maybe? I don’t know. I have loved this song for years, it is easily my favorite Christmas tune, and one that I love introducing people to for the first time. I have included it on dozens of CD compilations, both holiday inspired and not. But it wasn’t until today, as I was browsing through artist Derek Hess’s website that I discovered that there is a video too! (in fact there are a ton of videos, but this one is pretty funny)

From Wikipedia:

Dominick the Donkey is a Christmas song written by Ray Allen, Sam Saltzberg, and Lou Monte, first sung by Monte in 1960. The song describes a donkey who helps Santa Claus bring presents to children in Italy.

In these troubled economic times, there’s only one thing on people’s minds. Gold, and how to get some. Fortunately for some, there is a Leprechaun on the loose in Mobile, AL, but so far there are no reports of gold.

Check out this photo essay of Mike Tysons’ abandoned mansion in Ohio:

http://www.popgive.com/2008/07/abandoned-mansion-of-mike-tyson.html

Sample photo:

found via BoingBoing

I saw Wesley a couple of times. Favorite time was on the street, the day after a show, got a million head-butts. Such a sweet weirdo.

Awesome Layer Tennis match scheduled for this afternoon- the talented Dan Grzeca will be competing in a very special analog version of Layer tennis, against the equally talented Phineas Jones. I am pretty stoked for this.

http://layertennis.com/090313/

Here are some of their artwork:
Grzeca:

Jones:

I love the look of this skate video, shot at 120 frames per second. Let’s you see the almost dance-like motions of split-second maneuvers. So cool.

The Polaroid camera was a staple of my youth, and while folks in love with the digital format may believe that the quality of photos left something to be desired, my fascination with the immediacy of the finished product has never waned.  I thought that I had seen a recent resurgence of interest in the format, and believed that that rejuvenated energy would keep the instant images alive for many years to come.

I was wrong.  Last year Polaroid announced the end of production for their instant film products, and many an old fan’s or new convert’s creative ideas seemed shuttered for good.  Perhaps I wasn’t as wrong as I thought, though.  What might seem to some like a pointless exercise in nostalgia is, to others, a very real belief in the instant format as a viable art form - especially when considering all of its potential for manipulation and adaptation.

The Impossible Project aims to not just restart production of integral film, but to help reinvent the format and improve on an already great idea.  To that end, they’ve purchased the factory building and all of the production equipment from Polaroid, but have just a year to get the bugs worked out, in terms of sourcing materials and getting costs in hand.

7 Big Challenges - Will they make it?

A link trail through the online love connection users have with their Polaroids turns up gobs of interesting - and almost always fun - sites and information.  I mean, really, how could anyone possibly take Polaroids too seriously, right?  Save Polaroid has some personal stories that flesh out the attachments of fans, and links to lots of other great ones, including I Heart Polaroid.  I know some of you are already familiar with Deviant Art, who hosted an online petition for the preservation of Polaroid.  Polanoid is one of the groups attempting to gather a gigantic archive of images.  I appreciate their affinity with lomography, and all of the imperfections and happy accidents that - like me - fans of analog photography adore.  A site that was highly anticipated did in fact open their ‘doors’ late last year - Pola Premium is offering film and cameras and a growing gallery of photos that are sortable by the type of camera or film used, if you like.  (Shipping prices aren’t cheap, and many of the hottest items are out of stock already, so don’t get your hopes too high, but you may get lucky and find just what you’re searching for.)

I’d say the fact that a flickr search for SX70 (a popular camera model) turns up about 70,000 shots testifies to the enduring popularity, hilarity and romance of the fast-format photos.

What’s not to love?

"Lagoon lovers" from caballosblancos' photostream on flickr.com

http://www.theweeklyprint.com/

I came across an inspiring site today. BT Livermore is an artist in Portland, OR. Let me just cut and paste his text to describe the site:

A few years ago, I started a site called Robot-A-Day as a personal challenge to get back in the habit of drawing something (so why NOT robots?) every day. And I DID draw many robots, for over 13 months; challenge met!

In 2009, I am issuing a new challenge to myself, The Weekly Print. My goal is to create at least 50, two or three color spreenprints during 2009; essentially one print a week.

The prints are gorgeous and fun! And best of all - CHEAP! All prints are only $15 or $20! BT also has posts explaining some of the process behind the prints- good DIY education stuff! If that sounds interesting to you- go check out the site! here are a couple images to whet your appetite:

click to read it better, if needed I guess.

To follow up on the previous post, scientists and psychologist warn that attention spans are shortening due to the internet!

Social networking websites are causing alarming changes in the brains of young users, an eminent scientist has warned.

Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo are said to shorten attention spans, encourage instant gratification and make young people more self-centred.

The claims from neuroscientist Susan Greenfield will make disturbing reading for the millions whose social lives depend on logging on to their favourite websites each day.

I’m not disagreeing either. In fact, I have always been vocal about how I feel about my generation. The irony of course is that I use these sites to keep in touch with old friends and make new ones at the same time. In fact, most blogs just a faster way to find out about news and other information right? Here’s the full article.