If you’ve been reading the news and are feeling a wee bit dour, this movie should rejuvenate you a bit! It’s a 14-minute video of Terry Gilliam explaining his cut out film animation technique. It’s a great how-to for artists, and it’s filled with examples of Gilliam’s ingenious, hilarious work. I especially like the holiday-themed series of short animations just a few minutes in.

Found myself especially cognizant of the importance of music and sound effects in these films. Enjoy!

To dig a little deeper, see this openculture blog post.

This film looks pretty amazing. Will have to put it on the Netflix queu pronto as it looks like it came out awhile.

Really puts the desk job in perspective…

When my sister and I were little, my Uncle Chick used to make fun of my Mom’s more flighty moments by invoking Carl Sagan and saying the above line in a funny voice. Bevin and I loved this despite only a vague familiarity with Mr. Sagan at the time. We loved the voice my uncle used and the mysterious, provocative line “billions and billions of stars”.

Well today, stopping in for my occasional visit at Just Stuff I Find (see Blogroll on right), I enjoyed this short movie by David Fu, which brought pleasant memories of my youth, my home, and my uncle, and also re-inspired me to enjoy simple things and to live in the present. Ikiru.

Run it! Run it!

Funny to hear a movie mixed up of our own words which is what Jeremy has down so poetically here. Dialogue taken from clips of a group email conversation around an upcoming ski adventure.

Since we’re on the SAM theme of late…watched this movie recently, Summer of Sam. A recommendation from my workmate. How it drifted so far under the radar I’m not sure, cause it was a pretty cool period piece and a great window into largely unknown communities (this from one who grew up in suburban Philly). And somehow unusual for Spike Lee, perhaps in that it was more about the inflammatory and frightened spirit of the big apple in the summer of ’77 and what that brought out in a specific community (racism, homophobia, violence).

Adrian Brody plays a punk rocker escaped from his tight, Italian Bronx community. He dances (and provides extras) at a gay club in Manhattan for money, but hangs on tight to who he is, what he believes, even as his homeboys rant that he’s a freak for the way he dresses and wears his hair. Eventually, even his best friend, Luigi (shown below) rats him out, but it’s all part of Luigi’s own demise which goes down in beak-fulls of blow and adultery with total strangers.