Monday Motivation

No Explanation Needed

It's raining hardcore today in Los Angeles thus it is the perfect day to hibernate and write. That's correct today's Monday Motivation is writing. In addition to writing this post today I also have to finish up a piece on my 50 lb wight loss for a Gay oriented magazine as well as get busy with some other endeavors of a personal nature.

"Yes" I have my own pet project that I am working on to please myself and F#ck it if no one else likes it. This line of thinking gave me a flashback to when Madonna unleashed her Sex book. Oh the controversy that it caused. 

While it was mostly images, there was written passages by Madge herself. That described sexual fantasies, positions, fetishes, blah, blah, blah...

Is my pet project of a sexual nature you are asking? I'll plead the 5th, you will find out when I am ready to let the dogs out. That's right it was me who let the dogs out. Now you have the answer to that age old riddle.

Time to pull myself up by my jock and get moving, get your red hot Monday Motivation jones on people!

The Sex Book on Wikipedia -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_(book)

Black History Month

February is Black History Month - thus there are many things going on in honor of it. For nstance the library near me is having a free screening of Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman this Thursday at 1 pm. "Yes" I am attending as I have yet to see it and very much want to. 

I also wanted to acknowledge it with an iconic teaming between two of my favorites Ella Fitzgerald & Marilyn Monroe. The image and Ms. Fitzgerald's words that accompany it speak for themselves. 

Thus I leave you with it on this Superbowl Sunday February 3rd 20019. 

Black History Month on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month 

Motion Plus Design

I've the design, you got the motion...

On Oscar Weekend,

The Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood Hosts

Motion Plus Design

The Acclaimed International Motion Design Festival 

For its North American Debut

Saturday, February 23, 2019 – All-Day

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Speakers include Renowned Designers Beeple, Jr.canest, Kyle Cooper,

Karin Fong, Joyce N. Ho, Andrew Kramer, Marti Romances and Min Shi

The acclaimed festival Motion Plus Design touches down in North America for the first time at the historic Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood on Saturday February 23, 2019. After years of sold-out events in Paris and Tokyo, the Motion Plus Design team is thrilled to bring this unique festival to the U.S. On Oscar weekend, the international event will host a full day of presentations from 10:00am until 6:30pm with renowned designers Beeple, Jr.canest, Kyle Cooper, Karin Fong, Joyce N. Ho, Andrew Kramer, Marti Romances and Min Shi. Doors open at 9:00am. Tickets are available for $75 (general admission) and only $25 for students. For an additional $25, VIP packages will include access to the rooftop cocktail reception with the speakers. The Montalbán is located at 1615 Vine Street, Hollywood, CA 90028. For tickets and to learn more, please visit http://motion-plus-design.com/losangeles2019. 

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“On the weekend of the Academy Awards, Motion Plus Design will celebrate eight of the world’s top motion designers,” enthuses Founder and Festival Director Kook Ewo. “Film title sequences are an essential part of feature films and yet their creators are unsung. While the Emmys recognize Outstanding Main Title Design for television, unfortunately, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has yet to introduce an Oscar for Best Film Titles.”

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Motion Plus Design Los Angeles speakers will share the secrets behind their latest creations, such as the Emmy Award-winning title sequence Counterpart from Karin Fong or the UI graphics of Avengers: Infinity War from Marti Romances. Several speakers will debut never-before-seen design work. See full speaker bios below. 

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Motion Plus Design Event Schedule:

• 9:00am - Doors open, coffee available in Mezzanine

• 10:00am: 3 Talks

• 12:35pm: Lunch Break 

• 2:00pm: 3 Talks 

• 4:10pm: Break 

• 4:55pm: 2 Talks

• 6:30pm: Rooftop Cocktail Reception for VIP ticket holdersO

A new generation of designers, celebrated by Motion Plus Design, are building on the work of the late, great pioneers of film title and motion design such as Saul Bass (North by Northwest, Psycho, Anatomy of a Murder, Casino), Maurice Binder (14 James Bond films starting with Dr. No, as well as The Grass Is Greener, Charade) and Pablo Ferro (Dr. Strangelove, The Thomas Crown Affair, Bullitt). Ferro recently passed away, at age 83, in November 2018. 

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“Design conferences and events often price out students and young professionals,” said Festival Curator and Producer Ronan Guitton. “When we created the first and only festival dedicated entirely to motion design, we wanted to make it accessible to the very people who could benefit from this shared knowledge the most.”

LINKS:

• Motion Plus Design | Los Angeles - http://motion-plus-design.com/losangeles2019

• Motion Plus Design Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/motionplusdesign

• Motion Plus Design Twitter - https://twitter.com/Mo_Plus_Design

• Motion Plus Design Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/motionplusdesign

• Event Trailer on Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/311944629

• The Montalbán Event Page - https://www.themontalban.com/motion-plus-design

• The Montalbán’s Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheMontalban

• The Montalbán’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/themontalban

• The Montalbán’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/the_montalba

Film Buff Friday: Audition

The notorious "Audition" hits the streets on Blu-ray 2/12/19 - can you stomach it?!

One of the most shocking J-horror films ever made, Audition exploded onto the festival circuit at the turn of the century to a chorus of awards and praise. The film would catapult Miike to the international scene and pave the way for such other genre delights as Ichii the Killer and The Happiness of the Katakuris. Recent widower Shigeharu Aoyama is advised by his son to find a new wife, so he seeks the advice of a colleague having been out of the dating scene for many years. They take advantage of their position in a film company by staging an audition to find the perfect woman. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu becomes enchanted by Asami, a quiet, 24-year-old woman, who is immediately responsive to his charms. But soon things take a very dark and twisted turn as we find that Asami isn't what she seems to be... Pulling the audience into a story that will lead to one of the most harrowing climaxes in cinema history, Miike twists and turns us through delirious editing and shocking visuals for one of the most depraved nightmares of all time!

Bonus Materials

• Brand new 2K restoriation of original vault elements
• Original 5.1 Dolby Surround Audio
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio commentary with director Takashi Miike and screenwriter Daisuke Tengan
• Brand new commentary by Miike biographer Tom Mes examining the film and its source novel
• Introduction by Miike
• Ties that Bind – A brand new interview with Takashi Miike
• Interviews with stars Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Renji Ishibashi and Ren Osugi
• Damaged Romance: An appreciation by Japanese cinema historian Tony Rayns

• Trailers
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Anton Bitel

Order Here: https://mvdb2b.com/b2b/s/AV187

Michael's Musings

#TBT: Take A Bow
Michael Shinafelt

Today is the last day of the first month of 2019 - if this is any indicator of how the rest of the year is going to play out, damn slow the F#ck down! I need to take some time to smell the napalm in the morning. Or at the very least how fresh my clothes smell after I wash them, that's the practical choice. Fresh clothes smell for the win Alex.

Time to dive in...

Hello January 31st 2019!

We all know now what many have suspected, Tori Spelling is a Unicorn

The Superbowl is this Sunday, so there's that

When people tell me to go to Hell, Uh, I can't. Satan has a restraining order against me

Make out naked

If life knocks you down, get back up and tell it "You hit like a bitch"

Tomorrow is another day. The more you know.

Your legs are like jam, you can't spread them just a little

Jussie Smollett

Sending positive energy Jussie Smollett's way 

MAGA my ass!

Celine Dion, worth it, or not? Discuss...

It only takes two, but wait till you try three 

Maroon 5 declined to do a press conference regarding the Superbowl in case you care

Apparently you can now sue people for accidentally colliding with you on the ski slope, things that make me go yawn

Wake up with a dose of me at:

https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en

https://twitter.com/MShinafelt   

Hump Day & Chill

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Just Because...Gaga & Martin

I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Lady Gaga & Ricky Martin

Just Because she's a Lady, Just Because he's Livin La Vida Loca & Just Because they are together on the red carpet, look boys & girls it's Lady Gaga & Ricky Martin!

Awards Shows, in this case the SAG Awards, can make for some strange yet wonderful bedfellows. I mean seriously never did I ever entertain the thought that I would see Gaga & Martin together. It was the image no one knew they needed until they were captured together forever in this photo op.

Photo ops are good for that sort of thing. 

I wonder if perhaps we could expect some sort of collaboration from these two in the near future? If so, one wonders if it would be of the music or acting variety. Give it time I am sure it will go down, so to speak.

Now get out there and make Daddy proud...

Mic Drop! 

Gaga on the Gram -
https://www.instagram.com/ladygaga/?hl=en

Ricky on the Gram - 
https://www.instagram.com/ricky_martin/?hl=en