ORIGINALLY AIRED: 1/21/2005
Jerry Beck, LA Auto Show, DJ Qbert
Episode #5011
| VR on the Cheap: Why spend billions on military virtual reality training machines when you can use pirated copies of Counterstrike? Supposedly, China is training their army the affordable way.
Who Knew Arnold Rocked? Follow your favorite fictional bands from movies and TV shows at www.fakebands.com. The Return of the Stewie: In a rare case of fans’ demands getting heard, FOX announced that The Family Guy has resumed production and will be back on the air in May. |
| Jerry Beck became a cartoon expert the hard way – before the Internet existed, before there was such a thing as home video, and before studios really even cared about their large archives of ‘toons. In 1981, Beck co-wrote the very first reference book on Warner Brothers’ cartoons – a list of titles had never even been compiled before – which meant he had get his information mostly from trade publications from the 1930s and ‘40s. Nowadays, cartoon history is well recorded, thanks in no small part to Beck’s efforts. His latest book is Animation Art, an art book covering the history of animation from its earliest days to the current digital triumphs of Pixar.
We’ll have an outspoken web-exclusive interview with Jerry next week. In the meantime, here’s his list of the top five animated features to look for in 2005: 1. The Corpse Bride 3. Steamboy 4. Howl's Moving Castle Visit Jerry’s own CartoonResearch.com for animation history, or his blog with Amid Amidi, CartoonBrew.com, for animation news. |
| Kevin R. showed how to place your public-domain DVDs onto the Sony PSP that you’ll soon own. Okay – it was a tad complicated, as noted by Kevin P. when he remarked, “And it only took 400 man hours!” But you can get the complete directions over at Engadget.com. |
| Is a remake of a John Carpenter cult-classic worth seeing? Here’s what Sarah had to say about Assault on Precinct 13:
“Besides a couple clever plot twists, this is pretty much your standard good guys/bad guys film with a smorgasbord of weapons and gratuitous violence. Oh, and a couple hot chicks thrown in for good measure. “So what did I think? If you don't mind the total Hollywood cookie cutter feel to it all, you'll probably dig Assault on Precinct 13. It’s pretty fun for the action, the homocides, and perhaps even the one-liners.” |
| Warning: DJ QBert is not the hip hop alias of the loveable ‘80s video game character of the same name. No, DJ QBert is one of the hottest turntablists on the planet, whose all-DJ group Invisibl Skratch Piklz helped put the art of DJing on the map. Comin’ straight outta San Francisco, DJ QBert (a.k.a. Richard Quitevis) championed a move away from the hollow DAT-playing hype-man the DJ had become, and more toward technique and musicianship. QBert also spends his time teaching the children -- not just cold-rockin’ ‘em -- via his classes on the art of DJing and the gospel of the turntable. His work with the Piklz and numerous solo efforts, as well as key collabos with Kool Keith (he scratched on the legendary Dr. Octagon album) and Bomb Hip Hop's Return of the DJ, Vol. 1, have helped make him a worldwide ambassador for the turntable. Along with Mix Master Mike, QBert was inducted into the DMC DJ Hall of Fame in 1998 and, today, keeps busy lecturing at Scratchcon 2000 and working on multimedia projects such as the animated feature film Wave Twisters.
We'll have a web-exclusive interview with DJ QBert next week. For more info DJ Qbert, visit www.djqbert.com. To learn more about turntablist life, hit www.TurntableTV.com |
| Jason from Tampa wanted to know if DJ QBert was planning on putting out any more concept projects like Wave Twisters DVD.
“Yes, I’m doing another film – but I kind of want to keep it secret,” he said. |
| In tech topics…
Whoops! Our Bad: Sony admits it made mistakes with its MP3 players – like not supporting MP3. Word of the Day: “Illegal.” A "researcher" finds 99 conversations of IRC activity may be illegal. One for the Webhead: Stan Lee wins his lawsuit against Marvel Comics – he’ll be rewarded 10 percent piece of the action on all Marvel-based movies since 1998. Like Father, Like Son: Michael Powell resigns from his FCC director position. Now how will mega media corporations consolidate their power over the airwaves? |
FEATURES
|
Ten Minutes with Jerry Beck
The animation historian tells us what he thinks about cartoons past, present, and future. |
|
DJ QBert: Return of the Ripclaw
An exclusive interview with master turntablist DJ QBert. |
|
Big Wheels
Brendan Moran snaps some pics of his favorite concept cars at the 2005 Los Angeles Auto Show. |
