Jumping Toaster Productions

If you haven’t heard by now, Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation is BACK! After a five year hiatus, the gang that brought you such memorable classics like; No Neck Joe, The Hangnail, Tongue Twister and of course Doctor Tran is back with an entirely new collection of their sickest stuff yet! Attending the Sick and Twisted festival is such a ‘hoot’! I love the audience participation during the animated shorts, please be aware that there is some rowdiness during the show. Sometimes you’ll smell something a little ‘skunky’ in the air to. Of course the festival is playing at a new location, so those people might not be able to get away with ‘indulging’ themselves during the show. Be safe people, save that kind of ‘business’ to do in the privacy of your own home!

Rio Theatre
1660 East Broadway & Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC Canada
www.riotheatre.ca
(604) 879-3456

Feb 20/09 – March 05/09
Monday-Thursday 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Friday and Saturday 4:30pm, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Sunday 4:30pm, 7:00pm – 9:00pm

For the entire festival tour schedule, click here

Tickets are ONLY available at the Box Office!

One of my favourite artists is Bill Campbell. Quite a strange but common name, you might think it was just plain weird. Not too many people remember Campbell’s work, but I remember the resurrection of his work in the form of a 3D animation show on YTV (see below).

Bill Campbell is best known for his work on HAWK Model box covers in 1963. Such a creative genius when blending a 1952 Ford Pick-up, that’s “Tricked-out to the tits” with a monster behind the wheel. From what I recall reading on the Net, Bill was born to draw. Of course he started off using watercolors. But Bill’s path took quite a different turn and he was left to look for work. Bill finally landed a gig where he produced brochures and color art pages for Sears and Blomgren Brothers.

1943. Bill was inducted into the army, of course that didn’t stop Bill from drawing. During a leave from the service he got married, she gave birth to a baby girl months later, and Bill continued the fight. Afterwards Bill settled back into civilian life…whew…then got to work on a new portfolio. Eventually a little company called Hawk put out a call for artist. A few artists turned down the offer, but somebody suggested Bill Campbell.

He signed with the Hawk Company and stared cranking out wicked cool model box covers for all kinds of aircrafts, trains, cars, the works! While at Hawk, Bill met some interesting people. One of which was a man names John Andrews who was an already established designer. They had some pretty radical ideas, good thing that the Hawk company was a risk taker. The two paired up and turned out some of the most insane work of polystyrene you’ve ever seen! “39 Horrible Parts of Fine Molded Polystyrene”. I believe Bill Campbell and John Andrews work superseded “Big-Daddy” Roth’s work…Rat Fink…moving on! The collection of that particular work I’m referring too was ‘The Weird-Ohs’, which the 3D animation show went by the same name. He had a long stint with Hawk, as well as freelancing himself out to numerous other studios before he decided to retire. He would be 90 this year…

Live free, be weird and speak out!

Hello readers,

Today I thought I’d start a new topic about the websites I view on a daily basis. These sites have helped me keep my sanity throughout the morning dealing with incompetent people. They make me laugh, they inspire me and they pretty much make me a happier person. Without these websites, I think I’d have a pretty difficult time finding a similar site to get my daily ‘brain food’.

Let’s first visit So Misguided

I frequently visit this website not only because it’s my sister’s, but because it’s very informative! She blogs about Canadian literature, ‘soon to be released’ books, blogging in general, workshops she’s attended (with great summaries and tidbits of very useful information) and of course she has a personal section were she uploads her photos and stories. The ‘Duck’ always seems to get her feet wet before I do…which is why I visit her site daily. Keep up the great work Monique!

Next on my morning Internet commute is Drawn, The Illustration and Cartooning Blog

Simply put, it’s a spotlight on some very amazing and talented artists from around the globe! A fantastic blog featuring; Flash videos, tutorials, animations and of course some pretty amazing illustrations. Where else are you going to find such a diverse collection of artists on one single blog or website? Kudos to the people who ‘hunt down’ and do the brilliant write-ups for the artists.

Finally for today’s write-up Married to the Sea

It’s a humorous website, that takes ‘old’ illustrations and creates funny jokes out of them. Pretty darn original and quite an easy concept to make daily posts. Heck, simplicity sells people! There are tons of comics to scroll through and they each have there own HTML code that you can upload the comic to your own MySpace or website.

Well those are just a few sites I visit daily, I’ll continue to post to this topic and I hope that most of my readers frequently visit Jumping Toaster Productions to get their daily dose of humour!

Enjoy

😀

A fun read for the zombie enthusiast or anyone interested in horror movies in general. Formatted like a ‘guide book’ this fun page turner is full of zombie facts and lessons to prepare yourself for the zombie apocalypse. A great read for commuting on the bus or when you simply need a break from classroom text books and remedial readings. One of my favourite sections was about arming yourself using common house-hold objects against the ‘undead’. Easy choice for me…baseball bat! It’s got a good reach just aim for the temple and batter-up! Remember, you gotta take that zombie down hard, hit ’em in the head and when he’s down, WHACK!

Max Brooks is the genius behind the creative writing and if you enjoyed this book, check out his follow-up World War Z. It’s written more like an account of zombie encounters over the years, as apposed to this one which is clearly written like a manual or guidebook. If I recall correctly the Zombie Survival Guide does have a few ‘snip-its’ of zombie encounters written by witnesses throughout the book, so you do get a bit of a taste for what to expect in World War Z.

About the funniest thing that occurred while reading the Zombie Survival Guide was, the girlfriend asked me: “Would you save your loved one(s) in the event of the zombie apocalypse?” Unfortunately I was quoted saying: “I would dump you like a sack of dead weight in the nearest ditch and run for the hardware store to loot for supplies and weapons!” I probably should have reconsidered my final answer, but if the world was crumbling and the zombies were attacking, it’s everyone for themselves!

Protect yourself people!

Hello Readers,

If you haven’t heard by now, Jeff Smith’s amazing tale of the Bone cousins has finally come to a colourful end! The final color volume collection of ‘Bone Vol. 9 Crown of Horns’ published by Scholastic is in stores NOW! What an amazing read people, I can’t tell you how enthralled I was to finally finish the story. I won’t ruin it for anyone out there who hasn’t finished reading yet, but I was a little sad to see the final outcome of the Bone cousins journey. A fantastic read all the way through with a few ‘adult’ moments that will leave you in hysterics. Meant for the younger one’s, this story is an instant classic for all ages. I encourage anyone interested in reading comics to begin with Bone! The simple line drawings on beautiful backgrounds makes Jeff Smith’s story materialize before you. He’ll captivate your imagination and soon you’ll find yourself at Barrelhaven with all the gang!

Please visit Jeff Smith’s site for more goodies: http://www.boneville.com/

For those of you with an iPhone, you’ll enjoy reading Bone on the go! A fantastic idea that will certainly change the comic book industry, go here for more information: http://www.boneville.com/2008/10/23/bone-iphone-comic-apples-pick-of-the-week/

Cheers

I’ve been terribly busy at my daytime job that I haven’t had a chance to post a blog until today! I’ve added a few photos you can view in ‘The Store’ of original artwork you may wish to purchase. Prices do vary depending on the piece you’re viewing and whether or not you want a picture frame with your order, so please feel free to contact me at: jumpingtoaster@hotmail.com to discuss your order.
Cheers

Ho Ho Ho Brains? Yes, well some of us are a little strange…but that’s a good thing! Keeps the ‘Normal’s’ on their toes! Just a couple of quick pics from my NEW camera! Thank you mom, you’re the best! Oh yeah, she also bought me the ‘Mall Santa Zombie’ action figure from Sideshow Collectibles that you see in the bottom picture. Check out their wide range of toys and sculptures here: www.sideshowtoy.com

As some of you may have already read in my blog, it was my birthday on Dec 02/08! A very good friend of mine came over with a present for me not too long ago and I was delighted to open it and find The Incredible Hulk Action Figure! The Hulk was to cool to keep inside the packaging, so I took him out! For those of you who don’t know me, I don’t open any of the toys that I buy or receive, unless I intend to play with it or pose it on the shelf. This Hulk figure has got to be the best looking Hulk on the market thus far. It’s sculpted by the good folks at Hasbro, which was a bit of a surprise cause he looks bang on! I really enjoyed posing him on my model train that I have set up around the Christmas tree, what better way to celebrate Christmas than with the Hulk whipping around a Christmas tree? You’ll notice that there’s cardboard under the train tracks…this is to prevent the sparks from igniting the carpet and Christmas tree. Can you imaging the train catching on fire and whipping around the tree, which would go up in smoke pretty quick cause it’s fake…plus the smell of burning plastic and paper!?! Not a very fun Christmas if you ask me. Thanks to my good buddy Mark for the gift! If you want to pick one up for yourself, here’s the link to Hasbro: www.hasbro.com
Enjoy

Wow, can you believe the Toaster turns 30 today? Break out the polish cause he’s looking kinda tarnished! Just want to thank everyone for such wonderful gifts and goodies! For all those who didn’t get a chance to hang out with me on the ‘big day’ you were dearly missed!

Continuing my little write up about ‘Companies That Make Me Smile’ is a little business called Knock Knock. A fantastic little business that sells a lot of neat stationary items, my personal favorite is the ‘To Don’t Note Pad’. You got to love that, especially if you’re a procrastinator like yours truly. To put it simply, they sell fun functional items for home and office use. However there are a couple of items you should be careful taking to your office, if you’re surrounded by a number of stuffy, politically correct co-workers.

About Knock Knock: Our sensibility is proudly distinct, in contrast to the overwhelming homogenization and conservatism that characterize committee-created corporate product. We believe that many people are intelligent enough to appreciate wit, wordplay, and conceptual thinking, so we strive not to dumb down as we create.

Can you believe there are only fifteen staff members? 15 very talented staff members who not only create the products and books, but oversee the logistical dynamics of manufacturing, sales, and distribution. Keep up the great work, and please check out their website: www.knockknock.biz !