Website OTD: lastexittonowhere.com

I thought I'd keep this site to myself (at least in terms of blogging about it), but there's an article in
The New York Times Magazine now, so that's not happening!

If you go there, you can buy awesome T-shirts that are cryptic references to businesses, locations, and events in various movies. For example, you can get a shirt that's designed to look like you've visited Devil's Tower, Wyoming (from Close Encounters of the Third Kind), or worked at the Tyrell Corporation (who makes the replicants in Blade Runner). They're super cool!

I've emailed the owner of the site and deluged him with dozens of ideas for other shirts - I'll try to post as many of my lists as I can remember here - feel free to send ideas to me, and I'll pass them along!

Here's some to get you started:

* Dr. T's Music School - from The 5,000 Fingers Of Dr. T
* (Jack) Burton Trucking/Pork Chop Express - from Big Trouble In
Little China
* (George) Kaplan's Crop Dusting - from North By Northwest
* Antonio Bay Centennial Celebration - from The Fog
* United Planets Cruiser C-57D - from Forbidden Planet
* Egg Foo Young Scenic Tours, Chinatown, San Francisco - from Big
Trouble In Little China
* Terran Federation Mobile Infantry - from Starship Troopers
* CIVIC-TV (UHF Channel 83, Cable 12) - from Videodrome
* Save The Clock Tower shirt - from Back To The Future
* (Biff) Tannen's Detailing - from Back To The Future
* "Enchantment Under The Sea" dance shirt - from Back To The Future
* Lester's Possum Park - from A Goofy Movie
* Lake Destiny, Idaho - from A Goofy Movie
* Gonzo The Great's Plumbing - from The Muppet Movie
* El Sleezo Cafe - The Muppet Movie
* Doc Hopper's French Fried Frog Legs - from The Muppet Movie
* UBS-TV - from Network
* Interzone, Inc. - from Naked Lunch
* Clamp Enterprises - from Gremlins 2: The New Batch
* Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems "Where The Future Begins Tomorrow" -
from Buckaroo Banzai
* Hong Kong Cavaliers shirt - from Buckaroo Banzai
* American Eagles shirt - from Roger Ramjet
* Team Banzai/Blue Blazer shirt - from Buckaroo Banzai
* Slugworth Confections - from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate
Factory
* ENCOM - from Tron
* Space Paranoids shirt - from Tron
* Central Services shirt - from Brazil
* Ministry Of Information - from Brazil
* Mr. Fusion - from Back To The Future
* Faber College ("Knowledge Is Good") - from Animal House
* Curl Up And Dye Hair Salon - from The Blues Brothers
* Delos - from Westworld
* The Hippo Club - from Grosse Pointe Blank
* Waterloo Waterpark - from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
* (Shop Smart! Shop) S-Mart - from Army of Darkness
* WKFL Rockin' Ricky Rialto (whips out the oldies) shirt - from Gremlins
* Transamerican Airlines - from Airplane
* Shields Pictures - from The Bad and the Beautiful
* Stay-Puft Marshmallows - from Ghostbusters
* Consumer Recreation Services - from The Game
* "I Was Buried And Left For Dead And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt" shirt - from The Game
* McMahon & Tate Advertising- from Bewitched
* Space Cruiser Yamoto - crew shirt
* Dinky-Di dog food - from Mad Max
* Con-Almalgamate - from Outland
* Drax Corporation - from Moonraker
* World Wide Studios - from The Muppet Movie
* Flynn's Arcade - from Tron
* The Very Big Corporation of America - from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
* Duke & Duke Commodities - from Trading Places
* Genco Furi Olive Oil - from The Godfather
* Paper Street Soap Company - from Fight Club
* Montana Management - from Scarface
* Osato Chemicals - from You Only Live Twice
* Diva Droid International - from Red Dwarf
* Sirius Cybernetics Corporation - from The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
* Misfit Music - from Jem
* Al's Toy Barn - from Toy Story
* Eggman Movers - from Toy Story
* Dinoco Gas - From Toy Story
* Space Rangers shirt - from Toy Story
* Sid's skull shirt - from Toy Story
* The 'Woody's Roundup' Show (retro) - from Toy Story 2
* Woody's Roundup "Honorary Deputy" shirt - from Toy Story 2
* P.T. Flea's Bug Circus - from A Bug's Life
* (Visit) Ant Island tourist shirt - from A Bug's Life
* Japanese Toy Museum shirt - from Toy Story 2
* MI shirt - from Monsters, Inc.
* Scream promotional shirt - from Monsters, Inc.
* Laughter promotional shirt - from Monsters, Inc.
* Put That Thing Back Where It Came From, Or So Help Me musical shirt - from Monsters, Inc.
* Harryhausen's restaurant - from Monsters, Inc.
* (Visit) Monstropolis tourist shirt - from Monsters, Inc.
* Sydney Opera House tourist shirt - from Finding Nemo
* Dental business ad shirt - from Finding Nemo
* EAC/East Australian Current tourist shirt - from Finding Nemo
* Insuricare - from The Incredibles
* (Visit) Nomansian Island tourist shirt - from The Incredibles

UPDATE: More ideas!:

* Twin Pines/Lone Pines Mall - from Back To The Future
* Gower's Drugs - from It's A Wonderful Life
* Bailey Bros. Building & Loan - from It's A Wonderful Life
* Nick's Bar/Martini's Bar - from It's A Wonderful Life
* Ma Bailey's Boarding House - from It's A Wonderful Life
* (Visit Scenic) Potterville tourist shirt - from It's A Wonderful Life
* (Visit) Bailey Park tourist shirt - It's A Wonderful Life
* Bates Motel - from Psycho
* Y. Cornelius Mineral Recovery ("Silver, Gold Our Specialty") - from Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
* Misfit Dentistry - H. Elf, DDS - from Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
* Dasher's Flight Training ("World-Famous Reindeer Games") - from Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
* Quint's Charter Fishing - from Jaws
* U.S.S. Indianapolis crew shirt - from Jaws
* Orca crew shirt - from Jaws
* Peltzer Smokeless Ashtray ("Incredible Ideas For An Incredible World") - from Gremlins
* Medvale College - from The Strongest Man In The World; Now You See Him, Now You Don't, etc.
* Rust-eez Bumper Ointment - from Cars
* Vinyl Toupee - from Cars
* Team McQueen - from Cars
* (Visit Scenic) Radiator Springs - from Cars
* Leakless - from Cars
* Hostile Takeover Bank - from Cars
* Flo's V8 Cafe - from Cars
* Luigi's Casa Della Tires - from Cars
* Radiator Springs Curio Shop - from Cars
* Ramone's House Of Body Art - from Cars
* Nitroade - from Cars
* No Stall - from Cars
* Octane Gain - from Cars
* Dinoco 500/Piston Cup shirt - from Cars

Something Interesting Has Happened

Mainly, that (according to my Bravenet hit counter) my blog audience seems to have increased in a big way - from about four hundred hits a day to almost fifteen hundred today! I guess the Vinyl Toy Network show triggered the jump, but I'm not exactly sure how.

I didn't give out my contact information that much, so I'm assuming that naming my toy business after my web address (and having it displayed on the VTN homepage) was a much better idea than I'd ever anticipated! It's a big reason why I bit the bullet and started the web comic - I wanted to hang onto my new readers with more original material.

Welcome, everybody! Hope you enjoy the new feature...

The PEECOLator

eBoy and kidrobot have debuted a toy line called PEECOL, comprised of figures that feature interchangeable parts. They've also set up the PEECOLator, a web page where you can design your own! The options seem a little limited so far, but it's fun! Here's my first design.

It's Just A Logo Right Now...

...but I think it'll be a good idea to check back here later on.

It's almost a tradition now for superhero movies. One of the characters is usually a scientist or an engineer, so inevitably, the first sign of a new production is the logo for their 'corporation'. The Spider-Man movies started with free Oscorp and Otto Octavius Inc. caps. Where do super-villains go for their venture capital, and how do they stay motivated once their company starts to thrive?

Neat Transformers Promotional Site

* Go here,

* Type 'codeblack' in the entry field,

* Click on the red drive on the left side of the window that pops up,

* Click on all of the files - pick your favorite! I like the birthday party clip.


Yup, that's a Dinobot - apparently, they're going to be in the inevitable sequel (I've heard there's a blurb about that somewhere, but haven't been able to find it yet).

There's other stuff to sift through at Sector 7, too, but it's not as interesting.

DrawerGeeks Gets Attention

There's a write-up for it on the lines and colors website. Cool:

lines and colors: DrawerGeeks
Posted by Charley Parker at 10:53 am
Bookmark on del.icio.us

Now here’s a great idea from a group of artists for an informal series of creative projects that also translates into a fun web site.

I can’t sum it up any more succinctly than they do themselves in the first paragraph of their FAQ: “DrawerGeeks is a fun thing we do every other Friday, where professional artists (mostly from the animation, comic book, illustration and design fields) all draw their own version of a chosen fictional character.”

The result is a delightful amalgam of divers styles, techniques and artistic approaches that is pulled together with a common theme. The characters are often drawn (if you’ll excuse the expression) from mainstream comics, e.g. Thor, Captain America, Wonder Woman and Bizarro; but you’ll also find characters from movies, literature, fairy tales and other areas of pop culture, like King Kong, King Authur, Little Red Riding Hood and Cereal Mascots.

The artists sometimes make the themes bit broader than they seem by giving them an open-minded interpretation; Iron Man, for example, can be the Iron Man, the Marvel Comics character, or an iron man. Keeping to the chosen character is one of only two rules the artists apply to themselves, the other being to “keep it clean”.

There’s no requirement or limit on the amount of time devoted to the piece, and you will see examples from both ends of the spectrum, though most tend to be quite finished and some are very elaborate.

This seems a tremendous way for these artists to have fun and encourage themselves to indulge in playful creation, unrestrained by the demands of art directors and deadlines, but within a framework of a collegial atmosphere and perhaps a bit of friendly competition.

Before you run off looking for how to join, DrawerGeeks is more or less a closed circle. In order to try to keep this as a fun thing for the original participants, and not burden someone with administering a giant web site, participation is limited to invitation only.

The idea to take from this, beyond enjoying the fruits of their project by following the site every other week, would be to initiate a similar project among your own circle of artist friends.

Or, if you want an already established framework for creating a themed illustration on a regular basis and sharing it with a large group, check out Illustration Friday.

The other thing to take from DrawerGeeks is to check out the page that lists the participating artists and visit their individual web sites — something I’m just starting to do. Enjoy.

Suggestion courtesy of Meg Levitt.

Ladies And Gentlemen, The Blue Parrot

Please welcome Roger Colton's new entertainment/pop culture website, The Blue Parrot! Roger's written lots of articles for Jim Hill Media, and now he's striking out on his own. Keep your eyes peeled for lots of fun posts - especially if you like Disneyland!