Rends With Benefits
...stuck in the kitchen while I wait for my nearly decade's old Macbook Pro to finish updating Flash. This is the end of the pointless round trip I embarked upon this evening, beginning at one Starbucks and reaching its apex at another. The plan was to find a nice, quiet corner of everyone's favorite coffee conglomerate and work on some designs for a mutual friend. With the place hopping with people discussing anything from The Social Contract to who can concoct more interesting flatulence on cue, the first was a bust.
As the first stop became a bust, I made a halfway pit stop at Half Price Books. Nothing major to report. I found the Owners Manual version of Surrogates for $10...neat. A really interesting odor from a 1969 62nd pressing of the Harvard Edition of The Odyssey. More knick knacks. Gathering of nerds. Beats sitting in the house in a way.
The final Starbucks was also packed to the gills like a sports bar. This begs me to inquire as to why it is so difficult to find a place to sit & relax in that establishment. Better still, what is a good time to get a good seat? The allure of Starbucks is purported to be its atmosphere. This illusion is hard to maintain when filled with high school girls. I miss Caribou.
...old man tactics are abound once more with Alan Moore. In a recent interview, Alan Moore went on yet another Walt Kowalski-style riff about his hatred of superheroes and their readers. Though in no meaningful way, this puts me in a slightly awkward position. I am a fan of Mr. Moore's better works such as Swamp Thing and Watchmen. I am also a fan of superhero comics and films. I have also read some of Alan Moore's lesser works, some of which are in the superhero genre.
The crux of his argument was that stories and characters meant for adolescents are being extolled by adult men and it somehow creates a dangerous precedent by catering these characters towards a broader audience with increased violence and humanity. However, he goes on to admit never having seen The Avengers, The Dark Knight or even his own Watchmen. Having seen all of these films in theaters, I can report to Alan Moore what I have seen.
First, I see a lot of adult men who are looking for not only some harmless escapism, but their chance to properly their favorite characters from a presumably better time in life on the big screen, doing a little bit to retain their youthful imagination. I also saw groups of friends in costumes who might have been getting one last night out before possibly embarking for college. I saw sons and fathers sharing a mutual experience that they will recall for years. Most of all, I saw swaths of good people of all walks who were united with one purpose of enjoying some time on this Earth. In any of these and possibly more scenarios, how is this at all possibly dangerous?
I will reiterate. I am a fan of Alan Moore. I enjoy the writing of other comic scribes more in the grand scheme, but denying Alan Moore's impact on the genre is a fool's errand. I respect what he has done to elevate the genre and its respectability. All of this said, he is simply wrong.
Read: Dead Enders by Ed Brubaker
Watch: Jeopardy
Listen: The New Pornographers Twin Cinema
As the first stop became a bust, I made a halfway pit stop at Half Price Books. Nothing major to report. I found the Owners Manual version of Surrogates for $10...neat. A really interesting odor from a 1969 62nd pressing of the Harvard Edition of The Odyssey. More knick knacks. Gathering of nerds. Beats sitting in the house in a way.
The final Starbucks was also packed to the gills like a sports bar. This begs me to inquire as to why it is so difficult to find a place to sit & relax in that establishment. Better still, what is a good time to get a good seat? The allure of Starbucks is purported to be its atmosphere. This illusion is hard to maintain when filled with high school girls. I miss Caribou.
...old man tactics are abound once more with Alan Moore. In a recent interview, Alan Moore went on yet another Walt Kowalski-style riff about his hatred of superheroes and their readers. Though in no meaningful way, this puts me in a slightly awkward position. I am a fan of Mr. Moore's better works such as Swamp Thing and Watchmen. I am also a fan of superhero comics and films. I have also read some of Alan Moore's lesser works, some of which are in the superhero genre.
The crux of his argument was that stories and characters meant for adolescents are being extolled by adult men and it somehow creates a dangerous precedent by catering these characters towards a broader audience with increased violence and humanity. However, he goes on to admit never having seen The Avengers, The Dark Knight or even his own Watchmen. Having seen all of these films in theaters, I can report to Alan Moore what I have seen.
First, I see a lot of adult men who are looking for not only some harmless escapism, but their chance to properly their favorite characters from a presumably better time in life on the big screen, doing a little bit to retain their youthful imagination. I also saw groups of friends in costumes who might have been getting one last night out before possibly embarking for college. I saw sons and fathers sharing a mutual experience that they will recall for years. Most of all, I saw swaths of good people of all walks who were united with one purpose of enjoying some time on this Earth. In any of these and possibly more scenarios, how is this at all possibly dangerous?
I will reiterate. I am a fan of Alan Moore. I enjoy the writing of other comic scribes more in the grand scheme, but denying Alan Moore's impact on the genre is a fool's errand. I respect what he has done to elevate the genre and its respectability. All of this said, he is simply wrong.
Read: Dead Enders by Ed Brubaker
Watch: Jeopardy
Listen: The New Pornographers Twin Cinema
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