Monday, May 10, 2010

Sonic the Hedgehog 4

I would like to talk about a downloadable game coming this summer to three three home consoles because there's quite a bit for me to discover. For years, 3D control in the Sonic games was practically complicated, so the creators have gone back to their roots (for real) in hopes of giving the fans what they wanted after games for the Sega Genesis were discontinued. What's interesting is the return of several enemies, or 'Badniks,' from the previous classic games. And the style of the music is similar to that of the early games' music. All that should be open for the user to experience on this Web site: www.sonicthehedgehog4.com. The last time I visited this site (3/20/2010), the layout of the site looked spiffy and neat. A good way to organize information, too.

Renegade Animation

From Glendale, California, Renegade animation is a place where animation, voice acting, and creativity takes place. Founded by Darrell Van Citters and Ashley Postlewaite, it's known for animating 'Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi' (a Cartoon Network show I've never watched), and 'The Mr. Men Show' (a show that happens to be my favorite but never airs on Cartoon Network anymore). Speaking of the latter, I could never find any more episodes of season 2, and 'Garages' and 'Eyeglasses' are currently the only ones to be uploaded in high quality. What's the surfers of the net coming to, anyway? Back to Renegade, I've learned about an 'upcoming' one-minute-per-short series called 'Funny Face.' Not the film from the '50s or the name of Sandy Duncan's show, though, the show about the fruit characters from the drink product. There are eight characters plus two exclusive ones. Check it out at www.funnyface.com. There's a presentation that shows a possible future for Funny Face, too. Too bad most people are unaware of its existence. Wikipedia doesn't have an article on it yet.
Last visit: 4/10/2010
Funny Face: 4/20/2010

Saturday, May 8, 2010

The Audacity of Races and Genders

First seen on Thursday, April 8th, at 5:30 PM, The Audacity of Races and Genders is a lecture given by Zillah Eisenstein. With her relentlessly anti-racist feminist narrative, she engages the 2008 election of Barack Obama as a key historical moment. She uncovers the shiftings and changes surrounding race, gender, and class to look for the "newly new" political configurations that can create a politics of and for the globe. With quite a hullabaloo going on in every race, gender, and class, I can see why this topic had to be researched. Good thing I decided to focus on family values so we can get a load of how life in America is supposed to be.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Kyle A. Carrozza

He's a cartoonist whose work can be found on his own Web site (www.tvskyle.com, last visit: 5/4/10) and his deviantART section. Some of his works are quite humorous, and whatever he puts up never ceases to impress other Internet users. His works include "MooBeard the Cow Pirate," a traditionally animated series whose pilot episode aired on Random! Cartoons on Nicktoons Network, "Weird Eddie," another series that's supposedly 'in the works' (an animatic of "Luck of the Oafish" can be watched, by the way), and "Frog Raccoon Strawberry," a series that gets an updated once a week at DummComics. Kyle truly proves anything is possible if you put your mind to it, and that's what I did when I created my Web site. He also created a bit of fan art by himself, even some characters from the Super Mario series. What I don't understand is why Nickelodeon picked up only one cartoon from Random! Cartoons (which was Fanboy and Chum Chum by Eric Robles) instead of the seemingly interesting MooBeard cartoon. What good is F & CC anyway? I can't even find its pilot episode online!

"DaBurninator"

Now here's a certain fanboy who knows how to make digital pictures that put the Homestar Runner body of work and Nintendo together. He calls himself 'DaBurninator,' taken from the infamous "Trogdor the Burninator," a dragon first drawn in sbemail #58 on January 13, 2003. Only a true Homestar Runner fan, which I am, can get whatever is shown in the works (and said in the artist notes), but a fan of both parts would fall to pieces after looking at said works. They're practically similar to the tribute/parady works we've done. Unfortunately, he only uploads a new piece of work whenever he's on break. Once summer vacation commences, I'll bet he'll have at least one picture uploaded. I wonder if the Brothers Chaps are aware of his existence, because they're also Nintendo fans. And if they ever get back to uploading, they ought to get his permission to show his (yet to be complete) gallery under 'Weekly Fanstuff.' That hasn't been updated since Halloween!
http://daburnitator.deviantart.com
5/7/2010

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Free Land

This film is a personal historical documentary that examines what it means to be constantly looking for opportunity in America. Using family history of homelessness and displacement, Minda Martin examines the unfulfilled promise of "The Land of The Free" and reveals how the search for free land has geographically and psychically uprooted people created social inequalities and left legacies of emptiness. I felt this could also have been made into a Web site similar to those done my me and the students. Then we could look more carefully into the issue she's describing.
This came out on Monday, May 3rd at 7 PM in Arts 240.

DeviantArt

Known as the place "where art meets application," DeviantArt is a Web site in which users can submit their artistic work and style. The works submitted consist of just about anything, photographs, digital drawings, you name it. The Web site is also a place where one can find awesome fan art and clever fan fiction. But then there are amateurs whose works appear to be a cop-out or a drag. One of the only drawbacks of the Web site, however, is the sighting of strong profanity within a few comments posted under certain works posted by their user. Just when you at least expect, it'll come get you, even in the form of the work itself. I must be surrounded by thoughtless jerks. On the plus side, there's a user who goes by the name, "DaBurninator," who sometimes puts up work that combines the elements of Nintendo games and the Homestar Runner universe in very, very, clever ways. I'll talk about him in another entry. Some of the works people will come across may become inspired to create works of their own, I know I have.
http://www.deviantart.com
Viewed on the 6th of May