Animation, Art, and Other Shiny Things
Around our house the first weekend in August is our All-Star weekend, the annual game seven of our World Series. On Sunday, no plans are made, the big screen is turned on and turned up and only one program is on. The Hydros.
UL-Class Racing on Green Lake ca 1975
These were the monster trucks and sports heroes of my childhood. With a bit of board, maybe a few nails, and a yard or two of twine we had a Thunderboat trailing behind our bike. Spike nails on the back edge and we had a roostertail made of sparks.
Growing up in the north end of Seattle I could hear the growl of the engines from Green Lake, three miles away. Often-times friends and I would walk down to the lake to watch, or we’d cage a ride from one of our parents.
Green Lake is a natural race course; roundish, Duck Island in the middle, and ringed by nice open areas to spread your blanket and watch the rooster-tails go by.
On July 20, 1929, at a time when water sports are becoming the fastest growing sport in the country, the hydroplane craze hits Green Lake. For the next half century, hydroplanes hurl their roostertails around the lake.
The Green Lake area has always been a nightmare to drive around, and it’s a considerably deeper level of hell if you want to actually park.
Unfortunately, that attendant traffic, parking, and noise, didn’t sit well with the Green Lake neighborhood folks and with the death of a baby Snow Leopard at nearby Woodland Park Zoo attributed to the engine noise, the hydroplanes were banned from the lake in 1984.
But the big boats, the U-boats, they were on Lake Washington.
This video has it all; unique animation, a snappy 30’s-style tune, and a twisted, satirical bent.
From their bio:
EVELYN and EVELYN NEVILLE are a songwriting duo performing original compositions on piano, ukulele, guitar and accordion. The sisters are parapagus tripus dibrachius twins, sharing three legs, two arms, three lungs, two hearts and a single liver.
Born September 11, 1985 on a small farm on the Kansas-Colorado border, the Evelyns have traveled the greater part of North America performing with “Dillard & Fullerton’s Illusive Traveling Show”. Their unique musical style is inspired by their many eclectic influences – from 80’s music to showtunes, Joy Division to the Andrews Sisters.
The story is detailed within the Tragic Events tracks on their album. They were discovered by Amanda Palmer (of Dresden Dolls fame) and Jason Webley (a long-time Seattle busker) who invited them to record an album. (which they did. it’s most excellent)
Others insist that Evelyn Evelyn are actually Palmer and Webley dressed in connected garments.
There is also a book, which led me into a whole new digression into the art and artist that deserves a post of it’s own. (which is in the works)
I could wish you a Happy Grouch Day but then why in the hell would I do that? The truth of the matter, and in the spirit of the day, I would much prefer that you go away, leave me the hell alone, and stay off of my lawn.
From the wiki:
A Grouch’s mission in life is to be as miserable and grouchy as possible, and pass that feeling on to everyone else. Only then will a Grouch feel in touch with his or her world and be happy. Yet, even though a Grouch may show happiness at anyone’s misfortune (including his or her own), a Grouch would never admit to being happy.
Words to live by.
Are you still here reading this? Well then from here on it’s your own fault. Don’t come crying to me if some mean ol’ thing I sputter offends your delicate snowflake sensibilities. My give-a-crap meter is offline today, and even on the best of days I don’t suffer fools gladly preferring they suffer more than I. Call it aversion therapy.
Admittedly, the other 364 days of the year I’m merely a curmudgeon, but on this one day, October Fifteenth, I can throw off the chains of mere crankiness and embrace my inner misanthrope.
Today I will rage at the clouds until nightfall then curse the darkness. Today I will loudly patrol the lawns of myself and my neighbors and not only keep those pesky kids off of them, but thwart any attempts they make to solve mysteries. Today I will hit “reply to all” on every forwarded e-mail I’ve received that contains the words ‘this is so funny/cute!” or has a picture of a puppy, kitten, bunny, or fawn. Yes, I have saved them up and the volume may crash mailboxes.
At some point I think I’ll put on my ABBA records (I have most all of them) and play them at elevated volume – each track 3 times before moving on to the next. And after that; Nickelback. Now there’s a band that knows how to be miserable…
With a little malice and some aforethought anyone can celebrate this most cathartic of holidays. To make it even better; you won’t have to apologize. It’s frowned upon actually and completely misses the point of the day.
Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time!
Now, I have better things to do than hang about here posting all sorts of gibberish towards ungrateful ears hanging off the sides of 3 pounds of gray fat mis-termed ‘the human brain’. Don’t bother to comment, it’ll just mess up a completely good post with extraneous pap and drivel and I really don’t have the time or inclination to read such swill – just go away quietly. It’s best that way…
(originally posted NGD 2010. if you don’t like reposts you can bite me)
You are in luck; no long-winded post today. (two are almost complete, just needing more wind…) So you get the next video from The Mind’s Eye early!
The Mind’s Eye: A Computer Animation Odyssey is a compilation of computer animated shorts set to an electronic music soundtrack. While it appears to be some pretty rudimentary computer work, back in 1990 when this was released, it was some seriously cutting-edge animation. I wore out several tapes and it solidified my love for animation and electronica.
Creation is the first chapter (of eight) from the video and begins the loose story of a world’s evolution.
Over the next few years a total of 4 Mind’s Eye videos were released (as well as a host of spin-off videos) with soundtracks composed and performed by the likes of Jan Hammer, Thomas Dolby, and Kerry Livgren (of the band Kansas). Although they’ve since been released on DVD, this first installment is still hard to find.
I’ll be posting the other seven videos from this first compilation, about one per week, and see if I can track down offerings from the rest of the Mind’s Eye series.
This is an unusual short animation; visually striking, it draws you in with its detail and then pulls you along as it reveals a complex story.
An image that tells an entire story, THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF MISTER HOLLOW centers on a single photograph that dates back to the early 1930s. As the camera begins to investigate the particulars of the photo, however, it reveals a tapestry of secrets hidden in the details, and a tale of murder, kidnapping and sacrifice captured in a haunting moment.
via Rue Morgue
[Update, July 22nd, 2012; Chris Wedes died today at the age of 84. There are nice obituaries in both local papers; the Seattle Times and Post-Intelligencer. He meant a lot to a generation of folks around here and he will be missed a great deal.]
[Update, July 23rd; I just posted a video of JP’s last public appearance, and a video of one of Chris Wedes’ last interviews.]
JP Patches – 1963
Julius Pierpont Patches, the Mayor of the City Dump, made his last public appearance at Seattle’s Fisherman’s Terminal September 17th capping a run of more than 50 years as an important part of Seattle culture.
If you don’t know who JP is then you aren’t from here and can’t call yourself a real “Seattleite” no matter how many Lattes you’ve drank at Starbucks. (at best you’re a ‘tourist’, at worst, a ‘transplant’)
In 1958, KIRO TV began airing the JP Patches show, which ran until 1981, marking it as the longest running locally produced children’s show in the country. Joined by Gertrude and a cast of thousands, JP showed cartoons, announced birthdays, joked with folks from the community, dinged extraordinary numbers of pigtails and braids, and basically improvised his way through tens of thousands of hours of live television to the delight of local kids. If you were the member of a local Cub Scout pack or Brownie troop at the time, then you probably visited JP on his show.
JP Patches and Gertrude
And not to worry, parents weren’t ignored. JP could throw a double entendre so fast that it whizzed well over little Johnny’s head faster than you could say “Geoduck“. There are a few shows available on video and watching them years later I was amazed and delighted at the amount of spice JP and Gertrude added to the cheese.
And the shenanigans didn’t end on the set. JP and Gertrude were active in the community:
One cause that Wedes supports is Children’s Hospital. Over the years, J.P. Patches has visited there quite often, cheering up those who need it the most. During J.P.’s 20th anniversary show, the hospital returned the favor by announcing that their new diagnostic play area had been named for J.P. (via HistoryLink)
I think one of the best examples of how loved JP is around this town can be illustrated with an anecdote from 1992, the height of the “Grunge” movement here in Seattle:
[A]n unruly audience was trashing the Paramount Theater while awaiting a Soundgarden Concert. Who should appear out of the wings but J.P. Patches. He quietly calmed down the audience before the band took the stage.
Yeah, a kid’s show clown calmed down a theater packed with teens and twenty-somethings. (take that, bozo!)
Bob Newman, Chris Wedes, and Joe Towey (photo from JP’s site)
Chris Wedes is the man behind the red nose, and Bob Newman was his trusty sidekick. In addition to Gertrude, Bob played almost every other character on the show. From Boris S Wort (the second meanest man in the world) and Miss Smith (of miss smith’s delivery service) to The Swami of Pastrami and Ggoorrsstt, the Friendly Frpl (who ate farm fresh frpl fodder from farmer frank from fife or farmer fred from ferndale). The man who directed the show for those years was Joe Towey, who stepped onto the show a few times and also played “The Count” who introduced horror movies late Friday nights on “Nightmare Theater”.
Since 1981, he and Gertrude continued to make appearances at parties and fairs and countless community events including a couple evenings at our local PBS stations for their pledge drives.
Late for the Interurban in Fremont
In 2008 a statue in honor of the 50th anniversary of JP’s show was erected in the Fremont area (the center of the universe and the home neighborhood of the statue of lenin and the troll under the bridge) called “Late For the Interurban” (situated a few hundred feet from the statue of folks waiting for a bus called “waiting for the interurban“, of course)
In 2002, Bob Newman retired Gertrude from public appearances due to health issues. The Seattle Times’ Sherry Stripling (i assume that’s her real name) interviewed Mr Newman just afterwards and wrote a great piece on one of the best and most beloved second bananas in the business.
J P Patches (picture from the Seattle Times)
And just a few weeks ago, the clown himself retired. Not suddenly; Mr Wedes has been fighting with blood cancer for years already. But he just can’t keep up the schedule anymore. JP Patches is a very popular guy even after being off the air for 30 years!
Myself, I spent hundreds (if not thousands) of hours watching the show and was a Patches Pal like most of my friends and even some famous people! (I was definately NOT a Boris Buddy!) When the kids were young I dragged them around Seattle when JP (and often Gertrude) made appearances. They weren’t quite sure who The Clown was, and thought Gertrude was kinda scary (he is a big guy), but sure enjoyed the videos.
For all that these silly guys mean to me, and thousands of other Patches Pals to boot, I could write hundreds of pages and devote an entire blog to these gentlemen. Fortunately folks have done that for me and probably the best resource is JP Patches’ own website. It’s full of show info, pictures (of which i’ve gleefully lifted a few for this post), and several video clips. The page hierarchy is kind of funky and there’s alot there that’s not obvious from the side menus. Besides the drop-down chapter selection, make use of the pointy hand navigators for each chapter’s sub-pages. Just be careful; I have spent hours poking around what is probably over 100 pages and nearly that many video clips and I’m not done!
Let me close with a clip of a classic moment in local live tv. (and there’s plenty more clips there!)
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The Ruffled Crow 