happy halloween!

thumbnails

review: changeling

ADDENDUM: the movie steals some of its goodwill by ending with a terribly cliche line that probably looked good on paper, but should've been on the cutting room floor.

AT-ATreehouse 2.0

how to build a snowman

AT-ATreehouse

negatory

Thought No. 1 - Why are the bleak Bournes/Batmans/Bonds raking it in?
Normally, when the world is in the tank SciFi rules - escapist fare brings in the big bucks. But, I think the world is so upset and screwed right now, that people want to see someone addressing semi-real problems with semi-real action. That Star Trek reboot may be a big hit, but its Batman taking on The Joker, or Jason Bourne and James Bond taking on shadow governments and terrorists that is putting people in their seats.

Thought No. 2 - Horrible people don't make for good reality television
After a while it was painfully hard to root for anyone on the latest season of Project Runway and now a Trifecta of Villains has emerged on The Biggest Loser. Fashion can get away with bitches, but one of TV's biggest feel good shows? I literally walked away on tuesday night, preferring to read the end results on Television Without Pity instead of sitting through the rest of the show with those people.

I want my entertainment to be happy, and if its not happy, then I want it to be kicking the crap out of bad guys.

in like a lion, out like a lamb

My goodness. Been a while with some actual "writing," huh? I knew we'd been busy, but a quick skim of our accounting software proves how busy we've been -- a whirlwind. So busy, that I have movie reviews I haven't been able to word balloon yet.

Each night for the past few nights I've been cracking the new Sarah Vowell book, The Wordy Shipmates, which has proven to be...very wordy. Its not lacking in her trademark charm, but it is lacking in chapters, proving to be a hardbound essay rather than a book to easily digest in installments.

I own all her other books, and much like David Sedaris, I'm finding something lacking in her new work. The same could be said for Kurt Vonnegut, but he just passed away and his latest collection wasn't necessarily concocted with his involvement. I'll even throw Chuck Palahniuk in the "Disappointed by Recent Efforts" category (I can't rave about Rant, and am slow to pick up Snuff). I keep wondering why this is happening, and I keep thinking that "talent is front loaded."

The amount of years talent lingers may be in question, but I think we can all agree that even Spielberg and Lucas have tapered. In fact, I think if Stephen King hadn't been hit by a van, he may not have bounced back in every way (of course, not every King book has been a winner -- even the early years have losers). Does a personal tragedy equal a creative reboot?

I think the same can be true for comics as well -- Frank Miller's early work is rightly revered, and his personal re-invention with Sin City has been hailed by others, but his singular directoral debut with Will Eisner's The Spirit looks like absolute trash. It resembles a poorly-made Sin City imitator and not a tribute Eisner's creation.

Maybe J.D. Salinger was onto something.

tucker monster says

my son the star

tucker monster says...

California's registration deadline is October 20th!

the taunting tree

A few weeks ago...

Today:

ho, ho, ho

Well, its getting to be that time again. I'm about to start designing holiday cards. Let this be a warning to start making your lists and getting your orders ready -- last minute giant card orders should be a thing of the past!

I think this will be the only card to be reprinted from last year, because I still love it so. Expect 2 or 3 more designs in the coming weeks!

ginger & foxxy

political

I'm not sure when American became the country of taking away rights instead of granting them, but its getting scary. Between the debate last night, watching Taxi to the Dark Side, and the new horrific pro-prop 8 commercials I'm in an election funk that not even West Wing can save.

You're voting for President. That's great. You should. But if you love your friends and want them to be happy while not infringing on your rights at all, please donate to No on Prop 8.

Prop 8 is the California Gay Marriage Proposition, and it doesn't take anything away from straight people. It doesn't take anything away from churches. It doesn't have anything to do with religion, it has to do with RIGHTS. Namely the 1,001 rights marriage grants loving monogymous partners.

If you can't vote for it, at least donate to it.

what DO I do?

The other night we had a dinner. At this dinner the, "what do you do?" topic inevitably came up, and since it's hollywood, is almost always followed with, "what do you want to do?"

What do I do? I work for commerical production companies. Doing what? Graphic design. What do I want to do? Children's books and comics. Maybe a TV show or feature here and there (hey, it's Hollywood).

What struck me just now is that I'm not sure when the "do's" got reversed. I used to be an illustrator, now I'm a graphic designer.

I know it pays the bills and all (and there are plenty), but its odd when you realize, without knowing it, things have changed.

I wish I had the ability to creatively multit-task. I can multi-task, but switching gears from work-designer mode to write/illustrate mode on most days is just too much to ask for. After hours of sitting at the computer you just want to get up and leave.

in brightest day

October 1st and its 98 degrees outside. Nice. Not only is it 98 degrees outside, but in an odd reversal of the norm, its actually HOTTER in the hills instead of cooler. We're expected to hit 105 at the house, which is just not right.

On the road trip I picked up Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War and enjoyed it greatly, now I'm on a GL kick. After buying No Fear, and the just released paperback Revenge of the Lanterns, I can rewatch the Lantern-centric Justice Leagues and New Frontier with a different mindset. It's like getting new hours of television for free!