If you want to see the original version of the video, here it is:

At the 2008 Animation Block Party, based in New York City, Choom won the award for Best Student Film for her Vancouver Film School cartoon animation, “In The Beginning.” Winning that award provided her with funding to create  an environmental PSA for the 2009 Animation Block Party. That animation, titled “Rethink Happiness,” premiered this past summer. Again, I think these cartoon animations need more exposure. If you like them, share them with your friends and family.

I also added a third animation titled “The PenIsMightier” just because it’s funny. It was awarded the “Best Editing” prize at the Trick 17 Stop Motion Competition.

Your fantastic tutor will be Mr. Donnie Hoyle. He’s been kind enough to take the time out of his perfect life to teach you the basics of Photoshop. Your obviously non-fictional tutor will teach you real life applications that you can start implementing right away. Best of all, he’s not even charging for this awesomeness he’s about to provide.

Get ready for a 20-part award-winning series, created by Matt Bledsoe and Troy Hitch, that will cure you of Photoshop suckiness.

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #1 (Distort, Warp, & Layer Effects):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #2 (Covering Your Mistakes):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #3 (Clone Stamp and Manual Cloning):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #4 (Paths and Masks):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #5 (Select Color Range):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #6 (Liquify):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #7 (Patch Tools and Levels):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #8 (3D Layers):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #9 (Curves):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #10 (Vanishing Point):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #11 (Smart Objects):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #12 (Measurement Log):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #13 (Displacement):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #14 (Video Stuff Reall Fast):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #15 (Define Pattern):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #16 (Define Brush Preset):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #17 (Photomerge):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #18 (Annotations):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #19 (Shadows and Light):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #20 (Distort, Warp, & Layer Effects):

Remember that song “Pony” by Ginuwine? Remember that beat? There was a lot of studio magic that Timbaland performed to create that classic. There is a man in Los Angeles, California by the name of Red who doesn’t need expensive equipment to sound like that.

Homeless at the time, Red happened to drift by HVW8 Art Studios in West Hollywood and proceeded to put on an impromptu show. As he performed a song called “I Should Tell Ya Momma On You,” cameras captured every second of what would turn out to be his lucky break. He simultaneously beat-boxed the drums, the bass, and sang the lyrics.

The onlookers from the art studio were so impressed with Red, that they signed him as an artist and branched the company out into music with HVW8 Records. No longer homeless due solely to his talent, Red started working on his album entitled “The Man Without The Machine.” It’s an incredible story and here’s the event that started it all:

Here’s a nice remix done to Red’s parking lot beatboxing:

You can get the official single from iTunes in 3 different versions. Click on the version that you want:

Red -  “I Should Tell Ya Momma On You”

Red -  “I Should Tell Ya Momma On You” (CHOPS Remix)

Red -  “I Should Tell Ya Momma On You” (Dam Funk Remix) ]]> http://www.monkeylog.com/2009/11/03/homeless-beatboxer-red-the-human-machine/feed/ 1 http://www.monkeylog.com/2009/10/31/national-geographics-2009-best-pictures-of-the-year/ http://www.monkeylog.com/2009/10/31/national-geographics-2009-best-pictures-of-the-year/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:56:05 +0000 Mr. Monkey http://www.monkeylog.com/?p=441

National Geographic has taken some of the most beautiful pictures year after year. Up until recently, I had boxes and boxes of their magazines. They have taken some of the most iconic pictures ever and each carries it’s own unique story. Whether they’re exploring the depths of our oceans, the vastness of space, or anywhere in between, their cameras are always snapping away, hoping to capture images that inspire people all over the world. If only for a short time, these photos are very humbling and serve as a reminder of the beauty of our planet. When you get a chance, share them with your family and friends. Obviously 2009 isn’t over yet, but here are some of National Geographic’s best pictures of the year:

]]> http://www.monkeylog.com/2009/10/31/national-geographics-2009-best-pictures-of-the-year/feed/ 2 http://www.monkeylog.com/2009/10/31/best-halloween-costumes/ http://www.monkeylog.com/2009/10/31/best-halloween-costumes/#comments Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:08:19 +0000 Mr. Monkey http://www.monkeylog.com/?p=416

By now, I’m sure everyone has seen the amazing Bumblebee (from Transformers) costume. That video has spread virally and is virtually everywhere, but if you haven’t seen it, scroll down. It’s quite possibly one of the best costumes of all time…OF ALL TIME…/Kanye

I wanted to show you a different Halloween costume that is pretty amazing in it’s own right. It’s a costume of Skeksis Chamberlain from the movie “The Dark Crystal.” This is was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia. It’s so well done that it even makes a little kid on the street start crying. Check it out:

Skeksis Chamberlain costume from “The Dark Crystal“

Bumblebee costume from “Transformers“

EDIT: I stumbled onto this baby/father costume after I made this post, but I thought I’d add it because it’s just that good:

As far as celebrity Halloween costumes go, Heidi Klum definitely takes the cake. She has the most elaborate and well designed costumes. Take a look:

And now, how could Halloween be complete without all the girls taking advantage of the one night where they can dress like skanks without any shame?

In fact, there seems to be two different Halloween’s. Once you get past a certain trick or treating age, you need a way to still have fun without begging strangers for candy. Unintended pun aside, the adult version of Halloween (aka Slut-o-ween) is just as much, if not more, fun.

Here are a few sexy Halloween costumes…you know…if you need any inspiration ;) BTW, the “sexy Osama Bin Laden” is pure gold! LOL

Kseniya Simonova has a very unique talent. She’s a sand animator, something she started doing when her business collapsed because of the current credit crunch. Using her hands, she quickly forms stunning visuals that tell vivid stories. At first she started drawing in the sand at the beach, but less than a year later, her life changed. She entered Ukraine’s Got Talent and blew audiences away with her amazing sand animation performances. The exposure she’s received after winning the 2009 Ukraine’s Got Talent tv show has helped the young artist, born in 1985, build a new career out of her art.

The first video will introduce you to her, but make sure you watch the second video. It’s a full sand animation performance that I’m sure you’ll love. She tells a story of life, love, death and destruction during the USSR’s Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany.

I’ve also posted Kseniya Simonova’s other performances for you to enjoy. These are amazing! Share these with your family and friends.

Russia Today covers Kseniya Simonova’s story:

Kseniya Simonova’s sand animations on “Ukraine’s Got Talent”:

This is so funny, I just had to post it. Enjoy:

Drunkest Guy Ever Goes For More Beer (original uncut version):

Drunkest Guy Ever Goes For More Beer (silent film version):

Drunkest Guy Ever Goes For More Beer (parody):

The music industry is like a stubborn spoiled child who refuses to change and whines till it’s red in the face. Prior to the Information Age of the Internet, the Major labels would release CDs from “artists” with only 1 or 2 good songs. Even if that album went Gold (500,000 records sold in the US) it would be considered a failure. The Major labels were used to seeing artists on their roster go Platinum easily. Now you have so-called flagship artists like Keri Hilson releasing 6 videos for her debut album, In A Perfect World, and failing to even reach Gold status. The money invested in her project has definitely not been recouped.

That’s not good by any stretch of the imagination…for the labels. The artists typically get jerked on royalties anyway, so they’re used to making the bulk of their income from shows.

Seeing a huge dip in their bread and butter, CD sales, the record labels have begun to dip into every revenue stream of the artists with something called a “360 Deal.” Pretty much every new artist getting signed nowadays is going to have to let the record companies take a piece of any income they have, whereas before, it was restricted to the sale of recorded music.

The Internet has indeed leveled the playing field to the point that for certain artists in certain genres, it doesn’t even make sense to sell your soul to the Majors anymore. The fact is that CD sales are so low that some Indies are outselling Major acts. Realistically, the only upper hand the Majors have over Indies is in marketing and distribution.

With CD sales in a free fall with the widespread stealing sharing of music online since the invention of P2P software and torrent sites, many artists and musicians have been left wondering how to succeed in a failing business. Many other previously successful artists have been dropped from their labels due to poor sales. The Major labels are in a state of reshuffling their rosters and scaling back their operations in an attempt to remain profitable. So if the pros are having a hard time, how are the little guys supposed to survive? Does it make financial sense for Independent musicians and singers to try their hand in the music industry of the 21st century?

As it turns out, the state of the music industry is not bad news for everybody. As they say, desperation inspires innovation.

Mike Masnick of Floor64 and TechDirt offered up his ideas for Independent success at NARM 2009.

In the video below, he’ll explain his formula of “CwF + RtB = $$$.” That stands for “Connect with Fans + Reason to Buy = MONEY.”

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