Monthly Archives: October 2014

The fascinating and surprising LFO comes to DVD

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unnamedAt the 2013 Fantastic Fest, I was lucky enough to catch the inventive low budget Swedish picture LFO and starting today, you’ll be able to also as it comes out on VOD/Digital Platforms and DVD.

Here’s what I had to say in my September 26, 2013 The Horn review:

Director Antonio Tublén’s (Original) second outing, the clever LFO, explores a simple concept to its logical conclusions. What if you could control people with sound?

Robert Nord’s (Patrik Karlson) sneering wife (Ahnna Rasch) and disdainful son (Björn Löfberg Egner) drive him into a solitary and lonely life. He lives within his own head and the secure comforts of his basement lair where he pursues experiments with audio frequencies. While working with low-frequency oscillation (LFO), Nord stumbles across a sound that makes the human mind very open to suggestion. He first tests his discovery on himself and then his new neighbors Linn (Izabella Johanna Tschig) and Simon (Per Löfberg). Nord begins to abuse his new found power with catastrophic results.

Tublén, who also penned the screenplay, creates an intelligent geek wish fulfillment film. The tortured Nord, excellently portrayed by Karlson, is your stereotypical geek, who engages in solitary pursuits while dreaming of acclaim and recognition for his activities. Once he masters his newly acquired ability, Nord will go to any mean necessary to get what he wants or perceives the world needs

The inventive low budget Swedish picture delivers a tale awash with guilt and megalomania, haunted by misdeeds of the past and the promises of the future. LFO, fascinating and surprisingly complex, supplies a thoughtful and terrifying analog to what happens when those in control believe they always know best.

Check out this truly unique film.

Stuff received 9/18/14 Austin Comic Con edition

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Since my most recent Nexus Graphica is about my adventures at the Austin Comic Con (aka Wizard World Texas), I figured it’d be a good time to catch up with what I picked up at the con.

As-You-Wish

As You Wish
Princess Bride tribute

Signed 11″ x 14″ print from an illustration by Chet Phillips.

Promo copy:

This tribute showcases famous quotes and icons from the Rob Reiner film “Princess Bride” based on the book by William Goldman. Signed on bright white archival 60 lb. paper.

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Rayguns Over Texas garners several honorable mentions

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Cover by Rocky Kelley

Cover by Rocky Kelley

Even though though Gardner Dozois’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-First Annual Collection came out back in late August, I’m finally getting around to reporting about the strong showing of Rayguns Over Texas. (Should give you an idea of how crazy things have been at the Geek Compound) While none of the stories were actually reprinted within the volume, seven of the tales garnered an honorable mention.

With Finn, Person, Allston, and Brown receiving additional notice within Dozois’s Summation of the year.

Congrats to all.

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Whining About Saturday Mornings Gone By

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I have seen a lot in the last 24 hours about the end of the Saturday Morning Cartoon Block. Many of my Gen X friends are wringing their hands at the loss of three to four hours of cartoon goodness.

And I find myself wondering what the fuss is all about.

I am the mother of a six year-old boy. I know exactly how many cartoons are available to my son. There are the 24 hour cartoon channels plus the specialty kids’ channels. There are the educational cartoons via PBS and TVO. On-demand services provide my son with even more choice and our DVD collection is full of current hits and retro goodies.

Add the Internet to that mix, and my child has more animation at his fingertips than I ever had when I sat down to watch cartoons on a Saturday morning as a child. He is living in the promised land.

So why is a certain group comparing the loss of the Saturday Morning blcok to the end of days?

Nostalgia. Plain and simple.

Gen X is its 40s now, and like the Baby Boomers before them, they yearn for the simplicity of their childhood. There is a longing for the days when they and all their friends watched the same things at the same time. They look at the multi-channel universe and bemoan what the “kids today” are missing.

But here’s the thing, they aren’t missing it. My son and his friends all watch the same shows. Oh sure, my son may be watching Word Girl at 5 while his bestest bud saw the same episode at 3, but they still gather to dicuss and roleplay. Want further proof? The Wild Kratts have three (3!) live shows in my town later in the fall. All three have been sold out for months. It’s the hottest ticket in town. Fisher Price has started making toys for Mike the Knight and the Octonaughts. My son has PJs made from Phineas and Ferb fabric.

Do you know what my friends and me would have done for G-Force PJs? Things not legal in Utah.

My fellow Gen-X nerds, stop your whining. Yes, the big four networks have stopped producing a Saturday morning cartoon block. But that’s because the kids can find better, cooler shows through other mediums. And believe me, they are watching them. The big three have failed to keep pace and have moved on to other things.

Now if you excuse me, the boy and I have some Penguins of Madigascar to watch.