Archive for November, 2008
not enough.
“Because there is not enough money in the world, people steal;
because there is not enough power, people do violence;
because there is not enough recognition, they make art.”
Adam Kirsch
Everyone has a Story to Tell
Write in my journal. Not many people would make such a request… Well, unless you’re in high school and you’re getting some pre-graduation mementos. At least, that’s how we did it in my school. hehe
Writeinmyjournal.com is a blog that posts journal entries by different people, randomly selected by David (blog author). The concept? Here’s how David describes his blog:
“I approach people who look interesting – like they have a story to tell – and ask them if they, knowing they’ll most likely never see me again, will write in my journal. They’re free to write whatever they want. I may give them a prompt to start but ultimately it’s up to them.”
This blog works similarly to Post Secret – a blog of revelatory secrets that’s now been published in several editions. New postcards are added every Sunday and some of the things people say are very personal, some to the point of scandalous. Guess that’s why they’re called secrets. 
Read some journal entries: Link
Crosswalk Art
Crosswalk art by Canadian street artist Peter Gibson
Zebra montage of more crosswalk art...
Curious? See more at this link.
Also, here’s a behind-the-scenes look at graffiti artists spraying a crosswalk as part of an awareness campaign:
This is a campaign to reduce automotive death. The majority of the time, preventative efforts focus on passenger safety and overlook the startling fact that about 25% of all automotive-accident victims are pedestrians. To spread awareness of this fact as part of Portugal’s ‘Safe Street Week’, Draft FCB Lisbon was commissioned to create a zebra crossing memorial where the stripes consisted of names of pedestrians killed by cars. The result is a spine-chilling visualization of pedestrian deaths that may ultimately be self-defeating as it distracts people trying to cross the street.
Miracles in Movie-Making
I recently received an email from the director of “Santa Claus in Baghdad”. The movie was featured in the Boston Globe and is making its way through Massachusetts and targeting schools for cultural awareness purposes.
The movie is based on a tale by Newton native Elsa Marston’s “Figs and Fate: Stories about Growing up in the Arab World.” To read the full article on how the movie got made (and the miracles it took), click here.
![Boston Globe]](http://lorenasephiphany.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/santaclausbaghdad_film.jpg?w=455 "santaclausbaghdad_film")
Scene from "Santa Claus in Baghdad" (image source: The Boston Globe)
And I don’t mean to brag, but I appear in the marketplace scene a few times. What great fun working on the set! The set designer did a miraculous job of transforming a Framingham studio into a bustling Iraqi marketplace. You’d never guess it was all built in 48 hours had you not been on set. It’s a short film and worth watching. Schedules of screenings are also in the Boston Globe article.
Three Shadows
- “Three Shadows” by Cyril Pedrosa [2007, english translation 2008]
How does one escape fate, especially one as precious as your own child’s? Louis, Lise and their son, Joachim, lead an idyllic country life, filled with cozy winter nights, lazy summer days, and, always, the chores associated with running the orchards. One day three Shadows appear on the horizon, and everything changes. Louis and Lise know that these shadowy fates have come for Joachim. Determined to save the boy, Louis flees with Joachim, desperate to stay one step ahead of the deathly shadows.
With just a few panels and brush strokes, Cyril Pedrosa creates characters you care about who are able to successfully convey feelings of fear, protectiveness, bravery, love, or other emotions.
This haunting fable of love, possession and grief is bound to stir up emotions as you follow the adventures of a father to protect his son. Even more touching is that the story is based on true events in Pedrosa’s life. In dealing with the loss of a friend’s child, Pedrosa was inspired to write and illustrate “Three Shadows” and effectively does so.
Very few French comics make it in the US market, and this is Pedrosa’s first translated work. He’s a French comic artist who’s worked on Disney’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Hercules”. His roots in animation are undeniable.
