I’m not feeling particularly wordy today, so this will be some sub-par pontificating.  At any rate, you should probably check out some paintings by  Kevin Cyr.  The bummer part of his website is there aren’t any thumbnail galleries of his paintings, so navigation isn’t the greatest.  Anyway, if you pull down the drop down menu for ‘Paintings’ at the top and click around, you’ll see some awesomeness.  A few that I liked:  Johnson, Kool Man, and Berry.

Now that Robo Bandito has officially launched, I just realized that I actually mentioned it way back on January 4, 2008.  Yep, in the inaugural post for this blog, I carefully explained that mikecarp.com would not be an illustrated blog, but rather a personal blog of information for my family and friend-ish type folks.  Robo Bandito was going to be the illustrated thingamajig.  It seems that it only took a handful of posts before this blog succumbed and returned to it’s sketch blog origins, while Robo Bandito just chilled for months (and months) on end with nothing more than a static image.  Huh.  I guess it all worked out?

While I’m following up on old posts, back in July I professed a little skepticism regarding plans to make Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs into a CGI animated movie.  Well, the trailer for the movie has been released.  You can watch it and judge for yourself.  I’m not really going to say much about it…I want this blog to be a happy place.

Meanwhile, the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are has also been released.  Maybe it isn’t right to make comparisons here since the source material is markedly different.  And we’re talking about two-minute trailers and not the finished products.  But, that being said, I have to say I’ve watched the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are, like, 10 times today.  I give the movie extra points for using tall people running around in costumes as opposed to CGI.

I may sound a little anti-CGI in this post, and I’m not.  But for Wild Things, I think making the monsters au naturale was the right move.  Overall, it looks like it has some depth and complexity, and some pretty crazy visuals.  We’ll see how it all goes down in, erm, October.

Last item of business: Leontine May Greenberg.  I like her stuff.  I just came across her site(s) earlier this week, and posting links to stuff I like is something I will probably be doing more of in the future.  She does these delicate, interesting watercolors, and a lot of them have birds that are much more polite than the birds that I draw (see below).

Introducing a new art blog:  robo bandito.

Me and my comrades Cedric and Kolby will be contributing to content, so you’ll get a nice variety of stuff to look at.  Stuff should start popping up over the next few days or so.  Enjoy!

Take the time to show a zombie you care.

Some might say this classy fellow is just a robot.  I can’t really blame them; he is pretty robotic in almost every way.  But what sets him apart from his mechanical cohorts is that he has a totally 100% organic, living moustache infused into his upper lip.  He’s a Moustache Cyborg!

The other day I was discussing the Moustache Cyborg with some hobo that comments here every now and then, and he wondered how the cyborg reached his current state.  I hadn’t thought about it too much, actually.  Maybe he was a foreign dignitary that was critically injured, and his moustache was the only thing they could salvage?  You know, sort of like Robo Cop, but much more severe.  

Hobo surmised that the robot was so intensely dignified, the only way it could manifest itself was by sprouting a classy moustache.

Any other thoughts?

Whenever I go camping in a place designated as “bear country” (who is president of bear country, anyway?), I always find myself toying with the idea of sprinting through the forest wearing a vest made of hot dogs.  You know, just to see what would happen.

I was finally given an outlet to share my idea when I got the chance to design my team’s logo for this year’s Reno Tahoe Odyssey.  However, I used linked sausages in the logo because I don’t think the world is quite ready for the Hot Dog Vest.  I’m sure the fashion accessory will have its day, though.  Just imagine:

E!:  We’re here on the red carpet with Eva Longoria!  Eva!  You look gorgeous!  What are you wearing?!?

Eva: Hebrew National.

E: Your hot dog vest is as glamorous as it is kosher!

Anyway, I may as well take this opportunity for some shameless money grubbing (for a good cause, of course).  The Reno Tahoe Odyssey benefits the Angel Kiss Foundation, and you can donate easily and securely through this handy-dandy website:

http://www.firstgiving.com/mikecarpenter

Feel free to forward the link to anyone you think might enjoy having their money…grubbed.  For a good cause, of course.