately, but Hiromi and several friends were in the audience, so we stuck around to see the other bands.
Hailing from Providence, the Eyesores were amazing. Led by accordionist Alex K. Redfearn, the band featured an interesting mix of instruments: cello, upright bass, violin, accordion, and drum kit. Their set was a rollicking, high-energy assortment of Elephant Six by way of Slim Cessna's Auto Club-style pop. Not quite alt.country, but on the edge. I couldn't help bouncing on my heels and swaying back and forth. The violinist was a lot of fun to watch, and my only complaint was that Alex was sitting, so I couldn't really see him. Had to pick up a couple of their CD's.
Then Soltero played. The show was a CD release party for their new recording "Defrocked and Kicking the Habit," so they were in fine form. Hiromi and I left after several songs, so I didn't hear too much, but I've been listening to MP3's today, and they, too, have an impressive blend of alt.country and slightly off-kilter pop. Tim Howard's voice is a sleepy Sunday treat.
What a good show. One of those nights I probably shouldn't have gone out (sleepy today), but I'm glad I did.
Around 10 last night, and with a last-minute invitation to Hiromi, I went to the Middle East Upstairs to see Choo Choo La Rouge. I arrived just as they were finishing their set, unfortunately, but Hiromi and several friends were in the audience, so we stuck around to see the other bands.
Hailing from Providence, the Eyesores were amazing. Led by accordionist Alex K. Redfearn, the band featured an interesting mix of instruments: cello, upright bass, violin, accordion, and drum kit. Their set was a rollicking, high-energy assortment of Elephant Six by way of Slim Cessna's Auto Club-style pop. Not quite alt.country, but on the edge. I couldn't help bouncing on my heels and swaying back and forth. The violinist was a lot of fun to watch, and my only complaint was that Alex was sitting, so I couldn't really see him. Had to pick up a couple of their CD's.
Then Soltero played. The show was a CD release party for their new recording "Defrocked and Kicking the Habit," so they were in fine form. Hiromi and I left after several songs, so I didn't hear too much, but I've been listening to MP3's today, and they, too, have an impressive blend of alt.country and slightly off-kilter pop. Tim Howard's voice is a sleepy Sunday treat.
What a good show. One of those nights I probably shouldn't have gone out (sleepy today), but I'm glad I did.
Pushing Up Pencils
It's a bad week for cartoonists. First Al Hirschfield. Now Bill Mauldin. The world's a little more empty today.
It's a bad week for cartoonists. First Al Hirschfield. Now Bill Mauldin. The world's a little more empty today.
Comics and Community IV
Well, what do you know? I'll be in San Francisco for work late next week, and I'm sticking around for the weekend. APE is that weekend. I am so there.
Well, what do you know? I'll be in San Francisco for work late next week, and I'm sticking around for the weekend. APE is that weekend. I am so there.
Wednesday, January 22, 2003
The Movie I Watched Last Night LIV
The A-Team: "The Children of Jamestown"
Originally airing Jan. 30, 1983, this is the first hour-long episode of the show -- and the first starring Dirk Benedict as Faceman. The title sequence better captures the A-Team's origin than the pilot movie did, but the episode is little more than a watered down riff on the Jonestown massacre. John Saxon's Martin James, the erstwhile leader of a religious cult, is shallow and cartoony, little more than sunglasses and pseudo-religious blather. The team enters the cult's compound to rescue a girl held hostage, gets captured themselves, outwits the cult faithful in a death hunt, construct weapons at a nearby farmhouse, and in the end, win the day. The scene in which Faceman tries to woo a woman by explaining the adrenalin rush of their adventures, describing what he calls the "jazz" is silly but enjoyable. And in the end, this episode establishes what might be the formula for future shows: get hired, get captured, escape, construct new weapons or a vehicle, succeed against the odds, crack wise. Repeat.
Soundtrack: Meshuggah, "Nothing"
The A-Team: "The Children of Jamestown"
Originally airing Jan. 30, 1983, this is the first hour-long episode of the show -- and the first starring Dirk Benedict as Faceman. The title sequence better captures the A-Team's origin than the pilot movie did, but the episode is little more than a watered down riff on the Jonestown massacre. John Saxon's Martin James, the erstwhile leader of a religious cult, is shallow and cartoony, little more than sunglasses and pseudo-religious blather. The team enters the cult's compound to rescue a girl held hostage, gets captured themselves, outwits the cult faithful in a death hunt, construct weapons at a nearby farmhouse, and in the end, win the day. The scene in which Faceman tries to woo a woman by explaining the adrenalin rush of their adventures, describing what he calls the "jazz" is silly but enjoyable. And in the end, this episode establishes what might be the formula for future shows: get hired, get captured, escape, construct new weapons or a vehicle, succeed against the odds, crack wise. Repeat.
Soundtrack: Meshuggah, "Nothing"
Corollary: Comics Crackdown II
From the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund:
From the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund:
After a year of legal maneuvers, Kraft has settled its trademark dilution suit against CBLDF defendant Stuart Helm. The settlement agreement forms a permanent injunction that prohibits Helm from using the name "King VelVeeda" on any future web, comics, or illustration work. Helm is allowed five years to sell all existing work using the censored name. Kraft is also donating $10,000 to the American Library Association's Freedom to Read Foundation, Kraft's recognized charity of Helm's choice. Each side will bear its own legal fees.
The CBLDF spent over $14,000 on the case. Those costs were borne with membership and convention contributions. The Freedom to Read Foundation will also contribute a portion of Kraft's settlement donation to offset the Fund's legal fees.
Kraft first contacted Helm in January of 2002, sending him a letter requesting he cease and desist the use of his nickname "King VelVeeda." Helm had been signing work using the pseudonym for more than a decade and maintained that because he was not directly competing with Kraft that he was within his rights using the name. Kraft differed, and sued him for Trademark Dilution and Infringement, and followed that suit with a request for Preliminary Injunction. In addition to suing Helm to cease use of the name, Kraft also sued for legal fees and punitive damages.
Helm represented himself for the first months of his case. Later he procured the help of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund after being deposed by Kraft's lawyers. The Fund's Board of Directors voted to take the case, believing that because the trademark laws involved in Helm's case are in flux until this term's Supreme Court decision in Mosely v. Secret Catalogs, Inc. comes down, that his First Amendment rights were in need of defense.
CBLDF retained counsel Burton Joseph, James Joseph, and Ken Levinson took over Helm's case in April. They deposed Kraft's executives and argued his case before Magistrate Arlander Keys' court in the Preliminary Injunction hearing. Keys granted Kraft's request for preliminary injuction last July. His decision required the artist to remove the nickname from all web pages, metatags, and search engines.
Helm complied with the Magistrate's decision while the Fund's lawyers filed an appeal. In September, Kraft approached the Fund's lawyers about arriving at a settlement.
"We were passing settlement proposals back and forth in October and the settlement was actually reached by the end of November," Helm reveals. "They took a hard line on everything, saying they were prepared to go back to court no matter how much it cost, but at the same time harassing Burton to settle and being really stingy with the settlement money. I asked them to give the money to the CBLDF, but they refused to do that, so eventually we agreed to give it to the Freedom to Read Foundation," Helm adds.
Helm continues, "I had a couple of reasons for settling. After losing the Preliminary Injunction trial I had lost some faith in the justice system. I didn't want to risk going all the way through the trial and losing because I didn't want to set a bad precedent. But more than that, I was physically tired of the case. I was tired of going to court, I was tired of being harassed by them, and I wanted to move on. The preliminary injunction already forced me to do a lot of work that made me want to move on. It's hard enough to stay energized and do art and then also deal with this court stuff. And also, I've been doing some activism because of the war on terror and I want to focus my political energy on those issues rather than spending that energy going to court fighting over my nickname."
In the end, Kraft successfully censored Helm, but they didn't crush him. "It could have been much worse," Helm says. "When they started, they gave me 30 days to cease and desist doing anything with the nickname. Now one year later I have five years to sell my artwork, I don't owe them any money, and a good cause is getting paid."
"I owe a lot to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund because they came in and rescued me at my lowest ebb. If they hadn't supported my case, I probably would have caved. But the Fund gave me the chance to fight when I needed it and I couldn't have done it without their support," Helm admits.
Fund Board Member Louise Nemschoff says, "This case highlights some of the ways in which trademark law poses serious traps for the unwary artist. Branding is becoming a more important part of American life and this case is another example of how First Amendment rights are at risk. In this climate, it's important for the Fund to defend the First Amendment rights of cartoonists to comment on the commercial icons of pop culture."
CBLDF Director Charles Brownstein says, "Stu needed a strong defense against Kraft's legal bullying and we were able to provide that. We responded quickly, we put up a good fight, and we helped him arrive at a settlement that enables him to go on with his life and art. In the end, this case is another example of how artists' First Amendment rights are in need of constant vigilance and protection. Trademark and Copyright laws are volatile and constantly changing; in that climate, it's important the Fund continue to fight on behalf of artists so as to protect the rights the First Amendment affords them."
Hiking History
This noon I braved the North End's 17 degrees and wind to track down a couple of interesting historical locations near the Scotch & Sirloin building. First stop, Copp's Hill Burial Ground, the North End's oldest cemetery and Boston's second, which has been in use since 1660. In the late 18th century, the northeastern base of Copp's Hill was called "New Guinea" because it housed most of the African-Americans in Boston. Of the 10,000-plus people buried in the burial ground, 1,000 are African-Americans. Ironically, they're segregated into their own section of the graveyard.
Prince Hall, whose grave marker is pictured above, was an African-born Revolutionary soldier who was an active leader of Boston's African-American community and founded the black Masonic order. Increase, Cotton, and Samuel Mather are also buried on Copp's Hill (pictured below). Cotton, who started school at Harvard when he was 12, once claimed that Satan spoke English, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew -- but not the "Indian language."
At the edge of the burial ground, bordered by Charter Street, is Copp's Hill Terrace. Not far from here, on Jan. 15, 1919 -- just a week ago today! -- a storage tank holding 2.5 million gallons of liquid molasses burst. (Reports also suggest that the tank may have been located closer to Faneuil Hall or the New England Aquarium.) A 15-foot-high flood of molasses destroyed buildings and the elevated railway along what is now Commercial Street. More than 20 people and many horses were killed, and more than 50 people were injured as a result. I don't know exactly where the flood started, but supposedly, you can track its progress from Copp's Hill along Commercial.
I also walked by the Old North Church, Boston's oldest church, and one possible place that the lanterns that alerted Paul Revere that the British were coming might have been hung. (Folks also think Second Church might have been the place, but descendants of Revere hang lanterns in this spire every April 18 to assert its claim.) And I made my way back past 44 Hull St., the narrowest house in Boston. 44 Hull is 9.5 feet wide and was built to ruin the view of a neighbor who lived in the lot behind it. Talk about spite!
On the way back to the office from Hull Street, I came across several sad-looking chairs neatly ordered along a chain-link fenced parking lot. When the weather is warm, elderly men and women often sit in lawn chairs along the sidewalks and streets of the North End. Perhaps these chairs are waiting for the warmth and welcome of their owners come spring.
Source: Greg and Katherine Letterman, Walking Boston
Soundtrack: The Postman Syndrome, "Terraforming"
This noon I braved the North End's 17 degrees and wind to track down a couple of interesting historical locations near the Scotch & Sirloin building. First stop, Copp's Hill Burial Ground, the North End's oldest cemetery and Boston's second, which has been in use since 1660. In the late 18th century, the northeastern base of Copp's Hill was called "New Guinea" because it housed most of the African-Americans in Boston. Of the 10,000-plus people buried in the burial ground, 1,000 are African-Americans. Ironically, they're segregated into their own section of the graveyard.
Prince Hall, whose grave marker is pictured above, was an African-born Revolutionary soldier who was an active leader of Boston's African-American community and founded the black Masonic order. Increase, Cotton, and Samuel Mather are also buried on Copp's Hill (pictured below). Cotton, who started school at Harvard when he was 12, once claimed that Satan spoke English, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew -- but not the "Indian language."
At the edge of the burial ground, bordered by Charter Street, is Copp's Hill Terrace. Not far from here, on Jan. 15, 1919 -- just a week ago today! -- a storage tank holding 2.5 million gallons of liquid molasses burst. (Reports also suggest that the tank may have been located closer to Faneuil Hall or the New England Aquarium.) A 15-foot-high flood of molasses destroyed buildings and the elevated railway along what is now Commercial Street. More than 20 people and many horses were killed, and more than 50 people were injured as a result. I don't know exactly where the flood started, but supposedly, you can track its progress from Copp's Hill along Commercial.
I also walked by the Old North Church, Boston's oldest church, and one possible place that the lanterns that alerted Paul Revere that the British were coming might have been hung. (Folks also think Second Church might have been the place, but descendants of Revere hang lanterns in this spire every April 18 to assert its claim.) And I made my way back past 44 Hull St., the narrowest house in Boston. 44 Hull is 9.5 feet wide and was built to ruin the view of a neighbor who lived in the lot behind it. Talk about spite!
On the way back to the office from Hull Street, I came across several sad-looking chairs neatly ordered along a chain-link fenced parking lot. When the weather is warm, elderly men and women often sit in lawn chairs along the sidewalks and streets of the North End. Perhaps these chairs are waiting for the warmth and welcome of their owners come spring.
Source: Greg and Katherine Letterman, Walking Boston
Soundtrack: The Postman Syndrome, "Terraforming"
Tuesday, January 21, 2003
Humor Me VIII
Crazy Magazine #1, October 1973, Marvel Comics Group, NYC, NY (40 cents)
Executive Editor: Roy Thomas
Editor: Marv Wolfman
Production: Sol Brodsky
Staff: Don McGregor, Tony Isabella, Carla Joseph, Murray Friedman
Writers: Vaughn Bode, Gerry Conway, Harlan Ellison, Bob Foster, Tony Isabella, Carla Joseph, Don McGregor, Stu Scwartzberg, Jean Shepherd, Steve Skeates, Jean Thomas, Roy Thomas, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman
Artists: Ross Andru, Vaughn Bode, Bob Foster, Dave Hunt, Vic Martin, Mike Ploog, Marie Severin, Herb Trimpe, Basil Wolverton, Ned Young
Photographers: Vincent Colletta, Michele Wolfman
Cover: Kelly Freas
Cover: Kelly Freas image of the Crazy nebbish dynamiting the logos of Sick, Mad, National Lampoon (!), and Cracked. Cover lines: Maniacal mirth to mangle your mind; Featuring the way-out humor of Jean Shepherd, Harlan Ellison, Vaughn Bode, Kelly Freas, and the Bullpen that plays for fun; Also in this issue: Crazy rips off the Poseidon Adventure and Kung Fu; Special issue on the future -- or what's left of it
p. 2 Fake ad for Virginia Slim Chances, w/ Stu Schwartzberg, d/ Marie Severin
p. 3 Contents, masthead, and indicia
p. 4 Kung Fooey w/ Stu Schwartzberg, d/ Mike Ploog... TV parody featuring western cliche plot signpost, Buddhist aphorism flashbacks, and the line "Heavy on the spareribs, easy on the burning coals."
p. 12 Breaking and Entering Pandora's Box w/ Harlan Ellison, d/ Basil Wolverton... Cockroaches take over the Earth -- I think I have that right
p. 13 Daily Survivor w/ Tony Isabella, Carla Joseph, Gerry Conway, and Steve Skeates; d/ Dave Hunt, Marie Severin... Post-apocalyptic newspaper parody touching on mutated soldiers, mind tapping, frogs, genetic variations, Holohedral TV, Dennis the Menace, and the Olympics
p. 20 The Lighter Side of Racial Violence w/ Roy and Jean Thomas, d/ Ned Young, et. al. ... Crazy parodies Mad's Dave Berg -- that's crazy! Best line: "One man's rip-off is another man's revolution."
p. 21 Foto Funnies... National Lampoon parody addressing -- or undressing -- the war between the sexes
p. 22 Shush-Ups! d/ Vincent Van Nog... This Cracked parody tackles vampires, the Titanic, and cartoonists
p. 23 Foto Funkies... Another uncredited National Lampoon lampoon taking on -- or off -- feminism and the evident battle between the publishers
p. 24 The Great American Dream w/ Marv Wolfman, p/ Michele Wolfman... A "far-out" fumetti starring Dick Giordano, Neal Adams, and Tony Isabella in a realtor's police-state dream
p. 27 An Independent Survey Today Announced... w/ Jean Shepherd, d/ Herb Trimpe... Adapted from The Ferrari in the Bedroom, this series of clippings from the Daily Disaster isn't very funny. Outside of the comics-panel adaptations, this ran three pages too long
p. 33 Who's Who w/ Marv Wolfman... Other than "A Crazy Editorial," which recounts the dubious origin of humor, this page pokes fun at the need to feature big names to sell magazines. Wolfman calls Ellison a pornographer and claims that he, himself, is married to Michele Wolfman. There's also an ad for the "First and Greatest Name-That-Nebbish Contest."
p. 34 The Upseidown Adventure w/ Len Wein, d/ Ross Andru and Vic Martin... Movie parody recounting how passengers try to save a sinking ship (T-minus 93 issues?). Best line: "I forgot all about yer tattoo!"
p. 40 Evolution and History of Moosekind w/d Bob Foster... So not funny. I can't believe this was ever printed.
p. 43 FOOM-Etti w/ Tony Isabella, p/ Vinnie Colletta... A perved-out Marv Wolfman strives to sell a Friends of Ol' Marvel membership
p. 44 Junkwaffel: Sole Survivor w/d Vaughn Bode... 'Nuff said.
Crazy Magazine #1, October 1973, Marvel Comics Group, NYC, NY (40 cents)
Executive Editor: Roy Thomas
Editor: Marv Wolfman
Production: Sol Brodsky
Staff: Don McGregor, Tony Isabella, Carla Joseph, Murray Friedman
Writers: Vaughn Bode, Gerry Conway, Harlan Ellison, Bob Foster, Tony Isabella, Carla Joseph, Don McGregor, Stu Scwartzberg, Jean Shepherd, Steve Skeates, Jean Thomas, Roy Thomas, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman
Artists: Ross Andru, Vaughn Bode, Bob Foster, Dave Hunt, Vic Martin, Mike Ploog, Marie Severin, Herb Trimpe, Basil Wolverton, Ned Young
Photographers: Vincent Colletta, Michele Wolfman
Cover: Kelly Freas
Cover: Kelly Freas image of the Crazy nebbish dynamiting the logos of Sick, Mad, National Lampoon (!), and Cracked. Cover lines: Maniacal mirth to mangle your mind; Featuring the way-out humor of Jean Shepherd, Harlan Ellison, Vaughn Bode, Kelly Freas, and the Bullpen that plays for fun; Also in this issue: Crazy rips off the Poseidon Adventure and Kung Fu; Special issue on the future -- or what's left of it
p. 2 Fake ad for Virginia Slim Chances, w/ Stu Schwartzberg, d/ Marie Severin
p. 3 Contents, masthead, and indicia
p. 4 Kung Fooey w/ Stu Schwartzberg, d/ Mike Ploog... TV parody featuring western cliche plot signpost, Buddhist aphorism flashbacks, and the line "Heavy on the spareribs, easy on the burning coals."
p. 12 Breaking and Entering Pandora's Box w/ Harlan Ellison, d/ Basil Wolverton... Cockroaches take over the Earth -- I think I have that right
p. 13 Daily Survivor w/ Tony Isabella, Carla Joseph, Gerry Conway, and Steve Skeates; d/ Dave Hunt, Marie Severin... Post-apocalyptic newspaper parody touching on mutated soldiers, mind tapping, frogs, genetic variations, Holohedral TV, Dennis the Menace, and the Olympics
p. 20 The Lighter Side of Racial Violence w/ Roy and Jean Thomas, d/ Ned Young, et. al. ... Crazy parodies Mad's Dave Berg -- that's crazy! Best line: "One man's rip-off is another man's revolution."
p. 21 Foto Funnies... National Lampoon parody addressing -- or undressing -- the war between the sexes
p. 22 Shush-Ups! d/ Vincent Van Nog... This Cracked parody tackles vampires, the Titanic, and cartoonists
p. 23 Foto Funkies... Another uncredited National Lampoon lampoon taking on -- or off -- feminism and the evident battle between the publishers
p. 24 The Great American Dream w/ Marv Wolfman, p/ Michele Wolfman... A "far-out" fumetti starring Dick Giordano, Neal Adams, and Tony Isabella in a realtor's police-state dream
p. 27 An Independent Survey Today Announced... w/ Jean Shepherd, d/ Herb Trimpe... Adapted from The Ferrari in the Bedroom, this series of clippings from the Daily Disaster isn't very funny. Outside of the comics-panel adaptations, this ran three pages too long
p. 33 Who's Who w/ Marv Wolfman... Other than "A Crazy Editorial," which recounts the dubious origin of humor, this page pokes fun at the need to feature big names to sell magazines. Wolfman calls Ellison a pornographer and claims that he, himself, is married to Michele Wolfman. There's also an ad for the "First and Greatest Name-That-Nebbish Contest."
p. 34 The Upseidown Adventure w/ Len Wein, d/ Ross Andru and Vic Martin... Movie parody recounting how passengers try to save a sinking ship (T-minus 93 issues?). Best line: "I forgot all about yer tattoo!"
p. 40 Evolution and History of Moosekind w/d Bob Foster... So not funny. I can't believe this was ever printed.
p. 43 FOOM-Etti w/ Tony Isabella, p/ Vinnie Colletta... A perved-out Marv Wolfman strives to sell a Friends of Ol' Marvel membership
p. 44 Junkwaffel: Sole Survivor w/d Vaughn Bode... 'Nuff said.
The Movie I Watched Last Night LIII
Hackers
Oh, I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed this movie. You've got rebellious teenage hackers saying things like "elite" and "righteous hack." You've got one of the first soundtracks featuring pop electronica music. You've got Penn Jillette. You've got a young Angelina Jolie (meow). You've got the characteristically irritating Matthew Lillard. You've got the graffiti-ridden teen hangout, roller blades, and futuristic "hacker fashion." You've got clueless but caring parents. And you've got graphic representations of networks and the net that put The Net to shame but nonetheless scream of implausibility. There's a virus hidden in a worm wrapped up in a virus (or something) that's going to scuttle oil tankers if this wily bunch of computer kids doesn't save the day -- and their own bacon. It's a shallow, silly plot, and the characters are likewise, but the interactions among the teens, the representation of hacker culture -- just this side of realistic -- and the Dawson's Creek-styled male lead hero's puppy-dog affection for Jolie's character (meow) make it all worthwhile. Oh, the Richard Kadrey-lookalike evil mastermind is a goon. And the hackers pranking of the federal agent is a nice riff on The Net's fear of identity theft.
Hackers
Oh, I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed this movie. You've got rebellious teenage hackers saying things like "elite" and "righteous hack." You've got one of the first soundtracks featuring pop electronica music. You've got Penn Jillette. You've got a young Angelina Jolie (meow). You've got the characteristically irritating Matthew Lillard. You've got the graffiti-ridden teen hangout, roller blades, and futuristic "hacker fashion." You've got clueless but caring parents. And you've got graphic representations of networks and the net that put The Net to shame but nonetheless scream of implausibility. There's a virus hidden in a worm wrapped up in a virus (or something) that's going to scuttle oil tankers if this wily bunch of computer kids doesn't save the day -- and their own bacon. It's a shallow, silly plot, and the characters are likewise, but the interactions among the teens, the representation of hacker culture -- just this side of realistic -- and the Dawson's Creek-styled male lead hero's puppy-dog affection for Jolie's character (meow) make it all worthwhile. Oh, the Richard Kadrey-lookalike evil mastermind is a goon. And the hackers pranking of the federal agent is a nice riff on The Net's fear of identity theft.
Street Art III
This noon, I set out to find Mags Harries's 1976 urban sculpture, Asaroton (Unswept Floor). Originally embedded in the pavement at Hanover and Haymarket streets a short walk from where I work, the 55'-by-10'-by-9" bronze insert sculpture featured detritus you might find littering the streets and sidewalks around the open-air produce market: fish, flowers, newspapers, gloves, and corn cobs. The newspapers Harries used even featured headlines about busing in South Boston.
Commissioned to commemorate the U.S. Bicentennial, Asaroton refers to a Greco-Roman floor mosaic technique dating to 200 B.C. Because of construction of the central artery, however, Asaroton is no longer visible -- with most (hopefully all) of it in storage or on display at the Museum of Science. That's a relief, as I was prepared to write the MBTA to inquire what happened to the sculpture because of the Big Dig.
Unable to see the sidewalk sculpture, I grabbed a quick and unsatisfying lunch at Haymarket Pizza (two slices, $2), braved the cold wind of the pedestrian tunnel through the construction, and headed back to work. Hopefully I'll be more successful finding items of interest in Marty Carlock's A Guide to Public Art in Greater Boston in the future.
This noon, I set out to find Mags Harries's 1976 urban sculpture, Asaroton (Unswept Floor). Originally embedded in the pavement at Hanover and Haymarket streets a short walk from where I work, the 55'-by-10'-by-9" bronze insert sculpture featured detritus you might find littering the streets and sidewalks around the open-air produce market: fish, flowers, newspapers, gloves, and corn cobs. The newspapers Harries used even featured headlines about busing in South Boston.
Commissioned to commemorate the U.S. Bicentennial, Asaroton refers to a Greco-Roman floor mosaic technique dating to 200 B.C. Because of construction of the central artery, however, Asaroton is no longer visible -- with most (hopefully all) of it in storage or on display at the Museum of Science. That's a relief, as I was prepared to write the MBTA to inquire what happened to the sculpture because of the Big Dig.
Unable to see the sidewalk sculpture, I grabbed a quick and unsatisfying lunch at Haymarket Pizza (two slices, $2), braved the cold wind of the pedestrian tunnel through the construction, and headed back to work. Hopefully I'll be more successful finding items of interest in Marty Carlock's A Guide to Public Art in Greater Boston in the future.
Blogging About Blogging XLVII
Confession: I've never read InstaPundit. OK, once, just now, but that was to verify the URL. I know Glenn looms relatively large in the blogosphere. I know he's heavily inked in blog-related press. And I know that his schtick doesn't really interest me.
That said, Neal Pollack's interview with Glenn today made me laugh out loud.
Confession: I've never read InstaPundit. OK, once, just now, but that was to verify the URL. I know Glenn looms relatively large in the blogosphere. I know he's heavily inked in blog-related press. And I know that his schtick doesn't really interest me.
That said, Neal Pollack's interview with Glenn today made me laugh out loud.
Water Blogged
A friend from DC visited the Boston area with a friend this weekend. We met up for lunch at Charlie's Kitchen on Saturday, and then we checked in with each other yesterday afternoon. Amy and her friend were at the New England Aquarium, a scant three T stops away from where I work. In an uncharacteristic fit of spontaneity, I decided to leave work and meet them there. Even though I've lived in Boston for six years, I've not once been to the aquarium. And that's a crime. Amy was my trigger.
After getting my ticket for $13.50 (which is kind of pricy, but a membership only costs $40, and that means you can get in for free -- go at least three times a year, and you're set), I walked around the first floor for awhile before finding them. We'd called each other on our cell phones. I don't know how this would have happened before the advent of cell phones. Where would I have left her a message? Would she have called me from an aquarium payphone? What if we'd never found each other?
We checked out some of the exhibits along the outer wall of the aquarium, and then we made our way up the center spiral walkway around the Giant Ocean Tank. The huge turtle was amazing, and the shark refused to eat what a diver offered it. We were impressed by the large assortment of fish -- and how ugly some of them are!
At the top, we watched a staff member feed the fish. There was one extremely chubby fish that was quite greedy, and it was hogging much of the food. Kept coming back for more! Then we wound our way back down to the main level, where we headed over to the ship Discovery for the 4:30 p.m. sea lion presentation.
The show was great. We saw two California sea lions (one was named Tyler; I forget the other) that had been trained to wave, roll over, balance a ball on their nose, fetch a plastic bottle from the pool and deposit in a recycling bin, and do other tricks. The staff member MC'ing the show made a point of distinguishing between sea lions and seals -- and worked in a subtle environmental conservation message.
All in all, a fun afternoon -- and high time I got to the aquarium in Boston! I left Amy and her friend to their host and headed home as they headed to dinner, the airport, and eventually DC.
***
Speaking of water, there was no hot water in my apartment building Saturday at 9:30 a.m., and this morning at 8, there was no hot water yet again. It's never been a problem in the past, so it's not because people were showering and depleting the supply. Must be something wrong with the water heater. I shower every morning, and it feels kind of odd not having done so. Not that you need to know that, but I miss hot water. Will have to talk to my landlord soon.
A friend from DC visited the Boston area with a friend this weekend. We met up for lunch at Charlie's Kitchen on Saturday, and then we checked in with each other yesterday afternoon. Amy and her friend were at the New England Aquarium, a scant three T stops away from where I work. In an uncharacteristic fit of spontaneity, I decided to leave work and meet them there. Even though I've lived in Boston for six years, I've not once been to the aquarium. And that's a crime. Amy was my trigger.
After getting my ticket for $13.50 (which is kind of pricy, but a membership only costs $40, and that means you can get in for free -- go at least three times a year, and you're set), I walked around the first floor for awhile before finding them. We'd called each other on our cell phones. I don't know how this would have happened before the advent of cell phones. Where would I have left her a message? Would she have called me from an aquarium payphone? What if we'd never found each other?
We checked out some of the exhibits along the outer wall of the aquarium, and then we made our way up the center spiral walkway around the Giant Ocean Tank. The huge turtle was amazing, and the shark refused to eat what a diver offered it. We were impressed by the large assortment of fish -- and how ugly some of them are!
At the top, we watched a staff member feed the fish. There was one extremely chubby fish that was quite greedy, and it was hogging much of the food. Kept coming back for more! Then we wound our way back down to the main level, where we headed over to the ship Discovery for the 4:30 p.m. sea lion presentation.
The show was great. We saw two California sea lions (one was named Tyler; I forget the other) that had been trained to wave, roll over, balance a ball on their nose, fetch a plastic bottle from the pool and deposit in a recycling bin, and do other tricks. The staff member MC'ing the show made a point of distinguishing between sea lions and seals -- and worked in a subtle environmental conservation message.
All in all, a fun afternoon -- and high time I got to the aquarium in Boston! I left Amy and her friend to their host and headed home as they headed to dinner, the airport, and eventually DC.
Speaking of water, there was no hot water in my apartment building Saturday at 9:30 a.m., and this morning at 8, there was no hot water yet again. It's never been a problem in the past, so it's not because people were showering and depleting the supply. Must be something wrong with the water heater. I shower every morning, and it feels kind of odd not having done so. Not that you need to know that, but I miss hot water. Will have to talk to my landlord soon.
It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World XXII
The Gap made a casting call for its next series of television advertisements. More than 200,000 people entered. 24 finalists have been selected. And only six will win: one man, one woman, one boy, one girl, one baby boy, and one baby girl. You can vote on who you think should be in the ad campaign online.
Voting requires sharing some personal information, but there's a $500 gift card at stake. Each category includes four selections. You can only vote once. Regardless of whether you win the gift card at the end, voting nets you a 15% discount coupon you can print and save.
Is this the future of democratic advertising?
The Gap made a casting call for its next series of television advertisements. More than 200,000 people entered. 24 finalists have been selected. And only six will win: one man, one woman, one boy, one girl, one baby boy, and one baby girl. You can vote on who you think should be in the ad campaign online.
Voting requires sharing some personal information, but there's a $500 gift card at stake. Each category includes four selections. You can only vote once. Regardless of whether you win the gift card at the end, voting nets you a 15% discount coupon you can print and save.
Is this the future of democratic advertising?
Monday, January 20, 2003
The Movie I Watched Last Night LII
The Insider
This movie starring Russell Crowe -- cast as another quirky scientist/scholar -- and Al Pacino is much more than the story of big tobacco whistlebower Jeffrey Wigand. It's more of a Wag the Dog meets All the President's Men meta-media commentary on the story-selection process at 60 Minutes. Along the way, the movie addresses the corporate complicity of TV networks such as CBS, the money big tobacco can bring to bear to quash criticism and legal action, and the role of journalist as hero. Pacino shines as producer Lowell Bergman, once a journalist for Ramparts who finds himself questioning his own corporate position as a serious story is slowed. Christopher Plummer's portrayal of Mike Wallace highlights the ego inherent in anchoring big-name news programs, and the interactions between the character Bergman and other journalists at the New York Times and Wall Street Journal offer a heartening inside look at the relationships between journalists. In the end, we're left with a view of journalists as rebellious truth tellers, corporate media lawyers and executives as complicit gatekeepers, and big tobacco as, well, big tobacco. Wigand, who is underwritten as the true hero of the tale, is almost left with a broken life -- a life nearly broken by the very media organization that initially encouraged him to step forward and into a limelight he never wanted.
The Net
Sandra Bullock is miscast as a female computer hacker who finds herself trapped in a web of political intrigue when she's hired to debug a CD-ROM. Outside of the movie's largely Speed-styled thriller sequences, the movie is especially notable for its portrayal of online technologies and interaction. The online chat -- complete with heavily pixellated icons and horribly computer-generated voices -- is a kick and a half, as is the scene in which Bullock's surprisingly beautiful antisocial character is "accepted" by others in a chat room just before she orders a pizza online. The rapid-fire, higher-quality security breach scenes in which Bullock's character and others gain access to various govenmental, financial, and corporate online services stands out in stark contrast, indicating that the technological grass may very well be greener on the corporate side of the fence. While the adventure-movie plot isn't that interesting, the internet-based paranoia and privacy/security concerns raised by the film -- The Net's point, really -- really don't hold water or pack a punch. Still, an interesting artifact from the early day's of the net's commercial and consumer emergence and acceptance.
The Insider
This movie starring Russell Crowe -- cast as another quirky scientist/scholar -- and Al Pacino is much more than the story of big tobacco whistlebower Jeffrey Wigand. It's more of a Wag the Dog meets All the President's Men meta-media commentary on the story-selection process at 60 Minutes. Along the way, the movie addresses the corporate complicity of TV networks such as CBS, the money big tobacco can bring to bear to quash criticism and legal action, and the role of journalist as hero. Pacino shines as producer Lowell Bergman, once a journalist for Ramparts who finds himself questioning his own corporate position as a serious story is slowed. Christopher Plummer's portrayal of Mike Wallace highlights the ego inherent in anchoring big-name news programs, and the interactions between the character Bergman and other journalists at the New York Times and Wall Street Journal offer a heartening inside look at the relationships between journalists. In the end, we're left with a view of journalists as rebellious truth tellers, corporate media lawyers and executives as complicit gatekeepers, and big tobacco as, well, big tobacco. Wigand, who is underwritten as the true hero of the tale, is almost left with a broken life -- a life nearly broken by the very media organization that initially encouraged him to step forward and into a limelight he never wanted.
The Net
Sandra Bullock is miscast as a female computer hacker who finds herself trapped in a web of political intrigue when she's hired to debug a CD-ROM. Outside of the movie's largely Speed-styled thriller sequences, the movie is especially notable for its portrayal of online technologies and interaction. The online chat -- complete with heavily pixellated icons and horribly computer-generated voices -- is a kick and a half, as is the scene in which Bullock's surprisingly beautiful antisocial character is "accepted" by others in a chat room just before she orders a pizza online. The rapid-fire, higher-quality security breach scenes in which Bullock's character and others gain access to various govenmental, financial, and corporate online services stands out in stark contrast, indicating that the technological grass may very well be greener on the corporate side of the fence. While the adventure-movie plot isn't that interesting, the internet-based paranoia and privacy/security concerns raised by the film -- The Net's point, really -- really don't hold water or pack a punch. Still, an interesting artifact from the early day's of the net's commercial and consumer emergence and acceptance.
Mention Me! XXXI
Photojunkie includes Media Diet in its new links roundup. Rannie Turingan's "daily dose of images and commentary" is a lively collection of photography, personal writing, and meta-photoblogging news reports. Here's hoping Rannie makes it to SXSW!
Photojunkie includes Media Diet in its new links roundup. Rannie Turingan's "daily dose of images and commentary" is a lively collection of photography, personal writing, and meta-photoblogging news reports. Here's hoping Rannie makes it to SXSW!
Video-A-Go-Go II
Heavy-metal music videography has always stood apart from other music video production styles, and Iron Maiden's 1990 compilation of 16 videos, The First Ten Years: The Videos, offers an interesting look at the evolution of the genre as it highlights the successful design elements of the band and its various music video tactics.
Opening with the 1980 video for "Women in Uniform," which was shot at the Rainbow Theatre in London, the video is an example of one of the first promotional music videos. Featuring Maiden's original singer, Paul Di'Anno, the video telegraphs many of the tactics future videos will employ. For the most part, Maiden's videos are performance videos, capturing the band on stage with full light show and stadium theatrics. The video also includes light narrative segments, however, seemingly to introduce Maiden's undead mascot Eddie, but also to remind viewers of the song's title as the segments feature heavily made-up women in nurse and military uniform. Live, the band lacks energy and stage presence, making for a relatively uninteresting video that may promote the song or record but certainly doesn't sell the live concert experience. If this is a Maiden concert, I don't need to go.
"Wrathchild" fares slightly better, featuring Di'Anno again but with a more mature, meatier delivery. The video, devoid of any narrative, documents what was probably an actual concert instead of a staged show. That improves the performance, presence, and passion of the video, much more effectively promoting the concert experience.
It's not until the third video, "Run to the Hills" that viewers are introduced to Bruce Dickinson, the prototypical Maiden frontman. With this video, the band holds onto live performance documentation but adds black-and-white stock film footage to bolster the song's cartoony content about the mistreatment of Native Americans. This is an intriguing aspect, as the band -- or the video's director -- avoids actual direction or narrative storytelling while including the grainy footage. Narrative enough, I suppose, although the silent comedy selected undermines the thesis of the song more than it adds to the video.
Maiden's use of stock footage -- with a Vincent Price voiceover to boot -- continues in "The Number of the Beast," which introduces dramatically lit camera-oriented posed performance, costumed extras, and narrative segments to the expected live stage settings. The live footage features a large Godzilla model on stage, and the stock footage incorporates some Godzilla imagery as well, smartly linking the two devices.
"Flight of Icarus" only confuses the progression, however. While the video employs cheesily produced costumed extra-cast narrative segments, the live performance is replaced with in-studio recording session shots. Perhaps because of the opening hallway shot, viewers might read the in-studio sequences as narrative, as well, especially because a man sitting at the mixing board morphs into Eddie and then a costumed extra (Icarus himself, perhaps). In a way, the two streams do intersect, with Icarus lowering his head to the board before the closing guitar solo, but in the end, viewers are left with no real narration, only costumed cameos.
Stock footage and live performance return for "The Trooper," interspersing title card and narrative establishing shots with stadium footage once again. But for the most part, this is "Run to the Hills" all over again. While the footage of calvary horses falling down is confusing enough, the prolonged use of title cards, even at the very end to close out the video, is even more confusing. Horses fall down. Is the song about the futility of war? If the content of the song isn't clear, no amount of silent film footage or title cards will help.
At the same time, this video leads me to think that the relative success of Iron Maiden might be built on several elements: the live-show spectacle, consistent branding through the ongoing presence of Eddie, heavy-metal humor via found footage of violence and destruction, and pseudo-literary and -historical allusions that give the band a pretense of depth.
That case is helped by "2 Minutes to Midnight," a song that appears to be about the countdown to nuclear war and the price of the political decisions that are made to reach that point. Here, the narrative segments almost dominate the live performance, representing a statesman anguishing over his choices -- and his timely end. The video introduces the neo-arcane ephemera of Eddie's fantasy world as the statesman explores a manuscript rife with runes and esoteric script. Adding to the representation of mediated experience supported by the use of stock footage, the statesman turns to a computer to scry the manuscript's meaning. Just to highlight the limited budgets available, however, it's notable that the producers had to mock up a stenciled cover to the fictional "Fortune and Glory" magazine.
Remember the Vincent Price voiceover? There's a Winston Churchill voiceover opening "Aces High." That means it's another song with political and historical allusions -- and that Maiden will back them up with stock footage of World War II-era news reels and films of fighter planes. For the most part, the video is live performance, with the stock footage puncuating solos. The song's lyrics remind viewers of the masculine, heroic context behind Maiden's stage performance. Regardless of whether it's the Native Americans, Icarus, soldiers, or pilots, so far, the main character's in Maiden's videos are heroes or thwarted heroes. That might be another ingredient in the band's recipe for success. Or perhaps it's an aspirational element of heavy metal's appeal to the disenfranchised in general.
The role of place pops up again in "Running Free," an entirely live performance in which Dickinson mentions spending a night in a Los Angeles jail. An interesting counterpoint to Di'Anno's mention of flying to London on a 747 in "Wrathchild"! Was Maiden one of the first NWOBHM bands equally at home in the United States as well as the United Kingdom?
If "Wasted Years" is any indication -- much less the Somewhere in Time album in its entirety -- Maiden's also at home in outer space. Interspersing live performance and candid backstage footage with animated segments and album-cover closeups, as well as representations of Eddie's many guises, the video also reuses stock footage from earlier music videos. By repurposing segments of the "Women in Uniform," "Run to the Hills," "The Trooper," "2 Minutes to Midnight," and "Aces High" videos, Maiden adds another wrinkle to its historic, heroic video representations. Now there's inter-video band history, which appears to be more than NWOBHM nostalgia, to consider. Heavy-metal band as hero.
Dickinson's mic-stand antics during the live introduction to "Stranger in a Strange Land" is as cartoony as Eddie's undead mug, and this is the first live footage that feels false. Oh, there's an audience, a large audience, but Dickinson's delivery was better when it was not so polished, thoughtfully dramatic, or oriented to the camera. "No brave new world," indeed. However, the allusions to being lost "in a land of ice and snow," the increased distance between performer and audience that's brought with better production, and the hero-worship gaze seen in the audience shots only add to the heroic aspirations and fantastic elements of Maiden's music. Eddie's goggled visage on stage underscores the science-fiction aspects of Somewhere in Time-era Maiden.
The all-live "Stranger in a Strange Land" makes "Can I Play with Madness"' full-on narrative all the more disturbing, if not a backward evolutionary step. With the introduction of synthesizers on Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, many hardcore Maiden fans accused the band of going mersh and selling out. That this is the first fully narrative video in the collection lends credence to the evident commercial evolution of the band. Interestingly enough, just as the arcane manuscript element of "2 Minutes to Midnight" pops up again in this video, so does the role of the monitor and the magazine. Here, a glossy metal fanzine is used as a torch, and the only live footage of the band is seen by video characters on a cobwebbed television. Another indication of commercial distancing and mediated experience.
Maiden make a point of returning to a concert video for "The Evil That Men Do," opening the video with slow-motion backstage and audience footage, contributing to the nostalgic history established in "Stranger in a Strange Land." While the band would have used stock footage or light narrative to bring home the song's message in the past, this is a purely live video, a radical response to the singular success of "Can I Play with Madness," and perhaps an attempt to hold onto the band's heroic past more strongly.
The band returns to the grassroots even more with "The Clairvoyant," which includes footage taken on the green hills of Donington. Smoke machine going, British flag flying, this video is all about the show and the audience's presence and response. The story is there, in the song, as well as in the stage set. Why use stock footage or narrative devices? With Iron Maiden, there's little need, and attempts to add depth only draw attention to the band's lack of depth.
In the end, the collection closes with another live video, seemingly from Donington ("Infinite Dreams") and a more heavily produced video directed by Steve Harris ("Holy Smoke"). The latter, a topical song addressing the political foibles of Christian evangelists such as Jim Bakker, combines friendly studio footage and goofy staged performance footage shot in a field of flowers. Commenting on the mediated duplicity of the PMRC and similar efforts, the video's cartoony shenanigans -- contrary to those in "Run to the Hills"' stock footage -- only bolsters the song's message. Here, Maiden says "We're a heavy-metal band. This is fun. We're serious, but we don't take ourselves too seriously."
That, I suppose, is what I've done by writing this video analysis. While Maiden falls prey to the violent stock footage tendencies of Headbangers' Ball and flirts with fully narrative pop music video styling, in the end, the band refocuses on the live concert and fan base experience, effectively stepping away from the edge of selling out and closer to the band's roots.
Even if those roots are shallowly planted.
Heavy-metal music videography has always stood apart from other music video production styles, and Iron Maiden's 1990 compilation of 16 videos, The First Ten Years: The Videos, offers an interesting look at the evolution of the genre as it highlights the successful design elements of the band and its various music video tactics.
Opening with the 1980 video for "Women in Uniform," which was shot at the Rainbow Theatre in London, the video is an example of one of the first promotional music videos. Featuring Maiden's original singer, Paul Di'Anno, the video telegraphs many of the tactics future videos will employ. For the most part, Maiden's videos are performance videos, capturing the band on stage with full light show and stadium theatrics. The video also includes light narrative segments, however, seemingly to introduce Maiden's undead mascot Eddie, but also to remind viewers of the song's title as the segments feature heavily made-up women in nurse and military uniform. Live, the band lacks energy and stage presence, making for a relatively uninteresting video that may promote the song or record but certainly doesn't sell the live concert experience. If this is a Maiden concert, I don't need to go.
"Wrathchild" fares slightly better, featuring Di'Anno again but with a more mature, meatier delivery. The video, devoid of any narrative, documents what was probably an actual concert instead of a staged show. That improves the performance, presence, and passion of the video, much more effectively promoting the concert experience.
It's not until the third video, "Run to the Hills" that viewers are introduced to Bruce Dickinson, the prototypical Maiden frontman. With this video, the band holds onto live performance documentation but adds black-and-white stock film footage to bolster the song's cartoony content about the mistreatment of Native Americans. This is an intriguing aspect, as the band -- or the video's director -- avoids actual direction or narrative storytelling while including the grainy footage. Narrative enough, I suppose, although the silent comedy selected undermines the thesis of the song more than it adds to the video.
Maiden's use of stock footage -- with a Vincent Price voiceover to boot -- continues in "The Number of the Beast," which introduces dramatically lit camera-oriented posed performance, costumed extras, and narrative segments to the expected live stage settings. The live footage features a large Godzilla model on stage, and the stock footage incorporates some Godzilla imagery as well, smartly linking the two devices.
"Flight of Icarus" only confuses the progression, however. While the video employs cheesily produced costumed extra-cast narrative segments, the live performance is replaced with in-studio recording session shots. Perhaps because of the opening hallway shot, viewers might read the in-studio sequences as narrative, as well, especially because a man sitting at the mixing board morphs into Eddie and then a costumed extra (Icarus himself, perhaps). In a way, the two streams do intersect, with Icarus lowering his head to the board before the closing guitar solo, but in the end, viewers are left with no real narration, only costumed cameos.
Stock footage and live performance return for "The Trooper," interspersing title card and narrative establishing shots with stadium footage once again. But for the most part, this is "Run to the Hills" all over again. While the footage of calvary horses falling down is confusing enough, the prolonged use of title cards, even at the very end to close out the video, is even more confusing. Horses fall down. Is the song about the futility of war? If the content of the song isn't clear, no amount of silent film footage or title cards will help.
At the same time, this video leads me to think that the relative success of Iron Maiden might be built on several elements: the live-show spectacle, consistent branding through the ongoing presence of Eddie, heavy-metal humor via found footage of violence and destruction, and pseudo-literary and -historical allusions that give the band a pretense of depth.
That case is helped by "2 Minutes to Midnight," a song that appears to be about the countdown to nuclear war and the price of the political decisions that are made to reach that point. Here, the narrative segments almost dominate the live performance, representing a statesman anguishing over his choices -- and his timely end. The video introduces the neo-arcane ephemera of Eddie's fantasy world as the statesman explores a manuscript rife with runes and esoteric script. Adding to the representation of mediated experience supported by the use of stock footage, the statesman turns to a computer to scry the manuscript's meaning. Just to highlight the limited budgets available, however, it's notable that the producers had to mock up a stenciled cover to the fictional "Fortune and Glory" magazine.
Remember the Vincent Price voiceover? There's a Winston Churchill voiceover opening "Aces High." That means it's another song with political and historical allusions -- and that Maiden will back them up with stock footage of World War II-era news reels and films of fighter planes. For the most part, the video is live performance, with the stock footage puncuating solos. The song's lyrics remind viewers of the masculine, heroic context behind Maiden's stage performance. Regardless of whether it's the Native Americans, Icarus, soldiers, or pilots, so far, the main character's in Maiden's videos are heroes or thwarted heroes. That might be another ingredient in the band's recipe for success. Or perhaps it's an aspirational element of heavy metal's appeal to the disenfranchised in general.
The role of place pops up again in "Running Free," an entirely live performance in which Dickinson mentions spending a night in a Los Angeles jail. An interesting counterpoint to Di'Anno's mention of flying to London on a 747 in "Wrathchild"! Was Maiden one of the first NWOBHM bands equally at home in the United States as well as the United Kingdom?
If "Wasted Years" is any indication -- much less the Somewhere in Time album in its entirety -- Maiden's also at home in outer space. Interspersing live performance and candid backstage footage with animated segments and album-cover closeups, as well as representations of Eddie's many guises, the video also reuses stock footage from earlier music videos. By repurposing segments of the "Women in Uniform," "Run to the Hills," "The Trooper," "2 Minutes to Midnight," and "Aces High" videos, Maiden adds another wrinkle to its historic, heroic video representations. Now there's inter-video band history, which appears to be more than NWOBHM nostalgia, to consider. Heavy-metal band as hero.
Dickinson's mic-stand antics during the live introduction to "Stranger in a Strange Land" is as cartoony as Eddie's undead mug, and this is the first live footage that feels false. Oh, there's an audience, a large audience, but Dickinson's delivery was better when it was not so polished, thoughtfully dramatic, or oriented to the camera. "No brave new world," indeed. However, the allusions to being lost "in a land of ice and snow," the increased distance between performer and audience that's brought with better production, and the hero-worship gaze seen in the audience shots only add to the heroic aspirations and fantastic elements of Maiden's music. Eddie's goggled visage on stage underscores the science-fiction aspects of Somewhere in Time-era Maiden.
The all-live "Stranger in a Strange Land" makes "Can I Play with Madness"' full-on narrative all the more disturbing, if not a backward evolutionary step. With the introduction of synthesizers on Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, many hardcore Maiden fans accused the band of going mersh and selling out. That this is the first fully narrative video in the collection lends credence to the evident commercial evolution of the band. Interestingly enough, just as the arcane manuscript element of "2 Minutes to Midnight" pops up again in this video, so does the role of the monitor and the magazine. Here, a glossy metal fanzine is used as a torch, and the only live footage of the band is seen by video characters on a cobwebbed television. Another indication of commercial distancing and mediated experience.
Maiden make a point of returning to a concert video for "The Evil That Men Do," opening the video with slow-motion backstage and audience footage, contributing to the nostalgic history established in "Stranger in a Strange Land." While the band would have used stock footage or light narrative to bring home the song's message in the past, this is a purely live video, a radical response to the singular success of "Can I Play with Madness," and perhaps an attempt to hold onto the band's heroic past more strongly.
The band returns to the grassroots even more with "The Clairvoyant," which includes footage taken on the green hills of Donington. Smoke machine going, British flag flying, this video is all about the show and the audience's presence and response. The story is there, in the song, as well as in the stage set. Why use stock footage or narrative devices? With Iron Maiden, there's little need, and attempts to add depth only draw attention to the band's lack of depth.
In the end, the collection closes with another live video, seemingly from Donington ("Infinite Dreams") and a more heavily produced video directed by Steve Harris ("Holy Smoke"). The latter, a topical song addressing the political foibles of Christian evangelists such as Jim Bakker, combines friendly studio footage and goofy staged performance footage shot in a field of flowers. Commenting on the mediated duplicity of the PMRC and similar efforts, the video's cartoony shenanigans -- contrary to those in "Run to the Hills"' stock footage -- only bolsters the song's message. Here, Maiden says "We're a heavy-metal band. This is fun. We're serious, but we don't take ourselves too seriously."
That, I suppose, is what I've done by writing this video analysis. While Maiden falls prey to the violent stock footage tendencies of Headbangers' Ball and flirts with fully narrative pop music video styling, in the end, the band refocuses on the live concert and fan base experience, effectively stepping away from the edge of selling out and closer to the band's roots.
Even if those roots are shallowly planted.
It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World XXI
In early 2002, Pizza Hut hired Ween to write an advertising jingle for the restaurant chain's "Insider" pizza. Ween did, but Pizza Hut's agency didn't like the results and hired another band to do something that, I'm sure, was eminently more lame. Add this to the ranks of All's "Alfredo's" and the Anchormen's "Kee Kar Lau."
In early 2002, Pizza Hut hired Ween to write an advertising jingle for the restaurant chain's "Insider" pizza. Ween did, but Pizza Hut's agency didn't like the results and hired another band to do something that, I'm sure, was eminently more lame. Add this to the ranks of All's "Alfredo's" and the Anchormen's "Kee Kar Lau."
Workaday World XII
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr., Day! It's a holiday at Fast Company, but a lot of folks are in today to ship the March 2003 issue. I'm in to make sure we're ready to launch the new Company of Friends tools this week.
But that doesn't mean there's no time to reflect on and recognize the contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr. Stanford University's Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project is publishing a 14-volume edition of King's most significant correspondence, sermons, speeches, published writings, and unpublished manuscripts. Additionally, the project's Liberation Curriculum offers historically accurate and pedagogically effective educational materials that embrace social justice and human rights.
King lived in Boston in the early '50s while studying at Boston University. He lived in an apartment building at 397 Massachusetts Ave., an apartment that is now adorned with a small commemorative plaque. If I have time later today, I hope to take a walk to King's former Boston digs and pay homage to his contributions and life.
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr., Day! It's a holiday at Fast Company, but a lot of folks are in today to ship the March 2003 issue. I'm in to make sure we're ready to launch the new Company of Friends tools this week.
But that doesn't mean there's no time to reflect on and recognize the contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr. Stanford University's Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project is publishing a 14-volume edition of King's most significant correspondence, sermons, speeches, published writings, and unpublished manuscripts. Additionally, the project's Liberation Curriculum offers historically accurate and pedagogically effective educational materials that embrace social justice and human rights.
King lived in Boston in the early '50s while studying at Boston University. He lived in an apartment building at 397 Massachusetts Ave., an apartment that is now adorned with a small commemorative plaque. If I have time later today, I hope to take a walk to King's former Boston digs and pay homage to his contributions and life.
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