blast-o-rama • issue 012 • 2019-07-22
blast-o-rama
issue 012 • 2019-07-22
welcome!
Your weekly, stream-of-consciousness hello.
Hello, everyone! Happy Monday to you!
Today was sort of a reset day for me: between recalibrating my brain from my stay in Bethany Beach, DE and learning how exactly my immune system bounces back from hanging out with a 5-year-old (answer: not well), I was trying to catch up on work I missed and generally get myself right.
In turn, this newsletter is coming to you on a Monday! We’ll get in the swing of things again soon, I promise.
story of the week.
Every week, I’ll toss a few thoughts out on what I felt the biggest story of the week was.
This weekend brought about the massive nerd event which is San Diego Comic Con. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the show, as it has been in recent years, has moved less from being an event about comics (although certain announcements, like Marvel Comic’s relaunch of X-Men stood strong), and more towards an event about movies and television.
Unsurprisingly, the King of the Convention was Marvel Studios, who decided as a post-Avengers: Endgame victory lap (it’s officially #1, btw) that they’d unveil their slate of movies and streaming service-exclusive series which would make up “Phase 4”.
The 6,000 fans in attendance and literal millions reacting on social media were excited about every project announced, from Scarlett Johannson’s long-awaited solo turn as Black Widow to series looking at beloved characters like The Falcon and Winter Soldier and Hawkeye, and new projects scouring the deepest elements of the Marvel Comics canon, including obscure choices such as The Eternals and martial arts master Shang Chi.
What was truly exciting though? How incredibly unique each cast, each film, each project was. From female leads, to diverse directors, to casts spanning all sorts of ages and backgrounds, the Marvel Cinematic Universe - finally - is reflecting ours a bit more. Only took twenty two films.
worthwhile reads.
A bunch of cool links what I read this week, typically culled from my ever-growing Instapaper queue.
- Sufjan Stevens and the Curious Case of the Missing 48 States (The Ringer)
- The Terrifying True Story of How 'The Blair Witch Project' Was Made (Vice)
- The Adventure Zone: How the hit podcast became a graphic novel (EW.com)
- The Inside Story of Twitter's New Redesign (WIRED)
- Why the ‘Weird Internet’ of the GeoCities Era Had to Die (OneZero)
- The Paradox of the Incredible Shrinking Comic-Con Expansion (WIRED)
- San Diego Comic-Con Is Overcrowded. Let’s Make It Bigger (OneZero)
- A Guide to Taking the Perfect Screenshot in Your Favorite Video Games (Escapist Magazine)
- 'Send Her Back': The Battle That Will Define Us Forever (The Atlantic)
- Into the Personal-Website-Verse (Matthias Ott)
- How Streaming Is About to Reshape DJ Culture as We Know It (Pitchfork)
- Instagram's design is hurting the influencer economy (Fast Company)
blast-o-rama recommends.
Every week, I’ll make a recommendation of something to read, to watch, or to listen to. I’ll even link to where you can check it out.
This week’s recommendation: Holey Moley
Yes, folks - I am recommending to you a prime time television game show produced by a world-famous basketball star which is equal parts miniature golf and a “look at those people fall!” laff fest a’la Wipeout.
But wait…it’s actually really good.
Hear me out: Holey Moley is a show which is completely 100% aware of its ridiculousness while playing it up as a legitimate competition, and that dichotomy is perfectly personified by their choice of hosts: Monday Night Football play-by-play guy Joe Tessitore and comedic actor Rob Riggle.
Tessitore pulls out every single sportscaster trope while Riggle’s dry commentary questions every aspect of the show, from the golfers themselves to the ridiculous fact that some how, this show airs on one of the biggest American broadcast television networks.
It’s clear I’m not the only one loving this show - the ratings have been fantastic (for a Summer show), and every person I’ve shared it with has loved it. Chances are, you might like it too.
Holey Moley: Watch it on Hulu | Watch it on ABC
that’s that.
Hey! This coming weekend I (as a part of Super Art Fight) will be a part of the 2019 edition of Otakon, the East Coast’s biggest Anime convention. It’s one of our biggest shows of the year, and if there are newsletter readers in the crowd, please come up and let me know, say hi!
For the rest of you though? I’ll see you next Sunday. Ish.
Don’t let the bastards keep you down.
-Marty