Making: cigar-tin stories. One Panter dessert cigar tin + one painting on its lid + varnish + one previously-published story in a booklet (my own stories, of course) = one cigar tin story. They're meant as fun, decorative, curiosity objects, facing outward on bookshelves or adding life to a coffee table. I will have about twenty of them ready for our late-night opening at Sydenham Street Studios on December 12th.
Watching: Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn. A sad story about a young man who arrogantly abandons a life lived with others for an idealized version of nature and its wilderness. Sean Penn shows us accidents and misfortune as the reason for his demise, but really he was simply ill-prepared, and so starved to death.
Reading: Batman: Year 100 by Paul Pope. It's Batman re-imagined yet again, and while the story adds no new ideas to the territory (a standard-fare plot about a conspiracy amongst government security agencies), the artwork is tremendously cool in a black-ink kind of way.
Watching: Happy-Go-Lucky, by Mike Leigh. The main character is a woman named Poppy. She's always happy. Always. Steal her bike? Happy. Ignore her company? Happy. Children in her classroom (of course she's a primary-school teacher) who come from damaging homes? Oh well, I'm sure they'll be fine. No matter what happens, Poppy is better than the situation. Let's just have a laugh, shall we? Better yet, not only will Mike Leigh show you the laughs, but he'll stay with the scene for a good ten minutes. Poppy goes out with the girls, the girls dance, the girls get drunk, the girls wobble home, they sit and laugh, and snort, and roll on the floor, and smoke, and laugh, and the scene just goes on and on. Could someone get up and make some fucking toast already? Just give me something. But no, Polly just wanders from scene to scene, and the quips just keep coming and coming. She even wanders into dark alleys at night to talk to insane homeless men. Smart! I kept waiting for Poppy to get paralyzed (there is an extended trip to the chiropractor ... who fixes her back, that's it) or assaulted by skinheads, or break a nail, or something, and there is a tacked-on side-story about a demented driving instructor, but really nothing happens to anyone. Of course, C just loved it (for once being on the side of the critics), telling me that I wasn't sophisticated enough to appreciate a movie about nothing. Verdict? C-r-a-z-y.
Sitting on: our new chair from Scandesign, the taxes from which were paid for by C's friends, as a wedding present. Thanks, guys.
* * * * *
Watching: Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn. A sad story about a young man who arrogantly abandons a life lived with others for an idealized version of nature and its wilderness. Sean Penn shows us accidents and misfortune as the reason for his demise, but really he was simply ill-prepared, and so starved to death.
* * * * *
Reading: Batman: Year 100 by Paul Pope. It's Batman re-imagined yet again, and while the story adds no new ideas to the territory (a standard-fare plot about a conspiracy amongst government security agencies), the artwork is tremendously cool in a black-ink kind of way.
* * * * *
Watching: Happy-Go-Lucky, by Mike Leigh. The main character is a woman named Poppy. She's always happy. Always. Steal her bike? Happy. Ignore her company? Happy. Children in her classroom (of course she's a primary-school teacher) who come from damaging homes? Oh well, I'm sure they'll be fine. No matter what happens, Poppy is better than the situation. Let's just have a laugh, shall we? Better yet, not only will Mike Leigh show you the laughs, but he'll stay with the scene for a good ten minutes. Poppy goes out with the girls, the girls dance, the girls get drunk, the girls wobble home, they sit and laugh, and snort, and roll on the floor, and smoke, and laugh, and the scene just goes on and on. Could someone get up and make some fucking toast already? Just give me something. But no, Polly just wanders from scene to scene, and the quips just keep coming and coming. She even wanders into dark alleys at night to talk to insane homeless men. Smart! I kept waiting for Poppy to get paralyzed (there is an extended trip to the chiropractor ... who fixes her back, that's it) or assaulted by skinheads, or break a nail, or something, and there is a tacked-on side-story about a demented driving instructor, but really nothing happens to anyone. Of course, C just loved it (for once being on the side of the critics), telling me that I wasn't sophisticated enough to appreciate a movie about nothing. Verdict? C-r-a-z-y.
* * * * *
Sitting on: our new chair from Scandesign, the taxes from which were paid for by C's friends, as a wedding present. Thanks, guys.
Cigar tin stories are fantastic, love them ! Great idea ! By the way, you have been tagged.See my blog :)
ReplyDeleteI've found that cigar tins like that are the perfect size for safely (and stylishly) toting a good 7 or 8 tampons....in case you're looking for an alterative "market."
ReplyDeletePoppy and Happy-Go-Lucky are AWESOME. D was just sad because nothing blew up, no one got stabbed, and the cab driver story was not tacked on. It was kind of the point. :PPPPPPPPPPPPP
ReplyDeleteIt's about the hard, serious work of being happy. D, being grumpy, just didn't get it.
- C
Tin stories.. when the ideas go into smoke. Joking. They are beautiufl and Beautifully executed!
ReplyDeleteI adore the cigar tin stories... I absolutely do. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteFor anonymous: yeah right. Plus: you are short. So there.
ReplyDeleteThose tin stories are a really cool idea!
ReplyDeleteLove the tins; excellent work.
ReplyDeleteHello there :)
ReplyDeleteLove the paintings up there, very nice.
cigar tins stories = golden
ReplyDeletejcvd looks like iggy pop.
paulpope is fantastic. u should check out THE BALLAD OF DR. RICHARDSON & escapo. no no check out everything hes ever done.