tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-354650302024-03-14T01:42:36.092-07:00THE FOOL'S CRUSADEThe continuing story of an over-educated, overweight black guy, his friends, his adventures, and his musings on a world he sees going slowly down the toilet.B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-59712308806270951022017-12-18T09:19:00.000-08:002017-12-18T09:23:19.198-08:00THE LAST JEDI: FAREWELL TO WHAT WE KNEW...<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="89lk3" data-offset-key="7fkau-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="7fkau-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">SPOILERS BELOW (I'll keep the first couple of paragraphs spoiler free). </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="s10n-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">To properly analyze STAR WARS EPISODE VIII: THE LAST JEDI, you have to go beyond the trappings of fandom and look at the movie as a part of a larger product of Disney-Lucasfilm storytelling. Approaching this as anything other than a corporate juggernaut mainly concerned with moving merchandise and building the next generation of consumers will result in total anger, confusion and regret. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="110sg-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">This might sound cynical and cold, but it's only the acknowledgment that Hollywood cinema is big business and sometimes actual art will slip through the image factory despite their best efforts to curtail imagination and wonder. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="avvbg-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">I'm not saying THE LAST JEDI lacks imagination or wonder, but there's definitely a middling corporate influence throughout the movie that simultaneously keeps the movie in an inoffensive zone of bland character moments while setting up Rian Jonhson's long-term vision for the STAR WARS franchise. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="3rci0-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">What makes THE LAST JEDI interesting is that it deliberately erases the nostalgic underpinnings of the STAR WARS saga being about the Skywalker clan. Now this is where you see a lot of online outrage regarding THE LAST JEDI (even when you remove the kneejerk right-wing racist backlash to the movie being "too diverse") with the main complaint is that it "feels different" than previous Star Wars fims. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="rgka-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">There seems to be different rules in this movie. Suddenly, no one from the ORIGINAL TRILOGY is safe. None of the original cast behaves like they used to (with the exception of Han Solo and Chewbacca, and we saw what happened to Han). Leia is a disconnected bureaucrat fighting for a rebellion she's incapable of saving while Luke seems like a raving homeless man living on a distant island with frog nuns. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="ae4ib-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Gone are the beautiful, powerful characters my generation (children of the 1970s and 80s) fell in love with. Some see the growth and evolution of the original cast as a kind of blasphemy. "How dare they change those characters," some angry geeks are saying, "They're nothing like how I remember them!" </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="8d03k-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">This is an important element because Lucasfilm wants to get beyond "HOW YOU REMEMBER THEM." There's an interesting thread running through THE LAST JEDI about how people are remembered and how legends are formed. There's a repeated line about the resistance being the "spark" for hope that will eventually destroy the First Order. The theme here appears to be that heroes of the past should be used mainly as a guide for future salvation but we need to realize when these heroes have outlived their usefulness. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="d6o2s-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">There's a push for the Original Trilogy heroes to step aside and allow for new ideas and new ways of behaving. The big war online seems to be between those who can move on, and those who cannot or will not. At the age of 43, I've learned in the last 5 years to let go of the very toxic mentality of NOSTALGIC OWNERSHIP. Just because I loved a consistently evolving corporate franchise in the early years of its development does not mean I have a right or an ability to control what the actual owners do with it. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="fbqcm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Let me repeat that: </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="f35bv-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Just because I loved a consistently evolving corporate franchise in the early years of its development does not mean I have a right or an ability to control what the actual owners do with it. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="4ndth-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Nostalgic ownership is dangerous, petty, infuriating, exhausting and ultimately pointless. If you don't own it, complaining endlessly won't change anything. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="56a35-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">So, about the movie itself... THE LAST JEDI feels like a piece of a larger puzzle. I don't believe it can stand on it's own as a full on cinematic story. That's only a problem in the pre-shared universe days of cinematic storytelling. Now, it is expected that large-scale, major event tentpole movies will bleed into sequels, side-stories, novels, comic books, video games and podcasts. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="8lbv7-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">As a piece of a corporate franchise, it does a good (not perfect) job of putting all the chess pieces into place. With the exception of the overlong and ill-paced Canto Bight casino adventure with Finn and Rose, everything else fell into place with style and power. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="54tti-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">All the scenes with Luke, Rey, Kylo and Snoke crackled with intensity and repercussion. Mark Hamill and Adam Driver give excellent performances alongside Daisy Ridley who is clearly coming into her own as a dramatic actress. She's got the face of a silent movie star and that's a great compliment. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="3q52b-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">John Boyega, Oscar Issac and Kelly Marie Tran were also a lot of fun to watch, and it was nice to see Poe Dameron get a little arc of his own as a soldier learning how to be leader in the face of impossible odds. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="4q2pi-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">One of the things I have a problem with as a narrative strategy is the lessened degree of galactic politics in the story. The Prequel Trilogy was centered around how the Empire was formed. The Original Trilogy was centered around how the Empire was destroyed. The new trilogy is less concerned with the galactic situation than reworking how the Jedi operate and what is the true nature of the Force. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="77hgu-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">That would be fine if there was more of a explanation of what happened to the New Republic in THE FORCE AWAKENS. Remember that scene when Starkiller Base blew up those planets? Turns out that was the complete eradication of the New Republic. The First Order murdered billions of people in that moment and destabilized the galactic political structure. There appears to have been NO BLOWBACK from their actions. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="6rvc0-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">As this movie begins, we're learning that the entire resistance movement is down to a few hundred people who are currently on the run. As an audience, we should be more alarmed at this situation but there's no dramatic weight given to how bad things are for the heroes. Further on this point, major Original Trilogy characters like Admiral Ackbar are wiped out and there's no reflection on their loss and their deaths are treated as an afterthought. It was as if Rian Johnson didn't care how old school Star Wars fans would feel and that attitude seeps throughout the movie on every level. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="cmrdu-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">At the same time, THE LAST JEDI gives the old school community a chance to say goodbye to Yoda, Luke and the traditional structure of the Star Wars movie. I'd never seen flashbacks used in a Star Wars movie, this narrative trick worked extremely well as we're given the perspective of the unreliable narrator between Kylo and Luke's recollections of the fall of the Jedi Academy (another major moment completely glossed over and deserving of further exploration). </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="2ju3o-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">With that said, there were some really cool elements in the movie: </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="20v53-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">-the hyperspace starship suicide attack sequence</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="ef1ai-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">-Luke talking to Yoda as the tree burns (by the way, that tree was the last remaining piece of the Jedi temple from Coruscant)</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="1s006-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">-Leia using her Jedi powers onscreen for the first time</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="d0mg9-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">-the kids on Canto Bight being potential Force users</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="ecd05-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">-Kylo killing Snoke and the resulting battle</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="2n7u-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">-the final battle scene between Kylo and Luke </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="810iv-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">-Luke gazing at the twin suns before transitioning into the Force and fully completing his circle</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="7dk0c-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">What do we have by the end of THE LAST JEDI? </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="5b86o-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">We've got a mixed bag of missed opportunities to flesh out the current galactic status quo.The lack of explanation on the fall of the New Republic, the importance of the Jedi temple tree (and also the Jedi scriptures), the weird way that Luke Skywalker leaves us and the awkward handling of the deaths of major characters from the Original Trilogy are definitely problematic. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="5n828-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">However, the characters of Rey, Kylo, Finn, Poe and Rose get to take center stage and their characters grew considerably beyond where we first saw them. If the message of THE LAST JEDI is that old school heroes are important for the sake of inspiration and little else then Rian Johnson's vision for the Star Wars saga was a success. If there was any other message in the movie, it got lost among the big SFX battle scenes and internal power struggles between Laura Dern and Oscar Issac's characters. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="dmgeg-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">THE LAST JEDI will be remembered as the first non-Star Wars Star Wars movie. It is the film that changed the rules and pissed off a chunk of the perpetually flaky online geek community who searches for something to be outraged about. Younger viewers without the attachment to the Original Trilogy will be fine and older viewers will have to take Obi-Wan Kenobi's advice about "letting go." </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="45a0b-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">For the original generation of Star Wars fans, that's going to be the hardest part. </span></div>
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B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-19983144089715888762017-09-28T15:13:00.001-07:002017-09-28T15:13:32.943-07:00CONSIDERATION VS PERSONAL FREEDOM? <div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Is it unreasonable or problematic to expect others to have respect or be considerate of their fellow citizens in public spaces? Are manners a form of social control? Throwing the question out there to the masses and let's have a good conversation about this topic.</div>
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Also must give props to <a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/nerdsoul?source=feed_text&story_id=10156692863839148" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="_5afx" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl _5afz" style="color: #4267b2; font-family: inherit; unicode-bidi: isolate;">#</span><span class="_58cm" style="font-family: inherit;">NERDSOUL</span></span></a> and the Ill Kid himself <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100013172132461&extragetparams=%7B%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/OneYoungsta.LA?fref=mentions" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Michael Young II</a>for donating a nice webcam to this show.</div>
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Please watch before commenting and YES I KNOW there's a watermark on the screen. I'm currently teaching myself to use various video editing software packages.</div>
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B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-21977946354620336772017-03-07T11:05:00.002-08:002017-03-07T12:38:39.204-08:002017 FAT GUY RULES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYbA4wnHu8P6MKPd6QCgchdF7674euMUfEykRu6vBzDt-z2cxdVL0Tp7RfJdKLxyTyjelyLZnoJnjbiim2uI-yTyIDgqK3edb2-BoizymHT5r-Fl2-CLDYx6Kz5-4bBJ0x6BeB/s1600/meandvince.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYbA4wnHu8P6MKPd6QCgchdF7674euMUfEykRu6vBzDt-z2cxdVL0Tp7RfJdKLxyTyjelyLZnoJnjbiim2uI-yTyIDgqK3edb2-BoizymHT5r-Fl2-CLDYx6Kz5-4bBJ0x6BeB/s400/meandvince.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I've spent the better part of the last 20 years being overweight.<br />
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Sometimes bigger. Sometimes smaller.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMn6KG6btzTKNs7IYxHHif5745Rp2PUTZ6-ZD1t5__8Viu96U-5Hbk4uPBubt3yEPXaNdkZIGXAaGUhB_ZVc0tNbHkGrBQ6TzGTXF-uG2E_TS4feHCRvpOR0pdmETxznEbdNcC/s1600/20170207_191824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMn6KG6btzTKNs7IYxHHif5745Rp2PUTZ6-ZD1t5__8Viu96U-5Hbk4uPBubt3yEPXaNdkZIGXAaGUhB_ZVc0tNbHkGrBQ6TzGTXF-uG2E_TS4feHCRvpOR0pdmETxznEbdNcC/s320/20170207_191824.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
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Never anywhere close to the threshold of being socially acceptable with the "cool" kids.<br />
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As I have recently lost 90+lbs on the way to a healthier existence, I note how different the world reacts to my presence.<br />
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Mind you, I'm still a 6'2" Black guy with broad shoulders and therefore (according to Fox News) I am automatically a raping, drug-dealing, mean-spirited, uneducated thug whose main goal in life is impregnating as many White women as possible to give them kids to be on welfare.<br />
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That Trumpian nonsense aside, since I've lost weight, people are definitely nicer to me and the 15-foot stick people keep between you and them is slowly getting smaller. I'd say the stick is about 8-feet now.<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Seven years ago, <a href="http://foolscrusade.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-it-means-to-be-big-black-guy.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">I WROTE THIS PIECE ABOUT BEING OVERWEIGHT AND BLACK</a>. </span></b><br />
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Please read it when you get a chance. :)<br />
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I'm not going to go over that situation again, but I would like to offer some support and guidance for my brothers in girth who have to deal with various indignities because of their increased size.<br />
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I know a lot of bigger dudes who are definitely feeling the pain and I wanted them to know that I've got their back.<br />
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Also, I've found it necessary to share some rules of behavior to save you from unnecessary heartache as you run into hordes of shallow and superficial morons who are incapable of understanding the phrase "content of character."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc2AVCuOlewKSW9sWxASMvXklnCCAYrW-yt7O59jpqEby2Fdmm_EVCH90NUaEmaSkvlJ9gv4zOXeWwX0jdGEFMtmqyjF9UPFm8IKDry4yznK90jIAtzUR4URCuhH8Err_Kjy-b/s1600/fatdude.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc2AVCuOlewKSW9sWxASMvXklnCCAYrW-yt7O59jpqEby2Fdmm_EVCH90NUaEmaSkvlJ9gv4zOXeWwX0jdGEFMtmqyjF9UPFm8IKDry4yznK90jIAtzUR4URCuhH8Err_Kjy-b/s320/fatdude.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span data-offset-key="ra4a-0-0">1) Always smell nice. Wear nice clothes. Defy the expectation. Everyone assumes fat men are sloppy, smelly, slovenly and simple-minded. Don't be that guy. Nice clothing increases confidence and sends the message that a big man can still take care of himself in social environs. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="r7v7-0-0">2) Be very careful about complimenting women on anything. It will be seen as flirting and things get awkward. Even if it is a harmless compliment, just be careful.<b><span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men's_rights_movement" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Regardless of what the Men's Rights Activists (MGTOW) clowns believe</a>,</span></b> most women aren't evil harpies poised to rip your guts out and dance with unfettered glee. Women are human beings with frailties and imperfections. However, many women are accustomed to being flirted with 24 hours a day/7 days a week (twice on Sundays) and have ways of kindly deflecting unwanted male interest. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="r7v7-0-0">The problem is when your kindness is mistaken for romantic desire and you end up getting "let down easy" by a woman you weren't even interested in. It's annoying and it stinks. The best way to avoid these scenarios is to treat every woman you meet like a criminal court judge. Keep your distance, be respectful and only give direct answers unless otherwise prompted. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="r7v7-0-0">If a woman is interested in you, she'll let you know. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_w8AZ5INjwSkDDpVOo9h_TaFdXDHivExYleXryBr9E06rESqTve-xpwgNzXxtW3cOeTWpzWkqYYh5C7J9wtCn0WiB-0lxttnLy20vzui89c223v7CW4drVgtvZomjr8nSsVEP/s1600/fat_guy_skinny_girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_w8AZ5INjwSkDDpVOo9h_TaFdXDHivExYleXryBr9E06rESqTve-xpwgNzXxtW3cOeTWpzWkqYYh5C7J9wtCn0WiB-0lxttnLy20vzui89c223v7CW4drVgtvZomjr8nSsVEP/s320/fat_guy_skinny_girls.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span data-offset-key="2p7kb-0-0">3)<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Learn how to navigate the weirdness of other people's body shaming. It's not your fault they project their insecurities onto your flesh.<b><span style="font-size: large;"> The issue of<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/americans-struggle-body-dysmorphic-disorder-14526036" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> body dysmophia</a> </span></b>is serious and ingrained in our society. It's described as a</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.870588);"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> mental illness involving obsessive focus on a perceived flaw in appearance.</span></span></div>
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Some folks just go overboard with fashion and makeup to cover up these flaws, while others starve themselves and develop eating disorders. The advertising industry is built upon digging into our collective insecurities to trigger a desire to spend money to "improve." Since being overweight is considered the opposite of "healthy" and "attractive" there are many out there in society who feel the need to reject you based upon your appearance. </div>
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Understand this - THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT THAT. </div>
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Yes, it hurts. Yes, you feel like shit. Yes, you would love to "fit" in. </div>
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The people rejecting you will often be the most popular, the funniest, the coolest and ridiculously beautiful. </div>
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But guess what... FUCK THEM. Seriously. Fuck. Them. </div>
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Go back to the core phrase: "Content of character."</div>
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All that truly matters at the end of the day is whether or not you can look yourself in the mirror and not feel as if you have compromised your integrity or moral code. It takes time (sometimes it takes a REALLY long time) but you will eventually discover a circle of decent people who won't give a damn what you look like and will care more for the person underneath the skin. </div>
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A lot of the "beautiful" people are going through all kinds of internal nonsense that has nothing to do with you other than the fact you are a physical representation of their self-loathing. <b><u>Don't be anyone's dart board</u></b>. </div>
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<span data-offset-key="1ji08-0-0">4) Make a health plan that is congruent to how you live your life, not to make other people feel comfortable around you. In the long run, you will need to lose weight, but don't do it because people are pressuring you. A lot of the "concerned" folks are preoccupied with aesthetics, not your well-being. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="1ji08-0-0">Eating right and developing an exercise plan is hard work. Do it for you. We all gained weight for different reasons. I tend to be an emotional eater at night. I don't eat a lot of bad stuff all day long, but with my crazy work schedule, the pressures of the day required some comfort food at the worst possible times. That caused my excessive weight gain. I had to change that. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="1ji08-0-0">Get rid of those reasons and move forward. Your life depends on it. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="4ll08-0-0">5) Understand that there's little to no support out there for bigger guys so learn to find solace and stability with yourself. Get to know yourself, spend more time alone and learn to love what makes you... you. </span></div>
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The entire "plus size" movement is based around how horrible it is for women to be overweight because - apparently - all the men out there want women under a size 6 and can't appreciate a woman with curves.<br />
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I truly believe that many of the plus size women out there are looking for their Ryan Gosling/Ryan Reynolds/Denzel Washington/Drake dude and ignore decent men because they're under the impression that "regular" guys aren't worth their time. So much of the current dialogue around weight and attractiveness is framed around long-suffering women and how they're treated in the dating world.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFCOxEMV0gmmJtigrMHs2wdPqqGRq0LYEOhWQNPv_HEY2n67I9A3gOAc-xWoG-XkWK-JurSivhPLugshFNK1WzGN67YKVQ7E7tR6edGg6gbf0eNrXjQrqHMxAIiLEURem_97S/s1600/80693-Fake-People-Everywhere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFCOxEMV0gmmJtigrMHs2wdPqqGRq0LYEOhWQNPv_HEY2n67I9A3gOAc-xWoG-XkWK-JurSivhPLugshFNK1WzGN67YKVQ7E7tR6edGg6gbf0eNrXjQrqHMxAIiLEURem_97S/s320/80693-Fake-People-Everywhere.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This idea presupposes that fat guys have their veritable pick of the litter and that there's no societal body shaming or alienation aimed at us. That is utter hogwash on every conceivable level.<br />
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Let me break it down for you - I don't know when this happened - but these days, men are all supposed to have perfect bodies with six-pack abs, high-paying jobs, nice cars, a couple of homes, a degree in finance and access to private international transportation all day long.<br />
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I see it and hear it all of the time, everywhere I go. I'm not in the dating arena anymore (thank God) but I hear and see this stuff from my single male buddies who are a bit on the pudgy side.<br />
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When you're a social pariah, the best thing to do is learn more about your inner spirit and strength so you can become attractive to yourself. It is a sincere form of selfishness that eventually becomes self-preservation that will lead to stronger self-esteem and self-respect.<br />
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In practical terms, don't be afraid to do stuff alone: go to the movies, a museum, a bar, a lounge, a restaurant, a poetry reading, shopping, etc. Get to know what makes you tick instead of defining yourself by the neurotic trappings of deeply damaged folks who hide their beaten souls behind the veneer of white teeth, tiny waists and chiseled cheekbones.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MGnkHmGjg6MPliRgXnrIMnAwl5HidFDBk6fu8R1r8buhAHU-Pi6N7gRmKyLPevi9VHo9I70wXqbbZvGjMCNqatiFHOayWtK0sME0XKiZCKBbUL6EcKz9xWa5sodLA1Q6bR-B/s1600/prince21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MGnkHmGjg6MPliRgXnrIMnAwl5HidFDBk6fu8R1r8buhAHU-Pi6N7gRmKyLPevi9VHo9I70wXqbbZvGjMCNqatiFHOayWtK0sME0XKiZCKBbUL6EcKz9xWa5sodLA1Q6bR-B/s320/prince21.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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It's a tough world out there. You can't do it alone. You have to find the right people to accompany you on the journey of life.<br />
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Good health and good luck to you all.<br />
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Thanks for reading.<br />
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B.<br />
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<br />B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-38931403979683968992017-01-30T12:13:00.001-08:002017-01-30T12:14:48.025-08:00White Friends... Welcome to the World of Racial Gaslighting<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAI9JJe0H6vDsv9wjiTL2xPD-f_OCBMMf30A5UU68JItZHyFHl2Jl49166J1RbAZP8KqwKVMQi7LZMT-JW_N_iHSk_EZMl4vF3FNEg3hWeJIWbmmHoYCCNkaDxMrGfhShj184/s1600/bannon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAI9JJe0H6vDsv9wjiTL2xPD-f_OCBMMf30A5UU68JItZHyFHl2Jl49166J1RbAZP8KqwKVMQi7LZMT-JW_N_iHSk_EZMl4vF3FNEg3hWeJIWbmmHoYCCNkaDxMrGfhShj184/s400/bannon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Tony Puryear</td></tr>
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<span data-dobid="hdw">gas·light</span></div>
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<span class="lr_dct_ph">ˈɡaslīt/</span></div>
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<i>verb</i></div>
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gerund or present participle: <b>gaslighting</b></div>
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manipulate (someone) by psychological means into questioning their own sanity.</div>
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<span class="vmod">"in the first episode, Karen Valentine is being gaslighted by her husband"</span></div>
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As I watch many of my white friends and colleagues go ballistic about the clear and present fascist regime our country is dealing with, I have only one thing to say: welcome to the world of African-Americans. <br />
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Please do not consider this an "I told you so" piece, but this Trump and Steve Bannon embarrassment fully illustrates the reality of institutional racism and how the most vile and prejudiced White guy can ascend to the top of the world simply by having the right set of compatriots and using white skin privilege to the nth degree. <br />
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Allow me to share a short story from my time in Los Angeles: after I got my first break working in animation in 2011, I was surrounded by a small population of very angry and depressed White (male and several women) writers who toiled under the impression that the reason that it had been "harder" for them to get animation writing gigs was because of the "forced diversity" imposed upon the industry. <br />
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When I met these people (all of whom had been vetted as "cool" by White friends and trusted allies) they were spiteful, dismissive, petty and altogether boorish. At first, I assumed I had done something wrong but upon further inspection, I noticed an interesting pattern: <br />
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All the White people I knew believed these people were awesome but all the Black folks I knew considered these writers racist as hell - or at the very least - NOT fans of African-Americans and particularly fearful of African-American men. <br />
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This illuminates the phenomenon of what I call the "One in Ten Racist" Problem. There will often be a White writer (in this case) who is universally beloved amongst the ranks of other White writers but has a ridiculously negative appraisal amongst the ranks of Black writers. This situation occurs in pretty much every aspect of American life and vocation; I only use my experiences in this town as a clear example. <br />
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However, if you report your experiences of bigotry and bad vibes to your White friends and allies, they often react with shock, disbelief and the unspoken accusation that you must have "done" something to deserve that reaction. Why else, in their estimation, would this "awesome guy/lady" treat YOU that way, they don't treat anyone else like that - so it must have been YOU. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYrlu9woGJINiMPswfc4Yt7FwV1gu_yg2UKtN0Pyz-y614XabaUz-dLvpbFxKvyzVPmwnosgyTYySO8X9HeH8idjL1TrC_TXSq2UhmE9N8aE2Tre8Jg6vXb8n7KdYDzDgGVHHY/s1600/truth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYrlu9woGJINiMPswfc4Yt7FwV1gu_yg2UKtN0Pyz-y614XabaUz-dLvpbFxKvyzVPmwnosgyTYySO8X9HeH8idjL1TrC_TXSq2UhmE9N8aE2Tre8Jg6vXb8n7KdYDzDgGVHHY/s320/truth.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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African-Americans have had to live with that kind of racial gaslighting since 1865. Before that, we were enslaved, and you pretty much knew where you stood for better or worse (mainly worse). <br />
This flips around to a valuable currency that Black folks DO NOT GET in this society: THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT. We have to prove what we're NOT before anyone grants us a modicum of humanity. <br />
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We have to prove that we're not: <br />
-stupid<br />
-criminal<br />
-unpatriotic<br />
-entitled<br />
-slovenly<br />
-bigoted<br />
-ungrateful<br />
<br />
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. <br />
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A guy like Steve Bannon (an open racist, anti-Semite, homophobe, etc.) can utilize coded Neo-Nazi doublespeak and still be given the benefit of the doubt. A guy like Trump can openly insult the POTUS, make horrible sexist remarks, trash entire ethnicities and religious groups and still be given the benefit of the doubt to run the most POWERFUL NATION ON THE EARTH. <br />
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In spite of EVERYTHING that is occurring, there are still those who want to "give Trump a chance." Seriously. They are out there and in great numbers. <br />
<br />
If you're naïve to the existence and scope of weaponized prejudice and bigotry: THIS IS WHAT INSTITUTIONAL RACISM LOOKS LIKE. <br />
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Meaning people in positions of power applying their sick ideals to impact hiring practices, budgets, educational opportunities, residential movement and voting rights. <br />
<br />
There are Trumps and Bannons in high finance. <br />
There are Trumps and Bannons in real estate. <br />
There are Trumps and Bannons in law enforcement. <br />
There are Trumps and Bannons in health care. <br />
There are Trumps and Bannons in Hollywood. <br />
There are Trumps and Bannons in academia. <br />
There are Trumps and Bannons in the House and Senate. <br />
<br />
There have been since 1778. This is what African-Americans been saying ALL. THIS. TIME. <br />
<br />
You cannot go back to sleep. Our planet is on the line.<br />
<br />
ALL CREDIT GOES TO TONY PURYEAR FOR THE NEW PHOTO.<br />
<br />B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-52502000398883343412016-07-18T12:24:00.003-07:002016-07-18T12:27:18.480-07:00MY SAN DIEGO COMIC 2016 PANEL APPEARANCES<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sorry for the long gap in posts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Life. You know. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyways...</span></span><br />
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<span data-offset-key="arrqf-0-0"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SAN DIEGO COMIC CON 2016 panel appearance schedule: </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="bq7sv-0-0"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://sched.co/7f0A" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IDW AND HASBRO: THE REVOLUTION IS NOW </a></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="cdhhe-0-0"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This panel addresses what new writers need to do once they have material ready to go out to the masses. The shifting 21st-century digital frontier means the age-old methods of building a career have been rendered irrelevant, and this group of Hollywood screenwriters and graphic novel creators share insider information, publishing secrets, and the professional realities on how to develop your ideas into a viable property and market yourself accordingly. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="77rah-0-0"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moderated by 2015 Disney/ABC Writing Program winner and 2014 Eisner Award nominee Brandon Easton (Marvel's Agent Carter, IDW's M.A.S.K.), the panel includes TV producer Geoffrey Thorne (Leverage, The Librarians, Marvel Comics' new MOSIAC), writer Ubah Mohammed (Gang Related, ABC's The Whispers) and writer Brandon Thomas (Skybound's Horizon, Miranda Mercury, Voltron).</span></span></div>
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B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-76672947774628108892015-12-19T10:30:00.000-08:002015-12-19T11:31:54.002-08:00THE FORCE AWAKENS... for what it's worth...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshniLsmkpz3E4WtU-i9PkIdKGnjbXf5pV7skGtmESgM5o2e0mNs5LfldRYCW68IG2IZAolp6Fi8Eydd4nxNcCrsjWlapy0Hf8a9xuX0CrHhyphenhyphenAiUMwa3sOxSqveaZVQhfMagZq/s1600/TFA+poster.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshniLsmkpz3E4WtU-i9PkIdKGnjbXf5pV7skGtmESgM5o2e0mNs5LfldRYCW68IG2IZAolp6Fi8Eydd4nxNcCrsjWlapy0Hf8a9xuX0CrHhyphenhyphenAiUMwa3sOxSqveaZVQhfMagZq/s320/TFA+poster.jpeg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
****SPOILERS***<br />
<br />
***MORE SPOILERS***<br />
<br />
***IF YOU KEEP GOING, IT'S YOUR FAULT, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED***<br />
<br />
<br />
I watched STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS more than once because I needed to observe the film from multiple perspectives. First, from the angle of the 10-year-old emotional fanboy inside of me; and then from the perspective of a grown man with an extensive background in screenwriting and film making.<br />
<br />
Here's how to understand THE FORCE AWAKENS, and that's by answering these two questions:<br />
<br />
1) Does it function adequately as the product of a four-billion-dollar deal between billion dollar corporations who've presented the movie as a tool to keep a highly lucrative IP in the dead center of pop culture awareness?<br />
<br />
Yes. Beyond a shadow of a doubt.<br />
<br />
2) Does it hit upon the emotional milestones that we've held dear for decades as old-school STAR WARS fans?<br />
<br />
Yes... sort of.<br />
<br />
If you were in the generation of the Original Trilogy (meaning you were born sometime between 1970 - 1980) and you were expecting to "feel like a kid again" then you've set yourself up to fail.<br />
<br />
There's no way on earth you'll ever "feel like a kid again" because we've absorbed too much pop culture over the last thirty to forty years and the expectation to recapture certain levels of emotional connection (via nostalgia) will always fall flat. Our lives, mainstream media and the world itself is remarkably different than it was in late 1970s and early '80s. Even if the film had reached harder to elicit specific emotional reactions, it would have appeared to be far more manipulative and trite.<br />
<br />
Of course, we're not totally to blame because Disney went out of their way to develop a marketing campaign that promised to deliver on the missing emotional core of the Prequel Trilogy. <b><a href="http://kotaku.com/the-weaponised-nostalgia-of-star-wars-the-force-awaken-1743413723" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">There's a great article from Kotaku about Disney's marketing push that clearly outlines the manner in which our emotional memories were toyed with in order to generate hype for The Force Awakens.</a> </b>I strongly suggest reading that essay when you get the chance, but here's the key idea from the piece:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; line-height: 29px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; text-rendering: auto; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">"This is a Hollywood blockbuster that walks a perilous marketing tightrope between emotion and intellect. Disney have had to precisely target a finite reserve of emotion and nostalgia through marketing material that asks us to remember some <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">Star Wars </em>films, but not others. The way that this has been done has been nothing short of fascinating. It’s no coincidence, for example, that the major musical theme of the full length trailer is “Han Solo and the Princess” from <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">The Empire Strikes Back</em>, as it’s the only major musical theme from the whole original trilogy that didn’t return in the prequels. We haven’t heard that particular piece of music in <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">Star Wars </em>since Han, Leia, and Luke disappeared from the big screen in 1983.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; line-height: 29px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; text-rendering: auto; word-break: break-word;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">But the key strategy for this targeted nostalgia, especially because so little dialogue has accompanied the trailers so far, has been visual. Every<em style="box-sizing: inherit;"> Force Awakens </em>trailer has contained any number of carefully crafted callbacks to the original films, all designed to reassure us that it’s the spirit of 1977 (and not 1999) that’s being captured today."</span></blockquote>
<br />
Clearly, the goal of the marketing drive is to say: "Remember how you felt BEFORE the Prequel Trilogy? Well, prepare to feel that way again!" Some portion of the audience went in expecting a level of emotional fulfillment that would be impossible to achieve under any circumstance. Therefore many disgruntled STAR WARS fans are walking out feeling cheated and furious for wasting their time - yet AGAIN.<br />
<br />
Does it hit upon the emotional milestones that we've held dear most of our lives as STAR WARS fans? Yes, I believe it does. <u>For a specific generation of fandom</u>.<br />
<br />
One thing a lot of Original Trilogy fans refuse to consider is that there's a massive population of younger people who view the STAR WARS saga in chronological order as opposed to "Originals first, then Prequels."<br />
<br />
My generation tends to view STAR WARS as <b><i>IV, V, VI, then I, II, III, VII</i></b>.<br />
<br />
The younger generation tends to view STAR WARS as <b><i>I, II, III, CLONE WARS, REBELS, IV, V, VI, VII.</i></b> <br />
<br />
That's a significant difference in viewpoint and expectation. Younger fans see this as a continuation of a fantastic saga.<br />
<br />
Older fans went in expecting the experience of 1977's A NEW HOPE seemingly forgetting that the first STAR WARS movie came out of nowhere without any kind of direct pop culture predecessor. STAR WARS was a lightning bolt. There's no other way to describe it in 1977. The 21st century pop culture and cinema market landscape cannot mirror the market conditions or socio-historical background that allowed the first STAR WARS to flourish. The cinema and zeitgeist of the mid-1970s was dark, painful and packed with B-movie schlock or intense examinations of the human condition via crime, corruption and sacrifice in an increasingly grey moral spectrum . STAR WARS came along as a beacon of clearly-defined black and white morality with an otherworldly mis-en-scene that removed the audience from the doldrums of their lives.<br />
<br />
That's the piece of the puzzle that can't be understated.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-dJxenRNu32nDYQrnIqf-O0f3KOizMBkkrF7y8eCGfoRF-LO_wB5UNk9bSb6FC5KBZkaYlxALpzscDvIs7Zjkici9I77TAXwjKkhzDubzwkFcmT9LEAFOCgFrhXHILDPwT4Bj/s1600/toys.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-dJxenRNu32nDYQrnIqf-O0f3KOizMBkkrF7y8eCGfoRF-LO_wB5UNk9bSb6FC5KBZkaYlxALpzscDvIs7Zjkici9I77TAXwjKkhzDubzwkFcmT9LEAFOCgFrhXHILDPwT4Bj/s320/toys.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
THE FORCE AWAKENS isn't constructed to placate the desire to recapture simpler times from the lives of the Original Trilogy generation. It's a massive entertainment machine with the bottom line of selling as many tickets, toys, video games and t-shirts as possible to justify the immense expenditures of the parent companies.<br />
<br />
With all that out of the way, what about the product itself - the movie?<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKaSalbe41KQPRpAGEVy0JLLR2WqERx_FLvVE_8LDwl28mY2al1khqpJ1nPHILxtvjo28Adjr_C6aPFHCoFIRi2d79WvNBIck7poBr9fM6weHF4HDaMyAWNqdS9GpqEvbFWbs_/s1600/cast.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKaSalbe41KQPRpAGEVy0JLLR2WqERx_FLvVE_8LDwl28mY2al1khqpJ1nPHILxtvjo28Adjr_C6aPFHCoFIRi2d79WvNBIck7poBr9fM6weHF4HDaMyAWNqdS9GpqEvbFWbs_/s320/cast.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
THE FORCE AWAKENS is a defacto remake/reboot of EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE. It thematically and structurally copies about 70% of the first STAR WARS movie from the desert planet opening with a droid carrying precious data in its memory banks to a giant laser cannon destroying planets to a fantastically-choreographed space battle/bombing run by X-Wing fighters to blow up the enemy base.<br />
<br />
The story centers around three characters: Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Finn is a "reformed" First Order Stormtropper who saves Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac) from the clutches of the enemy before they both crash land on the planet Jakku where Rey lives a very meager existence as a scrap scavenger.<br />
<br />
Through a series of improbable events - likely the ways of the Force - Finn is thrown together with the fun new (toy) droid BB-8 and Rey as the First Order wreaks havoc on Jakku to track down BB-8. They want the droid because he has the location of the self-exiled Luke Skywalker. It is not clear why the First Order and Kylo Ren want to find Skywalker, but we do know that Kylo was a former student of Luke's who turned to evil, and this caused Luke to lose faith in himself and the Force.<br />
<br />
Kylo is soon revealed to be the son of Han Solo and General (Princess) Leia who is obsessed with fulfilling the legacy of his grandfather Darth Vader. It's an interesting twist on Luke's story from the Original Trilogy as Kylo struggles to avoid the Light Side of the Force despite being naturally pulled to being a Jedi.<br />
<br />
Ren and Kylo's stories form the emotional core of the movie. Ren is reluctant to leave Jakku because she believes her family who abandoned her as a child will someday return to take her home whereas Kylo deliberately rejects a loving home for the sake of chasing darkness. On paper, it's a great juxtaposition, but in application, the script only touches on the surface of their respective journeys.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMW7JzJs7m1LYlPV4VT_655XfbC7HVvM78eaNoGItpNJ5z48RsG-EVZlhgjMCuMAKvxVnctC1mBaALjzDpXKTuVv-y5SSmU_c0w4GzApw_31uTfNJ2xH5_QX99D94exScxOxg/s1600/creatures.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMW7JzJs7m1LYlPV4VT_655XfbC7HVvM78eaNoGItpNJ5z48RsG-EVZlhgjMCuMAKvxVnctC1mBaALjzDpXKTuVv-y5SSmU_c0w4GzApw_31uTfNJ2xH5_QX99D94exScxOxg/s320/creatures.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Through Finn's journey, we learn that the First Order (aka the new Empire) doesn't use clone troopers; instead they kidnap babies and mentally program them into child soldiers. For reasons still unknown, Finn overcomes his programming during a violent razing of a village on Jakku. There's even a moment when Kylo turns to Finn as if he's caused a disturbance in the Force. We're constantly teased about who will become the next Jedi although the revelation in the third act is telegraphed horribly.<br />
<br />
And that's the biggest problem with the movie: there's no real shock moment. (Note: there is one "shock" moment, but you know what's going to happen five minutes before it occurs - a la the death of Han Solo).<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg10Y6g4R1m714YyK2b8Ptd32QRZRBCjnHQs7tySddiRaFsl8bdpGikaBlhNQ79qCxitZctHeVRi5nE8dvXSultkU3DFxm-DIVsMoNwUvDRspjd9ikVfWvWj4J-mwqgS9R_kA3W/s1600/han-solo-dies.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg10Y6g4R1m714YyK2b8Ptd32QRZRBCjnHQs7tySddiRaFsl8bdpGikaBlhNQ79qCxitZctHeVRi5nE8dvXSultkU3DFxm-DIVsMoNwUvDRspjd9ikVfWvWj4J-mwqgS9R_kA3W/s320/han-solo-dies.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Too much of the screenplay is spent clearly telegraphing the next sequence to the point where anyone who's taken a screenwriting course can tell you exactly what's about to happen. Thus, because of the utter predictability of the story, you'd hope the filmmakers would have taken a chance in the narrative but we're left with an extremely competent but emotionally distant experience when it really counts.<br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong, there are some wonderful moments in the movie, especially during the space battles and escape sequences - not to mention the utter joy of seeing the STAR WARS world realized from the mind of JJ Abrams - but as a finished product the film feels incomplete. We know it's the first chapter of the new trilogy but as a movie, there needs to be a sense of completion as any film needs to stand on its own.<br />
<br />
A good example of this would be THE LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING which is the first movie in a trilogy but has a full emotional experience within its considerable running time. If more screen time in THE FORCE AWAKENS were spent on completely developing Finn and Poe as characters, there would have been a more satisfying experience. Instead, we're given the impression that there's "much more to come" in regards to Finn, Poe. General Hux, Supreme Commander Snoke, Captain Phasma and the rest of the new trilogy universe.<br />
<br />
Again, there's a lot to love here. Daisy Ridley as Rey is a wonderful find. She has the ability to tell a story with her face and I can't wait to see what else she can do as an actress. John Boyega actually does great work with somewhat flat material and I know the guy has strong acting chops so we're going to get much more of Finn's story in the future. Seeing Han, Chewie, Leia, C-3PO, R2 and (eventually) Luke interacting with the new characters is really cool and - in my opinion - the true draw of THE FORCE AWAKENS.<br />
<br />
So what's the final word on this?<br />
<br />
On a scale of 1 - 10, I give STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS a solid 7 out of 10. It skirts the fringes of Original Trilogy nostalgia while setting up a future Trilogy in a manner that will satisfy younger fans but may ruffle the feathers of older, hardcore fandom who unfairly expect emotional resonance in a product moving in a new direction from a corporate machine interested in developing the long game of franchise sustainability.<br />
<br />
If you can reconcile that reality, you'll have a great time. If you cannot, then you will be very unhappy.<br />
<br />
B.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-81455232392471180062015-12-15T15:45:00.001-08:002015-12-15T15:52:56.685-08:00WRITING FOR ROOKIES EPISODE #27: THE PERILS OF WAITING FOR PERMISSION<br />
<img alt="Writing Frustration" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-22772" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/otks.gif" height="297" width="420" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Been a while. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My fault. :) </span><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #252525; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Too many writers appear to be waiting for something or someone to come along and give them a prize and/or
award them with a contract to produce work. These writers sit around, do nothing but complain and whine about their misfortunes while
the next generation of smarter, hotter, faster - better - people break into the scene and innovate
the way we interact with stories and with media. Sometimes, you only get a
small window to get your name out there before your concepts become obsolete. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #252525; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the 21st century, there are countless avenues for a writer to distribute their work and build an audience. However, a writer must take that first step to self-sufficiency. </span></span><br />
<span style="background: white; color: #252525; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background: white; color: #252525; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Brandon gives hard advice about being a self-starter so please listen to the latest episode of<b><u><i> <a href="http://writingforrookies.podcastpeople.com/posts/63405" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Writing for Rookies</a></i></u></b>! </span></span><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #252525; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>CLICK HERE: <a href="http://writingforrookies.podcastpeople.com/posts/63405" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">EPISODE 27</a></i></b>. </span></span><br />
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<br />B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-80032362167542809002015-06-27T19:46:00.003-07:002015-06-27T19:46:55.092-07:00MY 2015 SAN DIEGO COMIC CON APPEARANCE SCHEDULE!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihM8Btj8b_4zdavqQJi-FYC2yQNItRWe7ZYs9HaEFmpnHZwJu8OdY3aeWp5YRyF3hT2vW04YDCq5GSbv4o3mRgmxAC7KAfyQ8CJHnxfuJplxqo8DMvkLZIp7YNLdQcPVlLo-jg/s1600/Comic-Con-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihM8Btj8b_4zdavqQJi-FYC2yQNItRWe7ZYs9HaEFmpnHZwJu8OdY3aeWp5YRyF3hT2vW04YDCq5GSbv4o3mRgmxAC7KAfyQ8CJHnxfuJplxqo8DMvkLZIp7YNLdQcPVlLo-jg/s400/Comic-Con-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=103107216395767" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Diego-Comic-Con-International/103107216395767" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">San Diego Comic-Con International</a> just put up their Wednesday through Saturday (so far) programming schedule and I now have info for all three of my panels for the con. If you want to say hello, get something signed (free of charge) or want to do business, you can easily track me down at the panels or sitting at the <a href="http://www.lionforge.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lion Forge Comics</a> booth or in the professional's lounge. </div>
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Full info is below.</div>
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On Friday, July 10th:</div>
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<b><i><u>THE WRITER'S JOURNEY: BREAKING INTO COMICS AND HOLLYWOOD SCRIPTWRITING</u></i></b></div>
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If you are an unpublished writer with dreams of making it in the transmedia marketplace and you don't know how or where to begin, this is the panel for you. Hollywood screenwriters and graphic novel producers share insider information, publishing secrets, and the professional realities on how to develop your ideas into a viable comics proposal.</div>
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Moderated by 2015 Disney/ABC Writing Program winner and 2014 Eisner Award nominee Brandon Easton (Marvel's Agent Carter,ThunderCats, Watson & Holmes), the panel includes Geoffrey Thorne (Leverage, The Librarians), Marc Zicree (Star Trek: the Next Generation, Space Command), Erika Alexander (Concrete Park, Living Single), and Tony Puryear (Concrete Park, the Schwarzenegger film Eraser). Topics will include how to hire artists and build a strong contract, how to seek out a publisher, and how to navigate the tough new world of intellectual property management in the digital frontier.</div>
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DIRECT LINK: <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fsched.co%2F3koa&h=eAQGbuuOm&enc=AZP15nfw6kgrkpt5jlska4ZTK8ODEwP4ID0nVOyleOryOVapUFA7xbid0yxwo1cf0O8qFS5Nqr1tBissFZckKfMPdxH47o2bNg5Sw--QpN5iykhhGJ9Ab2ZWL554DY-V4YLeuwy4jc_ck5lioxJ0nS3IMvkaj86WFWc9-82ZSKlmDH8yr8nl2yUdjAEhiws7314&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://sched.co/3koa</a></div>
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Friday July 10, 2015 6:00pm - 7:00pm<br />Room 32AB</div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">On Saturday, July 11th:</span></div>
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<b><i><u>ANDRE THE GIANT: THE MAN BEHIND THE LEGEND</u></i></b></div>
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The beloved pro wrestler's daughter Robin Christensen joins the creative team of Lion Forge's authorized graphic novel biography including Brandon Easton (Andre the Giant: Closer to Heaven) and Shannon Eric Denton (senior editor, Lion Forge Comics) to discuss the real man known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World." Join this panel to reminisce about one of sports entertainment's most legendary figures. Surprise guests will be featured.</div>
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DIRECT LINK: <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fsched.co%2F3lJX&h=4AQFMU0-V&enc=AZP4SW_LRCRZXovQizaPr96t5bzXb_cK-ZQwNzXdZLbC7O99-i-ei5vxffpQjLqZbwQx2NXF9HvxxcyHEI5y6YFcNV71GmQLivioin_JTCPMqgmDTeR-BKU2BPgUTlbg-saedFW__FgmqdDu8x8fW_NrS-IG0GZESjLAp_hbS1U_YHEyzSu65eWSpVFnxIOUozY&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://sched.co/3lJX</a></div>
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Saturday July 11, 2015 11:00am - 12:00pm<br />Room 29AB</div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><b><i><u>DISNEY/ABC, REINVENTION: THE WRITER, THE DIRECTOR, THE STORY</u></i></b></span></div>
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For years people have reinvented themselves. Actors turned politicians; Luke Skywalker turned Jedi; Captain America turned first Avenger. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DisneyABCTalentDevelopment" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Disney-ABC's Creative Talent Development and Inclusion </a>team has successfully assisted many achieve their dreams by helping them reinvent their careers. Whether you're an actor who wants to direct, a director who wants to write, a feature writer who wants to write television, or a comedy writer who wants to write drama, you'll get helpful tips and insight on how to successfully make a career transition from Disney-ABC writers, directors, and executives.</div>
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DIRECT LINK: <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fsched.co%2F3lJk&h=bAQG1ika0&enc=AZOTMl7JRDic09wvm1ENJjF949a0UWtf-xbTlBcJisySiCTH9jUtz1dbBRmbWT3cEcK860KkYL5zpxI5i7OnP0rK05k921mP1hte7rRNuu-Z89lAIj8KlFQ6YTNYcay4BeCek_vMht-JGeuq4K3k9CoVlKhJNprnP5ZKlTjqNg-T6pLW71uHs6YVX8FgvIBtt58&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://sched.co/3lJk</a></div>
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Saturday July 11, 2015 5:30pm - 6:30pm<br />Room 24ABC</div>
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Hope to see you there!</div>
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B.</div>
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B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-19607931920706901882015-04-28T16:53:00.003-07:002015-04-28T16:54:44.198-07:00Baltimore: The Land of My Birth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ODGS77LGNxRStY1SLyBqVtD1gFNXSWAILZjqovDp4K-911V-du2ATzUaK3_VmPU9ep9UixMJpff2-zsnMtqIncOFg9wxQrdR8k0ohma4DhyqiIZyS7GOSLRm1XHwkW6jyAYU/s1600/downtown+baltimore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ODGS77LGNxRStY1SLyBqVtD1gFNXSWAILZjqovDp4K-911V-du2ATzUaK3_VmPU9ep9UixMJpff2-zsnMtqIncOFg9wxQrdR8k0ohma4DhyqiIZyS7GOSLRm1XHwkW6jyAYU/s1600/downtown+baltimore.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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People have never understood why I've always been incredibly proud to be from Baltimore. It made me very strong. </div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">It gave me the strength to put myself through college three times with no familial assistance, the strength to move to Boston and deal with the racial foolishness up there, the strength to move to NYC with little money and no connections and build a great life there, the strength to take the biggest chance of my life and go for my dreams of being of Hollywood scree</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">nwriter during the worst economic climate in recent history.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkeHLvmpDxPKSraIFTLGOgyvhBVqSQ0sBnTIJz2xOW0nsQulPJzZAAHPZwvUTUCOGv-7Pzjx3drdl_ZqnDVRvsMofBfCa9owejhtl6-QjSdqb6JNHphGTvQkJZEvcHRdw3ugVj/s1600/baltimore-protests-freddie-gray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkeHLvmpDxPKSraIFTLGOgyvhBVqSQ0sBnTIJz2xOW0nsQulPJzZAAHPZwvUTUCOGv-7Pzjx3drdl_ZqnDVRvsMofBfCa9owejhtl6-QjSdqb6JNHphGTvQkJZEvcHRdw3ugVj/s1600/baltimore-protests-freddie-gray.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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I watch the horrible images from my city and I also see a lot of honest, hard-working people confronting the looters and telling them that they're wrong for breaking the law. We know that there needs to be law enforcement reform, but destroying our hometown isn't the way to do it.</div>
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-A7BUlnvWYSlIlA4x9hNfFDerVXqvJjU-SsnLlbgvcr85WDtqpts-TEt1Pv4GqCAMMpetJs8jEOQ2gQdq6lOeNFmpFqremDnChYdao2wCxfodmyCdQf9idHf-KDBqWHbvedm/s1600/baltimore+peace.jpg" height="235" width="400" /></div>
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Baltimoreans are notoriously tough. We don't back down. We never give up. Our reputation can be muddy, but beneath the grit there's a heart of gold. There are millions of good people in the Baltimore region. They'll step up, and order will be restored.</div>
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Everything I am is because of being from Baltimore - both good and bad. It still is a great city with a unique culture with an amazing history. There's a lot of pain and suffering that's been compounded by years of systemic abuse and some of that frustration is bursting forth.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytuavCGwvWxeuvORPJeU1e4oMsAExIXwOuq3CAeTSvNSAh70eLkZ1TKE9peAHPRQWzt3_34PqAab4Y11IZDACUGcTUVW2LbkzBOlik_zOIRxGI0Z8s9U3EmGrjoGLe2UK-8BT/s1600/baltimore+flag.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytuavCGwvWxeuvORPJeU1e4oMsAExIXwOuq3CAeTSvNSAh70eLkZ1TKE9peAHPRQWzt3_34PqAab4Y11IZDACUGcTUVW2LbkzBOlik_zOIRxGI0Z8s9U3EmGrjoGLe2UK-8BT/s1600/baltimore+flag.png" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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I sit in Los Angeles 3000 miles removed from the place of my birth. I wish I could be there for my brothers and sisters. One day, I shall return and do what I can to make it a better place. Until then, I will pray for Freddie Gray, the innocent men and women destroyed by the Drug War and the police officers hurt by the errant youth on the streets.</div>
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Be good Baltimore. Be better. My heart goes to you.</div>
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P.S. On a happier note: </div>
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<b><i><u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XzWJu-cj-4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">THE MICHAEL JACKSON PROTESTER! </a></u></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><a href="http://mic.com/articles/116702/10-images-of-the-baltimore-riots-you-won-t-be-seeing-on-tv" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IMAGES FROM BALTIMORE YOU WON'T SEE ON TV! </a></span></span></div>
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B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-78034235063079422252015-01-28T11:31:00.000-08:002015-01-28T11:31:49.456-08:00BRAVE NEW SOULS Free Online Screening for Black History Month! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6FEPTWCM53Z8UrfdaYvcDOjL8YCph2c0iMkzJVYLQQd8z1BXdRvFodcJUDEWdaNLU7sIy2b_4xXAgtLmmxGdeobspT-QM3f0ByhlnAyqKeYP_li3QcUY6A6LtZoKZKW0esnRk/s1600/bns-amzn-instnt-video-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6FEPTWCM53Z8UrfdaYvcDOjL8YCph2c0iMkzJVYLQQd8z1BXdRvFodcJUDEWdaNLU7sIy2b_4xXAgtLmmxGdeobspT-QM3f0ByhlnAyqKeYP_li3QcUY6A6LtZoKZKW0esnRk/s1600/bns-amzn-instnt-video-cover.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In honor of Black History Month, I will allow THREE DAYS of FREE ONLINE SCREENINGS of the documentary <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3714596/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BRAVE NEW SOULS: BLACK SCI-FI & FANTASY WRITERS OF THE 21ST CENTURY</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">From Sunday, February 1st at 12:00AM (EST) through Tuesday, February 3rd at 11:59PM (EST) you'll be able to watch the documentary free of charge! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As the writer, director and producer of the film, I learned much about the process of documentary production as well as how many talented Black speculative fiction creators were out there who didn't get the attention they deserved. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Brave New Souls premiered at <a href="http://www.calstatelausu.org/eaglecon" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eagle Con LA</a> on May 9th, 2014 to a packed house and has been screened at <a href="http://comikazeexpo.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stan Lee's Comikaze</a>, <a href="http://www.blackcomicbookday.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Black Comic Book Day at the Schomburg</a> and the <a href="http://bcaf.norcalmlkfoundation.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Black Comix Arts Festival</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Check out a few clips as well as the trailer for the film: </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Former DC Editor Joe Illidge talks his influences and gives advice to new writers.</span></h1>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Creators Joe Illidge, Nora Jemisin and John Jennings speak about the industry. </span></span></h1>
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Trailer: </div>
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Return here on February 1st for the movie link!</div>
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B. </div>
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B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-69990197342788446952015-01-09T11:18:00.000-08:002015-01-09T11:18:08.215-08:00The New Black Pathology: Endless Whining and Complaining About Pop Culture...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJBtpe732KASysjXsx_p_DDDahfjk5U5M9anuEhEl35hyphenhyphenoUzzCeCG_zszZIctmy1bv990b1CFzPtTUxPJX2kAndEpbpz8UaVQsRUwXtLV9yrM5HxlK3M0EMkJWKQgWHGtpAAi/s1600/blackyall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJBtpe732KASysjXsx_p_DDDahfjk5U5M9anuEhEl35hyphenhyphenoUzzCeCG_zszZIctmy1bv990b1CFzPtTUxPJX2kAndEpbpz8UaVQsRUwXtLV9yrM5HxlK3M0EMkJWKQgWHGtpAAi/s1600/blackyall.jpg" height="320" width="288" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
In light of all the truly horrible things happening in the world, it rips me in half when I see Black folks complaining about things that aren't really that bad in the grand scheme.<br />
<br />
What I'm talking about specifically is the never-ending cycle of whining and complaining about movies and TV series that have predominantly Black casts. In the last three years, there's been a slew of Black movies and TV shows that have served to do nothing but divide the Black audience for purely superficial reasons.<br />
<br />
Let me jump right to the point by discussing the latest Lee Daniels (who I'm not a fan of) production <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBzu_jKLJek" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>EMPIRE</b></a> which <a href="http://variety.com/2015/data/news/ratings-foxs-empire-opens-big-is-nights-no-1-show-1201395304/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>debuted to high ratings</b></a> this past Wednesday (01/06/15) on FOX. In the midst of the news of the ratings success, some Black folks on Facebook and Twitter have been circulating this meme:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuElg3KPTSn_ZkQ6DfmP_jnai45I-DrSBpti20-ggo7GCvgvC6V3D_syk5lLLLTnDMhsH5jw8lruMgqn3DQNuETGEipWFeu0eOkZFYAnNNBleW7sEgXk2QkQINUJI5sO1rwyzF/s1600/EmpireMeme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuElg3KPTSn_ZkQ6DfmP_jnai45I-DrSBpti20-ggo7GCvgvC6V3D_syk5lLLLTnDMhsH5jw8lruMgqn3DQNuETGEipWFeu0eOkZFYAnNNBleW7sEgXk2QkQINUJI5sO1rwyzF/s1600/EmpireMeme.jpg" height="400" width="360" /></a></div>
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What's interesting about this meme is that it flies in the <a href="http://variety.com/2015/data/news/ratings-foxs-empire-opens-big-is-nights-no-1-show-1201395304/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">face of a major fact that flew over the heads</a> of the general audience:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;">The strong “Empire” premiere means that three of the top four launches of the season in adults 18-49 — “How to Get Away With Murder,” “Empire” and “Black-ish” — are shows fronted by African-Americans.</span></blockquote>
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That's pretty fucking huge. Three shows. Three different casts. Three different universes of storytelling all with significant African-American participation. Three shows debuting at the top of the charts.<br />
<br />
As recently as mid-2014, there's been a lot of hand-wringing over the lack of Black representation on television. <b><a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/features/blacks-in-hollywood-shut-out-or-missing-in-action/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Going back to 2008 - 2013, there weren't many shows at all with Black leads or stories centralizing African-Americans.</a> </b>I don't count those ridiculous Tyler Perry sitcoms as "Black" because they exist in a parallel reality where all spoken lines have to be delivered by actors at the top of their voice - as if they were playing to a crowded playhouse.<br />
<br />
We went from famine to an adequate dinner in the span of two years.<br />
<br />
Now, before I continue, I must say that no one should be "satisfied" with just "any old Black show" nor should we be satisfied with "crumbs." I've heard the arguments for years. Actually, I've heard the arguments for decades.<br />
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Let me recount a few of these discussions:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtQuIVCbB_0U4X9zikFZiLP_EX0Z3L4tPb-2BzTfuFrh09RPQVOwYWLTreoIDaMJKBIM1n21xeWMIrSMI9reUNqfY5A-H1uU72SSC2z0tpKyBaYQ55RuzWehrXvD_AImluqcJ/s1600/cosbyshow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtQuIVCbB_0U4X9zikFZiLP_EX0Z3L4tPb-2BzTfuFrh09RPQVOwYWLTreoIDaMJKBIM1n21xeWMIrSMI9reUNqfY5A-H1uU72SSC2z0tpKyBaYQ55RuzWehrXvD_AImluqcJ/s1600/cosbyshow.jpg" height="237" width="320" /></a></div>
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1) When I was a kid, I remember <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086687/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Cosby Show</a> being criticized for not being "Black" enough because the parents were upper-middle-class professionals and their kids didn't act like street kids. Black folks complained because it wasn't representing the streets.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPnDfa-62tQzyhtoaqTHk4n7PUoC07zKMv0hozGm0Sr3QpQzydKW7VPElr3ROxpGbmGQUc_3_uEtwy0VX-vwBumE3f6wd7vqGK76JXmihx_-b5bVTq8zrt-DD0ifpkSO3uvaPN/s1600/menace.5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPnDfa-62tQzyhtoaqTHk4n7PUoC07zKMv0hozGm0Sr3QpQzydKW7VPElr3ROxpGbmGQUc_3_uEtwy0VX-vwBumE3f6wd7vqGK76JXmihx_-b5bVTq8zrt-DD0ifpkSO3uvaPN/s1600/menace.5.jpg" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
2) In the early 1990s - during the hood movie boom - movies like BOYZ IN THE HOOD, MENACE II SOCIETY, STRAIGHT OUTTA BROOKLYN, NEW JERSEY DRIVE, etc. were criticized because it presented the inner-city Black community as savage and ignored the overwhelmingly law-abiding African-American working class.<br />
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Not only that, but during this same period, we were treated to an array of films highlighting the Jewish Holocaust - the most notable of these films being the excellent SCHINDLER'S LIST from Steven Spielberg.<br />
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I can tell you as someone who was in college during the bulk of the 1990s, all you would hear from the pseudo-revolutionaries was: <i>"Of course Hollywood gonna show the holocaust. Jews run Hollywood, they gonna show how their people were treated. They'd NEVER make no movies showing how horrible slavery was! They don't want nobody to know the truth!"</i><br />
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I heard this for about 15 years straight.<br />
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And then...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvJrJolC6P4RcxjRleIzROts8S2yWBvA0YGxBI_DjQTjEnjFAwpRBFiNcB7TWYmKNZEIcj53eS4gfTBOECFKFYowsr7vKvENeLIwvu91aV5PhS5Foh7sfVGF9JkqVCeSjO1Rv/s1600/django.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvJrJolC6P4RcxjRleIzROts8S2yWBvA0YGxBI_DjQTjEnjFAwpRBFiNcB7TWYmKNZEIcj53eS4gfTBOECFKFYowsr7vKvENeLIwvu91aV5PhS5Foh7sfVGF9JkqVCeSjO1Rv/s1600/django.png" height="205" width="320" /></a></div>
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3) Fast forward to 2012: Quentin Tarantino's DJANGO, UNCHAINED is released. The film isn't perfect, but one of the central points to the narrative was showing how indescribably horrible slavery was in the U.S. The story didn't flinch from the torture, rape, dehumanization, hopelessness and overall demonic nature of America's greatest crime.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2T2ouAh8A-YFD4CbLmvV3k_l8H_mAzYpVm-VXuh4n8cEGJ_r37hz67yWWUaSMoQLS43SqPf1F9ZAQ_UGwV7lHcqsXMveIbI-wXBka8Z-poP4jdRcXdeewPi3jmje31maEJOe/s1600/12+years.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2T2ouAh8A-YFD4CbLmvV3k_l8H_mAzYpVm-VXuh4n8cEGJ_r37hz67yWWUaSMoQLS43SqPf1F9ZAQ_UGwV7lHcqsXMveIbI-wXBka8Z-poP4jdRcXdeewPi3jmje31maEJOe/s1600/12+years.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then in 2013, Black British filmmaker Steve McQueen and African-American screenwriter John Ridley bring 12 YEARS A SLAVE to the screens. Here's yet another well-crafted film that does not flinch from the horror of the American slave trade. It's all on the screen for you to see. Uncompromising, relentless, painful, real, inhumane. Just like slavery.<br />
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And what's been the general reaction from the Black peanut gallery?<br />
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<i>"Why does Hollywood always want to show us as slaves? We done more than that! They always want to see us as subservient! They like those old time movies showing us as their servants... etc."</i><br />
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Judging by the box office returns of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0453562/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">42 </a>(the WONDERFUL Jackie Robinson biopic starring Chadwick Boseman) and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1020072/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SELMA</a> (currently in theaters) and the astonishingly fun/brilliant satire <a href="http://www.dearwhitepeoplemovie.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DEAR WHITE PEOPLE</a> all the complainers found a reason to ignore these more balanced representations of African-American life.<br />
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And with that said...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh32wqTHD_TgNMA3A_C-PJoUFsoxsRZisZOL73VUl-82vHkL0Q4JOZoPtf4SYIhmjEeaKNnG9ZzRd7gUes2ySbco5oK_Ju3hiKwEDMx-KjbDxqcgPgqROMSqCIkt95vajI7rXuw/s1600/blackish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh32wqTHD_TgNMA3A_C-PJoUFsoxsRZisZOL73VUl-82vHkL0Q4JOZoPtf4SYIhmjEeaKNnG9ZzRd7gUes2ySbco5oK_Ju3hiKwEDMx-KjbDxqcgPgqROMSqCIkt95vajI7rXuw/s1600/blackish.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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4) In 2014, a new Black family sitcom debuted called BLACK-ish. I don't like the title, but it grew on many of us pretty fast. Starring Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Laurence Fishburne and a slew of other talented veteran and new faces; Black-ish started shaky, but quickly settled into a quirky examination of how "success" challenges personal ethnic identity and how the intersection of class and race alters the perception of life itself.<br />
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And it's damn funny.<br />
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But according to a lot of Black folks online... (mind you, I copied and pasted all of these quotes from message boards, Twitter and Facebook discussions): <i>"Black-ish is wack! It's coonery. I'm tired of coons and shuckin' and jivin'. Of course it's gonna be popular, it makes us look like clowns and fools!"</i><br />
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I've watched every episode of Black-ish twice and have yet to find "cooning."<br />
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However, I can recall a show that made Blacks look like animals:<br />
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MARTIN.<br />
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I love Martin Lawrence. I love Tisha Campbell. Who doesn't love Cole/cockroach? But MARTIN - the show - managed to degrade Black people at every single turn. For whatever reason, Martin is held up as some paragon of Black progress from the Black peanut gallery. You can't go far without hearing someone say <i>"I wish they made more Black shows like Martin!"</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVc077uKGmsJPgHmhoRfjNjZ-Gi5fRGxuNz-sB_8ZFDEGf20rcrYSX7hZq74jBRpkeoSKLW5D7wbPl33qpK8HtD7x5iuStGDAdPuVRIqyWeYeCMYh_5PFMsYAHVUvEO20C1aje/s1600/martinsheneneh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVc077uKGmsJPgHmhoRfjNjZ-Gi5fRGxuNz-sB_8ZFDEGf20rcrYSX7hZq74jBRpkeoSKLW5D7wbPl33qpK8HtD7x5iuStGDAdPuVRIqyWeYeCMYh_5PFMsYAHVUvEO20C1aje/s1600/martinsheneneh.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Martin was a show that traded in the light-skin vs dark-skin Black woman stereotype. Don't know what that is?<br />
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Light-skinned Black women = professional, intelligent, kind, warm, gentle, beautiful.<br />
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Dark-skinned Black women = mean, cruel, cold, callous, dirty, stupid, ghetto, wrong, ugly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8y5ITs-XD7rAOZ-oGKTCpKha9Y9N58WfQzoK4R0LvWV5ycYQANyN3z1sYZqE-3icX197IF5KutczgIf-HSU4U06X150t78HH2JYUUHD-RouUtNIs8p3hSRVKza4riD014OCI/s1600/pammartin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8y5ITs-XD7rAOZ-oGKTCpKha9Y9N58WfQzoK4R0LvWV5ycYQANyN3z1sYZqE-3icX197IF5KutczgIf-HSU4U06X150t78HH2JYUUHD-RouUtNIs8p3hSRVKza4riD014OCI/s1600/pammartin.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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As the show went on, the majority of the jokes were based around how Pam was disgusting and unattractive. Her "nappy" hair was constantly derided (remember "bee-dee-bee on her neck").<br />
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The Sheneneh character was a parade of every single horrible stereotype of lower-class Black women that has existed. And yet, this show is still held up as some wonderful, transformative moment in Black pop culture.<br />
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5) Now we've got EMPIRE. The peanut gallery seems to be forgetting what a nighttime soap opera looks like. Apparently, they've never seen DYNASTY, MELROSE PLACE, FALCON CREST or anything soap opera ever.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36t5JDIbh7YTr2tf_2vp4akjItb59vzx5vWwQ6zU5xeFvSlDN3fDYq7lotZouNKAjtU3bXhgewJcSCYh3q_loengsfnFEiHZ0Xj-4GEo7wqtM0DD2cnSsUZghhsOuaV_gRuxD/s1600/empire_article_story_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36t5JDIbh7YTr2tf_2vp4akjItb59vzx5vWwQ6zU5xeFvSlDN3fDYq7lotZouNKAjtU3bXhgewJcSCYh3q_loengsfnFEiHZ0Xj-4GEo7wqtM0DD2cnSsUZghhsOuaV_gRuxD/s1600/empire_article_story_large.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Soap operas trade in drama. Without people in jail, or people sleeping around, or people scheming to get money/power, most soap operas don't work.<br />
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Here's some random quotes taken from Facebook regarding Empire (I swear I'm not making this up):<br />
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<i style="background-color: white;">"<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15.3599996566772px;">The Folks who produced and are in the show, have ALL SOLD THEIR SOULS TO THE DEVIL FOR THE MONEY ! LET'S SHUT THIS GARBAGE DOWN NOW ! AMOS AND ANDY 2015 !" </span></i><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15.3599996566772px;"><i><br /></i></span>
<i style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15.3599996566772px;">"</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15.3599996566772px;">They disrespect us. They have no regard for us. They want us stupid...just play some music for these niggers, they love that, lets just shove some drama down their throats, make them fight, have a son call his mother a bitch. Make the colors bright cause niggers love colors. NO THANK YOU. I'LL WATCH RERUNS OF WHATEVER..."</span></i><br />
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Yep.<br />
<br />
I don't like negative portrayals of Black people in any medium. I feel those Housewives/Basketball/Hip-hop/Love reality shows do more damage to Black images than any scripted drama currently on air.<br />
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So many folks have decided the totality of the series is problematic based on one episode. Just one episode.<br />
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These are the same kinds of folks who whine about the laws and political mistreatment but won't vote - they won't even register to vote.<br />
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These are the same kinds of folks that complain about the lack of positive Black imagery but don't support movies that show a hyper-noble Black community.<br />
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A trait of millennial culture is an overwhelming sense of entitlement. You see this in the genre world and you're seeing this regarding the proliferation of new Black TV shows and movies. Apparently, if a product doesn't appeal to every single possible whim - if it doesn't satisfy some imaginary goal of representation - then it is to be fully trashed and discarded under the pretense of protecting the legacy of African-American imagery.<br />
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This is an important thing to believe in, but it is completely misdirected. What's replaced real activism is keyboard activism. Re-tweeting important news of liberation and freedom struggles is considered just as legitimate as grass-roots political organizing.<br />
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Complaining about media is considered by some a worthy replacement for creating your own stories for distribution. Whining about "bad" imagery is a substitute for seeking out the images you feel "properly" reflect the realities of Black life. Calling something "coonery" or "clowning" is a replacement for in-depth analysis of story structure and behind-the-scenes production news.<br />
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Giving something the benefit of the doubt is considered "selling out" while simple-minded, reactionary reviews based on minimal information is now the standard-operating-procedure for critical understanding.<br />
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What terrifies me is that many Blacks fall right into the stereotype of being relentless complainers. No matter what the story is, no matter how well we're presented, no matter how fantastic a performance is, no matter how well the script is written, there's going to be a loud chunk of Black folks who equate internet access with the freedom to tender nonsense complaints. Nothing satisfies them.<br />
<br />
Ever.<br />
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I'm well-aware that the Black community is not a monolith. Things that I consider to be "normal" are completely weird to Blacks who've grown up under different circumstances. However, I do feel the proliferation of electronic media as well as the tidal wave of entertainment options has led to a compartmentalization of Black interests in media. This is a double-edged sword because it shows the incredible diversity of the Black marketplace, but it also creates an unrealistic expectation of satisfaction from every media product that cannot possibly be satiated.<br />
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What's worse, it removes the commonality of African experiences that shows/movies like The Cosby Show, Roots, The Best Man, Soul Food, Barbershop and even Black-ish centralize and celebrate.<br />
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I'm aware that many will disagree with my assessment, and that's cool. I don't mind differing opinions as long as they're informed opinions. People can have an opinion on anything, but some opinions have the benefit of deep consideration with real-world facts to back them up.<br />
<br />
In the past 30 years, I've seen Black people get exactly what they want and then complain about something else in movies and TV. If some of you want a mainstream show where the Nation of Islam blows up a city block every week, that's not going to happen. While I don't EVER advocate that kind of stuff, there's nothing stopping any of the complainers from buying a digital camera system and creating a webseries showing all the revolutionary rhetoric they want.<br />
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But that would take time away from all the whining online.<br />
<br />
B.B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-57934781436364268492014-12-22T17:50:00.002-08:002014-12-22T17:50:16.669-08:00BLACK BOX PODCAST INTERVIEW: EPISODE #112 - CAREER, RACE IN COMICS, BRAVE NEW SOULS<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">On the latest Black Box Podcast, I was interviewed by ACTION LAB STUDIOS' <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1230992698" href="https://www.facebook.com/shawnpryor1" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Shawn Pryor</a> about my career (Watson and Holmes, Thundercats, Transformers Rescue Bots, Brave New Souls, Andre The Giant), how to navigate the comics industry, the dangers of <a href="http://foolscrusade.blogspot.com/2014/02/black-geek-stockholm-syndrome-its-real.html" target="_blank">Black Geek Stockholm Syndrome</a> and a host of other cool topics.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">All real talk in this episode, y'all. Have a listen.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Feel free to share wherever you like! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><a href="http://www.hhwlod.com/podcasts/bb/1052-episode-112-the-working-color-of-comics-feat-brandon-easton">http://www.hhwlod.com/podcasts/bb/1052-episode-112-the-working-color-of-comics-feat-brandon-easton</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;">B. </span></div>
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B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-71302242558386692002014-10-29T11:34:00.000-07:002014-10-29T11:41:12.951-07:00I'm happy for BLACK PANTHER... however...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib2eSjC_DlvsOtKBcZ4MI7kDvoHuvAQu8YTugzCq_emNJ2GXmkMHk6ZMx7z7wmTQXUITscJx4vN25dYi0vbOaqWYh3_q8rhholhRu4k662duqIw02jqoGl6lLxf-vQwG8uZa-2/s1600/black+panther.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib2eSjC_DlvsOtKBcZ4MI7kDvoHuvAQu8YTugzCq_emNJ2GXmkMHk6ZMx7z7wmTQXUITscJx4vN25dYi0vbOaqWYh3_q8rhholhRu4k662duqIw02jqoGl6lLxf-vQwG8uZa-2/s1600/black+panther.jpg" height="160" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
If you
haven't heard by now,<b><u> <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=56670" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Marvel Entertainment has announced a BLACK PANTHER movie</a></u></b>
and the Black geek community has gone bonkers with virtual high-fives and
backflips about the fact that they're finally getting a big-budget superhero
movie with a Black lead. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
I’ve
never been a fan of the Black Panther (my favorite Black superhero from Marvel
was<b><u> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Thrasher_(Dwayne_Taylor)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Night Thrasher from the NEW WARRIORS</a></u></b>) but I will definitely check out the
movie when it is released. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
One of
the unforeseen developments since the announcement of the film is the fear that
this will overshadow the efforts of Black indie creators because the Black
genre fans out there will have gotten what they’ve always wanted from the
Marvel/DC entertainment machine: <b><u>recognition</u></b>.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
A
prominent Black indie comics creator wrote: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<i>“<span style="background: white; color: #141823;">Great
for DC, great for Marvel... It's about time. But it's only scratching the
surface. There are so many talented creators out there who need support from
the various comic book and film communities. How about we post more about them
instead of giving so much more free advertisement to the ones who already have
mega promotional vehicles?</span>”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: #141823;">And another wrote: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<i><span style="background: white; color: #141823;">“Will independent Black comics matter
after Black Panther is released? They just released one image and a title treatment
- and I see a giant M-shaped shadow eclipsing an entire movement.</span>”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
And
another: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<i>“<span style="background: white; color: #141823;">What
does it mean, really, that we are getting a BLACK PANTHER movie? I mean, not
just a knee-jerk reaction, but for comic movies with Black characters in
general? There are many ways this film could go wrong so fast, but with the
proven track record of Marvel Studios, I have to have some form of confidence
in their ability to show this character the dignity and respect he deserves ...what
does having a film like this mean for the future?</span>”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
If you’ve
spent any time on Black geek Facebook groups, message boards or blogs, you’d
see repeated demands for mainstream studios to validate the existence of
established Black superheroes to the point where it comes off like begging. For
the last five years you couldn’t see a post about a Marvel movie without seventy-five
pages of speculation of whether or not there was an Easter egg hidden in the
background that spoke to the existence of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakanda_(comics)" target="_blank">Wakanda</a> (the home of Black Panther).
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vGHR98C3la1QSsdYQXEOPqcMRDLRE_B1aL-z_biZ71ftjFjFKLjFA-2NDxo-FahDEhuktMfoXXUqmThiGSvusX4Boisfap7V-QVuVYYMJsQfx3RvKjkch7VGMLWOkQuklRCw/s1600/serkis-avengers-630x420.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vGHR98C3la1QSsdYQXEOPqcMRDLRE_B1aL-z_biZ71ftjFjFKLjFA-2NDxo-FahDEhuktMfoXXUqmThiGSvusX4Boisfap7V-QVuVYYMJsQfx3RvKjkch7VGMLWOkQuklRCw/s1600/serkis-avengers-630x420.png" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is this KLAW? If it is then Black Panther is close behind.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
This
phenomenon has been problematic for the Black indie comic book creator because
whenever we’ve attempted to provide a quality alternative for these fans – our
efforts have been generally met with apathy, cold shoulders, misplaced
aggression and an overall assumption that our work is going to be shitty. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
Worse,
you’ll end up labeled as “bitter” or “angry” or “mad that nobody is buying what
we’re selling.” *(Things people actually said to me). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
Last
year, there was an article published from the <b><a href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/the-devils-eye-syndrome-creative-jealousy-against-the-black-independent-filmmaker-20140714" target="_blank">SHADOW AND ACT website (which focuses on Black cinema worldwide) that discussed something called the “Devil’s Eye Syndrome”</a> </b>which was defined as: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<i>“</i><span style="background: white;"><i>…the deliberate critical rejection of Black
independent film by Black spectators which manifests itself as a severe and
bitter criticism of a Black independent film to the degree that no other
commercial White studio film would be able to withstand nor would these Black
spectators dare apply such ‘high standards’ to a White film.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white;">If you swap out the word “film” and replace it with “comics”
then you’d get a good idea of what I’m getting at here. I wrote a blog piece
describing this as <a href="http://foolscrusade.blogspot.com/2014/02/black-geek-stockholm-syndrome-its-real.html" target="_blank"><b>BLACK GEEK STOCKHOLM SYNDROME </b></a>and it definitely applies. We’ve
got at least two generations of Black geeks unwilling or incapable of giving
Black indie comics a chance. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #141823;"><span data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0">Over
the last few years I've learned that the great majority of Black geeks/comic
book readers aren't really fans of <i>COMIC
BOOKS</i>, they're mainly fans of the <b>Marvel/DC
brands</b>. They have zero interest in indie Black material and no matter what
we do or say, it will not move them in our direction. There will always be that
5% that is willing to give our material a chance and we should make sure our
product is top-notch for those folks who will support us. </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: #141823;"><br data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$3:0" />
<span data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$4:0">The
solution is to start reaching out internationally. I've begun to make
connections with folks in the Caribbean and Asia because Black geeks in the
U.S. have been hardwired since their youth to only accept Marvel and DC as
viable means of graphic novel entertainment. It doesn't matter how horribly
these fans are treated by Marvel and DC, it doesn't matter how few Blacks are
hired behind the scenes, it doesn't matter how awful the storytelling is, these
fans only want the same titles from the same sources regardless of quality. </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: #141823;"><br data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$7:0" />
<span data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$8:0">We
have to keep creating and figure out ways to get a return on our investment.
All the arguing, and pleading, and guerrilla marketing techniques have widely
failed. Without a massive marketing budget for indie projects (because
repetition of advertisements equals "higher quality" for those
brainwashed by media) things aren't going to change. </span><br data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$11:0" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<span data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$12:0">
</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$12:0"><span style="background: white; color: #141823;"><span data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$12:0">Solutions? </span><br data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$15:0" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$12:0">
<span data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$16:0">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: #141823;">1) Go
international.<br />
</span><span data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$18:0">2)
Attend as many local Black Expos as possible.<br />
</span><span data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$20:0">3)
Connect with elementary and middle schools and see if you can have your work
featured in their libraries… if your work is age-appropriate with decent
subject matter.<br />
</span><span data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$22:0">4)
Continue to get coverage with mainstream comic book and media sources.<br />
</span><span data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$24:0">5)
Send packets to local universities to see if they are willing to bring you in
to speak about your projects. This opens you up to a new audience without
having to spend thousands of dollars you don't have on marketing. </span><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<span data-reactid=".rh.1:3:1:$comment10152359865221524_10152360011396524:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$28:0">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: #141823;">My colleagues have begun to focus their efforts away from the
Marvel and DC crowd. It's such a waste of time to engage these folks because
they'll simply never change.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: #141823;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: #141823;">Please don't take any of this as negativity, I wanted to provide a clear stream of thinking for those deeply concerned that the emergence of the Black Panther movie(s) will further obscure the existence of Black independent comic book creators. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: #141823;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: #141823;">B. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: #141823;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
</span></span></span></div>
B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-68589490562262565902014-05-29T12:00:00.001-07:002014-06-10T21:01:46.452-07:00Reflections on Turning 40...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbGPqm4OcDwnndcGJXnSaUQL68xFL0HQdpBNxzMWpZN_zsTa_RQ_1i3pZ1bpO0wDxPoCvMe1IUSN8brlqAqB99X8I71zFNByCw3tH_e30BVlG6zY3FSzRrgDLiKo49MK52_7B/s1600/turning-40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbGPqm4OcDwnndcGJXnSaUQL68xFL0HQdpBNxzMWpZN_zsTa_RQ_1i3pZ1bpO0wDxPoCvMe1IUSN8brlqAqB99X8I71zFNByCw3tH_e30BVlG6zY3FSzRrgDLiKo49MK52_7B/s1600/turning-40.jpg" height="272" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Warning: Harsh language ahead...<br />
<br />
In a couple of days, I'll be turning 40.<br />
<br />
A lot of people see this as some kind of otherworldly milestone that requires endless celebratory nonsense but I've never been one to make a big deal out of my birthday.<br />
<br />
I usually use the time to reflect on what I've learned in the previous 12 months and pray that I've become a better person in the ways that matter.<br />
<br />
The past 39 years have not been a walk in the park. I had to leave my family much earlier than I preferred and spent many years hating myself for decisions that I never made - about situations I didn't create but had to deal with during my formative years.<br />
<br />
By the time I hit 30, I felt I figured out everything I needed to know about life. By 35, I realized I didn't know a motherphuking thing about life, reality, the human soul or what love is supposed to be.<br />
<br />
On the verge of 40, I've seen some crazy stuff happen with my family and friends and I've lost more than a few of both along the way. However, there have been lessons that I've learned that get me a little closer to spiritual peace and relaxation.<br />
<br />
Feel free to share, discuss, compare and contrast if the mood hits you. No animals were injured during the production of this blog.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjkgQ57IjZ9KE9ajIIwqHR2fJCOGpi5_yFOpgOvdb979fB7kx2HbJli1rRuwsX6sAljGmuHKlyijjYUBMcJ3uvABxBA-cONgz78maXbwtBQw0LgkuIe3IcBfaBoRKDAFdhhwQ/s1600/Turning-40+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjkgQ57IjZ9KE9ajIIwqHR2fJCOGpi5_yFOpgOvdb979fB7kx2HbJli1rRuwsX6sAljGmuHKlyijjYUBMcJ3uvABxBA-cONgz78maXbwtBQw0LgkuIe3IcBfaBoRKDAFdhhwQ/s1600/Turning-40+(1).jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><i><u>LESSONS BY 40</u></i></b>:<br />
<br />
1)<b><u> A good chunk of people are selfish</u></b>. There's nothing you can do about that. Selfishness manifests in multiple ways, but the best way to tell is if a person constantly "takes" and never gives you anything in return. Taking advice, money, food, time, space, clothing, job leads, other friends, lovers, etc. Yet, in your time of need, these folks are nowhere to be found. Selfish people aren't bad, but you cannot expect much from someone whose best friend is a mirror.<br />
<br />
2) <b><u>Family can be awesome but family can also destroy you</u></b>. I know that parents and siblings like to run guilt trips as a form of manipulation. Don't fall for it. I realize honoring your family is a core social and cultural construct that helps maintain a stable civilization, but we often confuse "honoring" with "appeasement" or worse - enabling. No one is obligated to give up their dreams or a chance at success because their family needs something. If your family loved you, they'd want to see you happy instead of acting as a servant. Of course, go back to #1 if you need clarity.<br />
<br />
3)<b><u> You cannot hold other people accountable to your idea of success</u></b>. This one was the hardest lesson to learn and accept. For a while, I truly believed that some of my friends needed a kick in the ass to get to the next level in their lives. I believed that seeing me struggle and fight and then achieve a measure of success would inspire them to pursue their goals and dreams. When they didn't do much with their lives, I began to lose respect and consider them underachievers. Whether or not they were "underachievers" is irrelevant because it is not my place to tell them how to live their lives.<br />
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I spent the better part of my 30s trying to help a few friends go to college, move to better cities, engage in healthy romantic relationships, start their writing career or just be happier people when I should have spent that time working on myself. Around 36, I decided that I wouldn't do anything else for anyone unless they specifically requested my assistance. I'm still dealing with this one, but I've learned to let go of my disappointment - after all, it's based on <b><i><u>what I think</u></i></b> my friends should be doing instead of what they want to do for themselves.<br />
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4)<b><u> Ignore people who turn being "healthy" into a religion</u></b>. I know I'm overweight. I deal with it everyday. I know I might die a little younger than others. That's life (no pun). There's a group of folks out there who plaster social media with images of tortured cows, chickens and sheep (because *gasp* we shouldn't eat meat). They take selfies with tall glasses of green sludge at fancy juicing bars. They specialize in sharing pics of them doing some ridiculous athletic activity. This wouldn't be an issue if the photos weren't accompanied by a fanatical smugness and sense of superiority about going to the gym and "eating right."<br />
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They remind me of born-again Christian nutjobs who believe they're responsible for saving the heathen masses from an eternity of suffering in the bowels of Hell. In the case of the health nuts, saving the masses from the hell within our bowels. A few have their hearts in the right place, but most are just being annoying and sanctimonious. See #3.<br />
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5) <b><u>Get rid of sexual repression</u></b>. If you believe I'm about to admit something salacious or scandalous, think again. I like women, always have liked women and will always like women. I'm not into BDSM or anything regarding pain or filth exchange, no bestiality, no kiddie porn, nothing illegal. Yet, there are things I like to do and like to see happen on a sexual level with consenting adults that I would have been ashamed to admit to myself in the past. I'm not telling you people any of that stuff but I will say that we all are sexual beings and many of us have desires that society makes us feel bad about (FYI - Not bisexual).<br />
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One of my core theories about what's wrong with our world is that many personal problems are the result of sexual repression. When humans repress what they desire or need to function on a regular basis, that repression often morphs into hatred, spite, anger and devious behavior. The best example of this can be found <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/top-10-anti-gay-activists-caught-being-gay/joanne" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>HERE - where a list of anti-gay activists are caught doing gay stuff in deviant situations</b></a>. I'd argue that the men in that list repressed their natural feelings for so long that it turned into a crusade against their base nature. Who knows how many other people react violently because of repressed sexual impulses? I do know that when I stopped feeling ashamed or angry with myself about a few sexual desires, I had the best sex of my life.<br />
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7) <b><u>Making declarative statements can solve problems before they begin</u></b>. Here's a good one - if you have a girlfriend that you love but demands most of your time and attention and you also have friends you want to see on occasion what is the best way to navigate that situation?<br />
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a) "Hey babe, I'm going to see my buddies next week. I won't be out late, but I'm looking forward to catching up with blah blah blah."<br />
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or<br />
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b) "Hey babe, is it okay for me to hang out with my friends next week?"<br />
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If you said "b" then go watch the movie I LOVE YOU MAN and/or get a testosterone injection.<br />
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Of course any man worth his weight in salt will want to be considerate to his lover, but there comes a point when you have to show that you have your own life and interests. This doesn't just apply to dating, but also career, health, family and friendship. No one can read your mind no matter what the X-Men films would have you believe and if you don't say what you want, how you feel and what you need to be happy, then no one will know and you'll stay pissed off. It starts with a simple statement: <i>What I need to be happy is...</i><br />
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8) <b><u>Women respect strength</u></b>. I get in trouble with women colleagues and friends because I say that women are as flawed as everyone else because they're human beings. This doesn't excuse rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment or intimidation, this just means that women can do fucked up stuff just like men, can be as shallow and superficial as men, can hurt other people in deep and everlasting ways just like men. I don't claim to know much about women because just when I thought I had it figured out, women changed the universe again so I've decided to just stop trying to reach any kind of conclusion on the opposite sex.<br />
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With that said, I have observed that women respect men with a backbone. They don't like wishy-washy guys who don't take a stand on anything or aren't working toward a goal. Women test men in small ways to see how far they can go with making you acquiesce to their demands. If you get past a tipping point, they will lose respect for you. Now, I'm not saying that a man should be a recalcitrant prick on every issue, but there comes a time when you have to stand up for your beliefs and show that you're willing to be an equal partner, not a pushover who hangs on the whims of a girlfriend because you're afraid of driving her away.<br />
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9) <b><u>People take you seriously only after you achieve a few goals</u></b>. During my 30s I was constantly working toward getting my graphic novel <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=33898" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Shadowlaw</a> published. Even though I really was waiting for my various art teams to finish the work, after a while it must have seemed that I was just another one of those "it's coming soon" creators on the scene. You know the type, always got some "project" just over the horizon or an excuse why their work hasn't hit the scene.<br />
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When I moved to LA in 2008, I didn't realize how tough it was for anyone to give you the benefit of the doubt. People in the industry do not believe anything they hear, only what they can see, which means that you better have something to show for your talents or else you'll end up in the wastebasket of human potential. I met a few creators here but I noticed that they kept me at arm's length despite me being earnest in my intentions of breaking into the screenwriting scene.<br />
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Then my graphic novel was released. Then I got some TV animation writing credits. Then I won a writing award for my graphic novel. Then I got signed to a new comic book company. Then got nominated for some more awards. <a href="http://herocomplex.latimes.com/tv/brave-new-souls-brandon-easton-on-sci-fi-comics-and-black-writers/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Then I produced and directed my first documentary</a>. All that stuff happened to me over the course of about 20 months. Now, influential and important people within the film and TV biz return my emails and phone calls. I get meetings with very talented writers and producers. Some would say it's common sense that an increase in output would equate to a growth in respect and recognition. I take everyone at face value and that's considered a positive by some and a negative by many. That's not something I plan on changing anytime soon.<br />
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10) <b><u>Trust people until they give you a reason not to trust them</u></b>. There's a dominant pathology out there that suggests you must always "cover your ass" (CYA) and "don't trust anybody" (DTA). I've always found that mindset to be a monumental waste of time. An intelligent and logical person will always do what is necessary to protect their interests and assets. That comes with basic survival skills. The idea of not trusting anyone is kind of stupid unless you're kind of stupid too.<br />
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Here's why: all you have to do is learn how to read human body language and ask the right questions. It's not magic, it's not something you learn from watching The Mentalist, it's not a just a requirement for CIA agents. When I meet someone that claims to want to be a screenwriter, I ask them a few simple questions about their progress and process. If they're serious, I can tell instantly and I take them seriously. If not, I move on. It's that simple. You can apply to this any career or conversational situation. Serious people stand out, serious people have real answers - not amorphous rhetoric; serious people can back up everything they say, serious people don't have a need to show off.<br />
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The idea that everyone is out to get you with their hidden agenda is born from arrogance and narcissism. The only folks on Earth who actually have people out to get them are political heads of state, chairmen of central banks, CEOs of multinational corporations, law enforcement officers and drug lords. If you're not on that list, then you probably have an overdeveloped sense of self-importance.<br />
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I still believe that most people are good, but there's a lot of bullshit-minded jackasses out there who have nothing to contribute to our society. They're usually not hard to spot but for some reason, way too many of us assume those jackasses are the rule and not the exception.<br />
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Halfway through life... it's been a helluva ride so far.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvjg3wwaltWMb-_WVo5VUzNOJDcclkUG_JcwO1kzCBMvYq_ZTOuhd8porfu0u-yYCmeIiqZ6ujHcx5w3s5NwHjLgGftYeBTVvayuENfth-GOUzraiXP67yUgAJz1ELPrlDG4v/s1600/20131013_123612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvjg3wwaltWMb-_WVo5VUzNOJDcclkUG_JcwO1kzCBMvYq_ZTOuhd8porfu0u-yYCmeIiqZ6ujHcx5w3s5NwHjLgGftYeBTVvayuENfth-GOUzraiXP67yUgAJz1ELPrlDG4v/s1600/20131013_123612.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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B.<br />
<br />B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-61845428832443727342014-02-16T19:24:00.001-08:002014-02-16T19:24:23.925-08:00Just Listen - Sexual Harassment In the Comic Book Scene...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5KB2IOAMvD67CcRGqInPyOwllktbwSBEQR2v_tR1mPO2aRDFqA-zTsvcuWbo3VjulI4mi1rN204dMXQSIyZ73cH9uf_G20C6YytwDIgJB-boO_m76ewVuEUDRXlzKKiHf-dGo/s1600/cosplayconsent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5KB2IOAMvD67CcRGqInPyOwllktbwSBEQR2v_tR1mPO2aRDFqA-zTsvcuWbo3VjulI4mi1rN204dMXQSIyZ73cH9uf_G20C6YytwDIgJB-boO_m76ewVuEUDRXlzKKiHf-dGo/s1600/cosplayconsent.jpg" height="355" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check that website!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Every human is sovereign in their own body.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They have the right to say what happens to it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I might be preaching to the choir with this one but I felt that I needed to say something about the level of sexual harassment that goes on in the comic book scene - specifically the stuff that happens at the conventions. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFWFc4aUwMXhDVb-vfclqblDntAgcZ-pPA9S3CB7ijZwGUOHySzUgLhoy_cXGMS94huqNdVhaWBKJdPdsgdDuzZPzvgeFKppQDPU1eiLFBzBWby-XM1X98xE8_j_vzB6g-9SB/s1600/cosplayanime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFWFc4aUwMXhDVb-vfclqblDntAgcZ-pPA9S3CB7ijZwGUOHySzUgLhoy_cXGMS94huqNdVhaWBKJdPdsgdDuzZPzvgeFKppQDPU1eiLFBzBWby-XM1X98xE8_j_vzB6g-9SB/s1600/cosplayanime.jpg" height="258" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><u><a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_248920260">Please listen to my podcast where I discuss this in great detail:</a></u></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_248920260"><br /></a></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://writingforrookies.podcastpeople.com/posts/55856">http://writingforrookies.podcastpeople.com/posts/55856</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>To sum it up</u></b>: J<span style="background-color: white;">ust because a woman turns you on sexually, it does not mean she is obligated to engage you on a sexual level.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">She is not responsible for your hormonal reactions. Part of being a mature person is understanding what you are entitled to and what you are not entitled to – men are not entitled to sexual favors just because they get hot and bothered.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-0rN38xp074Z-G-EUxvOSCIJO-wBrdghMQdMFuSi1mpTZ81E54CP8YBQZK1IObr7z4abV0Nx7Lxjyjt7C7iA9dPaaSJjJ33ng75_y8mXaZ3GlUaD2m3dkDwPy6FY7fpJUmp4U/s1600/askpiccosplay.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-0rN38xp074Z-G-EUxvOSCIJO-wBrdghMQdMFuSi1mpTZ81E54CP8YBQZK1IObr7z4abV0Nx7Lxjyjt7C7iA9dPaaSJjJ33ng75_y8mXaZ3GlUaD2m3dkDwPy6FY7fpJUmp4U/s1600/askpiccosplay.png" height="258" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And here's some rules when encountering women cosplayers:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;">a) Keep your distance until you ask if it is okay
to take a picture with her.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;">b) If she says yes, DO NOT touch her unless she
initiates contact first.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;">c) If you are unsure she is open to being touched,
ask if it is okay for </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;">you put your arm around her shoulder for the picture, if she says NO –
then DON’T TOUCH HER.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;">d) </span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;">Do not make any sexual comment about her body
or costume. Trust me, she is fully aware of what body parts are heaving out or
how much skin is showing, she has a right as a human being to wear what she
wants – the issue of taste and morality is an important one and deserves a
lengthy conversation – but not now.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I agree that some folks shouldn't dress a
certain way in a family-friendly environment, but that does not warrant sexual
assault or harassment.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;">e) </span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;">Chances are, approaching one of these women for
a date in the middle of a comic book show is not a good idea, she is usually
not there for romantic reasons. However, I will say that if a woman is
interested in your romantically, she will find a way to let you know. Usually,
women aren’t that ambiguous or coy – at least that’s been my experience.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are many women cosplayers whom I</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> find
incredibly attractive, but in my entire life, I've only taken pictures with two
of them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mainly because I get why they enjoy dressing up and why they come to
shows. I feel it is enough to say “nice work there” and keep moving. </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkHcjDznUCJAjyYlB4djSJgy5l4NFvKEaVMyAZI3amHf6ZTKIUYISanCVzAL3BoVqBLJ4frjBMXaVHaJFPwcIsS-VHOi6ORXr1iYbSF5D-NVq83BgdW8hZI5NRauFmdgDRhcS/s1600/cosplayblackcat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkHcjDznUCJAjyYlB4djSJgy5l4NFvKEaVMyAZI3amHf6ZTKIUYISanCVzAL3BoVqBLJ4frjBMXaVHaJFPwcIsS-VHOi6ORXr1iYbSF5D-NVq83BgdW8hZI5NRauFmdgDRhcS/s1600/cosplayblackcat.jpg" height="400" width="308" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">HOW TO BE AN ALLY TO WOMEN: </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">a) Listen… just be quiet and listen to what she
is saying.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">b) Don’t make excuses for the harassment.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">c) Don’t assume the woman is being too sensitive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">d) If you don’t believe her, the worst time to tell her would be in the moment
where she relates </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0.5in;">her situation.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">e) Ge</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">t </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">as much
information about the incident as possible and</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> don’t be afraid to contact the organizers or
law enforcement authorities if the incident was more than innuendo.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">f) T</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">alk to
other men – even the men who come off as the most sexist. Men generally don't LISTEN when women relate their issues with patriarchy. It is a powerful statement when a man will take a stand about sexism with no women around. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damn right...</td></tr>
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B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-23948210221737496812014-02-03T11:52:00.001-08:002014-02-03T12:18:38.157-08:00Black Geek Stockholm Syndrome... It's real...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVe73F3P8GE_kgLa7ZRYFO12UfHDSCsWvB4ey8W_yl1NUvXpwg2mD7xgMOco4blsyQE9yTxD-7waFPZ9V-LRNuBDAHgv_kH-2mEcSw-yKBN60o4AiFCSYDz2WI6oA2WIGxCgsf/s1600/stockholm-syndrome-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVe73F3P8GE_kgLa7ZRYFO12UfHDSCsWvB4ey8W_yl1NUvXpwg2mD7xgMOco4blsyQE9yTxD-7waFPZ9V-LRNuBDAHgv_kH-2mEcSw-yKBN60o4AiFCSYDz2WI6oA2WIGxCgsf/s1600/stockholm-syndrome-logo.jpg" height="176" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h2 class="me" data-syllable="Stockholm syndrome" style="color: black; display: inline; font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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<h2 class="me" data-syllable="Stockholm syndrome" style="color: black; display: inline; font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
Stockholm syndrome</h2>
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<span class="pg" style="display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; padding-right: 3px;"><span id="hotword"><span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">noun</span> </span></span><span class="labset" style="display: inline;"><span class="ital-inline" style="display: inline; font-family: Georgia, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">Psychiatry.</span></span></div>
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<span id="hotword"><b><i><span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">an</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">emotional</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">attachment</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">captor</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">formed</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">by</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">hostage</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">as</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">result</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> </i></b></span><br />
<b><i><span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">continuous</span> stress<span id="hotword">, </span><span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">dependence, </span><span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">and</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">need</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">cooperate</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">for</span> <span class="hwc" id="hotword" name="hotword">survival.</span></i></b></div>
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<span class="hwc" name="hotword">Contrary to what many people in the geekscape believe, there's a very, very large population of Black geeks in the U.S. and abroad. There are roughly three generations of Black media consumers who've grown up with a steady diet of Star Trek, Star Wars, BSG, video games, Marvel and DC Comics, D&D role playing modules and novels, Shaw Bros. Kung-Fu flicks, Japanese animation, Asian monster cinema, old school science-fiction and fantasy literature and the smorgasbord of speculative TV programming of the last 50 years. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHF_TCZlNmW4NjodXtFTDKsYIC_95P2_yTdClgR06OC7XWgfYpNJ2Z7A_WbIqBnnYt6qRU8T6cG7owOopPiXTJGIMXZxicUXXlSbvQKbEeRn4rv3x7XhNp2qjA_6eENbQfE0P2/s1600/geoffrey-thorne-1-sized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHF_TCZlNmW4NjodXtFTDKsYIC_95P2_yTdClgR06OC7XWgfYpNJ2Z7A_WbIqBnnYt6qRU8T6cG7owOopPiXTJGIMXZxicUXXlSbvQKbEeRn4rv3x7XhNp2qjA_6eENbQfE0P2/s1600/geoffrey-thorne-1-sized.jpg" height="320" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geoffrey Thorne</td></tr>
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<span class="hwc" name="hotword"><a href="http://writingforrookies.podcastpeople.com/posts/25071" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>In a "classic" episode of my WRITING FOR ROOKIES podcast</b></a> - <i>Star Trek: Titan</i> author <a href="http://www.geoffreythorne.com/apps/blog" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Geoffrey Thorne</b></a> muses that the explosion in Black geek fandom and creators is a direct result of the boom of middle class Black communities of the 1960s - 1980s. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhie-q7Jrvu7QJ-Vli7d6zV8NgMZftLY9Jw3J0kbaxCNGLCXpI-QXbLT9YBZbSskqXCHDOcELHx1lzemptg2cQwW9ucl3roO619nVE7cDjfE6wa_zvYo151oZ8-IqRW3TE0xboL/s1600/KevinGrevioux.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhie-q7Jrvu7QJ-Vli7d6zV8NgMZftLY9Jw3J0kbaxCNGLCXpI-QXbLT9YBZbSskqXCHDOcELHx1lzemptg2cQwW9ucl3roO619nVE7cDjfE6wa_zvYo151oZ8-IqRW3TE0xboL/s1600/KevinGrevioux.jpg" height="192" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kevin Grevioux</td></tr>
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<span class="hwc" name="hotword"><b><a href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/interview-kevin-grevioux-talks-transition-to-screenwriting-race-as-a-factor-i-frankenstein-more" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">This idea is substantiated by UNDERWORLD franchise co-creator Kevin Grevioux who believes that the lack of Black sci-fi creators in Hollywood</a> </b>is because the Black lower class is more concerned with survival and therefore does not have the time to invest in imagination cultivation and unreliable creative career paths. </span></div>
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They are both correct - although I disagree slightly with Kevin's assessment about the lack of Black sci-fi creators. The truth is that there are PLENTY of Black sci-fi creators, the problem is Black geeks refuse to support them. </div>
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Before anyone gets all riled up, understand this: WE (as in Black sci-fi creators) don't have the marketing budget of Marvel, DC, Sony, Warner Bros., Disney, Universal, Paramount, Microsoft, Nintendo, Harper/Collins, Scholastic or any of the ubiquitous media giants in the pop culture landscape. </div>
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Simply put - people don't know we exist. Not just Black folks, but most people don't know we exist. Many of us hustle and hype ourselves to the point of exhaustion only to move the needle of awareness one millimeter away from obscurity but that's not enough to sustain a creative career. </div>
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<span class="hwc" name="hotword">However, let's say we do manage to get people to pay attention to us, let's say we get some media coverage and are blessed with a review on television or on a popular blog or news site, let's say a major newspaper decides to go with a profile on our careers. Suddenly we're not obscure or anonymous and yet, the social media chatter remains quiet from our so-called brothers and sisters of geekdom. </span></div>
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<span class="hwc" name="hotword">I'm going to steer this conversation toward the comic book industry because it's a microcosm of the issues plaguing Black creators everywhere. </span></div>
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<span class="hwc" name="hotword">Over the last few years, there's been a slew of articles regarding the lack of Black writers at Marvel and DC Comics. The article that triggered the latest wave of indignation was published in <a href="http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/08/23/gendercrunching-june-2012-and-a-little-ethnocrunching-too/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>June of 2012 from the BLEEDING COOL website that analyzed the hiring practices of Marvel and DC. </b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1em;">The combined percentage of Black writers at Marvel and DC? </span></div>
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<span class="hwc" name="hotword"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="hwc" name="hotword">2.4% </span></div>
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<span class="hwc" name="hotword">Yep. </span></div>
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<span class="hwc" name="hotword">2.4% </span></div>
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<span class="hwc" name="hotword">I was willing to give them the benefit of statistical deviation in surveys and say that the number might be closer to 3%. </span></div>
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To be fair, that was in June of 2012. As of this writing, I believe Marvel has 1 Black writer and DC has none (but I could be wrong about that). </div>
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There was a deluge of anger and frustration. Black geeks complained louder than they ever did before. </div>
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<span class="hwc" name="hotword">Now here's the kicker: Black geeks will complain and whine and bitch and moan 24/7/365 about the lack of Black writers at Marvel and DC. </span></div>
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<span class="hwc" name="hotword">Black geeks will whine and complain about how poorly a Black character was written at Marvel and DC. </span></div>
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They will bellyache about how there aren't any solo books featuring Black characters at Marvel and DC. </div>
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They engage in long, pointless and ultimately stupid online debates about "who'd win ______ vs. ______" or post endless threads about who'd they cast in the (possibly) upcoming Black Panther movie. </div>
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The inherent tragedy in all of this is that Black creators are already making the stuff these geeks wish to see. We have incredible Black superheroes, or Black-created fantasy worlds, or Black-crafted future societies and Black filmmakers making cool short films about their universes. </div>
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But you don't have to take my word for it, you can see it for yourself...</div>
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<a href="http://foolscrusade.blogspot.com/2014/01/list-of-quality-black-produced-indie.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HERE (List of Black indie comics titles)</a></div>
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<a href="http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/category/month-of-african-american-comics/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HERE (Comic Book Resources covering Black creators every day for the month of February)</a></div>
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and </div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/214659622058313/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HERE (Black indie comics creators sharing some of their work for free on Facebook)</a></div>
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But Black geeks won't give indie Black comic books a chance. They won't (or can't) seem to understand that the only way a Black writer will ever end up at Marvel or DC is if they are supported by a fanbase. </div>
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You see, we don't get the coverage from popular bloggers and comics news sites that other guys do. You can run a poll with a bunch of Black creators and they will tell you how many times their emails go unanswered or if they meet a reporter in person and exchange cards, they'll never hear from that reporter again. </div>
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What a lot of Black geeks fail to understand is that all the "known" comic book writers of the last 20 years were hyped to death by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizard_(magazine)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wizard Magazine</a>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8Ip8q4zBe0fOQMfJJAv29UXMdHDxpEpRc-yHisW5V7EsdAAbRQjAuKmK69AX98JuQig3aq8XWHs72Jxd-4akbtvSgtqCUr5VVP1AxIWpTe7PZiDa9W3Uk-LUbF6a5e5cOWtY/s1600/wizardmag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8Ip8q4zBe0fOQMfJJAv29UXMdHDxpEpRc-yHisW5V7EsdAAbRQjAuKmK69AX98JuQig3aq8XWHs72Jxd-4akbtvSgtqCUr5VVP1AxIWpTe7PZiDa9W3Uk-LUbF6a5e5cOWtY/s1600/wizardmag.jpg" height="320" width="219" /></a></div>
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How many writers were propped up by Wizard? Let's see: Kurt Busiek, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, Mark Waid, Mark Millar, Brian Michael Bendis, Brian Azzarello, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, James Robinson, Jimmy Palmiotti, Kevin Smith, Neil Gaiman, Robert Kirkman, Brian Wood, Brian K. Vaughn, Scott Lobdell, Geoff Johns, Judd Winnick, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Brad Meltzer and to a lesser extent Gail Simone and Devin Grayson. </div>
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For almost two decades straight, every issue of Wizard Magazine reminded you who these creators were, what they were working on, where they came from, what they looked like and why you should support them. I'm not saying the coverage was undeserved, because most of the folks there are incredibly talented, but imagine what would happen if we had the same kind of light shined on our careers? </div>
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As a side note, there are two important names missing: Dwayne McDuffie and Christopher Priest. But that's another story. :) </div>
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Some Black geeks go out of their way to ignore or minimize our participation in the industry. They won't share or "like" or comment on Facebook posts regarding our work - no matter how many times you "tag" them or flat out ask them to share the information. </div>
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Their Facebook feeds are cluttered with movie and TV trailers of some mainstream blockbuster thing that doesn't need them boosting the signal. Their pages choked with memes and quizzes regarding Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones or the Avengers or the Superman/Batman movie (please shut the fuck up about Ben Affleck - he doesn't give a shit about your whining and neither do the people who actually make the fucking movies). </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBmGGzSLuQ1VkZChlNFJusC_17XHtiXqyiCNskt-kFsMIuxzPhbEmIAcgdJDl7aPj2JO1sX2rkjUaqwyDByTaPwB-KUPYNdr-vPkHmMhSp77fiQvyh4VPGQQRacLiGq05yg9G/s1600/ny_central_park_angel_and_blackwolf_the_dragonmaster_09_961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBmGGzSLuQ1VkZChlNFJusC_17XHtiXqyiCNskt-kFsMIuxzPhbEmIAcgdJDl7aPj2JO1sX2rkjUaqwyDByTaPwB-KUPYNdr-vPkHmMhSp77fiQvyh4VPGQQRacLiGq05yg9G/s1600/ny_central_park_angel_and_blackwolf_the_dragonmaster_09_961.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blackwolf the "Dragonmaster" - Yea, there's a lot of folks out there like this.</td></tr>
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Thousands of sycophantic threads begging for a Black Lightning toy or Luke Cage animated series or a Static Shock board game... nothing but perpetual dependency on those who simply don't care about what you want. </div>
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These same Black geeks have every excuse in the world for not supporting indie Black titles: </div>
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1) I don't know who these characters are (because apparently, you were born aware of Superman and Captain America). </div>
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2) I don't like reading ghetto stories (massive assumption, but they make this assumption without actually LOOKING at the titles). </div>
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3) I don't want to read books with African imagery (a form of self-hate, most mainstream comics reflect unabashed Eurocentric tropes and values, but this doesn't offend them). </div>
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4) I only have enough money to buy the books I already like (fair enough, but it costs nothing to thumb through the book if you see it at a convention or on the shelves of a comics shop). </div>
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5) Black indie comics<span style="font-size: 1em;"> are lower quality (true, some are, but most aren't, again this is an assumption</span><span style="font-size: 1em;"> - how many Marvel or DC titles are low quality yet you still throw money at them month after month). </span></div>
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I could go on, but that would only serve to frustrate me and belabor the point. </div>
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There exists a Stockholm Syndrome with Black geeks. Their captors? The mainstream (usually White) genre creators. The Marvels, the DCs, the Robert Kirkmans, the George Lucases, the Disneys, the Biowares, the Bungies, the EAs, the Stephanie Meyers, the R.A. Salvatores, the Rick Riordans, the J.K. Rowlings, the Miyazakis, the Otomos, the Suzanne Collins and Steven Moffats of the industry. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPzMjSjNqmrwtO47PSzfGeq0xxdkRZ4QrjFdbgpXBkMpm9I4Onarx9ohUHMfFZjImg0dftWVYfrqqs1RnnAx9OoGQlVdj9Q0a0counN3QeVqP5JlrVLsbpMGYRQxI5XKDFdUD/s1600/blackhalogeeks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPzMjSjNqmrwtO47PSzfGeq0xxdkRZ4QrjFdbgpXBkMpm9I4Onarx9ohUHMfFZjImg0dftWVYfrqqs1RnnAx9OoGQlVdj9Q0a0counN3QeVqP5JlrVLsbpMGYRQxI5XKDFdUD/s1600/blackhalogeeks.jpg" height="232" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ask them about Black video game designers... *crickets*</td></tr>
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Some Black geeks swear their fealty to the Kingdom of Everything Not-Black while crossing their arms in protest at the lack of blackness within said kingdom. Over time, they slowly realize that their rulers aren't concerned in the least with their expectations of representation and grow resentful. The Stockholm Syndrome kicks in when they continue to support their rulers instead of simply turning their head to the left to see the vast riches we've laid out for them to claim. </div>
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These Black geeks prefer serfdom rather than become warrior-explorers in support of their own images in entertainment. They'd much rather read about White warrior-explorers instead. </div>
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So what's the solution? </div>
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It's not complicated. If we could reach out to those willing to support us and ask them kindly to share our work on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram, it could go a long way in simply increasing the AWARENESS of our careers. No one is asking you to post links to Amazon or to purchase our work directly, but posting covers, web-banners, comics pages and interviews creates a domino effect of interest. </div>
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When people other than the creator of a property shares his/her work in social media, it feels less like huckstering and more like legitimate fandom being built from scratch. </div>
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I don't believe the Stockholm Syndrome crowd realize how much damage they do by ignoring our work. Their relentless pursuit of mainstream geekdom is ultimately self-defeating because they are building the bricks of someone else's empire. An empire arrogantly prospering off of a loyalty they never wanted from a people they don't even care to acknowledge. </div>
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Black Geek Stockholm Syndrome indeed. </div>
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B. </div>
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B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-14553393352843248672014-01-10T10:21:00.001-08:002014-07-09T09:28:04.635-07:00LIST OF QUALITY BLACK-PRODUCED INDIE COMICS TITLES <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHOUOxZBwiv0xQF6r-tLG55PeSaVxtFR1989Q9x1utNIxmiREV_hs-IEVUlvBbHdh5nmSJATgjOz-Ns6S12VScIHBtGjm3dL7ZVSbYFDAbkHC7upIsHFnWff7MmFqcbm-cYzfG/s1600/BLACK+COMICS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHOUOxZBwiv0xQF6r-tLG55PeSaVxtFR1989Q9x1utNIxmiREV_hs-IEVUlvBbHdh5nmSJATgjOz-Ns6S12VScIHBtGjm3dL7ZVSbYFDAbkHC7upIsHFnWff7MmFqcbm-cYzfG/s1600/BLACK+COMICS.jpg" height="146" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">LIST OF QUALITY BLACK-CREATED INDIE COMICS TITLES (put together by Jason Reeves). In the interest of fostering diversity and increasing awareness of independent African-American professionals in the comics biz, here's a great list of titles that you might not know about. If you're not on the list, feel free to add your title and link(s). </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">ShadowLaw: comixology.com</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shadowlawonline.com%2F&h=4AQGwUMyCAQFT4-Cy6IwnoxtRDTun6zJX72Y34Jl8iV-_FA&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.shadowlawonline.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Famzn.to%2F1dCLm5z&h=RAQH5OHOqAQHMIFusJ7ysidCBFgln2s_e3PMsF-Sej3Xz7A&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://amzn.to/1dCLm5z</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Street Team #0: </span><br />
<a href="http://indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5281" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5281</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Black Comix: </span><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Black-Comix-African-American-Independent/dp/0984190651" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Black-Comix-African-American-Independent/dp/0984190651</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Back in the Jay sketchbook Vol.1: </span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F133art.storenvy.com%2F&h=tAQFFuQiGAQHoRpwT8EVRKUM190QN_fVobPWyeAsSe8GAew&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://133art.storenvy.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Storm Bringers #1:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stormbringers.com%2F&h=4AQGwUMyCAQH46cL7RsO6Cf5KX1r6hkRZ62AvFeTRn0FXow&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.stormbringers.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">OneNation #1:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F133art.storenvy.com%2F&h=WAQHk2S6yAQFWWFAyp6v9TpdBR6gMnm2Qr8DZOpHZ1mI6sQ&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://133art.storenvy.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Techwatch #1&2:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.techwatchcomic.com%2F&h=WAQHk2S6yAQFowHsckVzOrGIPzn3TOgSRJMk0cXYnYuX5ag&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.techwatchcomic.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Dread Society X: Rebirth:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.comicfleamarket.com%2Fservlet%2Fthe-461%2FDread-Society-X-cln--Rebirth%2FDetail&h=1AQEQOaVaAQFZDTI98yOU58mmaeQWf84EUICPu8QbFUzvqw&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.comicfleamarket.com/servlet/the-461/Dread-Society-X-cln--Rebirth/Detail</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Midnight Marauder: the Art of Lesean Thomas:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fleseanthomas.com%2F&h=iAQEO9B1oAQEgnX7nir9i3RDk03_dsfQ2hXqQm12VnRSBGg&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://leseanthomas.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">The Future: art of Keron:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fkerongrant.net%2F&h=BAQFR-ip2AQEvydDQbKZxyBBiXxIbuMTFh1qpvotz7luCZQ&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://kerongrant.net/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">The Art of Mshindo Kumba I.:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmshindo9.deviantart.com%2F&h=fAQFwJa_lAQGfr44TlTm1ST3qDHh3TajTmtvNy_Fjs84FzA&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://mshindo9.deviantart.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Corsairs Prologue:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indyplanet.com%2Fstore%2Fproduct_info.php%3Fproducts_id%3D8049&h=pAQEsXCPNAQFjrWNTc011gTQDgj_5RPvDUop2qDqV-kcUvA&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=8049</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Miles Away:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMiles-Away-GN-Anthony-Montgomery%2Fdp%2F0930655036&h=FAQFTpGeUAQHIeOgeaxWQ09_HZ4H_MRhzZDfDWttL3pdybA&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Miles-Away-GN-Anthony-Montgomery/dp/0930655036</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Ghost Fighters:</span><br />
<a href="http://jomil65.deviantart.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://jomil65.deviantart.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Indigo: Essence of the Assassin 1.0:</span><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fganxy.com%2Fi%2F75616%2Furaeus%2Findigo-hit-list-1-0&h=8AQGNCQpqAQFNgz-RmfVMdbzidXBqP9Y2cNt_fOZ-jFPs-w&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://ganxy.com/i/75616/uraeus/indigo-hit-list-1-0</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Black Bird: Growing Pains:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcharlie-fab.deviantart.com%2F&h=lAQEwjR2uAQHsLl7fpgP87cX3yHLWKvbO2l2Zsifd8eQq2g&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://charlie-fab.deviantart.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Dusu: </span><a href="http://www.strangercomics.com/dusu-1/" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.strangercomics.com/dusu-1/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Midnight Tiger: </span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.actionlabcomics.com%2Fmidnight-tiger-joins-action-lab-lineup%2F&h=MAQGeVsShAQGrR7lgBc0P1Gyb6k3o123RSyyUWq6HS_YM9w&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.actionlabcomics.com/midnight-tiger-joins-action-lab-lineup/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Rotten Apple:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/21-706/Rotten-Apple-one-shot" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/21-706/Rotten-Apple-one-shot</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Concrete Park:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fconcretepark.com%2F&h=OAQGp6OJOAQFDTKSYNMCbPbxWMzWedMf7porQzdj5oV44MQ&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://concretepark.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Number 13 (David Walker): </span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.darkhorse.com%2FBooks%2F17-953%2FNumber-13-TPB&h=mAQGDbgr4AQEocLAg72SjE_eJe_r4wxsI0Zl0l9ryOWAzqg&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/17-953/Number-13-TPB</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Miranda Mercury: </span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmirandamercury.com%2F&h=pAQEsXCPNAQGqv-iJM1ffsmpiuQHZ3ZkEQCXnRmoZNfia-Q&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://mirandamercury.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Vescell: </span><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vescell-1-Enrique-Carrion/dp/B005JF6SU2" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>Vescell-1-Enrique-Carrion/dp/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>B005JF6SU2</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Super Pro K.O.:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pro-K-1/dp/1934964417/ref=sr_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320154055&sr=1-14" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>Super-Pro-K-1/dp/1934964417/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>ref=sr_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>=1320154055&sr=1-14</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The Untamed: </span><br />
<a href="http://www.strangercomics.com/the-untamed/" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.strangercomics.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>the-untamed/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The Dog Years: </span><br />
<a href="http://thedogyears.com/home.html" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://thedogyears.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>home.html</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Wildfire: </span><br />
<a href="http://www.quinnproart.com/legends-press.html" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.quinnproart.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>legends-press.html</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Five Weapons: </span><br />
<a href="https://www.imagecomics.com/comics/releases/five-weapons-making-the-grade-tp" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://www.imagecomics.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>comics/releases/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>five-weapons-making-the-grade-t<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>p</a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nightstalker: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nightstalkercomic.com/">http://www.nightstalkercomic.com/</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">mostly digital:</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Lion Forge Comics:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lionforge.com%2F&h=dAQGUfkreAQHBN0_tfSc6UH8lwYCOvpXQekRK_qB9b7i2sg&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.lionforge.com</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Prodigal ch. #1-12 ARE UP ON THE THRILLBENT FOR FREE:</span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fthrillbent.com%2Fcomics%2Fprodigal%2Fprodigal-chapter-1%2F%231&h=qAQFYwnoFAQHFZepyD5_oXOeO19pvFIXRVVhNHUx9AAnv7g&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://thrillbent.com/comics/prodigal/prodigal-chapter-1/#1</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Watson & Holmes #1-4: comixology.com</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">ShadowLaw: comixology.com</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shadowlawonline.com%2F&h=4AQGwUMyCAQFT4-Cy6IwnoxtRDTun6zJX72Y34Jl8iV-_FA&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.shadowlawonline.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Famzn.to%2F1dCLm5z&h=RAQH5OHOqAQHMIFusJ7ysidCBFgln2s_e3PMsF-Sej3Xz7A&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://amzn.to/1dCLm5z</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Ajala: A series of Adventures: </span><br />
<a href="http://indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4181" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4181</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Azian Mixtape: </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fpyroglyphics1.deviantart.com%2F&h=FAQFTpGeUAQHurcFMykPnOb1U9blWxnFIIPjrPMXx22k5Sg&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://pyroglyphics1.deviantart.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Punks of Rage: Remix #0: </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/punxofrage/about" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;">https://www.facebook.com/punxofrage/about</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury: comixology.com</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Lucius Hammer #1-2: </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fravenhammercomics.com%2F&h=3AQGHgUZaAQGslvRmfCAgPFpSskUXkljL4YH2KrSJWehWwQ&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://ravenhammercomics.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Will Power #1-4: </span><a href="http://www.willpowercomic.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.willpowercomic.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Powerverse: the 101 #1: </span><a href="http://www.willpowercomic.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.willpowercomic.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Powerverse Chronicles: the Action Pack #1: </span><a href="http://www.willpowercomic.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.willpowercomic.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Chew #1-6, Paperbacks 2&3: Comic shop/Amazon.com</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Kung-Fu Skrarch! #1: comixology.com</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Midnight Tiger #1: comixology.com</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Molly Danger #1-2: comixology.com</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Seven % #1-4: comixology.com</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">the Deep #1-2: comixology.com</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Ghetto Manga(magazine): </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fghettomanga.blogspot.com%2F&h=6AQGRXIULAQHA-OjLRNNqIX0lXqCMof1hfUbwxg-LI1LhyA&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://ghettomanga.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Sink or Swim: </span><a href="http://www.arlingtontx.gov/environmentalservices/pdf/StormWater_Novella.pdf" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.arlingtontx.gov/environmentalservices/pdf/StormWater_Novella.pdf</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">F-00 Fighters #1-3:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/82473510/F-OO-Fighters" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.scribd.com/doc/82473510/F-OO-Fighters</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The Horsemen: Mark of the Cloven:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GX35B0W/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>B00GX35B0W/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk</a>B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-33646470824941815062014-01-01T10:13:00.000-08:002014-01-01T10:14:04.755-08:00THE 3 LAWS OF THE HUSTLE (aka It's 2014 - Now Get to Work!!!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiupX7yJgwZVrJra-4LoEExvEeaHBRR26PG-7WaBknLrmLenz51Sajy09nyo5d02QS8Gxac_WnVB479yjcYYTpE8eh6CH017MFLSH3KXeW4zg5rqeTDcTn5et6vPothpyNSw5Hj/s1600/dont+quit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiupX7yJgwZVrJra-4LoEExvEeaHBRR26PG-7WaBknLrmLenz51Sajy09nyo5d02QS8Gxac_WnVB479yjcYYTpE8eh6CH017MFLSH3KXeW4zg5rqeTDcTn5et6vPothpyNSw5Hj/s400/dont+quit.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Many creators I know had a remarkably shitty 2013. The combination of a sluggish economic recovery, the globalization of entertainment options and an increasingly fickle marketplace of ADHD millennials has made it tough for the independent creator to gain a foothold on the marketplace.<br />
<br />
That said, there's also been an incredible amount of self-pity that leads directly into self-delusion. The introspective nature of the artistic process easily becomes a blueprint for the steady development of a self-fulfilling prophecy of stagnation and failure. Once you lose the momentum, it becomes very difficult to keep pushing forward and this destroys many careers before they get started.<br />
<br />
Far too many talented people lack the one crucial element to get them over the top: HUSTLE.<br />
<br />
What is "hustle?" There are probably 150,000 rap tracks and twice as many self-help gurus all with flashy definitions of that word, but for me it's always come down to three fundamental ideas:<br />
<br />
1) The Law of N-GAS (Nobody Gives A Shit).<br />
2) The Law of Letting Go.<br />
3) The Law of Forced Discomfort.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
<b><u><i>THE LAW OF N-GAS</i></u></b><br />
<br />
It took me most of my 39 years to fundamentally grasp this concept. When you're a kid in a somewhat normal family situation, you can't understand this because everyone around you is dedicated to keeping you fed, clothed, housed, bathed and educated. When you hit college, less people care, but there's still a vast support network of professors, staff and counselors/therapists available to you when you have some tough times.<br />
<br />
However, this is assuming that you had access to college and from what I've seen, a lot of creative folks bypassed the college scene and began studying their craft. I've also run into a lot of creators who have strained and/or dysfunctional relationships with their families so many have been forced out into the world prematurely and developed specialized survival skills instead of career-boosting techniques (and this is where socio-economic class privilege kicks in).<br />
<br />
In any case, you have talent, you have a plan, you have ambition and you enact your scheme for global domination as a writer, dancer, illustrator, singer, actor, etc. You rush out into the world with open arms only to be greeted with glassy-eyed indifference; a collective shrug from those you consider to be unsophisticated and undeserving of your brilliance.<br />
<br />
From this point on, creators take the first step on the well-worn trail of pity, regret and a yearning for attention from their respective industries and a non-existent fan base.<br />
<br />
The basic idea of the Law of N-GAS is very simple: Nobody Gives A Shit about you.<br />
Nobody cares about your last break up.<br />
Nobody cares about your shitty living situation.<br />
Nobody cares if you had an abortion.<br />
Nobody cares if you can't make the rent.<br />
Nobody cares if you're homeless.<br />
Nobody cares if you've been single for 15 years.<br />
Nobody cares if your parents kicked you out while you were in 10th grade.<br />
Nobody cares if you're broke.<br />
Nobody cares if you have an eating disorder.<br />
Nobody cares if you have a horrible job.<br />
Nobody cares how many degrees you have.<br />
Nobody cares if you're a single parent.<br />
Nobody cares if you have a tragic disease.<br />
<br />
I could go on forever but you get the point. Nobody Gives A Shit about you unless you can make them FEEL something.<br />
<br />
You ever wonder why complete fucktards like Snooki, J-Wow, Honey Boo Boo, the Kardashians, the Duck Dynasty assholes and every other cheap, manufactured "reality" TV personality manages to grab the attention of millions of people worldwide?<br />
<br />
<b><u>Because they elicit an emotional response. </u></b><br />
<br />
Somehow, they've gotten in front of a camera (or created a situation where someone would WANT to put them in front of a camera) and dazzled the zeitgeist with wild, sexy, ridiculous and simple-minded stories about excess. And guess what, it works.<br />
<br />
The entertainment industry is in the throes of a movement known as the POST-CONTENT ERA which means that studios are no longer looking to "develop" an unknown talent from scratch, they only wish to capitalize on those who have already have "pre-awareness" aka an established fan base to bring to the table. If you don't have something to show (and preferably something already known by thousands of people) the chances of you breaking in are significantly diminished.<br />
<br />
Sure, there will always be that "lucky" person whose lighting-in-a-bottle script, song, monologue, etc., gets them a deal, but it is far more likely and common for those creators who bring their rabid fans to the dance to get the attention they want and deserve.<br />
<br />
You cannot sit still and wait for the world to show up at your door.<br />
<br />
It won't happen.<br />
<br />
Ever.<br />
<br />
Why?<br />
<br />
Nobody Gives A Shit.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
<b><u><i>THE LAW OF LETTING GO</i></u></b><br />
<br />
So many artistic people find themselves in horrible personal situations usually caused by family, lovers, best friends or colleagues. They are enablers to emotional addiction. They are usually hosts to financial or spiritual parasites unwilling to inspire or break away from their meal ticket. I've known way too many creative people who cannot move forward in their lives because they believe they "owe" someone else their undying loyalty or obedience.<br />
<br />
Usually, these are dangerous and corrosive co-dependent relationships and it is a tough thing to remove someone from their symbiotic trap without them making a consistent, conscious effort to do so.<br />
<br />
Here's the thing: the people that sponge off of your generosity, time, energy and kind nature will be FINE if you cut them off. No one is saying you need to shut them completely out of your life, but if your goal is to be a screenwriter and you work three jobs to help maintain a household while your siblings hang out all day, and your parents give you a hard time about nonsense and you can't find a moment to clear your thoughts in order to compose a story... well, you know where I'm going with this.<br />
<br />
I've had to cut off a lot of people. It wasn't easy. I won't sit here and pretend it was. I lost a bunch of friends over the last 5 years. The thing that struck me hardest was the fact that the more successful I became, the more resentful and distant these friends behaved toward me. Suddenly, I was getting attitude from guys I'd known for over a decade. Folks who I'd turn to when things got dark for me would respond with nasty and negative comments. Dudes who I'd helped when they were down and out turned into raging bastards over the smallest perceived slight. People who'd say "I always knew you were going to make it" but never once purchased any of my graphic novels nor spread the word when incredibly cool things happened in my career.<br />
<br />
After much soul-searching and long nights of whisky-induced angst I came to a realization:<b> <u>there are folks out there who are only comfortable with you when you're on "their level."</u></b> The moment you start to follow the path to your goals and ambitions is the moment they start secretly resenting you and cheering for you to fail. It doesn't happen overnight, but the seeds are planted whenever you make a life-altering decision that removes the parasites from being the center of your existence.<br />
<br />
GET AWAY from these black holes of negativity. Just because you have a lifetime of shared experiences thus far doesn't mean that they are meant to be with you on the next phase of your journey.<br />
<br />
Let go of anger about ex-lovers.<br />
Let go of disappointment about your family (we've all been programmed to believe our lives are supposed to be like the Brady Bunch or the Huxtables - not gonna happen, grow up and move on).<br />
Let go of your expectations for immediate success.<br />
Let go of being superficial.<br />
Let go of being exploited.<br />
Let go of friends who bring nothing to your life except drama.<br />
Let go of friends who don't encourage you to be the best person you can be.<br />
Let go of those who are comfortable with you being miserable.<br />
Let of of those who have no goals or ambitions of their own.<br />
Let go of your excuses. All of them.<br />
Let go of feeling sorry for yourself.<br />
Let go of expecting the worst.<br />
Let go of those who won't make time for you.<br />
Let go of confusing a few positive experiences with a legitimate friendship.<br />
Let go of sitting around waiting for something cool to happen while the rest of the world continues to ignore you.<br />
<br />
Which leads to the final law...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
<b><u>THE LAW OF FORCED DISCOMFORT</u></b><br />
<br />
This means change. Forcing a change in your habits. Forcing a change in geography. Forcing a change in your self-perception. The reason a lot of people don't make it has nothing to do with their talent, it has a lot to do with their inability to take big risks in service of their dreams.<br />
<br />
I've spoken often about how <b><a href="http://foolscrusade.blogspot.com/2010/11/dreams-and-losses-always-fight.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">I left a great life behind in NYC to go to Los Angeles to pursue my dreams of being a screenwriter. CLICK HERE if you want to read that story</a>. </b><br />
<br />
I also dedicated <a href="http://writingforrookies.podcastpeople.com/posts/26581" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>an entire podcast episode to my decision many years ago</b></a>.<br />
<br />
It would have been highly unlikely, if not impossible, for me to have achieved what I have so far if I hadn't left my comfort zone in NYC. The film and TV industry is not on the East Coast, it is in Southern California and as much as it tore my soul in half to abandon the culture and people I love, it was a necessary evil to accomplish a monumental good in my career and personal life.<br />
<br />
If you want to make it in the entertainment biz, you've got to find a way to stand out. Regardless of what some will tell you, the reality is that you need to move to Los Angeles if you want to be a screenwriter, film or TV actor, filmmaker or do conceptual artwork for production companies. In fact, there's so many jobs for illustrators in LA as storyboard artists and so on that I wonder why so many are afraid to make the move.<br />
<br />
Will moving to LA suck ass? FUCK YEA.<br />
<br />
It will mean couch-surfing.<br />
It will mean working really, really, really shitty retail gigs.<br />
It will mean having asshole roommates who might lie or steal from you.<br />
It will mean needing a car to get around.<br />
It will mean having to deal with spoiled, insensitive, superficial jackasses.<br />
It will mean spending a few years relegated to the very bottom of the social order.<br />
<br />
This isn't just a Los Angeles thing, if you move to NYC and want to become an actor or a novelist or a musician or a dancer, you will likely go through the same crap except the subway in New York goes just about anywhere you need to be.<br />
<br />
I get that it's not easy to give up the things that make our lives comfortable. When I first moved to LA I had to give up video games, fast food, living alone, cable television, clean bathrooms and a sense of security. I got up each day not knowing if I was going to make it or not.<br />
<br />
Guess what happened? <b>I wrote more in the first three months of living hard in LA than I had written in the previous SIX YEARS</b>.<br />
<br />
A good, swift kick in the ass removes our complacency and forces us to become something new. It forces us to <b>evolve</b>.<br />
<br />
There are things we don't like about the world we live in. There are things we would like to see happen. I've learned the only way to change it is to DO IT ourselves. For example: I've long been pissed off at the treatment of African-American writers in the comic book and sci-fi world. Instead of complaining about it, I decided to get off my ass and make a documentary that showcased all the Black writers who've been ignored by the mainstream as well as fandom. I cherry picked the best creators I could find and interviewed them about their ideas and experiences.<br />
<br />
Well, here's the result:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/L6p9hBVcGmc" width="420"></iframe><br />
<br />
The documentary should be in the can by April 2014. I made that with a budget of under $1,000. Key words:<b> I. Made. That.</b><br />
<br />
The easy thing to do is sit around and complain. Anyone and everyone does that.<br />
<br />
To get up and do it? Well, that's why a minuscule sliver of the population gets from Point A to Point B. <br />
<br />
One of my favorite quotes is: "Adversity introduces a man to himself."<br />
<br />
That shit is real.<br />
<br />
There's no secret to achieving your dreams. It's hard work. Hard work. Hard work. Hard work. Hard work.<br />
<br />
And then there's not being afraid to change your surroundings. Not being afraid of cutting off dead weight. Not being afraid to go out into the world regardless of the odds.<br />
<br />
Do it.<br />
<br />
That's it. No tricks. No cons. No magic potion.<br />
<br />
Do it.<br />
<br />
That's all there is.<br />
<br />
B.<br />
<br />B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-34069078200500514272013-11-27T12:40:00.001-08:002013-11-27T19:02:30.108-08:00THE EVOLUTION OF BRANDON (2.0) aka "Goodbye Prolonged Adolescence..."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvfauGBKxYaJcXaUcrlk-WBKIQjqPqoXLI6JhIDdSO8xgfDmkRQAqg7hUjlFoctyMLEWcl305Dx2vpNT8d-ro2xn46ctb6SdgUK7ERKykQOf0IREM-Kt2CrKs_bLw72O3UJ9t/s1600/prolonged2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvfauGBKxYaJcXaUcrlk-WBKIQjqPqoXLI6JhIDdSO8xgfDmkRQAqg7hUjlFoctyMLEWcl305Dx2vpNT8d-ro2xn46ctb6SdgUK7ERKykQOf0IREM-Kt2CrKs_bLw72O3UJ9t/s320/prolonged2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I've long believed that the real problem with the modern world stems from <a href="http://www.joshuakennon.com/how-extended-adolescence-is-changing-the-united-states-and-takes-a-much-higher-toll-on-women/" target="_blank">prolonged adolescence</a>. A <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1359186/Peter-Pan-syndrome-Does-rise-women-mean-men-grow-up.html" target="_blank">marked inability to accept the fact</a> that we can't be perpetually frozen in the zeitgeist of low responsibility and sexual abandon of our early twenties.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Men and women unwilling to move beyond shallow and superficial definitions of career and culpability. <a href="http://www.upworthy.com/the-best-response-for-when-anyone-calls-young-people-lazy-today" target="_blank">Folks that blame the bad economy</a> for having to live with their parents or be unnecessarily focused on narcissistic worship of social media technology. Where previous generations had the guts, ambition and desire to achieve despite the odds, many today regularly drink from the bottomless well of excuses enabled by like-minded bloggers also caught up in their own whirlwind of self-deprecation.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEick8-auSX53vgGLKmGQT7L9aYXwOLtT2ud4mUmpsLRqTs48t7fIt1klTp85EU3RSAmiewNuAAQh3zHipOPM3PehGeseGgzEcWSMh2uU_JvE8JN0Wv_qQUPVbE7JkV3-23-5fpB/s1600/prolonged1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEick8-auSX53vgGLKmGQT7L9aYXwOLtT2ud4mUmpsLRqTs48t7fIt1klTp85EU3RSAmiewNuAAQh3zHipOPM3PehGeseGgzEcWSMh2uU_JvE8JN0Wv_qQUPVbE7JkV3-23-5fpB/s320/prolonged1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You see it everywhere, especially within the geek community where pangs of nostalgia are masking the fear and contempt of adult responsibility. I know this because I was one of those people. I spent my college years gripping the fond memories of watching Saturday morning cartoons so tight that my proverbial fingers and knuckles turned white from the pressure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I spent my post-undergrad years chasing the remnants of 1980s pop culture via cartoons, sitcoms and movies. As I used to be one of the World's Biggest <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers" target="_blank">Transformers</a> Fans (tm), I slavishly tracked down other devotees via Usenet/Deja newsgroups and felt arrogantly vindicated by their existence. To justify my childish obsession, I'd point to other fans and say, "See! If you think I'm bad, look at what that guy does." In reality, I was shifting reasonable critique of my unhealthy preoccupation with a line of kids toys to someone just a few degrees crazier than myself. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1MMGAc33U566nErSkgBMtwpaHvwXc94cW_VHIRg5UTfBjedTDlAJkgO7nHcxCbu5BY-UeDjlK-_50CLWbrHHsR4WrGEOkROgd4nB7AWyR8DbcuFfs9yfQz9zk0YPr4QIP6CgV/s1600/prolonged4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1MMGAc33U566nErSkgBMtwpaHvwXc94cW_VHIRg5UTfBjedTDlAJkgO7nHcxCbu5BY-UeDjlK-_50CLWbrHHsR4WrGEOkROgd4nB7AWyR8DbcuFfs9yfQz9zk0YPr4QIP6CgV/s320/prolonged4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This could have been me... sorta.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">My infatuation with Transformers was so intense that it damaged a romantic relationship and cost me a couple of good friends along the way. Of course, after several hard, cold slaps in the face by the demands of a regular sex life, I slowly moved beyond my "hardcore" phase into a manageable, respectable "old school fan" phase where I champion the inherent genius of the Generation 1 line of Transformers toys and pretty much ignore everything else. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In other words, I'm still a fan, but I've got it under control. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3WLY85js1uDtdf-GFYHNURMIFPdvboAvohH4MnxgBdOyAWsDd-liLgn5EypnmtmxDGGC2oFIlAfhhbSzhr9R7rday9w4KjdQzMovmfJl4okJpizBzDeQCVo0vpu4YjWnT8QXF/s1600/prolonged3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3WLY85js1uDtdf-GFYHNURMIFPdvboAvohH4MnxgBdOyAWsDd-liLgn5EypnmtmxDGGC2oFIlAfhhbSzhr9R7rday9w4KjdQzMovmfJl4okJpizBzDeQCVo0vpu4YjWnT8QXF/s320/prolonged3.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I actually don't like GEARS OF WAR!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As this time of year is a natural breeding ground for both positive and negative manifestations of nostalgia, I wonder if being stuck in nostalgia inhibits our natural progression into adulthood? My grandfather, a Black man who fought and served in World War II, used to tell me of the nonsense he endured and how hard he had to work to achieve a zero sum. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then I think of my own life and how I began working at the age of 15 and then had to leave my family's care at the age of 16.5 and then pretty much being on my own by the age of 17 and I wonder if my own <a href="http://penetrate.blogspot.com/2008/10/peter-pan-complex.html" target="_blank">Peter Pan</a> complex was caused by my premature entry into the world of adult responsibility - in essence, an attempt to find a safe harbor in the tempestuous ocean of antipathy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I've often remarked that I was a supreme naive idealist; fundamentally believing in the inherent "goodness" of humanity and that all it would take for peace was people sitting down together and discussing their differences. I had no idea how much of this world was dominated by avarice, gluttony and deliberate attempts to disenfranchise the weak and the poor. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Growing up in Baltimore during the emergence of the crack epidemic still wasn't enough to change my naivety. What did change me was a series of experiences at Ithaca College where I was one of maybe fifty Black men (total) on campus. I was exposed to rich kids - the sons and daughters of doctors and lawyers all of whom came from towns where Black people simply didn't exist.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This wasn't just a racial thing, but more like an intersection between race, class and gender. I was not only Black but ridiculously poor (and when I say poor, I mean poor, as in not being able to afford winter boots in a place that used to be covered in ten inches of snowfall from October to May). I began to realize that other Black folks weren't necessarily my "brothers and sisters" just because of our melanin content. Issues of economic class and regional upbringing drove deep wedges between us and at the time, it was one hell of a wake-up call. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The thing that stands out to me, even now, is that few of us were capable of existing in a state of prolonged adolescence. This was before the explosion of geekdom when a public discussion of comic book storylines or Japanese animation design would get you labeled as a "nerd" - which was every bit as offensive as the other N-word as far as I was concerned. Human nature dictated that I rebel against the prevailing doctrine of behavior - so I continued to dig deeper and further entrench myself in the cloth of geekhood. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">However, the one shining, glorious, fantastic thing I took from all the negative experiences I had at Ithaca College was my exposure to non-fiction literature. As a sociology major, I became fascinated with the "hows?" and "whys?" of human socio-political interaction. Reading certain texts forever changed my life and obliterated my previous and pathetically limited understanding of the global political-economic scene. I began to reconcile how racism, sexism, homophobia and classism affected everyone regardless of their station in life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I'd like to share some of these books with you. Most of them skew to the left (as we define the political spectrum in the Western World) but all of them offer a unique perspective on politics, economics, race, class, pop culture and how we've all been molded by the forces of history and our peer group. I must stress that I get no money from Amazon for suggesting these to you, I'm including the links in case you decide to take my recommendation and read these works for yourself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">These are presented in no particular order and I'll explain why these books had such a profound impact on my psyche. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Democracy-Few-Michael-Parenti/dp/0495911267/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385590224&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=democracyfor+the+few" target="_blank">DEMOCRACY FOR THE FEW</a> by Michael Parenti</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaT2C-iat3xrn_T0eppZTnKSVsSeihMiJiGMK6kskohyphenhyphens8uvfqjiKadIiwYxeS5JT_Hf2d9u1VFSmaBb1DrW7lLN4WmMgs0vh_40Zwf1EXQYQ6GXJwvlswYa7pXrL_fQFQ4GPR/s1600/Democracy_For_The_Few_9th_Edition.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaT2C-iat3xrn_T0eppZTnKSVsSeihMiJiGMK6kskohyphenhyphens8uvfqjiKadIiwYxeS5JT_Hf2d9u1VFSmaBb1DrW7lLN4WmMgs0vh_40Zwf1EXQYQ6GXJwvlswYa7pXrL_fQFQ4GPR/s400/Democracy_For_The_Few_9th_Edition.png" width="286" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><u>FROM THE BOOK COVER</u></i></b>: "<span style="background-color: white;">DEMOCRACY FOR THE FEW is a provocative interpretation of American Government. It shows how democracy is repeatedly violated by corporate oligopolies, and how popular forces have fought back and occasionally made gains in spite of the system. By focusing on the relationship between economic power and political power, discussing actual government practices and policies, conspiracies, propaganda, fraud, secrecy and other ploys of government and politics, this book stands apart in its analysis of how US Government works."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><u>My Take</u></i></b>: This book opened my eyes to how multi-national corporations, lobbyists, Wall Street mega banks, the Federal Reserve and private corporate interests took control of the U.S. Government and managed to convince Americans that it is not only the standard operating procedure, but also is the right thing to do. A massive wake-up call for anyone under the delusion that democracy is a spectator sport. It challenged me to stand up and protest, vote, help draft legislation and participate locally. Rips the blinders off and burns them. <b><u>4.5 out of 5 stars</u></b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Fear-Americans-Afraid-Minorities-ebook/dp/B0031TZ8XQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385590775&sr=8-1&keywords=culture+of+fear" target="_blank">THE CULTURE OF FEAR</a> by Barry Glassner </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><u>FROM THE BOOK COVER</u></i></b>: "<span style="background-color: white;">In the age of 9/11, the Iraq War, financial collapse, and Amber Alerts, our society is defined by fear. So it’s not surprising that three out of four Americans say they feel more fearful today then they did twenty years ago. But are we living in exceptionally dangerous times? In </span><i style="background-color: white;">The Culture of Fear</i><span style="background-color: white;">, sociologist Barry Glassner demonstrates that it is our </span><i style="background-color: white;">perception</i><span style="background-color: white;"> of danger that has increased, not the actual level of risk. Glassner exposes the people and organizations that manipulate our perceptions and profit from our fears, including advocacy groups that raise money by exaggerating the prevalence of particular diseases and politicians who win elections by heightening concerns about crime, drug use, and terrorism. In this new edition of a classic book—more relevant now than when it was first published—Glassner exposes the price we pay for social panic."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><u>My Take</u></i></b>: As a <a href="http://foolscrusade.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-it-means-to-be-big-black-guy.html" target="_blank">large Black man</a>, I regularly deal with people's apprehension with my presence. There's been a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Cost-Being-African-American/dp/0195181387" target="_blank">ton of books about this</a>, tons of <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/07/questlove-trayvon-martin-and-i-aint-shit.html" target="_blank">Black male celebrity essays</a>, tons of talk show episodes, etc. To this day, I wonder if some White folks can tell the difference between a Black gangbanger and just a regular Black dude going about his day? Judging by the body language I read on a daily basis, I'd wager that they cannot. Getting to the root of media-hyped fears, <u>The Culture of Fear</u> explains how the news media operates, how they structure what you hear for maximum impact and what the real problems are in our society that get completely ignored (i.e. the looming <a href="http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/freshwater-crisis/" target="_blank">fresh water crisis</a>, health care inequity, etc.). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A society that is constantly afraid will not stand up as their rights are taken away under the guise of "security." Americans are terrified of each other. People walk around under the assumption that "something bad" is going to happen to them despite the fact that roughly 300,000,000 Americans get up every day, go to work, school, the gym, fast food restaurants, dry cleaners, movie theaters, gas stations and walk their dogs and pretty much NOTHING happens. Reading this book helped me to understand why people are afraid of everything except the stuff that actually can effect their lives. <b><u>4.5 out of 5 stars</u></b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Toms-Coons-Mulattoes-Mammies-Bucks/dp/082641267X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385591725&sr=8-1&keywords=toms+coons+mulattoes+mammies+and+bucks" target="_blank">TOMS, COONS, MULATTOES, MAMMIES AND BUCKS</a> - </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films, Fourth Edition by Donald Bogle</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i><u>FROM THE BOOK COVER</u></i></b>: </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">"</span><span style="background-color: white;">Completely updated to include the entire twentieth century, this new fourth edition covers all the latest directors, stars, and films including Summer of Sam, Jackie Brown, The Best Man, and The Hurricane. From The Birth of a Nation--the groundbreaking work of independent filmmaker Oscar Micheaux--and Gone with the Wind to the latest work by Spike Lee, John Singleton, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry and Will Smith, Donald Bogle reveals the ways in which the depiction of blacks in American movies has changed--and the shocking ways in which it has remained the same."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><u>My Take</u></i></b>: The holy grail of film analysis as far as African-American imagery is concerned. This book confirmed many of my thoughts about how Blacks were presented in American movies. As a kid, I'd watch movies with my family and laugh at the openly racist characters back in the days when they'd <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH4ivOyO0PQ" target="_blank">still show un-ironic blackface on TV</a>. Bogle takes us back to the earliest days of cinema and breaks down the depictions of Black people that have rained down through the decades and still haunts pop culture today. </span></span></div>
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For the first time in my life, I'd realized that there was someone else out there who saw the world like I did and had the academic cache to be taken seriously. Anyone who loves cinema should read this book immediately - especially those writers out there who are concerned about how they might portray Black characters in screenplays and graphic novels. <b><u>5 out of 5 stars</u></b>. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spike-Lees-Gotta-Have-Filmmaking/dp/0671644173/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1385595864&sr=8-2&keywords=spike+lees+gotta+have+it" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: normal;">SPIKE LEE'S GOTTA HAVE IT: INSIDE GUERRILLA FILMMAKING</span> </a><span style="font-weight: normal;">by Spike Lee</span></span></span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><b><i><u>FROM THE BOOK COVER</u></i></b>: "</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22.390625px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Spike Lee wrote, directed and starred in She's Gotta Have It, the independent-film success story of 1986. Shot on a shoe-string budget of $175,000 in black-and-white 16mm, the film was made with Spike Lee's persistence and talent plus the help of family and friends. It grossed $8 million at the box office and proved to be a major hit with both critics and audiences. Now Spike Lee reveals how he did it, mapping out the entire creative and production processes-from early notebook jottings to film festival awards. Spike Lee's Gotta Have It is a unique document in film literature - it's funny, absorbing, and fresh as the hit film itself."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><b><i><u>My Take</u></i></b>: I never saw Spike Lee's first movie when it released in art houses across the country in 1986. I was a bit too young and the story was far too adult for me. However, when I came of age and watched SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT, I was blown away by the quality of the work as well as the incredibly complex examination of 80s-era Black sexuality. The very fact that Spike got a movie made that centered around a Black woman's sexual awakening and experimentation during a time when there were relatively few Black movies on the scene at all was extraordinary. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Spike tells a fascinating, but frustrating, story of trying to produce a feature-length independent film about Black subject matter with a microscopic budget. He details the process from scripting to casting to fundraising to production to begging for money to editing to getting a distribution deal to marketing the movie to the eventual release and reception. A bible for indie filmmakers. While the technology has changed considerably, the independent spirit of hustling for an artistic project is timeless. Before I read this book, I had no idea how movies were physically made. I also had no belief that I could make a movie myself but after reading Lee's words, I suddenly realized that the only thing that stops us from creating anything is usually the person in the mirror. <b><u>4.5 out of 5 stars</u></b>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-States-Present/dp/0060838655/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385596980&sr=8-1&keywords=people%27s+history+of+the+united+states" target="_blank">A PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES: 1492-PRESENT</a> by Howard Zinn</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><b><i><u>FROM THE BOOK COVER</u></i></b>: "</span></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Howard Zinn infuses the often-submerged voices of blacks, women, American Indians, war resisters, and poor laborers of all nationalities into this thorough narrative that spans American history from Christopher Columbus's arrival to an afterword on the Clinton presidency.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Addressing his trademark reversals of perspective, Zinn--a teacher, historian, and social activist for more than 20 years--explains, "My point is not that we must, in telling history, accuse, judge, condemn Columbus in absentia. It is too late for that; it would be a useless scholarly exercise in morality. But the easy acceptance of atrocities as a deplorable but necessary price to pay for progress (Hiroshima and Vietnam, to save Western civilization; Kronstadt and Hungary, to save socialism; nuclear proliferation, to save us all)--that is still with us. One reason these atrocities are still with us is that we have learned to bury them in a mass of other facts, as radioactive wastes are buried in containers in the earth."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 19px;"><b><i><u>My Take</u></i></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">: </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">It is said that history is written by the victors. That's certainly true for American history as the accomplishments of straight, White, Christian, conservative males have been trumpeted to the heavens; many of those said accomplishments being outright lies or based wholly on the blood, sweat, tears, rape, murder, torture and subjugation of men and women of color, White women, the poor, the working classes, the gay and lesbian. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Zinn's book is an antidote to the endless rhetoric regarding the "fathers" of our nation. It presents extensively cross-referenced material the enriches the stories about American history going back to the Columbus expeditions. You get a much better understanding of the bloodier side of our formation as well as the behind-scenes-reality of the Revolutionary Era, the War of 1812, Westward Expansion, the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, the Industrial Revolution, the birth of American Empire, the Great Depression and everything up til the Clinton Administration.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Reading this book gave me a proper understanding of American society and my place in it. Instead of making me less proud of being an American, it gave me hope that we can make this democratic experiment work in the future. It taught me that everyone who ever set foot on this land - by choice or by bondage - contributed to the tapestry of the U.S. and their stories have to be acknowledged. It would be impossible to walk away from this book with a simple-minded right-wing belief system regarding American history unless you were trying to remain ignorant on purpose. <b><u>4 out of 5 stars</u></b>. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You may wonder what any of this has to do with my initial thoughts on prolonged adolescence? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Without exposure to these works, my universe was no larger than the periphery of my vision. Until my resolve was tested, I defaulted to a narrow-minded narcissism reinforced by a culture interested only in celebrating petty indulgences. That was in the late eighties-early nineties before the advent of social media and smartphones came along and distracted us from basic human communication. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In the 21st century, I've watched two generations become socially awkward ghosts, eyes glued to plastic touchscreens, moving past each other through the mists of slick-but-empty Hollywood blockbusters, horrible electronic dance music, materialistic rap and a reality-television-fueled-expectation of celebrity entitlement. All of which has led to a population unwilling and/or incapable of perceiving the need for increased (not decreased) democratic engagement. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I remain naive enough to believe that these folks are worthy of saving because without their assistance, our world will continue to spiral toward a permanent feudal state with the richest of all lording over the programmed and drugged masses. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Prolonged adolescence is a dangerous phenomenon that plays into the hands of those determined to keep <a href="http://www.upworthy.com/9-out-of-10-americans-are-completely-wrong-about-this-mind-blowing-fact-2" target="_blank">the wealth gap between the elites and working classes growing larger than it already is</a>. Watching a generation bury their heads in the dirt like ostriches, while exposing their asses to the wind, is a horrifying thing. When I pulled my head out of the ground and took a look around, I didn't like what I saw, but afterward, it was impossible for me to bury it again. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Is the fear of adulthood really the fear of pain? Growth hurts like a motherf--ker. I mean really hurts. When you avoid pain, you might be happy for the short-term, but you don't learn a new survival skill that aids in your evolution as a human being. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">On the recent Doctor Who special, one of my favorite lines was: "<span style="line-height: 18px;">Great men are forged in fire. It is the privilege of lesser men to light the flame. Whatever the cost." </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">My fear is that the "lesser men" (and women) will forget how fires are forged. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">B. </span></span></div>
B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-12219626331100535012013-10-22T11:02:00.002-07:002013-10-22T11:02:56.057-07:00Why I Never Want to Meet Bill Cosby...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Contrary to the title of this entry, I love Bill Cosby. Not in the biblical sense, more like admire him with a vengeance.<br />
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My grandparents, parents, my extended family, their friends, their peers and pretty much every human being I had contact with, from 1978 (the year I actually recall being alive although I was born in 1974) until around 1992, were huge fans of Cosby. <br />
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He is a treasure, a comedic genius, a incredibly talented creative personality driven by a desire for educational excellence and social justice for African-American people. He's made no apology for that and has generated tons of<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-dec04/cosby_7-15.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> controversy for his statements about lower-class Black folks</a>. <br />
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I won't get into a <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/exclusives/clemens/bill_cosby_let_down_blacks_727.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">debate over whether his comments are right or wrong</a>, although I do have my own issues with the <a href="http://foolscrusade.blogspot.com/2009/06/i-hate-ibms-ignorant-black-muthafuas.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ghetto mentality that has plagued our community for the last 20 years</a>. <br />
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The reason that I don't wish to meet Bill Cosby is because I've been severely let down by the "heroes" I've met recently and I don't know if I could handle the realization that yet another person I admire turns out to be utterly human, flawed and a total jerk to his fans. <br />
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For example, when I was living in NYC, I went to the <a href="http://www.centerforblackliterature.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">National Black Writer's Conference</a> at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn. I went two years in a row and met two Black male writers whose work deeply inspired my own.<br />
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Since I'd been accused of "gushing" when I met people I admired, I decided to play it safe, hang back and watch how they interacted with their fan base. <br />
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Author #1 was the type who'd shake your hand but turn away from you while doing it. Unless you were an attractive White woman. In which case you'd have his full attention. For a guy that talked so much about Black liberation, the only thing he seemed to be interested in liberating was his belt buckle.<br />
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Author #2 was a big talker. That's what he's known for... talking about anything and everything. He also had a propensity to hit on women even when they were with their boyfriend or husband or father, etc.. Things got a little heated when he flirted with a gorgeous dark-skinned sista who was standing next to her boyfriend. The boyfriend apparently wasn't impressed with the author's pedigree and told him what he could do with his books. The situation got nasty quick, but was defused just as fast when the author profusely apologized once the festival organizer stepped in.<br />
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When you see either of these gentlemen on CNN or MSNBC or PBS or BET (back when BET actually covered Black issues) you'd assume they were genteel statesmen with dignity, self-respect and grace - not personality-challenged adolescents barely in control of their hormonal directives.<br />
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Then there are my experiences with the science-fiction/comic book/animation/creative-type crowd. <br />
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I could fill a 15,000-page book about my negative experiences in the sci-fi genre world. The crazy thing is that none of those affected me as much as when I met the cast of one of the most popular shows of all time at San Diego Comic Con a few years ago.<br />
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I won't reveal too much except to say that I truly admired the characters as well as the actors for their contributions outside of the world of entertainment. Which is why it cut like a knife to meet them and realize that most of the cast was just a bunch of sourpusses who really didn't like the fans and only showed up to collect money for photos and autographs.<br />
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This year at San Diego Comic Con I met a foreign-born actress from a very influential 1990s sci-fi series whose work I've respected forever. She played a very interesting character who could have been a joke, but her performance brought a level of sophistication, intelligence and wit to the screen and she's been repeatedly recognized for that. I'd been looking forward to meeting her for years, just to tell her that I enjoyed her work on the show and congratulate her on her recent success.<br />
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I was careful not to "gush," I didn't get excited, I didn't raise my voice, I just clearly, calmly, but with a firm, genuine kindness told her that I appreciated what she had done on the series.<br />
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She replied with the standard empty-faced grin that all actors/actresses give when confronted with fans who congratulate them for their success. As I walked away I turned my head slightly to see her reaction and she had a very heavy frown on her face, like someone just killed her pet cat or something.<br />
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Because of my Catholic upbringing I immediately felt guilty, thinking that I had done something to offend her but as I ran the interaction through my head again, I realized that the only thing I had done was politely give my thanks and appreciation for her talents on that great TV series. <br />
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This made me wonder if creative people have a core of fierce insecurity inside of them that's so profound that they see any legitimate praise as a form of sycophancy? As a creative professional, I am wracked with various insecurities but they've never spilled over into a belief that people "want" something from me if they tell me they like my work.<br />
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Maybe it's because I'm still "new" to the game and haven't had larger-scale success to the point where I grow weary of people telling me my stuff is good - but I can't imagine a time when I'll be so blinded by cynicism that I can't tell the difference between someone buttering me up for personal gain and someone who truly respects me.<br />
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I haven't had this experience so much with writers (about 7 in 10 have been cool), mainly actors, actresses and comic book illustrators. Is there something about acting or drawing that makes a person insufferable and mean-spirited to their fans? Hell, I've met extremely successful authors like Michael Stackpole, Nnedi Okorafor, N.K. Jemisin, Charlaine Harris, Tobias Buckell and even STEPHEN KING and none of them ever remotely behaved like spoiled children. Stephen King turned out to be one of the nicest creators I've ever met - he was a bit weird - but he was genuine, funny and took time to speak to me about writing.<br />
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In any case, I don't know if I will ever meet Bill Cosby. Chances are that I won't, and chances are he'll be nothing like the genial Dr. Huxtable I grew up with and I'm okay with never having that illusion shattered.<br />
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The only real question is whether or not I should continue to tell folks I respect how much I've enjoyed their creative contributions? Or should I just ignore them completely; keeping my praise to myself hoping I won't be seen as one of the slovenly masses hoping to vicariously taste a tiny bit of their "magnificence?" <br />
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B.<br />
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<br />B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-33014426054849493872013-09-12T14:39:00.003-07:002013-09-12T14:40:11.326-07:00THE TWO BRANDONS vs. THE SUMMER OF MEH! A.K.A. Horrible genre cinema and geek expectations...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Me and Brandon Thomas discuss the horrible mistakes from the genre films in the summer of 2013. Sure to offend hardcore geeks, we don't pull punches when it comes to the truth about our collective expectations and how the industry actually operates.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This two hour episode is jam-packed with excellent analysis of what went wrong this summer!</span><br />
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<a href="http://writingforrookies.podcastpeople.com/posts/53775"><span style="font-size: large;">http://writingforrookies.podcastpeople.com/posts/53775</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">B.</span><br />
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<br />B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-71258000373338380182013-06-17T12:06:00.000-07:002013-06-17T13:20:35.405-07:00MAN OF STEEL: A Hero for the ADHD Crowd...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIV3R4zbqQGTghxhP6XrpgRQ6SV7S7V89srW8tsw_tgcP_ErupXiFEDjqS8qVeXNJwSyNI2ZgxheYINKkzaVz-1meHEMywBIsQ45Hba8yFHlRNAEPSTTI-H9Ukv6Ii-FZ9rWeo/s1600/Mansteel1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIV3R4zbqQGTghxhP6XrpgRQ6SV7S7V89srW8tsw_tgcP_ErupXiFEDjqS8qVeXNJwSyNI2ZgxheYINKkzaVz-1meHEMywBIsQ45Hba8yFHlRNAEPSTTI-H9Ukv6Ii-FZ9rWeo/s400/Mansteel1.png" width="260" /></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">MAN OF STEEL was an expertly crafted movie - just like a Lego recreation of the Death Star. It is a heck of an accomplishment on a lot of levels but remains a plastic facsimile of a fictional object.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed 2/3rds of the movie and the problem with that is that MAN OF STEEL is incomplete. With a 2 hour-20 minute run time - which went by fairly quickly until the disastrous (no pun) 3rd act when the movie ceased being an actual movie and turned into a crazed video game opening sequence that lost all sense of story, plot and logic - you'd figure the producers would have learned how to properly balance the pacing.</span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Now, I know not everyone went to film school, and I realize not everyone cares about things like story, plot and logic. Most folks have no idea about how and WHY movies are structured. However, I will share that the basic set-up of a screenplay is generally - not always - but generally based on a THREE ACT STRUCTURE.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">In ACT ONE we meet the heroes, their friends, family, etc. A problem is introduced to their world and they must decide whether to face it or not. By the end of the first act, we have the problem, why the hero must stop or fix it, and their goal is set.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">In ACT TWO things get complicated. The hero loses, and loses a lot, then the world changes so much that things cannot ever go back to the way it was. All seems lost until the hero barely escapes death.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">In ACT THREE we have the climax. The hero usually makes a character choice that defines them and they GROW and CHANGE as a result and usually win because of that choice. I am going to give you a few clear examples of this in some Hollywood blockbusters.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpv2yCYw7xef01vjLUytMWTZvPBxaJN8ZClebJsMzBljWB00nnS4xbKD2DpwYXiYE7jcd30IUmqACh1LbUVF4-5rOm0_-o3LBIXyOBTTMejVfjyzB_om7MBBHKc8_JK6YM7lcG/s1600/indy6ef.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpv2yCYw7xef01vjLUytMWTZvPBxaJN8ZClebJsMzBljWB00nnS4xbKD2DpwYXiYE7jcd30IUmqACh1LbUVF4-5rOm0_-o3LBIXyOBTTMejVfjyzB_om7MBBHKc8_JK6YM7lcG/s320/indy6ef.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">In act three of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK - Indy has a rocket launcher aimed at the Ark of the Covenant. Belloq tells him he could destroy it, but the Ark itself is bigger than them, bigger than the Nazis and WWII, bigger than history itself. To destroy the Ark would mean destroying the key to understanding the universe and God. Indy struggles with the choice of destroying it and saving himself and Marion, or turning himself in so that he too could learn the mysteries of the Ark. Indy relents and is taken into custody again. GREAT character moment.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYtBsmGsxGWrFTFcV5x09WSjL5IgO7p-OeBJS8ZjcUj9d0jjVJtVBdUUSo_2-c76rZdpFFcGT1KZN8P_iwd3nqorv_hbAV5ET4jNvHLH6-51cXUXNLEHpdIybTAhWY7RBVy4H6/s1600/return-of-the-jedi-luke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYtBsmGsxGWrFTFcV5x09WSjL5IgO7p-OeBJS8ZjcUj9d0jjVJtVBdUUSo_2-c76rZdpFFcGT1KZN8P_iwd3nqorv_hbAV5ET4jNvHLH6-51cXUXNLEHpdIybTAhWY7RBVy4H6/s320/return-of-the-jedi-luke.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">In act three of RETURN OF THE JEDI - Luke has his father beaten. Vader is down and Luke could slice him to pieces and looks ready to until he hears the cackling voice of Palpatine instructing him to "take your father's place at my side." Luke looks at his father's severed hand and then looks to his own artificial hand and realizes that he cannot ever make his father's choice. Luke turns defiantly, and tosses away his lightsaber. Even though he faces certain death, Luke says, "I am a Jedi, like my father before me." GREAT character moment.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBYwW3MJ-9NXhnKLNw-I9aAE-jzFBHIJ-SdmX72n-jAHSDPVRi1u23ezJvwpzb-5an-ewZ2Q5RodeDNL8kutTcA0STHSKmXM_XE0N_Msn5nbKELbYKpsY4v44c7ZZCOsX5Son/s1600/Neo_v_smith_subway.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBYwW3MJ-9NXhnKLNw-I9aAE-jzFBHIJ-SdmX72n-jAHSDPVRi1u23ezJvwpzb-5an-ewZ2Q5RodeDNL8kutTcA0STHSKmXM_XE0N_Msn5nbKELbYKpsY4v44c7ZZCOsX5Son/s320/Neo_v_smith_subway.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">In act three of THE MATRIX - Neo goes to rescue Morpheus and eventually comes face to face with Agent Smith. After a brief skirmish, Neo has the opportunity to escape, but he turns to face Smith for an ultimate battle, he chooses to believe that he is THE ONE and is willing to risk everything based on that faith. It results in a moment of self-sacrifice that changes him forever and he becomes THE ONE because of that choice. GREAT character moment.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">I mention this stuff because MAN OF STEEL had no such character moment. In fact, it had no third act. Sure, the basic structure of "we have to stop this or else all is doomed (tm)" to motivate the action sequences, but there was no growth, change or faith displayed by Superman at any point during the final battle.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">MAN OF STEEL had a lot of story elements pulled from a few classic Superman comics storylines. The most prominent were the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_of_Steel_%28comics%29" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John Byrne post-Crisis reboot MAN OF STEEL</a> (1986), Mark Waid's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman:_Birthright" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT</a> and Loeb & Sale's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_for_All_Seasons" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SUPERMAN: FOR ALL SEASONS</a>. Henry Cavill mentioned that he based his performance of Superman on the comics versions instead of previous on-screen depictions and I have to say he did a marvelous job. So did Russel Crowe. So did Kevin Costner. So did Diane Lane. So did Michael Shannon. In fact, the entire cast was solid from top to bottom.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">The FX were extraordinary. Finally, an on-screen Superman battle that LOOKS like what a Superman battle should look like. Again, it was expertly-crafted to be a summer blockbuster but it was missing one key ingredient: a sense of self.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">I didn't mind the "darkness" because there have been plenty of "dark" Superman stories over the years. I also am not one of those guys trapped in the Richard Donner box and can't deal with <a href="http://worldsfinestonline.com/WF/sections/series/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">other versions of Superman</a> (if anything, I am trapped by the Warner Bros. Animation version seen in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman:_The_Animated_Series" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES</a>). My problem is that the movie felt schizophrenic. It tried to be an earnest depiction of mid-western life, and then other times it tried to be an action movie spectacle, and then other times it attempted to shoehorn in a romantic element that felt incredibly out of place considering we've spent little or no time getting to know the characters outside of Superman.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">For a longer film, it sure spent a lot of time rushing around, touching on the CLIFF NOTES version of the SUPERMAN mythos instead of establishing its own brand. I don't feel like the audience got enough time with the characters to establish an emotional connection. We see Clark, then suddenly he's on fire and tossing pieces of an exploding oil platform into the ocean. Then we see Clark and he's hitchhiking. Then we see Clark and he's walking around the Arctic and then we see Clark and he's wearing the costume already.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">I would have preferred a slow-build to the Superman reveal but the creative team must have felt that the ADHD summer movie crowd couldn't wait to see him in the costume and forced it into the story. How much cooler would the movie have been if one of the story goals was getting to the costume instead having it suddenly appear and then the next thing you know, he's Superman and he's flying? No sense of adventure, no sense of suspense and most important, no sense of DRAMA.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">I know there's a generation of DRAGONBALL Z-VIDEO GAME-ACTION MOVIE-SHORT ATTENTION SPAN-NON READING-CINEMA ILLITERATE fans out there that don't want anything from a summer movie other than explosions. And if that's what you want, MAN OF STEEL is your CITIZEN KANE. I can understand why you would love this movie. It is crafted like the cutscene of a late generation video game or a simple-minded martial arts battle from a bargain-basement anime title.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkvxFtbKaRRCsxbWi1e7ZNm422RWdfmm8jDi9p2_cxe_PqFNOZQp8mCRLzBQ5gdphdwne5-7hyphenhyphen0phxABDDcPxYxYBtlWxiLNu0k4ZAwwHbeTVroOKh-HkAdSvVuEfIps4jobwt/s1600/Superman041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkvxFtbKaRRCsxbWi1e7ZNm422RWdfmm8jDi9p2_cxe_PqFNOZQp8mCRLzBQ5gdphdwne5-7hyphenhyphen0phxABDDcPxYxYBtlWxiLNu0k4ZAwwHbeTVroOKh-HkAdSvVuEfIps4jobwt/s400/Superman041.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what is known as character development.</td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Beyond that spectacle, what was really going on here? You have a hero with no motivation to become a hero, just a vague sense of "wandering." In SUPERMAN I (1978) the death of Jonathan Kent was treated like the earth-shattering event it was supposed to be. That heartbreak caused young Clark to leave and go north to figure out who he was and that's when he used the green crystal to form the Fortress of Solitude. In MAN OF STEEL, the narrative is broken up and told in a way that removes the emotional impact of Jonathan's death. It comes in late and telegraphs itself poorly.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7OldUbsjlHpoEaeChmKrc_xi0IRT6bm_dSgSQd8LGKC53CZr-sIkQW0Ta-g5TLW7WUMnI9NXWHFcqXRuQtMt7q8ivD7pZv-WwKP8aR4VVQtO2HOdS5XzXvYBe09CsY33phyphenhyphenVe/s1600/2932470-Superman_kills_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7OldUbsjlHpoEaeChmKrc_xi0IRT6bm_dSgSQd8LGKC53CZr-sIkQW0Ta-g5TLW7WUMnI9NXWHFcqXRuQtMt7q8ivD7pZv-WwKP8aR4VVQtO2HOdS5XzXvYBe09CsY33phyphenhyphenVe/s320/2932470-Superman_kills_01.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Superman kills three people at once. </td></tr>
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<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Then we have Zod's death. They say Superman doesn't kill although he has killed in the past, specifically in SUPERMAN #22 (October 1988). I didn't have a problem with him snapping Zod's neck (although I don't know why he just didn't fly with Zod in his arms) but he decides to do that AFTER presumably millions of people have already been killed during the battle in Metropolis. Suddenly, those THREE people who were in danger of being burned alive by Zod were worthy of saving. Hey man, what about the other million or so who were killed when you guys were knocking buildings over?</span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Alas, my point is that while the movie didn't have a real identity, it was enjoyable until the final battle started. There was no character moment for Superman. In fact, if he HAD NOT killed Zod AFTER Zod killed those three people, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN EPIC. It would have been shocking, emotionally engaging, full of drama and would have presented Superman with the ultimate character choice. Think about all the movies you've seen and the movies that you've remembered. They all had fantastic character choices in the third act.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">All the special FX, explosions, cool flight/fight scenes and pseudo-reverence can't take the place of real characterizations based on real emotional reactions. There's two things that make great drama in my opinion: 1) Real emotions. 2) Consequences. If those things are absent, then the entire story falls apart. Again, think of the movies and TV shows you've loved over the years (particularly stuff from 1972 - 1999). What did those movies and shows and books and comics have that keep those stories fresh and compelling?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Real emotions. Consequences.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">JAWS, GODFATHER, GOODFELLAS, BACK TO THE FUTURE, EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, BLADE RUNNER, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, STAND BY ME, GHOSTBUSTERS, STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, THE MATRIX, THE TERMINATOR, THE ABYSS, HIGHLANDER I, THE WIZARD OF OZ, ALIEN, ALIENS.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Real emotions. Consequences.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Clearly I'm not a fan of phrase "mindless entertainment." The very notion of what that means is deeply problematic because it suggests that you need to turn off your brain (the thing that separates us from monkeys and other animals) in order to achieve satisfaction. That is a dangerous and borderline pathetic concept that is being passed off as genuine entertainment. Of course, we know that Hollywood blockbusters are really being made for the international crowd who might be "turned off" by American "cultural elements" which the producers assume means complexity. They want people all over the world to watch the movie without being confused by things like logic, emotional honesty and character development.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Now, if you loved MAN OF STEEL I pass no judgement on you. I'm just a guy with an opinion. I do feel that we need to demand more from summer entertainment. I hate walking out of the movie theater feeling like nothing happened. Is it too much to ask for emotional content in an action movie? I sure remember DIE HARD and even DEATH WISH having a bit of emotional weight in the narrative. That's what makes those movies stand out.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">In the end, MAN OF STEEL is a serviceable distraction on a summer afternoon. Too bad the trailers made the movie seem like an epic journey through the life of a godlike being who clings to his humanity. It would have been awesome to have seen THAT movie. In the meantime, stick to the comics I mentioned earlier. That's where you'll find the real Superman.</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Maybe I'm just getting old.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ8jex9IXpt1jatYGRdjPxosMOsIImg8OQTaWoE1wyk4URVY9LyA6G8g3OwTRGwHqras3E-X8QOc4dTVysGd8zXBpFrpm4tuHIkvoMvLLeHtdRpTjlJDa5n5ehqqRMmA2s1Z8T/s1600/old+black+man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ8jex9IXpt1jatYGRdjPxosMOsIImg8OQTaWoE1wyk4URVY9LyA6G8g3OwTRGwHqras3E-X8QOc4dTVysGd8zXBpFrpm4tuHIkvoMvLLeHtdRpTjlJDa5n5ehqqRMmA2s1Z8T/s320/old+black+man.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">B. </span></span> </span>B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-89547583920687840882013-05-18T10:13:00.001-07:002013-05-19T11:12:04.617-07:00I Won the 2013 GLYPH AWARD for Best Writer...<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was informed by folks in Philly at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention 2013 GLYPH AWARD ceremony that I won the BEST WRITER AWARD for my work on SHADOWLAW. Here's a grainy shot of the unveiling. Thanks to all the judges for voting for me!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-R1hbwvnCj7wXg-h8FYr57YBnMejeUyb9cq2EBa0omxGIiTRCmeonY0UdE-ZpEzJNuaZjrYquk8m6MvTPOWM1dyQzAYIlm4W8GiLNzAV9462IuhP7uX-iy_Yi42kWnzd7xUVX/s1600/BEST+WRITER+ECBAAC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-R1hbwvnCj7wXg-h8FYr57YBnMejeUyb9cq2EBa0omxGIiTRCmeonY0UdE-ZpEzJNuaZjrYquk8m6MvTPOWM1dyQzAYIlm4W8GiLNzAV9462IuhP7uX-iy_Yi42kWnzd7xUVX/s320/BEST+WRITER+ECBAAC.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The GLYPH AWARDS were created 8 years ago to celebrate and acknowledge works created by and/or featuring African-American/African writers, illustrators and graphic designers. The ceremony is held every year at the<b><u><a href="http://ecbacc.com/wordpress3/category/glyph-comics-awards/" target="_blank"> East Coast Black Age of Comics convention in Philadelphia</a></u></b>. </span><br />
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Here's more info via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyph_Awards" target="_blank">WIKIPEDIA</a>:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The <b>Glyph Comics Awards</b> recognize the best in comics made by, for, and about <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_of_color" title="People of color">people of color</a>
from the preceding calendar year. While it is not exclusive to black
creators, it does strive to honor those who have made the greatest
contributions to the comics medium in terms of both critical and
commercial impact. By doing so, the goal is to encourage more diverse
and high quality work across the board and to inspire new creators to
add their voices to the field.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The awards are named for the blog <i>Glyphs: The Language of the Black Comics Community</i>, at <i><a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pop_Culture_Shock&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Pop Culture Shock (page does not exist)">Pop Culture Shock</a></i>, started in 2005 by comics journalist <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rich_Watson&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Rich Watson (page does not exist)">Rich Watson</a>
as a means to provide news and commentary of comics with black themes,
as well as tangential topics in the fields of black
science-fiction/fantasy and animation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Glyph Comics Awards have been presented at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECBACC" title="ECBACC">East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention</a>, in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia" title="Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>, since 2007.</span><br />
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B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-61703832987590114032013-03-28T14:22:00.003-07:002013-03-28T14:22:40.053-07:00The TWO BRANDONS interview editor JOE ILLIDGE!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6GTV6QLkky2kVXTR90IIfmPZ5aU7rNhIE_SCX_P8iQNWKy95pf__mUKFJZiRw8W_SU1TpSt_3y-rDYvB50MtyMu-Wf9HNZN-zGPvjN9B_TIPjssomcS070BnUbZ3dSKpusWH/s1600/gentleman_joe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6GTV6QLkky2kVXTR90IIfmPZ5aU7rNhIE_SCX_P8iQNWKy95pf__mUKFJZiRw8W_SU1TpSt_3y-rDYvB50MtyMu-Wf9HNZN-zGPvjN9B_TIPjssomcS070BnUbZ3dSKpusWH/s1600/gentleman_joe.jpg" /></a></div>
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<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYg3axCe9HzRbzNUvOFPOuK6_zOq4EfGVp2zkim6TlSBAkAlyiDC7LPuoea8Um_xk6szqD_IqkF96YhTNI9ZB-57qd6x3mt9LOPcEK85GoRHLWo3N4Xok6OuzKJU_WZtUn93x0/s320/JOE+ILLIDGE.png" width="213" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="userContent"><b><i><a href="http://writingforrookies.podcastpeople.com/posts/50880" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">THE TWO BRANDONS IN<span style="font-size: large;">TERV<span style="font-size: large;">IEW <span style="font-size: large;">JOE ILLIDGE!</span></span></span></span></a></i></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="userContent">On this episode of THE TWO BRANDONS, we welcome the illustrious former Milestone/DC Comics/Archaia Entertainment editor <span style="color: black;">Joe Illidge</span> to discuss the recent high-profile departures from DC Comics, the aborted plans to kill John Stewart, and th<span class="text_exposed_show">e
recent creative team announcement for Quantum & Woody. Not for the
faint of heart, easily offended, etc. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">We're all extremely proud of this
one, and would appreciate you helping us spread the word. Joe breaks
down WHY the industry is the way it is and he pulls no punches. <a href="http://thetwobrandons.buzzsprout.com/10132/84047-episode-4-how-it-looks" target="_blank">Brandon Thomas</a> and I were VERY happy to listen and learn from his insights. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">B. </span></span></span>B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35465030.post-81323797512116221112013-03-13T09:30:00.002-07:002013-03-13T09:31:55.274-07:00THE TWO BRANDONS podcast! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">EPISODE ONE: </span></span><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent">Not for the faint-hearted or easily offended.
This is the first episode of the new podcast show THE TWO BRANDONS
starring writers Brandon Thomas (Miranda Mercury, Voltron: Year One,
Voltron) and Brandon Easton (WBs new Thundercats TV series, Shadowlaw,
Transformers: Rescue Bots). They discuss how to realistically fix the
issues of diversity in the comics biz.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzsprout.com%2F10132&h=uAQE4-aqQ&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.buzzsprout.com/10132</a></span> </span></span></span></h5>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">EPISODE TWO: Comic
book writers Brandon Easton and Brandon Thomas discuss their past,
present and future thoughts about the video game industry. Things they
hate (Easton hates Sony) and games they can’t stop buying (Thomas loves
Madden). See if you agree or not in THE TWO BRANDONS: EPISODE TWO. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzsprout.com%2F10132&h=YAQHlzq4GAQGaFp0GMaV_quuB9LX_hBCREDSvj6QvNnVw8Q&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.buzzsprout.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>10132</a></span></span></span></h5>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"> <span style="font-size: large;">Also a<span style="font-size: large;">va<span style="font-size: large;">ilable on the <a href="http://writingforrookies.podcastpeople.com/" target="_blank">Writing for Rookies</a> po<span style="font-size: large;">dcast and Itunes! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">B. </span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
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B. Eastonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994685076537931277noreply@blogger.com0