Thursday, December 31, 2015
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Art-Imation 2015 (by Erin Humiston and others)
I had a small role in this...
Guess what my frame was before the end credits!
Guess what my frame was before the end credits!
Friday, December 25, 2015
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Saturday, December 12, 2015
OpenMinds (Joe Sedelmaier, 2003)
A moment of zen from the "Where's The Beef?" guy!
At a time when form trumps content, when
euphemisms are euphemisms of euphemisms,
when words lose even the remotest connection
to reality, Open Minds seemed an apt title
It's also the one trait above all others that most
everyone claims to have—including Raymund, a
somewhat modern day 'Candide': Voltaire's joke
about man's capacity for denial.
As he (and we) bear witness to a bizarre mix of
indifference, corruption, and stupidity, Raymund,
unencumbered with any sense of irony, takes
comfort in an agglomeration of empty bromides
totally oblivious to the incongruity of what he's
saying and what we are seeing.
In fact, the only thoughtful words in the film are
in the form of a question to Raymund, "Don't you
ever have any doubts?"
Raymund is without a doubt—without a doubt.
—Joe Sedelmaier www.sedelmaier.com
At a time when form trumps content, when
euphemisms are euphemisms of euphemisms,
when words lose even the remotest connection
to reality, Open Minds seemed an apt title
It's also the one trait above all others that most
everyone claims to have—including Raymund, a
somewhat modern day 'Candide': Voltaire's joke
about man's capacity for denial.
As he (and we) bear witness to a bizarre mix of
indifference, corruption, and stupidity, Raymund,
unencumbered with any sense of irony, takes
comfort in an agglomeration of empty bromides
totally oblivious to the incongruity of what he's
saying and what we are seeing.
In fact, the only thoughtful words in the film are
in the form of a question to Raymund, "Don't you
ever have any doubts?"
Raymund is without a doubt—without a doubt.
—Joe Sedelmaier www.sedelmaier.com
Thursday, December 03, 2015
A Yuletide Sing-Song!
THE THREE LITTLE DWARFS
FROSTY THE SNOWMAN
SUZY SNOWFLAKE
CHRISTMAS WITH TINGLES
Because I sense a few haven't sang loud enough, a quick trip to the Yule Log will set things right!
SUFFER!
FROSTY THE SNOWMAN
SUZY SNOWFLAKE
CHRISTMAS WITH TINGLES
Because I sense a few haven't sang loud enough, a quick trip to the Yule Log will set things right!
SUFFER!
The Unchained Goddess (1958)
I am NOT going to watch It's a Wonderful Life this year, if I can help it. So, in its stead, enjoy this other Frank Capra classic, staring Richard "It Came from Outer Space" Carlson.
Fun fact: The discovery of the jet stream went largely unnoticed because it was published in Esperanto. Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton?
Creepy animation starts at 2:20.
Tuesday, December 01, 2015
Dental Flossophy
Oh, the stuff I'm finding on these drives is nuts. There's a DVD rip of this fun little 'toon. I figure, we just finished a big eating holiday here in the States, and there's a Peanuts movie coming out, so let's get this one up.
Oh, and here's that sweet jazz:
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Monday, November 23, 2015
Freedom River (1971)
Sunday, November 22, 2015
It Felt Like a Kiss (2009)
It felt like a kiss by Adam Curtis on Vimeo. Be aware there is some graphic imagery.
Every day thousands of things happenedto thousands of people
Some seemed to be significant and others did not
One of the things that Danno and I used to talk about was the purpose of media. What are you trying to do with all of this?
He saw it as a level of Vaudeville. Part of why we have Hell Nurse Katie (and why I came on as Doctor Mila) was the early exploitation films of the 40s and 50s. Oh, it was educational, you see, and that's why there's a nurse on hand. Or horror films that were SO FRIGHTENING they had to keep a nurse close at hand, in case someone had an "episode".
I saw it as a chance to educate, at some level, even if it was only different styles of animation. Part of why we never showed JUST anime or Japanese clips was because there was just so much great stuff out there. Why limit yourself?
But both of us loved Adam Curtis.
In going those all these external drives and trying to get the clip library back together, I found a folder of "Adam Curtis Ultimate", which is basically all of his documentaries. I find myself going back to these around this time of year. Maybe it's the historical aspect of it all.
And if you want to know the future, you have to study the past. We actually had a history teacher who, as a weekly project, would have us find a newspaper article, find a similar story in history, and (looking at the variables) make a prediction. We got pretty good.
So, in light of all that, here's a great collection of clips, arranged in such a way as to make some over-arcing point. I'm sure that it was more impactful as a live show, but we take what we can get. It's great editing, if you want to learn how to do that, and even has that slightly Alex Jones kookery that's so much fun to mock. Heck, you might even learn something.
The imaginary seemed so real
And the world outside became like a dream
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Thursday, November 19, 2015
The House I Live In (1945)
Friday, November 13, 2015
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Sunday, November 08, 2015
Obin's Afterbirth
ODIN'S AFTERBIRTH from Joseph Bennett on Vimeo.
A long piece and super-violent. Something we could never get away with showing live.Wednesday, November 04, 2015
Tuesday, November 03, 2015
Sunday, November 01, 2015
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Deadly Deposits (1992)
Not really Halloween-themed, but it was produced by the same studio behind those wacky Nickelodeon ID's and the "Tales From The Far Side" specials, be happy!
Deadly Deposits by Jay Falconer, National Film Board of Canada
Friday, October 30, 2015
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Monday, October 26, 2015
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
So You've Grown Attached
So You've Grown Attached from Kate Tsang on Vimeo.
What I love best are the Childcraft books on Bearbear's desk.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Spoild Short Film Festival
"Sploid has been curating the best videos on the internet for almost two years now. We’ve featured hundreds of shorts with great stories and awesome visuals and helped bring those films to a larger audience."
This is one of the things I sent Danno that we never got posted. We sent a lot of stuff back and forth, and that's how we found some of our more popular long-form pieces, like Bjorn, Space Stallions, and Captain Awesome.
I'll be going through and getting those up through the month, so watch this space.
De l'autre côté
De l'autre côté - Icinori from Julien Jude on Vimeo.
A little thing from the log-files for the Halloween mood.Saturday, October 17, 2015
Sunday, October 04, 2015
Someone reminded me
This is one of those things that Danno and I could never agree if we should show at Hell. I said it was short enough; he said it was too quiet. We'll see what happens next year, when I give this one an airing, but maybe second hour. And then there's this:
Oh, you beautiful summer children. I went to too many heroin funerals in the 90s that I can't look at this and not think of all those singed fairy wings.
They were all beautiful. They were all going to fly for ever. My delicate angels.
Thursday, October 01, 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
AWA 2015 Stupid Video Panel OF DOOM! Report
For most of the year I've been posting my DOOM! lists over at Anime World Order but I'm reminded my login still works here. A full con report will be posted there, but for now:
A record-setting 25,000 people showed up to Anime Weekend Atlanta, and roughly 10% of the convention--that's 2500 people!--went to Friday's Anime Hell in Main Events. Saturday though is "the busy day," with major concert performances, dance events, music video and costume contests, dub premieres, and adults-only programming are all going on concurrently. The con continues to grow, but the purpose of DOOM! remains the same: to offer up an alternative to all that.
DOOM!'s new location this year was in Williams Ballroom E, the perfect "it's one of the biggest rooms but not the biggest room in the place" sized venue for it. If I had any critique of the venue it's that the ballrooms that size really need two projector screens, one on each side. This just had one single screen in the corner, but I anticipated this possibility (it happens often) and kept the subtitled clips to a minimum. I didn't even know where the room was until about an hour beforehand, and while that's normally lighthearted con absentmindedness, this year all it reminded me of was the last correspondence I ever had with Dan Baker: saying I didn't know the time and venue but would let him know. Danno would always whip up a silly flyer image and post a blog update with the location and start time info on my behalf, and needed me to tell him that for him to start. By the time I'd gotten word, he'd passed away. I just couldn't get into the necessary mindset to put together a playlist, but the benefit of running everything off of a computer is that you can put stuff together moments before and/or on the fly. I did more of that than usual this year.
But it all worked out. Despite lots of evening competition vying for the attention of congoers, but 90%-95% of the room was full and stayed that way through to the end when we had to clear out to make room for the debuting 18+ cosplay event. The Surface Pro 2 tablet has officially replaced my bulky laptops of the past, and I had no errors with adapters, tech hookups, files not playing, clips bugging out, crashes, or any of the usual antics. Good thing too, since with everything going on if I had needed a tech guy there would've been very little chance of getting one. Afterwards, one person thanked me for "being the only panelist who didn't have any tech difficulties" (on cue, I then disconnected the audio from the tablet, causing a big ol' eardrum damaging feedback BZZZZZ) and another noted that he'd been attending AWA for 12 years, had never even heard of my panel until now, but would be sure to tell his friends for next year.
But will there BE a next year? It wasn't until Sunday morning that I finally went into the Kennesaw ballroom for the first time the entire convention, and it dawned on me how many people I'd sat and joked with in that very room were now dead or otherwise not present. Hopefully I'll still have people willing to make the trip with me come 2016...
Pre-DOOM!, I showed some short bits: about half of the animated music video "Transfer," the "Deprive" segment of Robot Carnival, and "Prosthetic Moses" (a ghost with tap dancing shoes set to "Moses Supposes" from Singing in the Rain).
As for What Got Shown (this list is not in sequential order):
The Top 5 Viral Pictures of 1911, the entire alley fight from They Live, Sonic the Hedgehog's inability to summarize Dragon Ball Z, praising Sonic the Hedgehog for being a deaf woman, the Nigerian special effects bonanza that is B14 ONE AND TWO, Bill Plympton cartoon on the dangers of setting domesticated pets free in the wild, Black Dynamite's manequin teaching hard lessons to pro wrestlers and MMA fighters in Japanese variety show fashion, the Eagle's Nest Ministries warning us of the dangers of Skeletor and Dungeons & Dragons, the live-action Assassination Classroom, Bounty Hunter Hard in a rather improbable car chase, Tyrone explaining dogecoin, the Sci-Fi Channel's early 1990s ads for adventures in Japanese animation, Baki the Grappler punching an ape in his brain after repeated groin strikes (first question after panel: "what was that one anime with the guy fighting the ape?"), multiple horndog Amuro Ray-centric episodes of Gundam-san, Lupin the Third escaping justice once again thanks to the power of police racism, Ronald McDonald the creepy stalker, Segata Sanshiro's repeated assaults on children who dared to not be playing Sega Saturn, Metal Gear Payback, that Kirstin Dunst "Turning Japanese" music video by McG that I wouldn't dare show at any other convention besides AWA because it has a few shots of cartoon boob I forgot were there, Cooking With Scorpion, the opening scene to "Stone Cold" starring Brian Bosworth, the best bodybuilder fight in Indian cinema, Danger 5 goes super sentai once again, the Buddha's Palm vs the acidic zit dwarf, Metal Gear Raiden: Snake Eraser, Vegeta fights Cup Noodle, Frozen meets The Thing, Inferno Cop versus the FBI, Air Man Will Not Die (by popular demand), Metal Gear Sunrising, using Kirin Litchi to get sempai to notice you, le film de Mutafukaz by Studio 4C, and of course GARBAGE DAY.
A record-setting 25,000 people showed up to Anime Weekend Atlanta, and roughly 10% of the convention--that's 2500 people!--went to Friday's Anime Hell in Main Events. Saturday though is "the busy day," with major concert performances, dance events, music video and costume contests, dub premieres, and adults-only programming are all going on concurrently. The con continues to grow, but the purpose of DOOM! remains the same: to offer up an alternative to all that.
DOOM!'s new location this year was in Williams Ballroom E, the perfect "it's one of the biggest rooms but not the biggest room in the place" sized venue for it. If I had any critique of the venue it's that the ballrooms that size really need two projector screens, one on each side. This just had one single screen in the corner, but I anticipated this possibility (it happens often) and kept the subtitled clips to a minimum. I didn't even know where the room was until about an hour beforehand, and while that's normally lighthearted con absentmindedness, this year all it reminded me of was the last correspondence I ever had with Dan Baker: saying I didn't know the time and venue but would let him know. Danno would always whip up a silly flyer image and post a blog update with the location and start time info on my behalf, and needed me to tell him that for him to start. By the time I'd gotten word, he'd passed away. I just couldn't get into the necessary mindset to put together a playlist, but the benefit of running everything off of a computer is that you can put stuff together moments before and/or on the fly. I did more of that than usual this year.
But it all worked out. Despite lots of evening competition vying for the attention of congoers, but 90%-95% of the room was full and stayed that way through to the end when we had to clear out to make room for the debuting 18+ cosplay event. The Surface Pro 2 tablet has officially replaced my bulky laptops of the past, and I had no errors with adapters, tech hookups, files not playing, clips bugging out, crashes, or any of the usual antics. Good thing too, since with everything going on if I had needed a tech guy there would've been very little chance of getting one. Afterwards, one person thanked me for "being the only panelist who didn't have any tech difficulties" (on cue, I then disconnected the audio from the tablet, causing a big ol' eardrum damaging feedback BZZZZZ) and another noted that he'd been attending AWA for 12 years, had never even heard of my panel until now, but would be sure to tell his friends for next year.
But will there BE a next year? It wasn't until Sunday morning that I finally went into the Kennesaw ballroom for the first time the entire convention, and it dawned on me how many people I'd sat and joked with in that very room were now dead or otherwise not present. Hopefully I'll still have people willing to make the trip with me come 2016...
Pre-DOOM!, I showed some short bits: about half of the animated music video "Transfer," the "Deprive" segment of Robot Carnival, and "Prosthetic Moses" (a ghost with tap dancing shoes set to "Moses Supposes" from Singing in the Rain).
As for What Got Shown (this list is not in sequential order):
The Top 5 Viral Pictures of 1911, the entire alley fight from They Live, Sonic the Hedgehog's inability to summarize Dragon Ball Z, praising Sonic the Hedgehog for being a deaf woman, the Nigerian special effects bonanza that is B14 ONE AND TWO, Bill Plympton cartoon on the dangers of setting domesticated pets free in the wild, Black Dynamite's manequin teaching hard lessons to pro wrestlers and MMA fighters in Japanese variety show fashion, the Eagle's Nest Ministries warning us of the dangers of Skeletor and Dungeons & Dragons, the live-action Assassination Classroom, Bounty Hunter Hard in a rather improbable car chase, Tyrone explaining dogecoin, the Sci-Fi Channel's early 1990s ads for adventures in Japanese animation, Baki the Grappler punching an ape in his brain after repeated groin strikes (first question after panel: "what was that one anime with the guy fighting the ape?"), multiple horndog Amuro Ray-centric episodes of Gundam-san, Lupin the Third escaping justice once again thanks to the power of police racism, Ronald McDonald the creepy stalker, Segata Sanshiro's repeated assaults on children who dared to not be playing Sega Saturn, Metal Gear Payback, that Kirstin Dunst "Turning Japanese" music video by McG that I wouldn't dare show at any other convention besides AWA because it has a few shots of cartoon boob I forgot were there, Cooking With Scorpion, the opening scene to "Stone Cold" starring Brian Bosworth, the best bodybuilder fight in Indian cinema, Danger 5 goes super sentai once again, the Buddha's Palm vs the acidic zit dwarf, Metal Gear Raiden: Snake Eraser, Vegeta fights Cup Noodle, Frozen meets The Thing, Inferno Cop versus the FBI, Air Man Will Not Die (by popular demand), Metal Gear Sunrising, using Kirin Litchi to get sempai to notice you, le film de Mutafukaz by Studio 4C, and of course GARBAGE DAY.
AWA 2015 Anime Hell After-Action Report
Thanks to everyone who came out to Anime Hell Friday at AWA. I managed to convince the staff to NOT clear the room after Totally Lame Anime, and to NOT check IDs to ensure everyone was over 21, and we thought the show was going to run as smooth as ever, and of course DVD technology CANNOT HANDLE THE AWESOMENESS OF ANIME HELL, so there's that.
Confidential to the guy that wanted me to show the "Ant Lion" video - that video was part of Neil Nadelman's "Totally Lame Anime", and not part of Anime Hell, which is why I had no idea what you were talking about.
Thanks again to all who came out to the show and we'll see you in 2016!
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| Shirt designed by Danno for AWA 2001 |
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Inertia, Momentum, Transformation
An Object at Rest from Seth Boyden on Vimeo.
On Sunday night, September 20th, 2015, Danno Baker was killed by an acute pulmonary thromboembolism.
I've been tasked with sorting through all the external drives and discs and storage and boxes upon boxes of video. Copies have to be made for his family; friends have requested what they can. We're all still processing what's happened.
I'd like to thank those who have come to us to offer condolences. It's always hard to be strong at times like this without becoming brittle and risking a shatter. You bend, you adjust, and you keep on gong.
And I hadn't really been able to cry about it until now. I knew there was a lot that had to be done and crying's for later. But it's later now and I'm really, really going to miss my friend.
So, while sorting through drives, I found this video in a folder that said "A-Kon Hell 2015" and I don't even remember if we showed it or not because that was a lifetime ago. But here it is.
We're still going to do Hell as best we can. It's not going to be the same without Danno at the helm, but the show was what he lived for. I'm glad that we had a year with no problems and he was able to smile at all of you.
He had a smile, really, even if he never drew himself with one.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Wednesday, September 09, 2015
Tuesday, September 08, 2015
ANIME HELL ANIME WEEKEND ATLANTA 2015
It's the 21st AWA and that means one thing. Anime Hell.
It's all happening in the giant Hall D in the Galleria at 10pm Friday Sept. 25 at Anime Weekend Atlanta!!!
It's all happening in the giant Hall D in the Galleria at 10pm Friday Sept. 25 at Anime Weekend Atlanta!!!
Sunday, September 06, 2015
Anime Fest Quinceañera
Soooooo, the show was actually at 10 PM in panel room 6. Oops.
I always wondered what he was singing.
Well, here we are, after 15 years with Anime Fest and we had A FANTASTIC SHOW.
We did have a little confusion on the announcement, however:
As long as it picks up after itself, it's welcome to the show.
We had tiaras this year, and all our Camy walkers got one. A couple of our Hard Gay posers got tiaras as well and they earned them.
Danno gave a lovely speech about how the show started and the history of Anime Hell at A-Fest. Katie gave a...speech bout underage drinking. I didn't give a speech about anything as I was too busy dicking with my hair.
Katie had made a Hard Gay pinata and that was given away as a prize near the end of the night. The lucky fellow who won it (a fellow doctor, I might add) let us know this was his first Anime Hell. I'm sure he'll be back.
One surprise from the night was Danno's copy of When I See an Elephant Fly (I didn't know he had a copy!). Kris took a little time to clear up the controversy about the segment, so we're still an edutainment panel. We're always out to push a button and see what lights up.
All in all, a great show and a great audience, as always. You are always why we do this. Hopefully, we'll be able to post stuff on the blog more regularly once everyone's work schedules settle.
I always wondered what he was singing.
Well, here we are, after 15 years with Anime Fest and we had A FANTASTIC SHOW.
We did have a little confusion on the announcement, however:
Comment I just left: "Cincoanera?
Did you by chance mean quinceañera?
The latter is a party for a girl who’s turning fifteen...
— Emma Álvarez Gibson (@ealvarezgibson) September 3, 2015As long as it picks up after itself, it's welcome to the show.
We had tiaras this year, and all our Camy walkers got one. A couple of our Hard Gay posers got tiaras as well and they earned them.
Danno gave a lovely speech about how the show started and the history of Anime Hell at A-Fest. Katie gave a...speech bout underage drinking. I didn't give a speech about anything as I was too busy dicking with my hair.
Katie had made a Hard Gay pinata and that was given away as a prize near the end of the night. The lucky fellow who won it (a fellow doctor, I might add) let us know this was his first Anime Hell. I'm sure he'll be back.
One surprise from the night was Danno's copy of When I See an Elephant Fly (I didn't know he had a copy!). Kris took a little time to clear up the controversy about the segment, so we're still an edutainment panel. We're always out to push a button and see what lights up.
All in all, a great show and a great audience, as always. You are always why we do this. Hopefully, we'll be able to post stuff on the blog more regularly once everyone's work schedules settle.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Anime Hell at AnimeFEST this Saturday!
This is it folks. The big one. This Saturday, September 5th, is the 15th year of Anime Hell at Texas. We're celebrating with a Quinceañera, except without the live band and you aren't required to bring a gift. No cake, either. I don't think cake ground in to the carpet would win us any friends with the convention center. So it'll be the usual candy and prizes, with pinatas and maybe a few tiaras.
You're all invited to the party. R.S.V.P. in the comments:
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Politics!
As someone with Canadian citizenship, I am obligated to show you this ad. It's not a joke*. He's really running.
*Before you laugh too hard, let me just say this: Trump.
Saturday, August 08, 2015
Friday, August 07, 2015
Thursday, August 06, 2015
Friday, July 24, 2015
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Monday, July 06, 2015
Sunday, July 05, 2015
Monday, June 29, 2015
Friday, June 26, 2015
Alison Weschke (nee de Vere)
Alison's awards include the Grand Prix at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival Mr. Pascal, seen here:
And then she won first prize at the Odense International Film Festival for The Black Dog.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Mary Blair
Mary's work will probably be the most familiar to you. She worked with Disney on Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Song of the South, and Cinderella.
Look at those colors!
And here's someone's student film. Hey, haven't we been doing student films all week?
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Evelyn Lambart
Today is Evelyn Lambart. When the guy she was working with got interested in ballet, she perfected transferring paper cut-outs to lithograph plates, which she then painted and animated. Here's what it looks like:
Before McLaren got on the ballet kick, they used to make films like this:
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Dick Van Patten
It has come to my attention that Dick Van Patten has passed away.
He will be missed, to be sure.
To me he was one of those character actors who always popped up everywhere.
I guess part of me always assumed that Dick Van Patten would keep working forever.
I'm sure he'd still be working if he could. Godspeed, Dick Van Patten.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Lotte Reiniger
I thought, for this week, we could concentrate on some female animators. The Annecy International Festival of Animation was last week, and the kids at Gobelins have been hard at work.
Our first and oldest is Lotte Reiniger. Her The Adventures of Prince Achmed is the oldest surviving animated feature film, and every moment of it is glorious. Check it out some of her other stuff here:
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Nick Danger (Phil Austin)
Terrible news:
Here's the press release. I know I'm posting this late. 74 doesn't seem that old to me.
Anyway, shut your eyes and listen to this, so you'll know what you lost.
Also, you can watch this:
RIP Phil Austin, the brilliant member of the Firesign Theater has left the planet. He was right about the comet. pic.twitter.com/mOLWTz1SNT
— Joel Hodgson (@JoelGHodgson) June 20, 2015Here's the press release. I know I'm posting this late. 74 doesn't seem that old to me.
Anyway, shut your eyes and listen to this, so you'll know what you lost.
Also, you can watch this:
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Looking for video/pics of the A-Kon Hell show
We're currently going through the video we shot at the show and will be posting the clips as soon as possible. If anybody took photos or has any video of the A-Kon Hell show and would be willing to share it with us, we'd really love to see it. Please post the links in the comments.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
So help me, Christopher Lee
About that...
More...
He is very, very old here. Look at his eyes. He's not reading.
I am imagining Vincent Price in that hat. I am imagining Vincent Price saying those lines.
What?
Look at that smile.
I'm going to miss him.
Monday, June 08, 2015
A-Kon 2015: the aftermath
Exciting, no?
I actually thought for a minute that Goemon was being played by Mansai Nomura, who played Abe no Seimei in Onmyoji, but no. It's Gô Ayano, who played Joe in Gatchaman. Either way, I get to have very nice fantasies later on.
So! The show!
Danno, Katie, and I took a taxi in this year, because you can't beat class. Also, I'd messed up my heel earlier in the week and didn't feel like walking 5 blocks and paying $30 for the privilege. I live close enough that a taxi was very affordable. It really is the best way to get to the Anatole, hands down.
Somehow, our room was switched with the folks doing Rocky Horror, or vice versa. I knew we were in Video Two; but when we got there, we were moved to Video One. BECAUSE WE ARE VIDEO ONE MATERIAL. All our hard work has finally paid off.
MEGALIZER II from MEGALIZER on Vimeo.
Strong start from Danno! Thinking we were going to be next to the rave, he threw in some nice boom-da-boom (sorry, Rocky Horror!) No, really, the Rocky folks were incredibly cool about the move. I don't know who made that decision, but you guys really were very cool about it and I thank you.Oh yeah! This year, we had a special appearance from Jason Merrill, brother of Dave Merrill, the guy what started this crazy thing. He had a snazzy jacket.
For pre-show this year, we got the kazoo orchestra set up and ready to go. Why not? It's a good activity while other things are getting handled and it keeps up from slowing down the show to handle it later. Also, kazooers? You guys rock.
Normally, we split up the "Hard Gay" and "Camay" walks by gender, but this year, in the spirit of something, we decided to forgo with such binary restrictions. Both contests went wonderfully.
New contest this year was our "evil laugh" off. That is the stuff of nightmares, let me say. We'll be posting what we have of that later.
Everyone was awesome. We had a great show. Everyone had a good time. I swear, in the last four years, these have just been getting better and better!
If you've got video, post it in the comments! We love your feedback!
Yes, I know I'm posting late. I have a new work schedule and things got wacky.
Saturday, June 06, 2015
Monday, June 01, 2015
Can't Stop the Music (1980)
I have the sound track for this on vinyl. I used to listen to it all the time as a kid.
This is the most important song in the movie.
But this is on there too. It's a terrible movie. Someday, I'll do a blow-by-blow.
Friday, May 29, 2015
When I Was Done Dying
I've posted Dan Deacon before, so you already know how I feel about them. This one is nice on full-screen and with headphones.
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Anime North Anime Hell OP
In case you missed the show, or in case you were at the show and blinked and missed something, here's the opening credits sequence for last week's Anime Hell at Anime North!
Monday, May 25, 2015
Aniem Notrh Ehll Eropt
Yeah it was cold outside - Friday night it got down to ZERO, welcome to May in Ontario, hope you brought a jacket - but Hell was in session at the North building of the TCC, with the finest bathrooms in convention-center-land and a capacity crowd of fans!
The crowd learned about dumb ways to die, met Mr. Bigot from the Yogi Bear show, got caught up with Lupin III, was taught traffic safety with Goku, saw some live-action Astro Boy, was told to "heat meat up" and "hold meat tight", said goodbye to Casey Kasem and Gary Owens, watched "Power Plant 33" from the Japan Animator Expo, was sold savings bonds from Batman, learned about how all anime animation and manga comics were actually child-porn tools for predators, saw the otaku seduction techniques of Blue Blazes and Gundam Build Fighters, and heard an amazing tale of fandom vengeance from the '80s. Shain live-tweeted from her control table, the tech staff kept the stereo in stereo, and overall, considering the change in venue and all the potential problems that could have happened, it was an amazing, almost flawless Hell for everyone. When it was all over, we distributed Timbits for strength and energy to make it through the cold darkness. Now it's spring again, thanks to Anime Hell!
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| live blurry selfie taken sometime during Hell |
Animazement 2015 Report
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Hell Dance Party: "Severe Slash" by Helena Hauff, "1976" by Tzusing (with special guest Ned Beatty), and "Vader" by Gesloten Cirkel.
01 - "She Is Young, She Is Beautiful, She Is Next" by Perturbator - No sooner has the Hell Dance Party wrapped up than we kick things off with an awesome slice of synthwave.
02 - 1970s Lite Brite ad - And now a word from last year's commercial sponsor.
03 - Dear vs. Bear trailer - It's like a cross between Bollywood and the Asylum guys who make those awful TV movies for Syfy, but in the very best possible way. Of course, by "best" I mean "What the hell?"
04 - "FM" by Crayon Pop - Tuxedo Kamen got some applause, sure, but the Master Chief cameo is what really made the crowd go wild.
05 - The Unmarketables - They're not premise driven!
06 - Mystery Boy - It turns out that the Hell audience loves nothing more than heavy doses of cartoon violence. Can't argue with that!
07 - Hebocon report - It also turns out that people who like Japanese stuff and who go to conventions really like to watch reports about Japanese conventions, especially ones about crappy robots. This was one of the highlights of this year's Hell.
08 - Robot King - Speaking of crappy robots, boy, do these guys ever suck.
09 - "Sausage Samba" by Friendly Rich - Yes, the song is in English. He's singing about meat. No, really.
10 - Moments of Wonder: Winston Churchill - And now, this year's educational segment, courtesy of the ever insightful Philomena Cunk.
11 - Revenge of the Ninja trailer - Remember, only a ninja can kill a ninja. Sadly, I accidentally played a variant of the trailer that featured absolutely no belt buckle shuriken, but I've linked to the superior version here. That said, when Sho Kosugi is involved you can only go so wrong.
12 - Transformers: Age of Extinction (10 Guaranteed Improvements) - And we're back to crappy robots, though immeasurably improved by the Auralnauts. This was the other popular favorite of the year.
13 - Mighty Mister Titan - Providing the all-important half time exercise break, as documented here.
14 - I Live In The Woods - Random cartoon weirdness, round one.
15 - The Circle Line - Random cartoon weirdness, round two.
16 - The Magic Christmas Tree trailer - Absolutely no adults will be admitted without children!
17 - Clocking Out - With special thanks to Bottom Shelf Films and, of course, Vince Lowe.
18 - Captain America: Winter Soldier VHS trailer - Our special sneak preview of Captain America: Civil War.
19 - Invincible Iron Man: The False Captain America - Whoops, sorry, that was the last Captain America flick. This is our special sneak preview of Captain America: Civil War. The festivities proper kick off six minutes in.
20 - Dickens Fruit Corners - And now a word from our commercial sponsor.
21 - "Bibi Hendl" by Takeo Ischi - "Who likes Japanese pop music?" Featuring a wonderful bit of serendipity in the form of a surprise appearance by Cafe Hell.
22 - Internal Organs University - "Who likes Japanese cartoons?"
23 - Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde trailer (NSFW) - The previous clip was a bit heavy, so it was obviously time to switch it up with something wildly gratuitous.
24 - V for Varoufakis - This year's current events segment was provided courtesy of that endless font of humor, the Germans.
25 - The Obvious Child - Presented without commentary to a crowd that sat there quietly for twelve solid minutes trying to figure out what in the fuck was happening to them.
Outro: "The Time is Now" by John Cena
As ever, kudos to Animazement's stalwart Hellions: Cameron Blashka, Jared Blashka, and Chris Culpepper. Also, thanks to William Bloodworth for providing this year's flyer.
Friday, May 22, 2015
Anime Hell at Anime North
37 minutes til Anime Hell #AnimeNorth2015 it's cold outside, come on in! pic.twitter.com/JrceYyRO1O
— dave merrill (@terebifunhouse) May 23, 2015HELL pic.twitter.com/CnbFeMCcPZ
— dave merrill (@terebifunhouse) May 23, 2015Thursday, May 21, 2015
The Totally Awesome Japanimation Fan Show (April 1990)
"We dug back into our videotape archives and pulled out this classic episode from April 1, 1990. We talk about a new Japanimation convention in Dallas, sub vs dub, and the new fad called 'cosplay'."
Shout-out to A-Kon after 1:13. Cos-play segment at 3:50. You can FF through the laser-disc part.
Danno found this, so I don't know why he didn't post it.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
this Friday! Anime Hell! Anime North! This Friday!
NEW PLACE SAME TIME ALL HELL
This year Anime North has both the South and the North buildings of the Toronto Congress Centre, and the giant ballroom of the North building is where we're at! One-day tickets are still available at the door so there's no reason to miss this big show!
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Friday, May 08, 2015
Wednesday, May 06, 2015
Happy Hundred
Like you don't know who that is.
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Green pea-ness. No, wait.
Take that, critics.
Take that, whomever.
And I just included that last one because I think he's cute, and it's a pretty good little movie. It's all about the making of "Citizen Kane" and I think Liev has the cadence down.
Oh, such furniture porn!
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Monday, April 27, 2015
"anime message boards"
I think what I love the most about this clip is the sound of the modem handshake at that key moment.
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Brad Bird's "The Spirit"
The what-if's of animated brilliance that had yet to be noticed in 1980's Hollywood.
Friday, April 10, 2015
I love you, Terry
Nothing can really prepare you for that. It's not something I ever expected to find.
I was actually looking for a video of this interview, but just doing a search for "Terry Crews" will land you in some weird places.
I did find an interview, btw.
Thursday, April 09, 2015
Wednesday, April 08, 2015
Another Stan Freberg product
Starring Stan Freberg's son, Donavan.
ELEPHANTS ARE STILL ENDANGERED. NOTHING AS CHANGED.
We all miss the Cold War, kiddo. That's where neo-reactionaries come from. And The X-Files.
There's also one from 1992, but the posted disabled embedding. Go check it out.
Stan Freberg
There's a lot I could have posted concerning Stan Freberg, but I thought this episode of "The Monkees" was one of his best roles (he appears at 5:37). Also, Severn Darden of Second City fame is in this (at 6:21), and I adore him.
Haha. Punch-cards. LBJ jokes. This show really was subversive.
Tuesday, April 07, 2015
Friday, April 03, 2015
Rite of Spring
Fantasia 1982 - Rite of Spring - Deems Taylor Replaced from W W on Vimeo.
I want you to know this is my favorite piece of music and it moves me to tears when I hear it.More...
No, but really.
EVERY TIME.
Oh, I wish I was kidding.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
The smartest dog in the world
Not that we'll ever show it at Hell (it's too slow), but my god he's funny.
Go check out his channel!
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
That's a pretty big IF
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If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
--Rudyard Kipling
Saturday, March 07, 2015
Maya the Bee gets a movie
Maya the bee? Now that takes me back.
Does anybody remember when Maya the Bee aired on Nickelodeon?
Friday, March 06, 2015
A sock full of Johnny Quest
Oh, that's some fat brass!
The expression "A sock full of Johnny Quest" is from this comic, specifically a reference to Yoko Kanno's soundtrack for "Cowboy BeBop". I thought it might be fun to share that source material.
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And, while we're here, a little segment of a documentary about "Johnny Quest", focusing on the music and the guy who gave it to us. He should have had a career outside of cartoons, you say? But then, how would you know him?
Thursday, March 05, 2015
Moomin
I dunno about you, but I already like the music. Go look at some stills from the ballet. It looks fantastic!
Tuesday, March 03, 2015
Leonard Nimoy vs. The MagnaVision (1981)
If only we listened...
Yeah I'm a little late on this, but it just came to my mind right now and I thought I'd give my last word on him.
RIP "Mr. Spock"
Sunday, March 01, 2015
Friday, February 27, 2015
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Double Dare: After Dark
"A special Family Double Dare that was created featuring many of the folks who were instrumental in making the programme. Including the President of Nickelodeon, Gerry Laybourne.
We all watched so many families have such a good time, we wanted to play a game ourselves. This is it.
It did not air, and was not edited so you are seeing the raw output from the studio in Florida."
- Geoffrey Darby
Watch Marc Summers really loosen himself up!
We all watched so many families have such a good time, we wanted to play a game ourselves. This is it.
It did not air, and was not edited so you are seeing the raw output from the studio in Florida."
- Geoffrey Darby
Watch Marc Summers really loosen himself up!
Monday, February 16, 2015
CPF Reviews: Ghost Story
Remember that film you saw as a kid that scared the hell out of you? This was mine. The fourth installment of CPF Reviews looks back at John Irvin's 1981 film "Ghost Story." Warning: contains scenes which may be spooky if you're anything like me. Also, be advised I spoil the hell out of the plot, for anyone who hasn't seen the film but might someday want to.
-Matt Murray
-Matt Murray
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Thursday, February 05, 2015
Would you like a hotdog?
Do NOT invite this girl to your acid party. She will drop it.
Seriously, though, this is like, all those stories I have to hear from vegetarians about why meat is murder.
Wednesday, February 04, 2015
Con-trov-ersy!
Oh, man, an old film about the Brits getting shots. I love how they say controversy.
Warning! There's breast-feeding and naked babies! And there's more where that came from. As your doctor, I suggest you watch these films about horrible infectious diseases and the easy way to prevent them from ruining your lives.
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Looks like putting a kid on a leash is nothing new.
Dogs kinda whoop anyway.
It's more bleak when it's in black and white.
Meh. The Americans don't really put on a good show, do they?
I take it back. Polio is scary as hell.
Drama! And a killer doll. It's so sad.
Oh yay! A cartoon. That makes it so much better. (here's parts 2 and 3)
Gods. Tetanus. That's a 14th century way to go.
Tuesday, February 03, 2015
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Kitchen Magic with Fanny Craddock (1963)
BFI Database: The Bon Viveur team, Johnnie and Fanny Craddock, demonstrate their skill to a young wife who learns that cooking can be fun and how to present dishes attractively.
Cooking fish fingers have never been so dramatic!
Friday, January 23, 2015
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Sing Along with The Master!
I know I'm a tad early in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the planet's favorite movie, but dammit, the Master wouldn't have wanted it any other way, found this out tonight by thinking of it, impressed we can listen to these tunes in the clear (and a longer sax solo in Forgetting You). Enjoy!
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
The Great Frog (1994)
An 18-rated cinema ad for rock jewellers The Great Frog, in which a plot to steal a ring made by them goes horribly, horribly, HORRIBLY awry. Directed by Keith English at Velvet Pictures, the ad won him a Palme D'or at the Cannes Lions and music composer Robert Neufeld a London International Advertising Award for Best Original Music.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Thursday, January 08, 2015
Owned (2014)
2014 BYU Center for Animation student project
Jeff, the all time super ultra mega fighter turbo champion, takes great pleasure crushing the opposition beneath his sandals like so many discarded potato chips. After many long days searching the internet he finds, at last, a worthy foe.
Unfortunately the Mormon-based institution doesn't give us access (or 'permission') to embed the entire short here so you'll have to go HERE if you want.
Jeff, the all time super ultra mega fighter turbo champion, takes great pleasure crushing the opposition beneath his sandals like so many discarded potato chips. After many long days searching the internet he finds, at last, a worthy foe.
Unfortunately the Mormon-based institution doesn't give us access (or 'permission') to embed the entire short here so you'll have to go HERE if you want.
Saturday, January 03, 2015
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