Sanford & Son

I've recently purchased the complete Sanford & Son dvd set.  I've only watched the first two discs so far and I'm about half way through Disc 3.  But, from what I've seen so far, I've got to say that this is indeed one of the funniest shows ever made.  I had only seen it sporadically a few times before.  I never fully appreciated it until now.  But, boy do I appreciate it.  Redd Foxx create quite a colourful character (and by 'colourful' I didn't mean "COLOUR"-ful so everybody calm down).

Anyway, I like the show so much, I thought I'd create the following little doodle to show my appreciation:

For those poor souls out there who have never had the pleasure of seeing even one episode of this great program, I've provided a full episode below.  Enjoy!  (Sorry about the cursor at the beginning).

Sanford1
Uploaded by Daffyduckandthedinosaur. - Full seasons and entire episodes online.

Sanford2
Uploaded by Daffyduckandthedinosaur. - Check out other Film & TV videos.

Oh yeah, and watch or better yet listen for the actress who plays Aunt Hazel in this episode.  She's none other than Lillian Randolph, the actress who did the original voice of Mammy Two-Shoes in those Tom & Jerry cartoons.

HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA

Recently, my little nephew Michael has started a crazy habit of laughing like Elmer Fudd. I'm not sure how much exposure he's had to Elmer (if any) which makes this phenomenon all the more curious.


Well, there's no sense is wasting an oppurtunity like this. I guess I'd better "Fudd-ify" my nephew:





So there you go.

Wait, do I detect the rolling of eyes and the exclamations of "aw, geez, not another one of those nephew posts"? If that's so, I'd like you to kindly get your child-hating arse off my blog. Thank you.

Rappin' 'bout Tex

Last year on this blog I celebrated Tex Avery's 100th birthday with this post.  I went a little overboard with the cartoon embedding I think.  The whole thing takes about 1 minute to fully load.

Oh well, this year, on the eve of his 101st birthday, I'll only embed one of his cartoons.  It's not going to be just any old cartoon thrown up there.  It will be a cartoon that I think fully illustrates (corny pun) the fact that Tex Avery was indeed a genuis on more than one level.

Here is the full cartoon:

Notice how the story plays out.  There are actually four elements at work here:

1. The fox must successfully out-wit the dogs.

2. The fox must successfully outwit Droopy.

3. The other dogs pick on Droopy.

4. Droopy must prevail at the end.

And it all has to work within 7 minutes.  Most lesser directors would have narrowed it down to only one of those elements in an effort to keep things simple.  Other directors would have insisted that the cartoon's length be stretched to 20 minutes or maybe even 45 minutes in order to accomodate all 4 elements.  Of course, no animation studio has ever managed to successfully negotiate something like that, so that certainly isn't an option.  The most plausible option most studios would have gone with in this case is to simply make 4 cartoons.

I'm sure 4 separate cartoon could easily be made with each element and each would go over fine no matter who was working on them.  But, Tex dared to work with all 4 at once.  He managed to take what could have been a muddled, overly complicated mess and turn it into 1 cartoon that not only works but I think most would agree that he hits it out of the park as well.

Very few other animation directors have accomplished such a thing.  Even in these days where the biggest and brightest of the animation industry who work with feature length films, noone has managed to weave these many elements at once.  If there another such person who has accomplished this, by all means point me to it.  But, no matter who it is, he/she will still be in Tex Avery's shadow.

(He's the one on the left).

Happy 101, Tex.  The world owes you alot.

This feels good!!!

Good stuff in, garbage out.  Let's all welcome the newest President Barack Obama!!!  Although, considering the mess he's inherited from the previous Keystone Kops that ran the place for 8 years, I'd be satisfied if he brought the USA back up to at least "crappy".  I'm not expecting too many miracles, but he'll certainly make the place better than it is.  There's no way to go but up at this point.

Christmas Elves

Don't ask me how the colours got screwed up.  Oh well, Merry Christmas one and all.

MGM Cartoon 1939 Peace On Earth
Uploaded by shawshawshaw

Razzberry Jazzberry Jam

That's the title of the new show I've been working on for the past few months.  I've finally been told when it will debut on TV.  It'll first air on Dec 23, 2008 at 7:00 a.m. on CBC.  Tivo it if you have to.  To whet everyone's whistle, there's a trailer online for it so that you can get an idea of what the show is like:

I think the main goal of this show, besides entertaining the pre-kindergarten demographic, is to help kids develop an appreciation for music.  Besides all the characters being walking/talking instruments, they're also named after famous musicians.

Ella is named after Ella Fitzgerald:

R.C. stands for Ron Carter I think:

Billie is Billie Holiday:

Buddy is named after Buddy Rich:

Bonus: Buddy Rich on the Muppet Show

Krupa gets his name from Gene Krupa:

And, of course, I think the most obvious one is Louis being patterned after Louis Armstrong:

Once again, the show debuts on Dec 23, 2008 at 7:00 a.m. on CBC.  It's regular schedule is 6:00 and 9:00 a.m. on Saturday and 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.  Watch for it.

More Nephew Drawings

Here he is in real life...

...and here's my rendering of him in pencil.  Yay!

That's it.

Oh, but one other thing.  Yes, I know the American election happened a million years ago already.  I would have said something at the time but I was waaaaaay too busy at work.  So, I'm saying it now.

Yes indeed, the good guys won.  Hooray!  But, of course, here's something we'll be hearing from all those sore loser McCain-iacs, Palin-istas, and any other assorted neo-con loyal Bushie types:

Republican_rant
Uploaded by Daffyduckandthedinosaur

Okay!  Post over.

Compare

Take a good look at the two pictures below.  One is of Stephen Colbert, the other is of my nephew, Michael.  There is one unmistakable similarity.  Can you see it?

Did you find it.  WHAT??!!  You didn't??!!  Unless your the ghost of Ray Charles there's no excuse for missing it.  Take another look.  Scan both of them pixel by pixel if necessary.

You're just not seeing it, eh?

It's not one of those stupid eye-distortion pictures from the '90's.  It should be absolutely 100% obvious.

Don't give me that look.  I know that look.  You do that every time.  You tell me it's "too hard" when really you're just too...

Oh, alright.  Here:

That's 

right.  That's the one thing my nephew and Mr. Colbert both have in

 common.  They both BEAR THE MARK!  (oh, and....... sorry things got so heated back there.... I get that way sometimes.  Are we still buds?)

Anyway, YES!  Both have the mark.  A 

mark that no mere mortal man would have.  The prophesy of such a mark has been told and retold through the generations.  Many ancient civilizations talk of "the frightfully asymmetrical head of doom" that will one day come and strike fear into the hearts of man and beast alike.

And lo, a son will be born onto earth.  He will appear as mortal as any man only one of  his ears will resemble that of a demon spawn.  When that son doth grow to that of a man, another will be born possessing the same demonic lobe.  Combined, their evil powers will bring about ruin and destruction for all.  Rivers will boil.  Mountains will crumble.  Cats will do it 'doggy-style' and dogs will do it 'kitty-style'.  And when all is still, Satan will rise up from Hades and laugh maniacally.

 

-Revelations : ........... trust me, it's in there.

It appears that the prophesy has come to pass.  Evil officially walks the earth as of this posting.  Though these men have not yet come in contact, they are upon the earth at similar times withi

n man's calander.  It is quite possible that they could meet, perhaps secretly.  The

n, when the moment is right, they could combine their powers and bring about an event similar to the coming Apocolypse only with much more of an intense searing pain (and possibly a little bit of cow tipping).

"What are we to do", you may be asking.  "Is there anywhere we can hide from this onslaught of destruction?"  You may also ask.  Well, the ancient ones do speak of an oasis of sorts.  According to their legends, underneath the tallest mountain, deeper than the furthest depths of the ocean, lies a po

rthole.  It is said that if one passes through this porthole one is telleported onto the surface of the moon.  Once there, the evil that walks the earth is more visible and therefore and easier target.  Somewhere on the moon's surface is a stone made of granite and zirconium.  If 10 of the most purest and righteous men touch that stone, it will emit a beam powerful enough to thwart Satan's children (or at least make them turn around and go "huh?")

You now what I think Iron Maiden said it best:

But, that is but a legend.  When the final days come and we must all fight against Colbert and Michael at their peak,  all we can do is offer them some Babe Ruth bars and hope for the best.

Ha ha ha!  No, neither of them are evil.  They just have funny looking ears is all.  I hope one day, they do become friends.

Rock the Vote, eh?

Yep, Canada goes to the voting booths on October 14th.  But, there are also some advance voting going on October 3rd.  At least that's how it is in my area.  I know who my vote would be going towards:

Sadly, none of them are running in this election.  So, we Canadians are going to have to settle for the following 4 options:

Steven Harper

Stéphane Dion

Jack Layton

Elizabeth May

Go out and make the right choice for Canada.  I think it would be unfair to try and convince anyone who NOT to vote for.  I wouldn't want to be a "harper" on that issue. 

;)

  

Getting Cocky

A few months ago, I introduced my Uncle Bernard to the blogosphere.  Now, here's a little comic I slapped together starring him:

This is a true story.

My nephew

There he is, Micheal Robert Germain Richards.  He was born March 30, 2008.  He's pretty much the best thing ever.

My sister (his mother) asked me to be a "guide partent" for him recently.  That's similar to a God Parent I'm assuming.  I of course said yes.  Unfortunately, geography prevented me from being there in person.  So, as a way of representing my presence there, I drew a caricature of little Michael and it was put on the pamphlet.

Here's how the back of it looked:

Blessing of Flower and Candle

The gardens of the world are full of many flowers, each different, each beautiful, and each unique.  May this flower remind us that our children are like those flowers. Each is different, each is beautiful, and each is unique.

There is much darkness in the world but many candles hold it back.  These flames bring light in the darkness, warm those that are cold, and light the way to truth.  May this candle remin

d us that our children are like those candles.  Each can be a candle in the world, bringing light, warmth, and truth.  – Adapted from a Unitarian service

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it”, and he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.  – Mark 10: 14-16

A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.  – Author unknown

Every child begins the world again.  – Henry David Thoreau

If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it.  I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle – Vincent Van Gogh

Caricature of Michael by guideparent, David Germain

Young People Fucking

Yeah, I'm putting the movie's full title in the title of this post.  Censorship in any form is dumb.


Anyway, that's the movie I saw last night. It is truly a great film. Martin Gero did an excellent job, especially for his first gig. Incidentally, another young man directed HIS first film back 1939 and it went on to great things. That is of course Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. I'm not saying this movie was AS great as that one, I'm just making a comparison is all. I guess a more accurate comparison would be to Woody Allen's Annie Hall. Although, Young People Fucking follows 6 couples rather than just one and it doesn't go off into surreal dream-like segments like Annie Hall does. But, the end message for both movies is pretty much the same: we go through with all that craziness because "we need the eggs".

As for the "depravity" in the film, I saw none.  It's no dirtier than say American 

Pie or some such comedy like that.  The only nudity I saw was 3 naked girl boobs and 3 naked boy bums.  T

hat's it.  Of course, there's plenty of moaning, groaning, heavy panting, and many other noises associated with the orgasm, but, as Jon Lovitz would say, it's all just.................. ACTING!!!  

It is definitely NOT as bad as Charles McVety and the Canadian Tories are trying so desperately to make everybody believe.  Most, if not all, of those people are condemning this film without even seeing it.  I mean, one of those Conservative politicians even fired one of his employees just for purchasing tickets to this movie.  Really, anyone who shuns this movie AND has the unmitigated Stalin-esque gall to try to deby funding to many other movies in the future are nothing but a bunch of these things:

Since they refuse to see it, the only apsect of the film they can even begin to object to is the title.  That's really the only problem here.  That title is the very thing that is making the Canadian government nervous enough to take baseless moral stands and tread upon some of 

our freedoms.  I'd like to help if I can.  I just composed a list of titles this movie COULD have had that maybe would have been more acceptable - David Letterman style.

So here now, for the Harper government's perusing pleasure, the:

Top 10 Alternate Titles for Young People Fucking

10. Sticky Pants

9. Jizz-opalooza

8. If This Movie Starred a Cast of Monkeys, You'd All Be Vomiting Right Now

7. The "Ins & Outs" of Modern Romance

6. How to Play a Rusty Trombone

5. All Sigmund Freud Sees Are Train-Tunnels and Various Vegetables

4. Fornicatiarific

3. If You're Horny and You Know It, Clap Your Hands

2. Confidentially, This Movie is Actually a Transcript of One of Stephen Harper's Hot Tub Parties

...and the #1 Alternate Title for Young People Fucking:

Herpes Goes Bananas

There!  Problem solved.

R.I.P. Bo Diddley

I had a chance to see him perform live last year, AND I MISSED IT!!  I either had to work that day or I was sleeping.  Whichever way it was, I missed the chance of a lifetime.  The man was a musical genius and a true Rock & Roll pioneer.  If you want to learn a bit more about the man, of all sites the Big Cartoon Database has a terrific write-up over there.  One thing they hit upon is how Bo's song Bo Diddley was used in Ralph Bakshi's Fritz the Cat.  What amazed me about that is even though the song was a whole 17 years old at the time the movie was released, it still seemed to fit amid the other funkadelic music on the soundtrack.  That alone shows just how ahead of his time Bo really was.

Speaking of cartoons, I added one of his songs to my Busy Town demo reel.  The song I used was Diddlin'.  I think it accompanies the action quite well.

Busytown_demoreel_smaller
Uploaded by Daffyduckandthedinosaur

And of course, for good measure, here's a live performance from the man himself.  If you didn't know "what the big deal about him was" before, you'll certainly know after the clip is done.  Enjoy!

Bo diddley by Bo Diddley
Uploaded by ZZUPLOADER