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July 8, 2008 |
The Zombie of Montclaire Moors Sculpture
Finally, an alternative to garden gnomes.
"Not for the faint of heart, Dickinson’s life-sized, gray-toned zombie will claw his way out of your garden plot or family room corner, pleading for assistance with the most lifelike eyes you’ve ever seen. His macabre expression is captured in such great detail in quality designer resin and finished so realistically that you’ll swear you can hear him breathing!"
Only $90 at Design Tuscano.
Thanks, Jay
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June 27, 2008 |
Betsy's husband?
Animal repartee at The New Yorker.
DALMATIANS
"Hey, look, the truck’s stopping."
"Did they take us to the park this time?”"
"No-it’s a fire. Another horrible fire."
"What the hell is wrong with these people?"
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June 26, 2008 |
Apocalyptic Living
io9 has put together 8 Rules for Surviving the Apocalypse, complete with examples. You really can't afford not to check them out.
#2 - Do Not Join A Theme Gang
With the world ending, there will be many sad sacks who will try and recreate a Mad Max road warrior gang. Resist the urge to join anything theme-oriented. Basic rule of thumb: if you look like an idiot with a face tattoo or a fool running around in Medieval garb, you're going to get the sharp end of the death stick. Doomsday spelled this out pretty clearly: everyone who looked ridiculous got a ridiculous ending. Motorcycle gangs count too, don't forget even Romero's Dawn of the Dead leather riders got their just rewards for their hideous outfits and bad attitudes. Stick to the rag-tag refugee look, or lone wolf army motif. If you have to join a gang, stay in the back and never do anything you might later regret - like eat people.
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June 24, 2008 |
Story of a Peanut
Gizmodo met with Paul Newbie, Tivo’s Senior Director of Consumer Engineering, for a quick historical overview of their remote control design process. Interesting stuff. As anyone who has handled a Tivo remote can attest, it does indeed address many of the ridiculous usability issues that plague lesser remotes.
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June 20, 2008 |
Ong Bak 2: Electric Bakaloo
Muay Thai boxing ninja Tony Jaa (Phanom Yeerum to his fellow Thailanders) has just released a blistering "promotional reel" for Ong Bak 2. Scope it out.
The original Ong Bak, wherein the wiry Jaa calls down a "ferocious blizzard of elbows and knees to bear on subtitled thugs", stands mighty tall in the pantheon of kung-fu cinema - due in no small part to Jaa's unique fighting style, a refreshing disregard for stunt wires or CGI, and sincere attempt to bring neck-kerchiefs back into fashion.
For Round Two, Tony steps behind the camera to direct his own bad self in what appears to be a worthy successor to the original. From Twitch.com: "The film has no story connection to the first Ong Bak, instead moving the narrative back in time and casting Jaa as a young man saved from execution by a group of global martial artists as a boy who has since trained in every one of their arts in an attempt to fuse them all into one master martial art." With elephants.
No sign of Ong Bak (and The Protector) co-star Petchtai Wongkamlao in the promo reel.
No US release date (or distributor) has been set.
See Also:
Tony Jaa Official Site
Tony Jaa International Fan Site
Twitchfilm Promo Reel
MetaCafe 'Best Of' Video
Toshi Station Ong Bak review
Toshi Station The Protector review
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June 18, 2008 |
Indiana Jones and the Fonts on the Maps
Check out this short article on the consistently anachronistic typography appearing on all the animated travel maps in the Indiana Jones movies. It's a pleasant blend of graphic designer pretentiousness and outright movie geekdom.
ITC Serif Gothic in the 1930's? Pssh. As if.
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June 10, 2008 |
American Ninja
Last night was the Levi Meeuwenberg event at the AADL (see Total Victory below). Fun stuff. They taped the whole deal and will eventually post it up on the library website.
Meeuwenberg told a few anecdotes and showed photos/movies from his recent trip to Ninja Warrior's Mt. Midoriyama in Japan. Highlight of the evening was his G4TV American Ninja submission tape, which contained some truly incredible feats of strength and agility (a video that was once on the G4TV website somewhere, right?).
 
See Also:
G4's American Ninja Challenge submissions reel
Meeuwenberg Youtube videos
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June 6, 2008 |
Total Victory
If you reside within 400 miles of Ann Arbor MI, you will not want to miss Levi Meeuwenberg’s appearance at the Ann Arbor District Library on Monday June 9 (7pm). Meeuwenberg's triumphant effort at the 20th Sasuke competition (known around these parts as "Ninja Warrior") has made the man a true American hero. From the AAD Library:
"100 competitors take on a brutal 4-stage obstacle course. In the 20 times the contest has been held, the course has only been completed twice. Sasuke now airs in the US as Ninja Warrior on G4, and for the past two Sasuke competitions, G4 has selected American contenders (via the American Ninja Challenge) to travel to Japan to appear on the show alongside the Japanese competitors. Both times, Ann Arbor has been represented in Japan; last fall, Ann Arbor native and Michigan State student Colin Bell appeared on the show, but failed on the Spider Jump of the first stage. This spring, Traverse City native and current Ann Arbor Resident Levi Meeuwenberg traveled to Japan and outlasted all the Japanese competitors to be the last man standing!"
Who woulda figured Ann Arbor to be such a hotbed of ninja activity?
Meeuwenberg's kung-fu grip (understandably) gave out on the brutal Cliff Hanger portion of the Third stage. Besides going further than any American, he's the first US citizen to best Ninja Warrior All-Star legend Makoto Nagano, who uncharacteristically lost his balance on the Second stage's Downhill Jump. I assume the Franklin Mint will be commemorating the accomplishment with a set of plates. Possibly a series of collectible coins.
See Also:
G4 Ninja Warrior site
Sasuke Wiki page
Makoto Nagano official website
Ann Arbor Library appearance details
NinjaWarriorTV.com
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May 29, 2008 |
Shadowman 9: In the Cradle of Destiny
After nearly two years, The Venture Bros. make their triumphant return Sunday night. Each new episode this (third) season will coincide with a swanky t-shirt from the Astro Base Go "Shirt of the Week Club". The initial offering comes from The Guild of Calamitous Intent:
"Fire up the Murdermobile and call your arch nemesis--because you're about to become a fully licensed member of The Guild of Calamitous Intent the moment you slide one of these 100% cotton American Apparel fine jersey short sleeve black beauties over your cybernetic exoskeleton or henchman's tunic! Emblazoned in gold with the official logo of the recognized leader in organized havoc, this shirt says to the world: "I come in separate cuts and sizes for Men and Women!"
See Also:
Official Adult Swim Venture site
Jackson Publick's Blog
VB Season One DVD
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