Apparently going to a journalism school in the year 2011 involves hearing a lot veteran journalists talk about the growing importance of “new media” and “social networks” like Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other stuff like that. Don’t get me wrong. I love technology and certain aspects of the internet, the nerdy anti-social part. That’s why I've always begrudgingly adopted services that connect real people to other real people instead of impersonal avatars. Don't judge me.
I think the difference between journalists and people in the know about technology is that journalists are aware of new technology like tablets and will always get excited because they are new. Tech people on the other hand are jaded and knowledgeable enough about technology to recognize when the new stuff is cool, like Facebook, and when it’s less so, like Twitter.
I was thinking about writing how this'll affect the upcoming elections or how, even in these circumstances, celebrating the death of somebody is a little weird.
But not now. Yeah, closure is good. This is pretty cool. Really cool.
The new issue of Blackboard is out, Northwestern University's African-American student magazine, and if you go to Northwestern University, America's greatest university according to Gawker, like I do you should pick up a copy. And if you want a taste, here's my article about the strengths and weaknesses of the new Oprah Winfrey Network or OWN.
CLICK TO ENLARGE
Plus clicking on links now opens a new tab instead of directing you away from the page. Thank Time for that.
After my first brush with controversy, (on this blog at least), I’m back with another comic post. Just one that’s less inflammatory. Also be sure to check out the new, more open comment system. Now anyone can call me an idiot for not liking Thor.
To me, one of the saddest and most absurd facts about our world is that Orson Welles’ last role was Unicron, the villain of the 1986 animated Transformers movie. Let me reiterate that. The man who made Citizen Kane, arguably the greatest movie ever, died three months after voicing a robot that turned into a planet or “a toy that eats other toys”.
There’s a wonderful movie studio called The Asylum that stays in business putting out movies that sound like movies you may have heard of (but not porn) like Snakes on a Train, The Day the Earth Stopped, Transmorphers and its sequel Transmorphers: Fall of Man. That last gem features one Bruce Boxleitner a.k.a. Tron a.k.a. the guy whose only thing he’s got going on is Tron.
Today I came across a trailer for their next “mockbuster” Almighty Thor, featuring, of all people, the second chick that played Marta on "Arrested Development."
Now this may be a shameless attempt to cash in on Marvel’s upcoming Thor movie but once I got to thinking I realized, unlike Asylum’s usual movies based on sleazy slight name-altering and public domain plundering, they have every right to make this movie. Marvel doesn’t own Thor and the fact that they sort of act like they do kind of bothers me.
Bitmob is an awesome website that allows users to write video game articles and have the opportunity to have their work promoted by some pretty important people in game journalism. I've already used their services and you should too if you have any interest in writing about games. They also have a podcast with topics chosen by the community. For their 100th episode though, they had users call in. Around 14:30 you can hear about my ridiculous Donkey Kong dream.
