San Francisco Folks: Last Gasp and Varnish Fine Art Present a Dual Book Signing: Glenn Barr and Firehouse Kustom Rockart Company

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Ron Turner of Last Gasp Comix just sent me an invite to this cool book signing going on today in San Francisco.
You should come by and check it out if you are so inclined. See you there!

LOWLIFE PARADISE & EYESORE
Glenn Barr and Firehouse Kustom Rockart Company
This Saturday, September 13, 4-6pm
@ VARNISH FINE ART
77 Natoma St. (between 1st & 2nd St. and Mission & Howard)
SF CA 94105
And now, a bit about the artists…
Glenn Barr’s robots, creatures and vixens live in a seedy yet swinging 1960s universe, drenched in the haze of a post-industrial hangover. Working out of the burgeoning lowbrow movement in Detroit, Barr uses elements of pop culture to infuse familiarity to an otherwise parallel reality, where angels and devils alike share the same urban playground. With a nod to pulp art and cartooning, Barr’s paintings are mesmerizing in both their simplicity and depth.
“Lowlife Paradise,” co-published with La Luz de Jesus Press, is the first ever collection of Glenn Barr’s work. A special edition of the book will be for sale at the signing.
Lowlife Paradise: http://www.lastgasp.com/cgi-bin/results.cfm?author=Glenn%20Barr
The artists of the Firehouse Kustom Rockart Company, aka Chuck Sperry and Ron Donovan, have created posters for numerous major rock bands (Pavement, Pearl Jam, the Beastie Boys, Hole, and the Rolling Stones). But they’ve maintained their street credibility by furnishing posters for such events as Incredibly Strange Wrestling, which mixes punk bands and Mexican wrestlers.
A 100-page full-color book, Eyesore contains a rich sampling of their signature silkscreen technique that blends splendid artistry with impeccable craftsmanship — an eye-popping collection of the rock and roll posters and ephemera that made this studio famous.
Eyesore: http://www.lastgasp.com/cgi-bin/details.cfm?bookid=19645
The venue: Varnish Fine Art is located in the heart of downtown San Francisco at 77 Natoma Street, between 1st and 2nd St. and Mission and Howard. The gallery has a fine wine, beer and sake bar.
www.varnishfineart.com
www.lastgasp.com

A Home Grown Daily Show Of Sorts – Courtesy of Big Toe Productions

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Damian Griffin wrote me last week to let me know about his own sketch comedy routine that was crafted in the classic The Daily Show fashion. It’s pretty funny! I’m jealous, because one of my secret fantasies is to have a sketch comedy show of my own someday.
Damian is also an animator. His animated short film has been in about 17 festivals across the country.
Here’s the clip (and a bunch of information about it below):

Big Toe Productions – Up To The Minute News
Here’s a description from Damian in his own words:

Like most of you I love the Daily Show and think its the best social satire we have going right now. Jon Stewart is the greatest!
A few months ago I had the opportunity to attempt a Daily Show-esque newscast during a sketch comedy show in Denver. I recently digitized the last newscast I did and decided to post a clip of it to be humiliated by the message board.
But first, a few disclosures about the clip and show.
The Quicktime clip is about 7minutes long and about 18mb. It was done on May 31st, 2003.
This clip has stage lighting, interesting camera work, and is sometimes a little hard to hear.
I am not Jon Stewart and don’t claim to be anywhere in his ballpark. This was just an unpaid gig and was just for fun.
I pretty much wrote the news segment and created the graphics over the course of a few hours on Friday afternoons shortly before the show, with little to no time for rehersal. I found it to be sometimes daunting for one person, but overall extremely rewarding and enjoyable.
There were 28 newscasts in all.

Another Win Against The DMCA: Chamberlain v. Skylink

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In one of the first major wins against the DMCA since the Elcomsoft Decision, a US Federal Judge has rejected a claim under the DMCA to outlaw a competing garage door opener. Judge Pallmeyer ruled against Chamberlain Group’s argument that Skylink’s universal garage door opener was an illegal circumvention device, stating that a homeowner has a legitimate expectation that she will be able to open the garage door if her Chamberlain transmitter is missing or malfunctions.
IP Justice has just released an information page regarding the landmark decision (Chamberlain v. Skylink). In the decision, the court denied Chamberlain’s motion for summary judgment claiming that the Skylink garage door opener violated the DMCA.
The Court noted amici briefs filed by CCIA and Consumers Union, which pointed out the stifling effect the DMCA has on innovation and competition under Chamberlain’s theory. The Court’s Order, which denied part of Chamberlain Group’s motion for Summary Judgment, is available here. Further case documents are available here.