FLUFF

Three diversions for your weekend relaxation: Vegetarian alligators, music with spoons, and pirate talk.

The Artistic Wizardry of Nina Paley

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T
hanks to Philip at Just Playing for pointing me to the hilarious and politically astute cartoonist Nina Paley. While she’s raising funds for a seriously funny feature film about overpopulation called Thank You for Not Breeding, Nina has been writing two wonderful cartoons, Nina’s Adventures and Fluff. One edition of Nina’s Adventures, shown above, was inspired by her new buzzcut. Fluff features the charming adventures of Sasha the cat and Elba the baby alligator, a sample of which is below. If you like her work, let her know, and if you know anyone with a social conscience and money for a feature film, let them know about her new project.
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The Musical Magic of Matapat
The QuÈbec folk trio Matapat has been performing traditional QuÈbecois and BrÈton folk music, plus some of their own compositions, for at least a couple of decades. They’re masters of the genre, and there’s a complete 70-minute concert, recorded at the Kennedy Center in Washington, that you can view and hear at this site. Sometime when you have time to kill during the PBS pledge breaks, check this out — fine music and charming entertainment. They even show you how to do some of the local folk dances. Music in French, banter in English.

Talk Like a Pirate Day
While I was looking for a copy of The Last Pirate of the Saskatchewan (more about this soon), I came across this hilarious and completely frivolous site. Mark September 19 as “Talk Like a Pirate” day on your calendar now, and start practicing. Arrr, mateys, it’ll shiver yer timbers.

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4 Responses to FLUFF

  1. Evan says:

    Ha! Online friend Dave, meet my real-life friend (though I haven’t seen her in a passel of years) Nina.Thanks for reminding me of her; her work is indeed fabulous.(At one time I was working on developing a musical for a local community theatre, based on her cartoons about Santa Cruz. It never jelled, but I still think it’d be a fun thing to do.)

  2. Dick says:

    The Matapat video is brilliant. How can La Bottine Souriante (described by Folk Roots mag as ‘the best band in the world’), La Volee d’Castors & Matapat occupy the same ostensibly limited territory & yet offer so much? Exceptional stuff. Thanks, Dave.

  3. Pat says:

    If we are counting on you to save the world, we are in very sorry shape.Regards–PC

  4. Dave Pollard says:

    Evan: Small world isn’t it? This is the third time I’ve written something about a great but little-known artist and had one of my readers say s/he was a friend/colleague of theirs from the past. Hope you reconnect!Dick: You should also check out 2004 Juno award winners Le Vent du Nord — yet another Quebec folk group in a similar vein. I’m going to check out some of the other Kennedy Center online concerts — amazing what the Internet has to offer.

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