kate

by Zachary Clemente

Comics writer Greg Pak (Action Comics, Storm, Code Monkey Save World) and songwriter Jonathan Coulton were kind enough to answer some questions about their in progress Kickstarter for the upcoming creator-owned comic The Princess Who Saved Herself. According to Pak: The book is based on the beloved Jonathan Coulton song that reinvents the princess myth for a new generation of proactive girls. The main character is multiracial and the book’s written by yours truly with art by Japanese Canadian artist Takeshi Miyazawa and Indonesian colorist Jessica Kholinne.

Comics Beat: There have been many instances of Kickstarter projects, both in comics and out, having problems getting off the ground after a fully-funded campaign, even one as critically successful as Code Monkey Save World, are you approaching this next Kickstarter any differently?

Greg Pak: I love Kickstarter so much for helping us make the Code Monkey Save World book possible. But yes, running and delivering a Kickstarter is a HUGE undertaking, particularly when you add in a lot of different rewards. Jonathan and I did our best to calculate the worst case scenario for every add-on with the Code Monkey book, so we went into it with pretty clear eyes. But even so, it took a bit longer to deliver everything than we hoped. But we did indeed get the book done and into people’s hands just a few months late, and our backers were hugely supportive and understanding. They’ve been particularly cool about waiting for us to finish this new Princess Who Saved Herself book, which was a stretch goal for the CMSW campaign. But here we are, delivering the digital version of the book as promised, and we couldn’t be more pleased.

That being said, in launching this new Kickstarter to make physical hardcovers of the PWSH book, we’re purposefully scaling down the scope of the rewards a bit. For the CMSW Kickstarter, we had T-shirts and challenge coins and mugs and posters, all of which were awesome, but all of which took a lot of time to produce and ship. For the PWSH campaign, we really just want to make the books, so the main rewards are the books themselves. And stickers, of course! Because stickers are awesome.

CB: The original song “The Princess Who Saved Herself” does a great job of quickly depicting the princess and her world in just under three minutes. What are you looking forward to in respect to expanding her character and the world she lives in?

Jonathan Coulton: It’s certainly hard to fully realize a world in only three minutes, and within the rhythmic and rhyming constraints of a song. I personally love the way Greg fleshed out the characters. The witch in particular was a little one dimensional in the song – just your standard fairy tale witch. Greg and Tak made her human, and moreover, they made her a cool hipster mom type, which is an angle I never would have thought to pursue.

CB: How much input has Jonathan had in this process?

GP: We talked through it every step of the way. He’s been an amazing collaborator — always ready with great insights and perspective, but also totally open to whatever crazy plan or ideas I might be tossing out there. I think fundamentally we had the same basic understanding of the essential characters and themes of the story, so that meant we were always working from the same page in coming up with solutions to our various storytelling challenges.

JC: I feel as though I’d be selling myself short if I didn’t take credit for the bee fart joke. But Greg is right – we have a nice shared sensibility when it comes to these characters, so it wasn’t hard to get to a place that worked for both of us.

CB: The theme of subverting the standard “princess waiting in a castle” is clear in the song; what’s your approach for expanding on this theme?

GP: I just loved the way the princess tackles every challenge she encounters with fearless aplomb and is totally ready to kick a dragon’s ass, if that’s what needs to happen. But what makes the song really great is that our heroine always ends up finding the compassionate solution to her problems with others. That’s funny, surprising, true, and a little beautiful. So I tried to keep that in mind while expanding the story into a full children’s picture book.

CB: When introducing the concept of this book, you were careful to mention that not only is the main character racially diverse, so are two of your collaborators, Takeshi Miyazawa (artist) and Jessica Kholinne (colorist), being Japanese/Canadian and Indonesian, respectively. With the comics community pushing for better representative diversity both in characters and creative teams alike, how do you find this influencing you and your work?

CP: I’ve always tried to cast my films and comics diversely, from creating Amadeus Cho with Tak Miyazawa for Marvel ten years ago to writing War Machine and Magneto Testament and Storm and Turok to bringing diverse supporting casts to the books I write at DC. I’m biracial and I live in a diverse city and world and the stories that come into my head tend to be populated with diverse people. So that’s just something I’ve always done and will continue to do.

CB: I’m not sure how it goes for you, but I’ve found myself the self-anointed pusher of comics in my family, so the standards I hold a book to can often change to accommodate another reader or two. I often find myself enjoying a book more when I know I can share it with my younger cousins, Rachel and Kyra (both girls). Do you have this sort of process when working on The Princess Who Saved Herself?

GP: Oh, sure. Every time I sit at my table at a con and little kids come up with their parents, I mentally kick myself for not having written more books that are appropriate for them. I love the idea that if all goes well, pretty soon I’ll have a book at that table that they can dive right into.

JC: Me too, I definitely have become more aware of which parts of my songs are appropriate for kids. Mostly I write for adults, or rather, I write for myself, but as my kids have grown up I’ve given a lot more thought to themes and messages that I put in there, knowingly or not. And having a thing like this song and book, something that is straight up FOR kids, feels really good.

CB: You refer to Jonathan’s song as for “a generation of proactive girls”. How do you think the world of comics is doing in respect to that demographic?

GP: We’re living at a pretty spectacular time. In my ten years in comics, I’ve never seen the call for diversity become so mainstream and come from every single level of the industry. The reality is that comics are for everybody, and men and women of all backgrounds are buying comics. Diverse readers are supporting a huge range of different kinds of comics from an ever diversifying group of creators, and it’s a thrill. That’s how we grow the readership and it benefits everyone who works in comics in any capacity.

CB: How can we do better?

GP: As readers, we have to put our money where our mouths are. Buy all these cool books and the creators and companies will keep making them. As creators and publishers, we have to keep taking risks, trying new things. And we need to get better at reaching different demographics for different books. You asked about girls specifically. And yeah, kids are a tough demographic for comics creators to reach. Because as I understand the market, it’s typically parents who buy books for kids, not necessarily the kids themselves. And most parents who buy books for kids go to traditional bookstores, not comic book stores. Of course, many, many great comic book stores have built fantastic kid-friendly spaces. But it’s still a challenge to get a monthly kid-friendly comic book into the hands of all the millions of potential readers who are out there. I don’t have any easy or brilliant solutions. But running this Kickstarter is I guess one stab I’m taking at finding one way to reach folks with this kind of book. Many creators and publishers smarter than me are trying all kinds of things right now. We’ll all learn from whatever works, and then hopefully we can all collectively build on any successes and audiences that come.

You can support The Princess Who Saved Herself by contributing to the Kickstarter campaign.

Mountain Dew is sort of like the ESPN X Games of soda — the caffeinated, bright-yellow pop is marketed as "extreme," but in the safest, most corporate way possible. This image, however, is at odds with Mountain Dew's real origins as a mixer for liquor that was named after a term for moonshine (original bottles even featured a hillbilly on the label). And that's the part of Dew's history that PepsiCo wants to highlight with a new soda that it's not-so-subtly calling DEWShine.

On first glance, DEWShine, which hits shelves on March 23, is the almost-artisanal-seeming version of original Mountain Dew. It's clear, sweetened with sugar instead of corn syrup, and comes in retro-looking longneck bottles.

And there's where DEWShine has gotten into a bit of trouble: Critics say the packaging looks too much like beer bottles and that this is a bald appeal to associate the Dew with things like craft beer and, of course, moonshine. As the head of one advocacy group puts it, "The line between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages is intentionally being blurred by producers of both."

A rep for PepsiCo, of course, says this just isn't true and that DEWShine is merely "inspired by the brand's roots in the backwoods of Tennessee." It's unclear whether the spokesperson was literally winking when they issued that statement, since it is 100 percent clear that this stuff is designed to be mixed with booze (preferably that you distilled yourself with an illicit DIY setup in your backyard) — a point made abundantly obvious in these ads decorated with moonshine jugs and the slogan "available legally for the first time."

[USAT]

Read more posts by Clint Rainey

Filed Under: make dew, mountain dew, mtn dew dewshine, pepsico, soft drinks

During his appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel show on Thursday night, President Obama perfectly distilled what's at stake in Ferguson, and what needs to be done next. "In the same way that you can't generalize about police officers who do an extraordinarily tough job—overwhelmingly they do it professionally," he said, "you can't generalize about protestors who, it turns out, had some very legitimate grievances."

Watch the full video:

Marvel announced today, via Polygon, the universe of the Fox kids X-Men animated series would be part of their up coming Secret Wars event. X-Men ’92 will be a digital first series featuring the creative team of writers Chris Sims & Chad Bowers with Scott Koblish on art duties. The series was listed as an ongoing, but no plot details were given.

X-Men Animated debuted in 1992 and produced 76 episodes over five years. The show’s booming popularity went hand in hand with Chris Claremont and Jim Lee’s record shattering X-Men #1, which lead to the over saturation of X-titles in the 90’s. But does anyone still have those Pizza Hut comics and cups?

This new Infinite Comic debuts digitally in May and will see print in June. It’ll be fun to see how the creative team closes the open loops the cartoon left behind such as Professor X still in space with the Shi’ar after being infected with the Legacy Virus.

Zelda “Link and The Vine” tribute stop-motion short-film made by Johnny McHone using his iPhone and Vine.

Client: Can you make the chicken more peacock-like?

Me: Like a rooster?

Client: No.

Editor Hazel Newlevant is running a Kickstarter campaign for a comics anthology titled Chainmail Bikini, in which women cartoonists create stories about gaming. Given the current environment of the gaming community, this project is a welcome move away from death threats and pathetic anti-"SJW" rhetoric towards a pure expression of love for the medium of games.

Continue reading…

vapreloaded:

blizooka:

askthejackofhearts:

helpyoudraw:

WA’s BOOT Anatomy Tutorial Pt2byRadenWA frm DeviantArt

i’ve needed this in my life since forever

B L E S S  T H I S  P O S T

I learned something today.

By Harper Harris

In one of the most visually and emotionally striking films nominated for Best Animated Short Film at this year’s Academy Awards, The Dam Keeper has garnered a lot of well-deserved praise. The creators, Robert Kondo and Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi, have worked as art directors on such films as Toy Story 3, Ratatouille, and Ice Age, but got together to create The Dam Keeper as a very personal short film, and it shows. The film, done in a gorgeous painted style with almost no words, is unique and heartbreaking despite its short running time of only 18 minutes. What’s more exciting than such a great short? Why, how about a series of graphic novels by the creators, published through First Second, that explores this world?

The Dam Keeper is set in a sort of post-apocalyptic world with anthropomorphic people living in a valley, the only safe haven from the dark and dangerous clouds that surround it. Keeping this darkness at bay is Pig, a young boy with no family who must wind the windmill every day to blow back the clouds. In the short, he meets a girl his age, Fox, and through a series of wordless interactions, they become friends. However, a misunderstanding causes a rift between the two that has drastic consequences for the entire valley, which leads to the dramatic climax. Kondo and Tsutsumi recently announced that they plan to elaborate on the world of The Dam Keeper through a series of new graphic novels. I got a chance to speak with both creators to hear about this interesting cross-media expansion on their celebrated short film. The below answers come from the team collectively.

Where did the initial idea for the short film spring from?

The Dam Keeper was our first effort to write and direct together as a team.  Initial ideas of an unsung hero in a polluted world went through different variations in discovering our creative process.  Along the way, we rediscovered a childhood folktale, The Little Dutch Boy, about a boy whose little act of sacrifice ended up saving his town.  We wondered, “What if our character held the responsibility of saving his town not just once but every day?”How did you decide on the very unique visual style for the short film?

We spent time thinking about what might distinguish us as a team.  Because we worked closely together for over seven years at Pixar and had influenced each other’s artwork, we actually could paint like each other.  This made us unique within the art department there and it felt like the unique thing we could apply to our film.  Not to mention, creating a painted look seemed a more natural route for us at the time than building a 3D CG pipeline.

With over 8,000 painted stills, it must have been a painstaking process! How long did the film take to create?

The actual production and post-production ran for 9 months — a long process, but considering we all had full-time jobs during the day, it was an extremely well run production thanks to our producers Megan Bartel and Duncan Ramsay.

Part of what makes the short so interesting is how little we as an audience really know about the circumstances in this world where a dark cloud constantly threatens the valley beneath. What made you decide to explore this world more deeply?

For us, on one level, the dark cloud represents our character’s internal demon.  On another level, it also speaks to us quite literally, and so we have always imagined other cities and people living on the other side of the dam.  It feels natural for us to explore how different societies might deal with this deadly fog and how the particular inhabitants of each civilization would have their own respective social issues, just as we saw with Pig’s idyllic-seeming town in the short.

Speaking of, will the book series focus primarily on Pig’s future as he grows up, or will there be a look into the past of this world as well?

There will be elements of both, with a very emotional storyline for Pig and his friends set against the ticking time bomb of their polluted world.  But there will be a lot of laughter along the way, too.

One of the many things that makes The Dam Keeper so endearing is its lack of dialogue…do you plan to keep the companion graphic novels in the same silent style?

Dialogue will be an important addition to the story and we hope to use it while maintaining the feeling and tone of the short.

Will these companion pieces be graphic novels in a comic book style, or more along the lines of illustrated novels?

Much as we did with the short, we are exploring different ways to execute this new form of storytelling, not just in terms of format but as a team, since we haven’t done a book together before.

Why a graphic novel series to continue the stories in this whimsical world instead of, for example, an animated series?

We are concurrently pursuing an animated feature adaptation of The Dam Keeper.  Our company, Tonko House is open to telling stories in different formats.  We believe graphic novels are different than films, but are great vehicles for narrative just the same.  We are inspired by stories like Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki‘s This One Summer and Gene Luen Yang‘s American Born Chinese.

What kind of adventures can we hope to see Pig, Fox, and Hippo get into?

Pig and Fox’s adventures will be epic, wondrous, revelatory and daunting all at the same time — they will be taken out of their element and challenged as they come of age.  And they will be joined on this journey by a most unexpected ally or enemy, depending on whose point of view it is.

What inspired you to jump the story ahead to their teen years rather than continuing to explore their youth?

The early teen years are such an interesting rite of passage, when innocence challenged by one’s awareness of the world forces growth in character.  The underlying story is based upon a personal anecdote that fits well at this point in our characters’ lives as they are forced to engage with who they are and who they want to be.

While the short covers some darker territory, it maintains a childlike tone that is both charming and quite beautiful; can we expect the story to get a little more adult in tone in the continued story as the characters grow older?

We believe in the balance of light and darkness, and we will strive to capture both to connect with international audiences of all ages.  We want the choices our characters make to have real consequences, whether it is neglecting your responsibility and letting the darkness in, or something new and possibly more far-reaching.  We feel that if our characters and their motivations ring true, then this journey of boys becoming men will be enjoyable by many regardless of age.

How did you come to choose First Second as the publisher for this series?

We are big fans of First Second first and foremost as readers.  As creators, since conceiving the larger story of The Dam Keeper, we have been searching for the right people to work with in both film and publishing to help protect it and take it to the highest level of work we are capable of.  When we met our editor, Mark Siegel, there was an instant connection and the kind of partnership we had sought after.  We feel we are in great hands to learn this new medium for Tonko House.

How many books do you foresee being in the series?

It’s a bit of wait and see!

Do you feel that you may hand the reins over to a different writer or artist at some point to let them explore this world, or will this always be a personal project for the two of you?

We would most likely always be involved with how the world of The Dam Keeper expands. The story we are working on now is based on our own personal life experiences, and we hope any artists or writers we work with will bring the same level of personal investment and motivation into this world.   Coming from big feature animation studios where teamwork is essential, we hope always to collaborate with and learn from other artists since those experience have proven to be extremely rewarding time and time again.

When can we expect the first book to release? Where can fans follow both of you and your work?

We’ll be working around the clock to have the books ready as early as possible.

Any news related to The Dam Keeper will be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/TheDamKeeper
http://www.simplestroke.com
https://instagram.com/robertkondo/

The first of two graphic novel sequels to The Dam Keeper will arrive in 2016 from First Second.

A little animation by Benjamin Renner (director of Ernest & Celestine) based on his comic-book Grand Mechant Renard.

ikaotaku:

「幕よ、上がれ！」/「稚代★レインボー生足ウェーブ」のイラスト [pixiv]

MOS Burger, the biggest fast-food chain in Japan after McDonald's, is maybe getting a little too literal with a new burger commemorating tomorrow's opening of a location in the 1,093-foot Tokyo Tower's food court. The Tokyo Tower Burger appears to be several vertical yards of sandwich, which will cost between $6 and $7 (depends if you want cheese, which seems like it would add a 15th layer to the whole thing).

So, what, exactly, does a "14-layer" burger consist of? Here's a very symbolically arranged list of what you get on one:

• Bun
• Lettuce
• Hot chili sauce
• Chopped onion
• Mayo
• Patty
• Very wide tomato slice
• Hot chili sauce
• Onion ring
• Ketchup
• More chopped onion
• Pastrami bacon
• Patty
• Bun

It's a beast — no question. But while Grub Street would never consider itself an official layer counter (sure there are those more qualified for the task), do mayo and ketchup really count?

[Crunchyroll]

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Filed Under: tower of terror, burgers, japan, mos burger, the chain gang, tokyo tower burger

It is with heavy sadness that we report that Terry Pratchett, brilliant author and satirist, has passed away on March 12th, 2015 at the age of 66.

Pratchett’s daughter, author Rhianna Pratchett and his UK publisher Penguin Random House have confirmed the news with a statement via Larry Finlay, MD at Transworld Publishers:

I was deeply saddened to learn that Sir Terry Pratchett has died. The world has lost one of its brightest, sharpest minds.

In over 70 books, Terry enriched the planet like few before him. As all who read him know, Discworld was his vehicle to satirize this world: he did so brilliantly, with great skill, enormous humour and constant invention.

Terry faced his Alzheimer’s disease (an ’embuggerance’, as he called it) publicly and bravely. Over the last few years, it was his writing that sustained him. His legacy will endure for decades to come.

My sympathies go out to Terry’s wife Lyn, their daughter Rhianna, to his close friend Rob Wilkins, and to all closest to him."

Terry passed away in his home, with his cat sleeping on his bed surrounded by his family on 12th March 2015. Diagnosed with Posterior Cortical Atrophy in 2007, he battled the progressive disease with his trademark determination and creativity, and continued to write. He completed his last book, a new Discworld novel, in the summer of 2014, before succumbing to the final stages of the disease.

We ask that the family are left undisturbed at this distressing time.

A Just Giving page donating to the Research Institute to the Care of Older People (RICE) has been set up in his memory: https://www.justgiving.com/Terry-Pratchett

[Read more]

Born in 1948, Pratchett left school at 17 to start working for the Bucks Free Press, and eventually became Press Officer for the Central Electricity Generating Board, a position he only left in 1987, after finishing the fourth Discworld novel, Mort. The series, begun in 1983, covers a variety of themes including magic, death, and journalism, often satirizes different elements of fantasy, and quickly became one of the most astonishingly fleshed out fictional worlds in all of literature, Discworld. The Discworld books make merry work of conventional fantasy landscapes (the austere school of magic, the mystical elven realm, the home of Death himself) while giving us such memorable characters as Rincewind, Samuel Vimes, Granny Weatherwax, and Susan Sto Helit. He also co-wrote the apocalyptic satire Good Omens with Neil Gaiman, and most recently published a “parallel earth” series with Stephen Baxter.

After being diagnosed with PCA he worked to increase awareness of Alzheimers, including working with the BBC to create a two-part documentary series about living with the illness, which won a BAFTA.  

Pratchett was awarded nine honorary Doctorates, the 2001 Carnegie Medal for Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, and, in 2010, the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. He received a knighthood for “services to literature” in the 2009 UK New Year Honours list, and was previously appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1998.

The announcement of Terry's passing was all too appropriate:

AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER.

— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) March 12, 2015

Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.

— Rhianna Pratchett (@rhipratchett) March 12, 2015

Thank you, Terry, for giving us so much.

Image via

In honor of the 20^th anniversary of the beloved Squaresoft (now Square Enix) Super Famicom game, Chrono Trigger, composer Yasunori Mitsuda – who created the music for the game – will perform special live concert events on July 25 and July 26, 2015, at the Tokyo Globe Theater in Shinjuku.

The Tokyo Globe Theater was built in 1988. It is designed after the famous Globe Theater in London, where Shakespeare's plays were performed.

Yasunori Mitsuda is a composer and a musician who is also known for his contributions to such video games as Xenogears, Xenosaga, Shadow Hearts, and Soul Sacrifice. He also created music for the Inazuma Eleven video game series as well as its anime adaptation.

More information about the live concert events will be announced in April.

Source: Otakumu.jp

Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.

If you’re a Marvel fan and preparing for Avengers: Age of Ultron, chances are you’re thinking now is a good time to start revisiting the MCU movies — in order, obviously — before May 1. AMC and Regal are here to help you out with that with their massive Marvel movie marathon, all leading up to the premiere of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Here’s the thing, though: you’ll be watching every one of these movies in one sitting, so you should probably bring one of those donut-shaped butt pillows.

Continue reading…

Okay everybody, time to panic: According to GeneralsJoes.com, the Mayor of Springfield, Illinois has given Cobra Commander the Key to the City, effectively handing over control of Abraham Lincoln's hometown to the same organization responsible for attempting to destroy the Aurora Borealis with an Ion Attractor, attack our nation's military with cloned dinosaurs, and steal the state of Alaska from the federal government.

Continue reading…

As it turns out, the guy who cooked for Sigma Alpha Epsilon's terrible University of Oklahoma chapter is a black chef named Howard Dixon ... who's out of a job now that OU has shut down the frat. Distraught by this exceptionally cruel consequence, two guys who say they're SAE alums have launched a pair of crowd-funding campaigns to "make sure he lands on his feet."

The first, an Indiegogo page that launched three days ago, has raised $60,000 from over 1,000 donors so far, and it's already funded. The other, on GoFundMe, has pulled in $15,000 of its $50,000 goal. "Some ignorant kids have quickly destroyed something that thousands of men built," one alum, Blake Burkhart, writes on Indiegogo. "You know and I know that this isn't the house we lived in." Meanwhile, the anonymous GoFundMe creator says the frat's doors deserve to close, but that it's unfair to a longtime staffer like Dixon, "a hard-working and loyal employee for over 15 years, always making it in through rain, sleet and snow."

It's worth noting that Dixon still thinks of the frat brothers as "his family." He says he didn't know the bus chanters very well yet because they were pledges, but that doesn't make the current controversy any less troubling. "We know people think like that," Dixon told CBS, "but to be right here, looking at your face and eating your food ... to do something like that, that was very shocking."

[WP]

Read more posts by Clint Rainey

Filed Under: support, crowdfunding, howard dixon, news, sigma alpha epsilon fraternity, university of oklahoma

Who doesn't love "Florida Man," the enduring, consistently great Twitter testament to the residents of the Sunshine State?

Florida Man Steals $85,000 Worth of Pizza Cheese http://t.co/TlBEvz4rQL

— Florida Man (@_FloridaMan) March 10, 2015

Florida Man Admits He is Serial Butt Grabber http://t.co/A8E925RLaa

— Florida Man (@_FloridaMan) March 6, 2015

Florida Man Shoots Sister in Butt With BB-Gun Because She Gave Him Penis-Shapes Birthday Cake http://t.co/ICRwSivUGx

— Florida Man (@_FloridaMan) March 3, 2015

Florida Man Promotes Parking Lot the Only Way He Know How (via @darrenrovell) pic.twitter.com/34Po2Fiu44

— Florida Man (@_FloridaMan) March 9, 2015

Now the account has been honored with its very own microbrew from Tampa's Cigar City Brewing. Fittingly, it's a double IPA — sort of out of control, very hopped up, and pretty pale — and it's currently on tap at the brewery, with an expected rollout at Florida stores, although the Orlando Sentinel notes there's no word yet on a national rollout. The beer itself did get a shout-out via the official Florida Man account, which currently has 255,000 followers — so presumably word of its existence is already spreading:

Awesome! I can't wait to sue them RT @orlandosentinel: Cigar City now brewing Florida Man beer http://t.co/TGcWPuSki4 pic.twitter.com/UnrdFEQjqB

— Florida Man (@_FloridaMan) March 10, 2015

[Sentinel]

Read more posts by Clint Rainey

Filed Under: tie-ins, cigar city brewing, florida man, twitter

ca-tsuka:

Stills from pilot of “The Swallows of Kabul” (Les Hirondelles de Kaboul) french animated feature film project directed by Zabou Breitman and Elea Gobbe-Mevellec. Produced by Les Armateurs (Secret of Kells, Ernest & Celestine) and Mysteo. Based on book by Yasmina Khadra.

Click the link to see the excerpt. Also, notice that the video has a lot more excerpts of different film projects, either in production or as pilots.

So nice to see so much new material from out of the US.

ca-tsuka:

Stills from pilot of “Beausoleil” french animated feature film project directed by Xabi Molia (Moteur S’il Vous Plait Production). Design by Davy Durand (Ernest & Celestine).

Click the link to see the excerpt. Also, notice that the video has a lot more excerpts of different film projects, either in production or as pilots.

So nice to see so much new material from out of the US.

Tokyo Disney Resort, as anyone can tell you, is a land of magic and whimsy. As we’ve shown before, it’s also somewhere you can experience the pinnacle of attentive service, whether you’re an inattentive motorist or a lost cat. But did you know that in addition to all that, Tokyo DisneySea is actually a place that you can enjoy for its subtle yet precise depictions of natural science?

It’s true, as explained by one Japanese Twitter user who’s uncovered and documented the geological principles behind one of the park’s most iconic features.

It’s safe to say Twitter user Shohei Nanri’s inquisitive mind works a little differently than most people’s. On a recent trip to DisneySea, Nanri decided to search for ways to enjoy the park not as a star-struck animation fan, but as a scientist. He wasted no time, noticing that the globe in the center of the fountain outside the ticket booth has no tilt to its access.

エントランスを入ってすぐ、ディズニーシー・プラザにある地球儀。みんな記念写真を撮っていますが、よく見ると地軸が傾いていません。 地球儀の周りにあるマンホールが12星座のデザインになっているので、これと関係しているのでは？と思われます。 http://t.co/CJgrmvWhrx

—
Shohei NANRI (@shonanaqr) February 25, 2015

But while that’s a miss in the scientific accuracy department, things quickly improved once inside the park itself. First stopping by the knowledge-themed Fortress Exploration complex, Nanri observed the castle’s Foucault pendulum, which knocks over a series of pins during the day due to the rotation of the earth.

フォートレス・エクスプロレーションにあるペンデュラム（振り子）は、時間が経つとピンを右に右に倒していきます。 仕組みはフーコーの振り子と同じで、振動面が時間の経過とともに北半球で右に曲がるため。東京付近だと１時間に約７度右にずれます。 http://t.co/RQI4XQdr4Y

—
Shohei NANRI (@shonanaqr) February 25, 2015

And while he’s not sure if Disney’s Imagineers planned it or not, Nanri found a waterfall in the walkway linking the Mermaid Lagoon and Mysterious Island Sections of the park (directly opposite the gyoza dog concession stand) where the light refracts into a rainbow at precisely 12 noon on sunny days.

マーメイドラグーンとミステリアスアイランドの間（餃子ドックの向い）にある滝。狙ってるのかわかりませんが、晴れた日の12時に行くと虹が見られます。#tds #地学 http://t.co/qqfKniHd5A

—
Shohei NANRI (@shonanaqr) February 25, 2015

But where things start to get really interesting is inside Mysterious Island, the design of which is, ironically, remarkably sensible if you know the science behind it.

ミステリアスアイランドにあるプロメテウス火山。標高は51mでシンデレラ城と同じだそうです。常に噴気をあげていて、間欠的に火を噴く、ストロンボリ式？の火山です。でも残念ながら噴くのは溶岩ではなくてガソリン？の火ですが。#tds #地学 http://t.co/HbejaFgvdt

—
Shohei NANRI (@shonanaqr) February 25, 2015

The most dynamic feature of the area is Mount Prometheus, a constantly smoldering volcano that soars some 51 meters (167.3 feet) above guests’ heads. Much as Cinderella’s Castle is the symbol of Tokyo Disneyland, Mount Prometheus is the first image that comes to mind for many when they think of Disney Sea. Its non-Japanese name isn’t just a quick way to add a bit of worldly flair, though.

As Nanri explains, the lava of most Japanese volcanoes is highly viscous, so once its destructive path is halted, it tends to harden into symmetrical masses. But take a look at the volcanic runoff at Disney Sea.

プロメテウス火山からはパホイホイ溶岩が流下しています。ハワイなどの低粘性のマグマから流れるパホイホイ溶岩は、縄状溶岩などの特徴的な模様を作ります。日本の火山の多くはこれと対称的な高粘性のアア溶岩が多いです。#tds #地学 http://t.co/Q1t1YahHtK

—
Shohei NANRI (@shonanaqr) February 25, 2015

Those ropy, coiled formations are the product of a low-viscosity lava flow, closer to the pahoehoe style seen in other countries than Japan’s indigenous a’a lava flows. As such, it stand to reason that Mount Prometheus isn’t a Japanese volcano, and therefore it wouldn’t make sense for it to have a Japanese name.

But that’s just the start of the tale Disney Sea’s lava has to tell. Looking at the map, we can see that following an eruption, some of Mount Prometheus’ lava would flow towards the shoreline that separates it from the Mediterranean Harbor.

The molten rock would cool as it travelled, and Nanri explains that once it did, it could solidify in hexagonal columns, which is exactly what you can see near the waterfront.

プロメテウス火山からメディテレーニアンハーバー側に流れている溶岩流の一部は立派な柱状節理を呈しています。柱状節理の多くは六角柱で、溶けていた溶岩が最も効率良く収縮して固結する形が六角柱だそうです。#tds #地学 http://t.co/YHuBcirA1m

—
Shohei NANRI (@shonanaqr) February 25, 2015

That’s not the only effect an eruption would have on the surrounding landscape, though. The entrances to both of Mysterious Island’s rides, Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, owe the look of their entrances and line-up areas to the nearby volcanic activity.

▼ Locations of Journey to the Center of the Earth (1) and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (2)

Let’s start with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, where parkgoers hop aboard a vessel and become part of Captain Nemo’s crew of explorers.

ミステリアスアイランドの中心はネモ船長の秘密基地になっています．実はここ，マグマ水蒸気爆発によってできた火口湖で，この様な凹地状の小火口をマールと言います．今も間欠泉や温泉のようなものが湧いています． #tds #地学 http://t.co/wVWDXwlpqZ

—
Shohei NANRI (@shonanaqr) February 25, 2015

You might notice the sunken body of water is surrounded by craggy rock formations. How come? Because, as Nanri explains, it’s a crater lake formed by a steam explosion, which explains why you can still see some sort of gas fizzing to the surface of the water in the above photo.

However, the scientific significance is deepest, appropriately, at Journey to the Center of the Earth.

低粘性の溶岩流では、空気と触れている表面が固まっても内部はまだ流動していて、最終的に空洞ができる事があります。センター・オブ・ジ・アースの入口付近はその様にしてできた溶岩トンネルという構造です。 http://t.co/DdSwpHIbHE

—
Shohei NANRI (@shonanaqr) February 25, 2015

Given the theme of the attraction, it’s no surprise that the entrance leads guests through a cave. This isn’t just any cave, though. Coming back once again to that low-viscosity lava, the thinner consistency means that even as the top layer of the flow comes into contact with the air, cools, and hardens, the lower layers can stay in motion, in the process forming a tunnel just like the ones the line for the ride snakes through.

溶岩トンネル内を別の溶岩流が再び流下すると、以前にできた底を溶かして、トンネルの高さを広げる事があり、同時にトンネルの壁にベンチの様な台ができる事があります。 センター・オブ・ジ・アースの前のトンネル内には、きちんと再現されています。 http://t.co/BtMWJw7Pis

—
Shohei NANRI (@shonanaqr) February 25, 2015

In the case of repeated eruptions, the next lava flow would come through and melt away the hardened rock, making the cavity larger and also creating the shelf-like ripples on its walls.

Of course, while this is the scientific way in which the tunnel would form, it’s still not a controlled, entirely stable method. A lack of structural integrity in spots is to be expected, which accounts for the skylight-like openings that can be occasionally seen overhead.

Finally, Nanri leaves us with one last example of attention to minute details.

センター・オブ…の前の溶岩トンネルをよく観察すると、所々汚く汚れているところがあります。これ、ディズニーの手抜きではなくて、溶岩中から溶け出した硫黄鉱物の再結晶です。芸が細かい。#tds #地学 http://t.co/KKoaG7ciIR

—
Shohei NANRI (@shonanaqr) February 25, 2015

Looking up at those streaks of discoloration, you might think it’s just accumulated grime, or maybe water staining. It’s neither, though, according to Anri, who points out that this is what would happen as the sulfur deposits which melted in the lava flow later recrystallize.

In other words, the effect is entirely intentional. After all, if DisneySea’s staff spent this much time thinking about how the park’s fake volcano should look according to real science, do you really think they’d be too lazy to grab a bucket and mop?

Source: Togetter
Top image: Twitter (1, 2, 3) (edited by RocketNews24)
Insert images: Tokyo DisneySea (1, 2) (edited by RocketNews24)

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Origin: No pixie dust here! The hidden, scientifically accurate backstory of Tokyo DisneySea’s volcano
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Don’t you agree that our surroundings influence our mood? Being in a bright, vibrant environment usually makes one feel more positive and happy, and the positive energy in us in turn has the power to influence the mood of others around us.

A small village in Tainan City of Taiwan has been attracting attention online and attracting visitors because of the cheerful vibes that emanate from its brightly colored walls. With walls covered in colorful paintings of SpongeBob, Totoro, Doraemon and other characters and motifs, there’s no doubt this village must be a happy place!

Now more famously known as Cai Hui Cun (彩繪村), which literally means “painted village,” Hujia Village, located in the Shanhua District of southern Taiwan, used to be a quiet, rundown district until about a year ago. Since then it has blossomed into a vibrant tourist spot that continues to see an increasing number of visitors each day, and it’s said that property prices have even risen, thanks to its brilliantly painted walls. What’s more impressive than the numerous wall murals is the fact that this amazing transformation started with a home project that stemmed from the filial piety of five sisters.

According to Yahoo News Taiwan, some time last year, the Li sisters, who spent a couple of their childhood years living in Hujia Village, went back to the village to visit their grandmother. The trip back to the old village brought back fond memories of when their grandmother used to care for them, and that triggered Fan Ting Li’s inspiration to paint the outer walls of her grandmother’s house as a way to express her gratitude to her 86-year-old granny.

With no experience or training in painting wall murals, the Li sisters had a rough start. The elderly woman watched with worry as Fan Ting and her sisters, Hui Qing, Guan Yu, Qing Yan and Wei Zhen, spent long hours under the scorching sun, and asked her “silly granddaughters” to give up on the idea several times, but the sisters were determined to complete their project.

▼ Studio Ghibli murals

Residents of the village gazed upon them with curiosity and doubt at first, but were eventually moved by their passion, and some even volunteered to join them. Their little home project gradually spread throughout the village, and their painting team once grew to the size of 18 members coming from all walks of life, including an eight-year-old elementary school girl.

▼ Western influences

Watching as the voluntary painting team contributed their time, effort and money to beautifying their village, the other villagers too, often contributed to their cause by bringing them snacks and beverages. There have also been private companies that donated items to aid in the decoration of the walls, but due to the residents’ limited funds, they narrowed down their mural locations to the houses of elderly residents who lived alone, hoping to brighten up their days.

▼ Japanese anime characters

Since word of the painted village spread across cyberspace, tourists from near and far have begun visiting the village, not only bringing some liveliness to the once-sleepy place, but boosting profits for local businesses as well. The local authorities have since acknowledged the efforts put into Hujia Village, and have given their word to contribute to the beautifying and expansion of the painted village.

▼ Chinese motifs.

The Li sisters and their team of mural maestros can still be spotted creating more wall paintings in the village on weekends. If you’re interested in stopping by, the location details are below! Although the area has pretty much turned into a tourism spot, bear in mind that these murals are painted on actual residences, so it would only be nice to show some consideration for their residents, just as you probably wouldn’t appreciate strangers littering or creating a racket outside your house.

Village information:
台南市善化區胡家里300號 (陽明國小)
Tainan City, Shanhua District, 300 Hujia Village (Yang Ming Elementary School)
*Note: The Painted Village is in the vicinity of the elementary school.

▼ Look out for this school as a landmark to guide you to the Painted Village.

Source/Images: GameOver
Reference: Yahoo News Taiwan

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Origin: Village in Taiwan has dozens of anime and children’s characters painted on its houses!【Photos】
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Of all the comics projects announced this far from DC after Convergence, the one that arguably has fans the most excited is Superman from author Gene Luen Yang. The indie cartoonist will likely bring a different vibe to DC’s flagship character that will be focused on some of the ideas reflected in his own works like Boxers & Saints and American Born Chinese. We learned today in the solicitation text that the Man of Steel is going to have a brand new secret after the events of the aforementioned storyline.

Illustrator John Romita Jr. is staying on the comic after his short stint on the title with previous storyteller Geoff Johns. In an interview with Hero Complex, the writer talked about his experiences working on some of those titles, and how an upcoming secret will be revealed that will change up the status quo of the character after the Convergence event. Yang explained to the outlet how this book will focus on Superman’s Earth experience as an immigrant reflecting the author’s own life chronicled in some of his earlier works.

That’s just an essential part of the character. And as I’m writing, what I’m expecting is that it will come out organically. Superman has been around for so long; he’s been around for, what, eight decades now? And he goes through these different eras where different aspects of who he is get emphasized. I think at the core of him is the idea of the immigrant experience. His creators were two children of Jewish immigrants.

Take a look at the solicitation for the issue from Hero Complex further teasing the big secret of Superman:

Superman # 41
Written by Gene Luen Yang
Art and cover by John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson
The Joker variant cover by Karl Kerschl
On sale June 24 • 32 pages, FC, $3.99 U.S. • Rated T
The epic new story line “TRUTH” continues with the debut of the amazing new creative team of new writer Gene Luen Yang (“American Born Chinese”) and continuing artists John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson! What will happen when the big secret is revealed?

The author also elaborated on his own attachment to Superman as a character:

There’s something very special about getting to the seed, to the genesis of this entire industry. And like I said before, I’m really fascinated by the ways in which facets of the immigrant experience play out in a very fantastic way within his origin and within who he is and what he does. I think over the years they’ve built up this very interesting supporting cast that I’m excited to play with.

Superman #41 goes on sale June 24 in digital and print marketplaces.

It’s easy to get caught up in big ideas and brand new worlds… and forget to laugh.

Douglas Adams—born today, March 11, in 1952—was not convinced of his own worth as a writer, a comedian, and thinker of remarkably thinky thoughts. Whenever there was a dry patch in his working life, he tended to question his abilities, to fall into spates of depression and low self-worth. It’s odd to think that the man responsible for Zaphod “if there’s anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now” Beeblebrox would fail to realize his own relevance in a world that so desperately required his special brand of madness.

After all, without him, who would have told us the answer to life, the universe, and everything?

[Life. Don’t talk to me about life.]

Douglas Adams was a practical giant at six foot five (that’s 1.96 meters). Not exactly the first thing you would expect to learn about him at random, but it apparently made an impression on his behalf at as a young man, while he wrote and wrote all the time. He was the only student to receive a ten out of ten in creative writing from his form master at Brentwood School. After completing university—where he insisted he had done very little work—he was determined to break into television and radio writing.

Though it wasn’t always steady work, Adams’ singular voice landed him gigs with Monty Python’s Graham Chapman and various radio sketches. He became a script editor for Doctor Who during the Tom Baker era, writing a few stories himself, and his influence on Who is arguably still felt in the show’s current incarnation. Between his writing jobs in the 70s, Adams filled in with odd paychecks gained from barn building to bodyguard-ing for a wealthy family of oil moguls. When he was writing, he reportedly took forever to complete his projects; so long that his editor once locked them together in a hotel suite for three weeks to assure that So Long and Thanks For All the Fish was finished.

Adams was best known for his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, which was first brought to life via radio, and later via book, television, and film. With a joyful blend of wit and absurdity, he proved beyond a doubt that genre fiction had a great capacity for humor and satire. There are others who have followed in his footsteps, still others who have made their own contributions in this manner (Terry Pratchett’s first Discworld novel would be released four years after the first Hitchhiker’s book), but no one has ever quite duplicated the timing of Adams’ prose, his particular insights. There is funny, and then there is Adams funny.

Those deeper insights likely came from the many other loves and causes Douglas Adams pursued in his life. He was an avid traveler, an environmentalist, a musician who played the guitar left-handed, and he was a great advocate of technological innovation. He never shied away from what computers, the internet, and new inventions could bring to humanity. He never demonized progress, but rather, he offered himself up to try new things, to see where we were headed. In fact, his ability to take on these changes with ease and good-natured amusement was nothing short of inspirational. As he so succinctly put it to anyone concerned over the (at the time) very new world wide web:

1) everything that’s already in the world when you’re born is just normal;
2) anything that gets invented between then and before you turn thirty is incredibly exciting and creative and with any luck you can make a career out of it;
3) anything that gets invented after you’re thirty is against the natural order of things and the beginning of the end of civilisation as we know it until it’s been around for about ten years when it gradually turns out to be alright really.

Apply this list to movies, rock music, word processors and mobile phones to work out how old you are.

Or to put it simply, in other words that he would use elsewhere in large, friendly letters: DON’T PANIC.

It is perhaps the cruelest irony of all that Adams did not live to see what the world of technology has become in recent years. Having access to his wisdom in this digital age would have likely been a comfort and intriguing to boot. But more than that, we are missing out on the stories he never had the opportunity to regale us with. Myself and many others, we owe our sense of humor to Adams, at least in part. He was a very real, shaping factor in our persons.

It’s easy to forget that comedy is just as difficult as drama. It’s easy to ignore the fact that humor is complex as mathematics and learning to laugh is not a mindless task. And it’s also easy to get comfortable with our favorite tropes and tales—with serious stories—and neglect the fact that any and all situations can (and often should) be hilarious. Thank goodness we had Douglas Adams to show us how.

Artist Joshua Ketchen has brought the full force of sci-fi nostalgia to these classic videogames! His series of pulp book covers reimagines Bioshock, Resident Evil, and Mega Man as old-school paperbacks. We can practically smell them...

Morning Roundup brings you glorious hand-sized insects, heroines who are not Wonder Woman (but wonderful nonetheless), and a zombilicious cookie recipe!

[Plus, a supercut that’s...my god, it’s full of Kubrick.]

• The triumphant return of the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect!
• More news on Andy Serkis’ adaptation of The Jungle Book!
• Lesser-known Golden Age heroines who are as cool as Wonder Woman!
• Why is playing as a girl more expensive than playing as a boy? Wait, is this a metaphor for something?
• Xena vs. Ash vs. The Evil Dead!
• Cookies make everything better.
• The Pen/Faulkner awards are honoring multiple fantasy-leaning books this year.
• In case you needed proof that winter needs to end already: a human has chosen to dress a goat as Elsa of Arendelle. Although to be fair, Princess Goat does have a great voice.
• And finally: Kubrick Supercut!