The PopCulteer
February 10, 2012

You Gotta Fight For Your Rights To Comics

Revisiting last week’s “Watchmen” item in the PopCulteer, I don’t want it to seem like I’m completely coming down on the side of DC Comics in the whole creator’s rights issue. There are a few facts that can’t be denied. First, DC Comics, like most corporate entities, has a pretty dodgy history when it comes to treating creative people in a fair and ethical way. Second, recent changes in copyright law have greatly confused matters for everyone involved. Third, while DC Comics has treated Alan Moore exceptionally well compared to other creators, that’s mainly because he’s made them a buttload of money over the years. Creators are still running into a brick wall at times with DC.

Read the rest of this entry »

This week’s art is a digital painting of a big ferocious beastie, the king of the jungle, in fact. Why post a painting of a lion? I guess all the political coverage inspried me.  To see the image larger, just click on it, right in the darn face, if you dare.

Last night I saw the Contemporary Youth Arts Company production of “The Belle Of Amhearst,” a play by William Luce that uses the poets own words to weave a narrative that lets us spend an evening with the much-loved innovator of verse, Emily Dickinson.  This is a one-woman show, and it is an amazing performance by Mandy Harper. This George Washington senior pours herself into the role and becomes Emily Dickinson for over 90 minutes. It’s quite a feat of theater, and something that should be witnessed by every patron of the arts in this town. Our video tonight is a brief snippet of the show.

Harper manages to act and embody the words of Dickinson. She does not merely recite them, instead making them come to life in a delightfully vibrant way.  I’ve seen Mandy in CYAC shows for almost two years now, and it’s wonderful to see her shine like this. Kudos to director Dan Kehde for guiding this production to the stage.

You have three more chances to see “The Belle Of Amhearst,” February 9-11 at the WVSU Capitol Center Theater, 123 Summers Street, Charleston. Produced by The Contemporary Youth Arts Company. Performances start at 8 PM. Tickets are ten dollars for adults, six dollars for students and seniors.

The PopCulteer
February 3, 2012

We have some cool stuff in The PopCulteer this week, from cool local events to a big comc book controversy. So let’s jump right into the thick of things.

The Belle of Amherst

The Contemporary Youth Arts Company is presenting a show that’s a bit of a departure for them beginning this weekend. Last night saw the opening of The Belle of Amherst, a one woman show about Emily Dickinson. This 1976 Broadway play written by William Luce is a tour de force performance by George Washington High School senior, and CYAC veteran, Mandy Harper, who plays the poet, along with fourteen other characters. Read the rest of this entry »

We kick this week of PopCult off with an abstract digital painting that has a funny name. It’s an exercise in combining organic and mechanical techniques into the creation of something new and artificial. Sort of like the Chicken McNugget, only better tasting and better for you. As always, click the image to see it larger.

Last year, Charleston’s own Beatles Tribute Band, Rubber Soul, performed The Beatles (White Album) in its entirety at The Alban Theater in St. Albans.  This year they’re back to bring the classic album, “Abbey Road” to the live stage.

Friady and Saturday, February 3 and 4, at 8 PM, Rubber Sould will once again grace the stage of The Alban Theater,  65 Old Main Plaza, St. Albans, with all of Abbey Road, from start to finish!

Tickets are $10, and the show is a benefit for The American Heart Association. Sponsored by Brooks Run Mining Company.

An added treat on Friday night is The Tom McGees, a hot Ska outfit, who will be performing sort of across the street after Abbey Road wraps up. For a mere five bucks, you can help David Scarpelli (his dad, Mark, is the man behind Rubber Soul) celebrate his birthday with a mad Ska meltdown at The VIP Lounge, 54 Olde Main Plaza, St. Albans, WV.

To remind you how much fun Rubber Soul is, tonight we’re bringing back episode 117 of Radio Free Charleston, which previewed last year’s White Album show. Enjoy, and come out to see the show.

The PopCulteer
January 27, 2012

Brain Stew

Last week your PopCulteer was missing in action for the first time in nearly three years. Circumstances beyond our control, including a computer virus and a real-world illness, conspired to knock yours truly out of commission. We are feeling better this week, and the PC problems are just about resolved, so we’re going to tenatively climb back on the blogging pony and bring you a column of random images, news items and odd bits of information..

Popeye Returns

In April IDW Publishing launches a new comic book based on Popeye The Sailor, one of my personal favorites, and not just because of the spinach. Read the rest of this entry »

This week your Pop.Culteer is rebuilding his computer after a particularly nasty virus. Today’s art is the first thing pooted out while trying the reinstalled graphics program. It’s a digital painting of The Peoples Building on Summers Street. Click to see the image larger, and expect PopCult to be back to normal this week.

Your PopCulteer is a bit under the weather this week. That’s why there was no Sunday Evening Video last night, and why today’s art is NOT from last Friday’s Twin Peaks edition of Dr. Sketchy’s.  Between a nasty computer virus and a real-world head-exploding sinus infection, I was in no shape to go out anywhere this weekend.

So in place of a Dr. Sketchy’s piece, I am bringing you a digitally-assaulted vintage pin-up photo, glommed from somewhere’s on the internet. As always, click the image to see it bigger.  The computer problem and swelling, itching brain are probably going to combine to delay Radio Free Charleston’s 150th episode until February.  It’s going to be a tribute to LiveMix Studio, and will be the first of at least five retrospective shows planned for 2012. I gotta go pill up now.

The PopCulteer
January 13, 2012

“But If It’s On TV It Must Be Real!”

Reality is being warped. Television is to blame. I’m not talking about the kind of skewed reality you find on FOX News, where the bizarre notion that Republicans can be trusted to govern is pounded into viewer’s heads 24 hours a day. I’m talking about the unreal world of Reality TV.

I’m not a big fan of reality television. In fact, you could probably safely accuse me of being rather snobbish about it. I think it’s lowest-common-denominator programming that carries with it the bottom-line-enhancing quality of being dirt cheap to produce, mostly by non-union crews.

But it is booming. Reality shows have spread like a fast-growing cancer, mutating several formerly sophisticated cable channels into slack-jawed, drooling shadows of their former selves. Read the rest of this entry »