Cap'n Quasi's Quarters

Gaga Goo-Goo for Goombah!

2011-11-29T02:10:00.002-05:00

Tony Bennett is a class act and Lady Gaga knows how to act classy, especially when she teams up with Tony for a titillating tune about why the lady is a tramp! This is one for the ages, and also for the ageless...

Here is a wonderful interview with Tony about the making of the video, and he has some very complimentary things to say about Lady Gaga:

No ship, Sherlock...

2011-11-29T01:37:00.003-05:00

So, yer beloved Cap'n has been away for quite a long while as you'll note from the date of me last post, and at some point I'll be happy to regale you with the tale as to what kept me so long, but for now let's just say I owes a heap o' thanks to a certain winsome young Jewish lass who. in a flurry of bagels and rage inspired me to get back to postin' all of the strange stuff I happens to find whilst surfin' the internet. So let's get right to it, shall we?

When Video Games Attack!

2010-04-08T12:59:00.003-04:00

Well this just caught your good ol' Cap'n by surprise...a music video that addresses the question; "What would happen if video games took over the world?"

The concept is original, the special effects are amazing, and the overall effect is just fantastic!

Sonar!

2010-04-02T01:49:00.002-04:00

Now here's a beautiful little piece of animation...it's by Renaud Hallee who hails from Montreal. It is an amazing coming together of audio and video, and I hope you'll like it as much as I did!

Sonar from Renaud Hallée on Vimeo.

My thanks to the great crew over at Cartoon Brew for turning me on to this!

Get me to the Birch on time...

2010-04-02T01:26:00.003-04:00

Diane Birch is another fantastic singer/songwriter that your Cap'n has taken quite a shining to. Her music is unique, her voice is as pretty as a spring day, and as you can see in the video below, her sense of humor is quite playful.

By the way, the video was filmed in one continuous take, without any editing, which is darned impressive if you ask me. See if you agree:

Gita Life...

2010-03-28T22:34:00.007-04:00

The Bhagavad Gita (Song of the Blessed Lord) is a sacred Hindu scripture. Like most all religious traditions, it has inspired much great art, and your Cap'n thinks it is unquestionably beautiful, and has decided to share it with you.

Here are a few examples to get you started, and if you would like to peruse the entire 40 piece gallery, click on over to this site to expose yourself to more of this excellent art.

Home, home on the...road?

2010-03-28T22:11:00.005-04:00

One of my lifelong dreams is to tour America in a motor-home. Driving from horizon to horizon, going wherever my whims take me, wherever I park would be home. Of course, this will undoubtedly remain only a dream, given the price of a good R.V. Especially given what must be the insanely high price of THIS R.V., which I believe is in the 1.5 million to 2 million dollar range...

It may only look slightly impressive on the outside, but check out the interior...

Now that's what I'm talking about! You could host a corporate board meeting in this baby, and everyone would be properly impressed. The best part is, if you ever get a flat, or need to run out for a gallon of milk, it comes equipped with it's own garage...!

For even more pictures of this exquisite vehicle, head on over here and check it out!

Marvelous Meaghan!

2010-03-27T00:08:00.003-04:00

I discovered Meaghan Smith about half-a-year ago, and fell instantly in love with her music. A perfect mixture of the current and the nostalgic, it sweeps you away in a spell cast by the most enchanting singer/songwriter to come along in a coon's age, and that would be a very old coon indeed!

Who is Meaghan Smith? Well...let the lady tell you herself!

That being said, here's a terrific video for her song "A Little Love"

Were YOUR Parents Awesome?

2009-09-27T18:46:00.005-04:00

My Parents Were Awesome is without a doubt the most awesome website to find awesome pictures of parents who were awesome! Submitted by other awesome people, there is just so much awesomeness on My Parents Were Awesome that you may have no choice but to agree that Yes! These parents were awesome!

You can even submit awesome pictures of your own awesome parents to increase the awesomeness factor of this awesome site to levels that everyone will most certainly consider awesome!

Awesome!

This guy is most definitely awesome!

The Incredible Coral Castle!

2009-09-21T21:51:00.005-04:00

Egypt has the pyramids, China the Great Wall, Cambodia the Angkor Wat. But here in America is to be found perhaps the strangest and most mysterious of constructs: The Coral Castle. Though nowhere near as famous, it is perhaps the most amazing of them all.

Edward Leedskalnin was a Latvian immigrant who single-handedly built the entire castle over a 28 year period, beginning in 1923. In 1936 he decided to relocate his then still-under-construction castle from Florida City, Florida to Homestead, Florida, once again without any apparent outside help, which is stunning considering many of the coral blocks used in it's construction weighed several tons each! The moving process alone took three years...

Old Ed never revealed how he was able to cut, lift and place these large blocks of coral by himself, stating only that he had discovered the means by which the Egyptians had constructed the pyramids. He also worked only when no other people were around, and mostly at night.

Construction continued until his death from malnutrition in 1951.

The castle remains a popular tourist attraction to this day, and no official consensus has ever been reached as to how this small, unassuming man was able to achieve such an amazing feat of engineering on his own.

The Sherman Brothers

2009-09-17T14:16:00.006-04:00

Robert B. and Richard M. Sherman are responsible for some of the most memorable music from anyone's childhood. The "official" composers for many of Disney's most successful films, such as Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, The Aristocats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, the brothers also composed the music for some of his theme park's most popular attractions, such as It's A Small World and The Enchanted Tiki Room. Working outside the Disney company, they also provided scores for many popular musicals such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Charlotte's Web and An American Tale.

Recently, a documentary about them was released, called "The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story." The trailer for it is above, and it will give you some idea of the breadth and scope of their extraordinary work.

There are probably better known composers, but I doubt that there are any better loved composers than Robert B. and Richard M. Sherman!

Bunny Suicides

2009-09-14T22:52:00.006-04:00

The Cap'n's sense of humor sometimes runs a little on the morbid side, which is why I found these cartoons detailing the many ways in which a cute lil' bunny can off himself to be too good not to share.

The cartoons featured on the link come from the book "The Book of Bunny Suicides: Little Fluffy Rabbits Who Just Don't Want To Live Any More" by Andy Riley.

Woody the Cat

2009-09-09T11:25:00.003-04:00

Found this one on MetaFilter:

Woody the cat takes a few minutes to freshen up and have a drink while listening to some jazz...

Brutus or Bluto?

2009-09-08T22:17:00.010-04:00

Good Ol' Bluto

Ah, the age old question: Was Popeye's nemesis named Brutus or Bluto? Actually, he went by both, but the explanation is rather convoluted and, of course, involves lawyers. Only a lawyer could scare Bluto into changing his name.

Good Ol' E.C. Segar

E.C. Segar began drawing the Thimble Theater comic strip for King Features Syndicate in 1919. In 1929 he introduced Popey into the strip, and then, in 1932, he introduced Bluto.

So Bluto came first, for those of you keeping score.

Then, in 1933, the first Popeye cartoon was released by Fleischer Studios, featuring Bluto as the villain. Everything was smooth sailing for Bluto until 1956, when production of the Popeye cartoons was discontinued because Fleischer felt they had played out the formula, and the syndication rights were sold to another company, namely Associated Artists.

Much to everyone's surprise the T.V. ratings went straight through the roof.

King Features Syndicate, who only owned the print rights to the Popeye strip, decided to milk the Popeye animation cow for all it was worth by producing their own animated cartoons. Only in these cartoons the villain's name became Brutus.

Why?

Bad research on King Feature's part. They thought that the Bluto character was created for the Fleischer cartoons, and that Paramount (who owned Fleischer) had legal rights to the name. They issued a hastily assembled press release saying they were "going back to the original...in the first newspaper comics the villain was Brutus" which, as you can read above, was definitely not true!

It was quickly decided that Brutus was an entirely new character, and his looks and behavior were subtly altered, even though it wasn't really enough for anyone to notice. Brutus stuck around for only a couple of years...when Hanna-Barbera introduced "The All-New Popeye Show" Brutus went back to being called Bluto, and it stayed Bluto, including for the Robin Williams Popeye film in 1980.

Good Ol' Paul L. Smith as Good Ol' Bluto

So that's the scuttlebutt on the whole Brutus or Bluto debate. If you'd like to read a slightly more in-depth article about it (which is where I culled most all of the information for this post) I suggest you click right on over to The Straight Dope for the straight dope on this subject and many other fascinating subjects as well!

Good Ol' Bluto NOT from Popeye, but I include him anyway!

Saturday Morning Memories

2009-09-08T14:10:00.004-04:00

Hey kids! It's time for another exciting installment of Saturday Morning Memories, the post where I share with you yet another Saturday morning cartoon from that time long ago when Saturday mornings were all about cartoons!

Today we feature Shazzan, the story of Chuck and Nancy, a brother and sister who travel through an ancient Arabian land on a flying camel named Kaboobie (of course, the people who came up with this premise never imbibed in any illicit substances!) and who were always helped in times of peril by the friendly genie Shazzan.

Dig the cool intro for Shazzan right here:

Fantastic Crayon Art!

2009-09-07T18:50:00.011-04:00

It is probably safe to say that everyone grew up using Crayola crayons at some point in their childhood. I remember spending time laying on the floor in front of a coloring book, an open box of crayons next to me, being very careful to color within the lines. No improvising for little Quasi...had to follow the rules if I wanted to grow up and become a proper Cap'n!
It was all good clean fun of course, and sometimes I did manage to try drawing my own creations on a blank piece of paper, but the end results never looked as good as I wanted them to. Eventually I grew out of my artistic period, but I never forgot the almost zen-like feeling of coloring.

Of course, some people manage to grow up, but not out, and as you will see the world is a more colorful place because of them!

This is a painting ...well, not really a painting, since no paint was used. I guess it would be better referred to as a "Crayon Rendering" of a tropical beach scene created by Jeffrey Robert, a talented artist who uses crayons to produce beautiful works of art.

Don Marco is another extremely gifted artist who uses crayons to produce works of art worthy of hanging proudly in any home. Or museum, for that matter. The piece above is called "End of the Hunt."

Tiona Marco is another great artist. Though no relation to Don Marco, she was mentored by him, and the results are fantastic as shown by her piece entitled "Adoration."

I encourage you to click on the artists name to visit their sites to see more of their incredible artwork!

Doyle on the Boil!

2009-09-06T19:47:00.003-04:00

There are so many great guitarists in the world it would be impossible to find any agreement on who is the best. Now, of course there is a general consensus of which are among the best, and Doyle Dykes is most certainly on that list.

Doyle is usually considered a country acoustic guitarist, since he began by performing with The Stamps Quartet and then later on touring with Grand Ole Opry star Grandpa Jones before turning solo, but his style is influenced by all types of music, especially the finger picking style of the great Chet Atkins. He also serves as an endorser and clinician for Taylor Guitars, for whom he has designed a very successful Signature model guitar.

Here is a video of Doyle performing two songs that showcase his unique virtuosity:

I love Uke!

2009-04-07T17:06:00.008-04:00

When most people hear the word "Ukulele" they think of either:

or

Jake Shimabukuru is well on his way to changing both of these perceptions, as the video below ably demonstrates.

Jake himself was born in Honolulu, so you might say that the ability to play the Ukulele was already in his genetic makeup. Receiving his first Uke at age 4, he was soon taking the instrument in new directions, adding effects pedals and inventing new ways of playing the instrument. From his humble beginning playing at a local cafe in Honolulu, Jake has gone on to play in major venues all over the world, performing all types of music for all types of people. You can tell by watching that he truly loves what he does, and I think you'll join me in saying that we truly love it too!

High-Speed Photography

2009-04-07T15:01:00.012-04:00

Harold Edgerton was a professor of electrical engineering at M.I.T. who pioneered the use of stroboscopic lights in photography, especially as a means of capturing objects that were moving much too fast to be seen by the human eye. Take this photo of a bullet passing through an apple. Thanks to Dr. Edgerton's work, we can plainly see the moment when the bullet pierces the apple, which would be impossible to see otherwise.

In the following photo, we can see another moment normally invisible to the eye: a golf ball indented by the club at the moment of impact!

Perhaps the most striking images are those he captured for the military as they were testing the atomic bomb. Here is a set of three photographs taken at a speed of 1/100,000,000th of a second:

Above you see the first millionth of a second after the detonation.

In the next millisecond you can see the bomb's energy traveling down the tower's guide wires as the rest of it vaporizes the tower. The desert floor below is instantly transformed into a sea of glass.

A millionth of a second later, the sphere of nuclear destruction completely engulfs the surrounding area, including the Joshua Trees you see silhouetted at ground level which will cease to exist in the next millisecond!

Thanks to the pioneering work of Harold Edgerton, we can now see things that were previously unknown to us, and the techniques he invented are now being used the world over to better understand the amazing world in which we live.

Amazing Lunch Bag Art!

2009-04-07T14:19:00.005-04:00

Consider the plain brown lunch bag. For generations it has been the container of choice for carrying lunches to school. Though functional, it was also perfectly boring.

Not anymore!

Some creative folks are decorating their kid's lunch bags with a wide variety of excellent artwork, and thanks to the internet we all get to share in their artistic endeavors!

The Lunch Bag Art blog is by an anonymous dad who enjoys drawing all kinds of cool stuff on his kid's bags, like Chewbacca, above!

Over at LUNCH BAG ARTIST.COM Matthew Roberts posts his own spectacular efforts, such as this Curious George bag, below:

Kinda makes me wish one of my parents had been an artist!

Vocal Magic

2009-03-28T15:45:00.004-04:00

The Voca People are a vocal group.

A very strange vocal group.

They are also extremely talented.

If you tossed eight singers into a blender, along with Blue Man Group, and added a heaping tablespoon of whimsy, then the Voca People would probably pop out!

If you're prepared for a bit of fun, just press the arrow and enjoy!

Riders in the Sky

2009-03-27T13:35:00.003-04:00

Riders in the Sky is a delightful Grammy Award winning western music group that has been performing together since 1977.

Though their style appeals to kids, they are equally popular with their parents and are known for their gentle western-themed humor and expert musicianship.

Their music is comprised of authentic old cowboy and Western songs, and they lace their shows with bits of comedy to sweeten the mix. They had a Saturday morning TV show in the early 1990's and have provided songs for major motion pictures such as Pixar's Toy Story 2 (Woody's Roundup.)

They also have a radio show, Rider's Radio Theater.

Riders in the Sky is certainly a lot of fun to listen to, even if you don't consider yourself a fan of Western music (which is different from what most people perceive as Country music) and here is a fine sample for you; it's the aforementioned Woody's Roundup from Toy Story 2!

Yee-HA!

The Gospel Accordion to Uwe...

2009-03-26T14:48:00.005-04:00

The accordion is such a misunderstood instrument. It is the musical equivalent of a pun...everyone groans when they hear one.

But put one in the hands of the right person (Lawrence Welk or Weird Al Yankovic for example) and magic can happen.

Uwe Steger is one such magician. The German born Uwe is taking the accordion in some new directions, and doing so with a singular style and plenty of talent.

The link above takes you to his site, which, in spite of being written in German, is easy to find your way around, and contains other videos featuring his marvelous virtuosity.

Here is one of the best Uwe performances, featuring the song "It Don't Mean a Thing (If it ain't got that swing).

You'll notice that the accordion doesn't move...that's because it is one of the newer digital accordions, and requires no bellows to work!

Absolut-ly Intriguing Ads!

2009-03-26T14:17:00.005-04:00

Absolut Vodka has, over the years, produced one of the most memorable advertising campaigns in history.

By incorporating the familiar shape of their now-iconic bottle into various clever and inventive scenarios, the company has performed the remarkable feat of transforming alcohol into art!

Since 1980, more than 1500 ads have been released, and they constitute what is arguably the longest running ad campaign in history.

You can view a fairly complete collection of these wonderful ads by visiting the Absolut Ad website at the link above.

Cheers!

A Fast Break for Breakfast!

2009-03-26T07:31:00.007-04:00

Over at the always-nostalgic Tick-Tock-Toys, you'll find this wonderful collection of cereal boxes from days-gone-by!

It is interesting to see how some of our most cherished breakfast box icons have changed over the years, like Tony the Tiger here.

You will find all of your favorites, as well as some which you've probably forgotten.

So head on over and grab yourself a bite of sugary nostalgia goodness!

Funny Pictures!

2009-03-19T01:28:00.011-04:00

Over at the Marco Folio blog, you can find some pretty interesting pictures!

Hooray for Bollywood!

2009-03-18T01:27:00.005-04:00

Hollywood gave birth to the film industry. This fact is not in dispute. Over the years, it has influenced the entire world, and now movies are made in every country around the globe.

One country in particular, India, has been cranking out films almost as long as Hollywood. Beginning in 1913, with the release of the silent film Raja Harishchandra, the Mumbai (previously known as Bombay) based film industry has continued to release as many films as Hollywood itself.

The term Bollywood is a blend of the names Bombay and Hollywood. Though the name is often used to refer to the entire scope of Indian film making, it is really just a part of the whole, even though it is the largest producer of film in India, and one of the largest in the world.

The films of Bollywood only began having major impact on the rest of the world in the 2000's. There was a very positive effect from this on the industry, leading it to achieve new heights in the overall quality of the films, including acting, story and cinematography.

An interesting aspect of the industry is that it has always striven to make films that appealed to the vast majority of film-goers, rather than to target narrow audiences, although even this is beginning to change somewhat.

One of my favorite things to see in Bollywood films are the dance numbers in the musicals. They are always so inventive and energetic, and here is a good example from the film Devdas, featuring the very lovely and talented Aishwarya Rai:

Wonderful stuff!

Going back to 1965, here is an unusually bizarre dance number from the film Janwar that is obviously ripping off the Beatles' I wanna Hold Your Hand, but who cares when you're having this much fun?

Finally, from the film Dil Se comes one of the best and most originally staged dance sequences anyone has ever put on film: the entire sequence taking place on top of a moving train! The song is called Chaiya Chaiya, and according to a BBC poll it is considered one of the top 10 songs of all time!

As you can see, Bollywood films certainly don't shirk on entertainment value, and we will probably be seeing and hearing much more from them in the coming years!

Cool Comparison!

2009-03-18T01:21:00.004-04:00

On the left: 1 gigabyte of storage 20 years ago.

On the right: 1 gigabyte of storage today.

Wow!

Where's Mickey?

2009-03-17T03:45:00.003-04:00

One of the most interesting aspects of the Disney theme parks is one which most people are not even aware of.

It seems that the imagineers who designed the parks decided it would be fun to hide Mickey's familiar silhouette in all kinds of places where you wouldn't normally expect to see it, and then never really let on that they were there.

These "hidden Mickeys" have been a part of Disney for a long time, appearing in Disney's classic animated films and other various Disney products throughout the years. The theme park Mickeys have become more widely known in more recent years, and several web sites are devoted to collecting them. A popular Hidden Mickey guidebook is available to those needing help in finding them during their stays at the park.

The link above leads to a Flickr photo group with lots of photos of these hidden Mickeys submitted by people who found and photographed them, so that you can experience the seemingly endless ways in which the imagineers found to hide them in plain sight!

The Art of Television

2009-03-17T00:25:00.005-04:00

Back in the days before it got bigger and glossier, the TV Guide was a staple in most American homes.

Each issue featured a photo or illustration of the current "big thing" in television, and perusing the covers can only bring a rush of nostalgia for anyone old enough to remember the original format.

Richard Amsel was the most featured artist for the guide, with 37 covers and countless illustrations within the magazine. He was also responsible for many of the most memorable movie posters in the history of film, as well as other art from record albums and many other places his art appeared.

Though he died in 1985, his legacy lives on.

**Another popular cover artist (who also did movie posters!) was the late Bob Peak. Here are his covers, and here are his movie posters!

**Finally, the most complete collection of TV Guide covers on the internet can be found here!

Happy viewing!

Japanese Jazz Giant!

2009-03-16T02:40:00.004-04:00

Hiromi Uehara - Return Of Kung-Fu World Champion
Uploaded by AntiFlag607. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Since her Jazz debut in 2003, she has toured around the world, introducing audiences everywhere to her incredible technique, energetic performances, and intoxicating blend of different musical genres.

In the video above she performs the funky "Return of Kung-Fu World Champion."

It's in the cards!

2009-03-16T01:51:00.004-04:00

There is much debate as to when the playing card first made it's appearance. Many historians believe it was during the 9th century in China (since the Chinese invented paper) and during the tenth century it is documented that the Chinese used paper dominoes in order to create new games.

This was a long time ago of course, and the playing card has gone through many changes and been used for many different purposes throughout the centuries.

Over at the World of Playing Cards site, you can find out everything you never thought you didn't know about playing cards. From the history and uses of cards to the numerous galleries of card artwork, there is enough fun to be had here that you could keep occupied for hours on end!

A truly great resource that is not to be missed!

Me and my (hand) shadow

2009-03-14T22:36:00.006-04:00

Perhaps because we live in an age of instant visual gratification, the art of casting hand shadows has all but disappeared.

Long before the advent of film and television, going back perhaps thousands of years, the casting of hand shadows may have been one of the very first forms of popular visual entertainment.

You can almost picture some primitive tribesman sitting by a fire, seeing his shadow upon a wall, watching it move in perfect synchronization with his body. He soon comes up with the idea of mimicking simple shapes and forms with his hands and pretty soon he has everyone sitting around watching and listening as he relates stories through this exciting new form of communication.

Far fetched? Maybe, but it seems as likely an explanation as any.

Though most people would laugh at the idea of watching a hand shadow performance, there are still a handful of modern practitioners of the art.

Raymond Crowe is arguably one of the best.

An Australian mime, magician and cabaret performer who bills himself as an unusualist, he always closes his act with a performance called The Shadows. It often has audience members simultaneously laughing and in tears, and you can see it for yourself in the video below:

If you would like to see another pair of excellent hand shadow artists, you can check out Amar Sen and Sabyasachi Sen in this video:

If you are now sufficiently inspired to try a few simple hand shadows for yourself, just go here and give it a try...there's no telling how far you may go!

Amazing Temples!

2009-03-13T16:01:00.003-04:00

Now here's an interesting collection of temples I found over at the forever-fascinating Neatorama blog.

It seems that wherever you find those who worship God, you will also find places of worship designed to inspire a sense of awe and wonder.

Regardless of your religious beliefs, you must admit that, in expressing his search for the divine, man has certainly created some beautiful places in which to seek it!

That old black magic...

2009-03-12T11:01:00.002-04:00

It is hard to imagine, but there was a time when magicians commanded far more respect and admiration than they do today.

Now confined primarily to Las Vegas showrooms and cheesy cable TV specials, magic once filled entire theaters to capacity with a public eager to make contact with dimensions that only magicians and mystics seemed privileged to know.

Magic was so popular in fact, that you might very well find more than one major production in town at any given time.

Names like Houdini, Thurston, Kellar, Dante, Blackstone, Hardeen, Chung Ling Soo and Carter, among others, became synonymous
with the grand magical spectacle that dominated the age.

Of course nothing good lasts forever, and with the advent of film, television and other newer, more exciting technologies, the art of grand illusion quickly faded from popular view.

Though a few managed to partly recapture the public's imagination through a combination of touring stage shows and TV specials (David Copperfield, for example) and though magic will always have a place at the entertainment table, it is doubtful it can ever regain it's former glory.

At the link above, you will find a large collection of vintage magic posters from those days gone by, which may give you some idea of the mystery and spectacle that awaited those adventurous enough to sit down and be open to the endless possibilities of the world of magic!

Dude looks like a...well, like another dude!

2009-03-11T13:37:00.003-04:00

They say that everyone has a twin, and at TotallyLooksLike.com they hope to prove it. Take a look for yourself!

Saturday Morning Memories

2009-03-11T00:18:00.005-04:00

To the average kid, Saturday is just another day, albeit one in which you don't have to go to school. Not too long ago, especially from the 1960's through the 1980s, Saturday was much, much more.

Saturday was all about cartoons.

Not all of Saturday of course, just Saturday morning. But oh, what a morning! Any kid worth his salt was up early, planted in front of the T.V., ready to go!

To remember those Saturday mornings, I will occasionally be posting the opening of a random Saturday morning cartoon in hopes that you will have a pleasant moment of nostalgia...

Here's the first one now:

A Real Piece of Work

2009-03-10T00:36:00.004-04:00

Ecce Homme.

Behold the man.

This particular man is, in fact, not a man at all.

He (or more appropriately it) is an astonishingly life-like sculpture of a man!

Marc Sijan is a Milwaukee-based artist who produces what are arguably the most perfect copies of the human form.

Take another look.

Even close up, he appears flawless. As if at any moment he may begin to move around.

Though artists throughout history have sculpted the body, no one until now has achieved the realism of Marc Sijan.

For more of his amazing work, look here, here, and here!

Jurassic Art?

2009-03-07T02:09:00.008-05:00

We've all heard the sad stories of child stars gone bad...it seems as if being a child star automatically consigns you to a life that is anything but happy. A few, however, somehow rise above it all to go further that anyone would have thought possible.

Ariana Richards is one of those who beat the odds.

What...you don't remember Ariana Richards?

She was only one of the lead actresses in one of the biggest box-office hits Hollywood has ever produced: Jurassic Park! She played Lex Murphy, the granddaughter of the park's founder, played by Richard Attenborough.

Oh, so now you remember!

Acting was not the only art that Ariana excelled at however. She had always loved traditional art, and in fact her family's genealogy can be traced back to the early Italian Renaissance with Carlo Crevelli, a contemporary of Botticelli!

As you can see in her award-winning painting above, titled "Lady of the Dahlias," her talent is extraordinary!

To view more of her astonishing paintings, be sure to visit her Gallery Ariana.

Art to the Max!

2009-03-06T01:57:00.006-05:00

Peter Max is an American icon who's artwork defined the spirit of the 1960's.

As a child, the German-born artist fled Berlin with his parents and wound up in Shanghai, China, where they lived for ten years. They then moved to Tibet, and later to Haifa, Israel. Finally, after a quick stop in Paris, they settled in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

Peter opened his first art studio in Manhattan in 1962, and by 1968 he had appeared on The Tonight Show, and a year later was on the cover of Life magazine.

Many people assume that it was Peter's artwork that influenced the look of the film Yellow submarine, but this was not the case. It was another German, Heinz Edelmann, who not only helped to pioneer the psychedelic style for which Max would later become so well-known, but who also was the art director responsible for the look of the film.

To view more of Peter's colorful work, visit the Doubletake Gallery's HUGE collection of Peter Max art!

Extreme Clouds

2009-03-06T01:27:00.003-05:00

Over at the always amazing Dark Roasted Blend, you can find all kinds of phenomenal things, such as these fantastic photographs of clouds.

Normally, most of us don't get to see these types of cloud formations (which look like something out of a science fiction movie) but you have to agree...they are awesome!

More pictures can be found here!

The Light Fantastic!

2009-03-05T00:41:00.004-05:00

Now this is an amazing. It's called Multiverse, and you can see it for yourself anytime this year if you can get over to the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.

The installation was created by American artist Leo Villareal.

Consisting of a moving walkway that travels through a 200-foot-long tunnel lined with 41,000 computer-controlled LED lights, the experience is said to be out-of-this-world!

The software that controls the lights has an element of chance built in to it, so no one can ever see the same display twice. The video below will give you an idea of how this looks:

Ridin' the Rails

2009-03-04T14:01:00.005-05:00

This is an iconic image...the hobo, his bindle stick thrown over one shoulder, ready to hop another train to another town.

The hobo has been a part of American culture since the mid-nineteenth century. With the end of the American Civil War, many soldiers wanting to return home would take to hopping freight trains. Others who were looking for employment followed the trains westward, looking for a better life.

Life for the hobo was fraught with danger. Riding a freight train was no easy thing, and many were killed while attempting to hop aboard moving freight cars. Even if they survived a failed attempt, it would occasionally come at the cost of an arm or a leg crushed and severed beneath the wheels of the train.

Then there were the railroad security workers, nicknamed bulls, who were often merciless to trespassers.

Though perhaps not quite as numerous as they were decades ago, the hobo culture is still alive and well in America. There's even a National Hobo Convention held the second week of every August in Britt, Iowa.

*A great place to find all types of interesting information regarding hobos is Hobo.com.

*Check out these amazing carvings made from nickles by hobos!

*If you grew up in California during the 1970's, you'll remember Hobo Kelly.

*Finally, here is the delightful 700 Hoboes Project, in which artists provided sketches of hobos based upon (mostly) historical hobo names. To jump right to the galley, click here!

This'll leave you Hang-ing!

2009-03-03T11:59:00.005-05:00

The Hang Drum is a percussive musical instrument created in Bern, Switzerland around the year 2000 following years of research and design.

They are handmade in extremely limited numbers, and are difficult to come by. You must first write the people who make it, and then await a response. Even then, you have to travel to Bern to personally take delivery on your Hang.

Dante Bucci is one of a handful of expert Hang players, and the music he creates is equal parts beautiful, haunting, deeply spiritual and relaxing, as demonstrated in the video above.

Gone to Seed

2009-03-03T02:55:00.005-05:00

Just look at that corn! Doesn't it look absolutely mouth-watering? Wouldn't you love to cook it up, slather it in butter and savor every last bite of this delicious, golden cob of sweet corn?

That's the idea behind the Burpee seed catalog...to entice you into growing your own produce, and it always tastes better when you've grown it yourself!

The Burpee seed company was founded way back in 1878 by Washington Atlee Burpee. It's catalogs featured beautiful illustrations of all types of flowers and produce.

Though the modern catalogs rely primarily on photographs for the covers, the early ones were true works of art!

Check out the link to see more of these beautiful covers!

...but is it ART-chitecture?

2009-03-02T02:56:00.004-05:00

Over at the wonderful Village Of Joy website, you will find an amazing collection of 50 architectural oddities from around the world.

I don't know about you, but I find it particularly refreshing that there are still people with a sense of whimsy involved in designing public places...it makes this world so much more fun to live in!

Can you imagine the result if these architects would join forces and design an entire city? Now there's a place I would definitely want to live!

Burnt Offerings

2009-03-02T01:33:00.007-05:00

"Yes, social friend, I love thee well,
In learned doctor's spite;
Thy clouds all other clouds dispel,
And lap me in delight."

American poet Charles Sprague was so inspired by the pleasures of a good smoke that he managed to capture the beauty of it in just a few lines.

The feeling was indeed mutual for millions of people around the world who found (and continue to find) equal enjoyment in the art of smoking. In spite of the significant health risks, relaxing with a good cigarette is still a daily ritual for countless numbers of people.

Of course, there was another "art" related to smoking, and that was the art of the cigarette pack itself. Slides, shells, boxes and tins acted not only as containers, but as powerful advertising tools. Retrieving a pack from your pocket or purse allowed others to see exactly which brand you preferred, and the more eye-catching the design, the more likely others might be to remember and seek out that particular brand.

Over at the amazing Burnt Offerings site, Jim Shaw has assembled an unrivaled collection of these beautiful works of art, including many posters, trade cards and other forms of cigarette advertising. There are examples from all over the world, and most are accompanied with informative commentary from Mr. Shaw himself.

Whether you are a smoker or not, there is much to be delighted by here, and I heartily recommend you stop by for a look-see. It will be well worth your time!

Oh, and smoke 'em if you've got 'em!

Many thanks to Jim Shaw for allowing me to post these images from his site!

Drive-In Memories

2009-02-28T03:09:00.002-05:00

For those of us old enough to remember, the drive-in was always the best way to see a movie. Actually, there were usually two films playing back-to-back, with an intermission that allowed you time to get more snacks from the snack bar, or use the bathroom, or visit with your friends in the car next to you, or some combination thereof.

With the speaker hanging from your car window, you could sit back and relax while the movie played, happily munching on fresh-popped popcorn, hot dogs, ice cream, candy and any of the other fine (did I say fine? I meant 'unhealthy but too good to resist') offerings at the snack bar.

With the advent of the indoor movie theater complexes, the drive-in gradually began to die out, and there are now just a handful of them left across the country. I for one hope they continue to hold on to their customers, since there really is nothing quite like the drive-in movie experience, which I believe far surpasses the indoor movie theater experience, especially since you don't have to deal with people who like to talk during the movie, or use their cell phones or kick the back of your chair repeatedly until you develop the urge to shove their bucket O' popcorn up their left nostril and their bucket O' cola up the other.

No...there really isn't a better place to see a movie than the drive in!

The wonderful site linked to above (driveintheater.com) will provide you with plenty of nostalgia-inducing memories, as it covers every aspect of the drive-in theater experience with equal parts heart and humor!

Oh, and please remember to replace your speaker on the post before you leave the theater!

Sketchy Subject

2009-02-28T01:57:00.004-05:00

George Vlosich III loves to draw on the Etch-a-Sketch. Loves it so much in fact that he is now considered to be the greatest living Etch-a-Sketch artist in the world. Just visit his site to see more of this astonishing artist!

Which Witch is Which?

2009-02-27T02:33:00.003-05:00

I can't find any information on who created this truly delightful music video, but it is certainly one of the most entertaining videos I've seen in a long time! It features the late, great Eartha Kitt singing "I'd Rather Be Burned as a Witch," which is kind of ironic given that, during the 1990's, she played the Wicked Witch of the West in the North American national touring company of The Wizard of Oz!

This one is sure to cast a spell on you!

He's a Good Egg!

2009-02-27T02:11:00.005-05:00

Gary LeMaster is a master when it comes to egg carving! His beautiful pieces are carved from real eggs, laid by geese, ostrich, rhea, emu, turkey, chickens, etc. He only works with eggs that are infertile or that have failed to hatch, so no actual critters are harmed in order to produce these delicate little masterpieces!

The finished eggs are not exactly inexpensive, but I think the prices seem to accurately reflect the results...truly egg-cellent art!

The Saturday Bulletin

2009-02-26T00:14:00.008-05:00

The Saturday Bulletin is a hilariously bizarre web comic that had me laughing out loud more times than I'd rather say. Before you check it out, I should warn you that some of the humor borders on " Socially Questionable" though in a "good" way, if that's possible.

From the site:

Jerry Tracy takes clip art he finds and adds funny captions. His therapist says this will assist him along his way to “wellness.” Also, it serves as that much needed “community service.” Either way, he finds that the best time to write is during the transitional state between doses of Prozac.

Living in a homemade Faraday Cage, and wearing a foil-lined spaghetti strainer festooned with “psychic Twinkies,” Mr. Tracy labors under both a leaky roof and delusion.

Beautiful Chinese Paintings

2009-02-26T00:00:00.004-05:00

It's funny how you can sometimes find extraordinary beauty in a place you wouldn't normally think to look. Such is the case with a website I found that sells Chinese art.

Don't get me wrong...Captain Quasi isn't here to sell you art. That's not the purpose of this post. I simply find the quality of the art on display here to be quite extraordinary, and I wanted to share it with you so that you can enjoy it as well!

Happy viewing!

Mesmerizing Contact Juggling!

2009-02-25T00:23:00.004-05:00

Michael Moschen performs an exquisitely choreographed bit of contact juggling. I doubt you will find a more pleasant and rewarding way to spend three minutes and forty-eight seconds anytime soon...

What A Character!

2009-02-24T23:07:00.012-05:00

Sure....everybody knows Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson and Clint Eastwood. But what about Arnold Stang, Kurtwood Smith and Geoffrey Holder? Just because you don't have a big name doesn't mean you are not well known in the film industry.

Character actors make their living by playing certain types of characters. The bad guy, the drunk, the ditsy blonde. Take Don Knotts (pictured here) who specialized in playing nervous, fidgety types. Though he never achieved the status of someone like Robert De Niro, he and many other character actors did their part to make the films they were in quite memorable, even if their names were not.

The link above takes you to the wonderful and informative King Spud's Movie & TV Pages, which is THE destination if you are a movie fan, couch potato, or any combination thereof!

Lackadaisy

2009-02-24T01:11:00.013-05:00

Okay, so let me get this straight; cats? Running a 1920's speakeasy? Sure, why not? Lackadaisy is a compelling and beautifully drawn web comic by the lovely and talented Tracy J. Butler. When not working as a 3D artist in the gaming industry, she writes and illustrates the award-winning Lackadaisy. To keep the strip feeling authentic, it is sepia-toned, just as the photographs of that era were!

This is very classy work!

Amazing Street Art

2009-02-24T00:57:00.004-05:00

Remember when graffiti was generally considered a public nuisance? Well, these days certain artists have elevated it to an art form. Take Edgar Mueller for example. This frightening street scene looks like something from the apocalypse , but is just a harmless piece of art. It took him 5 days, working 12 hours a day, to complete it! For more examples of his work, visit his web site...

Another brilliant street artist is Julian Beever. I highly recommend his site as well!

Garfield Minus Garfield

2009-02-22T02:49:00.013-05:00

I used to think that the Garfield comic strip was pretty funny. As I got older, it simply became occasionally funny. Then, an Irishman named Dan Walsh decided to digitally remove the beloved cat from the strip entirely and a new comic classic was born. To quote from the website:

"Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb."

Yea..I guess that's a pretty good description!

I Can Has Cheezburger?

2009-02-22T01:54:00.005-05:00

For those of you who are regular denizens of the internet, lolcats are nothing new. For those of you who have yet to encounter them, the curious fellow you see here is a fine example.

A lolcat is simply a a cat who's picture has been creatively captioned, usually (but not always) with deliberate misspellings, as if the cat itself were responsible for writing it.

Two of the best sites to find these funny felines are the above-linked "I Can Has Cheezburger" and the equally amusing Lolcats.

Skeletons in the (animated) closet

2009-02-20T18:11:00.004-05:00

Michael Paulus had an interesting idea: what would the skeletons of cartoon characters look like? So, being a good artist, he decided to answer that question for all of us.

Pretty creepy, huh?

Pencil this in...

2009-02-20T14:36:00.004-05:00

The image you see here, a liquid being poured in to a glass, is NOT (as you may first think) a photograph. Linda Huber has spent more than 40 years drawing with pencils. Simple graphite pencils. Oh, and she's self-taught, too. It takes her between 20 and 80 hours to complete each drawing, as she really concentrates on the details.

To view more of her stunning work, simply visit her site.

Groceteria!

2009-02-20T01:39:00.002-05:00

Grocery shopping is one of those things most folks take for granted...a ritual far more innocuous than what we used to have to go through back when we were all dirty, grimy hunter/gatherers. No more carrying spears (there are shopping carts now) or doing battle with dangerous animals (unless you count that creep who is trying to go through the Ten Items or Less lane with forty-six items and two screaming children.) It's a completely modernized, orderly and, for the most part, pleasant way to bring home the bacon.

Groceteria is a virtual treasure trove of the history of grocery shopping centers in America. Chock full of pictures and information about most of the major (and quite a few minor) chains from the 1920's through the 1980's, it is a fun place to re-live those memories of going shopping with mom and/or dad. Just remember, as you leave the site, you can't have any candy. It'll ruin your dinner!

Life in Legacy

2009-02-20T01:11:00.004-05:00

Your jolly old Cap'n doesn't much like to breach the subject, but since, as I always say, "Someone has to show you this stuff," here is an interesting place to discover which famous, not-so-famous and even infamous folks have passed on recently. Simply place the cursor arrow over the person's picture to see who they are, and then click on the picture to be taken to a short description of who they were, what they did and how they died. There is also an extensive archive for your perusal if you feel so inclined...

Sita Sings the Blues

2009-02-19T01:28:00.006-05:00

Nina Paley, America's best-loved unknown cartoonist, is some kind of miracle. So is the full-length feature film she animated single-handedly on her home computer. Five years in the making, it is a stunning achievement, and I am doing my part to spread the word...here are the first 11 minutes of the film!

Be sure to visit Nina's site for more information about Sita!

My thanks to Nina and the amazing folks over at Cartoon Brew for hosting this clip!

Shorpy

2009-02-19T00:54:00.005-05:00

The year is 1942. Fort Knox needs 33,000 volts of extra power in order to support the thousands of soldiers who are training there, and this is just the guy to supply it!

I don't know anything more about him, but if you want to see all kinds of interesting photographs from the last 100 years, Shorpy is the very best place on the internet to find them. I warn you...you will spend a LOT of time there! The hundreds (if not thousands) of photos are all quite interesting, and most can be "biggified" so you can examine every little detail...

Who is Cap'n Quasi?

2009-02-18T03:05:00.002-05:00

Aw, who cares?

On with the show...