RCCCC: Bitch Planet

Kelly Sue Deconnick! I shouldn't have to say anymore being at the Bitch Planet panel, but I suppose I will share it anyway. Saturday September 20th 12:30 "Spotlight on Bitch Planet," with creators Deconnick, De Landro, Peter, & Cowles.

Bitch Planet is a dystopian future where women are sent off-world to a prison for being noncompliant. The book sets up like old exploitation films from the 60s & 70s and Kelly Sue explores her fascination with the genre. It is more than violence & space; this book explores women and in turn, empowers them.  It has women of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds without judgement.

The greatest thing from this panel was when Kelly Sue explained her answer to all the feminist remarks she has received. "Why do you push a feminist agenda on your books?" To which she answers, "Superheroes stand up for the disempowered and defend the rights of humanity, how is that not feminist." I love this response! Superheroes are fiction created to hold up the standards and rights of everyone and that is what Kelly is doing in this book. Kelly Sue Deconnick also says she likes to "steer into the curve," when people call say she has an agenda.

Bitch Planet has a great team behind it and Kelly Sue admits she can't/doesn't speak for every woman but her book is amazing and shows women in a way we should all be looking at.

How to Get Good Audio out of a 3.5mm Microphone

Hey Everyone. I have received a lot of questions about how I set up a cheap 3.5mm microphone and still get decent audio. I don't have any fancy tips or trips on how to get good audio, but I do provide a walkthrough of how I set up 3.5mm mics on my Computer. The main issue I have heard on videos of people with cheap microphones is clipping. I walk you through how I avoid clipping as well. Hope this helps. 

If you have any questions about the setup, leave them in the comments down below and I will do my best to answer them ASAP.

RCCCC: Lumberjanes

Lumberjanes

As one of the last panels at Rose City Comic Con I was very excited to attend the Lumberjanes panel on Sunday September 20th 2:30 pm. At the panel was Shannon Watters and Brooke Allen but the team is  (Shannon Watters, Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Brooke Allen Faith Erin Hicks).  If you know me(Logan) than you know I am a huge fan of Lumberjanes and if you don't know me or this comic let us explain .

I first stumbled into Lumberjanes at Emerald City Comic Con 2014, while walking passed Boom Studios booth where the team was sitting with the book infront of them. The unique art style and bright colors drew me in and  the title Lumberjanes just sounded cool I had to check it out. I read it while waiting for a panel then I returned to the creators to share my excitement and get it signed.

"Girlscouts vs monster," is how co-creator Shannon Watters pitched the book to her team and to Boom studios. Shannon Watters is apart of Boom Studios as an editor (as well as many other credits) and had the oppurtunity to pitch a book. Grace and Shannon also wanted knew they wanted the story to be "magic five" book. "Magic Five" meaning a team like Scooby Doo or  Baby-sitters Club. The idea was pitched and picked up as a 8 issue miniseries but with all the fan response and reception it was made into a full ongoing seriers. Brooke and Shannon explained they couldn't have anticipated the love of this book but are so excited and grateful. They have now won an Eisner for the series and you can pick up the book in stores to show you love too.

Support:

Lumberjanes vol.1

 

The Net

Today is Friday, and that means Friday Night Action Movie Book Club. I want to talk about 1995 classic THE NET. I know that the majority of you are probably thinking that this film will suck, but you're wrong. This movie is great.

Before we discuss it at the pretentious level, allow me to sell you based solely on one persons involvement. The producer/director of The Net is Irwin Winkler. This guy also produced Rocky, Raging Bull, The Right Stuff, Good Fellas, The Mechanic, Wolf of Wallstreet...Basically, this guy knows what he's doing. Now that I've sold you on the film, let's do this.

The Net tells the story of "a computer programmer who stumbles upon a conspiracy, putting her life and the lives of those around her in great danger" (imdb.com). Surprisingly, I think that this movie holds up rather well 20 years after it's release. That's because this isn't a story about what the internet was capable of in 1995, it focusses on much larger ideas. So let's go ahead and break it down into three overarching Ideas that I believe the film really focusses on. 

First. The Net plays off the fear that we will slowly lose our privacy as our information is transferred to a digital space. Sure, this film downplays the complexities of hacking and accessing peoples encrypted files. But the technical aspect of hacking is not what the film is trying to bring to light. It's showing that people don't think that there is any problem with the digitization of sensitive information. Society is lured into a false sense of security by a companies promise, when all it takes to gain access to your information is a single person or group exploiting a single flaw in security. 

Second. Around this time in the 90's, Americans trust of the government was at the lowest point since 1958 (people-press.org). This led to an increased interest in conspiracy theories. The overarching story of this film is that of a conspiracy theory regarding infiltration and manipulation of the government by a large corporation. Over the last 5 years, the trust of the US government has reached points very similar to those during 1995. This could be another reason that I think this film holds up...we still don't trust our government and we feel like there are corporate puppets pulling their strings.

Lastly, I think that the majority of this film is an analogy for Alzheimers. This may seem like a stretch, but let me explain. At the beginning of the film we are introduced to Sandra Bullock's mother who has Alzheimers. When we see Sandra's first visit, her mother does not recognize who Sandy B is. Later in the film, Sandra Bullock is put in a very similar situation where she is completely disconnected from the world around her. She is unable to tell if what is happening is real, or if she has had a mental break. The comparison between what Sandra Bullock is going through and what her mother is going through with Alzheimers is uncanny, and it illustrates the frustration that someone with Alzheimers might feel...trapped in a situation that is out of your control, constantly being told you're someone else, unable to understand what is happening...it must be truly horrifying.

I know what you're thinking; you've over analyzed the movie. Well maybe you're right, and to remove that judgement from your mind, here's a gem for you: when you're watching this film, wait for the ADR scream around 1:48:00. You're welcome. I do recommend watching this movie if you haven't seen it yet. Just remember to have fun while watching it and also remember that it was made 20 years ago.

Buy it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1PzWsg8

The History of Happy Birthday

Welcome and hello. It's time for Vlog Time, or I Am Vlog, or whatever this endeavor is called. I think it's called "I Am Vlog". Anyways. If you haven't heard, the copyright for the happy birthday song is no longer binding! That means that you can sing it in movies and films for free without paying Warner Chappel music another dime. The painful thing about this ruling. You never should have paid them. Hope you're not one of those suckers who thought "i really need to sing this song in my film" while writing a check for thousands of dollars. I guess one thing we do have this copyright to thank for is all the awesome new happy birthday songs like this or like this.

Do You Even Comic: WE 3

Here we are on Thursday and it is time for Do You Even Comic with Logan Naugle. This month's book is We3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. The Vertigo miniseries initially came out in 2004 and since its release has been optioned for a movie adaptation (but has yet to be produced). 

The Story

We3  takes place in a not too distant future by which the military is working to weaponize animals in robotic armor. The story follows 3 stray animals (dog,cat,rabbit) that get captured and encased in the armor. They then try to FLEA to freedom. Explaining anymore would spoil the short but impactful story. Plus who doesn't want to see animals in robotic armor.

Why this book?

The team that is Grant and Frank is a powerful one. When you look up the titles they have worked on together you see All-Star Superman, Batman and Robin and New X-men. It would seem that every time these guys work together they create something amazing and We3 was my first look into that amazing portfolio.

Grant Morrison is now a writer I can't get away from. He is constantly and consistently evolving his work, and every original book he works on strikes the emotional core of the readers and makes you think about what you're reading. Then there is Frank Quietly who self describes his art as "western manga". I'm not sure what that is but I like his style. There is this realistic but organic softness to his work.

Of course  I didn't realize I would love the work of this team when I picked up We3, nor did I think a short story like this would be so emotional for me. The book tugs at your heart and those are the stories I want to read. That is what makes discovery fun when someone else (my brother) shows you a story you haven't heard of and you are amazed but how much it affects you or how much you love it. 

If this sounded like a book for you then get it here:

Book: We3

RCCCC: Image Comics at Rose City

Over the course of the weekend at Rose City Image Comics had several panels, each looked at different angles and sides of Image. We wanted to cover all of the panels and present them here for you now.

Actually, before we get into the panels it must be noted that David Brothers the moderator for all the Image panels was amazing. He had charisma and brought everyone in the room together and gave its panel tons of energy. When he isn't moderating panels, he provides front page content to the Image Comics site, and hosts a podcast called The I Word.

  • Adventuring

The first panel of the con we attended was the adventure side of Image and it ran September 19th 10:30 am. The panel featured the creative team of both The Autumnlands (Kurt Busiek & Ben Dewey) and Shutter (Joe Keatinge & Leila Del Duca).  I think the first thing that amazed me was that Image had high fantasy comics in their line up. The second thing that impressed me, I was fascinated and interested in both of them.

The Autumnlands is a magical world with anthropomorphic  animals and a human. It follows the journey of several characters as they set out to try and stop the once happy and beautiful world they knew from coming to an end. Writer Kurt Busiek speaks of the book with such passion and love for fantasy that you can tell he wants to explore the world he has created just as much as the readers. Ben Dewey on the other hand loves creating all the anthropomorphic creatures that Kurt can think up.

Shutter follows Kate Kristopher as she is forced back into adventuring when a family secret threatens everything she has worked towards her entire life. The story is an urban fantasy that also has some anthropomorphic creatures, dinosaurs, spacemen and a living cat clock.  Joe and Leila have made a book they both love to write and draw. This team laughs and looks forward to each page that they do. Seeing them up on stage smile at each other as they talk about their book was nothing short of encouraging for a writer just starting out.

*There was another Thrills of Image comics which included both the team of Bitch Planet and Nailbiter. But you can scroll down and read the spotlight of Nailbiter and a spotlight on Bitch Planet later this week.  

  • Owning it

The last Image Panel from Image, focused on the principals behind the company and featured: Justin Greenwood (The Fuse), Emi Lennox (Plutona), Jeremy Haun (The Beauty) and Image Co-Founder Jim Valentino. The focus at this panel was on creators as whole and what is means to work with Image.

Let us first point out the fact that we got to see Jim Valentino, a man who started in alternative comics and worked for Marvel. He then decided to help carve out what is now arguably the largest comic company after the "big two." The lineup of artists and writers on the panel was a mix of experience in the industry and a mix of genres offered at image. The purpose was the show the vastness and diversity of the company's creators and books

Jim spoke about something that struck me and motivated me. He spoke of working on the book you (creators) want to make. Not the IP of a company that has final say on what the story is that you are trying to tell. At Image the artists and the writers all own their work and have the final say.

It is official. I (Logan) want to have a book published by Image. Why? Because you get to own your work, you find your team (editor,artist, letter etc.) But also because at every Image panel at the convention we saw teams of creators speaking passionately about the books they make and the work they will continue to do. I made a conscious decision to keep using the word team in the post for the simple fact that as a writer and artist you work as a team and collaborate. All the people we saw on stage acted like a team who want to be working with each other and push each other for the best stories they can tell. That is why they are at Image Comics, and that is why I want to be at Image Comics.

Books

RCCCC: Imposter Syndrome and You

RCCCC time again and today I am going to be talking to you about Wil Wheaton's Panel from Sunday, September 20th @ 11:00 am.

There are quite a few things that I could talk about from his panel, but I think that one aspect of the panel was most important. His discussion of Anxiety & Imposter Syndrome. If you don't know what imposter syndrome is, it is the feeling that you are inadequate even when there is information that proves that feeling to be wrong. It can also be a feeling of chronic self doubt. Wil Wheaton defines it as "The mom's voice from Carrie screaming They're All Going To Laugh At You". 

First I'm going to share with you Cal Tech's breakdown of three ways Imposter Syndrome can be experienced.

  1. Feeling Like a Fake
    Before even reading past the title, I'm sure a lot of you can already empathize with this feeling. This is when you feel like you have somehow deceived your way into a position or a job that you really don't deserve. I know that when I got accepted into graduate school, I legitimately said "It's only a matter of time before they realize the mistake they made". 
     
  2. Attributing Success to Luck
    Once again, the title really defines this experience. Cal Tech really knows how to title this syndrome's parts. This is when you succeed at something and say something like "I just got lucky." or "This other person deserved it." which could be used as a sort of safety net in case you don't succeed next time.
     
  3. Discounting Success
    And again, title is self explanatory. This is when you achieve something, but you automatically try to downplay it and say "No big deal." or give excuses as to why you don't deserve the praise. Once again, in school, when I got my Master's Degree, I said "Yeah but it was only a 3.0, I barely got it. It shouldn't count." 

Now I want to share some of Wil Wheaton's thoughts about how to overcome perpetual self doubt and actually go out and create.

Let's get this out of the way. No matter what you're doing, and no matter how good it is, people online are going to shit on it. Do you want to know why? Because there are so many people online, and those people who leave hateful comments about your stuff are fuck sticks. You need to learn to ignore those people because it simply is not important what they think. Do you like what you made? Good! That's all that matters.

That leads into the first piece of Wil's advice that I want to impart on you: "Make something that you love and accept that it's not for everyone." This is the perfect way to find happiness in art. The moment you find your voice, or find your story, or find your instrument, and realize that you love what you're making and want to make it forever, that's happiness. Now, realize that not ever single person out there is going to like it. Chances are the majority of people will not like it because there are 7 billion people out there. You can't appeal to even half of them, so don't try, and don't take it personal when some dick mouth decides to shit on your creation. Joel Watson once said "You make [things], they make comments".

And that is one of the most important things to remember. The people who are online spewing their hate online are typically not creators, they are people who hide behind a screen and talk shit. What they say is not important. When it comes down to it, Dub Dub said "make whatever it is for yourself and hope others come along for the ride" 

Now go out, realize that you kick ass, and make some amazing art! Do it for yourself, and most importantly have some fun while you're doing it! 

 

Neewer NW-1500 Condenser Microphone Review/Test

Greetings Earthlings. Time for another Mic Review. This is another new mass produced mic that we will be seeing under a bunch of different names. This is the first one that I saw though, so I picked it up. This is another omni directional, condenser microphone. The sound on the sides of the microphone does seem to be a somewhat dead area, or at least does not provide high quality audio in those locations. The frequency response ranges from 20Hz - 16kHz. which provides a slightly better low end response compared to the other mass produced Chinese microphones I have tested out.

I have no complaints about the microphone's construction. It seems to be built very well. It simply looks, and feels, like they took the body of the NW-700 and added a new microphone capsule on top of it to emulate the Blue Spark. This mic also comes with absolutely everything you will need to get started, Mic, Shockmount, Stand, Cable, & Pop Filter. Some of the accessories are not the best quality but they will definitely get you started.

This microphone also does require power. About 5V to be exact. Most modern sound cards are capable of producing 5V of power, but some of the older sound cards only put out about 3V. If this is the case on your microphone, I recommend picking up the SABRENT USB AUDIO ADAPTER, which is a USB audio adapter, and that will probably solve the issue (that's how I recorded the video).

Let me know if you have any questions about this microphone in the section down below, and if I receive enough questions, I will create a follow up video that will be released on Sunday.

Buy it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Yw2lB9

RCCCC: Finding Your Way

RCCCC stands for Rose City Comic Con Coverage, and most people going to cons are like me (they want to be making comic books) but we don't always know how to or how to keep going. Luckily the panel: Finding the door to mainstream publishing was there for us all (Saturday 5:30 pm) .

The one sentence answer is "there is no one way to break into comics or become mainstream". Chris Sheridan (Motorcycle Samurai), Daniel Warren Johnson ( Space Mullet) and Emi Lennox (Plutona) can all attest to this fact. Chris, Daniel and Emi all tackle their creations differently and I found this beautifully frustrating. Its comforting to know that there isn't a formula to success and that you can make the comic come alive regardless of your personal situation. That being said it can be frustrating not having a clear answer to making your way into the comic world.

Now that we know this let's discuss talk about what the panelist could offer as far as advice and working on a project. The following are all tips on making your comic a reality.

  • Routine Routine Routine

For some people it is finding that rhythm of getting up early everyday and starting your morning of with breakfast, work out and then creating before it gets to late in the day and your time slips away from you.

Daniel Warren Johnson is a married man and works at home. For him it is a balance of getting up early to maximize his work time along with cleaning and being married. So he gets up early works out and then gets cracking on the project. * it must be noted that if you want eat healthy, Daniel has a a kale smoothie and mixes in mango for a flavor boost.

Other creators work differently. Emi Lennox gets up around 10 am and wakes to some Final Fantasy before getting started on a project and then works late into the night. She still spends several hours on the project but goes about it differently, and her Final Fantasy is on point.

Or Chris Sheridan who has a full time day job and works on the his books after he regular job. 

  • Work

The reason to have a routine is to consciously tell yourself to work. It is easy to get distracted and easy to make excuses. But when you set goals and make routines you force yourself to work.

If you can't outright make your book, you can still work in the industry and meet people, chat and become friends. You can learn and ask questions to people in the industry. But this requires participation. You must be active and go out to the conventions or look for jobs at companies.

  • Creator Relationship

"Writers looking for artist should be confident" says Daniel Warren Johnson. He talks about understanding the humility artists all have, but when you're shopping around to collaborate, you need to be confident and enthusiastic in your work. You must believe in what you're doing in order for others to jump on board.

Also when starting a collaboration and relationship as artist and writer you need to be clear about the roles.  How malleable is the script? You need to be straight forward about what you want from each other in the project.

  • Just make the damn comic!

This panel was funny and amazing to be at and to hear from creators all working at different levels in the comic field from different angles, all saying the same thing; go make your comic. It takes effort and if you are serious about making a comic you will find your answers.  You will find the time and you will find the people you need in order to make that happen. Don't be discouraged by the time it takes and instead work on the work you want to make.

Daniel Warren Johnson mentioned one more thing that I thought was important to close on. "Education has failed at telling kids you can do what you love." But we all need to be reminded that we can.

One more quote: "Just do it"-Emi

Coverage of: rosecitycomiccon.com

RCCCC: How to Start Your Own Nerd Rock Band in 5 Steps!

RCCCC stands for Rose City Comic Con Coverage, and the first panel that we are covering here will be the Saturday 2:30PM panel entitled: Set List to Stage - Realize Your Nerdrock Dream. The panel covered a large range of information but the main focus was on creating the band, writing songs, and the progression of the music business. Before I share any of my thoughts or information garnered from the panel, I want to go ahead and plug all the artists and panelists: 

Kyle Stevens of Kirby Krackle, Irene Rea of 2Rivers, DJ Jeff "Switch" Sorenson, Christine Mooney, & Chris Waffle of Going Viral

I will note that the titles that are italicized were not from the panel, they are just steps that I think are important to know/do when starting a band.

  1. Write What You Love
    If you want to start a nerd rock band, chances are, you are a nerd. There is also a chance that you love doing awesome things like playing magic the gathering, or playing zelda, or going to comic conventions.

    What is important to take note of here is that your audience, or potential audience, can sniff out bullshit. If they think that you are writing a song about something because it's popular (and not because you love it) best case scenario, they will call you on your shit, worst case scenario, they will bail on you because they think you're a fraud. Basically what I am saying is just write about what you love if it's video games, or comics, or cos playing. Do it and have fun with it.
     
  2. Find Your Instrument
    This one is pretty self explanatory, and it wasn't in the Panel, I just wanted to make this a 5-step process to starting your nerd rock band. So pick your instrument. This has become a lot easier recently. You can get a guitar for $80, or you can just use free software on your computer to make electronic music and sing over that...or if you don't have a good voice (like me), you can just make electronic music like Anamanaguchi.

    Find your musical strengths and play off of those. Are you really good with computers? Maybe get a midi keyboard and learn to play it so you can screw around with a Soft Synth and create all those crazy noises that you hear in electronic songs! The options are limitless because everything is so easy to get now.
     
  3. Find Your Band
    This is another self explanatory step that wasn't in the panel. If you want to start a full rock band, there are so many options on how to find people. You can do it the old school way, and find some fellow band nerds that can put up with you long enough to write songs and tour with. You can hang fliers at guitar center or a local comic shop. You can find them online through facebook, or any site that you frequent. With the internet, you can even create music with people in completely different countries. You can record an idea, send the stems via drop box or e-mail and then get something back from them the next day. It's AMAZING!

    Maybe you want to go solo on this endeavor! That is perfectly fine as well. You can make everything in a program like GarageBand that is free. They have free drum loops (that I believe are royalty free), they have free software synths, and you can get a microphone for $30 that sounds pretty dang good if it's your first demo! Technology has pushed us to the point where you legitimately can be a one (wo)man band!
     
  4. Don't Be A Dick
    This is probably the most pertinent piece of information offered during the panel. Be nice to everyone you run into, whether it be the neighbor who asks you to shut up and stop practicing before 8pm, or the band that opened for you, or the promoter who couldn't people you on a show. There is absolutely no reason to be a dick to anyone. You don't know what their day has been like, and there's no reason to take your bad day out on them. It will only burn bridges and make succeeding in an already difficult industry that much more difficult. Also, we all know that adage "You attract more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. Follow this one like it is in your bible.
     
  5. Learn to Take Criticism/Compromise
    This is a mix of some tips from the panel as well as personal advice. Just do it. Learn to take criticism and learn how to compromise. When you are in a band, you are not the only member. There are X amount of other people in the band who care about the band as much as you. You will all have to compromise at certain points in the band and you will need to learn when to go along with another persons Idea.

    Learning to take Criticism is even more important, and there are two aspects to this. First you need to learn to decipher the constructive criticism from the people online who are being dick trolls. Once you have mastered that, and developed thick skin that repels all the internet's trollage, you can find the group of people you trust to be honest, and ask them for their honest opinions about the bands music, how to improve, etc. etc. There is no doubt that at some point, someone will say "What you're doing is wrong because of this." or "Have you tried it out like this?" ... don't take offense to them making suggestions or recommendations. Give their ideas a try (unless it's crack. Don't try it if it's crack) and move on. The ideas may work, or they may not, but trying out a different lyric, chord, key, tempo, melody, screen printer, etc never killed anyone.

The most important thing to do when starting your Nerd Rock Band is to have as much fun as you can because that's what it's all about. It's about writing songs about stuff that you love because you want to hear a song about it! Chances are, someone else wants to hear it to. 

Coverage of: rosecitycomiccon.com

Rose City Comic Con Announcement

Logan Naugle & Kelly Sue Deconnick

Logan Naugle & Kelly Sue Deconnick

Greetings Earthlings. Bandrew Here. Tomorrow will be the first true write up for Rose City Comic Con. In the mean time, I just wanted to give y'all a quick update as to what's been going on, and why the podcast is going to be late today. 

Bandrew & Ryan Ottley

Bandrew & Ryan Ottley

Logan and I have been lurking about in Portland, attending panel after panel at the Rose City CC. There will be plenty of coverage over the coming week including a VLOG documenting the experience, a podcast discussing the first day (which will hopefully be coming out a a little bit later today), and then quite a few discussions from Monday - Friday covering panels as well as our overall experience here at the Rose City Comic Con. In the panel discussions, we will be including a lot of information from the panels as well as links to the creators who were involved in the panel.

If you are from Portland or have been looking to go to a con outside of your home state, this is a great option. It seems to be a con focused on what Comic Con was created to celebrate. Comics. Check out http://rosecitycomiccon.com/ to pick up a ticket for today or to get prepared for next years con!

 

Nerdist Presents: The Hive

Greetings Earthlings. FNAMBC time. Today I'm telling you about the hive. I saw this move in theaters on Monday, September 14th at 7:30. The only showing of this film in cinemas. I decided to go because I love nerdist and want to support them, and I also have been a fan of Steve Aoki (Executive Producer). I also really enjoy these special events that have been happening more and more. They are like live DVD extras, which is tight.

The one liner for this film is "A young man suffering from amnesia must dig deep into the far reaches of his mind to remember who he is and save the love of his life before a virus that has infected him takes over" (imdb.com). And that is a perfect, top level description of the film. Quint from Aint it Cool News described this as "Evil Dead Meets Memento" and that too is a really good top level description, or one line selling point of this film.

I think that when you watch this film, definitely pay attention to the clear parallel that can be drawn between the film, and societies crippling addiction to social networking and social media. It successfully explores the idea that everything we experience and do is uploaded to this "hive mind", also known as facebook or instagram. The issue is that unplugging from any of these mediums makes you an outlier from society. Someone who is considered a freak. 

I highly recommend this film, however, in order to see it, you will have to wait until it is released on demand. This release data has not yet been announced, but when it is, I am absolutely pre ordering this movie! I hope that all of you will buy or rent this movie because Nerdist has provided so much awesome free entertainment that the least we can do is support their first release! Well done Nerdist. Well fracking done.

How to Record Multiple USB Mics on a Mac

Hello Friends. 

If you have ever attempted to record two USB mics on a mac, you have been greeted by that infuriating fact that you can only use one audio interface at a time. Through an error, I came across this trick to essentially create a digital audio interface that allows you to hook up multiple USB microphones at once and record them all individually on a mac. I show how it works in Logic Pro X, but I hear that it also works in Garage Band. 

Let me know if you have any questions about this technique in the comments down below and I'll do my best to answer them ASAP.

A Brief History of Esperanto (A Universal Language)

Greetings Earthlings. On this episode, I talk about Esperanto. A language that was developed in the 1800's by Dr. L.L. Zamenhof to hopefully become a universal language. The story is incredibly interesting and at certain points a bummer. Hope you enjoy it, and I hope you learn something. Go check out some Esperanto, and check out the 1965 film Incubus staring William Shatner. A film in Esperanto.

Corsair Raptor HS40 Gaming Headset Test/Review

Hey everyone. I apologize. I forgot to write up the supplemental review of this headset. I did this review as requested by our viewer The Gamin Kidz. 

I will talk about two aspects of these headphones. The audio output (headphones) and the audio input (microphone). 

The Audio output is great on these. Apparently, they are a 7.1 surround sound headset, but they are not compatible with mac computers so I am unable to test out this functionality. But the sound is great for the cost and they are incredibly comfortable. I could wear these for hours and play games without a problem. 

The microphone on the other hand is unusable for podcasting. There is a constant buzz in the background that I was unable to remove through troubleshooting, and the overall sound is rather cheap sounding. If you're gaming online in a group, the microphone may not be a big problem, but if you are trying to do voice overs with this microphone, I do not think that it will cut it. I don't recommend these headphones because you can get a gaming headset with just as good headphones for 1/3 the price. 

If you have any questions about this headset, leave them in the comments down below and I will do my best to answer them. 

Buy it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1iHLtXt

Superhero Sunday: Iron Fist

Hello it's time for another Superhero Sunday with Logan. This month's superhero is Danny Rand a.k.a. Iron Fist (not the RZA movie and not Iron Man). No, no I am talking about the caucasian practitioner of martial arts and wielder of the mystical a force, that's the Iron Fist we are here for.

The History

Iron Fist was created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane in 1974 and first appeared in Marvel Premiere #15-25. In the late 70's he got his own title and shared a book with Luke Cage called "Power Man and Iron Fist" they would later form another team "Heroes for Hire." The formation of Iron Fist comes from Roy in the 1970s. At this time there was a boom in martial arts in pop culture. The character made a big impression with Luke Cage and has outlasted the trend making him one of the more popular b-list superheroes of Marvel.

The Character

How does a white guy become a master of martial arts and receive Chi powers? It happens when your father (Wendell Rand) discovers the mystical city of K'un L'un and later saves the Yu-Ti (leader). Wendell dies and leaves Danny in K'un L'un. Danny proceeds to be raised and trained by the Yu-ti and go through the trials of becoming the Iron Fist; one of the universes immortal weapons. For a person to become an Iron First they must defeat a dragon (it is awesome). Once he becomes the Iron Fist, Danny makes the decision to leave the mystic city and return to New York to get his revenge. This leaves him human and not fully trained, thus is the origin of the Iron Fist.

It is only after his return that he joins the likes of Luke Cage and starts Heroes for Hire. From there, both Luke and Iron Fist join the Defenders. Danny also becomes more involved in the Marvel Universe post Civil War, becoming a member of the New Avengers. At one point even taking the mantle of Daredevil. He later plays a large role in the event Avengers vs. X-Men. Needless to say, Iron Fist pops up all over Marvel and each story is worth the read.

Why this hero?

So many amazing writers and artists have tackled Iron Fist but I have to mention my favorite and it is a writer I have spoke about before, Ed Brubaker, his 3 year run with artist David Aja is amazing. It was only after having read Brubaker's Iron Fist that I went back for more. During the "Immortal Iron Fist" we dive deeper into the history of the character and into the history of K'un L'un and the "immortal weapons." Brubaker fills Iron Fist with a rich history and amazing martial arts mythos.

Iron Fist spawned from the craze of Kung Fu/martial arts in the 70s and has lasted through the decades at Marvel by having a unique character that is both fun to see fight and interesting to learn about. He will show up on his own Netflix series in the coming years and I cannot what to see what they do with him (also appear in Jessica Jones).

Recommended Reading:

* You can check out a fancast I did on the Culture Popped Podcast here.

Monsters

It's Friday, and that means FNAMBC. Today I want to talk about the 2010 film, Monsters.

With a title like Monsters, you may think that we will be witnessing a lot of huge battle scenes a la Pacific Rim. However, that's not the main focus. Don't get me wrong, we see a LOT of amazing and beautiful views of the "Monsters", but I think the title is much deeper and much more subtle. Let's get pretentious. 

The premise of this film is that the Earth has suffered an alien invasion, and six years into this invasion, a journalist has to escort his bosses daughter back to safety. I know. That sounds horrible. But trust me. It's worth a watch. 

The characters in this film are extremely believable and real. There are almost no actions that leave you thinking "Come on. Really!?" On top of that, the acting is executed very well. I would hate myself if I didn't try to sell you on this film using Scoot McNairy. That's right. Gordon Clark form Halt & Catch Fire is one of the main characters, and he does a phenomenal job.  At times, the story is almost too simple, but that leaves a lot of room for the actors to grow their characters and for the writer to give us that subtextual nugget of truth that we all look for in Sci-Fi Films!

As much as I loved the acting, and the characters, I think that the most interesting and engaging part of this film was the commentary it's making about the US and Mexico. There is a clear and obvious comparison that can be made here. The USA wants to keep out the "Aliens", so they build a wall. The extra terrestrials are peaceful "creatures" who only want to protect themselves. They do not want to take over. It's my theory that the "Monsters" referred to in the title are not the extra terrestrials, rather, they are the people who are trying to eradicate a peaceful species who were brought here by us! 

Lets be honest here. That's the beauty of Science Fiction. It can make a statement without being heavy handed...although I fear my analysis may have removed any remnants of subtlety. 

You'll Like it if You Like: Sci-Fi Films, Horror Films, District 9, Pacific Rim, or Children of Men

Buy it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1O5Dpvr