Tag: News

July 23, 2019

‘His Dark Materials’ “Perfect for TV Adaptation”, Says Star Ruth Wilson

His Dark Materials is coming to HBO this fall. The show is a joint effort between HBO and the BBC, and stars Ruth Wilson, Dafne Keen, James McAvoy, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. In an interview with The Guardian, Ruth Wilson spoke highly of the show, noting:

His Dark Materials is perfect for television.

She went on to say that with Game of Thrones, HBO has proven that television is no longer film’s poorer sister. In fact, she noted books are inherently better for the small screen, saying you can really take your time with a book’s content as opposed to rushing through its contents in an hour and a half on the big screen.

There’s no difference anymore and in a way, if you’re going to tell a drama – which this is, as well as being fantasy – you’ve got more time. You have eight hours to explore that, rather than an hour and a half.

Image via the Guardian

She says the show ‘feels special’ and she is very hopeful about how it will be received by general audiences. The scale of it would have been impossible years ago but nowadays, fantasy can look just as epic, if not more so, on the small than in film. Having more time to explore the world and get to know the characters are huge pluses as well.

His Dark Materials is a trilogy of epic fantasy books by Philip Pullman. It is a coming-of-age tale centering around two children in a strange alternative Oxford. While magic, witches, and giant armored polar bears exist in this universe, themes of spirituality and physics are also explored. The books have attracted controversy for their criticism of religion, but this hasn’t stopped them from being enormously popular, garnering numerous awards and reaching bestsellers lists. The iconic series will see its debut this fall on HBO and we cannot wait.

Image via BBC

Are you excited for this classic fantasy series to finally get its well-deserved TV adaptation? Below, you can watch the official trailer for the show. Let us know what you think in the comments!

Featured Image Via Collider

June 17, 2019

Gloria Vanderbilt, Author and Fashion Icon, Passes Away at 95

An icon has passed away. Gloria Vanderbilt, according to CNN, has died at the age of ninety-five after a long battle with stomach cancer. The news was reported by her son, famous anchorman Anderson Cooper. Vanderbilt died at home, surrounded by friends and family. She had been in slowly declining health for the past few months. She was a famous socialite, fashion designer, and author, producing numerous well-known and celebrated fashion magazines. She licensed her name for numerous brands, including those that made scarves and designer jeans. Her lines were hugely successful, garnering her international fame, which was difficult for Vanderbilt due to her shyness in public. Later in her career, she branched out into art exhibitions, which included Dream Boxes and and thirty-five paintings at the Arts Center in Manchester.

Image Via Wikipedia

Throughout her life, Gloria Vanderbilt was also a successful novelist. During her lifetime, she wrote two books on art, four memoirs, and three novels. She was also a regular contributor to The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Elle. Her novels include Obsession: An Erotic Tale, Never Say Goodbye, and The Memory of Starr Faithful.

She also wrote the memoir The Rainbow Comes and Goes with her son, Anderson Cooper. The novel told about their relationship, offering an intimate glimpse into their lives, careers, and Cooper’s coming-of-age under his mother’s unconventional house rules. This book offers a portrait of two great people who dearly loved each other, making it all the more heart-wrenching to see Cooper announce his mother’s death: the memoir showcases just how strong their bond truly was behind closed doors.

Image via NBC

Gloria Vanderbilt remains an icon of design, fashion, and authorship. She will be remembered both for her forceful personality and her loving relationship with her son. It’s safe to say she made a huge mark on the world and will be remembered forever as a genuine icon!

Featured Image Via CNN.

February 7, 2019

5 Times Library-Loving Cats Made the News

Everybody knows the Venn diagram of people who like reading and people who like cats is damn near a circle, but what about cats who like reading? Yep, seems people are pretty into them, too. Here are five instances of particularly persistent book-loving felines whose love of libraries made the news:

1. Max

Image Via The Washington Post

Max made the news back in 2017 with his relentless attempts to gain entry to his local library, despite the protests of his owners and staff. He was so persistent that the library was forced to put up a sign discouraging patrons from allowing Max into the library with them, explaining that it was in nobody’s best interest, least of all his own, for him to be in there.

This is basically halfway to being a children’s book pic.twitter.com/DjwUPHy9Wz

— Erin McGuire (@e_mcguire_) November 29, 2017

2. Browser

Image Via The Guardian

Browser the cat’s eviction from his library of choice sparked ‘international outcry’ when it made headlines in 2016. Thousands of people around the world expressed their support for the cat who resided, and still resides, at the library in White Settlement, Texas. After the local council decided to evict Browser on the basis that his presence prevented some members of the community from utilizing the library, other library patrons objected. The Guardian reports that at a local meeting regarding Browser’s fate, “a woman spoke about the history of cats in libraries. A man mentioned WebMD statistics on the low prevalence of cat allergies. Others talked about how the cat brought children into the library to read. A little boy was sad he had only been able to pet the cat once.”

Luckily for the town’s beloved Browser, the decision was overturned and he was allowed to remain at the library.

3. Dewey

Image Via iheartcats.com

Dewey, full name: Dewey Readmore Books, was deposited in the returns slot of a library in Spencer, Iowa when he was a kitten. Dewey captured the hearts of the librarians and became the library’s very own cat, even inspiring his own book, Dewey: the Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World. No YOU’RE crying.

4. Mu

Image Via Maynooth University

Mu is Ireland’s Maynooth University’s library cat, who very kindly provided an interview with a student journalist for the Maynooth University Times this past October. During the interview, Mu provided many insights into his life, including: “I have resided here for many a year, and, by many a year, I mean I do not understand the concept of time.”

5. Penny

Image Via Jezebel

Penny is another library cat whose proposed eviction sparked objection. Jezebel reports that she had lived at Massachusetts’ Swansea Public Library for nine years before her presence was raised as an issue due to concerns over allergies. A petition in favor of Penny on Change.org garnered over 1,800 signatures.

Patrick Higgins, the man behind the campaign to have Penny removed, was gobsmacked by public support for her, and, in response, gave one of the most ‘I’m the baddie in a children’s film wherein the cat is the hero’ statements of all time: “We’ve got pictures of the cat on Facebook laying on top of a laptop, and they think this is okay!” quoth Higgins, presumably slamming his fist on an oak desk. “I just don’t understand it. The cat has gone all over the world. You’ve got the petition with over 2,000 people over a freaking cat.” And what, Higgins?

Unfortunately, Penny passed away in 2014, but lived in her beloved library until her final days.

Featured Image Via The Today Show

September 19, 2018

Maine Pastors Seek to Ban Books from Library’s Banned Book Display

Banned Books Week is coming! That means that the period between September 23^dand September 29^th is a time to recognize and celebrate works suppressed by censorship for dubious reasons. This years theme is “Banning Books Silences Stories.”

Not everyone is jazzed for Banned Books week. Specifically, a group of pastors in Maine are distinctly not jazzed. In fact, they are so devoid of jazz that they recently sought to have a local library in Maine ban books from the banned book table they’ve set up for Banned Book Week. And the repetition in that sentence makes me think of that one Tyler, the Creator gif which I’ll put here for your amusement:

^{Image via Tenor}

The display, pictured below, featured several works of LGBTQ literature, and this seems to be the rallying point of the complaint made. On September 6th, Dan Pears of Rumford Baptist Church, Justin Thacker of Praise Assembly of God, and Nathan March of the Parish of the Holy Saint co-wrote a letter to the Rumford Public Library which read, among other things: “children should not be subjected to early sexualization” and that the display preaches “far left political views that sees homosexuality as acceptable.”

Here is the pastors’ letter in full:

^{Image via Wonkette}

^{Image via Wonkette}

The library in question has the support of both the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF). Even without the support of these organizations, the library, as a public institution, still has no obligation to curate its offerings based on the tastes of individuals or groups thereof in the local community. And the library said as much in the board meeting that was called to address the concerns of the pastors.

An article published by Wonkette has reported that, “after a brief hubbub and a rather pitched fuck-tussle,” the library stood its ground and refused to take down the display. The article also reports that author and Maine resident Katrina Ray-Saulis said that one of the letter-writing pastors “verbally expressed that he would like to pursue the destruction of all books regarding homosexuality in the library.”

In a satisfying end, the meeting concluded with a unanimous vote to preserve the display, with Board of Trustees chairperson Carolyn Kennard saying, “By moving that (display), it would be a form of censorship that we cannot do, under any circumstance.”

^{Image via Gifer}

Featured Image Via Wikipedia.

October 19, 2017

Graphic Novelist Who Lost Home in Wildfire Creates Beautiful Comic

The California firestorm devastated hundreds of families and has left forty-two dead. Among the many who lost their homes was graphic novelist Brian Fies. As difficult as it must be for his family, his community, and him, Fies transformed the loss of his home into a brief comic called ‘A Fire Story.’

^{Image Via Brian Fies}

As heartbreaking as it is to see this happen, Fies’ comic is extraordinarily creative. His style is light and cartoonish, which makes gives the reading experience kind of an ironic feel. You can’t help but laugh when he yells at his neighbor through bad reception, telling her she’s lost her home. It’s kind of funny.

Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, Fries talked a little about the process of writing a comic dealing with a really fresh wound. He wrote:

‘A Fire Story’ was done under duress, much faster and rougher than I normally would. I drew it with Sharpie markers and colored highlighters on terrible pulp paper because they were the only art supplies I could find at Target, the only open store within 20 miles of home. That’s part of the point: how the comic was made reflects the circumstances it was made in.

It’s always difficult to see photographs of tragedies, but it’s almost worse seeing the wildfire depicted in such a personal way. Fies thinks of himself as a sort of “graphic journalist.” One of his previous works, Mom’s Cancer, was a sort of self-therapy for Fies when his mother got sick, but it was also about witnessing and recording the truth of a situation. Considering comics is obviously a visual medium, it’s odd this sort of thing is done so rarely. Though, some nonfiction graphic novels do come to mind: John Lewis and Andrew Aydin’s March, Craig Thompson’s Blankets. Hopefully other artists take Fies’ approach. It’s powerful.

^{Image Via Brian Fies}

Read the full ‘A Fire Story’ on Fies’ blog here.

Feature Image Via Brian Fies