A Christmas Post In April

 

Ever just found something very interesting and cool at a store and you just want to post it even if it's something related to the holidays but we're (sigh) only 7 1/2 months away from it?!

This is what I bought at Goodwill. Yes, call me silly but Goodwill can be fun sometimes, it ain't only clothes, there is some cool collectibles and DVDs. 

There's barely any recognition for the oldies especially Bing Crosby. I get the change of what's trending or poppin' lately and people come from what they're drawn to best. I mean I'm definitely not that person who wants to say, "EVERYTHIN', EVERY PRODUCT HAS TO BE SOMETHIN' FROM THE 1920s T' THE 1940s!" No. I get people's appeal to things. 

To me I think it just has to do with the enjoyment and joyfulness. And to me when I listen to stuff from Como, Day, Nat King Cole, Bing and Louis I just smile. I have no problem being happy with musicians I enjoy listening to. Maybe it's just the smaller elements, the lyrics the melody the tone of the singer's voice etc.

This holiday season, I'm in to introduce these greats of vintage music to my loved ones. They'll show you what the true spirit and love of Christmas is really about. 

Is it me or does the red highlighting give off the feel of the nostalgia that I remember hearing these artists and hearing the warm vintage quality of the songs?

I was surprised when there was a flip book for this CD songbook. It just made the whole thing alot more impressive. 

Whoa, I actually never heard of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" ever. Sure I'm not a Christmas songologist, but I can't wait to get myself into that song eventually, but those lyrics! 

There were some Christmas songs that not only became hits on radio, but movies too. What great sense. It has happened with non-Christmas songs as well. Also very neat and generous for them to text "Happy Holidays!" 

Overall a rare but neat collectible find. I'm liking the appreciation. 

There will be another Golden Age on my exploration blog someday but almost 2 years and 300 posts, it's safe to say I done a whole lot. And me taking breaks from it is necessary.

The Field Mouse (1941)

 

I honestly find the MGM cartoons from the late 30s- early 40s particularly directed by Hugh Harman are very underrated and have good plots and characters to them.

I really like the expressive, fluid, slapstick animation from the 1940s. Alot of smears, very simple but memorable character designs and solid construction in them.

During this scene in The Field Mouse (1941), Grandpa Mouse gets involved in the horrors of the wheat thresher filled with machine gears. This is a great scene in particular and almost feels cinematic in a way.

Sometimes these reaction shots when a character experiences a dangerous and climatic scenario especially in an animated film, squash and stretch usually aim for that purpose to make it more amusing and lively even if the character doesn't have too much of a personality trait it can still have human instincts. 

Some very underappreciated and unique camera angles.

This a good tool whenever to create animated scenes like this below. I like this tiny rodent falling and we get to see drawings that looks link he's shrinking but in reality (for this cartoon) he's falling trying to rescue his grandfather.

I like how all the wheat sorta forms into a spiral.  

Like some other truly likeable Harman cartoons like Peace on Earth, The Hungry Wolf, and The Bookworm Turns, this isn't going for funny comedic gag-heavy insanity like Tom and Jerry and Tex Avery's shorts but in my opinion, in terms of the stories, the animation, and the emotion these are one of my favorite cartoons from the classic MGM studio.

Especially if they're short, they can still be very amusing and offer good moments in them. 

That's what's so pleasurable about the naturalism and human reality we're currently living through today. Art can speak clearly as we ourselves can speak to others honestly and truly. That's what so unique and special about art. It can express what we both feel and think about the world around us. 

I like to honor what I said with a few screencaps from Gone With The Wind (1939). 

Besides it being almost 4 hours this has some of the best environments I ever seen in a movie. I would be completely astonished if I only seen all of the lesser complex bits of the film entirely because it grasps alot of emotional depth and the journeys of the world.

Why I Haven't Been Posting on Blogger Lately

 

This blog has been on a little hiatus ever since the start of 2026, let me explain.

Ever since January, I still am in my comfort zone exploring through different interests and stuff that I might considerably enjoy. I'm still continuing to do that. But a sudden shift came around me.

I honestly don't feel like there's anything to highly discuss about. I decidedly taken a different route, ever wondered what I posted on my blog last year? Nothing but facts, gallery of paintings and showcasing my haul of stuff I bought from stores and markets I go to. 

But why all the sudden am I not posting too much than I used to? It's because of screentime issues, and honestly I have had more time to focus on other important stuff that actually inspires me most. I think when it comes to all I have posted like the collection or stuff that I recently liked, all that fades away in an instant and just for the sake of looking at something nice. Now that's not a bad thing at all, I'm not posting anything inappropriate or violent. I just think it's a little too personal nowadays. I still would love to talk about what inspires me or what I enjoy watching. My previous like what, 20 posts I feel proud of because that honestly feels like what I have wanting to be create specifically on this blog for months. 

There is at least 50 posts I have unfortunately deleted off my blog. Mostly because it was for either

A. Outdated ratings/opinions

B. Future plans or artwork of characters I never actually drawn again or ideas that never seemed to work.

C. My favorite characters/actors or anyone I seemingly liked for a short period of time all jammed in one paragraph.

D. My personal writings while I was still in some hard times in high school.

I'm still planning on checking my past posts and seeing if I want to get rid of them, but this site isn't really that popular. Now of course I'm not reaching popularity at all, but even in the future if people want to explore my blog and all the sudden they see a random post of me rambling or complaining about something that I don't even explore, that's not the best introduction to who I am as someone who wants to make animated films and also help out people when they grow up. 

Also I been using Letterboxd, and to me that's my new official site to talk about stuff. Films, and since I do tend to watch movies a little more now and reviewing them, heck you can also make lists, like people's other reviews and check out their account, customize posters, put movies on the watchlist, and choose your 4 favorite films, this site is great, and good to keep track of something that isn't totally slop or unnecessary. But please do watch out for films that aren't that pleasent to watch, I stumbled across movies with bad ratings and mixed reviews.

I feel like when I'm talking about something, I keep it fair and tolerable. I'm not judging every single detail and I'm honestly doing a good job with that. I want to be inspired by good bloggers and not bloggers that persist nothing but rambling what doesn't appeal to them, that is not what a blog is about. It's about expressing what you enjoy and center around. I do feel like keeping the A.I posts though cuz those are more for entertainment purposes.

Now you can see why I'm not posting on my blog as much. I'm still continuing to post whenever I feel like it's a good time to talk about something. Also there is my drawing blog, but still is under use for quite a bit. I'll definitely post more of my drawings there than with the exploration.

Mexican Joyride (1947)

 I really enjoy returning back to some Looney Tunes nostalgia, I love the Daffy Duck screwball cartoons from the 40s, he was one of my favorite cartoon characters when I was a teenager. This one used to be one of my favorites of the obscure Looney Tunes cartoons. I always loved the chaotic energy in this one, and the bull is a very likeable character.

The animation was mostly done by Art Davis's staff. They're extremely talented and I always was drawn into this style of animation, as I stated in my previous review of Chuck Jones's Scaredy Cat (1948) I love how unlimited it feels, you could draw basically anything you want, but I do understand restrictions. This short film is the best for it's wild takes, smears and of course Mel Blanc's acting.

I piled some unique frame grabs from this cartoon that have some great individual drawings in them, they feel like what I wanted to do with my animations. 

The bull has great construction and poses. 

Love it when cartoons go badass. 

It's been a hidden staple for the longest time.

Daffy running it gets even more closer.

A very underrated scene of Daffy in a Mexican restaurant, and the inside of his mouth catches on fire. Hilarious.

Really great human designs, like the details of the wrinkles, here's Daffy performing a simple hand slap.

Reminds of Tex Avery with this scene where everyone leaves immediately except for Daffy because of the bull. By that time Daffy is in charge to fight.

I have some more great scenes from this cartoon but each is one singular shot. 

I love Daffy's facial expression.

This is really well-drawn. Daffy's eye pokes right at his approaching enemy.

I have not watched this cartoon at least a couple of years. It hasn't been quite a bit since I last watched Looney Tunes, I keep coming back to it often, especially the Foghorn Leghorn shorts.

This title card is really nice. 

My Favorite Scene from Looney Tunes

 

Chuck Jones's Scaredy Cat (1948) is one of my favorite cartoons. I have mentioned it a few weeks ago, but I can't blame it. I always loved everything about this cartoon. 

From the atmospheres, to the dreadful but mysteriously fun plot. 

The animation is at it's peak, I love the zany but steady movement the Warner Bros. shorts had at that time. I think I more or so laugh at these than characters going completely insane for some reason that feels outta place.

But Chuck Jones's cartoons are logical and powerful to me that I can't believe I honestly made fun of his work in the past. Seriously I blamed way too hard on cartoons that weren't on the level of Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. 

Anyways this scene is influential. I love the speed and exaggeration of Sylvester running away from the mansion. These backgrounds are also simple but awesome. Great color gradient.

I love the camera angle, the scene goes from one natural environment to another. We can easily see where Sylvester is running to. It reminds me of the lady from Tom and Jerry in that one scene where she rushes to her house in Saturday Evening Puss. 

Sylvester is a character I felt sorry for while I was still watching the classic Looney Tunes shorts especially the shorts starring alongside Tweety. He just doesn't deserve the pain. I like Sylvester as a character, he has alot of deep feelings inside even if he is characterized as a peckish slob in his iconic roles. This is by far my favorite personality of Sylvester. He's very timid, yet he's willing to show his bravery in the final act of this cartoon.

Now appears his conscience. Who is just the most underappreciated and most lovely Looney Tunes characters of all time.

Ha. I would be making faces like Sylvester as well if I been called out for doing something mistaken.

Notice how the skies get more intense as Sylvester fights for his fearlessness. 

This is absoutely magnificent stuff. I think what makes this even better is the incredible Carl Stalling music. 

Here's another great animation scene of Sylvester sprinting back to mansion.

The drawings are so impressive, I don't think I ever seen another art medium like the hand-drawn method do animated frames like this. Like with the close-up frame of Sylvester's feet. 

More "cartoony" drawings done correctly at least to me.

This few seconds of utter chaos.

I would say that when it comes to characters standing up for themselves when they face challenges can be predictable at times, but at the same time, it's one of my favorite type of traits in films. We all can relate to a specific character who is aiming for perseverance. And this cartoon is a perfect example of that.