Wild animal/human narratives can be triumphant (Gorillas in the Mist) or tragic (Grizzly Man), but they are always fascinating. We share this crazy planet with so many other species we’ll never truly understand. And they’ll never truly understand us. It’s just nature doing its thing. Ah, the mystery of it all.
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by Paul Florez
Walking down John F. Kennedy Boulevard in Jersey City is a curious thing. There’s an odd combination of retail chains sprinkled with what’s left of the great mama and papa shops that defined our countries culture for so many years.
In many ways Jersey City is a place of redemption and new beginnings. Resting in the shadow of Lady Liberty, it’s not unusual to see families that have recently immigrated to the United States walk the streets with their loved ones on a damp Saturday morning. These families seem at peace with the burning logos of Quiznos, CVS, and Papa Johns and do don’t yield to wayward pedestrians who spring pass them trying to avoid the rain.
Read MoreNudie men photos directed at women is perhaps a curious notion to some. I’ve heard stupid things like, aren’t women averse to porn? As if the entire female population were all Tipper Gores and Anita Bryants. Idiots. The answer is hell no they aren’t. Why would they be? Women of the 70s saw Playboy make it’s way in the sun, boobs and buttocks and all. It was a reputable, even high-brow magazine at times (journalistically speaking, of course). Women, and let’s face it, gay men, wanted something for themselves. Playgirl was born.
Perhaps due to its name (though actually having no relation to Playboy at all) or its brazen content, Playgirl quickly gained an immense pop culture presence when it was introduced in 1973. Over time, it lost its way and found it again, and has had a generally tumultuous life throughout. It was disregarded, loved, hated, reviled, and finally the novelty of it all was embraced, and then dismissed. But during its first final years of print,* a small group of women in their 20s (with the occasional assistance of a certain tall man) brought it back to a place where not only people talked about it, but where news outlets legitimately covered its content. People actually wanted to buy it again!
Read MoreIn the very multicultural Miami, one would think they were in another country. People speak Spanish first and English later; the caffeine of choice is not ice coffee from Starbucks, but café con leche purchased from a no name bodega on calle ocho; and Spanish music blasts from the rolled down windows of cars with a Cuabn flag on its bumper. Miami is another world and in many profound ways, separate from the rest of the United States.
Yet as you drive through Miami you see some of the hallmarks that makes this country so great: freedom, hard work, and family. Miami is full of people who immigrated to the USA for political reasons and they want to relish in our values. You even notice the feats of American business and achievements: Fords, Best Buys and McDonalds. I don’t say this in a scolding, diminishing way. Rather I want to convey a sense that no matter how foreign Miami may seem, it’s adopted many core American values and franchises. It may not be America in the conventional sense but it is still America.
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The term “hipster” has out-stayed its welcome across all media and casual conversations alike. I’m all for labels when they apply. Sometimes, stereotypes exist for a reason. Clichés can be nice and comfortable. Streamline and standard is just a-ok. Categories are nice and neat. But other times, it’s just a simple lack of creativity. It’s also lazy and cringe inducingly inane. Every time I hear or read the term “hipster,” it’s like someone’s right-wing conservative parent saying “those club drugs,” “homosexuals,” “that rock music” or “blacks.” It just sounds…stupid. So please, writers, cultural commentators, casual observers and the general public, stop using it.
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According to Deadline, Marvel Studios and Joss Whedon are trying to court Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the role of Quicksilver in the highly anticipated Avengers 2 due out in theaters sometime in 2015.
Do those blue eyes look familiar? Well they should! Taylor-Johnson is best known for his role as the titular hero in the Kick-Ass movie franchise.
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After an author has been dead for 70 years, their written works (typically) go into public domain. At this point, these important works belong to us, collectively. But that doesn’t mean we’ve always treated them responsibly. The brilliant content of their aged pages can often go unread, unloved, and even forgotten. Like immortal vampires entering yet another decade of existence, these classic pieces of literature are always in need of a new life.
A joint project by the Creative Action Network, DailyLit, and Harvard Bookstore called Recovering the Classics is hoping to to give these classics just that. Their mission is to crowdsource the talents of designers and illustrators, tasking them to re-imagine cover art for the first 50 greatest literary works in public domain history. Imagine, your design gracing the cover of “The Metamorphosis” or “Madame Bovary.”
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On top of being Memorial Day (thanks, US troops), yesterday was also the birthdays of horror legends Vincent Price and Christopher Lee.
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Something is happening. And It’s happening right here at The Ink and Code.
Robbie Imes and Paul Florez have started the literary revolution.
We welcome you to join.
When a strange alien creature falls from the sky, a group of inner city kids in South London react they only way they know how—they kill it and plan to get rich off their find. The group, lead by the stoic Moses (John Boyega), are soon in over their heads as more aliens, larger and fiercer than the first one they encountered, begin encroaching on their apartment complex. Soon, the teens are in a fight for their lives, forced to partner with Sam (Jodie Whittaker), a nurse they just mugged earlier that night if they’re going to survive, not just the aliens, but also cops who are out to arrest them and Hi-Hatz (Jumayn Hunter), a spurned local drug dealer who wants them dead.
Welcome to Attack the Block, a debut feature by British comedian Joe Cornish.
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