New and Improved Music Theory

Sorry the pictures are so faint. You'll have to click on them to enlarge them in order to read what they say. Or, maybe there's a Visine for that. :)

Music Theory

Let's face it. Music pretty much sucks these days. Rock & Roll in particular seems to have lost it's edge. Actually, the edge is still there. However, the problem is that not enough people are getting into it.

What is it about today's music scene that makes it as bland and craptacular as it is? Is there a way to pinpoint just where we went wrong? I think I can sum it up in one word: microphones.

You see, back when rock still had that raw energy, you could see it in the way the lead singers used the microphones. They weren't just arbitrarily singing into it. They were clutching it, swinging it around, screaming their souls into it. Really, that grandiose mike stand was a huge phallic symbol with which these guys would exert their raw savage masculinity through every note they sang.

But it wasn't just the men who could do this. There were women exerting this energy too, although slightly differently. In their case, instead of the microphone stand being an extention of a phallus (which they of course didn't have) rather it seemed more like they were grasping the phallus before them. Instead of backing away from that pillar of virility, they embraced it, took hold of it, played with it, brought it right up to their faces and spent their pent-up sexual energy on it.

Actually, some spent so much of this energy that they callapsed.

{Of course, in Freddy Murcury's case, he combined both these theories into one. ;) }

However, now let's take a look at some of the modern pop stars. Note the small microphone attached to their heads. No longer is it a towering phallus permeating the audience with it's raw energy. Instead, it's more like a tiny clitoris attached to the face thereby making the artist look like a giant pussy. Unfortunately, the worst part is that for some reason we've allowed these giant pussies to become huge superstars and thus make the entire musical landscape suffer for it.

Oh, of course some people will comment here saying "they need those tiny mikes so they can sing while doing choereography." No, they shouldn't NEED to do choreography. If I made up a silly dance that accompanied a jackhammer chiselling up the street would it make that jackhammer sound any better? NO! The same way elaborate choreography doesn't hide how crappy or pussified a song is.

Anyway, that's my music theory. If I left out a picture of your favourite (or least favourite) artist, I sincerely apologize. Feel free to mention him/her in the comments section.

Kipp's New Baby

One of my friends from animation school, namely Kipp Schell, just had a blessed event recently. His finacee gave birth to a boy they named Flynn William Schell. He posted pictures on his blog right here. Seen below is my present to the new family. A drawn picture of the proud papa with his equally as proud son.

Oh, and while you're over at his blog checking out the baby photos, take a look at some of his artwork as well. Attention all prestigious animation studios reading this: Kipp is a talented artist. Hire him immediately. (And, while you're at it, hire me too.)

Ken Davis

The man at the bottom left of the picture above is Ken Davis. (I haven't seen him in years. He could have a lime green mohawk by now). He was one of my teachers at animation school and he was easily one of the most talented and knowledgable instructors in the entire animation industry. All those of you out there who have ever had the pleasure of either working with him in a studio or being taught by him at a school can feel free to post a comment about him right here.

Cat and Dogs

I was digging through some stuff and found this drawing I had done about a year ago or something like that (maybe more). I can't remember why I drew this. I think my sister wanted a picture for something.

Oh well, whatever the reaosn was, here's the picture. I think my own cat was still alive at the time (but not for much longer <:( ).

Porky's Building

John K. has had a few posts discussing the origins of Bugs Bunny for a while now. You can see the most recent one here. I pointed out that he excluded the rabbit used in the cartoon Porky's Building (by Frank Taslin c. 1937). He aksed for screen shots of this toon, so I am obliging him right now. Here you go, John:

Hey!! It's a Jumble

Yes, all of you do these jumbles in your newspapers all the time. I've seen you. I'm talking to YOU Mr. Harvey Zymynski of Suckling Springs, Pennsylvania!!! (I just blew your mind, didn't I Harv?)

Anyway, the jumble is based on two people I work with. You don't know them (especially not you, Harvey), but I do. Have fun solving the Jumble.
(Oh, if any of you out there in cyber space actually solve this jumble, please do NOT post the solution in the comments section. (I'm watching you Harvey.) Let others enjoy the same fun you just had.)

Update: As of today, the person in the picture taking a fist to the face has been fired. I won't get into the reasons here. But, I will say that the solution to the jumble seems even more unlikely now. (But, it could still come true for you Harvey).

The Scientology Monkey now has a mate

I figured that he should have a companion. Someone to follow him around everywhere no matter where he goes or who he tries to censor next. (You can thank Chris Muzyka and Tamara Klughart for the suggestion). Yes when these two get into their Disturbing Behavior it makes you want to Go jump into Dawson's Creek and hope that Batman Begins to come to your rescue and............ ha ha ha!

Naw, I'm not going to do that again.

Just enjoy the picture and leave a comment.

Scientology Monkey

Yes, another Censor Monkey has joined the family. His name is Scientology Monkey. He feels that Scientology is the Top Gun of the world so he will go Far And Away to make sure noone has their Eyes Wide Shut to its glory. Sure, it's Risky Business. It may even seem like Mission: Impossible. But, unless you have All The Right Moves, there's nowhere to hide from The Firm and tough monkey when he starts Losing It. >:P

Scientology Monkey now joins his kin folk that were introduced in this post and this post.

Happy Birthday, Bob Clampett

Today is the birthday of one of the giants of the animation industry, Mr. Bob Clampett. (As you can see, I drew him with that helmet hair he had in the '70's. What ever possessed him to get that helmet hair?) Mr. Clampett created all the characters you see in that picture as well as many brilliant animation ideas and techniques. If he were alive today, he'd be 93.

Feel free to leave a post-mortum birthday wish for Ol' Bob as well as a thank you for all he's done for the industry.

Another person from work

After I drew Logan, I got a request from someone else at work. She insisted that I draw her. Her name is Amy. (I won't use her full name online). So, I drew the picture you see above and showed it to her. I jokingly anticipated the above reaction, but she actually liked it. I even got her permission to put this up on my blog too. So, here it is for all the world to see and judge.
By the way, the person on the right IS a self portrait of myself. I am not that short though.

Very old stuff

I've wanted to be an artist since I was 10 which was in 1984. However, I only graduated from an animation school as of 2003. In the years between that time, I did some bad drawing. Of course, they didn't look horrible to me at the time. But, after receiving some training in that area, they look just plain awful.

This little comic strip I did when I was 10. His name was Onion. He was, of course, an onion. His best friend was a carrot named Carit. His mother was a Turnip and his father was a Radish. His mortal enemy was a mean grape named Sourgrapes with a little brother named Hail (don't ask). In this strip, you see Onion and Carit having a snowball fight with Sourgrapes and Hail. I actually thought this was good. >:P








When I was about 22 or thereabouts, I created a comic strip called Smudgebottom. He was called that because he had a black smudge on his bottom. I chose the comic you see on the right not because it's poignant or terribly funny in any way, it just has all the characters together. From left to right we see the gang's ineffectual leader, Charlie. No, it is not a self portrait of me. It's actually a caricature of my friend Eddie. Y'see, his birth name is Charlie and he ABSOLUTELY HATES that name. So, I drew this likeness of him and called him Charlie just to be an ass. I don't remember if he's caught on yet. Next to him is little Y2K. Yes, he's the little computer virus that was supposed to disrupt everything when the clock struck 2000 A.D. In my strip, he was a mischevious sprite who shot lazers out of his finger. Next to him is Grudgebottom, Smudgebottom's older sister. She was just a total bitch. Next to her is her brother Smudgebottom, the comic's center. He was also a mischevious sprite of sorts. Next is Benedict Bear. He didn't care about anything and therefore didn't do anything. I did find that concept funny at one time. Oh well, at the end of the table was my little Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote conflict element. Smudgebottom owned a little chia pet named Hedgebottom. Of course, a chia pet's natural enemy would be any herbivore. In this case, the antagonist was a sadistic rabbit named Trigger.

But then, I went to animation school, took some art training, and never looked back (until now).

Saskatchewanian

If I told any of you out there in "blogging land" that this fellow lives in Saskatchewan, would you believe me?

Logan

I thought I might try my hand at drawing someone at work. His name is Logan. That picture of him above is basically what he does most of the time: sings badly. And when he's not doing that, he's either meowing or farting. There are a few people here who absolutely can't stand it and would like to see him quit or be fired. I personally just find it hilarious, not just what he does but also how angry and worked up some people get towards him. I just do my work and laugh.
One thing that redeems him to me at least is that when there's work to be done he's ready, willing, and able to do it. Really, that's best quality anyone can have in any work environment. If the situation was reversed inthat he had no quirks to annoy people but at the same time did little to no work I'd be calling for his termination effective immediately. But, as things are, I hope he sticks around for a while. I mean, a washing machine doesn't work properly without an "agitator".

UPDATE: As of Friday night, he quit. The reasons are too silly and nauseating to get into here. Well, anyway, wherever he is now, I hope he's doing fine as well as singing and meowing.

Friz and John

Anyone who has visited John K.'s blog knows that he is not too fond of Friz Freleng's work at all. If Mr. K. did indeed conduct an interview with Mr. Freleng I imagine that it would look something like this:
(That's Eddie Fitzgerald laughing on the left by the way along with Friz in the middle and of course John on the right). Those of you reading this who don't know who Friz Freleng is, "google" him immediately after visiting my blog. You won't be disappointed. Everyone else, feel free to express an opinion of either Friz Freleng, John K. or Eddie Fitzgerald in the comments section.

Another monkey has joined the family

There she is, the newest member of the Censor Monkey family. Her name is Feminist Monkey and she promises to be just as militant and unrelenting as the other monkeys. Of course, her main goal is to seek out and destroy (or annoy) any content in the media that could be perceived as demeaning to women. She was created too late to participate in the monkeys' previous adventure but hopefully she will have a prominant place in some future installment to come.

Incidentally, I myself had a run-in with a real life feminist monkey a few years ago. I sent a copy of my student film to a business in Calgary (I won't reveal the name of the place for fear of being confronted for slander or some such nonsense) that I hoped would transfer my student film to BetaSP so that I could enter it into a film festival in Germany. Well, I got a call back from them a few days later saying that they refuse to do it because my film.................. wait for it....................... glorifies violence against women. I never heard such Censor Monkey crap in my life.

Actually, you can check out that very same film in this previous post on my blog. Go and see for yourself if you agree with that monkey in Calgary or not.

NEW CENSOR MONKEYS!!!

Yes, they continue in their quest to spread censorship across the globe. If you need to refamiliarize yourself with these monkeys, please refer to their previous post. Enjoy!!







You don't need to read this. I'm just making a transcript of all the dialogue in this comic so that people can more easily find it using Google.

Black Panther Monkey: Great job, my Muslim bruthas. But don't stop there. Many other comic strips have racist content. For instance, Horrible Hagar is a highly offensive stereotypical image of Norwegians.

Horrible Mother Monkey: Not only that, Horrible Hagar also promotes the use of violence. This is a comic strip I definitely won't let my children read.

American Monkey: Worst part is, none of these comics truly supports America. "Expeshily" that commie Doonsbury. Either you love my country or you GET OUT!!

Arab: Well, I'm definitely out.

Priest Monkey: Also, do not gaze upon the images of Garfield or Dagwood. They promote the deadly sin of Gluttony which is forbidden according to the book Nehemiah 8:10 - 12.
Other unclean heathens who violate the Bible are those homosexuals Snoopy and Woodstock. In fact, any two males on friendly terms with each other promote the gay agenda. Bert & Ernie! Spongebob & Patrick! George Bush and Dick Cheney! The list of perverts goes on and on. Check Leviticus 18:22.

Arab 1: Bible? Is that like the Quran?

Arab 2: More like the Torah with a sequel.

Psychologist Monkey: According to my calculations, Dilbert's constant sardonic remarks against office politics could cause real office workers to rebel and thereby disrupt the world's economy. It could happen!

Victorian Monkey: I also strongly object to the comic strip B.C. because it promotes the secular notion of evolution. I grew up with more traditional values.

Nazi Monkey: Yavolt! Ve must deschtroy vat it vas dat schtarted zis all in ze firscht place! MONKEYS, ATTACK!!!

Rod Scribner

Rod Scribner was born October 10, 1910 and lived until December 21, 1976. Fortunately, within many of the years in that time frame, he created some of the greatest pieces of animation the world has ever seen.

In animation school, I was taught that the line of action is the most important aspect of any drawing. No matter what the character is doing, that line of action, if done well, can make it seem more dynamic. Your eye can't help but follow that line all throughout the drawing. And, with approximately 12 of those drawings coming at you every second, well it's easy to see why cartoons, especially the ones done in the classic style, have the power to overwhelm an audience. Well, the line of action in Rod's drawings was so fast that it could not be registered by the human eye. So, just take the energy of a regular cartoon (and I mean a GOOD cartoon, none of this bland Psychological Realism nonsense from Chris Landreth or tracing live action footage like Richard Linklater or any horrible Saturday Morning factory product) and then multiply that by 1000 and you get something that's "off-the-charts" incredible. John Kricfalusi (creator of Ren & Stimpy) sites him as an influence and you can see that throughout his work.

Rod Scribner's greatest animation can be seen in Bob Clampett's work at Warner Bros. from Wabbit Twouble (c. 1941) to The Big Snooze (c. 1946). One great scene in particular is in Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarves (c. 1943) when Prince Cawmin' is giving Coal Black his special "rosebud" kiss to revive her. You can see him trying to give her the best kiss ever and more importantly you can feel it. He's not just giving his lips a workout, he's putting his whole body into it. From his head all the way down to his toes, it looks like Princy is trying to smush his entire body onto her mouth. Truly breathtaking (literally for the Prince). Also check out his animation in Corny Concerto (c. 1943) when the mother swan first discovers that her sygnets are missing. Scibner did a fantastic job emphasizing the panic she feels as she looks everywhere for them in time to the music. After she faints, he even put some vibrant energy into the duck who tries to revive her with a bucket of water. His whereabouts from 1946 to 1950 is unknown (at least by me anyway), but he did resurface at Warners in Robert McKimson's unit. There he carried on with his own unique animation style. It can be scene in such cartoons as Pop'Im, Pop (c. 1950). Check out the scene where Sylvester tries to shove Hippety Hopper into a tool shed. With each thrust you can feel Sylvester using all his weight on Hippety. Another great example is in Little Boy Boo (c. 1954). Watch the scene where Foghorn Leghorn pitches a baseball to Eggbert Jr. Aaron Small should have such a pitching arm. Rod left Warner's during the brief shutdown period of the studio in 1954. His work later pops up in Jay Ward cartoons. One inparticular that stands out is the opening sequnce of George of the Jungle inwhich George is encased upsidedown in that giant flower while the stamen and the pistal spank his bottom. He would then work with other former WB animators on the groundbreaking Bakshi opus Fritz the Cat. His last work would be for his old WB companion J.C. Melendez on Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown. He died before that came out.

Well, that's quite a bit about his work. Now about the man himself. Some have called him an eccentric. Others called him completely insane. I wasn't sure what to think until I received an email about him approximately 2 years ago. Here's how it read:

Hi David

I met Rod in Malibu way back in 1968....just shortly after I moved there with my
parents. His son Ty I had befriended on the beach at Paradise Cove...Ty lived
with his mother
(they were divorced) in Glendale ...so he was only around on the weekends and
mostly thru the summer months. Rod lived alone so I hung out with him as often
as I could...cruised up and down the Pacific Coast Highway with him in his
Porsche and listened to stories about some of his work. Rod taught me how to
drive a stick shift, and was very attached to his silver 1967 Porsche 912. The
photo was
used by the dealership (I think it was Masterson Motors Pasadena) ...thats not
his Porsche in the photo..just one they
had for the photo with Rod endorsing their dealership.


His mobile home (Paradise Cove was a larger trailer park) was filled with boxes
of cells from his recent project, like Barrie he also had a studio set up,
at that time he had recently finished a commercial for American Motors (showed
large numbers of imported cars riding surfboard onto US beaches) and he was very
proud of it.
Rod Scribner, Barrie Nelson, and Bill Melendez were all neighbors ...Melendez
used the place as a weekend retreat
from his Peanuts work...Barrie had his studio in his mobile home and so it was
the usual thing to gather at Barries
with Rod and see what was going on.

Yes..Rod was taken away...once while I was there. Neighbors told me the Malibu
Sheriff's had taken him in ..I went to the old jail to try to see him but was
turned away they refused to
take his glasses I had brought said they were holding him because he was a
suicide risk...he ultimatly ended up at
Patton State Hospital (65 miles east of Los Angeles) shortly after he was sent
away..I was in a serious automobile accident
and even though Rod had his own personal problems to resolve..he wrote to me to
cheer me through my own lengthly
recovery process. Try to remember in this era...anyone displaying any unusal
behavior could be placed into a mental
hospital..often with only the say so of a police officer.

I never felt or thought that Rod was crazy...he was lonely
and missed his family and had been forced into post divorce seclusion at what
had been their summer residence. If you didn't know him I am sure he fit the
'profile' of an eccentric...and an artist to be sure.

By the time I was released from the hospital..and then some many months of
physical therapy to be able to get around on my own again, I had lost contact
with Rod. I graduated from
Santa Monica HS in 1970, married in 1972 and moved to North Hollywood. Rod
passed away in 1976 while I was living in Santa Barbara so I don't have any
other details of those last few years of his life.

Rod wasn't crazy..he was just marching to a different drummer
a devoted and talented (if not misunderstood) artist.

When Rod got word of my terrible accident he sent me this cartoon as a get well
card

Dave and Jeanette Berry

Here's that get well card they sent me. Dave Berry, wherever you are, thank you.

Well, what more can I say about that animator extraordinaire Rod Scribner? Well really, no more SHOULD be said. If a picture is worth a thousand words then one of Scribner's pictures is worth a thousand pictures. Check out any piece of animation with his name in the credits if you want to learn more about him. There's no better way to do that.

Speedy Gonzales and Kung Fu Justin

Here's a little comic I did involving Speedy Gonzales and a classmate of mine from animation school. I haven't made a cent of off this so Warner Bros. shouldn't have any grounds to sue. The real life Kung Fu Justin............... maybe. (just kidding)

James and Gord

This is a caricature of two of my teachers at the animation school fom which I graduated. (Despite their attitudes in the picture, they get along pretty well.)

Adrienne's Birthday

It is my sister's 30th birthday this coming Monday. In lieu of having any money, I have decided to draw this picture of her for now.

For those of you out there in cyber-space that know Adrienne Josefa Germain-Richards, post some birthday greetings for her here in this comments thread. Or just point and laugh.

Jude Law

On John Kricfalusi's blog, he asked a bunch of his fans to draw caricatures of Jude Law. This is my attempt right here. I even drew his girlfriend whoever she is. Feel free to leave a comment about this picture whether you love it, hate it, or whatever. Also, check out John K's blog right here: http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com