Tim Tom

This short from 2002 has been circulating the web for some time, but I love it.



I am a sucker for expressions…whether little kids, pets, or Garbo. I feel like there is something powerful in an unpainted stare or the explosive transformation of the cheeks and eyes when you laugh. For some equally captivating reason, having a notepad for a face makes it possible to convey the same meaning with just a few squiggles.

Tim and Tom are two little men (whose faces are in fact notepads!) trying to keep in touch each other. But the Creator (intended as the one who created them) tries very hard to interfere.

The animation overall is very polished and seemless yet the faces of these two men are simple but expressionistic. As a viewer you almost trust that each expression is planned to be meaningful, rather than preconcieved or unconscious.

I love when he uses the back side of his face to show the lightbulb. And the part where all of the scraps of paper are on the floor. Its almost like he was writing a novel (on the pad that is his face) and couldn't quite get the right word. I am personally a huge fan of post it, my favorite being the really small one's that can only fit about 15 words in pale muted colors.

After watching this short, I almost want to make a roll of simple Felicia faces sketched on post-its and display them on the back of the computer to show how I am feeling. Like today would be a focused with a dash of eager. We'll see how this turns out....

Scorsese's Student Film

An NYU student film by Martin Scorsese titled What's A Nice Girl Like You Doing In a Place Like This?



You would think being a former student of the NYU film department, I would have seen this brillant little number. (Alex tells me that she had seen it the first week of film school; us Cinema Studies folks missed out)
Instead, I found the early cinematic works of Mr. Scorsese posted to The Little Round-Headed Boy's blog. He called the short film:

a mini-masterpiece. It's a comic autobiography of Algernon, a cheery Brit who comes to the big city as a writer and tries to discover who he is through a series of misadventures. It's full of witty comic touches, visually inventive montages and one shadowy character who reminds you of the Mobsters who would inform his later films.

A big fan of Scorcese, I have to agree with the Little Round Headed Boy. His early work shows growth and potential. The writing, the music, the shadows, the slow pacing, are all unmistakeable Scorcese. I just can't look away.

Maybe this YouTube capture of Marty's early works will pump me up for the several hours that l am about to commit to see The Departed in theatres. Pretty sure it will be worth it!

Alfred Hitchcock's Cameos

Much like the answers in the back of a Where’s Waldo puzzle, this video highlights and exposes Alfred Hitchcock infamous cameo appearances.



Set to the music in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, this video is a friendly reminder of the many historic and memorable films created by auteur, Alfred Hitchcock. Using DVD’s of the feature length films, the video creator strings together the title cards and cameo's of Alfred Hitchcock.

The creator notes on his YouTube post that some of Hitchcock’s cameo appearances are missing: Easy Virtue (1927), Blackmail (1929), Foreign Correspondent (1940), Suspicion (1941), Spellbound (1945), The Paradine Case (1947) and Under Capricorn (1949).

I have seen almost all of Hitchcock’s films, yet I am always so absorbed by the plot and the numerous details that I never focused entirely on his cameos. My favorite appearance has always been Lifeboat when Hitchcock is featured as a fat guy in a weight loss ad on the back page of the newspaper, the image created from his shadow in The Wrong Man wins my aethestic tastes.

Free Hugs Campaign

With life so consumed by professionalism, busy schedules, firm hand shakes and an affirming nod, I have noticed increasingly less social interaction between myself and those I encounter in my every day life.

It is easy to ignore one’s lack human contact especially in a big city that surrounds you with similar unaffectionate people.



Free Hugs is a real story of Juan Mann, whose sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives. Instead of offering money or advice, Mann targeted those in need of affection. Such unsolicited affections may be prejudged and misunderstood in a society full of paranoia and mistrust.

Many, including myself, would fall to scheptism upon the idea of welcoming the arms some a stranger on the street. Who is this guy? What does he expect in return? Who else besides some “sicko” would spend their time donating hugs to people they have never seen before and may never see again? I think that for this reason, the callous and mistrust of society, free hugs were banned.

Featuring music by the Sick Puppies (sort of ironic that the band would be called this), Mann proves that a hug can be a sign of affection, welcome, or the willingness to accept people for their similarities and differences. The campaign for Free Hugs has become popular on several user-generated sites to become the most watched videos currently on the web.