June 12, 2009
Banksy Takes Bristol
"This is the first show I've ever done where taxpayers' money is being used to hang my pictures up rather than scrape them off."
Krazy Kat Kartoon Klassics
George Herriman's Krazy Kat (previously, previouslier) has been animated several times: in 1916 under the aegis of William Randolph Hearst a series of at least ten shorts was made, including "Krazy Kat Goes A-Wooing," "Krazy Kat Bugologist," and "Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse at the Circus." By 1930, under the control of Charles B. Mintz Krazy Kat had lost much of the Kat's own look, and had become, in films like "Alaskan Knights," a knockoff of Felix the Cat and Mickey Mouse. In the 1960s, Gene Deitch's Krazy Kat series got back to the original look of the Kat, but animation quality was poor, and the Kat was—GASP!—made explicitly female. In 1996, director Derek Mogford gave Krazy the stop motion treatment in a well-made short that's meant to be an introduction to Herriman's kooky love triangle of Kat, Mouse, and Pup.
Some comics about mental illness by Darryl Cunningham.
Misogyny or Masterpiece?
Warning: Extremely disturbing material. Antichrist is Lars von Trier's (previously) latest film. It features graphic sex, masturbation, torture, and self-mutilation. The reaction to the self-proclaimed "best director in the world"'s new film has been mixed. Charlottle Gainsbourg won Best Actress at Cannes 2009, while the ecumenical jury gave the film a special "anti-award". The United States will get a cut version of the film, but it will be released in its original form in Britain. [more inside]
Era of Pulp
Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla
A Horror Film that will Stiffen You with Laughter! The jungle is jumping, with gals, gags, and goofs! And a gorilla! It's not the set-up for an awkward joke, but an honest to goodness motion picture, starring Bela Lugosi as a mad scientist, and nightclub comedians Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo as themselves, though in roles approximating Martin and Lewis. It was the comedy duo's only movie (possibly due to the cease and desist request to Sammy Petrillo from Jerry Lewis), and was one of Bela Lugosi's last movies. Some classify this movie as a z-grade budget film, while others claim it to be staggeringly unfunny. But don't take their word for it. You can watch it all online, or download it from the Internet Archive.
Nice try kid, but where is your homework?
Details are sketchy, but it seems that 14-year-old Gerrit Blank was struck by a meteorite this week and survived to tell the tale.
Comedy 2.0
A minister, a priest, and a rabbi walk into a bar. The bartender says, "What is this, some kind of joke?" Warning: autoplay on first link. [more inside]
Swoops, Attack Bird Chronicles
Stressed out San Francisco Financial District workers have been helped by a stimulus of a different kind for the last week — a free show at the corner of California and Front streets. Dive-bombing bird takes aim at Financial District. Swoops, a Brewer's Blackbird, now has his own blog.
writers as journalists
When authors and poets write the news "It was on an average Wednesday that a very serious Israeli newspaper conducted a very wild experiment. For one day, Haaretz (scroll down and select June 10th) editor-in-chief Dov Alfon sent most of his staff reporters home and sent 31 of Israel’s finest authors and poets to cover the day’s news. Read articles on integration at the giraffe enclosure, love in the cancer ward, mosaics in Tel Aviv, addicts at the Jerusalem rehab centre, and a visit to the grave of a holy man, among others. [via]
Resi Racey Redux
In the wake of the Resident 5 racism flap (previously), and with the final game released, one of it's chief detractors, N'Gai Croal, talks to its producer, Jun Takeuchi (Part 1, Part 2). Meanwhile industry magazine MVC takes a look at Africa as a games market.
These findings are especially taters in the context of the what cancer taters further future investigation into this field.
Research journal accepts a computer-generated nonsense paper, and leads the editor-in-chief to resign his post. The authors write about their hijinks on their blog The Scholarly Kitchen. [more inside]
The Millennial Project
The Millennial Project is a comprehensive plan for space development, beginning with the terrestrial cultivation of an environmentally sustainable civilization and Post-Industrial culture and culminating, far in the future, in the colonization of our immediate stellar neighborhood. The TMP2 project is specifically a project of the Living Universe Foundation community to continually update and revise the content of the original plan as described by Marshal T. Savage in his book The Millennial Project. [more inside]
Asteroid Probe Set to "Collide" With Earth
A 1,124-pound (510-kilogram) space probe will "collide" with our home planet in June 2010 to simulate an approaching asteroid, Japanese scientists have announced. [more inside]
Wait, wait, I almost have it!
Why do we get "tip of the tongue" moments?? We’ve all experienced the tip of the tongue moment where we wanted to say something but just couldn’t remember the word. But what causes this momentary lapses in vocabulary?
Hello, I am a Doodler.
Doodlers Anonymous. Oodles and oodles of fabulous doodles.
You'd never guess you're an actor, Brian.
Civil War Maps
The Civil War Preservation Trust has a wonderful page of assorted American Civil War maps. Includes the excellent CWPT topographical maps [viewable online, download .pdf requires free registration], and historical maps. My favorites are the animated maps, on the map of the First Day of Chancellorsville you can toggle between the topo map and a present-day satellite view so you can see the effects of modern development on the battlefield. [via]
Lunar Baboon!
I's a Baby Baboon, with a bassoon on the moon. Flash Friday Weebl's!
Freedom! Horrible, horrible freedom!
Windows 7 will ship without Internet Explorer in Europe "Microsoft said it made it’s decision following an anti-trust investigation by the European Union." [more inside]
The Ledge
The Ledge is an independent platform for international literature. At the heart of the site, to get you in the mood, is a series of interviews with authors, translators and literary critics. There is also a built-in, ever-expanding reading guide and a listing of literary events.
The Ledge [ Flash Enabled ], the Flash version of the site is much more fun. For one thing, you can hear authors reading from their work... Have a look. And a listen. and The Ledge [ HTML] For slower connections.
Left Field Cinema, the best-curated film podcast out there
I've listened to dozens of film podcasts, but Left Field Cinema is the first that devotes its episodes only — or at least primarily — to movies worth discussing. I'm talking about Malick's Badlands. I'm talking about Tarkovsky's Solaris. I'm talking Kieslowski's Dekalog which gets a two-parter. I'm talking about Tarr's Werckmeister Harmonies. I'm talking Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. At long last, I say.
Weed, Booze, Cocaine and Other Old School "Medicine" Ads
Dr. Batty's Asthma Cigarettes (not recommended for children under 6) -- and other ads from the era when heroin was an over the counter cough medicine.
Nothing to declare except that, um, $135 billion
Two Japanese men have been detained by Italian authorities after they were caught with $134.5 billion in US bonds and securities in a false-bottomed bag on a train heading for the Swiss border. [more inside]
Ice Ice Baby
It's no secret that classic cocktails are back. Fresh fruit and house-made bitters and infusions are de rigueur, but no less important is the quality of the ice. Good ice and the right shake ensure that spirits are properly chilled and diluted and improve the cocktail's flavor profile.
Fixies are the fashion but wait 'til they see de stijl
Etsy critiques.
By now, you've probably heard of Etsy (previously), a website that has been called a "crafty cross between Amazon and Ebay." The site is enormously popular, among women in particular, but some are asking is the buy handmade movement a good thing? Does the site peddle a false feminist fantasy?
Digital Killed the Radio Star
"This Friday, June 12, TV stations nationwide will cease broadcasting analog signals and switch to digital-only broadcasts. That’s fine with me. I have a digital television, and I have cable anyway, so it won’t affect me. At least that’s what I thought. Only recently did I realize that one of my favorite ways to enjoy television will go away. Starting Friday, I can no longer get TV on the radio."
Xbox Wars
Science fiction writers have always been writing about remote control war, the Isreali arms industry has been develping remote control drones (as seen in Pakistan), but only the US military has a remote control mini tank driven via an Xbox controler!
The Guardian Data Store Competition
The Guardian Datastore is running a competition for the best visualizations, mashups and applications built with and for the data in their datastore.
Amongst other things, they currently have the latest data on MP's expenses, world booze consumption and two centuries of bio diversity data from Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire. [more inside]
Publicizing HIV cases in the porn industry
After one performer tested positive this week, 16 previously unpublicized cases of HIV in the porn industry have emerged. Last time this happened, government officials called it an outbreak and porn production grinded to a halt for two months.
Tatum's art changed jazz
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