D&D Diary: Character Creation
Jul 17
Inspired by the super-streamlined 4th edition rules, my husband and our good pal Seth decided it was time for a new Dungeons & Dragons game. I was initially not interested. Like, at all. I’ve been around D&D-ers all my life, I’ve watched the game in action…but to be perfectly honest, I’ve never actually played. Somehow, it always seemed to end in tears or people fighting or whatever, and that did not appeal to me (kind of surprising, considering all the Trekkie fan club drama I got into in high school…but that’s another post).
The Lonesome Cowboy Wears Jams
Jul 14When the Takashi Murakami show hit LA last year, one of the most common reactions while touring the premises went something like this:
“Parental advisory? Whaaaaaat? All these little animals and flowers are so cute and pop art-y and HOLY MOTHERFUCKING SHIT NEVER MIND.”
That moment right there is when most folks rounded the corner and spotted The Lonesome Cowboy, a gigantic statue who is very talented in a way I can’t really describe without blushing (don’t worry, you’ll be able to figure it out in a second). Anyway, the exhibit just wrapped up a stint in Brooklyn, and Heidi MacDonald attended and posted a nice essay with some very insightful points, but I have to admit that before I even read said essay, I laughed for 10 minutes over the little outfit she gave Mr. Cowboy. I just love that. He is digging the tasteful hibiscus-themed pattern — you can tell.
As for the answer to Heidi’s final question, I think the cowboy looks fucking elated. Wouldn’t you be? I mean, if you could do that?
Comic-Con: Still For You?
Jul 10Just in case ya missed it: here’s a great PW article by Laura Hudson, all about the monster that Comic-Con has become.
This week, I’ve had at least three people ask me what my plans are for the con. My plans are…to not go and read all the coverage on the internet. OMG! they say. How can this be?!
Truth be told, the last CC I attended was in 2006, and I’ve had mixed feelings ever since. I do think it can still be a whole shitload o’ fun — my favorite day was Sunday, when I spent a few delightful hours roaming Artist’s Alley, chatting up creators and purchasing an embarrassingly large pile of stuff from Raina Telgemeier. But the sheer…crush of the crowd is still seared in my memory, particularly the slightly frightening 20 minutes wherein I was squashed in the middle of a sprawling pseudo-line waiting for the Battlestar Galactica panel, the burbling of two guys arguing about “Light Sith” uncomfortably close to my left ear. And I know this has been addressed a ton, and is sort of a tiresome, indie rock kid-type argument, but something about the near-complete mainstreamification of the whole thing does bother me. I kind of hate myself for that, but it does. There are real Hollywood parties. There are panels for stuff that you can’t even really stretch to call genre, like Dexter (I know there’s Julie Benz, but I don’t think there will ever be a Dexter storyline where she dies and then shows up in a crate and then gets pregnant with a demon spawn who will grow up to become Vincent Kartheiser. Not until season six, at least). It’s a pop culture con, not a nerd con. The people who used to make fun of it think it’s cool now. It throws my poor little brain for a bit of a loop.
And yet…and yet. Every time July rolls around, I still get a little bit of the urge. I remember how much fun it is to run into people, the weird conversations that occur when you mix your fellow exhausted con-goers with alcohol, the limited edition Castewar Bill Murray shirts that you can’t find anywhere else (still gots mine!). I remember all the “Only at Comic-Con” things I’ve witnessed, like Steven Horn’s Amazing Shark Suit…but that’s a story for another time.
Maybe I’ll go back next year. But I know it will require the following things: months of preparation (just to find lodging…oof), a slight attitude adjustment (OK, there are Hollywood parties, but no swag suites just yet, right?!), and the ability to power my way through the crowd with Buffy-esque agility (probably all I need is some leather pants!). I can do this. Maybe.
Dinner (and Comics) for Five
Jul 08Evan Dorkin has a nifty contest going wherein you must name the five comics-related folks you would like to have dinner with…and then the five who would “make for the worst night you can imagine.” Lots of interesting responses in both categories — so much so that Evan added a postscript asking people to please keep it civil (why is this always necessary, fellow fanpeople? Don’t we ever learn?).
Anyway, I decided not to enter the contest (I can’t quite bring myself to answer the second part of the question!), but putting together a Dinner for Five-type list is so simultaneously delicious and painful that I must at least do that part. This is not necessarily a “five favorite creators of all time” type of thing, but rather, who I want to have dinner with RIGHT NOW. This list would probably be different if I were to write it next month or even later tonight. Feel free to share your own picks in the comments (or go enter Evan’s contest and then post here as well).
Mid-Week Treat: Lookwell
Jul 02‘Round these parts, everyone’s taking bets on exactly when LA will completely shut down for the holiday weekend. Will it be today at 4? Tomorrow at noon? Did it already happen?!
Some of you are still stuck behind your desks, though, trying valiantly to squeeze in one last business-related call before CAA activates its automated “frak you and call back later” outgoing message. This is for you.
A pal introduced me to Lookwell a while back. It’s a failed early ’90s pilot from Conan O’Brien and Robert Smigel, starring Adam West. I hadn’t watched it for a bit, but my bro was just discussing the general genius of Adam West the other day and all of a sudden I flashed on it and blurted out, “HAVE YOU SEEN LOOKWELL?! YOU MUST!” Now, these days, I kind of try to avoid “you must read/see/listen to”-type statements, just because they’re kind of annoying and have a tendency to sprout forth from the know-it-all mouths of us geeks on a way-too-regular basis. But in this case, I feel that it’s OK, because Lookwell is totally hilarious. Personally, I think it’s way funnier than Heat Vision and Jack.
My favorite parts are all of Lookwell’s “undercover” disguises and Jason, the sole skeptical acting student. Jason, incidentally, is played by actor and indie filmmaker Todd Field (yes, the Todd Field who made In the Bedroom and Little Children). Somehow, that makes him even more awesome.
Anyway, without further ado…Lookwell! And don’t worry about CAA getting back to you — I’m pretty sure they’ll still be here after July 4.
“Perhaps if you watched a little more television, you’d be better at your job.”
