Ira Glass On Storytelling

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

Patrick Angus's Last Address

Patrick Angus was once described as the Toulouse-Lautrec of Times Square, and in the 80's set out to document the gay underground scene in what was then a city in the throes of an epidemic. Working stints as a security guard, and as an art gallery gift shop attendant, Mr. Angus continued to paint while he lived in a welfare hotel, his work dismissed by many at the time as being too gay, too figurative, and far too dirty.

"In the last year of life, as he struggled with AIDS with little medical treatment while telling his friends that he was seeing doctors and following their orders, Angus was astonished by a burst of good fortune. In a matter of months, he had three one-person exhibitions (one at the University of California in Santa Barbara and the Leslie-Lohman and Ganymede galleries in New York City) and sold six pieces to painter David Hockney. The New York exhibitions and a book about his work were the result of the tireless diligence of his friend Douglas Turnbaugh in promoting him in his final months. 
He had not been so afraid of dying, Angus told Turnbaugh, as that his work would end up in a dumpster. On his deathbed at St. Vincent's hospital, looking at the proof sheets of Strip Show, a soon-to-be-published book of his paintings, he whispered, "This is the happiest day of my life." - an extract from the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art.

Mr. Angus found a friend in Quentin Crisp, who attempted to promote the young artist's work. Angus's character makes an appearance in the television sequel to "The Naked Civil Servant" - a clip from the film follows.



Mr. Angus also appears as himself in the documentary Resident Alien. Do check out the website Last Address, for a list of the last homes of artists in New York who died of AIDS. A great resource.

Animation Update: Still Rendering

Episode Three of my Dinosaur Vlog is still rendering away on my computer. I can practically hear my little machine sweating as it struggles to compute the complicated geometry involved in allowing a virtual Eaton Centre fountain to drain and then spew water up into the air.

Here then is a still from the mall, the bronze flock of rubber ducks that hangs at the southern end of the glass atrium. Visitors to Toronto will understand the joke.

I hope to have my latest installment finished by tomorrow night!

Back to work!

Things I Like: The Boxx Scooter

Because of it's shape, the Boxx Scooter can be easily shipped by UPS, and the internal electronics slide out the rear for an easy return for servicing should something go wrong. Completely electric, fast enough to get you where you need to go, but slow enough to not require a special license. Cute! And all of this goodness for just under $4,000.00 bucks!

Timber Records

YEARS from Bartholomäus Traubeck on Vimeo.

The concentric rings on a slice of wood are analyzed by this record player, and the resulting data is translated into music and fed into a piano. Interesting! I wonder if the same thing could be done for a fingerprint. The work is by Bartholomaus Traubeck.

Metachaos

This animation makes my jaw drop. Extremely detailed, oppressive, horrific at times, and very dark in tone - like a Hieronymus Bosch painting gone insane. Watch at full screen if possible. The artist is one Mr. Alessandro Bavari. Do check out his work. The man makes some amazing art.

Michael Fassbender's First Take

Mr. Fassbender chats about his famous peeing scene from the film Hunger. Bwaa!

Hot Guy Friday: Guys With Fries

Some enterprising soul has photoshopped McDonald's french fries into those douche bag "guys with iphones" website photos. The result? Guys with Fries. A bit of a laugh at the truly narcissistic. Now if only someone would perfect smell-o-vision.