May 31, 2011
Into the Uncanny Valley
Too hot: Confessions of a noir addict, a review of L.A. Noire.
Too cold: Why L.A. Noire is a failure.
Just right: If you’re like me right now you are playing L.A. Noire now (WHO THE F*CK ISNT).
Good question: Will L.A. Noire change the game for actors?
Good answer: A guide to the stars of L.A. Noire and where you might have seen them before.
Le past: An introduction to Neo-Noir.
Le present: The Uncanny Valley.
May 30, 2011
Take out a sheet of paper...
"...list everything you would like to buy or own and the list the degrees of your friends and ask yourself; 'Do we major in the fields that is necessary to produce the iPads and Xbox's and cars we want?'"
(Via Small Dead Animals.)
In related news: Depressing news, perhaps, if you chose an arts degree over something more practical. But if you are quick on your feet, you can turn a background in anthropology into a career in the video game industry. Just saying.
John Barry: The Persuaders Theme
Featuring Pan's People.
And dancing to Mama's Pearl from the fabulous Jackson 5. Flick Colby, RIP.
Also, Pan's People dancing to Hamilton Bohannan's Foot Stompin' Music. Because, Cherry Gillespie that's why.
May 29, 2011
Revenge of the geeks
"In the rabidly conformist school environment, the qualities that make people different make them targets. In adulthood, however, the qualities that make people different make them compelling."
May 28, 2011
How to do marketing
Note re the dozen or so inept pitches I get every week: Send me something interesting or funny and I might link it or talk about it. There. Simple. Or you could pay for your ad. Concept.
On a related note: Dr. Pepper rules. I am also feeling pretty good about xtendplay.
May 27, 2011
Kaydara
Kaydara is a fan film set in the world of The Matrix. It is in every respect superior to the two official sequels.
This is the new gold standard for home brew fan films. If you don't want to sit through The Ratrix, skip forward to 33 minutes or so. The fight choreography is, if anything, even more impressive than the effects.
May 26, 2011
Born of Hope
Born of Hope is an independent feature film inspired by the Lord of the Rings and produced by Actors at Work Productions in the UK. I am watching the HD version via YouTube.
Ultra High Definition Display
Get ready to buy all your favourite movies again.
May 25, 2011
1938 Phantom Corsair
Playing L.A. Noire has introduced me to a host of potential Fleamobiles.
Take, for example, the 1938 Phantom Corsair.
May 24, 2011
Carry On Up Mount Doom
"If you thought Lord of the Rings was criminally lacking in topless elves and lap-dancing hobbits (and who didn't?) you really need to be watching Game of Thrones."
May 23, 2011
Something odd is happening
"... if you can imagine Darkstar or Amy Winehouse or the Artic Monkeys performing decades in the past without any sense of disjuncture."
"Human League preceded the future while Darkstar arrived after it."
Joanne McNeil on Mark Fisher on hauntology.
May 22, 2011
X-TV
Marvel has made X-Men: The Animated Series available in its entirety online. Season 1 Episode 1 is "Night of the Sentinels", first aired in 1992. It says something about my age that, to me, Gambler and Jubilee are still newfangled.
Dario Calderon met Cesar of Huizache
"The next thing Mr Calderon knew, everyone wanted the bizarre pointy boots."
May 21, 2011
Blondie: Rapture
My looting kit is Rapture ready (hat tip to Beautiful Atrocities).
May 20, 2011
Who was happier than H. L. Mencken?
"The pessimist, after all, is never disappointed. The proper reactionary attitude to mainstream society is detached amusement."
Rule of thirds
Concept builder: "The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in visual arts such as painting, photography and design. The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections."
May 19, 2011
The art of the title sequence
HBO's Game of Thrones.
Stormtrooper Effect
Concept builder: The Principle of Evil Marksmanship or Stormtrooper Effect states that enemy marksmen in action films are often very bad shots and almost never harm the main characters.
Ancillary concept: Conservation of Ninjutsu.
Maryla Rodowicz: Four Tankers and Dog
From the series of the same name.
May 18, 2011
Drinking Game of Thrones
In At the Crossroads considers the beers of Westeros.
Special mention for 10th level beer nerd Justin who takes into account the ambient temperatures of the seven kingdoms for his analysis of local beer culture and preferences.
Remember: Obtain beer of Westeros. Play Drinking Game of Thrones:
Swords drawn - One quaff.
Reminded winter is coming - Three quaffs.
Zero Charisma
As a neo-nerd hipster douchebag for profit, I approve this message (hat tip to Bill, old school nerd purist).
May 17, 2011
Ars memoriae
Gaspar Noé may have the nod to direct Bret Easton Ellis' adaptation of the life and death of Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake. Sadly, their posthumous fame has thus far fallen prey to the same trouble as the antehumous variety, i.e. production hell.
As to the choice of Gaspar Noé for the job, I am not certain what New French Extremity has to do with the sorry tale. Though Theresa, one suspects, would appreciate a little latter day Grand Guignol as biography.
Related: Auto Focus interviews Gaspar Noé (tl;dw - he is a French director).
May 16, 2011
The Spanish Civil War (1983)
Given the biases one might expect of a British television production in the early 1980s, this makes for fascinating viewing. And as my knowledge of the Spanish Civil War had been limited to For Whom the Bell Tolls and Homage to Catalonia, I had no idea how complicated were the political alliances on the Nationalist as much as the Republican side. Episode IV was particularly fascinating in its description of the defeat of Spanish Fascism (Falangism) by Franco.
Part I - Prelude to Tragedy (above)
Part II - Revolution, Counter-Revolution & Terror
Part III - Battleground for Idealists
Part IV - Franco and the Nationalists
Part V - Inside the Revolution
Part VI - Victory and Defeat
Gillian Welch: Annabelle
"And we can not have all things to please us
No matter how we try
Until we've all gone to Jesus
We can only wonder why"
May 15, 2011
Cosmos: War of the Planets (1977)
"Cosmos is the most consistent Italian sci-fi movie: script, special effects, costumes, music, and acting are all terrible."
Special shout out to the incidental music at 8:44.
May 14, 2011
Vintage Judge Judy: 1993 60 Minutes Interview
May 13, 2011
I am so on this
How to make creamy, soft-serve ice cream with one ingredient and no ice cream maker.
Related: The oldest recipe in the world, "a formula handed down from the god Enki himself."
In transmedia news
Alan Moore hints he may be making a video game.
Vegan Black Metal Chef - Episode 1, Pad Thai
The internet is superior to television.
May 12, 2011
The Book Show - Game of Thrones with GRRM
Joe Abercrombie interviews George R. R. Martin.
Drinking Game of Thrones
A sword is drawn: One quaff of mead.
Reminded winter is coming: Three quaffs of mead.
May 11, 2011
EdgeWalk
"For just $175, thrill-seekers can stroll around the top of Toronto’s famous CN Tower with no guard-rail and just a 5ft (1.5m) wide see-through ledge underneath."
For just $17.50, you can sit on my deck with a pair of binoculars and walk them at it.
Domestic Transformer
"In Hong Kong, because of the space, apartments are small and expensive. Gary Chang, an architect, decided to design a 344 sq. ft. apartment to be able to change into 24 different designs, all by just sliding panels and walls."
Northland: Where the Heroes Die
When we get alternative voting in Canada, I will form the Metal Party and use our brokerage position against all prurient interests.
First on the agenda: Rename Canada "Northland". This shall be our anthem. Thousands of heads will bang in unison on Northland Day.
May 10, 2011
World building
Michael Moorcock and a variety of fantasy/sf writers consider the master world builders.
May 09, 2011
Vote or vote not
There is no alternative. Compare and contrast:
* How the UK voted in last Thursday's referendum on electoral reform.
* UK Office of National Statistics - Ethnicity and Religion: Jedi.
L.A. Noire: Building the Imperfect City
"Team Bondi details the exhaustive research behind its long awaited crime epic."
Depresstival: shove the fucking ipad up your motherfucking arse you motherfucking fucking fuck
The title suggests this track is nsfw. Your mileage may vary.
May 07, 2011
Novague ECO
"Combining the old traditions of Laurin and Klement, a pre-war Czech company, with modern technology and systems, designer Petr Novague has come up with a car concept that apart from presenting retro design also helps in sustaining the ecology."
Chocolate Milk Squid Scarf
"The finest clothing made is a person's skin, but, of course, society demands something more than this."
David Lynch Signature Cup Coffee
The correct way to sell coffee.*
* Not recommended you attempt to sell coffee this way if you are not David Lynch.
May 06, 2011
Kenneth Branagh's Thor
With Kenneth Branagh at the helm and adapted for the screen by J. Michael Straczynski, small wonder Thor is far and away the best Marvel film adaptation to date: Epic in scale, visually spectacular and with sound design worthy of Asgard.
One caveat: Don't pay extra for 3D. The interface isn't quite there yet, muting every colour and adding a frame rate problem to every action shot. The production did not make much use of the capability in any event.
Thanks to: Dr. Pepper for hosting a preview screening.
Satan machines
"In her article Machines in the Garden, Jessica Riskin discusses the use of automatons for religious purposes."
(Hat tip to Jono.)
Late Bloomer
A not entirely safe for work short film directed by Craig Macneill, written by Clay McLeod Chapman and produced by Thom Litttle (with a hat tip to several fellow Lovecraft enthusiasts).
May 05, 2011
This is the way the world ends
The Phantom Ray autonomous jet has made its maiden flight.
The video.
Stealth H-60 Blackhawk
"Well, now we know why all of us had trouble ID'ing the helicopter that crashed, or was brought down, in the Osama raid."
More on the stealth MH-X Advanced Special Operations Helicopter
A fear of personal insignificance
Theodore Dalrymple: "You can’t inscribe yourself on world history by writing about Kant (Guzmán) or by continuing daddy’s construction business (bin Laden)."
May 04, 2011
Who shot bin Laden?
He is a Robert E. Howard character in Tom Clancy drag.
Related: Finding bin Laden with ecosystems geography. This is the Frank Herbert version of the same story.
“The theory was basically that if you’re going to try and survive, you’re going to a region with a low extinction rate: a large town,” Gillespie says. “We hypothesized he wouldn’t be in a small town where people could report on him.”
More on island biogeography.
May 03, 2011
Sunrise from the stratosphere
HD footage from 110,000ft.
The music is John Butler's Ocean. Just the thing for a spring morning when everything suddenly seems possible.
Ubisoft Motion Pictures
French video game publisher Ubisoft is set to launch a film studio.
May 02, 2011
Cavaliers and Roundheads
"The reason these terms endured, at least in the English upper class, is that they describe types, and possibly archetypes."
