I’ve never heard about the Golliwog before… I guess because it is a pretty racist English thing. But from a graphic perspective, the art really caught my eye while perusing this blog — kind of like if Jimi Hendrix was crossed with Raggedy Ann. Not to be an apologist or anything, but I really gravitated toward a childlike innocence in the character’s depiction which I feel kind of transcends its racist nature. Of course people make the same sentiments for lawn jockeys, so I’ve probably already dug myself into a hole here.

The origins lie in this children’s book, based on the author’s minstrel doll. Much more info on the Golliwog legacy in this excellent wikipedia entry.

Finally, there is a wikipedia dedicated to Asian pop culture. The wait is over. Also, it’s an open community, and there is no definition for Kishidan, yet. Grossman, should edit it here.

The 1963 edition is my own, bought for me in the late 60′s when I was a toddler, and read to tatters. The 1991 edition belongs to my kids today. I was so familar with the older one that I immediately started noticing a few differences, and so have catalogued 10 of the more interesting differences here in this collection.

A flickr directory of video game ads from the early days.

This is a bit late. Sorry, if anyone’s seen it already. I had trouble uploading the file, due to the file size limit, but just figured out how I could get around it. This is NSFW if you don’t have headphones, otherwise, it’s encouraged.

Apart from this book nothing more is known about Capt. Godfrey Rodrigues at present. The book appears to date from the 30s.

It is equally possible that this booklet was also a weak excuse to publish photos of naked pubescent females that would otherwise have been banned. You decide.

P.S. — nice pants.

I’ve been pretty interested in this concept since talking about it with Xopher D back in Junior high — that, in the future, computers will be able to generate popular music with virtually infinite variations. Even though the latest results are still pretty unlistenable (the country setting might actually be the best), it’s great to check in and be amazed how far it’s come.

Generative art is so interesting to me because, on one hand, you know the capability to have a computer generate songs at the press of a button will come to fruition, but on the other hand, it taps into those broad and fascinating questions about AI and art itself. Can computers really be the “Music makers” — the “dreamers of a dream?” Will society be greater attuned to what is generative and automatically develop distaste for it? Or will aesthetics rush closer to what computers can come up with at the click of a mouse? I really think AI and generative art are what is ultimately going to shape the art world this century and beyond, much like photography shaped art in the 20th century. Artists will have to “redefine” what art is and how it is created as AI is able to more accurately replicate human choices and attract positive human responses.

Please someone tell me this news story is a a hoax. (you have to sit through an ad clip first)

Spotted outside a drugstore in Oaxaca, Mexico.