Art/Photography, Book Reviews

Spectrum 12

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(Cover art by David Bowers)

Every year around November, Underwood Books releases the newest incarnation of their line of Spectrum art books. 2005 ended with the release of Spectrum 12. Every February Kathie and Arnie Fenner bring together a group of A-list artistic talent who converge on Kansas City to review submissions from artists well-known and unknown in the categories of Books, Comics, Advertising, Industrial, and Unpublished. Anyone can submit work for judging. The chosen ones are given the honor of having their work featured in the next Spectrum book. I may be biased because of the Kansas City connection but the Fenner’s and the folks at Underwood books put out the best quality art books I have seen. Their trio of books covering the life and art of Frank Frazetta are beyond compare and each year’s Spectrum title is better than the one before. The books are released in hardback and soft cover simultaneously and the quality of each is unmatched.

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Art/Photography, Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites: Chris Appelhans

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(Cover to Flight Volume 2)

This second Friday of June finds me celebrating my continued post-6/6/06 existence with the art of Chris Appelhans. And seeing how today is the opening day for Pixar’s latest offering, Cars, it seems oddly apropos to feature the art of a Pixar employee. And believe me folks, it wasn’t planned this way…I picked Chris as today’s artist and then found out about the Pixar connection. That’s just the kind of serendipitous cowinkiedink you’ve come to expect here at Stainless Steel Droppings!


(Leaf Box)

Chris Appelhans did character design for the upcoming movie Monster House and word has it that he has done some of the same for Neil Gaiman’s story Coraline that is being brought to the big screen by director Henry Selick.


(Trent)

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Envy

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(preview picture for tomorrow’s Friday Favorites)

“There’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want.”
~Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbes fame)

Is it really only Thursday? Aye Caramba! I am seriously envying children and summer vacation right now. Especially kids who are old enough to entertain themselves and actually enjoy summer vacation.

I truly believe that this is one area where we are cheated as adults. We should get at least one, true, I’m-a-kid-and-school-is-out summer vacation as adults. There should be some way to deposit just one of those childhood summers in the future bank to be used at a later date.

Can you imagine? Having June, July and August to play in the sun, read books, watch movies, putter around in the yard, have day long excursions with your friends, camp out, swim in the creek, have imaginary adventures. I would love to do that as an adult. The closest I came to anything like that was last year when Tori was gone for a week and Mary and I took that week off to watch movies, read, veg out and go on our bed and breakfast jaunt.

We’ve been robbed, my adult friends. If anyone can figure out a way to get this inequity worked out please let me know!

In summer we live out of doors, and have only impulses and feelings, which are all for action, and must wait commonly for the stillness and longer nights of autumn and winter before any thought will subside; we are sensible that behind the rustling leaves, and the stacks of grain, and the bare clusters of the grape, there is the field of a wholly new life, which no man has lived; that even this earth was made for more mysterious and nobler inhabitants than men and women. In the hues of October sunsets, we see the portals to other mansions than those which we occupy.
~Henry David Thoreau

Film News

Take Two and Call Me in the Morning

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Yesterday saw the DVD release of two very entertaining movies that are sure to be a good prescription for this past Monday’s new health plan:

This rerelease director’s cut of the film cashes in on the whole sexy factor of the two stars by calling itself an “unrated” version. I have seen nothing in reviews to indicate that ‘unrated’ translates into ‘nudity’ which is of course the first thing that springs to mind. This movie had such a great sense of humor running through it that I see the giant ‘unrated’ title as a great tongue-in-cheek piece of advertising that will get people to buy it just to see what is on it.

The two disk set includes the new cut of the film that runs 14 minutes longer, and:

Feature-Length Commentary By The Director
Deleted Scenes Including An Alternate Ending
Doug’s Film School Sequence
Breakdowns With The Director, Including Animatics, Storyboards And A Major Action Sequence Not Included In The Film
Confidential Files Featuring Secret Footage
Behind The Scenes Documentary
Shooting School Combat Training Featurette
Photo Gallery And More

Mr. and Mrs. Smith was a black comedy that I really enjoyed (my review here) and I look forward to seeing what this extended version has to offer.

The second DVD release that I am excited about is:

I was pleased with the second film of this (supposed) trilogy (review here) and have looked forward to its DVD release since the moment I walked out of the theatre. Great fun, and Kate Beckinsale to boot! This is a bare-bones release with only a few extra features and most likely an unrated extended cut will find its way to store shelves in the near future as did the first movie. If you enjoyed the first film at all you will enjoy this one.
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Speaking of DVD’s and men’s health I borrowed Jeff’s copy of Sin City, the recut, extended, unrated version and am amazed with this film all over again (my review here).

This is a special edition DVD set done right. It contains both the theatrical release of the movie and the extended cut. The behind the scenes featurettes are terrific and watching these alone makes me believe that eventhough this isn’t my favorite comic book movie it is indeed the best comic book movie ever made. No comic book film thus far has translated the look, feel, story, etc. into the film format like Sin City has. And as someone who has been frustrated by great comics turned into crappy movies (LXG anyone?) I can really appreciate that. I haven’t been able to view the extended cut yet but the extras on the two disk set are really terrific. There is alot of fun stuff for DVD geeks on this one. You can actually watch the entire film in a green screen version without the special effects thrown in.

Well, that’s all the doctor has time for today. Get out there, get healthy, and do your part to keep the entertainment industry alive and well.

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Your Cup Runneth Over

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Since the days of old mankind has been searching for the mythical fountain of youth. It seems that since the beginning of time folks have been trying to remain young and live longer, if not forever. I feel the same way. However, and I can only speak for myself here, I am lazy. The work involved in, say, bathing in the blood of virgins Elizabeth Bathory style or becoming a creature of the night is more than I want to do. I like my sleep. With today’s medical advancements we know that exercise can also slow the aging process and extend life. Exercise? I mean really, I’d rather bathe in blood.

Imagine then my excitement when I read a study proving the health benefits, for men at least, of something that I can really get excited about:

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Eclectic Musings of a Renaissance Geek