After an opening montage of moments from the first nineteen episodes set to the tune of “Can’t Find My Way Home”, at long last begins the Revolution season-one finale, “The Dark Tower” (not the first time they’ve referenced Stephen King). When last we left, Monroe Republic President Sebastian “Bass” Monroe and former best friend Miles Matheson were facing off inside the tower with coilguns at twenty paces. Will this be the duel to end all duels? Here in the first minute of the episode?
Behold the Future of Chicago Sun-Times Photojournalism
Hardly an award-winning pic, is it?
When I attended the “Marvel: From NOW! to Infinity” panel at C2E2 last April, I arrived late from another panel and found myself in the back row. I thought covering the panel from an amateur perspective might be a fun lark for one segment of the MCC readership. Unfortunately I back-burnered that part of my C2E2 experience because (a) pro comics-news sites had the panel’s announcements posted online days before I would’ve gotten around to them; and (b) my photos were rubbish.
I’d rather not imagine a world in which I might’ve had a chance of selling this reject for real American money. I enjoy seeing the work of skillful eyes and hands that justly shame me in this area. I doubt few dream of a world in which our news sites and newspapers drop several degrees in visual competence and settle for publishing any available photos to accompany their articles regardless of quality, offering whatever they can scrounge up from overworked reporters or untrained bystanders.
The Powers That Be at the Chicago Sun-Times believe so deeply in this alternate future that they’ve decided to push our timeline forward in that direction. Last week numerous sources reported the venerable institution dismissed all 28 of its staff photographers (including one Pulitzer winner) as a cost-cutting measure and announced plans to offer smartphone photography lessons to its staff reporters, who clearly had too much time on their hands and needed extra busywork to keep them from turning into total goof-offs.
“Now You See Me”: When Magic Loses Its Magic
The trailers for Now You See Me telegraph up front that you should expect a twist along the way. You’re teased and beguiled by the possibility of having the wool pulled over your eyes, and taunted for daring to look too closely. Sooner or later, this movie swears it will fool you.
It’s no spoiler, then, to reveal that yes, the movie does eventually have a twist. Despite the fancy stage-magician trappings, its base template is the heist-film genre, in which the viewer’s homework assignment is trying to guess which character will be revealed as a mole or a double-crosser by the end. In that sense, the genre expectations are fulfilled here, including the part where that big revelation turns several previous scenes into utter nonsense if you retrace your steps and rethink them too deeply.
Indianapolis Comic Con 2014: Hoax, Dream, or Imaginary Story?
Comics! Anime! Video Games! T-shirt vendors! Whovians! Uglydoll! This never-before-shared file photo from C2E2 2011 has it all! (Unlike Indianapolis. For now.)
Several theoretical names have floated fancily through my head over the decades, ever since the erstwhile Comics Buyer’s Guide taught me about the magical world of comic book conventions when I subscribed to them in 1986. I’ve always wondered if Indianapolis would ever be respectable enough to merit a large-scale comic-con of its own. We had little comic book shows on the east side a few time a year that occasionally drew one or two special guests. Circa 1989 or 1990 someone threw a shindig in Indy called HoosierCon 1, but I had to work the entire weekend and missed it. I never heard a peep about it after the fact, sequels never manifested, and Google tells me no one in world history has ever rhapsodized about it online. I presume plans went awry.
This week the Indianapolis Star reported that someone out there wants to make my pipe dream a reality. A young Florida-based company called Action3 Events and Promotions has scheduled a comics convention for March 14-16, 2014, in our very own Indiana Convention Center. It’s as yet unnamed and not yet listed on their official site, but official enough that they’re proclaiming its proposed existence in public interviews. That much alone is a positive sign.
Tips for Running a Movie Theater for Fun and Profit
The last time my family went to the theater, the ads that ran from the film’s scheduled showtime until the moment the feature presentation began spanned over twenty minutes. Many of the ads were movie trailers, but not all of them. Ads for new cars, smartphones, TV shows, and soft drinks are routine pre-show entertainment while you’re settling into your seat, mentally preparing yourself for temporary phone deprivation, swapping notes with your companions, and consuming your snack too early. Even when it’s ostensibly showtime, the commercial parade isn’t over yet, because a lot of manufacturers want a moment of your time, in exchange for keeping your theater in business.
According to a Hollywood Reporter article this week, the National Assocation of Theater Owners have decided that movie studios are taking advantage of your presence, and it’s all their fault that your time is being wasted. Obviously the owners can’t simply run fewer spots, because then here comes the poorhouse. To that end, NATO members are demanding an amended guideline limiting trailers to a maximum of two minutes, slashed from the current 2½-minute boundary.
We can infer from various statements in that THR article that owners believe this will reduce the length of the pre-show, instead of giving them latitude to run even more ads that eat up the same allotted minutes. They believe that it would be harder for shorter trailers to give away the entire movie, apparently forgetting that most romantic comedies can be boiled down to their primal essence in twelve seconds flat. They seem to think the current limit is a recent abuse of creative power, somehow unaware that trailers in the ’40s and other nostalgic decades could occasionally run well past the three-minute mark, sometimes spooling entire scenes instead of mere quick-cut snippets.
Smartphone Test Post Requires Light Backpedaling for Longtime Smartphone Hater
If you search the MCC archives for “no smartphones” you’ll find an old entry in which this author grouses about his issues with our world’s favorite communication tool and/or babysitter. Since humans retain the enviable privilege to change their minds as circumstances warrant, I’m invoking that privilege to give WordPress’ QuickPress app a whirl on the new phone I bought last weekend.
For the record: with my son leaving for college in the fall, setting up a means of keeping in touch and/or sending emergency notifications seemed prudent. This tiny, cracker-sized gizmo won’t be usurping our PC anytime soon, but eschewing it merely because of other users’ disagreeable behaviors is no longer an option on the table. I’m proud to report that so far I’ve yet to succumb to any temptation to use this while driving, working, or having dinner with my family. Knock on wood.
I don’t expect to use QuickPress too often, but it’s nice to have an option in case inspiration strikes at the oddest times.
Gonna need lots more practice typing on this dollhouse keyboard, though. Seems to be a device better suited for shorter thoughts and much, much shorter words. With the way I talk and think, AutoText is only getting me so far. Argh.
[UPDATED, next morning via PC: added link to last year’s entry in question.]
Free Comic Book Day 2013 Results, Part 3 of 3: Worlds Beyond Marvel and DC
Atomic Robo: an essential part of every Free Comic Book Day.
As previously recounted, my wife and I had a ball on Free Comic Book Day 2013 two weeks ago. Readers flocked to our local stores and had the opportunity to enjoy samplers from all the major comic companies and many of the indies.
How did the finished works do? Did they present an enjoyable, self-contained experience? Were they welcoming to new readers? Did they adhere to the old adage that every comic is someone’s first?
And now the conclusion, focusing on smaller publishers that demand and/or deserve equal attention:
Marble Season (Drawn & Quarterly) — Celebrated Love and Rockets co-creator Gilbert Hernandez, sallies forth into all-ages territory with slice-of-life vignettes of a ’60s childhood in which marbles were a game option before “gaming” was a common verb, kids routinely spoke in benign non sequitur, secret clubs didn’t involve violent hazing, and super-hero role-playing required neither rulebooks nor electricity. Each scene free-flows into the next without need for an overall “story arc” driving the narrative — it’s just the life of kids bouncing each off each other and drifting from one activity to the next. If Peanuts had been less punchline-driven and maybe a tad edgier (we sure never saw Linus and Lucy trying to understand a celebrity suicide) but with the same skewed innocence and underlying heart, the result would’ve looked a lot like this. One of the year’s best FCBD offerings.
“Revolution” 5/27/2013 (spoilers): Charlie vs. the Emissaries of Explodo
There’s this place. It’s called…The TOWER.
Thus does tonight’s new episode of Revolution, “Children of Men”, begin with a promise of explosions. We ended last week’s episode with Rachel Matheson triggering the grenade she carried with her into President Monroe’s field tent in hopes of avenging the death of her son Danny. Instead of opening this week with Rachel and Monroe both dead — which, let’s face it, would be a true game-changer — the grenade gets kicked out of the tent, exploding outside and destroying some tanks full of movie combustion fluid or whatever. Everyone in the tent is safe, and Rachel is easily captured and embarrassed.
Indy 500 Festival Parade 2013 Photos, Part 5 of 5: Balloons and Floats for the Win
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
The next five entries (to be posted over Memorial Day Weekend as quickly as time and endurance permit) represent a fraction of the pics my wife and I snapped. In many cases, encores and additional takes of specific subjects may be available if anyone out there is interested in seeing more, or is looking for a loved one who was in one of the many marching bands that day. For first-time MCC visitors, please note my wife and I are relative amateurs, obviously not trained professional photographers, sharing these from a hobbyist standpoint because of fun Internet joyfulness.
The grand finale: giant inflatables and dioramas! First in line is my personal favorite of the bunch — Super Grover!
Indy 500 Festival Parade 2013 Photos, Part 4 of 5: a Salute to the Marching Bands
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
The next five entries (to be posted over Memorial Day Weekend as quickly as time and endurance permit) represent a fraction of the pics my wife and I snapped. In many cases, encores and additional takes of specific subjects may be available if anyone out there is interested in seeing more, or is looking for a loved one who was in one of the many marching bands that day. For first-time MCC visitors, please note my wife and I are relative amateurs, obviously not trained professional photographers, sharing these from a hobbyist standpoint because of fun Internet joyfulness.
No parade is complete without marching bands. It’s right there in the parade regulation handbook: you must invite at least three different marching bands or else your parade will be subject to ridicule and foodstuffs hurled at you overhand.
If anyone out there in Internetland is interested in seeing additional photos of any of these bands, we took extras of a few of them. Just say the word and MCC will be happy to oblige with additional uploading and sharing and such. It’s all part of the service.
First in line: the Purdue University All-American Marching Band. Look closely for impressive baton-tossing action.
Indy 500 Festival Parade 2013 Photos, Part 3 of 5: Star Wars! and Other Fashion Choices
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
The next five entries (to be posted over Memorial Day Weekend as quickly as time and endurance permit) represent a fraction of the pics my wife and I snapped. In many cases, encores and additional takes of specific subjects may be available if anyone out there is interested in seeing more, or is looking for a loved one who was in one of the many marching bands that day. For first-time MCC visitors, please note my wife and I are relative amateurs, obviously not trained professional photographers, sharing these from a hobbyist standpoint because of fun Internet joyfulness.
In this installment, we feature a selection of special-interest groups who marched through downtown Indianapolis on May 25, 2013, in the name of their respective organizations for the sake of parade-based goodness.
When Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa rolled by on a float of their own, longtime readers can imagine this writer’s response. At last, a parade attraction that really speaks to me!
Indy 500 Festival Parade 2013 Photos, Part 2 of 5: Some of Your Qualifying Drivers
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
The next five entries (to be posted over Memorial Day Weekend as quickly as time and endurance permit) represent a fraction of the pics my wife and I snapped. In many cases, encores and additional takes of specific subjects may be available if anyone out there is interested in seeing more, or is looking for a loved one who was in one of the many marching bands that day. For first-time MCC visitors, please note my wife and I are relative amateurs, obviously not trained professional photographers, sharing these from a hobbyist standpoint because of fun Internet joyfulness.
Per parade tradition, the thirty-three drivers who qualified to race in that year’s Indy 500 also participate in the 500 Festival Parade. One driver, Charlie Kimball, bowed out due to illness. We captured over one-third of the other thirty-two.
Last year’s winner, Dario Franchitti, starts this year in the middle of Row 6.
Indy 500 Festival Parade 2013 Photos, Part 1 of 5: the Special Guests
This year marked the third time my wife and I attended the 500 Festival Parade in downtown Indianapolis. It’s become an annual date tradition for us — partly to see the floats and bands, partly for the famous names, and partly because downtown Indianapolis is a much livelier place when it’s overrun by happy visitors. (Our 2012 photo collection is still available in the MCC archives for value-added flashback viewing.)
Unlike last year’s sunny weather and soaring temperatures that posed a physical challenge to some patrons, this year was cloudy with temps in the low 60s — cool, relaxing, and painless, just the way we like it. I was surprised to see only two food trucks downtown this time (kudos to the NY Slice and the Edwards Drive-In Dashboard Diner for their support), but elated to see a steady turnout of parade watchers nonetheless.
The next five entries (to be posted over Memorial Day Weekend as quickly as time and endurance permit) represent a fraction of the pics my wife and I snapped. In many cases, encores and additional takes of specific subjects may be available if anyone out there is interested in seeing more, or is looking for a loved one who was in one of the many marching bands that day. For first-time MCC visitors, please note my wife and I are relative amateurs, obviously not trained professional photographers, sharing these from a hobbyist standpoint because of fun Internet joyfulness.
We launch with a few of the famous faces who came to town for this special occasion, and not just the Indianapolis 500, the self-billed Greatest Spectacle in Racing. First in line: actor Michael Pena, who I thought rocked in Crash and World Trade Center. He was in last year’s End of Watch and will be heard in DreamWorks’ upcoming animated film Turbo.
Driving the pace car this year at the 97th Indy 500 will be Jim Harbaugh, former Indianapolis Colts quarterback and now head coach for the San Francisco 49ers.
An Old Man’s Excuses for Not Hoarding Digital Music
Why browse through someone’s full-sized collection of vinyl cover art when you can peruse a strictly formatted collection of charmless Windows icons instead?
One digression was left unexplored due to issues of relevance and length:
My reluctance to embrace MP3s would require an entry in itself. Short answer: not at this time, but thank you for the option.
Far be it from me to let a promise of digression remain unrequited.
I recognize that digital music has numerous advantages over CDs and its precursors, but I have yet to embrace iTunes or to fill multiple external hard drives with jams for a variety of reasons. Some of them may sound tired and overused; most are conclusions I reached over the years after repeated bouts of personal deliberation. Continue reading
A Perplexing Day with Commercial Radio, My Longtime Recurring Nemesis
You know something’s afoot when you turn on the shower radio at 6:45 a.m. and hear Anne Murray crooning “O Come, All Ye Faithful”. Or maybe it was Julie Andrews.
I spend a minute or so trying to name the singer, ignoring for a moment that the radio was celebrating Christmas in May. The guessing game ends when the mystery diva is succeeded by Wham!’s “Last Christmas”, for which I have no use even in December. Somewhere in Indianapolis, either a DJ is greatly amusing himself, listener requests have taken a bizarre turn in the hands of joyous off-season mob rule, or Skynet is taking over the airwaves as part of a truly twisted master plan and doing a terrible job of acting naturally.
I’m not a morning person and my brain isn’t a morning organ. The confusion sown by my early-morning background noise inspires my brain to awaken more quickly than usual. Now it has a mystery to solve.
Free Comic Book Day 2013 Results, Part 2 of 3: Familiar Names and Creatures
The painted dragons of Aphrodite IX. Art by Stjepan Sejic.
As previously recounted, my wife and I had a ball on Free Comic Book Day 2013 two weeks ago. Readers flocked to our local stores and had the opportunity to enjoy samplers from all the major comic companies and many of the indies.
How did the finished works do? Did they present an enjoyable, self-contained experience? Were they welcoming to new readers? Did they adhere to the old adage that every comic is someone’s first?
More of those finished products:
Infinity (Marvel) — Fans already entrenched in current Marvel Universe continuity may enjoy this prologue to the upcoming major summer crossover event, in which an alien race that once rebuilt itself from the ground up after world-shattering decimation now finds itself entertaining a second visit from its conqueror. From a science fiction standpoint, it’s an intriguing short story even though Thanos only speaks a grand total of two words. Any first-time comic-shop visitors who know Marvel only from their movies might be disappointed that their first Marvel experience is filled with complete strangers and has virtually no Marvel heroes in it at all, save a three-panel montage at the end.
“Star Trek Into Darkness”: Ongoing Reboot Uses Lying as Brilliant Marketing Tool
Does Benedict Cumberbatch’s new entourage stand a chance against hordes of delighted Sherlock groupies?
“Revolution” 5/20/2013 (spoilers): Charlie vs. the Murderous Mole
Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos) and Jason (JD Pardo) share a moment of true love while a disenchanted Atlanta evacuates in panic.
Free Comic Book Day 2013 Results, Part 1 of 3: Familiar Names and Faces
From “The Assasination of Darth Vader” by Brian Wood and Ryan Odagawa.
How did the finished works do? Did they present an enjoyable, self-contained experience? Were they welcoming to new readers? Did they adhere to the old adage that every comic is someone’s first?
My reading results were as follows:
Birthday 41: the Underrated Sequel to the Big 4-0
There is nothing wrong with your ‘Net device. This search field is not clickable and is provided for illustrative purposes only. For best use, send the link to your friends and guffaw when they try clicking on it.
Midlife Crisis Crossover! 