Monthly Archives: February 2021

I’ve Seen The Future And It Looks A Lot Like “Spiny Orb Weaver” #1

Posted on by Ryan C. (fourcolorapocalypse)

Ryan C. (fourcolorapocalypse)'s avatarRyan C.'s Four Color Apocalypse

I hardly think I’m making news here by informing all you good readers that the economic landscape for small press comics and self-publishers is absolutely brutal right now — and by that I mean even more brutal than usual — but there are still plenty of people making a go of it by means of every distribution and financing mechanism you can think of, the most popular being crowd-funding and online serialization. It’s no stretch to say that some of the most talked-about comics of the so-called “pandemic era” have been instagram comics, and that platforms such as Kickstarter have afforded many a cartoonist the ability to have their work see print even when their own bank accounts were hovering near rock bottom. There are, however, other less-utilized means of hustling up the money necessary to produce a comic, and one that I’m frankly surprised isn’t utilized more often in…

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The Texas Offices Are Down!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi, everyone!

The Texas offices of the TSL are currently surrounded by 6 inches of snow and, due to rolling blackouts, the power situation is iffy.  Hopefully, the power situation will be a bit more stable come tomorrow.  Still, for this reason, it might be a few days before any of us down here in Texas get to watch, let alone review!, anything.  Since half of the site’s regular contributors work out of Texas, that means that posting might be a little bit light this week.  As always, we’ll make up for it once the snow has melted and the lights are staying on!

So, stay stafe, stay warm, and know that we’ll be back as soon as we can be!

Music Video of the Day: Wild and Exciting by Earth and Fire (1970, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

There’s not much to say about this video for Wild and Exciting.  Earth and Fire were a Dutch band and this song is off of their first album, which was also called Earth and Fire.  As was typical at the time, their music video was a performance clip, though one that was more energetic than the typical 1970s music video.

Earth and Fire never hit it in big in the US or the UK but they were huge in the rest of Europe.  Consider this, then, to be a reminder that good music is not simple defined by what’s happening or what’s popular in only one or two countries,

Enjoy!

“Mothers Tales” : Thomas Lampion’s Generational Journey

Posted on by Ryan C. (fourcolorapocalypse)

Ryan C. (fourcolorapocalypse)'s avatarRyan C.'s Four Color Apocalypse

I can’t speak to whether Thomas Lampion conceived of and created his semi-recent (as in early 2020, perhaps? Or late 2019?) mini Mothers Tales ( and before you ask, I assume the lack of an apostrophe in the title is intentional) — an impressive riso-printed number, featuring a subtle array of third “spot” colors, lovingly and painstakingly produced by an outfit out of Moscow, Russia called ESH-PRINT — while he was at work on his long-form graphic novel (previously reviewed on this site) The Burning Hotels, or not, but there’s some serious serendipity going on either way. That book, after all, deals with an unplanned move home on the cartoonist’s part from Philadelphia to Appalachia (a town called Hot Springs, N.C., to be specific) and how the same things he was going through in the here and now oddly mimicked and echoed events that took place in his mother’s…

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“Death Plays A Mean Harmonica” — And Steve Lafler Crafts A Really Nice Comic

Posted on by Ryan C. (fourcolorapocalypse)

Ryan C. (fourcolorapocalypse)'s avatarRyan C.'s Four Color Apocalypse

Oaxaca is an interesting, dare I say even magical place — a unique intersection of indigenous traditions, modern-day Mexican culture, and American expat bon vivant-ism that’s been added to the mix thanks to its large gringo transplant community. On any given night, anything can happen, and the air is pregnant with festivity, possibility, and even a dash intrigue.

Or so I’m told, at any rate — largely by my parents, who became part of that aforementioned gringo transplant community when they retired down there nearly two years ago. I’d dearly love to visit, but the pandemic has made that wish an impossibility for the time being, although hopefully not for too much longer. Until then, though, I’ve got their emails and photos — and the comics of EX-expat Steve Lafler, who returns to the place he once called home (or, in a pinch, a home away from home) for his…

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Artwork of the Day: Your Most Intimate Problems (Artist Unknown)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Unknown Artist

This book was published in 1948!  Even in 1948, people were wrestling with the question of whether men were more likely to cheat than women.  I don’t know what answer Lawrence Gould provided for the questions on the cover.  My answers are as follows:

  1. Can a wife be too affectionate?  Yes.
  2. Are men “less faithful” than women?  Hell yes.
  3. Why do some girls like older men?  Maturity is sexy.
  4. Can anyone be popular who wants to be? No.
  5. Are women more jealous than men? Yes and with good reason.
  6. Is money necessary for real happiness? No but it does help.
  7. Can a girl love two men at once? Yes.

I hope that helps to clear things up.

The artist of this cover is unknown.

Music Video of the Day: Kind & Generous by Natalie Merchant (1998, directed by Mark Seliger and Fred Woodward)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

“I’m proud of the song because I always wanted to write a song that had an extremely universal, simple sentiment. And just gratitude, that’s all this song is about and really I feel like I accomplished my mission: simple, to the point. And everyone knows what I’m talking about the first time they hear the song, and they can sing along.”

— Natalie Merchant on Kind and Generous 

I always wonder how many people actually know the name of this song.  I always just think of it as being the “thank you song,” better than Alanis Morrisette’s but not quite as good as Dido’s.  For the record, the end of the song features Natalie singing “Thank you” a total of 30 times before the song fades out.

The music video finds Natalie as a member of the circus.  The members of the circus were all actual circus performers which lends this video an authenticity.

Thank you and enjoy!

Lisa’s Week In Review: 2/8/21 — 2/14/21

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Happy Valentine’s Day!

It’s snowing!  As I write this, it’s currently snowing outside!  For a full week, those of us in Texas were told that a huge winter storm was coming and …. well, hey, the weather report was right for once.  Anyway, I’m happy.  It’s beautiful and it’s romantic and it’s also extremely cold.  Actually, I’m not really all that happy about the extreme cold.  I mean, the snow looks good but then you go out and MY GOD!  (To quote my sister: “That negative 15 degree wind chill hits you in all the wrong places.”)  I don’t think we’re supposed to get up above freezing until next Friday so I guess that means I’ll be watching a lot of movies.  Of course, I seem to say that every week.  What can I say?  I’m an optimist.  I start every week with the assumption that I’m going to watch every single movie ever made while also writing history’s greatest novel in longhand.

It’s interesting, though.  I spent an entire week worrying over this gigantic blizzard that everyone insisted was coming our way.  I worried about the promise of single-digit temperatures and several inches of snow.  I was so worried that we were going to lose power or something similar.  And now, the snow has arrived and it’s lovely.  There’s probably a lesson somewhere in there.

Anyway, here’s what I watched, read, and listened to this week:

Films I Watched:

  1. Barefoot in the Park (1967)
  2. A Bullet For Pretty Boy (1970)
  3. The Avalanche Express (1979)
  4. The Food of the Gods (1976)
  5. The Forbidden Dance (1990)
  6. I Married A Witch (1942)
  7. Lambada (1990)
  8. The Love Witch (2016)
  9. My Bloody Valentine (1981)
  10. The Poltergeist Diaries (2021)
  11. The Principal (1987)
  12. Roman Holiday (1953)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. 9-1-1
  2. 9-1-1: Lone Star
  3. America Undercover
  4. American Idol
  5. The Bachelor
  6. Bar Rescue
  7. Baywatch
  8. California Dreams
  9. Court Cam
  10. Crime Scene: The Vanishing At The Hotel Cecil
  11. Degrassi
  12. The District
  13. Dr. Phil
  14. Hells Kitchen
  15. Hill Street Blues
  16. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
  17. Law & Order
  18. The Love Boat
  19. Mannix
  20. The Masked Dancer
  21. The Office
  22. Open all Hours
  23. Parking Wars
  24. Saved By The Bell
  25. Seinfeld
  26. Tough as Nails
  27. Unsolved Mysteries
  28. Yes, Minister

Books I Read:

  1. Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, the Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker (2014) by Doug J. Swanson
  2. Secrets and Lies (2012) by Christine Keeler

Music To Which I Listened:

  1. Blanck Mass
  2. Bob Dylan
  3. Britney Spears
  4. Calvin Harris
  5. The Chemical Brothers
  6. Dua Lipa
  7. Elle King
  8. Haim
  9. Jake Bugg
  10. Kaskade
  11. Marc Collin
  12. Martin Garrix
  13. Martin Gore
  14. Moby
  15. Phantogram
  16. Radiohead
  17. Rebecca Black
  18. Saint Motel
  19. Taylor Swift
  20. Tomoyasu Hotei
  21. Upsahl

Awards Season:

  1. London Film Critic Circle Winners
  2. Toronto Film Critics Winners
  3. Washington D.C. Film Critics Winners
  4. Critics Choice Award Nominees
  5. Seattle Film Critics Nominees
  6. AARP Nominations
  7. DFW Critics Winners
  8. Dorian Award Nominees
  9. Utah Film Critics Winners

Links From Last Week:

  1. The Spymaster
  2. Searching for Shelley Duvall: The Reclusive Icon on Fleeing Hollywood and the Scars of Making ‘The Shining’
  3. Buffy Deserves Better Than Joss Whedon
  4. Disney Cancels The Mandalorian Star Gina Carano Over Provocative Social Media Posts
  5. Why Were They So Cruel to Britney Spears?
  6. I was an MTV VJ during peak Britney. ‘Framing Britney Spears’ made me ashamed … and hopeful

News From Last Week:

  1. Paramount Pictures Locks $2 Million Deal For Gabrielle Zevin Novel ‘Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow;’ Temple Hill Producing
  2. A24 Buys Explicit Sundance Movie ‘Pleasure’ About L.A. Porn Business
  3.  Pioneering Hollywood casting director Lynn Stalmaster dies
  4. Rowena Morrill (1944-2021)
  5. We Know the Best Picture Oscar Contenders, but No One Knows Who’s Watching Them
  6. Justin Timberlake Apologizes to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson: ‘I Failed’
  7. ‘The Bachelor’ Under Fire for Contestant’s Social Media Controversy & Chris Harrison Commentary That ‘Perpetuates Racism’
  8. Chris Harrison Briefly ‘Stepping Aside’ From ‘The Bachelor’ in Wake of Racist Controversy
  9. Former ‘Bachelorette’ Rachel Lindsay Says She Will Not Renew Her Contract With Franchise, Addressing Chris Harrison Controversy
  10. Gina Carano Hits Back, Announces New Movie Project With Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire: “They Can’t Cancel Us If We Don’t Let Them”
  11. Charisma Carpenter accuses ‘Buffy’ creator Joss Whedon of toxic and verbally abusive behavior
  12. Michelle Trachtenberg Said That Joss Whedon Wasn’t Allowed To Be Alone In A Room With Her On “Buffy”
  13. Buffy’s Sarah Michelle Gellar, Michelle Trachtenberg and More React to Charisma Carpenter’s Joss Whedon Allegations
  14. ‘Firefly’ Writer Jose Molina Says Joss Whedon Bragged About Making Female Writers Cry
  15. Britney Spears’ father loses bid to retain control of delegating her investments

Links From The Site:

  1. Doc wished everyone a happy Valentine’s Day!
  2. Jeff shared music videos from Queen, Corey Hart, Madness, Eddie Money, Howard Jones, Rolling Stones, and U2!
  3. Erin shared part 7 of It’s Love and Cosmopolitan, The Show Girls, They Call Her Easy, Hot Date, Manhattan Nights, Play It Cool, and Do Not Disturb!
  4. Ryan shared an interview with Mara Ramirez and reviewed Sketch Zine 2020 and Single Camera Sitcom!
  5. I reviewed A Bullet For Pretty Boy and the Poltergeist Diaries!  I paid tribute to King Vidor and Darren Aronofsky!  I shared the Super Bowl spot for Nobody!

More From Us:

  1. Ryan has patreon!  You should consider subscribing!
  2. At Days Without Incident, Leonard shared a song from Tina Turner!
  3. At Pop Politics, Jeff shared: Thank You Tom Brady, Here We Go Again, Larry Flynt Was Still Alive?, The New Normal, The Lincoln Project: Making Schadenfreude Great Again, A Second Acquittal, and Happy Valentine’s Day!
  4. At her photography site, Erin shared: Backyard, Digging in Back, Coke, Sometimes The Day Is Just Gray, Sometimes The Day Is Just Gray 2, Hanging On, and Cold as Ice!
  5. At SyFyDesigns, I wrote: The Equalizer: A Short Review, Cold Weather’s Coming, Disappointment, I‘m Having A Panic Attack Over the Weather, I’m Not Longer Freaking Out About The Weather, Still Waiting On The Bad Weather, and It Snowed!
  6. On my dream journal, I shared: Last Night’s Cat-Related Dream, Last Night’s Angry Dream, Last Night’s Lake Dream, Last Night’s Teaching Dream, No Dreams Last Night, Last Night’s Angsty Fragment of a Dream, and Last Night’s Snow Dream!
  7. At my music site, I shared songs from: Martin Gore, Martin Garrix, Marc Collin, Blanck Mass, Rebecca Black, Saint Motel, and Britney Spears!

Want to see what went on last week?  Click here!

The Utah Film Critics Association Honors Minari

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, the Utah Film Critics Association announced their picks for the best of 2020.  They selected Minari for Best Picture with Soul as their runner-up.  That kind of sets them apart from the other critics groups, which have for the most part been selecting Nomadland.  That said, Frances McDormand still picked up the award for best actress.

Here are the winners from Utah:

Best Picture
Winner: Minari
Runner Up: Soul

Best Director
Winner: Regina King – One Night In Miami
Runner Up: Lee Isaac Chung – Minari

Best Actor
Winner: Riz Ahmed – Sound Of Metal
Runner Up: Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom & Steven Yeun – Minari (TIE)

Best Actress
Winner: Frances McDormand – Nomadland
Runner Up: Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Leslie Odom Jr. – One Night In Miami
Runner Up: Daniel Kaluuya – Judas And The Black Messiah

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Runner Up: Youn Yuh-jung – Minari

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: The Trial Of The Chicago 7
Runner Up: Promising Young Woman

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: I’m Thinking Of Ending Things
Runner Up: One Night In Miami

Best Cinematography
Winner: Nomadland
Runner Up: I’m Thinking Of Ending Things

Best Original Score
Winner: Soul
Runner Up: Tenet

Best Film Editing
Winner: The Trial Of The Chicago 7
Runners Up: Sound Of Metal & Tenet (TIE)

Best Documentary Feature
Winner: Dick Johnson Is Dead
Runner Up: Time

Best Animated Feature
Winner: Wolfwalkers
Runner Up: Soul

Non-English Language Feature
Winner: Another Round
Runner Up: Bacurau

Vice Martin Award for performance in SciFi/Fantasy
Winner: Elizabeth Moss – The Invisible Man
Runner Up: Cristin Milioti – Palm Springs