This is neat.
Scott Wade is an American artist who wanders around supermarket car parks looking for dirty cars.
What he finds is dust. These are samples of what he leaves:
Mona Lisa from Dust
Car Dust Art
Category: Entertainment (Page 4 of 9)
One of my wife Kathy’s relatives was Alex Anderson, the creator of Rocky and Bullwinkle.
I have never visited the US, and am sorry I never had the chance to meet him.
Alex was one of the great pioneers of animation, and the creator of the first animated programme for TV, Crusader Rabbit.
Rocky and Bullwinkle were amusing to children. To intelligent adults, they were frequently remarkably insightful social commentary.
Time has published a thoughtful reflection on his life, and especially on the crucial role he played in the development of animated movies and TV shows.
Perhaps even more important than his obvious energy, creativity and insight, he was a caring man who was much loved by his family and friends.
I like a good action movie.
I suspect that the action movie demographic is primarily us rednecks.
Liberal hippie types seem to like nancy movies like The English Patient. I watched that. I even tried to like it. But for heaven’s sake…
Then there was Sex and the City, Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, Steel Magnolias, etc, etc, etc, ad infinitum. Meaningful stuff, apparently, about relationships and stuff.
Us blokey conservative types like movies where things actually happen, where there is a story.
So Machete, which features Danny Trejo and Robert de Niro, should be a must on the viewing list. Maybe not a blockbuster, but a solid box office performer.
Nope.
Unfortunately, Machete is another example of a Hollywood director forgetting why people pay money to go to the movies.
To be entertained. Not to be lectured.
I’m not the only one who thinks so:
“Machete,” which opened nationwide Sept. 3, is as politically charged as a film can be without the words “Michael” or “Moore” attached. It doesn’t just argue in favor of letting illegal immigrants become U.S. citizens. It paints politicians who support enforcing the borders as cold-blood killers, sub-humans we should squash like insects.
And that’s … OK. My biggest beef with the film is that it’s borderline awful. Being a right-leaning film critic means you get used to absorbing film messages that clash with your own principles. You see it, note it, and then move on.
Yep. There are lots of well made films with political messages I don’t like. There are even video games with messages I don’t like, but still play.
I love Flower, for example. That is about as nancy a game as you’ll ever find. You are a petal, floating about bringing colour to tired landscapes, setting windmills in motion, etc. But it’s fun.
But no film can be fun when everything grinds to a halt every few minutes so one of the characters can nag you about how dreadful America is, and how it should let anyone in who wants to come, granting them full benefits and rights of citizenship.
Note to Australian directors: If you want people to watch your films, stop nagging!
Seeing Stephanie Rice sobbing her way through an apology for using the word faggot, acknowledging her dreadfulness, her betrayal of the Soviet everyone’s trust in her, and affirming that she really did love big brother gay people of all shapes and sizes, and everyone of any sexual preference at all, you might have thought you were watching a remake of 1984.
And then Jaguar dumped her.
Poor girl. She had the honesty poor sense to say publicly what was almost certainly said privately in a number of Australian households when the Wallabies won a last minute victory over South Africa. Namely, Yay! Suck on that, faggots.
Poor taste? Sure. Inappropriate? Maybe. But the game was pretty exciting, and a bit of gloating was entirely justified.
How do a few words uttered, or even tweeted, in the heat of the monent, justify demonizing and publicly humiliating a hard working and kind-hearted young woman?
She, and her agent, should have just told the professional offendees to sod off.
There are more important things in the world to be upset about.
And I’m glad I got rid of my Daimler. It was probably the worst engineered car I have ever owned.
So suck on that, . . .
I really enjoyed Stieg Larsson’s Millenium trilogy, starting with ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,’ and I really enjoyed the Swedish film version. It was well acted, perfectly paced, and captured the atmosphere of the book brilliantly.
So news that Hollywood is planning on remaking the three films does not thrill me with anticipation. Rooney Mara is too prettty, but make-up can do wonders.
But Daniel Craig (in my view the best Bond ever) as Mikael Blomkvist is definitely off, a Hollywoodish choice. Craig is tough, a charismatic and manly action figure. Blomkvist is not particularly physical, a plodding and doubt-filled investigative journalist.
Sigh. Of course, I will go to see it, or at least rent it from the video store.
Occasionally Hollywood does do a remake better than the original. The Ring films, for example. The Hollywood versions were scarier and more atmospheric, with a more coherent storyline.
But the Millenium trilogy? I am not hopeful.
Phew!
It has been a long couple of days – back from Bruce’s funeral, trying to catch up at work. It’s good to be busy, but this is getting ridiculous.
Anyway, a couple of totally tasteless ads from the 11 Points blog:
Rectal Christmas Fun
Nothing says Christmas fun like a rectal suppository!
Valentine Funeral Planning
Nothing captures the spirit of Valentine’s Day like ‘Let’s plan your funeral.’
Taxidermy Cheese Store
Try our Gorgonzola while we stuff your pet goat.
My brother David sent me these, and I though they were worth sharing:
Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter
Got to admire those zombie firearm skills
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
Ya think?
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Now that’s taking things a bit far!
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
What a guy!
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
No-good lazy so-and-sos!
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
See if that works better than a fair trial!
War Dims Hope for Peace
I can see where it might have that effect!
If Strike Isn’t Settled Quickly, It May Last A While
Anything’s possible!
Cold Wave Linked to Low Temperatures
Who would have thought!
Enfield Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
They may be on to something!
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
You mean there’s something stronger than duct tape?
Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge
Electrifying!
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Why? Weren’t the first lot fat enough?
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
They told him not to take the baked beans!
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
I bet they taste like chicken.
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
That’s one way to get rid of them!
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
Boy, are they tall!
And the winner is….
Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
That was in Ireland, right?
Lots of news about the 6th ROBO ONE GATE Biped Robot Competition.
A few videos there, but this one is my favourite:
Definitely more impressive than Roxxy the sex robot, and probably cheaper:
Roxxy the Sex Robot, and Partner
I don’t know where I heard that phrase. I think was in a blokey discussion of the arts – Australia versus the US.
Wherever it was, the consensus amongst the blokes was that our poofters were indeed better than their poofters. There was even a touch of pride in some of the accomplishments, say, of Sir Robert Helpmann and Peter Allen.
So in that same spirit, I would like to wish Mr Byron Adu, Australia’s regional winner, all the very best of luck as he represents us in the Worldwide Mr Gay competition in Oslo in a few weeks’ time.
I saw this a few years ago, but came across it again today and thought you might enjoy it:
Toddler Property Rules
If I like it, it’s mine.
If it’s near me, it’s mine.
If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
If I had it before, it’s mine.
If it looks like mine, it’s mine.
If I saw it first, it’s mine.
If I am doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
If you have something and you put it down, it’s mine.
If it is mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
If it’s broken, it’s yours.
If it’s broken, where’s mine?
The 2009 Darwin Award winners have been announced.
These are given to people who have done the gene pool a favour by removing themselves from it.
I know it is not fair to laugh, but you just can’t help it.
One sample:
Traffic was moving slowly on southbound I-95. Shawn M. had recently left a Pompano Beach bar, and now he was stuck in traffic. As the saying goes, you don’t buy beer–you just rent it, and Shawn couldn’t wait another moment to relieve himself. “I need to take a leak,” he told his friends.
Traffic was deadlocked, so the waterlogged man climbed out, put his hand on the divider, and jumped over the low concrete wall… only to fall 65 feet to his death. “He probably thought there was a road, but there wasn’t,” said a Fort Lauderdale police spokesman. The car was idling on an overpass above the railroad lines.
His mother shared her attempt thoughts. “Shawn didn’t do a whole lot for a living. He got along on his charm, just like his father.”
Though his death was tragic, Shawn’s downfall proves the old adage: Look before you leak!
Just a little music to end the day.
One of my all time favourites, and the archetypal Patsy Kline song:
An interesting list of the top money-making films.
Avatar has made it into the top ten in just two weeks. This makes two films by James Cameron in the top ten – Avatar and Titanic.
Of the others, three of the top ten are Harry Potter movies, two are from the Pirates of the Carribean series, and two are Lord of the Rings.
That makes nine – the other is Dark Knight.
With the exception of Titanic, all of the top ten are fantasy.
Further down the list is Jurassic Park, Star Wars Episodes one and three, Spiderman, and more Harry Potter.
If nothing else, this proves people go to the movies to be entertained.
A startling revelation, I know, but it still doesn’t seem to have made it into the heads of Australian film producers.
via Hyscience
Tiger Woods will recover as a golfer. Can he recover as a person?
Brit Hume says it depends on his faith – what he needs is forgiveness and redemption.
Brit’s answer: Think about what the Christian faith has to offer.
Wow. It is interesting (and encouraging) to hear that kind of straight talking in a secular news commentary program.
I went to see James Cameron’s movie Avatar last night.
It is everything I said it would be. It is courageous greenies in touch with nature, beating back the greedy Tasmanian loggers. It is Dances With Wolves with blue indians instead of red.
It is so PC that if its head were any further up its backside it would fall over.
But the strange thing is, it doesn’t fall over.
A film should never be dismissed simply because you read in it a political message you don’t like.
This does not apply to a deliberate piece of propaganda for something evil, like Dr Goebbels’ productions, or something plain stupid, like Thelma and Louise, or something libellous, like Baz Luhrmann’s Australia.
No artistic or entertainment value can redeem a movie (or book, or other work of art) which is bad because of bad intent.
But the expression of differing political perspectives in film or other media is a good thing, and there can be films which are genuinely good, even if the message is wrong.
Avatar’s central theme is that private enterprise is BAD, and that military power which supports private enterprise is even BADDER. Between them they destroy things and will wreck the world, and what will we do then?
That is wrong. Capitalism and free trade have done more than any other politico-economic system to lift ordinary people out of poverty, to encourage the exchange of ideas, to make medical and educational facilities available to ordinary people.
Societies which are wealthy can set aside large areas of forest or mountains or reefs as reserves. Poorer countries do not have that luxury.
Despite the clumsy naivety of its political message, Avatar is a good film.
It is not all good, of course, even after you discount the preaching.
There are a few wooden moments.
But this is Hollywood. Anything less than ten embarrassing dialogue blunders, or clunky plot errors, or distracting continuity mistakes, is a strong pass.
Much of the scenery looks like it was lifted from World of Warcraft – from the Night Elves and their world tree, to the floating mountains, to the bio-luminesence of Zangarmarsh.
The story is an amalgam of great sci-fi novels – Herbert’s Dune, McCaffrey’s Pern novels, Le Guin’s The Word for World is Forest, Heinlein’s Starship Troopers.
But you can’t play ‘spot the cliche’ or ‘spot the ripoff’ with Avatar as you can with Australia.
Taken as a whole, the film is original and engaging.
The story is simple, and is told without any artificial attempts to make it ‘deeper.’ You never find yourself thinking ‘What the hell is going on now?’ Every scene meshes with the next in well paced succession.
Character development is well done – vastly better than in the deeply disappointing recent Jim Carrey version of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, for example.
In Avatar, you see and understand each step of Jakes’ journey to understanding the value of the Navi and their links to the ecology of Pandora. You cannot help cheering him on when he realises his loyalties have changed, and begins to act on his new convictions.
You may be thinking, as I was much of the time, that the story is a crock of doodoo. But suspension of belief is a necessary part of enjoying fiction in any form, and Pandora is a perfectly consistent world, and believable on its own terms.
Pandora is, without question, the most detailed and perfectly realised alien world ever attempted. It works because so much care has been taken with even the most minor details of sound and visual effects. It is difficult to overstate just how good the visuals in this film are.
This is true not just of individual effects, machines and creatures, but of how different parts of the world interact with each other to form a convincing whole.
But the special effects, powerful as they are, are not what drives the film.
From begining to end, Avatar is driven by the character of Jake Sully, his growing understanding of himself, the new world around him, and ultimately, what really matters and what he needs to do.
The film’s politics are a major flaw.
Nonetheless, James Cameron deserves recognition not only for great effects, but for a solid story, solidly directed. This is a film worth seeing.
Qohel Blog Author Peter Wales
