The Blog

Children’s cartoons are often overlooked by the adult populace. It’s a shame because fiction geared toward kids is often more daring and innovative, unhindered by concerns of what the audience might accept. Avatar: The Last Airbender is a wonderful example of this, a show that manages to be adventurous and fun while still being earnest...

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There’s a man, his wife, a truck, and a whole lot of vegetables. And they mean business. The man, let’s call him the Potato Pimp, parks his truck outside of apartment buildings and homes and rings his bell like an ice-cream man, but it’s potatoes and veggies that he’s peddling. In Berlin they were a...

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This is the first in a series of posts that celebrate my favorite fantasy, whether it be books, movies, comics, or cartoons. I’m starting out with one of my favorite series. Packed with humor and overflowing with creativity, Robert Asprin’s Myth series has always been the sincerest of pleasures to read. The first book, Another...

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I remember in my younger days how, when reading fantasy novels, I would often turn a critical eye to the cover. Inevitably there would be a couple details that didn’t perfectly match the author’s description. Often it was an incorrect hair style, the wrong weapon, or a falsely colored dragon. I often wondered how this...

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Recycling is sexy! Unfortunately it isn’t a perfect system. You never get 100% of the material back, but it’s still much better than being wasteful. The clever Germans have found a way of getting it all back by reusing bottles. Every beer or cola you drink in Germany comes from a previously used bottle that...

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L.I.E., short for Long Island Expressway, is the story of a 15 year-old boy who finds himself drowning in a brutal and ignorant world. The first half hour focuses on Howie Blitzer ( played by Paul Dano) coming to terms with his affections for petty thief and hustler Gary (Billy Kay). Howie is unable to...

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This series will document the first know existence of items that are considered common place. The best example of this is the world’s first photograph. With digital cameras built into our phones and always accessible, it's rare that we regard the capturing of images as anything special. Back in 1826 it was unheard of. Joseph...

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The idea of editing used to terrify me. I always imagined my novel would be sent to the editor and come back different--no doubt better--but changed in so many little ways that it wouldn’t truly be mine anymore. Having to rewrite never scared me, but having to cut ideas from the story also sounded dreadful....

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Hedwig, oh how I love you! And how surprised I was too, because Hedwig and the Angry Inch sounded exactly like the sort of movie I never wanted to see. A young East German man has a botched sex change surgery, leaving him not quite a man, not quite a woman. All this is done...

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One of the biggest differences in culture here is what is and isn’t considered offensive. This was immediately apparent with children's television. Cuss words don’t carry much weight here, and are freely used on Nickelodeon style shows similar to Hannah Montana, Lizzie McGuire, and their ilk. Other concepts aren’t quite as frowned upon either. Take...

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