hmmm . . . there seems to be a large buildup of Imperial forces in san francisco right now. makes me feel kind of weird. i wonder if i should have given refuge to those ewoks and droids? oh well.
if you have some time to spare (say about 45 minutes for both clips), i recommend watching these next two videos that offer some very important advice: never ever under any circumstances should you speak to the police - even if you are innocent - without your lawyer present. nope - just don’t do it. the first video is presented by Professor James Duane of the Regent University School of Law. the second video is presented by Officer George Bruch of the Virginia Beach Police Department. watch them both. some interesting points brought up in the videos deal with the psychology of people who want to tell their story and want to do the right thing by ‘telling the truth.’ and that is what leads innocent people into trouble with the cops, because it is a police officers job to produce a prosecutable case. while “anything you say can or will be used against you”, nothing you say can or will be used to help you. people often reveal information in telling the truth that can be used against them and lead to being implicated in some other way or under some law. the best thing a person can do for their own benefit is to take the 5th amendment and never ever speak to the police without his or her lawyer present. watch the videos. thanks j.d. tucille and boing-boing for the info.
Part 1, presented by Professor James Duane
Part 2, presented by Officer George Bruch of the Virginia Beach Police Department
over at the beautiful pointless museum there is a truly excellent photo post of scans from the usborne book of the future: a trip into the year 2000 and beyond. when you have an art book published in 1979 that is broken down into three sections which are titled Part1: Robots, Part 2: Future Cities, and Part 3: Star Travel, complete sci-fi awesomeness and insane galactic speculation is bound to happen. page 44 talks about instant electronic voting. page 58 colonizing venus. page 70 shows commuting by rocket pack. powerful stuff in there, all speculating on the year 2000 too! yar!
i’ve been really digging the art, illustration, writing, and posts over at scott campbell’s blog titled ’scott-c’. it’s full of rad little characters, illustrations, and curious drawings. some samples of the radness are below (the king of kong cover fold out is 5-ways awesome!). so check it out already! & thanks rhode for the tip!
‘open-mic spidermans’
king of kong - alternative cover
E.T. - ‘logicking’
it’s friday and high time for turtles! and swamps! and hollerin’! yessss! so let the fearless turtleman floss his skills and get you some much needed turtles and an ear-full of his powerful turtle battle cries!!! thanks ethos for the link!
for those nerds seeking possible fitting retribution for the cinematic atrocities of jar-jar binks, those ’special editions’, indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull, and what looks to be more awful star wars regurgitation in the clone wars, hope arrives with the george lucas in frozen carbonite conversation piece. please take note of the excess drool that must have formed during negotiatons over toy & merchandising profits, now frozen in time - forever! and for more realism, that sexy neck and swollen belly are not full of midi-chlorians but actually all of our collective childhood memories - crushed. wow, who knew? photo credit bonnie burton. awesome lucas in carbonite model created for star wars celebration in japan.
an accidental discovery on research with skin cream has found that certain skin moisturizers cause and or increase the risk of developing skin cancer. in experiements with skin cream, researchers exposed mice to excessive ultraviolet light. all of the mice in the experiment developed skin tumors, however those mice with moisturizer applied on their skin had more tumors and faster tumor growth. from the New Scientist article: “”We tested a total of four moisturising creams, and all four of them had tumorigenic activity,” says Conney. The resultant skin cancers were basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, and not the more lethal melanomas.” the four skin creams used were Dermabase, Dermovan, Eucerin and Vanicream. so far the exact ingredients in the moisturizer that caused the advanced tumor growth are unknown. but the researches believe moisturizers containing mineral oil and sodium lauryl sulphate to pose the greatest risk. the original article is published online via nature.com in the journal of investigative dermatology.
is there a letter K in the word ’stupid’? i didn’t think so either until i watched this most tragic event in vowel and consonant picking history from the wheel of fortune. oh my! exclusive nightclub indeed.
i snapped a lot of pics from the most recent & most amazing Sylvia Ji solo show at white walls gallery in san francisco this last month. the show ran from june 14th, 2008 through to july 5th 2008. and it really was amazing! such beautiful paintings and imagery! and it looked like every piece sold too - congrats white walls & congrats sylvia ji!. all the pics i snapped are posted after the break in the gallery as well as posted on my flickr site. be sure to check out the great video of sylvia ji preparing for her last show at white walls from february 2007 (prior to this one). oy - her work is SOOO good! thanks sylvia for your artwork!
yes, just as i was late in bidding farewell to harveyy korman and i am also late in saying goodbye to the incredibly funny george carlin who passed away on june 22nd, 2008. i have yet to hear a comedian who really tells such an eloquent story with such unapologetic, insightful, core truth, and levity as george carlin. what a master he was. and man could he nail politics - wow! jerry seinfeld wrote a great & perfect tribute letter about george carlin just after his death titled Dying Is Hard. Comedy Is Harder. i’m posting 2 of his more masterful and foul-mouthed (meaning NSFW) comedy routines below. one is titled religion is bullshit and the other is on the ‘american dream’. rest in peace george carlin! and thank you!
Religion Is Bullshit
On the ‘American Dream’
dark roasted blend has a great post with some amazing photos of artwork by jim denevan and his incredible and beautiful large scale sand drawings. seriously very beautiful. and seriously very large! the artwork seen below is three miles across and took 100 miles of walking to draw the pattern. a massive undertaking that would only be temporary. i love it! i posted some of the photos below, but be sure to check out the post on dark roasted blend for more amazing pics.
hi-fives all around for this stunning news report that serves as an example of courage & excellence in journalism. okay, i’m lying about that. but since all galactic failures serve some purpose, my guess is that the next time a bug flies into your mouth while you are trying to do a news report, maybe you should just eat the bug, no? i’ll let you decide (PS - turn up the volume so your co-wrokers can hear all the swearing and ghetto-ness). oh, and while we are talking about celebrating news reporters, lest we forget the mighty cocaine weatherman? i think not.
Reporter Meet Bug, Profanity Ensues …
Cocaine Weatherman
though it’s been several days since his death, i wanted to give a post saying farewell to the very very funny harvey korman who died on may 29th, 2008. thank you mr. korman for your work and for continuing to make me laugh and laugh! yes, there was the very funny carol burnett show and numerous other characters that you played so well (well, except maybe the cooking show host on the star wars christmas special). but for me nothing compares to the insanity of Hedly Lamar from Blazing Saddles! so good! also, there’s a great & in depth interview with harvey korman on youtube (in 3 parts). you will be missed, mr. korman! rest in peace!
giantmonster would like to thank ohio congressman dennis kucinich for his bravery in doing something that should have been done a long time ago: introduce articles of impeachment for george w. bush. 35 articles no less (you may read the summary of the 35 articles after the jump or you can download a PDF file detailing the 35 articles). thank you mr. kucinich! this was done on june 10th, but has been scarcely covered in the media. and quite sadly, nancy pelosi has been very actively blocking any moves for impeachment - including threatening “the removal of Michigan Rep. John Conyers from his chairmanship of the House judiciary committee if an impeachment inquiry were even opened.” oh Mrs. Pelosi (and you too Harry Reid), it is clearly time for you to go. though this resolution has been table for review within committee (meaning it’s effectively dead) Kucinich has vowed to bring his resolution back in 30 days if the Judiciary Committee, to which it was referred Wednesday, doesn’t act on it. right on!
summary of 35 Articles for Impeachment after this proverbial jump …
if i were to order a personalized license plate right now, i believe it would read ‘2BSY2BLG‘ which reads ‘Too Busy to Blog.’ granted, 2BSY2BLG is over the allotted characters for a california state license plate, but you get my drift. many apologies for the infrequency of posts & as always many many thanks for your post comments (& please keep leaving them - i find them encouraging and yes, even soothing - almost like aromatherapy). but my schedule is still jam-packed, but at least not for the next 2 hours.
as a way of saying ‘oops, my bad’ for my lack of posts, please accept the very blatant bribe in the form of free music below. & you are welcome!
M.I.A. - Kala (65 megabyte .zip archive)
in time, his nerds tears will heal him. and make him stronger. but for now, there is only anguish! such trying moments in life like the dreaded prom can turn anyone to the dark side. behold, the birth of a super villain!
great post on calorie lab comparing various food items in their standard serving size twenty years ago to their standard serving size today. the information on food portions comes from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute from a quiz on portion control the NHLB created titled Portion Distortion. the charts also call out how much activity or exercise is additionally needed to offset the difference and addition of calories. example: the additional 400 calories gained in a standard portion of french fries is an equivalent to 1 hour 10 minutes of walking. that additional walking is just to balance out the excess of 400 calories in the portion increase - your body will still retain the remaining 210 calories. though the portions and calories have increased, the amount of time available in a day has not.
rachael ray, the tooth-achy sweet food network brand & cooking show host that ironically can’t actually cook seems to have a dark side - she’s an islamic sympathizer & terrorist wanting to usher in the next jihad. crazy! how is that possible? and how was this revealed? apparently from the traditional outlet for declaring jihad: a dunkin’ donuts commercial where rachael ray wore what appeared to be a keffiyeh. and because the scarf rachael ray wore looked like a keffiyeh, conservative & right wing groups desperate for attention (could also be the ultra-paranoid & fashion-sense impaired groups desperate for attention) were of course insulted and so justly protested. and to avoid controversy, dunkin donuts pulled the ad. first: that’s not a keffiyeh. it’s a scarf. second: keffiyehs looks cool. they do. get over it (if you even need to). third: the visual of a keffiyeh has been scientifically proven to make people want to eat lots of donuts (bad move to pull the ad dunkin!). so everyone loses here, except rachael ray, who may have gained some level of ‘edge’ over the whole thing.
a recent Soil Association report that shows Genetically Modified crops decrease yields, whether it’s cotton or soybeans or corn. i found this information from an online article via Science News Review titled Biotech Propaganda Meets Scientific Reality. also greenpeace has a great post on the evils of monsanto, a chemical company with an aggressive & profit driven involvement in global gm crops. the more learn about gm crops and gm food, the more i am convinced that organic & local farming is the most safe & sane way to go. perhaps this can be done on a small, per household scale or where several households collectively group together to farm and garden food.
this 10 minute youtube video titled Homegrown Revolution - Radical Change Taking Root is a great example of truly inspiring city gardening.
indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull is out in theaters. it’s the fourth installment of the indiana jones movie series. and if you are an indy fan, or just someone who really enjoyed raiders of the lost ark, the temple of doom, or even possibly the last crusade, then my advice to you is to go see iron man again. seriously. you’ll be happy with that decision. another option is to just stay at home and rent the tv series bj and the bear on dvd. granted, that really totally sucks too. but at least you are empowered and in control by actively choosing to see something dumb, hokey, and bad. with indiana groans and the crystal dull, you don’t get that. the indy 4 hype - don’t believe it! this movie is terrible! while i appreciate the kindness and foresight of my friends who just told me that ‘it was entertaining’ so that i wouldn’t pre-judge the movie and therefore form my own opinion, i would prefer to know that i was headed into the raiders of the lost ark equivalent of the phantom menace. yeah, i mean that. it just sucked. the progressively lamer story line, the acting, the bad accents, the fake & artificial lighting of the scenes, the ground hogs, the monkeys, the LaBeouf (bad!), and the seriously cheesy ending all added up to Not Even Worth $11. and like a drawn out bad date or an ongoing terrible relationship, at first you’ll want to believe what you just experienced didn’t suck. but it did! and it does. sure, yes, it got a great review and cannes. true! but i would remind you that there is a lot of serious drinking and heavy drug use going on at cannes. so that review cannot be trusted. and yes, indiana jones 4 made a ton of money this weekend. also true! no doubt about that. but keep in mind that in the same world where indy 4 (and phantom menace) make a lot of money, the band milli vanilli sold millions of albums and also won a grammy! not good. so do yourself a favor and avoid indiana jones 4. as a movie goer, i see that you have three choices: option 1 - you can keep the dream alive that the indiana jones franchise was a fun movie series by skipping indy 4 and renting raiders of the lost ark (or bj and the bear - that’s your call). option 2 - you can go and see indiana jones and the crystal skull and cash in your pleasant childhood memories and feel slightly duped. option 3 - learn from the movie go-ers at cannes: drink alcohol and take a lot of high end party drugs, then go see indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull. granted, you may feel slightly duped, but odds are you won’t care - and the movie will totally rock!
for no reason, weezer’s new video for their song pork and beans is an dense cornucopia of internet themes, memes, viral marketing shots, one hit wonders & blunders, forwarded emails, and dare i say mashup of online clips and fan videos. i spy some gi joe, diet coke VS mentos, dramatic chipmunk + where’s your head at, yet another lightsaber duel, that incredibly brainy south carollina’s miss teen usa, and that clumsy karate guy to name a few. there’s a whole lot going on. just when you were ready to forget these things too - jeez! the vision & concept for the pork & beans video came from the video director mathew cullen over at motion theory. good stuff!
wow - looks like california could be getting a fancy high speed train system, connecting northern california to southern california. a high speed train trip of 220 miles per hour from san francisco to los angeles has an estimated travel time of 2 hours 38 minutes. that’s awesome! and smart! this high speed train system will be funded by a bond in the upcoming november 2008 called ‘The Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century.’ so vote yes on it! lots more detailed information on the high speed train at gas2.0 and also venturebeat.
the Bucheon Gallery located at 389 Grove St in san francisco is hosting Mental and Material Realms featuring art by david choong lee and mars1. the exhibition opens this saturday may 17th with a reception from 7pm to 10pm. the show runs through june 21st. also there’s a preview of the art show on the bucheon website.
Yves Rossy has made history. the former swiss military pilot was the first man to ever fly with wings - a homemade four engine winged jet pack - strapped on his back! after ascending in a plane to 7,500 feet, yves rossy unfolded the 8 foot rigid wings, jumped from the plane, then after a slight free-fall, triggered the four jet turbines and accelerated to 186 miles per hour! rossy steered the winged jetpack with his body, performing loops, rolls, and dives! the flight took place on May 14, 2008 in the southern swiss alps near Bex. photo slideshow of the the winged jetpack on yahoo. & thanks jamie for the video link!
the generally quite fun and always quite crazy 2008 san francisco bay to breakers is this sunday, may 18th. the race is 12 kilometer (7.46 miles) and goes from one end of san francisco to the other. giantmonster will be running (but no, not as the mighty glergg) and enjoying the madness! hope to see you there!
it’s wednesday - also known as hump day - & you’ve made it to the middle of the week. congrats! you get a giant hug from giantmonster! relax & enjoy!! it’ll all be over soon (the week and the hug).
quite possibly the coolest graffiti project i have ever seen. absolutely amazing animation considering all of it was done in public as painted graffiti on walls & sidewalks. wow. i’m talking about muto: an ambiguos animation painted on public walls, done in buenos aires and baden. wow. double wow. the amount of planning and time this must have taken boggles the mind. please watch it. it should amaze you. be sure to also check out blu’s other amazing animations & videos when you can.
Walmart Employee: “Hello ‘dis Walmarts, how can I help you?”
Customer: “I would like to order a cake for a going away party this week.”
Walmart Employee: “What you want on the cake?”
Customer: “Best Wishes Suzanne” and underneath that “We will miss you”.
so, um, yeah - here’s your cake …
According to the International Programs Center, U.S. Census Bureau, the total population of the World will hit 6,666,666,666 people on may 10th, 2008. that’s tomorrow!! go breeders! that’s six billion, six hundred and sixty six million, six hundred and sixty six thousand, six hundred and sixty six people (please do correct me if i’m wrong on reading that number). right now as i type this at 01:31 GMT (EST+5) the world population is at a projected 6,666,648,651 people!!! wow. oddly, my car is about to hit the 66,666 mile mark too. awesome!
giantmonster’s favorite resident space alien and (and sometimes dedicated office worker) glergg was in full effect at the super fun how weird street faire last sunday in san francisco. making friends & busting out the freshest dance moves is what glergg is all about! thanks how weird! on an inter-galactic scale, the people, food, art, dancing, and music of how weird 2008 were all great great great! there are additional glergg pics posted below & they were found by culling flickr for pics tagged ‘how weird’ (thanks everyone for snapping photos!).
