Last week I was interviewed on the popular podcast, New York Cine Radio, about the impact that YouTube and other streaming services are having on TV viewership.
NY Cine Interview: Music and Movie Industries
This is a second excerpt from my recent interview with the guys over at New York Cine Radio on the similarities between the music and the film industries, especially as it pertains to the topic of digital disruption.
2014 York College Tech Symposium
I traveled to the outskirts of Queens yesterday to present at the 2014 York College Technology Symposium on the topic of “Enhancing Student Engagement with Open Source Software”. It was a great event featuring digitally engaged faculty from throughout the CUNY system.
I was motivated to give this lecture because Continue reading “2014 York College Tech Symposium”
NY Cine Interview: Digital Disruption
This is a video excerpt from my recent interview with the guys over at New York Cine Radio on the topic of the digital disruption in the music and movie industries, and how services like YouTube have made a seismic impact on future creative trends.
Arkham Origins is gonna be sick!!!
After months of waiting Batman: Arkham Origins dropped tonight. The new Arkham is the followup to the wildly popular Batman inspired video games Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. I just picked up my copy from GameStop. There was a surprisingly small line for the game. It was nothing as crazy as the launch for Grand Theft Auto V, which made me happy and a little sad. I snagged the collector’s edition, and the season pass that has all of the character skins and downloadable content. I never usually get all the extras but this game is gonna be sick. I thought about
GTA 5 Midnight Launch
I don’t look forward to many games anymore. Maybe it is a sign of me getting older and becoming jaded. But here I am, standing on a line outside of GameStop, waiting to pick up my copy of Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5)
Thankfully I am second on line because the weed smell coming off these people is giving me a headache. My son better appreciate me picking this up for him. If I didn’t work with this demographic on a regular basis, or have kids of my own, I might be worried about the future. But once again I digress.
I really want to stay up all night with this game because all of the early Continue reading “GTA 5 Midnight Launch”
You’re not afraid of the dark are you?
“Paris P. Olgilvie. Antiquities dealer, entrepreneur”
“Richard B. Riddick. Escaped convict. Murderer.”
My son and I just got back from the new movie Riddick. This was one of the summer movies we had been waiting to see since both of us are die hard Riddick fans. This is largely because Riddick is the only dude that could possibly give Batman a run for his money. And unlike some people, we loved the previous film, The Chronicles of Riddick. While not as exciting as Pitch Black, the first Riddick movie, Chronicles had a visual appeal that blew away the low-budget indie look of Pitch Black all while reinforcing the notion that the title character was indeed the ultimate badass.
The title of the new film is appropriately named just Riddick. It seems that after some criticism about Continue reading “You’re not afraid of the dark are you?”
Open letter to Ben Affleck, or please shut up Matt Damon
Matt Damon was recently asked about his take on the Ben Affleck as Batman controversy. Damon, who is a long time friend of Affleck, stated that “Bruce Wayne is the more challenging part of the role, and Ben will be great at that”. He then went on to say that “Batman just sits there with his cowl over his head and whispers in a kinda gruff voice at people. Now I understand Matt Damon is just looking out for his boy, but the comments he made about how Batman isn’t a complex character came off as being more than a little ignorant and dismissive of the genre. In fact he only hurts Ben case by reinforcing a commonly held belief that Affleck doesn’t really take preparation for his roles seriously. I am hoping that Affleck does not share Damon’s feeling on Batman/Bruce Wayne or we could be in store for another Daredevil.
The studio isn’t going to back down so we are probably stuck with Affleck. So if I was to give Ben any advice it would be this; Continue reading “Open letter to Ben Affleck, or please shut up Matt Damon”
Affleck is Batman??? What da…….
The news was just released that Warner Brothers has chosen Ben Affleck to be the new Batman in the next DC Comics inspired movie. I am crushed by this news. Seriously. I try to stay relatively informed on important issues of the day like the NSA revelations, the deficit, the Middle East, stop and frisk, and anything to do with improving the educational system. All the I ask for is a small bone every now and then. Can a brother just look forward enjoying a frivolous movie about a childhood comic book hero without Ben Affleck and his massive cranium mucking up the works? No really, look at his head sometime. It is enormous. My only hope is that they will have to recast the part because they couldn’t find a cowl large enough to slide over that freakish mellon.
I have been a comic book Continue reading “Affleck is Batman??? What da…….”
Thanks Kendrick Lamar… I miss real Hip Hop
I don’t know if it is just a sign of me getting older but when it comes to just the music, I truly don’t understand what passes for hip hop today. Unlike graffiti and breakdancing, it seems as if the musical side of hip hop has fallen and can’t get up. The recent controversy surrounding the whole Kendrick Lamar Control verse has left me shaking my head in disbelief. I honestly did not understand what the fuss was about. Brothers are stating that Lamar’s verse on Control is going to shake up the game. If that is the case then hip hop is in even more of a sad state than I originally believed.
I don’t think Lamar has shook up the game as much as he has taken a page from MCs over 20 years ago. Back when competition was the word of the day. Back when lyrical content was more important Continue reading “Thanks Kendrick Lamar… I miss real Hip Hop”