Author Archives: Editor

New Year Animation From Russia’s Toonbox Animation Studio

by Editor

When Russians make animations they do it better than anyone else. Toonbox is an animation studio in Russia and they’ve made this little New Year greeting that illustrates the Chinese year of the ox giving way to the new year of the tiger. It’s beautiful. I like Russian animation above all others. They seem to maintain a lovely, rough, hand-drawn, physical connection to what they are doing. They are an antidote to the completely lifeless injection-molded work of Disney and Pixar.

I found this via Cold Hard Flash

Animation: Muzorama (An Illustrated Surrealist CG Film)

by Editor

Muzorama is a short surrealist animation made by students at Supinfocom Arles. Elsa Brehin, Raphaël Calamote, Mauro Carraro, Maxime Cazaux, Emilien Davaud, Laurent Monneron and Axel Tillement directed the film which took only six weeks to complete.  It reminds me of surrealist painting and film work being done in Europe during the twenties and thirties.  I will not link to the Supinfocom web site because it is the most inexcusable mess I have ever seen on the web.  Their animations are wonderful, but they need to immediately terminate whoever builds their web sites.  Seriously.

Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is a Beacon For a New Decade

by Editor

Read the following remarks at your own risk.  The post begins one way and finishes in another.

The online film journal Senses of Cinema has an excellent essay by Pedro Blas Gonzalez called Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: An Existential Odyssey.  He examines 2001: A Space Odyssey from an existential viewpoint.  He focuses primarily on astronaut Dave Bowman’s journey in the film toward not only a far-flung physical destination, but also his journey as a human being on a path toward knowledge, an unknown future and ultimate change or evolution.  I’ve always viewed the Bowman character as being exceedingly emotional and noble in spite of the fact that he barely moves a facial muscle or changes his vocal tone.  He seems on the surface to be little more than another machine on board the giant Jupiter-bound space ship.  But he is in fact full of tiny, barely perceptible emotions and concerns that make him perhaps the greatest representative character for the human species in film history.  The Bowman character completes his mission of discovery by surmounting incredible obstacles, included the most powerful example of artificial intelligence ever devised by humankind.  But he does this without ever losing his capacity for anger, despair, love, fear, or wonder.

We’ve lived through what I consider to be the single worst decade in the history of the United States, including the time of the Civil War.  In 2000, the country willfully elected to the presidency the most uneducated, unintelligent, disgusting, drunken, irresponsible, uncaring, warlike, criminal and religious fanatic in its history.  The damage done to our own self-image, to our sense of wonder in the face of the magnificent unknown, to our drive forward technically, scientifically, artistically, and morally, to our own self-respect and our dignity in a world teeming with slavery and murder and starvation – well this damage is going to be exceedingly difficult to repair.  We’ve seen the drive for knowledge turned into something that is suspect, something that religion should argue with and fight at every turn.  This is the legacy of the first decade of the twenty-first century.  The tragic crime committed by half of the population of the United States to elect – twice-over – the closest thing to an authoritarian leader we’ve ever had will not be wiped clean by voting for new candidates.  These awful people are among us.  They work with us in offices, in grocery stores, on farms, selling insurance, selling  cars, investing on Wall Street.  They are all around us and they are waiting to destroy again.  They want us to be dumb and mute.  They want us worshiping in their churches.  They want women to answer to them for how they use their bodies.  They want us to ignore the greatest scientific thoughts ever had and to replace them with tall-tales from an ancient book of children’s stories called The Bible.  It has been my mission over the past year to fight these people and to rid this web site of them (thousands and thousands of them, by the way), and to break their web links by using aggressive and insulting language at every possible turn.  I freely mix children’s stories and games with brutal assaults on this ignorant and dangerous population within our nation.  After 15 years of experience with children’s web sites, I have decided that they are rubbish.  They serve little purpose and make a pretense at wholesomeness and clean language which only does a disservice to our children who must grow up with the strength and knowledge to eradicate the foolishness that has prevailed over the past decade.  I have no concern for who I may insult, including my own authors who may or may not want their content removed because of my strong views.  My candle is a blowtorch and I turn it on barbarians with joy.  The only effective way to fight them is to get excited about discovery and knowledge again –  to do what Star Trek says we should do:

…to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before

Yes. We won’t get there by watching imbeciles like James Cameron film tales about white guys invading blue guys.  50-some-year-old adolescents pretending to be great directors don’t give us anything worth knowing.  Artists like Kubrick do.  Films like 2001: A Space Odyssey do.  We need to take this next decade and use it to elevate ourselves beyond and out of reach of the poor lost savages we see around us driving their pick-ups, their SUVs, thumbing through their Bibles and Korans, and going to movies like Avatar.  Let’s try thinking again.  Go rent 2001.  Watch it.  Wonder.  Think.

Obama Wants Our Money for Insurance Companies Just in Time for Christmas

by Editor

Hey man, I’m a lifelong Democrat and I have always voted for liberal causes and I truly believe that we suffered under 8 years of despotic rule by an unintelligent baboon of a criminal in George Bush.  But I think we got taken and voted for an insurance salesman in 2008.  President Obama has done exactly four major things since taking office: He’s given billions of dollars to his friends on Wall Street.  He’s bought a crappy car manufacturer.  He’s protected torturers in the U.S. military and Bush administration from prosecution.  He’s steadfastly refused to lead the world in emissions controls.

And now he is trying to take our money and give it to his friends in the health insurance industry.

When this man ran for office he sounded like a voice of the people – of the less advantaged.  Apparently, that is easy to fake.  He now wants a health reform bill in which every American citizen is required by law to purchase health insurance from… get this… a private insurance company!  The very companies that kill babies by refusing to cover them!  The very companies that charge huge amounts of money for coverage and then yank it out from under you as soon as you get sick.  Those companies!  This a-hole of a president wants to make us criminals if we don’t give these people our money to purchase their scam health insurance policies.  You’ve got to be joking me!  Right?  He’s serious!  He’s limp-wristedly telling all of us that this health care reform bill is better than no bill at all.  Rubbish.  He’s a jerk and he will not be reelected under any circumstances.  When a Democratic president loses people like me, man I gotta be honest with you, he’s in deep doodoo.  There’s no coming back from that.  I’m offended, disappointed, disgusted, angry… and I’m looking for a new candidate.  Possibly a new political party.  The Democrats equal Joe Lieberman – shifty, fraudulent, elitist, and wholly owned by corporate business interests.

Here’s our jerk in chief talking about how there must be a public option for health insurance just several months ago!

Message to President Obama: Pack your things.

Bob Dylan Saves Christmas

by Editor | 5 Comments

Three great things have happened in American music: the blues, jazz and Bob Dylan.  I just spent my morning listening to Dylan’s new album of Christmas songs, Christmas in the Heart. Christmas is here now. Mr. Dylan has given the world a present. He and his band play these songs like they mean something. They sound like they are having so much fun, like Christmas came early for them this year. Dylan is not afraid to throw choruses in that sound just the way they might have sounded in the forties or fifties. His music is blending folk, blues, rock, pop, big band and country all in a great happy jumping celebration of Christmas and all its familiar symbols. Dylan’s voice is more expressive than any other in music today. Not a word slips by without getting his twist, his little humor, his wry idea about why the word is even there in the first place. This is my very favorite Christmas album of all time. I will play this thing in August when it’s 106 degrees under my pear tree. Simply magnificent. Mr. Dylan has brought Christmas in, shining and dancing in the snow.

Dylan is giving all his royalties from the album to Feeding America, an organization that supports food banks across the U.S.

Now you’ve got to look at this wonderful video for Dylan’s version of Must be Santa. I’d go to his party any night of any week. Look at Dylan popping up all over the house like a slightly bad Santa. And if you look carefully, you will notice that about two-thirds of the way through, the party-goers chase out a Wall Street guy in a suit. Santa and his people kick the crap out of a Wall Street suit. Looks like fun, doesn’t it?

Audio Story: Stuttering Stan Takes a Stand

by Editor

DOWNLOAD MP3 AUDIO

StutteringStan

Duration: 14:24

Here’s a good one for the kids! Children’s author Artie Knapp strikes again with this charming tale about friendship and the confidence to stand your ground.

Stanley is like most squirrels: he loves nuts, climbing trees and playing with friends. But Stanley feels different from the other animals in his neighborhood, because he has a problem with words. Teased and bullied about his stuttering, Stanley refuses to let on that his feelings are being hurt, until one day he learns an important lesson from a new friend.

If you enjoy this audiobook version of the story, you’ll really love the book itself!  Go ahead and learn more about how to order one right here.  You’ll be supporting a great writer who brings his own unique and gentle sense of humor to every tale he tells.

This audio story is read by Alessandro Cima.

Student Essay Winners Announced in Wilmington, Ohio: Third Place Winner

by Editor

essaywinnersCandlelight’s favorite children’s author, Artie Knapp, working with the Wilmington News Journal, sponsored a fourth grade student essay writing contest and the winners have been announced! The students were asked to write about Clinton County, Ohio where they live. Their essays were judged by education majors at Wilmington College.

This is one of those encouraging activities that can really make a kid feel like they’re at the top of their game. It makes them want to keep writing and reading and learning. Artie tells me that Clinton County has been absolutely devastated by high unemployment since DHL moved out. Rachel Ray and Jay Leno have recently done free shows there to help feed some of the people who are hurting. I think these three kids who can write so well are really helping everybody in their county to feel good this holiday season.

Excellent job, kids! Keep up the fantastic work and keep writing!

Here is the third place winner by Katlyn Jamiel, a student at Sabina Elementary School.

What I like best about Clinton County
By KATLYN JAMIEL

jamiel, katlynI love Clinton County.

These are some things that happen in Clinton County. Clinton County has good places to have a home. In Clinton County police keep us safe. In Clinton County you meet new and nice people. Clinton County has nice jobs for parents too. Sabina is a nice place because it is very small and has nice homes. That’s some of the things I like about Clinton County.

In Clinton County these are some festivals and parades that go on during the year. One of my favorites is the Clinton County Fair. I like all the rides that they have at the fair because they are fun to ride, because they’re all different.

These are some activities that I do in Clinton County. I go to the bowling alley and I go to the YMCA to exercise and swim. I go do putt-putt golf and sometimes I go to the track too.

These are some of the restaurants and shops I go to. I go to Subway and Frosties too. I also go to West Side and IGA. I go to the China Buffet and Family Dollar. I go to Walmart and Dollar Tree. I also go to Corner’s Pizza and Charlie’s place too. These are some of the places I go to.

I go to school and the library too. I like Clinton County because there are a lot of fun things to do with my family. When I moved to Sabina it was a great feeling. Clinton County is a wonderful place because there are a lot of fun activities and some great jobs for parents. Clinton County is a wonderful place because it has a lot of space for new houses. When you first move to Clinton County you won’t believe what you see. I like Clinton County because it is a nice peaceful place. Clinton County is a great place because your kids get a good education. At Clinton County schools you learn new and great things.

If you lived in Clinton County you would have a lot of fun with your family and friends because there are a lot of activities, like putt-putt golf, the bowling alley, and more. Your kids will like Clinton County because there are a lot of parks and a lot of nice children. I like Clinton County because there are a lot of new restaurants. I like Clinton County because Walmart has a lot of good things at a lot of good prices. I like Clinton County because there are a lot of wonderful people. (When I go to school I learn a lot of great things like multiplying and dividing. I like going to school because I get to learn a lot of great things.) I like Clinton County because every time I go somewhere in Clinton County I fell like I’m learning more and more about it. I like Clinton County when Halloween comes because you get to walk around town and you get candy and you get to dress up into a costume.

I also like Clinton County because at Wilmington College I got trained by a Wilmington College coach. I like Clinton County because I get to go to Wilmington park and practice soccer. I like Clinton County because there are ducks you can feed at the Wilmington park and there are picnic tables where you can eat too. I like the Sabina park because you get to watch baseball and ride your bike and run track if you want to. I like Clinton County because most of my family lives here and I get to see them a lot.

Student Essay Winners Announced in Wilmington, Ohio: Second Place Winner

by Editor

essaywinnersCandlelight’s favorite children’s author, Artie Knapp, working with the Wilmington News Journal, sponsored a fourth grade student essay writing contest and the winners have been announced! The students were asked to write about Clinton County, Ohio where they live. Their essays were judged by education majors at Wilmington College.

This is one of those encouraging activities that can really make a kid feel like they’re at the top of their game. It makes them want to keep writing and reading and learning. Artie tells me that Clinton County has been absolutely devastated by high unemployment since DHL moved out. Rachel Ray and Jay Leno have recently done free shows there to help feed some of the people who are hurting. I think these three kids who can write so well are really helping everybody in their county to feel good this holiday season.

Excellent job, kids! Keep up the fantastic work and keep writing!

Here is the second place winner by Erin Wilson, a student at Blanchester Intermediate School.

What I like best about Clinton County
By ERIN WILSON

wilson, erinThere is a lot of places that I like in Clinton County, but here are some of my favorite places.

First there is the Clinton County Fair. I like the Clinton County Fair because I like to look at the animals. I like to show animals too. I like to show goats and chickens at the fair. I love the fair food too. That food is so good I don’t want to go home and eat.

The second thing is the corn festival in Clinton County. The corn festival is cool because there is lots of fun crafts to do. There is lots of good food to eat and cool stuff to buy. I like to look at all the cool tractors too. There is tons of them there. I love going with my family and running a booth.

The third thing I like is Cowan Lake because it is so pretty. I love to go fishing too at Cowan Lake. I love to go sailing also. The water is so pretty. I just love it at Cowan Lake. I like to camp there too. I like to camp there because you can ride your scooters or bikes there and you can have camp fires. You can also just hang out with your family too.

The fourth thing I like in Clinton County is Walmart Super Center. I like Walmart because the food that you buy from them is really good. I like to buy toys from Walmart too. I love to buy clothes from Walmart.

The fifth thing that I like is the Murphy Theatre. I like the Murphy Theatre because it is really old. They have a lot of good plays. I like it also because it is really pretty inside because of all the decorations.

The sixth place that I like in Clinton County is Denver Park. I like Denver Park because it is really fun, and the playground is really cool. I like the Denver Park also because you and your family can hang out there all day and maybe even have a picnic. Or you and your friends can hang out there just for fun.

Another thing I like is the Caesar Creek Flea Market. I like the flea market because there is a lot of cool and interesting stuff to look at and buy. I like the flea market also because all the traditional stuff is there.

The last thing I want to talk about is my church. My church is the United Methodist Church. I love my church because it has a lot of really nice people and my best friends. I have a big church. My church has an upstairs and a downstairs. I love my county, Clinton County.

Student Essay Winners Announced in Wilmington, Ohio: First Place Winner

by Editor

essaywinnersCandlelight’s favorite children’s author, Artie Knapp, working with the Wilmington News Journal, sponsored a fourth grade student essay writing contest and the winners have been announced!  The students were asked to write about Clinton County, Ohio where they live.  Their essays were judged by education majors at Wilmington College.

This is one of those encouraging activities that can really make a kid feel like they’re at the top of their game.  It makes them want to keep writing and reading and learning.  Artie tells me that Clinton County has been absolutely devastated by high unemployment since DHL moved out. Rachel Ray and Jay Leno have recently done free shows there to help feed some of the people who are hurting. I think these three kids who can write so well are really helping everybody in their county to feel good this holiday season.

Excellent job, kids! Keep up the fantastic work and keep writing!

I am going to post the three winning essays over the next few days.  Here is the first place winner by Jared Penick, a student at Roy E. Holmes Elementary School in Wilmington.

What I like best about Clinton County
By JARED PENICK

Penick, JaredI moved to Clinton County Sept. 18, 2005. My mom’s job moved from Kentucky. I really liked my new school, Holmes Elementary. When I began kindergarten at 5 years old, I loved how I wrote letters to my mom and dad.

I like the Clinton County YMCA because I learned how to swim at Summer Day Camp. I took fun field trips to Kings Island.

I love Clinton County’s library because they have interesting books, movies and music tapes. The hill across the street is the best place to go sleigh riding because you can make ice ramps and ramp off them. At the end of the hill boys and girls make snowmen. Children enjoy playing inside the tree that is there.

Tractor Supply is so awesome. I wish I could have everything in the store. I like how Tractor Supply has baby chicks to pet and sell. I like how they sell farm supplies like fence, feed, wires, hats, shoes, gloves, buckets, halters, lead ropes, whips, bridles, toys, go carts, four wheelers, lawn mowers, dirt bikes and wormer for animals.

I like Clinton County’s beautiful farms. I like the big crops of soy beans, corn and alfalfa hay fields. Their animals are called pigs, cows, dogs, goats, sheep, horses and chickens.

I like Clinton County’s sports like football, baseball, basketball, bowling, soccer ball, put put golf, volleyball, track, tennis and lacrosse.

The rock that is in front of the Wilmington College is huge and fun to watch. It also gets painted once a month. When they paint it, the rock looks like it gets thicker. Sometimes people make good designs and words like go Hurricanes and this is the best college ever. Also the rock sits up on a hill for everyone who drives by.

Denver park is one of the best places to run and play. I like to play on the equipment like slide, swing, monkey bars and the tires stacked on top of each other. I like the pond because kids can fish without a license.

At the Murphy Theatre is a very cool building with the stage of talent where people sing, dance and act. It gives Clinton County residents a chance to be a star for the night. In the third grade my class went to the theater to watch a movie called Hotel for Dogs. The seats are comfy and sized just right. I had a fun time with my class mates watching that great movie.

There is a really cool horse arena called Roberts Arena. One of my favorite things to do is horse pull competitions. Some of the horses are black, bay, sorrel, brown, white and redwhite. Some of them are big and strong muscles to help them pull. They have light weight and heavy weight competitions. Horses pull over 9000 pounds to win. Horses also sometimes strain themselves so they can pull. Horses wear harness to work them and control the horses.

These are the things I like best about Clinton County.

Lord of the Rings Fan Film: Born of Hope

by Editor

Born of Hope is an independent feature fan film inspired by The Lord of the Rings and produced by Actors at Work Productions in the UK.  Kate Madison is the main producer/director.  The film is a 70-minute original drama set in a time before the Lord of the Rings stories.  It tells the story of  the Rangers of the North and was inspired by a few paragraphs in J.R.R. Tolkien’s appendices to the trilogy.

Henry Miller Hated America – Even Before Bush

by Editor | 2 Comments

Henry Miller hated America. So he moved to Paris and then, eventually, moved back to the U.S. In this 1969 television interview, he says he thinks the end is near for America. He was right. Bush ended it in 2000. We just don’t realize it yet. We’ve elected an insurance salesman to the presidency and we think he’s going to change the world. He won’t. The experiment in democracy came to a horrifying grinding failure with the criminal organization of Bush. And some tepid fake hipster bloggers aren’t going to do a damn thing about it either. We need more creeps like Henry Miller who hate America. You can’t fix it if you love it. You’ve got to hate it.

Weird Tales: Atilano’s Blues

by Editor | 2 Comments

CandlelightWeirdTalesLogoBy Bill Ectric

Bill Ectric has been featured on the web by Literary Kicks, Dogmatika, Mystery Island, The Beat, Syntax of Things, Empty Mirror Books, 99 Burning, Lit Up Magazine, Zygote In My Coffee, and Minnesota Public Radio.

Bill’s first novel, Tamper, is the rollicking story of two young fans of unexplained mystery and arcane history. The story follows these aspiring paranormal investigators, Roger and Whit, from summer treasure hunts and dark autumn secrets, through estrangement and drug-induced psychosis, to the island of Malta, where, according to an actual 1940 National Geographic article, a field trip of children and their teacher disappeared without a trace in the ancient Hypogeum catacombs.

He lives with his wife in Jacksonville, Florida. By day, when not writing, Bill mows the lawn and complains about the heat. By night, he sneaks around in the back yard, convinced that the garden gnomes are “up to something.”

Read Bill Ectric’s full bio and more stories on his Weird Tales author page.

Atilano’s Blues

a short story

I don’t know if my nightmares are from fear or guilt. I should have done more for the child when he called on me for help. What would you do if this happened to you? On a deserted stretch of Arizona highway, a faded sign on a sun-parched cabin said, “Gifts, Souvenirs, Curios – Cold Drinks, Ice Cream, Snacks, Coffee.”

I steered the car into the unpaved parking area. A cold, quenching soft drink would hit the spot, I thought. Dust floated up around my car when I stopped a few feet from the entrance.

A little bell jingled over the door when I walked in.

Continue reading …

Planisphere: New Book of Poems by John Ashbery

by Editor

PlanispherePoet John Ashbery has published a new book of poems called Planisphere.  Boy, I hated this guy’s poems a few years ago.  But I kept reading them because of some instinct for self-inflicted mental damage.  And I kept reading him.  Not understanding him at all.  But I liked the words as they passed me by.  They sort of slide on by you.  Smooth, but switching and becoming something totally unexpected, unrelated to what just happened before.  His poems sort of shimmer and seem a bit brittle, like glass.  When you read this guy you certainly know that you are not reading someone else.  He’s in his eighties, but his work seems like a young man’s.  He has a gently rebellious foolishness that I greatly admire.

His publisher, Harper Collins, has a preview of his new book that offers quite a few of the poems.

So does this sound like the writing of an eighty-year-old?

I dream of married couples having sex, shopping, everything,
and often get the giggles, staying here,
expecting something new to come along every five seconds.
That’s new to me, I expect others will have heard about it.

B—’s Mysterious Greeting

And here’s the guy: