Be safe and alert around train crossings, people. I’ve seen first hand what the impact of a train will do to a person and it can be fatally devastating. #donteven
Talking Raven
•March 29, 2017 • Leave a Comment1. This bird can talk 2. this bird is huge 3. I want this bird to be my friend!!
And Mischief is this White-Necked Raven’s name. I once had a Magpie friend I named Mr. Maggles. He was a rescue, like the other four bird friends I had growing up. I love birds.
– Like all members of the Corvidae family, ravens are extremely intelligent. They use tools to get food if necessary, and can even mimic human speech!
– Since they are very social by nature, ravens are also some of the most playful of birds.
– Ravens display a strange behavior in the wild called “anting”. They roll around on anthills, let the ants crawl all over them, and then they chew up the ants and rub them through their feathers. Scientists are unsure why they do this.
Tegan and Sara — “U-Turn” [music video]
•March 23, 2017 • Leave a CommentAhh, Tegan and Sara, a long withstanding remnant of a former relationship, which is a testament to their music I suppose…which is also besides the point, ahem; recently, for some reason one of Tegan and Sara’s music videos was flagged on YouTube as inappropriate for general audiences, a classification usually reserved for explicit language, violence and gratuitous T&A, which as you’ll find out when you watch “U-Turn”, features anything but:
“We made the video for U-Turn with the incredibly talented Seth Bogart. It is a simple and goofy video where we drive around in a plywood car and dance in front of a green screen. I have no idea why this video would be deemed too “sensitive” by YouTube. The other videos of ours that have been restricted? That Girl, which is essentially a tour documentary that includes footage of us performing and sitting backstage. And Alligator, a video where we dance around in snow suits with woolly hats on. I can only assume that the content has been flagged by users who are homophobic and don’t want unassuming straight people to be turned gay by seeing us dance. What a shame.”
5 Minute Preview of Ghost in the Shell
•March 22, 2017 • Leave a CommentMy first and lasting thought after watching that was how intrusive, leading and wrong the music was. Had the music been completely omitted I 100% believe that would have been an improvement on the scene. I was already expecting a run-of-the-mill, fast-cut action movie with little to no philosophical depth, but I wasn’t expecting the soundtrack to add to my preconceived notions.
It does look visually stunning though, I will say that much 🙂 Here is the original source material, and in my opinion, the better movie:
Homemade Multipoint Pinhole Camera Made from 32,000 Drinking Straws
•March 20, 2017 • Leave a Comment
Using 32,000 black drinking straws, collaborators Michael Farrell and Cliff Haynes created the Straw Camera, a homemade camera they began experimenting with in 2007. Despite the connection one might draw to a pinhole camera, the Straw Camera actually functions quite differently, producing a multipoint perspective from an array rather than a single point perspective.
The direct analogue process records the light collected from each straw onto a piece of paper secured to the back of the camera. The camera gives a direct 1:1 view of the subject that is placed before it, however it translates the image to one that mirrors that of pointillist painting, breaking the subject into thousands of little dots.
#IAmMajor / Ghost in the Shell’s Meme Generator Marketing Strategy Has Backfired
•March 16, 2017 • Leave a Comment
As part of the promotion for the upcoming live-action Ghost in the Shell, Paramount launched a new website that invited eager fans to generate an image with a few lines of text and create their own “I am Major” poster. This is the TV spot:
What Paramount most definitely underestimated was the proficient wit of the online community, which is basically almost everyone smart enough to use the internet.
Whoever thought this campaign would go according to plan without a hitch is either still using Spyglass Mosaic or is not very good at their job, because no one outside of a screening (that sacred time when we all suspend our disbelief) or part of the actual film crew is going to take this opportunity to get on board the make-believe seriousness train to genuinely promote a movie for free no one has actually seen yet. Or as Brian Ashcraft from Kotaku pointed out, “It’s damn perfect troll fodder.” Here are some examples proving the point:
When Scarlett Johansson was cast in the role, many Asian-American actors and fans voiced their displeasure over her involvement in the film and the whitewashing of Japanese culture. As part of the retaliation, fans have started to use the generator and the “#IAmMajor” hashtag on Twitter as a way of calling out both the film and Paramount.
In Ghost in the Shell, Major Motoko Kusanagi, is the central figure; a cybernetic android who leads an anti-terrorism group under the banner of Section 9. As I am sure most people are aware of the source material, many of the memes being created are just fun:
And you know what, #IAmStillGoingToWatchEnjoyThisMovie 😉
R.I.P. Bill Paxton 1955 ~ 2017
•March 3, 2017 • Leave a CommentStorm Chasers Unite to Give Bill Paxton an Epic Tribute
https://gizmodo.com/storm-chasers-unite-to-give-bill-paxton-an-epic-tribute-1792765560
10 Essential Bill Paxton Roles, From ‘Aliens’ to ‘Big Love’
Alec Baldwin & Jimmy Kimmel Recreate New Zealand Soap Opera
•March 2, 2017 • Leave a Comment
Because dialogue gold “penis” makes for good cliffhangers.
Shortland Street is a long-running soap drama here in New Zealand, 25 years to be exact. I don’t watch Shorty, but like every New Zealander in the country, we all know it. Someone close to you watches it. You will hear about it at some point before the week is out. It is the inescapable, the never-ending, 🎵Shortland Streeeeet 🎶
Bleeders — “Nightmares” [throwback]
•February 25, 2017 • Leave a CommentSaw Kiwi actress Kate Elliott at the pride parade with her friends tonight which made me think of the first time I saw her. I really wanted to say hi but thought fuck it — the chili in my burger aided me in making that decision. She looked the opposite of a nightmare.
Also, The Bleeders are fucking awesome! Night Sky is my fav song off their debut album As Sweet as Sin (2006). The rest are classics in my book. I wish they became bigger, but maybe it adds to their charm that they weren’t.
You’re welcome 😉 and the album booklet had great artwork by Chris Knox:
LOVE IS LOVE [animation]
•February 14, 2017 • Leave a CommentA collaborative animation with 120 artists, illustrators and animators from around the world contributed to the creation of “Love is Love,” a provocative animation project celebrating the beauty of unconditional love.
Directed by Heckler’s senior art director Kyra Bartley, produced by Aborah Buick, music by Johnny Mackay. / Full list of contributing artists — http://www.heckler.tv/loveislove/ [instagram.com/loveisloveanimation/ / facebook.com/loveisloveanimation]
🎭 