DOGVILLE - a comment

This film happened to express some recent thoughts I’ve been having regarding sin and the nature of forgiveness as well as regarding the possibility of an idyllic small town life. The smaller the number of variables, the more chance of effecting a utopian ideal you might think. The same weaknesses exist everywhere and in all of us. I don’t make Grace’s mistakes as much anymore. I’m not out to change the world or martyr myself for the greater good. I just do what I can with what I have and try not to be a rat’s ass (see quote from last post).

The way the movie is filmed is fascinating. Even though it’s stafe-like, you’d still have to shoot it on film for it to work. Brilliant. Dogville is like America seen through the eyes of the brilliant Shirley Jackson.

Anyway, the format of my commentaries is still in flux. I hope it’s not too incoherent.

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Ninjas vs Cowboys, Top 10 Cowboy Manga

I talk about US ninja comics and Japanese cowboy comics on Tim Young's Deconstructing Comics . Listen to it here ! I based on the lecture I gave last year at the Koshi Manga Museum . First slide from my Ninjas vs Cowboys presentation. Here are my Top 10 Cowboy Manga: 10. Bullet Tommy 『弾丸トミー』by Shige SUGIURA This is a classic, one of the earliest comics. It's a "gag manga" for kids and so pokes fun at the various Western movie tropes. The art resembles Shoney's Big Boy, doesn't it? 9. The Cactus Kid 『サボテン君』by Osamu TEZUKA This is one of Tezuka's early Western manga when he had only seen a few westerns at the time. I like the idea of a guy who wants to turn his parents' saloon into a milk bar. 8. The Belle Starr Gang 『ベル☆スタア強盗団』by Akihiro ITO Ito is known for his Geobreeders saga, but this is his take on the real-life outlaw Belle Starr and her gang. I like the art and the attempt to incorporate real-life events into the...

American Comics Art Exhibition

American Comics Exhibition 2009 ~Superheroes~ This is it! My first produced group show! If you're in Tokyo, please stop by! Dates: Sept. 27 (Sun) to Oct 3rd (Sat) 2009 (closed Tuesday the 29th) Times: 11am to 7pm Place: Gallery Kopis (http://www.g-kopis.com/) located less than a minute from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa St. exit A3. Address: 1-2-12 1F Shirakawa Etoh-ku Tokyo 135-0021 Phone: 03-5639-2381 Artists: Tom Clouseau Patrick Gannon Mulele Jarvis JOE Yukitoshi Kono Hiroyuki Maeda Hiromi Nagano Tomoko Oikawa Jim Reddy SONIC Namiko Sonobe Kazuyuki Tsuyuki Patrik Washburn Akira Yamaguchi Official HP: http://patokon.com/amecomi09.htm I'm working on a Spider Woman piece. Here are some sketches:

My semi-secret talent

Okay, I'm about to post some crazy $#!% so hang on to your ballbags. When living in Tokyo (and probably any other part of Japan), you get the opportunity to add a bunch of slashes to your skill set. Where in NYC, most of the people you meet are waiter/dancer, waiter/screenwriter, waiter/actor, most of the people I know are teacher/artist, teacher/voice actor, teacher/writer, or teacher/singer. Though according to my various targeted CVs I am a translator/interpreter, an artist/animator/illustrator, a writer/proofreader/editor/copywriter, and/or a teacher/lecturer, I've also been called upon to do voice work, motion capture work, and good-ole fashion acting. It started when I was asked to translate the script for a short animated segment and then was asked to do a test voice for one of the characters. The director, Yusaku Furuya liked my portrayal and I ended playing a bucktoothed trailer trash yokel (my kinda guy) who joins his friend on a roadtrip a...

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