Just the other day I was thinking about World War 2-era propaganda songs, so of course I gave a listen to Smoke On the Water. Say what? You didn't know it was about kickin' Hitler's ass? Or Hirohito's? Guess you weren't listening well enough when ol' Red Foley sang: "...there'll be nothing left but vultures to inhabit all that land, when our modern ships and bombers make a graveyard of Japan..." I tell you, they just don't write songs like that anymore, friends. Anyway, by 1951 Red was looking forward to Peace in the Valley.
posted on Apr 9, 2008 - View this thread

Obama supporter shocked to see herself in Hillary ad. "Especially because she's a fierce supporter of Barack Obama." "But the young girl starring in the ad will actually be voting age next month and says she's no fan of Hillary Clinton." The footage is another example of the risks of using stock film or images to convey an advertising message. The footage comes from Getty Footage Stock. FYI that footage prices out at around $ 2,500 for national advertising usage. {via}
posted on Mar 10, 2008 - View this thread

"What is the sound of color? We asked that question of 5 musicians. We assigned each musician a different color. They wrote 5 tracks. We gave the colors and tracks that inspired them to 5 directors." The Sound of Color contains the songs and videos that were created. The site and free downloads are only available through March 15. (Via Carolina Vigna-Marú)
posted on Feb 18, 2008 - View this thread

Fonts at the movies.
posted on Dec 14, 2007 - View this thread

Milo Radulovich, RIP --thrown out of the Air Force during the Red Scares, he fought back--Radulovich's case (and the new medium of TV) showed millions the impact McCarthy was having and the absurd lengths he was going to. He himself wasn't ever accused of being a Communist himself tho:
posted on Nov 21, 2007 - View this thread

Piggybacking the opening of the Rome Film Fest, a group of self-styled cultural "terrorists" struck Rome yesterday, dyeing the Trevi fountain red. In an elaborate manifesto, the previously unknown group Azione Futurista is claiming to represent "precarious workers, the unemployed, the elderly, the ill, the student body and workers alike", and have announced that "we are coming with our vermilion to colour the grey of your everyday" - "a blob of colour will bury you all."
posted on Oct 20, 2007 - View this thread

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows recently leaked on a few torrent sites... or did it? Security measures taken included pallets of books protected by alarms, baited lawyers, and even delivery trucks with satellite tracking, which seems at odds with this UPS delivery truck stacked with loose boxes 5 days before they are to be delivered. A spokeswoman at Scholastic, the book's US publisher, said "she was aware of at least three different versions of the file 'that look very convincing' with what she described as 'conflicting content.'" So what's real and what's fake? We'll just have to wait and see.
posted on Jul 17, 2007 - View this thread

Tony Blair did a sketch for Comic Relief on Red Nose Day. (But Ricky Gervais visiting Kenya is better).
posted on Mar 18, 2007 - View this thread

Is the rise of philanthropic fashionistas decked out in Red T-shirts and iPods really the best way to save a child dying of AIDS in Africa? One year into the "save the world by shopping" initiative championed by Bono, Steven Spielberg and Chris Rock, and the bill is right at $100 million - and so far, Red has only raised about $18 million. Nonprofit watchdogs worry about a backlash. Red's CEO replies, "this marketing would have been spent anyway, on other product lines. It never would have been (nor will it ever be) given to the Global Fund."
posted on Mar 6, 2007 - View this thread

Nip White Poppies in the Bud - Edmonton Journal Article The White Poppy emerged as a symbol of peace in th e1930's, and has been sold by a women's peace group and activist store in Edmonton, Canada for the past several years. This year, The Royal Canadian Legion has ordered a cease and desist, saying that the sale of the poppies is "illegal." Every year the Legion sells red poppies for Remembrance Day. This is an article from the local major daily newspaper offering views from both sides of the debate.
posted on Nov 8, 2006 - View this thread

Black , the final entry in Adidas' Adicolor short film campaign., is seriously messed up, with a fish and a panda playing russian roulette. Also featuring Pink, Red, Blue, White, and Yellow. (via)
posted on May 12, 2006 - View this thread

Rich state, poor state, red state, blue state: a November 2005 statistical analysis [PDF] and presentation [PDF] on the the relationship between income and voting. Republicans are richer than Democrats, "blue states" are richer than "red states," and income matters more in "red states." Recent writeup by E.J. Dionne, with a response by the paper's authors. Discussed earlier at the Washington Monthly.
posted on Mar 15, 2006 - View this thread

A few years ago, Sam Brown of explodingdog.com started drawing red robots (including my personal favorite). Other people started drawing similar red robots, and Sam collected links to them. Back in 2001, I posted to MeFi about the phenomenon. Then I forgot about it. But the meme continued to expand. Now, if you do an images.google.com search for "red robot," you get dozens and dozens of Sam Brown bots. The bot also shows up on Flickr. He also comes in blue, green and pink. And perhaps some other flavors.
posted on Feb 24, 2006 - View this thread

Click and hold the red square.
posted on Nov 4, 2005 - View this thread

Why you yellow rat bastard...When I get ahold of you, I’ll put two zigs on both cheeks. You’ll remember me for the rest of your.... I know you! Don't worry! Louis 'Red' Deutsch spouted perhaps the filthiest, yet most eloquent cursing you may ever hear. I got an underground tape of the prank phone calls from a buddy of mine back in high school. Certainly it's influenced everyone from Matt Groening to the Jerky Boys. The prank calls to Red have even had a (lousy) movie feature (with perhaps the best casting I've ever seen). More than 25 years later I still laugh my head off at even the cadence of Red's profanity.
posted on Oct 2, 2005 - View this thread

Do you like claret? Wine reviewer writes haiku. (More fun than Parker.)
posted on Sep 26, 2005 - View this thread

A few of you may have seen this trailer on Kottke's site yesterday, but its just to wonderful to miss. "Mad Hot Ballroom" is a new Paramount Classics documentary about a junior competitive ballroom dancing circuit up north. To state the completely obvious, its like a "Spellbound" with the kids dancing instead of spelling.
posted on Apr 6, 2005 - View this thread

School shootings in Red Lake Minnesota leave ten dead.
posted on Mar 21, 2005 - View this thread

World (er... MLB) Champions once more. The last time the Boston Red Sox lost was in the 86 World Series. The last time they won was 86 Years Ago, when they beat the Chicago Cubs in the 1918 World Series. (The Cubs finished that season with 86 wins.) This year, after retiring the Anaheim Angels 8-6, they lost three straight to the New York Yankees in the ALCS and seemed to be on the verge of failing once again. Eight straight wins later, they finally manage to eighty-six the Curse of the Bambino.
posted on Oct 27, 2004 - View this thread

Red vs. Blue and Political Self-Segregation:

“Republicans and Democrats joke these days that they can’t understand each other, that they feel as though they live on different planets. It’s no joke. They do. One of the reasons American politics is so bitter is that Republicans and Democrats are less likely today to live in the same community than at any time in the last 55 years.”

The Austin-American Statesman’s Bill Bishop begins a series of articles on the increasing political segregation across the US—a variety of segregation that has surprisingly increased while others (for example, racial) have declined. Timothy Noah of Slate has some thoughts. For background, it’s been discussed elsewhere that the traditional 2000 election red vs. blue state map is misleading and that a gradated county map might be more enlightening. Here’s one. Here’s an analysis with a different take on the data. And here are some other interesting cartograms of that election’s results. [Alternative Links Inside]
posted on Apr 22, 2004 - View this thread

Why was the sky red in Munch's "The Scream"? I would have said "red paint."
posted on Dec 9, 2003 - View this thread

Red Dog Army: "Red Dogs line up along the edges of the art-world. They have many objectives... Their purpose is to put art into the hands of anyone who sees them and takes them home... They are distributed by a person or persons unknown, tracing movement in cities across the world. They inhabit their new environment sometimes for just a few minutes before being destroyed or taken in by a new art collector. Or they may remain for months, changing shape and being forced into compromising positions. Above all, they are always seen by someone. Their presence is noticed, noted and very red."

Take note, Antipodeans, and keep your eyes open; the red dog comes for you.
posted on May 3, 2003 - View this thread

The SF Chron's big Sunday story is a very timely and huge package about a Republican Governor who went on to become president cooperating with overzealous intelligence agencies to quash dissent. Revelations: Reagan plotted with the FBI against the President of UC-Berkeley, he wanted to mount "psychological warfare campaign" and the old rumor about Reagan getting some fellow Hollywood artists blacklisted turns out to be true. Synposis.
posted on Jun 9, 2002 - View this thread

The Red Scare of 1919-1920 in Political Cartoons. Git! You long-haired Bolshevist.
posted on May 7, 2002 - View this thread