tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-156918962024-03-14T08:54:54.212-07:00Big Red RobotDylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.comBlogger1199125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-51708884756980560882011-03-01T14:04:00.000-08:002011-03-01T14:09:40.202-08:00Challengers of the Unknown<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1UslQFlgpIIpDYqZWQdGdoET6m2gyvZ6xf5HWJaD2dSwWveAC2_ZIntdqSTGEkMGVnrXCW0G9wIRtggU1T9HhyWGau4HEyjMpjHBmp7EprBjb5qPsNDw64RXXJ1LxrrHVhn_kg/s1600/COTU.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1UslQFlgpIIpDYqZWQdGdoET6m2gyvZ6xf5HWJaD2dSwWveAC2_ZIntdqSTGEkMGVnrXCW0G9wIRtggU1T9HhyWGau4HEyjMpjHBmp7EprBjb5qPsNDw64RXXJ1LxrrHVhn_kg/s400/COTU.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579236536441868290" border="0" /></a><br /><p>It's March. Here's the new mix, <em>Challengers of the Unknown.</em></p> <p>"Another boxer on the cover?" Hey, I'm just as surprised as you are.<em><br /></em></p> <p>Download it <a href="http://www.multiupload.com/KF0HQ08ZEU" _mce_href="http://www.multiupload.com/KF0HQ08ZEU">here</a>. More on <a href="http://bigredrobot.blogspot.com/2008/12/2008-brr-mixxes-master-list.html" _mce_href="http://bigredrobot.blogspot.com/2008/12/2008-brr-mixxes-master-list.html">the Master List</a>.</p><p>***Cover art is a detail from "Richard Humphreys, the Boxer", by John Hoppner, 1788.<br /></p>Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-76069365221070625402011-02-01T09:55:00.001-08:002011-02-01T09:56:22.584-08:00Fight or Flight<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ip_zzhUL8TYE6maP1il4hNBPIMqpx8Qx-_W0GcJ2nZ-QgMKt1qP69ny7C52YKb48ymotM4fuKMO2Ki9C7prSf7P8W7LPGOOVq_ZR52TaGrITymWelK8UiYuIq-Q9Etef6Dk8hQ/s1600/Fight+or+Flight.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ip_zzhUL8TYE6maP1il4hNBPIMqpx8Qx-_W0GcJ2nZ-QgMKt1qP69ny7C52YKb48ymotM4fuKMO2Ki9C7prSf7P8W7LPGOOVq_ZR52TaGrITymWelK8UiYuIq-Q9Etef6Dk8hQ/s400/Fight+or+Flight.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568781324605563298" border="0" /></a><br /><p>February! Hey there! New mix. The title was suggested by the one and only <a href="http://reluctant-hero.tumblr.com/" _mce_href="http://reluctant-hero.tumblr.com/">Reluctant Hero</a>, who has a great blog. You should totally follow him. I'll work the other two suggestions in some time, as they were all pretty great. And if you ever have any ideas for titles, shoot them my way, okay?</p> <p>Anyway, the mix. It's a weird, wobbly thing. It's all neon-colored and grimy, like the oil rainbow in a puddle or like the aura coming off that weird guy in the back of the bus. Psychedelic burnout fantasies from across the chronoheliosphere. Sort of a cousin to <em><a href="http://bigredrobot.blogspot.com/2010/05/brr-mixxes-2009.html" _mce_href="http://bigredrobot.blogspot.com/2010/05/brr-mixxes-2009.html">Electric Freak Out</a></em> from a couple of years back.</p> <p>Get it <a href="http://www.multiupload.com/CJB0EEONZQ" _mce_href="http://www.multiupload.com/CJB0EEONZQ">here</a>, or just click the picture above, and, as always, there are more mixes to be found on the <a href="http://bigredrobot.blogspot.com/2008/12/2008-brr-mixxes-master-list.html" _mce_href="http://bigredrobot.blogspot.com/2008/12/2008-brr-mixxes-master-list.html">Master List</a>. Thanks for listening, and feel free to share it with your friends, co-workers, lovers, pets, fellow inmates, therapists, or that weird guy in the back of the bus. Sharing = caring.</p> <p>Here's the tracklist:</p> <ol><li>"I've payed my rent and I've done my time and it's gone on much too long."</li><li>"If we agree they're there, they're there; alive and shorn."</li><li>"Note the hours, how they drag 'til the night-time comes 'round."</li><li>"You're a girl of rainbow snow."</li><li>"And that's a good thing, that's a good thing for you."</li><li>"And I'll share your sleeping bag if I might."</li><li>"Keep ringing against the walls with a hollow song."</li><li>"They call when you are sleeping, they shake your hand downtown."</li><li>"<span id="result_box" class="short_text" lang="en"><span title="Click for alternate translations" class="hps">[At</span> <span title="Click for alternate translations" class="hps">infinity</span> <span title="Click for alternate translations" class="hps">of the</span> <span title="Click for alternate translations" class="hps">fifth</span> <span title="Click for alternate translations" class="hps">celestial</span> <span title="Click for alternate translations" class="hps">galaxy</span></span>]."</li><li>"Right beneath the sign with the dusty yellow stars."</li><li>"Nobody knows what's going on in my mind but me."</li><li>"We're gonna melt away like apples in the ground."</li><li>"She singled me out, single-handed took me alive."</li><li>"It takes a year to make a day."</li><li>"I was adrift in a dreamworld."</li><li>"Is this real, what I see?"</li><li>"You can't run away."</li><li>"Stones deformed by gentle kissing."</li><li>"Baby, it's a thrill."</li><li>"Now that the parachute has opened, well, don't it make you feel good?"</li></ol>Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-79006437653000377672011-01-03T11:05:00.000-08:002011-01-03T11:06:10.511-08:00Year's Not Long<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.multiupload.com/LW7VWDDBZ7"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOo-edMixIbkFx5V-38fiSH2kJBb1zaoHbtzL9ksXRgb_Gz9KQa-muktU3q8aNZlsHbLE9Vpsh3kgHpT8-JHxzhLSzXePMHduWI_esExGrxsJdcnT73_lO0Wr3KNVm-agYFYy3dw/s400/YearsNotLong.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558037883314309890" border="0" /></a><br /><p>January's mix is up; titled <em>Year's Not Long</em>.</p><p>Tracklist:</p><ol><li>"There's someone on my mind now all the time."<br /></li><li>"There's not enough eyeliner in this world." </li><li>"We could ride the camel. One hump or two?"<br /></li><li>" Nothing says 'I miss you' quite like war poetry you carved in your door with a Stanley knife."</li><li>"Say you're going through a phase."<br /></li><li>"Hey girl, I watched you dancing to the rocking bands."</li><li>" I don't wanna hang out with those teenage freaks."</li><li>"The co-dependent self-styled nightmare."</li><li>" The ghosts of graffiti they couldn’t quite erase."</li><li>"I will secretly accept you, and together we'll fly south."</li><li>"Make a cup of tea. Put a record on."<br /></li><li>"Cause they're coming for your brain, but they will leave with your head."</li><li>"They are tiny suns infused with sour."</li><li>"I must look like a dork."<br /></li><li>"Poor enough to eat a tree."</li><li>"My basketball team's name is 'Gay Human Bones'. We win most of the games that we play at home."<br /></li><li>"I just had to get something off of my soul."<br /></li><li>"All you ever do is pout."</li><li>"She has a statue inside."<br /></li><li>"Drag me across the sky."</li></ol>Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-69941261122260231432010-12-31T14:39:00.000-08:002010-12-31T14:40:25.455-08:002010 Favorite Comics<p><em><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4078/4780878742_c7b0030ca2.jpg" _mce_src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4078/4780878742_c7b0030ca2.jpg" width="375" height="500" /></em></p><p><em>King City<br /><span style="overflow: hidden; line-height: 0px;" _mce_style="overflow:hidden;line-height:0px" id="mce_13_start" _mce_type="bookmark"></span></em>Just dizzyingly masterful. Brandon Graham turns in an imaginative epic full of <span _mce_style="overflow: hidden; line-height: 0px;" style="overflow: hidden; line-height: 0px;" id="mce_13_end" _mce_type="bookmark"></span>small moments, big monsters, great characters and just crazy, crazy stuff. <a _mce_href="http://www.4thletter.net/category/4thletter-exclusives/12-days-of-king-city/" href="http://www.4thletter.net/category/4thletter-exclusives/12-days-of-king-city/">The ever-reliable David Brothers</a> does a much better analysis of what made it such a joy to read every time it showed up in my stack.</p><p><br /></p><p><em><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5209/5310835404_0f3ccd93c1.jpg" _mce_src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5209/5310835404_0f3ccd93c1.jpg" width="375" height="500" /></em></p><p><em>Uncanny X-Force<br /></em>How did he do it? How did Rick Remender make me lovelovelove a book titled <em>X-Force – </em>a name that brings up images of saliva-mouthed, cross-hatched muscle-men toting ridiculously gigantic guns while garbed in a suit made entirely of pouches – featuring the already over-exposed Deadpool and Wolverine along with a bunch of other "kewl" characters (and the legitimately cool Fantomex) as the X-Men's black ops team? I don't know, but I'd be a liar if I said that this book didn't make the 13-year-old inside of me jump up and down and fist-pump forever and ever<em>.</em></p><p><em><br /></em></p><p><em><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/5002856562_6c02a85dd4.jpg" _mce_src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/5002856562_6c02a85dd4.jpg" width="375" height="500" /><br /></em></p><p><em><a _mce_href="http://www.adhousebooks.com/books/afrodisiac.html" href="http://www.adhousebooks.com/books/afrodisiac.html">Afrodisiac</a><br /></em>Dudes. Just buy it. It's beautiful, hilarious and it's by the guys who made <em>Street Angel. </em>You need to know nothing else beyond this.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/5064706647_8d747c786a.jpg" _mce_src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/5064706647_8d747c786a.jpg" width="500" height="375" /><br /></p><p><a _mce_href="http://www.amazon.com/iZombie-Vol-1-Dead-World/dp/1401229654/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293833613&sr=8-1" href="http://www.amazon.com/iZombie-Vol-1-Dead-World/dp/1401229654/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293833613&sr=8-1">iZombie</a><br />Chris Roberson and Mike Allred have crafted the perfect weapon to do battle against the horribleness of the <em>Twilight</em> saga. Zombies, mummies, werewolves (well, were-terriers), vampires, and a talking chimp.'Nuff said.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><em><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4150/5002910110_85145fbbc3.jpg" _mce_src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4150/5002910110_85145fbbc3.jpg" /><br /></em></p><p><em>The Bulletproof Coffin<br /></em>This book is so weird. Like a dayglo David Lynch superhero fever dream, Hine and Kane take a long look at comics and all their idiosyncrasies and leave you with a feeling of hopelessness. It's the anti-<em>Flex Mentallo.</em></p><p><em><br /></em></p><p><em><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/5065310364_ddf1ce99c6.jpg" _mce_src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/5065310364_ddf1ce99c6.jpg" /><br /></em></p><p><em>Orc Stain<br /></em>James Stokoe's kind-of-sort-of fantasy tale subverts all your expectations in a purple-ish, veiny wonderland full of thieves, <em>Flintstones</em>-ish contraptions, swamp witches, and orc-based genital mutilation/currency. The Mindless Ones did a great podcast on the subject. <a _mce_href="http://mindlessones.com/2010/12/02/2010-mindless-podcast-4-orc-stain/" href="http://mindlessones.com/2010/12/02/2010-mindless-podcast-4-orc-stain/">Go listen to that</a>. Then <a _mce_href="http://www.amazon.com/Orc-Stain-TP-James-Stokoe/dp/160706295X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293830611&sr=8-1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Orc-Stain-TP-James-Stokoe/dp/160706295X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293830611&sr=8-1">go buy the trade</a> of the first six issues. You won't regret it.</p><p><br /></p><p><em><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5282/5310890580_c5dd5ff08d.jpg" _mce_src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5282/5310890580_c5dd5ff08d.jpg" /><br /></em></p><p><a _mce_href="http://www.amazon.com/Thor-Mighty-Avenger-Vol-Earth/dp/0785141219/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1293832621&sr=1-2" href="http://www.amazon.com/Thor-Mighty-Avenger-Vol-Earth/dp/0785141219/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1293832621&sr=1-2"><em>Thor: The Mighty Avenger</em></a><br />Yeah, I know. Another comics fan whining about the little book that couldn't. But when you have Roger Langridge writing an accessible, all-ages book about a character I could have cared less about and making me love him and his universe, and when you have Chris Samnee drawing the heck out of every singe panel in that book, you kind of have to bellyache a little when something this special gets snuffed out in the crib. I can't say I'm shocked that a well-drawn, well-written Marvel book got canceled due to low sales, (as my <em>Nextwave</em> collection will attest) but I am a little disappointed. But hey, good art doesn't always win. In fact, the instances where something that is actually excellent gets wide recognition are so rare that I can't think of any. When's the last time a legitimate, all-caps, GREAT film was #1 at the box office? Or a GREAT record/song was at the top of the Billboard charts? How about on the bestseller list?<br /></p><p>You get the point.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5002/5310892370_46c9291e85.jpg" _mce_src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5002/5310892370_46c9291e85.jpg" /><br /></p><p><em><a _mce_href="http://www.onipress.com/title/scott-pilgrim-s-finest-hour-v-6" href="http://www.onipress.com/title/scott-pilgrim-s-finest-hour-v-6">Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour</a><br /></em>There's not a whole lot surprising in Bryan Lee O'Malley's final chapter in the Scott Pilgrim series. Like it's predecessors, it's funny, ridiculous and touching. It's beautifully rendered, well-written and populated with great characters doing really fun stuff and kissing and stuff. What more do you want in entertainment?</p><p><br /></p><p><em><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/5002889202_6465f2ffce.jpg" _mce_src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/5002889202_6465f2ffce.jpg" width="500" height="375" /><br /></em></p><p><a _mce_href="http://www.amazon.com/Daytripper-Gabriel-Ba/dp/1401229697/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1293832671&sr=1-1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Daytripper-Gabriel-Ba/dp/1401229697/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1293832671&sr=1-1"><em>Daytripper</em></a><br />Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon's stunning mini-series about birth, death and the stuff in-between was just fantastic. It'll break you. In a good way.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/4589836979_c4020dfed4.jpg" _mce_src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/4589836979_c4020dfed4.jpg" /><br /></p><p>Morrison's Batman books: <em>Batman & Robin, Batman: the Return of Bruce Wayne, Batman: the Return, Batman Inc.<br /></em>This run has been uneven as hell, but wowzers, it's been fun to read. Morrison manages to tie up his years-long Batman story (who knew that <em>Final Crisis</em> was really a Batman story?) while paving the way for the future of Batman all the while giving up some top-notch work from Frank Quitely, Frazier Irving, Chris Sprouse, and Yanick Paquette. (We won't discuss the attack of the Morrison Art Curse on <em>ROBW</em> and <em>B&R</em>) Morrison literally killed off the old, grim soldier of Frank Miller's Batman and replaced him with one poised to take over the 21st century. I, for one, welcome our new corporate Batman overlords.</p><p><br /></p><p><em><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4780886984_8ab3874ba0.jpg" _mce_src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4780886984_8ab3874ba0.jpg" /><br /></em></p><p><em><a _mce_href="http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Tooth-Vol-Out-Woods/dp/1401226965/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1293832688&sr=1-4" href="http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Tooth-Vol-Out-Woods/dp/1401226965/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1293832688&sr=1-4">Sweet Tooth</a><br /></em>I wasn't too sure how I'd like this, a post-apocalyptic tale featuring an boy with antlers and his tough-as-nails guardian, all done up by Jeff Lemire. Yes, <em>that</em> Jeff Lemire, the guy who gave us sublime stories about people in small, rural Canadian towns in his <em>Essex County </em>books and Vertigo's <em>The Nobody.</em> I mean, the guy is obviously talented, but a <em>Mad Max</em> meets <em>The Island of Dr. Moreau</em> sci-fi-type book? Has he gone all Hollywood on us? </p><p>No. No he hasn't. Settle down, Dylan. <em>Sweet Tooth</em> is full of the same stuff that made Lemire<em>'s </em>earlier books work so well: well-rounded characters stuck in situations they don't necessarily like or understand, making things work as best they can. Sorry I doubted you, Mr Lemire.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5285/5310298983_7a1734d0be.jpg" _mce_src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5285/5310298983_7a1734d0be.jpg" /><br /></p><p>Jeff Parker & Gabriel Hardman on <em>Hulk<br /></em>Talk about making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. After the third cancellation of Parker's<em> Atlas</em> series (See my remarks on well-written, well-drawn series at Marvel in the Thor entry), the creative team shuffled over to the adjectiveless <em>Hulk </em>book to take over for Jeph Loeb after his two-year-ish run on the book detailing the exploits of the Red Hulk, an idea so stupid it could only come from Jeph "I Wrote <em>Commando</em>," Loeb. </p><p>And they knocked it out of the park. The set-up so far is reminiscent of <em>Nextwave</em> (the whole "gotta shut-down all these secret doomsday weapons" plot engine) and <em>Thor: the Mighty Avenger</em> (the whole "let's team Red Hulk up with another hero every issue to see what makes him different" thing), and it's so well-plotted and expertly drawn you forget just how dumb this whole thing started off as. In fact, in their hands, it makes perfect sense.<em><br /></em></p>Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-53856738811713559332010-12-01T08:20:00.000-08:002011-12-16T10:17:21.169-08:00BRR Christmas Mixes<span style="font-weight: bold;">BRR CHRISTMAS MIXES:</span><br /><br />All remastered and ready to go! Enjoy!<br /><br />A Big Red Christmas, Vol. 1: I Would Never Steal From Santa <a href="http://www.multiupload.com/FKZC1XK9BH">•</a><br />A Big Red Christmas, Vol. 2: Sleigh Bells In the Air <a href="http://www.multiupload.com/MQSQBDRWIT">• </a><br />A Big Red Christmas, Vol. 3: It's the Perfect Gift Idea <a href="http://www.multiupload.com/GRWFEGR18S">•</a><br />A Big Red Christmas, Vol. 4: You'd Better Watch Out <a href="http://www.multiupload.com/4HJHZADU9V">•</a><br />A Big Red Christmas, Vol. 5: K-Mart Is Closed <a href="http://www.multiupload.com/HBZOAMZS1J">•</a><br />A Big Red Christmas, Vol. 6: My True Love Gave To Me <a href="http://www.multiupload.com/QT8BMT3DWX">•</a><br />A Big Red Christmas, Vol. 7: To Heck With Ol’ Santa Claus <a href="http://www.multiupload.com/D0LCL6FFWX" target="_blank">•</a><br />A Big Red Christmas, Vol. 8: We Dress Up Like Snowmen <a href="http://www.multiupload.com/R5DL6PRUBR" target="_blank">•</a><br />A Big Red Christmas, Vol. 9: Got Something For You <a href="http://www.multiupload.com/P180SDZB10" target="_blank">•</a>Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-89041476156835785672010-09-15T10:15:00.000-07:002010-09-15T10:29:52.842-07:00Good Times<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExrJdgypulZeFMG0dP2DxKW_qrRsqj0cTAtISrwwqbsG31sFJ3xGsY3k4YANF0o4cTEJ0H9Sa0ZqBI0Bab4X6DXN7iNT_sYMYUSCz5iOxaQwOeb4v6lc0mqRjnoXLhlrxxUXQZg/s1600/BRTumblr.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExrJdgypulZeFMG0dP2DxKW_qrRsqj0cTAtISrwwqbsG31sFJ3xGsY3k4YANF0o4cTEJ0H9Sa0ZqBI0Bab4X6DXN7iNT_sYMYUSCz5iOxaQwOeb4v6lc0mqRjnoXLhlrxxUXQZg/s400/BRTumblr.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517193227755897490" /></a><br />So I think I'm going to move a lot of my blogging over to <a href="http://bigredrobot.tumblr.com/">my Tumblr, Big Red Tumblr</a>. So you can follow me over there for the short bursts of static that comprise Tumblr blogging. <br /><br />I'll still keep this live and update with posts here & there, but dang dudes, I feel guilty whenever I look at this thing, like it's looking back at me with these eyes that say, "Remember the good times, when you used to write stuff on me? Why can't we have those times back again?" <br /><br />"But blog," I want to say, "those times are gone. The Internet has changed. I've changed. We can't go back to then. We can only have now. And now is … different." <br /><br />But I just can't say it. Not yet.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-30197995760203256452010-09-01T07:27:00.000-07:002010-09-01T07:27:21.059-07:00Flying High AgainIt all started with Nixon. Blame him. It's September's mix, <i>A Beginner's Guide To Levitation</i>. Featuring tracks from 13th Floor Elevators, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, R.E.M., The Monkees, Male Bonding, The Promise Ring, Modernettes, Best Coast, Lou Reed, The Killers, Serendipity, Band Of Horses, Radar Brothers, The Feelies, Andrew Bird, Nick Drake, The Bee Gees, The Cure, Ben Folds, and Club 8. Here's the cover:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjmDAc5Fm9D-NqjWSkDDHPUXZ7q3b04i0AeOveihNY-m4Lc2Z_I4aRdzbuWYoQUtus6f3Zs40zQk06gi-T1wy-R7pyaxZnH9meTLhWnRIOxySS836O1rVI-sfEpAziUHiOS0Vc_w/s1600/BGTL.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjmDAc5Fm9D-NqjWSkDDHPUXZ7q3b04i0AeOveihNY-m4Lc2Z_I4aRdzbuWYoQUtus6f3Zs40zQk06gi-T1wy-R7pyaxZnH9meTLhWnRIOxySS836O1rVI-sfEpAziUHiOS0Vc_w/s400/BGTL.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511647157295445154" /></a><br />Download it <a href="http://www.multiupload.com/ZBFZIZGUNX">here</a>. And you can get even more mixtapery goodness by checking out <a href="http://bigredrobot.blogspot.com/2008/12/2008-brr-mixxes-master-list.html">the Master List</a>.<br /><br />As usual, feel free to tweet this, share it on Facebook or just send the link to a friend. Sharing is caring. Oh, and if you do, let me know and you just might get some special surprise.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-2019243459435179742010-09-01T07:00:00.000-07:002010-09-01T07:09:48.442-07:00The Pirates Have Learned of His Invisibility DeviceIt's MST3K Drink & Draw time again, so get your pencils ready for <i>Manhunt In Space</i>, another chapter in the adventures of Rocky Jones: Space Ranger.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigredrobot/4945673502/" title="Manhunt In Space by Dylan Todd, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/4945673502_eb2241b379.jpg" width="324" height="500" alt="Manhunt In Space" /></a><br />Movie-sign is tomorrow night, August 25th, beginning at 9 pm. Who's in?<br /><br />Watch along on <a href="http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Mystery-Science-Theater-3000-Manhunt-in-Space/70114902?strackid=7d195377d9a03d34_0_srl&strkid=1366511987_0_0&trkid=438381">Netflix</a>. Draw along with the movie. Follow along on Twitter with @<a href="http://twitter.com/thechrishaley">theChrisHaley</a> and @<a href="http://twitter.com/TheJenya">theJenya</a> OR find all the great tweets using the hashtag <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23mst3kdandd">#MST3kDandD</a>. And there's always <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/mst3ksfc/pool/with/4768638758/">our Flickr pool</a> for posting your drawerings.<br /><br />A good time will be had by all.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-60719284951082142342010-08-30T09:15:00.000-07:002010-08-30T11:20:24.285-07:0015 Records & 15 MoreSo I got tagged on one of those Internet meme things on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/dylan.todd">Facebook</a> the other day. It was a thing where you were supposed to list 15 albums that stuck with you, which, c'mon, how am I supposed to pass that up? I've done something similar here on the blog ages ago with my <a href="http://bigredrobot.blogspot.com/search?q=island+disco">Desert Island Disco series</a>, and while both lists contain a lot of the same artists, for this one I included records that were more introductory and seminal as opposed to ones I'd listen to forever if necessary. So here's my list of 15 Albums: <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEGtXQ4O8zWXkWNpWUlljvPhENThmem8lnrQYB2VP-oDOyPZdfns4c55iBwlE-rMNULbkB9mVfOkmUg-0GM2oZyK61ThRiI726iio4JcHeoZltPlLKHlTkzANePANUcNtrJbTaqA/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEGtXQ4O8zWXkWNpWUlljvPhENThmem8lnrQYB2VP-oDOyPZdfns4c55iBwlE-rMNULbkB9mVfOkmUg-0GM2oZyK61ThRiI726iio4JcHeoZltPlLKHlTkzANePANUcNtrJbTaqA/s400/1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511259766726171058" /></a><br />1. Jonathan Richman - <span style="font-style:italic;">I, Jonathan</span><br />2. Harry Nilsson - <span style="font-style:italic;">Nilsson Schmilsson</span><br />3. The Beatles - <span style="font-style:italic;">The Beatles</span><br />4. Bob Dylan - <span style="font-style:italic;">Highway 61 Revisited</span><br />5. Guided By Voices - <span style="font-style:italic;">Bee Thousand</span><br />6. Pavement - <span style="font-style:italic;">Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain</span><br />7. The Unicorns - <span style="font-style:italic;">Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?</span><br />8. Talking Heads - <span style="font-style:italic;">Remain In Light</span><br />9. The Beach Boys - <span style="font-style:italic;">Friends</span><br />10. The Clash - <span style="font-style:italic;">The Clash</span><br />11. Yo La Tengo - <span style="font-style:italic;">Electro-Pura</span><br />12. Sebadoh - <span style="font-style:italic;">Bakesale</span><br />13. Flaming Lips - <span style="font-style:italic;">The Soft Bulletin</span><br />14. Funkadelic - <span style="font-style:italic;">Maggot Brain</span><br />15. R.E.M. - <span style="font-style:italic;">Reckoning</span><br /><br />And of course, as soon as I hit "Submit" on the Facebook note, I thought of another 15 or so records I could include. So here's another 15:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MfzdTAol2PUHNK6y20wFChzcjY1idSDESkSag1HEtTAurPlKt6f_sitXJs-NCXm9xmMywgsJ4HxLGndZC61Wh4FnpSsxhHfHGtQ_SEhjkmysvXBRbKNObuDttnN94-ziSQXXwQ/s1600/2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MfzdTAol2PUHNK6y20wFChzcjY1idSDESkSag1HEtTAurPlKt6f_sitXJs-NCXm9xmMywgsJ4HxLGndZC61Wh4FnpSsxhHfHGtQ_SEhjkmysvXBRbKNObuDttnN94-ziSQXXwQ/s400/2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511259773673975186" /></a><br />1. Paul & Linda McCartney - <span style="font-style:italic;">Ram</span><br />2. The Dismemberment Plan - <span style="font-style:italic;">Change</span><br />3. Beck - <span style="font-style:italic;">Midnight Vultures</span><br />4. Spoon - <span style="font-style:italic;">Girls Can Tell</span><br />5. Ganglians - <span style="font-style:italic;">Monster Head Room</span><br />6. Tom Waits - <span style="font-style:italic;">Bone Machine</span><br />7. Belle & Sebastian - <span style="font-style:italic;">If You're Feeling Sinister</span><br />8. Old 97's - <span style="font-style:italic;">Too Far To Care</span><br />9. Super Furry Animals - <span style="font-style:italic;">Rings Around the World</span><br />10. Halo Benders - <span style="font-style:italic;">God Don't Make No junk</span><br />11. Devo - <span style="font-style:italic;">Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!</span><br />12. Dirty Projectors - <span style="font-style:italic;">Bitte Orca</span><br />13. The B-52's - <span style="font-style:italic;">The B-52's</span><br />14. Neil Young - <span style="font-style:italic;">After the Gold Rush</span><br />15. They Might Be Giants - <span style="font-style:italic;">Apollo 18</span><br /><br />What about you? What are some informative, keystone records from yr life? Ones that you heard and said to yourself, "Yeah, that's it right there."?Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-80001652164501625312010-08-25T11:17:00.000-07:002010-08-25T12:16:53.204-07:00Seven Evil Exes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwBsdSuTdH7iIxzXdpfwDUfcD7FMrpb_8rh_bgTKJ5vrk5szJvEFfp1so2WzCZ7GxARe2LcxeB5cJ2jXy0HpCHZXyI-F61dz2rvKy7_UUZN0MmxDGsntZ60VIo-KxnTKk1rdZ1A/s1600/scott_pilgrim_vs_the_world_KROW-600x300.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 205px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwBsdSuTdH7iIxzXdpfwDUfcD7FMrpb_8rh_bgTKJ5vrk5szJvEFfp1so2WzCZ7GxARe2LcxeB5cJ2jXy0HpCHZXyI-F61dz2rvKy7_UUZN0MmxDGsntZ60VIo-KxnTKk1rdZ1A/s400/scott_pilgrim_vs_the_world_KROW-600x300.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509424226622424098" /></a><br />So, we saw <i>Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World</i> the night it opened and for some reason, I'm just getting around to blogging about it. It was really fantastic. Like, very, very, very good. Perfect, almost. Upon its completion, I immediately wanted to go watch it again. That's how good it is. <br /><br />It has everything a movie should have: a great soundtrack, great cast, masterful direction, snappy dialogue, epic fights, and a cute love story. It looks great, it sounds great and it feels great. (It also includes the long-awaited fight between George Michael Bluth and Ann Veal that all you <i>Arrested Development</i> fanfic writers have been salivating over.*) And so far, it's not doing so great at the box office, with box office receipts totaling less than half of that steaming turd of a film <i>Eat Pray love</i>. This is terrible. I cannot let this act of aggression stand. As an enjoy-er of Things That Are Awesome, I must act.<br /><br />So I am posting this in an effort to get you out of your house and into a theater to watch this movie. Because trust me, if you wait until it hits in DVD and you're watching it at home on your little TV you will be going, "Oh man! This movie's great! Why didn't I see this on the big screen? WHYYYY?!" And I will jump out from behind a plant and say, "I TOLD YOU!" And you will probably call the cops. But it will be worth it.<br /><br />But yeah, go see <i>Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World</i>. I loved it, and c'mon, my tastes are pretty impeccable, right? And if you're worried it's too dudical or if I'm already to biased about the source material (Seriously though, the comics are great, too. And yeah, I'm a pretty big sucker for Edgar Wright, but c'mon! <i>Spaced?</i> <i>Shaun of the of Dead?</i> <i>Hot Fuzz?</i> <i>Spaaaaaaaaced?</i> And yeah, I bought both the soundtrack and the score and will most likely download the game on Xbox and sure, I waited to buy the last volume at midnight at <a href="http://ichliebecomics.blogspot.com/">my local comic shop</a> and I pretty much feel like if you don't like this movie you probably wouldn't like me because it's everything I think is great about movies/comics/video games all in one place…), I will point out that I saw it with my wife, who also enjoyed it lots and couldn't care less about comic book movies or martial arts movies, both of which this film shares DNA with. So there. <br /><br />It's super-fun. Honest. And if you have seen it already, why not tell a friend. It pains me to see something this good and this fun and this well-made get passed over in favor of stuff like <i>Vampires Suck</i> or <i>Eat Pray Love</i>. We've got to fight for our right to awesome.<br /><br />Here's the trailer.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-0HUH_JZKKQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-0HUH_JZKKQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />* Is <i>Arrested Development</i> fanfic a thing? Initially I was joking, but now I kinda hope it is. I don't know that I want to live in a world where somebody isn't spending hours writing the further adventures of the Bluth family. It's gotta be out there somewhere, right? I mean, if people are writing <i>Spin City</i> or <i>WKRP In Cincinnati</i> fanfic, surely somebody somewhere's gotta writing the story of Carl Weathers and Tobias Fünke on a roadtrip across America to audition for the <i>Spider-Man</i> musical, right? Please tell me this is so, otherwise, well, you know what I'll be doing this weekend.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-14834732874459665142010-08-24T09:26:00.000-07:002010-08-24T09:34:21.518-07:00"Ooh-Oooooh Swamp Diamonds!"It's MST3K Drink & Draw time again. This time, it's <i>Swamp Diamonds</i>, AKA <i>Swamp Girls</i>, a Roger Corman "girls on the lam in the bayou" schlock-fest.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73qofv7Jd_MyS2etA7Vj4B2VdfXbnw1iPyRxIRLwD9m1f25A6fVttoBgl84nN8Xzoe58hT8g_mUKE7Y1BJCSSI-YIcJhAog1kfE25AxjHywC7QLxLgAd5h2zZvEo3bDubfDL8ow/s1600/Swamp+Diamonds.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73qofv7Jd_MyS2etA7Vj4B2VdfXbnw1iPyRxIRLwD9m1f25A6fVttoBgl84nN8Xzoe58hT8g_mUKE7Y1BJCSSI-YIcJhAog1kfE25AxjHywC7QLxLgAd5h2zZvEo3bDubfDL8ow/s400/Swamp+Diamonds.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509013827067770530" /></a><br />Movie-sign is tomorrow night, August 25th, beginning at 9 pm. Who's in?<br /><br />Watch along on <a href="http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Mystery_Science_Theater_3000_Swamp_Diamonds/70053094?strackid=50cfb0a5bcf4dc71_0_srl&strkid=826224959_0_0&trkid=438381">Netflix</a>. Draw along with the movie. Follow along on Twitter with @<a href="http://twitter.com/thechrishaley">theChrisHaley</a> and @<a href="http://twitter.com/TheJenya">theJenya</a> (that's her face in that there diamond, lookin' all sultry & whatnot) OR find all the great tweets using the hashtag <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23mst3kdandd">#MST3kDandD</a>. And there's always <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/mst3ksfc/pool/with/4768638758/">our Flickr pool</a> for posting your drawerings.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-43958160823461424122010-08-23T14:44:00.000-07:002010-08-23T16:39:18.786-07:00What Does This MEEEEAN?!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lopeEMEfF_7gOM9ggteLOALknsnxfZolLoQaBlaDp-QgJXsMUQq8xttolGSOaH4gPLLhLxwCSNjfVjsEZfD5_D9CM6xtmT_AdRWSkhj5DyurA87YSspCYOR0J0TJByPxm7I3UA/s1600/DoubleFonzie.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lopeEMEfF_7gOM9ggteLOALknsnxfZolLoQaBlaDp-QgJXsMUQq8xttolGSOaH4gPLLhLxwCSNjfVjsEZfD5_D9CM6xtmT_AdRWSkhj5DyurA87YSspCYOR0J0TJByPxm7I3UA/s400/DoubleFonzie.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508724462338637458" /></a><br />For some context, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI">go here</a>.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-89149670950585040772010-08-19T16:01:00.000-07:002010-08-19T16:03:02.182-07:00You Gotta Hear ThisTom Waits covering the legendary James Brown's classic, "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag." It's like if Albert Einstein decided to cover Isaac Newton. Or something. Anyway, it's glorious.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LvnqIG3uiyk?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LvnqIG3uiyk?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />You're welcome.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-61078392373040391322010-08-19T08:48:00.000-07:002010-08-19T23:36:28.972-07:00America's Busybody<blockquote>"Do I hear the sound of butting in? It's gotta be little Lisa Simpson, Springfield's answer to a QUESTION NO ONE ASKED!"<br /><br />– Ned Flanders, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qcLy8h9grQ">losing his cool-a-roodily</a> in <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">the Simpson's</span> episode, "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Neddy">Hurricane Neddy</a>."</blockquote><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmdLvezyIpOjWqjOmSMt-QV4ivjsFncDL9Usll5p3TWnm2_I7z_DWUuPuoxjh1ryCvEncJqPN1SwKShkWduHiUNUglWs8VmWo9D0LjyivltFrRZP7CC5RBR1SCU5bxf7eNOzjGQ/s1600/sara_palin_mullet_rev.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 292px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmdLvezyIpOjWqjOmSMt-QV4ivjsFncDL9Usll5p3TWnm2_I7z_DWUuPuoxjh1ryCvEncJqPN1SwKShkWduHiUNUglWs8VmWo9D0LjyivltFrRZP7CC5RBR1SCU5bxf7eNOzjGQ/s400/sara_palin_mullet_rev.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507274984068896626" /></a><br /><br />So, yeah, Sarah Palin, America's Busybody. Since when did we need her to throw her two cents in Every. Single. Issue? First off, she decided that the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque," (pronounced: "It's a community center. You know, more like a YMCA, only the 'C' is a 'M'.") to be built on "hallowed ground," (pronounced: "A former Burlington Coat Factory") needed to be "<a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/07/palin-invents-word-compares-he.html">refudiated</a>," (pronounced: "Not a word, you dunderhead.") by peaceful Muslims &/or New Yorkers. Because, you know, as an Alaskan (and one whose husband was a member of a group who wanted Alaska to defect from the Unites States, no less…), this directly affects her.<br /><br />Now I'm not going to debate about this community center, its placement, or whether it's a good idea or not. Opinions are obviously divided. My company line is that I don't live in New York. It's not my business. Buuuut, I like the Constitution. I like the freedom of being able to gather and worship in the manner I see fit without worry of hassle from the government. And, as a member of a vilified, misunderstood religious group who is always getting hassle for trying to build their weird, secretive buildings in myriad strategic locations, (and one whose history is rife with accusations of complicity in a secret plot by its members to overthrow the government and therefore should be shooed out of the country as quickly as possible, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extermination_order">if not shot on sight</a>) I stand by the First Amendment and well, if it's good enough for the neighbors and zoning boards in New York (<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/08/bloomberg-stands-up-for-mosque.html">or their mayor</a>), let them build their community center in a shabby Burlington Coat Factory location a couple of blocks from the former World Trade Center. (By the way, with the way Manhattan is shaped, pretty much anything in the lower tip of the island is a couple of blocks from they World Trade Center. But maybe that's just The Elitist in me speaking.)<br /><br />But, like I said, opinions differ. Whatever, because well, First Amendment. Which brings me to the latest bruhaha Sarah Barracuda/Quitter McGee decided to weigh in on: radio personality/advice diva/A.M. yenta Dr. Laura Schlesinger's recent flap for <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/12/AR2010081206598.html">using the N-word numerous times</a> (numerous times!) during a conversation with a caller on her show. Now her defense is that she was using it to make a philosophical point AND black comedians say it AND they say it on HBO, but still, the fact stands: she used a racially charged word over and over and over on her radio show. Also, for what it's worth, we're talking about a lady who looks like this, which is to say, pretty dang white:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTZpUGZtyqj9MrHNUp-2u5ZSCmy3kXx2B4KHFL2QL_tgKsu4IJJmA8ocnnYuM2xViJGTTZ9ga3wJ0YwQmc4HxLhEDu5InvyFLEU2-hN_c00pblDEN-xqBQzalYhC-Uw3y3wnELA/s1600/dr_laura.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTZpUGZtyqj9MrHNUp-2u5ZSCmy3kXx2B4KHFL2QL_tgKsu4IJJmA8ocnnYuM2xViJGTTZ9ga3wJ0YwQmc4HxLhEDu5InvyFLEU2-hN_c00pblDEN-xqBQzalYhC-Uw3y3wnELA/s400/dr_laura.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507276375337295234" /></a><br /><br />Personally, I don't mind Dr. Laura. I used to work a construction job with a guy who listened to her semi-religiously and she was fun; doling out sound, common sense advice like a friendly mom who'll tell you how it really is, kid. Sure, she's a busybody, which is probably why Sarah decided she <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/08/sarah-palin-defends-dr-laura.html">needed to defend her</a>, I guess. It's part of the Busybody Sisterhood Bylaws or something. Look it up.<br /><br />Anyway, because of the flap, Dr. Laura's gonna retire from her syndicated talk show, telling Larry King that she was looking forward to having her First Amendment rights back by being off the air. We'll get into why this is a stupid statement shortly.<br /><br />Good old Sarah tweeted her two cents (because let's face it, she has a lot of free time on her hands ever since she quit her job and hired a ghostwriter to writer her books, Facebook page posts and, one assumes, those lists on her hands) thusly:<br /><br />"Dr.Laura:don't retreat...reload! (Steps aside bc her 1st Amend.rights ceased 2exist thx 2activists trying 2silence"isn't American,not fair")" (<a href="http://twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA/status/21534515854">link</a>)<br /><br />And: "Dr.Laura=even more powerful & effective w/out the shackles, so watch out Constitutional obstructionists. And b thankful 4 her voice,America." (<a href="http://twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA/status/21534562585">link</a>)<br /><br />So, let's talk about why this is totally dumb. Let's start by refreshing ourselves with the First Amendment that's being bandied about so much here. From the <a href="http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html">National Archives website</a>, the transcript of the Amendment reads like so:<br /><br />"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."<br /><br />Got it? Do you see the part where it says, "You can say whatever you want and nobody can say anything about it?" No? Whaaaa-? Surely it must be in there.<br /><br />There seems to be this idea that the First Amendment means that you can say whatever dumb, insensitive or inaccurate thing you want without others saying, "You know, what you just said was dumb. Or insensitive. Or inaccurate. Or all three." This is not the case. If it were, then that means that Sarah Palin was obstructing the Constitutional rights of Rahm Emmanuel when she got all busybody-ish about a report of him saying that Congressional Democrats' objections to the (at the time) Health Care Bill were "retarded." <br /><br />(It means "stunted." Again, look it up if you need to. It also has other connotations, namely an epithet towards the developmentally challenged. We can split hairs here and talk about usage and why when Emmanuel used it, he was referring to the Congress member's demands, and not a person, therefore the usage is obviously not intended to connote a mental handicap; whereas when Rush Limbaugh used the word to describe members of Congress themselves, he knew full well that that was what he was referring to, namely that the aforementioned Congress members were developmentally challenged. But we won't get into that. It's also interesting that when Dr. Laura gets in trouble for using the N-word, – repeatedly! – Sarah Palin's right there defending her civil liberties, but if somebody says "retarded," man, you better watch out. She will go all Mama Grizzly on you. But hypocrisy's always looked good on Palin.)<br /><br />Another example: the former Miss California's sort-of-recent kerfuffle vis a vis: gay marriage versus "opposite marriage." Did she have the right to answer the question according to the dictates of her conscience and limited mental capabilities? Sure. Does that mean that her comments should have been uncontested or at the very least un-made-fun-of? Nope. Sorry. I mean, "opposite marriage"? Seriously? The Constitution doesn't cover against mean words or hurt feelings or reasoned rebuttal. <br /><br />At least not until I get made President.<br /><br />Look, if Dr. Laura is exercising her First amendment rights by using the N-word to try and make a philosophical point, well, okay then I guess. But it's A) a stupid thing to do, and B) others are just as protected under the First Amendment by "refudiating" those remarks. That's the cost of democracy. It's also the cost of being an adult. It's called accountability and responsibility. You know, the kind of stuff Dr. Laura's shoveling on a daily basis, but apparently won't eat herself, choosing instead to wallow in victimhood.<br /><br />The bottom line is this: the First Amendment does not mean what Sarah Palin (and a lot of other people) thinks it means. The Amendment simply states that the government can't put limits on your speech (unless it's public or commercial or obscene or slanderous). It's not a free pass to shoot your mouth off whenever you get a microphone in front of your face with fear of reprisal. Welcome to America.<br /><br />Also: white people should not be using the N-word. Ever. Never ever. Period. Full stop. Not for comedic purposes, not to make a philosophical point, not for any reason. Just don't do it. Cut it out of your brain if you have to. And if a white person does let it slip for whatever reason, they deserve all the backlash that comes their way. <br /><br />The First Amendment does not protect you from the consequences of your speech, especially when it's done over public airwaves.<br /><br />Sorry dudes.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-91553195504395382952010-08-19T08:30:00.000-07:002010-08-19T08:43:11.447-07:00Day Late/Dollar ShortHey there. I didn't get around to it yesterday, but here's the latest MST3K Drink & Draw poster. This one's for the film <i>Night of the Blood Beast,</i> about an astronaut who comes back from the cosmos all knocked up with alien babies. Sexiness/hilarity ensues.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp-vV-kLN3rN8_bVp7xel7H9SmwRxPj23wGACmjYCXVOTatMXob9Ptbp1UaO-sBrdJRXcPiSQdh8eSj_UXRnzd20wsAOWgjAV2FL9A4Un9otJngVQDXI8n5o140G34BgJDISUyYQ/s1600/NightOfTheBloodBeast.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp-vV-kLN3rN8_bVp7xel7H9SmwRxPj23wGACmjYCXVOTatMXob9Ptbp1UaO-sBrdJRXcPiSQdh8eSj_UXRnzd20wsAOWgjAV2FL9A4Un9otJngVQDXI8n5o140G34BgJDISUyYQ/s400/NightOfTheBloodBeast.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507144524348168130" /></a><br />Go and check out <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/mst3ksfc/pool/with/4900294500/">the Flickr pool</a> for more great stuff. Oh, and next week's film is the Roger Corman, "girls on the lam in the bayou," schlockfest that is <i>Blood Diamond,</i> so get ready for that.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-7455592446076098232010-08-11T12:15:00.000-07:002010-08-11T12:27:07.918-07:00The Cosmic StringIt's Wednesday! Which of course means it's time for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Super Friends Club Drink & Draw event, featuring this week's presentation, 1965's <i>Monster-A-Go-Go</i>. Here's the poster.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGOOF28ntUV3Fl3hCMUSAgkkyLa0NwrSMxcH_j8-9ZZKeel_NTo-CejIHPTBZzrkJw2rPjdF-Z4MFjk7nzyYFYxY4RPEeKC7dzQIBr4jGeFTB4xHqVd1w93LXnb1kxN-dv5b9ag/s1600/Monster-A-Go-Go.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGOOF28ntUV3Fl3hCMUSAgkkyLa0NwrSMxcH_j8-9ZZKeel_NTo-CejIHPTBZzrkJw2rPjdF-Z4MFjk7nzyYFYxY4RPEeKC7dzQIBr4jGeFTB4xHqVd1w93LXnb1kxN-dv5b9ag/s400/Monster-A-Go-Go.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504233611540486242" /></a><br />Movie-sign is tonight, August 11th, beginning at 9 pm. Who's in?<br /><br />Watch along on <a href="http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Mystery_Science_Theater_3000_Monster_a_Go-Go/70042151?strackid=747cae45acad2009_13_sim&strkid=2119466580_13_1&trkid=1266747">Netflix</a>. Draw along with the movie. Follow along on Twitter with @<a href="http://twitter.com/thechrishaley">theChrisHaley</a> and @<a href="http://twitter.com/TheJenya">theJenya</a> OR find all the great tweets using the hashtag <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23mst3kdandd">#MST3kDandD</a>. And there's always <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/mst3ksfc/pool/with/4768638758/">our Flickr pool</a> for posting your drawerings.<br /><br />Oh, and I'm still curious about your thoughts on printing these up and selling them in the <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/tuffindustries">Tuff Industries shop</a>. Which ones should I offer? Would you buy one? Should it be specific for the event or be reworked to be just a movie poster? Let me know in the comments section, por favor.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-80507592409354778232010-08-05T08:56:00.000-07:002010-08-05T12:44:58.467-07:00These Are the Breaks<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_tlsah2jI-inoKxJ-7dguhl8fermOVpY5Du-qvnIEhNemh9m8ANq5tHUp-0UUVTdTLA9qHLHoeZJf7ztolH5ZwVOFsWHrYfPGGUU3a2-ECMPgRA1MECwtqGsNVtEj4BZk6qGug/s1600/Ping6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_tlsah2jI-inoKxJ-7dguhl8fermOVpY5Du-qvnIEhNemh9m8ANq5tHUp-0UUVTdTLA9qHLHoeZJf7ztolH5ZwVOFsWHrYfPGGUU3a2-ECMPgRA1MECwtqGsNVtEj4BZk6qGug/s400/Ping6.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501955803207844050" /></a><br />So like a million years ago, when the world was young and Triceratops was still a dinosaur, <a href="http://www.letsbefriendsagain.com/">Chris</a> <a href="http://chrishaley.tumblr.com/">Haley</a> and I pinged together one of our <a href="http://bigredrobot.blogspot.com/2008/12/ping-pong-mixes-with-chris-haley.html">legendary collaborative mixes</a>. <br /><br />Over the course of a few days we pulled together our tracks and Chris came up with a pretty baller title (<i>Ping, vol. 6 – Dance Fighter 2: Electric Punch-A-Yoo!</i> Just sorta rolls off the tongue, right?) and we were like, "Yay! This is great! Now let's do the cover art!" So Chris whipped up this great illustration of a guy with a fist for a head and I was like "Yeah! This mix is gonna be huuuuuuge!" and then I started to finish it off but then I lost my job last year and my world turned upside-down and I totally forgot about this poor mix as it sat in my iTunes, coverless, unshared and unloved. <br /><br />Poor fella.<br /><br />Well, no more! My life is now right-side-up and Chris has reminded me enough and I got it done and now you can download and enjoy the latest in Ping Mixtapery Saga by clicking <a href="http://www.multiupload.com/DHK6OLOQ1F">this link right here</a>. It's also available in <a href="http://bigredrobot.blogspot.com/2008/12/2008-brr-mixxes-master-list.html">the Master List</a>, along with a bunch of other mixes from the BRR Mixtape Brigade.<br /><br />Oh, and why don't you just go ahead and download my monthly mix, <i><a href="http://bigredrobot.blogspot.com/2010/08/these-darned-dirty-apes.html">Baby C'Mon</a></i> while you're at it?Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-13264848549216636302010-08-03T10:13:00.000-07:002010-08-03T10:13:00.759-07:00Tom ServoWell, it's that time of week again, time for the MST3K Super Friends Club Drink & Draw event. This week, we're screening <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053241/">Santa Claus</a></span>.You know, the one where he teams up with Merlin to defeat Satan. That one.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH2JUcBUyG6k_6M5Zmvj20ttlUx6RH94uPZki-AfThPHRYHdcVmfI4yjKxhKnRGZ1KMhIzhDMutah3BzMCDzNX6e4HGj2cd2P0UfcTtOC39FLRY3u2n0aLlLjas-WitDDmTgC1FQ/s1600/SantaSatan.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH2JUcBUyG6k_6M5Zmvj20ttlUx6RH94uPZki-AfThPHRYHdcVmfI4yjKxhKnRGZ1KMhIzhDMutah3BzMCDzNX6e4HGj2cd2P0UfcTtOC39FLRY3u2n0aLlLjas-WitDDmTgC1FQ/s400/SantaSatan.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500862030893088786" /></a><br />The action starts tomorrow night, August 4th, 2010, beginning at 9 pm Eastern time.<br /><br />Watch along on <a href="http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Mystery_Science_Theater_3000_Soultaker/70114900?trkid=1211018">Netflix</a>. Draw along with the movie. Follow along on Twitter with @<a href="http://twitter.com/thechrishaley">theChrisHaley</a> and @<a href="http://twitter.com/TheJenya">theJenya</a> OR find all the great tweets using the hashtag <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23mst3kdandd">#MST3kDandD</a>. And there's always <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/mst3ksfc/pool/with/4768638758/">our Flickr pool</a> for posting your drawerings.<br /><br />Oh, and as a bonus, here's the poster for last week's movie, <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053250/">First Spaceship On Venus</a></i>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFb7BcYRZtM94eNal5gtbpZFLw5JKdRV3ydEzPT_cyer1YIYPCCZBBCBj28WJnKbR7aPymHQ4xc-_M4PxErS9JUaHZ9osdQ1r-18PhQANRQqZGpHHQJNXFssDEN52KC8QJuqjObw/s1600/FirstSpaceshipOnVenus.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFb7BcYRZtM94eNal5gtbpZFLw5JKdRV3ydEzPT_cyer1YIYPCCZBBCBj28WJnKbR7aPymHQ4xc-_M4PxErS9JUaHZ9osdQ1r-18PhQANRQqZGpHHQJNXFssDEN52KC8QJuqjObw/s400/FirstSpaceshipOnVenus.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500864221296726050" /></a><br />*******<br /><br />And as long as we're on the subject, I'm thinking of offering prints of some of these in my Etsy shop, <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/tuffindustries">Tuff Industries</a>, but I'm a little unsure of the specifics. What do you guys think? Which ones should I offer? (There's a Flickr set <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigredrobot/sets/72157623953952736/">here</a>. I'm thinking from Werewolf on.) Would you buy one? And if so, should it be for the event, or be reworked to be just a movie poster? Let me know in the comments section, por favor.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-86439932299702082802010-08-01T15:28:00.000-07:002010-08-01T15:45:14.985-07:00These Darned, Dirty Apes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf_5CkFmpORXzbX58j53BoTxiy6eC7gc0Cfl116l3i3T26tMBtK4Uqa0QPilJDyaoyVF1Mhgq875HnzGGbq0qMnUnDf9erpnjnXuaigTWkSNW4j2XKNy896IhH1Sv9d4nv7xaznQ/s1600/4778474962_ddbbd19bf0_o.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf_5CkFmpORXzbX58j53BoTxiy6eC7gc0Cfl116l3i3T26tMBtK4Uqa0QPilJDyaoyVF1Mhgq875HnzGGbq0qMnUnDf9erpnjnXuaigTWkSNW4j2XKNy896IhH1Sv9d4nv7xaznQ/s400/4778474962_ddbbd19bf0_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500573521151336290" border="0" /></a><br />Here's August's mix. Featuring tracks from: The Breeders, The Oranges Band, The Modern Lovers, Stephen Malkmus, Rogue Wave, Bob Dylan, T.Rex, Dr. Dog, Harry Nilsson, Phoenix, Guidance Counselor, Dirty Projectors, Built Like Alaska, The Smiths, The Mountain Goats, The Count Five, The Sunshine Fix, The Raincoats, Let's Active!, and Sparks. Lots of "The…" bands this month. Weird.<br /><br />Download it <a href="http://www.multiupload.com/8EXEKEJQ4K">here</a>.<br /><br />As always, there are more mixes over on <a href="http://bigredrobot.blogspot.com/2008/12/2008-brr-mixxes-master-list.html">the Master List</a>. Feel free to share it with anyone and everyone. Sharing is caring.<br /><br />And hey, have you made a mix that I should know about? Lemme know in the comments section.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-11516116435658722482010-07-21T10:53:00.000-07:002010-07-21T10:57:05.852-07:00"KILER BEES! You Forgot About Them, Didn't Ya?"<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/83tnWFojtcY&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/83tnWFojtcY&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Oh man. So now we know where Glenn Beck got his shtick from.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-19554110902510141232010-07-14T12:16:00.000-07:002010-07-14T12:43:01.559-07:00Approaching Nugothotropolis<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUQ8VrkL43lO6hGv1sqakXy9CJkABcqJhqOLld4LjGT97QVzZCH5bg67FEDiuUMb3nZfw7u8hl28h5keUulwJawwrVjnsyCU0iS5J2dsSFUxCG2BeyriJBpe3vSEO47LMJ-7FgA/s1600/scan0005.3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 338px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUQ8VrkL43lO6hGv1sqakXy9CJkABcqJhqOLld4LjGT97QVzZCH5bg67FEDiuUMb3nZfw7u8hl28h5keUulwJawwrVjnsyCU0iS5J2dsSFUxCG2BeyriJBpe3vSEO47LMJ-7FgA/s400/scan0005.3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493849558208931058" border="0" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span>The freedom DC offers is something stranger, less commercial, but it still gives with possibilities. … If Marvel is the Communists, cutting off the intelligentsia and making all things mediocre and equal, DC is America, where it's every man for himself and this is a free country as long as you pledge allegiance to the flag.<br /><br />It's the perfect place for Grant Morrison, whose comics "don't make sense" a lot anyway, who used to brag about using chaos to make magic. The editors have no time to wrangle a mind that big, in fact none of them have a mind that compares, and besides, he's Grant Morrison, and besides besides, <span style="font-style: italic;">our digital comics platform is coming soon, promise!</span> Morrison can truly do whatever he wants at DC because he thrives on the continuity. He'd be doing it even if they didn't make him. It's his idea of fun to do a comic like Batman #700, where he pops out a Batman-TV-show-style villain team-up, makes Batman Beyond official continuity (brownie points!), creates some new characters for the next writer to degrade, and kills an old and useless one. DC loves it when their writers do that. They love this violent, past-obsessed kind of thing so much they let Morrison write out their future in big awesome-ugly Dave Finch pages, where Bruce Wayne lives to a ripe old post-DK2 age and the city of tomorrow is called "Nugothotropolis". There are new names, new visions, new ideas mixed in with the old ones, ideas from a yesterday and ideas for a tomorrow – unlike at Marvel where the idea is anathema and every day is the present. At DC, time and creativity flow like crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico, like blood from a Tony Daniel villain's mouth. That is to say, it's ugly and it's stupid and it's not something a lot of people want, but it's by-G** happening.<br /><br />*******<br /><br />Matt Seneca of <a href="http://deathtotheuniverse.blogspot.com/">Death to the Universe</a> on <a href="http://deathtotheuniverse.blogspot.com/2010/06/marvel-and-dc.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Batman</span>, issue #700</a>.</blockquote>Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-72723792233476255902010-07-14T08:10:00.000-07:002010-07-14T08:10:01.028-07:00He's A Soul Man<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilxjKzB8so-xEmnxS8LTv1SfG2sjyryXyZ5x0KgeycgdHomwoUL5uDLhgcSboJQ7oNTyh8KFNz7D8DB5sMs8JK9-gyvKYTrAh87dOxV9kXTrB_dl5bpxXl6Fjvc9T7xXiAEYq9Vg/s1600/Soultaker.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilxjKzB8so-xEmnxS8LTv1SfG2sjyryXyZ5x0KgeycgdHomwoUL5uDLhgcSboJQ7oNTyh8KFNz7D8DB5sMs8JK9-gyvKYTrAh87dOxV9kXTrB_dl5bpxXl6Fjvc9T7xXiAEYq9Vg/s400/Soultaker.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493612054719620594" /></a><br />Well, it's that time of week again, time for the MST3K Super Friends Club Drink & Draw event for the terrible film, <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100665/">Soultaker</a></span>, starring the man among men, Joe Estevez.<br /><br />The action starts tonight, July 14th, 2010, beginning at 9 pm Eastern time. Be there or be square.<br /><br />Watch along on <a href="http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Mystery_Science_Theater_3000_Soultaker/70114900?trkid=1211018">Netflix</a>. Draw along with the movie. Follow along on Twitter with @<a href="http://twitter.com/thechrishaley">theChrisHaley</a> and @<a href="http://twitter.com/TheJenya">theJenya</a> OR find all the great tweets using the hashtag <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23mst3kdandd">#MST3kDandD</a>. And there's always <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/mst3ksfc/pool/with/4768638758/">our Flickr pool</a> for posting your drawerings.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-92141701345494073852010-07-13T17:11:00.000-07:002010-07-13T17:36:51.933-07:00Originally {or} The Ballad of Pablo Picasso<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNdvV0bAXkOXWLOG2Hm7GzU66JLs_LgMix9OFosRm5WfoxPpmlJI0r24z8LZa4LP_zYNsbsZgNgMEX9d7Gi1tEC-VvHbnoe4SN_iX0vejoSItNCtL-09GaM3kBrOHFkrJlkHe9w/s1600/BeOriginal.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNdvV0bAXkOXWLOG2Hm7GzU66JLs_LgMix9OFosRm5WfoxPpmlJI0r24z8LZa4LP_zYNsbsZgNgMEX9d7Gi1tEC-VvHbnoe4SN_iX0vejoSItNCtL-09GaM3kBrOHFkrJlkHe9w/s400/BeOriginal.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493424269562116674" /></a><br />Candace has a great post up about inspiration, copycats and ethics on Etsy in light of our latest run-in with a plagiarist. <a href="http://candacetodd.blogspot.com/2010/07/be-original-copycat-story.html">You should go read it.</a> She sums up a lot of what we discussed when this was all going down. I'm sure this won't be the last time we're ripped off. Our print has garnered enough popularity in the handmade and craft community that it's a sure target for sellers who want to make a buck without putting in the effort of creation. Which rankles, but hey, what can you do besides call them on it and hope they do the right thing? Thankfully, these people are in the minority in the community.<br /><br />I mean, inspiration's one thing, and a very valuable thing at that, but wholesale plagiarism is another thing entirely. Picasso's quoted colloquially as saying that good artists copy and great ones steal, and that may be so, but when I read "steal," I think of it as a classy thing, you know? Like Danny Ocean and his boys knocking over a humongous, intricately-planned heist. Or David Niven in <i>The Pink Panther</i>. Artful stealing isn't looting, where you throw a brick and grab whatever you can without paying for it. A real thief, like a cat-burglar or a pick-pocket, steals with a style and effortlessness that leaves you, for a time, unaware that such theft has taken place. For a while, you don't even notice that the silverware drawer is emptied or the Ming vase is gone or your trouser pocket is one wallet lighter. And once the theft is realized, you're sort of amazed and a little envious that they pulled it off. <br /><br />Like I said, inspiration is key when you're working creatively. But inspiration isn't appropriation. Inspiration is taking everything you experience – visually, psychologically and, yeah, spiritually – from the color of a traffic light in the afternoon or the composition of a comics page or a record in a thrift shop or the way you misread a word on a billboard or some TV show you remember from when you were a kid – and filtering that through your training and ability to best communicate what you're trying to say. Art, if you're doing it right, is communication. And if you're unwilling or unable to use your own words to communicate, well, that's just sad. This is why I don't use too much reference when I'm designing; it becomes a crutch that stands between you and real, honest-to-goodness inspiration. Which is not to say I haven't done an homage or utilized visual shorthand to get my point across. I have, (for example, <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/50174397/step-into-my-tardis-baby-doctor-who">my TARDIS poster</a> is an obvious homage to the famous "Keep Calm & Carry On" posters of WW2 Britain. But for me, this made sense, as Doctor Who is another famous and instantly-recognizable British icon.) but most of the time, I prefer to arrive at my conclusions naturally.<br /><br />One more apocryphal Picasso story and then we'll close. (Seriously, the dude's like the Buddha of Art with all these stories and sayings.) Legend has it that Pablo Picasso – who, I'm told, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dQ4owtKH3M">was never called an a**hole</a> – was sitting in a café, just being all awesome and stuff, when somebody approached him for a portrait. He doodled for a second on a napkin and handed it to the person. Yay, Picasso! When the guy asked how much he owed Picasso, Picasso gave him an outrageous sum. The dude balked, saying "Look, I know you're Picasso and all that, but there's no way it's worth that much. It took you like 30 seconds, tops. And half of that time you spent looking at that lady's boobs."<br /><br />"No, dude. It took me 40 years to make this." said Picasso. "You know, because I've been doing this for that long and so that's how I was able to do it so quickly. Get it? Also, I am Picasso and I an awesome. So, pay up."<br /><br />Is the story true? Yes, it is. I know because I was there. But seriously, it makes a salient point as to what you're paying for when you pay for art. The physical act of creation (or copying) is not the sum of that creation. A lot of time is spent thinking, planning, wool-gathering, on top of the years of formal training and experience in order to produce a piece. Simply copying a term paper in one's own handwriting is still plagiarism – in fact it's <span style="font-weight:bold;">the textbook definition</span> of plagiarism. So, even though you spent the time and effort to rewrite every word from the original and even though you changed some words around and used a different colored pen, it's still a copy and a fraud. It's still devoid of original thought and feeling.<br /><br />Bottom line: copying isn't cool. Don't do it.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-76954810670835674342010-07-07T15:22:00.000-07:002010-07-07T15:22:00.538-07:00Gas Up Your Supercycles<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4768638758_c4be84d813_z.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 414px; height: 640px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4768638758_c4be84d813_z.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Tonight's the night. It's the Mystery Science Theater Drink & Draw, hosted by the fine folks at the MST3K Super Friends Club. The film we'll be watching is the post-apocalyptic stinker, Warrior of the Lost World.<br /><br />The action gets revved up tonight, beginning at 9 pm Eastern time.<br /><br />Watch along on Netflix. Draw along with the movie. Follow along on Twitter with @<a href="http://twitter.com/thechrishaley">theChrisHaley</a> and @<a href="http://twitter.com/TheJenya">theJenya</a> OR find all the great tweets using the hashtag #<a href="#mst3kdandd">MST3kDandD</a>. And there's always <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/mst3ksfc/pool/with/4768638758/">our Flickr pool</a> for posting your drawerings.Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15691896.post-7418613346115887982010-07-07T13:20:00.000-07:002010-07-07T13:55:57.025-07:00Nimoy vs. ShatnerAwesome. <br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9nxcw7ln9AU&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9nxcw7ln9AU&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />[<a href="http://thedailywh.at/post/781624170/from-the-archives-leonard-nimoy-recounts-the-time">via</a>]Dylan Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15550687762896316858noreply@blogger.com1