Alan Moore's Advice for Young Artists

Good talk from one of the best to ever make comics and arguably one of the greatest artists in current popculture.

List o' Links #1

Here's a list of links I've been checking out:
Bionic Six - "A family, brought together by faith and given super powers through the miracles of modern science" eps. 1-65

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-334776037034540837&emb=1

Real Cutting Edge Prosthetics: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid452319854?bctid=1576332530

John David Garcia founder of the Society for Evolutionary Ethics (SEE), taught an enlightened vision of ethics and human purpose via four books, dozens of articles, lectures, seminars and attempts to found schools based on his ideas. He did these things mainly in the US, then in Chile and Mexico.

A self-described moral protagonist and scientific generalist, he sought to advance human evolution through increased moral awareness and creativity. (Creativity = Intelligence * ethics). He viewed the evolutionary ethic as a "rational alternative to death" and devoted his life to learning, teaching and creating.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_creativity

Gumby seems weird when you're a adult http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjCXWocjA7I

All the South Park Eps. http://www.southparkstudios.com

The Marine Water Survival Manual is attached. You never know. If something happens and you end up in a large body of water... you're covered.

Head explosion time: New Kids on the Block and New Edition did a song together: http://www.zshare.net/audio/177607522c8d2f62/

Have You Fallen for these 7 Negative Attitudes Pushed by the Media? http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/commentary/negativemedia/HaveYouFallen.htm

How to dial straight to someone's voice mail w/o calling: http://www.slydial.com/
You dont even have to register.
1. Dial 267-SLYDIAL (267-759-3425) from any landline or mobile phone.
2. At the voice prompt, enter the U.S. mobile phone number of the person you want to slydial.
3. You will be directly connected to their voicemail. Leave them a voicemail, sit back and relax.

The Beauty of Capoeira http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8xxgFpK-NM

Foreign Big Budget Super Her Films:
Mercury Man http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1YUAtYcVYE

Cicack Man http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CySBADqyapk

Comic Book Wisdom # 1

Every now and then there's a bit of wisdom in comic books:

"Mistakes you make can always be worked out. The mistakes you don't make because you do nothing, because you don't try, you don't risk, those are the ones that haunt you when you get old."

- written by J. M. Straczynski, in Thor #10

Only for the Brave : 2

Remember that seemingly innocent thing your parents forced you to do as a kid that scared you witless and scarred you for life?

Mine was sitting on Ernie's shoulders after Sesame Street on Ice. They thought it would be cute. From an adult perspective it makes sense. BUT not to a kid. On the Sesame Street show, Ernie was the same size as four year old me. On the Sesame Street on Ice, Ernie was the same size as Big Foot. His big face was dead and expressionless. I can still see my parents happily surrendering me over while I pleaded for my life....

If you've got kids, it's time to share the love with trauma. Next time you throw them a party rent this guy:BUFFO the Clown Bozo with the intensity of Hulk Hogan. He serves no other purpose than to traumatize children. In a strange way it's kind of brilliant. He'll be remembered by an entire generation of adults who will ponder why their parents thought a clown on steroids performing weird feats of strength would be funny to an eight year old.

Ready for San Diego Comic Con

So many great online resources. Before taking off for the San Diego Comic Con I thought it might be a good idea to check my Crunk Levels. Apparently I'm still at 61% Crunk-icity.


Crunkness

Whew. Thought I might be slipping.

If you're looking for me at the Show check the 12 Gauge Booth 2547, Sci Fi Channel Booth 3829 or Hachette Book Group Booth 1118. There's also a signing for the Method Man Graphic Novel on Saturday and a panel on Friday.

Only for the Brave: 1

If you buy one of these they should give you a video camera with the purchase.

I would never think of combining waterskiiig with a rockem, sockem bopper. This is ingenuity at it's finest. While such a device scares most people, I suspect a few viewing this entry are strangely intrigued by this thing. They don't care about the rocks or branches protruding out of the water they could smash into at escape velocity or the leaping aquatic life their faces might collide with.

No, they're only thinking of the unparalleled fun they'll have before that crash collision with a dolphin makes them a Youtube star.

You've got to commend those people. There's a great symbiosis between the fun they have doing these kinds of things and the enjoyment the rest of us get viewing the recorded ramifications of it.

see this film: REDBELT

Redbelt is a martial arts film written and directed by David Mamet. The film concerns Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and self-defense instructor who imparts upon his students the skills to survive on the street, rather than prevail in sports combat. A series of circumstances brings Terry in contact with popular movie hero Chet Frank (Tim Allen) and a legion of Hollywood movers and shakers. Terry soon finds himself the victim of a con and, combined with a destitute financial situation, is pressed to enter the ring for pride and profit.

Mamet's take on a samurai story starring one of today's best actors. What else do you want?

Interview, Schminterview

Creative Loafing Editor-In- Chief Carlton Hargro and I chat about comics, movies and life. If you've got the time, check it out here

Peep more cool interviews with cool people at the Audio Floss Site

You couldn't be him...

Faster than a speeding bullet

More powerful than a locomotive

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound...

These are the powers of Superman and I contend even if most people had those abilities and more: they could not be Superman.

To the superficial, superheroes can easily be written off as silly stories of men in tights. But if you look just below their costumed surfaces, you'll see it isn't the garish clothing, super powers or even muscles that truly separate characters like Superman from the rest of us. It's something far greater. Something we all could possess if we truly wanted to.

Superman possesses great character.

If Superman didn't have his great powers he would still help people. He would find a way to do something for people in need with whatever resources he had at his disposal. Can the rest of us say the same?

Super powers come in many forms. It's all relative to the situations find ourselves in. The ability to fly would be fantastic and could be used to save a great number of people, but to a person who's in dire financial straits any extra money you could spare would be just as fantastic of a superpower.

My father is a mechanic by trade. As a kid I would sweep the floor our family shop while my dad talked to the customers. I would see mothers in the dead of winter explain to my father how their cars didn't have heat and their kids had to wrap themselves in blankets to keep warm. They would go on about how they didn't have the money to get the heater fixed. I would then watch my dad tell them it would be ok and fix the heater for whatever they could pay him. My father may not have been Superman to the world, but he was Superman to that Mother and her kids in that instance.

I have no doubt in my mind if my father had the powers of Superman he would help the world. Not because of the powers, but because of the man he is. My father has character. In a world where daily technological breakthroughs make the rift between what is science fiction and science fact smaller, we will soon live in a world of super-powered men, but sadly, we won't live in a world of superheroes. It won't be because men won't possess the great powers, but because too few of them won't possess the character to use those abilities to help their fellow man.

Sadly, it's not the powers and the costumes of superheroes people find incredulous. What they find unbelievable is that a person possessed of such great abilities would actually have the social conscious and character to use those abilities to better the lives of everyone else for no tangible compensation.

Most people have super powers. They have stations in life, physical abilities and financial clout to "save" somebody. They simply choose not to. They routinely miss their opportunities to be Superman and save the life of someone in need. Most people are too self absorbed to see the good they could do for others or they use their "powers" for personal gain at the expense of other people.

There are too few superheroes in the world, but we're teeming with super villains.