SHHHH... IT'S LEARNING TIME

"uh oh... the point broke." I think that's when I burst into laughter. Well, one of the moments.

OLD CONEY ISLAND VIDEOS

I'm working on making either
1) a teaser for Balto
2) a straight reading of Balto with images
3) a reading of Balto with images mixed with film clips

I'm not sure what to do yet. I'm confused.

Anyway, during my search for noises and such I came upon this odd bunch of Coney Island clips, all put together.



It's kind of creepy yet I like it. I thought I would share.

LIBRARY OF THE EARLY MIND

I guess this has been playing for a while and I missed it in NYC. I hope to catch it next time. Just watching the trailer there are a few quotes that make me go "Huh?" One is obvious. The other is when a publisher says that people think little kids are eager for is escape and fantasy but what they really want is organization. Um... I sure wasn't! The one thing I really loved was using my imagination. I loved escaping. That's all my friends and I did when we were little. And that's all the kids who I babysat for wanted to do. What is she talking about? I fear that this film will just irritate the heck out of me but we'll see.



I also love how everyone in this bit seems to be sitting in the most wonderful studio environments... as if all authors and illustrators are rich! Ha!

WHAT I DO WHEN I'M WALKING ALONG THE STREET...

I've had this fascination with birds on the street lately. I'm not sure why. Especially watching them eat. Yes, eat. Or play with their food. Or both. Not sure what the heck it is that they're doing. I put these little "bits" together when I should be doing other things... like making books.

Observe:

PIGEONS

BIRD

I'll be on the lookout for some other birds...

PAINTING ON LOCATION - CINDY TOWER

I go to the Strand on occasion (though I try to avoid it as of late until I make more room on the bookshelves and pay my medical bills!) and riffle through the art catalogs. This is how I stumbled upon Cindy Tower's work:


This is cindy...

And here she is at work...

And here she is with her hired body guard. It's a long story. I urge you to check out her film where you get to watch her work on location, which happens to usually be dangerous! She hides her paintings and chains them up sometimes, along with ladders and other things she may need. Homeless people live where she paints but there are other people there who come to collect valuable copper and they have come with guns, etc. Cindy doesn't seem to mind any of this. She paints away and is perfectly at home in her environment. It's a very interesting thing to watch. Go here to view it.

CRUMB HISTORY OF AMERICA JONI MITCHELL VERSION

This one's in color. I love different variations...

CRUMB'S HISTORY OF AMERICA

The United States from its early days to cars and buses by R. Crumb:

CRUMB

This is from the documentary:



WARNING: Crumb draws nude figures in this clip- kind of big shaped ladies... so if you're offended by his cartoons then I guess don't watch. This clip also contains some of his cartoons of a sexual nature. The film, though, is a really great glimpse into an amazing mind (in my opinion). I just loved watching him sketch. I will say that there was one cartoon that they showed in the film that I was perplexed by. Many of his supporters thought it was offensive and it was. Crumb is a complex man with many insecurities and these feelings show in his work. This is why the film is great - it shows both the good and bad, and is both a praise and a critique.

ANIMATION

I'm on an animation kick. It looks like this was an ad in the UK for depression.... I really like the music.

TRAVEL DIARY

So cool.

LEMONY SNICKET'S 13 WORDS

What do you think of this book? Is it for adults? Kids? Both?

BULLYING ONE STEP FURTHER

I asked my mom if she'd read my memoir in progress yet and she paused. She said something like, "It's hard to read." At first I thought that meant she thought it was awful! Then I understood. She said she didn't realized I was picked on so much in school and she felt really awful about it. She didn't think she could read my story without getting really upset.

This is an interesting way of dealing with bullies:

BULLY FIGHTS BACK

After asking my parents to read my Bully manuscript, my dad asked me to watch this video:


(the last attempt didn't work because youtube took it off - let's try this one!)

I guess the bigger boy had been bullied for years. Finally he fought back.

AMAZING SKETCHBOOK - INGO GIEZENDANNER

There are sketchbooks and then there are sketchbooks. I've never kept one but the project I'm working on right now is kind of sketchbook-like so it's on my mind. I've had this guy's book on my shelf for some time and it's AMAZING.












My book is bigger than this but you get the idea:


It looks like he also did a music video for a group called Big Zis:



Check this guy out!

TAKING RISKS - GIANT STEPS

I was looking through my shelves really quickly for an interesting book to talk about and I noticed this one:



Chris Raschka again! I have no idea if you can really translate a jazz song into children's narrative art or if this really works that way. I'd have to think about it a lot more... and as usual, I have to run to work! BUT I bought the book because it grabbed my attention. I think the book is 1) fun and 2) will get kids interested in the song/music. So does it matter if it really works or not? I'm not sure if it does. I think "kitten" is a really cute character and she's really into what she's doing so I think kids will be into what she's doing too. PLUS the cover is see-through. I'm jealous. I want a see-through cover! Raschka takes risks. I like that. I wish more authors would. This means, of course, that not all of the books will be hits. Some will be misses. But what is the point of life and art and work without taking a few risks? Take some... er... dare I say this... Giant Steps?

Below is a fun, abstract animation I found on Coltrane's Giant Steps song:

NOTHING BEATS GENE WILDER

BBC DAVID COPPERFIELD

A young Daniel Radcliffe stars in this BBC production of David Copperfield. Great stuff! Good for a rainy Sunday.

SHAUN TAN

I like it when other artists admit that they're a mess! Oh, I'm such a mess. Nothing about my sketches are redeemable in the slightest. I used to do nicer sketches and they've since gone downhill. Soon they'll look like nothing at all! That will be something, now won't it? But I'm amazed by those crazy artists out there with the sketches that look as good or better than the art for the book. But now I'm getting off topic. Or am I? Anyway, love Shuan Tan.

MERCER MAYER READS...

I just found this. Mayor's a real story teller. When I do my school visits teachers usually ask for me to read to the younger classes. It takes skill to animate oneself and read in a way that's compelling. Just because you write the book doesn't mean you can read it! I also love the fact that he's memorized the text. I'm impressed.

I just discovered that my desktop computer has a video camera built in. I was playing around with it and all of a sudden a little blue glowing dot lit up at the top and I saw my face staring back at me! Aaa! I wasn't looking so good so I didn't really want to look back. But I thought - Hmmm, I could read my stories like Mayer. BUT I certainly don't have any of them memorized! Maybe one of these days....

A LITTLE PRINCESS

Here's another favorite. Sadly, I could only find it in another language! If any of you can find it in English, let me know!



I really love this one. It's SO sad... but of course has a happy ending. This is another that I watched over and over again. I really loved the sad ones. Still do. Was this a Wonderworks piece? I think it might have been but I'm not sure. They put out some wacky shows!