What happened to Spider Pig?

It’s been bugging me lately, and no one seems so have an answer…I even googled every combo of words possible to try to find an answer. I’ll be vague for those who haven’t seen The Simpsons movie yet, but please, if anyone out there knows what happened to Spider Pig, aka Harry Plopper, please post. I mean, Santa’s Little Helper makes an appearance in the end, so why not mention the pig? Maybe I should just assume the “logical” thing that might have happened, but I refuse to use logic! I’m just hoping I missed a vital clue while I was tossing popcorn at various audience members near me.

Flying Flash Duck

My first Flash masterpiece!

I grew up with Peking Ducks, so I know they don’t fly too well… thus this little attempt at animation is fitting.

Iran and the Spying Squirrels

If I hadn’t read this with my own eyes at the Washington Post, I would have never believed it. I’m still a little hesitant, it’s just nutty…

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From the BBC translators, an editorial by Saleh Eskandari headlined “spying squirrels,” published July 10 by the Iranian newspaper Resalat.

“A few weeks ago, 14 squirrels equipped with espionage systems of foreign intelligence services were captured by [Iranian] intelligence forces along the country’s borders. These trained squirrels, each of which weighed just over 700 grams, were released on the borders of the country for intelligence and espionage purposes. According to the announcement made by Iranian intelligence officials, alert police officials caught these squirrels before they could carry out any task.

“Fixing GPS devices, bugging instruments and advanced cameras in the bodies of trained animals like squirrels, mice, hamsters, etc, are among modern methods of collecting intelligence. Given the fast speed and the special physical features of these animals, they provide special capabilities for spying operations. Once the animals return to their place of origin, the intelligence gathered by them is then offloaded. . . .”

Always thought there was something squirrelly about those folks.

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Noodles, coffee grounds, and ink

There is a reason for this mess…keep you posted.

Search Results

I love looking at the search terms that bring people to my blog. Some are just downright bizarre, but as of late searches for the dramatic prairie dog have been the most prevalent. However, in the past day or two, some squirrel related traffic has filtered in, such as these:

squirrel on aderol

squirrels that play instruments

making dubbing squirrel

I haven’t actually written on any of these topics (that I can recall), but I’m glad to see that I’m a good reference for people who need information on talking ADD squirrels that are in a band. Keep em coming!

PES-amation

Again, more procrastination..this was part of the previous post, but Pig noted that it was too long and thus too boring of a post. I was simply getting some uncomfortable feelings out on the table rather than thinking of an audience (blog therapy?).  So, I’ll try to write a little more compact - after all, less is more, eh?

Anyway, tonight I was reading an article about Adam Pesapane, perhaps more commonly known by PES, and his adventures with stop motion and everyday objects. Defined as a “viral artist” he seems to be able to wander in between mediums with much success. So, here is someone with a degree in English and Printmaking who has managed to attract clients like Bacardi and MTV by telling creative little stories with imaginative props and a using some skills gained along the way.

So, while Aardman might be a little too lofty of an ambition for me, PES is still an inspiration that you can take the everyday things around you, apply them to your story, and be successful personally and commercially. Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m gonna jump off the worry train at the next stop - it’s all easier said than done…

Singing Slugs and insecurities

So instead of working on the millions of thumbnail sketches I need to accomplish this weekend, I’ve been reading up on stop-motion animation. I recently watched both Wallace & Gromit’s Attack of the Were-Rabbit and Flushed Away and was entranced by the process of both of them - technically and all the magical little absurd details in the hear of the stories. I know, Flushed Away was Aardman’s joint effort with Dreamworks and not stop-motion, but it still had a their hand-crafted feel. And honestly, I just haven’t been able to get those adorable singing slugs out of my mind. I feel like a child - I fell in love with them, and now I want one, or a whole family of em, as a pet. But deep down inside, I’m sad, cuz I know I can’t. Well, those were childhood emotions that surfaced when I would become emotionally attached to fictitious characters - I remember I wanted something like Falcor from the Never Ending Story as a pet, but was so sad that it could never be. I faced my frustrations and built a Falcor out of red Legos instead, which sufficed in the phsycial world.

And that’s how I think I should face my singing-slug sadness - channel it into something creative. Make my own singing, happy creatures, and hope that this fancy education I’m getting will somehow enable me to do this successfully. You know, I should be able to make a smashing logo in a year and a half, but how far will this creative process take me? Can it take me to a storytelling atmosphere beyond the static and 2-dimensional realm of logos and letterheads? Can I be in a position some day where I am creating stories with dancing slugs, designing their cute little forms, but have a group of people that can handle the technicalities of capturing it? I don’t now anything about animation, film, or video…but is being able to tell a good story with strong design skills and heart enough to get me there? Will Aardman love me and import me to England to design googly-eyed squirrels? Well, sorry to ride the worry train, but it happens…I see more and more things I want to do but wonder if I’ll ever be at that point where I can.

Move over Dramatic Prairie Dog!

That’s right, there’s some new drama in town. Check out Glazastik, the now infamous big-eyed guy from a recent G8 clip…I think he’d give that prairie dog a bit of competition. Anyway, all those Russian photo-chop forums have been having huge amounts of fun with him, check out this site for some English friendly samples. I’ve posted one of my favorite versions below.

A view from one of my intro computer classes…

Yep, this is how we PC students reacted during our first quarter.

Ok, really I just found this while looking at some links off Boing Boing. Apparently there were many Sesame Street clips that terrified its young viewers, and the Yip Yips were among them. I knew that I had one that creeped me out (couldn’t find it on youtube, though), so it’s good to see I’m not alone. Thank goodness for blogs and YouTube - they help bring childhood nightmares together.

Larger than Life Typography

Maybe not life, but hey it’s captured by aerial photography. Anyway, Google has provided me with another lovely distraction from work with GeoGreetings. That’s right, spell stuff with building letterforms, and then you can see where the buildings are located! Then send inappropriate but unique messages to your friends! Perfect for geography dorks and people who like found type, both which apply to me.