The Halloween festivities just recently ended here at my place. It's all over but the sugar rush now. But this was a special Halloween for my nephew Jody who just turned two last month. For the first time, he got to make a conscious choice about what costume he'd like to wear. His inspired choice was the letter 'H'! His obsession with letters obviously influenced that choice. So, he was an 'H' with his parents being an 'I' and a 'J'.
I'm proud to say that I helped with these costumes. My contribution was the little drawings I made on the sides:
On Jody's 'H' was...
...a helicopter on one side...
...and a hungry horse eating hay, a hen in a hat, and a guy shouting "HOORAY!" on the other side (from his favourite Dr. Suess book).
On the 'I' was...
...ice cream...
...with an igloo on the other side.
On the 'J' was...
...a fun jar of jelly...
...and on the other side was a jaguar of my own quick design that I think turned out quite nicely.
I'll end this Halloween post with my niece Veronica dressed like a pumpkin.
I have been watching the whole situation with Nicole Arbour unfold for a little over a month now. Anybody who has seen any one of her youtube videos in that time is either cheering her on or plotting her painful death right now. Both reactions are quite understandable. I personally am on the side that's cheering her on for one big reason. Basically, she managed to accomplish what I've been trying to do for a few years now. She addressed the issue of the erosion of free expression through militant political correctness and upset the purveyors of that militance in the process. If you visit any of her social media platforms you will see all sorts of negative comments ranging from "I don't care for you too much" to "OMFG!!! KILL YOURSELF IN A FIRE!!!"
What I loved (and continue to love) about those comments was that much of the political correctness was counteracted by other political correctness. The ones that accused her of body shaming were in turn accused of "attacking her because she's a woman". Then those that accused her of being a bully were in turn accused of bullying as well. I do believe that's the 'snake eating itself' right there. That just shows how much political correctness does not work.
Of course most of them are deeply upset with her Dear Fat People video. However, another video of hers caused just as big a stir and it's the one that got me most interested. Here it is below:
What she said in that video is pretty much exactly what I've been expressing through the Censor Monkeys I created. With this, and her Dear Fat People video, she managed to rub the media's vagina, find its clitoris and have it squirt all over her. Whether it was in the form of praise or backlash, it all counts as squirting. I admire her just for that alone. For me so far, all I've accomplished is a small yawn at best. With the Censor Monkey comic books I've sold, I've managed to get kicked out of a zine fair and I've had a fundamentalist preacher mad at me. But of course that is absolutely nothing compared to the massive shit-storm Nicole went through (and still continues to go through). Many news agencies picked it up and she was even brought on The View for little bit of a Spanish Inquisition of sorts. That's the main reason I'm watching her so closely, so I can get a better idea about how one conducts oneself in the face of so much criticism and attention. So far what I've learned is that one must maintain composure and offer absolutely no apologies for any content you've produced. Basically, if the world around you is on fire, just keep walking. I know there's no guarantee I'll even come close to reaching those heights of fame. But, if I just keep working at it and trying to find opportunities within my surroundings, Nicole's example will keep me better prepared if the fruits of my labour do reap any rewards.
In the video she used the term that's been used for a few years now, SJW or Social Justice Warriors. That term is ridiculous of course. They do as much for "social justice" as a teething baby does for the dental association. It's just a sea of longwinded paragraphs and hastily placed pretentious hashtags full of ire but lacking any real substance. All they manage to say with all their vitriol is "grrrrrrr! I'm mad!" and that's about it. They exert all of this energy online while the real world continues on without them. They're just a useless irritant really. Also in the video, Nicole considers them "the new terrorists" among the likes of ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and any other off-branch sub group that's been formed in the passed few minutes. I most certainly would not go that far. That's giving them waaaaaaaay too much power which is the last thing I'd want to do. At best they moreso resemble those people who kept getting Lenny Bruce dragged into court so many times for violating what they called "decency laws" (whatever those are). I think these people are trying to establish some new kind of "decency laws" that they can use to pseudo-legally harass the Lenny Bruces of the present and future.
I'd say they resemble Marge Simpson the closest.
More specifically, the resemble Marge in that episode when she campaigned against Itchy & Scratchy. And really that's the way it should be. Just like in that episode, these SJW screwballs have all the freedom to bitch and whine against what they don't want to see to their tiny hearts desire. However, just like with Kent Brockman, when they are given the platform to express their thoughts on the matter, they must realize that their position violates every single free speech laws that exist in every country with even a small trace of democracy, is dripping with hypocrisy and then BACK THE FUCK OFF. That is the best way to maintain any balance in the universe.
Before anyone says anything, yes I've heard some murmurs of Nicole and her ex boyfriend and all the drama around that. I'm sure that must have been unpleasant for both of them. I've also seen many of her more vocal opponents site that as a reason that she can't be a comedian and doesn't deserve any of the fame or adulation she's been given. Let me offer you some perspective.
Groucho Marx traumatized the children he had in his first marriage. He wasn't abusive or anything. Just like his nickname states, he was quite grouchy alot of the time. He even has a psychological complex named after him.
I'll also bring up his brother Chico. He cheated on his wife more times than NASA can count. Seriously, watch any Marx Bros. and look at all the women in the background or with bit parts. Chico most likely had sex with one or two of those women (on a slow day when he smelt like onions), but it is with 100% certainty that he tried to have sex with all of them.
Johnny Carson was, and in many ways still is, the undisputed king of late night variety TV. Even 10 years after his death, every talk show host wishes they could be even 1/5th as good as Johnny. On TV he exuded wit and charm. However, his em-battered children tell a different story. To them he was a strict disciplinarian who was not fun to be around at all.
And then there's Woody Allen. Besides his "incestuous on paper" relationship with his adopted daughter Soon Yi, he also put his thumb up his daughter Dylan's butt-hole and told her "this is our little secret". She was only 8 at the time. He was also quite a creepy-crawly "hands on" type of dad with her.
How about Mr. Jell-O Pudding Pop himself, Bill Cosby, a bona fide sexual predator. There's enough women accusing him of rape that they could form their own baseball team. Although I don't think Bill would want any of them to holding blunt objects like baseball bats while he's nearby.
Here is Chevy Chase. There's no scandal around him, he's just kind of a jerk sometimes (okay, lots of times).
There are plenty of comedic talents with more than a few anti-social skeletons in their closets. And, you can see from the examples above, some are much more intense than others. However, none of that detracts even one iota from the Emmys, Oscars, fan clubs, or any other awards or achievements they received over the course of their careers. So, I say here and now, to anyone who want to use any of her ex-boyfriend rumours to discount anything she's said or done, that information is irrelevant, inadmissible, and NONE OF YOUR GODDAMN BUSINESS. That issue is for those two alone to deal with. Noone else has any input to give on that situation whatsoever. Are we clear? Good.
At this point I'd like to bring up the recent actions taken by Sarah Silverman. It is a relatively noble attempt to remain relevant to SJW infestation on most college campuses (and many other pockets in North America). However, at the same time, it's also quite naive. She may think she's appeased the PC crowd now but that certainly won't last. From now on, if she says ay little thing that could even remotely upset anybody the SJWs will jump down her throat even harder. There'll be cries of "WHAT?! Come on, Sarah! I thought you were one of the good ones now!" and the attack campaign on social media will be even worse.
One example I can think of is Michael Che. Back in his days of an obscure stand up comic and SNL writer, he had kind of an SJW mind set. I found a Twitter-feud of his inwhich stated very succinctly that "rape jokes are bad" and so on. I'm not sure if he participated in any social media attacks, but he did sympathize with the attackers. However, that all changed when he stepped into the limelight first being a correspondent on The Daily Show and then getting to be a co-anchor on SNL's Weekend Update. While on SNL, he made not one but two different jokes on two different days that more than a few people considered to be 'misogynistic' and even 'anti-woman'. So now, he was on the receiving end of an SJW social media attack. It got so intense for him that he had to just completely delete his Twitter and I think he Facebook page too. But first he issued this apology:
I think he found a very nice way to tell everyone to indeed go fuck themselves and also make them feel like shit for their actions. He is a very clever man. My hat is off to him.
I see a similar fate in store for Sarah. After a similar attack, she'll either try to revert back to her pre-PC ways or she'll delete her social media and go into an early retirement. I really hope she doesn't do the latter of those two options because we need sharp minds like hers in the entertainment industry now more than ever. It should not be silenced over any reaction or the fear of a reaction.
In contrast, Nicole Arbour will have things much easier. Now that the bulk of all the backlash for her more racy material has subsided, she's in a glorious spot where she can say anything she wants. There is no such thing as too far for her now. Her fans will love it like always and all of her opponents will just throw up their hands in frustration. She's in a similar type of sweet spot that both Monty Python and South Park are in. Nothing they say or do needs to be processed through any filter.
Which of course is another reason I'm following this Nicole Arbour saga that much closer. I'm trying to find that sweet spot she found. Hopefully I can pick up some tips watching her and others like her.
I mentioned Lenny Bruce earlier in this post. So I think it would be a nice idea to end this post with some of his material. Here is a small clip from his act that noone would have the stones to even begin to say today. Hey, SJWs and various Censor Monkeys, don't bother sending him any angry hate-messages on any social media platform or wherever, he's been dead for almost 50 years.
I think I'm getting much much closer to capturing the likeness of the guy I'm trying to caricature. The reason I haven't revealed the name is because I want to make absolutely sure that I'm successful. If I hand you a drawing and say "hey, look at this picture of Jack Nicholson that I drew", that gets you thinking about Jack Nicholson and what he looks like. So, I'd have to have done a very sloppy job for you to not recognize him within my scribbles. But, if I just hand you a drawing without saying anything and on first glance you say "Jack Nicholson" then I am finally successful.
So, with that in mind, try and tell me who I have caricatured in the drawing above. That alone will determine if more work is needed. But, like I said before, with the one guy I think I'm getting very very close.
Last month I put a comedian's joke to animation. Today I've done it again. The comedian I chose this time is the great Robin Willaims:
I wrote a very lengthy post about his untimely passing on my sister blog here. Watch this video then go read that article to remember what an amazing human being he was.
The writ has been dropped as it's been said. "What's a writ and who dropped it," you ask. I don't know and I don't care. All I know is that there will be another federal election here in Canada to decide who will be our next Prime Minister. This year it comes down to any one of these 5 choices:
Stephen Harper
Justin Trudeau
Tom Mulcair
Elizabeth May
Gilles Duceppe
Any one of these people could run away with this election on voting day October 19. I guess that depends on how well each candidate does in each debate.
Here's an early speculation on how the first debate will be.
The most of the poll numbers are very close so it's anybody's guess who the victor will be. I personally would prefer to vote for this rather obviously butch lumberjack pictured below. I hope he has no surprises for me.
Here's some animation I just finished. I basically took one of Sarah Silverman's jokes and made a little vignette out of it. I hope you enjoy it. Although I should advise that this is most likely NOT SAFE FOR WORK. (Well it depends where you work I guess).
In my last post, I put up a caricature of someone and then asked for anyone to try to guess who it was. Well, here is another attempt at that same person. The one who guesses it correctly gets 55,000,000,000 Zimbabwe dollars!!!
I just now completed it and I'm posting here for a test. I'm trying to get a raw and honest reaction to this so that I can better gauge how I should proceed with my next book. What do you think of the style? The colours? The character's poses? Everything?
Also, bonus points if you can guess what movie this is from (although my team of lawyers tell me I've never seen that movie before ;) )
Tex Avery's 107th birthday is coming up on Feb. 26 this Thursday. Since I know I'll be rather busy that day, I'll have to make this post right now. This year, to honour Tex I will be talking about something I discovered while watching one of is cartoons Dixieland Droopy.
For those unfortunates who haven't seen it, I'll give a brief rundown of the scenario. Droopy plays a guy named John Pettybone who absolutely LOOOOOOOOOOOOVES Dixieland music. He only owns one Dixieland record but he plays it on his old victrolla constantly, and rather loud too. He even waves a conductor's baton so he can fully immerse himself in the music. Needless to say, his one neighbour and landlord strongly objects to this and kicks him and his record out of his house. So, poor John/Droopy is forced to find other places to play his Dixieland record. He tries a down town cafe. He tries an organ grinder. He tries a 'Good Rumor' ice cream truck. He even tries a merry-go-round which happens to have a family of quadruplet boys in matching outfits playing on it.
Sadly for him, they all react to him the same way the landlord did, by tossing him and his record as far away from them as possible. And of course every time he's tossed out he has to scramble like mad in order to save his only Dixieland record. He's usually successful in protecting his record until the final time. There he trips and drops that record shattering it to pieces. But, before he has time to shed the first tear over it, the narrator points out that there is Dixieland being played nearby.
It's being played by a flea circus lead by a trumpet playing master named Pee Wee Runt. So, since Droopy is a dog, he runs passed the bandstand and the fleas naturally latch on to him. Now John Pettybone/Droopy is deliriously happy because now he has a tiny Dixieland band on his butt. All he has to do is evade the original owner of that flea circus and his life is perfect. Droopy is chased all over town, through alley ways and sewer pipes and fresh tar until he finally finds an effective hiding spot in a talent agent's office.
The sign on the door clearly says "No Dog Acts" and the talent agent is very quick to inform Droopy of this. Since Droopy is not at all interested in impressing any talent scouts at the moment he puts up no protest. He's about to get tossed out again until the talent agent starts hearing Dixieland music emanating from Droopy's lombard region. "A musical mutt!! A Dixieland dog!!" He exclaims. So, through dumb luck, Droopy and his musical fleas are promoted by this guy and they all become a sensation playing the Hollywood Bowl. And they all lived happily ever after.
"Where's the subversive cleverness?" you're asking. I'm getting to that. But first I'll have to give a bit of info about what the world was like when this cartoon came out in 1953. It all started with the commercial availability of the television set. It was officially available on the market in 1947. It was so successful that by 1950, movie attendance had been pretty much cut in half. People felt they didn't have to go out all the time to see news or entertainment because it was all available on their little flickering box at home. That meant that in that time period, Hollywood studios were losing money. Or, at the very least, the profits made from their movies were much lower. Very unfortunately, the animation studios depended on the crumbs of those profits for their budgets. With less and less of those crumbs being available, the cartoons' budgets had to be that much smaller. Walt Disney even shut down his short cartoon division at his studio so that his animated features and any other projects could have that much bigger a budget. However, one animation studio seemed to be blossoming at this time: UPA. Since their inception, their graphic style of choice was very flat and abstract, like a Picasso painting or anything from the dadaist movement. Since this technique was much simpler to execute, being that it took less time and thus cost less money, many other studios began to make their product resemble that of UPA's. Of course, besides the look, the movement of the characters were basic and stylized as well. The Acadamy who handed out the Oscars were especially interested in UPA's style, which is still one more reason the other studios all tried to copy them. In studio executives' minds: pseudo-UPA style = Oscar gold!!! So it seemed that the fluid movement and the characters looking like solid formidable objects was out, although not just for economic reasons. The staff at UPA had an "opinion" or "attitude" about their work compared to that of others. The felt that the other studios only did "low brow slapstick" while they themselves were making "the highest art". (This attitude was rather viciously parodied in the WB cartoon A Ham in a Role by the way. In it, a cartoon dog decides to turn his back on what he calls "low comedy" and goes back to his house thinking he can perform Shakespear's best work and not look ridiculous. Thankfully, the Goofy Gophers are there to heckle him and prove him wrong.) Although, the good people at Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies managed to adapt during this time as well, Chuck Jones especially. (Hey, the UPA studio's graphics were practically his idea. They based their style on Jones' cartoon The Dover Boys AND Jones even directed that studio's first cartoon Hell Bent For Election.) When Chuck Jones first created the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote, he had no idea that they would catch on as big as they did. But, when they did, it inspired the entire studio (and the entire industry) to simplify the chase formulas of their cartoons. This also helped everyone save time and money in this new toned down, stylized climate.
It's been said that Disney animator Freddy Moore vehemently disliked this new style. He hated it so much that he felt he needed to drink heavily to forget it. On his lunch breaks, he would go to the local bar and drink as much as he could. In the afternoon he would stumble back to work drunk as a skunk and still manage to create the finest animation anyone had ever seen. His boozed up work can be seen in Mickey and the Seal for instance.
So it's no surprise that Tex Avery was very much aware about this trend within the industry. And I do believe that his response (or at least one of his responses) to it is the cartoon in question Dixieland Droopy. Here, bombastic high energy style of animation thought to be out of style at the time is represented by dixieland music. Note what happens in each scenario:
Droopy goes to the down town cafe...
All the upscale people are sipping their lattes...
Droopy puts his dixieland record into the jukebox...
It drives them nuts...
Before he puts his record into the organ grinder's music box, the monkey is mellow and flacid...
But once the dixieland begins, he's crazy and happy and dancing like mad...
Then when Droopy approaches the ice cream truck...
The dixieland makes it go wild and out of control...
The same thing at the merry-go-round with the quadruplets...
The dixieland makes the rigidly slow and orderly cycle of the ride start to spin out of control...
I guess this was Tex's way of fulfilling a secret desire to sneak into animation studios all over Hollywood (and possibly the world) and then inject his own brand of cartoon energy. I'm sure every fan of Tex Avery would love to do that any chance they can get.
But thankfully in the universe inwhich Dixieland Droopy takes place not everyone hates dixieland music seeing that it ends with a large crowd enjoying it at the Hollywood Bowl.
So, with all of this I've posted that is now swimming in your head, enjoy this very cartoon in full below:
