Wrapping Up MetaMorphosis #2
May 22, 2013 § Leave a Comment
© 2013 Lewis Manalo
I just finished the inking on my horror comic MetaMorphosis #2! I make no secret about my mediocre illustration skills, but I have to say that my art’s been getting better. And issue #2 features more gore! more sex! and more… politics.
Catch up with the web version here, and the digital version of issue #1 is forthcoming via Comixology!
Your Imagination is Banned!
May 21, 2013 § 1 Comment
Bleeding Cool posted this link regarding a school (pre-school?) where make-believe has effectively been banned.
I find this really depressing. As a parent of two small boys, I think people need to remember that though “safety and well being” should be a concern, it’s not the only concern. It probably shouldn’t even be the primary concern. Hell, not swimming is the safest way to learn to swim, but you bet your ass my kids are getting into that pool.
The kids at this school are getting an early lesson on censorship. At least by the time they get to the public school system they’ll be ready for an institution that stymies any hope of personal development.
New Riddick Trailer!
May 20, 2013 § Leave a Comment
Riddick looks like a bit of a return to Pitch Black with the nice addition of Katee Sackhoff in the Radha Mitchell spot. Ideally, with less of the epic scale of Chronicles of Riddick, Riddick 3 with have more of the mystery and character development of the first film. Will I see it in IMAX?
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Follow my horror comic MetaMorphosis. Updates every Wednesday!
Friday Night Links 17 May 2013
May 17, 2013 § Leave a Comment
Okay, most of my posts this week were links to other stuff, but here are a few more…
On Monday, some 20-somethings got b*tt-hurt about Meg Jay’s talk on 20-somethings. Apparently, some 20-somethings think you’re still a “youth” in your 20s, and the motto “Life is short” no longer applies. (Blogger Thu-Huong Ha does have some sensible things to say, but they’re mostly Meg Jay quotes.)
If my father’s house had a mantra, it would be “Life is long.” I was infused with the belief that I could do anything I wanted, at any age. No one likes thinking about life as a series of limitations, and certainly no woman likes to think of herself as a ticking time bomb.
From NY Post: there’s a new way to jump the line at Disney World. I think it’s a great idea.
Some wealthy Manhattan moms have figured out a way to cut the long lines at Disney World — by hiring disabled people to pose as family members so they and their kids can jump to the front… The “black-market Disney guides” run $130 an hour, or $1,040 for an eight-hour day.
Stoya, on the political influence of art:
If it takes giant, gorgeous paintings with curlicues and gold leaf to get me interested in the global financial crisis, then those pretty images are an important step on the path to awareness. If a fashion-news article on Casey Legler’s career modeling menswear inspires people to examine their views on gender, then I see it as visually appealing and good. We’ve had very different experiences and I disagree with many of Aurora Snow’s opinions, but I’m glad she’s out there writing things that make people think and using her popularity as an adult star to put her articles in front of more eyeballs.
And if Pacific Rim isn’t enough for you, there’s also Atlantic Rim:
Leadership
May 16, 2013 § Leave a Comment
Found this video via a Richard Branson blog post on how to be a real leader. It’s kind of funnier with no more context than that.
MetaMorphosis Issue #2 Preview Page!
May 15, 2013 § Leave a Comment
Issue #2 of MetaMorphosis, my horror comic inspired by Franz Kafka’s work, is coming together pretty quickly. Below is a page I just finished up.
© 2013 Lewis Manalo
Catch up with the comic here! Updates every Wednesday!
Are Books Irrelevant?
May 14, 2013 § Leave a Comment
Last week New York Magazine featured a piece by Kathryn Schulz in which she discusses her reasons for not liking Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby despite how “sacrosanct” the book is. Though I disagree with her dismissal of Nick Carraway as a passive observer, Schulz is mostly correct in her criticism of Gatsby’s ”heavy plot, heavy symbolism, zero psychological motivation.” But that’s not a reason for me to not like the story.
More disturbing to me than her criticism of a very popular, very American novel is her assertion that books are “borderline irrelevant in America.” The Gatsby-bashing came in the run-up to the release of Baz Luhrman’s film adaptation, so film is the only reason NY Mag is even mentioning it. And it’s very sad to think that a professional book critic thinks that books are irrelevant. What must she think of her own job as a critic of them?
Books may not have the same standing in popular culture that they once did, but that doesn’t make them less relevant. Everyone may be talking about Kim Kardashian’s latest tweet, but does that mean it matters? The depth of ideas that can be communicated in a book can’t be replicated in any other medium, even film and television, and great ideas are always relevant.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.!
May 13, 2013 § Leave a Comment
It’s kind of lame how Agent Coulson faked his death, but it’s pretty awesome that he’s still around.
Joss Whedon has proven over and over again that he’s great with depicting the team dynamic, but unlike in The Avengers movie, there’s usually an action-centric character taking point. Is Coulson the new Buffy?
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Check out my horror comic MetaMorphosis!
Friday Night Links – 10 May 2013
May 9, 2013 § Leave a Comment
Your weekly round-up from around the interweb.
U.S. Department of Justice doesn’t think it needs a warrant to read your email. From CNET:
The Justice Department’s disinclination to seek warrants for private files stored on the servers of companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft continued even after a federal appeals court in 2010 ruled that warrantless access to e-mail violates the Fourth Amendment. A previously unreleased version of an FBI manual (PDF), last updated two-and-a-half years after the appellate ruling, says field agents “may subpoena” e-mail records from companies “without running afoul of” the Fourth Amendment.
Most American’s won’t care, as long as they have the secret to a long, healthy life.
A 105-year-old woman from Richland, Texas says that the key to long life is bacon…
“I love bacon, I eat it everyday,” [Pearl Cantrell] told a reporter for Abilene-based Big Country Homepage in April. “I don’t feel as old as I am, that’s all I can say.”
There’s a different sort of immortality for Laura Thornhill Caswell,
a girl from the 70′s who was a fashion icon, a girl who skated like the wind and had the grace and style to make you stop and look, and look again. She spun 360 after 360 while the boys watched in awe, she rode before it was the “popular” thing to do, she practiced freestyle routines in the hot summer sun, she traveled with the boys from contest to contest up and down the coast of Southern California instead of going to prom, shopping at the mall or any other of those other “popular” girl activities. If you are a girl and skate now, she is one of the women who paved the way for you.
And though the 4th Amendment may be taking some hits, the 2nd Amendment has a new friend:
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Follow my horror webcomic MetaMorphosis! Updates every Wednesday.
