News that the many-voiced Harry Shearer is leaving the cast of The Simpsons, as the series heads into its 27th season, triggered a discussion around my office.

One colleague wondered why they're still making the show. My position is that they are true to the philosophy Bart expressed back in Season Two, when The Simpsons aired a special tag in ( Read more... )

If you are a filmgoer who enjoyed the Irish animated feature The Secret of Kells as much as I did, it will please you to hear that Tomm Moore is directing a new film, which is nearly completed: Song of the Sea.

For dyed-in-the-wool animation buffs,* I have further news. Just as he did with the previous film, Mr. Moore has been keeping a blog ( Read more... )

While preparing for Thanksgiving festivities, I switched on the good old Macy's Parade. And discovered another thing that high-definition TV is well-suited for. But I noticed a couple of odd things ( Read more... )

Raymond Frederick Harryhausen, master of special effects whose work appeared in countless movies, has passed away.

I can't help wondering: Did he donate his skeleton to an animation school?

In today's otherwise charming Google Doodle, an animation celebrating Earth Day*, the phase of the Moon is wrong.

*As seen from my location within the U.S. Your Doodle may vary.

Good news from Fermilab Today: The people of the NOνA neutrino experiment have erected their first detector block, a gigantic plane of plastic that dwarfs its creators, in their hall.


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As I have already written, we went to some trouble to see The Secret of Kells last week, but we were amply rewarded. It's a visual feast ( Read more... )

In my previous posting, a comment from the distributor of The Secret of Kells indicated that it wasn't coming to screens in the suburbs any time soon. Another comment from acmespaceship urged me to park in Oak Park and take the El downtown. So K and I impulsively joined acmespaceship and e_m_b for a Not-At-Minicon Club meeting.

The Secret of Kells is just as good as the ( Read more... )

Is the Siskel Center the only place that The Secret of Kells will be playing in the Chicago area?

If there is a theater planning to show it in the suburbs, please let me know.

The film was Oscar-nominated, K is very interested in Celtic art, and I am very interested in animation.

Click to view

A science fiction writer attempts to survive on Mars: My old friend David D. Levine has gone to Utah to particitpate in a two-week simulation of a mission in a Martian habitat. (The link is to Day Zero as the crew arrives; go forward in his blog to see what happens next ( Read more... )