Tin Man (miniseries)

Tin Man is a 2007 four and a half hour miniseries co-produced by RHI Entertainment and Sci Fi Channel original pictures that was broadcast in the United States on the Sci Fi Channel in three parts. The first part aired on December 2, and the remaining two parts airing on the following nights. It was released to DVD on March 11, 2008; the same year it was rebroadcast in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Starring Zooey Deschanel, Neal McDonough, Alan Cumming, Raoul Trujillo, Kathleen Robertson, and Richard Dreyfuss, the miniseries is a continuation of the classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with science fiction and additional fantasy elements added. It focuses on the adventures of a small-town waitress named DG who is pulled into a magical realm called the O.Z., ruled by the tyrannical sorceress Azkadellia. Together with her companions Glitch, Raw, and Cain, DG journeys to uncover her lost memories, find her true parents, and foil Azkadellia's plot to trap the O.Z. in eternal darkness.

Raw (magazine)

Raw was a comics anthology edited by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly and published by Mouly from 1980 to 1991. It was a flagship publication of the 1980s alternative comics movement, serving as a more intellectual counterpoint to Robert Crumb's visceral Weirdo, which followed squarely in the underground tradition of Zap and Arcade. Along with the more genre-oriented Heavy Metal it was also one of the main venues for European comics in the United States in its day.

Origin

Spiegelman has often described the reasoning and process that led Mouly to start the magazine: after the demise of Arcade, the '70s underground comics anthology he co-edited with Bill Griffith, and the general waning of the underground scene, Spiegelman was despairing that comics for adults might fade away for good, but he had sworn not to work on another magazine where he would be editing his peers because of the tension and jealousies involved; however, Mouly had her own reasons for wanting to do just that. Having set up her small publishing company, Raw Books & Graphics, in 1977, she saw a magazine encompassing the range of her graphic and literary interests as a more attractive prospect than publishing a series of books. At the time, large-format, graphic punk and New Wave design magazines like Wet were distributed in independent bookstores. Mouly had earlier installed a printing press in their fourth floor walk-up Soho loft and experimented with different bindings and printing techniques. She and Spiegelman eventually settled on a very bold, large-scale and upscale package. Calling Raw a "graphix magazine", they hoped their unprecedented approach would bypass readers' prejudices against comics and force them to look at the work with new eyes.

Staind (album)

Staind is the eponymous seventh studio album by the American rock band of the same name, released on September 13, 2011. The album marks the return to Staind's more aggressive heavier sound that was predominant on the earlier albums Tormented, Dysfunction, and Break the Cycle. The album also returns the guitar solos of Staind's first album Tormented. It is also the last album to feature drummer Jon Wysocki, who left the band following the recording process in May 2011, marking the end of the 16-year-long run of the original line-up.

Background and recording

The making of Staind was a stressful experience for the group. As lead singer Aaron Lewis stated, "By the end of the first month we weren’t even recording in the same places anymore."

A number of factors created some dissension within the group during recording. Despite the deadline on the album's completion approaching, with the album less than half finished, Lewis continued to do solo gigs to promote his solo album Town Line much to the other band members' discontent. Lewis's working relationship with drummer Jon Wysocki broke down completely, though as revealed in their "Making of Staind" documentary, the two had a hard time working together for some time, with guitarist Mike Mushok stating, "It's never come to blows...I'm kinda surprised it hasn't...but that's a tough relationship.", while Wysocki himself stated, "There needs to be some separation.". Wysocki's departure from the group was announced on their website in May 2011.