There are a lot of good things in latest issue of Steve Moore’s online animation magazine, but the best may be Nancy Beiman’s recollections of working with Jack Zander. Flip #10 is now up. Go!

An impressive young talent who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting since moving out to NY is Arthur Metcalf. A self-taught animator, his first short, Fantaisie in Bubblewrap (2007) has become an audience favorite at the few festivals it has played at so far. Today, Metcalf released a new one-minute hand-drawn cartoon exclusively online, Badflavr.com, starring Kitteh and Puppeh. Watch it below. The humor derives from the seemingly indefatigable lolcatz, but even if you’re becoming worn out from that meme, the cute kitty really sells the piece. The cat’s typing skills and two-pawed mouse usage garnered a good laugh from me because it’s so skillfully and humorously animated. More about Arthur Metcalf at MetcalfLovesYou.com. His experimental “holiday card” on YouTube is also worth a view.

Mathieu Vierendeel has posted onto YouTube the fascinating 1987 documentary Animating Art which examines the life and art of legendary animator Art Babbitt. The 40-minute film includes commentary from Babbitt himself, as well as interviews with Richard Williams and Andreas Deja. It’s a terrific intro to Babbitt’s work that leaves one wanting to hear and see more about the master animator. Part 1 is below, the rest of it can be viewed here.

Dear Brew readers, please indulge this shameless late-night post. I discovered a new fact tonight: nothing perks one up at 1:30am like walking by MoMA and seeing your book in their store window display. I snapped a couple phonecam shots for posterity.

It’s equally exciting to know that Cartoon Modern is extending its reach all over the globe. It was a delight to hear Paco Calderón, a cartoonist from Mexico City, state in a new Amazon review that Cartoon Modern was his personal “book of the year.” And on a recent trip to Japan, Christopher Butcher discovered that my book was on display in the country’s largest bookstore, the flagship Kinokuniya Books. He snapped the pic below showing it alongside some fine company: The Art of Ratatouille and the Fantagraphics Peanuts reprints.

Of course, a book is no use if it just sits in a bookstore. Thankfully plenty of artists are putting it to good use. Guillermo García Carsí, the co-creator, director and designer of the exemplary CG preschool series Pocoyo told me that after going through Cartoon Modern he was inspired to create a stylized Flash-animated segment for a recent episode. He sent a few stills which I’ve posted below. Also be sure and check out his new website GuillermoGarciaCarsi.com which features Pocoyo and non-Pocoyo animation as well as plenty of his eye-catching illustrations.

The accompanying Cartoon Modern blog is also inspiring artists. For example, Adam Garcia of Philly-based design studio The Pressure posted onto Flickr this page of studies based on images from the blog.

Saving the best for last, here is an intriguing sight: knitted versions of the cover’s Ernie Pintoff/Fred Crippen-designed characters.

Why are they knitted? Because I’m now the proud owner of this awesome one-of-a-kind Cartoon Modern scarf I received from my friend, filmmaker Heather Harkins. It’s the perfect complement to my Mary Blair boxers. Thanks, Heather!