Jim Bumgardner is an amazing guy. His website, krazydad.com, is filled with a bunch of Flash–based games and “software toys”(his term)…my kind of guy! His mazes (in his Fun and Games area) and “springy titles” are awesome! He is also the author of my favorite screensaver ever…MetaScope! It is a virtual kaleidoscope on your pc that searches the internet for images of your choosing, automatically creating a kaleidoscope on your desktop. If you thought those fishtank screensavers were cool, what until you see this…totally mesmerizing!

“Who’s Roger Bradfield, you say?” Anyone who has eaten Kix, Trix, or Wheaties cereals should know! He created the great graphic art for the cereal boxes in the 1960’s, among many other projects. For a great blog post on Mr. Bradfield, see this article by Dan Goodsell. Very cool. Gimme some Trix!

In addition to the Marvel Masterworks website I mentioned in a previous post, here are a couple more must–see websites for Marvel Maniacs.

Sadly, the “Silver Age Marvel Comics Cover Index” link is no longer valid. I do hope that the author brings this site back as it was a tremendous resource for Marvel fans. If anyone has an update for this, let me know and I will gladly update the link. Great news! The link to the Silver Age marvel Comics Cover index is back. Thanks a lot, Rand.

The first is the Silver Age Marvel Comics Cover Index, which is a great resource giving you examples of every Silver Age Marvel cover in a great month–by–month format. So, for example, if you wanted to see every cover for the month that Spider–Man #14 (July 1964, 1st appearance of the Green Goblin, by the way) was produced, you can. Very cool! Incidentally, this was the first Marvel book I remember owning and reading as a 5–year–old kid. I read this baby until it was in tatters. Nice one to start with, huh? I’ve been of fan of artist Steve Ditko, Spidey, and the Green Goblin ever since!

The second is a companion website that lists all of the great Marvel Bullpen Bulletins that were such a huge part of Marvel comics and their fans. Inspired and mostly written by Stan Lee, they are written in his cool, breezy style that made all of us feel as if he were writing directly to us. Awesome, “didja know!”

Yes, Virginia, Dr. Seuss was a genius even before he wrote his books. Take a look at his wonderful advertising art. It will definitely make you smile! (In his list of clients is Stromberg Carlson, which was a well–known speaker maker. I remember the sweet sound these babies had from my dad’s hi–fi setup…Nice!)

I recently bought and watched the new DVD release of perhaps the greatest of the racing movies, Grand Prix. I remember seeing this as a kid of eight in 1966. (You do the math!) What an impact it had…the stunning cinematography and vibrating, road–level views of the famous Formula 1 racecourses really thrilled me! It also featured James Garner, who has always been a favorite actor of mine.

Having been years since I last saw this movie, I was really looking forward to seeing it again. I also wanted to see if it was as good as I remembered…to see if it still stood up after all these years. So…has it?

Well, in pure racing terms, it sure has. The DVD transfer is crisp and clean, the colors pure with no bleeding. And the racing scenes…fantastic! There is no other word for it. After all these years, it still has the most exciting racing scenes of any movie ever made, period! You get a view of the racing that actually makes you feel like a part of it. Another thing that makes the racing so special is that it featured the actual Formula 1 racing stars of the day driving in the racing scenes! If you’ve ever heard of Dan Gurney, Graham Hill, Jimmy Clark, or Phil Hill, well, they’re in here driving! And the cars of this period were so beautiful…It takes me back to those days as a kid collecting the Matchbox replicas of the cars that are featured in this movie.

But, on the negative side, I also didn’t remember the cheesy melodrama in–between all the racing scenes. Jessica Walter, of psycho–“Play Misty For Me” fame, really revs the cheese meter, and most of the “drama” really rings false, like something from daytime soaps. Luckily, James Garner is his usual likeable leading–man self, while Yves Montand also brings a likeable characterization as an “old–pro” F1 racer coming to the end of his career. Thankfully, this movie is mostly racing, so these temporary drama “breaks” aren’t too irritating.

This DVD also has some great special features, including some really interesting documentaries about the making of the film and the staging of the racing scenes. These scenes were staged at the same time as the actual Formula 1 races were being held, so there was a ton of prep work involved in this movie. And now that the sport has been highly corporatized and become super expensive, a movie like this will probably never be shot again, at least in true live–action! So if you are ready for some real Formula 1 race action, pop this in, grin through all the racing magic, and grit your teeth slightly at the melodrama in–between. Cheer up though, the next racing scene is just around the bend!

What a beautiful website and a great cause. The Hope Garden is an inspirational website focussing on people with cancer, their families, and friends. In this beautiful Flash–based “garden”, you can “plant” a beautiful flower with an inspirational message for a loved one that is battling this implacable disease. Visitors can also browse through the garden and read messages left by others. What a beautiful, thoughtful, and well–executed website. Kudos, Paul!

I first discovered the Rogue Voice in 2006 during the 2 1/2 year period I lived and worked in the San Luis Obispo area. Really interesting reading. And it looks like they’re expanding their online presence, so I can get my “Rogue” fix.

For a few months now, I’ve been enjoying a terrific monthly publication produced in the San Luis Obispo area… the Rogue Voice. It is an independent journal, put together on a shoestring I’m sure, (note the “newspaper pullout” printing) that is characterized by the best writing I’ve come upon in awhile.

There are a number of regular writers in this “Literary Journal with an Edge,” including publisher Dell Franklin (Cabby’s Corner…yes he does drive a cab, see Sisters from South Central for an installment), Ben Leroux (Window Washing Across America, see Santa Fe Pride for a previous installment), Tito David Valdez, Jr. (who writes about life in correctional facilities, currently at Soledad, see Jailhouse Pruno for a previous installment of Life in the Cage), as well as excellent fiction by various authors. What all the articles and stories have in common, along with an edge, is that they are extremely well–written, thought–provoking, and entertaining. This along with interesting editorials and reader letters makes me really look forward to each new issue. Please see their website (via Blogger) to read a few of their stories. You’ll be hooked!

I took this series on the beautiful Thanksgiving Cactus back in 2005. What a magical little plant!

Ah, nature. Photographers are forever travelling to remote regions to capture exotic, beautiful images…think National Geographic photos from Africa or Asia…or exotic travelogue photos from some South Pacific island paradise… But how often do we ignore the beauty that is right on our doorstep, in our backyards, or even, gasp…in our house! This magical little cactus, our houseplant(!), called, wonderfully, the “Thanksgiving Cactus,” just started blooming, and what a reminder that nature and her beauty are everywhere! And true to nature, this little plant is blooming on her time, in January!

I had to see if I could capture the grace, color, and beauty that our little friend radiated. I spent a couple of hours yesterday coming up with these images. These are the images that I’ve chosen for “the finals,” from which I’ll choose three to four, max.

In a recent post, I mentioned the new 12.8 megapixel Canon EOS 5D. Well, I bought one last month or so, and have been gradually learning the camera’s features and developing new techniques to get the best photos out of the camera. I am thrilled with this camera’s performance! The ability to see my results as I shoot has really expanded my creativity in unexpected ways. I no longer have to guess about exposure. I try it and adjust on the fly! I no longer have to balance film and developing costs with trying many different composition/exposure combinations. Shooting now is virtually free! I can shoot until the memory cards are filled, download them to the computer, and edit to my heart’s content. What an amazing improvement in productivity, speed, and cost! And the sharpness, clarity, and color of the photos are amazing!

I waited a long time to get into digital, mainly due to wanting to be able to enlarge photos up to 24 x 36 inches, and not wanting to lose the “wide angleness” of my wide angle lenses. (This Canon has a full–size sensor, so there is no “multiplier” effect on lenses. In most other digital SLRs, a 17–35mm lens, for example, ends up being a pedestrian 28–55mm lens. That is not what I want, since I do much of my shooting with wide angle lenses!) And with 12.8 megapixels, huge enlargements are possible. It is absolutely a win–win situation!

Anyway, take a look at this little natural wonder. What composition do you think is best?

Back in 2005, I blogged about the then–new Kirby Museum on the Web. I just took a look and it is indeed going full–tilt, hitting on all cylinders! There are a ton of new articles, and most importantly, tons of great Kirby art to enjoy, such as this great take on Mickey Mouse as Doctor Doom. Awesome! The following is the original article in its entirety.

I just found this on the Make Magazine website…an online museum dedicated to Jack Kirby’s comics career, art, and life! This site was just inaugerated on August 28, 2005 and features a biography of Jack along with a smattering of his fantastic art. There is also the beginnings of a database that the museum promises will be a “complete, online Kirby ‘Catalogue Raisonné’.”

Fancy-pants terminology aside, from a design point of view, the web site is really clean with a nice tabloid “feel” to it. The developer is using nice clean XHTML with CSS…my kind of designer! The logo is also really nice. Those bits of “Kirbyesque” machinery in it are choice! Kudos to the designer!

I think this site is a great beginning. With a lot more of Jack’s art and a few more features, it will be a really strong reminder of just how great an artist Jack Kirby really was.

I love this set of photos! Mikey (my son) and Char–Char (my niece) decided to sit in a stroller together. Mikey has different smiles in each photo, while Char–Char is serene and seems at peace with the world. Never mind they just finished chasing each other around Grandpa’s back yard! At the time of this photo, Mikey is 3 years, 7 months old, Char–Char is 1 year 6 months.

This photo was taken with my trusty Canon EOS 5D at 1/125 sec, F4, ISO 200, with my old Canon 28–105mm lens at 53mm. (Isn’t EXIF info great? I would never write this stuff down!) I also used fill flash using, in my opinion, the best flash attachment you can buy, the Lightsphere II - Clear, by Gary Fong. This clear bounce attachment takes all the worry and fuss away from lighting your subject and produces fantastic, flattering, well–lit people photos. Try one, you won’t use anything else!

The Lightsphere can be used for many other types of photography, too. Take a look at this series on the Thanksgiving Cactus using it.