photo: cake for me

photo: F*** Like Rabbits

Font Conference

it's obvious that graphic designers didn't make this movie about fonts. these cats don't know squat about typefaces. (oh boy, here i go.) par example.. the french guy should totally be didot and not french script, and rage italic shouldn't be some lame german. they just personified the typeface name with no historical or cultural context, which makes the movie a lot more shallow than it could have been and prevents anyone from learning anything about typefaces. nonetheless, it's still ridiculous and good for a laugh.

one other type nerd nitpicky thing to say, the old dudes would never call them fonts.. they'd call them typefaces. fonts only existed with the advent of computers, which weren't around in "their time." also, dingbats have been used in printing presses for centuries, i.e., pointing hands, flourishes, bullet points -- ornamental type. letters actually weren't "good enough", which is why they invented dingbats to take up space on the page. maybe they weren't collected into one typeface, but they've been around far longer than those old doods. (ok, that was more than one type nerd nitpicky thing. i'm done now.)

but curse you, comic sans, for saving the day. they knew that would totally get on every graphic designers' nerves.



shared with me by james hand(some)ley mullen

"He Hit Me (But it Felt Like a Kiss)" by The Crystals

i am a big big fan of old music (and old men). especially 60s music. there's a charm to the songwriting of how simple love seemed to be back then. and i love how desperate they all get, like they'll melt into a puddle of ooze and their empty soul will wander the earth if the person they love leaves them. it's all very romantic to the point of cheese, but hey -- i certainly enjoy it.

now this song.. it's weird. it's equating domestic violence with love. and it's demented. the crystals also sang hits like "da doo ron ron ron," "then he kissed me," and my personal favorite, "he's a rebel."

"if he didn't care for me, i could never have made him mad, but he hit me, and i was glad"

the frick.

"True Affection" - The Blow

Here's a song Chris sent me. It's a cute, mellow synthpop song, with wispy vocals and a simple beat. Kind of reminds me of Freezepop's low-tempo songs. Except with less synth, more Casio.

As far as song content goes...I'll let the lyrics speak for themselves. The video itself reminds of my Animation Basics class. Lots of simple, low-budget stop-motion and puppetry. I'd be thrilled to be the squid that nabs that cupcake.



P.S. Speaking of Freezepop, here's a classic song about everyone's favorite "boy" (whatever he is) known as Phillipe. (HUGS!)

100% hot echidnas making out

people have told me it looks like chris lee's work.
though that is a compliment, i'd rather it look like my own
last thing i'd like to be accused of is being a biter
o_O

snog = kiss, make out

ps. i just added the music, and i love how it coincidentally syncs up.
and i apologize for the horrible compression. i'll see if vimeo is better.

Berko

Our lovely friend Bocket received this for her birthday today (happy birthday Sarah!). I think i enjoyed it because I saw it as more of an elaborate "birthday card", than a real music video. Also, it has been my goal to have one of these outfits. And learn the harpsichord.

These slow motion cameras sure are becoming popular lately.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog

EDIT #1: Because I want to spread the love, and because you (dear, slow reader) missed the boat on this fabulous musical, it is still online at WhedonTube.com. But you should still support creativity by getting the DVD (apparently the director's commentary will be sung!).

EDIT #2: If you've already watched the episodes, but can't get those catchy songs out of your head, the official soundtrack is coming out later, I believe. But if you absolutely need your fix NOW, I'm sure there are streaming-quality rips available for download somewhere.

During the Writer's Strike 2008, Joss Whedon (of Buffy and Firefly fame) got bored. So instead of twiddling his thumbs and worrying about his next paycheck, he decided to get creative. He made a short series of low-budget video "blogs" chronicling an aspiring supervillain, Dr. Horrible; his crush from the laundromat, Penny; and his (douchebag) superhero nemesis, Capt. Hammer.

What makes this different from any other internet video blog is that it's a musical. Also, did I mention that Neil Patrick Harris is the main character? The series is posted for free on the Dr. Horrible website for a week; after that, it gets taken down and is available on iTunes or DVD.

And in case you were too slow, here's a trailer to whet your appetite (or to salt a wound).

ZhuZhu on DeviantArt

This artist goes by the name of ZhuZhu on DeviantArt. He hails from Shanghai, China and actually lectures in Painter courses.

This piece, which I believe refers to the earthquake in China, illustrates two of his major strengths: lighting and economy. Most of his works are loose and more like color sketches than completely rendered paintings, but somehow he manages to get the overall appearance and feeling of the piece across with large, perfectly placed brush strokes. These provide just enough visual information to complete the work without being overly obsessed with detail. His lighting abilities, which are particularly strong in this piece, allow him to create amazing atmospheres that lift the works to a whole other level.

He does have some more highly rendered works in his gallery which look like photographs when taking a quick glance. Just take a look around. Some of it is pretty amazing and its a good source of inspiration if you're looking into painting techniques.

Gallery
http://zhuzhu.deviantart.com/gallery/

can't win