The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
This year’s winning Oscar for Best Animated Short by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg is worth a watch. This 15 minute short is sure to move fellow avid readers (or anyone else).
Ascent of Man
As a lover of retro-futurist illustration, I recently came across a presentation (via Boing Boing) by Illustrator/Artist Bruce McCall. He does a great job of putting to words the reason I love retro-futurist art – the optimistic, over-the-top and sometimes ridiculous illustration like that found on the covers of Popular Mechanics in the 30′s, 40′s and 50′s. He’s also designed a few of the wittier New Yorker covers, one of which was put to animation by the talent at Smiley Guy Studios. You can watch the presentation here.
The Oatmeal: How to Suck at Facebok
To all my Facebook friends out there, here’s a humorous rant about the typical Facebook types. If you’re easily offended, you may not want to read this. It’s a little bit o’ smartass, but I like it.
I’ve started following TheOatmeal’s posts since reading “How to use an Apostrophe“. I think his illustrations are fun and his site is a great example of simple, clean web design.
The Passenger
This animated short by Chris Jones is a dark and humerous style that I love. “Beware the Goldfish” is an apt description from io9.
Take the Yellow Lane to Dallas
Here’s a fantastic Disneyland video from 1958, “Magic Highway USA” that explains all the wonderful technology we should be seeing today. This includes, color-coded lanes (apparently, yellow leads to Dallas), Ceramic keels that creates bridges as it traverses the crossing, and escalators for cars for crossing difficult or steep mountains.
Unfortunately, it seems that we’ve only slightly improved our roads over those that the Roman’s built. Our usage has increased so quickly that we are in a never-ending loop of repairs and relaying pavement.
I wonder what will happen with the crisscross pattern of highways when we all switch to transporters or flying cars… perhaps we’ll finally have plenty of green space like Boston’s Big Dig central artery re-purposing.
I wonder what the no hover-car parking signs will look like…
Stare Into the Sun
As a lover of funky illustration and good music, I was happy to find this video illustrated by Ian Stevenson with music by James Scott & The Town.
Thanks to Alex over at It’s Nice That
Ah… Cool, Cool Halloween
by Matthew Kirscht
Last year for Halloween we sat on our front porch sipping wine while the neighborhood parents strolled by with their kids. One of the advantages of living in Dallas is the weather in October. However, with temperatures in the 100′s here in Texas for what seems like years, I’ve forgotten how nice the winters are here.
Luckily, I found Matthew Kirscht’s art that’s inspired by vintage holiday imagery. I love this style, and makes me feel like a kid again (in cooler weather).
Thanks, Kirsten Anderson at Right Some Good
The Sultan’s Elephant
The only thing more mesmerizing than this giant puppet is the music. This little girl was created by by the Royal de Luxe theater company for a show called The Sultan’s Elephant. The show has come and gone, but check out the video and the talent that went into creating the show.
Thanks to the Make: blog.
Little Girl Giant Plays in the Park from XINERGY on Vimeo.
Red Nose Curiosity
Thanks to Cory Doctorow over at Boing Boing, I’ve been enjoying some great photography at Red Nose Studio. I just love the odd little worlds they’ve created in these images. Of course, I love anything odd. I often wish I could just escape into these little worlds.
Oh, and check out “The Look Book”; I’ve added it to my reading list.
Teach the Controversy!
I’m all about teaching alternative theories to evolution, so I bought a T-shirt to prove it. (Hey, if you buy the T-shirt, it makes it so). Wearscience.com has some great designs promoting “Teach the Controversy”, including the aliens-built-the-pyramids, the-devil-planted-fossils-to-trick-us, and the earth-as-center-of-the-universe. They even have a design of the Great A’Tuin for you Discworld fans out there. You can read more about the Teach The Controversy “Intelligent Design” campaign to discredit the crackpot theory of evolution here.
Personally, I believe that if we teach “Intelligent Design” in schools alongside evolution, then we must include theories that aliens created us. See The Flying Spaghetti Monster.
And for you crazies who believe in science, Wearscience also has a series of designs right out of 50′s B-movies. You can also customize your designs; I added “I Believe in Science” to the back of my shirt with a scientist blowing up the moon on the front. Link
The History of Spaceflight
I’ve started collecting a few books on “futurism” from the 50′s, 60′s, and 70′s. I love the illustrations and ideas about the future from a time when mankind was just going to the moon. It seems there was no limit to where they thought we’d be 100 years from now (then). Matt over at Paleo-Future has posted a clip from the DVD History of Spaceflight featuring Wernher von Braun‘s ideas of the future of spaceflight. Check out the post for more retro-futurist images.
A Better Way to Browse Amazon
Our friends over at Lifehacker have shared a great new way to browse Amazon.com just like browsing shelves at a bookstore. Zoomii displays books on “shelves” grouped by Bestsellers, New Arrivals, Science Fiction, etc. You can drag around the bookstore or even create your own shelves by using the search feature. And when you find something you like, you can order right from Zoomii.
It’s a great way for someone like me who can spend hours browsing “brick and mortar” bookstores. I often purchase a book because the cover caught my eye.
Flickr Video: A Good Thing?
In case you haven’t heard, flickr has added video capabilites. Of course there are plenty of nay-sayers, and being a fan of great photography, I can understand how adding video could dilute what makes flickr great. Of course, there are lots of talented artists out there on flickr who can make motion an asset for flickr. I know I’m looking forward to seeing more like “The Blue Samurai”, a collaboration of flickrite ArtWerk and Manel Ortega. I’ve been following ArtWerk’s flickr feed for awhile now, and it’s nice to see another aspect of his talent. Not to mention some groovy sounds by Substatic.
Ecards That Are a Bit More…. Heartfelt
I remember a series of cards at Jungle Red in OKC that all had small illustrations of bugs on the front, and contained such witty messages as “I want my stuff” and “You’re old, Happy Birthday”. I can’t say I ever actually gave one to any of my friends, but I secretly wanted to.
Well, for those of us who “care enough to hit send”, there’s a site full of cards with just such messages like “Now that you’re 18, you can legally not bother voting” and “I hope you’ll always consider me someone who reluctantly pays for part of your birthday dinner”. Complete with vintage public-domain illustrations on every card, it really says “I’m too
So check out someecards.com… and please send me one for my birthday. At least I’ll know how much you care. Exactly.
Nathan Ota – Another Fine Artist
I’ve started following “Right Some Good”, the art blog of Kirsten Anderson . She writes about artists she likes, and I’ve found I agree on many of them. One recent recommendation is Nathan Ota, who illustrates curious creatures like robots, eyeless birds and monster tree trunks. His art often has a greenish-golden glow that reminds me of tarot cards. Kinda spooky in a fairy-tale kind of way.
Be sure to check out his site to see more of his great work.
Robot Art
Kirsten Anderson over at Right Some Good has posted some great art by fellow artist Brian Despain. His work has the sort of tone I love (a la steampunk/Myst) and features another geek fav – robots! What more could you ask for. I’d hang this on my wall.
Perhaps I should check into that…
Meanwhile, check out Brian Despain’s website .
Tiny Houses I Want
Wired.com has posted a series of photos of small modular houses sure to please the eco-friendly minded. But more than just environmentally conscious, these houses have a certain Zen that I want when I think about building a vacation house. I mean, how much more escapist can you be in a house sitting atop a column on a lake?
It’s hard to explain to the uninitiated what a modular home is when it comes to building it in nature. They either think I’m talking about those trailer houses with wood siding, or some funky-weird modernist glass box on the lawn. But these seem to commune with nature rather than clash. There’s something about the openness that and simplicity that doesn’t get in the way of the view.
Of course, I have to find a beautiful and semi-private place to build a house like these. My mom lives in the perfect part of Arkansas (north-central), but it’s quite an old-fashioned area (not too conducive to two men with no children moving in next door). But we’ll find the perfect place… it’s out there.
Dutch Graphic Design from Around 1900
BibliOdyssey has posted some great examples of Dutch Advertising from around 1900. My first exposure to Dutch design was at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. I’m attracted to the simplicity and clean lines.
This particular example is especially interesting, since I worked for Holland-America in Alaska during my summer between high school and college.
Be sure to check out the other samples.
The Road Ahead
Thanks to Jeff Pepper over at 2719Hyperion for sharing this clip from the 1958 Disneyland “Magic Highway USA”. You can read more background from his earlier posts here and here. Apparently, we aren’t as advanced as predicted. It would be cool to have my car wash and refuel itself.. I really hate stopping at the gas station.
Pseudo-Decay Becomes Decay, then Pseudo Again
Pruned has posted a series of photos (with commentary) about the curious and fascinating “Broken Column House”, built just before the French Revolution by François Nicolas Henri Racine de Monville, an aristocrat with lots of time and money on his hands. Built to appear as a decaying broken column, the house went through a period of neglect in which it truly began to decay. In the 1980′s it once again was restored to its original pseudo-decay state.
Located northwest of Paris in a wooded area, I’ve added this to one of the must sees when I finally visit France.
I also find the photo beautiful and creepy – perfect for this time of year. Wouldn’t you like to Trick-or-Treat here?
The Dragon Queen and The Wanderer
Wanderer of Space, Vargo Statten, 1950 Scion / Planet Stories, Summer 1941, Love Romances
I just finished reading Worlds of Tomorrow – The Amazing Universe of Science Fiction Art by Forrest J Ackerman. I picked it up at Half Price Books a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been trying to learn more about design and art from the 1800′s up through the 50′s, 60′s, and 70′s, especially involving predictions of the future.There are several magazines that were published in 30′s, 40′s and 50′s that featured science fiction shorts by sci fi greats like Isaac Asimov, H.G. Wells, and Robert Heinlein. They had titles like Wonder Stories Quarterly, Amazing Stories, and Startling Stories. The cover art was just as fantastic as the stories within. Worlds of Tomorrow features these covers and includes narrative about the history of the culture and writers that envisioned them.
If your a sci fi fan or a fan of sci fi art; or even if you are just looking for a good laugh, check out this book.
I shared these two because half-naked women were a staple of many of these covers. I just thought it was interesting to see half naked men for a change. I’m just not sure how practical a g-string would be for wandering space, or riding dragons. And how about the name “Dragon Queen”?
DCI 2007 Highlights
Just a few of my photos taken at this year’s Drum Corps Championships in Pasadena, CA. You can see them all, including scores, here.
I made this with animoto, the best slideshow generator out there. You can upload your own photos or import them from photo sharing sites like flickr. You can also upload your own music you pick from their library. animoto then generates the video complete with effects. The free service is limited to 30 second videos, but you can create full-length videos for $3 each or $30 unlimited for a year.
Rosetta Project – Download Vintage Children’s Books
I find I’m more and more interested in vintage design, having recently purchased a few vintage books containing some beautiful illustrations (more on that later).
Thanks to Lifehacker and Wendy Boswell for sharing a great archive of vintage children’s books at childrensbooksonline.org. It’s a huge collection of downloadable books, some including audio and multimedia. It’s a volunteer-driven site, so if you appreciate what they’re doing and are so inclined, please donate for their efforts.
It’s nice to see that though the physical books will one day return to dust, they will live on in the cybersphere.
Plan59.com: 100% of Recommended Daily Retro
I’ve been looking more and more lately for vintage ads and illustrations to satisfy my new-found love of design from the turn of the century (the last one) through the 60′s/70′s. My most recent find is Plan59.com, thanks another of my favs, Paleo-Future. It’s full of vintage images well organized into categories like “cars”, “space” and “old ads”. What’s even better, is that you can order poster-size prints! I can already imagine the possibilities for my future-retro media room when we finally get our house built.
The only thing that’s missing is newsfeed capability (since I’m a google reader addict.)
