I don’t understand comics. I’m not quite sure why I don’t “get” them, either — you’d think that anyone with an affinity for reading, pictures, bright colors and/or men with large biceps would have picked up on the trend by now. Nonetheless, the emerging art form of cartooning has left me in the dust, no ifs, ands or POW!!!!s about it. More »
I have to admit that before I met English Professor Michael Chaney, I was skeptical of the validity of the graphic novel (or comic book, the terms are essentially interchangable) and oblivious to its role in literature. Let’s be honest, when we think of comics, the mind generally conjures images of men in tights, some kind of boyhood action fantasy for the playground and school buses. But after talking with Chaney, who is working on his own graphic novel, I quickly saw that many graphic novels are not only for an educated adult audience, but are a harmony of art and literature in a way attained by perhaps no other medium. More »
While graphic novel creation may be up and running in White River Junction, in its burgeoning stages at Dartmouth, students have still managed to produce impressive cartoon works. Government major Fattah Stanley ‘06 is one such student. Last year, he authored “Star of the Crescent”, a graphic novel about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Stanley worked on the book as part of his senior fellowship project, merging his strong interest in visual arts with his major. More »
Artistic comics are all well and good, but sometimes comic fans need to turn to the two major mainstream publishers, Marvel and DC, to remind them what drew them to comics in the first place. However, thanks to frequent shake-ups, today’s comics, even established titles like “The Amazing Spider-Man”, may be nearly unrecognizable to fans who read them in their youth. More »
It’s been almost four years at Dartmouth for me now. Four years of rotating between the same few restaurants. Four years of trying to make a Collis salad just a little more interesting. Four years of wondering why Topside stocks itself with things like Vienna Sausages, canned mushrooms and, come to think of it, everything the world thought to can, ever. But I’ve finally found it. I’ve finally found the meal that Topside exists to provide for: huevos rancheros. More »
I recently caught up with Lindsey Wolf ‘08 — reluctant iconoclast by day, best kept secret in the junior class by night. (Did you know, for example, that Lindsey is the dark-haired co-star of the daily comic by Hayley Kennedy ‘08? Well, she is.) More »
I refer to the collective body of guys that my friend Caryn has dated/hooked up with as “the toolbox.” This designation arose, not because she loiters outside True Value stalking the soft touches of handymen, but rather because every guy she’s ever been into has been, in my opinion, a gigantic tool. I don’t mean “tool” in the generically douchey sense. Rather, I refer to a specific constellation of traits that I think is best described by the term: “someone who tries too hard, a poser, someone who does things just to impress people, the asshat who goes to a rock show because they heard one of the songs on the radio or MTV” (Thanks urbandictionary.com!). I would add to this list that tools tend to take themselves way too seriously, are really impressed with themselves, and are also deeply compelled to remind you just how impressive they are. More »
For many years, computer companies have searched for the Holy Grail of computing: A full-fledged computer smaller than a laptop without a substantial loss in productivity. Imagine a computer than weighs less than two pounds and is capable of running all the programs you use now. Time and time again, engineers have tried to shrink laptops down to the size of a paperback book or create some sort of PalmPilot on steroids. However, all attempts up until now have been, for the most part, failures (with a few heavily hyped, crash-and-burn type flameouts). More »
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