Grand Torino

Great movie! If you have second guessed whether ot not to see it, see it. If you like Clint Eastwood he's as good as ever in this latest film. The movie was filmed here in Michigan and last week I was by the house that was used in the film. Here is a picture. I am VERY excited about Michigans Tax rebates to film makers and how it is impacting michigan and the the available jobs in the film industry.

Wallace and Gromit 20th Anniversary DVD's

Wallace and Gromit 20th Anniversary DVD's

Wallace and Gromit 20th Anniversary DVD's are appearing on the shelves. I was in a video department at a large chain store last night and saw the Wrong Trousers version for sale. I didn't see any new features added to the release but the cover art is new.

I also went online hoping to find the latest W & G outing, A Matter of Loaf and Death, and could not find it available in the states. Amazon UK has it but the shipping and such typically gets kind of high.

It is cool however to see W & G going strong and still coming out with "Cracking"new product.

Stop Motion Animation is strong and here to stay! =)

Wybie

Today I added a page to the web site for the Wybie costume my son and I made for a costume contest. take a look and tell me what ya think.

Al Roker on Howard Stern

Was listening to the Stern show today while at work and heard Al Roker comment on taking his 10 and 6 year old children to see Coraline. He said he liked the movie but it is too scary for young children. Thought it was interesting that here it is the Stern show and even they were talking about Coraline.

Coraline Debut and Victoria Rose

This weekend saw the opening of the Great new Stop motion animated movie Coraline and Tim and I saw it on Saturday. AWESOME movie!

On Sunday we went to the Emagine Theater in Novi, MI for a Costume contest, which we decided Saturday night at 7 to be part of. We rushed to home depot for supplies and created his Wybie costume in 3 hours. Still need to add the crank handle to the helmet and the LED's for the eyes but for a 3 hour turnaround I an satisfied.

We had the opportunity to meet Victoria Rose at the event as well. Victoria handled puppet maintenance for the film. Such a nice person and her stories were fun to hear. =)

more review to follow but for now here's a pic of Tim and Victoria.

Friday the 6th is almost here!

The years of waiting are over.




Can't wait to see it this weekend..maybe twice ;)

They Might Be Giants

With the coming release of the new stop motion movie Coraline and the sounds and trailers that have been put out Inoticed that the "other Father" song sounded familiar. Well it sounded familiar because it is sang by They Might be Giants. I have enjoyed their music for many years and was excited to see they were involved with Coraline.

Happy Birthday Tim!

Wishing our son Tim a VERY happy 13th Birthday today! Here he next to the sign at our local Barber shop. The sign here has been used to wish happy birthdays, welcome homes, and wedding proposals. It is Iconic in our community. Tim- We love you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAL!!!!!

Coraline shoes By Nike!!

How cool is this? A Nike shoe based on the Coraline movie.

I found several sites with information but when i looked at the Nike site they had nothing. Still a neat concept, and the soles GLOW!!

Nifty!

coraline book

Went to Borders yesterday to get a copy of the book Coraline in hopes of reading it before the movie release on February 6th. Imagine my surprise to see that when I searched they had none listed as in store and most were pre-order status??? The book is not new and with a major movie release coming very soon one would think plenty of inventory would be on hand. Then my wife came strolling up with a copy of the book she had searched high and low for and found the one copy in the whole bookstore. It is not a typical book as it also contains interviews and additional material. That being said I have read about a third of it thusfar and now knowing a little of the story I am even more excited for the film!!

This weekend I also received one of the Coraline Keys as a gift from my wife. My son and I have been intrigued with the keys since reading of their mysterious appearance in random places. We even scoped out the huge standee at the theater last weekend hoping for a find. LOL. Of course we have no real idea what they mean or how they may or may not come into play as the movie opening draws near, but it's still one of the coolest movie tie ins I ever recall.

Vent Haven Ventriloquist ConVENTion 2009

Great news about the 2009 Vent Haven ventriloquist ConVention.

Lectures and performances by Jeff Dunham, Jay Johnson, and Sammy King!

WOW will be a GREAT convention. These entertainers along with the cast that are staples of the convention, I am excited and looking forward to July in a major way!

Along with the great lectures and shows don't forget the great times to be had in the hospitality suite hosted by Bob and Marty Hamill.

And the dealer rooms..we can't forget the dealer rooms.

*drooling already*

There are so many great people who attend this gathering that once you go the first time you are hooked!

See ya there =)

CJ and Buster with Mark and Chris Donahoe of

Back Stage Pass Parties

at the 2008 ConVENTion.

Stop by the hospitality suite and say Hello to them. =)

Merry Christmas

to all

and to all

a good night.

CJ and Buster would like to wish all of their friends the very happiest of holidays.

We hope 2008 was everything you hoped for and that 2009 will be the "bestest" year ever!

Live, Laugh, and Love.

Your pals,

CJ

and

Buster

New Punisher Movie

My sone Tim and I went to see the new PunisherWar zone film last night and it was very good. A lot of action and a very well done Jigsaw makeup.





The action was nonstop and looked great on the big screen. A lot of good music, the sound track should be a good one. Haven't had alot fo time for much but this was a good pick, Tims idea =)

Worth the ticket, (but sneak in your own starburst candy =)

uh oh..Coal this year ??

Well the Daughter went to see Santa last weekend..and this is how she reacted to the right jolly ol' elf. YIKES!! She's gonna get coal for sure this year!

Poor Santa..all he wants to do is bring joy to the hearts of children and ..well...maybe not so much eh?

;)

Milt Kort

I am currently attempting to compile information on a great magician and human being, Milton Kort.

The hope is to complie stories and anticdotes about Milt to passalong to my children as a reminder of their wonderful Great Grandfather. Milt passed in 2003 and our daughter was born in 2007, so it is our hope to gather as much information as we can to put on paper for her to know more about him.

If you have any stories to pass on please do so.

chris@cjandbuster

Thanks in advance for yourtimeand help with this request.

Chris

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing everyone a healthy and happy Thanksgiving!

Jeff Dunham Very Special Christmas Special

I hope by now most of you have had the oppertunity to watch the New Jeff Dunham special on Comedy Central. If not don't hesitate to check the listingsfor replays and get out there and get the DVD. I picked up my copy but haven't had timeto watch the additionalhour of footage yet. Maybe this weekend=)

Also if you have comcast with on demand they are airing his firstcomedy central special. It is the one with the original Melvin the Super Hero guy puppet by Kristin L. Be sure to check it out.

Blakes Orchard and Farm

Today Buster went along with us to Blakes Orchard and Farm. It is a great fall place to go for cider, donuts, and fun. They have a Haunted house which Tim and I went through and a huge hay mountain for all to climb. Buster climbed the small hay mountain though.


WOW this is WAY up!!!


OK maybe not that high...



THIS one was high up!!

Been a while...

Wow I did not realize it has been so long since I have posted anything hereon the CJ and Buster Blog. I switched jobs in June and have been working 60+ hours a week which does not leave much time for the fun stuff. That being said I have also realzied it's the fun stuff that keeps us from going insane. So my goal is to get the dust settled and getmy Stopmotion Buster walking again and get pen to paper and writesome material for Buster Ventriloquially.

Also some changes have been put on CJ and Buster. By this I mean I had attempted to get a new Buster puppet made but the original creator decided that my attemptsto do so was somehow trying to cheat himof his rights. If I can say, I SEARCHED HIM OUT to give credit where credit was due for such a great puppet. Having said that there might be some changes in the future of Buster. More to come if things develope.

more to come..

New Stop Motion Movie- Coraline

See some great new sneak peek clips of Coraline on my site in the Cool Clips section.

This Movie looks like it is going to be an awsome film. Great stopmotion as well as character design and sets. Is set to be released in theaters in February 2009. Keep your eyes open for more.

Coraline Sneak Peeks

ConVENTion Pictures now posted

Well it has been several weeks and I have finally had the chance to resize and tag the pictures we took at the Ventriloquist ConVENTion 2008.

The Convention was such a great time for Tim and I. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly, free with ideas and suggestions, it is a great atmosphere to become re-excited about ventriloquism and so inspiring. Can't wait until next year!




Of course Buster is already back in his bag just waiting to go back as well!

CJ and Buster

Vent Haven ConVention 2008

WOW what a GREAT convention it was! It was great to meet up with folks I had met last year and to meet some new ones as well. The shows and lectures were fantastic! Everyone did a great job organizing the event.

I have been busy with work but I am working on resizing all of the pictures I took and getting them posted on the website. Here is a picture of Tim and Kristen with his new figure. Kristen does GREAT work and her characters are all one of a kind. Kristens puppets are called Oddballs and Orphans and you can contact her for information on getting one of her great puppets of your own. =)



The great hospitality staff did an outstanding job of making everyone feel welcome and have a great time. There were 88 fist timers this year which is very cool. Everyone I had the chance to talk to were having such a good time it proves how wonderful this Ventriloquist community really is. Can't wait until next year! counting the days already. 352 days until Vent Haven ConVention 2009!! =)

Courier journal Ventriloquism article

Great article is from the Courier Journal in Louisville Kentucky.

Read it here.

ConVention begins tomorrow, July 16th. Hope to see you there! =)

3 days until Vent Haven ConVention 2008!!!!

Cj, Buster and Tim are watching the clock tick away the minutes until we will be heading to the Vent Haven Ventriloquist conVention! It's never too late to sign up, They allow walk ins and it is truely a great conVention! If you like to hang out with some interesting Dummies then this is the place for you. ;)

Hope to see ya there. Be sure to say Hello.

Chris

BUSTER IN '08!!!

It is time for some change in the White House!
We have elected dummies before so now is the time for a Real Dummy to have a chance!

See the latest in the campaign for change and reform here.

Also check out the new wristbands for cjandbuster.com.

George Carlin "Passes away"

He will be Missed! What a GREAT comedian. Some of his routines may contain adult language..but George told it like it was and with a great comedic flare.

Conrad Hartz Ventriloquist Television Interview

Here is a link to a great interview with Conrad Hartz- puppeteer, Ventriloquist, Figure maker extraordinaire, and all around good fella.

http://www.thecoastalsource.com/news/local/18906114.html

also check out his site if your looking for a high quality hand carved Ventriloquist figure.

http://www.geocities.com/conradhartz/mypage.html

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have been super busy with work and family and have not had time to update things but I will try to be more diligent with sharing the cool things I see or do. hehe.

Have a GREAT weekend all!

CJ

Chips and Dip

I have been meaning to post this for a few weeks but have not. Sooo today I decided to pop in and post. I have had a tall stump in my front yard for a couple years that I always thought would be fun to try to carve..not just with a knife and or chisel but with the chainsaw ala lumberjack style (ROFL) well I started..and boy those guys make it look easy but its a real challenge to wield a chainsaw in such a way. This will take time to do but it was fun and so far the basic shap was done with only the chainsaw. Oh..the Dip in the title refers to me if you dind't get it LOL. Who would jump in the deep in with both feet into something he has never tried..uhh..ME. LOL

Oh yeah..the thoguht is an Eagle..might turn out more like a humming bird but what the heck..Gotta try! =)

CJ Meets Biff!

Had the oppertunity to go to the The Comedy Castle on Thursday night to see Tom Wilson. You might better know Tom Wilson as Biff from the back to the future movie trilogy. His act was Hilarious! Had I of known it would not be a large crowded venue I may have tried to have Buster Tag along for a picture with him and Tom but alas I did not...sooo..we will suffer through seeing just Cj with Mr. Wilson. =P

If you get the chance to attend one of his shows I would say GO! Worth the price of admission!!! Get his CD its Awsome.

A Couple of Jokers

CJ and Buster are a couple fo cards...52 to be exact. LOL Found a great deal on a set of custom cards, the down side is if I actually wanted more it would be very costly...Soooo I took them up on the deal for one deck for $5.



Here is the info for anyone interested:

www.photoplayingcard.com

Coupon Code: FREEDECK

expires on 12/31/2010 , shipping cost $5.99

If you get a deck please be sure to show me..would love to see them =)

Funny thing happened at the hair Salon

Ok so maybe it wasn't a hair salon but it was the place geared specially for kids to go for hair cuts. The kids sit on horses or in cars etc to get their hair cut. I said all that to show you this. Now I have to assume this was a happy coincidence that the toy was where it was when we found it..but I felt it was humorous enough to share. Maybe I am just warped (no comments from the cheap seats please ;) )

Oh and HAPPY ST PATRICKS DAY TO YA!

Fantastic Book for Ventriloquist figure makers!

Recieved my order for the new book "McElroy Magic!" on wednesday and have to say ti is a VERY thorough discription of the techniques used by Glen and George McElroy to build some of the most sought after ventriloquist figures in the world. You can see some great examples of their work at the Vent Haven Museum website and the book can be found on the puppets and props website for sale. The book is not for the faint of heart but the amount of research that has gone in to this writing is worth the cost just to see how intricate these figures really are.

Take a look.

CJ

Magic Weekend

Had the oppertunity to attend the magic weekend at ABCMagic in Clinton Township, MI on Sunday. The turn out was good even with bad freezing weather in the morning. I have posted some pictures here of some of the vents in attendance. The Troy Hooser lecture was fantastic. He has some great material and I highly recommend reading his book DesTroyers or getting your hands on some of his DVDs. It was nice to see Ron Bauer there as well. Have not had the chance to talk to Ron in some time so it was nice to have a few minutes to catch up.

Been very busy with work and family so have fallen behind on my animation project and my hopes of writing some material for Buster and Jack. If you have any good jokes you want to share feel free to send them along. chris@cjandbuster.com

Weekend of Magic

ABC Entertainment/Magic is hosting what looks to be a great weekend of magic the weekend of February 16th and 17th. Looks like it will be entertaining and educational for those who attend. There will be lectures, a flea market and a close-up contest. Some of the lecturers will be Troy Hooser, Marien Hopman, Dave Schneider and Dave Mitchell doing a Ventriloquism Lecture on Sunday. This is the day I hope to attend. for more information go you can go to the ABC Entertainment website.

Hope to see ya there!

Jeff Dunham

CONGRATS Jeff Dunham on being #1 on the Comedy Central competition.
See more here.

And if you haven't watched his comedy Central specials yet you really should..what a funny guy!!

The first DVD was Jeff Dunham Arguing with Myself

And the most recent is Jeff Dunham Spark of Insanity

SAD NEWS!!

Read this on a forum tonight..its Such terrible news!


Very Sad News!

Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times he still was a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, two children, John Dough and Jane Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes

Comedy Central Showdown

Get those votes in for Jeff Dunham on the COmedy Central showdown.

A great visit!

Had the GREAT opportunity to spend a few hours on Monday with Tom Ladshaw. He is such a nice person and so knowledgeable on Ventriloquism and magic. We had a fun lunch with Lisa Sweasy at a great little pub in Fort Mitchel..or at least I think it was Fort Mitchell. (lol)

I guess next time I better bring my note pad I learned so many new things and neat stories about vents past and present. This was a great way to spend some time in Fort Mitchell to help with the withdrawals of wanting to go back to the Vent Haven ConVention.

Looking forward to July!! If you have never been to the Vent Haven ConVention I have to say it is such a wonderful experience that anyone interested in Ventriloquism it is well worth making the effort to get there. Last year was my first and it was so inspiring and educational..and lets not forget entertaining..or should I say Ventertaining?



Here is a group photo from the 2007 Vent ConVention. Looks fun doesn’t it? IT WAS! Now you need to join in next year =)

Recently added a new page to the website with a step by step on creating the Buster Living Room set for Stopmotion animation.(i.e. creating a set)that can be seen here.

Busters new living room

Well over christmas break from work I decided to put what time I could steal away in to getting the set for the first shot in Busters adventures animation built. Since he needed a living room for it I went to work. I will be posting a complete walk through on my website shortly but for now here is a sneak peak :) Still putting finishing touches on it and hoping to begin this scene soon.

New Year in with a Bang!

Or should I say a Swoosh!? It snowed between 12-14" of snow new years eve with the majority of it after midnight. Woke this morning to find it a winter wonderland.

Happy New Year!

CJ and Buster and all of our friends wanted to wish every a VERY Happy New Year!

May 2008 bring health and properity to all!

Merry Christmas

CJ and Buster would like to wish you and yours a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

May all your hopes and dreams come true!

Step in to the new year with happiness and joy. Search out new things and meet new people.

Animation

Found another very well made stop motion animation on youtube. Check it out.

New Dunham Video

WOOT! New Jeff Dunham Video with Achmed.

Tribute to Ventriloquism

Bob Albano has spent years building a great resource for ventriloquists simply called, A Tribute to Ventriloquism. There is so much great information and history there waiting to be enjoyed. Have a look!

Harold Crocker Ventriloquist

Harold is such a nice guy was very cool to see this clip on Youtube. Met harold at the 2007 Ventriloquist conVention.

Funny Stopmotion Commercial

This is a fun very well made Stopmotion animation commercial out for the Holiday season.

If you have not yet had the oppertunity to see the latest Jeff Dunham DVD Spark of Insanity you can't go wrong for some of the BEST comedy out there! Jeff is a great commedian and Ventriloquist with his many characters to get you rolling in the aisles. Check it out.



I had the great oppertunity to meet him twice this year, once at the Vent Haven ConVention in July and again when he was performing locally in October. Do check out his DVD you won't regret it. You can check out Jeffs website here as well.

Must have book for animators!!

I recently purchased the book Animators Survival Kit and must say it is the BEST book for learning the basics of animation movement. I originally thought it was more for traditional drawn animation until i began reading it and had an epiphany..there really is nodifference between drawn animation and stopmotion when it comes to movements and capturing each frame. We pose each shot as an artist draws theirs. The explanations of movements is so clear it makes so much more sense to me now. If you animate with any medium you really should take a look at this book.

Funny Ventriloquist routine

Found this on Youtube. Paul Zerdin doing an act on the Jerry Springer talk show. I believe the first figure is a Kristen L Oddballs & Orphans Figure.

Enjoy! =)

CJ and Buster have been Elfed!!

well my wife Elfed us!

It's kinda funny really. I remember seeing this last year too and now..well we've been Elfmotized!

More movie magic

This segment is an interview with Legendary makeup artist Dick Smith. Also check out his website for more about his work and his excellent courses in makeup technique.



also just found this clip as well. :)

Movie Magic

Found this Awsome clip from an old Television show called Movie magic. The show was based on a behind the scenes look at how movies are made.



Enjoy :)

Cute Animation

Found this very cool commercial on Kathi Zungs Website. Her studio made the puppets. Not sure if they did the animation but still a very cute commercial non-the-less.

Snerd and Baker

This weekend(friday) we went to see a couple movies. The first was Enchanted, the new Disney movie. The movie was cute and had numerous referances to other Disney classics. In one scene they had a clip from "Fun and Fancy Free" which had Edgar Bergen and Mortimer Snerd talking.

Another great thing in this movie is the Hag Make-up created by Rick Baker on Susan Serandon. Fantastic! HE is such a talent!

The other movie was MR Magoriums Wonder Imporium. I like Dustin Hoffman but wasn't too enamoured with this film. I felt it didn't tell enough of his story and then ended fairly abruptly.

Vincent/ Tim Burton

Here is a Fantastic short film by Tim Burton. Worth going back and watching again. =)

Happy Thanksgiving! / First Snow of 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It snowed last night for the first time this year(that actually stuck to the ground) and so I wanted to show it to those who might not get snow and want some. LOL. Can't wait toplay in it with the Kids. :)

Site Changes

Spent a little bit of time re-working a little of the web site. I am trying to breakup the animation pages and sort them into a more sensible direction.


Also for Family and friends I have added Pics so go check them out as well. You know where to look :)

So take a look at the site and let me know what ya think about some of the changes. It's always good to hear from others and get suggestions and comments.

CJ

Ray Harryhausens The Pit and the Pendulum

The trailer/teaser for this stopmotion animated short looks fantastic. Still have not found out if it is available for sale or not. Would LOVEto see the whole film!

Ray Harryhausen Presents; The Pit and the Pendulum short film

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Harryhausen War of the Worlds footage

I just stumbled onto this and thought it was worth passing on. It is footage animated by Ray HArryhausen for War of the worlds. It said it was test footage. If I recall, in the movie it didn't show the whole alien but only the hand..the original movie that is.



It's amazing the things you find/stumble onto on the interenet.

Shop build coming along

Well I made a little progress this week witht he work shop. Yesterday I was able to get two coats of drywall primer on over 1/2 of the wall surfaces. Its harder to get things done when every area I need to work in I am moving the things in that area around. With a small area and not willing to move things into the cold area of the garage I just cope with it. But tonight I put up a shelf and made some progress finding my workbench. I will be excited to get it done and post some pics. Then I can get back to work on my stopmotion animation project. And the best part will be, I will be warm in my new workshop and can animate throughout the wintermonths unlike years past. WOOT! :D

Also if your a magian or like magic don't forget to go check out the magic cafe forums. Great resource! Steve Brooks does a stellar job witht he site.

Th-th-tha-tha..thats all folkssss!

18yr old Alien Project

I unearthed an old project while trying to get my Garage in order and building my workshop. I have posted pics and some descriptions on my site.

Meeting Jefefef Dun-Ham

After thinking I had not properly saved this picture I was very happy to find it was indeed still in my phone. October 20th my wife, son and I had the oppertunity to see Jeff Dunham perform locally. The show was great! After the show we had made arrangements for a moment to visit with jeff. He was very gracious and signed a poster for my son which is now framed and hanging on his wall in his room :) The venue did not allow cameras so we left ours in the car, I took this picture with my phone. And as I mentioned earlier I thought it was not saved properly when I went looking for it the day after the show to print it. Now imagine how excited I was to find it was indeed there and now I can share it with you. So without further delay here is one VERY excited young man surprised to be meeting Jefefef DunHam(dotcom)gotta watch the DVD to get that one LOL





As a side note he is now wanting to go to next years Vent ConVention with me :)

Halloween 2007

I have added some pictures of the process we used to make my sons Halloween Costume this year. He wanted to be Micheal Myers from the new Rob Zombie Halloween movie. THe Little one with him is Eeyore and what an adorable Eeyore she is! :P

can read more about it here just scroll to the bottom to see.
:)

Shaun The Sheep

alot of new video clips at the Shaun the sheep website. check em out. :)

Tims Mask progress.

Happy Monday!!!

Just a quick note to say we finally made a lifecast of Tim for his halloween mask. Spent a few hours last night cleaning and correcting it. We cast it in the morning and made the positive with Ultra-cal 30 and then had to go out for the aftrnoon..soo..when we arrived home and I wanted to finish it it had set to a cement hardness, as it should, and made cleaning it a bit harder. I will post pictures of it soon if not sooner. Was able to get a few during the process too. :)

Hope all your Halloween costume ideas are coming together and will be the best ever! :) Above all..have fun and enjoy the season.

**edit*

attaching some pictures of the mask before and after correcting. We also began applying the paper mache for the mask. Thats about all I will say about it for now though until its done. :)

Harvie Krumpet

This is an excellent short stop motion animated film which won the academy award in 2004. It's about 22 minutes long and WELL worth watching all the way through.

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