September 5, 2008
Talibanistan
Right at the Edge. "The Taliban and Al Qaeda have established a haven in Pakistan’s tribal areas along the Afghan border. This is where the war on terror wil be fought – and possibly lost."
Vitamin Hamilton
Apparently, this kind of thing happens all the time in Hamilton, Ontario.
Please don't tell William Gibson this exists.
I know what you're thinking. What could be better than a below-low-budget sci-fi/horror hypersexualized movie based off of a musical, with a playwright who also decided to star in both stage and screen adaptations? Well, then, what if we up the ante! It's also a socially-conscious cyberpunk movie musical, written, directed, scored and costumed by people in 2008 who have decided that 1996 is as far as the future goes, thanks... so it's also a goth/raver socially conscious cyberpunk movie musical, complete with blue-streaked hair, muppet-fur and clunky vinyl boots! No? We need to aim higher to do better? Well, here comes the kicker, the one element that will immortalize this film: Starring Paris Hilton. Singing. In S&M gear. And a wig. Doing drugs. Lo, I bring you REPO! The Genetic Opera! (The film.) NSFW or self respect.
All but one
Mister Bookseller is a short comic by Darko Macan (translated from the original Croatian by a helpful blogger) about a bookseller who stocks almost every book in the world.
Indie game of the week: Iji
It's not often that a freeware game can truly be called a masterpiece but Daniel Remar has finally released Iji, an action platformer with touches of RPG, in which you control a female heroine with a whole lot of engineered superhuman abilities. What makes this game so good is the sheer of polish that has been put into the production and the large amount of choices there are to make. You can choose what abilities to level up with, whether or not to bother killing enemies and the path you take through each sprawling area, which can effect the outcome of the unfolding story.
Sarah-Jane Lynagh
"Her work revolves around a cluster of issues chief among which are sexuality, death, identity, abjection, the monstrous feminine and loss. Despite the universal importance of these issues her work remains firmly grounded in the specifics of her individual experience." NSFW [more inside]
Fannie and Freddie under conservatorship.
The North Hollywood Bank Job
The North Hollywood Bank Job. part two part three part four .
Inspired by this famous (and NSFW) scene from Heat, on Feb. 28, 1997, Larry Eugene Phillips, Jr. and Emil Matasareanu attempted to rob a Bank of America in North Hollywood, CA using body armor, automatic weapons and barbiturates. This documentary uses news footage, recreations, interviews, computer animation and a cheesy narrator to explain the chaotic hour that followed. There are some violent images. [more inside]
Antpocalypse!!!
Today's date? Why, it's...July 11, 2052, and man has been cowering in terror, self-sealed in his own living-tombs since that day of horror in...1952. Remember? 100 years ago, the sky above America turned black...with the dread flight of millions of ferocious, gigantic ants! [more inside]
Pretend you know better.
"Smugopedia is a collection of slightly controversial opinions about a variety of subjects. We offer you the chance to buy a fleeting sense of self-satisfaction at the small cost of alienating your friends and loved ones."
THE POST FOR THIN LIZZY COMPLETISTS
Fans of Thin Lizzy/Phil Lynott may be unaware of some recent audio-only you tubery. So, let me school you, as the kids say. Live versions: Opium Trail. Romeo and the Lonely Girl (cool slow version).
It's Getting Dangerous.
The Pressure Will Blow.
Don't Play Around (soundcheck). Demos: Rockula. Waiting for an Alibi. Gay Boys (song from Phil's post-Thin Lizzy band Grand Slam).
Got to Give it up. [more inside]
History of Sturmey-Archer
Foreign Dirty Noises
Free Clip Art
No really, it's good. It's from Florida's Educational Clearinghouse and students and teachers can use up to 50 pieces of it in a single project without needing any further permission. [more inside]
Frustrating Flash Friday
Flash Friday: Casual Gameplay Escape is a game where you solve puzzles to escape a room. Some puzzles are more difficult than others.
Delicate Things
Who you are is what you listen to: Prof. Adrian North of Edinburgh's Heriot-Watt University recently published results of what the Beeb calls "the largest study of its kind" linking music listening habits to personality characteristics. His breakthrough conclusions? Heavy metal listeners, contrary to public perception, are not a "suicidally depressed" or a "danger to themselves and society in general. But they are quite delicate things." [more inside]
The Words They Used
"Of great concern to me, during those same four days in Denver, they rarely mentioned the attacks of September 11, 2001."
Post-convention cool down.
Something calming after the frenzied conventions. John Williams and Julian Bream team up to play a guitar duet of Debussy's Claire De Lune.
Green Behind The Ears
What was the mysterious green backdrop behind John McCain last night? Was it an attempt to restart the Colbert/McCain Green Screen Challenge? The lawn of one of his houses? Or possibly just a screw-up?
genome quilts
Genome Quilts "The quilts are visually pleasing, with their strong colors and seemingly traditional design, but they hide and reveal an entirely other construct of information." [via]
The state of hipster typography
Ever since Napoleon Dynamite became a surprise hit in the summer of 2003, and the subsequent rise of Judd Apatow a trend in sentimental but cynical film comedy was born. But this post isn't about the comedy.. [more inside]
The short life of an aquatot
Russell Tongay cheerfully dropped his preschoolers into the Mississippi River. Two-year-old Kathy made it five miles before he pulled her out. Her five-year-old brother Bubba finally staggered to shore after 22 miles. Merely a warmup, their beaming father told the media gathered on the St. Louis riverbank, for what would be his children's crowning achievement: to swim the English Channel, England to France, a crossing that in 1950 had been completed only four times.
And so began the short, sad celebrity of the Aquatots, another chapter in America's morbid fascination with children pushed by parents and coaches beyond overachievement into the realm of abuse and endangerment. [more inside]
Who is Alex Harvey and why is he Sensational?
He was born in 1935, died in 1982, and as a musician didn't have a big hit record until 1974, yet in a 2004 Scottish poll with over 12,000 respondents [here], The Sensational Alex Harvey (aka SAHB) came in at #5 Scottish band of all time, beating out Simple Minds, Primal Scream, and Franz Ferdindand. Combining powerful Bon Scott-style vocals, progressive/blues rock riffs, outrageous stage antics (seen to good effect here), and a background steeped in the UK skiffle band tradition, while relatively unknown in the States, the legendary Alex Harvey remains one of the best-remembered and memorable rock stage performers in the world.
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