josheiserike.com - Josh’s Comics & Writings Online

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but on Tuesday morning, it’s time for all you students to catch an ugly, yellow bus at the crack of dawn. It’s time for intimidating, empty planners mapping out the long months ahead. It’s time for teachers and administrators telling you how excited they are to see you (yeah, right).

Then there’s the neglected summer reading. You’ve got a few hours left to find a summary online (before the Internet, we actually had to track down the actual books to read the dust jacket and skim the ending).

Mandatory reading sucks out all the fun—the geniuses at my local board of education managed to turn me off to reading anything that wasn’t a comic. In college, a levelheaded professor assigned Philip Roth—and I picked up where I left off after “Batman Forever: The Movie Novelization” in middle school—reading for fun.

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Everything I’m reading about “Challengers,” the latest album from The New Pornographers, assures me that yes, Neko Case is still with the band.

I suppose this is what happens when a member’s popularity equals or eclipses the band (The Fugees, anyone?).

For a band like The New Pornographers, nothing is a given — just about every member of the eight-piece Canadian band has a side project — or the band is their side project.
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“The Ten” is the funniest movie you’ve probably never heard of this year.

Directed by “MTV’s The State” alumnus David Wain, “The Ten” is 10 loosely-related stories taking their cues from the 10 Commandments.

It’s got everything a great comedy should have — an all-star cast (Jessica Alba, Adam Brody), absurd, inappropriate humor and Oliver Platt as an Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonator.

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Katalin H. Korossy does not want to be a geek.

When The Washington Post coverage of the annual San Diego Comic-Con referred to attendants as “geeks,” Korossy, of Kensington, Md., was upset enough to write a letter to the editor.

“How nice of (Washington Post writer Lisa de Moraes) to patronize those of us who travel to conventions not for pay as she does but at our own cost out of love for television shows,” Korossy wrote.

So she traveled across the country to a comic book show because she loves television.

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The Potomac News and the Manassas Journal Messenger, two small dailies located about 30 miles outside Washington, D.C., need a features editor to drive primarily local lifestyle content of a joint features sections. This person is responsible for the planning, execution and design of 5 features sections a week with a staff of 1 reporter, a page designer and several freelancers. The ideal candidate will have at least 2 years in the newspaper business and a vision of how to cover trends and entertainment for younger readers and to develop innovative local content. Design skills are a plus; knowledge of Quark and Photoshop are helpful, but knowing how to lead others to produce lively local features content is essential.

Whatever happened to 20 bands for $20?

That was the hook when my parents finally let me go to an all-day rock festival.

About 20 bands - including Beck, Blondie, and Echo and the Bunnymen played the 1997 HFStival, my first all-day rock festival. With all the service costs and metro ride, it probably ran about $35.

This summer, if I wanted to spend a day at a rock festival it would cost me nearly $150, which includes a $25 parking fee (not to mention a nearly-double price tag if I wanted to spend the full weekend).

Obviously, a lot has changed in those 10 years - most evident is the fact that for the first time, since 1990, there does not seem to be an HFStival scheduled.

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