Googling ‘Gaga’ I came across these wonderful My Little Pony’s..
They are by the talented Mari Kasurinen who modifies the little horses

i like i like i liiiiiike

Imi convoc gandurile intr-un proces de gandire

Pentru a evada din constiinta, si in nestire

Sa fortez exilarea ideilor ce in presimtire

Descriu o lume fara valori, gata de pieire.

Every website in existence told me that Mass Effect was essentially the second coming of Christ in video game form. So was it? Well, if Christ is a really annoying, boring asshole who closely follows standard genre tropes, then I guess the reference fits. Somehow, I don’t think that’s what they were going for.

Here’s a list of reasons why Mass Effect sucks:

1.) It’s not an RPG. — This game is billed as an RPG. Even though you have dialogue options throughout, and some of them are hilarious, that doesn’t really make it an RPG. The storyline is still just as linear as Final Fantasy X, which makes it an adventure game. You don’t actually “role play,” you just get to choose good, bad, or neutral dialogue options.

2.) The story is incredibly bland. — What’s that? A rogue alien has hatched a plan that will destroy all life in the universe? Yawn.

3.) The “ZOMG 8 Alternate Endings!” are really just 2 alternate endings. — There is a good ending and a bad ending. That’s it. There are minor variations in each, but those do not constitute “alternate endings.” Chrono Trigger had 12 endings, and that game was on the Super Nintendo. You’d think that the makers of Mass Effect would strive for something more, but they didn’t because they are a bunch of lazy assholes. On the other hand, maybe they figured they couldn’t top Chrono Trigger and gave up.

4.) Slow loading times.

5.) THE FUCKING ELEVATORS ARRRRRGH! — Could these things move any fucking slower? OK, I get it. They are just an opportunity for the game to load the next area and have it appear seamless, but it’s just boring as hell. I’d rather see a loading screen than stare at my three motionless party members and listen to announcements over the PA system.

6.) The side quests are annoying as fuck. — This is unimaginative shit at its worst. “Oh, can you please go collect 3 of these items or 10 of those items?” Is this really necessary? I thought collecting shit was supposed to be something you did on a scavenger hunt, not a fucking video game. All I want to do is kill shit, not waste my time traveling from planet to planet, and digging in the dirt for some random crap that will give me absolutely no advancement in the storyline.

7.) Barren Planets — What exactly is the point of this? I mean, seriously, who thought it would be a good idea to have you drive around on huge piles of dirt looking for the next plot point? Idiots, that’s who. And anyone who thought it was fun to explore and find “extra stuff” in the Mass Effect wasteland of mediocrity is retarded.

8.) The secondary characters are completely unmemorable.

9.) Driving the car — I’d rather lick my own ass than spend another fucking second driving the car around. It’s a rubbery piece of shit that bounces all over the place. The mechanics of maneuvering this thing are horrendous. It only has the one shitty machine gun, and no cannon. And just like your hand held weapons, the gun can overheat, which is annoying as fuck. Oh, and let’s not forget that while you are repairing damage you can’t move. Everything about the car is just another, “What the hell were they thinking?” scenario.

10.) “Before I can give you this item that will save all life in the universe, first you have to do me a favor.” — FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The one positive side of this game, is that you can have sex with one of your crew members. And they have a nice ass, too.

As far as RPGs go, Mass Effect is terrible and a waste of time… but it’s still better than Okami.

Verdict: Bad

This video took me by surprise. His Batman impression is very entertaining. There are several moments in here that make it worthwhile, even though there are a certainly a few stupid things, of course.

 Mister Untouchable by Joker

2009 (9 tracks, 33:47)

hip-hop/rap

Esta ocasión repasaremos la carrera de la tal vez mi actriz preferida: Maggie Gyllenhaal, quién cumplió 32 años el pasado 16 de Noviembre. Comenzemos con lo personal, la hermana de Jake Gyllenhaal esta casada con Peter Sarsgaard y tienen una hija llamada Ramona.

Y por qué es mi tal vez actriz favorita? Simplemente porque es demasiado aventada, o no? Quién la haya visto lo ha de saber también como yo. Si, ya se, la vi por primera vez en The Dark Knight, y agradezco a Dios que hubieran quitado a Katie Holmes (Gracias!!) con su actuación deshabrida.

(referring to when she started acting) “Even in elementary school, I took it really seriously. I was always doing plays.”

Aquí hay un recorrido en el tiempo por las múltiples facetas de Maggie Gyllenhaal:

En la SECRETARIA, interpreta a una chica masoquista que consigue trabajo con un jefe sádico…ya pueden imaginarse el resultado. La película esta muy bien, aunque sí la recomiendo para adultos, a menos que quieran quedarse como yo cuando la vi: :O  WTF?  La enseñanza de la película es: sí son secretarias, nunca se equivoquen con la máquina de escribir. Aunque después de ver esta película no creo que se vuelvan a equivocar…

Toda una estudiante promiscua en los años 50 en LA SONRISA DE LA MONA LISA, quién no tiene prejuicios y hasta tuvo una relación amorosa -y corta, claro- con su profesor de italiano, bajo la tutela de Julia Roberts y compartiendo créditos con Julia Stiles (10 cosas que odio de ti).

“I want roles that challenge people to question where they are in life.”

Una madre con antecedentes penales a causa de las drogas y el alcohol que quiere ganarse el cariño de su hija de cinco años a quién no ha visto en años, esto es en SHERRYBABY, una genialísima película donde su actuación es tan convincente que dan ganas de golpear a la madre sustituta.

Una adolescente dark que trabaja como niñera de unos niños que pelean contra una MONSTER HOUSE…claro, sólo dobló la voz.

Logra que Will Ferrell pruebe las galletas con leche, y por ahí se convierte en su novia, en MÁS EXTRAÑO QUE LA FICCIÓN, mostrando su lado sarcástico y dulce a la vez.

Y, pos supuesto, es la novia de Harvey Dent, el interés de Bruce Wayne y una parte del plan del Joker en…THE DARK KNIGHT, siendo Rachel Dawes.

Estas son sólo algunas de las memorables actuaciones de Maggie, y bien vale la pena verlas; y más aún las películas independientes. Feliz Cumpleaños (atrasado) Maggie!

“There are two ways to be cool: One is to be disinterested and make it seem like you must be doing something much more interesting than everybody else if you are this disinterested. The other is to be extremely interested. You are not trying to please anyone, but you are really invested are really focused.”

I am looking for movies that are actually about something and that are questioning something. Movies that are provocative in some way and I am also looking for roles that I think will force me to grow or learn something about myself or the world in order to play them well.

My 39th birthday was last week. Sarah and I were walking down to get some coffee at Square One and she asked me what my highlights were of being 38. I thought about it, and thought I’d share some of those highlights here. At first glance, this may seem like just another Year in Review blog, but trust me, it’s different. These are in no particular order, except in the order that they came into my brain.

COOL THINGS I DID WHEN I WAS 38

1. Lost Nights
   Once a week Sarah and I get together and watch Lost with some friends. I know what you’re saying: Who doesn’t? But it’s not just about gathering around the TV and watching a show. It’s the whole “gathering with friends and watching a show” aspect about it that I love. Usually before or after the show we’ll play games, eat whatever snacks we brought, or just hang out. And now that we’ve caught up on all of the Seasons and are eagerly awaiting the beginning of Season 6, we still get together once a week and….well we do whatever. Play games. Watch a movie. Eat snacks. Hang out. It’s been a good excuse to get together and be with our pals on a regular basis.
2. Dressing Up as Batman and The Joker
   Every year our friends John and Lisa hold an Oscar-viewing party. In the last couple of years they’ve encouraged everyone to dress up as a movie character and it’s been a lot of fun. This year Sarah and I came as Batman and The Joker, and I gotta admit, we looked good.
   
3. Jim Thorpe
   Sarah’s birthday is only 3 days before mine so we get to celebrate together. Our friends Alyssa and Ashlea decided to treat us to a mystery trip. They gave us the date and time but kept the destination a secret. The only hint they gave us was the fact it was a couple of hours away. It turns out they took us to Jim Thorpe PA, a small town one of the TV travel programs listed as one of the Top 10 Towns in America. I think they were right to put this on the list.
   
4. Live Shows
   When I was 38, I got to see a couple of live shows that came into town that were a lot of fun: the touring production of Avenue Q and Bill Cosby. If I don’t come across as your average  musical-theatre kinda guy, I’m not. But Avenue Q isn’t your average musical theatre production.
   
   And Bill Cosby. Well….he’s just Bill Cosby. How can you not enjoy him?
5. New York City
   Sarah and I were able to travel up to New York City twice. The first time we went up to see the Season 34 Finale of Saturday Night Live with Will Ferrell. To say it was a blast would be an understatement. The second time, we went up with our friends Ryan, Alyssa, and Ashlea and got to show them around the city. Both times I was able to jump in the shows at the National Comedy Theatre and improv it up with some of my old pals as well as perform with some new cast members whom I hadn’t met. It was a great time. I heart New York.
6. Ireland
   As anyone who’s followed my blog knows, Sarah and I went to Ireland with Alyssa and Ashlea and it was incredible. I won’t bore you with the details (again) but will post the recap of our trip here.
   
7. Doodles at Square One
   I’ve been drawing doodles of people ever since I was in middle school. I haven’t always kept up at it, but this past year I’ve been very proactive about keeping at it. I had a chance to display my art at our coffee house of choice here in Lancaster, Square One Coffee. For the month of October I displayed about 30 doodles, all in the theme of Halloween creepiness. You can see all of my doodles at my Facebook fan page.

So yea…38 wasn’t too bad. Those were just a few of the things that jumped out at me. I’ll include more in my annual End-of-the-Year update but Sarah was right. Thirty-eight was a good year. I think 39 is gonna be good, too. With someone as cool as Sarah by my side to walk with to the coffee shop, how can it not be?

via: The Onion

Inauguramos a partir de hoy una sección con monográficos sobre cine. Así, cada sábado hablaremos de algún film de culto, analizaremos alguna saga o criticaremos películas míticas. Hoy, vamos con el Batman fílmico…

Para empezar a hablar del cruzado de la capa, hay que remontarse a los mismos años 60, época en la que una serie Camp basada en el personaje, congrega a miles de fans ante la pantalla. Si, hablo de aquella mítica teleserie en la que las onomatopellas de los golpes copaban la imagen: Pow, Biff…

Viendo el enorme éxito que tuvo esta serie, el paso era lógico. Había que llevar a Batman Y Robin al cine. Y así, el productor William Dozier se decide a filmar un episodio largo con estos protagonistas de excepción. Pero claro, es una película y no un capítulo. Quieren tirar la casa por la ventana y fichan a todos los villanos importantes. Joker (Cesar Romero) Pingúino (Burguess Meredith) Enigma (Frank Gossin) y Catwoman (Lee Meriwether, sustituyendo a Julie Newmar, la catwoman de la serie, liada con otro proyecto). Batman (Adam West) y Robin (Burt Ward), deberán enfrentarse a tal atajo de viles y viciosos villanos.

El tono Camp de la serie está presente desde el principio, quedando para el recuerdo la escena de Batman corriendo con la bomba, o la del tiburón de cartón piedra que mordía la pierna del héroe.

En aquellos tiempos la imagen que la mayoría del mundo tenía de Batman, era ésta. Un Batman ciertamente tripudo y siempre metido en situaciones inversímiles y estúpidas. En DC Comics, la editorial que publica el personaje se llevaba las manos a la cabeza. Necesitaban devolver a Batman al origen. A las sombras…

Pasan los años y en las oficinas de Warner Bros se empiezan a oír entre susurros rumores sobre un nuevo proyecto con Batman. Tom Mankiewicz, asesor creativo en Superman the movie (Richard Donner 1978) propone un guión, pero no cuaja. Se parece más a James Bond, personaje del que había escrito libretos, que al propio Batman.

Se van sucediendo los rumores, hasta que el anuncio es oficial. Batman vuelve al cine. La gente del comic tiembla ya que durante años han estado dando una imagen oscura al héroe para que ahora lo arruinen con un film tan camp como aquel de Adam West. Pero pueden estar tranquilos. Se elige a Tim Burton como director. En aquella época, Burton tan solo había dirigido dos films y un puñado de cortos, acordes a un estilo que le va a caracterizar durante el resto de su carrera. Burton lo tiene claro. En su mente, ya sabe quién es Batman. Michael Keaton.

Los fans y el propio Bob Kane, creador del héroe ponen el grito en el cielo y empiezan a llover las quejas. Que si el tipo es bajito, que si ¿qué hace un actor de comedia en un proyecto como este? que si….. Pero da igual. Burton no cede. Lo tiene claro. Ya ha trabajado con el actor en Bitelchus, y le gusta cómo interpreta.

Por el camino, Keaton suelta alguna perla que deja al personaje en no muy buen lugar, lo que cabrea más al ejército de fans. Para el papel del villano parece haber más unanimidad. Alguien del estudio propone a Jack Nicholson. Nadie tiene nada que decir al respecto. Es el maldito Nicholson. Todo un puntazo. Hasta Bob Kane asiente al oir la elección. El actor de Chinatown, no lo duda. Acepta a cambio de fines de semana libres. Y así, junto con Kim Basinger, se empieza a rodar BATMAN.

1989 por fin es el año en el que Batman llega a las pantallas grandes. Tras ver el film, ya nadie recuerda a Adam West. El tono oscuro de Burton (presente en toda su obra) el genial Joker a medio camino entre un asesino psicótico y un payaso de feria, el tema musical de un Danny Elfman desatado y Keaton. Keaton calla a todos los fans. Es el mejor referente visual de Batman que existe. Y nadie puede negarlo.

El film revienta las taquillas de todo el mundo. Y da lugar a un fenómeno: La Batmanía. Mires donde mires, el símbolo del murciélago está ahí. En los cereales, en los refrescos, en las hamburgueserías…..

Burton se frota las manos. A pesar de los agujeros del guión y ciertos momentos tensos ha terminado. Lo ha logrado con nota, así que ya puede dedicarse a otros proyectos. Pero volvería a Gotham.

Con Batman por todas partes, y viendo el éxito del film, que Warner Bros quisiera una secuela era algo que estaba cantado. Así que nada, a llamar a Burton otra vez, que venía de dirigir Eduardo Manostijeras.

Para este nuevo film, se cambia todo el diseño de producción. La película no va a ser para nada un calco de BATMAN. Así, para este Batman Returns se crea un enorme set con la plaza principal de Gotham, el cementerio de la ciudad y el zoo. Todo ello cubierto bajo una espesura blanca causada por la nieve. Poco a poco va tomando forma un proyecto que estará llamado a ser el más Burtoniano de la saga.

Los papeles principales están cogidos. Michael Keaton vuelve a ser Batman. Kim Basinger lo deja en favor de Michelle Pfeiffer que va a ser la mejor Catwoman fílmica jamás vista. Por su parte Danny DeVito se une al cast para interpretar al Pingüino, villano de la función junto con Cristopher Walken que interpreta a Max Shreck (un guiño Burtoniano a Nosferatu).

Al ver el principio del film, se ve que todo es distinto. No tiene que ver nada con el Batman anterior. El film es Eduardo Manostijeras pero con Batman de protagonista. Hasta en la banda sonora, otra vez de Elfman, se nota que las garras de Burton han llegado lejos.

Finalmente la película triunfa, pero los resultados no son tan espectaculares como los de su predecesora. No obstante, en Warner están contentos. La secuela tiene luz verde.

Entre medias de lo que todavía se llama Batman 3, aparece Batman animated series, la mejor recreación del personaje en la pantalla pequeña y que durará cuatro temporadas y serviría para que se creara un universo animado en torno a los héroes de DC.

Las cartas están lanzadas. Batman 3 es una realidad. Pero no va a ser lo que se espera de ella. Burton se mantiene como productor, pero no como director, labor que recae en Joel Schumacher. En cuanto al papel principal, Keaton dice que ya no quiere ser Batman; el guión no le gusta, se vuelve sutilmente al Batman de los 60 y eso no va con él. Así que Schumacher le ofrece el papel a Val Kilmer que acepta, para luego dar mil millones de quebraderos de cabeza a todo el mundo en el set.

Se va viendo que la película tiene más colorines que las dos anteriores. Una cosa decisiva al respecto: En este film sale Robin. Chris O´Donell será el chico maravilla.

Todo es distinto, nada es igual. Se rediseña Gotham, con más colores, más pulp todo. Se cambia el precioso Batmovil que diseñara Anton Furst para BATMAN y se ridiculiza a los villanos hasta puntos insultantes. Dos Caras, interpretado por Tommy Lee Jones, es un estúpido, un calco del Joker, solo que con media cara desfigurada. El otro villano de la cinta, porque en esta película todo pretende ir a lo grande, es Enigma, al que da vida Jim Carrey. Probablemente Carrey es el único que está algo metido en el papel, pero no lo suficiente. Nicole Kidman hace las veces de chica en apuros con diálogos estúpidos como nunca vistos en el cine… Lo peor de todo, no hay duda, son los dichosos pezones. El Bat-traje tiene pezones!!!!! Sin duda un film para olvidar.

El film, estrenado como Batman Forever,  recauda lo suficiente para que Warner siga frotándose las manos. Quieren Batman 4. Lo peor está por llegar.

Schumacher hizo suya la franquicia de Batman. Pero lo hizo para mal. Si ya en este Forever, Gotham se teñía de colorines lo que está por venir, es el ridículo a la enésima potencia…

(Continuará…)

Joker’in birçok yorumu olmasına rağmen bunlar şimdiye kadar gördüğüm en değişiklerden birkaçı. Paylaşıyım dedim:

Joker in Wonderland:

Sofistike Joker:

En güzeli de bu; Panda Joker:

Here it is…THE WEEKEND.  Tonight is Hot Blonde/PartyMom night so if you see a trio of tall, snarky, whiskey-swilling kitty-cats, that’s just us + 1 for good measure.  We’re def going to stop by the Portland Bridge Festival mixer at Radio Room.  This is their little monthly.  For more info, click http://pdxbridgefestival.com/

There’s also shenanigans at Branx (Freaky Disco!), Groove Suite (R9), Buffalo Gap (live music) and Report (crayons and DJs!).  Izm is at East, Doctor Adam will be at Tube and for once, I have no clue what’s going on at The Crown Room.  Carl, your favorite singing bartender will be there.  Tip him very well if you stop by…….

Do you have plans for Saturday night yet?  If not, I’d strongly recommend this at Dante’s:

The Greatest Rock Experience Of All Time REDUX; a heavy-hitting bacchanal of bonafide rock and roll!

Heavy Liquid is a phenomenon for the good people of Earth.  It is an undeniable force of hybrid genetics specifically designed for maximum face-melting booty-shaking rocking sweat down.  From the core of epic Seattle band El Steiner, Heavy Liquid delivers the subversive early works of Iggy and the Stooges, the birthplace of the savage sub-culture.  As the Philharmonic nails the fuck out of Beethoven or Bach so does Heavy Liquid nail the Stooges.  Celebrate your own personal existence and experience the pure glory of rock.

Queens Of Oblivion
In the year of the Scavenger, the Season of the Bitch…..The Queens of Oblivion channel the alien and alienated, the decadence and excess of glam and disco era Bowie.  Press your space face close to ours, love, and be transported into the age of androgyny with tracks off Ziggy Stardust, Hunky Dory and Station to Station . This set is faithfully recreated with its soul intact by members of March Fourth Marching Band, Stereovision, Climber, the Nowhere Band, and the Stolen Sweets.

DJ GrungeRuckus shows us that the power of plaid, the chain wallet, and your head still speak a common tongue…known as GRUNGE.  One of the Pacific Northwest’s orneriest DJ’s executes a mass raid on the SubPop label and YOUR music collection.  Mosh the hell out of the fact that Britney Spears became the next big thing….

Manhandel
Surprise secret weapon of pure audio sextation. You won’t believe your ears.

Master Of Ceremonies…ELEVEN!!!
“ELEVEN,” the world’s most “turned-up” legend of rock and roll, returns from rehab for a rare Portland appearance to host the show!!  Having rocked-hard with everyone, everywhere since the birth of the amplifier, ELEVEN will once again take the stage and blast friends and fans alike with stories, music, and his never-aging hairdo.  He truly is “ONE LOUDER.”

• Performance art by aerialist Ariel Brantley-Dalglish.

• Special Guest Appearance by StiltPoleDanceWunderDuo:  Jeremiah Guske and Scarlett Torrance.

• Burlesque Entertainment:  Sadie La Guerre!  Why settle for “Bombshell” when you can be the whole damn war?

• Dance performance:  The Good Time Girls!  Sexy at it’s most titillating.

• 8 dollars; 21 and over

I guess if The Best Rock Show of All Time isn’t your bag, I’ll recommend heading over to Branx/Rotture on the other side of the river.  Bass Boom will be popping off with Ben Samples, Cory O.  and Boy Meets Club downstairs while Rainbow Arabia and She’s on Drugs play upstairs at Rotture.  I believe there’s a $6 cover for these shows too……….

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Wanna hear something sad?  I’ll be visiting the family in Salem for the Thanksgiving holiday and have to miss this:

I die a little inside that I won’t see Joker here in p.town but I’ll bounce back.  Go and drink some whiskey for me next Wednesday night?

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For your New Year’s Eve consideration:

Tickets are available right now for $15 at Metro on SE Hawthorne or at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/86458.

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And it’s also Solovox-A-Thon time!  Everyone’s favorite not-a-DJ needs a new computer so he can blow our minds at Drop the Bomb.  He was robbed of the BeatOff Competition title by one point, the proceeds of which would have gone to said new computer so we’re taking up a collection lest he go and do something crazy.   Our deadline is next Tuesday where Nico Bella will also donate her wages from her Woosday cooking gig at The Crown Room and we’re at least 1/6 of the way to our goal!  If you are a true Solovox fan, we’re just asking $5 or $10 and we do take PayPal!  PayPal it to me at kerichang7 [at] gmail [dot] com right now so that Carl can be a good American next Friday and go shopping.  Please?  I’ll be your best friend……..

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The Brasserie Montmartre is newly renovated and reopened.  This was one of my favorite Portland restaurants in the 90’s.  Who wants to go with me before it’s rat/cockroach/pervert infested?  Hurry!  Let’s go!

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E ainda dizem que uma imagem não tem o peso e o valor de uma tese ou mil palavras…

Me aguarde Ronald Mc’Donalds…

It’s all part of the plan

Sean AKA Nordic Soul is the Decibel Festival Curator and Director, he is my good friend and one of the greatest contributors to Seattle’s thriving underground music community. This is a very insightful summary of electronic music in 2009 with his Top 15 list at the bottom as well:

From Sean:

Every year it’s part of my job at PlayNetwork to come up with a list of top albums and overall assessment of music trends for the year. Below is my brief review of what I felt was a pretty landmark year for electronic music in the US and in general. Barring any incredible releases over the next month, these are my picks for the year. Keep in mind this list is strictly made up of albums; not EPs, 12’s or remixes (i.e 95% of the electronic music I purchased this year).

2009 in Review : Binary Pop, Warp’s Legacy, Dub Mutations and the Return of Sexy Dance Music

2009 has been an incredibly innovative year in relation to music production. Artists like Animal Collective, Fever Ray, Royksopp and Moderat have proven once and for all that digital beats and electronic sound design can appeal to a pop audience that otherwise wouldn’t find themselves listening to “electronic music”.

This year also marks the 20 year anniversary of the greatest electronic music label (arguably greatest label) of all time, Warp Records, which has had an exceptional year across the board with strong indie releases from Grizzly Bear and Maximo Park as well as strong releases from their more obscure electronic artists like Tim Exile and Clark. Warp’s 20th anniversary box set is not only one of the best reviewed collections of they year, it’s also a brilliant testament to the label’s vast catalog of ground breaking artists (i.e. Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Jamie Lidell, Nightmares on Wax, Prefuse 73, Autechre, Broadcast, Plaid, Battles, Squarepusher, etc).

In addition, 2009 witnessed the rise of Dubstep as a respected genre in the US through acclaimed UK labels like Hyperdub (Burial, Kode9, Joker, Zomby, Flying Lotus) and Tectonic (2562, Martyn, DJ Pinch, Benga) both of whom continue to blur the boundaries between Grime, Dub, West Coast Hip Hop and Detroit Techno. With the avid support of tastemakers like BBC Radio 1’s Mary Anne Hobbs and Low End Theory’s Daddy Kev (Alpha Pup Records) UK Dubstep and West Coast Glitch Hop / Hip Hop have both become quintessential styles on the electronic music frontline in the US. From Burning Man to this year’s Movement festival in Detroit, Dubstep and Glitch Hop have fully emerged in 2009 as a staple sound in North America.

Another emerging trend has been the Deep House and Tech House revival, which has been experiencing a resurgence the past few years as club-goers have tired of the heady, sterility of Minimal Techno and the frenetic, over the top sound of Electro House. Artists like Gui Boratto, Voodeux, Pezzner, Milton Jackson, Stimming, Mode D, Catz n Dogz, DJ T and Dixon have all helped in keeping underground dance music both sexy and musical.

Overall 2009 has been a phenomenal year for technologically driven music, proving that creativity is truly catching up with the tools used for musical expression in the digital age.

Here are my Top 15 albums of the year:

1. Animal Collective “Merriweather Post Pavilion” Domino Records

2. Various “Warp 20” (Box Set) Warp Records

3. Moderat (aka Apparat & Modeselektor) “Moderat” Bpitch Control Records

4. Fever Ray “Fever Ray” Rabid Records

5. Phil Kieran “Shh” Cocoon Recordings

6. Nosaj Thing “Drift” Alpha Pup Records

7. Jon Hopkins “Insides” Domino Records

8. Various “5 : Five Years of Hyperdub” Hyperdub Records

9. Lusine “A Certain Distance” Ghostly International

10. Grizzly Bear “Veckatimest” Warp Records

11. Gui Boratto “Take My Breath Away” Kompakt Records

12. 2562 “Unbalance” Tectonic Records

13. Modeselektor “Body Language Vol. 8” Get Physical Music

14. Tim Hecker “An Imaginary Country” Kranky Records

15. Voodeux “The Paranormal” Mothership Records

Good God, this is going to be an amazing event. All of 2009’s best new producers in one room playing all the songs we’ve lusted after and blogged about. It’s Bristol bad boy of dubstep, Joker with his homey Nomad helping out. Then from southeast London is the Nightslugs‘ Lvis 1990 and Bok Bok. Wait, just when you thought it couldn’t get any better there is Fool’s Gold rookie of the year, Kingdom from Brooklyn. To round out the bill you have the DJ Sega, Dirty South Joe, Flufftronix and Lady Prowl to get down to.

So, If you’re in Philly do not miss this show! If you’re around Philly take a train or the Chinatown Bus. I’m flying in from Los Angeles and Beats™ is flying in from Chicago. It’s going to be legendary. To get you hyped, I’m lacing you up with some hot mp3 action:

Gucci Vump – Sha! Shtil! (L-Vis 1990 Remix)
Jinder – Youth Blood (Bok Bok Remix)
Marcus Price & Carli – Mat, Bira, Kvinnor, Weed (Kingdom Remix)
Passion Pit – The Reeling (Flufftronix Remix)
Smarttech – Took The Trompeta (Dirty South Joe is 1/2 of Smarttech)
Turboweekend – Trouble Is (Joker Remix)

Markus G

Nell’annuncio ufficiale, la Mattel giustifica le nuove scelte a proposito della serie Movie Masters di “The Dark Knight” dicendo che sono dettate da vendite particolarmente soddisfacenti. Difficile crederci. Basti pensare che la prima delle action figures uscita in esclusiva sul sito Mattycollector.com cioè Joker versione rapina in banca (Joker as Gotham City thug, foto a sinistra) oggi, a più di un mese dal lancio, è ancora disponibile e non sold out (i personaggi di altre serie, come ad esempio i MOTU Classics di He-Man & company, vanno sold out in pochi giorni, spesso anche in un solo giorno)! Le notizie sono due:

- le prossime action figures saranno vendute a 15 dollari e non a 20 dollari;

- a partire dalla primavera 2010 le action figures, una volta uscite su Mattycollector.com, saranno disponibili anche nei negozi americani della catena Toys “R” Us!

Perciò, Joker versione rapina in banca rimarrà l’unica esclusiva di Matty. Il fatto che le action figures avranno un mercato alternativo al sito Mattycollector.com rende auspicabile e molto possibile un calo dei prezzi e un fiorire delle occasioni su ebay. Le action figures usciranno su Mattycollector con cadenza mensile a partire dal 15 Dicembre. Ecco il calendario (suscettibile di modificazioni):

- 15 Dicembre: Survival Suit Bruce Wayne
- 15 Gennaio: Harvey Dent
- 15 Febbraio: The Joker with Missile Launcher
- 15 Marzo: Scarecrow
- April 15: Batman (Night Vision)
- 17 Maggio: Two-Face

[Fonte ToyNewsInternational]

Je commencerai ce billet avec une phrase clichée des humoristes: Heille, avez-vous vu les nouvelles ces temps-ci?  Je parle bien sûr de notre nemesis juré, la grippe A-H1N1.  Les médias québécois agissent de plus en plus comme une deuxième date qui a été so-so: tu ne sais pas si tu devrais la frencher ou lui faire un hug rempli de malaise.

En effet, soit on nous ordonne d’aller se faire vacciner sinon la grippe nous trouvera et nous mangera, soit on nous dit que le vaccin est non-testé, mortel et l’équivalent de s’injecter de la sauce à Big Mac en plein coeur.

Alors, Messieurs et Mesdames Les Journalistes (et François Paradis), quelle sera la nouvelle aujourd’hui?  Combien de personnes seront tuées par la grippe?  Combien de personnes seront tuées par le vaccin?  Combien de personnes seront tuées par étouffement de Snuggies?  Est-ce que nos héros Batman et Robin pourront échapper au piège du Joker?  Revenez-nous la semaine prochaine, même Bat-heure, même Bat-chaîne!

(Si vous n’êtes pas morts d’ici là…)

La rete sta promuovendo spontaneamente una manifestazione per chiedere le dimissioni del Presidente del Consiglio, Silvio Berlusconi, tornato imputato in due processi che lo riguardano dopo la dichiarazione di illegittimità costituzionale del cosiddetto Lodo Alfano: il processo Mills e il processo Mediaset. La manifestazione fissata per il 5 Dicembre 2009 in Piazza della Repubblica a Roma e denominata NO B-DAY ha un video-spot su YouTube (diffuso dall’Italia dei Valori che ha dichiarato la sua adesione) in cui Berlusconi viene letteralmente…jokerizzato! Il video non è diffamatorio o offensivo, anzi, elenca una serie di verità che non guasta conoscere, comunque la pensiate. Enjoy! 

[Fonte YouTube]

P.S: per evitare scontri politici, ho disattivato l’aggiunta dei commenti per questo post.

What with Chase and Status working with Rihanna and Snoop Dogg borrowing Eastern Jam the very real spectre of the dubstep virus infecting US R&B seems to be raising it’s head.

This would be pretty unique, as for all the UK underground’s genius, it’s never really conquered the US in such a way…. who knows if it will happen, but producers like Joker with his track Purple City are certainly making the kind of track that might just make it….

So on to today’s track… not 100% sure on the vocal, but loving the style on Guido’s new track which is out now….

Geoff Klock, autor de uno de los mejores libros teóricos sobre superhéroes, me alertó sobre esta columna de 4thletter dónde se analiza algo que yo expuse el 6 de junio tras leer Batman & Robin #1, las similitudes entre esta serie y The Killing Joke. A mí me tomó un sólo número notar esta conección, al autor de la nota de 4thletter seis, pero lo importante es que dice básicamente lo mismo que expuse yo, sobretodo aquí:

“Pyg shows more similarities to the Joker. In his introduction scene, we see a father and daughter in an apartment. As they go to open the door, expecting someone else, they instead find Pyg and his gang of goons, reminiscent of Joker and his goons barging in on the Gordons. It’s reversed here, as Pyg assaults and physically messes up the father, and the daughter Sasha is left to see the effects and be affected mentally. Like with Joker’s plan, this is all Pyg’s way to make someone in his image.”

Told you so!

I torsdags presenterades Årets julklapp… Spikmattan. Resultatet av det dröjer inte. Melodifestivalen presenterade idag sin andra joker. Håll i er nu… Salem al Fakir.

Allt hänger ihop på ett nästan skrattretande sätt.

andra bloggar om spikmatta, melodifestivalen, joker, salem al fakir, hui, spikmatta

Joker’s Pencil Trick

One of the greatest movies; The Dark Knight.

I like quite a few aspects from this kinetic typography video and I think elements improve through the length of it. Just two parts out of many that I like are the ‘hmm’ that comes out diagonally from the writing and the jumping punctuation around ‘plan’. This is such as interesting part of the movie, the words and the way they are said and also the great sounds that accompany these words by Heath Ledger…. Amazing!

Now compare this with the one below. Some similar elements and some very different. Both have nice textured backgrounds to them.

The contrast of the different typefaces is a nice effect, with the Joker having a great odd looking font.

Monty Python

Funny audio clip, with some nice creativity. I like when the page fills up with words from all different places and angles and along with the simple imagery and type it has a great effect.

Simplicty rules here.

I have been enjoying looking at different kinetic typography videos since one of our earliest workshops for this A-Z of Graphic Language projects, where we were creating our own kinetic typography videos in Flash.

SVT har börjat släppa bomberna kring Melodifestivalen. Tidigare presenterades första jokern och i förra veckan programledarna i festivalen. Snabbt la jag pusslet och i flera dagar har jag väntat spänt på att någon ska lösa gåtan. Det går vad det verkar inget vidare. Så i vanlig ordning blir det jag som får bära Sherlocks hatt.

Dolph Lundgren är programledare i år. Tillsammans med Måns Zelmerlöw. Och Darin är den hittills enda avslöjade jokern i år. De har naturligtvis inget gemensamt. Eller? Jo då. Kolla klippen…

När Zelmerlöw inte kunde medverka i reklamen fick MQ nöja sig med flickvännen Marie Serneholt som då blev joker redan förra året men till Melodifestivalen lyckas nu SVT genomföra grundidén.

Och tittar man närmare på det så blir det ännu mer intressant. Nyfiken på resterande jokrar? MQ radar upp nomineringarna…

Dogge Doggelito har skrivit en av årets låtar. Jessica Andersson sägs vara klar som medverkande. Och det är förvisso bara rykten, men rykten som viskar om A camp med Nina Persson som en av jokrarna. Osannolikt? Visst. Men i sammanhanget lustigt.

Lägg därtill superskrällen Andreas Wilson som överraskar med stort sångmässigt i reklamen och en efterlängtad comeback av textkungen Wille Crafoord och festivalen blir möjligen något att se framemot även i år.

En festival som verkar bli en längre version av MQ:s julkampanj 2008.

andra bloggar om svt, melodifestivalen, joker, programledare, dolph lundgren, måns zelmerlöw, mq, reklam, marie serneholt, dogge doggelito, jessica nadersson, a camp, nina persson, andreas wilson, wille crafoord