Six capsule reviews - 47 words in length. No more, no less.
This week: a rodent, a robot and a wrench; an aging explorer finding his footing in Cold War America; a barkeep holding the line against interstellar disarray; the late mastermind of one coyote’s futile quest; the soundtrack to a teenage fantasy aborted; and a populist statesman who just couldn’t catch a break.
→ No CommentsTags: 47 Words
Movies we haven't seen • Books we haven't read • Music we haven't heard
I’ve always believed myself to be the cosmopolitan sort. The kind of man who, perhaps more in theory than in practice, could transcend his target demographic at will. The kind of man who would hang a poster of a unicorn on his wall if the unicorn happened to look cool enough. And I have expected no less of my friends of the fairer sex.
In reality, I have found myself on the losing end of this genderbending equation more often than not. I will suggest a romantic comedy like Dead/Alive, and somehow I end up sitting down for a marathon viewing of The Gilmore Girls. Co-op Gears of War seems like the perfect way for us to get closer, but I capitulate and settle for more Grey’s Anatomy.
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→ 1 CommentTags: Preemptive Strike
Media travelogues, reporting in every two weeks.
Where to begin? Most people would tell you, “at the beginning.” I say those people are conventionalist sheep. Also, they’re probably smart. I claim none of those. But whether you are the type of person who believes in a logical start, middle, and end or you think storytelling is as abstract as space and time, I still had to decide how to approach the daunting (yet very enjoyable) task of reading the entire collection of Chris Ware, graphic novelist and hilariously tortured artist.
I decided that my first step would be to research Mr. Ware’s body of work. Thirty seconds after jumping on my laptop I said, “Fuck that, I’m only reading his books.” So I provide you with this quick disclaimer: I’m only reading Acme Novelty Library. This rules out sketches, early strips in The Daily Texan , and Floyd Farland: Citizen of the Future , which is out of print anyway. That being said, I now had to come up with an order of reading 18½ issues, containing four graphic novels and four anthologized strips. Chronological seemed to be the most rational, providing me with context and a common thread to tether ideas and reactions to, as well as a framework to develop a subtext of commentary on Chris Ware’s development as a writer and artist. That would’ve been awesome if I hadn’t already read The Acme Novelty Library #16 (Rusty Brown Pt. 1 & Building Stories Pt. 1 ) earlier this year.
→ 1 CommentTags: The Long Haul
Media travelogues, reporting in every two weeks.
Around the same time I was beginning to gain consciousness of the world around me, America was just starting to regain its consciousness of where no man has gone before. By my fourth birthday in 1987, four Star Trek motion pictures had seen release and box-office success, and the franchise was on the brink of a full-length television revival in the form of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Shortly after TNG made its triumphant bow on the boob-tube, one of my friends-of-the-moment on the preschool playground decided that it was trivia time. “Who is the captain of the Enterprise?” he asked. Having very recently seen the iconic Captain Jean-Luc Picard standing at the bridge of the Enterprise-D from my living-room television, the only answer I could give him was “That … bald-headed guy?”
→ 1 CommentTags: The Long Haul
