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approx. 18 x 24″
** MTV GEEK – Ninja Rap With ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Co-Creator Kevin Eastman.. CLICK HERE **
The Autumn Society Presents : SHELL-SHOCK, A TMNT Art Show & Tribute
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Who: The Autumn Society/Brave New Worlds/Leo/Raph/Mikey/Donnie/April/Casey Jones/Splinter/Shedder/Bebop/Rocksteady/Krang/Metal Head/Leather Head/Vanilla Ice
What: Shell Shock TMNT Tribute Show
Where: Brave New World.. Old City (45 North 2nd St Old City Philadelphia PA 19106)
When: First Friday June 3rd 6-9pm
Why: T•U•R•T•L•E POWER!
How (Much?): Coming to look at the show and talk to the artists is Free. The prices of the pieces will vary.
For the Facebook event page CLICK HERE
For more on The Autumn Society CLICK HERE
For more on the TMNT CLICK HERE
** Be sure to catch M.Ivey of COWABUNGA CORNER attending the n’ show checkin’ out the awesome work !! !! Be sure to say hi !!
The Autumn Society Presents:
Shell Shock
A TMNT Art Show & Tribute
Brave New Worlds
Friday, June 3, 2011
COWAABUNGAAAAAAAAAAA MAJOR LEAGUE PIZZA SCARFIN’ IS BACK IN TOWN!!!
JOIN US FOR A MONDO PIZZA ATTACK AS THE BALLROOM SCREENS TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 2: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE FOR ITS TRIUMPHANT 20 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!
AND JUST LIKE OUR LAST TMNT PARTY, THERE WILL BE DRAWINGS FOR RADICAL DOOR PRIZES FOR EVERYONE WHO BRINGS IN A PIZZA FROM THEIR FAVORITE PLACE TO SHARE!
…
(CAN’T BRING A PIE? NO PROBLEM, AS PARK STREET PIZZA WILL BE SHARING SOME OF THEIR MOST TRIUMPHANT PIZZA SELECTIONS!)
THAT’S NOT ALL DUDES! THIS TIME AROUND, RIGHTEOUS CLEVELAND TURNTABLIST JAY FRESH WILL BE LAYING DOWN ALL OF YOUR FAVORITE HIP HOP FROM THE LATE 80′S EARLY 90′S! PLUS! CANTON’S OWN PLEASUREWAVE WILL FINISH OUT THE NIGHT WITH DANCE FLOOR CRUSHERS!
PARTY BEGINS AT 7, MOVIE AT 9. FREE ADMISSION
DOVER BALLROOM
123 W 3RD ST.
DOVER,Ohio 44622
GO NINJA GO NINJA GO
SPONSORED BY PARK STREET PIZZA AND BY THE PIZZA PARTY OF AMERICA
http://www.parkstreetpizza.com/
–>> – - here’s a more cheery photo with the pizza box.
don’t worry, i reiterate wholeheartedly – I AM VERY THANKFUL TO VIACOM !! It was just a rough process , ok !!
And i was just cranky yesterday because Michelangelo ate all the pizza before MTV even sent the durn box out to me. Grr – Mikey.. ~~ **
Oi !! Some turtles !! !! >;}
~ t
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–>> Kirby told Donatello that “Life at best is bitter-sweet.” I wasn’t always so sure i’d agreed with that as it seemed a bit cliche. But well in light of the ramifications of what happened the past few weeks .. Kirby may have had a point.
The flip side to last month’s “NICK TMNT Fan Event” is that inevitably some fans were gona be cut, cut-out, cut-off, rejected, or overlooked all together. Even well noted fans within’ the community.
I really do try to avoid these crazy “self-defensive”/”self-loathing” rants anymore, but what’s a snapper to do to get some perspective ??
But before selfish, stupid, & myopic Tokka thinks he’s all alone in this – he’s gotta remember “HE ISN’T”.
Though, if what had transpired last month had been an isolated incident, i suppose i’d have been able to get over it within’ a relatively short amount of time and keep trucking along in traditional “TOKKA-TURTLE” craziness. And to my own defense, i handle this type of rejection better than i used too. I gotta try to keep a balanced perspective every year as me and my work get’s shunned and shot down by many to hundreds of companies & galleries all the time anymore.
Please forgive me, seriously if i’m a little numb at this point. I honestly want to be positive and thrilled about the prospect of the new animated Turtle show,ect. – but after the umpteenth time of this type of thing happening ..it was a real kick in the face in spite of all the hard work i’ve done for so long now.
If it wasn’t Viacom it was the C.B.C in Canada, Warner Bros., Ubisoft, The TMNT Documentary, even Mirage itself at some point. If it came to anything TMNT – work, fan input or otherwise.. i ALWAYS got left out.
Graciously Mirage, at least on the job front would lend me some very much needed freelance in the final days before the buyout. And i busted my ass for them. So i have worked on TMNT in some form – Officially, fulfilling a longtime dream. Even if in a limited capacity.
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Time has gone on and it’s been over a year since the buyout – i’ve kept with the fandom and my ever bumbling career the best i can since. At this point too – i’ve been doing TMNT fandom work and news aggregation for over a decade. It’s incredibly hard work and has taken it’s toll. The very fragile line of doing all the TMNT work has often interceded my own personal work so it’s always been a very difficult balance.
I have chosen this, though. And the great gratification one gets with sharing your passion comes with the greater satisfaction of seeing your passion evolve. And when you see it grow into a literal “CULTURAL” icon- it becomes easier to deal with those that have always scoffed at TMNT as just some passing phase from the ’90s or something.
Hell, i heard it all the time when i was a shaky-nervous wreck of an artist in cartooning school as a kid.
But,no these boys have grown up and have become an important staple in the pop-culture landscape as i always knew they were even back in the ’90s. And overall i’ve seen it effect so many diverse peoples’ lives of all ages in so many positive ways – overall i am very proud of the work i’ve done. i am happy for those who can benefit and learn from it, and i think i’ve proven beyond anything ..even to myself just how special and imperative this “Turtlemania” truly is.
The Green Teens’ve grown, we’ve grown with them – we’ve evolved ( or is that ‘mutated ? – my father might say the later in my case ). We’ve been damn lucky, as generations are now enjoying things that made the franchise so endearing and impacting to so many.
Kevin’ n’ Pete’s brain children – along with the help of all the Mirage alumni : be it Ryan, Murphy, the Lavignes, Jim L., Dooney,Tristan, Bissette, Ross May, Jake Black, Fernando, Ponce, Diego J., Dario, Allan, Berger, Talbot, Farley, the Bodes, – -the list goes on forever .. have become a darn institution in not just the pop-culture cabal, but the WORLD !! !! wtf !? Wow!! !!
How the #%*$ can one not be proud to be part of that ?!
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( What’s a “TOKKA”-Dave ?! )
Whatever the case may be – these people at the agency came to me.. i did not come to the to them with an “INVITE”. Their words not mine. They also came to me through the shambles of my eroding carcass of my **own personal t2z website which is embarrassing but incredibly flattering.
Before someone comes back all “Kirby” on me and smothers me with cliches and things for a *#¢$%’n second or at any point thinks i’m ungrateful for a split second – i am gonna scream !!
After they contacted me, and grilled me – for a whole week i was cautiously optimistic and happy. I was getting ready for my own solo art-show on top of that so things, for once seemed to be at least “ok” on the darker side of the junkyard. I’m not always known for my cheerier disposition. And i’m not proud of that.
I don’t care how “unfair life is – get used to it , Tokka” – “Or – Bummer,Dude but it ain’t the end of the world “.. , ladee frickin’da. I ‘m well aware of the plights of so many others around me, again i’m grateful. My issues are still my issues – i have to deal with ‘em 24/7. That only makes me even more sensitive to the hardships of the world. So getting this rejection, the seemingly 1000th time it’s happened wasn’t “ok”.
Trivial as it may be for some, this event was really important to me .. and the toll on my psyche and subsequent meltdown even nearly cost me my show.
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..But these are how things go in the junkyard i guess. So dragging on the griping isn’t gonna help worth squat. I argued my point, tactfully as i could as to why i though they were wrong to exclude me and had gotten various pieces of advice, support, and encouragement from many and, friends, and mentors involved with TMNT over the years and even the new show itself to help me keep a level head as i could. I’ve even made amends personally, best i could with the “Pitch Agency” . I’d like to thank Philip Ross specifically for helping me put my mind at ease.
At this point the blame is really nowhere to be laid at anyone. It’s “just what happened”. I’m not and was not EVER upset at my friends who got to go to this thing. In fact i was very happy for them. They really deserved it. I’m even exceptionally in gratitude for them, because many of them really spoke up for me to Nick and were rooting for me the whole time.
So the issues i had had nothing to with those in attendance to the Nick Event.
I’m very thankful to EVERYONE for their support and insight regarding what happened. I’m also very sorry for those that had been through similar effects like i had been or who were overlooked entirely.
So i guess, somewhere up there .. Kirby and his Warrior buddies are all laughing at me in that otherworldly dimension.
Kirby in part was right.
But this event has proven one thing ..
there are those of us out there that really are the TMNT UNDERDOGS.
We’re deserving as much of Ninja Turtle tidings as anyone else, we’re as hardcore of Turtle fans as anyone else.
We may not have the biggest collections, the most random of mania and knowledge regarding the green guys, we may not have the biggest websites and our presence is so diverse – too diverse that it’d even make Kirby’s head spin. ::
We underdogs aren’t any less passionate about TMNT, it’s creators, characters, and their stories than anyone else. Even when the odds are stacked against us. We’re a very important part of this community and we can show others how it becomes more than just a fandom, but TMNT becomes a part of every single day; a way of life.
I cannot say it’s making me a posterboy for this, or that i’m any more deserving for anyone else, or that i can make it my plight to shine light on this. It’s something that’s bigger than me.. and even us crazy Snappers – as much as we’d like to fix the world, sometimes we just can’t no matter how hard we try.
I guess that doesn’t mean we stop trying tho’.
But whatever, Tokka’s still here – and maybe our times will come. s underdogs will shine.
Gee, maybe now i’m the one deluding myself in cliches. Hm – i duno.
Anyway, that’s what i’ve got to say regarding the recent transpirations.
Now excuse me while i go brood and perspirate and regress into the junkyard. There’s a pile of “sittin’ – tires” with my name on ‘em just watin’ for me to set my spiky toosh on while a pout, ponder, and cry a river of regret and shame. Hm- i’m kinda hungry and they look like donuts, so i may as well gnaw on a couple of em while i’m back there.
Yep, just call me “Peerless”.
~ t
One could argue that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans are a dime a dozen. With a property as popular as the Turtles, you’d be hard pressed to find someone between the ages of 20 and 35 who can’t recite the lyrics to the original cartoon theme song, the Ninja Rap or TURTLE Power – or all three. Everyone has his or her own favorite turtle to latch onto. For the past 27 years, the Ninja Turtles have accompanied generations of fans, each of whom feels worthy to be considered the honorary Fifth Turtle.
Maybe the Ninja Turtles aren’t as popular as they were in the early 1990s. Sure, every few years they weave back into the mainstream consciousness. But on the whole, the teens in green may be past their prime.
Therefore, it may have come as a surprise to many fans to hear that after a multimillion-dollar buyout of the formerly independently owned property, children’s programming giant Nickelodeon is planning a massive reboot of the property. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are well on their way back onto the TV screens of a whole new generation of kids.
Children though their target audience may be, Nickelodeon is looking to a slightly older demographic to help along the development of the series. Nick may know kids, but they also know the kids who loved the TMNT have grown up. And that may be exactly why the network decided to offer adult fans a chance to preview and critique the new CG animated series slated to premier in 2012.
I have to say it was a true honor and surprise to be invited to this event. The TMNT have had a number of Number One Fans, so it’s easy for those in a community as close-knit as ours to feel left out, to feel like favorites were being played or that by not being invited to the event they were somehow thought of as less than a true fan.
And I agree… some people have done a lot for the fandom. Some have been longtime fans who have spent the majority of their lives showing the world how awesome the TMNT are, and what an impact they’ve had on their lives. These people who were overlooked (our very own Tokka, being one of them) were sorely missed at the event, and be assured you were with us in spirit.
The fact is Nickelodeon picked a very select few from a behemoth fan base. And they did so with great care and purpose. I’m not going to lie – the majority of those in the group are high-profile fans with popular websites, blogs and other creative material that has either gone viral or generated an admirable buzz. These are people who are are able to spread the word to the masses. But these fans also represented a vast array of fan interest. There were those who represented the artists and writers and other amazing creative minds of fan works, others represented the toy, comics and merchandise collectors, while some offered a unique in-depth perspective of the property in its entirety. So did everyone who attended the event deserve to be there? Absolutely.
And while it is an absolute shame that some fans who also deserved to be there were not, the group was a well-rounded sample of TMNT knowledge and appreciation. It was a group that could offer insight as well as an honest and emotional reaction to the direction of the new television series.
In the next post, I will go through the events of the day at Nick’s TMNT Fan Preview Event, giving a little bit of insight on what I can reveal. But be aware, as I’m sure you’ve seen on other sites, I was required to sign a confidentiality agreement. This means I cannot go into specifics about what I saw.
‘COTTONWOOD Center for the Arts’ Cautiously Presents::
“TOKKA” ~ One x One Show
MARCH 25, 2011
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**Cottonwood Center for the Arts
*** Directions to Cottonwood on Google MAPS..
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“Tokka .. Regardless of what he calls himself you know him as an
intensely gifted and thoroughly focused artist. Raw, realized, passionate, political, his work screams at you on levels both in your face and abstractly, both Day-Glo and nuanced, bold and sublime. His mediums are many: he puts the bang back into Pop, pours power across a page, tears pixels into tomorrow, gives action figures a second coming. He rocks, he raves, he saves. He wakes us up from ourselves.”
– Steve Murphy :: Former creative director of Mirage Studios Inc.;
Puma Blues, Umbra, TMNT Adventures, Tales of the TMNT
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” [ Tokka ] .. the creme da la creme of TMNT fans!! ”
– Ryan Brown :: TMNT Legend and Artist alumni, Wild West C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa
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Lambasted by the industry that motivated him; lauded ,endorsed & cheered by the creators that inspired him.
Tokka’s work has singed the eyeballs of the likes of Lucasfilm Licensing, Midway Games, Sega, Microsoft, Disney Comics, Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro, Playmates Toys, Nickelodeon, Nintendo, Heavy Metal Magazine, Mirage Studios, Dark Horse Comics, and Viz Communications just to name a scant few. ( Barf-bags were provided as a courtesy to said company representatives ).
His global & unique cult-following has embraced his schizophrenic renderings & twisted visions of pop-culture iconography & recycled heroes as much as those who’ve shunned him.
It’s also landed him in the sights of the acclaimed international 80s animation magazine ; “CerealGeek”.
And then there’s that crazy “Turtle” thing he does with so much $#%^@#* heart !
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COTTONWOOD Center for the Arts in Colorado Springs will present a one night, open-house & special engagement featuring Tokka’s FRIGHT FEATURES on the second floor !!
The First FINAL Friday event of it’s kind with all kinds of fun from the Mutant Monster- Mind and Slaphappy Snapper Freak !!
Friday – March 25, 2011 :: 5 – 8 P.M. @
COTTONWOOD Center for the Arts in Downtown Colorado Springs.
Prepare to be Shell-shocked or just bring a box of tomatoes to “SHUCK” at him letting him know how much you disprove of his antics.
And if he owes you money – then bring a pair of boxing gloves to pop him in the beak until he’s bloody and blue and ponies up the $$ !
Heck, you may even get a free sketch from Tokka out of it !
Hope to smell you there !
Be sure to check out Sequelcast on Wednesday, March 23 to listen to Mikey chat about the original 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film! Sequelcast is a podcast series dedicated to exploring franchise films. Over the next few weeks, Sequelcast will be covering the Turtles film franchise beginning with the original film and ending with the 2007 animated feature TMNT. The first installment will also feature an interview with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film director Steve Barron!
CORRECTION: Tune in Wednesday, March 23 at 6 p.m. Pacific time to listen to the podcast at cascadia.fm, www.sequelcast.com or download on itunes March 25.
513 Manitou Avenue
Manitou Springs, CO 80829
Presented by Business of Art Center at Business of Art Center
January 28-March 12, 2011
Everyday Art is an exhibition of a fluxux potluck of 22 offsider artists. It features a strategy for making art that involves everyday objects and simplicity, collaboration between each of the artists to create a reactionary statement from the fluxus manifesto, luck of the draw exchange of that piece within the show artists which requires a reaction, and artist-centered creative offside from commercialized culture.
Artists include Billy Guman, Harley David Young, Holly Conlon, Craig Cantrell, Jonas McCluggage, TokKa, Tylan Troyer, Sarah Gee, Molly Harris, Garrett Dawson, Caitlin Goebel, Bobby Joe Grubb, Lorelei Beckstrom, Neil Fenton, Marc Huebert, Lee Stuurmans, Phil Lear, Jeff WishMer, Lowgun, Hilary McCandles-Beard, and Lauren Potereiko.
Treats will be created for the event by chefs Kevin Toppen, Ryan DuBois, Jonas McCluggage, Hilary McCandless-Beard, Tanya Shaw.
And, Dear Rabbit will be playing live music!
