a detail of the wall of my study.
Photo is a Hollywood Reporter portrait of me posing with Chuck Jones, Rob Minkoff and Bob Kurtz.

When I got out of school back in the Disco-Duck Era, in terms of textbooks we had only three- Preston Blair's Animation workbook, Techniques of Film Animation by Halas and Batchelor, and Animation: Concepts,Methods, Uses by Dr. Roy Madsen. Christopher Finch's huge Art of Walt Disney had great visuals, but most students like me couldn't afford to buy it. After that it was whatever we could xerox from friends.

Today we have a cornucopia of cool new books dishing out a lot of great information. When you can get me to shuttup for a moment about my own book, I'll detail some others no toonmeisters shelves should be without.


Amid Amidi's Cartoon Modern is a richly illustrated book that celebrates the years of the UPA Revolution and the 50s flat style. When old cartoons like Bambi and Pinnochio were derided as " Cambell Soup Kids "stuff. More than that, it also examines the era when many of the dynamic artists of the medium moved from the decaying Hollywood film studios to the small commercial houses. Where people once discussed the merits of Flowers & Trees and Betty Boop, they now discussed Marky Maypo and Burt and Harry Piels for Piels Beer. I applaude finally giving studios like Ray Patin and John Sutherland their due. Many rare photos of some of the forgotten greats of our art form.
Check it out at http://www.cartoonbrew.com


Another good read is Your Career in Animation by David Levy. New Yorker Levy draws upon his own experience as well as lots of collected personal anecdotes about how to put together a portfolio, doing interviews and getting your first gigs in ToonTown. Whats more, chapters like Indies for Dummies, examines that rare topic, how to function as an independent animator. From Allworth Press.

More to come. By the way, did I tell you I wrote a book....?
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Birthdays: Arthur Miller, Rita Hayworth, Jean Arthur, Montgomery Clift, Jimmy Breslin, Tom Poston, Gary Puckett, Margot Kidder, Evil Knievel, Jerry Seigel (Superman co-creator), Virgil 'Vip' Partch Disney animator, Charles Kraft the sliced cheese king, Beverly Garland- star of Attack of the Alligator People, George Wendt, Mike Judge the creator of Beavis & Butthead, Eminem

1814- In London a large beer vat burst and drowned nine people.

1815- Napoleon is landed on his final island of exile, St.Helena, off the coast of sub equatorial Africa. The humid climate was considered by the British so unhealthy that they rotated the garrison every year. Napoleon spent the voyage learning English and became such good friends with his assigned physician Dr. O'Meara (who was Irish) that the doctor was reprimanded. Napoleon loved to poke fun at doctors, he first addressed O'Meara- "So you are a doctor ? Well I am a general. How many men have You killed? I wager more than me! "

1904-In San Francisco Amadeo and Giovanni Giannini opened the New Bank of Italy, which in 1930 became the Bank of America. Among the 40 or so independent banks in California Gianini’s bank grew because he encouraged immigrants to put their money in, instead of in their mattresses. After the great San Francisco earthquake Gianini buried the records and total assets of their bank in a strongbox in their garden until their building could be rebuilt. The Bank of America grew from that garden to become the largest bank in the U.S. and a major Hollywood financier. They were a major financier of the Walt Disney Studio in the 1930s.

1928- Duke Ellington recorded The Mouche.

1967- The controversial play “Hair” opened at the Anspacher Theatre on Broadway. Hippies, nude scenes, The “Age of Aquarius.”

1973- THE OIL WEAPON- Arab nations of OPEC declare a crude oil embargo on any nation supporting Israel. Oil went from $12 a barrel to $79. Gas rationing and long lines appeared at gas stations in the US and England. Most distressingly, the 12 inch design of G.I.Joe figures were discontinued for twenty years.

1989- In the late afternoon the BAY AREA EARTHQUAKE shook San Francisco and vicinity. For the first time since 1906 fires were seen in the Mission District. The epicenter was a little town called Watsonville. 67 people were killed. California was planning to relieve traffic pressure by building upper levels onto existing freeways systems. The Ventura Freeway in L.A. had plans for such a system. When one of these new double deckers, the Nimitz Freeway, collapsed in this quake crushing motorists in a grisly concrete sandwich, all such plans were abandoned. There was a world series baseball game under way in Candlestick Park but miraculously no one was hurt. National TV audiences were amazed at the local fans laughing at the danger. They chanted to the TV cameras :"Welcome to California!".

2005- The Colbert Report premiered on Comedy Central.

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Birthdays: Lord Cardigan, Eugene O'Neill, Noah Webster, Dave DeBusschere, David Ben-Gurion, Angela Lansbury, Gunther Grass, Linda Darnell, Charles Colson, Tim Robbins, Susanne Somers is 60, David Zucker, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers

1817- Giovanni Belzoni discovered the great tomb of Pharaoh Seti Ist in the Valley of the Kings. He discovered 8 more ancient royal tombs in the valley as well as the inner chambers of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, making the world aware of the of the Valley of the Kings.

1834- The British House of Parliament caught fire and burnt to the ground in a horrific conflagration. Luckily artists William Turner and John Constable were around watching the blaze from the south bank of the Thames, so at least we got a few neat paintings out of it...
courtesy artunframed.com
1923- Walt Disney Studios Born. Fresh out from Kansas City, 22 year old Walt Disney and his older brother Roy sign a deal with M.J.Winkler for six "Alice in Cartoonland" short cartoons. Budget-$1,500 each. Walt would drive the live action crew in his jalopy to a cowfield at Sunset Blvd and Western and would tack a white sheet up on a wooden billboard for little Virginia Davis to act in front of.

1929- New York City skyscraper the Chrysler Building completed. It won a race with the Bank of Manhattan Company to become the world’s tallest building but it only held the title for a few months because the Empire State Building was going up.

1929- The frosted light bulb patented.

1952- Charlie Chaplin’s film "Limelight" premiered in London. Chaplin had shot the film in Hollywood but released it in Europe because he had been driven into exile by McCarthyite Red Baiters.

1955- Ann Landers published her first column.

1969- The Miracle Mets. The New York Mets, then possessing some of the worst records in baseball history, defied all 100-1 odds and won the World Series, defeating the Baltimore Orioles in 5 games. Tom Seaver, Cleon Jones, Nolan Ryan. Rusty Staub, Chris Chambliss, John the Hammer Milner, Bud Harrelson. Thousands of fans at Shea went crazy and danced and partied on the field with the players. My brother recalled in the parking lot cars were covered with turf because the fans had stolen the bases and ripped up the sod for souvenirs.

1976- Disco Duck by Rick Dees became #1 on the pop charts.

1992- The Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson filed a $1.4 million dollar lawsuit against a French tabloid for publishing photos of her topless and her boyfriend Texas millionaire John Bryan sucking her toes.

1997- According to the writers of the 1965 television show 'Lost in Space', this was the date the Jupiter-2 with Will, Penny, Dr. Smith and the Robot took off to colonize deep space. "Danger! Danger! Spare me your insolence, you mechanical ninny..."

This article can be found at www.Gulf-Daily-News.com

Disney takes action over 'Mouse orgy'

LOS ANGELES: The Walt Disney Co has said that it has taken "appropriate action" against employees at its Paris theme park who were caught simulating sex while dressed as Disney characters in a digital video that has received wide attention on the Internet.

Disney would not say whether it had dismissed any of the costumed employees featured in the grainy video, which appears to have been shot with a hidden camera at a backstage dressing room at Disneyland Resort Paris.

"The behaviour shown on the video is unacceptable and inexcusable," Disney said in a statement. "Appropriate action has been taken to deal with the cast members involved."

The video shows Minnie Mouse struggling to free herself as she is grabbed from behind by Goofy and then a giant snowman.

Later, Mickey Mouse simulates sex with the snowman and Goofy does the same with either Chip or Dale, the chipmunks, as laughter is heard on the tape.

The tape is described on the Internet as the "Mouse Orgy".

Here are two images from the Drawing the Line Booksigning Party on Friday.

Tony & Barbara DeRosa and me.

Here's a switch. Animation author Charles Solomon getting a book signed from me instead of me getting one of his.

Thanks also for other friends showing up like Sylvia Pompeii, Sandro Corsaro (The FLash Animator),John Van Vliet, Bert Klein, Bill and Sue Kroyer, Shelley Page from London, Tom Shannon, Ed Ghertner, John Dillon, Todd Jacobsen, Rick Farmiloe and many many more! We packed the house and I sold off every book I brought.
Big thanks to Tina Price and the Creative Talent Network! Check out more at www.creativetalentnetwork.com

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History for 10/15/2006
Birthdays: Quintus Virgilius -Virgil- 70 BC, Oscar Wilde, Fredrich Nietszche, Mikail Lermontov, John L. Sullivan, Burt Gillette, John Kenneth Galbraith, Robert Trout, Klaus Barbie the Butcher of Lyon, P.G. Wodehouse, Chuck Berry, Penny Marshall, Mario Puzo, Linda Lavin, Tanya Roberts, Sarah Ferguson-Fergie' the former Duchess of York is 47, Chef Emeril LeGasse

1764- While wandering through the ruins of ancient Rome, British writer Edward Gibbon is inspired to write "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire". After 20 years labor and thousands of pages he finished. When he gave the first copy bound in gold to mad King George III, the king said to him: " What's this? Another big damned black book, eh, Mr. Gibbon? Scribble, scribble!"

1905- First Little Nemo comic strip by Winsor McCay premiered.

1905- Premiere of Claude Debussy’s tone poem La Mer- the Sea.

1917- MATA HARI- 41 year old beautiful erotic dancer and German spy H21, was shot by firing squad. Her real name was Gertrude Zelle from Holland, she made up a new identity as an Indian princess with the name Mata Hari- The Light of Day in Malay. She would use her sexual charms to seduce top enemy officers and pass information on to German High Command. But she was finally caught, tried and shot at the Chateau Vincennes outside Paris. She refused to wear a blindfold and blew a kiss at the French firing squad. She still elicited enough sympathy that out of a 12 soldier squad only four bullets were found in her body.


1930- Duke Ellington first recorded Mood Indigo.

1940- Charlie Chaplin’s film The Great Dictator premiered.

1942- The Nazi-dominated Vichy Government of France declared a ban on the importation of all American and British movies.

1951- THE FIRST I LOVE LUCY SHOW- The most successful family sitcom in history began its pilot episode this night. CBS and Phillip Morris had wanted Lucille Ball to transfer her popular radio show-“My Favorite Husband” to television. The story of the family life of Ricky Ricardo, a Cuban immigrant nightclub band leader, his daffy wife Lucy and their landlord friends Fred and Ethel Murtz became an overnight sensation. The show was shot on film instead of live TV and it was produced in Los Angeles instead of New York City because Lucy and Dezi Arnez refused to relocate back east. The show also pioneered the three camera shooting system still used to day and when Lucille Ball was pregnant the show proved re-runs could be just as popular as first time showings. The January 1953 episode of little Ricky’s birth drew more viewers than the inauguration of President Eisenhower.

1976-What’s Love got to do with it?- Ike and Tina Turner break up.

1989- Wayne Gretsky surpassed Gordie Howe’s all time record of scored points in hockey-1,850. The Great One went on to set a new record of 2,837 points before his retirement.

2003- On the anniversary of the Long March Wang Lee Wei became the first Chinese astronaut to go into space.

Wow, What a party at Gordon Biersch last night! Thank you so much for braving the elements. We sold a lot of books. Thank you Tina Price and Creative Talent Networks. It was good seeing you all.
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B-Days: William Penn-1644, King James II Stuart, Joseph Plateau, Samurai sword master Masoaka Shiki 1867, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lillian Gish, Ralph Lauren, Eamon De Valera, e.e.cummings, Mobutu Sese Seko, C. Everet Koop, John Dean III, Roger Moore is 79, Jack Arnold the director of the Creature from the Black Lagoon

1670-At a performance before King Louis XIV the Sun King at the Chateau of Chambord Moliere’s satire “Le Bourgeouis Gentilhomme” premiered. Lully wrote the music.

1873-MY NAME IS MUYBRIDGE. One night a carriage drove up from San Francisco to the Yellow Jacket Mine near Calistoga in the north Napa Valley. A man asked for the foreman Major Harry Larkyns. When Larkyns answered the door the man quietly said to him:”Good Evening, Major. My name is Muybridge. Here is the answer to the message you sent my wife earlier. “ He pulled out a pistol and shot Larkyns through the heart, killing him instantly. The killer was the famous Photographer and Motion Picture Pioneer Edweard Muybridge. Muybridges’ young wife Flora had been having an affair with Larkyns while he was working on his Motion Studies Series in Palo Alto. Muybridge discovered the son she bore him was not his. They were even calling him Little Harry behind his back. The jury that convened in Napa did not hang the artist-inventor. In the Code of the Old West proven adultery was considered a justifiable homicide. Muybridge was acquitted. Flora Muybridge divorced him in 1875 and after her early death two years later he gave Little Harry to a San Francisco Orphans Asylum and refused to pay for his upkeep.

1908- The Chicago Cubs defeated the Detroit Lions for their first, and so far only, World Series championship. The next time they got to the series was 1945.

1912- While going to give a political speech in Milwaukee, a lunatic named William Shrenck shot Teddy Roosevelt in the chest. The bullet was slowed down tearing through his clothes, speech notes and eyeglasses case and just missed any important organs. Bleeding from his side Teddy spat in his hand to see if there was blood in his spittle, which would mean internal damage. Seeing there was none he went ahead and gave his 90 minute speech before going to a hospital. -Bully!

1926- Happy Birthday Winnie the Pooh! A.A. Milne’s first book of Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet and Christopher Robin debuted this day.

1934- The Lux Radio Theater premiered.

1954- First day of shooting on Cecil B. DeMille’s remake of the Ten Commandments staring Charlton Heston out in the Egyptian desert.

1959- Errol Flynn died of a heart attack in Vancouver. Exhausted by overindulgence in his favorite vices, doctors said the 50 year old movie star had the body of a 70 year old. A descendant of one of the Bounty mutineers, the Tasmanian born actor's last film was ' Cuban Rebel Girls'.

1962- THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS BEGAN- President John F. Kennedy was shown top secret U-2 photos of Russian nuclear missile pads being constructed 90 miles away in Cuba. This meant instead of a 30 minute warning time a Soviet H-Bomb could hit New York or Washington in 7-10 minutes. Attorney General Robert Kennedy asked CIA operative Richard Helms: “Dick, is it true there are Russian missiles in Cuba?” When Helms replied there were, the erudite RFK reacted: “ OH, SH*T!!” For the next 14 days the world came close to nuclear Armageddon.

1964- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr won the Nobel Peace Prize.

1972- Joe Cocker and his backup band were busted in Australia for drug possession.

1978- Lover Scott Thorsten “outs” Liberace by filing a palimony suit against him. Even after Liberace died of AIDS my mother refused to believe the outrageous pianist was gay. She thought “he just never found the right girl..”

1979- Wayne Gretsky scored his first goal.