Sunday, May 31, 2009
John Dimes in new anthology
Pre-Order The Versus Anthology Now! Ships June 1
The Versus Anthology
edited by Josh Woods
6 x 9, 192 p. paperback
ISBN: 978-0-9824416-1-9
$16.00
Let’s pick a fight. And not just any fight; let’s pick a fight between our most iconic characters and forces, or even between extraordinary, original characters, or with people from our very real pasts. Anything goes. Some of today’s most innovative writers and artists did just that in this book: each picked a conflict, made it come to life, and now present the aftermath to you here in the first anthology to take up this challenge, Versus.
Featuring graphic stories by Pinckney Benedict, John Dimes, and Kyle Minor, plus the first story ever published by El Pollo Diablo, Dead Pirate of the Netherworld! Other authors include Alexander Lumans, John McNally, Susan Woodring, Brad Vice, Michael Garriga, Margaret McMullan, John Flaherty, Matt Guenette, Michael Theune, Danielle Girard Kraus, Curtis Smith, Andrew Scott, Michael Kimball, Okla Elliott, Stacey Richter, Laura Benedict, Becky Hagenston, K.H. Solomon, and Josh Woods.
http://www.press53.com/
June 7: Capital Associates comic book convention
Onion's Up director interview and review
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE WEDNESDAY 06-03-09
By John Judy
32 STORIES: THE COMPLETE OPTIC NERVE DEFINITIVE EDITION HC written and drawn by Adrian Tomine. A sweet collection for fans of Tomine and his comics, mini- and other. A handsome addition to any bookshelf. Recommended.
AGENTS OF ATLAS #6 by Jeff Parker and Gabriel Hardman. At last, it’s family reunion time for Namora and her cousin, the Sub-Mariner. Aquatic awkwardness galore! Recommended!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #596 by Joe Kelly and Paulo Siqueira. Spidey breaks and enters, mostly the former. Big Fight!
ASTRO CITY THE DARK AGE BOOK THREE #2 of 4 by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson. The saga of the Williams brothers and their search for their parents’ killer gets wilder as only a game of super-cops and robbers can. Recommended.
BATMAN AND ROBIN #1 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Don’t worry, it’s not the perennially late-shipping ALL-STAR version by Jim Lee and the guy who killed The Spirit for a generation. This is the dream-team that gave us ALL-STAR SUPERMAN among other things. It’s the new Dynamic Duo and their flying batmobile! Gotta look!
BLACK PANTHER #5 by Reginald Hudlin and Ken Lashley. Morlun the Devourer of Totems just chowed down on the Man-Ape (don’t ask) and now he’s ready for dessert. Time for the new BP to teach him when to say “when!”
THE BOYS #31 by Garth Ennis and Carlos Ezquerra. The supes finally decide to go after the Boys instead of waiting for the knock on their door. First up: The Female. Not for kids.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: TALES OF THE VAMPIRES ONE-SHOT by Becky Cloonan and Vasilis Lolos. A story of a small-town boy looking for a way out on the Fang Express.
CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI13 ANNUAL #1 by Paul Cornell and Michael Collins. The long-lost Meggan is looking to get out of Hell. I suggest hiring a baby-sitter.
DARK AVENGERS #5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato. Norman Osborne’s got trouble as the public is reminded of his past as the murderous Green Goblin. Stupid public! Don’t they know we’re looking forward, not back?!
FINAL CRISIS AFTERMATH: RUN #2 of 6 by Matthew Sturges and Freddie E. Williams II. Okay, so far the FCA titles have been an extremely mixed bag in terms of quality. This one about a jerk who helped kill the Martian Manhunter trying to get out of Dodge is among the best. A great ride for those of us who like dark humor and well conceived anti-heroes. Recommended.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #25 by Dan Slott and Khoi Pham. Hank Pym decides to break into the Baxter Building. Because he’s Hank Pym! Recommended.
PUNISHER MAX: NAKED KILL #1 by Jonathan Mayberry and Laurence Campbell. Frank Castle has to take down a snuff film ring armed only with office and cleaning supplies. This could be the most awesome thing ever associated with Staples! Recommended!
SCALPED #29 by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera. C’mon people, this is one of the best comics being published today. It must not be outsold by SEAGUY. Let’s all stop waiting for the trades and do our part. This is the conclusion to “High Lonesome” where cracked out undercover G-man Dash Bad Horse has to rob the casino. This is the one to buy for you and both your pals.
SECRET SIX #10 by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott. “The most brutal Secret Six story yet!” Well, after the whole Rag Doll family saga that’s a pretty high bar to clear. Gotta look! Recommended.
SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #4 of 12 by James Robinson, Greg Rucka and Pete Woods. New K gets a visit from the Green Lantern Corps in the form of Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Sodam (swear to god) Yat. Hijinks ensue.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #133 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen. The final issue? Well, it’s been a respectable run by a writer who reintroduced Marvel to the idea of making deadlines. Kudos to Mr. Bendis and the whole sick crew!
ULTIMATUM #4 of 5 by Jeph Loeb and David Finch. Almost over…. Just a few more characters to “kill….”
WOLVERINE REVOLVER ONE-SHOT by Victor Gischler and Das Pastoras. In which Logan is apparently fighting DC’s Man-Bat with claws that are now as long as his arms.
YOU’LL NEVER KNOW VOL. 1: A GOOD AND DECENT MAN HC written and illustrated by C. Tyler. The first graphic novel by artist and short story author Tyler concerning her quest to understand her World War Two veteran father. This one is getting high praise from creators like R. Crumb and Jim Woodring. Recommended.
www.johnjudy.net
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Hagen at Artomatic
Supes, David Hagen, 2009
Amusingly, I was wearing my ComicsDC t-shirt (buy yours now) last week at Vienna's Viva Vienna street fair and a lady at a booth called out to me, "Hey, are you David Hagen?" Sadly, I wasn't but she does anime voiceovers and her husband is working on a comic so they'll appear here at some point hopefully.
'The Photographer' reviewed in Sunday's Post by Wolk
I've got the book, but haven't read it yet. It's been getting very good reviews.
Where's Richard's Poor Alamanack?
Friday, May 29, 2009
Geppi's Museum launching major Carl Barks exhibit
Zadzooks on Wolverine videogame
VA DE POETES! (XI)
Resulta que se celebrava la Setmana de la Poesia a Barcelona i que el també jove poeta i recitador Josep Pedrals ens havia comboiat a una colla de huit per fer la lectura del poema riu Insuficiència Mitral del veterà poeta no recitador Jordi Vintró. L’acte consistia a recitar el poema de mil decasíl·labs de Vintró mentre baixàvem pel passeig de Gaudí fins la Sagrada Família. Com que n’érem huit eixíem a 125 versos per barba (puc dir per barba perqué tots els aplegats érem tios). Una corrua poèticoperipatètica, vaja.
Dels comboiats jo només coneixia Pau Bou, de qui vaig ser company a l’Institut del Teatre. Pau Bou és una garantia de saber fer, un tio amb criteri i dignitat, amb molt bona veu i coneixement del vers.
Quedem a les 12.00 davant de la porta principal de l’hospital de Sant Pau. Fa un matí esplèndid de primavera. Ulleres de sol, doncs.
—Ie, Pau, com va? Tu coneixes a algú?
—A tu.
—Pôs sí que anem bé. Aquell és Jaume C. Pons, el conec per un vídeo que... bla, bla, bla.
A la taula del bar on ja hi ha alguns dels jóvens poetes i recitadors corren les birres. Ens presentem i prenem seient. Hi ha Eduard Carmona, discret, tímit, darrere les grenyes. I un negre que no sé qui és però que parla català i no fa més que citar poetes: un conyàs, tu! Arriba Amat Baró. Es presenta, el sent parlar i li demane si és de les terres de l’Ebre, em diu que no, que és de Lleida. Per afinitats dialectals seiem junts en la terrasseta. Arriba Moixic, un pardal que fa volantins mentre recita.
—Ja esteu exaltats?— pregunta Jaume C. Pons. Ara ho entenc: segons la seua pràctica, recitar consistix a exaltar-se. D’acord.
Arriba el poeta homenatjat, en Jordi Vintró, amb pinta de moter o de cantautor galàctic vestit de negre. Està nerviós, emocionat. Val a dir que Insuficiència Mitral és una palla mental de 1000 decasíl·labs perfectament travats i rimats; però palla mental que no conduïx enlloc. Arriba Carles Rebassa (estos mallorquins se’ns fiquen pertot). Arriba Martí Sales, amb aspecte de ressaca. I finalment arriba el pare de la moguda, el Pedrals, que ve directament d’Almeria de participar i véncer en un festival de recitació.
(Hòstia, pense, si tots estos són els de la Pedra Foguera! Que fort, quan els ho conte als penjollaires! Jo enmig de la Pedra Foguera)
Ens hem repartit la palla mitral de Vintró per ordre alfabètic, o siga, que el primer sóc jo: Alietes comença per A. I així anem fent...
Portem una bona rècua de seguidors i seguidores: nóvies i amistats i veïns que no entenen res i senyores que pregunten si el Barça ha tornat a guanyar i monyicots amb bufes... I també la poeta del Grau de Gandia, Maria Josep Escrivà, i Salvador Bolufer, qui a la vesprada oferia part del Cant de la Burrera dins d’una altra de les activitats de la setmana poètica.
Martí Sales acaba fent vore que es menja a trossos el poema de Vintró. Vintró està clarament emocionat, Pedrals està content i prometem que això s’ha de repetir i que ho hem de fer tot seguidet a l’Horiginal, que allí potser s’entén alguna cosa del que diu el poema quilomètric.
Total: poesia de bufons per a un diumenge de matí de maig dins la Setmana oficial de la Poesia.
L’única pregunta és: calia?
Pixar's Up - two reviews and two interviews
http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/movies/29up.html
New York Times May 29, 2009
MOVIE REVIEW | 'UP'
The House That Soared
By MANOHLA DARGIS
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/28/AR2009052803803.html?hpid=topnews
Pixar Perfect: 'Up' Provides Quite a Lift
By Ann Hornaday
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 29, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/28/AR2009052801064.html?hpid=topnews
'Up' Director Finds Escape in Reality
By Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 29, 2009
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/comic-riffs/2009/05/the_interview_up_animator_bob.html
The Interview: 'UP' Animator Bob Peterson of Pixar
By Michael Cavna
Comic Riffs blog May 29, 2009
La Lluna en un Cove... ¿de nou?
Amics del Penjoll, vos presentem el que serà d'ara en endavant el format de La Lluna en un Cove, amb una enquadernació millorada, amb imatge de portada, i tapes plastificades. I moltes més sorpreses a l'interior...
Alguns van dir que no passaríem dels tres primers números, que prompte aniríem al forat... Doncs bé, hem tret el tres primers, el 4, el 5 i ara...
NÚMERO 6 DE LA LLUNA EN UN COVE - AMB NOU FORMAT MILLORAT
Resums argumentals:
La síndrome d'Amelie. Raquel Santiago - "A la Sílvia la perden les paraules boniques. Quan un home li llança una floreta, ella és incapaç d'acceptar-la i punt". La vida d'una dona fent equilibris sobre la fina línia que separa la realitat de la fantasia.
La prosista. Gemma Pellisa - Quan J. S. va presentar el poeta a la prosista, ella va haver de dissimular la torbació que sentia per haver estat presentada com a tal. Era la primera vegada que algú es referia a ella com a escriptora. El poeta, que estava assegut davant seu, va fer veure que no s'adonava del rubor i li demanà, sobtadament interessat, per la seua obra.
La Virgo Màxima parla... i Cèsar calla. Natàlia Senmartí - El fastiguejava haver d’acostar-se, per tercer dia consecutiu, al quarter de la Guàrdia Pretoriana. Arribar-s’hi significava travessar Roma començant pel Fòrum, la Subura, el Vicus Patrici..., les defenses de la porta Viminal per a topar, tot seguit i de morros, amb l’andròmina sinistra i immensa de la Castra Praetoriana.
El Barranc dels Batans. Conrad Freixe - Semblava mentida que en aquest lloc estret i agrest s’hagués pogut aixecar una fàbrica tèxtil. I, tanmateix, ací davant tenia l’edifici, a l’altre costat de la petita esplanada: un edifici a hores d’ara completament en ruïnes, esbalandrat per totes bandes, i, per descomptat, sense sostre per l’esfondrament que aquest havia acabat patint al llarg dels anys d’abandonament absolut..
Sobre els autors:
Raquel Santiago Batista (Barcelona, 1976). Sóc diplomada en Magisteri i llicenciada en Lingüística per la Universitat de Barcelona. Em coneixen a la blogosfera amb el pseudònim de llenguaddicta, i publico alguns dels meus relats i poemes al blog http://contesllenguaddicta.blogspot.com. Escric des que tinc ús de raó: diaris personals, contes, poemes, idees, pors, angoixes, inquietuds... i un bon munt de cartes a amics d’arreu del món. Hi ha qui neix amb un pa sota el braç, jo segur que vaig néixer amb un llapis a la mà.
Gemma Pellisa Prades (Tortosa, 1986). És llicenciada en Filologia Catalana per la Universitat de Barcelona i, actualment, està cursant un doctorat en literatura catalana medieval. Ha guanyat diversos premis literaris de narrativa breu, entre els quals, l’Scribo (novembre de 2006) amb El moment de la seducció, l’Unificcions (2008) amb El megalòman o el Premi en Prosa Sant Boi de Lluçanès (2008) amb La Ce Rompuda i ha quedat finalista als Premis Tinet de narrativa curta (2008) amb Qüestió d’estat. Una de les seues passions és viatjar, sobretot a Itàlia, on va viure durant mig any. El somni, el mateix des que tenia sis anys: ser escriptora.
Marc Aureli Espinós (Castelló, 1983). Com a escriptor, es considera un diletant reincident, i a sobre impenitent. Ha collaborat en el número 1 de La Lluna en un Cove, amb el relat El núvol. Una altra de les seves perpetracions literàries ha estat Tolerància, deixada caure en el número 3 d'aquesta mateixa publicació. Trista Nola és el seu tercer treball en el camp de la narrativa. Amenaça de tornar amb més històries de les seves.
Natàlia Senmartí Tarragó ¡Salve! He nascut a Barcelona, i fa quasi trenta anys que visc al Principat d’Andorra. Em dedico a l’ensenyament de la història de l’art i del cinema a l’escola d’Art del Comú d’Andorra la Vella. Abans vaig donar classes de disseny, còmic, paper maixé, il·lustració, tècniques d’animació i plàstica per a infants, joves i adults. M’he dedicat a il·lustrar llibres de tota mena i alguns dels meus dibuixos, gravats, pintures, han estat exposats en galeries de l’estat espanyol i al Principat. Sóc llicenciada en Història de l’Art. Però, la meva dèria, sense menysprear altres com la fotografia, consisteix a escriure i, d’una manera quasi histèrica, compulsiva, sobre temes històrics. Sempre em trobareu uns dos mil anys enrere, o encara més enrere, en els llimbs de l’Olimp, o a les ribes del Nil.
Conrad Freixe (Figueres, 1976). Ha passat la major part de la seva vida a Alcoi, País Valencià. En La Lluna en un Cove ha publicat: La dona de negre (núm. 4), i L'ou (núm. 3).
La Lluna en un Cove, número 6
A Xàtiva podreu trobar-ho en:
Llibreria "Vaixell"
C/ Pintor Perales, 4
46800 Xàtiva
Tel. 962281775
..
Llibreria "La Costera"
C/ Gregori Molina, 17, baix esq.
46800 Xàtiva
Tel. 962272867
Washington City Paper reviews Pixar's Up
By Tricia Olszewski
Washington City Paper May 29, 2009
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=37272
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Google I/O 2009 - Day 2 Recap
To see Google Wave for yourself, check out the video of this morning's keynote:
We'll leave you with a few more I/O photos, starting off with last night's After Hours party:
Yesterday evening after I/O, developers let loose and relaxed at the After Hours party. Food, drinks, music, and games were enjoyed by all.
One of the attractions at the Developer Playground area of the party. The Playground featured individuals & organizations doing creative projects with technology, art, games, music.
Enjoying one of the arcade games at After Hours.
Mike Relm performed during the evening, as well as DJ Scotty Boy.
Day 2's keynote opened with Steven Canvin from LEGO® talking about the evolution of MINDSTORMS to an open source approach.
Google Wave co-founder Lars Rasmussen talks about the vision behind the product.
Brothers Lars and Jens Rasmussen co-founded Where 2 Technologies, which was acquired by Google and eventually became Google Maps.
Stephanie Hannon, Google Wave's lead product manager, wows the audience with a live product demo.
The Google Wave team watches the keynote from the front row. The team is based in Sydney.
A view from the video crew desk. Videos and presentations from I/O sessions will be published on code.google.com/io in the coming days - stay tuned.
A developer picks up his Android phone.
The Sandbox interview room. The Google developer relations team conducted interviews with 3rd Party Sandbox exhibitors and will be posting them on the Google Code YouTube Channel in the coming days.
A happy Aussie fish and kangaroo greet developers dropping by Office Hours for Google Wave.
We hope to see you next year!
By Christine Tsai, Google Developer Team
Aspiring Comics Artists Alive and Well in the DC Metro
The man that took the seat next to him stared the whole time he drew (so now I know what I look like at comic shows). It was pretty amusing. I was hoping that the starer would leave the train, vacating the seat and giving me an opportunity to chat before the artist and obvious comic fan left, but the artist got off at Ballston and I took his seat next to the starer instead. :-P
Still, it's heartening to have seen someone obviously interested in comics on the train putting pencil to paper! If you're a reader, Mr. Artist, drop us a comment!
RFK Journalism Awards and Ohman's cartoon win
Jack Ohman of the Oregonian won the cartoon award. The letter we submitted to the RFK Center read:
We are pleased to award the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for cartoons to Jack Ohman of the Oregonian.
Two major themes emerged from this year’s cartoon entries – racism and the status of African-Americans in the wake of Barak Obama’s presidential campaign, and the plight of the 'average American' as a result of the devastating economic downturn.
Other frequent themes included torture and a lack of both human and legal rights for detainees in American custody, hunger, the rights of women, gay marriage, gun and urban violence, Cuban freedom and immigration reform.
Ohman's entries focused on several of these topics, but three cartoons in his submission were particularly noteworthy. Ohman left his drawing board to visit the Oregon Employment Department, the Portland Rescue Mission, and Loaves and Fishes, an institution that provides meals for senior citizens. He sat with those most vulnerable among us and then commented on their plight in perceptive cartoons that reflected not only the problems of his community, but his own compassionate sensibilities as well.
Ohman, by actually venturing out and practicing graphic journalism on behalf of the downtrodden, showed his sensitivity in dealing with issues of poverty. With this, he differentiated himself from his talented peers and the excellent work they submitted this year.
Jack Ohman's work exemplifies the goals of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. It is an honor to offer him this award.
These are typical cartoons of his for the year, very similar to many others submitted by other candidates - technically excellent, with solid clever ideas and good cartooning:
These are the three cartoons that made Ohman's work stand out and won him the award:
Also in attendance at the awards were cartoonists Joel Pett and Matt Wuerker. It was a pleasure to meet Joel and Jack and talk about cartooning.
June 12: David Macaulay at National Museum of Health and Medicine
When: Friday, June 12, 2009 (1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.)
Saturday, June 13, 2009 (10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.) & (1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.)
Where: National Museum of Health and Medicine
What: Join David Macaulay for a discussion about his new book, "The Way We Work," as he illuminates the most important machine of all -- the human body. Your body is made up of various complex systems, and Macaulay is a master at making the complex understandable. He shows how the parts of the body work together, from the mechanics of a hand, to the process by which the heart pumps blood, to the chemical exchanges necessary to sustain life. A book signing will follow the discussion.
This event is being held in conjunction with NMHM's temporary exhibition, "David Macaulay Presents: The Way We Work, Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body," which features the famous author's original artwork for the book.
Bring your kids along! This event, as well as the exhibit, is great for teaching children about the human body.
Cost: FREE!
Parking is available. Photo ID required.
Information: nmhminfo@afip.osd.mil or (202) 782-2200
David Macaulay bio:
Born on December 2, 1946, Macaulay was eleven when his family moved from England to the United States. An early fascination with simple technology and a love of model-making and drawing ultimately led him to study architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design. He received his degree in 1969 after spending his fifth year with RISD's European Honors Program in Rome. Macaulay is probably best known for a very thick book called "The Way Things Work" (1988), an exhaustively researched compendium of the intricate workings involved in almost anything that functions. It was followed by "Black and White," winner of the 1991 Caldecott Medal. Over the next decade, Macaulay published eight additional books, and in 2003 he began a volume about the workings of the human body—the results of which comprise this exhibition. In 2006, Macaulay was named a MacArthur fellow.
Mike Judge interview in Comic Riffs part 2 appeared today
Chrome Experiments at Google I/O
We've loved the experiments we've received so far and encourage you to check out the ones listed below:
- Google Sphere
- Browser Ball
- Twitch
- Wavy Scrollbars
- Bomomo
- Monster
- World of Solitaire
- Canopy
- js touch
- HasCanvas
By Aaron Koblin, Google Chrome Team
3D tours added to the Google Earth Gallery
If you're a 3D enthusiast, then you'll probably enjoy the latest addition to the Google Earth Gallery: 3D Buildings. This new category provides a number of self-running tours on various themes. The tours showcase some fascinating 3D buildings (along with bridges and statues and other structures) around the world, most of which were built by our passionate Google SketchUp users who model buildings for Google Earth. Whether your interest is castles, bridges, museums, baseball stadiums or skyscrapers, I think you'll find a self-guided tour that is of interest to you.
The tours were developed by geo-modelers Adam and Jordan, both of whom are 3D experts who really know their way around Google Earth.
To play a tour, simply click on the "Open in Google Earth" link to download the KML file. Then click the "Start tour here" link in the "Places" panel in Google Earth (download the latest version of Google Earth). Make sure the "3D Buildings" layer is checked in the "Layers" panel. The tour will pause at each location to ensure the 3D building is fully loaded. Click the play button to continue the tour. Enjoy!
Posted by Bruce Polderman, Sr. Business Product Manager
Mercurial Now Available to All Open Source Projects
We also want to thank the projects that helped us test support for Mercurial. Projects like Clojure-Dev and Spice of Creation helped us discover new usage patterns and fix several unforeseen issues. Unlike our mature Subversion implementation, there are still a few issues/features that we are working on.
We therefore encourage everyone to be familiar with what is supported before picking Mercurial.
Please let us know if you have any feedback or find any issues. If you're coming to Google I/O, be sure to come meet us in person and hear our talk about Mercurial on Bigtable this Thursday at 3:45pm-4:45pm in Moscone West - Room 5. We have Mercurial SWAG!
By Ali Pasha, Google Code Team
Hello World, Meet Google Wave
Yes, that's between wave providers: anyone can build a wave server and interoperate, much like anyone can run their own SMTP server. The wave protocol is open to contributions by the broader community with the goal to continue to improve how we share information, together. If you're interested in getting involved, here are a few things you should check out on www.waveprotocol.org:
- Draft Protocol Specification -- This is an early draft and will definitely change
- Community Principles -- Understand how this open source project works
- Architecture Whitepapers -- Learn more about the components of Google Wave
We're eager to hear your feedback, so please tell us about your interest, and drop a note on the technical engineering forum with your feedback.
Beyond the federation protocol, you may also be interested in learning more about the Google Wave APIs, as described on the new Google Wave Developers blog.
By Dan Peterson, Google Wave Team
Fessbuc
E' una webserie italiana non imparentata con il film Feisbum (la lavorazione è stata contemporanea) e realizzata da Davide Crestani, uno che viene dalla tv. E si vede. Nulla di eccessivamente negativo. Ma non un prodotto da internet.
La domanda alla quale bisogna rispondere allora è: ma dove sono gli utenti? E perchè invece che fare corti che pur vincendo premi non vedrà nessuno non fanno qualcosa per la rete?
Uomini Che Odiano Le Donne (Män som hatar kvinnor, 2009)di Niels Oplev
Dato l'impianto e l'intreccio basilari non è certo la trama a contare ma il suo svolgimento, cioè come essa ci viene narrata. E se Stieg Larsson nell'omonimo libro pare aver fatto un ottimo lavoro quanto ad intrattenimento e coinvolgimento (io, ovviamente, non l'ho letto), la stessa cosa non si può proprio dire di Niels Oplev.
Uomini Che Odiano Le Donne (il film) è molto lungo, molto lento e molto poco interessante. Nonostante gli argomenti siano i medesimi del libro, nel film non si percepisce il senso di suspense e attaccamento agli eventi, alla storia e ai protagonisti che fanno il segreto di un giallo. Anche il misterioso e fascinoso contesto non lo è poi tanto nella riduzione cinematografica.
La regia non solo racconta svogliatamente la storia ma manca anche di guizzi. Non si percepiscono scelte forti, momenti personali o soluzioni estreme, tutto è tenuto su un terreno minimale, probabilmente per lasciare che la corposa storia (il libro è molto grosso) riesca ad entrare nelle ben 2 ore e mezza del film rimanendo comprensibile. Eppure la regia non dovrebbe essere proprio l'arte del racconto attraverso le immagini?
Ciò che si perde è l'umanità dei caratteri. Al di là dei contesti che rendono poco, sono poi i personaggi la vera delusione. I loro rapporti e i sentimenti forti che vorrebbero esprimere non passano. Vediamo accadere tante cose, nessuna delle quali però coinvolge davvero, nessuna riesce a superare la semplice illustrazione di un fatto e andare anche solo leggermente oltre per diventare esperienza cinematografica.
Alla fine, quando la noia prende il sopravvento, non si desidera più nemmeno sapere chi sia l'assassino.
Se ve lo state chiedendo la risposta è "Si, si tratta di cifre sconvolgenti che potrebbero fare la differenza!"
La mia prima reazione è stata "Ecco finalmente qualcuno a cui dare il 5x1000!" ma poi mi sono chiesto se davvero dovrei farlo.
Non sono loro quelli che si battono per perseguire i pirati invece di strutturare delle alternative serie? Non sono loro il vetusto mondo delle sale che piangono quando devono chiudere invece di scegliere di modernizzarsi? Non sono loro quelli a cui fanno capo quelli che adattano male i film stranieri, che li distribuiscono in 4 sale senza fiducia o che non li prendono per nulla?
Si non mi dispiacerebbe dare dei soldi al sistema cinema, ma quest'occasione mi mette di fronte al dilemma se il sistema cinema italiano così com'è sia meritevole il mio concreto sostegno...
'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' videogame reviewed in Express
By Micah Pearson
Comic Art Indigene going, Artomatic coming
Up director interviewed in Express
Up, Up and Away: Director Peter Docter
Written by Express' Nathan MartinMay 28 2009
http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2009/05/up_up_and_away_director_peter_docter.php
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Google I/O 2009 - Day 1 Recap
Here are a few highlights from our keynote speech:
- Google Web Elements is launched: Adding Google products to your website or blog has never been easier.
- App Engine for Java is now out of preview and open for signups
- Google Web Toolkit 2.0 previewed upcoming new features, including in-browser debugging and developer-guided code splitting (also known as runAsync())
- Android Developer Challenge 2 launched: Win awards for building great apps on Android
- Google Latitude on iPhone 3.0 was previewed
Since a picture is worth a thousand words, we thought we'd recap the 1st day of I/O with photos captured throughout the day:
In case attendees had trouble finding Moscone West, they were directed to look for the life-sized Google Maps pin placed right in front of the entrance.
I/O 2009 had higher attendance, but registration went much more smoothly this year.
An attendee checks out the I/O agenda board. Product stickers were distributed to attendees to stick on their conferences badges to identify fellow attendees with similar product interests.
Eric Schmidt greeted developers and kicked off the keynote
Vic Gundotra takes the stage to talk about "a more powerful web, made easier."
Vic welcomes Jay Sullivan, VP of Mozilla, while also thanking Mozilla and the larger developer community for tireless efforts towards new web standards. Jay gave a glimpse of Firefox 3.5 features.
Michael Abbott, SVP of Palm, talks about why the web is the platform and Palm webOS.
A view from the audience.
We gave all Google I/O attendees a limited edition Android-powered device in order to encourage and facilitate further application development on the Android platform, and provided a preview of Donut features.
Office Hours are a new addition to I/O, where attendees can drop in and bring questions for Google engineers. View Office Hours schedule.
Alon Levi speaks on his App Engine session, From Spark Plug to Drive Train: Life of an App Engine Request.
At the Google Web Toolkit Fireside Chat - members of the GWT team listen to audience question.
Anybot struck up conversation and hung out with developers.
View of the Developer Sandbox from the escalator.
Enjoying a complimentary chair massage.
Developers crashed on bean bags, taking a break to check email and get some work done.
The Street View trike roamed the halls.
A developer pondering what to grab from the drink coolers, available throughout Level 2 for attendees to quench their thirst.
Developers enjoyed bins of chocolate covered raisins, M&Ms, pretzels, trail mix, and other goodies throughout the day.
To follow the latest at Google I/O, check out twitter and twazzup. Stay tuned for Day 2!
By Christine Tsai, Min Li Chan & Mike Marchak, Google Developer Team