Wind, Water, Solar
Happy New Year, Earthlings. Swim with me a bit.
journo
Be The Birdgirl
Nearly two decades (and 40 million viewers) after signal boosts from early adopters like yours truly, Adult Swim reboots Harvey Birdman’s postmodern satire for an intersectional epoch.
Between Utopia and Armageddon: Matthew Rankin’s Transgressive Twentieth Century
“I see this 21st Century malaise reaching its snapping point,” Rankin explained. “Last century saw the rise of innumerable idealistic movements. This traumatized world is the one we inherited.”
Korra, Uncensored
The most powerful woman on television is back on television, where she belongs. We need her, more than ever.
Goodbye, The Beatles (Again)
Fifty years ago, The Beatles tragically left us, after changing the world for almost a decade. And what they left us with, like much of what they made, sequenced the genes for the recombined culture to come.
Ten Years After: Earth Strikes Back
A decade ago, I wrote about the myriad ways our planet would refuse to put up with us. Today, I look back, during a global lockdown, as a zoonotic dystopia borne from our ceaseless invasion of Earth ravages so-called civilization.
The (Blessed) Return Of El-P
Correcting an historical injustice, El-P’s singular, relevant back catalogue will finally return to the land of material and digital reality.
DJ Shadow Chronicles Our Pathetic Age
Givng thanks on Thanksgiving for the letters DJ Shadow has been sending, explaining why and where and how the music from his latest, perhaps greatest effort, Our Pathetic Age, was born.
Ten Years After: Cli-Fi
A decade ago, I helped give birth to a movement. It doesn’t matter if anyone knows. All that matters is the movement.
Unhappy Earth Day: The Seas Still Rise
A decade ago, I talked to the Pacific Institute about their report predicting that the coastal metropolis of California, the world’s fifth largest economy, would be swallowed by global warming.
Birdboy’s Interconnected Pollution
Writing about animation provides me the opportunity to probe the minds of brave filmmakers working against stereotype and industry. That struggle found an apotheosis in the surreal fever dream of Birdboy.
Farmers Markets Come Under Presidential Fire
My latest investigation for Civil Eats is not so much alarming as predictable. The current presidential administration, already an international laughingstock, has targeted farmers markets for elimination. The punishment? Death by pointless cuts.
Animation Is Film, Said The Festival
It may not seem like we need to have a three-day festival in Hollywood celebrating animation as cinema with a capital C. But if that was the case, I would not have spent the weekend with my girls in Hollywood at the Animation Is Film festival.
Feeding The Resistance
In a globally warming, warring world where Americans throw away half the food they grow, nourishing activism with a heart and mind in service of renewable peace is paramount. Enter author Julia Turshen, who I profiled for Civil Eats.
What Is Organic? Depends On Who’s Asking
This investigation for Civil Eats is about the terminology we take for granted so that billions of dollars can exchange hands in the organic market, as we throw away over a third of the food we ask our burning Earth to provide us.
Animating Hiroshima: An Interview With Sunao Katabuchi
This expressive war epic from the assistant director of Kiki’s Delivery Service handles the toughest of topics with art, skill and grace. I spoke with director Sunao Katabuchi for Cartoon Brew.
Gulf Dead Zone Grows, Larger Than Ever
Stephen King’s horror novel never saw this real-time nightmare coming. A state-sized dead zone at the bottom of the South, which is so deprived of oxygen it might as well be deep space — which is, recalling Alien, where no one can hear you scream.
Chasing Ice And Coral, Running Out of Time
It is my honor to be writing for the Center for Biological Diversity’s shiny new publication, The Revelator. My first piece is an interview with the fearless Jeff Orlowski, director of Chasing Ice, and now, Chasing Coral.
Ron Finley Rewilds South Central
My latest piece for Civil Eats chronicles the victory of sanity over nonsense, Earth over concrete, regeneration over regression. It was an honor to write, and even more brilliant to witness in person.
GreenBiz Gets My Solar Farming
Another great perk writing for the conscientious Civil Eats? Greens from across the sociocultural spectrum sharing my data.
Solar Farming For Everyone!
One of the great things about writing for Civil Eats is that I get a chance to explore several existential concerns at once. For my second piece, I was lucky enough to analyze and evangelize solarization, decarbonization and an agricultural infrastructure with a future.
Getting Civil About Sustainable Eats, Starting With California
I am honored to explore the entire University of California system’s sustainable food efforts for my first piece at Civil Eats. Greening these influential universities will upgrade our state’s profile and power, especially if we can reach full sustainability in the short term, which is no easy feat.
Consequence of Sound and New Musical Express Dig My Jello (Biafra)
It’s always a surreal blast when the past arrives in the present, especially if it’s my interview with the defiantly principled punk pioneer, Jello Biafra.
All Hail the Return of Autolux!
I’ve been writing about Autolux for years, and yet they always sound fresh to me
We Nailed It: An Interview With Shaun the Sheep‘s Richard Starzak and Paul Kewley
I spoke with Starzak and Kewley about how and why Aardman’s low-budget, big-picture animation continues to compete in our blockbuster marketplace, and why stop-motion can be even more real than hyperreal CGI.