Archive | November, 2011

Spotlight: Nutty Nuchtchas

28 Nov

November 28, 2011

Nutty is a New Yorker turned Canadian, and road warrior. She visits more conventions per year than a former Star Trek cast member, but, despite her busy schedule, she manages to find time to make excellent contributions to the Beyond The Wall podcast (http://specficmedia.com/category/podcast/beyond-the-wall/) and SciFi Dig (http://www.scifidig.com/index.php?s=Digger+Chat), as well as produce her own monthly show of geek news and reviews, Nutty Bites (http://nimlas.org/NuttyBites).

She also creates art, comics, and cosplay pieces – info on all of which you can find at her site, http://nimlas.org

As is often said, no one is allergic to Nutty.

In a piece that is prefectly apt for this time of year, she hits the nail on the head of something I am sure we all noticed but takes it in a direction all her own.

—-

Is it just me, or has every holiday gotten bigger and bigger each year? Christmas is being advertised before Thanksgiving, there are isles in almost every store dedicated to Halloween, there are even Halloween greeting cards. The icons and symbols of each Holiday are being used to promote it and to sell the holiday. People used to do lights on their house for Christmas, now there are lights and decorations for Halloween and Easter too.

Now don’t get me wrong, I like a good bit of escapism as the next person. I talk like a pirate on September 19th, I carry a towel on May 25th and I say May the Fourth be with you. I like holidays and I will cling at even the made up ones to get my escapism on, it’s fun and it’s a way to add whimsy into everyday life.

What I’m curious about is what happens next? As the holidays grow larger and the symbol of the holiday (Santa, a Turkey, an Easter Bunny, a Shamrock) becomes more representative of what the holiday is about as opposed to the roots of the tradition, how will this evolve in the future?

I take you to 500 years in the future where you wake up to eat a green shamrock shaped food substance and go to work in your green bowler and everything you see that day is green. Your car is green, the streets are green, it’s like driving through emerald city (without the horse of a different color.) Everything is green until the next holiday, let’s say it’s Simpson’s Day, because of course by then the Simpsons will have historical status. Now you have painted your body yellow and dyed your hair blue. Your care is a garish cartoon color and your food resembles a cartoon donut. Everyday a holiday steeped in traditions you don’t understand so then there isn’t a special day that goes by.

Or, does this world I have projected sound like fun to you? I can say I’m not attracted to the idea of living in the Simpson’s world for a day or two.

Spotlight: Mike Mongello

27 Nov

November 27, 2011

Mob Week rolls on and on this week, interrupted only by American Chopper on Tuesday.

I hope you’ve been enjoying the spotlights. There are a lot more to come, including some wonderful legends and beautiful art.

And speaking of art, time for the man whose art adorns each and every Mob Week post, Mike Mongello.

He’s no stranger to this site, and we are no stranger to his art. He has provided some wonderful banners for this site, like the big 500th post banner.

Recently, his Halloween banner graced this site.

He’s been the subject of not one but four spotlights in the past. Click on the thumbnails to go to the showcases.

 This highlights Mike’s all-around genius. Find Superman, cars, and beautiful women here.

Star Wars extravaganza!

 Here is the Justice League as only Mike Mongello can do them. A huge selection of heroes, with a couple of members of the Justice Society mixed in too.

 Halloween! This is where you’ll find some amazing interpretations of classic monsters, along with portraits of horror stars like Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff, and Bela Lugosi.

And now, since this is the Thanksgiving weekend,  we can all give thanks for some new Mike Mongello artwork.

All of Mike Mongello’s artwork can be found on his site, www.supermonge.com.

All contents ™ and © 2011 Michael Mongello unless otherwise noted herein. All rights reserved.