#musings

Mar 16, 2019
6 min

Movie Musings: Captain Marvel

It’s an exciting time to be a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While there’s very much a sense of things coming to an end, what with the next Marvel movie literally being called Avengers: Endgame and all, there’s also a lot of new centerpieces being created that will provide us with entertainment for the next phase of MCU and beyond. Captain Marvel is one of those centerpieces, and the movie checks all of the boxes it needed to in order to ring in the next era of superhe

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Troy Shinn

Dec 30, 2018
7 min

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

It’s films like this that make me happy that, after more than a century of filmmaking, people can still come along and do something new. It's rare that an animated film that's as experimental as this one would rake in money at the box office, but this is no fluke. The studio had to have a clear map to this final product, and the filmmakers delivered by showing they know how to turn animation on its head by using familiar elements. Granted, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse, e

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We're all victims (and products) of toxic masculinity

Troy Shinn

Nov 15, 2018
5 min

We're all victims (and products) of toxic masculinity

As a man, I know that few people are asking for more male voices in conversations about toxic masculinity and abusive culture. That said, I always aim to highlight constructive points that may be getting lost in the shuffle of social media and loud arguments at the dinner table. It’s in that spirit I ask you to read this article. One year into the global #MeToo movement, we need to be willing to take a hard look at the way we’re talking about this. Immediately as the #MeToo m

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Troy Shinn

Jul 7, 2018
2 min

Nationalism is the death of the nation

Now that the sky-high explosions and over-consumption of beer and hot dogs is over, we can talk about what we really celebrate every year on the Fourth of July. It all started with a bunch of privately-educated white men in a room, drafting a document called the Declaration of Independence. It was an act of war, of rebellion, of treason. Not for war’s sake but for freedom’s. It was the start of this great social experiment called democracy and the start of a shift in global p

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Troy Shinn

May 31, 2018
10 min

Movie Musings - Solo: A Star Wars Story

What Solo: A Star Wars Story gains as an entertaining, swashbuckling take on the Star Wars universe, it loses in its failure to capitalize on the mythos of Han Solo’s character and by falling into the pits that overstuffed blockbusters often find themselves in. While it’s a bit early to tell, the early struggling box office returns for this Star Wars movie may best be summed up by the advice that Harrison Ford gave to his replacement in this 2018 anthology before it was made:

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Troy Shinn

May 1, 2018
9 min

Movie Musings - Avengers: Infinity War

(Marvel Studios, 2018 - Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo) It’s being called the largest cinematic undertaking of all time, a culmination of every Marvel movie of the last decade and a reset button on the franchise. It’s all those things and more. If you haven’t seen Infinity War yet -- for one, don’t read this first because spoilers abound -- go see it immediately. This is a movie that’s going to be talked about with bated breath for decades to come. You'll wanna say you saw

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Curbside Staff

Mar 10, 2018
5 min

From the Outside Looking in - Part 1

By Alaina Riley I am a born-and-raised Pagan. No, that doesn’t mean I partake in human sacrifice or worship Satan. I’ll get into specifics in a moment. First, some context of why I want to talk about this now, so close to Easter Sunday. My family moved to Scio, OR when I was about five. It’s a small town in which most people are Christian. During school, we celebrated holidays such as Christmas and Easter -- normal holidays for everyone else, but some don’t know that they act

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90th Academy Awards - Nods and Predictions

Troy Shinn

Mar 3, 2018
14 min

90th Academy Awards - Nods and Predictions

I know, everyone already had their prediction stories up at the beginning of this week. Unfortunately, I don't have the benefit of pre-screenings and a staff of writers to comb through all these films with me. I'm promising myself that next year, I won't wait until the week of the Oscars to watch these films. I've been up long nights trying to cram as many of these nominees into my schedule (and my budget) as possible. That said, I definitely didn't get to all of them, so I'v

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Troy Shinn

Mar 3, 2018
8 min

Blade Runner 2049

I keep hearing that this film demands too much of a modern movie audience. In terms of length, there’s no question - it does. A 164 minute run-time is certainly asking a lot to sit through in a movie theater or even at home. But I honestly challenge the notion that the subject matter is too complex. In many ways, this is a straightforward, fantastical sci-fi film like the blockbusters being churned out left and right. The demands of this movie aren’t in the subject, they’re i

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Why we should stop telling people ‘reverse racism doesn’t exist’

Troy Shinn

Feb 1, 2018
4 min

Why we should stop telling people ‘reverse racism doesn’t exist’

Disclaimer: I don’t claim to be an expert on the subject, and I fully accept that my privileged vantage may skew my perspective. So, I’ll only speak to my own perceptions based on what I was taught by others and what I see resulting from doomed conversations on social media. Here’s the problem: Phrases like “reverse racism doesn’t exist” or “black people can’t be racist” do not come off as constructive to the people who do not understand institutional racism and who, conseque

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Movie Musings - Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Troy Shinn

Dec 28, 2017
16 min

Movie Musings - Star Wars: The Last Jedi

(Photo Credit: Lucas Film/Disney, URL: Mammoth Gamers) All the online petitions in the world won’t remove this film from canon or upset it’s profit margins. The Last Jedi has proven to be as successful as other Star Wars films from Disney, but I’m interested mostly in its new direction and how it’s set the nerd world on fire. Of 2015's The Force Awakens, people’s main criticism was that it was a shot-for-shot remake of the original 1977 Star Wars. I didn’t expect any differen

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ASGARDIA: The Space Kingdom & the Future of Humanity

Alaina Riley Martin

Nov 17, 2017
4 min

ASGARDIA: The Space Kingdom & the Future of Humanity

Photo of the Asgardian National Flag https://asgardia.space/en/national-symbols/ Asgardia. It sounds like something out of Norse mythology (Asgard being the home of the Norse gods) or the next Marvel blockbuster, but in reality it is something quite different. “Asgardia is a fully-fledged and independent nation ... with all the attributes this status entails: a government and embassies, a flag, a national anthem and insignia, and so on” as said by Asgardia’s website. As

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Troy Shinn

Nov 11, 2017
4 min

Musings: Abuse and personal heroes

Few artists have had as profound an effect on my life as Louis C.K. I watched his special “Shameless” when I was 13 years old (ten years ago, Holy Christ!) In January, I saw his show "2017" live in Portland. His stand-up - the mechanics of his delivery and his unique yet conversational way of turning everyday life into comedy - changed the way I think and inspired me to do stand-up comedy as a hobby. That’s what makes the revelations of his sexual harassment of several women

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Curbside Staff

Sep 13, 2017
4 min

The Forgotten 9/11

This week, everyone is looking back and remembering the tragedy that happened on September 11, 2001. But do you remember the tragedy on September 11, 1976? A group of foreign extremists hijacked a plane. As they say, history repeats itself. Here’s what happened: A Croatian immigrant named Zvonko Busic masterminded a plot to hijack a Trans World Airlines plane headed from New York to Chicago. He and three others, including his wife — an Oregonian he met while studying in Europ

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TV Musings - Marvel's Daredevil (Season 2)

Troy Shinn

Jun 7, 2017
4 min

TV Musings - Marvel's Daredevil (Season 2)

In many ways this was better than Season 1 (obviously talking about The Punisher) but overall, not as precisely executed. Daredevil is still the best Marvel vehicle on Netflix and the best superhero TV show we’ve got right now though, so a few steps back here could be rectified in upcoming seasons and The Defenders ensemble crossover coming later this year. Below is a list of some of the things I liked or didn’t like about the show, in no particular order. If you're worried a

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TV Musings - Marvel's Daredevil
(Season 1)

Troy Shinn

Jun 7, 2017
4 min

TV Musings - Marvel's Daredevil (Season 1)

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Troy Shinn

May 31, 2017
8 min

TV Musings - The Legend of Korra

All in all, this show is a winner. It expands on the world established in the The Last Airbender and blends it into a more stark reality. Plus, it's got a lot of really important things to say. Below is a list of some of the things I liked or didn’t like about the show, in no particular order. If you're worried about spoilers, don't read TV reviews. At least not this one. This will still be here for you to enjoy when you're finished watching. Follow My Musings for much more c

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