Gypsy Life (Terry-Toons/1945) Few people know the names of the artists who make cartoons, even fewer know of their background and training. Carlo Vinci was not only the man who… Read the rest of the article: BB Cartoon Circus: Gypsy Life and the Great Carlo VInci

When I was a kid, the theme song to this show got me amped up higher than a full pot of coffee. A few years back, I was accepting an… Read the rest of the article: BB Saturday Circus: Winchell Mahoney Time

The Last Roundup (Terry-Toons/1943) The Paul Terry Studio is the most unjustly neglected cartoon studio ever. Mighty Mouse, Gandy Goose and Sourpuss, Tom Terrific and Heckle and Jeckle were the… Read the rest of the article: BB Cartoon Circus: Gandy Goose vs the Nazis

Here's a great bit of improvised hilarity by kidvid pioneer, Chuck McCann. I ran into Chuck at Bob's Big Boy in Toluca Lake and asked him about this skit. He… Read the rest of the article: BB Saturday Circus: Chuck McCann and Dick H. Dump

Popeye in Goonland (Fleischer/1938) Max Fleischer and his brother Dave Fleischer have really been given short shrift in animation histories. No cartoons of the 1920s and 30s are more imaginative,… Read the rest of the article: BB Cartoon Circus: The Fleischers and Popeye

Here is a classic bit from The Soupy Sales Show (my favorite show when I was 7). Pookie always got me up on my feet dancing in front of the… Read the rest of the article: BB Saturday Circus: Pookie Sings Motown

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (Iwerks/1934) Ub Iwerks was the artist who designed Mickey Mouse. He left Disney in 1930 to form his own studio. Soon he lost interest in… Read the rest of the article: BB Cartoon Circus: Iwerks and Aladdin

HEY KIDS! It's your old pal, Boinger the Clown and it's time for the Boing-Boing Cartoon Circus! Ol' Boinger has a bag full of classic cartoons straight from the treasure… Read the rest of the article: The Boing Boing Cartoon Circus!

Mark, David, Xeni and Cory have all gone home and they left me the keys to the house! Let's have a cartoon party this weekend! Whattaya say? Update: Commenter, mneptok… Read the rest of the article: Cocktails For Two

It's strange how simple, off-the-cuff stuff can be so beautiful, it makes you cry. Here's Count Basie on the Jazz Casual TV program from 1968. Basie paints a picture of… Read the rest of the article: Count Basie Paints A Picture Of The Birth Of The Blues

I enjoy reading the high end DSLR discussion boards on the internet. Those gearheads go ape over minute differences in "chromatic aberration" and "barrel distortion". They peep at pixels in… Read the rest of the article: It's Not The Photographer, It's The Camera!

MarkBodnar.com I must admit that I'm not usually a fan of "pop surrealism". Context and expression in art is much more important to me than pop references and obsessive technique.… Read the rest of the article: "Pop Surrealism" Done Right: The Art of Mark Bodnar

In the courtroom's supreme moment of tragedy, it is often possible to watch a man go from life to death in a few seconds. Here, smiling and self-assured, a killer… Read the rest of the article: Photo Essay: Drama In The Courtroom (Coronet/April 1947)

Rev. Al Ridenour is one of my heros. He is a prankster, an entertainer, a troublemaker and a genuinely nice guy. I met him when he was the chief "cat… Read the rest of the article: The Art of Bleeding's Gory Details

I've always found that the most interesting art lies at the intersection between two totally different styles. One of the best examples of this theory existed more than a half… Read the rest of the article: Western Swing on 78

In 1842, P. T. Barnum exhibited the infamous Feejee Mermaid at his museum in New York City. Newspapers were given a woodcut of lovely bare breasted female mermaids to publicize… Read the rest of the article: Another Delightfully Demented Gift: The Feejee Mermaid

I apologize for this self indulgent moment. I just got these two and couldn't resist posting.

When I was working with Ralph Bakshi, I would regularly prowl the hallways after hours digging through the trash for discarded doodles. One night I was in Ralph's office rummaging… Read the rest of the article: Hooray For Pizza Doodles!

I recently bought a house and decided to turn the guest bathroom into a "chamber of horrors". I made a list of the things my mom would never let me… Read the rest of the article: Gift Idea For Delightfully Demented People: Shrunken Heads

What would you get if you combined Leonardo DaVinci, Rudolph Valentino, Bob Clampett and Ayn Rand all into one person? A mulligan stew to be sure, but a mighty tasty… Read the rest of the article: Fum-Eddie: Captain Hook and the Dog Pie