More Michael Finney

This is a great routine. His stage presence and wit is great!

Love this one.

Michael Finney Magic

Michael Finney is a great Comedy Magician and a great heart. His wit and talent show is this clip. Michael and his wife Lori also run a Cherity golf outing every year called the Dry Heat Classic which help raise money for great causes.

Take a look at this video and enjoy.

Time to Geek out for the Hobbit

Well it's looking like more and more great information is becoming available for the latest Peter Jackson Installment in the J.R.R. Tolkein's Middle Earth. I first read the Hobbit when I was in 7th grade. I remember the school year ending and there I was, mid June early 1980's and I was sitting out in the yard under a tree reading the Hobbit. Of course i did eventually finish the book and spent lots of time at the lake a bike riding but the whole time I was thinking about the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and how much i wanted to be a Hobbit myself. I did favor them a bit with my ever constant barefeet and love of fine foods. heh. Of course ever since the Hobbit I have always had a fondness of Hobbits. Most all of the characters I ever played in Dungeons & Dragons have been halflings. The character I play in Lord of the Rings online is a hobbit. I guess deep down I am a Hobbit stuck in a 6 foot tall mans body. ;)

Enough about me lets take a look at a video Peter Jackson has put out at the beginning of production of The Hobbit in new Zealand.

Sir Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Wizard and the role of Bilbo Baggins being played by Martin Freeman. Andy Serkis will reprise his role of Gollum and a host of new faces for the throng of Dwarves. The full list can be seen on this IMDB listing.

Without further ado here is the video blog of Peter Jackson during the days leading up to the start of filming. Enjoy.



Now go out and pick up a copy of the book and find a tree to sit in the shade and enjoy.

See you in the Shire!

Drinking and Driving

I was thinking now that the summer is here and there are a lot of parties and open houses for grads we need to be aware of the potential for drinking and driving. In 2006 I had the opportunity to work with a High School SADD group on a Mock accident to impress upon the kids the dangers of drinking and driving. It's a good program but I think we all need to be mindful and responsible.

"It's fun to have fun but you have to know how"- The cat in the Hat

have a great summer..and a safe one. Volunteer to be a Designated Driver(DD)

Howard the Duck!!

Remember this movie from the 1980's? I loved it then and we watched it a few months ago and it still held up to me as a blast from the past. Lea Thompson, Tim Robbins, and Jeffrey Jones round out the cast of co-stars to Howard.



Go watch it..it holds up. I think the Howard suit/makeup was darn good. Not sure who did it though..I looked at the IMDB but didn't see who made the Duck suit.

have fun.

Check these out!

Here are the blogs for Nathan and Joshua Flynn. They are Stop motion animation students and their blogs have some fantastic behind the scenes creations of their film project, "Night at the Opera".

Be sure to check each of their blogs as they both are taking on different characters and tasks of the film. Such great talent.

Super 8

Went to see this new movie by J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg tonight. I loved the retro feel of the late 70's early 80's along with the fact the kids in the film were making a film. I loved Super 8 when i was young and have a few of the cameras to this day. I won't go any more in to the story other then to say if you like Sci-Fi-esque films this is a must see!

I was specifically loved the fact that one of the kids in the film did makeup and makeup fx and when asked where he learned how to do it he says he learned from the Dick Smith Monster makeup handbook. Score one for the film makers on this Homage to the great makeup master of our time, Dick Smith.

One other note is that one of the characters has a Charlie McCarthy ventriloquist dummy in his bedroom which I thought was a cool touch. J.J. Abrams has a Ventriloquist figure of himself that was made by noted Figure make Tim Selberg. Nice touch Mr. Abrams.

Adam and Eve by Nick Hilligoss

ok, we have learne dhow to make a head and some shoes for stop motion animation over the past few days, now sit back and watch this great animation from Nick Hilligoss. A great piece of story telling and animation.

to see more of Nicks work you can go here

Enjoy

Stop motion puppet shoes

Here is another tutorial from Nick Hilligoss, stop motion animator from Australia. He makes it all look so easy and creates methods that result in a great prop with an eye on practicality and budget.

Enjoy

Great Stop Motion animation face Tutorial

Nick Hilligoss is a great animator from Australia with a lot of great tutorials on his youtube page. His animations are fun and well executed with smooth animation and character.

This is a tutorial for making a stop motion animation face.

Enjoy

Jewels and a New Car!

Am I lucky or what? OK here's the skinny. I had the opportunity to spend 1 hour and 10 minutes swinging yesterday..swinging a metal detector coil that is. It was a fun diversion from a long day. I was workign in a downriver city and decided at the end of the day to stop at a local park I have been eye balling for months. Well in just over an hour I had managed to dig up 26 coins in total for a whopping $2.69, along with a 2010 Mustang and a bracelet. probably the most I have dug in such a short period of time. It was a nice break from a long day but it was a HOT out.

Happy Hunting to all.

Geico Civil war commercial- Classic!

This is great.

I imagine when he says "clumps hill" he means Culps Hill. Does make me wonder if they are mocking reenactors or just having fun. As a reenactor I am not offended and find this commercial very funny!

Magic the Movie

A true Classic horror film that continued to give Ventriloquists a bad name and convince everyone that we're crazy. Or are we?

Great Magic!

Mike Finney is a Fantastic Comedy Magician. About 7 yrs ago i had the great opportunity to meet him briefly at Chris Reesamans Encore Magic which was in Flint Michigan at the time and he was very kind and funny. I am a huge fan of his magic as it is greatly entertaining. He also runs a charity event every year called the Dry Heat Classic which raises money for chariable organizations.

Here is one of his great routines. Enjoy.

Civil War Remembrance days at GreenField Village 2011

Here is a nice video of some of the weekend at Greenfield Village in Dearborn Michigan during Civil War Remembrance weekend over the memorial day holiday.

I was able to attend on Saturday for the day. Was a good time.