Xaviar X. Xerexes

Bookmark: Faith Erin Hicks

by Xaviar XerexesMarch 6, 2013

I am a fairly big fan of Faith Erin Hicks’ comics. She got her start in pure webcomics but has since migrated to the webcomic collected into graphic novel approach. That approach is favored by several publishers now, including her most recent publisher First Second Books. She was recently interviewed on a Boing Boing podcast which is worth listening to. A lot of Hicks’ work is all from her but more recently she has collaborated with other creators on graphic novels, including Brain Camp, where she provided the art to a story by Susan Kim & Laurence Klavan; and the …

Strip Search Episode 2: Gary Should Never Encourage Me

by Xaviar XerexesMarch 6, 2013

The webcomic reality show, Strip Search, posted its second episode where its 12 contestants play “fax machine” a game where everyone writes a phrase in a notebook, passes it to the left, and then draws a picture based on the phrase and repeat. “Pictionary telephone” is what I think someone described it as. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoZdolO_Ew4] After everyone plays the fax machine game, the episode shows up some of the results. Which is good television (I doubt every drawing was funny or clever) but not good for evaluating the unofficial POWER LIST of Strip Search. Ericka Moen did nothing this week …

Bookmark: Neal Stephenson

by Xaviar XerexesMarch 4, 2013

These “Bookmark” posts are useful for me; hopefully a few other people get something out of them along the way. I really enjoy Neal Stephenson‘s books. Unlike Stephen King, another novelist where the length of the book increases with each new effort, I never read a Stephenson book and wonder how badly he beat the editors. Stephenson books revel in their research, the density of information jammed into the pages is part of what makes his novels work. You can divide up the novels of Neal Stephenson into maybe three categories. Scholars and critics can tell me why I’m wrong …

Strip Search Episode 1 – Not That Anyone Asked But Here Are My Thoughts

by Xaviar XerexesMarch 4, 2013

This is the true story… of seven twelve strangers… picked to live in a house…work on webcomics together and have their lives taped… to find out what happens… when people stop being polite… and start getting real…Strip Seach: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUScIuxZE90] I honestly do not watch much reality television, but it’s impossible to not be aware of the genre. I watched the first Survivor; I usually watch the latter half of American Idol seasons; what else? I guess I used to watch Iron Chef sometimes. Anyhow the last thing I think I ever would have lived to see is a web series with all of the Reality Show …

This is SECOND CITY!!!

by Xaviar XerexesFebruary 27, 2013

Plato droppin’ science like Galileo dropped the orange: Jon Rosenberg, cartoonist, coder, philosopher king.

My Favorite: Movies: 1989

by Xaviar XerexesFebruary 25, 2013

I’ve been too busy to focus on this “favorites” exercise for awhile but I’m so close to finishing the Eighties and tackling another decade long list that I just have to dig in and give it another 100%. As always, first a list of movies I’ve seen and those I probably should still get around to seeing. HAVE SEEN: Christmas Vacation, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Batman, Dead Poets Society, Back to the Future II, Say Anything, When Harry Met Sally, Glory, Field of Dreams, The Abyss, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Do the Right Thing, Ghostbusters II, Driving Miss Daisy, Tango & …

Bookmark: Cory Doctorow

by Xaviar XerexesFebruary 16, 2013

I met Cory Doctorow once at a conference called Supernova in Washington DC back in the very early part of the ‘naughts. It was actually about technology policy which is the fascinating thing about Cory Doctorow, talented and successful writer; he’s also quite an effective public advocate for a number of progressive 21st Century causes, including privacy and copyright reform. He’s had an impressive public life. It’s the books though where he has been able to wrap his ideas around and through interesting narrative; probably still the best way to get through to majority of the world. I’ve read everything …

If You’re Having Perl Problems

by Xaviar XerexesFebruary 9, 2013

Man, xkcd you put me in an Empire Strikes Back state of mind… I prefer the Grey Album version myself: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtfEYuZhDjo?rel=0]