Neil Gaiman on Making Good Art

“If you don’t know it’s impossible it’s easier to do.” – Neil Gaiman

Last night one of my favorite authors, Mr. Neil Gaiman, gave the commencement speech at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia on making good art.  It is simply brilliant and, Gentle Reader, I recommend you take the time and give him a listen right here: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2012/05/trust-me-im-doctor-honorary-of-fine.html.  

MAKE GOOD ART

Photo from http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2012/02/01/neil-himself/

Still Glowing After the Avengers

NOTE: minor Shawarma spoilers ahead ~ extremely mild.  However, if you wish to remain pure, even though the film has been out a week now and has grossed over a billion dollars and you may have read about this elsewhere, you may wish to skip this particular entry.

Still here, Gentle Reader?  Excellent!   

As a card-carrying geek I run in some like-minded circles.  Recently I have noticed a innocent question creep into the culture’s discussions both in the physical realm and the digital…

“How many times have you seen it?” The Avengers, that is. 

Last night I was in Philadelphia talking to a friend of mine as we walked through the hallways of Drexel University.  He was between meetings and the first thing that we discussed was The Avengers.  “Guess how many times I’ve seen it?” he asked, “FOUR TIMES!”

“TWICE for me!” I said.

This morning I ran into two like-minded friends of mine, a brother and sister, “We’re going again; this time in 3D and we’re taking Dad!” they said. “How many times have you seen it?”

“TWICE for me!” I said. “Once in 3D and once on opening day.”  I was tempted to invite myself for a third viewing.  Joss Whedon’s opus can do that to a Marvel Zombie like myself. 

What can you say about The Avengers that has not already been said?  The day after it was released myself and a fellow blogger discussed what we loved about the film.  I am not going to ruin the film but I will say that we both, right off the bat mind you, said practically the same thing…

JOSS WHEDON GETS IT! 

Really, he does.  He knows how to play in the toy box that he has been given and he knows that the best way to play with those toys is to treat them with respect.  Further, the man just knows how to tell a story and that is a beautiful thing.  The interplay between these characters that we have come to know and love during the five Marvel Studios films is priceless.   

This blog is not full of spoilers save for the Shawarma, which has by the way, experienced an 80% increase in business since the Avenger’s chowed down on the pressed lamb & beef goodness.  See: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/avengers-shawarma-scene-i_n_1500762.html for all the details.

Better yet, go see The Avengers.  It won’t take much for me to get back in the ring for round three!

See you at the movies... or the Shawarma Shack whichever comes first.

~ Photo from the Huffington Post who got it from Screen Rant ~

King on Taxation

I subscribe to the original Greek meaning of the word “Politics”.  One can break down the word into its root words such as, POLY meaning, “Many” and TICKS meaning, “Blood Sucking Creatures”.  Apart from my occasional Slacktivist rantings I try to avoid talking politics here on the electronic pages of Chicken Scratch.  That being said here is an interesting article from Mr. Stephen King concerning taxation and the rich that is certainly worth the read.  Beware though, there is some colorful language and some well-reasoned thinking to be found if you click right here > http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/30/stephen-king-tax-me-for-f-s-sake.html.

Mr. King, I’ve always been a fan, Thankee, Sai.  Now I have even more reasons to make that claim.  I like the concept of setting up a Charitable Foundation and I would hope that if ever this 99%er joined the 1%ers that I would do the same.  It’s on the list, so to speak, or at least, I believe it would be.

What do you think about taxation these days, Gentle Reader?

Image by Pieter Brueghel the Younger, 'Paying the Tax (The Tax Collector)' oil on panel, 1620-1640 by way of Wikipedia.