Ballroom Blitz
Which one is less strange?
Although I think I like the vocal on the Wayne’s World cover better.
April 24, 2008
Blitzkrieg Bop
I remember hearing this on Dr. Demento’s show about a week after it was released. I think he said he was glad a rock song could be under three minutes again. Or something odd like that. Then he played “Seafood Mama.” It was a weird segue even by Demento standards.
March 30, 2008
J Bloglandia volume 1, issue 1 Cover
(click on image for full size)
Thank you to Seth Anderson at B12 Partners Solipsism for the cover images, which are “Rookery” on the front cover and “Before the Rain Blues” on the back. Chicagoans might recognize at least one of these images.
There’s still some room left for blog essays in the first issue. Here’s more information on the whole deal. I won’t be finalizing anything until after April 18, so if you want in, send me your blog essay on or before April 17 on one of these templates:
MS Word or Rich Text Format or Plain Text. Don’t worry about how it looks, I’ll be formatting up a storm in the final document.
But whether your blog essay is in there or not, J Bloglandia 1:1 is going to have a very lovely cover.
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Tron in cardboard
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March 12, 2008
Get Happy
March 1, 2008
Stolen artwork in NYC, please just return it
“On February 27th, one of Lori Earley’s drawings was swiped right off the walls of Jonathan LeVine in NYC.”
“‘All reports confirm that the suspect in question is a white male, approximately 6′2″ tall, in his mid-to-late thirties. He was seen wearing a blue baseball hat with a navy blue backpack, and he spoke with a very heavy New York accent.’ If you or anyone you know has information as to who might have committed this theft or leads on possible location of the stolen drawing, please contact the gallery immediately at (212) 243-3822 or info@jonathanlevinegallery. They are offering a reward for its return.”
Special Circle of Hell, i feel it too, March 1, 2008
Going to hell is optional, just return the drawing, whoever you are. There’s enough suffering in the world already.
Update 031708: Could whoever return this one, too? Reward offered.
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February 28, 2008
Mind Over Manga from Japan Pop Tours/Manga publishers
Whoa!
PRESS RELEASE
February 28, 2008
——-
BECOME A PART OF THE MANGA WORLD WITH POP JAPAN TRAVEL’S MIND OVER MANGA TOUR
——-
Japanese dojinshi, comics published by the artist and sold at special events across Japan, have become a driving creative force, and a sensational way to connect with other fans. In the past, Pop Japan Travel has visited these dojinshi markets, but only as spectators. That’s about to change.
This August, aspiring dojinshi creators, established small press comic artists and manga admirers alike will have an unprecedented opportunity. Pop Japan Travel’s Mind Over Manga Tour offers guests the chance to go behind the scenes of one of Japan’s most respected dojinshi events, Comitia — and if you choose, print and sell your own comic or art book directly to Japanese readers!
If you apply and qualify, Pop Japan Travel will:
*-Translate your book into Japanese so that the locals can understand it
*-Print your book and deliver it directly to the event at Tokyo Big Sight
*-Help you sell your book and discuss it with readers at a booth at the event
Since 1984, Comitia has been one of Tokyo’s most popular dojinshi events. Run four times a year, it focuses on original, creative art rather than fan fiction. That has made it a key launchpad for new manga artists, with thousands of circles participating each year. It takes place at Tokyo Big Sight, which otaku will recognize from Comic Party, Genshiken and many other anime and manga series!
Even if you don’t choose to sell your own book, you’ll get an up-close look at the way Japan’s manga market operates. And the tour will also include the chance to meet and pick the brains of some Japan’s most important manga and dojinshi artists, plus a visit to a cutting-edge anime studio and Hayao Miyazaki’s Ghibli Museum.
Naturally, Mind Over Manga also includes our tried-and-true tour of Tokyo, providing a mind-blowing look at the world’s most populous urban area, plus a few excursions outside the city and an optional three-day tour of Osaka and Kyoto, Japan’s thousand-year capital.
The exact itinerary and price for the tour are still pending, but we wanted to spread the word as quickly as possible so you could start drawing!
Tour dates and activities are subject to change. Check out our Web site, www.popjapantravel.com, or contact travel@popjapantravel.com for details.
——-
DIGITAL MANGA’S POP JAPAN TRAVEL is the original and premiere provider of pop culture themed tours of Japan. Since 2003, PJT has operated more than 15 tours with themes focused on Japanese anime, manga, games and more. Pop Japan tours offer a careful balance of the hyper-modern world of J-pop culture and the rich traditions of ancient Japan, and PJT is the ONLY tour agency to provide exclusive experiences such as visits to anime and game studios, meetings with manga artists, and more. Pop Japan Travel tours are organized in cooperation with IACE Travel, one of Japan’s largest travel agencies.
###
Oh. My. God. This is wonderful! For people who like this kind of thing.
February 10, 2008
Some tech logo history
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January 20, 2008
January 19, 2008
No Need For Bushido as an e-book!
Which is better than no book at all:
“Our premier Wowio book is up and ready for download! It contains the first 3 chapters of NNFB, a preface by Hirotomo, never before seen artwork, and a new NNFB remix! All of that is absolutely free, yet through the magic of the internets, somehow Alex and I get paid for each download. So please sign up and relive the good old days of NNFB. If you aren’t able to use Wowio due to country restrictions, don’t worry. We’re looking for a way to make it available to international readers shortly.”
This is one of the best webcomics I’ve ever read, even when it gets a little goofy, it’s great!
And this WOWIO thing is verrrrrrry interrresting.
Joseph Cornell Site
Joseph Cornell site. The chief curator video was a little creepy, but in a can’t look away sort of way. It’s flash and video and well done.
(via Mr. Dan Kelly.
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January 13, 2008
January 7, 2008
Webcomics at Sequential Tart, which turns 10 (!) this year. Congratulations!
Webcomics, dear God, it’s a whole issue on Webcomics at Sequential Tart. May the good Lord have mercy on us all.
I even ramble on a bit about webcomics in this issue.
Oh, yes, and in honor of 10 years of Sequential Tart, there are some very cool calendars for sale! (more…)
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January 1, 2008
Happy New Year, everyone!
I got to wake up with a sore throat, but that just means I’m getting it out of the way for the rest of 2008.
And since it IS 2008, I can post this again!
Journal of Bloglandia, because Blogtopia (y!sctp!) was taken.
and
The Journal of Women on Comics, women read comics and write great things about them.
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Bookbinding: no longer a trade, more of a craft now, alas
“Along with his wife, Elsie, Mr. Schnerb made a living repairing and binding dissertations, scores and other reading material. This day, he was working on a copy of ‘La Fanciulla del West’ because a conductor had asked him to rebind three poorly bound scores, one for each act, into a single document.
“Mr. Schnerb began by ripping the old books apart, “unbinding” them, as he calls the process, while trying to keep the pages intact. But inevitably, some pages got torn, which was why he was repairing them with thin paper strips.
“Since the death of his wife last year, Mr. Schnerb has been doing everything in the bindery by himself. His wife used to stitch together different sections of manuscripts using a sewing machine, but Mr. Schnerb never learned to operate the machine, so he resorts to needle and thread.”
As an Age Recedes, a Craftsman Soldiers On, by Raphael Ahren, NYT, December 30, 2007
I had a friend’s dissertation rebound by an artist bookbinder here in LA and, man, it’s a thing of beauty, never mind what’s in it (immunotoxicology, if you must know). But she only takes a few commissions a year and only the ones she likes, so I was lucky she took this one.
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December 31, 2007
New issue of Sequential Tart
Latest issue of Sequential Tart, which includes the Mayerson interview, wherein I explain many mysteries.
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December 29, 2007
Terminus
“I love this semi-animated short film about a man who is tormented by a concrete golem-like creature. The integration of urban design from Montreal and Vancouver is seamless and elegant.”
Drawn.ca, December 28, 2007
iKlimt
I’m not a huge Klimt fan, but I’m a huge fan of this site about him: iKlimt
Sorry, needs Flash, but is worth it. The site plays a Satie Gymnopédie. How elegant.
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December 28, 2007
Bobby Brown Goes Down
“Again, here’s another instance of what tries to be a string of coarse gags. When you try to tie them all together they contradict each other though and it all becomes rather scurrilous nonsense instead. This song has the dubious honour of being one of Zappa’s biggest hits. Because of its lush melody, this song went on to become a #1 hit in Scandinavia. Teens apparently remained ignorant of its crass sadomasochistic content as they danced and romanced at the disco. Zappa would probably argue that the whole point of the exercise is to exploit the tension between sentimental musical hypocrisy, which promotes one false set of societal stereotypes, and this gross social reportage.”
StreetLaughter 37: Frank Zappa: Bobby Brown Goes Down, December 28, 2007
I bought this album on cassette, that’s how long ago this was. It and ELO were my car tapes for a couple of years. I remember pulling over to listen to the words of “Bobby Brown..” because I couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing. I was so young then. And it still shocks me that I paid money for albums on cassettes once. Anyway….
Here’s the best part:
The album versions are better than both of these clips, but what would I do without YouTube?
December 26, 2007
December 20, 2007
This is why I kind of like Christopher Walken
I wonder how many people don’t know he was a chorus boy on Broadway way back when. He appears to still have it. (via)
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New Jesus statues
Don’t see those words on the Hackenblog very often, do you?
Jesus surfing and Jesus on a Harley. (Just click the link, you know you want to.)
I really must read this site more often.
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December 16, 2007
If you thought you knew what “faggot” meant…
Streetlaughter has the best, circa 1969, definition I’ve ever seen.
Faggots: Dave Berg, Streetlaughter, December 13, 2007 (click for the larger image, but do read the post, it’s a good ‘un).
Thanks, Dorian, this was my first laugh of the day.
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What do women want?
I think women get as much out of dressing up like Slave Princess Leia as the fanboys get out of looking at them.
This is just my hypothesis, I’ll let you know when I got the theory in hand.
Dan Kelly had this originally, and a link to a flickr account with only amateur SPLs, but damn if I can find that link. Dan, if you read this, if you could come across with the link, I’d be much obliged, if only for my fanboy readers (all 3 of them).
Update 122607: Slave Leia Appreciation Society link from Mr. Dan Kelly. Thanks, Dan!
December 14, 2007
The Bishop!
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Interesting post on J Cornell
and collage or assemblage or whatever the hell you call it:
“However. Since then I have come across a million – yes, it seems like a million – artists who use a bird in a box as a launch-pad. It’s very tempting to use an ethereal night-sky in a collage (I’m as guilty as anyone), but much more difficult to make it your own. Of course Joseph Cornell doesn’t own the sky – in fact maybe Max Ernst (below), a more sweeping, exhaustive artist, beat him to it – but it is the challenge of any collage artist to make the methods and materials and images their own. It must speak to his great talent and ownership of imagery, for what I see way too often is that many artists haven’t bothered to do that.”
subjective vs. objective, Eva Lake, December 12, 2007
I like Cornell’s work, too bad this show isn’t somewhere I’m willing to drag my carcass to. Oh well. Seems like the retrospective isn’t traveling. Too bad for me.
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December 12, 2007
Oh my God, I love Japan
Would he walk or would he run if chased by samurais?
Warning: do not watch this is you cannot scream with laughter. (via the amazing and ever delightful Mosca)
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Attn Ed Reyes: why don’t we have this kind of thing in CD 1?
“Los Angeles Garment & Citizen has an article on the project our office has embarked upon to beautify our local utility boxes, which are those grey, anonymous boxes sprinkled throughout the Los Angeles streetscape. We have worked with AT&T and our community partners, Central City Action Committee and the Hollywood Beautification Team, to engage local artists and youth in painting these boxes. The Garment & Citizen article highlights the Carlos Callejo piece shown on the left, which Carlos painted with the help of youth in Echo Park. If you have an idea for a good box to paint, contact Kabira Stokes-Hochberg, our CD13 arts deputy.”
New Urban Canvases, Eric Garcetti, December 9, 2007
Woo, nice.
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Collaging her way to…more collages
I moved all of my collages to Ginger Mayerson Collage. Much less clunkier than Blogspot. If you had it bookmarked or had an RSS feed, this is the new addy, and there are a slew of feeds on the sidebar. And if you had it bookmarked and an RSS feed going, hey, thank you!
(I moved because I got tired of explaining whose work was whose. Although I’m sure no one would ever be confused as to who did this collage.)
No hope from either architecture or science.
Enjoy!
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