Month: August 2010 (Page 2 of 2)

The PopCulteer
August 13, 2010

If they outlaw dancin’, only outlaws will dance

I try to remain quiet on the whole Jesco White thing. I find it personally distasteful, but if other people like to watch the man and his family’s antics, who am I to complain?

But, Julien Nitzberg, the director of “The Wild Wonderful Whites,” yet another documentary bringing us the adventures of this pitiable family, has let loose with a defense of his film (which some people think is a horrible, horrible thing for our state) and I can’t really let this go without a comment.

In an opinion piece in The Charleston Daily Mail, Nitzberg asks, “But why shouldn’t poor people and outlaws have their stories told also? Are they not part of our country with lives worth considering?”

I would like to take a moment to point out that this argument and defense is total self-serving blather.  Nitzberg attempts to spin the opposition to his film as a class struggle. It isn’t.  By lumping in “poor people” with “outlaws,” Nitzberg betrays his own narrow view of life outside the comfortable middle class. Continue reading

This week’s art is a piece I did a couple of weeks ago while listening to some Mose Allison. It’s an exercise in color composition and the illusion of movement, evoking the essence of music.

Yes, I painted about music. It’s not that much different than writing about theater.

The end result looked like it belonged on a 1950s-era jazz album LP cover, perhaps by Dave Brubeck or Oscar Peterson, or more realistically some fourth-rate imitator of those guys. It’s called “Jazz Crowd.”  Click the image to see it bigger.

…Movie Monsters, that is.  below this text you will find an assortment of cool clips of various monsters from movies and television.  Frankenstein and Dracula are in there, as are King Kong, Gamera, Mecha Barbara Streisand, The Ymir, Godzilla and various other beastly beasties.  They’ll all play in order once you start the first video, and if watch all the way through to the end, you’ll understand why monsters are cool.

The PopCulteer
August 6, 2010

Rudy, from the host segment shoot for RFC 109, the day before he got sick and lazy.

This has not been a great week for your PopCulteer. I was supposed to start filming a really cool project this week for a future episode of RFC, but last Sunday I woke up feeling like the chest-burster Alien from the movie of the same name had taken up residence in my torso, and he’d brought his mucus collection.

So, in addition to a week where we had our choice of two kinds of weather, hellishly hot or torrential downpour, I felt like roadkill that had been used for batting practice.

What that means for you is….a special Friday column filled with images instead of words. ‘Cause I really don’t feel like writing about anything but how crappy I feel, and nobody wants to read that (except maybe the ex). So, enjoy the random photos and images. I might even stick some of my artwork in there.

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Above you see the bright, shiny new episode of Radio Free Charleston.  This is our first “normal” show since before our big six-episode foray into the wonders of FestivAll.  This episode, “To The Batmobile Shirt,” features music from InFormation, Volt 9000 and The AK40 Sexuals.  We also have short films from K.D. Lett and Scott Elkins.

Rudy at the mall, not sweating

Host segments were shot last Saturday at The Charleston Town Center because IT’S TOO FREAKING HOT TO SHOOT HOST SEGMENTS OUTSIDE! One segment had to be re-shot at Stately Radio Free Charleston manor just hours before the show was posted due to a technical glitch.  Check out the cool stuff behind me in the intro to the song by InFormation.

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We kick off this week with something I haven’t done for a long time–a space travel painting.  I was feeling a bit nostaglic for the olden days when we thought we’d get to travel in space, and that everything would look cool, instead of being boring and functional.  It’s a digital painting, incorporating a quick sketch based on a vintage toy rocket.  Click it to see a bigger version.

It’s time for another PopCult Animation Festival!  This time we’ve embedded a dozen diverse animated shorts from all around the world and from different eras, in one handy-dandy video player.  Just click “play” above, and you’ll be treated to Bruno Bozetto on driving, a Zagreb Studios classic, “Jac Mac and Rad Boy Go,” “Cockaboody,” “The Big Snit,” The Dirdy Birdy,” Nana and Lil’ PussPuss, “Lupo The Butcher,” a tribute to M.C. Escher, one of John K’s Beany and Cecil cartoons, a short by several Ren and Stimpy veterans, and “Quasi At The Quackadero.”

This random collection is our attempt to recreate the vibe of the old PBS series, “International Animation Festival,” from the 1970s.   Go pop a tub of popcorn, sit down in front of your computer and enjoy!

We’ll be bringing you more PopCult Animation Festivals in the future. Keep reading this blog so you don’t miss a thing!