New trailer: "A Wrinkle in Time"

Info:
"A Wrinkle In Time" opens in U.S. theatres March 9. 
The film, which is an epic adventure based on Madeleine L’Engle’s timeless classic which takes audiences across dimensions of time and space, examining the nature of darkness versus light and ultimately, the triumph of love.

A thought on blogging etiquette

Blogging is all about sharing cool ideas, images and news.

So, when you spot something cool on another blog, don't just copy and post it on your own. Give credit and provide a link back.

That is all.

Video: Who's the new "Doctor Who"? Find out Sunday

The BBC will reveal the new lead actor (or actress?) on "Doctor Who" this weekend, immediately following its broadcast of the Wimbledon Men's Final Tennis Match.


Last week's season-ender saw Peter Capaldi's Doctor fatally shot by a Mondasian Cyberman and beginning to regenerate, but didn't reveal his new form.

We'll need to wait until December's annual "Doctor Who Christmas Special" to see the new Doctor in action, along with Capaldi and David Bradley, appearing as the First Doctor.

Video: First look at Disney's "Star Wars Land" theme park area

A 3-D model of Disney's planned "Star Wars Land" will be on display this weekend at the D23 Expo in Anaheim.

You can get a peek in this video. Star Wars areas are now under construction at both of Disney's U.S. theme parks.






New music releases July 14, 2017: John Coltrane, Yoko Ono, Dusty Springfield

Click the links to order discounted items from Amazon.





Pop Culture Roundup: Sam Glanzman; Trump; Adventure Books; Peanuts; Steve Ditko

A group of cartoonists have created comics covers featuring our President's statements and tweets.


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So long, veteran comics artist Sam Glanzman, who died this week at age 92. Glanzman had a 75-year career in the industry, working for Charlton, DC, Dell and other publishers. Mark Evanier pays tribute here.


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Via HiLobrow: The 10 Best Adventure Books of 1952.


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Van's is selling a range of Peanuts-inspired shoes.

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Did Steve Ditko invent the Marvel Comics "corner box"?

Video find: Mary Tyler Moore and friends perform Paul McCartney's "With a Little Luck"


Vintage pic: Superman creators Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel

Via Hake's Auctions.


Pop Picks: The Beach Boys "1967: Sunshine Tomorrow"

This updated edition of the Beach Boys' underrated gem, Wild Honey, couldn't have arrived at a better time of year. It exudes laid-back, sunny fun.

The original album, presented here for the first time in true stereo, was mostly recorded at Brian Wilson's home with the Beach Boys, for the first time in many years, functioning as a real band.  There's a rocking, soulful-but-relaxed vibe to the whole affair. What the LP lacks in studio polish, it makes up for in gentle R&B flavored tunes and, of course, fantastic harmonies.

Carl Wilson steps out front for many of the lead vocals. I wouldn't call his vocal stylings blue-eyed soul, but he does give the songs an upbeat, credible energy that's informed by the mid-60s pop-R&B music in the air at this time. His cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made to Love Her," for example, works just fine.

So does all the rest of the album. Track-by-track, this is a very strong package - perhaps the most consistently great album the group would ever make, although several very good releases followed in its wake.

Like the opening track and the Stevie Wonder cover, most of Wild Honey has a soulful, up-tempo feel. Only on a couple of tracks, the ethereal "Let the Wind Blow," and the goofy closer, "Mama Says," do we glance back at the experimentation and whimsy of Smile/Smiley Smile.

"Darlin'," another up-tempo number sung by Carl, is the most-fleshed out track, featuring Brian-arranged horn parts that demonstrate - despite all the stories of him being in creative retreat at this time - still at the top of his game.

Brian himself takes a strong, soulful lead vocal on "Here Comes the Night." He is still in great form here. His gentle lead and the "bah-bah-bah" backing vocals on "I'd Love Just Once to See You," meanwhile, sets the template for the "sunshine pop" sound that would emerge during the last years of the Sixties. The tune also has a funny, unexpected punchline, demonstrating the group's mischievous side.

Listeners mainly familiar with the Beach Boys through Pet Sounds should check out Wild Honey. Odds are they'll like it quite a bit. There's not a bad track on it.

Longtime fans, on the other hand, will enjoy the many extras in this new package. Along with being a great album, Wild Honey is also very short, and the rest of CD 1 and all of CD 2 in this release are packed with session outtakes and live rarities, most notably, tracks for the abandoned "live" album, Lei'd in Hawaii. Bootleg collectors have heard most of this material before, but it's nice to have it officially released in excellent sound.

The band originally planned to issue a live concert set recorded in Hawaii as a follow-up to the Smiley Smile album, but opted to record studio versions when the live tapes proved poor in quality. The intention was to "fake it" by over-dubbing live audience sounds over the newly recorded studio tracks.

So, here we have new, stripped-down studio recordings of Brian and the rest doing "Help Me, Rhonda," "California Girls," "Surfer Girl" and "Good Vibrations," among other classic tunes. Heard without dubbed over applause and cheers, they sound a bit bare. But the performances are interesting and the singing is very good. The standouts are Brian's cover of the Boxtops' "The Letter" and Bruce Johnson's lead on the Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends."

But that's not all, this new set also includes several bona fide live recordings dating from 1967 shows in the Mid-West, along with studio outtakes from both Wild Honey and Smiley Smile. The studio stuff is great. There are some complete alternative takes, instrumental backing tracks and a fair number of fragments. It's not something I'll return to a lot, but I love being able to hear all these isolated elements and layers that show Brian's brilliance as a vocal and instrumental arranger at work. There's never been anyone like him, before or since.

The live stuff, on the other hand, is as bit of a disappointment. The recordings are very, very good. It's the performances that spoil them. The band, particularly Mike Love with his laconic and dismissive  stage patter, don't seem into it, despite playing and singing fairly well. What might've been a batch of great live recordings, including tunes from Wild Honey, is spoiled as a result.

Still, this is a packed release, with much great listening on both disks. The new remix/remaster of the central album is very easy on the ears - not harsh or overly loud. Purists may insist on the original mono, but I can imagine listening to this new version a lot. The new stereo mix, without all the outtakes in this package, is also coming out on vinyl soon and may be worth a listen, too.


Gallery: Ditko after Spidey

In 1966, Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, left Marvel Comics under still cloudy circumstances.

Legend has it that he departed because he and Stan Lee disagreed over the true identity of Spider-Man's nemesis, the Green Goblin. But Ditko, himself denied this, saying:
"Stan never knew what he was getting in my Spider-Man stories and covers until after [production manager] Sol Brodsky took the material from me ... so there couldn't have been any disagreement or agreement, no exchanges ... no problems between us concerning the Green Goblin or anything else from before issue #25 to my final issues."
Ditko's successor on Spidey, artist John Romita said that Stan and Steve:
" ... ended up not being able to work together because they disagreed on almost everything, cultural, social, historically, everything, they disagreed on character."
Stan Lee informed fans of the departure this way, in one of his Bullpen Bulletin items:
"Steve recently told us he was leaving for personal reasons. After all these years, we're sorry to see him go, and we wish the talented guy success with his future endeavors."
What we do know, is that Ditko immediately started doing superhero work at Charlton after his departure from Marvel, illustrating the adventures of Blue Beetle, the Question and Captain Atom.

Here's a look at his Charlton covers from that period. These issues are collected in DC Comics' "Action Heroes Archives," published back in 2004.