Muffin Buds on Kickstarter

Why, HELLO! Been quite a while since I've posted. The last several months took my attention away from blogging and toward work, classes, and extra-curricular projects. See above for information on one said extra-curricular- an indie animated short called Muffin Buds. Me and some pals are trying to raise the funds to make it happen. I plan on taking just a few weeks out of the freelance grind to do some wacky cel-style animation, since these days I find that the opportunities to do it in a professional setting are sadly dwindling. It's also always been a dream of mine to have something to enter into film festivals, and thats just one of the things we plan to do with it.

We have all kinds of fun rewards for people who kick in some dough on our kickstarter, and even if all you can do is help spread the word, we'd be FOREVER grateful!

As a side note, I will most likely return to blogging here shortly after production on Muffin Buds wraps in late November. Stay tuned! :)

Crystalline : Björk and Michel Gondry

New Björk video by none other than Michel Gondry! Looks just like what it sounds like, a crazy stop-motion space disco ball meteor adventure.

On a different note, sorry for the sudden hiatus here at Make Pretty. I'm currently trying to decide on a new format here. I may switch to posting a round-up of stuff I find once or twice a week instead of every day. I'd like to create more original posts here, since the blog-o-sphere really has all of it's bases covered with inspiration blogs that repost each other all day long. Stand by for Make Pretty 2.0.

Oh, and Comic Con was a dream come true. 

I don't even eat bacon! 

Musical Wonders Vol. 38

Posts will probably continue to be sparse and sporadic around here until after Comic Con, however, this is an absolute gem. A music video featuring Chloë Sevigny, spotted on the always awesome blog The Fox Is Black.

The song is I Feel Like the Mother of The World by musician Bill Callahan. I'm kinda psyched at the discovery because I've never listened to him, and after spotting his label-mate Johanna Newsom on the credits for the album that this song is from, looks like I've got another artist to get to know.

Scouting NY

I don't know if I've mentioned Scouting NY before, but it is one of my very favorite blogs. The author is an absolute expert at documenting his adventures as a film location scout, so in turn his stories/photos have, for me, become a wealth of inspiration. Pictured above is a mansion in Westchester he recently explored, but visit his site and you'll discover that he's photographed such a wide variety of settings that any time you're in need of environmental/interior reference, you might just be heading to his Flickr. Super educational and highly recommended!

Happy Friday

image from benyonda's flickr photostream

Morro Bay, CA

So many apologies for the unannounced hiatus this week! July will be a bit of a scattered month for posts here on Make Pretty, however things may get a little more interesting as I'll be attending Comic Con in less than two weeks, which I will share about here. Besides that, there's a wedding to attend and camping to be done, so needless to say, I'll be a little off the grid. Meanwhile, enjoy these images we recently took while on the road and things will be back to normal shortly!

Hearst Castle, CA

Happy Friday

image from benyonda's flickr photostream

Roussillon, southern France.

Learn To Make Radio With Transom

Exciting news in the world of creativity and storytelling! Announced today via the This American Life blog, the Transom Story Workshop is the pilot of a program created to offer education for those seeking it in the world of radio. Transom itself is a separate organization from TAL or NPR, but from what I can tell it operates as a sort of launching pad, supplying those organizations with talented people who are pursuing careers in radio. The application deadline for this workshop is July 25th, and oh man, if I only had an extra 5500 bucks and a seven weeks off this fall to spend living and learning in Cape Cod, MA...

I get excited every time I hear of workshops/seminars/classes like this popping up, because these things can't necessarily be taught anywhere else. It doesn't totally pertain to my job and what I do, but I'm a huge fan of public radio and I derive so many ideas from the stories they tell on air. This workshop will hopefully strengthen the community of radio and produce some awesome new talent!

And yes....Ira Glass is one of the guest teachers.

Photography by David Ryle

 David Ryle's landscape photography has been stuck in my mind after spotting it a few days ago. The compositions are fantastic, and seem almost familiar to me. Actually, the first two look a lot like the land surrounding the 15 freeway between Barstow and Las Vegas...either way, many of his images suggest quite a calming sense of depth.

(via Design Work Life)

Musical Wonders Vol. 37

A new single from Wilco is now streaming on Let's Just Get to the Good Part. Its release coincides with the Solid Sound Music Festival, an event curated by the band itself which took place just recently in North Adams, MA. Festival goers were able to purchase the 7" release early, as it becomes available to the rest of us on July 19th.

As the geniuses behind an album like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (I love the extensive wikipedia article), they deserve a permanent, ever-respected spot on the list of ground breaking bands that have paved the way for an entire genre.

Other notable happenings:

Bjork's new album, Biophelia, comes out Sept. 26th of this year. Listen to Crystalline + view a little preview video here.

Rumors abound on the subject of the 1950/60s New York folk scene and the Coen Brothers' next film.

Fire Records is set to re-release Neutral Milk Hotel's debut album On Avery Island on vinyl this August.

Beirut's headlining at The Greek Theatre.