ART: eL gAto nEgro

Holy crap, take a look at these amazing illustrations posted over at eL gAto nEgro... I absolutely adore Akira Kurosawa, and these do the man and his films very proud.

I once went to a screening of Throne of Blood after having gone a day or two without sleeping, and -try as I might- could not stay awake for the film. I would drift in and out of consciousness, weaving together some form of plot from the bits I was seeing. Suffice it to say, when I finally sat and watched the movie well-rested it was a drastically different experience.

Yojimbo! The great master's finest work? Possibly. Then again, there's also Seven Samurai... And High and Low. Also, Throne of Blood. Or maybe it's Rashomon. (I tend to think that whichever of his movies I'm watching is the best.)

(Of course, the images belong to the artist.)

ART: BRIAN HUNTER'S OLD MATTRESSES

I was playing around with Stumble at work today (thanks, Katelyn, he says sarcastically) and I Stumbled upon the page of an artist named Brian Hunter, who works out of Montreal, I believe. He basically reconstitutes old matresses as canvases, turning them into something really pretty incredible and beautiful. (He also has a series of sleeping bags, which you can and should check out HERE.)



All images belong to the artist.

DESIGN: LASER-CUT WOOD

We got an amazing laser-cut alphabet for the baby, and then quickly put it up in our living room instead, because it's super cool.



It's from a designer named DALE NIGEL GOBLE, whose website is well worth checking out.



Alternatively, BOOKHOU makes -among many, many other things- a very cool laser-cut alphabet.



Lastly, I stumbled upon this piece on Etsy... It's not an alphabet, but a great laser-cut wood piece that would certainly appeal to any typography geek. It's by PEPPERSPROUTS, out of Brooklyn.

ART: MAGDA TRZASKI

Becca and I occasionally take a trip down to C1 ARTSPACE on Ossington in Toronto and one time when we did we saw a shadowbox by a Toronto-based artist named Magda Trzaski. They're pretty incredible; macabre, sad, funny, hopeful, lovely... We hope to own one in the near future.

Here are a couple of examples...

"Dream World"

"Smug With Knowledge"

Not sure of the title of this one...

To see more, visit her BLOG.

DESIGN: THE LO-RES CHAIR, BY OOOMS

This amazing chair out of the Netherlands is made from steel and polyurethane, and features a cut out of the famous Eames lounger when viewed from the side. There have baan a lot of re-wrokings (homages?) to the Eames designs over the years, but I think this might be my favorite...

Visit the OOOMS website to see more.

OTHER PEOPLE'S PETS: OBERON

Obes belongs to Becca, but his heart belongs to me. I cat-sat him for a couple of months and I love him. He’s the sweetest, gentlest, cutest cat I’ve ever known, and he likes me better than he likes anybody else. He’s big, and he’ll shit in the bathtub if you give him half a chance. True story. It’s like a game with him, called “Leave That Door Open, I Dare You.”

Before we get to the questionnaire, here is a movie in which Obes is the star:

Now:

FULL NAME: Oberon Buttlejig, technically. Obie for short. Or Obes for syllabically shorter. Oberonicus for long.

AGE: No one knows, for sure, though I’d guess he’s over ten years old.

BREED: Maine Coon, a/k/a Mancoon, which I'm amazed to learn is in fact the second most common household purebreed in North America, behind only the Persian. Go figure. (Eff you, Siamese! Bite me, Russian Blue!)

FAVORITE TOY: The bathtub. (See above.)

FAVORITE GAME TO PLAY: I’m Gonna Shit In Your Bathtub. (See above.)

FAVORITE PLACE TO SLEEP: On a desk. Any desk.

TRIVIA: When he was a young cat someone put Obes in a box and left him by the side of a road. He had no food or water, and was stuck in the box for a number of days at least, living amongst his own waste. When he was rescued he’d developed a serious bum infection, which required the removal of much of his intestinal tract. The doctor who performed the operation did so improperly, and now his bum appears red and raw-looking, and is clearly sensitive. (To clarify: Obes's bum is red and raw-looking, not the doctor's, unfortunately.)

TRIVIA, PART TWO: Oberon is one of two cats in the world that my mom is not afraid of; in fact, she loves him to bits. And while he is very fond of her as well -especially her feet, which he likes with abandon- he doesn't like her as much as he likes me, whom he loves above all else.

Here's the notorious cat-hater caught red-handed:

How's that for evidence?

LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!

My niece Abby and my nephew Cory came to visit a couple of weeks ago, and while they were here they -and I- played in the park across the street from my house A LOT. We played on the swings and the jungle gym (now known as "the play structure," apparently... When did that happen?) and in the empty hockey rink... The first day they were here Cory got stuck on part of the fence, when it swung out over nothing while he was climbing it. We made a bunch of movies, so their parents would be able to see what we all did together. This is the movie we made to introduce the park... It's in the style of Alfred Hitchcock's Rope.

Enjoy!

For those who care -and I know you are legion- the music used, in order of appearance:

“Brooklyn is Burning,” by Head Automatica
“Bad Seamstress Blues,” by Cinderella (the air guitar solo)
“Everybody’s Gonna Be Happy,” by The Kinks
“Phoney Maroney,” by Apollo Sunshine
“Pump it Up,” by Elvis Costello & The Attractions
“I’m A Love You Anyway,” by Danny Michel
“Mr. Pitiful,” by Matt Costa
“A.I.R.” by Anthrax
“Get Ur Faith On,” by Missy Elliott & George Michael

The tinkle at the scene changes is from "Hush," by Jellyfish