Fictional Presidential Campaign, Part II

Looks like Gandalf is ahead of Xavier in the polls. But the X-Men aren't about to give up that easy. Xavier's campaign has its first attack add ready, and it brings some interesting points to light!

Who is Gandalf the White? Two films ago, he was promoting the Grey agenda, why the sudden switch? And why does he want to sneak WMDs back into enemy territory?



Gandalf holds council with Saruman of Many Colours: a known terrorist, anti-environmentalist, and leader of orcs. Can we trust him with our forests?



When he isn't paling around with terrorists, Gandalf smokes pipeweed with halfling thieves. Irresponsible; not ready to lead.



Gandalf is confused and out of touch. He doesn't know what the internet is, and couldn't even find his way through the mines of Moria.



Gandalf the White: not ready to lead.

"I am Charles Xavier, and I approve this message."

Fictional Presidential Campaign, Part I

Tied at a measly five votes each, Gandalf and Professor X are the top contenders for fictional President of the United States. Personally, I'd vote for Santa Claus--the guy can traverse the entire planet in just one night and knows where all the naughty people live. Bin Laden: check!

But the people have spoken and these our your candidates! Will it be the telepathic genius whose platform is tolerance and education, or the powerful wizard known to work across the aisles to unite many races against a common foe? Get back to that poll and make your fictional voice heard!

While I'm on the topic, a belated condemocratulations to President-elect Obama! Whether you support his policies or not, it's exciting to live in a nation where opportunity is truly available for all. It's also pretty fantastic experiencing in one of those positive-feeling "Where were you when...?" moments I've heard about all my life. God bless America!

Michael Crichton
(Oct 23, 1942-Nov 4, 2008)

If you know me, you know that my favorite film of all-time is Jurassic Park. Aside from Star Wars, I'd say Jurassic Park is the main reason I wanted to become a filmmaker. Steven Spielberg's directing, Stan Winston's dinosaurs, Gary Rydstrom's sound, and Dennis Muren's effects are all astounding, but Jurassic Park would be nothing had it not been for the imagination and scientific curiosity of Michael Crichton.

I remember reading the book in third grade and being absolutely scared out of my gourde. The way Mr. Crichton spelled out the science behind bringing dinosaurs back from life and his descriptions of the theropods' predatory behavior, it was very clear that these weren't monsters or mutants, but actual animals--very real, and very dangerous! I recall having to periodically glance up from the book just to remind myself that I wasn't being stalked by voracious Velociraptors through the black jungles of Isla Nublar. I haven't read as thrilling of a story since!

It's heart-breaking to hear of Mr. Crichton's sudden passing from a private struggle with cancer. Sixty-six is fairly young, and he was still very active as an author, filmmaker, and speaker. I am grateful for the amazing worlds he gave us and the way his stories would tantalize the imagination of the right side of our brains while challenging scientific assumptions of the left side of our brain. As a scientist and an artist, Michael Crichton was quite a human being, and it is the least I can do to salute him on this blog.

So for all of you artists and filmmakers out there, please take an interest in science; it will only inform and inspire your work. And for all you scientists, remember to let your imagine challenge your preconceptions about the world around you. Finally, for Mr. Crichton, thanks for the magnificent scares, sir, and please say hi to Tyrannosaurus rex for me!

Michael Crichton on Charlie Rose
Michael Crichton on Environmentalism as a Religion

Hope you guys all had a fun Halloween. Looks like it's back to the crypt till next year!

Best. Costume. Ever.

top: Sonoko Konishi as Alec the Bunny, Mach Kobayashi as the G.I.
bottom: still of Alec from Presto, a Pixar animated short by Doug Sweetland

below: commandos stormed the Pixar costume contest stage this year in an effort to save John Lasseter from a sniper. Unfortunately, they were picked off one after another by said assassin. It was up to John to pry a rocket launcher from the cold, dead hands of one of the commandos and destroy the sniper himself. Below are the brave soldiers lost under enemy fire.
from left; me, Dovi Anderson, Emma Coats, and Mach "The Pitbull" Kobayashi.

HAPPY HA-HA-HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween, everybody! Make sure to scare the crap out of all of your friends. Also, a little reminder for everyone to get out there and vote! As the clown prince of crime himself once said, "Think about the future!"

Speaking of politics, here's my version of Gotham's tragic district attorney. As a fan of the original Burton films, I was always disappointed that we didn't get to see Billy Dee Williams' take on Two-Face. In The Empire Strikes Back, he shows a great capacity for portraying the key attributes of the character: ambition, confliction, and charm.

Chades Challenge XVIII: Hostile Trolls, week two

You put one troll up on your blog and the next day, the dwarves show up--belligerent little sods. This particular ruffian is Bofo of Bolduum, elf-crusher and forger of sharp things.


Continuing my mythological-tangent, this is Ulla, a valkyrie, and her theme song. Ecstacy of Gold was fantastic in The Good the Bad, and the Ugly, but I always thought it sounded more like an ancient call-to-arms than a western show down.

Snapple fact: Valkyries fly over combat, escorting fallen warriors to Val Halla. These battle maidens are often depicted as riding winged horses, but according to Wikipedia (or as I call it, Brain Number Two), 'norse horse' was an Icelandic term for a wolf. So these babes soar over battles on giant friggin wolves, clad in shimmering armor, bringing glory to the fallen. That's pretty epic.

Chades Challenge XVIII: Hostile Troll
My troll is s sea-side cliff-dweller that rides a mutated coconut crab. That's pretty hostile. The drawing lacks clarity due to the dense line mileage and lack of color or tone. Anyone want to do a color pass on this baby? I'll post all of the applicants!
I could do another week of these! Anyone else got any?

More hostile trolls:
Leo Matsuda
Josh Billings

Thrain, a viking jarl