Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Daily Billboard

 This site brings and comments upon interesting billboards.

It appears that most of the featured billboards are located in the Los Angeles area, where there are a lot of entertainment studios and networks, so naturally the a lot of the billboards are advertisements for television shows and movies.

The folks behind the site haven’t posted a mission statement, so it all could just be stuff that catches the authors’ eyes.




http://dailybillboard.blogspot.com/

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Roofus the Canine Cannonball

“Roofus”, a children’s book by Dan Bob Thompson, won a bronze award in 3X3 Art magazine’s international competition. Gary Taxali’s children’s book is awarded “Best in Show.”

[Dan Bob Thompson’s blog]
[Gray Talaxi’s site]

Glee 3D Movie

Glee the 3D Concert Movie [PG]
2011 Twentieth Century Fox
Directed by Kevin Tancharoen

Grade: B+
Up-graded from B

+1: Made for fans.
-1: Backstage documentary footage
par: Fan profile footage.
+1 Blaine (Darren Chriss) and Warblers 3-song set.
par: 3D.

Note: Encore song follows the “Don’t Stop Believin’” reprise over credits.
Note 2: Uncredited, although not so surprise guest sings a song with the cast.

[overview on Fandango]


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The Histories of Bucky Barnes and Jason Todd Explained

8 panel comic description of two notable comic book characters by Curt Franklin and artist Chris Haley of the webcomic Let’s Be Friends Again, appearing July 7, 2011 on Comics Alliance.

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/07/07/bucky-jason-todd-history/

Cool Beer Billboard

Billboard in San Diego makes clever use of light and shadow similar to Kumi Yamashita’s artwork.

Found here:
http://superpunch.blogspot.com/2011/08/cool-beer-billboard.html

Project Rooftop

The superhero fashion site.

In February 2006, comics creators Dean Trippe and comics journalist Chris Arrant started this site as a way to showcase this art form or redesigning super-hero costumes in tribute to classic superheroes, and as a catalyst to improve costume design in the industry.

http://www.tencentticker.com/projectrooftop/


http://www.tencentticker.com/projectrooftop/2011/07/07/darren-rawlings-fill-in-fantastic-four/

http://www.tencentticker.com/projectrooftop/2011/07/22/remembering-our-captain-america-fighting-styles-redesign-challenge/

http://www.tencentticker.com/projectrooftop/2011/07/27/colleen-dorans-wonder-woman/

The Help

The Help [PG-13]
2011 Walt Disney Pictures
Directed by Tate Taylor

Grade: A
Up-graded from A.

+1: Main cast.
+1: Supporting cast.
par: Male characters as props and dressing.
+1: History
+1: Made me cry.

[overview on Fandango]


Friday, August 12, 2011

The Walt Disney Family Museum

San Francisco, CA, April 2011 - Walter Elias Disney virtually invented all of the things for which he is rightfully remembered: 1) Mickey Mouse, one of the most internationally recognizable fictitious characters; 2) feature-length animated motion pictures; 3) themed amusement parks; and 4) kids’ television*. Many biographies have been written about his life and work, and his legacy of family entertainment has inspired generation after generation. Walt Disney is just about as legendary and ubiquitous and a person can get and is nearly inextricably woven into the American experience. With such a standing, it is not so much that he deserves a museum in tribute to his accomplishments, but the world needs a museum to shine light on the life of the man.

When legends are formed, deeds become myths and accomplishments sorted out in a list of bulleted facts. It is too easy, for example, to sum up George Washington as the general who fought for American Independence and become the first President of the United States of America. It’s simple and neat and is too much like a grade school math problem: 12 x 5 + 1901 = 1961 and will always be 1961. However, human life is full of hard work, tough decisions, and unforeseeable intersections with other lives.

Surpassing either a written biography or filmed documentary, The Walt Disney Family Museum adds tangibility. Owned, operated and founded by The Walt Disney Family Foundation, the museum is not formally associated with the Walt Disney Company. However, it makes excellent use of the talents and archival materials of the Walt Disney Company supplemented by personal items from the Disney family.

Established in 2009, the Museum occupies a retrofitted barracks of the Presidio in San Francisco and is sectioned into 10 galleries each chronologically representing an era of Walt Disney’s life: 1) “Beginnings”, 2) “Hollywood”, 3) “New Horizons in the 1930’s”, 4) “The Move to Features: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, 5) “We Were in a New Business”, 6) “The Toughest Period in my Whole Life”, 7) “Postwar Production”, 8) “Walt and the Natural World”, 9) “The 1950s and 1960s: The Big Screen and Beyond”, 10) “December 15, 1966”. The exhibits and displays make alternating use of video, photographs, models, reproductions, actual possessions and artifacts and audio testimonials, many of which are interactive.

If you have primed yourself by having read up on his life, you may be able to run through the museum’s two floors in under two hours. Exploring each exhibit minimally requires a full afternoon visit. Walt Disney’s first feature-length film occupies it’s own gallery with a comprehensive presentation of its development. By comparison, the ninth gallery is a two-story space featuring a twisting ramp reminiscent of the indoor cue of Disneyland retired “Adventures Thru Inner Space” attraction and a detailed scaled down model of a Disneyland as Walt may have imagined. However, this gallery also house the explosion of Walt’s diverse interests of into television, the 1964 New York World’s Fair and more live action films on the big screen, any one of which could fill their own gallery.

The tour through the galleries ends as abruptly as Walt Disney’s life with the somber tenth gallery with countless tributes to the man. Of course, visitors are lead to a gift shop at the end, a plan often used in Walt’s parks.

Rating: (10/10) D D D D D D D D D D


The Walt Disney Family Museum
104 Montgomery Street
The Presidio of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA 94129
Tel: (415) 345 6800
http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/

* 1) Animator Ub Iwerks designed Mickey Mouse and nearly single-handedly animated Mickey’s first produced short film “Plane Crazy.” 2) The French film “Fantasmagorie” is credited as being the first animated feature film, whereas “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was the first to prove commercially successful; 3) Amusement parks evolved from fairs in Europe, existing since the 16th century and were often dirty and attracted an undesirable element, but Disneyland was planned as a clean and safe family vacation destination; 4) Walt Disney’s was the first of the big Hollywood studios to enter in to the new, competing medium of television with the weekly series “Disneyland” in October 1954.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh [G]
2011 Disney
Directed by Don Hall

Grade: B+
Up-Graded from B

par: Pooh and friends
-1: Christopher Robin re-design
+1: Owl (voice by Craig Ferguson)
par: Fun with storybook text
par: Installment of the franchise

+1 bonus: “The Ballad of Nessie” short lead in.

Note: bonus scene follows the credits.

“The Ballad of Nessie” is a new animated short running before “Winnie the Pooh”.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Can’t Hug Every Cat

SONGIFY THIS: CAN’T HUG EVERY CAT -- a song about loving cats


Overcome by her love of cats, Debbie the online dater conjures an interspecies love song, danceable by all creatures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP4NMoJcFd4&feature=related


The not quite as entertaining meme:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTTwcCVajAc&feature=related

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Missing Missy

Here’s an amusing e-mail play which will appeal to artistic types who have ever served in a client/service situation.

It’s best if you go to the 27b/6 link at the bottom, but in short, it starts here:

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.15am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Poster

Hi
I opened the screen door yesterday and my cat got out and has been missing since then so I was wondering if you are not to busy you could make a poster for me. It has to be A4 and I will photocopy it and put it around my suburb this afternoon.


This is the only photo of her I have she answers to the name Missy and is black and white and about 8 months old. missing on Harper street and my phone number.
Thanks Shan. 



Goes on to here:

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.17am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
I never said I don't like cats. Once, having been invited to a party, I went clothes shopping beforehand and bought a pair of expensive G-Star boots. They were two sizes too small but I wanted them so badly I figured I could just wear them without socks and cut my toenails very short. As the party was only a few blocks from my place, I decided to walk. After the first block, I lost all feeling in my feet. Arriving at the party, I stumbled into a guy named Steven, spilling Malibu & coke onto his white Wham 'Choose Life' t-shirt, and he punched me. An hour or so after the incident, Steven sat down in a chair already occupied by a cat. The surprised cat clawed and snarled causing Steven to leap out of the chair, slip on a rug and strike his forehead onto the corner of a speaker; resulting in a two inch open gash. In its shock, the cat also defecated, leaving Steven with a wet brown stain down the back of his beige cargo pants. I liked that cat.
Attached poster as requested.
Regards, David.



And ends here:

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 1.03pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Fine. That will have to do.


http://www.27bslash6.com/missy.html

27b/6
Disclaimer
This website contains material for my amusement only. You are not granted permission to access the information on this site and if you choose to do so by viewing any of the articles either through this page or from an external link, you agree to waive all rights. This site may contain personal misinformation. Activities and vehicle modifications appearing or described on this site may be potentially dangerous. Unless the word sheep has been used in its correct context somewhere other than in this disclaimer, it does not have any purpose and may be ignored.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Best NASCAR Prayer Ever

Pre-race prayer at the NASCAR Nationwide series race in Nashville TN July 23, 2011



“Boogity, boogity, boogity, amen.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J74y88YuSJ8


The “Songify” auto-tuned version:



“Lord, I want to thank you for my smokin’ hot wife.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZnDt2wEFjk


Ricky’s dinner grace from Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), which may or may not have served as inspiration.



“Dear, Lord Baby Jesus...”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuAUI_0knfk

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Tori Davis

Tori Davis, a.k.a. Tori Cat, is a Visual Development and Environmental Designer, currently working on a series of freelance commissions. Recently finished illustrating for Tim Burton on his upcoming feature, Stop Motion remake of "Fankenweenie".

Rio production still.

Sleeping bear.

Banjo Raccoon.

Edward Scissorhands 20th Anniversary tribute, work in progress.

Visit her blog:
http://toricat.blogspot.com/