Saturday, March 17, 2007
TWO OIL SKETCHES BY RUBENS
Thursday, March 15, 2007
WHEN THE SUNDAY FUNNIES ACTUALLY WERE FUNNY
Here's Rudolph Dirks' "Katzenjammer Kids" from 1902! Click to enlarge. This is better than anything in the funnies now and it's more than a hundred years old! Good Grief! Where did we go astray!?
I love the spacious layouts. Having room to breathe makes the action funnier somehow.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
STAGE DESIGN
This is too big a subject to cover in one post but I can still put up some pretty pictures. My interest in stage design comes from being blown away by the sets (or the influence of sets) in cartoons like "What's Opera, Doc?" and animated features like "Fantasia" and "Alice in Wonderland." The backdrop above is from "Guys and Dolls" (1950) but it also looks a lot like the street outside the stadium in "Baseball Bugs." Animation is full of theatrical influence.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM9nLstw87ODxCPn8xXo8DhWkCUGE4pO6JiTTf_LIXwkcacmifIcW7Z8n_ihb4TdmdVA2UuTIZJav91mZMbTK5DNSl5pFiAsvrdPfkenZu3GdoE0oxiY7FG6HzywFx374iI-B6Hg/s400/46m.jpg)
ANOTHER APOLOGY TO MIKE
I don't have the words to express my sorrow so I thought I would read from book that puts into words some of what I feel. It's a childrens' book and the protaginist even looks like Mike. I'll just scan it in. It's named for the dog in the story: "Poohul."
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxc3exqY6M8a3xKNMpIvMCT9y6D83kbDR9u1wU2UBsYC72cWHwpUC7UYDgxJdS7_pR1Qa_MsqthQXXmHrwKgKkqgesFrJZtM2Z7HhK0ujX8WSMOdYwzmXy8Rz2h16k2m_6M_xmQ/s320/42.png)
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
APOLOGY TO MIKE
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXQoFgPfkR08h46yP0jCovnYZv9q3mZ7WqSZlvKD7ZxqCJzY6moyvhGPsGlhnFYAKNj9iEFATcI47crxteZI2px-Oi_ZtCD-ZW5L4Dg1ehXoGtIIdVciIU4dcaX_-nEdmvzoDUyA/s640/45z.jpg)
Directions to my house: park near the wall (above); don't worry about your car, the valet will take care of it.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQLZcvWTHW37ur97lMVVC57eTRdqgYhaLfrY8e9rqUXYLTc3KXCuYwmH6vQUdWlhxV0qdqK9bP65oSAr0XMDxcnph8X2RchIoRgvnnnt1cx1b0ueqX5gWqBKL5ua2dHfWvPsxtQQ/s400/44c.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitgGfdGdl9tB4kvdaKyN2-ZNoewg9qQmt1mmQnpV6WuvlyqSmDdJWQ6FC7ue5UAKhHhJWzILHW1N1CQBK9-LHcP0AM1ujuzRdnEmO1j3fbJGJwtak1l7ZdwEvK0cbNAdtSyKzs0A/s400/44.jpg)
Monday, March 12, 2007
CARTOONING'S "GREAT EXTINCTION"
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRNcT1LqI9FIh3DCS8Wv3_TjNF87P4wJ5BXfxoyJXtvlWpFlOPLZDHNiIafdZTq3r_SBinB1FmyFPI2luRoogmd1Qp0nEvuPxzPDztX-MeiQV6ys3p8IdvwKPl8Xy-Ue9rCVDi7w/s400/46c.gif)
Don't believe me? Look at Lantz's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (above) which I assume is close to the design Disney used when he invented the character in the 20s. It's a bit flat but it has guts and looks like it can sustain comedy. I can imagine this guy putting a hot iron in his girlfriend's underpants.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKxHHGgYWjheAvP9hSks_ussFTVmBGmD8KmvR6JOcusZtFKavEd62X2kYHNMzfpxr5UGjT4OfaJbaubmKoNBQIS9_05-TA8OjEr-4w40gX1GBisyos3A0gHsp6_P9o1Rh-p2I4A/s400/46e.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihU-ysIucFUB6845_BoaecLLheSn98I1Tlp3xTSNFOTlk2ZjJnw3_j1SqR4PMeFbk1E5JohuSSbAnwgD2rt0w2zQndyw-3uL57CxoLckVrnz-GFAjB35kZqlWw9Dnt2pvtrvF1DQ/s400/46f.gif)
BEATNIK POETRY
Sorry to put up more YouTube videos. I really am overdoing it. I'll return to mostly print, I promise. Anyway, here's the poem that opens up the film, "Trainspotting." It's actually a good poem, or at least it seems that way when given the star treatment that the filmmaker gave it. Technically it's a punk poem rather than a beatnik poem but the beatnik pedigree is pretty obvious when you hear it.
This is an awful poem but it's too funny to exclude. Were beatniks really like this?
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