via slashfilm.com
The return of Les Grossman...priceless!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Sometimes…
Sometimes your heart just feels heavy, a stone inside your chest, weighing you down and causing you to walk slower. The stone is not always there, and you do not notice it when it is gone, except for when it has just lifted and disappeared.
I feel the stone inside my chest today. I would like to just go home, but I am bound for Manhattan this evening to participate at a function.
I hope I can walk enough to get home without feeling exhausted when I get there.
via Writerous
Sunday, May 16, 2010
From LIFE.com: Mainstreaming
Comic book spin-offs -- whether appearing on TV, in movies, or in any other media -- dominate the box-office these days. This 1966 cover of LIFE magazine, meanwhile, suggests the phenomenon of cross-media pollination is not new. Pictured: Adam West as Batman in the ABC television series that aired from January 12, 1966, to March 14, 1968. 
- Rob
- Rob From LIFE.com: Comics in the Golden Age, 1930s and 1940s
During the mid-1930s, newspaper comic strips in the U.S. bloomed into entire books. Famous Funnies, published in 1934, is widely considered the first American comic book and helped usher in what fans of the genre often cite as the Golden Age of comics, running from 1930s through the late '40s. Pictured: Taking in a newspaper comic strip, 1933.
- Rob
From LIFE.com: Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico
Fire boats battle a fire at the off-shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon, April 21, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. The rig exploded 50 miles out in the Gulf, killing 11 workers and blowing open the well. Since then, it has been spewing an estimated 200,000 gallons a day in the nation's biggest oil-related disaster since the Exxon Valdez catastrophe in Alaska in 1989. Following are images from above the site of the damaged well, taken in the days and weeks since the explosion and offering a glimpse into the true scope of the disaster. 
- Rob
- Rob Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Frank Frazetta 1928-2010 | The Beat
Word is going around the internet that legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta has died at age 82, but we haven’t been able to confirm this, despite many tweets and blog postings stating that he has died. At this point it has to be considered UNCONFIRMED although he has been in ill health of late, and was hospitalized yesterday.
UPDATE: We are sad to confirm via Frazetta’s agent Robert Pistella that the artist passed away this afternoon in a hospital near his home. The cause of death was a stroke. Funeral arrangements will be announced shortly.
Frank Frazetta was born February 9, 1928. His early artistic career consisted of years of exquisitely drawn comics work, including contributions to the EC line of comics, assisting Al Capp on L’il Abner and later drawing several years of the strip, and working with Harvey Kurtzman on Little Annie Fanny.
In the ’60s, Frazetta turned to cover paintings for the thriving pulp paperback industry and created one of the most recognizable illustration styles of all time. His covers for Conan, Tarzan and other rough-hewn heroes created a visceral, violent, erotic yet somehow still nuanced visual style that has been endlessly imitated but never surpassed — Frazetta’s imagery of brawny, relentless swordsmen, seductive, fleshy sirens and hellfire breathing monsters had a gut level impact because it came from the gut — his many followers were just tracing without the passion of the originals.
In recent years, as reported here and elsewhere, the Frazetta estate had been much in dispute among his four children, following the death of his wife, Ellie. After some family squabbles that could only be called stressful and embarrassing, peace was made, however, and the sale of some of Frazetta’s most iconic paintings had begun, notably with the $1,000,000 sale of one of his paintings to a buyer believed to be Metallica’s Kirk Hammett. Another Frazetta painting was recently put up for auction, although it was not owned by the family.
Below is one of the last known public photos of Frazetta, shown in February at a family barbeque in Florida with his daughters and granddaughter.
I’m a pulp girl at heart; Frazetta was one of the great image makers of my youth and I’m personally saddened beyond words at his passing. Despite everything that’s gone on with the family, Frazetta’s legacy will surely be as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, a fantastic image maker whose imagination will live on for generations to come.
Our condolences to his friends and family.
via comicsbeat.com
Good night, Frank. Thanks for the memories.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Friday, May 07, 2010
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Monday, May 03, 2010
City Pushing Major Changes to Special Education
This fall, more than 250 schools will be asked to accept more students with disabilities rather than send them to schools that have specific programs for special education, as has been the case for decades. By September 2011, principals at each of the system’s 1,500 schools will be expected to enroll all but the most severely disabled students; those students will continue to be served by schools tailored exclusively to them.
The shift echoes one of the central philosophies of the administration, giving principals more responsibility and control over their schools. It is also an effort to bring New York more in line with the nationwide trend of allowing special education students to benefit from regular classroom settings.
But some special education advocates and principals worry that the changes could be too difficult for principals with little knowledge of special education, who are already strained by day-to-day issues and impending budget cuts.
“This is fundamentally looking to change the way kids with special needs are treated in the city — they’re talking about changing the culture of all the schools in the city so that they can serve students that many of them were previously shipping out,” said Kim Sweet, the executive director of Advocates for Children of New York, which helps parents navigate the special education system. “This could easily fall flat if it’s not done right.
“If kids are stuck in schools that don’t have the capacity to serve them and are denied requests to move elsewhere, that would be falling worse than flat.”
Like other large cities, New York has had difficulty figuring out how to provide appropriate services for disabled students without isolating them, and how to manage large spending increases on special education.
Enrollment in special education programs has climbed to some 177,000 students, or more than 17 percent of the system, up from roughly 13 percent in 2003. Experts in special education say it is difficult to know what has caused the increase. Theories include better identification of students with learning disabilities, particularly autism; parents being less reluctant to see their children identified as disabled; and the possibility that more children might actually have difficulties than in years past.
The city now spends $4.8 billion annually on special education, up from $3.8 billion five years ago. That includes $1.2 billion to send students to private schools. Recent state and United States Supreme Court rulings strengthened the rights of parents of special education students to receive private schooling at taxpayer expense if public schools cannot give them the services they need.
Education Department officials said that they did not believe they would save money and that costs did not factor in their decision to make the change. Rather, they said, it was an effort to improve results for special education students.
While graduation rates have risen over all, for example, the rates for special education students have remained stubbornly low — fewer than 25 percent received a regular diploma last year, compared with more than double that for traditional students.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the city schools chancellor, Joel I. Klein, first pushed to move more disabled students into mainstream classes in 2003. The effort never took hold. Making matters worse, many student files were misplaced or lost, and some students received no services for months at a time. Since then, the department has spent more than $40 million to computerize records.
Laura Rodriguez, the deputy chancellor for special education and students still learning English, who was appointed last year to oversee the changes, said she was confident they would stick this time because so many educators were frustrated with the system.
“There has never been a golden age of special education,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “For the vast majority of students, there’s no reason they cannot be in a regular classroom setting if they get what they need.”
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via nytimes.com
Sunday, May 02, 2010
From LIFE.com: Groucho Marx
Could it merely have been his last name that made the FBI raise eyebrows? The comedian's files include conflicting intel about his involvement with communists (a connection to the Party was never proved). Reads one confidential summary from 1963: "In so far as informant was aware, MARX was not a member of the Communist Party but that he appeared to be sympathetic thereto. Informant bases this on the recollection that MARX was an avid reader of such publications... 
- Rob
- Rob From LIFE.com: Frank Sinatra
Upon his death in 1998, responding to Freedom of Information Act requests from the media, the FBI released the 1,275 pages it had compiled about the Chairman of the Board over 40 years. Among the things Hoover's agents investigated: whether he'd paid $40,000 to avoid getting drafted in 1943 (conclusion: he had not), his association with crooks and mobsters (according to one summary report, a New Jersey boss had "a financial interest in Frank Sinatra,"... 
- Rob
- Rob From LIFE.com: Marilyn Monroe
As with any many Hollywood stars it kept files about, Hoover's FBI was particularly interested in any Communist leanings or associates Monroe had. But agents also kept information about the sex symbol's personal life and her state of mind. One such interview was with a woman named Eunice Churchill, who claimed to be a part-time interior decorator and the assistant of Monroe's analyst. Though much of the Monroe memos are blacked out, here's a tidbit... 
- Rob
- Rob Crime, Horror, and Gore – The Comic Book Controversy - DivineCaroline
Before the rise of the television, comic books were one of the most widespread forms of entertainment. Between 1945 and 1954, distribution and readership soared; in particular, the horror, crime, violence, and sadism genres became widely popular. While the fantastical stories pleased young readers (who could purchase them for ten cents), they worried parents, politicians, and doctors, who felt that exposure to these gory topics was a cause of juvenile delinquency.
One of the most outspoken critics was the psychiatrist Frederic Wertham, who attacked comics in the book Seduction of the Innocent. Based on his work (and public opposition), in the early 1950s, the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency accused the comic book industry of negatively influencing youth. The industry was forced to change; horror, terror, and violent comics were shelved.
But were the books really that bad? You can judge for yourself by checking out some of the more gruesome covers, which offer some insight as to the contents within.
Entertaining Comics (previously known as Educational Comics) was a leader in the horror and crime field, and was well regarded for its artistic skill and creativity. After the ban on horror comic books, EC went on to publish the hugely popular MAD magazine.
Photo source: costa.lunarpages.com
Violence against women was a common theme in the crime and horror genres …
Photo source: www.crimeboss.com
Photo source: www.samuelsdesign.com
… as was the severed woman’s head.
Photo source: www.watt-evans.com
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Jonathan Coulton » Blog Archive » Please Do Not Get Arrested
And if you do, please do not mention my name to the police.
It is a very special day in Coultonland, a day I like to call “The First of May.” This is a free country, or at least it was until Obama was elected,* and so I do not presume to tell you how to celebrate it. I have no doubt that whatever you do, you will be sure to obey the law and comply with local ordinances. Also please remember that poison ivy has three shiny pointy leaves.
I myself will mostly be staying indoors, but I have already rubbed a couple of butts – no, they were PORK BUTTS, and I rubbed them with SPICES you pervert. What is wrong with you? Later I’m going to cook them on the GIRL.
My gift to you is this mp3 of a relevant track from “BEST. CONCERT. EVER.” You do not have to get me anything, in fact, I think I would prefer that you didn’t.
www.whatarerecords.com/mp3s/Jonathan_Coulton:_First_Of_May.mp3
Happy Spring!
* Sarcasm
This entry was posted on Friday, April 30th, 2010 at 11:10 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Jonathan Coulton rules. Hard. Just listen to anything he writes/performs, see what you think.
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