In an interview published today in the Wall Street Journal, Google CEO Eric Schmidt lays out the next stage in his company’s ambitious plan to replace human agency with automated data processing, freeing us all […]
Category: Storytelling
Le Soleil and Me
My cousin Dan emailed several old photos he recently obtained while vacationing in Maine. That’s me, probably age 11, but only a guess. The newspaper’s date isn’t visible. I don’t recall the photo or its taking but the shot must have been posed by either my father or uncle. I don’t read French. (Le Soleil was published out of Quebec City. This evening, a quick Web search left me wondering if the newspaper still exists.)
‘The China Question’ Revisited
In March 2009, I asked “The China Question,” highlighting shocking parallels between the 1920s and `00s (the “Noughties”). Both decades similarly started off and ended, with boom and bust. Other parallels show how quickly an empire collapses—the Brits during early last century and quite possibly the yanks during this decade.
I resurface the post in context of incessant chatter about China’s increasing global economic dominance and America’s growing mountain of debt. Additionally, the United States is close to entering a double-dip recession, if it’s not there already. Recent economic indicators are disconcerting. China has largely exited the global recession fairly unscathed, while the United States is an economy divided: Public companies are reporting record profits, while the American public struggles to relieve record debt.
‘Kill Shakespeare’ Act IV
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlXJR7O2rjI] My concluding “Kill Shakespeare” interview segment is suddenly existential. During San Diego Comic-Con 2010, I chatted with “Kill Shakespeare” artist/illustrator Andy Belanger and creators Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery. Anthony and […]
‘Kill Shakespeare’ Act III
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YuBaZ_DTsU] It’s a world exclusive. Act III of my interview with “Kill Shakespeare” artist/illustrator Andy Belanger and creators Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery introduces upcoming content. “Kill Shakespeare” is a comics/graphic novel […]
‘Kill Shakespeare’ Act II
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBdpNx0QaiY] The second part of my San Diego Comic-Con 2010 interview with “Kill Shakespeare” creators Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery provides insight into the characters and to critics’ reaction. Surprising: Some Shakespeare […]
‘Kill Shakespeare’ Act I
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FasEBYDkGw4]
Finally—and it took too long—I edited the 18-minute video interview with “Kill Shakespeare” artist/illustrator Andy Belanger and creators Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery. We chatted during San Diego Comic-Con 2010. They reimage the Bard’s characters in a good versus evil hunt for Shakespeare. You’ll never think of Hamlet the same way again.
Nemu-Nemu
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhtnpEuRqEg] Here is my third video interview from San Diego Comic-Con 2010 (but fourth recorded). I’ll finish editing and posting the other videos by end of week. Here, I speak with “Nemu Nemu” […]
Snarky Commenter
At least my analysis is honest and public. Who are you but another anonymous commenter with crappy attitude? You want to be taken seriously—to engage in real discussion—start by crawling out from behind the rock […]
The Roles We Play
I am catching some down time in the Press Room at the San Diego Convention Center. Outside in the hall, Comic-Con rumbles on with a crowd I would estimate to be at least three times the size of Day One. The noise and bustle makes taking good photos or conducting video interviews difficult. So I’m shacked up with my laptop in this quiet place, contemplating what Comic-Con is all about: Role playing.
Many attendees have come here as someone else. For a day, or even a few, they take on another persona. They become someone else—perhaps whom they would rather be, but most certainly not who they are. They can be heroes and even stars, for most anyone well-costumed will be repeatedly stopped for photos. Comic-Con lets them be not just someone else but someone special.
Mollycules
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnqMEn7qaIw] In my first San Diego Comic-Con 2010 interview, artist and illustrator Molly Hahn shows off some delightful monsters and offers tips for aspiring storytellers. She’s bright and articulate, Mollycules is superb branding […]
The Web We Weave
The Net’s interactivity gives us powerful new tools for finding information, expressing ourselves and conversing with others. It also turns us into lab rats constantly pressing levers to get tiny pellets of social or intellectual […]