tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69761449877646167552012-02-15T08:53:03.690+13:00Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.comBlogger481100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-31438011378461262202010-01-18T23:11:00.003+13:002010-01-22T21:37:23.063+13:00

So we're now in the second decade of Cobblerkhan! The beginning of these bold new 'teens deserves a blog. I've been working away these past few months - summer is always the busiest time - and haven't had the chance to write much. So here's a kete full of odds and ends I've been reflecting on recently Comics-wise, there hasn't been that much to excite me. At Marvel, Dark Reign is segueing

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-40808962069922136632009-12-30T20:31:00.003+13:002010-02-11T21:08:48.766+13:00

Having had the chance to savour Basterds at length, the time has come to revise and expand on my initial blog about the glorious uniform porn the film provides. For a movie which changes history, it does a great job of re-creating aspects of WW2 better than many of its peers. The original blog still stands, but this one will add some of the more obscure details, and look at some of

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-11952631370680411922009-12-16T00:21:00.007+13:002009-12-16T00:58:31.673+13:00

In 1943, a very strange document landed on the desk of one Ray Palmer. As the editor of sci-fi magazine Amazing Stories, Palmer was used to receiving all kinds of submissions. But this document - ominously titled "A Warning To Future Man" - was something entirely separate from the pulp mainstay. The author, Richard Shaver, had a hell of a story to tell. He revealed - as an item of fact -

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-22821245555505024782009-12-08T20:28:00.003+13:002009-12-09T15:33:10.505+13:00

I feel one has truly matured as a blogger when one has been burned - or at least singed - in virtual effigy. Having sampled such Dantean vengeance this morning, your faithful blogger feels he has achieved that dubious honour. Some folks over at the Outrageous Fortune forums found my piece about the weird trolls who sometimes lurk about over there. Here. They took umbrage at what was

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-17410023080075635712009-11-28T20:44:00.005+13:002009-11-30T19:55:59.897+13:00

Some talented genius called Martin Duhovic has welded a perfect meld of cinema and comics (inspired by Jack Kirby) to produce these exquisite covers. They are a view of what "Basterds" would have been like as a classic 70's war comic, with each 'chapter' as a separate issue. Yet it also captures the right atmosphere and artistry of the film. God, I'd love to have them all poster-sized on my

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-81847931789200009622009-11-05T22:59:00.006+13:002009-11-05T23:16:44.095+13:00

So, did you hear they're remaking Red Dawn? For anyone of a certain age, that film pushes a button. It's an 80's icon, a relick of the Cold War, and a pop cultural oddity. It's totally of-its-time in reflecting the deep, deep fears of western suburban kids, as irrational as they may seem today. The whole idea of a totally successful Soviet/Cuban invasion of the U.S. is ridiculous and

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-3050657779513284162009-10-26T22:10:00.005+13:002009-12-08T16:29:31.693+13:00

Did you know there were so many dumb people on teh Interweb? Me neither. How did they get in? Let's look at some, because the only thing I can do to idiocy is laugh at it. New Zealand television, after an awfully painful processing, has finally produced a real gem in Outrageous Fortune. Regardless of one's critical view, it really is staggering that we have a solid local drama that has

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-61140390318818532592009-10-22T22:19:00.001+13:002009-10-22T22:25:50.697+13:00

Back in those olden days of freaky beatniks and groovy trips there was a comic : Strange Tales. It was about as hardcore and horrific as a comic could get in America at the time, given the strict censorship. Later Stan Lee and Steve Ditko would "Marvelize" the title and it became a showcase for the craziest crap the House of Ideas could produce. Its greatest run was in the late 60's; the later

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-39894280662414264132009-10-12T23:09:00.004+13:002009-10-26T16:45:00.136+13:00

Part 3 : And The Tears Dried On Her Face The third verse in our ballad covers the lowest period in Patsy's life. Her character's epic arc had curved into the so-called Dark Age of Comics - in this case, 1983 to 1993. She, along with all the other inhabitants of comic book fantasy, now found their world to be a bleak, angsty dystopia where it rained all the time. Everyone was wearing

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-18870782229858385202009-10-09T20:14:00.004+13:002009-10-09T21:14:42.513+13:00

Originally, naming this blog "lezbein pr0n" was a rather unfunny joke about the general state of teh Interwebs. But irony, like goldy and silvery, is a rare and precious thing - and there is a sad lack of irony about on the net. My Google tracker tells me I'm getting umpteen dodgy searches for pr0n - and by Apollo some have been dodgier than I would have liked. I do reserve a dry laugh at the

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-44326002847860548352009-10-04T20:16:00.012+13:002009-12-30T20:33:40.605+13:00

EDIT 30/12/09 : A revised and expanded addenda to this blog is now here. Since I installed a Google-tracker on this blog, I have discovered that I've been getting a lot of hits for "inglourious basterds uniforms". This has made me realize that despite raving about the 'uniform porn' in the film, in my blog on the subject, I did not elaborate at all. The costume department for IB did a great

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-1126376149506399132009-09-27T22:19:00.000+13:002009-09-27T22:19:44.536+13:00

Isn't 'euphemism' a lovely, phonically satisfying word? I fell in love with it as soon as I heard it in some English class long ago. Later I would also become enamored of it's evil twin, 'dysphemism', but that's another story. Euphemisms themselves, however, are wretched cowardly lies; the whole of 'em. You can talk about 'friendly fire' all you want, but it doesn't hide all the blood you

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-90146475410456570232009-09-22T23:09:00.006+12:002009-10-03T22:36:50.472+13:00

Part 2 : Gidget Goes To Hell The first verse of our ballad followed Patsy from her origin in 1942, to her reinvention as a costumed hero in 1973. The second will cover her strange career up until 1982, when her life starts down a disturbing path that runs straight to Hell - literally. Once again, Pats' career shift coincided with a change in the comic book market. That bizarre,

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-19812066022654442452009-09-21T00:55:00.005+12:002009-09-21T01:06:26.695+12:00

I get all sorts of customers at my little kiosk. It's a great place if you're as intrigued by people as I am. The tableaux that I see daily makes me think of Breughel, or Bosch's crowd paintings - it is all that urgent, grotesque, vivid life. It's a parade of our species in every shape and form. New Plymouth on a Sunday afternoon. Not pictured : sanity Often I've thought about blogging

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-35245408968242780612009-09-13T22:39:00.000+12:002009-09-13T22:39:20.364+12:00

So Marvel has finally published the much-anticipated "Models Inc". This is not, as you may think, the House of Ideas doing a comic based on Spelling's turgid nightmares - oh no. This is a new, hip, out-there title featuring all of Marvel's famous models, such as a certain favorite of mine. This comic is....yeah. The review over at CBR is, as ever, fair and non-judgmental. However, even

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-68523990714636154162009-09-11T01:32:00.001+12:002009-09-11T01:33:08.635+12:00

There's a weird kind of comedy I particularly enjoy; where the punchline goes right in the guts, and the laughter stops quite abruptly. British humor holds many exemplars of this : consider the finale of Blackadder Goes Forth, or the serious downer final episode of the aptly-named One Foot In The Grave. It's also funny how many of the Brit-coms I love - Hyperdrive, Green Wing, No Heroics - are

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-29297005234224839202009-09-09T13:57:00.001+12:002009-09-09T14:05:12.132+12:00

A mild one, but worth commemorating in a post nonetheless: Wednesday, 9 September 2009 7:33:35 a.m Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Ballad Of Patsy Walker (Part 1)": Oh it's ok, this isn't the blog i'm looking for. Ha! Ha! I See What You Did There! Guess that's alright, Anonymous! Happy interneting! I hope you find what you seek elsewhere. Could be worse, I

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-18213398296294755742009-09-08T20:58:00.000+12:002009-09-08T20:58:58.499+12:00

Part 1 : The Girl Who Could Be You Comic book characters can be complicated things. Some of them have more layered history than a small country, and any examination of them is a drawn out process of onion-peeling away these layers. For example, I wanted to do a blog on Marvel Divas, the so-called “Sex and the City meets the MU!” title which has just started its run. But I couldn't tell

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-30629046182114740892009-09-06T00:15:00.006+12:002010-01-01T15:21:08.338+13:00

for further reading : my two blogs - here and here - about the uniforms and medals in IB 1- SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa The Nazi Sherlock Holmes; the “Jew-Hunter” - and one of QT's best characters ever. A suave, languorous polyglot who butchers with a professional efficiency. SS officers were noted for how they always walked a line between civility and brutality. In his bravura

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-12218809298231486802009-09-03T23:14:00.004+12:002009-09-04T02:16:24.775+12:00

I originally wrote a really obnoxious blog about history and politics, which demonstrated why I will never blog about those subjects. I am working on an epic series about Patsy Walker, but we'll get to that. Anyway, we'll keep this part of the original blog: a few highlights from Deadpool's recent – and beautifully, hilariously doomed - attempt at being a pirate!

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-20150876423565710712009-09-01T16:29:00.002+12:002009-09-01T16:33:46.167+12:00

Flash! The Disney Corporation has just bought the entire Marvel empire for the princely sum of US$4 billion dollars. The fanboy fury has already crashed about a dozen sites. Cooler heads are trying to suggest there could be some positives from this - Pixar could now make awesome 3d Marvel movies, for example. More sour types - like your humble blogger - are less optimistic. Some folks talk

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-12788826929768096642009-08-28T02:08:00.004+12:002009-08-28T02:13:32.838+12:00

I'm really slow off the rank with the subject of this blog, but I just hate it so damn much, I couldn't let it go unnoticed. This chappy here does a fantastic job of analyzing it from a proper advertising perspective; I just want to joke about it. A while back I started getting bombarded with a series of ads for a so-called online RPG, called "Evony". Now, as an old-school dice-rolling

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-35592699104750382932009-08-26T19:31:00.000+12:002009-08-26T19:31:10.701+12:00

 A while back, Emerson says to me, he says : "Blogging is like disco, and it's 1976".  The only possible rejoinder to that kind of damning statement - as always - is a Simpsons quote.  "Well then," I opined, "I'm Disco Stu.  And if these trends continue...HEY!" I will try to make this a daily kind of thing.  Consider it a work in progress thusfar.

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-84836136934342532572009-08-26T18:33:00.000+12:002009-08-26T19:45:03.584+12:00

Fanboys everywhere felt the hair rise on their neckbeards recently, when it was announced that Scarlett Johansson had been cast in the Iron Man sequel as Black Widow. The usual divisiveness sundered the nerd community – half had their hearts set aflame with visions of La Johansson in the Widow's trademark tight rubber; the other half protested at what they felt to be studio-driven miscasting.

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-66022677054829738902009-08-26T18:30:00.001+12:002009-08-26T18:31:51.036+12:00

Welcome to the fourth installment of Patriotic Nerdery, my bizarre but not-entirely-pointless blog about New Zealanders in the Marvel Universe. This chapter deals with the formidable Devlin Greystone, who can boast more appearances (ten!) than any other Kiwi in the MU. He also appears on three covers, while none of his comic compatriots can even boast one. This may have something to do with the

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-56757764752075152492009-08-26T18:29:00.004+12:002010-01-28T21:22:13.389+13:00

 Edit 18/01/10 - all broken links fixed - awfully sorry about that! DISCLAIMER : Trying to delve into the metatextual madness that is the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (henceforth refered to as the LOEG) can be a referential nightmare.  Rather than subject us both to a torrent of links, I suggest that if something intrigues you, look it up.  (I will still link to those things I reckon are

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-71971003767996177442009-08-26T18:28:00.000+12:002009-08-26T18:28:09.078+12:00

Welcome to the third instalment of Patriotic Nerdery. So far, we've examined two of the eight Kiwi 'domestic superhumans' in the Marvel Universe. We've had "Big John" Anderson, the Kiwi Kid, who managed to be an even bigger dork than his hero Spiderman; and Ruatoria's own Kiwi Black, who did nothing but look mean for three whole X-Men comics. Basically, a sorry start. But this time we have a

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-66416487192133142622009-08-26T18:27:00.001+12:002009-08-26T18:27:12.848+12:00

Welcome to the second instalment of Patriotic Nerdery.  The character featured this time is quite different to our first entry, the Kiwi Kid.  Whereas the Kid was a Pakeha with no superpowers, this character is a teleporting Maori mutant from the East Coast, known as Kiwi Black.Now you may think that sounds cool, but Kiwi here has a problem - beyond his rather unimaginative name.  He's stuck in

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-44243616230573450112009-08-26T18:26:00.001+12:002009-08-26T18:26:23.493+12:00

PATRIOTIC NERDERY, part 1One of the reasons I waste so much time in the Marvel Universe, is because there's room for everyone.  It comprises gods and geeks, demons and dustmen, anarchists and angels.  There's just such an epic sweep of characters from the sublime to the ridiculous.  You can have your godlike, galaxy-spanning epics; or go for the street-level mundanity of freaks in spandex.  New

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-75546530179385362182009-08-26T18:23:00.001+12:002009-08-26T18:23:38.707+12:00

Antakya (Antioch)The old Crusader castle is somewhere on that hill.Gumusler Monastery, near NigdeNigde, on May 19thSo strange to see snow again.Mount Hasan, heading into Cappadocia proper.Ihlara ValleyMonasteries in the hills.Inside.Earliest known depiction of the Three Wise Men.  Note pointed hats.Goreme, CappadociaInside one of the houses.Ankara and the Ataturk MausoleumIstanbulFirst sight

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-34779858077253301192009-08-26T18:22:00.001+12:002009-08-26T18:22:31.777+12:00

DamascusUmayyad MosqueThe gates.First view.The Minaret of Jesus.  Muslim eschatology says Jesus will return to Earth here when the Apocalypse begins.Front of Mosque, and the Courtyard.Inside there is the Shrine of John the Baptist (Yahya in Islam).  It is said his head is either in this box......or this one.The minbar.Krak des ChevaliersView from my bedroom.The castle itself.AleppoVegetarians

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-25358701687033620532009-08-26T18:21:00.001+12:002009-08-26T18:21:48.967+12:00

PetraAs you start out  towards the necropolis you pass through a valley of tombs.You then enter the siq, or narrow causeway, which leads towards to the dead city itself.The siq ends, and then you see it : that classic shot of the "Treasury".The view from the Treasury steps, looking back towards the causeway entrance.And if you ever wondered what was actually in that thing...Nothing.  Like

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-77732590018162474392009-08-26T18:20:00.001+12:002009-08-26T18:20:39.528+12:00

Allow me to get all Patti-and-Selma on you, and roll out a classic holiday slideslow of all the banal things I did.Please note all pictures featured here were shot by a serious unprofessional, i.e. me.  I was trained to use a camera as a print journalist, not an artist.  Please excuse the general quality.I'll try to let the pictures speak for themselves.EGYPTCairoMy first introduction to this new

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-90080069206589476982009-08-26T18:11:00.001+12:002009-08-26T18:11:15.190+12:00

In a supposed attempt to get kids playing board games again, Hollywood has set out to bring some old-school titles to the big screen.  The director of Alien and Gladiator, Ridley Scott, has expressed a desire to make a movie based on Monopoly.  How he will manage this, I'm not sure.  Perhaps some epic, Citizen Kane-esque tale of the corruption of power?  Maybe a reworking of Wall Street, with

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-41106193335750282222009-08-26T17:56:00.000+12:002009-08-26T18:06:10.296+12:00

Try to see about fitting pictures into blog

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-79629809860275575562008-01-30T03:46:00.000+13:002008-01-30T03:47:14.556+13:00

There are two women in Greek mythology who intrigue me - Ariadne and Medea. Despite being quite different characters, they have some similarities. They both were princesses who betrayed their kingdoms and their fathers for the love of a foreign prince. They were both considered “outsiders” in the Greek world. And they both were probably vestigial memories of older local goddesses. Ariadne

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-34674485106831498572008-01-18T03:08:00.000+13:002008-01-18T03:09:30.771+13:00

Consider the terms geek and nerd. They’re value judgements, of course; as invalid and unfair as any other. Identifying someone by their habits is pretty much the human norm. The big problem people have usually had with geeks, nerds etc. is that they’re outsiders. Hence the terms have traditionally been used as abuse. But like other formerly derogatory names, they have been reclaimed by their

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-75047844994752919982008-01-15T02:22:00.000+13:002008-01-15T02:23:52.047+13:00

There's a question which has perplexed humanity since the dawn of time. Well, mainly that part of humanity which dedicates it's collective life to the exquisite art of the comic book. It is : if you could have any superpower, what would it be? It's designed to reflect the personality of the respondent, like asking which animal someone would like to be, or who their favourite serial killer is.

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-25784401848175088912008-01-05T20:31:00.000+13:002008-01-05T20:32:41.222+13:00

Just moved some of my stuff across from Myspace, to focus on writing here. Nova annum, nova mundum.

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-72117342316036450762008-01-05T20:28:00.000+13:002008-01-05T20:31:11.481+13:00

It would seem comic-book superhero movies are back in again. Every now and again escapism is big, and people want to go see spandex-clad weirdos beat the snot out of each other. Modern superhero flicks, when done right, get to have the best of both worlds - fantasy popcorn fodder on the one hand, intelligent storytelling on the other. The fact they usually come with a ready-made audience

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-29985587245125494242008-01-05T20:27:00.000+13:002008-01-05T20:42:58.137+13:00

"H. Fuseli, "Nightmare", 1802 Lately I have been delving into the dark world of night terrors. I do it mainly because I really like the words "NIGHT TERRORS". Those two words hint at a part of the brain that can't be controlled; the unknowable world of the dream-state. Night terrors (ooohhh) have been around since people have first dreamed. They're always the same, cutting through cultural

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-65863967106454358022008-01-05T20:24:00.000+13:002008-01-05T20:26:09.036+13:00

This blog will be an examination of four films that don't exist. They were created as faux-trailers for Grindhouse, the Tarantino/Rodriguez tribute to exploitation cinema. We won't discuss that movie itself - plenty of room elsewhere on the net for fanboy knife fights, and they haven't even released it here yet, anyway (and when they do, it will be without these trailers). This is about four

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-49223777061999469912008-01-05T20:23:00.001+13:002008-01-05T20:23:41.450+13:00

Firstly, because it's Halloween, let's take a moment to enjoy the scene that retroCRUSH chose as "The Scariest Movie Scene". I agree completely with their choice - this is so awesomely freaky I can never watch it enough. It's from Mulholland Drive, of course… Mind you, in my professional opinion, the best movie to watch on the all-hallowed eve is "Halloween III : Season of the Witch".

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-52831003195542843382008-01-05T20:22:00.001+13:002008-01-05T20:22:50.189+13:00

In the annals of journalism, Pravda has always occupied a unique place. As the official mouthpiece of the Soviet Union, it stridently projected the politically correct image of the USSR to the world. That is, it was usually full of bullshit - more bullshit even than most Western papers. Allegedly, no-one actually ever read it, but the paper it was printed on was hugely popular - considering

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-92039872461625994502008-01-05T20:18:00.001+13:002008-01-05T20:18:44.330+13:00

It may be way too early to say so, but I'd hope that my generation - those of us born in the seventies, the legacy of that lurid decade - was the last to grow up under the shadow of total nuclear anihiliation. Our formative years in the eighties were the last time the world faced a serious risk of going MAD. These days it's all tac-nukes, and briefcase bombs, and about doing the nuclear nasty

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-4548230587352448362008-01-05T20:16:00.002+13:002008-01-05T20:17:24.669+13:00

he words "women in comics" conjure up a lot of images. Sadly, not all of them are posititive. As I once blogged before, the portrayal of women in comics is often an insult to intelligent readers. But it's not all skimpy outfits and lame characters. We'll look at how WW2 gave rise to the first portrayals of women in comics, and the first superheroines. This will lead into a discussion of

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-81557336663407478842008-01-05T20:16:00.001+13:002008-01-05T20:16:38.172+13:00

Did I ever tell you about the time I met Tom Cruise? Well, I didn't meet him properly, like being introduced by the vicar or something. But I was in the presence of his Tomness for a few hours one afternoon in the summer of 2001-02. He was out here filming his latest vehicle, a period piece called the "The Last Samurai". It was set in 19th-century Japan, but they couldn't actually film in

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144987764616755.post-49155092641496971892008-01-05T20:11:00.000+13:002008-01-05T20:14:02.548+13:00

10. Fad Of The Year - Listing Things! This was really a year for listing things. The proud tradition of listing has been around a while, of course, but in 2007 it practically became the journalistic standard. Need to do a snappy précis of some facts, without too much information? Then a list's the thing. Perfect bite-sized journalism for the world of the soundbite. There's a damn good

Andrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039820473231118150noreply@blogger.com0