The images illustrate the creative process. The first draft, the modeling and the final image on the game.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Surrealidade - Step by Step of Creation
This is a very old step by step image sequence. It's a character of "Lamp Woman", part of my old game "Surrealidade", released in 1999. This game teach about the theories of surrealism using a adventure Myst-Like interface.
The images illustrate the creative process. The first draft, the modeling and the final image on the game.
The images illustrate the creative process. The first draft, the modeling and the final image on the game.
$teve: The Next Brad Pitt
Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
The snow is still coming down. Basically had to dig Gretchen out of the garage…and my roommate’s truck is basically tucked away in the snow…and we may be able to unearth it with some steady digging…but we’re not going to even try until the parking lot is plowed. There’s about two feet of Sierra Cement all around…so there’s nowhere to put the snow out of the way until then. Sigh… Snow is beautiful…until you’re driving tires deep on top of ice in it. Gretchen’s a champ though. Other than that, not a whole lot going on. My dad & brother went shooting yesterday…and got to witness the fire tornado firsthand on the drive back to civilization. They allegedly have pictures but have yet to forward them to me. I’ll keep you posted. My mom & stepdad are excited for their Asian cruise. Plans are falling in place for my road trip. Zombie Jesus Day is nigh. I’d think about making a traditional Love Family Easter Brunch of corned beef hash, deviled eggs, and assorted chocolates & high fructose corn syrup…or as I like to call it, Carbs & Cholesterol…but I’m pretty sure that my roommate wouldn’t eat any of it…and I probably really shouldn’t, definitely not for a week or so as I would be forced to. I mean…you can’t let that stuff go to waste, right?
Last night, amid the falling snow, I watched the film “Extract” starring Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Ben Affleck, Kristin Wiig, J.K. Simmons, Gene Simmons, and overall a pretty good ensemble cast. It’s the latest movie from writer / director Mike Judge who has made such timeless classics as “Office Space”, “Idiocracy” & “Beavis & Butthead Do America” over the years, so it was more of his funny view of everyday life. It’s the story of a man (Bateman) who owns & operates a food extract factory while he deals with a possible sale of the company, lawsuit, & a major case of blue balls thanks to the sexless marriage with his wife (Wiig). Well, his bartender buddy (Affleck) convinces him, while under the influence of horse tranquilizers, to hire a gigolo to seduce his wife, so that he can have a guilt-free rendezvous with a superhot employee (Kunis) who has been showing all the signs. Okay, so that’s a pretty horrible description of the plot…but hey, if you like other Mike Judge movies, this one’s pretty good too. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a timeless classic like the others…but it’s still worth a shot. So now I will continue with the news…
Superman Update – Okay, this is just getting ridiculous now. A few weeks ago, I told you about the bidding war between the most expensive comic purchase in history between Superman & Batman, and Superman just took the lead again in a big way. A copy of the 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1 sold Monday for $1.5 million on the auction Web site ComicConnect.com. The issue, which features Superman's debut and originally sold for 10 cents, is widely considered the Holy Grail of comic books. The same issue sold in February for $1 million, though that copy wasn't in as good condition as the issue that sold Monday. That number was bested just days later when a 1939 comic book featuring Batman's debut sold for $75,000 more at an auction in Dallas. There are about 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 believed to be in existence, and only a handful in good condition. The issue that sold Monday was rated slightly higher than the one that sold in February; it had been tucked inside an old movie magazine for years before being discovered. The issue was bought from a private collector and then sold by Stephen Fishler and Vincent Zurzolo, the co-owners of ComicConnect.com. It was bought minutes after being posted Monday at the asking price of $1.5 million by "a hardcore comic book fan," Fishler said. "There's been a lot of attempts to acquire this book over the last 15 years. The recent activity, I guess, did the trick." Fishler speculated that the sudden burst of record-priced sales are due to "pent-up demand." Issues of such prized comic books rarely become available for purchase. Rarer still are issues in such good condition. "I can't imagine another book coming on the market that exists that would top this. This may be the final say — at least for the next 10 or 20 years — for a record price of a comic book." Or at least until next week when I’ll probably be reporting about another sale. Maybe this one will be for a random comic like…Duckman No. 5 or something. Anyway, Superman’s back on top. Your move, Dark Knight.
GENIUS!!! – Who wouldn’t want a million dollars just for being you? Maybe you could use it to buy Duckman No. 5 or something? Well, a 43-year-old unemployed bachelor who lives with his elderly mother in Russia — and who won $1 million for solving a problem that has stumped mathematicians for a century is considering just that. Grigory Perelman can't decide if he wants the money. "He said he would need to think about it," said James Carlson, who telephoned Perelman with the news he had won the Millennium Prize awarded by the Clay Mathematics Institute of Cambridge, Mass. Carlson said he wasn't too surprised by the apparent lack of interest from Perelman, a reclusive genius who has a history of refusing big prizes. In 2006, Perelman made headlines when he stayed away from the ceremony in Madrid where he was supposed to get a Fields Medal, often called the Nobel Prize of Mathematics. He remained at home in St. Petersburg instead. As for the new prize, Perelman (PER-il-mahn) told a local television station he hasn't made a decision on whether to accept the money, and that Carlson's institute will be the first to know when he does. Sergei Rukshin, Perelman's high school math teacher, told The Associated Press on Monday that "I know that this time he is seriously thinking about whether he will accept the prize. He still has some time.” The awards ceremony is in June. Rukshin said Perelman has been without work for four years and has declined all job offers. He previously worked at the Steklov Mathematics Institute. "As far as I know, after there was so much media attention ... he did not want to be a public person and to look like an animal in the zoo," Rukshin said. He said he had encouraged Perelman to accept the prize to provide for himself and his elderly mother. Technically, the award is a done deal. "He has been awarded the prize. That's the decision of the committee," Carlson said. "He may or may not accept the money." Carlson declined to discuss what would happen to the $1 million if Perelman rejects it. Several groups in Russia, including the St. Petersburg Communist Party, have made public appeals to Perelman to give them the cash to fight poverty if he doesn't want it for himself. Perelman was honored for proving the Poincare (pwan-kah-RAY) conjecture, which deals with shapes that exist in four or more dimensions, rather than the familiar three dimensions. The conjecture proposes a test for determining whether a shape in such space, no matter how distorted, is a three-dimensional sphere. Yeah. That’s why the answers worth a million bucks. That was one of seven problems the Clay institute identified in 2000 as being worthy of a $1 million Millennium Prize. It's the first problem on the list to be solved. The Clay institute was founded in 1998 by Landon T. Clay, a Boston businessman, and his wife, Lavinia D. Clay. Tamara Yefimova, a deputy director of Perelman's high school who has known the mathematician since he was a student there, said that once he started working on the Poincare conjecture he became totally absorbed in it. She said Perelman stopped visiting his old school to help students and stopped attending meetings of the city's math society. As a high school student, Perelman obviously was the most gifted student, Yefimova said. The only reason he didn't get a gold medal upon graduation, she said, was that the unathletic scholar didn't get the top grade in physical education. Perelman went on to earn college and postgraduate degrees in mathematics and mechanical engineering from Leningrad State University and Steklov Mathematics Institute. "It could have been only him who would solve the Poincare conjecture," Yefimova said. Indeed, Carlson said, Perelman's solution was "a truly amazing piece of mathematics." We may think this is crazy, to turn down a million dollars…but then again, who are we to question GENIUS? Think about it. He could be the happiest man on the planet. He lives with the Love of his life – his mother. She probably cooks hot meals every day. He doesn’t have a job to worry about. He can rock a beard and there’s nobody to judge him. He doesn’t have that girlfriend bullsh*t to deal with. His only concerns are solving the mysteries of the universe…at his leisure. I was kind of surprised that he even had a phone to contact him…but then I remembered that he’s a bachelor…in Russia. What if he has a fixin’ for a mail-order bride? Or a pizza? Or it’s hella cold outside and he wants some Chinese instead of mom’s cooking? Still, the million dollars might be kind of cool as far as helping out your mama. If she were down, I’d take her on a trip to all the places she’s ever dreamed of visiting and treating her like a f**king princess…but maybe his mom isn’t into all that. Maybe she’s perfectly happy spending time with her baby boy genius. You know what, congratulations on your award…and your sweet ass life, comrade. Do with it what you wish.
No Surprise Here – Ricky Martin is gay. In other news, Hugh Hefner likes blondes.
Booby Bandito - An Orange County woman's new breasts cost her six months in jail (at least her cellmate will have a good night’s sleep on those pillows). Yvonne Jean Pampellonne was sentenced Monday in Westminster for using a fraudulent line of credit to obtain $12,000 in cosmetic surgery, including breast implants and liposuction. The 30-year-old woman had pleaded guilty to burglary, grand theft and identity theft. She was sentenced to 180 days in jail and was placed on three years' probation. Restitution was also ordered by the Westminster judge, but the amount wasn't immediately clear. Pampellonne used a line of credit established in another person's name to get the September 2008 procedures at the Pacific Center for Plastic Surgery in Huntington Beach. So ladies, if you can’t afford that new rack that you’ve been looking for (God knows I have) and you don’t mind spending six months showing off your goods to cell block Double D, then maybe you just need to fraudulently finance that procedure. Want to know how? Gimme a call. Honestly though, real justice would’ve been to take the tatas back, pump her full of Twinkie filling (not in the sexual metaphor way) again & make her pay for that procedure. Like Repo Men or something. Anyway, kinda funny that your new cans could land you in the can.
Holy Skrit!!! - A Hindu holy man with thousands of followers across India resigned as head of a religious organization on Tuesday after police began investigating his role in a sex scandal, officials said. Hold on, it’s not what you expect when you here holy man & sex scandal in the same sentence here in the states. Video footage allegedly showing Nithyananda Swami, head of Dhyanapeetam, or "knowledge center," frolicking with two women angered hundreds of devotees who tried to ransack his center outside the southern city of Bangalore this month. The 32-year-old has denied any links to the women and said the tapes were doctored (Bollywood is booming…) but the police are investigating and have asked people to come forward with evidence. This month has been particularly bad for India's self-styled holy men with Indian police arresting one for running a brothel involving air stewardesses and college students (Get the f**k out! Where?), while charging another with kidnapping a minor (not having sex with DOZENS of minors). Nithyananda Swami, who has big politicians and movie stars as devotees, announced his resignation in a statement. "I have decided to live a life of spiritual seclusion, for some indefinite time...," he said on his website. Oh yeah, spiritual leaders can have a website. It is India. Whenever you have a problem with your website, who do you call? Nithyananda Swami has spiritual centers in Europe and United States and Dhyanapeetam runs free medical centers and supplies food to the poor. The real news about this is that he wasn’t molesting young boys. Lots of ‘em. It’s kinda silly that a religious leader in India would be shamed into a self-imposed exile based on a few pictures of him frolicking (emphasis on licking) with two women when that’s really not a big deal. I mean… it isn’t. Unless he’s married or something…or my definition of frolicking is a little PG compared to that of other reporters. Now, the brothel thing…that’s not good for a religious leader…but if he’s looking for somebody with a strong pimphand to take over management, I know a guy. That’s actually a great idea if you think about it. Stewardesses & college students? Cheese & rice, I wanna visit Bangalore now. Oh…and a religious cult kidnapping children? That’s normal in Utah. It’s just funny how religious scandal differs when you go to different parts of the world.
We Represent the Lollipop Guild – Ever wonder what amusement parks are like in the People’s Republic of China? Sitting in a valley in southwest China sits an unlikely and controversial theme park -- the Little People's Kingdom of Dwarfs. Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Here, dwarfs perform in fairytale costumes for tourists, drawing both curious crowds and a fair share of criticism. For many of the employees, the park is a rare opportunity to find work, and respect…as unlikely as it seems for men and women doing daily spoof performances of Swan Lake in tutus. The park, near Kunming city in Yunnan province, employs 108 dwarfs from across the country, who twice daily gather on an artificial hillside to dance and sing for tourists. As well as a host of dwarf guardian angels, the fantasy world has a king, an army, a health department and even its own foreign ministry, and all must pretend to live in a miniature hilltop village of crooked little houses. For 80 Yuan (about $11.72 which isn’t a small sum in China) tourists can watch skits, sentimental group dances and acrobatics some may view as more than a little reminiscent of medieval freak shows now deemed politically incorrect in many parts of the world (well, if you call anything a “freak show” it sounds mad). The show's centerpiece, a farcical rendition of Swan Lake, sees performers both male and female dressed in pink tutus and pretending to be little swans (ugh…flamingoes are pink, swans are white, right?). "When I did it for the very first time, I felt a bit embarrassed. I had never worn a skirt like that before," said 21-year-old Chen Ruan, who left his native Hunan province to join the park when it opened last July. "But later, once I got used to it, performing it felt very natural," he added. Chen Ming, a flamboyant Sichuanese businessman who single-handedly conceived and funded the park, made his fortune manufacturing electronics and investing in property, but said he had always wanted to do good for society. And Chen now has bigger plans for his little kingdom. Having already invested around 100 million Yuan in the site, which nestles among nine forested peaks, he is looking for a further 700 million to expand it. While the venture is yet to make a profit, Chen hopes the number of performers employed will grow to around 1,000 within a few years. One day, Chen beams, the navy will have its own reservoir, the infantry a railroad, the air force a cable car, and the foreign ministry employees will serve as tour guides. "I'm very happy with it," he told Reuters. "What I need now is for some people, especially Europeans and Americans, to understand us. Because some people don't get it, they think we are using the dwarfs…but what we are actually doing is giving them a platform to live, giving them worth and the ability to work freely, to exist freely," he added. I’m convinced…but not everyone is. Disabled rights groups and members of China's increasingly vocal online community have suggested the park may only serve to increase stigma. "We need to go and tell him how to respect disabled people's rights, how to help disabled people to develop in their own lives, and not to exploit people's curiosity for commercial success," said Xie Yan, director of Beijing's One Plus One Cultural Exchange Center, an NGO which advocates more equality for China's disabled. The situation for China's estimated 83 million people with a disability has improved in recent years, with enrollment figures for schools and universities increasing dramatically. Beijing's hosting of the Paralympics in 2008 also focused government and public attention on the rights of China's disabled. Yet traditional prejudices against anyone who's not considered "normal," and a lack of specialized infrastructure such as wheelchair ramps (or toilets that aren’t holes in the ground?), means many people with disabilities, or medical conditions such as dwarfism, still avoid venturing out. Li Caixia said it had been near impossible to find well-paid work after graduating from high school, and was tempted to the park by the prospect of up to 2,000 Yuan a month, double what she might get working anywhere else (including brothels). "As soon as employers see us, they know they definitely wouldn't want a small person like us. They have to pay the same salary, so they all want to find someone more normal. But here, staff aren't prejudiced like the people outside." The only qualification for employees, whose ages range from 18 to 48, is to be shorter than 130 cms (51 inches, 4-foot-3) and be fundamentally self sufficient. Living together in a dormitory designed to look like a cave, some residents say life in the park (or Shire) is a welcome opportunity to be around others with similar experiences. Facilities from sinks to light switches are installed for people with a short stature in mind, offering greater independence for people many of whom were once heavily reliant on parents or charitable institutions. Kunming primary school teacher Deng Li, whose students were among hundreds enjoying the show on a recent weekday morning, said it was a positive experience for both sides. "You can see the children have accepted them. I think this will be of great help to the children as they grow up and come into contact with people like them." So what do you think? Is it a theme park exploiting the public’s curiosity of midgetry? Or is it a favorable employer of those with a shorter stature than most? You be the judge. I like the idea…but obviously my point of view is…not normal.
Angelina Update – Speaking of childhood fairy tales, Angelina Jolie is apparently interested in taking on the villainous lead role in "Maleficent" for Disney Pictures says The Los Angeles Times. Last week came word that Linda Woolverton ("Beauty and the Beast") would pen the script which is described as a "post-modern family adventure" centering around the evil Queen who served as the main antagonist in Disney's 1959 animated classic "Sleeping Beauty". Jolie is "very interested" in taking on the project according to the paper's sources. Tim Burton has been linked as a potential director for a few months now (since it is a quirky remake of a children’s classic that goes without saying) but no deals are in place with anyone. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t dream… Mmm… I may not have a shot at playing Prince Philip… or even King Stefan for a scene… but I’d gladly play one of her minions as long as she calls me her pet…
Fox Update – Megan Fox has apparently turned down the chance to be the next Lara Croft. The Transformers star “reluctantly” said no to the part in the next Tomb Raider movie because she hates being compared to the film franchise’s original star, Angelina Jolie. “The offer has been on the table for Megan for a while but she’s reluctantly turned it down,” says a movie insider. “She’s the logical choice to play Lara and she loves the character but the comparison with Angelina is too much. “It looks like the movie will now star an unknown.” Fox, 23, has previously insisted she’s compared to Jolie because people are desperate to put her “in a box” (the kind of box that’s frequently nominated for Academy Awards and can pick any movie role that the box wants, whether it’s 8-digits for playing a big budget heroine, pairing up with some of the greatest actors & directors of our time, some stupid artsy film to show the box’s range or the retelling of a children’s classic). “The media has to package you and sell you somehow and sell their magazines so everybody has to be ‘the new’ or ‘the next’ someone or something,” she said in October last year. “If I am not a party girl and they can’t sell me as that, and I’m not an Oscar winning actress and they can’t sell me as that, then they have to package me somehow and for some reason they latched on to the Angelina thing because I have a lot of tattoos (mmm… yes, you do… among other traits like vixen eyes, full delicious lips, beautiful curvaceous body & a questionable taste for older men). It was a way to market me and it was a way to sell their magazines or get hits on their blogs — because it makes people uncomfortable if they are unable to put you in a box.”
Look Megan, I know I’m not the one to hand out career advice, especially when it’s something I have as little experience in as the Hollywood hype machine (P.S. Rumors has it, I may be the new host of a late night show soon) but please, think this through logically. You’re right. You’re absolutely right. The media wants to make you the next Angelina or whatever…because they need to promote you as having not only the physical characteristics of this successful actress & activist…but also her talent & raw sexual appeal, despite the fact that you don’t have quite the past as her (I mean…some of the things I’ve heard about pre-Gia Angelina…) and every actress has to go through it. Meryl Streep was the next Hepburn. Sarah Jessica Parker was the next Seabiscuit. The point is… if you have to be put in this “box” as you so put it, I’d take the Jolie box any chance I could get (in more ways than one). Do you think she feels like she’s in a box? Maybe. Do I feel like I’m in a box? All the time. Here’s the thing, they’re not going to hand you super stardom or anything based on your (Jennifer’s) body of work. Also, is this box that they’re trying to put you in the same one that puts your into comic book roles? Sadly, that’s probably a bigger problem with type-casting than any box in playing a former Angelina role that catapulted her from sexy moody chick to international superstar. Do I think that you should be in the Tomb Raider remake? Not particularly (though I do fancy the imagery) but don’t refuse it just because Angelina did it. Yeah, she did…and she did it well. You know what else she did? Won an Academy Award for playing a chick in a mental institution opposite Winona Ryder (who would LOVE to be in Angelina’s “box”). She was also nominated for her role in “Changeling” working with director Clint Eastwood. She’s working with actors like Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp, Anthony Hopkins, Denzel Washington, Gerard Butler, Antonio Benderas, Jude Law and her husband Brad Pitt. She’s helping the children of Mother Afrika and about to complete her collection of a child from each continent. She’s done a lot of great & admirable things. If you don’t wanna play Lara Croft, good. Don’t. If the script’s horrible, that’s understandable. Even Indiana Jones got REALLY bad by the 4th movie, so why should the sexy female version be any different? If it’s because you don’t want to do any more action movies for a while, good for you. Spread out that portfolio and branch into something like a… Victorian period piece if you can… or a biopic like I’ve often suggested to Hollywood. Ah, the young Mother Teresa. Here’s the thing though, I’ve got great faith in your abilities…but don’t let what the media says about you get you down or make decisions for you. The Media is a bunch of idiots out to say stupid stuff to get people’s attention (sorry…but technically a lot of you are). I’m guilty of it too…but I get the attention of about a dozen people around the world…and it’s not like anybody’s putting this into print or anything. For God’s sake, don’t make career decision based on some stupid sh*t that some idiot like me would say…or even infer that I have some kind of influence on your decisions…knowing full well that I know NOTHING about being a star or an actor on any level. Do what’s best for you. “I turned down the role because…I’m really interested in these other projects & it’ll be a great platform for some other actress that’d be more involved in the role” or “because I want to help bring clean drinking water to the people of Zimbabwe” or “because the script is written by Diablo Cody…and fool me once, shame on you to that f**king hack” whatever the situation may be. Anyway, best of luck to you, Miss Fox…and you know I only dragged this discussion out longer to help you out & give me more reason to post your pictures for my handful of readers (who are probably 80% female surprisingly). I can’t wait to meet you when I visit LA in a few weeks...and I have no doubt that, if needed, you could protect me...
Anyway, that’ll do it for today. Sorry to ramble on for a bit there…but not much else to do when it’s snowing outside and you can’t really make a snowman with Sierra Cement that’s worth a damn. May you all have somebody to keep you warm on these cold winter nights (though isn’t it technically Spring now?) and if not, call on Dr Love & he’ll gladly warm you up by the fireplace…and maybe hum a sexy little tune into your ears. You never know. Have a great night everybody!!!
The snow is still coming down. Basically had to dig Gretchen out of the garage…and my roommate’s truck is basically tucked away in the snow…and we may be able to unearth it with some steady digging…but we’re not going to even try until the parking lot is plowed. There’s about two feet of Sierra Cement all around…so there’s nowhere to put the snow out of the way until then. Sigh… Snow is beautiful…until you’re driving tires deep on top of ice in it. Gretchen’s a champ though. Other than that, not a whole lot going on. My dad & brother went shooting yesterday…and got to witness the fire tornado firsthand on the drive back to civilization. They allegedly have pictures but have yet to forward them to me. I’ll keep you posted. My mom & stepdad are excited for their Asian cruise. Plans are falling in place for my road trip. Zombie Jesus Day is nigh. I’d think about making a traditional Love Family Easter Brunch of corned beef hash, deviled eggs, and assorted chocolates & high fructose corn syrup…or as I like to call it, Carbs & Cholesterol…but I’m pretty sure that my roommate wouldn’t eat any of it…and I probably really shouldn’t, definitely not for a week or so as I would be forced to. I mean…you can’t let that stuff go to waste, right?
Last night, amid the falling snow, I watched the film “Extract” starring Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Ben Affleck, Kristin Wiig, J.K. Simmons, Gene Simmons, and overall a pretty good ensemble cast. It’s the latest movie from writer / director Mike Judge who has made such timeless classics as “Office Space”, “Idiocracy” & “Beavis & Butthead Do America” over the years, so it was more of his funny view of everyday life. It’s the story of a man (Bateman) who owns & operates a food extract factory while he deals with a possible sale of the company, lawsuit, & a major case of blue balls thanks to the sexless marriage with his wife (Wiig). Well, his bartender buddy (Affleck) convinces him, while under the influence of horse tranquilizers, to hire a gigolo to seduce his wife, so that he can have a guilt-free rendezvous with a superhot employee (Kunis) who has been showing all the signs. Okay, so that’s a pretty horrible description of the plot…but hey, if you like other Mike Judge movies, this one’s pretty good too. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a timeless classic like the others…but it’s still worth a shot. So now I will continue with the news…
Superman Update – Okay, this is just getting ridiculous now. A few weeks ago, I told you about the bidding war between the most expensive comic purchase in history between Superman & Batman, and Superman just took the lead again in a big way. A copy of the 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1 sold Monday for $1.5 million on the auction Web site ComicConnect.com. The issue, which features Superman's debut and originally sold for 10 cents, is widely considered the Holy Grail of comic books. The same issue sold in February for $1 million, though that copy wasn't in as good condition as the issue that sold Monday. That number was bested just days later when a 1939 comic book featuring Batman's debut sold for $75,000 more at an auction in Dallas. There are about 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 believed to be in existence, and only a handful in good condition. The issue that sold Monday was rated slightly higher than the one that sold in February; it had been tucked inside an old movie magazine for years before being discovered. The issue was bought from a private collector and then sold by Stephen Fishler and Vincent Zurzolo, the co-owners of ComicConnect.com. It was bought minutes after being posted Monday at the asking price of $1.5 million by "a hardcore comic book fan," Fishler said. "There's been a lot of attempts to acquire this book over the last 15 years. The recent activity, I guess, did the trick." Fishler speculated that the sudden burst of record-priced sales are due to "pent-up demand." Issues of such prized comic books rarely become available for purchase. Rarer still are issues in such good condition. "I can't imagine another book coming on the market that exists that would top this. This may be the final say — at least for the next 10 or 20 years — for a record price of a comic book." Or at least until next week when I’ll probably be reporting about another sale. Maybe this one will be for a random comic like…Duckman No. 5 or something. Anyway, Superman’s back on top. Your move, Dark Knight.
GENIUS!!! – Who wouldn’t want a million dollars just for being you? Maybe you could use it to buy Duckman No. 5 or something? Well, a 43-year-old unemployed bachelor who lives with his elderly mother in Russia — and who won $1 million for solving a problem that has stumped mathematicians for a century is considering just that. Grigory Perelman can't decide if he wants the money. "He said he would need to think about it," said James Carlson, who telephoned Perelman with the news he had won the Millennium Prize awarded by the Clay Mathematics Institute of Cambridge, Mass. Carlson said he wasn't too surprised by the apparent lack of interest from Perelman, a reclusive genius who has a history of refusing big prizes. In 2006, Perelman made headlines when he stayed away from the ceremony in Madrid where he was supposed to get a Fields Medal, often called the Nobel Prize of Mathematics. He remained at home in St. Petersburg instead. As for the new prize, Perelman (PER-il-mahn) told a local television station he hasn't made a decision on whether to accept the money, and that Carlson's institute will be the first to know when he does. Sergei Rukshin, Perelman's high school math teacher, told The Associated Press on Monday that "I know that this time he is seriously thinking about whether he will accept the prize. He still has some time.” The awards ceremony is in June. Rukshin said Perelman has been without work for four years and has declined all job offers. He previously worked at the Steklov Mathematics Institute. "As far as I know, after there was so much media attention ... he did not want to be a public person and to look like an animal in the zoo," Rukshin said. He said he had encouraged Perelman to accept the prize to provide for himself and his elderly mother. Technically, the award is a done deal. "He has been awarded the prize. That's the decision of the committee," Carlson said. "He may or may not accept the money." Carlson declined to discuss what would happen to the $1 million if Perelman rejects it. Several groups in Russia, including the St. Petersburg Communist Party, have made public appeals to Perelman to give them the cash to fight poverty if he doesn't want it for himself. Perelman was honored for proving the Poincare (pwan-kah-RAY) conjecture, which deals with shapes that exist in four or more dimensions, rather than the familiar three dimensions. The conjecture proposes a test for determining whether a shape in such space, no matter how distorted, is a three-dimensional sphere. Yeah. That’s why the answers worth a million bucks. That was one of seven problems the Clay institute identified in 2000 as being worthy of a $1 million Millennium Prize. It's the first problem on the list to be solved. The Clay institute was founded in 1998 by Landon T. Clay, a Boston businessman, and his wife, Lavinia D. Clay. Tamara Yefimova, a deputy director of Perelman's high school who has known the mathematician since he was a student there, said that once he started working on the Poincare conjecture he became totally absorbed in it. She said Perelman stopped visiting his old school to help students and stopped attending meetings of the city's math society. As a high school student, Perelman obviously was the most gifted student, Yefimova said. The only reason he didn't get a gold medal upon graduation, she said, was that the unathletic scholar didn't get the top grade in physical education. Perelman went on to earn college and postgraduate degrees in mathematics and mechanical engineering from Leningrad State University and Steklov Mathematics Institute. "It could have been only him who would solve the Poincare conjecture," Yefimova said. Indeed, Carlson said, Perelman's solution was "a truly amazing piece of mathematics." We may think this is crazy, to turn down a million dollars…but then again, who are we to question GENIUS? Think about it. He could be the happiest man on the planet. He lives with the Love of his life – his mother. She probably cooks hot meals every day. He doesn’t have a job to worry about. He can rock a beard and there’s nobody to judge him. He doesn’t have that girlfriend bullsh*t to deal with. His only concerns are solving the mysteries of the universe…at his leisure. I was kind of surprised that he even had a phone to contact him…but then I remembered that he’s a bachelor…in Russia. What if he has a fixin’ for a mail-order bride? Or a pizza? Or it’s hella cold outside and he wants some Chinese instead of mom’s cooking? Still, the million dollars might be kind of cool as far as helping out your mama. If she were down, I’d take her on a trip to all the places she’s ever dreamed of visiting and treating her like a f**king princess…but maybe his mom isn’t into all that. Maybe she’s perfectly happy spending time with her baby boy genius. You know what, congratulations on your award…and your sweet ass life, comrade. Do with it what you wish.No Surprise Here – Ricky Martin is gay. In other news, Hugh Hefner likes blondes.
Booby Bandito - An Orange County woman's new breasts cost her six months in jail (at least her cellmate will have a good night’s sleep on those pillows). Yvonne Jean Pampellonne was sentenced Monday in Westminster for using a fraudulent line of credit to obtain $12,000 in cosmetic surgery, including breast implants and liposuction. The 30-year-old woman had pleaded guilty to burglary, grand theft and identity theft. She was sentenced to 180 days in jail and was placed on three years' probation. Restitution was also ordered by the Westminster judge, but the amount wasn't immediately clear. Pampellonne used a line of credit established in another person's name to get the September 2008 procedures at the Pacific Center for Plastic Surgery in Huntington Beach. So ladies, if you can’t afford that new rack that you’ve been looking for (God knows I have) and you don’t mind spending six months showing off your goods to cell block Double D, then maybe you just need to fraudulently finance that procedure. Want to know how? Gimme a call. Honestly though, real justice would’ve been to take the tatas back, pump her full of Twinkie filling (not in the sexual metaphor way) again & make her pay for that procedure. Like Repo Men or something. Anyway, kinda funny that your new cans could land you in the can.
Holy Skrit!!! - A Hindu holy man with thousands of followers across India resigned as head of a religious organization on Tuesday after police began investigating his role in a sex scandal, officials said. Hold on, it’s not what you expect when you here holy man & sex scandal in the same sentence here in the states. Video footage allegedly showing Nithyananda Swami, head of Dhyanapeetam, or "knowledge center," frolicking with two women angered hundreds of devotees who tried to ransack his center outside the southern city of Bangalore this month. The 32-year-old has denied any links to the women and said the tapes were doctored (Bollywood is booming…) but the police are investigating and have asked people to come forward with evidence. This month has been particularly bad for India's self-styled holy men with Indian police arresting one for running a brothel involving air stewardesses and college students (Get the f**k out! Where?), while charging another with kidnapping a minor (not having sex with DOZENS of minors). Nithyananda Swami, who has big politicians and movie stars as devotees, announced his resignation in a statement. "I have decided to live a life of spiritual seclusion, for some indefinite time...," he said on his website. Oh yeah, spiritual leaders can have a website. It is India. Whenever you have a problem with your website, who do you call? Nithyananda Swami has spiritual centers in Europe and United States and Dhyanapeetam runs free medical centers and supplies food to the poor. The real news about this is that he wasn’t molesting young boys. Lots of ‘em. It’s kinda silly that a religious leader in India would be shamed into a self-imposed exile based on a few pictures of him frolicking (emphasis on licking) with two women when that’s really not a big deal. I mean… it isn’t. Unless he’s married or something…or my definition of frolicking is a little PG compared to that of other reporters. Now, the brothel thing…that’s not good for a religious leader…but if he’s looking for somebody with a strong pimphand to take over management, I know a guy. That’s actually a great idea if you think about it. Stewardesses & college students? Cheese & rice, I wanna visit Bangalore now. Oh…and a religious cult kidnapping children? That’s normal in Utah. It’s just funny how religious scandal differs when you go to different parts of the world.
We Represent the Lollipop Guild – Ever wonder what amusement parks are like in the People’s Republic of China? Sitting in a valley in southwest China sits an unlikely and controversial theme park -- the Little People's Kingdom of Dwarfs. Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Here, dwarfs perform in fairytale costumes for tourists, drawing both curious crowds and a fair share of criticism. For many of the employees, the park is a rare opportunity to find work, and respect…as unlikely as it seems for men and women doing daily spoof performances of Swan Lake in tutus. The park, near Kunming city in Yunnan province, employs 108 dwarfs from across the country, who twice daily gather on an artificial hillside to dance and sing for tourists. As well as a host of dwarf guardian angels, the fantasy world has a king, an army, a health department and even its own foreign ministry, and all must pretend to live in a miniature hilltop village of crooked little houses. For 80 Yuan (about $11.72 which isn’t a small sum in China) tourists can watch skits, sentimental group dances and acrobatics some may view as more than a little reminiscent of medieval freak shows now deemed politically incorrect in many parts of the world (well, if you call anything a “freak show” it sounds mad). The show's centerpiece, a farcical rendition of Swan Lake, sees performers both male and female dressed in pink tutus and pretending to be little swans (ugh…flamingoes are pink, swans are white, right?). "When I did it for the very first time, I felt a bit embarrassed. I had never worn a skirt like that before," said 21-year-old Chen Ruan, who left his native Hunan province to join the park when it opened last July. "But later, once I got used to it, performing it felt very natural," he added. Chen Ming, a flamboyant Sichuanese businessman who single-handedly conceived and funded the park, made his fortune manufacturing electronics and investing in property, but said he had always wanted to do good for society. And Chen now has bigger plans for his little kingdom. Having already invested around 100 million Yuan in the site, which nestles among nine forested peaks, he is looking for a further 700 million to expand it. While the venture is yet to make a profit, Chen hopes the number of performers employed will grow to around 1,000 within a few years. One day, Chen beams, the navy will have its own reservoir, the infantry a railroad, the air force a cable car, and the foreign ministry employees will serve as tour guides. "I'm very happy with it," he told Reuters. "What I need now is for some people, especially Europeans and Americans, to understand us. Because some people don't get it, they think we are using the dwarfs…but what we are actually doing is giving them a platform to live, giving them worth and the ability to work freely, to exist freely," he added. I’m convinced…but not everyone is. Disabled rights groups and members of China's increasingly vocal online community have suggested the park may only serve to increase stigma. "We need to go and tell him how to respect disabled people's rights, how to help disabled people to develop in their own lives, and not to exploit people's curiosity for commercial success," said Xie Yan, director of Beijing's One Plus One Cultural Exchange Center, an NGO which advocates more equality for China's disabled. The situation for China's estimated 83 million people with a disability has improved in recent years, with enrollment figures for schools and universities increasing dramatically. Beijing's hosting of the Paralympics in 2008 also focused government and public attention on the rights of China's disabled. Yet traditional prejudices against anyone who's not considered "normal," and a lack of specialized infrastructure such as wheelchair ramps (or toilets that aren’t holes in the ground?), means many people with disabilities, or medical conditions such as dwarfism, still avoid venturing out. Li Caixia said it had been near impossible to find well-paid work after graduating from high school, and was tempted to the park by the prospect of up to 2,000 Yuan a month, double what she might get working anywhere else (including brothels). "As soon as employers see us, they know they definitely wouldn't want a small person like us. They have to pay the same salary, so they all want to find someone more normal. But here, staff aren't prejudiced like the people outside." The only qualification for employees, whose ages range from 18 to 48, is to be shorter than 130 cms (51 inches, 4-foot-3) and be fundamentally self sufficient. Living together in a dormitory designed to look like a cave, some residents say life in the park (or Shire) is a welcome opportunity to be around others with similar experiences. Facilities from sinks to light switches are installed for people with a short stature in mind, offering greater independence for people many of whom were once heavily reliant on parents or charitable institutions. Kunming primary school teacher Deng Li, whose students were among hundreds enjoying the show on a recent weekday morning, said it was a positive experience for both sides. "You can see the children have accepted them. I think this will be of great help to the children as they grow up and come into contact with people like them." So what do you think? Is it a theme park exploiting the public’s curiosity of midgetry? Or is it a favorable employer of those with a shorter stature than most? You be the judge. I like the idea…but obviously my point of view is…not normal.
Angelina Update – Speaking of childhood fairy tales, Angelina Jolie is apparently interested in taking on the villainous lead role in "Maleficent" for Disney Pictures says The Los Angeles Times. Last week came word that Linda Woolverton ("Beauty and the Beast") would pen the script which is described as a "post-modern family adventure" centering around the evil Queen who served as the main antagonist in Disney's 1959 animated classic "Sleeping Beauty". Jolie is "very interested" in taking on the project according to the paper's sources. Tim Burton has been linked as a potential director for a few months now (since it is a quirky remake of a children’s classic that goes without saying) but no deals are in place with anyone. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t dream… Mmm… I may not have a shot at playing Prince Philip… or even King Stefan for a scene… but I’d gladly play one of her minions as long as she calls me her pet…
Fox Update – Megan Fox has apparently turned down the chance to be the next Lara Croft. The Transformers star “reluctantly” said no to the part in the next Tomb Raider movie because she hates being compared to the film franchise’s original star, Angelina Jolie. “The offer has been on the table for Megan for a while but she’s reluctantly turned it down,” says a movie insider. “She’s the logical choice to play Lara and she loves the character but the comparison with Angelina is too much. “It looks like the movie will now star an unknown.” Fox, 23, has previously insisted she’s compared to Jolie because people are desperate to put her “in a box” (the kind of box that’s frequently nominated for Academy Awards and can pick any movie role that the box wants, whether it’s 8-digits for playing a big budget heroine, pairing up with some of the greatest actors & directors of our time, some stupid artsy film to show the box’s range or the retelling of a children’s classic). “The media has to package you and sell you somehow and sell their magazines so everybody has to be ‘the new’ or ‘the next’ someone or something,” she said in October last year. “If I am not a party girl and they can’t sell me as that, and I’m not an Oscar winning actress and they can’t sell me as that, then they have to package me somehow and for some reason they latched on to the Angelina thing because I have a lot of tattoos (mmm… yes, you do… among other traits like vixen eyes, full delicious lips, beautiful curvaceous body & a questionable taste for older men). It was a way to market me and it was a way to sell their magazines or get hits on their blogs — because it makes people uncomfortable if they are unable to put you in a box.”
Look Megan, I know I’m not the one to hand out career advice, especially when it’s something I have as little experience in as the Hollywood hype machine (P.S. Rumors has it, I may be the new host of a late night show soon) but please, think this through logically. You’re right. You’re absolutely right. The media wants to make you the next Angelina or whatever…because they need to promote you as having not only the physical characteristics of this successful actress & activist…but also her talent & raw sexual appeal, despite the fact that you don’t have quite the past as her (I mean…some of the things I’ve heard about pre-Gia Angelina…) and every actress has to go through it. Meryl Streep was the next Hepburn. Sarah Jessica Parker was the next Seabiscuit. The point is… if you have to be put in this “box” as you so put it, I’d take the Jolie box any chance I could get (in more ways than one). Do you think she feels like she’s in a box? Maybe. Do I feel like I’m in a box? All the time. Here’s the thing, they’re not going to hand you super stardom or anything based on your (Jennifer’s) body of work. Also, is this box that they’re trying to put you in the same one that puts your into comic book roles? Sadly, that’s probably a bigger problem with type-casting than any box in playing a former Angelina role that catapulted her from sexy moody chick to international superstar. Do I think that you should be in the Tomb Raider remake? Not particularly (though I do fancy the imagery) but don’t refuse it just because Angelina did it. Yeah, she did…and she did it well. You know what else she did? Won an Academy Award for playing a chick in a mental institution opposite Winona Ryder (who would LOVE to be in Angelina’s “box”). She was also nominated for her role in “Changeling” working with director Clint Eastwood. She’s working with actors like Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp, Anthony Hopkins, Denzel Washington, Gerard Butler, Antonio Benderas, Jude Law and her husband Brad Pitt. She’s helping the children of Mother Afrika and about to complete her collection of a child from each continent. She’s done a lot of great & admirable things. If you don’t wanna play Lara Croft, good. Don’t. If the script’s horrible, that’s understandable. Even Indiana Jones got REALLY bad by the 4th movie, so why should the sexy female version be any different? If it’s because you don’t want to do any more action movies for a while, good for you. Spread out that portfolio and branch into something like a… Victorian period piece if you can… or a biopic like I’ve often suggested to Hollywood. Ah, the young Mother Teresa. Here’s the thing though, I’ve got great faith in your abilities…but don’t let what the media says about you get you down or make decisions for you. The Media is a bunch of idiots out to say stupid stuff to get people’s attention (sorry…but technically a lot of you are). I’m guilty of it too…but I get the attention of about a dozen people around the world…and it’s not like anybody’s putting this into print or anything. For God’s sake, don’t make career decision based on some stupid sh*t that some idiot like me would say…or even infer that I have some kind of influence on your decisions…knowing full well that I know NOTHING about being a star or an actor on any level. Do what’s best for you. “I turned down the role because…I’m really interested in these other projects & it’ll be a great platform for some other actress that’d be more involved in the role” or “because I want to help bring clean drinking water to the people of Zimbabwe” or “because the script is written by Diablo Cody…and fool me once, shame on you to that f**king hack” whatever the situation may be. Anyway, best of luck to you, Miss Fox…and you know I only dragged this discussion out longer to help you out & give me more reason to post your pictures for my handful of readers (who are probably 80% female surprisingly). I can’t wait to meet you when I visit LA in a few weeks...and I have no doubt that, if needed, you could protect me...Anyway, that’ll do it for today. Sorry to ramble on for a bit there…but not much else to do when it’s snowing outside and you can’t really make a snowman with Sierra Cement that’s worth a damn. May you all have somebody to keep you warm on these cold winter nights (though isn’t it technically Spring now?) and if not, call on Dr Love & he’ll gladly warm you up by the fireplace…and maybe hum a sexy little tune into your ears. You never know. Have a great night everybody!!!
“Knight and Day” Second Trailer, Starring Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Comes Out
Here is the official synopsis for Knight & Day, which is scheduled to hit theaters on June 25th:
“Knight and Day centers on a lonely woman whose seemingly harmless blind date suddenly turns her life upside-down when a super spy takes her on a violent worldwide journey to protect a powerful battery that holds the key to an infinite power source. Grace is playing Diaz's sister, who is getting married, excited that Diaz will take the place of their late father and walk her down the aisle.”
The movie was directed by James Mangold. It was filmed in many locations including Massachusetts, Spain, Austria, and the tropics.
The new trailer for Knight & Day was shown during last night’s Dancing with the Stars. Check out the video clip below:
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Loneliness - Painting by Dimitri Kozma
A friend needed a illustration for the cover of his new book. He look on my artworks to find something that match with book concept and he found a old black and white graffiti lineart called "Loneliness", made in 1999. Based on this graffiti, I've created this painting. Soon I will post the final cover art. Click to enlarge.
The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Philly Style
I returned to Philadelphia this weekend for my college soccer team's alumni game. Ninety minutes and many a pulled muscle later, the only thing I could focus on was food. What would it be? A hoagie from the array of food trucks? A gyro from the Greek Lady? I was too dirty for sushi at Pod and too poor for the calamari salad at Buddakhan. It wouldn't make sense to eat the tomato slice at Allegro's or a sandwich from Koch's - who goes from NY to Philly to eat pizza or a Jewish deli?!
After a frantic walk around Penn's campus, and one too many coffees from Hubbub coffee truck, I finally decided on a tried and true Penn favorite: White Dog Cafe. Located in three Victorian townhouses on a cobblestone street, White Dog serves American fare with local flare and a focus on environmental care. (Anyone hiring a culinary Dr Seuss? I'm desperate.) I saddled up to their more casual bar and replenished myself with Amish grown food and a few local brews, which allowed me to refocus my efforts on dinner.
Contrary to popular cheesesteak lore, what Philadelphia does best is Italian. The 9th street Itlian market is home to some of the best italian produce, meats, cheeses and restaurants I have ever come across. There is nothing quite like eating your way through an afternoon, sampling fresh mozzarella, home made cannollis and the occasional Italian hoagie. However, my favorite South Philly experience can be found at Dante and Luigi's, an old school, perfectly gawdy Italian restaurant. It's claim to fame may be a botched murder attempt on Nicky Scarfo Jr, but their bread and butter is their gravy - the distinctly Southern Italian noun for red sauce. "It's like blood's mingled with the marinara". Yum. While most order the light-as-air gnocchi marinara, I always order their clams marinara over spaghetti. It was the very first dish I ordered at Dante and Luigi's, my freshman year on Parents Weekend. After three months of the college cafeteria food and Cup O' Noodles, it was the Best Thing I Ever Ate.
I found the recipe in an archive on the website phillymafiahistory.com - and I feel pretty badass making it. Overall, it is a simple enough recipe, except for one thing: the marinara! Dante and Luigi's does not disclose their secret sauce, so I found something in the same family - from cousin Angelo if you will. Kitchen Consigliere: Angelo Marinara. Perhaps one of the most entertaining recipe videos to date, mobster Angelo Lutz gives up his family's recipe for penne marinara. He claims he made this dish every Sunday night in 'college'. And by college, he means jail for nine years. "Cooking it not a crime even though the cook was once a crook". So cool. His secret is to add a dash of Parmesan to the sauce while simmering. His other secret is that he got all his ingredients from his "procurement agent". You be the judge.
Dante and Luigi's Clams and Spaghetti (serves 2 big goombas, or 4 regular people)
- 1lb spaghetti, cooked al dente according to package instructions and set aside
- 48 little neck clams
- 1.5 T garlic, thinly sliced (Good Fella's thin. See it stat if you're missing the reference.)
- 2oz. fresh bazil
- 3T. olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1.5 T chopped minced
- "touch" red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup of white wine
- 1 cup fish stock (homemade is best)
- 1qt. marinara sauce
- In a deep sauce pan over medium heat, add the olive oil, garlic and onion, stirring for two minutes.
- Season with hot pepper flakes.
- Add clams and stir for about 3 more minutes.
- Pour in wine and cook until reduced in half.
- Add fish stock and simmer for 3 more minutes.
- Pour in marinara and season with basil, salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook for 3-6 more minutes until clams open.
- Pour clams and sauce over spaghetti and serve.
The Heat
Ek Hou Van Jou
Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
The snow is back. Last night, I had a few firsts here in Truckee. First, the police were at my apartment complex…and that sadly made me a little homesick of Rose Park…but for like a second because then I had to wonder if they’d found out about mail-order bride. Secondly, I got to experience my first thunderstorm (though rather brief) here. It was awesome. The wind was whipping through in gusts, giant globs of rain were flying sideways like shot out of a fire hose, the rumbling didn’t last a long time…but it was intense when it did. Awesome. Then I remembered that I had told my roommate that I would pick him up at the airport at 11 PM…because too, am awesome. The drive there wasn’t too bad. Sure the rain was torrential…but it was still rain and that’s what’s important. Any moment it could’ve turned into black ice…then it’s too bad. Worse than the rain though was the wind. Driving through that canyon, there were probably 100 MPH gusts easy through there…and you may not be aware of this…but Jeeps aren’t the most aerodynamic creatures in the animal kingdom. Gretchen was a champion as always though…and I did make sure that my insurance payments were up to date. My roommate was grateful for the ride (as well he should be) and we made it home safely. Then it turned to snow by morning…and it’s been going steadily ever since. I’m guessing the weather was different in Florida this past week. Oh well. It’s good for the industry up here…which means it’s good for all of us. Let it snow that white gold.
Today at lunch, I sat down next to two coworkers in the cafeteria…and after a few seconds, I realized that…I think they were speaking German. See, they were in a conversation, so I just kept to my chicken cordon bleu & broccoli soup and…yeah, I kinda eavesdropped. See, for those who don’t remember, I took German in high school. Why? F**k you, that’s why. Basically in the decade since, I haven’t had many opportunities to use it…so I’m a little rusty. I was really just trying to see if I could understand real German…being spoken by real Germans. There’s not a Telemundo for German. So anyway, I was picking up a few words I thought…but I was awfully disappointed in myself…so I figured that I’d just plunge in and introduce myself…and ask them if they were from Germany or Austria or what. “Oh no, Dutch sounds a lot like German.” “Oh sorry, I was trying not to eavesdrop but…I was a little.” “It’s okay, I would’ve done the same thing.” “So you’re from the Netherlands then…or?” Trying to include the cute girl into the conversation…but she was on the other side of the dude. The guy answered, “No, we’re from South Africa…but the language there is Afrikaans, which is similar.” “Africanese? Did you just make that up to mess with me? (luckily we both laughed a little) I’ve never heard of that before. I had no idea. Well, how are you two liking the weather here in Tahoe?” So we chatted for a bit…but yeah, Afrikaans (not Africanese) is a real language, derived from Dutch settlers in the 17th century (yes, the slave traders) and is the official language of South Africa, who will be hosting the World Cup this year. Now we both know. In fact, I’m gonna share with you a few Afrikaans phrases…that maybe I might butcher in trying to get to know these two coworkers (especially the sexy female one):
“Hallo! Hoe gaan dit?” – Hello, how’s it going?
“Baie good, dankie” – Very well, thank you
“Wat is jou naam?” – What is your name? (der…)
“Ek hou van jou” – I love you (oh yeah…)
I’ll let you know when I’m able to effectively translate pickup lines…
Let’s see. In other news, remember BW? From my Going Away Party? Chatted with her for the first time in a while. Apparently she & her mom may be coming to visit the area in May, so if I’m in town, we may have to go get sh*t-faced together…and let her mom drive us…just like at the party. Okay, so I’d be the designated driver (since I’m the only one driving Gretchen) but either way, it’d be a great time. She deserves a vacation. She’s been through a lot these past four years (my first infamous celebrity that I personally knew…and it all happened on my 25th birthday). So yeah, we’ll see if that happens. Either way, we’ll probably meet up in Utah when I visit there. Other than that, not much going on personally. My mom’s getting ready for her journey to Asia. I’m getting ready for my road trip. So without further ado, here’s the news…
Bank Robbing Update – This story is great. Actor Rip Torn (“Men in Black” & “Dodgeball”) pleaded not guilty Tuesday to burglary and firearms charges stemming from his January arrest inside a Connecticut bank after hours (what?). State police have said the 79-year-old Emmy award winner was so intoxicated on the night of January 29th (“How drunk was he?”) that he broke into the Litchfield Bancorp branch with a loaded gun, thinking it was his home in Salisbury in northwestern Connecticut. Torn is charged with criminal trespass, carrying a gun without a permit, carrying a gun while intoxicated, burglary and criminal mischief. Superior Court Judge James P. Ginocchio allowed him to remain free on $100,000 bond, under the condition that he stay away from alcohol (and probably banks while brandishing unlicensed firearms). Torn said he was more than happy to comply. Torn's attorney, A. Thomas Waterfall, said the actor, who is currently appearing in the movie "Happy Tears," has moved from an inpatient to an outpatient rehabilitation program. "Today we established with the court the excellent strides that Rip has made through his treatment," he said. Torn received probation last year in a Connecticut DUI case and also had alcohol-related arrests in New York in the past. He told reporters that he had been through rehabilitation before, and had been sober for some time before the night he was arrested. "I've never missed a day's work in my life," he said. He is due back in court on April 27. Waterfall declined to say if Torn is currently working (so as not to spoil the surprise of the “Men in Black” sequel). Sigh… Okay, here’s an experiment…and please remember that bail was $100,000. Get wasted, I’m talking world’s spinning in a fishbowl wasted, break into your local bank, with an unlicensed firearm…and see if the cops react with the same level of courtesy…or if they just open fire after screaming out “He’s coming right for us!!!” Go ahead. I’ll wait. Here’s the thing, what if he was really trying to rob the bank? I mean…let’s say, you’re robbing a bank…and you f**k up…and the cops pounce on you so fast you’re trying to figure out who squealed…but then realize it’s an operation of one. What do you do? Step one, stagger like a drunken idiot. Throw in some sayings that don’t make a whole lot of sense in any context. “The cats!!! They’re brown!!!” Step two, keep the firearm. It’ll look too suspicious if you just leave the gun in the bank after claiming to be supremely intoxicated. Why would you bring a gun to a bank that you broke into…if you were drunk…and claiming it was your home? If it’s still in your hand, there’s always the insanity plea. Important sidenote, don’t point it in the general direction of anybody. Probably best just to slouch and keep the gun as low to the ground as possible…yet still in your hand. Draw some pictures in the grass. Again, it’ll help with your plea. Step three, continue to make ridiculous and illogical comments like “I thought this was my house. I was wondering why my vault was so small.” It’ll throw the cops off your trail…and give you ample time to consult with your lawyer…and anything you say CAN be used against you…but again, will probably only be admissible for a plea deal. Step four, don’t take a breathalyzer. If you have to, picture your grandparents having kinky sex in the middle of an unsanitary slaughterhouse, then vomit all over the arresting officer. If they find out that you’re not drunk, the jig is up…and not in the sexual way. Or…you could also be a pro about it…and do it this way in the first place…
Bank Robbing Done Right - Robbers tunneled their way into the vault of a Parisian bank over the weekend and cracked almost 200 private safes, police said. The gangsters tied up the security guard at a Credit Lyonnais branch on Paris's Avenue de l'Opera on Saturday night, before digging through a series of cellars to reach the vault, police said late on Monday. They spent several hours opening the safes and set the place on fire as they left to destroy any evidence. The value of the stolen goods is still being estimated. French media were quick to compare the case to the "Spaggiari Affair," a heist masterminded by Albert Spaggiari more than 30 years ago in Nice. Spaggiari's gang dug into the vault of a Societe Generale branch, spent two days and two nights there and made away with booty worth some 24 million euros ($32.42 million). Now THAT’S how you rob a f**king bank. Subdue the guard, make a back door, take it to where the REAL money’s at, maybe throw out a few French one-liners, take your sweet ass time to find all the best stuff, don’t worry, banks are closed on Sundays, maybe even copycat a fellow thief who’s been out of the game for a while, then skip away with eight digits to spread amongst your team. Am I forgetting something? Oh yes, torch the place afterwards…so the cops have to devote more time to containment of the fire, finding out exactly what was lost, destroying traces of your presence, and you hope on your boat in the French Riviera and make your way to Morocco. Rip, I hope you’re taking f**king notes for next time.
Google Earth: Peepin’ It Real - A Florida Panhandle deputy was able to track down and arrest a man on charges of illegally dumping a boat near his home with a surprising tool: satellite pictures provided by Google Earth. Deputy Gregory Barnes used the images after finding an 18-foot boat dumped in an undeveloped subdivision about 15 miles north of Pensacola. Google Earth shows archived satellite and aerial images of communities across the world. Barnes used it to look at the surrounding area and saw a fuzzy image of the vessel at Dwight Everett Foster's home. Authorities say Foster admitted dumping the boat and his son later removed it. Police say it cost $18 to dispose of the boat at a landfill. Foster faces a $5,000 fine and up to five years in prison. Okay, so let’s forget about this whole crime thing real quick and get to the point of the matter. The cops used Google Earth…to find him. Why hasn’t this been done before? Could you imagine if brought up Google Earth at the O.J. Trial? “Your honor, as you see, when we compare these images outside of the Brown home…to similar images taken from the Goodyear Blimp during the Rose Bowl, you can see the similarities of the overhead angle of Mister Simpson. We’re still not sure why he was wearing the helmet during the attack.” “Come on coach, I had to get my Game Face on.” “Mister Simpson, please sit down.” All this time I thought that Google Earth was just a way to spy on sexy sunbathers on South Beach from my apartment in Utah…but then I discovered that there’s porn on the internet. Now there’s a real application for it. Security camera didn’t catch anything? Witness testimony is sketchy at best? Let’s Google that sh*t!!! While we’re at it, let’s see if Kim Kardashian’s working on her tan again.
Wrong Turn – Do you hate it when Mapquest or your GPS gives you horrible directions? Well, it can be frustrating…but it’s probably still better than your natural sense of direction. For example, police say a motorist fleeing officers in Cleveland abandoned his car and jumped a fence — landing in what turned out to be a prison yard. Garfield Heights police say the chase started in that suburb early Monday over a traffic violation and reached speeds of 90 mph. Police say that after a race through several communities, the driver and a passenger bolted from the car and headed for a fence. They apparently did not realize it was on the outside the state women's prison in Cleveland. Based on what I’ve seen on TV, my response would be “JACKPOT!!!” Then again, I’ve only seen a few of those late night Showtime movies over the years. The two were arrested along with two other passengers who also tried to flee…but apparently went in a slightly better direction. That’s really all there is to this story. It always interests me as to why they would try to get away if it was just a traffic violation like a speeding ticket or something. I wouldn’t be surprised if further inspection of the vehicle revealed something…or there was some powder substance gently sprinkled in the grassy areas as they ran away. Anyway, I’m sure the helicopter video will be on Spike or Tru TV soon enough.
Idle Hands – Then again, maybe they were just bored and wanted to see if they could get away with it. A man who has been charged with making a naked dash through a Tennessee supermarket told police he was "bored and didn't have anything else to do." Yes, that was a quote…and no, I did not say it. The Kingsport Times-News reports that a man entered an IGA store Friday night, wearing nothing but a face mask (not even shoes), and ran around the aisles. A police report says officers found the suspect in the bathroom of a nearby Hardee's restaurant. Employees say he entered the fast food outlet wearing nothing but an orange hooded sweat shirt (so the top half was covered) and asked if anyone could lend him clothes. An employee gave him a pair of athletic shorts (hopefully a spare pair, otherwise that would just be awkward to go back to work). Kingsport police arrested 22-year-old Daniel R. Lee of Church Hill and have charged him with indecent exposure. I can’t wait until they do the lineup. “Ma’am, can you identify the man that you saw at the supermarket?” “Well, it wasn’t Number Two. He’s too chubby. Sorry, it all happened so fast…and my eyes aren’t what they used to be.” “It’s okay ma’am, take your time.” “He was average size…so Number One’s Vienna sausage and Number Five’s kielbasa can go. Oh my, did you line them up in order of…? Maybe I should take a closer look at Number Five again…” “Thank you gentlemen, that’ll be enough.” See what happens when people get bored? They start making mad dashes through a supermarket wearing nothing but a smile. I don’t know, sometimes I think that I was meant to be in Tennessee. I’ve been there a few times…and love Memphis…but they just seem to be my kind of people. Jazz, sexy accents, beautiful scenery, laid back attitudes, good eats from barbecue to Jack Daniels, I get the Dukes of Hazzard, and most importantly, southern girls love me (and let’s not forget, Megan Fox is from Tennessee). Who knows? Maybe my journey doesn’t end in Utah… or California… or even in the States… but one thing’s for sure. No matter where that destination might be… they’ll have no problem picking me out of a lineup after a Supermarket Spree. Hell, I’ll probably have my phone number written in marker across my abs.
ID4 Sequels - Will Smith (aka The Fresh Prince) is rumored to have signed a deal with 20th Century Fox to star in two "Independence Day" sequels says IESB.Net. Roland Emmerich, who helmed the original films (as well as “The Day After Tomorrow” & “2012”), said in the past Fox wasn't willing to move forward with any ID4 sequel due mainly to Will Smith's costly $20 million plus first dollar gross salary. Now the site claims that Smith is locked for two sequels to be shot back-to-back with filming to kick off as early as late next year. Emmerich is currently set to direct the William Shakespeare thriller "Anonymous" while Smith is currently deciding between "The City That Sailed" or "Men in Black 3" (See? Rip really was trying to keep it a secret. I wasn’t just making that up) as his next project. Any 'Independence' sequel would not happen until after both of those projects. The site is still awaiting confirmation from Fox and other sources. Also, just to elaborate so that you don’t scurry to find a work of Shakespeare’s entitled “Anonymous” let me explain. The movie that Roland Emmerich is directing isn’t a work of Shakespeare (though I’d picture his take of “Hamlet” as something out of “Last Action Hero”) but rather a political thriller about who actually wrote the plays of Shakespeare (Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford) and is a period piece set against the era of Elizabeth I and the Essex Rebellion…so yes, there will probably still be explosions. What was my point? Oh yeah, so keep an eye out for… “Independence Weekend” or “Welcome to Earth” or whatever it’ll be called…if it happens.
So yeah, that’ll probably do it for today. The snow’s still coming down…but again, it’s a good thing. Everybody just play safe out there, stay warm & get over those nasty colds that ruined your weekend. If you get bored, or just need to hear a reassuring voice, you know the digits. Holla!!! Have a great night everybody!!!
The snow is back. Last night, I had a few firsts here in Truckee. First, the police were at my apartment complex…and that sadly made me a little homesick of Rose Park…but for like a second because then I had to wonder if they’d found out about mail-order bride. Secondly, I got to experience my first thunderstorm (though rather brief) here. It was awesome. The wind was whipping through in gusts, giant globs of rain were flying sideways like shot out of a fire hose, the rumbling didn’t last a long time…but it was intense when it did. Awesome. Then I remembered that I had told my roommate that I would pick him up at the airport at 11 PM…because too, am awesome. The drive there wasn’t too bad. Sure the rain was torrential…but it was still rain and that’s what’s important. Any moment it could’ve turned into black ice…then it’s too bad. Worse than the rain though was the wind. Driving through that canyon, there were probably 100 MPH gusts easy through there…and you may not be aware of this…but Jeeps aren’t the most aerodynamic creatures in the animal kingdom. Gretchen was a champion as always though…and I did make sure that my insurance payments were up to date. My roommate was grateful for the ride (as well he should be) and we made it home safely. Then it turned to snow by morning…and it’s been going steadily ever since. I’m guessing the weather was different in Florida this past week. Oh well. It’s good for the industry up here…which means it’s good for all of us. Let it snow that white gold.
Today at lunch, I sat down next to two coworkers in the cafeteria…and after a few seconds, I realized that…I think they were speaking German. See, they were in a conversation, so I just kept to my chicken cordon bleu & broccoli soup and…yeah, I kinda eavesdropped. See, for those who don’t remember, I took German in high school. Why? F**k you, that’s why. Basically in the decade since, I haven’t had many opportunities to use it…so I’m a little rusty. I was really just trying to see if I could understand real German…being spoken by real Germans. There’s not a Telemundo for German. So anyway, I was picking up a few words I thought…but I was awfully disappointed in myself…so I figured that I’d just plunge in and introduce myself…and ask them if they were from Germany or Austria or what. “Oh no, Dutch sounds a lot like German.” “Oh sorry, I was trying not to eavesdrop but…I was a little.” “It’s okay, I would’ve done the same thing.” “So you’re from the Netherlands then…or?” Trying to include the cute girl into the conversation…but she was on the other side of the dude. The guy answered, “No, we’re from South Africa…but the language there is Afrikaans, which is similar.” “Africanese? Did you just make that up to mess with me? (luckily we both laughed a little) I’ve never heard of that before. I had no idea. Well, how are you two liking the weather here in Tahoe?” So we chatted for a bit…but yeah, Afrikaans (not Africanese) is a real language, derived from Dutch settlers in the 17th century (yes, the slave traders) and is the official language of South Africa, who will be hosting the World Cup this year. Now we both know. In fact, I’m gonna share with you a few Afrikaans phrases…that maybe I might butcher in trying to get to know these two coworkers (especially the sexy female one):“Hallo! Hoe gaan dit?” – Hello, how’s it going?
“Baie good, dankie” – Very well, thank you
“Wat is jou naam?” – What is your name? (der…)
“Ek hou van jou” – I love you (oh yeah…)
I’ll let you know when I’m able to effectively translate pickup lines…
Let’s see. In other news, remember BW? From my Going Away Party? Chatted with her for the first time in a while. Apparently she & her mom may be coming to visit the area in May, so if I’m in town, we may have to go get sh*t-faced together…and let her mom drive us…just like at the party. Okay, so I’d be the designated driver (since I’m the only one driving Gretchen) but either way, it’d be a great time. She deserves a vacation. She’s been through a lot these past four years (my first infamous celebrity that I personally knew…and it all happened on my 25th birthday). So yeah, we’ll see if that happens. Either way, we’ll probably meet up in Utah when I visit there. Other than that, not much going on personally. My mom’s getting ready for her journey to Asia. I’m getting ready for my road trip. So without further ado, here’s the news…
Bank Robbing Update – This story is great. Actor Rip Torn (“Men in Black” & “Dodgeball”) pleaded not guilty Tuesday to burglary and firearms charges stemming from his January arrest inside a Connecticut bank after hours (what?). State police have said the 79-year-old Emmy award winner was so intoxicated on the night of January 29th (“How drunk was he?”) that he broke into the Litchfield Bancorp branch with a loaded gun, thinking it was his home in Salisbury in northwestern Connecticut. Torn is charged with criminal trespass, carrying a gun without a permit, carrying a gun while intoxicated, burglary and criminal mischief. Superior Court Judge James P. Ginocchio allowed him to remain free on $100,000 bond, under the condition that he stay away from alcohol (and probably banks while brandishing unlicensed firearms). Torn said he was more than happy to comply. Torn's attorney, A. Thomas Waterfall, said the actor, who is currently appearing in the movie "Happy Tears," has moved from an inpatient to an outpatient rehabilitation program. "Today we established with the court the excellent strides that Rip has made through his treatment," he said. Torn received probation last year in a Connecticut DUI case and also had alcohol-related arrests in New York in the past. He told reporters that he had been through rehabilitation before, and had been sober for some time before the night he was arrested. "I've never missed a day's work in my life," he said. He is due back in court on April 27. Waterfall declined to say if Torn is currently working (so as not to spoil the surprise of the “Men in Black” sequel). Sigh… Okay, here’s an experiment…and please remember that bail was $100,000. Get wasted, I’m talking world’s spinning in a fishbowl wasted, break into your local bank, with an unlicensed firearm…and see if the cops react with the same level of courtesy…or if they just open fire after screaming out “He’s coming right for us!!!” Go ahead. I’ll wait. Here’s the thing, what if he was really trying to rob the bank? I mean…let’s say, you’re robbing a bank…and you f**k up…and the cops pounce on you so fast you’re trying to figure out who squealed…but then realize it’s an operation of one. What do you do? Step one, stagger like a drunken idiot. Throw in some sayings that don’t make a whole lot of sense in any context. “The cats!!! They’re brown!!!” Step two, keep the firearm. It’ll look too suspicious if you just leave the gun in the bank after claiming to be supremely intoxicated. Why would you bring a gun to a bank that you broke into…if you were drunk…and claiming it was your home? If it’s still in your hand, there’s always the insanity plea. Important sidenote, don’t point it in the general direction of anybody. Probably best just to slouch and keep the gun as low to the ground as possible…yet still in your hand. Draw some pictures in the grass. Again, it’ll help with your plea. Step three, continue to make ridiculous and illogical comments like “I thought this was my house. I was wondering why my vault was so small.” It’ll throw the cops off your trail…and give you ample time to consult with your lawyer…and anything you say CAN be used against you…but again, will probably only be admissible for a plea deal. Step four, don’t take a breathalyzer. If you have to, picture your grandparents having kinky sex in the middle of an unsanitary slaughterhouse, then vomit all over the arresting officer. If they find out that you’re not drunk, the jig is up…and not in the sexual way. Or…you could also be a pro about it…and do it this way in the first place…
Bank Robbing Done Right - Robbers tunneled their way into the vault of a Parisian bank over the weekend and cracked almost 200 private safes, police said. The gangsters tied up the security guard at a Credit Lyonnais branch on Paris's Avenue de l'Opera on Saturday night, before digging through a series of cellars to reach the vault, police said late on Monday. They spent several hours opening the safes and set the place on fire as they left to destroy any evidence. The value of the stolen goods is still being estimated. French media were quick to compare the case to the "Spaggiari Affair," a heist masterminded by Albert Spaggiari more than 30 years ago in Nice. Spaggiari's gang dug into the vault of a Societe Generale branch, spent two days and two nights there and made away with booty worth some 24 million euros ($32.42 million). Now THAT’S how you rob a f**king bank. Subdue the guard, make a back door, take it to where the REAL money’s at, maybe throw out a few French one-liners, take your sweet ass time to find all the best stuff, don’t worry, banks are closed on Sundays, maybe even copycat a fellow thief who’s been out of the game for a while, then skip away with eight digits to spread amongst your team. Am I forgetting something? Oh yes, torch the place afterwards…so the cops have to devote more time to containment of the fire, finding out exactly what was lost, destroying traces of your presence, and you hope on your boat in the French Riviera and make your way to Morocco. Rip, I hope you’re taking f**king notes for next time.
Google Earth: Peepin’ It Real - A Florida Panhandle deputy was able to track down and arrest a man on charges of illegally dumping a boat near his home with a surprising tool: satellite pictures provided by Google Earth. Deputy Gregory Barnes used the images after finding an 18-foot boat dumped in an undeveloped subdivision about 15 miles north of Pensacola. Google Earth shows archived satellite and aerial images of communities across the world. Barnes used it to look at the surrounding area and saw a fuzzy image of the vessel at Dwight Everett Foster's home. Authorities say Foster admitted dumping the boat and his son later removed it. Police say it cost $18 to dispose of the boat at a landfill. Foster faces a $5,000 fine and up to five years in prison. Okay, so let’s forget about this whole crime thing real quick and get to the point of the matter. The cops used Google Earth…to find him. Why hasn’t this been done before? Could you imagine if brought up Google Earth at the O.J. Trial? “Your honor, as you see, when we compare these images outside of the Brown home…to similar images taken from the Goodyear Blimp during the Rose Bowl, you can see the similarities of the overhead angle of Mister Simpson. We’re still not sure why he was wearing the helmet during the attack.” “Come on coach, I had to get my Game Face on.” “Mister Simpson, please sit down.” All this time I thought that Google Earth was just a way to spy on sexy sunbathers on South Beach from my apartment in Utah…but then I discovered that there’s porn on the internet. Now there’s a real application for it. Security camera didn’t catch anything? Witness testimony is sketchy at best? Let’s Google that sh*t!!! While we’re at it, let’s see if Kim Kardashian’s working on her tan again.
Wrong Turn – Do you hate it when Mapquest or your GPS gives you horrible directions? Well, it can be frustrating…but it’s probably still better than your natural sense of direction. For example, police say a motorist fleeing officers in Cleveland abandoned his car and jumped a fence — landing in what turned out to be a prison yard. Garfield Heights police say the chase started in that suburb early Monday over a traffic violation and reached speeds of 90 mph. Police say that after a race through several communities, the driver and a passenger bolted from the car and headed for a fence. They apparently did not realize it was on the outside the state women's prison in Cleveland. Based on what I’ve seen on TV, my response would be “JACKPOT!!!” Then again, I’ve only seen a few of those late night Showtime movies over the years. The two were arrested along with two other passengers who also tried to flee…but apparently went in a slightly better direction. That’s really all there is to this story. It always interests me as to why they would try to get away if it was just a traffic violation like a speeding ticket or something. I wouldn’t be surprised if further inspection of the vehicle revealed something…or there was some powder substance gently sprinkled in the grassy areas as they ran away. Anyway, I’m sure the helicopter video will be on Spike or Tru TV soon enough.
Idle Hands – Then again, maybe they were just bored and wanted to see if they could get away with it. A man who has been charged with making a naked dash through a Tennessee supermarket told police he was "bored and didn't have anything else to do." Yes, that was a quote…and no, I did not say it. The Kingsport Times-News reports that a man entered an IGA store Friday night, wearing nothing but a face mask (not even shoes), and ran around the aisles. A police report says officers found the suspect in the bathroom of a nearby Hardee's restaurant. Employees say he entered the fast food outlet wearing nothing but an orange hooded sweat shirt (so the top half was covered) and asked if anyone could lend him clothes. An employee gave him a pair of athletic shorts (hopefully a spare pair, otherwise that would just be awkward to go back to work). Kingsport police arrested 22-year-old Daniel R. Lee of Church Hill and have charged him with indecent exposure. I can’t wait until they do the lineup. “Ma’am, can you identify the man that you saw at the supermarket?” “Well, it wasn’t Number Two. He’s too chubby. Sorry, it all happened so fast…and my eyes aren’t what they used to be.” “It’s okay ma’am, take your time.” “He was average size…so Number One’s Vienna sausage and Number Five’s kielbasa can go. Oh my, did you line them up in order of…? Maybe I should take a closer look at Number Five again…” “Thank you gentlemen, that’ll be enough.” See what happens when people get bored? They start making mad dashes through a supermarket wearing nothing but a smile. I don’t know, sometimes I think that I was meant to be in Tennessee. I’ve been there a few times…and love Memphis…but they just seem to be my kind of people. Jazz, sexy accents, beautiful scenery, laid back attitudes, good eats from barbecue to Jack Daniels, I get the Dukes of Hazzard, and most importantly, southern girls love me (and let’s not forget, Megan Fox is from Tennessee). Who knows? Maybe my journey doesn’t end in Utah… or California… or even in the States… but one thing’s for sure. No matter where that destination might be… they’ll have no problem picking me out of a lineup after a Supermarket Spree. Hell, I’ll probably have my phone number written in marker across my abs.
ID4 Sequels - Will Smith (aka The Fresh Prince) is rumored to have signed a deal with 20th Century Fox to star in two "Independence Day" sequels says IESB.Net. Roland Emmerich, who helmed the original films (as well as “The Day After Tomorrow” & “2012”), said in the past Fox wasn't willing to move forward with any ID4 sequel due mainly to Will Smith's costly $20 million plus first dollar gross salary. Now the site claims that Smith is locked for two sequels to be shot back-to-back with filming to kick off as early as late next year. Emmerich is currently set to direct the William Shakespeare thriller "Anonymous" while Smith is currently deciding between "The City That Sailed" or "Men in Black 3" (See? Rip really was trying to keep it a secret. I wasn’t just making that up) as his next project. Any 'Independence' sequel would not happen until after both of those projects. The site is still awaiting confirmation from Fox and other sources. Also, just to elaborate so that you don’t scurry to find a work of Shakespeare’s entitled “Anonymous” let me explain. The movie that Roland Emmerich is directing isn’t a work of Shakespeare (though I’d picture his take of “Hamlet” as something out of “Last Action Hero”) but rather a political thriller about who actually wrote the plays of Shakespeare (Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford) and is a period piece set against the era of Elizabeth I and the Essex Rebellion…so yes, there will probably still be explosions. What was my point? Oh yeah, so keep an eye out for… “Independence Weekend” or “Welcome to Earth” or whatever it’ll be called…if it happens.So yeah, that’ll probably do it for today. The snow’s still coming down…but again, it’s a good thing. Everybody just play safe out there, stay warm & get over those nasty colds that ruined your weekend. If you get bored, or just need to hear a reassuring voice, you know the digits. Holla!!! Have a great night everybody!!!
Usher: OMG Music Video featuring Will.i.am
Usher’s new single entitled “OMG,” off his latest album, Raymond v. Raymond, hit stores today!
“The video is a spectacle. It really emphasizes what we love about Usher and the character and the icon that he is, and most importantly, it’s really a video that showcases his superstardom.” said Anthony Mandler, the director of the video, who has worked with Rihanna on a dozen of her videos.
Check out the video of Usher’s new song feat. Will.i.am! below:
Monday, March 29, 2010
The Man Who Glares at G.O.A.T.S.
Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
This weekend was a lot of fun…despite basically just being me. I watched a few movies, watched some great college basketball games, did some cleaning around the apartment, did some laundry, went to Reno, got Gretchen an oil change & a tire rotation, play some basketball, worked out a few times, cooked a few meals, went for a hike down at the lake, just enjoyed the beautiful weekend by relaxing and taking in some rays (though not sunbathing, still a little chilly for all that). How about those basketball games though? The Final Four has a few staples like Duke & Michigan State…but then West Virginia who last made it this far back when Jerry West (aka The Logo) was playing for the Mountaineers over 50 years ago (his son’s on the team now) and Butler’s there for the first time…and playing for a home crowd there in Indianapolis. Should make for an interesting Easter weekend. Good times. Here are some pictures from my hike…and I think I found a pretty sweet picnic place for anybody who’s in the mood for a picnic when they come visit…
This weekend was a lot of fun…despite basically just being me. I watched a few movies, watched some great college basketball games, did some cleaning around the apartment, did some laundry, went to Reno, got Gretchen an oil change & a tire rotation, play some basketball, worked out a few times, cooked a few meals, went for a hike down at the lake, just enjoyed the beautiful weekend by relaxing and taking in some rays (though not sunbathing, still a little chilly for all that). How about those basketball games though? The Final Four has a few staples like Duke & Michigan State…but then West Virginia who last made it this far back when Jerry West (aka The Logo) was playing for the Mountaineers over 50 years ago (his son’s on the team now) and Butler’s there for the first time…and playing for a home crowd there in Indianapolis. Should make for an interesting Easter weekend. Good times. Here are some pictures from my hike…and I think I found a pretty sweet picnic place for anybody who’s in the mood for a picnic when they come visit…
This is seriously...the cleanest water I can imagine
Oh yeah, that's my picnic spot...
Sand Harbor
If only there was a way to get higher...
Another nice picnic spot...
King's Beach
Yes, happy birthday Jenny...wherever you are
Friday night, I watched “The Men Who Stare at Goats” starring George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey & Ewan McGregor. I saw the previews for this a while ago…and I thought that it looked pretty stupid…but I gave it a shot. Why? Because if George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey AND Ewan McGregor all agreed to be in it, how bad could it possibly be? It would have to be a perfect storm of like “Batman & Robin”, “King Kong”, “Superman Returns” & “Down With Love” all happening at the same time, right? The story is about a reporter (McGregor) who stumbles upon an unbelievable story about psychic spies that could read minds, see into the future & kill using telekinesis. Well, after his girlfriend leaves him, he decides that he’s going to “man up” and go to Iraq for some bad-ass investigative journalism. While there, he stumbles upon a man who was mentioned in the crazy story (Clooney) and then the adventure goes from there, involving kidnapping & overall general craziness. It’s not a great movie…but a lot better than I expected. There were even other great actors in this movie like Stephen Lang (“Avatar”) and Robert Patrick (“T2: Judgment Day”) but it has its moments…and that’s about it. Just kind of a kooky little story that may have been sorta based on a true story in a few ways.
Saturday night involved a similar story called “The Informant!” starring Matt Damon and directed by Steve Soderbergh (“Ocean’s 11” trilogy). It’s the story of a man who blows the whistle on his company for price fixing…and works with the FBI (Scott Bakula & Joel McHale) to build a case against them. However, it all gets a little crazy when things start going to his head…and he blows things out of proportion…and is just a little kooky. Now, I’m not going to spoil the ending…but I kinda knew where the movie was going to go about ten minutes into it because…I hate to say it, but some of the character’s thought patterns & inner monologue is a LOT like mine sometimes. Can he handle the pressure of being an informant? Can he bring down Big Corn? Only one way to find out. On that note, it’s kind of funny at some parts…and borderline ridiculous at others…but it’s just strange and “a little off” enough to make it interesting. Do I say go out and rent it today? Of course not…unless you’re really really bored or something. It’s an okay movie. Not great, not horrible. Now “Zombieland” that’s a movie you should go rent for some laughs.Well, that about does it for my weekend. I’m really getting excited about my road trip coming up soon. Both for the beautiful destinations that I’ll be visiting and the beautiful people that I’ll be visiting. I hope you all know that I really miss you guys & gals…and I’ll be planning on tearin’ it up when I’m in town, so be prepared. Sigh… supposed to snow the next couple nights…but hopefully it’ll hold off until I go pick my roommate up at the airport tonight. I hope he got enough sunshine in Florida this past week. Anyway, have a great day everybody!!!
Jessica Alba Guest Judge Appearance On Project Runway
Jessica Alba is the latest celebrity to be appearing as a guest judge on Project Runway this week!
The 28-year-old actress will serve as a guest judge on Thursday's episode of the clothing-design competition show, according to Lifetime spokeswoman Kannie Yu LaPack.
She will help judge a challenge in which the remaining six contestants must design an outfit for an "opinionated celebrity," who later revealed to be the show’s host, Heidi Klum.
This season has had other celebrity judges including Nicole Richie, Molly Sims and Lauren Hutton.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Geometrical object optical illusion | Largest Object Illusion
Which object below is the largest?
Different objects, in different orientations can look larger or smaller as demonstrated in this optical illusion.
Different objects, in different orientations can look larger or smaller as demonstrated in this optical illusion.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Bizarre Hunchback Creature on Mudbox
This is my second experiment modeling on Autodesk Mudbox. This time I've tried a strange hunchback monster, with a face on his chest. This is my first full body test on this software. It's look like a good looking guy, I liked him. :-)
To paint textures is very instintive, is like painting a real sculpture. The modeling is not so easy as ZBrush, but with some training can be fine.
To paint textures is very instintive, is like painting a real sculpture. The modeling is not so easy as ZBrush, but with some training can be fine.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Zombie Modeling on Autodesk Mudbox - First Impressions
This is my very first test on Autodesk software to modeling like clay called Mudbox. It's like ZBrush, but the interface is a little different. Personally I think it's a promising software, who need a little improvement on interface. The export feature is better than ZBrush, work very well.
The painting feature is good and precise too. I recommend take a look at Mudbox. On future it will be a great tool.
This zombie is my first experiment. Took me about 1 hour to modeling and texture painting this, just as a test. It's not perfect, but looks interesting.
The painting feature is good and precise too. I recommend take a look at Mudbox. On future it will be a great tool.
This zombie is my first experiment. Took me about 1 hour to modeling and texture painting this, just as a test. It's not perfect, but looks interesting.
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