Tracking The Evolution of 8-Bit Art, From Atari Era to the Present Day

Tracking The Evolution of 8-Bit Art, From Atari Era to the Present Day

A documentary on the history of 8-bit art, on PBS? The Evolution of 8-Bit Art is the latest installment in PBS' fantastic OffBook web video series, which has showcased Reddit, graffiti, generative art and Lego-based art in previous episodes.

9-Year-Old Who Changed School Lunches Silenced By Politicians

9-Year-Old Who Changed School Lunches Silenced By Politicians

Nine-year-old student Martha Payne took photos of her school lunches in western Scotland, but had to shut down her blog because she's now forbidden to take a camera into school. Superbug author and blogger Maryn McKenna reports.

'Bored to Death' Could Continue as HBO TV Movie

'Bored to Death' Could Continue as HBO TV Movie



The canceled comedy, starring Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis and Ted Danson, is being eyed for a possible revival at the cable network.

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6 Tips for Naked Bike Riders This Weekend

6 Tips for Naked Bike Riders This Weekend

    

This weekend it's Los Angeles' turn for the World Naked Bike Ride. If you're a nude-biking virgin, we've compiled a list of (mostly commonsense) tips to make sure you're as comfortable as possible while you let it all hang out.

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Weird Al’s UHF is uneven, but that just made it ahead of its time

Film: The New Cult Canon: Weird Al’s UHF is uneven, but that just made it ahead of its time 

“Joel Miller, you’ve just found the marble in the oatmeal. You’re a lucky, lucky, lucky little boy. You know why? You get to drink from… THE FIREHOSE!” —Michael Richards, UHF

For a generation that came of age in the 1980s, the music and videos of “Weird Al” Yankovic—and to a much smaller, but still significant extent, the 1989 comedy UHF—were a gateway to absurdist comedy, gently bridging the gap between kid-friendly silliness and jokes that are much further afield. A child weaned on Police Academy sequels or, say, the appalling robot pimp in 1984’s The Ice Pirates could have no trouble giggling at song parodies like “Eat It” or “I Lost On Jeopardy,” but might come to appreciate, however unconsciously, Yankovic’s songcraft or the peculiar places his lyrics could go. There’s nothing estranging about Weird Al’s sensibility in the least, yet there ...

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9 Chilling TV Ads From the First Dot-Com Bubble

9 Chilling TV Ads From the First Dot-Com Bubble

Between 1995 and 2000, a slew of companies were either acquired or secured investment without turning a profit. That led to the big dot-com bust of 2001, and the subsequent auction of thousands of Herman Miller chairs. Here's the story of nine offenders -- told via their TV spots

Meet A Buddy – Becky van Cleeve

Meet A Buddy – Becky van Cleeve

Q: What do you do here at SBS?
A: I am a costume designer and supervisor. I make costumes, pull costumes, create breakdowns for what we need, and overall make sure we have everything we need costume-wise.
Q: How did you wind up here?
A: I started school wanting to animate, and then I took a stop-motion class and got to fabricate my own puppets and realized that was something I really enjoyed doing; building puppets. Once I got internships at stop-motion studios I started sewing more and realized that while I love the whole puppet fabrication process, the sewing part of it was the thing I liked the most. So I decided that was what I wanted to pursue and kept my eyes open for opportunities that let me do that.
Q: Are you the main candy supplier of the studio?
A: Not of the whole studio yet, but I will be. We’re in the works. I’ve got plenty of sodas and…that’s it. We definitely have a monopoly on the lollipop supply.

Crappy '80s Cartoons Had One Redeeming Value

Crappy '80s Cartoons Had One Redeeming Value

Today's animated shows blow away the toy-riddled dreck that ruled the airwaves three decades ago. But even though 1980s cartoons sucked, there's one area where today's far more entertaining TV offerings pale in comparison.

iOS 6: A Deeper Look at Its 10 Coolest Features

iOS 6: A Deeper Look at Its 10 Coolest Features

At Apple's WWDC keynote Monday, the company selected 10 of the biggest areas of improvement to show off for the masses. The new features Apple highlighted really focus on two key areas: convenience, and accessibility. Here's a closer look at what they offer.

Oscars' Dolby Theatre Unveiled With New Sound System (Photos)

Oscars' Dolby Theatre Unveiled With New Sound System (Photos)



Iconic sound company previews the installation of its immersive new sound format, Atmos.

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9 Things We Know About Irvine, America's Safest City

Oh, gag.



9 Things We Know About Irvine, America's Safest City



Congratulations, Irvine! The Orange County city has once again been named the Safest City in the nation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We don't spend a lot of time in Irvine, but we do know a few things that have gone down there in the past year or so. In honor of the momentous occasion, we've compiled a list of things we know about Irvine.

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Starbucks Customer Sucker Punched Because of His Benz

Sort of an awesome headline.  Not a great story.


Starbucks Customer Sucker Punched Because of His Benz



A Starbucks in La Cañada was the scene of a bizarre sucker punch and chase last week, when a customer tapping away at his laptop was approached by an unknown suspect asking him about his car.

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Train Testing Ahead of Expo Culver City Station Opening

Train Testing Ahead of Expo Culver City Station Opening

From now through June 16, Metro will be running Expo Line trains ahead of the Culver City Station opening on June 20.
Between now and then, expect to see trains running regularly between the La Cienega station at La Cienega and Jefferson boulevards and the Culver City Station at Venice and Robertson boulevards.
According to a Metro release, the test trains will be running between 5 a.m. and 1 a.m.
Metro is urging everyone to take note of the following safety tips and to expect train movement at any time:

• Be alert at all times when near train tracks.
• Obey ALL warning signs and traffic signals when crossing the tracks.
• Watch for trains from both directions.
• NEVER walk, sit or stand on railroad tracks.
• Remember to push the pedestrian crossing button to activate the “Walk” signal.
• Use the crosswalks. Never jaywalk across the tracks or use the tracks as a shortcut.
• Always look both ways before crossing the street.

Click here to read more about the June 20 opening of the Culver City station and the accompanying downtown Culver City festivities.
Be sure to like Culver City Patch on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. 

Animaniacs, “Yakko’s World/Cookies For Einstein/Win Big” & “HMS Yakko/Slappy Goes Walnuts/Yakko’s Universe”

TV: TV Club: Animaniacs, “Yakko’s World/Cookies For Einstein/Win Big” & “HMS Yakko/Slappy Goes Walnuts/Yakko’s Universe”



It’s interesting watching Animaniacs in the order the episodes originally aired. Because the show is a collection of shorts, most people probably remember Animaniacs on a sketch-by-sketch basis rather than as complete episodes. (The exception of course being the handful of single-sketch episodes, like the upcoming “Taming Of The Screwy.”) But watching the first few episodes in order, it becomes very apparent there’s a method underneath that madness, a purposeful rolling-out of characters, themes, and recurring gags.

Now, I don’t want to overstate things; this is still a very fragmented series, and I’m by no means suggesting the Animaniacs writers were attempting anything approaching serialization. And it’s apparent when looking ahead at upcoming episodes that this pattern doesn’t sustain itself very far beyond the first handful of episodes. But the early episodes—the ones the show’s producers had the longest amount of time ...

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Gallery: Pride 2012 Comes To West Hollywood

Gallery: Pride 2012 Comes To West Hollywood

                  

LA Pride came to West Hollywood this weekend. It featured Molly Ringwald playing the part of a Greek goddess in a toga, Lil' Kim drawing a massive crowd, a penis ice sculpture, girls in pasties and lots of totally ripped men prancing around in next to nothing.

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Does Paper Really Burn at 451 Degrees Fahrenheit?

Does Paper Really Burn at 451 Degrees Fahrenheit?

Author Ray Bradbury died on Tuesday. He named his most famous book, Fahrenheit 451, after “the temperature at which book-paper catches fire, and burns.” Does paper really burn at 451 degrees Fahrenheit?

'Ultimate Spider-Man' Renewed for Second Season on Disney XD

'Ultimate Spider-Man' Renewed for Second Season on Disney XD (Exclusive)



The animated series launched the network's Marvel Universe programming block, with comic scribe Brian Michael Bendis to pen additional scripts of the series.

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The People of Venice Beach California

CineStorm: The People of Venice Beach California

From Jacob Drewett and CineStormFilms: “The People of Venice Beach California”.



Some nice interviews with some of the well known “fixtures” on Ocean Front Walk.