1.29.2010

Saddened by the death of J.D. Salinger

I'm one of the millions saddened by the death of J.D. Salinger. At 14-years-old, as a freshman in high school, I read The Catcher in the Rye, and like so many others connected with Holden and his crazy little story. It is a special book. That's all I'll say about that.

Salinger lived his life the way he wanted to, to the chagrin of society. I read a great story in the Washington Post today about a very small publisher and his attempt to publish an out of print story of Salinger's. Link here. It's a wonderful little article. A one-man publisher running his operation out of his home. A random letter sent to Salinger on a lark. A response years later. An exchange of letters. A meeting. Then things fall apart. This story alone could be made into a movie.

Is it strange that I keep thinking of the movie, Conspiracy Theory? Like it or not, that film uses Salinger's celebrated book as a key element into looking at the twisted mind of a man with some serious mental issues. I really like the role the book plays in the film.

1.27.2010

It's official...the iPad exists.

Apple's iPad starts at $499 with various versions pricing up to $829. 

Here's a link to the detailed specs of the device. 


My favorite pic with keyboard doc station accessory:




















Small post. Enough has been said about this device already today.


Very cool. But I'll admit I wasn't surprised by anything which is slightly anticlimactic. I thought I would be.

Still want one though...

today is the greatest day that ever was...

Well, in a few hours Apple will have made it's major announcement as we all wait for the maelstrom to begin. I'll be at the comic shop at lunch today and will certainly hear all about it when I get back to the office.

Hopefully I'll pick up a few interesting books to write about. And I have a post coming soon on an upcoming Ultimate Guide.



Stay tuned.

1.22.2010

So two guys hit Midtown Comics shop... and what I picked up.

Made my way back to Wednesday comic book day with my good friend Matt this week, initially worried that the holiday on Monday shifted the 'new books' release date--which it did not. I've made that mistake many a Wednesday in the past.

We discussed many things from Jeff Loeb's Ultimate universe storytelling (or lack there of), being life-long yet hesitant Los Bros Hernandez fans, as well as marveling that we both want to read Crumb's mammoth and intricately illustrated Book of Genesis from Norton, and were both shocked to see a very reasonable price tag of $24.95 on such an impressive tome (might be purchasing it soon).


My pick this week for the grownup readers is the  little hardcover by Gilbert Hernandez, THE TROUBLEMAKERS. I was initially taken in by the compact hardcover presentation. Personally, as I move more and more into the digital book field, I have an ever-growing appreciation for smartly constructed (and good looking) hardcovers for the home attic library. I really enjoyed the book, and what a beautiful little package of a book it is.

Half the fun of this book is trying to figure out just who is getting conned the worst? I zipped through this fun read, filled with backstabbing, double-crosses, and the spectacular art of Gilbert Hernandez. There is enough sex, violence, and treachery for any fan of pulp fiction. Now I need to go back and get his 2007 hardcover release, Chance in Hell. This offshoot of the Love and Rockets series is too much fun to miss.

On a much lighter note, I also started picking up some of these wonderful DC Comics superhero adventure books done in collaboration with Stone Arch Books for young readers. After all, I do have a new little super guy at home. I had picked up a few of these books at the comic shop over the holidays for the nephews, and thought I should add a few to my little guy's new bookshelf at home.

Done in the style of Bruce Timm's cartoon animation, each adventure book is full of text and wonderful color illustration to share with your favorite little superhero at home.

This particular book, SUPERMAN: BIZARRO IS BORN, was writtten by the legendary, and uber-talented Louise Simonson, and feature artwork by a stellar roster of contributors. Each book in the series has a unique writing and illustration team.

I started off with a tale of Bizarro--a favorite villain of mine. I'll write more about these fun books once I've read them through (hopefully aloud to my son) and once I've grabbed a few more (several Batman volumes are available also). Keep an eye out for them.

That's all for now. Until next time.

1.12.2010

Book of Eli screenwriter interview on CBR

Another quick post related to the upcoming film, The Book of Eli, as it just keeps coming up as I read things online. And as I continue to remain impressed that this was an original screenplay, as learned in an interview at Comic Book Resources with screenwriter, Gary Whitta, which solidified my thoughts on the work.

Read the interview here. The article by CBR staff writer, Erik Amaya, tells some great details about Whitta selling the script, Denzel pretty much "protecting it" so that it was filmed very close to the original script written, and even Comic Con fans asking what graphic novel it was based on when teased last year with those fans being surprised to hear it was an original work, even in a time when adapted screenplays are all the rage in Hollywood. It is an interesting article worth checking out.

Oh, and books, I will get back to talking about them soon. Thing is, the last two books I read were of the "yet to be published" variety, so I can't really talk about them...yet. I'm currently reading the monstrosity that is Stephen King's Under the Dome--and loving it--but won't be done for a wee bit, but I plan to talk more about it here.


I'll also be reading more of the newer Stephen King-related comics and re-reading some older King titles, work related to my 2011 editorial project. Always exciting.

I also hope to post an updated attic library pictoral soon. It is coming along nicely. Still need a desk though...

1.05.2010

A Creative Endeavor in a new Journal.

In an attempt to start the new year off right, and because I feel I don't have enough on my plate these days (ha!), as I made my rounds through my favorite websites last night I returned to the blog dedicated to the legendary Moleskine notebook, Moleskinerie.



While on there reading through recent and older posts, I found an interesting post about an initiative by the Art House Co-op in Brooklyn. And I signed up. Here's a quick quote from the Molskinerie website:

Exciting update from Shane Zucker at the Art House Co-op:
"(Our) latest Sketchbook Project ended up with 3,600 artists participating in it! ...We just launched a new project called The Fiction Project which focuses on telling a story through writing and art, with the Moleskine being the vessel. Each person will receive a randomly assigned theme and a ruled Moleskine Cahier journal to create a work of fiction in. In the end, each book will be included in the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Art Library..."
 

You can read more about it, here. Note that there is an $18 contribution fee, but they do send participants a small Moleskine notebook to use and it is for a good cause. Also there are samples from a previous project displayed on the site - and they are pretty cool looking.


Anyone who knows me, knows I've been a life-long journal writer. Even as technology has progressed, and despite the fact that I've even entered the blogosphere, I always found solace and release writing in the pages of my various notebooks. This is something that will always be a part of my life.






This Fiction Project sounded like a great way to be creative and be part of more than my pile of journals dating back to high school. I loved the permenance of the idea, the notebook I create becoming part of a permanent collection, helping to build the Brooklyn Art Library's collection.

If anyone else reading this decides to participate, please email me, I'd love to share in the experience, and I will try to give some updates on progress here.

[Edit. note: The photos in this post are not of my own personal notebooks, just images I found on the net to add to this piece. I hope to have journals nearly as pretty].


Carpe Diem!

DEAR CYBORGS by Eugene Lim, a little review

I had read a great little article on LitHub.com about this new novel from Eugene Lim and went to seek it out. Soon after I had acquired...