"This contest askes a simple question: If the renaissance took place in more recent times, and the models were famous movie monsters/aliens, what would the artwork have looked like? The rules of this match are thus: You are to submit an entry in which you depict a hollywood movie monster/alien as the subject of a work of fine art."

Labels: guess the artist

1. Go to Google
2. Enter the word "failure"
3. Click the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button

• 12-1pm Special presentation by Phoebe Gloeckner on teaching sequential storytelling.
• 1:30-2:30pm How to silk-screen mini-comic covers using Print Gocco with Sean Bieri.
• 3-4pm How to make a mini-comic with Matt Feazell.
• 4:30-5:30 pm Cartoon Carousel with Bob Corby, Kel Crum and friends.

Labels: guess the artist

"Jesus - Wrong for America."

"It’s a very sneaky class," Kakalios said. "It’s getting you to eat your spinach by hiding it in a lovely superhero sundae"

"Aziz: Tiger Hand always beats paper.

Saddam: I'm sayin', bro!"

I said before that few of these lit blogs actually discuss literature in a meaningful way.

Why, then, do so many people read them?

To begin with, not so many people read them. Instead, a very concentrated population of people read them over and over. Namely, other bloggers. They all read one another, in the hope something they mentioned on their blog will be cited on another blog. It's a kind of Ponzi scheme in which the object is attention, and the shared illusion is one of relevance.

That said, plenty of aspiring writers and publishing folks also read blogs. With coverage of literature all but disappearing from corporate media, lit blogs serve as instant clearinghouses for news items, local readings and reviews. Many (Sarvas' included) advocate for favorite writers. They allow people to feel connected to the world of letters. All this is perfectly commendable. At their finest, blogs contribute to a serious discussion of literature and the culture at large ...

But lit blogs also have a tendency to boil that world down to a series of conflicts and controversies. Reading them often becomes a legitimized form of scandal mongering. (It's a lot easier to read about Philip Roth's angry ex-wife than it is to read one of his books.)

Most writers perceive themselves as failures. They suffer rejection and disregard on a daily basis. Even the lucky few who get published can't get the New York bigwigs to return their calls. The modern writer is engaged in an enterprise almost guaranteed to crush her spirit. And certain blogs -- like other forms of modern media -- serve as bulletin boards for the resulting feelings of despair, spite and rage. Their chosen topic happens to be literature, but it could just as well be politics or sports. Their deepest allure resides in the gratification of primal negative emotions.

Labels: guess the artist

"What is the real scoop on why Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton aren't on speaking terms anymore? Do they realize they are acting like spoiled little girls?"

"To be eligible for the long list of Quills nominees, a book must have been published in its original format in North America between August 1, 2004, and July 31, 2005, and marketed in the United States. It must also have met one of the following criteria: a starred review in Publishers Weekly, a Barnes & Noble's Discover Great New Writers Program selection, one of the American Booksellers Association's Book Sense Picks, a Borders Books & Music Original Voices title, or an appearance on the bestsellers lists of Publishers Weekly, Book Sense, Barnes & Noble, or Borders. "