It’s happening, everyone. I am going public with this: I think My Little Pony is fucking delightful, and the newly released IDW comic is no exception.
I’m not going to sit here and defend My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic – if it’s not for you, it’s not for you. The magic of friendship simply is not for everyone.
However, I, along with millions of fans, feel that the magical team behind MLP:FIM is on to something here. The show, now in its third season, is a smash hit among all ages, and with 100,000 …
It’s here! Preview Night is over and San Diego Comic-Con 2012 is officially in full swing.
Racket Magazine is out for blood this year – well, SDCC exclusives, rather. Jonathan Yost, Laura Gaddy, and I will be taking the convention by storm, hoping to absorb as much animated, pop cultured, loot-filled goodness as possible.
While the Nerdist (featuring Neil Degrasse Tyson!!), The Hobbit, and the return of my beloved Doctor Who are high on my radar for panels, much of my time in San Diego will be spent wandering, gleaning as much …
This year marked the 18th annual Vans Warped Tour, the tour’s second best day ever with 16,767 attendees, and my second time at the event.
My not so glorious return to the tour was spurred by my sister. She’s 6 years younger than me and had never been to a festival. I normally wouldn’t go, but the thought struck me – I was the same age as she is when I went to my first festival, and it’s actually been six years since my last Warped Tour. Despite being totally out …
While at San Diego Comic-Con, attendees are privy to many things — fancy costumes, the occasional celebrity sighting, exclusive movie previews, large crowds. Though many of us are happy to take home memories or small bits of free swag thrown our way, many SDCC goers dive for the more tangible things — Comic-Con exclusives.
This year the Disney Store is joining the party. Only at Comic-Con, in collaboration with Funko, they will be selling limited edition POP! Vinyl figurines — a fuzzy flocked Sully, a glow in the dark Mike Wazowski, …
Coheed and Cambria
With the Dear Hunter and Porcupine Tree
The Wiltern
August 12, 2010
As I have lamented in the past, it’s often disappointing to me how bad the sound quality is for the opening band on a major bill show. Though I am not too familiar with their music, what I’ve heard I like, and I was excited to go out and see the Dear Hunter, and I wanted to actually HEAR the Dear Hunter at their show. Such was not the case.
The band is amazingly talented, and their songs are beautiful …
No More Dirty Looks
Siobhan O’Connor & Alexandra Spunt
Da Capo Lifelong Books
10/10
Finally, finally, finally- the book I have been waiting for! I have been known amongst friends to dabble here and there in environmentalism and will give the occasional “Don’t use that, it’s bad for you” rant, but for the most part, I am all talk and not a lot of answers. Why? To be quite frank, it’s because more often than not, I am too lazy to do the research- especially when it comes to cosmetics. There’s a lot of …
I spent a good portion of my time at San Diego Comic-Con this year watching panels, as opposed to forlornly wandering the main convention hall (which, while fun, is difficult to navigate through the crowds). While I unfortunately (and kick myself or a bit for this) did not manage to get into the Harry Potter panel in the AM, I did scoop some pretty great preview panels. Here’s a rundown of what I caught:
Let Me In- Starring Kick-Ass’s Chloe Moretz, Let Me In is a remake of the Swedish film …
With San Diego Comic Con just around the bend, and numbers of attendees surely through the roof, as a first time comer you are surely excited, nervous, and probably slightly clueless as to how the whole thing works. SDCC is massive — far vaster in numbers of people and content than other comic or entertainment conventions-and stepping in the doors for the first time can be very intimidating. Here’s what you need to know.
1. First things first — Comic Con is no longer just for nerds. While your friends may …
Shrek Forever After
Dreamworks Animation
5 of 10
In theaters May 21, 2010
I tend to have an oversimplified taste in movies- if it exceeds my expectations and I find myself entertained for the majority of the movie, I consider the film a success. I mean, I’m not going to go out and buy the DVD or anything, but at least I don’t feel like I lost two hours of my life I’ll never get back.
For that reason, among others, I am a fan of the Shrek franchise. There are enough stupid giggles and …
The plight of the migrant farm worker seems to get caught up in controversy in the US. “Migrant” is often confused with “illegal immigrant,” and the issue becomes lost in politics.
What really lies beneath the politics and the issues is a problem- families struggling to support their way of life, moving from town to town, following whatever harvest or work they can find.
Harvest of Hope, created in 1997, is moving forward to becoming a solution to that problem.
“In 1995, I began work at the State University of New York at …
Shootin’ the Sh*t with Kevin Smith
Titan Books
6 of 10
I have a long-harbored affection for Kevin Smith. His Clerks movies are two of my all-time favorite movies, his podcast and college talks make me chuckle, and I briefly contemplated stealing Silent Bob Speaks from the library. I dig the man’s style and sense of humor- he’s crude, vulgar, and at times childish; he’s a huge comic book nerd (and he even writes comics!); and deep down, he is a huge softie.
I was stoked to see that he was “writing” yet another …
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Twentieth Century Fox
10 of 10
As a kid I read a lot. Specifically, I read a lot of fantasy. Real life stories were too normal, too boring, too unadventurous. I spent loads of time as a child nose deep in L. Frank Baum, C.S. Lewis, and Roald Dahl creations. I always balk at film adaptations of my much-loved childhood memories- too often, the story is contorted to be mass-marketable, generic, or romanticized. Of course, I was ever so slightly apprehensive to hear that one of my favorite directors was …
Where the Wild Things Are
Warner Brothers
5/10
A bunch of mopey monsters in suits, some daddy issues, and some brilliant on screen images- this is what’s to be expected from Spike Jonze’s latest flick. The adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are was highly anticipated, what with its huge childhood cult following, Maurice Sendak telling anyone who doesn’t like the movie to go to hell, and Karen O working on the soundtrack. This all sounds like the makings of a fantastic fun time for kids and adults alike, but such is not …
Zombieland
Columbia Pictures
9/10
In reviewing this year’s latest zombie flick, I find myself unable to find where to start, not because it was a bad flick, but simply because there were so many kick ass things about the movie. I am no connoisseur of zombie movies, but I have seen my fair share and can safely say that this is the best zombie movie I have ever seen. Zombieland is a careful collaboration of sarcasm, slapstick, artful direction, cool special effects, and even a minimal amount of sappiness. In short, something …
I’m sitting here, pondering where to being detailing my weekend at the largest entertainment convention in the world, and I can’t seem to wrap my head around it. Forty years ago, Comic Con started out as a gathering of comic book fans (come on, the term “geek” is kind of passé now), and now it’s almost hard to pick the true diehards out. It’s a mass media advertising frenzy- books, movies, video games, and TV, and I wouldn’t really be surprised if music was on the horizon for this enormous …
Aushua
June 12, 2009
Biased though I may be about my music, it’s high time I told you about the best band blowing up in Orange County. Nathan Gammill and brothers Lee, Eric, and Phil Neujahr form the band Aushua, and it’s about time you got off your chair and gave them a listen. I recently scoped the boys out at the bar above the Roxy- aka On the Rox- and despite a few minor equipment malfunctions, the boys rocked the stage. My only regret is that more people weren’t there to …
