Taking a Quick "Tom" Out

We interrupt this seemingly endless stream of posts about last year's trip to Ireland to direct your attention to the extremely talented cartoonist/caricaturist Tom Richmond. Not only is he a regular contributor to MAD Magazine (and countless other outlets), but he has a blog he keeps up on a regular basis. How he has time to crank out these amazing works of art and keep up a blog, I'll never know.

I like to pick up the pen and doodle from time to time. Sometimes I'm actually happy with how it turns out. And sometimes, I'm not. There's a reason I've always referred to myself as a "doodler" and not as an "artist": I recognize the fact that I don't have the patience to do what it takes to actually better my craft. I think I could be pretty good, I just don't wanna work at it. Wow, how bad does that sound? But at least it's honest. I grab my pen and I draw and whatever happens happens (I know I'm supposed to pencil it out first and get that rough sketch going, but by the time I've drawn something once, I've pretty much lost interest and want to move on.) Usually if I try to doodle someone and it doesn't work out by the second attempt, I'm over it. I wonder if there's a such thing as artistic A.D.D.? If you don't think so, then let me introduce you to the guitar I bought but never learned, the keyboard I bought but never learned (except for Dana Carvey's "Choppin' Broccoli;" I taught myself that and I'm pretty proud of it), and the ukulele I borrowed but never learned.

Which is why I love Tom Richmond's blog (you thought I lost my place, didn't ya?). If nothing else, his blog shows exactly just how much of a pro he is. You can't read one of his entries and not get a feel for how much he loves what he's doing. It's his passion, and it shows. You gotta admire that. This guy doesn't just doodle. He works.

For someone like me who enjoys the How-They-Did-It bonus features on a DVD as much as the film itself (and sometimes more. Hello, Forrest Gump), Tom's blog is a great peek behind the curtain to see what the wizard is doing and how he does it. He writes about projects he's working on, posts rough sketches to show before-and-after progress, and even supplies a sketch o' the week. Tom also blogs about things he finds interesting and passes them along, which is how I found out about (and ended up submitting to) National Doodle Day.

Every Sunday he fields questions from his readers and, not only answers them, but he answers them. Growing up a MAD reader myself, I always wondered about the caricaturists who drew the TV and movie parodies and the people in the background of the cartoons. Were they also caricatures of real people, or just figments of the artists' imaginations? Well, today I got my answer.

If, like me, you love your Google Reader (or whatever blog notification updater thing you use) then you'll want to add Tom's blog to your stream. You won't be disappointed.

Ed's note: It just hit me that Tom is the second MAD artist I've gushed about in the last three months (I wrote about my encounter with Sam Vivano back in December).  Apparently there's something about that publication that attracts good people. Either that, or I'm just looking for an excuse to read MAD and almost be 40 at the same time.

Re-Visiting Ireland 5

Re-Visiting Ireland 4

A continuation of the expanded series of our Ireland trip from last year. Instead of condensing all of our footage into a few short movies (as I did in our daily re-caps), I am stretching our footage out into shorter, easily-digestible vignettes in order to include scenes that were cut out of the original series. Enjoy!

More to come...

Oscar 2010: Best/Worst Dressed List!

Who was dressed like a hottie (or a nottie) at last night's Academy Awards?

Who was wearing what on the red carpet?

Who are people raving about and who are people sniggering at?

Seriously, who gives a crap?

Brag on Dad

Parents have the right to brag about their kids. Sure, people without kids might get tired of it, but they still have that right. And likewise, kids have the right to brag about their parents.

For example:

Movie Studio Theme Songs

What's it like watching a movie with Sarah? Depending on the movie, the first few seconds go something like this:

Practice Safe Googling

Tonight Facebook decided this ad was for me:

Something tells me if anyone Googles this girl, they're going to need a prescription afterward.

Reason # 583 Why I Love CraigsList

Saw this posting on the Lancaster PA Craigslist site:

Filmmaker seeks actors and other talent who have something to "bring to the table." Access to financing is a top consideration. Locations, equipment, editing, music, or anything else that may be useful to a film production. Creative roles available in short and feature projects in development. Please send basic info about yourself, what you do, and what you have to offer.

In other words:

"Hey, who wants to give me a bunch of money and then make a movie for me?"

Atop the Kimmel Center

While I was in Philadelphia, our pal Ralph was kind enough to stop by the city and show me some of his favorite sites in the city, which included some of his secret spots to snap photographs. It was really cool to see the city not from the viewpoint of a tourist guide but from the point of view of a photographer.

It was also really good to touch base with a friend again whom we see on a not-regular-enough basis. Ralph took me to the roof of the Kimmel Center, which just begs to be photographed. Ralph and I couldn't help but oblige.

Food in Philly

Sarah and I hit the town in search of something to eat. My pal Ralph showed me some of the sights earlier in the day and, now armed with my knowledge of the city, took Sarah to eat at one of the places Ralph recommended. There was a 40-50 minute wait at "The Continental" and the place was definitely too cool for me.

From there we walked down to option #2, a Mexican restaurant named El Vez. At least, by day it's a restaurant. By night it too had magically transformed into some cool hip dance club from the 80s and we were told the wait there would be 2 hours.

So, Sarah and I just turned around, went back to the hotel, and ate at the Thai restaurant downstairs. It was worth the wait.

Real (Bad) Time

Every time I go on vacation and stay in a hotel with free HBO, the same thing happens. I watch Real Time with Bill Maher and am reminded how much I can't stand this guy. Or his huge smarmy Crisco-blotted head.

It's like I have some weird kind of short-term memory.

"Oh hey, maybe NOW I'll like him."

(Five minutes later)

"Nope."

Body Works

Yep, Sarah and I made it to body works. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, so if you aren't familiar with this science/art exhibit, here's what it is: Some crazy guy took a bunch of actual human bodies, peeled the skin off, plasticized them, and then stuck them in plastic cases for the rest of us to look at. It's really fascinating, but at the same time, reminds me that Hannibal Lecter is still on the loose, and now his handiwork is considered educational.

Hangin' wif Ben

Part 2 of my first day in Philadelphia continues. I learned that turning left out of our hotel is much more interesting than turning right. Left takes me to the Free Library, The Franklin Institute and, I think, the museum of natural history. I know what I'll be doing tomorrow.

While I wait for Sarah to return from her Zumba class, I'm posting this. Maybe we'll hit Body Works tonight, maybe we won't. If we do, you know I'll be blogging about it. :)

Seriously...Do You Hear That?

I was waiting for the elevator to go downstairs and I heard...well...this.

I thought this was the kind of thing that only happened in the movies. Part of me wants a translator and part of me really doesn't.

Philadelphia's Unknown Sights

Sarah and I are in Philadelphia for the weekend; she is attending a Zumba conference and I....well...I'm just hangin' out and doing whatever I want. It's a little weird, though, because I really don't know anything about Philadelphia. It's a weird city to walk around, because I seem to be surrounded by roundabouts. Some of them are on one-way streets, some of them aren't, some of them have Walk/Don't Walk signs, and some don't, so it's just kind of a random "go when you can and hope you don't get hit" feel sometimes.

I walked around a bit this morning to take in some sites, but it's hard to do when you don't know what you're looking at or what you're looking for. So I would just wander around and look at the old buildings. Most of them look like museums or libraries but so far most of them turn out to be insurance companies or banks. Other buildings look like they have some cool history, but when I approach them, scary bums come popping out of the shadows and freak me out.

The city hall building is cool, but a lot of it is underground and in shadow, and well...let's just say there are a lot of places for creepy bums to hide and freak me out.

I did find Chinatown. So there's that.

This is what I've done so far. I'll keep you posted on my next venture out.

Zoo in Space

I'll be honest: I'm really pleased with the video Phredd asked me to put together for the song "Zoo in Space" from his new album Phreddtastic. He came to me with the idea of compiling a bunch of stock footage clips to put with the song and I had a good time going through old NASA footage and royalty-free cartoons.

Here's the final product, as can be seen on Phredd's Youtube page, along with more music to keep your ukulele-lovin' foot tapping.

Shakespeare for Dummies

Sarah and I saw went to Pittsburgh to see our friend JT in a performance of "A Midsummer's Night Dream." The cast did a stellar job, and by the end of the show we (and the rest of the audience) were howling with laughter. Because neither of us are well-versed in the Bard and his style, we had a little trouble figuring out what was going on. This was through no fault of the cast...I blame the playwright who sometimes rhymes, sometimes doesn't, sometimes uses flowery analogy I don't understand, and sometimes backwards speaks. I freely admit, there were portions of the play where I needed help. I just wasn't following ya, Bill. What was the deal was with the King and Queen...Fairy? I think? And who in the world was "the boy" they were fighting over? And what the eff is Puck?

Also, it was the only time I'd ever been to a play (let alone a Shakespeare play) where I was sitting next to a couple totally making out during the show. I guess that's what we get for going during Valentine's weekend, but come on. If you're in your thirties, you'd think you'd at least have some theater etiquette. But not these two. They showed up 10 minutes late, the lady took a phone call during the show, and then they sailed through the second act playing tonsil hockey like a couple of kids in the 1950's at a drive-in movie.

Yikes.

During the intermission Sarah and I discussed the play so far and came to the conclusion that we know a lot about a lot of things but Shakespeare isn't one of them.

I feel the need to clarify that Sarah and I really did enjoy the show and, again, by the end, the audience was howling with laughter. We just wanted them to fast-forward all the dancing fairies and get back to our pal JT.

Yellow Pages to the Ground!

Seriously, WHO is still using the Yellow Pages? Hasn't the internet made this 50-lb waste of paper obsolete yet? Why are people still paying to place ads in this thing when your business is just a click away online?

Fortunately, Kristi and I found a practical use for them.

The Not-So Long Walk Home

Sarah and I walked home from the coffee shop after a fun time learning about roasting coffee. If walking home doesn't sound very interesting to you, then you've obviously never walked home with Sarah.

Yet Another Day in the Snow

Sarah and I decided to venture out into the Pensylvania snowstorm, despite the newscasters begging us to stay home. After a brief return into the house for Sarah's snowboard goggles, we were on the way to our destination: Square One Coffee!

Just as we were finishing up our game of Phase 10, Josh, Square One's owner and roasting guru, asked us if we'd like to watch him roast some coffee. We jumped at the opportunity and, with his permission, rolled video. And for those of you new to the idea of editing, despite the length of the video, no, the roasting process doesn't take a mere 3-1/2 minutes. Unless you want really bad coffee.