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2022 Continues to Be Okay I Guess

I didn’t mean to leave you hanging this long. My apologies. In my last post I said I’d come down with “something” that may or may not have been COVID.

Long story short, I don’t know if it was COVID but it only lasted a week or so and I feel fine now. I did end up finding a way to get tested, though. The kid’s school has a deal with some testing sites and he and I went to one, waited three hours, and got a swab shoved into our nostrils so far it came out our ears.

No, not really. It just felt like it. Of course, I went first to show him it was no big deal. He was very brave, especially after the first nostril. We got ice cream after, as you do.

We both tested negative, so who knows? He did end up up getting sick too and lost his sense of taste and smell for a couple days, which seemed like COVID to me. But again, he tested negative so we’ll never really know I guess.

We’re both fully vaxxed, by the way. If we did have COVID, I’ll assume that’s why we didn’t have more serious symptoms. I’m must glad it wasn’t more serious no matter the reason.

Since then, we’ve avoided any more sickness at the house and Summer is a month away. Fingers crossed we make it without further incident. The kid continues to wear a mask at school, even though it’s not “mandatory” anymore.

Removing the mask mandate was yet another fucking stupid decision on the part of our government, but I’lll try to keep my rants to a minimum this week. No promises, though.

Let’s just say I’m still not impressed with the way our governments, Federal, State and local, have handled the pandemic. We’re just lucky it wasn’t much worse. Of course, tell that to the families and friends of all the people who’ve died from COVID. They’re probably not too impressed either.

And as if we didn’t have enough problems, it looks like man-child Elon Musk is buying Twitter. I’m sure he’ll make it a much better place to socialize. Yeah, no doubt in my mind whatsoever. Yeah . . .

In unrelated news I’ve started to explore alternatives to Twitter. So far, I’ve landed at Micro.blog. I’m @ChrisU on there, just like on Twitter, so I should be easy to find. You may want to check it out.

I’m also making The Flickcast podcast every week with my pal Joe Dilworth. It’s going great and still fun, so I plan to continue doing it until people tell me to fuck off. So far, so good.

Finally, I’ve started drawing and painting again. I was inspired by my friend Dave Caolo, some books I saw on Urban Sketching and the Urban Sketching World website. Basically, you go to a place (city street, cool building, wherever) and sketch/draw it with pen and ink and then add some color with watercolor paint.

It’s really been fun, even though I’m not very good at it (and that’s being kind). Still, art of any kind is wonderful. It’s also great therapy and allows you to free your mind and not think about horrible shit all the time. Not that I do that.

I only think about horrible shit the appropriate amount of time.

Okay. I’ll try not to make the time between posts so long from now on. I know you all miss me when I’m gone too long.

Oh, that’s one of my drawings at the top of this post. It’s a photo of it from my sketchbook. Yes, I have a sketchbook. I’m an artist now, don’t you know.

It’s not the worst I’ve done and I don’t hate it, so that’s something. I’ll keep at it.

Okay. Gotta go. Until next time, be kind to each other.

Mondo’s ‘Alien’ Posters Are Pretty Awesome

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I’m sure some of you have seen these Alien posters already. I used to keep up with all the posters Mondo released (even though I could never seem to buy any), but lately I’ve lost track. As usual, I was too late to get one of these posters from one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time.

But I’m not bitter. They’re still pretty fun to look at right here. Tyler Stout did a great job. Maybe next time I’ll have more luck and get a poster of my very own. And maybe next time I can even get to the Alamo Drafthouse to actually see the movie. I think it’s good to have dreams.

So, which do you prefer? Red or green?

I’m kinda partial to the red myself.

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Happy Holidays from George R.R. Martin

As many of you know, I like to bring fun or interesting things I find on the Interwebs to your attention. This one today, made by the fine folks at Dorkly, fits the bill nicely.

Plus, it will hopefully serve to get you more into the spirit of the holidays. I know it did for me.

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Happy Holidays!

David Fincher’s New Calvin Klein Ad

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This new ad for Calvin Klein is directed by David Fincher and features an actress he likes to work with quite a bit: Rooney Mara. Gotta say, it’s pretty impressive.

To me, this is an almost perfect ad. I say this as a person who doesn’t really watch commercials anymore unless I have to (I don’t really like most of them) and also as a person who used to make commercials.

It’s beautiful to look at and evokes just the right mood. Plus, the message is very clear amongst all the visuals.

I also have a fondness for black and white, so that might have something to do with how much I like this too. Still, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great ad. It is. David Fincher definitely knows what he’s doing.

Check out the ad below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0JMFIVzo9c?rel=0]

These Japanese Posters for ‘The Wolverine’ Are Very Cool

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In the old days (before the Internet) movie posters were considered a big part of how to market a movie and get people interested in seeing it. Back then, studios also spent a lot more time and money (most of the time) designing said posters.

These days, movie posters mostly tend to look the same. Giant heads of the main actors and maybe an explosion or something. At least in this country. Fortunately, the movies are a global business and we often get some really great posters from elsewhere.

These posters for The Wolverine are a prime example. Check them out below.

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Is ‘RWBY’ the Future of Animation?

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Taking a break from all the iOS 7 hubbub, I came across this trailer for an upcoming animated series from the Rooster Teeth Network called RWBY. I think it looks pretty amazing, and it should.

The man behind it is none other than Monty Oum, whose work on Red vs. Blue: Revelation and Dead Fantasy pretty much defined what this kind of animation can be.

But don’t take my word for it, check out the RWBY trailer called “Black” right here. Is this the future of animation? It just may be.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImKCt7BD4U4?rel=0]

Even An Alien Needs a Day Off Sometimes

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Even though you’re an Alien from, you know, Alien you can’t spend all your time ripping arms off, crushing skulls with your explosively protruding jaw or impaling people with your barbed tail.

Sometimes, you just need to take a break. And heck, what better place to take that break than a nice park?

He likes the rides. How sweet.

While we’re on the subject of Alien, I want to mention how much I love this lamp. I love it for many reasons, one of which is it makes me laugh.

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I will admit that it’s probably funnier if you’ve actually seen James Cameron’s movie Aliens. But if you haven’t, it’s still a cool lamp.

Although, you really should see Aliens too.

(h/t to Fashionably Geek for the Alien vacation photo)

Batman 1972

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I love it when artists take chances and spin known subjects or concepts in new and different directions. Today’s example is from artist Francesco Francavilla as he takes the iconic Batman and reimagines him as a 70’s blaxploitation anti-hero.

Check out more of the images from Batman 1972 below.

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