Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
we used to buy CDs
Compact discs are on a precipice. There will be a time, perhaps in the next few years, when they are no longer the main way people buy and listen to music. Like records, though, I predict the CD will be around for the rest of our lives. Unlike tapes (or even the 8-track), CDs have staying power. If you like album art, the digital download doesn't compare. The compact disc sound quality (to my ears anyway) is superior, and the discs don't degrade unless you really abuse them.
This is a personal history of music purchasing, not music listening. I don't think there is much writing out there on how people acquire their music, beyond the occasional hyperbolic article entitled something like "CDs Soon Extinct: Is This The End of Record Companies?" Of course listening to the music is the most important part of the process, but how we get to that step has changed over the years, and that interests me enough to share my own story.
I bought my first CD at Target in Tucson, Arizona. My parents had purchased our first CD player maybe a year or two before. I still remember the salesperson selling us the player: "CDs are indestructible. You can throw them like a Frisbee and they won't break." The promise of perfect sound forever, coupled with the amount of space you can save compared to a record collection, was enough incentive for my parents to take the plunge.
Being a kid, it took a while to accumulate the funds to purchase a CD (they were more expensive than tapes). I also had to decide what CD was worth buying. The late 1980's and early 1990's were not exactly a swell time for new music. Being a lifelong Beatles fan, my first CD was a Paul McCartney greatest hits album. It was new, and I already had the Beatles albums on tapes. I still have the CD, for sentimental reasons. It isn't a great album, but it does include Band on the Run.
At first CDs came packaged in something called the "longbox." It was a worthless rectangular cardboard box that you threw away as soon as you opened the shrinkwrap. The longbox's only purpose - perhaps beyond discouraging theft - was to sit the CDs taller on the shelf. Because everybody knows you can't see a compact disc when it's just sitting on a shelf. It needs to be stilted so it's staring you in the face.
I can't remember when stores finally did away with the longbox, but it was maybe midway into the 90's. Long enough that there are millions of these longboxes choking our landfills today. I would hope distributors learned something about packaging from that mess, but the cynic in me doubts it.
I had a few weeks to listen to Paul sing Silly Love Songs before my mom decided I was getting lazy. So, at the tender age of 12, she sent me to work in a warehouse. Speaking of packaging: my job was packing computer software into boxes. At the end of the day, I was called in to the manager's office. "The owner found out that we hired a 12-year-old and she doesn't want that liability. Here's your paycheck." I think he wrote out a personal check instead of a company paystub, such was the stigma of my being there. It was my first job and my first firing, all in the same day.
My mom picked me up and I told her the news. She took it way harder than I did. I think she had hoped my job would lead to me moving into my own apartment and becoming a productive member of society. Instead, I just went to school and made her buy me food, clothing, toothpaste, and underarm deodorant.
On the way home from my failure, we stopped at Target. I used my paycheck (almost all of it, as I recall), to buy my second CD: The Beatles' Help. It was the first time I purchased an album I already owned. Later, we would call the reissuing of an album a "double-dip." Double-dipping is actually the reissue of an album on the same format (like the recent Beatles Remasters). But in practice it had the same outcome: now I had Help twice.
Target used to have rows and rows of new and old music. After a few years, maybe by the mid-to-late 1990's, I outgrew their selection. It was a combination of factors: my tastes became more diverse and less mainstream, and their music selection dwindled to a few new releases and some "Golden Oldie" greatest hits compilations. Once you have the Lynyrd Skynyrd Greatest Hits album and the Beyoncé oeuvre, Target isn't going to help you anymore.
I moved on, like many young men of my generation, to that beautiful technological paradise called Best Buy. Best Buy stole my heart as well as my wallet. I spent countless hours of my high school years perusing the racks of CDs.
There were a few independent music shops in Tucson. Zia Records and PDQ had much larger selections than Best Buy even in its heyday. You could chalk it up to the longer drive to get to either independent store (driving 45 minutes to get somewhere is not unusual in Tucson), or you could point to my still fairly mainstream musical tastes at the time. Both would be right as to why I stuck with Best Buy for most of my CD purchases.
College changed my listening habits forever. I learned that there was good - nay, excellent - new music being made every day. There were bands I never heard on the radio because The Man was keeping me down. That musical oppression riled me up. Fortunately, the cure was all around me in the form of musically liberated friends.
Not only was there a great college radio station, but we had a whole Conservatory churning out classical and jazz players every year. Some colleges have basketball teams to follow. I went to free concerts dozens of times a semester. They wanted an audience and I was more than happy to oblige.
But this post is about purchased, not free, music. And so, just like you may have noticed I omitted the major musical revolution of the first decade of this century, I will linger no further on free student concert-going.
Today I buy my music in two ways. I don't use iTunes unless someone gives me a gift card. I buy CDs from Amazon or from one of two fantastic music stores in Portland. Between those three sources I can find just about anything.
I suppose in this day of reducing our carbon footprint I should reconsider the purchase of physical media, especially when the digital download offers almost as good sound quality and far better portability. But when I want to listen to good music on my home stereo system, look through liner notes, or study stupendous cover art, the compact disc remains my format of choice.
This is a personal history of music purchasing, not music listening. I don't think there is much writing out there on how people acquire their music, beyond the occasional hyperbolic article entitled something like "CDs Soon Extinct: Is This The End of Record Companies?" Of course listening to the music is the most important part of the process, but how we get to that step has changed over the years, and that interests me enough to share my own story.
I bought my first CD at Target in Tucson, Arizona. My parents had purchased our first CD player maybe a year or two before. I still remember the salesperson selling us the player: "CDs are indestructible. You can throw them like a Frisbee and they won't break." The promise of perfect sound forever, coupled with the amount of space you can save compared to a record collection, was enough incentive for my parents to take the plunge.
Being a kid, it took a while to accumulate the funds to purchase a CD (they were more expensive than tapes). I also had to decide what CD was worth buying. The late 1980's and early 1990's were not exactly a swell time for new music. Being a lifelong Beatles fan, my first CD was a Paul McCartney greatest hits album. It was new, and I already had the Beatles albums on tapes. I still have the CD, for sentimental reasons. It isn't a great album, but it does include Band on the Run.
At first CDs came packaged in something called the "longbox." It was a worthless rectangular cardboard box that you threw away as soon as you opened the shrinkwrap. The longbox's only purpose - perhaps beyond discouraging theft - was to sit the CDs taller on the shelf. Because everybody knows you can't see a compact disc when it's just sitting on a shelf. It needs to be stilted so it's staring you in the face.
I can't remember when stores finally did away with the longbox, but it was maybe midway into the 90's. Long enough that there are millions of these longboxes choking our landfills today. I would hope distributors learned something about packaging from that mess, but the cynic in me doubts it.
I had a few weeks to listen to Paul sing Silly Love Songs before my mom decided I was getting lazy. So, at the tender age of 12, she sent me to work in a warehouse. Speaking of packaging: my job was packing computer software into boxes. At the end of the day, I was called in to the manager's office. "The owner found out that we hired a 12-year-old and she doesn't want that liability. Here's your paycheck." I think he wrote out a personal check instead of a company paystub, such was the stigma of my being there. It was my first job and my first firing, all in the same day.
My mom picked me up and I told her the news. She took it way harder than I did. I think she had hoped my job would lead to me moving into my own apartment and becoming a productive member of society. Instead, I just went to school and made her buy me food, clothing, toothpaste, and underarm deodorant.
On the way home from my failure, we stopped at Target. I used my paycheck (almost all of it, as I recall), to buy my second CD: The Beatles' Help. It was the first time I purchased an album I already owned. Later, we would call the reissuing of an album a "double-dip." Double-dipping is actually the reissue of an album on the same format (like the recent Beatles Remasters). But in practice it had the same outcome: now I had Help twice.
Target used to have rows and rows of new and old music. After a few years, maybe by the mid-to-late 1990's, I outgrew their selection. It was a combination of factors: my tastes became more diverse and less mainstream, and their music selection dwindled to a few new releases and some "Golden Oldie" greatest hits compilations. Once you have the Lynyrd Skynyrd Greatest Hits album and the Beyoncé oeuvre, Target isn't going to help you anymore.
I moved on, like many young men of my generation, to that beautiful technological paradise called Best Buy. Best Buy stole my heart as well as my wallet. I spent countless hours of my high school years perusing the racks of CDs.
There were a few independent music shops in Tucson. Zia Records and PDQ had much larger selections than Best Buy even in its heyday. You could chalk it up to the longer drive to get to either independent store (driving 45 minutes to get somewhere is not unusual in Tucson), or you could point to my still fairly mainstream musical tastes at the time. Both would be right as to why I stuck with Best Buy for most of my CD purchases.
College changed my listening habits forever. I learned that there was good - nay, excellent - new music being made every day. There were bands I never heard on the radio because The Man was keeping me down. That musical oppression riled me up. Fortunately, the cure was all around me in the form of musically liberated friends.
Not only was there a great college radio station, but we had a whole Conservatory churning out classical and jazz players every year. Some colleges have basketball teams to follow. I went to free concerts dozens of times a semester. They wanted an audience and I was more than happy to oblige.
But this post is about purchased, not free, music. And so, just like you may have noticed I omitted the major musical revolution of the first decade of this century, I will linger no further on free student concert-going.
Today I buy my music in two ways. I don't use iTunes unless someone gives me a gift card. I buy CDs from Amazon or from one of two fantastic music stores in Portland. Between those three sources I can find just about anything.
I suppose in this day of reducing our carbon footprint I should reconsider the purchase of physical media, especially when the digital download offers almost as good sound quality and far better portability. But when I want to listen to good music on my home stereo system, look through liner notes, or study stupendous cover art, the compact disc remains my format of choice.
Friday, March 26, 2010
friday robots: tower robots
I could've also called them Spine Robots, since they resemble both office towers and vertebrae. This is a skyline I'd like to see someday. Metropolis, indeed.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
write your own children's book
Adjective - Animal - Twist Ending
The Saddest Marmot - her mother left her
The Befuddled Moose - he's the reincarnation of Elvis
The Oddest Rooster - he's a she!
The Quick Walrus - he becomes a world-famous track star, only to be disqualified at the Olympics for doping
Now you try!
The Saddest Marmot - her mother left her
The Befuddled Moose - he's the reincarnation of Elvis
The Oddest Rooster - he's a she!
The Quick Walrus - he becomes a world-famous track star, only to be disqualified at the Olympics for doping
Now you try!
Monday, March 22, 2010
COMING SOON
A NEW FALLING ROCK NATIONAL PARK BOOK!!!!!!!!!
I just sent in all the files to the printer for Falling Rock Book 4, now titled:
It will feature a super deluxe chipboard cover and a collection of 64 Falling Rock comics from the past year. Pinball Press will again be the printer, and, like last year, See America First! will feature all recycled paper and soy-based ink. You can simultaneously enjoy your comics AND save the planet.
Now is the time to purchase the first three Falling Rock books so you can catch up. I will post a new purchase link as soon as I have See America First! in my hands.
I just sent in all the files to the printer for Falling Rock Book 4, now titled:
It will feature a super deluxe chipboard cover and a collection of 64 Falling Rock comics from the past year. Pinball Press will again be the printer, and, like last year, See America First! will feature all recycled paper and soy-based ink. You can simultaneously enjoy your comics AND save the planet.Now is the time to purchase the first three Falling Rock books so you can catch up. I will post a new purchase link as soon as I have See America First! in my hands.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
the noble experiment
Close readers of this blog will have noticed a recurring tag on nearly every post. June 2, 2009 was the first time I used "Rashida Jones" as a tag in this blog. My aim was simple: get the actress to notice my blog and, by extension, me. It's been about 9 months of religiously tagging every post with "Rashida Jones" and the closest celebrity search that brings people to this blog is "Alan Rickman."
Don't get me wrong; I'm honored to be associated with that great British thespian. I've learned to stop worrying and love the Rickman.
With this post I hereby retire the tag "Rashida Jones" from this blog. Consider it an experiment run its course. If any of you, my dear readers, happen to run into Ms. Jones and she expresses sadness over the conclusion of my experiment, tell her she can contact me and I will consider bringing the tag out of retirement.
With that bit of business done, let's get back to talking about comics, dinosaurs, robots, zombies, and pirates.
Don't get me wrong; I'm honored to be associated with that great British thespian. I've learned to stop worrying and love the Rickman.
With this post I hereby retire the tag "Rashida Jones" from this blog. Consider it an experiment run its course. If any of you, my dear readers, happen to run into Ms. Jones and she expresses sadness over the conclusion of my experiment, tell her she can contact me and I will consider bringing the tag out of retirement.
With that bit of business done, let's get back to talking about comics, dinosaurs, robots, zombies, and pirates.
Friday, March 19, 2010
friday robots: robots in the snow
This week I've been so busy putting together the fourth Falling Rock book collection that I almost didn't have time to discover some new Friday Robots. I will be at the Stumptown Comics Fest at the end of April and the fourth book will collect the "best of" from the past year of Falling Rock National Park. You'll get to relive the adventure of Carver's brother, the drive to the coast, and the witches, among others. Mr. Miserable will make a cameo!
I'll be posting more about the book as its publication nears. For now, and without further ado, may I present these newly unearthed Friday Robots:
I'll be posting more about the book as its publication nears. For now, and without further ado, may I present these newly unearthed Friday Robots:
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
top 40, march 2010
As inspired by comics guru John Porcellino in King-Cat Comics, I present my current Top 40 - in no particular order.
1. Map of My Heart, collection of King-Cat Comics by John Porcellino.
2. Tyrant. Dinosaur comic book by Steve Bissette.
3. Batman as drawn by Kelley Jones.
4. The Apartment, Jack Lemmon
5. Newspapers that mention my comics! (TimeOut Chicago being the most recent...)
6. IRM, Charlotte Gainsbourg
7. Animatronic dinosaurs, until we can get some real ones.
8. Beatles Rock Band
9. July Flame, Laura Veirs
10. Ken Burns' National Parks documentary
11. WPA posters
12. Quiche
13. Pancakes made by my wife.
14. Spring bloomin'
15. Jurassic Park 3, surprisingly good.
16. Bend, Oregon
17. Roast Beast
18. Working on my next Falling Rock book collection. (Book 4.)
19. Knowing the Portland Beavers minor league baseball team will be here at least one more season.
20. My Weakness is Strong, Patton Oswalt
21. Live at the Harlem Square Club, Sam Cooke
22. Conan O'Brien in Eugene, Oregon
23. The Oscars, even though my favorites didn't win (again).
24. Yeti Imperial Stout, by Great Divide Brewing Company
25. Jubel 2010, by Deschutes Brewery
26. Tom Hanks as Charlie Wilson
27. Sada Chai
28. Columbia Sportswear
29. The parents who named their baby daughter Ke$ha
30. My cat sitting on my chest while I read late at night
...and more...
* * *
1. Map of My Heart, collection of King-Cat Comics by John Porcellino.
2. Tyrant. Dinosaur comic book by Steve Bissette.
3. Batman as drawn by Kelley Jones.
4. The Apartment, Jack Lemmon
5. Newspapers that mention my comics! (TimeOut Chicago being the most recent...)
6. IRM, Charlotte Gainsbourg
7. Animatronic dinosaurs, until we can get some real ones.
8. Beatles Rock Band
9. July Flame, Laura Veirs
10. Ken Burns' National Parks documentary
11. WPA posters
12. Quiche
13. Pancakes made by my wife.
14. Spring bloomin'
15. Jurassic Park 3, surprisingly good.
16. Bend, Oregon
17. Roast Beast
18. Working on my next Falling Rock book collection. (Book 4.)
19. Knowing the Portland Beavers minor league baseball team will be here at least one more season.
20. My Weakness is Strong, Patton Oswalt
21. Live at the Harlem Square Club, Sam Cooke
22. Conan O'Brien in Eugene, Oregon
23. The Oscars, even though my favorites didn't win (again).
24. Yeti Imperial Stout, by Great Divide Brewing Company
25. Jubel 2010, by Deschutes Brewery
26. Tom Hanks as Charlie Wilson
27. Sada Chai
28. Columbia Sportswear
29. The parents who named their baby daughter Ke$ha
30. My cat sitting on my chest while I read late at night
...and more...
* * *
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
you probably think this post is about you
For years people have been asking Carly Simon who the song 'You're So Vain' is about. Since she slept with Warren Beatty and Mick Jagger, she has - by extension - slept with 3/4 the population of the world. The song could almost literally be about all of us.
Carly has played coy since 1973; there is no reason to suspect she's about to spill the beans anytime soon. So, my dear readers, I'm going to spill the beans for her. The song is a composite of men, as she's long hinted it was. Who those men are will definitely surprise you.
1) Galactus. This destroyer of worlds was created by Jack 'King' Kirby in 1966 and has been causing trouble for superheroes ever since. He took some time off blowing up galaxies to sleep with Carly Simon in 1967-1968.
2) Skeletor. Though most of us know Skeletor as the rival to He-Man in the 1980's, Skeletor was a freshman State Senator in New York in the early Sixties. He and Carly Simon smoked a little weed late one night and the rest is history.
3) Alan Rickman. The Dark Avenger. Dashing, British, and sometimes quite evil, Alan Rickman has been burning up the silver screen for many years. Before that, he burned up the bedsheets with Carly Simon in 1969.
4) Jabba the Hut. Seen here with his favorite fuzzy bunny. Jabba the Hut loves to party, and coincidentally so does Carly Simon. When his stretch limo pulled up to a young singer/songwriter hawking tunes for change, Carly jumped at the chance to play for a "private party" back at Hut Manor.
5) The Living Brain. Who wouldn't fall for this guy?
I certainly hope you have been properly educated as to the men behind the hit song 'You're So Vain.' These men are all vain, but that doesn't mean we don't love 'em.
Carly has played coy since 1973; there is no reason to suspect she's about to spill the beans anytime soon. So, my dear readers, I'm going to spill the beans for her. The song is a composite of men, as she's long hinted it was. Who those men are will definitely surprise you.
1) Galactus. This destroyer of worlds was created by Jack 'King' Kirby in 1966 and has been causing trouble for superheroes ever since. He took some time off blowing up galaxies to sleep with Carly Simon in 1967-1968.
2) Skeletor. Though most of us know Skeletor as the rival to He-Man in the 1980's, Skeletor was a freshman State Senator in New York in the early Sixties. He and Carly Simon smoked a little weed late one night and the rest is history.
3) Alan Rickman. The Dark Avenger. Dashing, British, and sometimes quite evil, Alan Rickman has been burning up the silver screen for many years. Before that, he burned up the bedsheets with Carly Simon in 1969.
4) Jabba the Hut. Seen here with his favorite fuzzy bunny. Jabba the Hut loves to party, and coincidentally so does Carly Simon. When his stretch limo pulled up to a young singer/songwriter hawking tunes for change, Carly jumped at the chance to play for a "private party" back at Hut Manor.
5) The Living Brain. Who wouldn't fall for this guy?I certainly hope you have been properly educated as to the men behind the hit song 'You're So Vain.' These men are all vain, but that doesn't mean we don't love 'em.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
time out, chicago
Holy smokes!
Time Out Chicago went to Quimby's Bookstore to talk about zines for the first annual Chicago Zine Fest, and Welcome to Falling Rock National Park got a prominent mention!
Thanks go to Quimby's employee and fellow Stumptown alum Neil Brideau for foisting my comic into the picture. I also have to thank my Chicago Street Team for keeping Falling Rock in stock at that venerable comic shop.
Time Out Chicago went to Quimby's Bookstore to talk about zines for the first annual Chicago Zine Fest, and Welcome to Falling Rock National Park got a prominent mention!
Thanks go to Quimby's employee and fellow Stumptown alum Neil Brideau for foisting my comic into the picture. I also have to thank my Chicago Street Team for keeping Falling Rock in stock at that venerable comic shop.
Friday, March 12, 2010
friday robots: che robots
This week's Friday Robots were partly inspired by this (unused) cover art for the Steven Soderbergh film CHE:
NEXT WEEK: Friday Robots teach you that nationalized health care is good for you, good for doctors, yet bad for huge conglomerates.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
medieval penitential sex flowchart
I tend to keep papers. Receipts, movie stubs, photos and illustrations from magazines, and of course funny things I've photocopied from books. Which makes sense: if you're going to keep things, why not keep lightweight and information-packed things? At least, that's what I say to myself when I look at my files full of random bits of paper. Someday they'll all come in useful.
Today, one of those scraps of paper has indeed made itself useful. It is a penitential flowchart on when you can and, more importantly, when you can't have sex with your partner.
I couldn't remember exactly where I got this; fortunately the internet exists to answer exactly these type of questions. First of all, penitents are lists of sins and the penances prescribed for them. Penitents were used in Medieval times first in Ireland, where sin is everywhere, then spread to England because they're a bunch of sinners as well. In this particular case, the flowchart doesn't list the specific penance, but it would have been either prayer or cash payment to the Church. Or both!
As a Jew I find this chart silly and hilarious, but back in the day Christians hung this in their homes, right above the bed. Which just goes to show, one man's religion is another man's laugh riot.*
*Don't even get me started on the weird things about Judaism. See: any Woody Allen movie.
Today, one of those scraps of paper has indeed made itself useful. It is a penitential flowchart on when you can and, more importantly, when you can't have sex with your partner.
I couldn't remember exactly where I got this; fortunately the internet exists to answer exactly these type of questions. First of all, penitents are lists of sins and the penances prescribed for them. Penitents were used in Medieval times first in Ireland, where sin is everywhere, then spread to England because they're a bunch of sinners as well. In this particular case, the flowchart doesn't list the specific penance, but it would have been either prayer or cash payment to the Church. Or both!As a Jew I find this chart silly and hilarious, but back in the day Christians hung this in their homes, right above the bed. Which just goes to show, one man's religion is another man's laugh riot.*
*Don't even get me started on the weird things about Judaism. See: any Woody Allen movie.
Monday, March 8, 2010
come see
This poster for Falling Rock was inspired by WPA posters for various national parks. They either had the words "COME SEE" or "SEE AMERICA" printed on them, a beckoning for Americans to visit their beautiful natural wonders.Unfortunately you can't physically visit Falling Rock National Park, but you can always see new dispatches from that park at my website. Falling Rock exists in the minds of all its readers, so let's make it grow, huh?
Oh, and why doesn't Obama bring back the Works Progress Administration? We need to realize there's nothing wrong with paying artists to make art.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
The Falling Rock Iron Man Workout
Last week our partner blogger McBone outlined a miracle diet that would guarantee a physique rivaling that of a Greek God.Countless scientific studies have proven that eating the right food can make you healthy, and even keep you alive. But scientists also know that food alone cannot make you fit.
Are you sick of being so rail thin that girls can see right through you to better looking men? Or so chubby that children mistake you for a beach ball? Don't let your insecurities hold you back any longer!
Falling Rock presents the Military Preparedness Exercise Regime (FRMPER for short). You don't actually have to enlist in the marines when you're done with this regime, but you could.
It's so simple, even a moron could follow these directions!
When you wake up, do thirty squats before leaving the bed. Change into comfortable clothing. It's important to dress appropriately for exercise.
Now do a quick 2.4 mile swim in the ocean, a refreshing 112 mile bike ride, and finish off your set with a 26.2 mile run. You'll feel like Robert Downey Jr. in that movie nobody can remember the name of.
Every day you'll feel yourself getting stronger, with all the extra confidence that goes along with it. Falling Rock guarantees you'll be a muscled man-wich by the end of the month. Girls will be flocking to you (or boys, if you swing that way). You'll never get picked last for the softball team, that's for sure!
Get on the FRMPER and get into shape!*
*Starting a new exercise routine can cause unwanted health effects such as heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, tinnitus, blood in stool, hypothermia, hallucinations, and even death. Consult your doctor before starting a new routine.
Friday, March 5, 2010
friday robots: sunset seaside
I've been working on painting this sunset I saw in Arizona, but when I scanned it in for Friday Robots I ended up making it look more like the ocean. I still like it, though.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
a good year for animation
2009 was an especially good year for animated movies. Live-action movies, about normal. A few good ones, mostly crap. But the cartoons really knocked it out of the park.The four Animated Features up for the Academy Award this Sunday are: Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and the Frog, The Secret of Kells, and Up. Up is also nominated for Best Picture.
Coraline (made right here in Portland, Oregon) opened in February. Coraline has my vote for best animated feature. Its use of stop-motion filming is by far the best I've seen, ever. If Wallace and Gromit made stop-motion a viable art form again (and don't forget their latest adventure is up for Best Animated Short Film), and Nightmare Before Christmas made it viable for feature-length films, then Coraline is the end result of this new resurgence. Every set is beautiful, every character full of life. Add to this the fact that they filmed it in 3D, allowing you to see the sets in all their glory, and you've got a true masterpiece. Coraline is a work of art, and fun to watch.
I also loved Fantastic Mr. Fox. Filmed with stop-motion animation, Wes Anderson made what may be his best movie yet. Here's one good example (the first?) of using famous actors for voice work. George Clooney and Meryl Streep put in fine performances as Mr. and Mrs. Fox, and Jason Schwartzman really shines as Ash, the Fox's under-appreciated son. But Wes Anderson is no animator. He basically had a good idea and got very talented people to put it together for him. And though I truly enjoyed the animation, it wasn't groundbreaking.
I haven't seen The Princess and the Frog or Secret of Kells. What I will say is, I'm glad none of the crap Dreamworks routinely tosses into theaters made it into this award category. I don't know of an animation company that hates children as much as Dreamworks. Their cartoons are an affront to everything that is good in this country. They even make me question the good name of Steven Spielberg. Why would he be associated with this smut?
Finally, Up. Up should not win Best Animated Feature. Up should win Best Picture, for which it is also nominated. Nowhere else on the cinematic landscape of 2009 will you find such interesting characters or engrossing plot. A completely perfect viewing experience. Up defines what makes movies great. Like Wall-E in 2008, Up shows everybody that cartoons can tell a story better than live-action. I'm just going to put this out there: cartoons are cool.
Monday, March 1, 2010
michael kors has got to go
Every weekend my lovely wife Isis and I sit down to watch Project Runway. We make our own decisions as to who made the best and worst design that week. Well, Isis critiques; I provide "color commentary" a la Fred Willard's character in Best in Show. Non sequiturs, inappropriate jokes, completely bogus questions. Really, it's amazing my wife puts up with me.Anyway, the one thing we've both come to agree upon is that Michael Kors has got to go. Unlike Tim Gunn, who makes positive suggestions to the contestants, and Nina Garcia, who at least attempts to highlight both positive and negative aspects of each design, Kors acts as the resident curmudgeon, doling out insults with the verve of a man who is belatedly lashing out at his high school tormentors.
The question is, who can replace Michael Kors? Who can possibly replace the great Michael Kors? We at Falling Rock have compiled a list of names for the producers of Project Runway to consider.
Bruce Springsteen.
Seen here in 1986, "The Boss" obviously knows fashion. He lives fashion every day of his awesome, awesome life. He'll give bonus points to designers who include, in their descriptions of their pieces, the phrase "this dress will allow the wearer to bust out of this nowhere town, go down that hard road, and find the light." Right on.Mickey Rourke.
Rourke, in The Wrestler, bought his college-age daughter a bright green windbreaker with a "S" on the front. (Her name was Stephanie.) This alone puts him in the top echelons of fashion.Sambora the cat.
Though our cat has never worn a stitch of clothing in her life, Sambora has a highly developed fashion sense. If by "fashion sense" you mean "thick coat of fur." She did design a successful line of ripped-leg pants, of which me and my wife are the sole owners. She is not declawed.So there you go, Project Runway. Take this blogger's suggestions and run with them. I can't speak for Mssrs Springsteen and Rourke, but Sambora's schedule is wide open. You would, however, have to work around the 23 hours per day that she is asleep.
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