Susskins Central Dispatch

Black is traditional

Another Coraline trailer. This one’s creepier than the last.

Two weeks to go!

Let’s face it, I’m tired

Two points:

1. This Inauguration is getting on my nerves. People are treating it like a fucking Coronation, or even worse, like a Deification. Cut it out. While I appreciate the historic significance of Obama’s election, he’s not the Messiah. He’s the President, and as such is going to do well in some areas and poorly in others. Let’s not build this up with impossible expectations.

2. The Inauguration is NOT The Endtimes. Some people are acting like the country is about to fall into rampant sin and devastation as God is driven out of our lives. For crying out loud, he’s the President, not Satan’s right-hand man. Stop acting like we’re doomed.

Really. I’ve had it with both sides. I will be glad when it’s over and we can all get back to work.

Incoming freak show

I’m a fan of Neil Gaiman. I have read some of his books, and I really like his vision of the alternate worlds around us. He takes normalcy and twists it enough so that you can see the strange shadows behind everything. He’s a fantasy writer, but not in the typical swords-and-dragons vein. He wrote a fantastic book called American Gods that I highly recommend.

I’m also a fan of Henry Selick. He’s the guy who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas and James & the Giant Peach, two of my favorite animated movies. He’s also a fantasy guy, again not in the typical wizards-and-clerics vein.

This February we get the movie Coraline, which is directed by Henry Selick and based on a book by Neil Gaiman. I am very excited.

Besides just making a fascinating movie, the Coraline team have been making and sending out one-of-a-kind Coraline boxes to various website owners. Not only is it a great way to market to the web, it’s also damned creative and fascinating. Go take a look at some of the boxes. Each one is unique, and amazingly beautiful.