Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Look for aNm's Booth at OEGE 2009

alterNative Media is proud to both sponsor and participate as an exhibitor for the Oklahoma Electronic Game Expo and Multimedia Conference - April 11, 2009, at OCCC in OKC. aNm will have booth space along with many other local business and services in the metro area. Click the link below to see the list of exhibitors at OEGE:

http://oege.catblog.occc.edu/wordpress/exhibitors-info/

aNm will showcase our many services and make exciting new networking connections within the local gaming industry. One of our main goals is to cultivate, support, and collaborate with Oklahoma's video game community and to foster growth towards creating a viable 3D game studio resources and talents to which regional studios (say, in Austin, TX) can outsource.

In addition, we will also have information about my book, Native Americans in Comic Books, from McFarland, available everywhere online.

Daily Oklahoman featured an article on OEGE. The article highlights the many events that will be at the expo including speaking presentations and the game tournament. You can access the store on the web at: http://newsok.com/occc-to-host-video-game-expo/article/3357567

Come by our booth, see what we can offer your projects, and say hello.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Sheyahshe Serves as Chair on NCU Accreditation Committee

 
Northern California University ("NCU"), www.ncalu.us is developing an Accreditation Committee to receive accreditation through the DETC (Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council), a national accreditation body. Michael Sheyahshe - CIO, alterNative Media - has been appointed to this committee and will serve as Chair for Divisions III, IV, and V, providing oversight in the following areas:

Standard III - The institution and program provide educational services that meet the needs of students. The institution ensures that distance educational services are designed to optimize interaction between the student and the institution in order to encourage and facilitate learning.
Standard IV - The institution provides student services that encourage and assist the student to attain institutional and program objectives, intended course learning outcomes, and his/her educational goals.
Standard V - The institution verifies/demonstrates student success and satisfaction using valid and reliable assessment techniques.
The mission of the Northern California University School of Law and Business is to bring a traditional legal education to students with an online setting. NCU offers an alternative to the classroom by allowing our students live online lectures in the comfort of their home rather than a classroom setting.
...
Our instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, and continuing and distance education informed by scholarship and research. Research and other creative endeavors comprise an essential component of Northern California University‘s mission. All faculty members contribute to the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge. These efforts, supported by public and private resources, are conducted in an atmosphere of open inquiry and academic freedom.
The NCU Accreditation Committee facilitates assessment and accreditation activities within Northern California University; to encourage effective and fair assessment practices throughout NCU programs; and to support the accreditation needs of NCU. The primary purpose of the Accreditation Committee is to study program accreditation; development standards for the accreditation of NCU programs; and prepare for accreditation. The NCU Accreditation Committee will steer the university in the direction for DETC accreditation.

See http://www.detc.org/index.html for more information on the DETC

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Another Critique of My Book

A contributor to livejournal had the following to say about my book, Native Americans in Comic Books:

"The book annoyed me a bit with its critique of Native American comic book characters whose stories are set in the past. Sheyahshe commented that these characters reinforce the notion that Native Americans disappeared in the Old West days. It's a completely legitimate complaint--so the complaint itself I have no problem with...What annoyed me was the fact Sheyahshe brought this up each time he discussed one of these characters. It was very redundant. A few paragraphs at the beginning of the book, to comment on the problem and mention its applicability to all "historical" characters, would have made for a better reading experience."
*****
"Thankfully there are plenty of modern-day Native American comic book characters, so I didn't have to suffer through his redundant complaint too much."
****
"One omission that surprised me was the lack of commentary on the names that so many Native American comic characters have. The only name Sheyahshe commented on was Tonto's (Spanish for "stupid")."
*****
"Overall, though, I did enjoy reading the book. It made for a nice, nostalgic trip, and it sparked my interest in a comic book called Tribal Force, the creative work of a Tucsonan."

I can certainly see how someone might see parts of the book as repetitive: as an examination of many stereotypes and many comic books, there's bound to be a certain recurring element. Add to this, my use of a very specific set of criteria to evaluate the level of stereotype in each study and you can well imagine how a reader might feel this way, initially.

To certain extent, I agree that a short foreword / blanket statement about the problem inherent to all historic-only characters might have sufficed in some respects; however, given the sheer amount of continual stories that appear in comics, movies, and any other stories about Indigenous people, the event of portraying characters as historical artifacts only is exponentially more repetitive than I could ever be in simply documenting its existence. Yet, I can see how a reader might tire of reading about this tragic phenomenon - just as I tire of seemingly only seeing Native people with fringe, feathers, and on horseback.

But, as mentioned above, there are some modern-day Indigenous heroes in comics and we should celebrate them when we can.

This reader is correct about naming conventions for Native comic book characters: they certainly do seem formulaic and stereotypical, by nature. While the reader mentions the fine line between homage and misrepresentation, I would lean towards the latter, as I have seen far to few character names that seem realistic for Native people. Good call.

Also, I'm happy this reader was introduced to Proudstar's Tribal Force comic. My hope is that many readers will also have similar experiences of discovery and interest. Thanks for reading and taking time to comment.

Check out the full commentary here: http://footnotefetish.livejournal.com/458721.html

aNm Sponsors Local 3D Event

alterNative Media is dedicated to encouraging, supporting, and cultivating 3D talent in the local Oklahoma City metro and surrounding areas. With that in mind, aNm is happy to be one of the sponsors for the Oklahoma Electronic Game Expo and Multimedia Conference ("OEGE") - April 11, 2009, at the Oklahoma City Community College campus.

Check out our banner, as well as the other sponsors at the OEGE website:

http://oege.catblog.occc.edu/wordpress/sponsors/

Look for us at this exciting event and be on the look-out for many other opportunities to promote 3D modeling/animation/simulation/video games in Oklahoma !

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Late Entry to SF Art Show

Thanks to artist friend, America Merideth, and show Curator, Wendee Key, some of artwork was again showcased at the 14th Annual Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair, March 14th and 15th, 2009, SF County Fair Building, Golden Gate Park.

Here are some details about myself and the other artists that contributed to the art show:
http://sfbookfair.wordpress.com/art-show/

You can also see a slideshow of the images I submitted to this show here:
All this, despite a (horrendously) late entry, on my behalf...

...and America spending time printing out my images...

...as well as her FedEx-ing them to the show for me.

Wow. Ouch.

To America and Wendee: much thanks and please accept my continued apologies and thanks for letting me be a part of this show again.

See http://sfbookfair.wordpress.com/ for more details about the event. Be sure to check out the "A Bit of History" link, as it's immensely interesting.

Friday, March 13, 2009

The New E-Face of aNm

 
I'm pleased to announce alterNative Media's website has received a much-needed face lift.

Click the link below to head over to the website and kick the virtual tires. Let me know what you think !

http://www.alternativemedia.biz/

header-photo_003

As always, keep aNm in mind for all your technical and artistic needs. As Oklahoma's "indie" film and video game community continue to grow, alterNative Media is happy to offer such specialized services as 2D Animation, Concept Art, and even 3D Modeling / Animation / Simulations to this burgeoning artist community. Contact us today and put our expertise and creativity to work for you !

Monday, March 09, 2009

aNm Listing at OFC Production Guide

A quick look at some recent activity at the Oklahoma Film Commission, suggests there are many big things on Oklahoma's film-industry horizon.

(See the link here for more info.)

As a gentle reminder - especially to all of you about to undertake a film or production project here in Oklahoma - aNm has many artistic and technical services to offer filmmakers and TV production studios, including (but never limited to):

  • Traditional illustration / concept art
  • 2D animation
  • 3D models, animation, & simulation
...and many more.

alterNative Media is listed under "Animation - Computer" at the Oklahoma Film Commission's online Production Guide database at http://www.oklahomaproductionguide.com/listDisplay.php?id=10575. Of course, you can always see examples our work at aNm's online Gallery or with the slideshows here at the aNm blog.

Keep alterNative Media in mind as you begin production and put our creativity to work for you (remember: work smarter, not harder). Contact us today for initial consultation, quote, and milestone schedule.

Radio Interview

Rob Schmidt, creator of the Peace Party comic book, and I were recently interviewed for a radio program out of Florida about Indigenous people in comic books and comic book mythology, in general. The show is called, "Beyond the Grassy Knoll," and while I'm not entirely sure what their website is all about, they certainly have a lot of theories...about everything.

However, the host was very polite and seemed to be genuinely interested in how Native people are portrayed in comics - plus, it was good to have a dialogue between Schmidt and myself.

Click the link below for the radio interview (running time - 59:10):
http://beyondthegrassyknoll.com/audio/sheyahshe-schmidt.mp3

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Reaganomics and Watchmen

A buddy of mine - Jeff Johncox, a journalist at a nearby newspaper - popped a few email questions my way about the upcoming Watchmen flick, which he assumed would be used as background filler for a larger article...one that doesn't look like it will see the printer's ink.

Rather than let this little dialogue go to waste, I thought I would post it here, in case any of you have comments about this topic, as well...



JJ: What did Watchmen mean to you?

MS: I'd 'heard' about the Watchmen for years before I finally got around to reading it. For many years there, it was splashed everywhere; I especially noticed its mention and reference in the advertisement sections of the comic books themselves. I seem to recall many specialty (comic) suppliers referenced the Watchmen visually and textually, at times.

Being isolated on a rural farm, I wasn't afforded the opportunity that many other comic book fans were: the local comic book shop connection. Sure, I made it to the local comic shops as much as I could, but I never just 'hung out' there, like many other (city) kids got to do. Thus, I was never privy to the 'inside-track' of what was cool and new in the comic du jour. Yet, as I mentioned, I was still aware of the Watchmen - and to a lesser extent, the hype surrounding it - but, I wasn't sure what the big deal was, so I didn't bother with it for a long while.

As it turns out, not reading it immediately was most likely for the best (more on why, in a moment).

JJ: When did you first read it?

MS: It was the late 1990s, in my early adulthood, before I actually read the Watchmen.

JJ: Did you immediately "get" it?

MS: As with way too many things in my life, I did not grasp the Watchmen's full meaning at first read. What can I say? I am a man - a dull-witted one, at that - and we men aren't exactly known for catching subtleties. Yet, even on the first reading, even without catching all the finer points, I knew that there was something very special about this story.

Don't get me wrong: I didn't fall in love with the Watchmen, especially not in the first read. Indeed, to this day, I'm not in love with the Watchmen. However, you don't have to absolutely love something to understand, on some level, its gravity and importance to the genre as a whole. One may not love "Moby Dick" or "A Catcher in the Rye," (Buddha knows I don't care for these), but one cannot deny the level of importance of these to works to literature itself.

The same can be said of Watchmen; its contribution to the comic book milieu is incomparable.

JJ: Was it something you realized, over time, was extraordinary?

MS: Indeed; the Watchmen storyline and characters have stayed with me - have played over and over in my mind - for years. Reading the Watchmen is like being introduced to the Greek Pantheon for the first time: you may not remember all the little details, but ideas and the ideals of the players and parts stays with you over time. Unlike many other comics that fill pages with fluff and filler (which is great, sometimes, if you're in the mood for it), the Watchmen is well executed and intensely intricate in the way its characters are handled.

Of course, upon my initial reading, one element that left a sour taste in my mouth was the story's delivery of a specific time period: the 1980s. This distaste came close to overpowering a more substantial element of the Watchmen: the use of propaganda.

JJ: How did the book capture the second "red scare" of the mid 80s

MS: I am not a political creature; in fact, I don't discuss - or even THINK about - politics. Much this is most likely due to my fervent attention to the political scene in the 1980s (Reaganomics, anyone?). The shame of being so astute during this time - a time of Cold War, Red Scare, and blind conservatism - most likely affects my current outlook; and prompts me to shun anything politically charged.

The Watchmen, its story and characters, are children of the 1980s, much like me. It is most likely this affinity that came close to turning me off of the storyline, initially. However, given that I did not read the Watchmen until years after that sad decade, the temporal distance allowed me to see the inherent rhetoric and nuclear propaganda that I would have most likely missed, had I read this work within the 1980s. It is this proclamation - the fact that the book so eagerly allows its story to be rooted in the confines of a specific time - that empowers its metaphors and allusions.

In short, the Watchmen is pivotal for the genre of comic books and sequential art. While the flavor of the 1980s always makes me want to brush my tongue, I still recommend the Watchmen as a good 'read' to anyone wanting to consume something of substance, in comic book form. As mentioned, the ideology and themes stay with me in my mind, which says much of the Watchmen's substance (it sticks to one's mental 'ribs,' as it were).

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Article in Journal Record

Upon discovering my lecture on Native Americans in pop culture at the University of Central Oklahoma, a reporter for the Journal Record, "Oklahoma's leading resource for Oklahoma business news and legal information," contacted me for an interview to find out more about my book, Native Americans in Comic Books and my business, alterNative Media.

Despite warnings of my true physical appearance, they even sent out a photographer (poor thing) to catch me 'in the act' at my studio.

Here is an image of the article that appeared in the Journal Record, Tues. FEB 10, 2009 (avert your eyes, children...!).

Steve Judd to Speak at OU


Here is a flyer about an upcoming at the University of Oklahoma with Steve Judd, a Native buddy of mine working the in the film industry out in LA. Check him out, if you can...