Rob Dean On Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 10:30AM Two fun new novelty accounts on Twitter to follow: Fake Joel Stillerman and T-800. One is an inhuman monster intent on destroying all that we hold dear and the other is the Terminator. (The Vilanch Crown grows ever nearer...)
(For background on Stillerman, read this)
Rob Dean On Monday, July 18, 2011 at 12:30PM Every week, we list our recommendations of new music, books, comics, movies and TV to check out. This is Recs in Effect:
Grant Morrison is the man of theory that people like to put up when defending comics. A man interested in investigating, deconstructing, destroying, reinventing and adhering to the fundemental aspects of storytelling and comic books, Morrison can be the Tarantino of comics when he works. He can also be the Spike Lee, an artist with so much to say that he tries to say it all at once, creating whiplash inducing tonal shifts that make it easy to lose focus. In either case, Morrison appears to approach comics as a medium in a very solemn way, respecting all that has come before him, while trying to just finding the constant vein of having fun and creating the impossible that he relishes so. A book by him on the medium, including meditations on Superman and X-Men, the two franchises that he completely rejuvenated, is a must grab for anyone that is interested in media studies, literary theory and where Batman gets those wonderful toys.
Rob Dean On Monday, June 6, 2011 at 12:30PM Every week, we list our recommendations of new music, books, comics, movies and TV to check out. This is Recs in Effect:
The Book of Mormon
Who's Responsible? Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez
What Is It? The broadway musical by South Park's Parker & Stone and Avenue Q's Lopez focuses on the pros and cons of faith by examining two Mormon missionaries' exploits in Uganda. Hilarity Ensues?
Why's It Worth Noting? Firstly, Parker & Stone have proven their musical chops many times previously (Orgazmo, South Park, Team America) and paired with the more playful (and less dark) Lopez, they deliver a great musical that craps all over religion - but it also highlights the functions that religion can serve; basically stating that religion is dumb but can provide meaning and direction. The album was released on iTunes a couple of weeks ago, but the CD comes out on Tuesday and is definitely worth picking up. The songs are infectious, hilarious and brilliantly vulgar. Here's a sample (semi-NSFW, language):
