Thursday, August 31
scrap art
you’re living in a dream
A write-up on my friend Justine’s Nowhere Girl at Top Two Three Films. Now if she’d just start publishing The Mother of All Bombs again... (thanks, kristen)
Wednesday, August 30
where no homer has gone before
civil war 2.0
Vertigo is offering Brian Wood’s DMZ issue #1 for free download as a PDF. (warren ellis)
In the near future, America’s worst nightmare has come true. With military adventurism overseas bogging down the Army and National Guard, the U.S. government mistakenly neglects the very real threat of anti-establishment militias scattered across the 50 states. Like a sleeping giant, Middle America rises up and violently pushes its way to the shining seas, coming to a standstill at the line in the sand—Manhattan or, as the world now knows it, the DMZ.
not just whistling dixie
From dj BC, the creator of the famously cease-and-desisted Glassbreaks (bittorrent), comes Wu Orleans—mashups of Wu Tang Clan and dixieland jazz. Three songs are available for direct download, and the full album is being distributed through the all-but-unstoppable BitTorrent from the outset this time. It’s as cool as you’d think. (thanks, Sean)
Thursday, August 24
good, old music
this is where the party ends
A clever, funny, but not entirely friendly review of the TMBG oeuvre at Complete Idiot’s Guide to They Might Be Giants:
Don’t let’s start with praise; let’s start with insults:
Nerds. Geeks. Art majors. Jingle writers.
For a lot of folks (your author included, at first), that pretty much sums up They Might Be Giants — the prolific darlings of college radio who launched themselves two decades back by recording a silly song a day on their answering machine.
Wednesday, August 23
web 2.0 summarized by implied contrast
“‘treatable symptoms,’ my doctor said.”
The most recent a softer world breaks my heart a little, and I don’t even know why.
Tuesday, August 22
“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
“Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time.”
Thursday, August 17
ipod video tagging made easy-ish
Apple does not make every tag that iTunes uses available to the user. And sometimes there are bugs (shock, gasp) even in Apple software. This is why videos tagged with TV Show do not show up in the predictable manner in the iPod's menu, but there is no way to correct it from within the application.
Fortunately, an application called Atomic Parsley allows users to get access to those tags and write those tags, themselves. Unfortunately, AP is a shell-based, command-line-interface program, which makes my 25-years-removed-from-DOS head a litte bit frightened. So it is extra nice that the oddly named but nicely Aqua-GUI’d Parsley is Atomically Delicious handles AP-style tagging in a user-interface that is simple and direct.
Now most of my TV programs are in the right place! Blissful viewing during train commutes, let me tell you.
Fortunately, an application called Atomic Parsley allows users to get access to those tags and write those tags, themselves. Unfortunately, AP is a shell-based, command-line-interface program, which makes my 25-years-removed-from-DOS head a litte bit frightened. So it is extra nice that the oddly named but nicely Aqua-GUI’d Parsley is Atomically Delicious handles AP-style tagging in a user-interface that is simple and direct.
Now most of my TV programs are in the right place! Blissful viewing during train commutes, let me tell you.
GO TEAM VENTURE!
Adult Swim’s excellent series, The Venture Brothers has unexpectedly snared me like the invisible arms of The Phantom Limb! It has been all I can do to keep myself from watching the episodes in a single sitting. Apparently I am not alone in my enthusiasm;
Wikipedia has entries on each and every character, episode, and even hypotheses on characters who only make brief appearances—the high geekery speculation the likes of which I’ve not seen since the bounty hunters from The Empire Strikes Back. There are plenty of fansites in addition to the purely collaborative wikipedia.
The creators are down with the love they’re getting from the fans. On the internets, in addition to the Adult Swim site’s Flash games and wallpapers, you can find the Official website with sounds, interviews, and other links, and there’s character and storyboard art at Chrisis Church of Art / Lovelace Pop Art, and series news and insight from Jackson Publick at his LiveJournal, Publick Nuisance.
Anyway, Season 2 (a bad place to start) is available through iTunes music store, though you can find plenty of snippets at YouTube, above.
Labels: video
webcomics under the influence
Tales of The Front by Jerzy Drozd, is highly reminiscent of The Venture Brothers’ complete lack of dignity for their supervillains. Try reading the main baddy’s lines in The Monarch’s voice, and you’ll find a perfect fit.
もえもえ
A review of Rumble Roses XX: I Feel All Tingly Mama!, a game which caused the Japanese rate-of-purchase of Xbox 360s to triple:
Extras include unlockable costumes and humiliations for Queen’s matches, concept art and the like, create a character mode, and photo mode. Create a character is like Weird Science only you don’t have to wear underwear on your head unless you want to and every woman you create looks pretty much the same except for hair and skin color. Photo mode is just what it sounds like. All the joy of taking pictures of half naked women cavorting together without those nasty restraining orders and sex offender lawn signs. You can even share the pics online with other men who are still recovering from fervent masturbation.
You can play the game online, but the one time I tried no one was using voice chat out of what I can only imagine was a strong sense of shame.
Having played the original Rumble Roses, playing the sequel is much like leaving your girlfriend for a supermodel. Sure, she looks much prettier, but after awhile you realize there is nothing inside of any real value or substance. Really makes you appreciate what you’ve left behind.
dirty deeds, which should have been DIY, done not-so-cheap
Consumerist is reporting "Circuit City Flouts The DMCA For A Tenner" - Is this widespread? I am stunned that anyone would pay for this service, but even more stunned that a major retailer would offer a service that so clearly involves software that is in violation of US federal law.
Incidently, I am using Instant Handbrake to get DVDs onto my iPod, and find it to be the the cat’s pyjamas. (Make blog)
Incidently, I am using Instant Handbrake to get DVDs onto my iPod, and find it to be the the cat’s pyjamas. (Make blog)
Wednesday, August 16
nextwave preview
Enjoy a preview of Nextwave #7 from Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen. (new Fell, as well) [badsignal]
Thursday, August 10
firework traceries
Pika-pika means “sparkling” or “shining” in Japanese. PIKAPIKA: in kitijoji features people animating using light pens to trace their drawing lines in the night. (thanks, monty)
jerks gone wild
It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to find out that the guy behind Girls Gone Wild is a jerk. It is surprising to find out just how much of a jerk he is:
Joe Francis, the founder of the Girls Gone Wild empire, is humiliating me. He has my face pressed against the hood of a car, my arms twisted hard behind my back. He’s pushing himself against me, shouting: “This is what they did to me in Panama City!”(via Jeffrey Rowland’s Overcompensating)
It’s after 3 a.m. and we’re in a parking lot on the outskirts of Chicago. Electronic music is buzzing from the nightclub across the street, mixing easily with the laughter of the guys who are watching this, this me-pinned-and-helpless thing.
Francis isn’t laughing.
He has turned on me, and I don’t know why. He’s going on and on about Panama City Beach, the spring break spot in northern Florida where Bay County sheriff’s deputies arrested him three years ago on charges of racketeering, drug trafficking and promoting the sexual performance of a child. As he yells, I wonder if this is a flashback, or if he’s punishing me for being the only blond in sight who’s not wearing a thong. This much is certain: He’s got at least 80 pounds on me and I’m thinking he’s about to break my left arm. My eyes start to stream tears. (full article)
Los Angeles Times, “Baby, Give Me a Kiss”
“he was abducted by two horrible, old women, and a monkey”
If you haven’t already checked out Mike Mignola’s The Amazing Screw-On Head, you are doing yourself a disservice. SciFi Channel may pick up the series, or not, based on viewer response. It would be great if SciFi got back to SF, like if MTV rediscovered music videos, so check it out and leave feedback!
Labels: sf
free multiplayer shooter coming
Much like Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, starting August 17th Sierra will be giving away F.E.A.R. Combat (Windows), the multiplayer component of their popular horror-themed shooter. You can sign up for notification at the link. (GameSpy)
Wednesday, August 9
following up on the vader theme
Tuesday, August 8
stage 2 of the big project that has been taking all my time
“poor, unfortunate sooouuuul...”
darth smartass
because i don’t visit the itunes music store every single week
Wednesday, August 2
kids in sonic service
Monty has posted a most excellent comic on the topic of music and aging over at Planet Saturday. Go. Read.
Labels: comic
dirty DIY deeds, done dirt cheap
MAKE Blog, when not obsessively fascinated with LED “graffiti scrunchies” is one of the most consistently intriguing sites around. It is amazing to see what happens when smart (and presumably childless) people have enough free time to turn common household cruft into purest lo-technofetish gold.
I might be able to put one of these tensegrity tower things together someday. Not sure why, other than they look really cool. Not this goofy cell phone holder; maybe a lamp-stand. These DIY Shuffle headphones are the cat’s pyjamas. (MAKE: Blog)
I might be able to put one of these tensegrity tower things together someday. Not sure why, other than they look really cool. Not this goofy cell phone holder; maybe a lamp-stand. These DIY Shuffle headphones are the cat’s pyjamas. (MAKE: Blog)
Tuesday, August 1
c64 made from wood by a would-be 419 scammer
My new hero: the 419 Eater. He scammed a 419 scam-artist into making a Commodore 64 carved from wood and assorted animals. (yeah, this is about a decade ago in internet time, but the guys’s site was overwhelmed from BoingBoingSlashdotDiggification)
music - free danger doom
At the official adult swim website, they are hosting free downloads of Danger Doom - Occult Hymn, music tracks featuring adult swim characters. (hip2besquare)
