Archive for December, 2008
Disneyland Dream
December 31st, 2008The Library of Congress just named their 2008 inductees of culturally important films to be included in the National Film Registry. These are always interesting, because among the expected Hollywood classics they also include art films, animated shorts, forgotten silent footage and other stuff which might be considered ephemeral. One of this year’s choices, for […]
Ben, Ben, Go Away
December 30th, 2008The L.A. Times reports on the online backlash against Ben “I Am Legend is one of the greatest movies ever made” Lyons. I stopped watching At the Movies when they retooled the once intelligent show into glossy tripe with a bunch of gold comets flying everywhere. I think the telegenic Ben epitomizes where the media […]
Weekly Mishmash: December 21-27
December 28th, 2008The Cheaters (1945). We gave this a cursory viewing when it showed up on Turner Classic Movies — twice — on Christmas night. From Robert Osborne’s glowing introduction, you’d think we were in for an undiscovered Yuletide cinematic gem. Instead, what we got was a dismal screwball comedy that tried way too hard to please. […]
Not Even a Mouse
December 24th, 2008When it comes to yuletide cartoons, honestly, how can you pick just one? The 1941 Tom & Jerry cartoon short The Night Before Christmas was C’s pick for some holiday-themed viewing last night. Sweet sentiment, wonderful background paintings, and classic animation are in abundance on this one. It’s available commercially on the Tom & Jerry […]
Fish Pedicure?
December 22nd, 2008The New York Times compiles the Buzzwords of 2008. From a designer’s standpoint, they did a great job with the type treatment (by Jessica Hische).
Also (sorta) via the NYT: method lust, a weblog devoted to Method cleaning products.
Weekly Mishmash: December 14-20
December 21st, 2008Time for another mishmash, and all I want to do is try and figure out why the shooting victim in Trauma Center: New Blood keeps dying on me. Oh well…
The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969). Another live action Disney discovery courtesy of TCM. This was the first of three films starring Kurt Russel as happy-go-lucky […]
Pee Wee Snowball
December 18th, 2008There are Christmas specials, and then there’s Pee Wee Herman’s 1988 Christmas Special. Here’s the intro to that star-studded opus, along with a very special performance of “The Little Drummer Boy” performed by Grace Jones in a form-fitting plastic bustier. Love those dancing Marines!
Discover a Lovelier You
December 17th, 2008Here’s another swellorama thrift store find to share on flickr. The Nancy Taylor Course was a 1960 four volume self help manual on how to be a fashion model, or at least look like one. Each volume is printed on pale pink paper for maximum femininity, packed with advice on how to attain perfect posture […]
Weekly Mishmash: December 7-13
December 14th, 2008The Black Cauldron (1985). This Disney animated effort has a small cult of fans, although after watching it I don’t really know why. The characters and story are unmemorable, and the animation lacks the usual Disney polish (apparently this was the first film after Disney’s old guard was let go and they needed to train […]
Magnificent Marble Machine Mania
December 10th, 2008Time for our weekly video clip. If the thought of Florence Henderson and Roddy MacDowall playing on a game show with a super cool-looking but ultimately disappointing gigantic pinball machine floats yer boat — have I got a clip for you! Hosted by Art James, The Magnificent Marble Machine ran for a single season on […]
Books, Wished After and Not
December 9th, 2008Right now I’m going through the yearly conundrum of what to put on our holiday cards. This piece on the favorite book covers of 2008 is good for some visual inspiration. So is a complete set of scans from the 1980 Sears Christmas catalog, albeit in a completely different way. Looky here:
David Klein’s Amazing Animals
December 8th, 2008A couple of weeks back, I blogged about vintage illustrator David Klein. An auction was recently held in New York City of artwork from Klein’s estate. Christopher bid on a few items, winning a charming set of pencil drawings and cut acetate studies that Klein did for a 1969 bank campaign. On his website, he’s […]
Weekly Mishmash: November 30 - December 6
December 7th, 2008The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2005). Exceptional documentary on the cult musician Daniel Johnston. Johnston’s art is a love-it-or-hate-it thing, but the beauty of this film is that it’s still compelling despite the divisive nature of its subject. The film doesn’t shy away from Johnston’s mental illness and the fact that people might be exploiting […]
Attempted Layer Cake
December 4th, 2008My first attempt at baking a layer cake came out … interesting. It’s very lopsided and I ran out of cream cheese icing for the sides, but this cake is just for us — so it only has to taste delicious (for that it gets a blue ribbon). For extra specialness, I drew a smiley […]
Think of Laura
December 3rd, 2008Although I’m currently busy with a lot of crap, I surely can break away from said crap to share a Wednesday video curiosity — right? Today it’s the music video for “Spanish Eddie,” a 1985 semi-hit from the late, great Laura Branigan. I always liked this tune, something of a “Gloria” rehash with intrigue-filled but […]
