the Addison Recorder – Page 28 – Pop culture dispatches from the Great Lakes

Becky’s Been Bingewatching: The Aussie Womens’ Prison Drama Wentworth

January 20, 2015 by Becky Bean Leave a Comment

I am loving the glut of new shows airing that are focused on telling women’s stories. There’s Broad City, Girls, Benched, Outlander, Orphan Black, The Good Wife, Veep, and Homeland, just to name a few. And, of course, the big hit Orange is the New Black. But what do you watch when that is on break? While browsing Netflix, I happened upon a newer show from Australia, called Wentworth. It follows a group of women as they navigate the prison system. Sound familiar? [Read more…]

John Lewis and the Civil Rights Movement in March: Book One

January 19, 2015 by Jason Fabeck Leave a Comment

Pray for Peace

Some of you may have heard of John Lewis, a U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 5th congressional district who—with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and four others—was one of six leaders within civil rights organizations during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. But a lot of younger people may not know his name. Along with Andrew Aydin, Lewis’s Congressional aide, the duo released a graphic novel in 2013 about his fight for racial equality, now stretching over 50 years. While I may not be the first to review this, I thought it relevant to touch upon the importance of John Lewis and his role in a movement that changed the country. [Read more…]

“How Long Will It Take?” – A Review of Selma and Thoughts on Progress

January 19, 2015 by Alex Bean 2 Comments

Selma, the new biopic about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is a great film about one of the greatest Americans who has ever lived. It focuses on King’s efforts to organize the 1965 marches from Selma to Birmingham in Alabama in protest of that state’s suppression of African Americans’ right to vote. The film is a well-staged and emotionally overwhelming recreation of that tumultuous moment in American history. It is also, in ways both stirring and sad, a film full of relevance to American life in 2015. It should be seen by everyone. [Read more…]

Mr. Rostan (and Mr. Bean) at the Movies Present the Special Oscar Nominations Edition: Magnificence and Dick Poop

January 16, 2015 by Andrew Rostan 6 Comments

Andrew Rostan was a film student before he realized that making comics was his horrible destiny, but he’s never shaken his love of cinema. Every two weeks, he’ll opine on either current pictures or important movies from the past. Today he’s joined by fellow film student Alex Bean to opine on the 87th Academy Award nominations.

There’s something wrong with this picture…

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826CHI is Hosting an Open House!

January 15, 2015 by Travis J. Cook Leave a Comment

This week in Chicago, there’s a fantastic and free event hosted by a great non-profit, at which a famous author will make an appearance! (Hint: it’s this guy)

This Friday, 826CHI will be hosting an open house to celebrate its 10th anniversary and the opening of its new headquarters in Wicker Park. The nonprofit, as well as its retail front The Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Co. (formerly known as The Boring Store, one of the quirkiest, yet entertaining, shops I’ve ever stepped into in this city) will be offering tours of their new space as well as light refreshments. In addition, there will be “collaborative writing exercises for the whole family.”

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the Fifth Line: Save Percentages & Bubble Teams

January 15, 2015 by -J. Leave a Comment

With the season half over, awards predictions have kicked into high gear. One of the popular topics in recent seasons has been how much consideration goalies should get for the Hart Trophy. After all, they already have their own award (the Vezina).

Pekka Rinne is bringing up the argument again this year, as he’s one of the biggest reasons behind Nashville’s ascendance to the top of the Central Division. All goalies are important to their team’s place in the standings, but is it fair to… what’s that?

That doesn’t look good…

Turns out that hockey writers might be spared the discussion this year, as Rinne will now be out 3-5 weeks. But Nashville is far from the only team who is now worriedly looking at their netminder. [Read more…]

Dave Eggers’s Latest Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is Not Quite That

January 14, 2015 by Travis J. Cook Leave a Comment

Note: I originally had a 1200+ word review of this book written and all set to go…and then it was deleted by WordPress without so much as an auto-save-you-very much. After much pulling of hair and yelling of threats in a neighborhood Starbucks, I attempted a rewrite. This is the aforementioned <shorter> re-write, which hopefully contains 1/100th of the brilliance that the first post had. (I humble myself, sometimes, you must understand…)

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J&STAC: #1 Issues of the Deep Winter

January 14, 2015 by -J. Leave a Comment

-J. Michael Bestul is a writer for the Addison Recorder. Stephanie Ruehl is an artist who works in a comic book shop. They’re married and have a lot of discussions about comic books and graphic novels. Combine all that into a biweekly feature and you get “J. & Steph Talk About Comics.”

It’s been a while since we’ve done a recap of recent #1 issues, so we thought it high time to check out what’s come out over the holidays and into the new year. We noticed a recurring theme among recent new books…

-J.: Spoiler alert — I have an antipathy towards prequels. It’s not that I hate them, necessarily, but I expect to disappointed by them. Few ever exceed that expectation. Let’s see if some recent series debuts can do so.

[Read more…]

Games on Addison: Eyes of the Stone Thief

January 13, 2015 by -J. 1 Comment

In the beginning, there were dungeons, and there were dragons. And it was good.

I’m oversimplifying it, but the old formula is still fun in modern d20-style fantasy role-playing games. There’s a reason the grand-daddy of RPGs invokes them in the name of its game.

Dungeons & Dragons is playing to the “dragons” half of the equation with its ongoing “Tyranny of Dragons” campaign. But if you’re looking for a compelling version of the “dungeon” half of the formula, the 13th Age system is releasing a new campaign book in February, Eyes of the Stone Thief. (A PDF copy of the book is available if you pre-order it, which is what I’m using to plumb its depths.)

Courtesy of Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan and Pelgrane Press, this book takes the idea of the dungeon-based campaign and gives it a Yakov Smirnoff reversal. In most campaigns, players will hunt for dungeons; in Eyes of the Stone Thief, dungeon hunts you! [Read more…]

Broad City is Back and Every Young Woman Should Watch

January 13, 2015 by Becky Bean 1 Comment

Broad City is the best feminist show on television. That’s a big statement, but I’ll stand by it.

This 30-minute Comedy Central show tells simple stories about Abbi (Abbi Jacobson) and Ilana (Ilana Glazer), two women in their early twenties who are best friends living in New York City, with crazy roommates, dead end jobs, and no money. It doesn’t try to be anything more than this, and by not making huge statements it hits on something very special. [Read more…]