RIP Roger Ebert
Posted by admin in criticism, Film, streaming video on April 5, 2013
Roger Ebert’s death yesterday caught me by total surprise. I did not realize his Tuesday column was, in essence, his farewell.
I will try to write a tribute or an essay of some kind. But for now, I will save his one-of-a-kind 2011 TED Talk. To hear him “speak” of saying his last words and not realizing it was his last spoken words, is heartbreaking.
Playwright Crystal Skillman on Geek!

Becky Byers as “Honey”, Allison Buck as “Danya”, & Emily Williams as “Ellen” in GEEK! by Crystal Skillman
Let’s forgo the klunky introduction and jump right into the mix. Playwright Crystal Skillman‘s play, GEEK!, opened on March 21, 2013, at St. Mark’s Church 131 East 10th Street, 2nd Floor, and runs through April 13. Tickets can be bought here. She is so great to interview and covers so much ground, nothing more needs to be said.
Oh, OK, if you insist, here’s the official play description:
“With pissed-off Pikachus, steam punk armies, stood-up Sailor Moons and roller-blading monsters on the prowl, it’s easy to get lost in the Inferno-esque anime convention where the fans, the otakus, and the geeks prowl. But to score a rare signature from their comic book idol, teenage outcasts Dayna and Honey will take on obsessive magic players, Jedis and elfs, cosplayers and convention guards – through all nine flights of Ohio’s Dante’s Fire-Con – to get a chance to shake hands with their pop-culture hero.”
Tim O’Shea: Was there a certain con experience in particular that inspired this play?
Crystal Skillman: Yes! About three years ago Fred and I were at the Miami Super Comic Con. We’d been to many cons together – I love being his girl friday and taking photos of him signing and being a booth babe and all. But I adore checking out each convention and how different they all are too. I feel like at each one you’re seeing who has come in, but also those who live in the area – one of the great joys is seeing Fred meet fans from all over. The Miami con was quite big and sprawled over three levels each clearly designated to comics, anime and gameplay. It was held in an interesting space full of nooks and crannies more than other cons I’d been too. While Fred was signing at the booth, I began taking photographs that began to truly inspire me. As I captured the awkward beautiful vulnerability and tenacity and just spunk of these cos-players, coupled with the experience of watching fans for so many years coming to Fred’s table being so affected, I strongly felt there is a play here. A play the explored and celebrated fandom. The play, as crazy fun as it is, became more and more personal reflecting my own Geek past, that has so inspired and affected by whole life (for example I’m the kinda gal that made my mom drive me to school, before I could drive, to avoid being made fun of on the schoolbus
), suddenly kicked into high gear. I wanted to write a play that was poppy, fun and which captured the con experience, but truthful to the struggle all Geeks have to find who they connect with and who they are.
Brendan O’Connell on CBS Sunday Morning
Posted by admin in art, streaming video on March 24, 2013
With the exception of The New Yorker coverage, this CBS Sunday Morning piece likely is the most in-depth and insightful coverage I have seen Brendan O’Connell receive.
Really happy for him, obviously. And after this post, I really need to work on getting some non-O’Connell posts on here before he accuses me of stalking him.
Congrats again, Brendan.
Congrats to Everyartist on Exceeding Its Kickstarter Goal
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on March 10, 2013
It was reported earlier this week that Everyartist not only met its goal, it exceeded the goal by $10,000.
Congrats to Brendan O’Connell and the Everyartist team.
Brendan O’Connell on The Colbert Report
Posted by admin in art, streaming video on March 10, 2013
I am sure someone I have interviewed in the past has appeared on The Colbert Report, but this is the first time to my knowledge I interviewed someone before they appeared on the show.
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
Also, according to the Kickstarter website, O’Connell is slated to appear in an upcoming People magazine, and an episode of CBS Sunday Morning.
So I joined Pintrest
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on March 1, 2013
Let’s see if I can make the crossplatform opportunity benefit the blog.
Source: media.pennlive.com via Tim on Pinterest
Just A Reminder
Posted by admin in social media on February 22, 2013
A great deal of the content I used to generate on this blog I am now doing via Tumblr and Twitter. To make it easier to find, please look to the right side of this page, where I am streaming my Tumblr and Twitter content.
Everyartist Kickstarter Has Launched
As promised, here is the direct link to Everyartist’s Kickstarter, which has launched.
Before you donate to the Kickstarter, you will likely ask–where is my money going to be utilized? Here’s the plan:
“In 2013, Everyartist will create a national, collaborative art event that engages elementary school children across the country – the largest art event in history.
We’re raising money to launch and facilitate this national collaborative art event. Included in this is building a downloadable kit that will make it easy for parents and teachers to register and become local event coordinators. The kit includes instructions for staging an event, group lesson plans with the rudimentary elements of drawing designed by a professional art educator adaptable to every age group, stickers and other incentives for the participating children, and a press release that can be shared with local media.
We can bootstrap this event for $30,000, but the more money we raise, the greater our impact will be and the more kids we can reach. We need your support!”
Brendan O’Connell on His Art & His New Project, Everyartist
Posted by admin in art, streaming video on February 6, 2013
This interview has been a long time coming. I have been wanting to interview professional artist Brendan O’Connell for years. O’Connell and I went to high school together–and thanks to social media, we got back in touch with each other back around 2007 or so. I have covered him here a few times at the blog. While most of this interview is focused on O’Connell’s work, O’Connell and I finally got together to talk because of his latest educational and artistic endeavor, Everyartist. O’Connell is one of the founding partners of Everyartist.
“In 2013, Everyartist will create a national, collaborative art event that engages elementary school children across the country – the largest art event in history. Our platform of events, digital content/tools and retail products empowers ArtTeachers, ArtMoms and ArtAngels to spark and sustain the creativity inside every ArtKid.”


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