COVER STORY
Toys
Kurt Andersen and comics artist Gary Panter talk about creative uses for the disposable plastic junk of childhood.

Lego Bible
Meet "Reverend" Brendan Powell Smith. He’s not an ordained minister, but he’s applied all his creative energies and a vast collection of Legos to telling one story -- one that features rape, incest, stoning, forbidden fruit, and rains of fire and brimstone. Produced by Jonathan Mitchell.
Reverend Brendan Powell Smith’s Brick Testament
Buy books by Brendan Powell Smith

Pixelvision
Fisher-Price called the PXL-2000 "the first camcorder for kids." It turned out to be the only one: children weren’t interested. But, as Lu Olkowski found out, some aspiring film directors were.
Go to the PXL 2000 Home Page
Go To the PXL This Festival Homepage
Search for Pixelvision clips at the Video Data Bank

Toy Piano
Margaret Leng Tan, a virtuoso of the grand piano, takes Schroeder's place at the plastic one. Produced by David Krasnow.
Go to Margaret Leng Tan’s website
Buy Margaret Leng Tan CDs

SPECIAL GUEST
Gary Panter
Gary Panter is a legendary and highly influential comic book artist, and a devotee of toys. He is well known for his witty set design for television's Pee Wee's Playhouse. Panter's punk comic book hero Jimbo has been a cult favorite for decades. His books include the sketchbook Satiro-Plastic, Jimbo in Purgatory, and the forthcoming Jimbo’s Inferno.
Go to a Metropolis feature on Panter
Go to Gary Panter’s website
Buy books by Gary Panter

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Diane Keaton
In The Family Stone, the veteran actress outshines young stars like Sarah Jessica Parker and Claire Danes as the matriarch of a large family on a white New England Christmas – Frank Capra with an edge of venom. Kurt asks Keaton how she got from ingenue to grandma so quickly.
20th-Century Fox's page for The Family Stone
Buy Diane Keaton DVDs

Unsilent Night
It's become a holiday tradition: every year, hundreds of people gather with boomboxes to perform Phil Kline's ambient, techno Christmas carol called "Unsilent Night." Jonathan Mitchell went along for the ride.
Phil Kline’s Homepage
Unsilent Night page
Buy Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night CD
Buy Phil Kline’s Zippo Songs CD

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