Commemorative Paintings

Some events in life are so resplendent that they must be commemorated. One of these glorious occasions was the birth of my good friends' baby. She is in the Wu Tang Clan and her name is Tha BZA. Tha BZA's birth was so momentous that none other than Run DMC came to witness the miracle:



(As you can tell by the gold ribbon, I was literally on my way out the door when I remembered to take the photo. I consider this progress.) But that Holiest of Events paled in comparison with Sharktopus. Anybody else seen this turd?


God bless the SyFy channel. I first commemorated it with the Etch-A-Sketch app on my phone:


But that just didn't do it justice. Luckily I found the perfect seascape in my pile of Goodwill paintings, and Sharktopus made himself at home:



I must warn you -- no matter how magical Sharktopus seems, the movie is nigh unwatchable. But if you've ever seen a SyFy "Original" before, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.

But I'll tell you what is watchable, no pun intended: "Ghostwatch." Stealing this from Wikipedia - "Ghostwatch is a British horror-mockumentary television movie that was broadcast on BBC1 on 31 October (Halloween) 1992. Despite having been recorded weeks in advance, the narrative was presented as 'live' television. Due to the furore that followed its first and only UK television broadcast, the film is now widely regarded as being one of the most controversial British television events in recent years." It basically did a "War of the Worlds" on folks and everyone had to be fired. You can watch the whole thing on Youtube in 9 or 10 parts. I say 9 or 10 because for some reason, maybe to extend the joke, Part 9 comes up with an error and you have to skip to the one called 9/10 to finish it. I love "Ghostwatch" and I think it was really ahead of its time. Also I love massive-scale pranks.

One of my favorite details in "Ghostwatch" is the hilarious painting of a sheet-wearing ghost over the mantel in the television studio. If I had any skillz at all I would screen-cap it here, but I don't. Anyway I loved it so much I decided to make my own:


Maybe we need a new monitor at home. I swear these shots look really dark, then I correct them, and then they're too light. Anyway this dude came out creepier than the one in "Ghostwatch," but that's okay.

So now I guess I'm developing a habit of painting shit I see on television. This can't end well.