Friday, February 11, 2011

MUBAREK RESIGNS! Sic Semper Tyrannis!



CAIRO – Egypt's Hosni Mubarak resigned as president and handed control to the military on Friday, bowing down after a historic 18-day wave of pro-democracy demonstrations by hundreds of thousands.
A massive crowd in Cairo's central Tahrir Square exploded into joy, waving Egyptian flags, and car horns and celebratory shots in the air were heard around the city of 18 million in joy after Vice President Omar Suleiman made the announcement on national TV just after nightfall.

"In these grave circumstances that the country is passing through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave his position as president of the republic," a grim-looking Suleiman said. "He has mandated the Armed Forces Supreme Council to run the state. God is our protector and succor."

Nobel Peace laureate Mohammed ElBaradei, whose young suporters were among the organizers of the protest movement, told The Associated Press, "This is the greatest day of my life."

"The country has been liberated after decades of repression," he said adding that he expects a "beautiful" transition of power.





CHARACTER DESIGN: Salon Article



From Cartoon Brew...
Salon just published an excellent piece about animation character design. They interviewed designer Shannon Tindle (Coraline, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, and some as-yet-to-be-released DreamWorks films) about why films like Gnomeo and Juliet and Bob Zemeckis’s mo-cap efforts have such poor character design and asked him to explain which mainstream features work and which don’t from a design perspective.



BABY'S FIRST GAG: Infant practicing "Dead and Alive"




Thursday, February 10, 2011

FUNNYMEN: Life and Times on the Greatest Show on Earth by Joe Wood


Click here to order now. Right now. I'm not kidding, you HAVE to buy this book right this very second!!!


Wednesday, February 09, 2011

MICHAEL "COCO" POLAKOVS: Sailor Circus and Pat Valdo


Newspaper clipping from the personal collection of Levoi Hipps


Michael and Hazel Polakovs had told me the story of how, after leaving the Mills Bros. Circus, Coco had come back to America in the late fifties and was working at the Circus Hall of Fame in Sarasota.

His son Graham was a student at the Sailor Circus and Coco had taught Graham and some of his friends an entree that his father, Nicolai, had performed at the Bertram Mills Circus. After much rehearsal over at the Circus Hall of Fame they presented their gag in the show. The act was a sensation.

No less than the legendary Pat Valdo attended the performance, seated in the very first row, and when he heard the audience's reaction he stood and turned to watch the audience's laughter. They were in hysterics. He hired Michael "Coco" Polakovs on the spot.

This newspaper photo proves Mike's story to be true. Upon offering Mike the job Pat Valdo asked the photographer from the local newspaper to get a photo of him shaking hands with his newest clown.

Graham is there in the photo (next to Mr. Valdo) as well as Mr. Levoi Hipps, graduate of the very first class of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College and first Boss Clown of the Blue Unit.




MORGAN: 29ème Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain (2008)