And now, since this would be a very short post otherwise, here are random interesting links for you.
First off, there is a review of a very weird Canadian children's film over at the Realm of Mad-Ness.
This weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count! I'm not going to be able to do my usual live-blog of the event, but there is an excellent reason for that. Hopefully I'll have some great stories afterward.
I am a sucker for interesting (but still recognizable) variations on fantastic creatures, and Art Evolved guest artist Midhat Kapetanovic delivered with his unusual unicorns. If you love different takes on mythical beasts, check out the Alphabeastiary blog.
Everything is Terrible is a wonderful website that shares clips from the world of bizarre direct-to-video productions. (They were the ones who dug up that wondrous "Kids Inc." clip I shared during the Superbowl live-blog.) This week, they found something very special. At first I thought this was a straight random weird kids movie that decided, just because, to spend several lines of dialogue in the beginning explaining why their aliens happen to speak English. And then...
So how does one actor play a pair of twins? The answer is a heady combination of trick photography, animation, and lots of cooperation. I feel a little bad for Josh Pence here, but this clip is still fascinating.
Tipping Forties just finished their play through of "Super Mario Bros. Wii" and... it's something to see. (NSFW language.)
Over at Gurney Journey, a fan wrote in to ask why illustrators are so often ignored in art history courses, and prompted a much-needed list of good books on the history of illustration.
TetZoo has a brief but interesting article about avian display structures. Go forth and be inspired.
It is also the 150'th anniversary of the naming of Archaeopteryx. Those commemorative coins are amazing..
CHUD did a double-feature of "The Secret of N.I.M.H." and "The Plague Dogs", and expresses the confusion we all feel over a certain less-loved Pixar film.
Apparently there was a musical award show or something this weekend. Cee Lo Green did an awesome tribute to the well-loved Elton John episode of "The Muppet Show" (although, dear mainstream press, those were not Muppets. Stop being wrong.) Also, Lady Gaga finally turned into a giant bird. (Incidentally, her song doesn't sound like "Express Yourself" any more than "California Girls" [the Katy Perry one] sounds like "Tik Tok" sounds like "Just Dance" sounds like "Love at First Sight"...)
Toontown in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom has been shut down to make room for the great Fantasyland expansion, and Progress City has a fun look back at the strange little mini-park's history. I remember seeing that exact play once. It didn't get any less weird.
This is too cool not to share and it tells me that I need to get reacquainted with my friends who live in California. One of them works at Stargate Studios, which recently released a demonstration / promotional video that got some attention at The Best Week Ever. It's kind of mind-blowing.
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Feederwatch / Sketch of the Day Supercombo!
I looked out my window and saw this:
