Griffin and Sabine

So I got into these books at the Village Inn in Gambier Ohio, 7 years ago over some 2.65 gin and tonics. I got hooked. I bought them for my mom. I bought them for my girlfriend recently. Then I did a little research and found out that author Nick Bantock has published a new trilogy (OK, I'm six years late on that). The artwork is amazing, but the narrative is what hooks you.

Get into em, they're worth it.

"The Love Guru," Mike? ... Seriously?

Great Scott this looks awful!

What happened to the funny Mike Myers? It almost makes me question whether or not "So I Married an Axe Murderer" and the "Wayne's World" flicks were actually any good. Maybe nostalgia has blinded me.

Not only does this film seem to debase and stereotype Hinduism as well as its practitioners, but it also appears to repeat all of the horrid problems of the Austin Powers sequels: repetitive gags, stupid cameos, and ridiculous product endorsements.

Let's see some new ideas, Mike!

New Portishead Coming on April 29th!

Bristol trip-hop geniuses Portishead are releasing their long-anticipated third album, aptly entitled "Third," on April 29th, 2008! Check it out:

"Machine Gun" Music Video

Cedella Booker at Africa Unite

This is a touching moment that I thought Bob Marley fans would appreciate. Bob Marley's mother, Cedella Booker reads a poem that she wrote for her son's 60th birthday at the Africa Unite concert in Ethiopia.



Cedella passed away on April 8th at the age of 81. She wrote two biographies of her son and recorded two albums. According to Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding, "She was a star in her own right. Her life was one of hardship, struggle and eventual fulfillment and, through it all, she exuded hope, strength and confidence."

Free Tibet

It's kind of crazy that the Free Tibet concert was 12 years ago. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess.

If Tibet had more (commercially) valuable resources or was occupied by a country other than China, would our government be more involved? In any event I dugg up some info here, which gives some background info about Tibet.

Not to be too overtly Palm-centric, but what got me thinking about the whole thing is the documentary we did on the event. There's live/interview footage of Bjork, The Beastie Boys, Cibo Matto, Smashing Pumpkins etc. At the time I was 16, and the concert was a huge deal. Of course I didn't have the money or follow through to actually go, which I regret.

Well, I dug up some youtubes of footage that didn't make the dvd, and you can see all the stuff that did by picking it up here.

Maira Kalman's Principles of Uncertainty

Artist/designer/children's book author and illustrator/New Yorker contributor/etc Maira Kalman has been writing a column for the New York Times entitled "The Principles of Uncertainty."

Basically, it consists of various colorful sketches of often mundane, urban situations coupled with poetic and witty philosophizing.

Last year, a compilation of many of these pieces hit bookstores. You can find it here: "The Principals of Uncertainty"

The New York Times filmed Ms. Kalman discussing the project at an event: Maira Kalman Interview

Definitely check it out. I grew up reading her zany children's books. She's brilliant and probably motivated me to pursue art/writing at a very young age.

Os

Hello! I was just on the craziest shoot ever- It was for an experimental short, "Os" directed by Jivko Darakchiev. This period piece is about what happens when a young boy visits a widow living alone in a small cabin in Southern France. I was Assistant Camera to DP JR Skola and it was one of the most intense jobs I've been on. Here's a list of elements that made the shoot memorable:

bonfire, bones one fire, stop motion animation, location owner with 5 dogs and 2 cats and a squirrel, plates shattering, wine glasses shattering, nudity, a live chicken, and 2160 eggs in a bathtub...



I'm sure there's more that I can't remember. I was there for 5 out of the 7 shooting days, the shoot finally wrapped on Saturday and we are now anxiously waiting to see the dailies. It's going to be amazing :)

Porky Pig's Got a Foul Mouth

Few people realize just how much the old Warner Bros. cartoons pushed the envelope during the Pre-Hayes Code era. Dig this clip of Porky Pig (it's real!):

"Son of a B****"

Where The Wild Things Are(n't?)

If you haven't been following the drama around the new Spike Jonze (Director's Label!) film, Where The Wild Things Are, you probably saved yourself some serious anxiety. And by serious I mean some of people are getting pretty worked up about this movie about a bunch of muppets.

The film, which features vocal performances by Forest Whitaker, Paul Dano, James Gandolfini and Catherine Keener, and a soundtrack by The Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen O. + friends (ie Bradford Cox), has already been pushed back to 2009.

According to Slashfilm "Word in the hills is that Warner Bros is extremely unhappy with the finished product. Test screening audiences have complained that the film is too adult and even too scary for children."

Slashfilm also reports that the $75 Million feature may have to be completely reshot.

That's bad news for us, like anyone my age, I loved the book (and anything else Sendak related) and was excited to see what Dave Eggers and Jonze would come up with.

In any event, here's a bigger version of the still (courtesy of MTV) that Jonze alleges was a vfx test, and a shot (courtesy of ego-rapper Kanye West) of one of the little muppets in Jim Henson's workshop.

Also, here are a couple of shots and a clip (presumably another fx test wink wink).