Drinking does not require any senses

See no Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil  is a Japanese maxim from the 17th century. Not only is it a symbolic philosophical teaching tool, it is also an example of word play. The idea is a lesson in morality, basically, be of good mind, body, and spirit, do good always, etc, or pessimistically a statement on how ignorance is perceived as bliss. Instead of monkeys, the above cartoon uses gnomes to not only speak to the blissful act of self indulgence, but also to puns and word play.  

By the way, remember Ottmar Hoerl, the German artist? He also did a gnome model of this very same maxim. Check out this and other works here

OH THE HORROR!

So, I was searching the interwebs, as I often do when bored. Sometimes I find interesting things. Today, as I wandered around the internet I found an independent comic site. There are a lot of these on the web. Some are stupid web comics with kindergarten drawings of angry faces, or stick figures with adult content, pretty lame and unfunny. But occasionally I run into good things like Mike Maihack's CowShell graphics, or Peterson and Nicholle's Jesus Christ in the Name of the Gun. Today I found Angry Gnome Comics!

Since this blog has a theme, I bet you saw something like this coming.  Although, aside from the name, Angry Gnome Comics has nothing to do with gnomes as far as I can tell.  Horror comics are pretty awesome, and this one seems to have plugged into the horror pulp magazine vibe, especially with their short story collaboration books.  This is refreshing, as it seems like contemporary horror comics are all about zombies, or vampires.

Personally, I like my horror comics to have a sense of humor, like the Goon.

comic time

The Travelocity Gnome is a cold blooded killer, apparently.  Gnomes dont like to be pushed around. This is from Ryan Paigelow's Buni comic.

Movies: part two

Remakes are all the rage now in Hollywood. Some would even say Hollywood forgot how to make original films. If I were to remake a film, I would definitely pick something that people have forgotten.  Something like... this:

The Gnome Mobile was made in 1967 by Disney. The plot is basically: eccentric rich dude is ostracized and labeled a crazy person for believing in gnomes. His grandchildren, with the help of the actual existing gnomes, help clear his name and save the gnome community at the same time.

This could be remade as a family film with a Fern Gully-like environmental moral... or it could just borrow the title of the movie and book that its adapted from and completely change the entire premise. I'd watch a movie about 50s style greaser gnome gearheads who are persecuted by grumpy old people and rival gangs of gremlins. Either way, it ought to stay a musical.

Comic Time

I dont think I need to write anything regarding this. Its funny.

Movies Part One. Shakespeare?

I tried pretty hard to find who originally said "Shakespeare is eternal". This phrase seems to be quoted by everyone who has ever taught high school English.  I couldnt find it. What I did find, though, was a preface to The Norton Shakespeare, 1st edition, by Stephen Greenblatt. Greenblatt states, "the celebration of Shakespeare's genius has become, over the centuries, an institutionalized rite of civility [. . .] he has himself come to seem like a creating nature: the common bond of humankind, the principle of hope, the symbol of the imagination's power to transcend time-bound beliefs and assumptions, peculiar historical circumstances, and specific artistic conventions".

Greenblatt basically says "Shakespeare is eternal" due to the insights into the human condition through his art. This is why Shakespeare is just as relevant in 1600 as he is in 2010. The human condition doesnt really change much. You may ask why this is important on a blog about Gnomes... normally nothing, unless you realize that Disney and Miramax made an animated film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet starring GNOMES!

I was a little skeptical about an animated feature clearly aimed at children which is supposed to end in tragedy.

 
Everyone knows the story: "two households, both alike in dignity" hate each other. But a son of one house and daughter of the other fall in love, and are ultimately destroyed by their feuding families. Greenblatt points out in his intro to Romeo and Juliet, that Shakespeare is "dependent on coincidence, mischance, and accident to produce what the Chorus calls the lovers misadventured piteous overthrows".

The film is lovely. Gnomes are awesome by nature, and the film shows the life of actual lawn gnomes when people are not around.  I believe the term is anthropomorphism. The story begins to follow Shakespeare, setting up a feud that goes back so far that neither side knows why they fight. There is a balcony scene, and a duel scene which sees the end of Tybalt.

However, at the point in the story where the coincidence, mischance and accident ought to lead to tragedy, the character of Gnomeo meets the statue of Shakespeare. It is here that there is a discussion on fate versus free will. Gnomeo is able to save the day, nearly missing his tragic ending.

Most, I think, would blanch at the thought of a classic story changed for the sake of making money off of child movie-goers. But I think the message of a happy ending to a love story is just as important as one of dismal failure. After all, the feuding families have the same reaction in both situations. The red and blue gnomes realize their hatred is unfounded and jeopardized everything they loved, and the Montagues and Capulets realized that their hatred cost them the lives of their most cherished family members. Aside from the two lovers dying in each others arms, the story has a happy ending. Everyone decides to get along. A great sacrifice is given to end uncivil behavior in both stories. The gnome story, though, has shit blow up. Way cool!

In conclusion, definately worth a watch, especially for Shakespeare people. You can either watch in disgust as Shakespeare is put through the consumerist ringer, or enjoy an innocent kids movie that transcends human emotion, and time-bound beliefs while lifting up a principle of hope.

Adventure Gnomes!

Every so often a new animated television show arrives that destroys and reinvents what a cartoon can be. We saw it previously with Batman the Animated Series, Ren and Stimpy, The Simpsons, and South Park, among others. Adventure Time is another of those shows.

The show is a brilliant mash-up of the fantasy genre and silly '80s cartoon buffoonery. The episodes are 15 minutes, the animation is bright and simple, and the humor is cleverly juvenile. It follows the daily lives of Finn the Human, a 12 year old boy, and his best friend Jake, a dog with morphing super powers who somehow live together in a treehouse in the middle of the crazy fantasy world of Ooh.

Ooh is a world populated by a huge number of strange, mythic, ridiculous creatures including people created from sugar, philosophical wolves, frat boy Vikings, giants, wizards, space creatures, rainbow horses that speak Korean, a little elephant that bakes pies, and the most important things.... gnomes.

These gnomes are traditionally chthonic, living underground in a kingdom called the Beneathaverse. Ruled by a gnome king, these gnomes trick the heroes and kidnap Finn to power a machine that will flip the universe over, allowing Beneathaverse to be on top for once. The plot is foiled, obviously. But not after a kick-ass dance party in the clouds.