Geeky Ways to Mark the Year of the Rabbit

Just off the top of my head, since I have to admit I'm still in a bit of an emotional freefall sometimes. (The fact that it is it's downright dangerous to go for a walk outside with all the ice and pedestrian-hiding huge snowbanks isn't helping.)

Contribute to 700 Bunnies!
Yes, please. I need to step up to this one myself as I lost the thread sometime two years ago. There are still plenty of Bunnies left to be drawn. Wouldn't it be awesome if we got through the list together by this time next year?Have a Battery Commercial Film Festival!
Because who doesn't have a soft spot for that lovable pink drum-playing scamp? I am of course referring to... the Duracell Bunny.



Yes, he's faded into obscurity, but Duracell had a pink, drum-playing bunny mascot for a very long time. He has since been retired, thanks to the ad campaign that started with this commercial:

Do a Rabbit-Like Pokemon Only Speed Run
If you have lots of free time. And, err, good luck with it. (Depending on the particular game, you will be relegated to Pikachu, of course, Wigglytuff, Nidoran, Plusle/Minun, Azumarill and Slutbunny Lopunny. This might actually be better than it sounded at first glance.)Three Words: Bugs Bunny Marathon
Need more be said? Although, on that note, I think this is the year I should start seeking out more Weird Loony Tunes Things. (I've had a lot of Weird Disney Things mostly because they are easier to find and, well, there is a metric boatload of it and in quite an astonishing variety too.)
Then again, the lovely Misce-Loony-ous blog has essentially got that niche filled. They did uncover one of my favorite Loony oddities:



WHY do they keep turning the Loony Tunes into superheroes?! There is no reason for them to be superheroes (except that one Chuck Jones "Super Rabbit" short)!

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Feederwatch Thursday! Other People's Art of the Day!

Yeah... Have this instead:



It is a short promo piece for "Inception" and while it's just a little "PLEEEEASE vote for us, Academy!"-y (JUST a little), I hadn't seen the interviews or behind-the-scenes footage before. It's very cool, especially since it shows you that Christopher Nolan really was determined to use practical effects whenever possible, without giving away too much. The short contains the mildest of spoilers.



This was also too amazing not to share. And while I don't have all the training and experience Rob Pratt has had, it makes me wonder why I haven't sat down and made my own one-minute short. Best thing is, he GETS Superman.

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Aw heck, Feederwatch Thursday!

Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 -- Yeah... you will see sketches of her later.
Blue Jay 1
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Carolina Wren 1
Northern Cardinal 2
House Sparrow 11

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Sketch of the Day!

Bunnies! Bunnies bunnies bunnies bunnies... foreshadowing?

Super Bowl Commercial Live-Blog Extravaganza!

This probably isn't going to work, but I said that about the Macy's Parade earlier this (excruciatingly long, it turns out) season, didn't I? Just in case, I will give you plenty to keep you busy.

A Stranger In The Alps, who may just have the greatest online handle I have seen so far this year, recently posted a series of photographs from his trip to the Kenosha Dinosaur Discovery Museum. There is a wealth of reference to be found here, from this museum I hadn't ever heard of and is now a place I desperately want to visit some day.

I-Mockery paid a visit to the famous Cabazon Dinosaurs (as seen in "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" and also possibly "The Wizard"!) And it turns out that they are actually stranger in person.



Also, it is the Year or the Rabbit! I am posting Symmetrical Sal here (instead of the more obvious Wild Carl) because he is, get this, my most popular upload ever at Flickr. Seriously, he has had 6,261 views. This is despite the fact that I probably spent the least time on this one drawing out of everything I've posted online. What the heck is going on here?

Anyway, I will have more rabbity things going on this week later.

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5:37 PM - Yeah Celtics! Yah yah yah!!! Also, there is a football game later tonight. (Naughty language in that link)

5:45 - I like how the ads for "Drive Angry" are (a) emphasizing that the thing was "filmed in 3D" because they have to do that now I guess, and (b) neglecting to explain what "Drive Angry" is actually about ("The Punisher" meets "Spawn". Really.)
Meanwhile, FOX has a weird definition of "fun".

5:58 - Today I learned that the Declaration of Independence exists so that we could ultimately drink beer, play football, and anticipate summer blockbuster movies. Yup.

6:36 - (Took a break for dinner.) The Superbowl isn't as important as the Berlin Wall falling, WTF? It is a football game.
Also, looks like I missed the "Kung Fu Panda 2" trailer. <: span="">

6:46 - Glad that "Far Side"-ripping-off Doritos commercial went in the less obvious direction. Also, WTF Audi?

6:51 - WTF Doritos cheese-obsessed guy
And Pepsi has given us this year's Women Are Vengeful Evil B*tches Ad.

6:55 - By the way, I know absolutely nothing about football or how it works. I just got to the part about Tyrannosaurs in Greg Paul's book.
I did enjoy the Bud Light product placement satire and the Chevy "Lassie" parody.
Apparently, there is another "Fast and the Furious" movie coming out "in summer". Actual release date: sometime in April. The trailer actually said, "summer begins this April". I predict that there will still be snow on the sidewalk by then (although I certainly hope there isn't).

7:03 - Once again, WTF Doritos
(They are sponsoring the game, so we're going to get to see a lot of these. Yay.)

7:06 - I guess Quetzelcoatl just wanted that KIA the most.

7:19 - Not sure if this one was just local, but I think we'll be hearing a lot of waargarbling over that Sealy's/Sleepies ad.

7:26 - I like how that last trailer was basically, "They allowed a third 'Bay-Formers' movie to be made; just to forwarn you."

7:28 - I got a Motorolla not-iPad it makes me diffrent an spechul!

7:33 - OK, here we go. LOVED the "World of Warcraft"-ish Coke ad (the look on the dragon = yay!) "Thor" looks pretty awesome. And the much-hyped mini-Vader VW ad was actually really cute.

7:41 - I wasn't the only one who got chills from the "Super 8" commercial am I? Love how it started like "E.T." and ended like "Cloverfield."

7:50 - No. No, no, no, no, no, NO NO NO GODDAMMITSOMUCH WE DO NOT NEED A CAR THAT WILL TELL YOU WHAT IS GOING ON IN FACEBOOK F*** YOU WHOEVER THOUGHT OF THAT WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU GAAAAHHH!
Also, "America! F*** yah!!!"

8:02 - Adorable Android mascot + Grafted-on human thumbs = There isn't enough in the world.

8:12 - You know what? Fergie came up with that "I'm so 2008 / you're so 2,000-LATE!" And she still loves it so much, she isn't going to change it. Good for her I guess.

8:13 - Oh hi, random Slash.

8:16 - If anyone's sick of the Peas, I have for you an alternative in the form of what is STILL the best song Fergie has ever been involved in:



8:21 - God, Chatter!Will.I.Am is terrifying.

8:45 - OK, thus far we've got to see:
* - A dude licking Doritos cheese off his coworkers fingers and pants.
* - A dude reanimating a disintegrated grandpa using Doritos.
* - A cute little CGI robot with realistic human thumbs messily sewn on.
* - An ostensibly cute CGI Will.I.Am with eerily realistic gooey human eyes.
And now,
* - A baby flying through the air and splattering it's face on a glass wall. (We are assured it is a doll, but still...)
What the hell, creepy factor of this year's ads?

8:55 - That last one took forever to write. So... new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie. Yeah.
Also, momentarily saving money through groupon is more important than the plight of whales or the people of Tibet.

9:02 - In an earlier and very disappointing stop-motion commercial, Eminem assured us that he doesn't do commercials. OK. He has been in two commercials so far. Just pointing it out.

9:20 - Actual football playing. Meh.

9:23 - D'aww the classic (or not) TV characters watching football montage.

9:33 - I... don't know about "Rango". Nothing has really sold me on it yet.
On the other hand, that Cars.com commercial was wikkid cute.
Obligatory Animals That Think They're People Ad, this time from Bud Light.

9:36 - Eh, I could be sold easily on "Rio".
(Awkward pause.)
It has birds in it, you shut up. >:(

9:40 - And more actual football.

9:46 - Oh, just stop it, GoDaddy. Just stop it. S**t's getting old.
The Bridgestone beaver was cute.
The VW Beetle was freakin' adorable!

9:48 - Ba-hahaha, the "House" Mean Joe Green tribute.

9:57 - Teachers = Bad. Ass.

10:02 - OUR VERY FIRST "TERRA NOVA" COMMERCIAL HOLY CRAP!
And... it looks like "Lost" with "Jurassic Park" dinosaurs. *sigh*
I am still willing to wear a frilly tutu/the most ridiculous thing I find in Garment District/something equally embarrassing and inconvenient if we see a single feather.

10:07 - Oh, the Packers won. Yay, I guess.
Look, the Pats screwed it up again; I wasn't too emotionally invested.

10:11 - The more I see of "Mars Needs Moms", the more... repulsive it's characters become.
And we get to watch the Nightmare Fuel-errific Android with thumbs ad again.

10:34 - "Battle L.A." is DIFFERENT from "Skyline." IT JUST IS!!!
And with that, it looks like we're back to normal ads. Almost time for "Glee"! New post on Tuesday, see you then!

EDIT: Most of the trailers are viewable over at good ol' /Film.
And the rest of the commercials can be seen here.

Christmas Commercials that Ate Our Brains.

Mmmm... brains.

Hershey's Kisses "Bells"

Simple and sweet. I know it's Christmastime when I hear this song.





Fruity Pebbles "Seasons Greetings"

Anyone who watched Saturday morning commercials in the 1980s still has this song in their head. Still to be answered: why are the Flintstones celebrating Christmas?





Coca-Cola "Northern Lights"

I'd be remiss if I forgot this one (this being an arts/animation blog and all). This was one of the first really awesome pieces of CGI. Some of the later Coke Bears commercials are prettier, but the simplicity of the very first one still holds up.





McDonalds "Star Wish"

Now, there's obviously going to be another McD's commercial in this entry, but this is the one I remember more vividly. I like the animation on the star. Not shown: Grimace and Birdie suffering severe radiation burns after handling an extraterrestrial object.





McDonalds "Skating"

Is there some way we could digitally replace Ronald McDonald with Morgan Spurlock so I don't feel so torn on enjoying this?




Bonus: Waiterbot's over-analysis of "Skating":



And the Onion AV Club's fabulous essay on "A Christmas Story".

Superbowl Commercials = Serious Business

Therefore, I shall now give my opinions of the various ads that entertained me (or not) during the game (which, being a chick, I wasn't all that emotionally invested in):

"G.I. Joe" trailer - Eh. Actually, I think I'll see if I can rent the "G.I. Joe" animated movie. I have a feeling it'll be better than this big live-action Hollywood version. Now, why would I think that?

"Transformers: Revenge of the Sith Fallen" trailer - Oh yeah.

Pepsi - You are not Bob Dylan, Will I. Am! Shrek is not Gumby! There is nothing about this ad that does not make me angry!

Budweiser - The horses in love one was very nice. The "fetch" game, not so much.

"Land of the Lost" trailer - It doesn't look that funny, but it's bound to be better than the 1991 revival. (I can't be the only one who remembers if. Observe.)

"Star Trek" trailer - It's enough to say that I'm getting excited about an odd-numbered "Star Trek" movie. And did Kirk just run into a smaller Clover?

"Up" trailer - It's Pixar and it involves a cranky old guy and the plateaus of South America. I am sold. But by the way, not one single Annie Award for "Wall-E"? Seriously?
Teleflora - Um... This flower delivery company knows that flowers are the reproductive parts of a plant, right? Because I do, and with that in mind, this commercial just looks wrong.

Cheetos - When did Chester Cheetah turn into a jerk-ass?

ZOMG 3-D COMMERCIALS WTF LOLERCOPTER!!!
OK, I was lacking in the 3-D glasses department so I have no idea if they were better with them, but the "Monsters V. Aliens" trailer didn't look terrible without them. The movie itself just doesn't look all that interesting to me though. And the So-Be ad after it started out cute, got confusing in the middle, and ended with some premium nightmare fuel.

"Heroes" - It's always fun to be reminded that the stars of "Heroes" are fans themselves, so I liked the playful football ad.

Nerf Swords - Every year, there is one commercial that stands out because it looks so out of place. I'm sure all the LARPers out there are excited about this. I do not doubt that there are LARPers who watch the Superbowl (most LARPers are male) it still seems odd.

"Some-Other-Verb-Besides-Escape To Witch Mountain" trailer - Yes, Disney is revisiting the Witch Mountain series for no good gorram reason. With the Rock. Yeah. (Writes a note to add the original "G.I. Joe" and "Escape to Witch Mountain" movies to her Netflix queue...) Oh, hey, remember how in the original, we didn't learn that the two kids were aliens until the very end? Yeah.

Coke - I loved the Coke bugs! Obviously, somebody liked their "Minuscule", but it was still so cute. Best of all, the insects were allowed to be cute on their own terms; they weren't humanized too much. (See the aforementioned SoBe commercial to see how even slight anthropomorphism of otherwise realistic CGI animals can go horribly, horribly wrong.)

Coke Zero - On the other hand, this "LOL, we'll pretend we're angry at ourselves for stealing our own recipe" ad campaign was not, is not, and never will be funny.

Hulu - It's nice that they're hosting all these ads but... WTF Alec Baldwin? Also, the mammalian brain is already of a fairly squishy consistency. I will invite the reader to accept, without questioning, why I know this.
(OK, think high school, anatomy class, and a dozen female students in their early teens being traumatized when the trailer for "Babe" began running the same week we started...)

Legal Seafood - At this point, we're getting into the local ads at the end of the game. Anyway, this ad features the sounds of Presidents slurping clam chowder. This is what the word "squick" means.

Stop N Shop - Nothing much to say here but, "Yay! They are using animated ads again!" (They had a cute and memorable one around 1989-ish. Sadly, YouTube has failed me.)

And those are about the only ads that made an impression on me. How about some cel-shading (click for big as usual):