If you're a fan of 30 Rock or standup comedy, then you'll recognize Judah Friedlander by his huge glasses and smirky custom hats. He and the other "writers" on 30 Rock are one of the bright spots on the show. I think this guy is really funny, but the thing I most like about him is his art collection. This is just down my alley: Click here to visit Judah's excellent collection of bad (good?) art.
Among a fine collection of bad Elvis art, he also has a great mix of sculpture, toys, and fine art miscellany to appreciate. The art is good, but his comments seal the deal. Here's a couple of pieces that I enjoyed:
"Leif Garrett’s smart twin brother. Future cult leader. High school junior love interest in a Judy Blume novel."
"A print of Dorothy Hammill from when she won the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. This print has all the excitement and drama of her gold medal performance. It even has women dressed in traditional Montreal garb holding freshly baked bread. I also like the silhouette of her in the lower left corner. And then to top it off, there’s a bunch of words written about her in the lower right corner. This piece has the three E’s. Exquiste. Exciting. Educational."
"Another one of my favorites. Don’t know if these are landhoppers or if they can fly. But they do like to sit on wood and seem to prefer to travel in pairs – probably for safety. Probably from another planet originally. May have time traveled or space traveled. Not with their own time machine or spaceship – but probably sneaked onto someone else’s without them knowing and went along for the ride. My feeling is that these are the types of creatures that make friends easily."
I once had a collection of gigantic carved Polynesian spoons and forks that would have fit perfectly in this collection.
In one of my fever-induced dreams I was on a boat getting seasick and the ship's captain ordered me to stay in the ship's hospital under quarantine. I remember him wearing a ridiculous blue captain suit with gold braided epaulets. I know, hang in there with me, it's been a rough week... here's a post on captains I have known in my lifetime:
Captain Kangaroo - Believe it or not we used to watch an older guy with a toupee named Captain Kangaroo when we were little. His actual name was Bob Keeshan. I forgot about Mr. Green Jeans - one of my favorites from the show - a friendly handyman who used to stop by. This clip is from 1980 when they tried to resurrect his 30 year old show as the centerpiece of Saturday Morning cartoons.
Captain Kirk - 'nuff said. Shatner needs no introduction. Here's a good clip. Captain Kirk does a dramatic reading of the preamble of the Constitution to a bunch of guys dressed in fake fur with spears. Classic...
"The Captain" of Captain & Tennille - This band was a hit machine in the seventies. "The Captain" was the silent, talented musical partner in this pop duo. At the time, we thought nothing of his hilarious hat/sunglass combo. I guess captain hats were more standard attire back then. This clip from Don Kirshner's Rock Concert show is like packaging everything about the 70's into a little bottle.
Captain Crunch - Commander of the cereal universe, kooky leader, and all around deliverer of deliciousness, Captain Crunch has been in the background of culture for my entire lifespan.
Captain Caveman - A clear Scooby Doo template spinoff, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels was an odd cartoon that ran from 1977-1980. Apparently, because of the three channels available on my TV at the time, I would watch anything.
Captain Stubing - The Love Boat was one of the cheesiest, but most beloved TV shows ever created. Looking back, I can't believe that we watched this schlock. It was essentially a big PR campaign for the "B" movie star of the month. Essentially, a bunch of story lines written exclusively for guest stars - Bert Convy where are you now!?! You can catch a glimpse of Captain Stubing at the :55 mark in this opening intro.
Captain Jack Sparrow - Depp's famous pirate is so good because he based his character on original pirate/zombie/rockstar Keith Richards. If you're a fan of the Rolling Stones, you know how good this is...
Captain Knuckles - If you haven't seen it, "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack" is worth a gander. Twisted kids cartoons from Mark "Thurop" Van Orman, who used to work on the Powerpuff Girls as an animator. Knuckles and flapjack live on a fetid fishing dock in the middle of nowhere, and are in a constant quest to find "Candied Island". Uncomfortable humor, but really creative.
I'm going to live! No fevers today, but I'm still coughing up green goblins and the sore throat is still intense. Still bed-ridden, and achy, but overall a better day. I'm ready to join the survivors of pandemic 2009. Hopefully more recovery tomorrow.
The only bummer is that I missed Halloween. The kids had great costumes. This year they went as Gnomeo and Juliet... Get it!?! Juliet looks cute as usual, but Hank makes me bust up every time I look at him. There's something about tiny suspenders and a beard.
This next sentence makes me the biggest wussy on the planet... I miss hugging my wife and kids! I've been in quarantine in our house for the last three days. No one is coming within 3 feet of me and everything I touch is being wiped down with disinfectant. At least Oregon crushed USC this evening... Goodnight from your local leper.
Ever get so sick that your sense of reality starts to warp? I spent the day battling high temps again, in and out of sleep having weird dreams, and painful coughing spells. Thankfully I got some antibiotics from my parents to go along with tamiflu (Papa Pete you are my hero). Going to the pharmacy was a huge journey. Once they know you're infected it's like everyone starts to avert the eyes. Receipts are handed to you with a stick. Children are hidden. I have become the elephant man.
Karma... You know what they say. Initially I dismissed swine flu as yet another media-hyped creation of our hypochondriac-filled culture. After a couple of months of teaching kids about avoiding H1N1, washing my hands every five minutes, and seeing a lot of them succumb - I now have it. It's as bad as they say it is; a severe form of flu. What sucks about it is that it combines the worst features of several forms of sickness (fever, achy back, sore throat, headache, sinus pressure, ridiculous green snot, cough, watery eyes, fatigue).
So far the Tamiflu is not really doing anything miraculous. Viruses are such a strange robotic thing. I understand the science behind it, but it still seems like science fiction. I must make amends with my body. G'night.
I'm beat today... Work stank. Do you ever feel like you're working really hard to push the ball up the hill and it keeps rolling down over the top of you? Today is thus. Smoten, jinxed, awry. Best to just wallow in the beauty and peace of music. Here are some picks for the brooding fall season. Warning! Retroness is nigh!
The Helio Sequence - ultra cool band out of Portland (my home town). Great background music for hanging out around the house.
The Raconteurs - I've been revisiting their first album. It holds up really well three years later. Jack White is the man. If you're a fan, check out "It Might Get Loud", the documentary he made with Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, and The Edge from U2.
The Pixies - My friend Chris is canceling his plans to attend the latest Pixies reunion tour in Seattle next month so that he can go to a remote cabin with his brosephs. You are a good friend, Chris. If Frank Black were coming to Ashland, I'm not sure I could be so loyal. As a tribute to you, I give you an ancient rendition on the BBC where they all still have hair!
Pinback - a band I learned about from John in the Morning at KEXP. I like the simple drawings in this video.
Massive Attack - What's not to like about the combination of Massive Attack and Elizabeth Fraser from the Cocteau Twins? I find this song very soothing, but I hated the original video for it - a singing fetus!?! I'm still surprised that Fraser is not a superstar in the music biz.
This year I'm teaching a year long advanced digital media class. We're getting deep into Photoshop, Flash and Dreamweaver as well as a little Illustrator and Indesign. Right now my students are ready to burn me at the stake while I teach them the vagaries of Illustrator. One of our first projects was to create a piece of custom currency in Photoshop. Money is an interesting graphic system that seems simple at first, but is really very complex. My students did a fantastic job, so I thought I'd show some of the best efforts here...
I'm enjoying my time with these young'ns. They're a talented crew, I'm lucky to be their teacher!
recognize Judah Friedlander by his huge glasses and smirky custom hats. He and the other "writers" on 30 Rock are one of the bright spots on the show. I think this guy is really funny, but the thing I most like about him is his art collection. This is just down my alley:"A print of Dorothy Hammill from when she won the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. This print has all the excitement and drama of her gold medal performance. It even has women dressed in traditional Montreal garb holding freshly baked bread. I also like the silhouette of her in the lower left corner. And then to top it off, there’s a bunch of words written about her in the lower right corner. This piece has the three E’s. Exquiste. Exciting. Educational."
"Another one of my favorites. Don’t know if these are landhoppers or if they can fly. But they do like to sit on wood and seem to prefer to travel in pairs – probably for safety. Probably from another planet originally. May have time traveled or space traveled. Not with their own time machine or spaceship – but probably sneaked onto someone else’s without them knowing and went along for the ride. My feeling is that these are the types of creatures that make friends easily."
