the pulp (Issue 5, June 2014) by The Pulp

Issue 5, June 2014

The People of the Hour! magazine Editor Talk I’ve been asked fairly frequently whether our monthly issues have themes or not. While I don’t think we’re quite there yet, if this issue had a theme, it would probably be comic conventions. Or video games. I don’t actually know. Who needs themes when you have such great, uncensored content? We sure as hell don’t need ‘em. This month, learn how to break video games through the power of awesome from Thomas D. Caleb gives us a lengthy interview with the Let’s Play streamer on page 34. You might just learn how to make money playing video games. Lightsaber classes are in season, so head to page 15 for a rundown of Jedi fighting styles. For conventions, catch up on the latest from Special Edition NYC (page 21) and St. Albert’s Eek Festival (page 27). Both are widely different from one another, but they’re alike in celebrating the best in local and North American comic book and nerd culture. A response to Ubisoft’s removal of a female playable lead in Assassin’s Creed: Unity can be found on page 4. Do you think it’s problematic that the video game industry is taking for-fucking-ever to open up to female gamers? We’ve also got some great film columns and thought-provoking musings littered throughout, so have fun with it. Take it and go.

Cheryl Editor-in-Chief thepulppress.com

Cover photo by Cheryl Cottrell-Smith Back cover photo by Steve Munro Lightsaber aficionado: Daniel Shessel, Northern Nerd Network

Cheryl Cottrell-Smith, Editor-in-chief Writer, editor, lover of words, and proponent of the Oxford Comma. Loves comics, Lionhead’s Fable, red wine, and cats. @CottrellSmithC Matt Bowes, Lit + Film Columnist Self-proclaimed cultural commentator/arbiter of good taste. Enjoys movies/books, and writes about them at thisnerdinglife.com. @matt_bowes Kelsey Beier, Musings Columnist Lover of music, writing, traveling and working with kids. Teacher by day; unpublished author by night (and sometimes on the weekends). Teresa Simmons, Fashion Columnist Fashion writer and blogger at Simmons On Style. She can’t live without little black dresses, seafood, holidays, Indie music, and lip gloss. @simmonsonstyle Steve Munro, Editorial Contributor Freelance writer who got his start in the industry over a decade ago in Montreal, Quebec. @steve_r_munro Sherry Lawler, Editorial Contributor Local editor and writer. Linguist, grammarian, language enthusiast, and owner of AlphaProofing. @AlphaProofing Russ Dobler, Editorial Contributor Known as "Dog" to friends and weirdos; wannabe scientist; beer lover. Blogs at thoughtfulconduit.com/whatdoesthismean. cbwcaswell, Editorial Contributor Local writer and editor, published journalist, and nominee for the Emerging Writer Award at the 2014 AMPA Awards. @cbwcaswell Allan Mott, Editorial Contributor Film enthusiast and blogger at vanityfear.com. Can be found giving opinions on films and other cultural paraphernalia @HouseofGlib.

Issue 5, June 2014

CONTENTS

comics + graphic novels

lit + film

For Your (Re)Consideration: Brad Silberling’s Land of the Lost (2009) – Allan Mott

For Your (Re)Consideration: Doomsday (2008) – Matt Bowes

Special Edition NYC brings the focus back to comics – Russ Dobler

musings 7

Are you PTC educated? – Kelsey Beier

gamertown

Our Fictional Future: Hackers – Matt Bowes

The shocking truth: women play video games, too – Cheryl Cottrell-Smith

Breaking video games like a legend: Tom D.’s Unsanity Live – cbwcaswell

fashion + cosplay 10

An interview with The Owlery’s Jenna Hamler – Teresa Simmons

bites

The King's Market: merchants, artisans, farmers—oh my! – Sherry Lawler

nerd culture

Jedis in Churchill Square – Steve Munro

Eek Fest breaks ground with its inaugural convention – Cheryl Cottrell-Smith

Issue 5, June 2014

The shocking truth…

Women play video games, too

Written by Cheryl Cottrell-Smith | Images courtesy of Ubisoft

Ubisoft has been dealing with a lot of flak lately for their announcement that they will not be creating a female lead for the new Assassin’s Creed: Unity game. The announcement of this decision—at the hands of Technical Director James Therien—has blown up the interwebs. Twitter is trending with the #womenaretoohardtoanimate hashtag, Facebook is sharing (much more quietly, because they’ve crushed organic reach) thoughts and articles on the matter, and forums and discussion boards are running long numbers of participants. It’s important. Of course it is. The marginalization of women in what was traditionally a boys’ league of video gamers isn’t a new issue. ‘Girl Geeks’ generally have to deal with a lot of negativity, competitive attitudes, and resistance towards their membership in the realm of gaming and nerd culture. There is a growing number of women in the video game and comics industries, but the progress to perceive them as a part of the culture is taking a lot longer than it should. BBC News recently covered this issue and shared some stats: 48% of gamers are female, while only 15% of video game characters are female. The latter statistic hasn’t changed since the 1990s—a good indication of how slowly it’s taking for people to realize that video games appeal to women, too. If you still don’t think women factor largely in video game playership, have you happened to swing by Facebook and Twitter lately? Of course, the icing on the cake was a revealing tweet from Assassin’s Creed III animator, Jonathan Cooper, on the reality of the situation: 5

to realize that video games appeal to women, too. If you still don’t think women factor largely in video game playership, have you happened to swing by Facebook and Twitter lately?

Issue 5, June 2014

“

It was on our feature list until not too long ago, but it's a question of focus and production…So we wanted to make sure we had the best experience for the character. A female character means that you have to redo a lot of animation, a lot of costumes [inaudible]. It would have doubled the work on those things. And I mean it's something the team really wanted, but we had to make a decision...It's unfortunate, but it's a reality of game development. – James Therien, Technical Director, Ubisoft (as told to VideoGamer.com)

Cooper's figure might just be an estimate, but the point is clear—Ubisoft is making excuses to exclude a female lead. The cost isn’t the issue, especially considering Ubisoft has created playable female leads for the Assassin’s Creed franchise before. Is the issue simply that they didn’t want to make a female character? If so, why not own to it? The decision-makers at Ubisoft are trying to justify this choice by blaming financial issues and it's causing people to lash out, particularly on social media. A lot of fans and potential customers aren't buying the financial excuse. Would it have been different if the game's Technical and Creative Directors simply announced that they didn't think the game needed a female lead? If, creatively, they didn't think it fit the story? There’s another byproduct of this whole situation…and it’s an unpleasant one. The discussion fostered by Ubisoft’s decision to cut a female character in Unity has unearthed the world’s worst in video game misogyny—the scum of the earth who think that this gives them an excuse to stereotype, marginalize, and condescendingly shunt genders into the worst approximations of what it means to be female or male.

The Stats --48% of gamers are female 15% of characters in games are female

gives them an excuse to stereotype, marginalize, and condescendingly shunt genders into the worst approximations of what it means to be female or male. Any preliminary foray into the discussion boards will out a number of people claiming that “women don’t play video games” or, even worse, “women only play games like Farmville or Bejeweled.” There are even people claiming that “men don’t ask for romance novels to appeal more to men, so why should video games appeal more to women?” The level of ignorance and blatant (yet, in my opinion, often oblivious) sexism against women is astounding. The fact that backlash against Unity’s lack of playable female characters is so widespread and acknowledged in Western media is, on the other hand, extremely helpful. It’s demonstrating to the world that women do play video games and that we feel it each time we’re underrepresented in the industry. Gender issues in nerd culture can’t be ignored any longer; hopefully, Ubisoft’s mistakes will help to bring this fact to light.

Issue 5, June 2014

I am very proud to make the statement that I have been a patron of the Edmonton City Public Transit System since the age of 11. That’s right—I was the only student in my grade six class who was granted permission to leave school about ten minutes before dismissal in order to catch the city bus on time. At the age of 11, I didn’t really view my situation as a privilege. Nor did I in the years following when I continued to travel by bus everyday to junior high school then, in my later years, to high school. Contrary to my opening statement, I viewed my situation as disadvantaged. I often felt sorry for myself and felt hard-done-by as a child living in north side Edmonton, especially on the bitter cold winter days when I would quickly stagger home from the Saying all of this, in bus stop before my eyes could freeze shut, leaving me vacant hindsight, I consider of breath. Or on the days when I myself lucky to had to bring my massive science have grown up fair project to school. You know, the one that took up a whole riding public transit. seat to itself. Even worse was the anxiety that would overcome me when coming home from school on a crowded bus, leaving me in fear that I would not be able to squeeze my way off in time after ringing the bell. Because of this anxiety, I would often opt to standing up, even though my stop was not coming for another five blocks or so. Saying all of this, in hindsight, I consider myself lucky to have grown up riding public transit. Why, you ask? Simply because I know now that I was fortunate enough to have had access to public transit character education or, as I like to refer to it, PTC Education. Due to my many cumulative hours on public transit, I have been able to experience and reflect on a number of events that have all pieced together, managing to make up a large fraction of my personality and my character. These events are so numerous that it seems almost impossible to recount them in their entirety, but here are a few of my own personal life lessons that I can assuredly attribute to my life as a city bus passenger.

“

Are you PTC Educated? Written by Kelsey Beier | Images courtesy of Ed Kasier, Edmonton Journal, and Wikipedia

Issue 5, June 2014

LESSON #1: EMPATHY I am almost certain that one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever witnessed in my young adult life is watching an elderly person, or anyone for that matter, hurriedly trying to catch their bus as it is slowly beginning to drive away. Even as my 11 year-old self I remember thinking that life is pretty shitty sometimes, and there’s really not much we can do about it other than try to understand each other’s misfortune. After all, everyone will miss a bus at some point in their life. On the plus side, sometimes people catch up to their bus just in the nick of time! I have personally lived this experience and I can still remember how exhilarating and electric the feeling of reassurance was walking down the aisle, short of breath, as the witnessing passengers silently applaud your efforts. These are the moments worth celebrating.

LESSON #2: PUNCTUALITY AND PATIENCE

The same bus driver would always drive this route and every morning we would have short conversations about how my classes were going, the weather, current events, etc. If my schedule changed or if I missed a day of school, I would be questioned about it the day after. It warmed my heart to know that someone, a newly acquainted stranger, was actually concerned and interested in what was going on in my life. It also warmed my heart to see this bus driver enjoying his life. I used to wonder what kind of people aspired to be bus drivers, thinking that it was definitely a job that I would never want to do. Having this bus driver greet me with such joy and satisfaction every morning not only changed my outlook on a career choice that I once believed to be mundane and belittling, but it changed my outlook on how anyone should live their life: by doing something that makes them happy, whatever that means. Or by finding their own happiness in whatever it is that they’re doing. My only regret: I don’t think I ever asked the bus driver his name.

LESSON #4: MINDFULNESS To prevent the scenario in Lesson #1 from occurring, it is quite essential that a passenger of public city transit is responsible in matters of timing and punctuality. Because of this principle, I have seldom missed the bus. Instead, I have spent countless minutes waiting…and waiting…then waiting some more…then making up a song about taking the bus while memorizing the natural setting of my neighbourhood bus stop…then continuing to wait patiently. Once the bus finally arrives and the passenger has boarded, their patience may be further tested when having to interact with other difficult patrons or sarcastic teenagers (I was never one of these, by the way).

LESSON #3: GRATITUDE

It changed my outlook on how anyone should live their life: by doing something that makes them happy, whatever that means. When I was going to university, I took a short 10-minute bus ride to school every morning. This was a transitional time in my life. I was trying to discover myself and, in doing so, I felt very alone but in an independent and freeing kind of way. The same bus driver would always drive this route and every morning we would have short conversations about how my classes were going, the weather, current events, etc. If my schedule changed or if I missed a day of school, I would be

Riding the bus has allowed me to free my mind from the mechanical act of operating a vehicle and give back to myself through reflection. When it takes at least an hour to get from your house to the downtown core, sometimes the only choice you have is to listen to music and get lost in your thoughts. Some of the best thinking time I have ever had has been when in transit. Because I drive to work now, I have lost these two hours of “me time.” Although I am quite happy that my commute has shortened, it saddens me at times that my Public Transit Character Education has come to an end for the most part. I was the last one out of all of my friends to get my license and buy a car. For years we would always joke around, saying that I was going to be stuck taking public transit forever. As much as I enjoy having my own means of transportation now, I often wonder if I am becoming less empathetic towards others, less patient and punctual – always leaving on my own terms, less grateful and appreciative of all of the good strangers that live in this world, and less mindful of the little things that really matter. And it’s only now that I am realizing how lucky I am to have had access to PTC Education.

Issue 5, June 2014

Issue 5, June 2014 The same bus driver would always drive this route and every morning we would have short conversations about how my classes were going, the weather, current events, etc. If my schedule changed or if I missed a day of school, I would be questioned about it the day after. It warmed my heart to know that someone, a newly acquainted stranger, was actually concerned and interested in what was going on in my life. It also warmed my heart to see this bus driver enjoying his life. I used to wonder what kind of people aspired to be bus drivers, thinking that it was definitely a job that I would never want to do. Having this bus driver greet me with such joy and satisfaction every morning not only changed my outlook on a career choice that I once believed to be mundane and belittling, but it changed my outlook on how anyone should live their life: by doing something that makes them happy, whatever that means. Or by finding their own happiness in whatever it is that they’re doing. My only regret: I don’t think I ever asked the bus driver his name.

LESSON #4: MINDFULNESS

An interview with The Owlery’s Jenna Hamler Written by Teresa Simmons | Images courtesy of Jenna Hamler

Issue 5, June 2014 The pieces that Jenna Hamler, jewelry designer at The Owlery, creates are far from ordinary and anything but boring. Inspired and influenced by nerd culture, her creations are the kind that start conversations and ignite fond memories from your childhood days. Jenna Hamler's designs are more than just jewelry. They are small pieces of evocative art. Her work is truly unique, oneof-a-kind and completely unforgettable.

idea of having an owl deliver my mail, I drew the name from a few sources and life experiences. I helped raise parrots and other birds for many years and the love of birds stuck with me from then on. There is also nothing that is more captivating than spotting an owl in the woods.

Who do you imagine wearing your designs? It’s really weird to think about someone out there wearing something I made. I think I would be most excited to see Daenerys Targaryen [from Game of Thrones] wearing something I designed for her.

Name: Jenna Hamler Age: 24 Business Name: The Owlery Has your inner geek always been drawn to art and creative design? YES. I love nature, books, Nintendo, cats, and internet memes. Nerd culture has a huge influence on the things I create. How did you first discover your talent for jewelry design and creation? I consider it more of a hobby that has gotten way out of hand. I had no choice but to start selling it, as jewelry began taking over my whole house. When did you begin designing jewelry? A few years ago, I started putting a couple of pieces together after having one of those “I can do that!” moments after getting sick of paying high prices in stores for unique items. I love DIY stuff and creating things with my own hands.

choosing materials, design development) I like random stuff. I like using old toys or collecting things from nature. I source some of my materials from all over the world, but sometimes it’s nice to wear something from your own backyard or childhood as well. Things like that feel more personal and more real to the individual wearing it.

What are you working on right now? I’m waiting for the dandelions all over Edmonton to seed so I can put those in a bottle and string it onto a chain. I am probably the only one in the city that benefits from our constant weed problem. What is your inspiration for your unique designs? How do you keep being inspired? I like weird stuff. I love the mystery of a message in a bottle or the nostalgia of upcycled rubber dinosaur toys. I like drilling holes in random things and hanging them from a chain or gathering buttons and macaw feathers and gluing them to a bobby pin or ring. My inspiration continues to grow when I see someone gasp while clutching a necklace hung in my booth. The excitement of a memory being clearly shown on a customer’s face gets me every time.

Where do you showcase your designs? How do you market your work? I sell my stuff at the Southwest Edmonton Farmers’ Market, the St. Albert Farmers’ Market, and On the Spot Pop Up and Creative Edmonton Pop Up Markets. You can also find a small selection of my jewelry year round at Gracious Goods Café. What are your plans for the future? Practice. Practice. Practice. Brainstorming new ideas and having lots of adventures collecting supplies, building new displays and connecting with local Edmontonians in the hot (SHORT) summer sun.

How did you come up with your business name? Is it inspired by Harry Potter? Although I am personally in love with the How do you create your pieces? (E.g., idea of having an owl deliver my mail, I drew choosing materials, design development) the name from a few Find sources and life Find accounts! more information on The more information on  The Owlery's website, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram experiences. I helped raise parrots and other Owlery's website, Facebook, Twitter, I like random stuff. I like using old toys or birds for many years and the love of birds or Instagram accounts! collecting things from nature. I source some

Issue 5, June 2014

Written by Matt Bowes | Images courtesy of DC Comics, Neal Stephenson, Cory Doctorow, and Richard Garfield

Our Fictional Future:

Hackers

Recent revelations about the NSA’s domestic spying program, PRISM, Canada’s move towards a similar system with the Conservative Government’s Bill C13, and China’s secretive People’s Liberation Army Unit 61398a have revived interest in cryptography and computer hacking amongst people who don’t like having the government (or anyone else for that matter) interfering in their personal data. Cryptography is the school of

thought that devises ways to keep information secure from adversaries; a.k.a., “black hat” hackers (“white hats,” true to Hollywood cowboy iconography, are ethical hackers whose goal is to improve system security through rigorous testing). Even though we don’t always think about it, we all engage in this secret war each day, from the passwords found on our email and Facebook accounts, to peer-to-peer networks like BitTorrent. You might even go

thought that devises ways to keep information secure from

further, to the delightful world of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and,

further, to the delightful world of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and, my personal favourite, Dogecoin. With this in mind, and in the pulp’s continued attempt to prepare you for the future, here’s a look at selected hackers in pop culture, from the prescient to the hilarious. I tried to avoid the obvious here, so no WarGames, The Matrix or Hackers-era Angelina Jolie. Remember, forewarned is forearmed!

Issue 5, June 2014

Oracle

Netrunner

Oracle, better known as Barbara Gordon, is probably the most beloved hacker in pop culture, standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Neo from The Matrix and Lisbeth Salander from Stieg Larsson’s Millennium novels and the attendant Girl with the Dragon Tattoo films. Before the complete reboot of the DC Universe a couple of years ago with the “New 52” initiative, Barbara Gordon mastered the art of computer warfare under her nom de guerre Oracle. She assumed this role after her career as the original Batgirl was brought short by the Joker’s gun in the Alan Moore-Brian Bolland graphic novel, The Killing Joke. With the anonymity afforded her by the Internet, Oracle formed the female-centric crime fighting team known as the Birds of Prey, alongside her friends Black Canary and the Huntress. You might remember this team from the shortlived live action TV series, or from their delightful appearance on Batman: The Brave and the Bold, written by Barbara Gordon’s most identifiable ardent supporter, Gail Simone. Oracle also became far more powerful and helpful to heroes across the DC Universe than she ever could have as Batgirl, acting as tech support and delivering villain bios to her allies. Barbara-as-Oracle was so beloved by the fans, that with the New 52 “fixing” her paralysis and getting her back under the Batgirl cowl, there was a huge backlash.

Drawing heavily from the works of William Gibson, especially his seminal cyberpunk novel Neuromancer, Netrunner is a two player collectible card game designed by Richard Garfield, who’s better known for also designing the perennial favourite, Magic: The Gathering. In this game, which was recently re-released to great fanfare by Fantasy Flight, one player takes the role of the titular “runner,” assembling a computer rig and a legion of code-breaking programs before taking them on allor-nothing runs into cyberspace, while the other player plays the Corporation, relying on superior organization, vast resources and the element of surprise to keep their secrets safe. The game is fast-paced, and replicates the tropes of cyberpunk fiction very faithfully, with flavourful data entries on each hacking program and instance of corporate malfeasance creating a believably dark future. To me, the true genius in the design comes from the fact that while the runner must have their “icebreakers,” rig, and everything else currently in use face up on the table, the monolithic Corporation player places their network infrastructure facedown, making every run against them a nail-biter as you really have no idea what’s under there.

Issue 5, June 2014

Snow Crash, For the Win, and Halting State This is a bit of a cheat, but I’m lumping these three novels together as they share thematic and aesthetic relevance. Where William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984) was one of the primary forces behind the cyberpunk literary movement, Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash is equally important for kicking off “post-cyberpunk.” In Snow Crash, the gritty, hardboiled dialogue and desolate wasteland setting found in Gibson’s Sprawl books are parodied and amped up beyond belief (by way of example: one of the antagonists of the book has literally given himself the nuclear option in every scenario by hooking a bomb to his body via dead man switch). The titular “Snow Crash” is a combination disease/computer virus that attacks the nervous system of people it encounters in the persistent online world known as the “Metaverse,” which to us nowadays resembles the game worlds of World of Warcraft, or EVE Online. If you’ve ever referred to your online persona in one of these places as an “avatar,” you’ve unconsciously been referring to this fantastically entertaining and influential book. In a similar vein, Cory Doctorow’s For the Win and Charles Stross’ Halting State take the idea of a game world overlain on top of the real world one step further, with massive robberies of in-game currency in both of these books leading to adventures and social change. While this idea might seem a little farfetched, consider the realworld implications of space battles in EVE Online right now, some of which have caused thousands of dollars in “property” damage.

Saints Row: The Third and IV While many video games make computer hacking a big part of their gameplay (other notables include the Deus Ex series, BioShock 1 and 2, and the brandnew at press time Watch_Dogs), for my money, the most entertaining depiction of hacking comes in the last two Saints Row games. Saints Row, which started off as just another generic clone of Grand Theft Auto, has since grown into an anarchic, silly and surprisingly gender/sexuality diverse series. In Saints Row: The Third, the player finds themselves in opposition to the Deckers, a gang of cyberpunks led by the squeamish nerd, Matt Miller. To finally defeat them, the Boss of the Saints must enter the digital world Tron-style and attack the Deckers where it hurts. By the time Saints Row IV rolls around, the Boss has now become the President of the United States, at least for a little while, before an alien race known as the Zin blows up the planet. As a special bit of torture, the head of the Zin constructs a computer representation of the Saints’ home of Steelport and forces the President and their cabinet, who at this point number the entirety of the human race, to live out the rest of their days being tortured for losing the planet. What the Zin don’t count on, though, is the Saints’ heroic hacker diva Kenzie Kenzington, who literally hacks the planet and opens up superpowers for herself and the rest of the Saints. Glorious, stupid action ensues.

Issue 5, June 2014

Read all digital editions of the pulp on Issuu! 15

issuu.com/thepulp

Issue 5, June 2014

Words and images by Steve Munro

Jedis in Churchill Square It's a mild Wednesday evening in June at Sir Winston Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton. Small red tables and chairs spread out from Three Bananas Cafe around the outer edge of the courtyard, some occupied with people enjoying their coffee and conversation. At one end, people play ping pong on the portable table tennis tables, while another pair plays chess with oversized pieces on the giant checkerboard. At the south end of the square, a small group of people hang out and chat. Some stretch their arms and legs, and all are armed with a lightsaber. Shortly after 7:00pm, Janine Waddell Hodder, the group's resident Jedi Master and professional choreographer, calls the group together to get everyone organized and get training started. The younglings are separated from the adult padawan, and training begins. She starts by leading the group through their kata for warm-up. For those unfamiliar with the term, “kata” refers to a series of preset attack and defence patterns which a martial artist uses to demonstrate precision, accuracy and focus. Usually, this is part of the non-combat demonstrations in Karate and Tai-Chi. Janine explained the kata developed in this group as a common point of reference for everyone to learn and practice the common, core movements of lightsaber training.

Soon after, the class broke up into pairs to continue practising and developing individual style and technique. The combatants circled around each other attacking, defending, side-stepping, counter-attacking, and parrying in the simulated give-and-take

circled around each other attacking, defending, side-stepping, counter-attacking, and parrying in the simulated give-and-take of Jedi versus Jedi combat, including simulated Force-chokes and Force-shoves. Some lightsabers glowed faintly in the evening light, hinting at the designed blade colour, some hummed and buzzed from their built-in sound effects generators when swung and clashed against another weapon. Periodically, two fighters would pause to discuss a particular strike and counter pattern, or the merits and flaws of a technique. Sometimes, the partners would recreate their last set of movements in slow motion, analyzing and repeating the most effective parts of their choreography. During a break in the action, Janine filled in some details about the group's membership and overall numbers. “Tonight's a slow night,” she explained. “This usually happens at the end of the school year. I usually get a lot more people...we have to break them up into groups...experienced regulars over there, somewhat experienced people here, beginners there, and the kids over there,” as she pointed to four widely dispersed zones in the square. “We usually take up a lot more space here,” she continued, “We also do a short film at the beginning of September, where we have a huge melee involving everyone.” Lightsaber training is sponsored by the Edmonton Arts Council and happens every Wednesday during the summer at Churchill Square. More information about the events can be found on the Edmonton Arts Council website.

Issue 5, June 2014

For Your (Re)Consideration: Brad SilBerling’S Land of the Lost (2009) Written by Allan Mott | Images courtesy of Universal Studios, Rotten Tomatoes, DVDBeaver, and Koflash

When we laugh out loud, we make a declaration of who we are to the people around us and many of today’s best comedies exist in a special nexus of brilliant and stupid that is hard for us to process in groups. This explains why we might sit in a theatre and watch silently that which would cause us to laugh out loud in the safety of our own homes. This nexus is where the majority of Will Ferrell’s comedies live or die. There are those who passionately insist they are amongst the funniest films they have ever seen and those who just as passionately dismiss them as some of the stupidest to have ever existed. This isn’t an accident. It’s the natural result of a comedy style that specifically requires its intended audience to be both smart and immature enough to appreciate the aggressive absurdity of the kind of characters Ferrell prefers to play. It’s a strategy that lampoons our cultural preference for unambiguous heroes. Ferrell’s films acknowledge the fact that the only reason his characters triumph is because cinematic cliché demands it and, for many audience members, this mockery borders on the personal—as it questions what they value in popular entertainment. As broad as his films can be, to laugh with them, you have to often be willing to laugh at yourself as well. What happens, then, when he is tasked to take on the hero role in a big-budget science fiction/fantasy TV adaptation? What happens is a film that fails to gross even half of its estimated $100,000,000 budget. 19

Issue 5, June 2014

Yet, the failure of Land of the Lost cannot be fully explained by a mass cultural rejection of the Ferrell archetype being placed front and centre in a big budget studio blockbuster. There was at least another factor at play that led to the film’s critical and financial defeat. That is, it was a TV adaptation that no one really wanted. Perhaps more than any other film of its kind, its mere existence served as inescapable proof of Hollywood’s increasingly farcical reliance on previously branded ideas. A low-budget Saturday morning live action show produced by puppeteer brother’s Sid & Marty Croft, the original Land of the Lost is a show best remembered nostalgically—where the dim haze of memories allow us to ignore its otherwise unavoidable flaws. And the problem with exploiting this nostalgia 35 years later is that the only people apt to harbour it would likely resent having their beloved show (and by proxy themselves) spoofed by smartasses—alienating the only audience interested in seeing it. Which is why I believe Land of the Lost is a film that never had a chance to succeed. It was doomed to fail the minute the contracts were signed. And I love it. 20

Because there’s something exhilarating about a mega-budget summer blockbuster that tacitly acknowledges the pointlessness of its existence— one that spends an obscene amount of money to recreate one of the cheapest live action TV shows ever made. Director Brad Silberling is a Spielberg protégé who’s never been able to catch a break. His more personal efforts (Moonlight Mile, 10 Items or Less) were largely ignored and his studio work has ranged from impersonal remakes like Casper and City of Angels to a genuinely great adaptation of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events that still managed to be a box office disappointment. At times, Land of the Lost seems like his middle finger to the kind of films his career has been spent making. Why else would he fill it with the kind of language, violence, and sexual and drug references sure to turn away the family audience a film of its kind would require to turn a profit? Rather than being unwittingly pushed by Ferrell, he clearly was an enthusiastic participant and the result has apparently doomed him to working in TV for the foreseeable future. Which is kinda badass. Land of the Lost is the rare “sell-out” movie that actually refuses to sell-out and is instead true to itself in a way that was certain to ensure its becoming a financial disaster. It is as artistically authentic as the director’s cut of Heaven’s Gate, while also featuring a plot point where Ferrell’s character is pooped out by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Maybe I’m weird, but I find the sheer chutzpah of this to be praiseworthy. But this would mean a lot less if it weren’t for the fact that it’s a film that genuinely makes me laugh—at least in the privacy of my own home. Rather than serve as an example of what not to do, cinema would be better off if future filmmakers looked to it as a perfect example of the fun you can have when tasked with making a film no one actually wants to see.

Issue 5, June 2014

Special Edition NYC brings the focus back to comics Written by Russ Dobler | Images courtesy of Special Edition NYC and No Robots Photography

When Marvel’s The Avengers assembled a $1.5 billion box office in 2012 to become the third highest-grossing movie of all time—trailing only the James Cameron epics Titanic and Avatar—it became undeniable that comic book culture had gone mainstream. The superheroic feat was the culmination of a trend that had been hulking up for years. A staggering 130,000 people attended Comic-Con International in 2010, far removed from the event’s humble beginnings as San Diego’s Golden State Comic-Minicon in 1970, when the original convention drew only 100 fans. The success

San

Diego’s

annual

event

has

inspired

similar

gatherings elsewhere, including the New York Comic Con (NYCC) that covers every inch of the 1.8 million square foot Javits Center in Manhattan each October, with a “Super Week” of city-wide

functions planned to precede the main event this year.

Issue 5, June 2014 But, as the geeks creep in, rather than slink into advantage.

including superstar artist Frank Cho and legendary X-

Comic-Con International has become a regular stop for

Men scribe, Chris Claremont. Some panels proved to

movie

be almost too popular, as “Marvel’s Next Big Thing”

the

shadows, and

the

dominant

television

studios

media to

takes

peddle

their

wares,

including the less-than-fantastic ones. The 2010 edition featured

panel

devoted

action

star

had to turn dozens away.

mash-up

Still, those in attendance—“the purest form of fans,”

film, The Expendables 2. In 2012, NYCC offered advice

on how to break into the video game industry. As these

opportunity to indulge their hobby in a more comfortable

events grow to encompass more wide-ranging material,

atmosphere and spend one-on-one time with the artists.

the comics that initially inspired them seem to become increasingly marginalized. Enter

Special

Edition:

NYC,

swooping

the

rescue. ReedPOP, the organizers of NYCC, brought the inaugural convention devoted solely to comic books to the Javits Center on June 14 and 15 and, while you could still see the floor between people’s footsteps, there was no lack of enthusiasm or available activities. Around 300

different

creators

filled

the

rows

artist

alley,

allowing attendees to meet and greet their favorites, including superstar artist Frank Cho and legendary X-

Men scribe, Chris Claremont. Some panels proved to be almost too popular, as “Marvel’s Next Big Thing” had to turn dozens away.

allowing attendees to meet and greet their favorites,

ReedPOP

staffer

said—were

appreciative

the

Issue 5, June 2014 Funnily enough, despite comic content holding court

figures

not

include the

sales of

digital

over pop culture, sales of the periodicals themselves

comics, a growing segment of the industry that promises

have dropped dramatically over the decades. According

to draw increasingly more attention with stories geared

to Diamond Comic Distributors, the largest wholesaler in

specifically for the medium, such as Marvel’s Infinite

North America, the highest-selling comic book in May

Comics that employ panel transitions that couldn’t be

of 2014 couldn’t even reach 150,000 copies, a drop of

achieved in print form.

about 30% from the same month 10 years ago. Looking

ReedPOP and NYCC are banking that those gains

at the top 10 collectively doesn’t make the picture any

will continue and we’ll see a four-color renaissance in

rosier, as that group included more than 1.3 million

the

units

Edition: NYC will itself invigorate lapsed fans and maybe

in May of 2004, but

only

about

970,000 last

month.

coming

years.

Perhaps

the

existence

Special

even bring some new ones into the fold. While official

The market’s been worse, though, as overall sales

attendance numbers have not yet been released, they’ve

of single issues and graphic novels have begun to inch

definitely got a leg up on the 100 fans from that first

back in recent years, making up for losses suffered

mini-con in San Diego. To be continued in next year’s

since 2009. It’s also important to note that Diamond

exciting installment, True Believers!

figures do not include the sales of digital comics, a growing segment of the industry that promises to draw increasingly more attention with stories geared specifically for the medium, such as Marvel’s Infinite Comics that employ panel transitions that couldn’t be achieved in print form. ReedPOP and NYCC are banking that those gains will continue and we’ll see a four-color renaissance in the coming years. Perhaps the existence of Special Edition: NYC will itself invigorate lapsed fans and maybe even bring

some

new

ones

into

the

fold.

While

official

attendance numbers have not yet been released, they’ve definitely got a leg up on the 100 fans from that first mini-con in San Diego. To be continued in next year’s exciting installment, True Believers!

Diamond

Issue 5, June 2014

The King's Market: merchants, artisans, farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;oh my! Written by Sherry Lawler | Images courtesy of Made Urban, Lionhead Studios, and HBO

4. Treat Your Senses 1. Taste the Difference Farmers' markets offer the freshest, tastiest food around. Fruits and vegetables are allowed to ripen fully in the field. Farmers and butchers alike provide market-goers top-quality, perfectly-flavoured morsels.

Necessary for trade, the Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Markets were held weekly in neighbouring towns, allowing farmers to sell their fat capons, eggs, butter, and cheese. Merchants, artisans, farmers, and traders flocked from afar to barter their wares. With booths planted all around, the markets ran like well-governed cities, spreading for miles. Shops built in rows: fine linens and clothes; furs; flax; ornaments; and spices. Rich fleeces, horses, and cattle. Festivity, music, and merrymaking all around. The Dany-Jorah Market in Game of Thrones brought about a new adoration for markets. When Daenerys stops at a wine merchant's stall, it raised two thoughts in my mind: firstly, we need wine merchants at our present-day markets; and secondly, I want to impart several reasons why we should support our local markets. The following are 10 reasons for getting involved in market culture and celebrating the worthiest of our local goods. 1. Taste the Difference Farmers' markets offer the freshest, tastiest food around. Fruits and vegetables are allowed to

2. Boost Your Nutrition Tantalizing produce is displayed among tables and baskets, encouraging you to bring them back to your kitchen. With fresh, tasty produce sitting amongst your fridge shelves and kitchen counters, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard not to include them in your feasts (fit for a king, we presume).

3. Support Local Farmers, Artisans, and Economy By shopping through the seasons, you are treated to an array of produce you may not have otherwise tasted or knew was available in your area. Surprisingly, foods at your local farmers' markets saves you pennies and your barters help merchants keep more of their profits. By eliminating the cost of the middle man, pricey shipping, and extra packaging, our local farmers and artisans help us get more value for our dollar. 4. Treat Your Senses Experience the colours, the smells, and the

Experience the colours, the smells, and the tastes while prancing around your local farmers' market. After all, this social excursion is a sensual affair, connecting you with the land, your food, and your community. With music abound, you might just find yourself frolicking about with your friends, family, and community.

5. Enjoy the Seasons By shopping through the seasons, you are treated to an array of produce you may not have otherwise tasted or knew was available in your area. The seasons also allow for the fresh, delicious, truest flavours of your favoured produce and the wares they produce: asparagus in the spring, sweet corn in the throes of summer, and pumpkins galore in the autumn.

6. Spice of Life Walking the rows of stalls at the market, your eyes are met with the amazing array of colourful produce: red carrots, heirloom tomatoes, purple cauliflower, stinging nettles, and watermelon radishes. Chatting with the farmers and merchants affords you the opportunity to learn how the vegetables are grown, harvested, and eaten. 7. Shop Organic Markets naturally attract merchants who use organic growing methods, avoiding synthetic

Issue 5, June 2014

7. Shop Organic Markets naturally attract merchants who use organic growing methods, avoiding synthetic pesticides, and who support good land stewardship. Farmers found at your local farmers' market grow nutritious produce, using sustainable techniques, picking your produce right before heading to the market, sometimes even that very morning.

8. Improve Your Cooking Have you ever been at a butcher's stall without asking about their cuts and the different choices of meat? They usually offer great tips to maximize your enjoyment for your choice of meat and its cut. Farmers, ranchers, and artisans alike are often passionate cooks, happy to share favoured recipes for the in-season foods they are selling.

alike are often passionate cooks, happy to share favoured recipes for the in-season foods they are selling.

9. Sustainable Living Through their potential to sustain and support the local food systems, markets can contribute to sustainability goals. They acknowledge the importance of relying on locally available resources and recognize interdependencies between local producers and their consumers.

10. Connect with Your Community Stroll amidst the outdoor stalls of fresh produce, artisan wares, and homemade preserves on a sunny day. Spend your day gallivanting amidst the festive, lively social venue, make shopping a pleasure instead of a chore, and meet up with friendsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;old and new. With Edmonton being Festival City, I'm a bit sad we haven't revisited the idea of the great annual fairs, which lasted for days. Unless, of course, we consider K-Days this annual fair, in July, which neither marks the beginning of our outdoor market season nor the end of it. We need to revisit the idea of wine merchants in markets, as Canadian vineyards are climbing the world markets, and perhaps beer merchants, as Edmontonians will know that we produce some great local craft beers. But alas, those are simply market hopes for the future. From Booksellers' Row, we bid you "vitteyqoyi davra."

CC photo credit: Fable III, Lionhead Studios

the festive, lively social venue, make shopping a pleasure instead of a chore, and meet up with friendsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;old and new. With Edmonton being Festival City, I'm a bit sad we haven't revisited the idea of the great annual fairs, which lasted for days. Unless, of course, we consider K-Days this annual fair, in July, which neither marks the beginning of our outdoor market season nor the end of it. We need to revisit the idea of wine merchants in markets, as Canadian vineyards are climbing the world markets, and perhaps beer merchants, as Edmontonians will know that we produce some great local craft beers. But alas, those are simply market hopes for the future. From Booksellers' Row, we bid you "vitteyqoyi davra." CC photo credit: Fable III, Lionhead Studios

Issue 5, June 2014

Eek Fest breaks ground with its inaugural convention

Words and images by Cheryl Cottrell-Smith

The Eek! Comic and Pop Culture Festival launched for its inaugural year on May 31 and June 1, hosting two full days of exhibitions, shows, and plenty of shopping for the nerd culture-inclined. Despite being the first of its name, the Eek Fest drove plenty of traffic to the Servus Place facility in St. Albert, where two halls were dedicated to comic books, Lego, collector items, artists and creators, and much more.

Lego, collector items, artists and creators, and much more. The special guest was Stephen Amell, star of CW’s Arrow. Fans who were able to make his Q&A session at Eek Fest were treated to an inside look at the elusive man behind Oliver Queen…and pull-ups, of course. the pulp magazine shared a booth

with the Northern Nerd Network this year and, when we weren’t giving away Spiderman candy or convincing people to enter our WIN COMICS contest, we both got the chance to interview a number of artists, creators, exhibitors, and more throughout the weekend. Here are our highlights from the show.

Issue 5, June 2014

Cherry Sauce Clothing Cherry Sauce is a clothing company run by Mike Gaboury and Jason Soprovich, who started the business six years ago. They’ve been doing conventions for about five years now and average around eight to ten conventions per year. “We had a serious video game addiction and decided to start a business so that we felt more productive,” said Gaboury. “We started making shirts and selling them at Warped Tour music shows, but didn’t like the direction it was going, so we went video game and geek-based and we’ve been at conventions ever since.” The shirts feature incarnations of your favourite classic video game characters with a weird twist, such as Link with a nosebleed, or a zombie Mario kingdom. Both Gaboury and Soprovich keep Cherry Sauce going as a hobby and are regulars at the Calgary and Edmonton Expos. Their first experience at Eek Fest was a positive one. “Every first convention that we’ve been to is relatively small,” said Soprovich. “[Eek Fest] is better than we were expecting for a first year convention…it’s going well.” You can also find live streaming and video game reviews from the guys at filthycasual.tv.

Issue 5, June 2014

Octopug – Cute Stuff and Whatever For goth pastel trinkets and inspired artwork, check out Nikita and Hannah Gushue’s Octopug store, where you can find anything from a Fight Club cameo necklace to tie-dyed winged sneakers. The two sisters come from a background in film, photography, and stage makeup, and they’ve used their creativity to start a business based on their own passions. “It’s kind of the spawn of 5 years of working in the film industry,” said Nikita. “I did photography and [Hannah] did a lot of creative, crazy makeup and special effects. We both wanted to work together on something colourful and crazy— much like what we did back then.” Nikita and Hannah Gushue recently celebrated their one year anniversary in the business. Eek Fest was their second convention so far. “It’s been going really great,” said Gushue. “Nikita does mostly fan-based stuff and I do my artwork, but both of us have been really conceptual and we’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback from people. It’s been really refreshing; really friendly.” Octopug celebrates the underground elements of pop culture; specifically, elaborate fan 29 art and swag, cute culture, and video game paraphernalia. The

Octopug celebrates the underground elements of pop culture; specifically, elaborate fan art and swag, cute culture, and video game paraphernalia. The sisters are inspired by the pastel goth/pastel grunge culture of the new generation. “Kids these days that are being goth and punk…they’re very happy and very go-lucky, which is opposite from when I was a kid,” said Gushue. “Happy hardcore, colourful, and candy. I like to see that and I like to see them shop here!”

Issue 5, June 2014

Kaytlyne: Pop Culture Artist Kaytlyne Dewald is a mixed media pop culture artist that takes fan art to the next level. Her booth at Eek Fest was lined with stunning canvas pieces depicting characters from wellknown pop and nerd culture media, painted beautifully over a layer of comic book page cutouts. “I take the comic book pages and use a gel medium to adhere them to the canvas, and then I do a black and white portrait painting on top,” says Dewald. “I work on quite a few at a time—that’s just how I work— but I’d say [I spend] four to 10 hours per painting, depending.” Dewald has been exhibiting at conventions such as the Calgary and Edmonton Expos for the past two years but has been selling her artwork since the age of 14, starting out at the St. Albert Famer’s Market. “St. Albert’s awesome. The community here is really, really great. [Eek Fest has] been a good show—I’m hoping they can do it next year!”

Issue 5, June 2014

Steampunk/Gothic Jewelry and Accessories by Madame Nadine If you’re a comic convention regular in Alberta, chances are that you’ve seen Madame Nadine tightlycorseted up and selling her steampunk jewelry wares.

Madame Nadine has been exhibiting at the Edmonton and Calgary Expos ever since she made the move from everyday jewelry into steampunk wear. “An author, Judith Graves, contacted me—I made more everyday jewelry then—and asked me if I’d like to do something to go with her book, like bookmarks and chokers,” said Madame Nadine. “She said to me, ‘it’s steampunk,’ so I thought I’d give it a try. I made her something and I just got hooked to it…and that was it! It’s different, unique, and I love it.”

different, unique, and I love it.” Her experience at Eek Fest, though quieter than the larger festivals, has been a good one. “I like the way it’s been organized; it’s nice to see all of the artists in one place. It’s quiet sometimes, but that’s normal.” Madame Nadine’s steampunk designs can be found at the upcoming Saskatoon Blitz and the 2014 Edmonton Expo.

Issue 5, June 2014

Breaking video games like a legend Tom D.’s Unsanity Live Written by cbwcaswell | Image courtesy of Thomas D.

There are few people on the planet

who are doing

exactly what they want to be doing. There are even fewer who are living the dreams most of us have as children — the dream of being a soccer players or rockstars. For a large (sedentary) portion of us, we’ve grown up fantasizing about putting our textbooks down, never writing another cover letter for jobs we don’t really want, and just playing video games all damn day. Thomas D., of Twitch channel Unsanity Live, does just that. When he’s done work at 5 o’clock, Tom comes home to live-stream some of his favourite games, his most hated games, and games that barely work. What started as a hobby has become a paid position, has earned him fans around the globe that have bought him games and systems, likely helped to earn him a repeat position as a quality assurance tester at BioWare, and brought his channel over 3 million views. Here, Tom describes how he got into the field, some of the weirder things he’s received from fans, and what he’s learned from the internet’s brand of unsanity.

Issue 5, June 2014 When did you start? I think it was April 2010 or 2009. Is four years pretty long? Four years is pretty long, especially in the casting community. A lot of people—especially on Twitch— have just discovered it, so they’ve only been on for a few months. What inspired you to do this? There was a community called 4-Player podcast. They had a whole bunch of GTA and Fatal Frame videos up on YouTube. I went from that to two other communities: T-9000 Gaming (they do other things now, not streaming) and another guy, Champion City Gaming. He was just a low-key streamer—four viewers every night. One night he was playing Fall Out 3—and I love Fall Out 3—so we were talking about that when, all of a sudden, my power goes out. Four hours later, I hop back on and he says “Okay, I’m back, my power just went out.” So I asked him where he lived and he said, “South Edmonton.” With streaming, you have to interact with the people in the stream and you have to do it regularly if you want people to come back. There’s a lot more interactivity. So you thought he lived in the States or somewhere else? Yeah, anywhere else, but just the fact that he was a local guy made me think that I could do this. It was nifty. Do you know much about the scene from when it started? When you were getting into it, was that early on in “Let’s Play”? It wasn’t very early on in Let’s Play, but it was very early on in streaming, as a sub-category of Let’s Play.

What’s the difference? It’s how you interact with people, because with videos, you do your spiel, and you post it, and it gains views constantly. With streaming, you have to

What’s the difference? It’s how you interact with people, because with videos, you do your spiel, and you post it, and it gains views constantly. With streaming, you have to interact with the people in the stream and you have to do it regularly if you want people to come back. There’s a lot more interactivity. What was the decision to stream rather than do a Let’s Play? It was less work, in a way. Most of my work lies in keeping on top of things and talking to people. When it comes to editing, you have this huge pool of competition with YouTube, and you have to know your stuff. I just found my groove with streaming. When I tuned in last Thursday I was really surprised with how nice everyone was. Yeah, you got in on a good day. So on the best day, what’s it like? On the best day it’s just back and forth with the chat room: no slurs, just nice conversation with me and amongst themselves. On the worst day it would be me streaming a fairly popular game, something like GTA, and you get a whole bunch of people from a completely different crowd and breed coming in just yelling and swearing at you and telling you what to do. With streaming, you get into situations where you meet a lot of people you wouldn’t normally deal with. So it’s always interesting. Do you have any fans from outside North America? Oh yeah, from the UK and Japan. I stream 8-11 pm and they’ll tune in at 3 or 5 in the morning. How does the following system work on Twitch? Twitch has followers and they have subscribers. Right now, I have 19,265 followers, over 3 million views, which is over the course of four years, and for subscribers I have about 100.

Issue 5, June 2014 Twitch? Twitch has followers and they have subscribers. Right now, I have 19,265 followers, over 3 million views, which is over the course of four years, and for subscribers I have about 100. What’s the difference between a follower and a subscriber? A follower means that you’ve signed up to get an email whenever I start streaming. A subscriber means that a person liked my stream enough to pay $5 dollars so they don’t have any ads on my stream, some silly emoticons, and a badge in the chat-room. But I never play ads anyway. The only reason people would subscribe is because they want the badge in chat or because they like me. How do you make money from it? I don’t run any ads, but I do make a little ad revenue because they force videos and I don’t have any control over that. I don’t make too much on it, but with subscribers I make some money. I think they split it 50/50: half to Twitch and half to me. I don’t follow it too much, but I get a bit of money as a bonus to my check every month, which is great because I did this for free for three years, and I enjoyed it, and now I’m getting paid for it.

Were there any specific games you played that brought on a lot of followers? My computer was one of the craziest things I was ever sent. The same person who sent the computer also sent me an envelope with $300 in American cash to go buy a PS3. There were a lot of times when it jumped, like back when I played Happy Wheels. It was part of a thing where I would play flash games every Friday. People would just post in chat cool flash games that existed because I used to be really poor and not play consoles and I had a bad laptop so I’d play flash games and I’d still have a lot of fun with them. Someone had sent in Happy Wheels. I played it nonstop for a while, then that got sent around to YouTube

How do you make money from it? I don’t run any ads, but I do make a little ad revenue because they force videos and I don’t have any control over that. I don’t make too much on it, but with subscribers I make some money. I think they split it 50/50: half to Twitch and half to me. I don’t follow it too much, but I get a bit of money as a bonus to my check every month, which is great because I did this for free for three years, and I enjoyed it, and now I’m getting paid for it. Were there any specific games you played that brought on a lot of followers? There were a lot of times when it jumped, like back when I played Happy Wheels. It was part of a thing where I would play flash games every Friday. People would just post in chat cool flash games that existed because I used to be really poor and not play consoles and I had a bad laptop so I’d play flash games and I’d still have a lot of fun with them. Someone had sent in Happy Wheels. I played it nonstop for a while, then that got sent around to YouTube and made it super big. It was amazing at the time. When I was streaming it no one had heard of it, so I was getting 1000 viewers a night and it was non-stop crazy laughter, because I was new to it too and I didn’t know what to expect. There’s a few other games where I had amazing reception. I think my best received game was Papers, Please. That was when I hit my peak. I had to check statistics afterwards: I hit 2000 people once watching me play this game. It was fantastic because the goal of the game is to find flaws in people’s identities as they pass through the ports on this crazy, communist state with high crazy security, and if you screw up you need to decide if you have five dollars to feed your family or give your uncle medicine. It’s weird moral stuff like that, but when it came to finding flaws in peoples identity, there’s a Twitch delay—the infamous Twitch delay—so I’d be playing the game, going through someone’s ID, and people in the chatroom would see me well before I was going through their ID, and I’d stamp the NPC’s card and

Issue 5, June 2014 would just post in chat cool flash games that existed because I used to be really poor and not play consoles and I had a bad laptop so I’d play flash games and I’d still have a lot of fun with them. Someone had sent in Happy Wheels. I played it nonstop for a while, then that got sent around to YouTube and made it super big. It was amazing at the time. When I was streaming it no one had heard of it, so I was getting 1000 viewers a night and it was non-stop crazy laughter, because I was new to it too and I didn’t know what to expect.

“

you? A lot of awesome stuff and a lot of scary stuff. My computer was one of the craziest things I was ever sent. The same person who sent the computer also sent me an envelope with $300 in American cash to go buy a PS3. A guy bought me a Wii and sent it straight over. I’ve gotten a few games, a lot of disc games you can’t send over Steam, and way too many Steam games—like, I can’t play any of them at this point.

It’s something I

On the crazier end of the spectrum, I got a box of pasta that was shaped like penises, I got bacon lube, and one time that was absolutely terrifying, someone sent me a vibrator, which was addressed to my work, and they then sent it to my family who then sent it to me. So it essentially went through the hands of everyone I didn’t want to see it.

There’s a few other games where I had love doing, so if amazing reception. I think my best I come out of received game was Papers, Please. That something I love was when I hit my peak. I had to check statistics afterwards: I hit 2000 people doing and feel once watching me play this game. It was bad, it’s the fantastic because the goal of the game is worst thing in to find flaws in people’s identities as the fucking Has working at BioWare affected they pass through the ports on this your streaming? crazy, communist state with high crazy world. It’s something I love doing, so if I come security, and if you screw up you need to out of something I love doing and feel bad, it’s the decide if you have five dollars to feed your family or worst thing in the fucking world. give your uncle medicine. It’s weird moral stuff like that, but when it came to finding flaws in peoples Not really. I don’t talk about it on cast because then identity, there’s a Twitch delay—the infamous Twitch everyone will ask what the game’s like, and that’s delay—so I’d be playing the game, going through something I don’t want in my stream because that’s someone’s ID, and people in the chatroom would see not the focus. And when it comes to at-work, I don’t me well before I was going through their ID, and I’d talk about it too much either, but the two lives will stamp the NPC’s card and send them through, and ten seep together and my manager or my coworkers will seconds later everyone would be like “ARE YOU go check out the stream. KIDDING ME? THAT WAS A MAN, HIS ID WAS FAKE,” and it was the interactivity of them fighting I’ve had other people that work in the video-game me to find the flaws that for some reason it was really development industry contact me and talk with me. fun. I think that was the best one I’d ever casted. There’s a guy who used to work at BioWare Austin and he moved to Irrational Studios. He watches my What are some of the things fans have sent stream all the time and we talk and laugh about crazy you? bad glitches in games. A lot of awesome stuff and a lot of scary stuff. My Do you think doing the stream helped you get computer was one of the craziest things I was ever in to BioWare? sent. The same person who sent the computer also

Issue 5, June 2014

stream all the time and we talk and laugh about crazy bad glitches in games. Do you think doing the stream helped you get in to BioWare? It might’ve. I did put it on my resume as, “I have experience breaking the hell out of games,” and my dad [Tom’s father also works at BioWare as a programmer] said, “send in eight of your videos of you breaking games,” and so I mentioned it. It never came up after that, but it may have helped a little bit. What’s the difference to you between a good stream and a bad stream? The only time I can say if a stream is bad or good is how I feel coming off of it. If I’m in a good mood coming out of a stream, then it was fantastic. If I feel like crap then I’ll want to quit. It’s something I love doing, so if I come out of something I love doing and feel bad, it’s the worst thing in the fucking world. Do you have any goals? I’d like to say that I do. I’d like to get better. When I started, I wanted to interact with people and find weird social scenarios. And you’d find out about people from what they’d say or how they’d interact in chat. And everybody’s unique on the internet. My original goal was just to meet people, and interact and learn from them. I’m still all about that, but I’d like to advance my channel, get more people in, build a community, the basic “I want to get bigger,” but I feel like that’s a really lame goal.

What did you mean by “everyone is unique on the internet”? Everyone has their own take on things, they have their own opinions, their own styles, like “everyone is unique in their own way, you’re all special” kind of thing. Everybody has access to the internet now, and you don’t limit yourself. When I throw myself out there, I’m not selecting anyone—anyone can come to me. And there’s no limitations: anyone can say “Hi Tom,” or “Fuck you, Tom,” or “I love you Tom,” and

you don’t limit yourself. When I throw myself out there, I’m not selecting anyone—anyone can come to me. And there’s no limitations: anyone can say “Hi Tom,” or “Fuck you, Tom,” or “I love you Tom,” and any number of things is possible. But in the real world, where everyone isn’t bits and bytes, I’d probably go to a gaming convention or go work at BioWare and that’s one group of people that like video games that have their own traits that are very similar. But on the internet you can meet anyone. There’s no limit. Is it something you bring up socially? I don’t ever really bring it up. It’s weird, it’s something I feel I should be really proud of, but at the same time I don’t want to show other people for fear of judgment. And not judgment as in, “you’re a horrible person for doing this,” but as in, “man, your stream isn’t that good.” I take too much pride in it.

If you’d like to watch Tom breaking the hell out of games, you can catch him at his channel and follow him on twitter @UnsanityLIVE.

Issue 5, June 2014

For Your (Re)Consideration: Doomsday (2008) Ask any fan of HBO’s massively popular show, Game of Thrones, which episodes were the most earthshaking, and without a doubt they will point to the ninth one of each ten-episode season. So far these installments have seen beloved characters get killed horribly, long-gestating plans put into motion, and gigantic battles that have shook the Seven Kingdoms to their core. The two episodes that focused entirely on those big battles, Season Two’s “Blackwater” and this season’s “The Watchers on the Walls,” were both directed by a man named Neil Marshall. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why Marshall is not a bigger name among genre film lovers, especially horror fans. Hopefully his recent successes on the small screen will lead to some traction in the theatres.

So far these installments have seen beloved characters get killed horribly, long-gestating plans put into motion, and gigantic battles that have shook the Seven Kingdoms to their core. The two episodes that focused entirely on those big battles, Season Two’s “Blackwater” and this season’s “The Watchers on the Walls,” were both directed by a man named Neil Marshall. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why Marshall is not a bigger name among genre film lovers, especially horror fans. Hopefully his recent successes on the small screen will lead to some traction in the theatres.

Written by Matt Bowes | Images courtesy of Rogue Pictures, fanpop.com, and sharethefiles.com can’t figure out why Marshall is not a bigger name among genre film lovers, especially horror fans. Hopefully his recent successes on the small screen will lead to some traction in the theatres. In an ecosystem which has spawned endless sequels to Paranormal Activity and Saw, etc., the films in his oeuvre consistently find interesting things to do with their low budgets, an asset he has since put to excellent use in the TV world. In addition to his two highly acclaimed episodes of Game of Thrones, he’s also directed a fun Roman Legionnaires vs. Ancient Britons picture (2010’s Centurion, featuring Michael Fassbender and the inimitable Dominic West), two fantastic horror movies (2002’s Dog Soldiers and 2005’s The Descent) and, finally, one of my favourite genre mashups of the last decade, 2008’s Doomsday. In my opinion, Marshall should at least be held in the same esteem as someone like Robert Rodriguez, if not higher. His cinema shares some of the same traits as Rodriguez, such as the ability to craft fun genre cinema with small budgets, and a similar affection for over-the-top gore effects. In addition to this, Marshall also shows the additional ability to craft great roles for women equal to James Cameron, and a knowledge and interest in UK history and folklore much like contemporary Ben Wheatley

Issue 5, June 2014

asset he has since put to excellent use in the TV world. In addition to his two highly acclaimed episodes of Game of Thrones, he’s also directed a fun Roman Legionnaires vs. Ancient Britons picture (2010’s Centurion, featuring Michael Fassbender and the inimitable Dominic West), two fantastic horror movies (2002’s Dog Soldiers and 2005’s The Descent) and, finally, one of my favourite genre mashups of the last decade, 2008’s Doomsday. In my opinion, Marshall should at least be held in the same esteem as someone like Robert Rodriguez, if not higher. His cinema shares some of the same traits as Rodriguez, such as the ability to craft fun genre cinema with small budgets, and a similar affection for over-the-top gore effects. In addition to this, Marshall also shows the additional ability to craft great roles for women equal to James Cameron, and a knowledge and interest in UK history and folklore much like contemporary Ben Wheatley (Sightseers, A Field in England). As most of you probably haven’t seen Doomsday, which fared very poorly at the box office, here’s a quick primer. In the near future, a horrible virus known as the Reaper has begun to decimate the British Isles, starting in Glasgow, Scotland. A desperate attempt to stop the infection is put into place by the British government, as Hadrian’s Wall, the former northern barrier of the Roman Empire, is rebuilt, sealing Scotland off from the rest of the world. Among the few

Empire, is rebuilt, sealing Scotland off from the rest of the world. Among the few Scots who escaped confinement was young Eden Sinclair, who went on to become a badass Special Forces operative played by Rhona Mitra (fun fact: Mitra was the second model to portray video game heroine Lara Croft for EIDOS Interactive). In the film’s hilariously gruesome opening scene, young Eden is accidentally shot in the face and survives (!) as a frantic group of Scots attacks the English barricade as it closes (the grown up Eden has a fake eyeball/surveillance camera, an homage to Kurt Russell’s Snake Plissken). When the Reaper threatens to rear its ugly head again in London, Sinclair and a group of hardbitten soldiers and scientists are sent

London, Sinclair and a group of hardbitten soldiers and scientists are sent back into the remains of Scotland in a desperate attempt to find Marcus Kane (Malcolm McDowell), a researcher who stayed behind for 30 years to study the disease. It’s no coincidence that two members of Sinclair’s expedition are named Miller and Carpenter. The whole film is a love letter to the genre filmmaking of the 1970s and ‘80s, especially the works of George Miller (Mad Max, The Road Warrior) and John Carpenter (The Thing, Escape From New York), with a bit of Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later thrown in for good measure in the form of the Reaper’s disgusting effects. Carpenter’s influence is especially felt in the film’s pulsing,

Issue 5, June 2014

effects. Carpenter’s influence is especially felt in the film’s pulsing, driving score, which alternates with selected ‘80s new wave hits to create entertaining cognitive dissonance. Immediately after getting through the fortifications, Sinclair and friends encounter a degraded society of Scottish punk-rock barbarians headed up by Sol, a consummate showman who roasts his victims/dinner alive in the middle of a musical number set to Fine Young Cannibals’ “Good Thing.” After Sinclair escapes confinement and kills Sol’s paramour in the process, her and the remnants of her squad find Kane, who has set himself up in a remote castle as a medieval king in exile. There’s some

extremely sly humour here, as the castle still retains a lot of the tourist signs, pointing towards exits and gift shops. Kane has adopted the biohazard symbol as his sigil and has even taken the time to adorn his stained glass walls with it. Finally, Sinclair wins a trial by combat (more shades of Game of Thrones here), defeating a massive armoured opponent then engaging in some Road Warriorstyle highway carnage back down to the wall. As you can tell, there’s a lot going on in this film and, to be fair, it threatens to burst at the seams at some points. I think this is one of the reasons it didn’t catch on: it’s a little bit schizophrenic moving from pandemic narrative, to near-future totalitarianism, to New Wave-music apocalypse, to semi-ironic medieval times, and then back again. If you can get into the groove of the film, though, you’ll see that Marshall is equally adept in all of these arenas. It’s also wickedly funny, with a sense of humour that recalls Terry Gilliam at his grossest, or George A. Romero at his most sardonic. Rhona Mitra’s Sinclair is a very well executed character, not falling into the classic Hollywood “strong female” trap of falling in love with some guy during the adventure and moving to the background of the story. Sinclair has a strong working relationship with her commanding officer, played by Bob

, moving from pandemic narrative,

also led to the lacklustre box office

Hoskins, and the two have a kind of sweet father-daughter vibe mostly concerned with her bumming smokes off of him. Sinclair also comes to merit the respect of her second-in-command, played by Adrian Lester, but at no point is romance even hinted at between them. In one of my favourite aspects of the film, Sinclair even comes to realize her destiny as a Scottish émigré; at the end of the film, once the job is completed, she declines to go back to London, choosing instead to take over the remnants of Sol’s barbarian gang. Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven, sort of thing. I feel like the generic title might have also led to the lacklustre box office returns. To me, “doomsday” conjures images of boring Roland Emmerich disaster porn, or dreadfully earnest Biblical portent like the Left Behind series, and none of the tongue in cheek genre exploration that this film truly delivers. It might also have suffered from the similar themes explored by Robert Rodriguez in his half of the Grindhouse experiment released the previous year, Planet Terror). If you’re a fan of post-apocalyptic stories with a sense of humour, a fan of things like Fallout, Borderlands, Dead Rising and Six String Samurai, Doomsday’s definitely worth checking out.

Issue 5, June 2014

Thepulppress.com