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One hundred years ago today in Spokane, Washington, Charles Martin “Chuck” Jones was born. It is quite possible there has not been a more widely influential artist in the twentieth century.

We could easily list his over three hundred cartoons that he directed; we could talk about all of the influential cartoons that he didn’t do for Warner Brothers– Pogo, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, The Dot and the Line, and revitalizing Tom & Jerry; we could mention his creation and co-creations Private Snafu, Charlie Dog, Hubie and Bertie, The Three Bears, Claude Cat, Marc Antony and Pussyfoot, Charlie Dog, Michigan J. Frog, Marvin the Martian, Pepe LePew, the Road Runner, and Wile E. Coyote; we could discuss his educational work with The Electric Company and Curiosity Shop and his works with Dr. Seuss, not to mention the multiple generations of animators he taught and trained– but we’ll simply...

Michael C here from Serious Film popping in to give everybody an edge in their Oscar pools. For most of us the shorts categories represent a vague, uncharted area on our Oscar ballots where the blind guesses required balance out the relatively easy calls in the bigger categories. Just pick whichever doc short seems to have the most Nazis and leave the rest up to chance.

But now that Magnolia Pictures and Shorts International have begun releasing all the nominated shorts in theaters and for purchase online there is no longer any excuse to stay in the dark. Not only do you get to enjoy some of the year's most inventive work, but you get the added suspense of following categories that have not been analyzed to death and had the novelty drained out of them by every precursor from the Golden Globes down to the Sheboygan Film Critics Society.

Have a spare moment? Here's a selection of favorite books that explore the idea of crossing transitional space, each with its own take on what lies in-between...

1. Understanding Comics by Scott McCloudAn entertaining analysis of how comics work, in comic book form. Scott McCloud dissects just how a comic artist gets the reader to experience time and space in a flat, "still" medium. I particularly enjoy his explanations about what happens in between the panels. That's were he says the unique power of comics lies.

2. The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics by Norton Juster A witty picture book that tells a love story between two characters from different mathematical states. Double entendres abound. Especially like the modernist, mixed-media illustrations. It is also an Academy Award-winning animated short film, animated by Chuck Jones.

3. Flatland: A Romance of Many Directions by Edwin A. AbbottWritten in 1884, it's the great...