Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 11, 2006 in Comic Books
I have to say that I wasn’t sure what to put up on this website today. Five years ago on this day I was in Manhattan watching the Twin Towers smoke, and then vanish into history. Yet having watched the events of that day there is still a part of me that’s still trying to make sense of it all, and whenever I look downtown in my mind I still see a gap in the skyline of a city that I love.
Over the past year a number of filmmakers have tackled the subject of 9/11, and in my mind there’s something very tacky about that. As a creative person I’m all for an artistic exploration of an event, but something on the scale of a Hollywood epic or TV mini-series seems a bit insincere to me. Yes I’m sure in the minds Oliver Stone or ABC that they had “the best of intentions”, but making a big budget drama at this point in time stikes me as exploiting the tragedy of others.
In stark contrast, as I was researching this subject I came across a website on 9/11 in comic books. What struck me looking at some of the titles is that while you might expect them to be tacky (ala a Hollywood epic) there’s something very personal and honest about them. Marvel put together several short stories on 9/11 called “A Moment of Silence”, and there’s some very good storytelling relating to the event going on inside the book. To me this is more of a tribute to what happened that day.
Take look at this panel, it manages to capture the moment without any words:
I was even struck by a December 2001 issue of Spiderman which shows a bit of class when dealing with the subject. For starters the cover of the issue is all black which is a pretty stark but creative statement for a comic book. Even more amazing is that inside the book you see fleeing survivors demanding to know from our superhero “Where were you?” and “How could you let this happen?”, and struggling for words Spidy can only reply that he couldn’t even imagine the event taking place.
Looking back at it I think Marvel comics was able to do a class job with these books because their offices are located here in New York City. For the editors of Marvel the event wasn’t some abstract movie-of-the-week that they watched on CNN, but their everyday reality. I think the gap I see from Hollywood, be it Oliver Stone or ABC/Disney is that if you weren’t in New York City that day (or living here in the months that followed) you wouldn’t get the same personal insights into the event.
“In a Variety article talking about MGM’s move back into the tentpole business, the trade mentions a few highly-anticipated projects that are in the works:
Over the next few years, MGM is planning to release half a dozen films, some in the $150 million to $200 million-plus range. Studio is ready to unveil such high-profile projects as “Terminator 4”; one or two installments of “The Hobbit,” which Sloan hopes will be directed by Peter Jackson.”
“After four years of collecting and photographing samples of all the chemical elements, months of struggling to select the very best example of each one, and further months of working on the best possible printing quality, I am pleased to say that you can now buy a copy of my photographic periodic table poster. The images come from my library of over a thousand element samples, many collected or re-photographed specially for this poster. (A few highly unstable elements show a picture of the person or place after which the element is named, or a mineral that contains trace amounts of the element.)”
…the above thumbnail image doesn’t do the poster justice, you need to see the images upclose!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 10, 2006 in Science
To encourage folks to do space elevator research, several groups are funding a competition for people to build build the the strongest tether and the fastest moving vertical robot:
“The Spaceward Foundation recently announced the second annual Space Elevator Games to be held in partnership with NASA and the X PRIZE Foundation at the Las Cruces International Airport in New Mexico, USA. Together, NASA, Spaceward, and X PRIZE are looking to jumpstart safe and efficient space exploration using prizes for private research; much like the Orteig Prize which was won by none other than Charles Lindbergh in his Spirit of St. Louis. The competitions have a total purse of $400,000 sponsored by NASA’s Centennial Challenges program, quadrupling the amount of prize money of last year’s event. Two prizes will be awarded to teams who can build the strongest tether, and the fastest moving vertical robot. Over twenty teams from different universities and research groups will be competing for a piece of space travel history.
Care to play a game? After over twenty years it looks there may be a bad direct-to-DVD sequel in the works to one of my favorite early 80s geek hacker movies:
“Devoid of all originality like most hollywood studios nowadays, MGM is planning on launching a sequel aptly named “War Games 2, a thriller involving high-level computer operations, which begins filming in November.”
…now what would be cool is if the sequel was set in 1984 and they had a classic new wave soundtrack and had guest star spots for Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. And if they could work the “brand new Apple Macintosh” that would even be cooler. But nooooo! I bet they’ll do a lame job of it.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 9, 2006 in Comic Books
One of the rarest and most coveted comics is for sale, the starting bid is at $30k. Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1. This is the first issue of the comic book from 1939 dedicated solely to him. There are very few copies of the comic know to exist:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 9, 2006 in Comic Books
I just discovered a website that allows you to create your own comic strips online. What’s cool about the website is that it features some very hip looking illustrations, not your standard comic book clip art:
It looks like astronomers are starting to think that there may be more Earth like planets that are out there, of course this isn’t anything new as Carl Sagan was talking about this sort of thing over twenty years ago. But what is new is that we are starting to get a real glimpse at other solar systems, it’s too bad folks like Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov aren’t alive to see the revolution that is starting in astronomy:
“Earthlike planets covered with deep oceans that could harbor life may be found in as many as a third of solar systems discovered outside of our own, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. These solar systems feature gas giants known as “Hot Jupiters,” which orbit extremely close to their parent stars — even closer than Mercury to our sun, University of Colorado researcher Sean Raymond said.
The close-orbiting gassy planets may help encourage the formations of smaller, rocky, Earthlike planets, they reported in the journal Science. “We now think there is a new class of ocean-covered, and possibly habitable, planets in solar systems unlike our own,” Raymond said in a statement.
The team from Colorado, Penn State University and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Maryland ran computer simulations of various types of solar systems forming. The gas giants may help rocky planets form close to the suns, and may help pull in icy bodies that deliver water to the young planets, they found.”
“Short films by Stephen Frears, the late John Schlesinger and brothers Tony and Ridley Scott can now be downloaded from the British Film Institute’s website. The initiative allows users to watch rarely shown early works from some of Britain’s leading film-makers. Six features are also available, among them 1974’s Pressure – regarded as one of Britain’s first black feature films. There are 230,000 films and 675,000 TV programmes in the BFI archive. Download costs range from £5 to £12.50.”
…sadly it seems downloading the films is off limits to Americans! But it’s still neat to see them taking steps in this direction,
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 8, 2006 in Star Trek
Today Star Trek hits middle age and turns forty. I grew up watching the re-runs of the series, although I was a tad too young at the time for the first mega “Bring back Star Trek” conventions in the 70s. Back then the show had a cult following, but it wasn’t until after the success of movies like Star Wars that Hollywood came back to the series. The show was a cultural icon even in the 70s, but I think most people had no idea that there would be not one, but four more TV series that would be created in the years to come.
Yet in my mind as much as I loved the shows and movies that followed, none quite came close to capturing the magic of the original series (although Wrath of Khan came close). There’s a sort of charming magic to that show which stands the test of time, although the series is very much a product of the 60’s (but like the Beach Boy’s Pet Sounds perhaps that’s why we love it so much).
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 7, 2006 in Star Trek
This is pretty funny stuff, however Shatner isn’t the only sci fi guy with a fear of flying — when Issac Asimov was alive he was afraid to take airplane trips:
“Star Trek legend William Shatner has been offered a real-life space flight — but he won’t go boldly. Shatner — who plays fearless Kirk — says he is terrified of taking up Sir Richard Branson’s offer of joining Virgin Galactic’s first passenger flight in 2008. The actor fears he will throw up in space or the craft will crash. Shatner, 75, said yesterday: “I’m interested in man’s march into the unknown but to vomit in space is not my idea of a good time.”
…however the article notes that Alien’s Sigourney Weaver is signed up!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 7, 2006 in Comic Books
I found this sad story via Boing Boing, it seems there is a feud between designer Paul Frank and the company that bears his name. The designer is no longer part of the $40 million empire built on his cute animal drawings:
“Depending on whom you ask, late last year Frank either quit or was forced out of the company he co-founded with Oswald, the C.E.O., and Heuser, the president. To Frank’s defenders, it’s as if Walt Disney had been separated from his eponymous empire. That’s because Frank created his own Mickey Mouse in Julius, the widemouthed monkey that adorns a substantial portion of the products sold by the company.”
…after reading this it would make me think twice before buying another Paul Frank Industries product.
“Playing to new parents who want to pass their love of comic book heroes on to their wee ones is Marvel Babies, a comprehensive licensed baby brand that will have a product for every infant and toddler need. Marvel has turned back the clock on superheroes including Spider-Man, Captain America, Thor and Rhino-Man, using a pastel palette to render them as roly-poly infants in diapers and sucking on pacifiers.”
“Although no official announcement has been made yet, it’s clear that Sony has plans to leverage its massive PlayStation brand equity among gamers looking at the phone market. The real question is whether the company intends to add phone functionality to the PSP, introduce an entirely separate PlayStation phone device from Sony Ericsson, or do something else entirely. According to an interview in Japan’s Nikkei BP with Sony Computer Entertainment corporate executive Izumi Kawanishi, Sony hinted that going forward the PSP may become more and more of a network device.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 4, 2006 in Videogames
This is the very first Legend of Zelda commercial in the United States for the NES (created in Japan in 1986). The commercial is pretty funny stuff, it features a vintage hip hop beat:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 4, 2006 in Television
This is a 1975 commercial for Braniff Airways showing the future of supersonic air travel, keep in mind during that era everyone was pretty darn sure that the SST would replace those ugly looking 747 aircraft. It’s sort of ironic that the Concorde has gone the way of history and there are more 747 looking airplanes than ever before. And other sad footnote is that Braniff Airways wouldn’t last past 1982:
“CHINESE government officials are planning a Bruce Lee theme park, complete with a rollercoaster that emits the martial arts actor’s signature grunts and screams on high-speed bends. According to local reports, the park will be patrolled by Bruce Lee “mannequin robots”, radio-controlled from within a giant statue of the late star. The £10m theme park will be built at Shunde, a picturesque town of canals and bamboo gardens northwest of Hong Kong, which Lee’s grandfather left in the late 19th century to start a new life in America. ”
But there is still a chance that this may not happen yet:
“However, all this may be brought to a halt by Shannon Lee, the actor’s only surviving child, who plans to visit Shunde for the first time later this year “to find out what else they are dreaming up over there”. The 37-year-old Californian entrepreneur has her own plans including a television series that will use computer graphics to re-create Lee. “The technology is nearly here to make it look as if he is back,” she said last week. She has authorised a Broadway musical as well and hopes to work with the Chinese government, which is also discussing with the BBC a documentary about Lee’s life and his death at 32, following an allergic reaction to a headache pill.”
…I hope if they do a computer game they don’t do anything too cheesy!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 3, 2006 in Videogames
One of my favorite games of the CD-ROM era was Sam and Max put out by LucasArts. In an era of Doom shooters, Sam and Max was based on storytelling and characters. I also loved the fact that it used humor and has some very good writing and artwork as well. I was very happy to read that there is work being done on a new Sam and Max game, my only regret is that looking at the screen shots it seems like they are doing it in 3D, it would be nice to see if they went with a flat cartoon style: Sam and Max Are Real! A Visit to Telltale Games
“You might have surmised from reading previous entries on this very blog that I am a fan of Sam and Max Hit The Road. It’s fair to say that the classic LucasArts adventure game was “one of the defining events of my mid-adolescence,” as I put it to one of Telltale Games’ marketing gurus as he drove me from the bus station to their office in San Rafael. Oh! Did I mention that I took the bus up to San Rafael to visit the offices of Telltale Games? And saw a real live demonstration of their upcoming Sam and Max title?”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 2, 2006 in Videogames
This is a neat hybrid live-action/stop-motion animation featuring a Japanese girl dressed up in a Mario outfit, riding a claymation Yoshi through the Super Mario World landscape which is populated with bottles and cans of Kirin Lemon instead of the typical coins and pipes:
