Hero Complex has an algebraic article about Adventure Time!
Maria at The Hathor Legacy looks at the Paranormal Activity franchise from the standpoint of abuse, neglect and gaslighting. “It’s also a reminder that one of the franchise’s major themes is that when women and children are victims of abuse, they are not only not likely to be believed, they are also often put into [...]
Comics Beat ‘s Torsten Adair goes through The New York Times bestseller list and draws some conclusions, “Right now, it seems that diversity is the zeitgeist, as non-fiction, non-comics publishers are selling well to the general public, and that kids’ books are a growing market.”
China Miéville is interviewed by Skelli Scar, who offers Miéville an excellent suggestion: “Lastly I have a suggestion for you, why not write a short story about what the Olympics would be like in Un Lun Dun?” “This is a startling and excellent idea. Immediately various sporting events are suggesting themselves to me. I am [...]
This year’s Vanguard program at the Toronto International Film Festival also looks pretty sweet with Soi Cheang’s Motorway, starring Anthony Wong Chau-Sang; 90 Minutes; Berberian Sound Effects; Blondie; I Declare War; iLL Manors; Painless; Pusher; Sightseers; Thale; and Michel Gondry’s The We And The I. I haven’t found trailers for Beijing Flickers; Here Comes The [...]
Muppet performer and puppeteer Jerry Nelson has died. Nelson performed Count Von Count, Snuffleupagus, Sherlock Hemlock, Fat Blue/Mr. Johnson, the female Koozbanian and Herry Monster on Sesame Street. He also performed Floyd Pepper, Camilla the Chicken, Lew Zealand and Dr. Julius Strangepork on The Muppet Show and movies and Gobo on Fraggle Rock. The LA [...]
Terry Windling recounts the history of the Ash Girl or Cinderella story from the 9th Century Yeh–hsien to the Disney film, Cinderella, based on Charles Perrault’s 1697 version.
Author Donald Sobol has died. NPR has an obituary. At All Things Considered, crime novelist Jonathan Hayes remembers Sobol’s famous character, Encyclopedia Brown. “I loved these stories because they were about a kid like me, a kid who solved mysteries with logic and common sense, often exposing the hypocrisy of foolishly dismissive adults. I loved [...]
Peter Gutierrez interviews R.L. Stine. They talk about Goosebumps, reading, “John Landis’ son” and Stine’s influence on librarians: “We grew up on your books, and now we’re reading them to kids.”
The FantAsia site is up and running with many, many trailers to get you ready for the festival. (Or at least, what films to keep an eye out for).
The Gutter‘s own Comics Editor was kindly invited to join the “Comics in the Classroom” roundtable at Books And Adventures with Dee Pirko from Girls Read Comics Too, educator and editor Lisa Fary from Pink Raygun, writer Louie Stowell and Adele Walsh from Melbourne’s Centre for Youth Literature.
In a letter to director Mel Stuart, Gene Wilder suggests changes to Willy Wonka’s wardrobe: “A light blue felt hat-band to match with the same light blue fluffy bow tie shows a man who knows how to compliment his blue eyes.”
“The magic of childhood is the strangeness of childhood, the uniqueness that makes us see things that other people don’t see.” “I’m just clearing the decks for a simple death. You’re done with your work. You’re done with your life. And your life was your work.” –Maurice Sendak, TateShots: Maurice Sendak and Tell Them Anything [...]
Illustrator and author Maurice Sendak has died. There are obituaries in The New York Times, The Guardian. The Onion has an obituary as well as reader responses that Sendak would likely appreciate. NPR’s Fresh Air devotes an entire program to Terry Gross’ interviews with Sendak, reflecting their unique relationship. Check through our archives for some [...]
Writers Joe Lansdale and Andrew Vachss have a conversation about their books Edge of Dark Water and That’s How I Roll, the power of books, the importance of libraries and librarians, publishing as a fixed fight and a helluva lot more. Part one and part two.
This Japanese Life provides some historical context for Kinji Fukasaku’s film, Battle Royale–including an incident from Fukasaku‘s own life as a student drafted into a munitions factory, writer Yukio Mishima and the Hagakure: “Since the film deliberately omits much of the novel’s WW2-inspired alternative reality, I look at Kitano and see a modern-era Japanese glorification of [...]
Jan Berenstain, co-creator of the Berenstain Bears picture books, has died. She and her husband Stan wrote and illustrated the first Bears book in 1960 and it was the first of many books published by Theodore Geisel’s Beginner’s Books. The Los Angeles Times has more here.
Ben Bertoli tries out a new management system in the classroom: ClassRealm. “The system would have [role-playing game] elements and focus on various achievements. I made the achievements tiered so students would be able to earn the lower ones quickly and get a sense of how it felt to profit from their hard work and [...]
Sex ed goes a little Lovecraftian in Craig Macneill’s “Late Bloomer.” (Thanks, Molly!)
Novelist Samuel Youd, who wrote as John Christopher, has died. Gutter readers might remember him best for his science fiction series, The Tripods, which was adapted for television by the BBC and Australia’s Seven Networks in the 1980s. The Guardian has an overview of his life and career.
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What, it’s June already? I’m sure a I had a whole year here a minute ago. In any case, summer means humidity, allergies, and a sad lack of home AC. This year, it also means squirrels in the roof (don’t ask. No, really).
