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Matchmaker, Matchmaker…

The folks over at Presidential Match try to help you, the uninformed, pick your presidential candidate based on how much you agree with their particular beliefs and policies.

Now, I’m not an American, but if I were, the site tells me that my 100% match is Dennis Kucinich, followed by a 99% match with Al Sharpton, and a 90% match with John Kerry.

Who was the candidate I least identified with?  The one at the bottom of the list?  George W. Bush with a whopping 4% match.

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Sketch Blogs

Last week I wondered aloud if there were any other good sketchbook blogs out there.  Some were suggested to me, and I went on the hunt for more.  Not all of them are strictly sketchblogs (hell, mine sure isn’t) but here are some of the better ones I came across:

The Sellotape Files
Witold Riedel
Salgood Sam
Pants Press Sketchblog
Sketchblog of Doom
Things I Drew While On The Can
Wild West Yorkshire
Diseased Wits

I certainly can’t post this without also mentioning Danny Gregory and Keri Smith.

And while this isn’t a blog, and I’m sure you’ve seen it before—it’s worth another look: The Bearskinrug Sketchbook.

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Transmission from Hog Town

Hammer down, drivers!  Just a radio check to make sure you’re down with all your trucker lingo.  Forty-two?  Love to stay and jab, but I gotta step on.  Catch you on the flip flop. (via Coudal)

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Horror Movie Night

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Quick Comic News

Two things to look forward to: Li’l Beginnings: a collection of Charles Schulz’ pre-Peanuts work and McSweeney’s Issue 13: The Comics Issue, edited by Chris Ware.

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Art-chie

For the first time in years I dusted off my brushes and dipped into the acrylics on sunday night to paint a birthday gift for my friend Emily, a huge Archie fan.  It felt great to be painting again, and I’m already inspired to make a series of small paintings like this for my own apartment…

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Return of the Sketchbook Journal

After a bit of a hiatus, I have returned to documenting my life in a daily sketchbook journal.  I think my recent mood (and a whole whack of new art supplies) finally gave me the impetus to start it up again… We’ll call this my Rapidograph period.

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All or Nothing At All

Yesterday over brunch a friend and I were discussing the things we struggle with when living a creative life.  We both admitted that while ultimately we want to end up doing exactly what we want in life, anything short of exactly that feels like disappointment.

When it comes to illustration, I want to do my thing—the style and subject matter that is important and personal to me.  When I’m assigned generic work that’s independant of style and substance—work that needs to get done more than it needs to get done specifically by me—I plod through it, but I don’t enjoy it.  It’s still illustration, but when it’s assumed I can adapt to any given style, tackle any given subject, and complete it in any given timeframe ("I need this tomorrow, but hey, it’s what you like to do, right?") I actually despise it.

My friend feels the same way as a writer and photographer.  If it’s not exactly what she wants to do she’d prefer doing something entirely different so as if not to be reminded of that perfect creative work just slightly out of reach.

I know with me, when I’m asked to work that I know I’m completely unsuited for I feel like I’m not fully appreciated.  Like I’m just seen as a person with a particular skill or trade, and not a particular style or vision.  Like it’s not me that’s important, just my ability to get the work done.

Sure, paying the bills is important, but why do I always feel like I’m compromising myself? Do other creative types have this same dread of doing work that’s not your true passion, but is still “creative” work? 

(note: after brunch we were so inspired to plug away at more personal work we fled to the nearest art store and stocked up on supplies!)

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Overheard on Queen Street

“So this guy, yeah, I don’t know… he’s a fire sign and I’m a water sign, so technically we should be fighting like crazy.  Technically, right?  But we get along great...”

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Words of the Year

The American Dialect Society has released their list of Words of the Year.  It includes some obvious candidates like metrosexual and governator, but also some I wasn’t even aware of.  How great is tanorexia?

It’s interesting, however, to look at the number one results of past years:

1990 - Bushlips
1991 - Mother of All
1992 - Not!
1993 - Information Superhighway
1994 - Cyber and Morph
1995 - Web and Newt
1996 - Mom
1997 - Millenium Bug
1998 - The “e-” prefix
1999 - Y2K
2000 - chad
2001 - 9-11
2002 - Weapons of Mass Destruction
2003 - Metrosexual

It’s clear that since 1993 the words of the year are either technological or political ("mom" referred to “soccer moms” as an undervalued voter).  It seems that two years is all takes for our priorities to switch from global terrorism to Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.  Fab!

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Back Off Man, I’m a Scientist

Some friends and I caught a screening of Ghostbusters at thre Revue Cinema last night.  We had such a great time—why don’t they make comedies like that anymore?  Even though I own the movie and we’ve all seen it at least 20 times each, we still laughed at every single line, even the ones we most aniticipated…

“Listen… do you smell something?”

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More on Kliban

As promised, here are some examples of B. Kliban’s work from the elusive book that I finally tracked down.  Many of his books are still available via Amazon, so if you’re a fan of cartoons and are looking for something a little different, go buy some of Kliban’s work.  You won’t be disappointed… (just steer clear of his cat-related stuff)

Since you can’t see the label on the can, I’ll help you out.  It reads “RAZOR SHARP PEACH SLICES.”

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DVD + TV = P.U.

A while ago Disney tried out a test project of self-destructing, disposable DVDs, that immediately drew fire from nearly everyone who thinks the environment is actually worth saving.  But I actually think there’s a much more sinister DVD foe threatening our environment—a much worse waste of paper and plastic that can only possibly serve to feed our landfills.

The culprit?  “Classic” television shows on DVD.

I can understand, to a point, preserving our favourite tv programs on DVD.  Certainly some shows have a devoted fan base and also a certain level of rewatchability that extends beyond regular everyday syndication.  Star Trek on DVD?  Perfectly understandable.  Fawlty Towers?  Why, it’s a classic!

But DVD is such a hot ticket these days that consumers will eat up just about anything with those letters on the cover.

Do we really need the entire series of Mad About You?  And what about Barney Miller?

Was Three’s Company really that good?  Do all the episodes of Gilligan’s Island differ enough that you need to own every single one?  (Let’s hope the set includes that episode where they almost get off the island!)

I don’t know a single person who watches The King of Queens now, let alone anyone who’ll want to preserve it for all time.

Who’s buying all of this?

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My Birthday Book Adventure

Yes, my birthday was in November, but my friend Mira told me that for my gift from her we would need a free Saturday sometime in the future.  That saturday was this weekend.

When I got home on Friday night there was a package waiting for me.  In it was a cheesy romance novel and a series of clues that I needed to decode which would tell me exactly where and when I needed to meet Mira the next morning.

Once decoded, I found that I needed to meet her at the library on College street in The Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation, and Fantasy.  It was there where I was told that the day was to be a book-themed day.  We spent some time in the Merril Collection where I read a Hellboy graphic novel (I had never read any of Mignola’s work before).

Next we trotted upstairs to the library’s Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books, which had a great exhibit of antique children’s books featuring clowns, jesters, and lots of Punch & Judy.  There were a lot of beautiful illustrations, which you should definitely check out if you’re in Toronto.

Next on the agenda was to check out some used book stores around the city.  After finding out that nearby Balfour Books wasn’t open yet, we hit the road for a mystery roadtrip.  I soon found out that we were headed to my hometown of Kitchener where I was surprised by my friend Sara.  We visited a few of the local comic shops before heading to A Second Look where I bought 3 books: The Prehistory of the Far Side, since it has some content not found in the massive The Complete Far Side.

I also picked up a book of paintings by Amadeo Modigliani whose work I’ve always loved due to its illustrative, almost cartoony style.

Finally, I found a book that I have been looking for for the longest time: B. Kliban’s Advanced Cartooning and Other Drawings.  It’s out of print, and Amazon is never in stock, and eBay prices are always astronomical, but I found it here used for $5.00! 

Kliban is one of my absolute favourite cartoonists, and his bizarre sense of humour makes the Far Side look like the Family Circus.  I have several of his books, such as Whack Your Porcupine and Other Drawings, Never Eat Anything Bigger Than Your Head and Other Drawings, and Luminous Animals and Other Drawings,
but this one has remained the most elusive.

If you’re unfamiliar with Kliban, you might know his work with cats, but it’s his lesser-known bizarre cartoons that I love.  I’ll try and find some examples tomorrow.

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Belleville Rendez-Vous

I caught a sneak preview of The Triplets of Belleville last night.

I’ve been hearing for a while now about how fantastic this film is… and even after seeing the trailer I knew that it looked gorgeous, but I still had my doubts.  But the hype isn’t uncalled for—it’s this year’s Spirited Away—a traditionally-animated film that’s anything but traditional.

It’s probably true that this will be Pixar’s main competition come Oscar time, and what’s funny is that both this and Finding Nemo have essentially the same storyline—a parent on a wild journey to find their kidnapped son.

Finding Nemo will win the Oscar I think, but after finally seeing it, I think The Triplets of Belleville actually deserves it (I was skeptical of the hype before seeing it, but originality won out).  They both tell the same story, but Triplets does it in a way unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and as good as Nemo was, it was unquestionably a safe by-the-books Pixar outing.

And what makes Triplets so special is that it tells the story without any dialogue—it’s true animation.

It’s also decidedly anti-Disney, not only in its visual style and pantomime approach to storytelling, but also via a handful of visual gags dissing the House of Mouse.  (Some obvious, like the picture of a character holding a costumed mouse’s hand and a lollipop labelled ‘sucker’, and some a little more subtle, which I’ll let you find yourself… hint: keep your eye on the contents of the toilets).

Check it out if you’re interested in a unique animated experience, but when you see it be warned: you’ll have that song from the trailer stuck in your head hours after the movie’s over.

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