Fill Your Television II
Are you tired of your geeky friend expounding on how Mork & Mindy is really a spin-off of Happy Days and that Charlie's Angels once set sail on the Love Boat? One up the bum with knowledge gleaned from Thom Holbrook's Crossovers and Spin Offs Master List. Like, I betcha didn't know that Col. Klink from Hogan's Heroes cameoed on a 1966 episode of Batman. Well, now you do.
Monday, July 22, 2002
Behind the Scenes: Rock Shows of Note XXIX
This weekend was the weekend of Art Beat on Davis Square in Somerville. I was involved in two Art Beat-related activities. One, I helped work the Somerville Comics Collaborative table, the brainchild of Jef Czekaj. He spent much of the day overseeing a collective comics creation project in which Art Beat participants could contribute panels and pages to an ongoing narrative comic.
Our spot at Art Beat
Even though the day was overcast and near-rain for most of Art Beat, there was a good turnout -- and the sun finally broke later in the afternoon. "The whole city is drawing a comic! You can help!" I would call into the crowds passing by. Young children, young adults, and even the elderly sat down for a spell to help develop a flip-book comic about a giant cat attacking Somerville, rocket ships, its friend Funky Dragon, giant cookies, dancing, and the sea.
Jef, head of the Somerville Comics Collaborative
We're going to produce a minicomic compiling all of the contributions to redistribute to all of the people who contributed. I was pretty pleased with how it came out -- and thrilled to be able to help Jef at the table. We're even discussing making a Web slideshow of the comic with a voiceover narration. I'll let you know if that comes together.
Somervillains co-create a comic
We shared table space with Dan Moynihan, who made Davis Square T-shirts sporting an image from a nearby traffic sign. He also had handmade note cards and minicomics for sale.
This is Dan. He's not glaring, but the sun is.
He only made 100 of the shirts, and they were quite popular. He was down to less than 10 by the end of the day and says that he might make more.
A better view of the sign. But not necessarily of Dan.
All that said, I spent much of the day hanging and helping out at the Dilboy VFW hall to set up for the Art Beat Sideshow organized by Handstand Command. (Mostly, it was organized by Emily and Beth of the Washington Street Art Center, so many thanks and kudos to them!) We gathered at the Dilboy to construct the stage, put together facades for the merch and display tables, and set up the popcorn and cotton candy maker.
The go-away zone.
It's amazing what paperboard, scrap wood, ribbon, thumbtacks, and duct tape can do -- and our constructions really changed the nature of the space. Even Rachel Strutt of the Somerville Arts Council contributed a display of Lemony Snicket-like circus relics.
Emily and Geisslah puttin' up the house.
Between meeting up with Jef at 11, checking out the Dilboy at 12:30, and reconvening for band setup and soundcheck at 6, Saturday was a full day -- and the Handstand Command Sideshow hadn't even happened yet!
Stay tuned for the rest of the story...
This weekend was the weekend of Art Beat on Davis Square in Somerville. I was involved in two Art Beat-related activities. One, I helped work the Somerville Comics Collaborative table, the brainchild of Jef Czekaj. He spent much of the day overseeing a collective comics creation project in which Art Beat participants could contribute panels and pages to an ongoing narrative comic.
Our spot at Art Beat
Even though the day was overcast and near-rain for most of Art Beat, there was a good turnout -- and the sun finally broke later in the afternoon. "The whole city is drawing a comic! You can help!" I would call into the crowds passing by. Young children, young adults, and even the elderly sat down for a spell to help develop a flip-book comic about a giant cat attacking Somerville, rocket ships, its friend Funky Dragon, giant cookies, dancing, and the sea.
Jef, head of the Somerville Comics Collaborative
We're going to produce a minicomic compiling all of the contributions to redistribute to all of the people who contributed. I was pretty pleased with how it came out -- and thrilled to be able to help Jef at the table. We're even discussing making a Web slideshow of the comic with a voiceover narration. I'll let you know if that comes together.
Somervillains co-create a comic
We shared table space with Dan Moynihan, who made Davis Square T-shirts sporting an image from a nearby traffic sign. He also had handmade note cards and minicomics for sale.
This is Dan. He's not glaring, but the sun is.
He only made 100 of the shirts, and they were quite popular. He was down to less than 10 by the end of the day and says that he might make more.
A better view of the sign. But not necessarily of Dan.
All that said, I spent much of the day hanging and helping out at the Dilboy VFW hall to set up for the Art Beat Sideshow organized by Handstand Command. (Mostly, it was organized by Emily and Beth of the Washington Street Art Center, so many thanks and kudos to them!) We gathered at the Dilboy to construct the stage, put together facades for the merch and display tables, and set up the popcorn and cotton candy maker.
The go-away zone.
It's amazing what paperboard, scrap wood, ribbon, thumbtacks, and duct tape can do -- and our constructions really changed the nature of the space. Even Rachel Strutt of the Somerville Arts Council contributed a display of Lemony Snicket-like circus relics.
Emily and Geisslah puttin' up the house.
Between meeting up with Jef at 11, checking out the Dilboy at 12:30, and reconvening for band setup and soundcheck at 6, Saturday was a full day -- and the Handstand Command Sideshow hadn't even happened yet!
Stay tuned for the rest of the story...
It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World XII
Been digging the new Apple Switch ads featuring fine folks such as Mark Frauenfelder? Now there's a parody of Mark's spot. It made me smile.
Thanks to BoingBoing.
Been digging the new Apple Switch ads featuring fine folks such as Mark Frauenfelder? Now there's a parody of Mark's spot. It made me smile.
Thanks to BoingBoing.
Cashing in on Comics
If you've been inside a comics shop lately -- or scanned the newsstand at your local grocery store -- you might have seen some throwbacks to old standbys: GI Joe, the Transformers, Battle of the Planets, and Thundercats. Why the resurgence of reminiscence? In Ninth Art, Ben Wooler takes a look at the return to time-tested cartoon and comic properties. He consider the market for what he terms a "new nostalgia" and compares the string of rehashed series to Vertigo's revitalization of Doom Patrol, Sandman, Swamp Thing and other titles in the '80s and '90s. While I agree that the new nostalgia is nothing new -- filmmakers, musicians, and cartoonists cyclically return to reconsider successful creative franchises of the past -- I doubt the strength of the Vertigo parallel. The new-old titles we're seeing lately are more media tie-in plays than drastic rewritings a la Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman. Think Archie's repositioning of Josie and the Pussycats in conjunction with the release of the move. Also, the publishers in question are clearing playing to the post-baby boomer nostalgia many post-Generation X'ers are currently experiencing. But Wooler poses an interesting question, hinged on his fond memories of Voltron and the Masters of the Universe: "We don't really remember the sub-par animation, dialogue and characterisation, do we?"
Do we?
If you've been inside a comics shop lately -- or scanned the newsstand at your local grocery store -- you might have seen some throwbacks to old standbys: GI Joe, the Transformers, Battle of the Planets, and Thundercats. Why the resurgence of reminiscence? In Ninth Art, Ben Wooler takes a look at the return to time-tested cartoon and comic properties. He consider the market for what he terms a "new nostalgia" and compares the string of rehashed series to Vertigo's revitalization of Doom Patrol, Sandman, Swamp Thing and other titles in the '80s and '90s. While I agree that the new nostalgia is nothing new -- filmmakers, musicians, and cartoonists cyclically return to reconsider successful creative franchises of the past -- I doubt the strength of the Vertigo parallel. The new-old titles we're seeing lately are more media tie-in plays than drastic rewritings a la Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman. Think Archie's repositioning of Josie and the Pussycats in conjunction with the release of the move. Also, the publishers in question are clearing playing to the post-baby boomer nostalgia many post-Generation X'ers are currently experiencing. But Wooler poses an interesting question, hinged on his fond memories of Voltron and the Masters of the Universe: "We don't really remember the sub-par animation, dialogue and characterisation, do we?"
Do we?
Friday, July 19, 2002
Blogging About Blogging XXVIII
The Media Diet discussion forum is open again! Now you can either comment on a Media Diet entry or take your talk over to the discussion forum.
Why bring it back? Well, I missed other friends' forums, and my recent participation in a discussion in the Atlantic Monthly's Post & Riposte forum heightened that longing. So there you go. Do what you will. We'll see if Delphi Advanced's $1.25/month is worth it.
The Media Diet discussion forum is open again! Now you can either comment on a Media Diet entry or take your talk over to the discussion forum.
Why bring it back? Well, I missed other friends' forums, and my recent participation in a discussion in the Atlantic Monthly's Post & Riposte forum heightened that longing. So there you go. Do what you will. We'll see if Delphi Advanced's $1.25/month is worth it.
Comics and Calamity II
Not only can you help William Messner-Loebs, creator of Journey, through his current financial and housing crisis by making a donation via PayPal -- Bill's email address is billmloebs@aol.com -- but John Roberson is currently working on a benefit e-book for the cause.
Entitled Working for the Man, thanks to Donna Barr, the book will include work by folks such as Sam Henderson, Peter Kuper, David Lasky, and a score of others whose names I do not recognize. Word is that Gary Groth will pen the introduction and that Unbound Comics will publish the e-book.
Thanks to the Warren Ellis Forum.
Not only can you help William Messner-Loebs, creator of Journey, through his current financial and housing crisis by making a donation via PayPal -- Bill's email address is billmloebs@aol.com -- but John Roberson is currently working on a benefit e-book for the cause.
Entitled Working for the Man, thanks to Donna Barr, the book will include work by folks such as Sam Henderson, Peter Kuper, David Lasky, and a score of others whose names I do not recognize. Word is that Gary Groth will pen the introduction and that Unbound Comics will publish the e-book.
Thanks to the Warren Ellis Forum.
Amazon.com Wasted My Money
I'm obsessed with secret societies. And while I realize that the Masons are hardly secret, I've been researching their history, organization, and rituals. So I recently bought Duncan's Ritual of Freemasonry from Amazon. They even recommended that I also purchase a companion volume, Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor, at a discount along with Duncan's Ritual. So I did.
The tomes arrived in the mail yesterday. And while I should have done a little more poking around before making good on that impulse purchase and cross-sell, Amazon wasted my money. They are the same book. One is hardcover, one is softcover. And while the ISBN's are different -- hardcover and softcover editions differ by a single digit -- the title and author is exactly the same. Despite Amazon's positioning on their site.
Thanks a lot, Amazon. This is why I usually buy books from Powell's or the Harvard Book Store. And why Media Dieticians should do the same.
I'm obsessed with secret societies. And while I realize that the Masons are hardly secret, I've been researching their history, organization, and rituals. So I recently bought Duncan's Ritual of Freemasonry from Amazon. They even recommended that I also purchase a companion volume, Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor, at a discount along with Duncan's Ritual. So I did.
The tomes arrived in the mail yesterday. And while I should have done a little more poking around before making good on that impulse purchase and cross-sell, Amazon wasted my money. They are the same book. One is hardcover, one is softcover. And while the ISBN's are different -- hardcover and softcover editions differ by a single digit -- the title and author is exactly the same. Despite Amazon's positioning on their site.
Thanks a lot, Amazon. This is why I usually buy books from Powell's or the Harvard Book Store. And why Media Dieticians should do the same.
Playwright or Wrong
David Mogolov, former editor-in-chief of Knowumsayin, gets his 15 seconds of fame today courtesy of Claire Zulkey. David and Claire chat about a one-man play David wrote about a night he spent at an airport in Warwick, R.I., improvisational acting, and the history of Knowumsayin and 1099, another Webzine David was involved in. He also comments on the differences between the Midwest and New England -- as well as the perceived rivalry between Boston and New York City.
I haven't met David, but I'll be sure to check out his play when it debuts in September. And I know he knows Ken Gordon, so he's probably good people.
David Mogolov, former editor-in-chief of Knowumsayin, gets his 15 seconds of fame today courtesy of Claire Zulkey. David and Claire chat about a one-man play David wrote about a night he spent at an airport in Warwick, R.I., improvisational acting, and the history of Knowumsayin and 1099, another Webzine David was involved in. He also comments on the differences between the Midwest and New England -- as well as the perceived rivalry between Boston and New York City.
I haven't met David, but I'll be sure to check out his play when it debuts in September. And I know he knows Ken Gordon, so he's probably good people.
Event-O-Dex VI
Don't forget the Somerville Arts Council Art Beat festivities this weekend on Davis Square. The Anchormen are performing several short songs about food and fighting as part of the Art Beat Sideshow organized by the Handstand Command music collective. Expect a burlesque show, wrestling vegetables, and other fun. If by fun you mean a baton twirler.
The Handstand Command collective was featured today in the Boston Globe. If you get your hands on the print edition, look for the photograph -- I'm the guy in the red T-shirt with the stringless violin standing on the tree. Reilly Capps, a relatively young and recent transplant to the area pens a piece that is part report on Art Beat and part profile of the collective. He shares our origin story, outlines the kinds of arts and music events we like to organize, and details our place in the Somerville and Boston-area arts community.
Anchormen, aweigh!
Don't forget the Somerville Arts Council Art Beat festivities this weekend on Davis Square. The Anchormen are performing several short songs about food and fighting as part of the Art Beat Sideshow organized by the Handstand Command music collective. Expect a burlesque show, wrestling vegetables, and other fun. If by fun you mean a baton twirler.
The Handstand Command collective was featured today in the Boston Globe. If you get your hands on the print edition, look for the photograph -- I'm the guy in the red T-shirt with the stringless violin standing on the tree. Reilly Capps, a relatively young and recent transplant to the area pens a piece that is part report on Art Beat and part profile of the collective. He shares our origin story, outlines the kinds of arts and music events we like to organize, and details our place in the Somerville and Boston-area arts community.
Anchormen, aweigh!
Thursday, July 18, 2002
Among the Literati XI
If you think that David Eggers' writing is funny, you might find these jokes about Eggers funny.
Thanks to Typing, Typing, Typing: AOPTTWADE.
If you think that David Eggers' writing is funny, you might find these jokes about Eggers funny.
Thanks to Typing, Typing, Typing: AOPTTWADE.
Comics Crackdown II
Chicago-area cartoonist Stu Helm, also known as King VelVeeda, has been ordered to stop using his nickname as part of a court case brought on by Kraft Foods. According to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund:
CBLDF defendant Stu Helm has lost the first round in his battle against corporate censorship. Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys handed down a 32 page decision granting Kraft's request for preliminary injunction against Helm's use of the nickname "King VelVeeda." The injunction prohibits Helm from using the name on his Website or in any commercial context. The decision freezes Helm's ability to sell original art created before the injunction unless he physically removes the nickname from the piece, effectively defacing each original image. It also blocks the sale of "Singles and Seconds," a collection of single page erotic vignettes.
The Magistrate's decision further orders Helm to remove the nickname from all Web pages, metatags, and search engines. Helm has spent the weeks since the decision painstakingly obliterating all references to the name from his site. His next court date is July 29 where he will demonstrate full compliance with the Judge's orders.
The CBLDF's legal team has filed an appeal to the Magistrate's decision. Presently we are awaiting a decision on the appeal, following which a trial date will be set. However, the decision on the appeal may take months to come through. Meanwhile, the Fund is nearing the five figure mark in case expenses and needs to build funds to fight the next round.
"They already took my name," Stu Helm says, "and in court I could be fighting for my life." Part of the terms of Kraft's suit is that if Helm loses he may have to pay Kraft's legal fees plus punitive damages. The Fund's legal team estimates Kraft's expenses are nearing six figures. The longer the case is delayed, the sharper their fees escalate, and the more urgent Stu's plight becomes.
CBLDF Director Charles Brownstein explains, "We leapt onto this case when it was already in motion with all our legal guns. Unfortunately the judge felt that the balance of harms favored Kraft's commercial speech over Helm's artistic speech, but that doesn't mean that Stu's case has been weakened. The preliminary injunction needed to show Kraft having a fair shot at prevailing in the trial, it doesn't mean that they're right, and it certainly doesn't mean that they'll win. It's still early in the process, and we intend to keep fighting."
"With trademark and copyright laws in a state of flux, it's important to fight these instances of corporate censorship," explains Fund Board Member Louise Nemschoff. "If Kraft prevails, the precedent could be damaging not only to comic book creators poking fun at corporate culture, but to musicians, filmmakers, and other artists making use of puns or homonyms of corporate marks."
"This case is about what is protected as free speech," says CBLDF legal counsel Ken Levinson. "We would be remiss in our duties if we didn't protect a comic book artist like Stu while that battle is being waged in the higher courts. Comics are a place where precedents are set in entertainment law, and we have to fight to ensure that a bad precedent isn't set here."
To Support the CBLDF's continuing defense of Stu Helm and other casework make a donation.
Or, boycott Kraft, Phillip Morris, and affiliated products and brands.
Chicago-area cartoonist Stu Helm, also known as King VelVeeda, has been ordered to stop using his nickname as part of a court case brought on by Kraft Foods. According to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund:
CBLDF defendant Stu Helm has lost the first round in his battle against corporate censorship. Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys handed down a 32 page decision granting Kraft's request for preliminary injunction against Helm's use of the nickname "King VelVeeda." The injunction prohibits Helm from using the name on his Website or in any commercial context. The decision freezes Helm's ability to sell original art created before the injunction unless he physically removes the nickname from the piece, effectively defacing each original image. It also blocks the sale of "Singles and Seconds," a collection of single page erotic vignettes.
The Magistrate's decision further orders Helm to remove the nickname from all Web pages, metatags, and search engines. Helm has spent the weeks since the decision painstakingly obliterating all references to the name from his site. His next court date is July 29 where he will demonstrate full compliance with the Judge's orders.
The CBLDF's legal team has filed an appeal to the Magistrate's decision. Presently we are awaiting a decision on the appeal, following which a trial date will be set. However, the decision on the appeal may take months to come through. Meanwhile, the Fund is nearing the five figure mark in case expenses and needs to build funds to fight the next round.
"They already took my name," Stu Helm says, "and in court I could be fighting for my life." Part of the terms of Kraft's suit is that if Helm loses he may have to pay Kraft's legal fees plus punitive damages. The Fund's legal team estimates Kraft's expenses are nearing six figures. The longer the case is delayed, the sharper their fees escalate, and the more urgent Stu's plight becomes.
CBLDF Director Charles Brownstein explains, "We leapt onto this case when it was already in motion with all our legal guns. Unfortunately the judge felt that the balance of harms favored Kraft's commercial speech over Helm's artistic speech, but that doesn't mean that Stu's case has been weakened. The preliminary injunction needed to show Kraft having a fair shot at prevailing in the trial, it doesn't mean that they're right, and it certainly doesn't mean that they'll win. It's still early in the process, and we intend to keep fighting."
"With trademark and copyright laws in a state of flux, it's important to fight these instances of corporate censorship," explains Fund Board Member Louise Nemschoff. "If Kraft prevails, the precedent could be damaging not only to comic book creators poking fun at corporate culture, but to musicians, filmmakers, and other artists making use of puns or homonyms of corporate marks."
"This case is about what is protected as free speech," says CBLDF legal counsel Ken Levinson. "We would be remiss in our duties if we didn't protect a comic book artist like Stu while that battle is being waged in the higher courts. Comics are a place where precedents are set in entertainment law, and we have to fight to ensure that a bad precedent isn't set here."
To Support the CBLDF's continuing defense of Stu Helm and other casework make a donation.
Or, boycott Kraft, Phillip Morris, and affiliated products and brands.
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