Comic Reviews, 3/5.

Let’s start with the big one then, eh?  The one everyone — including the publisher — thought would be a good idea to spoil for themselves and everyone else going in (:sigh:)…

-  BATMAN INCORPORATED #8.

This issue picks up right where the last one left off: with Damien Wayne suited up as Robin, Grayson and Gordon facing a mob of indoctrinated Leviathan, and Bruce trapped in a safe at the bottom of a pool atop Wayne Tower.  If this scenario sounds familiar, it is… and Morrison played with the idea of Batman being trapped in a safe one too many times before last issue.  See, Talia knows he’ll get out.  Eventually.  It’s just what he does.  Her plan is to have him take enough to get out that he can’t stop what’s to transpire underneath him, in the corridors of his corporate headquarters.  What does transpire is insane.  I can’t believe — after all the time he’s spent molding him into such a likeable, cunning, loyal person — Morrison would have the gall to do this.  The big moment is handled well, especially the art.  This is some of the best art we’ve seen from Burnham on the title yet, at least those couple pages.  It is brutal.  It is colorful.  It is shocking.  But I have a sneaking suspicion Morrison is not done yet with that particular character.  On top of the big moment, we’re getting imagery from all over M’s run from the past 7-ish years: the girl Ellie who Batman gave a job at Wayne Ent., the ouroboro symbol, the Dick/Damien double punch, Ninja Man-Bats, there’s even a bit of Black Glove.  If you’re just interested in seeing the big moment though, and have not been following the run, please… just stick to Scott Snyder.

-  AVENGERS #4-6

It’s a little hard to review these as a whole.  In a way, each of these issues of Jonathan Hickman’s iteration of The Avengers are actually stand-alone tales; introductory type one-offs that detail the rise of some of his more obscure team members (with overarching threads weaving throughout).  The first issue tells the wonderful, other-worldly story of Hyperion… a rather obscure character from Marvel’s back-catalog.  This is apparently another version from another alternate Universe.  Hickman has been quoted as saying this character is very important to the long, three-year plan he has for his run on the title.  The second (#5) takes us back to Grant Morrison’s run on New X-Men (ironically enough), which I actually just reread last month.  Another big-scope, outer-space tale of an Iowa farm girl discovering sentient technology, putting it on, and becoming the first human member of an Imperial guard of an alien race.  Another relative unknown from Marvel’s back issues that Hickman would apparently like to use in his run.  Then we come to Tamera Devoux of number 6, a brand new character for Hickman’s story.  We learn that Tamera was in a car crash and suffered amnesia, and lost her baby girl.  The Universe herself has possessed her.  When asked why, the Universe replies, “Because she is broken.  Because she is dying.  Just as I am.”  The art on all three is handled by Adam Kubert, who I’m familiar with cause he opened Morrison’s Batman run back in 2006.  He does wonderful work.  But these covers are making me crave some Dustin Weaver Avengers stuff.  Handled intelligently, as always from Hickman.  And the end of 6 sees the “White Event” at hand.  So things should pick back up here in 7.

Present Shock to the ISS.

-  I need to work on a lot of music today, so this is going to be quick… and likely a massive link dump.

-  Phantom Balance’s new record “Loser” is up on their Bandcamp now and FREE.

-  SpaceX Capsule Arrives At ISS.

“A privately-owned unmanned US space capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, bringing to the space outpost food, scientific materials and other crucial equipment.

The capsule named Dragon was captured—with the help of a robotic arm – by NASA Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford and Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn, 5:31 am EST (1031 GMT), when the ISS was over northern Ukraine, US space officials said. The craft, owned by SpaceX corporation, will now be inspected via cameras, brought to the Earth-facing port of the ISS’s Harmony module and bolted into place by commands from mission control.“

-  Really great take on the main characters from The Wizard of Oz by Gregory Manchess:

-  I have a shitload of comics to read.  I AM EXCITE.  I’ll have reviews up here this week.  Also I hate how nobody gave a fuck about Morrison’s Batman for the past year until a major character got whacked, and now advanced orders for the next issue are selling out.

-  The End of Time Is Not The End of the World.

“Present Shock is a big concept with profound implications for culture, politics and business. A simple visualization (borrowed from Adrian Bejan’s theories of flow systems) is to think of time as a river flowing at a certain pace. Below a certain threshold, the movements of things on the river are fairly linear and predictable. You launch a barge in the river here and three days later you have drifted to there. This is historical progress as we have come to know it over the millennia  But when the speed of the flow increases beyond that threshold, the river becomes turbulent, non-linear, unpredictable. Such is the state of time in 2012.

What does this mean? Rushkoff breaks up “presentism” into five symptoms or challenges and matches each with constructive solutions for pressing the pause button. The “aha-moment-per-page ratio in Present Shock is high. Once you identify these concepts for yourself, you will start to see them everywhere.”

-Sonny

Freudian Salaries.

-  I was baffled yesterday when chatting with an ex-classmate on Facebook.  Quick background: I went to school with this guy to get a particular type of license, a company who needs people with this particular license is moving it’s HQ to our neck of the woods.  They asked me if there was anyone else I graduated with who might be interested in the job.  So I contacted the guy about the job and dropped his name with HR.  “You ever find anything else about that job?” he asked, to which I replied giving information about when and where, benefits, perks, etc.  “Yeah but what’s the pay?” he asked, to which I told him what the pay was.  “Yeah my current job pays more.”  Well… I understand that.  But perhaps you should do what you enjoy doing?  This is a fascinating field, and you care that much about an extra 5 Grand (or however much more; cause it can’t be much based on the nature of each of these jobs) a year?  Enough to not start a career in something you’re passionate about?  This is the problem — one of far too many — with our society.

-  The new Black Lantern Music release is pretty brilliant.  Called “ill Papa Giraffe“.  It’s jazz sampled, classic boom-bap style BIG beats with clever, socially conscious wordplay delivered with precision and skill.  It’s free… but if you like it, throw the guys a few bucks.

-  The best argument for conservation of our environment?  For men…  Study: Shrinking Otter Penis Bones Could Be Due To Industrial Chemicals.

“The penis bones of otters living in English and Welsh waterways are getting lighter each year, in a worrying decline of the species’ overall reproductive health, according to a report.

Biologists could not conclusively connect the damage to the presence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in rivers — responsible for a drastic drop in otter populations in the 70s — and so are pointing the finger of blame at endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), also harmful to humans.”

-  Famous Weapons.  By Daneil Nyari.

-  Batman: The Freudian Super-Hero.

“To clarify that thought a little more, I will explain the three tenants of the sub-conscious mind as designed by Sigmund Freud. According to Dr. Freud the mind was broken up into three conceptual parts: the id, ego, and super-ego. The id is the part of the mind that is geared toward instinctual and chaotic thoughts and impulses. The ego is the organized, realistic part of your mind that is at the forefront of the conscious mind. The super-ego is your mind’s perception of what you and society perceive as right, acting as your conscience effectively.

Though how does Freud’s diagram for the human psyche relate to Batman particularly? Couldn’t those same concepts be applied to all heroes? In part, yes, but Batman personifies those concepts most strongly because he is not one man, but three.“

-  Sonny

Comic Reviews, 12/9.

-  BATMAN INCORPORATED #5

It should come as absolutely no surprise by now, but Grant Morrison once again introduces a concept — a revelation — in his years spanning Batman run that ties back to the very beginning.  As in… 2006.  It turns out the first thing he wrote was all part of the current villain’s (“Leviaithan”) master plan to finally destroy the city.  In a very strange way.  Those who wished back in 2006 that the Batman of #666, Damien Wayne’s unethical, brutal Batman of the future, would return get their way here.  The dystopian scenario, of utter annihilation, is actually a vision of Bruce’s.  A nightmare ala the dreams he was having back in the “Three Ghosts of Batman” storyline.  It will be very interesting to see how the whole thing ends from here on out.  Morrison is one clever writer, arguably one of the best… but Chris Burnham destroys this issue.  He crushes it.  His work is just paranoid and chaotic enough to capture the madness inside these pages: loose, fluid, dynamic.  The colors are spot on as well, compliments of Nathan Fairbairn.  If you can’t tell I really, really liked this issue.  Love the direction while at the same time the throw back to Morrison’s previous installments.  And super-mega bonus points for bringing back “the hole in things”… Dr. Hurt in such a unique way.

-  SAGA #7

After a month off, one of the best new books of 2012 came soaring back last week with one of the biggest challenges Marko, Allana, and their child have faced thus far: grandparents.  And if that sounds a little strange but oddly familiar it should, that is basically the tag line for this Image book from excellent and becoming legendary writer Brian K. Vaughan and not so upcoming artist Fiona Staples.  The last page of the first arc (now available in trade paperback form) introduced Marko’s parents into the fold, that is expanded upon here by delving into the families past, as narrated brilliantly by the baby herself.  Saga continues to show massive amounts of heart for being so otherworldly and just plain bizarre (see: Page 16… eww).  I’m loving the world the creators have introduced, and continue to show us more bits and pieces and the series moves forward.  I really hope Marko and his mom can track down the disembodied ghost teenager babysitter Izabel, I like her.  If that sounds a little too weird for you then I’d steer clear.

-  FURYmax #7

I get the feeling that I’m one of very few people actually reading this book.  Which is really too bad, cause it’s Garth Ennis.  And Garth Ennis really knows how to write historical fiction and characters like Fury and Castle, this is very much so his book.  He’s been destined to do return to this character ever since Hollywood refused to adapt a Nick Fury movie to theaters on account of how he was writing the character at the time: a piece of shit, degenerate alcoholic who is but isn’t haunted by the people he’s killed and the shit he’s seen, and is essentially waiting to die.  What’s even more fitting is how this book is structured (aging Fury in a hotel room somewhere, recording tapes seemingly for a memoir of some kind, drinking whiskey and recounting his militaristic career with little to no nostalgia) in relation to the new, movie and Ultimate verse, Sam Jackson inspired Nick Fury.  The eyepatch wearing, old, white, bastard Nick Fury is aging out.  He’s a dinosaur.  A relic of America’s 20th Century military industrial complex that doesn’t recognize the world today, not that his was any better.  This issue sees Fury going back to Vietnam, this time paired up with Frank Castle to track down a Northern General who’s “increasing performance by 30%”.  Morally ambiguous, historical, simple… this is something everyone should be reading.

-Sonny

Throne of Games.

-  Alright people, back to your regularly scheduled programs.

-  Very heartfelt piece from one Frank Cassese at Guernica on Mr. David Foster Wallace:  It Doesn’t Mean We’re Wasting Our Time.

Several months later I received a postcard in the mail, a slightly tattered 4×6 of Dodger Stadium, with Los Angeles smeared across the top in imposing red capitals and a smoggy scattered skyline in the background. By this time I had all but forgotten my letter. I didn’t know anyone in LA, but figured a friend was traveling and decided to drop a line, so I lowered my eyes past the rows of neatly lined and evenly spaced blue ink print to the signature, which was illegible, next to an adumbrated smiley face.

And here’s an excellent interview with Wallace before his death.

-  Who’s Your Daddy: Examining the Parental Relationship Between Bruce and Damien Wayne.

-  I just searched “mashup” and filtered it to most popular of the last 6 months.  I got “Throne of Games”:

-Sonny

Neuroposter Mask.

-  So Disney bought Star Wars.  If you don’t know.  Which is… meh.  I mean, I’m not like a huge Star Wars fanboy or anything so I don’t have to strong of feelings either way.  I do, like 80% of humans, love the old Star Wars movies; and I do, like 85% of humans, hate the new ones.  From what I’m reading from people who know a lot about this stuff, there are novels that act as the official “post-Original Trilogy” story.  Something to do with Han and Leia’s kids, Luke running a new Jedi order, and the resurgence of the Empire and the Sith.  This could be decent I suppose.  The problem with the new ones — and I’m sure this has been written about extensively — is the fear of treading new ground.  This notion that they had to fall back on the old ones to be good.  You can see that in everything from the bizarre and wacky coincidences written into the story, the way the ships are designed, even the way Palatine was scarred to look like a shitty Halloween costume of himself in Jedi.  As long as they don’t do any of that, and focus on a new story, new characters, new designs, they should be alright I hope.

[But hey, I'm one of like 3 million assholes writing my opinions on the Internet about this so what the fuck do I know?]

Brendon over at BleedingCool seems to think he’s courting Hamill and Fisher about being in them… this sounds risky.

-  William Gibson’s seminal novel Neuromancer is being turned into a film as we speak.  Little is known about the project.  The IMDB page is empty, to say the least.  Liam Neeson’s name is on the cast, which may or may not be true, but sounds awesome.  If you don’t know about the novel it’s one of the best science fiction novels of all-time.  It started the genre we call “cyberpunk”.  It also featured characters “jacking into” the Internet which was obviously directly lifted for The Matrix movies.  Anyways, here’s a new poster (the first):

-  A Rioter’s Prayer: Pussy Riot’s Yekaterina Samutsevich on protest, art, and freedom.

I have the impression that this is the opinion the government wants to impose on people, their way of opposing the situation. I think that when a person goes somewhere, she reflects, she thinks about where she is going and why, because she is using her time and energy. It’s a conscious choice. I don’t go to a demonstration because it’s cool. It isn’t at all cool to go to demonstrations today. The forces of order are nearby. They can beat you up. The demonstration on May 6th proved that. Nowadays, many people find themselves behind bars solely because they went to a public demonstration.

-  Chuck Klosterman on why Fantasy Football is bad for the game (and your mental health) over at Grantland.

If I mentally transpose the words “entertaining” and “sport,” Dylan’s sentiment gets close to what I’m trying to express (and what I want to feel, but can’t). There was a time when I watched football in order to not think about my day-to-day life, but fantasy sports slowly changed that — in fact, my affinity for fantasy only makes it worse. I turn the players I draft into tiny parts of my life, which stops me from remembering that they have no relationship whatsoever to who I am. It makes me unconsciously think of them as extensions of myself. And I wonder if this is more problematic than I want to accept. Do I have any right to get angry at Chris Johnson? Does anyone?

-  The Trouble With The Mask.  Great op-Ed on the inherent problems with the new Joker in Batman and featuring a brilliant Bukowski quote.

-Sonny

Comic Reviews, 10/10/12.

-  Batman Incorporated #0

This may not be “Exhibit A” of why DC’s rebranding strategy blows, though it is certainly C or D.  I’m not begrudging them for what they’re trying to do with all this “New 52 Issue Zero” stuff, and I honestly think it will lead to their intended goal: attracting and keeping new readers.  But in the words of many o’ Conservatives, the strategy will and does have a slew of “unintended consequences”.  One is bothering people like me, who read very few mainstream DC books (umm… ONE); whether it crossed their minds or not, they’re risking the loyalty of their current readership to fish for new readership.  Does the risk outweigh the consequences?  But forget about numbers and market shares and all that shit and think about comics artistically for a minute.  Is it good for a comic artistically to disrupt the flow of a story arc by shoving in an introductory single issue into the mix?  What does it do for the comic?  What does it take away?  With a Grant Morrison book (especially this one), this takes away more than it gives.  To be honest, it gives very little.  What we see here are tropes, scenes, and iconic imagery from the entirety of Grant Morrison’s Batman opus: the Island of Doctor Mayhew, the bell and the open window, the funding from Wayne Enterprises, the recruiting.  None of this is necessary.  Part of the fun of getting into a Morrison comic is the wanting… the craving, to go back and re-read older issues.  When you do this on your own, it’s rewarding.  When someone points out all this stuff to you to get people to read what you’ve been reading for some 7, 8 years, it’s insulting.  Granted, Morrison and the art team of Burnham/Irving do an admirable job with the task given.  But no new revelations plus a hand-holding journey through the past just equals tediousness in the end, I’m afraid.  Skip this, return with #4 (which really is #12 considering they already started into “#1″ earlier this year and not counting this #0 which isn’t really part of the run and…. see how confusing this shit is?) which promises to plow the story forward.

-  Manhattan Projects #6

The title of this issue — “Star City” — refers to a sprawling metropolis of the former Soviet Union, the scientific and ideas mecca of the State.  We have yet to cover any sort of Soviet ground beyond a vague propagandist notion of who they are and what they want via the Manhattan Projects leering eyes.  Misunderstood by the Americans, perhaps… but they are not the good guys.  This is made clear (though I find it interesting that they implore the Aldo Raine style of permanent Nazi branding; instead of a knife they opt for a cattle prod).  The irony of Communist nations of the past is on full display here: even the greatest mind(s) of the State are subject to Big Brother compensation.  Such is the case with Helmutt Grottrup.  Grottrup, like many of the physicists and inventors in the book, was a real person.  German, he worked for the Nazi’s during The War, developing the V-2 alongside Wernher von Braun (also a character in the book).  After the War ended, he opted to work for the Soviets.  He thought, mistakenly, that he would be his own master in The Union.  That he would not be anyone’s underling, a less than desirable experience under von Braun.  But things didn’t change.  In the Soviet Union he worked under a man named Sergei Korolev, not so far a character.  Korolev in the book might be replaced with a certain Dmitiry Ustinov.  Ustinov was the Union’s Minister of Defense for years during the Cold War.  Except in the book he’s represented as a brain in a jar with a large robotic body.  Anyways, most of this issue involves Ustinov and Braun shoving Grottrup in corners to work and question nothing.  Then there’s quite a twist at the end.  I love how this book is simultaneously batshit crazy yet steeped in reality, and real people and projects.

-  The Massive #4

At some point this comic will dip in quality.  The interest it extracts from the reader will level off.  And it will still be good, but not this good.  Luckily, this peak still feels very far off on the horizon.  That is because this world that Brian Wood has crafted with THE MASSIVE is so vibrant and alive the nooks and crannies to explore are next to endless.  We’re still learning about “The Crash”; the series of cataclysmic natural disasters which led to a series of cataclysmic sociopolitical disasters.  But forget all that for a moment.  We also don’t know much about The Kapital or The Massive… the two ships of the (supposedly) pacifist conservatory non-profit Ninth Wave, or their crews.  Not to mention Ninth Wave itself.  Wood throws in a little taste this issue of the history of the organization and that of the main character, Callum Israel.  Ninth Wave had apparently gotten itself on the shitlist of many governments when they used The Massive (the larger of their ships) to blockade oil tankers from exporting out of the Middle East.  When 9/11 happened, their name was brought up vaguely, but not outright named.  Ninth Wave went off grid.  The organization stayed largely silent during a large chunk of the first decade of Century 21.  All charges were dropped and their reputation was cleared though.  So they resurfaced prior to The Crash.  And now, in a post-Crash world their conservationist mission continues; as they see it as important as ever before.  A post-Crash World where, as is shown in this issue, the rules and ethics of society have been swept aside.  Callum knows this, and admirably (even with a gun pointed in his face in this issue) he sticks to his vow of non-violence.  But he wasn’t always that way.  We also get a good helping of Callum’s life pre-Crash.  Very, very interesting.  We learn of his history with a private military contractor (something all too familiar since the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan).  A glimpse at his former partner then and now reminds us that even with post/pre Crash Worlds, very different Worlds, some people never change.  They only amplify.  The biggest part of this issue that moves the story along is Cal getting supplies from a shady character, to say the least.  The rest is backstory.  But the backstory is so damn interesting, I’ll take issues like this all day long.  This has got to be one of the best books on the stands right now.

-Sonny

Comic Reviews, 8/24.

Comic reviews.  Not everything I my pull list, but nonetheless:

Batman Incorporated #3

Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham continue the closing arc of Morrison’s Batman opus wonderfully after — in my opinion — an unnecessary delay related to the Dark Knight Rises shooting in Aurora, CO.  The culprit here is an opening scene in which a teacher pulls out a gun on her students to teach them violent revolt and revolutionist uprising.  What’s really going on is she has been “replaced” by a Leviathan doppelganger.  Following that we see exactly how the organization works, at least when it comes to infiltrating every aspect of Gotham society.  It’s a great way to start the issue.  Bruce brings back his criminal doppelganger (that must be one of themes of this issue) to get any inside information he can on the organization, which the petty criminals are afraid to talk about.  Then there’s Damien being Damien.  Since his introduction back in, oh… somewhere around 2005, Morrison is still the best guy to write.  It makes sense, he conceived the character.  And when he unveils the “web” of Bruce and co’s “lives for the past two years” you’ll be as amazed as Dick is to realize the entire time Leviathan has been in the middle of it all.  And the imagery of how this book ends is pretty disturbing.  Once again, we’re counting on Damien to be there.  Not the best issue of the series, but a solid entry.

Scalped #60 (Final Issue)

Dang… and just like that, one of my favorite comic book series of all time comes to an end.  This final issue is lighter on plot and heavier on thematic content and arc of each of the remaining characters.  I’m totally fine with that, though I know some people might have a problem with it.  In fact I would argue that throughout the book’s lifespan the over-arching themes were the driving force, with plot-points a simple means to an end.  It should have been plainly obvious that someone was going to get scalped at the end of this thing, that happens almost immediately.  In fact, the whole Catcher/Red Crow/Dash climax ends within the first 6 pages or so.  Then we’re treated to some very human, and motherly, moments from Carol… along with seeing how the Prairie Rose Reservation will continue to revert back to its ways, no matter who is in charge of Her.  The Rez is a character in and of itself.  And in the end we realize the differences and similarities between Red Crow and Dash.  Two sides to the same coin, really.  The Sopranos comparisons will undoubtedly continue with the possibly controversial ending, though I do not see it that way.  I see it as the only thing that can happen for Dash.  Fitting ending.  Beautiful artwork.  Great series.  A modern crime masterpiece.

The Massive #3

The Massive also ends wonderfully this week.  Not the series, the series’ first arc: “Landfall”.  Within we are treated to more insight on how the world has dissolved into chaos — both naturally and sociopolitically — and the inner workings of the still mysterious “Ninth Wave”, the non-profit our characters work for.  We finally get some background on Mag (and a lot more if you view his biographical timeline provided by Brian Wood at the end of the issue), and the debate ensues between one character’s dedication to “non-violent resistance” and Mag’s “new world/new rules” argument.  It’s an interesting debate, and one that should be the part of any post-Crash, post-apocalyptic fiction.  Shit, one we may be having by the end of my lifetime for all I know.  The artwork on this title continues to be some of the best on the stands.  Top 3 for me, even amongst beautiful stuff I don’t read.  This is a bummer, because I’m pretty sure Kristian Donaldson is done (for now) after this issue.  With a lot of help from colorist Dave Stewart (also, one of the best colorists working today) the changes of tone from Crash explanations, to present day, to character flashbacks is enough for an award of some kind.  We also get an introduction to a new character at the end, and Ninth Wave’s “home”, if they have one beyond their ships “The Kapital” and “The Massive”.  Excited to see where this series goes.

FuryMAX #5

I have a feeling not nearly enough people are reading this for how interestingly it’s playing with real-life military history and global conflict.  Yes, this is the white Nick Fury.  And yes, he’s an angry old bastard.  But Garth Ennis wouldn’t have it any other way.  Through the series an aging Fury has been recounting his career in a dirty hotel room, wearing a robe and drinking scotch.  This issue is no exception as he delves into how badly the US fucked up during the Bay of Pigs.  Fury and his right-hand man, sniper trained Hatherly, and a radio man, are dropped into Cuba the night before the uprising, to assassinate Castro.  Meanwhile, a bumbling, egotistical, downright ignorant Senator named McCuskey explains to the leaders of the revolutionists why they’re not getting much help.  Even though they’d been previously backed.  It’s kind of a chilling scene, how cold the congressman is.  Fury and company finally get through to Havana when they actually get a shot at Castro, but it goes awry (obviously, unless this book is going the revisionist route), and the building literally comes crashing down.  By the end we realize that Fury and his mates are in some deep, deep shit.  This is probably the best book no one is reading at Marvel.

-Sonny

Kubert RIP, Editor’s Choice.

-  Joe Kubert passed away this weekend.  A true legend, Kubert inspired tons upon tons of artists (just look at Paul Pope’s stuff).  He was 85, and still working.  RIP.  Here’s an example:

-  The rebels in Syria are certainly giving the government their hands full.  They may have shot down a fighter jet today.  The Syrian government is blaming “technical problems”, which certainly could be true.

The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) say they shot a military aircraft down in the same area, near the Iraq border.

Experts who examined footage from the FSA of the downed plane say its camouflage and markings are consistent with those of a Syrian air force plane.  The pilot ejected and a search is now under way to find him, according to state media.  The plane had been on a “routine training mission”, according to state-run news agency Sana.

The aircraft shown in the video is a MiG-23 ground attack aircraft, a type first delivered to Syria by the Soviet Union in 1973. In the current fighting, the jets are reported to have been used in July in the bombing of targets in and around Aleppo. It is not clear from the video exactly what brought the aircraft down.

However, if it was lost due to hostile action, this would be a first, indicating that the rebels do have a basic anti-aircraft capability. The government’s air power has not been a decisive factor in this conflict so far. But the loss of the aircraft gives the rebels an important propaganda victory.

Disgustingly, the rebels filmed themselves recently executing three government soldiers and throwing them off a rooftop in Aleppo recently.  One thing that always gets lost in these types of things is the people.  Hopefully it’s over soon, be it the rebellion is squashed out or the government is overthrown, cause what the hell do you do if you’ve got an apartment in Aleppo?  You try to tear down a fence to Jordan just to get out.

-  If you’re a music fan, I strongly recommend keeping an eye on AllMusic’s Editor’s Choice list.  They post music from all genres, they deem the best, from the last few months.  You may run into stuff you don’t like.  But that’s because the staff is honest and fair in their selections.  They aren’t cherry picking what they know some pre-defined traffic will enjoy, like a lot of other music blogs.  In this sense, they are trusting the visitor to make up their own mind, it’s refreshing in these times.  Right now, for example, there’s lots of classical up there.

-Sonny

Bohemian Chord Progression.

-  There awaits to excellent features at Guernica for you:

BAT-MYTHOS: Superhero idealogy, Batman, and the Aurora shootings

The decades since the ’30s and ’40s have witnessed considerable broadening of the superhero’s narrative and thematic ambition, an evolution (some would say cynical decline) that accelerated with the mid-’80s arrival of the glibly monikered Dark Age. Inspired by pop-culture touchstones like Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, the new strain of superhero comics attempted to incorporate greater psychological depth, artistic experimentation and gritty atmospherics, launching a bevy of condescending “Biff, Pow: Comics Have Grown Up!” headlines that continue to this day.

These aspirations were regularly confused by over-zealous creators with an open license to escalate violence and sexual content, but often enough, the writers and artists succeeded in taking the genre to new places. These were not happy destinations, rife as they were with anti-heroes and psychopaths feeding off each other’s pathologies. The defining quality of the deconstructive new tales was a readiness to say uncomfortable things about the sort of person who might actually be inclined to put on an outlandish costume and run around attacking sociopaths. In short, it was no longer possible to generalize about the basically hopeful nature of superheroes.

Street Art and the New Bohemian: A conversation w/ Eric Drooker and Molly Crabapple

Art grabs people by their eyeballs, it seduces them. Especially if the picture is very beautiful or very sexy or just really weird, if it has some surreal element in it. It makes people do a double take and then, if they’re looking at the picture, maybe they’ll read the text under it that says, “Come to Union Square, For Anti-War Meeting Friday.” I’ve been operating that way ever since—that art is a means to an end rather than simply an end in itself. In art school we’re always taught that art is an end in itself—art for art’s sake, expressing yourself, and that that’s enough.

Drooker’s work:

And Molly’s:

-  There’s more to the recent scientific finding that music has become less original and louder over the years.  In terms of volume, we’re using significantly better tech to both create and consume music.  It’s hard to drive a V-10 at only 40 MPH when you know that’s only a quarter of its power.  Know what I’m saying?  Then there’s a cultural aspect to everything being louder (literally and figuratively) now: to block out the world with headphones nowadays requires more volume in a city than it probably did in 1952.  And in terms of notation… well that is easily debunked.  Or questioned, at the very least.  Obviously as time goes on and on more and more musicians have to use the same chord progressions and melodies and structures.  There is only so many keys to use.  And within that limited number of keys there’s only so many ways to rearrange chords.  And within those structures there’s only a percentage of them that are consonant (a fancy musical term for “feels good on the ears”).  Clearly scientists, not musicians, did this research.

-Sonny