The Island Weekly » cartoons

Smigly: What’s your stimulus package?

Anne — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:37:53 +0000

My boss Eamonn found Smigly by Allen Mezquida. Wonderful. Great blog, too. – So what’s your stimulus package? Seriously, now?

Jailbreaker and Hank Williams

Anne — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:27:44 +0000

Write a one-sentence summary of this video.

OR: Which sentence best summarizes this video for you?

A sheriff manages to capture a jailbreaker.
A jailbreaker meets an upright citizen who captures him.
A short dog manages to outtrick a tall dog in a striped shirt.
A poor fellow simply can’t win against someone who is already there, knows it all, and owns it.
Cool wins over hot any day.
None of these. My interpretation, see comments

Love this old Hank Williams song: “Slide it on over, sneak it on over, move over good dog coz a mad dog’s movin in!” Lyrics

PS: Hey you German hackers, did you know that there were “jailbreakers” before there were iPhones?

New Yorker Animated Cartoons

Anne — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:10:56 +0000

Rod introduced me to the New Yorker Animated Cartoons podcast. Here are a few:

You can get the New Yorker Animated Cartoons as a podcast on iTunes. The iPhone app http://www.RingTales.com/iPhoneNY on my iPhone sometimes stalls – pity! But the podcast is better anyway.

Anne in Wonderland

Anne — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 23:00:08 +0000

You simply must see the great Disney exhibition at Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung in Munich, which traces the European images that inspired the look of Disney’s films. I had some surprising insights. And the gauches, pastels, oils and paintings on celluloid produced in the Disney Studios are just delightful. (Exhibition through 25 January 2009.)

As I was walking through the exhibition I came across artwork for Alice in Wonderland (1951) by Mary Blair (1911-1978), the Disney background artist who gave that film its distinctive “new look”. (Illustration by Mary Blair taken from the catalog, Walt Disneys wunderbare Welt und ihre Wurzeln in der europäischen Kunst, Hirmer, 25 Euros at the exhibition.)

I’m thinking back on my first year as a blogger and writing for online readers, which is just coming to an end. And so, looking at these pictures, I find myself identifying with Alice. She knows what it’s like. On unfamiliar terrain, always trying out whatever is available as she goes through quite a few changes – just like me this year. There’s so much to see on the other side of the Looking Glass. You can make mistakes and get into trouble, sure, but for the most part it’s a great adventure. And you know, in the end, all that amazing technology, all those exciting tools are just a … “a pack of cards!” Alice will always remain Alice. Thank you, dear reader, for sticking with me on my trip down the rabbit hole.

Here is a song from Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland” which resonnates with a backend beginner like me. It’s called “Painting the roses red”.

Thank you Dolce for the initial spark and for hours and hours of work (!) and Dolcevita for your encouragement. Thank you Eamonn for taking me on based on almost nothing. Thank you Helmut for dragging me away from the computer. Thanks, everyone, for your ideas and comments.

Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952)

Anne — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 04:12:38 +0000

Donald’s Snow Fight (1942)

Anne — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 23:34:37 +0000

Batmobile

Anne — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:08:15 +0000

BMW has come out with a very cool concept car called GINA that looks like it should be sold in a sexshop. Watching the videos loving the skin on this transformer car, I was reminded of Batman, a favorite of the latex scene. As kids, we used to drape blankets over our shoulders and run around yelling “nana-nana-nana-nana-BATMAN!!!” This car is fabulous and visionary, of course… but am I the only one who thinks it’s also just a little kinky?

Batman: The opening to the old TV film series

The BMW Batmobile – I mean, BMW GINA Light Visionary Model