The 1963 Chevrolet

This commercial features has a nice “Cartoon Modern” look to it, but what I love most about is the innovative use of the typography:

Eric’s Vintage Television Sets

When a technology is new there’s always a bit of glamour associated with it, and that sparkle is also represented in the look of the industial design. The first generation of television sets feature some amazing design work, from a glance you can can almost taste the excitement that people were experiencing for ‘radio with pictures’. This website features some great restoration work on TV sets from the golden age of television:

Eric’s Vintage Television Sets

“I started this page several years ago so I could share some pictures of my collection of 1950’s portable TV sets. Since then I have accumulated many more sets including quite a few sets from the late 1940’s, some Electrostatic sets and also a 1958 RCA COLOR set. My interests include any set built between 1946 and 1959 with my main focus on the smaller table-top sets… ”

Found via Linkfilter.net.

Wildroot Hair Tonic

This 1957 commercial for Wildroot Hair Tonic is a great example of the “cartoon modern style” that’s becoming popular today:

Shazam! Captain Marvel Returns

According to Wizard Universe, it looks like Captain Marvel and friends (Capt. Marvel Jr., Mary Marvel, Dr. Sivana and Billy Batson with silly sidekick Hoppy) have been spotted in action at the American International Toy Fair in New York City.

Gundam Cosplay in Japan

Over 1,600 cosplayers attended the event, including some fantastic Gundam costumes:

Found via Japan Probe and Zaeega.

Tranformers Attack Toy Fair

If you’ve never gone to it the Toy Fair is always tons of fun for anyone is a kid at heart, not only can you see the latest and greatest but you can walk for what seems like miles and see nothing but new toys that you’ve never seen before. This year one of the hot franchises is the new Transformers film, and of course you can’t have a film like that without having a ton of new toys come out:

Toy Fair – Transformers Movie Product Officially Revealed

“New York’s annual American International Toy Fair this week is truly “More than Meets the Eye” with the first official look at some of the exciting products based on the live-action Tranformers feature film in theaters July 4, 2007.”

A Coca-Cola Dog with Bite

This is a great looking animated Coca-Cola commercial from France:

I love the fact that they aren’t afraid to have the dog fart and burp, that sort of thing would get shot down by most ‘branding experts’ in a minute…

Potatoes and Dragons

Potato and Dragons (Patates et Dragons) is an animated tv series from France which went on the air in 2001. The show is set in ‘the Kingdom of Potatoes”, and features the exploits of King Hugo III, his daughter and a cute looking dragon. The character designs in this show have a very hip and cartoony look to them:

Read more…

Martian Moon Mission

This is an amazing article on a planned mission to Phobos (for the year 2016):

Martian moon ‘could be key test’

“Mars’ moon Phobos could be the target for a technology trial that would seek to return rock samples to Earth. A UK team is developing a concept mission that aims to land a spacecraft on the potato-shaped object and grab material off its surface.

These small rock fragments would then be despatched to Earth in a capsule. “It is being seen as a technological demonstrator for an eventual Mars sample return,” said Dr Andrew Ball from the Open University. Those aspects of the mission that worked well could be incorporated into a full-scale assault on the Red Planet.”

…and interesting fact I read in the article is that Phobos will one day (well millions of years from now) crash into Mars or be torn into little bits.

Boo Boo Walker

Above is a clever Star Wars inspired t-shirt designed by Dave Horowitz, available at GoApeShirts.

Dark Crystal 2: It’s Official!

This is good news, it sounds like they’re spending their time and trying to get the film right:

Dark Crystal 2: it’s official!

“A week ago we thought it had been scrapped. Earlier this week we heard it may not have been. So to end the rumours and confusion, SFX went straight to the source on this and have obtained an official statement from The Henson Company about The Power of the Dark Crystal. And it’s good news: it’s definitely on! This morning we received the following statement from Lisa Henson, the company’s co-CEO and producer of the film:

“The Jim Henson Company remains committed to producing Power of the Dark Crystal. The film has not been ‘cancelled’ or ‘put on hiatus’ or any of the other rumored status changes that have been floating around. This film is an ambitious undertaking for us and it continues to move forward as we work to secure the financing and distribution that a project of this scope requires; and yes, these are factors that will most likely have an impact the production timeline. We are grateful to the fans who support Power of the Dark Crystal and we are excited to make this new chapter in the Dark Crystal story a reality”.”

Head of Cartoon Network Resigns

It’s odd to me that people just don’t see that Boston had an overreaction, but I don’t think that the Cartoon Network is in the wrong here:

Head of Cartoon Network resigns

“The head of the Cartoon Network resigned Friday following a marketing stunt that caused a security scare in Boston. The announcement about Jim Samples resigning was made in an internal memo sent to Cartoon Network staffers.

In a statement to employees, Samples said he regrets the stir that the stunt caused. “It’s my hope that my decision allows us to put this chapter behind us and get back to our mission of delivering unrivaled original animated entertainment for consumers of all ages,” Samples said.”

…by the way check out this great game making fun of Boston:

dyewell.com/saveboston/

Found via BoingBoing.net.

Fate Magazine Gallery

We found a fun gallery of covers from Fate magazine which was focused on the occult and supernatural. The cover designs get sort of dull in the 60s, but the illustrations from the 50s have a quirky kitschy quality to them:

A complete collection of FATE Magazine covers

Read more…

Metal Gear Solid: The Motion Picture

It looks like Metal Gear Solid will make the leap from video game to the big screen:

Sony gears videogame for film

“Sony is bringing hit vidgame franchise “Metal Gear Solid” to the bigscreen.
Michael De Luca will produce the adaptation, with vidgame creator Hideo Kojima as exec producer. A bigscreen adaptation of the futuristic vidgame has been rumored since last May’s E3 confab, but negotiations with Konami Digital Entertainment have been ongoing. Sony chair Yair Landau confirmed it was in the works following his keynote speech Thursday at the DICE vidgame confab in Las Vegas.”

Atari Frogger and Star Wars Video Games

It’s state-of-the-art graphics and game play from Parker Brothers Video Games in 1982:

Bring the battle home – ribbit!

Astronauts are People Too

I’ve been watching the current media circus with dread these last few days, and the 24 hour cable news cycle has a nasty way of chewing up people and spitting them out. And any topic connected with crime also has a vengeful kangaroo court feeling to it, which is why my heart goes out to Lisa Nowak and her family.

The fact is that there are very few who get to have the title of “astronaut” in any given genertion, only a very small group of people get to go through this high pressure process. In fact in terms of statistics your chances are much better of being a rock star or becoming a Senator than getting to fly into outer space for a living. So while Lisa is being mocked in the media, I’d like to ask everyone to remember that she is a real person, and to give her the benefit of the doubt before passing judgement:

Did huge career pressures aid astronaut’s undoing?

“US astronaut Lisa Nowak’s fall from grace – she is accused of trying to kidnap and kill a woman she considered a rival for the affections of a fellow astronaut – has raised a plethora of unanswered questions from a shocked public. Chief among them: how someone who passed the stringent psychological screening required to become an astronaut could have snapped like this.

But scientists aren’t nearly as shocked as the general public. “It doesn’t surprise me that this might happen occasionally,” says psychiatrist Nick Kanas of the University of California in San Francisco, US, who studies astronaut behaviour on long-term space flights. NASA takes medical histories to screen for psychiatric problems that tend to run in families, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. But no battery of tests will reveal how well astronauts will cope with the ups and downs of daily life.

“Astronauts are very capable people, among the stars of our society. But they have changes in their lives, have issues with their spouses and kids just like you and I might,” Kanas says. “They might be superhuman in their jobs, but not in terms of relationships and their potential for emotional problems”.”

Reddy Kilowatt

Just plug in I’m readdy! This is a very camp animated commercial for Pacific Gas and Electric:

The Toonpedia has a great article on Reddy Kilowatt:

“Information supplied by Reddy’s owners indicates the character was created by Ashton B. Collins Sr., general commercial manager of Alabama Power Company. At the time (middle 1920s), electricity wasn’t exactly brand-new technology, but a lot of people could still remember when most homes weren’t wired, and not everyone was entirely comfortable with the stuff. Collins, just home from an industry convention where a big problem under discussion was how to sell electricity as a servant of mankind, was gazing out the window into a thunderstorm, wondering what an electric servant might look like. All of a sudden, two lightning bolts merged and struck the ground as one. For a split-second, they reminded Collins of a human figure, and at that moment Reddy Kilowatt sprang from his brow full-grown, like Athena from that of Zeus.”

Anne Cleveland and Jean Anderson

There’s a great tribute to the cartoonists Anne Cleveland and Jean Anderson at Shaenon K. Garrity’s Live Journal:

Anne Cleveland and Jean Anderson

“A while back, there was a debate about why women don’t get no respect in comics, like there always is, and a cartoonist by the name of Anne Cleveland came up. Basic summary: Anne Cleveland was a little-known cartoonist working from the 1930s to 1960s, starting with a series of cartoons about campus life drawn while she was a student at Vassar College (class of ’37). She often worked with a collaborator, Jean Anderson, although it’s unclear how they split the duties. It seems likely that Anderson was a writer only, but I have no confirmation on that.

These cartoons are all scanned from the booklet Everything Correlates, first published in 1946. I also have another booklet, Vassar: A Second Glance. The booklets contain no information whatsoever about the cartoons or their creators, so I don’t know if these were drawn while Cleveland and Anderson were students, or, if not, when, where, and why they first appeared. Cleveland also painted murals on the walls of the Vassar Alumnae House pub which were still there when I was a student, but I don’t have pictures of those.”

Found via Linkfilter.net.

Jackie Chan New Year’s Celebration

To celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year (the Year of the Fire Boar, Oink! Oink!) on February 18th, Jetix (the comedy/action/adventure programming block on Toon Disney) will be running a mini-marathon of the animated series Jackie Chan Adventures. Playing up the theme of a Chinese New Year’s celebration each episode will feature a different zodiac animal from previous years in the Chinese calendar, ending up with the boar for 2007.

By the way Jetix looks like it’s worth checking out, they have Power Rangers, Pucca, and Digimon as part of their programming lineup. And old school fanboys take note: They’re also running * gasp * Dungeons and Dragons! In addition they also have a new show called Super Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! which features some nice anime and Ultraman inspired character design work (t-shirt and toy worthy to say the least).

Doomsday Machine: Remastered

Above are new images from the remastered version of the classic Star trek episode Doomsday Machine (from StarTrek.com and found via TrekMovie.com).

I’d have to say that just seeing the above images brings back many a happy childhood memory of watching the show in glorious black and white on re-runs on WPIX in the 70s.

Two things made that episode great: The first was the powerful soundtrack by Alexander Courage. The music gave the planet eater a voice, and in many ways the soundtrack of Jaws owed quite a bit to Mr. Courage.

It’s also funny because in many ways the planet eater is very much like Moby Dick character haunting poor Commodore Decker. Which brings me to the second thing that I love about that episode: William Windom may be the only man in the entire history of Star Trek who could out-over-act William Shatner!

Of course the best thing about this episode as a kid was that you could always buy your 2nd AMT Enterprise, change the name to U.S.S. Constellation and blow it up with firecrackers to give it that authentic “planet eater munch” treatment. Nope can’t get any cooler than that…

Shimura Zoo: Sloth Dinner Date

This episode of “Tensai! Shimura Dobutsu-en” (aka Genius! Shimura Zoo) features a Sloth, which is cuter looking than I expected:

Read more…

New Henson Films in the Works

It looks like the folks behind the Muppets are set to tackle some interesting films, I love the idea that they might be using a Edward Gorey book:

Henson Co. moves on ‘Boggart’

“Jim Henson Co. is launching development on a trio of literary properties — “The Boggart” by novelist Susan Cooper (“The Dark is Rising”), “The Doubtful Guest” by Edward Gorey and the fantasy adventure trilogy “Monster Blood Tattoo” by D.M. Cornish. Henson’s Creature Shop, the company’s visual and f/x division, will bring work on the characters in each film using a blend of CGI and animatronics.”

Pre-Disney Pocahontas

This is a very silly 1951 animated commercial for Babo Cleanser starring Pocahontas:

Spirk Suggests: Epic Movie

As stated in the trailer…”From two of the six guys who wrote Scary Movie.” Epic movie is scripted by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer who bring their ‘A’ game to a script that is filled with tongue in cheek humor mixed with Slapstick and over the top gags.

The main setting for the film is the Chornicles of Narnia but the duo takes shots at The Davinci Code, Snakes on a Plane, Nacho Libre, X-Men and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Much like Scary Movie Friedberg and Selzter take the basic plot points of the films and twists them into some gems of comic genius.

Kal Penn (Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle), Adam Campbell (Date Movie), Faune A. Chambers (White Chicks) and Jayma Mays (TV spots on Heroes, House MD and Studio 60) play the four youngsters who end up in Gnarnia (changed to prevent the lawsuits says Mr Tumnus.) To get there we see Lucy (Jayma Mays) bumble her way through the Divinci Code, Edward (Kal Penn)suffer through his life in the Mexican orphanage where he dreams of being a Luchadore, Susan encounter Snakes on a Plane with a pretty damn good Samuel Jackson impersonator and Peter being miserable at Mutant High.

Read more…