My Little CrockPot of News and Thoughts

Trick or Treat: "Pumpkins with mostly happy faces" ... Hope everyone is having a grand Halloween. Our Halloween was fun. My old roommate, Tony and his girlfriend Andrea, came down from Georgia for a visit. We did a lot of fun stuff... Thursday was Waterloo Icehouse and Waterloo Records for food and fun. Friday we hit the Alamo Drafthouse for I HEART HUCKABEES. Very funny movie, by the way. I highly recommend it. Saturday brought a trip to Rudy's for BBQ and a trip to the famed Sixth Street for ghoulish fun... I saw things that made me laugh, cry, and a couple of things that just made me feel dirty. I missed the Dia de los Muertos opening at La Pena. Tony and Andrea had to leave this morning... we hated to see them go, but are excited about their next trip back. This afternoon Amanda and I went and saw THE GRUDGE at a local movie theater. I think I would have enjoyed it if I could have heard it. Apparently all parents in the greater Austin area with Jr High students dropped their kids (with cell phones) off for the five o'clock showing. I think I'm being punished for my short stint as a teacher...

My midweek Celebration: "Pigeon!" ... Man, what is my dedication level to this blog? I've been wondering that a lot lately while I watch TV or play with my toes. I'll just about get up the drive to post, when all of the sudden an episode of MACGYVER will come on and blow my good intentions. I've been posting stuff to the PencilHaus more frequently... but not much more frequently. Blah on me! In the meantime, I come bringing the links of far away lands: Action Tin Toy is a character design & illustration outfit from Malaysia. (link via Don) I had never heard of Chris Harding before, but man! I like his stuff... especially Learn Self Defense. (link via Cartoonbrew) Studio-Rama! Robot Family is a potential series that GoldHouse (Chris Harding and company) are working on. I'd like to see this. NYC Mech (link via Mike) I'm really enjoying Doug Holgate's work. (This may be a repost... I forget sometimes)

A Lost Page in my Sketchbook: "It was a slow day that day; a day for landscapes" ... Last night I picked up my copy of Elliott Smith's latest and final album, From a Basement on the Hill. I've made several attempts to make it through the album but I can't. It's not because the album is boring or "too" depressing. The reason is all because of the ninth track on the record. "Twilight" has been on constant repeat ever since I first heard it. True to his style, this song delivers slightly sad, heartfelt lyrics with a soft acoustic accompaniment, but at the same time it comes across (to me) as being a bit bittersweet. His words turn from the mournful realization of his love for another woman (both he and this other woman are in relationships themselves), too the fanciful "what if" thoughts of if they were together. I've never been in a situation like this, but, through the intimacy of the track, one can almost get a feel of what it must be like. It's a haunting song made even more melancholy by his untimely death, one year ago today... *sigh*

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Over the coarse of it, I discovered a fun blog called RobotJohnny.com. It's run by John Martz, a graphic designer and illustrator, from Toronto. And speaking of RobotJohnny, I found these nice links there: Paul Giambarba has new blog called 100 Years of Illustration and Design, where he hopes to highlight Illustrators and Designers of the past century. It looks very promising. I'll be keeping my eye on this one for sure. A 656-page book containing 2004 of the best New Yorker illustrations of all time! Plus two CD's containing the rest of the New Yorker illustration collection (that's 68,647 illustrations for you kids keeping score at home). Love classic video games from the 80's? Who doesn't! Play them online now! I played Duck Hunt last nite... and I'm happy to report that I still have the gift.

Welcome Back, Kotter: "Poe: Spokesman for the Halloween Season" ... Where have I been lately? Funny you should ask. I'd like to feed you an incredible excuse; one full of action, betrayal, suspense, and just the right amount of quick wit. One that involves a small tribe of cannibals, a lost ambassador to royalty, a handful of stomach ulcers, and a revolver. That would be a lot more engaging to hear than the truth. The truth is, I've just been lazy. There, now you have it. I'll be sitting in the corner, handing my head in shame, and quietly crying myself to sleep... if I'm not too lazy to do that. ... Here's a link to a short, behind-the-scenes look at Blue Sky's upcoming feature, Robots, with director Chris Wedge. Speaking of Robots, I'm definitely gonna have to pick up a copy of Amid's new book, The Art of Robots. Jib Jab has created a follow up to their hugely successful short This Land Is Your Land. It's called Good To Be In D.C. Will Ferrell's portrayal of President George W. Bush was one of the best dead on impressions I've seen in a long time. Sadly the Dubya inspired hilarity left with Ferrell when he decided to leave SNL a couple of years ago. Our cries have been answered! Check out this new Bush political ad starring none other than the Laugh Master himself. ... Now if you'll excuse me, A&M is playing Oklahoma State on TV. GO AGGIES! Happy Birthday Dad!

Yet another something random: "My! Don't we look delicious today!" ... It has been a while since I last posted, so needless to say I have a backlog of links to share. Though most of the time they consist of art and artists, today the links reflect a wide spectrum of all things random. Enjoy! Archieve.org is amazing. To put it in their words "The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) public nonprofit that was founded to build an ‘Internet library,’ with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format." There is literally tons of media covering every topic under the sun. One jewel that I was informed about is Man On The Land. This film, commissioned by the Oil Industry Information Committee of the American Petroleum Institute, was produced in 1951 by UPA. It's a fun film about Man and the evolution of farming, as told through that distinct, one-of-a-kind UPA style. Check it out. The World Beard Championships! Finally, a contest I might have a chance at. Howdy Pardner is the online portfolio of Andrew Brandou. He makes use of cute critters in disturbing scenarios. Comic book publisher Drawn and Quarterly. Zoom Quilt, a collaborative art project. Worth checking out. FWAK has a newly updated website. I enjoyed re-familiarizing myself with their work... especially Dr. Amoeba. ... I've been busy posting other stuff over @ the Pencil Haus... stuff that I don't post here.

Remedies for a Action Packed Weekend: "It's a known fact that rabbits are intimidated by soup" ... Whew! Busy weekend. My parents and sister came down this weekend for my sister's cross country race in town. The days were packed full of site seeing, shopping, and eating... and we watched my sister run too. An interesting thing I learned this weekend: multiple heats of 300+ people running on a muddy race route make for some grotesque imagery. ... Benjamin Carre Catia Chien