Glarfieldiator

Speaking of unnecessary mashups, occasional Newgrounds/Youtube animator El Cid just returned with his bizarre new short, which mixes 2000's Gladiator with..Garfield? Similar in feel to the work that the folks at Fatal Farm used to do with Lasagna Cat, the video does a fantastic job showing off just how painfully unfunny (And sadistic) the iconic fat cat can be.

RoboGal's Weekly Cute Mixtape

It's that time again. No, not pizza time. Weekly Cute Mixtape time! If you're in the US, and had the holiday off yesterday, you're probably playing catch up today. Well, take a break. Because nothing is worse forgoing cute and fluffy animals. NOTHING.

More after the break!

Distance By Les Gobelins

Ever deal with social anxiety? This animated short by the always impressive students at Les Gobelins features an awesomely stylized take on a girl dealing with angst, shyness and insecurity as she attempts to approach a boy she's attracted to. The entire thing plays out like a psychedelic acid trip, featuring her world imploding into a world of abstract visuals as she makes the first move to get his attention. Loved the abstract nature and the retro-synth score, which nearly turns this into a music video. The short was created by Todd De Jong, Tom Law, Wandrille Maunoury, Etienne Metois and Jonathan Vermersch, all third year students.

0 To 100 Years In 150 Seconds

Ever seen a 'youth lapse?' The Amsterdam based artist behind this fascinating video decided to document people from his town, approaching them and asking them to state their age in front of a camera. The video captures people from ages 0-100, with his statement mentioning that the youngest and the oldest were the most difficult to track down. As he put it himself:

'My aim was to 'collect' a group of 100 people, from age 0 to 100. At first my collection grew fast but slowed down when it got down to the very young and very old. The young because of sensivity around filming or photographing children and the very old because they don't get out of the house much. I found my very old 'models' in care homes and it was a privilege to document these -often vulnerable- people for this project. I had particular problems finding a 99 year-old. (Apparently 100 year-olds enjoy notoriety, but a 99 year-old is a rare species...) And when I finally did find one, she refused to state her age. She simply denied being 99 years old! But finally, some 4 months after I recorded my first 'age', I was able to capture the 'missing link' and conclude this project.'

Brass Band By Slurp TV

From the same folks that brought us 'Apocalypse Miau,' I just recently discovered another gem from the motiongrapher/videojockey known as SlurpTV. Using a ton of vintage footage from old Super Sentai shows in Japan (Power Rangers, basically), brace yourself for a colorful mashup barrage of vintage scifi awesomeness, spandex, giant robots and more. SlurpTV mainly creates promos for artists across Spain, such as electro artists.

If you're more in the mood for a sugar high, I'd recommend checking out Cupcake Party after the break. Awesome.

The Art Of Keita Morimoto

Megan (Via)

Keita Morimoto is an Osaka based artist that made the jump to Canada back in 2006 to study at OCAD (Ontario College Of Art And Design), having since graduated his work has been featured in international shows in cities including Tokyo, LA, Toronto and more.

Morimoto's body of work, which mainly centers around portraiture could be best described as somewhat skewed, exaggerated and distorted, featuring recognizable yet somewhat alien caricatures of people. This comes from Keita's desire to emphasize the cultural exchanges between Japan and the West, featuring 'western academic paintings' mixed with the idealization and distortion typically found in Japanese anime. The result is at times strangely appealing, at times unsettling, but nonetheless pretty unique. You can check out more of his work after the break!

Wafaa Bilal's Meme Junkyard - TechnoViking

Wafaa Bilal created a pretty awesome art installation at the Festival Of New Cinema, Digital Culture and Art, featuring the head of technoviking, a meme past it's 'digital prime' featuring a half naked nordic dude dancing his loving face off in public. The concept revolves around giving Twitter users the power to keep his head, or as Waffa put it, 'his ego' literally inflated by mentioning him in Tweets featuring the #technoviking hashtag.

The Meme Junkyard is somewhat of a silly concept, but it's meant to let users reflect about being constantly connected, and the strange cyclical concept of going viral, and how memes generate a ton of interest before abruptly fading into darkness again. The Technoviking meme went on to generate 40 million views in it's prime, spawn countless imitators, remixes and become a staple of internet pop culture. Check out a compilation of all the imitators, 'We Technoviking' after the break!

Mountain

Dave Prosser of Studio AKA created this awesome animated short in response to a trip he took to Seoul, South Korea. Drawing on inspiration from the daily lives of those who witnessed around him, he intertwines the stories of three different characters. Using interesting, somewhat abstract shapes and bright colors, he brings together an understated yet somewhat hectic piece. The unifying point in the entire short is the mountain, the focus somehow always seems to go back to that mountain, as it's the only constant in an ever changing place.

The Iceman Trailer

Based off of real-life hitman, Richard Kuklinski, The Iceman is Kuklinski's story of combining his murder-for-hire career with his family life. Upon first glance, it looks like it could just be another mob movie (why, hello, Ray Liotta). But as the trailer progresses, it appears we might have a rather fascinating and intricate plot on our hands. Starring Michael Shannon (of Boardwalk Empire, Take Shelter, etc.), a favorite of ours, this film doesn't have a US release date yet, but has premieres at both the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. Fingers crossed for some sort of US release date in the future!

Scout Vs Witch - More Source Filmmaker Goodness

Most people predicted that it would take a few months for people to become equated with Source Filmmaker before we started getting professional looking videos from the general public and it's oh so true. Scout Vs Witch is a simple idea but showcases the kind of powerful tools that Valve has placed into the hands of Steam users. This franchise mashup features the Scout from Team Fortress 2 facing off against the zombies & infected from one of Valves other big hitting franchises Left 4 Dead. This stylish video has got it all: action, great animation and special effects, coupled with top notch clever usage of already existing voice clips from the games.

It's an entertaining, fun watch, and a taste of even better things to come as people get more acquainted with using the software. If you're by any chance familiar with the South Korean revenge flick called 'Old Boy,' a certain sequence in this short will definitely put a smile on your face.

Konami Announces Metal Gear : Ground Zeroes

(Via)

At this current moment in time I'm freaking out like a Twilight fangirl as I sit here in disbelief over Konami's newest announcement; Metal Gear: Ground Zeroes. While very few details have been confirmed, it is known that this next MG iteration will take place in an open-world environment, allowing for players to stealth their way through an entire map. The game might either be an open world title or yet another single player title, but I really hope to see Kojima evolve the multiplayer aspect of the MGS games.

Update 9/2/2012:
Check out the cinematic walkthrough featuring actual gameplay below. Snake returns!

Star Wars Uncut - The Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars Uncut: The Empire Strikes Back Trailer from Star Wars Uncut on Vimeo.

Remember the 'Star Wars Uncut' project? A huge group of fans came together to recreate 'A New Hope,' by assigning people 15 second scenes to recreate. The end result was bizarre, hilarious and somewhat of a heartwarming fan endeavor, winning the people behind the project an Emmy, probably to George Lucas' chagrin.

Well if you were upset about missing out on the chance to contribute to such an amazing fan project, mope no longer as the Star Wars Uncut folk just announced their new project: the scene by scene remake of The Empire Strikes Back. You can head over to their website and claim a scene (Which we already have, btw), get a crew together and become immortalized in the next uncut project! Do it!

Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight (NSFW)

It's another day, and another trippy animated short. In this piece, Adam Buxton portrays an out-of-work animator. After smoking something, uh, funny, he hallucinates an entire world made of retro-looking and colorful characters. The song, "Living in the Sunlight, Loving in the Moonlight" is a 60's version of a song from a 30's era Maurice Chevalier film. The kaleidoscopic style and bizarre scenarios definitely qualify this as today's "WTF" animation. Marked NSFW-ish due to a few brief instances of some rather adult themed scenarios. Then again, today is Sunday, so hopefully you're not at work. Cheers!

...Small things

In a world where big dreams, big money, and excess tend to take priority, sometimes we tend to miss the point. Getting there, wherever you go and whatever is your goal is just half of the fun. The process, the road that takes us there, the things we do while we travel are as important as the final objective. The small things and the pleasure that lies within the simple daily endeavors we do to live the day are the theme of this beautiful video, The Pleasure Of. It's a testament on what you can achieve with a basic set of instruments, and good ideas. Enjoy!

The Floonstoons

This is... I mean... I guess this is what I'm left with as far as Saturday morning cartoons go. We've evolved from wacky yet clean animations, to ones where Betty Rubble is an apparent abused wife (black eye and all). And you know what? I like it. The Floonstoons are the inbred version of our favorite caveman-era cartoon folks, doing unspeakable things with their related super sugary, fruity cereal. I think "Fred" has found himself in a bad, bad situation. Maybe this time, he'll be happy to be locked out of the house.

Sparkles

There is something really entrancing about this awesome video, Sparkles. From the music to the black and white visuals, I just want to zone out a bit while watching this. Professional skater Danny Wainwright uses a Wiimote to track the positions of sparkles attached to his skateboard with an infared camera. It's a successful attempt to mix both sports and art, in a really cool way. Put together by BlipBlip.org, check out the rest of their stuff!