DragonBoy - 0.5

DragonBoy - NextGen

DragonBoy - 3D character

Working on a 3D-character for a book cover, let me introduce Dragon Boy.

Glasvegas - okay, I get it!

Listened to them a few times, they are not bad actually. Not my kind of music, but they have a special feel to their sound that is unique, and I can appreciate. Now the singer, Allan James, check out his pompadour on this video. I bet ya he will either have to go Tom Morello soon (baseball hat) or Axl Rose (fake braided-on dreads), or Rob Halford (pool ball). Anyways, I had to diss a little, but they are pretty good. I won't play them much, but I get what the critics are raving about.

Surfer's, like, speak in codes, dude?

Like dude, what is this dude sayin, like, gnarly...

Grow up, Kidult!

A fun word, Kidult. Fits in very well on yours truly. Someone who refuses to "grow up" and won't "do what they they told me" as Zach de la Rocha would have put it. Usually Kidults don't have kids, so I really don't fit in as a Kidult but it's close!
Here's a british article about Kidults:
I turned 40 two weeks ago. Even as I write those words I still refuse to believe them. Me? 40? It doesn’t make sense. My calendar must be malfunctioning. I still feel like I’m 20 . . . unless I am walking up some stairs. I still behave as if I am 20. In fact I behave more like I am 20 than I did when I was 20. So I can’t be 40. I am nothing like a 40-year-old.

When my dad was 40 he had been married for 17 years, had three children, two of them teenagers. He had worked hard as a teacher all his adult life and recently been promoted to headmaster, wore a suit and tie every day and had proper grown-up hobbies like listening to classical music, gardening, golf, DIY and making elderflower wine.

I, conversely, am single, I’ve never been married and am childless. I am sloshing around in the insecure (in both senses) world of stand-up comedy. Most nights I go drinking with other people in their twenties (“other” because I am in my twenties, remember), most daytimes I play on my Nintendo Wii. I have the latest Arctic Monkeys CD, wear Converse trainers and recently acquired a skateboard – though tellingly I am too scared to be on it when it’s moving, but it’s good to casually hold, while walking down the road, nodding at other sk8erbois (it means skater boys, grandad). I have no practical skills whatsoever, paying other people to mend broken stuff and even do my cleaning. cont'd.

Californication Season ending

Ends off in a strong note, with Hank finally getting back to writing, has a black baby, sorta, and Karen decides to move to NY to work(!). I guess the scriptwriters have read Calibjornia, and figured they better get rid of this dame... Anyhow, strong season ending, unfortunately rock producer Lew Ashby dies in a coke overdose. Really dig this series, hope it stays smart, here's some clips from episode 11:

Glasvegas I don't get it!

Okay, so all Swedish music press is totally in love with Glasvegas. They are the best thing to happen music since the electric guitar. I've heard a few songs on the radio and dismissed them as some 80's inspired Joy Division-light-clones. But they won't go away, they top most of the year's best album lists, heck, the press even loves Glasvegas' christmas album!
Okay, I listen to them right now, they sound like what I heard going round in '82 when I was into new wave. They are quite ungroovy, and the singer is like any indie-singer, not very good at singing, more of a personality.
What is it about them? I am now going to listen to them this christmas, at least three times, to see if I get it.
I have a little suspiscion going, the singer looks like indie/new wave god Joe Strummer, the recently passed away singer from The Clash. Could this be what makes people go bananas after them, they feel it's Joe Strummer reincarnated? (The Clash were a fantastic band, love them)
Glasvegas dude:

Joe Strummer:

Keep on 30 Rockin me baby

30 Rock with Tina Fey is in on its third season and doing really great. Funnier than most movies, episode 1-6 are out now. Cameos by people like Steve Martin and Jennifer Ansiton. Episode 6 is a christmas special, and was the weakest episode, otherwise brilliant comedy. I've downloaded season 2 now, which I skipped since I thought season 1 was okay, but not great. Tina Fey is not as funny as Sarah Silverman, but a whole lot saner!

MURS interview and live Footage

Wow, great to see a really good rapper who just stays out of the shootin' people gangsta vibe, and none of the usual bitches and ho's stuff either. Which I thought was really interesting and raw when Dre's and Snoop's first albums came out in the early 90's. This interview just makes me like MURS more. All rap don't gots to be ghetto, ya hear?
Interview:

Performance:

Matthew Bone is da shiyat

Hey, check out great new artist Matthew Bone, exhibiting at Copro Nason Gallery in Santa Monica, LA. Reminds me of Koons and Barney, mixed up with early 80's airbrush art. Interesting, a bit seedy, stuff! Not family friendly! Great name for the exhibition: Like Giving a Kid a Loaded Gun

MURS is the best rapper right now

Haven't heard any real good hip hop since the last album from Ice Cube or Q-Tip. MURS is an upcoming cat I had missed, his new album MURS for President is really good, his style is a bit old school, but very personal, uplifting, non-gangsta hip hop music. Makes me think of Kanyes first albums, before Kanye lost the plot and went hipster fashionista.
This here MURS video is a bit silly, but as I said, he's movin' on up, and still can't afford any expensive videos. Great rapper and musician though:

Calibjornia Products

http://www.cafepress.com/calibjornia

Hipsters...The Burg

They are from Williamsburg, apparently, the guy who wrote The Hipster Handbook is from there...
The Burg is an Internet TV show that "follows the antics of five twentysomethings living in the neo-hipster capital of the world." That, of course, would be Brooklyn's own Williamsburg, a very special place where "trust fund kids pretend to be starving artists, starving artists pretend to be able to live completely off of credit cards, and everybody pretends not to notice."

I am so not a hipster---

They're from Williamsburg, apparently...

More hipsters...

Hipsters...

Hey, hipsters, can't get enough of them:

UK Hipster music

The last posting is old stuff, this is spanking new:

http://www.clashmusic.com/

Hipster Lingo - So deck!

Fun stuff, from The Hipster's handbook:


bronson - beer
sentence: "I drank a sixer of bronsons last night while watching the game."
Origin: Watching Charles Bronson movies while drinking beer is deck. The term spawned from this ritual.

bust a moby - to dance
sentence: "Let's go to the Tunnel and bust a moby."
"Did you see her moves at the party last night? She really knows how to bust a moby."

chipper - a woman who's easy
sentence: "She's a real chipper and will sleep with anyone after one bronson."

clothesline - the gossip that is on the scene
sentence: "Yo, I heard on the clothesline that she is sleeping with Billy. She is such a chipper."

cronkite - boy
sentence: "Have you seen Anne's new cronkite? She met him at the cafe and he is such a frado."

deck - a key word for most Hipsters, similar in meaning to the antiquated fresh. To be deck is to be up on the latest trends, cutting edge, and/or hip.
sentence: "That tassel we met at the gallery opening sure looked deck in her cowboy boots."
" Have you checked out the new Jonathan Lethem book? It's deck."
A Frado
a frado

fin - the opposite of deck, similar to outdated terms like "wack" and "lame." Something that is fin is bad or undesirable.
sentence: "How can you like that Vin Diesel movie? Every film he's ever starred in has been fin."
"My date with Larry was so fin. He took me to Applebee's and ordered cheese fries as an appetizer."

frado - an ugly guy who thinks he's good-looking
sentence: "Bill thinks all the girls love him, but they all know he's a frado."

the frigidaire - the cold shoulder
sentence: "I don't know what her problem is, but she gives me the frigidaire every time I see her."

jerry - a stoner or hippie
sentence: My pits smell ishtar. I feel like a total jerry.

juicer - a ladies' man. An individual who has undeniable sex appeal.
sentence: "I wish he would ask me out, he's such a juicer."

jug - a 40 ounce bottle of domestic beer.
sentence: "Tassels respect me. I can drink a whole jug and still bust a mean moby."

kale - money
sentence: "Yo Kim, can you slide me some kale? I'm still waiting for my mom to send rent."

kidsman - one who rounds up children to educate them in thievery. (Oops-this is Victorian slang, not Hipster slang)

midtown - uncultured or unhip
sentence: "He's never heard of Spike Jonze. He's so midtown."

piece - cell phone
sentence: "John is such a nerd. He doesn't even have a piece."
"I must have been on the subway, my piece didn't ring."

shitter - someone who constantly looks like he/she is taking a shit.
sentence: "Dude, Jake is such a shitter."

tassel - girl
sentence: "Jim is definitely a frado, but somehow he gets a new tassel every night."

Not yer Common rapper

Check out this new song from Common, I like it, it sounds like as if Kraftwerk & Devo were involved, remixed by Break Machine, and a little Dang-Diggy-Dang ripped off from Teddybears Sthlm: (Produced by Pharrell, he's such a talented hipster!)

Calibjornia products

http://www.cafepress.com/calibjornia

Generation Y - Here Ya R

Wow, found this on American Sports Data, interesting:

A STEREOTYPE OF GENERATION "Y"

"Generation Y" members, also known as "Millennials," "Generation Next," the "Echo Boom," or the "Digital Generation", were born (depending on the source) between 1977 - 1994, and are the latest issue of a genre that includes four other living cohorts: "Generation X" or "Baby Busters" (1965 - 1976); "Baby Boomers" (1946 - 1964); the "Silent Generation" (1933 - 1945); and the "World War II Generation", born before 1933.

Beyond the general contours of age, there is no precise definition of these generational stereotypes; they are based on ascending proportions of fact, anecdote and fancy. While some of the defining behaviors (i.e. consumer purchases, health habits, suicide rates, etc.) are retrievable from the public record, the true essence of psychographic typologies — personality, lifestyle, opinions, attitudes and social values — remains largely undocumented, simply inferred by sociologists, trend-watchers, the media and other purveyors of popular culture. In brief, generational typologies are merely demographics aspiring to be psychographics.

In many ways, "Generation Y" is a souped-up, improved version of "Generation X." Like its immediate predecessor, "Y" is laid-back, individualistic, resourceful, but also cynical; unlike "X," which was white/middle class/suburban, "Y" is socioeconomically, ethnically and sexually diverse. If sub-teens in the previous cohort were very advanced for their ages, Echo Boomers are dangerously precocious, an unsurprising characteristic of the most coddled and fawned-over children in history. Whereas "X"-ers were latchkey kids, "Y" returns from school to housekeepers; and if financial necessity forced many of the "Bust Generation" to live at home with parents, older Millennials are ensconced in their own apartments — often subsidized by parents.

If "X" was contemptuous of authority, "Y" is downright inimical — outrageously disrespectful to elders and constantly on the verge of a coup in which children will displace parents, teachers, employers and all other dinosaurs of the old hierarchy. And while Millennials have mutilated the language even more horribly than did their Hippie ancestors — they are the best-educated generation since.

In the 1960's, television sounded the death-knell for the American language, ensuring the demise of both spoken and written word. In the 1970's, open admissions erased all elocutionary differences between the educated and uneducated. The mortal blow was struck in the early 1980's, when spell-check foreclosed any possibility that young writers would ever again read — let alone re-write — anything that came out of a computer printer.

Generation Y has delivered the final coup-de-grace via email. Misspelling is not only tolerated, but celebrated! Grammar, punctuation and syntax have suffered even worse fates, and woe to employers who seek applicants with even the most rudimentary communication skills.

The single greatest cultural achievement of "Generation Y" has been to expunge from our language the cherished pleasantry, "you're welcome" — a time-honored utterance that once was the courteous, civilized response to "thank you." They have administered a multiple coup de grâce to propriety, civility and the mother tongue with a single linguistic bombshell: NO PROBLEM!!! And this verbal monstrosity is no longer a subtle defiance of politeness and conformity; it pervades every corner of their lexicon, an all-purpose rejoinder to any statement imaginable!

Their great-grandfathers were called "Sir", and grandfathers in turn were demoted to Dad by their children. Today, in rare interactions with parents, Generation Y is on a first-name basis, or any basis it chooses.

Any member of the Silent Generation has borne witness to the parallel disintegration of authority, courtesy and the English language. In 2002, many find public dining impossible. Consider the evolution of a restaurant greeting, as an 18-year-old waitress seats a couple older than her grandparents:
1960: "Good Evening, Sir"
1975: "Hello, Folks"
1990: "Hi!"
1995: "H'ya guys doin'?"
2002: Her cell phone conversation interrupted, an annoyed, distracted waitress points to a table ten feet away and grunts the ultimate Millennial concession to politeness: "NO PROBLEM!!!"

Their great-grandparents accepted corporal punishment for children as a birthright; invariably, a grandparent receiving a physical reprimand at school received a second beating when they got home. Parents of Gen Y were already immune to teacher discipline, the mere hint of it enough to trigger a flood of complaints to the P.T.A., District Superintendent and local Congressional office. Next came the lawsuits.

Generation Y has pushed educational tolerance to its logical extreme: children of the third millennium go to school, put their feet up on the desk, and say "entertain me".

While "Generation X" exhibited the highest rates of suicide, homicide, alcoholism, drug abuse, and pregnancy in teenage history, Millennials — riding the coattails of a falling crime rate (easily the greatest unsolved mystery of 20th century social science) — have apparently reversed this trend. Quite inexplicably, this welcome reduction in teen misbehavior coexists with the Columbine stigma and a Millennial reputation for inwardly-focused aggression, substance abuse and generally antisocial behavior.

Culturally and economically, Millennials are the most egalitarian generation in American history. In 2004, the most affluent love Hip-Hop, while the most impoverished own a cell phone, Play Station, DVD player, and at least a dozen expensive video games. Children of all social classes have been sighted paying for ice-cream cones with credit cards. Most of Gen Y — rich or poor — plays on a travel Soccer team, and eventually goes to Acapulco on spring break.

Not roundly criticized as slackers, "Y" kids are nonetheless characterized as apathetic, lazy and spoiled. But unlike "X" — which was decidedly aimless, underemployed and pessimistic about its economic future — "Generation Y" is pragmatic, worldly, materialistic, driven by technology and optimistic about its prospects. Indeed, if "X" was alienated and numbed, "Y" is very much alive, even passionate. There are signs of a paradoxical return to traditional values, most notably a renewed confidence in government leaders; and even more remarkably, a return to religion.

The technology-driven Millennial culture bears directly on its leisure preferences, especially participation in sports. "Boomers" were bred solely on network TV, while "Busters" added Cable, Atari and the PC to their repertoire. Millennials on the other hand, driven by email and the Internet, are able to detect emerging trends at virtually the speed of light — a capability with enormous implications for the life cycles of fads and trends, both of which are in danger of serious time compression. Brand loyalty and product preferences are also subject to change at hyperspeed — a portent of even shorter product shelf-lives for sporting goods (especially footwear and apparel). The life spans of emerging sports are also potential casualties of time dilation.

Torn jeans, inverted baseball caps, colored hair, nose rings, tattoos and stubble all seem to proclaim their arrested state of emotional and intellectual development; but these are clever Millennial decoys — symbols designed to conceal huge reserves of guile, determination, and a worldliness so keen as to cut to the very edge of paranoia.

"Generation Y" has an inbred mistrust of major brands, resents obvious ad campaigns targeting their psychographic, and on the whole, poses a formidable challenge to all but the most astute teen marketers. Their razor-sharp defenses tolerate only the most subtle and "truthful" marketing messages; and these must be crafted by a copywriter who is indeed the supreme arbiter of "cool". But once the defenses of this super-savvy group are finally pierced — as they have been by Tony Hawk, the 34-year-old cultural icon and one-man marketing phenomenon said to be the Michael Jordan of Skateboarding — it can be a gigantic breach that invites the marshaled hordes of ESPN, Nickelodeon, The Simpsons, Interactive Video Games, films, CD's, books and a plethora of endorsements. It's only a matter of the right siege engine.

Worst Week - Wicked & Wacky Witcom

Very funny new sitcom. A ripoff from Meet The Parents, and the first episode is as funny as the first Gaylord Focker-movie with Ben Stiller and DeNiro. Many laughs, great thing is you can watch the whole first episode on Youtube:

Nerd Town, Beam Me Up!

Check this out, a Canadian town that's gone all Star Trek:

Nerdboard, Finger Me Up

One of my kids is into Fingerboarding, it's da hype in his class. Turns out, there are "pro" fingerboards, and even sets of ramps and rails you can buy... Nerdy, fun, stupid, why do people waste time on stuff like this? Anyway, check it out, If you are into board sports, you will be a little bit amazed:

Takin it back old skool, really old

Grandmaster Flash is bustin' out with a new CD in the end of February, supported by Q-Tip, Snoop and others. Maybe could be okay, with a good producer.

Remember the first rap song I ever heard, Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight from 1979. It blew me away totally, and I couldn't say I was just into punk and new wave anymore. The song consists of a break from Chic's Good Times, just looped for seven minutes, and a bunch of young rappers freestyling over it.

In this live uptake of the song being performed, one can easily see this is something coming out of disco, if you look at the dancers and all. The clothes... Maybe one could say it's disco, that was quite white, being turned into something funky, by some black cats?

Whatever, great, fun video, and all the rap stuff that you hear quoted still today, coming out of this song:

Mormons overtaken by hormones

Check out this "crazy" rawker from The Osmonds:

DEVO + Johnny Rotten? Branson 2 stoned

Here's a fun little story from Blender:I once heard from some punk that Johnny Rotten was supposed to sing for Devo. Any truth to this?
Patrick Day, Lynchburg, VA

Weirdly, yes. It was January 1978, and the Sex Pistols had just broken up. The band scattered to England and Brazil, but frontman Johnny Rotten was stranded in L.A. with no money and no way home. Desperate, he called his friend Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin Records, who agreed to fly Rotten to Jamaica, where he was vacationing.

Branson hatched a plan and invited nerdy post-punkers Devo down to Jamaica as well. Having procured a bushel of the island’s finest herb, he proceeded to get the band insanely high and make his pitch. As Devo’s Mark Mothers­baugh recalled: “[Branson] says, ‘We have Johnny Rotten in the next room, and he wants to be the new lead singer for Devo. We have the press from England here, and they’re ready to take photos and do articles.’” The band was flattered, but politely declined. “We were stoned, so it made it even worse,” Mothersbaugh said. “We started laughing … until tears were coming out of our eyes.” Keyboardist Gerald Casale was even more blunt: “It was an absolutely stupid idea.”

What was Branson thinking? He must have been stoned outta his skull? DEVO and Rotten are from two different solar systems, besides DEVO had a lead singer already, who was what set DEVO apart.

Here's a fantastic little video from DEVO on Letterman from 1982. Imagine I was in high school in Michigan that year, could have seen it...

Californication losin' it

Californication has been going for shock value all of season 2, and has been quite good at it, keeping at least me interested up to episode 10, where things get way silly. Hank and Karen have a flashback episode to when they had just met, back in the 90's, and they are supposed to be grunge rockers, 15 years younger, it just don't work, they look like a pair of 40 year olds, trying to fit in with the kids. Stoopid. Couldn't find any clips.

Obama cartoon (in Swedish)

Ch-ch-check out political soul brother no.1:

Axl Rose bubbling over with rage at Dr. Pepper

Hah, couldn't you just imagine this. The Dr. Pepper website, where you had to go in on the release date of Chinese Democracy, and print a voucher for a free Dr. Pepper, was closed due to "heavy traffic" that whole day.
One can just see the board meeting at Dr. Pepper: "Well, seems liek he really IS going t get the album out. How should we get away from this? 300 million sodas, that will tip us over the edge. Oh, I know, we'll let 'em print a voucher, and then just take the site down that day! Sweet!"
Personally, I think Dr. Pepper tastes disgusting. Just a bunch of chemical sweeteners and presevatives. To like it, you have to be four years old, or, like insane in the membrane.
Here's the news:

Axl Rose and the band are bubbling over with anger at Dr Pepper’s botched soda giveaway.

The Guns N’ Roses singer is accusing the beverage maker of profiting from the band’s name — and then bungling its promised giveaway of a free 20-ounce soda to every person in America.

The soft-drink maker said in March that it would give a free soda to everyone in the country if the band’s “Chinese Democracy” album were released this year. Notorious for being delayed since recording began in 1994, the album went on sale Sunday.

While the band finally made good with “Chinese Democracy,” Dr Pepper did not, lawyer Alan Gutman, who represents Rose and the band, said in a letter to Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. dated Tuesday.

The soda-maker’s Web site malfunctioned during the 24 hours it offered the free pop to consumers on Sunday, causing many fans to get upset, said the Beverly Hills-based attorney.

“The redemption scheme your company clumsily implemented for this offer was an unmitigated disaster which defrauded consumers and, in the eyes of vocal fans, ‘ruined’ the day of ‘Chinese Democracy’s’ release,” Gutman wrote. “Now it is time to clean up the mess.”

The lawyer demanded a full-page apology in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal; an expanded time period to redeem the soda; and “an appropriate payment to our clients for the unauthorized use and abuse of their publicity and intellectual property rights.” He did not say how much was being sought.

“Had you wished to engage in a commercial tie-in with our clients, you should have negotiated a legitimate relationship,” he wrote.

A Dr Pepper spokesman did not address the demands, simply saying it was “a fun giveaway” that the company took great steps to fulfill.

The company extended the promotion by 18 hours through 6 p.m. EST Monday, and set up a toll-free line and an interactive voice recorder to accept coupon requests because of demand, he said.

“This was one of the largest responses we have ever received for a giveaway, and we’re happy we were able to satisfy the thirst of so many Dr Pepper fans,” he said.

The dispute comes after rapper 50 Cent sued Taco Bell Corp. this year, seeking $4 million in damages and claiming the fast-food restaurant chain used his name without permission in advertising asking him to change his name.

The rapper was upset by a print ad run by the Mexican-themed chain asking him to call himself 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent to help publicize its value menu. His real name is Curtis Jackson.


Copyright Access Hollywood

Test

Skickat från min iPhone

Barry Manilow is an official punishment

Oh gawd. He IS terrible. Now it's even declared so by the authorities:

A COLORADO judge has sentenced people busted for noise pollution to one hour of listening to unpopular or unusual music.
Mostly young adult offenders were kept in a room and made to listen to Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You, Karen Carpenter and Barry Manilow with the volume up loud, CBS4Denver.com reported.

Most offenders, who were not allowed to eat, drink, read or sleep, found the punishment funny at first. But then the boredom set in.

"At about 20 minutes into it, I was trying not to fall a sleep," offender Luis Cano said.

Judge Paul Sacco, who carries out the punishment about four times per year, said the sentenced fit the crime.

"When you have a person playing rap at extreme volumes all over the city, and they have to sit down and listen for an hour to Barry Manilow, its horrible punishment," he said.

Judge Sacco said his love for music and helping youth inspired the unusual sentence.

"It's a punishment but it doesn't h
urt as bad as jail or (paying) a lot of money," he said.

Zack and Miri make a P0rn0

Have to spell p0rn0 with zeroes, if spelled correctly, I will just get weird ads for a while on the blog. Anyhow, this is Seth Rogen's latest vehicle to stardom, and boy, this talented comedian's gotta get choosy. Zack and Miri is about a poor slacker pair of friends with Mcjobs, as they would have been called in the 90's. Facing eviction they decide to make a homemade p0rn-movie.
Now, this movie has a few laughs, the funniest part being the high school reuinon scenes, which seems written by someone else than the rest (Written by director Kevin Smith).
The movie is not really holding together, and goes for cheap laughs most of the time. The lovestory is extremely banal, and might seem believable for kids who shouldn't see this kind of movie.
Seth Rogen is quickly losing his status as the next Will Ferrell or Jim Carrey. First Pineapple Express, now this, man's gotta stop taking every movie offer thrown at him.

How many Dr. Peppers for Axl Rose?

No numbers out yet on how many Dr. Peppers that were given to G'N'R-fans. Here's how it worked:
Drinks company Dr. Pepper has confirmed that everyone in America will get a free soda, after the much-anticipated release of ‘Chinese Democracy’ was announced.

Guns N Roses have been working on the album since 1994, and it’s finally been scheduled to be released this Sunday

In March, the drinks company announced it would give a free Dr. Pepper soft drink to everyone in the United States if the band released the album in 2008.

"We never thought this day would come," said Tony Jacobs, Dr Pepper's vice president of marketing, reports the Associated Press. "But now that it's here, all we can say is: The Dr Pepper's on us."

A voucher for the free drink will be made available on drpepper.com for 24 hours this Sunday at 12.01am. Those who print the coupon will have until February 28, 2009 to redeem it.

As reported earlier today, Guns N Roses' new album 'Chinese Democracy' has broken all records after being streamed on MySpace.

Kanye stop it?

Kanye West used to be one of my favourite rappers, being smart, socially aware and producing supercool hiphop with an excellent sound. He could do nothing wrong around his first three albums. All the stuff he produced for other rappers were most of it top notch, like Jay-Z was at his best when Kanye produced, and John Legend, Common and so on. Now Kanye has gotten extremely rich, and famous off his music, and what has it done to him? It has turned him into a... hold on now: Fashionista! His main interest is fashion, and he hangs out at all the highend fashion shows. Well good for Kanye that he found a hobby, but sad for his music. It is now more vocoderfilled than Cher's, and the sound is something Annie Lennox would have gone for in 1989. Me no like. Kanye is probably over now. Sad.

How to alienate critics and lose most of the money

How to lose friends and alienate people is a fun book by Toby Young, now turned into major Britsih movie. The movie is watchable, quite clever, tongue-in-cheek and all that, but it is done in screwball style. You know those movies from the 50's with urban singles having a peppy dialogue going on. There is also a lot of falling, stumbling and wrecking things going on, you know, slapstick. Had it not been so much for the screwball and slapstick references, this would have been a great movie. Now it's just watchable. But if you work in media, it's worthwile watching because it's about your job.

Sarah Silverman! Funniest woman alive?

Okay, she is really funny. Here's the lowdown on season three:
1. High, It's Sarah. Sarah smokes pot for the first time, and leaves herself a voicemail that begs her to take her rambling stoned thoughts seriously.
Very funny pot humour...hey you Americans, what's up with all this pot recently?

2. Mongolian Beef. Sarah sues the entire nation of Mongolia.
Very funny, a bit stupid, but hey, it's Sarah!

3. Making New Friends. Briefly thinking that she might be psychic, Sarah soon realizes instead that her friends are just boring and predictable. Steve doesn't notice how big his pot-tits are getting until he slams a window on them.
A bit bizarre, but funny, made me laugh out loud on several occasions.

4. Patriot Tact. Sarah runs over a man with her car thinking that it's Osama bin Laden. When it turns out not to be bin Laden, she is publicly shamed, and starts a campaign to ensure that nobody forgets the tragedy of 9-11. Steve's misunderstanding creates a disaster at a local massage parlor.
Very, very funny!

5. Pee. Sarah starts wetting her bed.
Very funny, and silly!

All in all very funny, not as totally freaked out as season 1.

The new James Fjong movie

James Bond is often called James Fjong in Sweden, don't ask me why...
Anyhow, saw Quantum of Solace, and was stricken by the following:
There are mostly middle aged men and older guys in the movie, except for a few "babes".
The action photography is shot in Dogma-style with supershaky cameras and up to 3 or 4 edits per second, making it almost impossible to see what happens.
There are only like four major action scenes.
There's a lot of guys talking slow and looking grim.
There's a sinister looking older female, talking a lot of grim and sinister agent stuff.
There's a chese scene with a DC3 aeroplane that is really slow and lame.
Anyhow, the movie looks like someone is trying to spend as little as possible on action scenes, just cashing in on a franchise.
Don't bother seeing, it's quite boring.
This spoof by three American nerds is really funny though:

3D-Moose project

For advertising agency Aastroem, for a steel company client:

Even rich dudes in Sweden start giving

Swedish IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad is one of the richest people on earth (good for him, he came from a poor background, he is just an amazing businessperson). Now he is finally starting doing some donations to charity. For billionaires in USA it is a known fact that if they don't donate substantially, people just think they are scrooges. We don't have that here in Sweden, and not much in Europe either. But maybe finally it's becoming apparent to the Euro-billionaires that it is vulgar to just keep all your money in a vault.
Ingvar Kamprad is reputed to be super-cheap, maybe that's about to change? Go Ingvar, go!

Like a Type dude

Wow, Joshua M. Smith, is he the guy who do all them gnarly logos these days?
Heres more: http://www.typographyserved.com/Gallery/Typography/53552

Lars and the Supergreat movie

Saw Lars and the Real Girl this weekend. Great movie about total recluse, oddball and emotionally switched-off smalltown boy Lars Lindstrom. (A quite famous Swedish journalist goes by the same name, which is kind of a fun twist for us Swedes). Anyhow, this odd Lars character buys a "Real Doll" on the Internet, and introduces her as his girlfriend to the people of his small town. The first half of the movie is so embarrassing, it actually made me squirm. But as things move along, people play along with Lars, pretending "Bianca" is a real person, she gets a job as a warehouse mannequin, works with hospitalised children, and is soon busier than Lars. Very funny, touching, and well-played. Written by Nancy Oliver, who is one of the writers from Six Feet Under.
Thing is, there is no smalltown anywhere where peole are so nice and sensitive as in this movie, but anyhow, the movie is fun, smart wellplayed, and highly embarrassing!

Sehr Kool Sürf aus Münich

...Wow, check it out, some German surfers how found a great wave in a river in Munich, that they can practice surfing on...
don't miss the end of the video, where this guy is working in a lab to create a tubed wave, that he wants to build in the same spot...Gnarly, jawohl!

New 3D work

Here's a new illustration in Illustrator & Zbrush featuring Mr. Walker:

Axl grows out of Sunset Strip

As stated before, I find anything Guns'N'Roses very entertaining. Now finally, I found out what the use of the song- and albumtitle "Chinese Democracy" is all about:
"The movie Kundun was on [television] about the Dalai Lama. I was getting ready to leave...and it was the end of the movie. And the Dalai Lama is about to cross over the border, to you know, be in exile for the rest of his life from his own country. And he looks back at the men who helped him, and you know he's escaped the Chinese government. And he looks back at them and he waves and they wave at him. And then they show a scene where he looks back at them again and he sees every one of them dead. Because he knew they would be killed, and they knew that in helping him they would be killed. And you know the emotion in this next song, that's all that's [sic] about. It's not like an intelligent song. It doesn't have the answer to anything. And it's not necessarily pro or con about China. It's just that right now China symbolizes one of the strongest, yet most oppressive countries and governments in the world. And we [Americans] are fortunate to live in a free country. And so in thinking about that it just kinda upset me, and we wrote this little song called "Chinese Democracy."

The World Can Only Get Better

Hey,

President-Elect Obama is hard at work getting this country back on track, but he’s counting on all of us to get involved.

I just signed up to learn more about the presidential transition, and I thought you might want to do the same.

Just visit http://www.change.gov, and enter your e-mail address in the top right corner.

Thanks.

Al Green clip

Here's a clip I took from the concert, it's the first song, I can't stop. I filmed some more, but screwed up, one-armed as of now, in the dark, so I didn't get any sound on the rest...Duh!

Al Green in Stockholm

Starting out with Obama's victory speech before the concert, we were hoping to be in for a gospel-ceremony of happiness. But Al was more down to business, delivering a straight up soul performance. The reverend was in a great mood, and his voice flawless, as he started passing out roses to the audience. Al Green made a few records under the Hi label in the early 70's that are timeless classics, probably the best soul music ever done. He has kept his carreer going, making an album now and then. Unfortunately, nothing of the "new" material comes even close to his classics. Al is not aware of this regarding his career, so on stage he performs mostly newer songs, and only a few classics. Oddly, the man did not do any encores, even though the audience was ecstatic, hoping for a few more classics. The above pic is taken by me from the gig.

Junkie Movie 2

Just saw The Wackness. Teen lovestory set in NY circa 1994. Cool that hip hop from the early 90's gets a renaissance, with acts like De la Soul, A Tribe Calle Quest and Biggie being heavily featured on the soundtrack. So why is this movie any good? Because it's unusual backdrop, because of its loser hero, because Ben Kingsley plays this cool f'd up shrink/junkie father figure. Because the photography is great. Because the dialogue is smart, most of the time. Because the soundtrack is great. Because everyone is on some drug the whole time. God, are New Yorkers like that? And people smoke so many cigarettes one starts suspecting the whole thing is sponsored by the tobacco industry, to make smoking cool again. (I get the same Marlboro-vibe from watching Mad Men) The love story is kind of lame, but it should work for a hip teen audience, as well as the film crowd. The movie is quite artsy, not a big mainstream thang.

Shepard Fairey on making the Obama poster

Junkie movie

New comedy genious Seth Rogen stars in the pot-fuelled stoner-action-comedy Pineapple Express. It's a quite bizarre movie, while it is a silly comedy, it's simultaneously super-graphic in the violence scenes, with blood splattering everywhere. The movie is fun, but feels a bit improvised at times, kind of like the whole crew was stoned during the entire shoot. The concept might be that the target audience should just be stoned the whole movie. Anyhow, the movie is okay, with lots of fun cameos, supersilly hairstyles and a dead dodgy soundtrack, like Falco's "Der Kommissar" for instance. This movie reminds me why I dislike junkies, because they're paranoid and totally without any sense of honesty or morals at all. Like the characters in Pineapple Express. Seth Rogen is funny as always though. He shouldn't make too many movies like this one, he'll become Chevy Chase in no time!

sarah silverman!

just realized sarah silverman's back with her 3rd season. sarah is always pushing humour, acting like a 6 year old, saying totally obnoxious things. a must see, I will watch and let you know. here she is at leno, as always, she delivers: (writing with 1 hand, had my shoulder surgically enhanced today)

Soul Bro. No. 1 on Sat'day

Well, since JB is gone, there's a new soul brother number 1: Al Green. The reverend is playing in Stockholm this saturday night, and I'll be there, of course. Now, if, which seems most likely, Obama wins, this might turn into an incredible evening. I'm quite sure the legend will be in a good mood, anyhow, and my expectations for this concert are on the rise. Check out the man, from back in ´78:

Sarah Palins prank call from "The French president"

If you haven't heard this one yet...unbelievably embarrassing:

Will the Age of Stupidity End on Wednesday?

We've had 8 years of stupidity, egocentricism, fashion bloggers, looting the planet, the return of torture and the slow death of journalism. The list of lowdown, undeducated, Bible-totin' silliness is endless. Is it over now? Will this guy win? Is he the real deal, as good as he seems? I sure HOPE so.
The fact that The Obamster uses a portrait by Shepard Fairey gives a hint that this guy's down with his times. Go dude, Go!

The hip hop sound gotta get... funky!

Listening to the new Q-Tip album, he's taking a ride on to the Obama bandwagon, why shouldn't he, he's not one of the gangsta hoppers.
Anyhow, he's proclaiming a funkier hip hop sound. Fine by me! Bring som JB-grooves into the hip hop, that would be a lot cooler tnah the synth trend goin down right now.
Q-Tip, the man most famous for "I left my wallet in El Segundo" from circa 1990 is back with an album that sounds great on first impressions. I listened to that song back then, thinking it was some place out in Mexico. When visiting LA '07 I realised El Segundo was one of the small hoods of LA. Anyhow, here's a Q-Tip track:

Entourage Season 5 # 3

Entourage is really picking up, and Ari (Jeremy Piven) triumphs as the super-cynical agent from hell. This might be the best Entourage episode so far. Piven is destined for stardom. Major movies gotta be coming up for this actor.

3D Burger Guy okay

New 3D work

Flash gets Flashier

Went to an Adobe CS4 presentation today, the hottest thing is that Flash has inherited some of the coolest animation- and simpler 3D features from After Effects.
They are generally working a lot to improve the workflow in all the programs. Photoshop also had some new features lifted off from AE.
Indesign has this feature where you can make a Flash presentation, but do the layout in Indesign. Interesting.
http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/features/?view=topnew

Jonn Unlegendary

Usually I don't diss stuff, but this guy has really disappointed me. His first album was great. The second was tame. The new one's lame. He does a little bit of everything, a reggae song, a club song, a ballad. The sound reminds me of a ten year old illustrated Disney movie. The guy's lost track totally. Sad. Today I bought tickets to an upcoming Al Green show in Stockholm in November. Now there's a soul artist who's got a green light to call himself a legend.

The future is electric

Since I sold my gigantic gasoline-gulping SUV, I've been saying my next car's gotta be electric. Now, the electric options aren't around yet. What is out there now is the small size Toyota Prius and crossover SUV Lexus RXH 400. Both bipowered electricity/gasoline, where the gas engine kicks in around 20 mph/30 kmh. Which kinda sucks, because they both still are gas cars. You can get an Escalade with the same hook-up, but they are still quite thirsty, saves maybe 30% of the usual consumption.
Now GM's had over 200 engineers working day and night (it is said, might be a marketing ploy) to get an electric car out real soon now. The Volt was introduced a few months ago and I read somewhere it was ugly like the Prius. It should be on the market in 2009, it is promised. Now I came across some pictures, and I thought it was the new Camaro. The car looks pretty great! I want that! Congrats GM!

Mitch O'Connell

Wow, sometimes you stumble across illustrators who have this incredible super-flow about them. Mitch O'Connell is one of them. As George Michael would have said: Too Funky!

3D Fashion-Guy

He's fashion Guy! This one about text ads for webstores in editorial text.

3D-rooster finished

Working hard in Z-Brush, getting some resluts:

Chocolate News: Hip Hop is Dead

Funny, smart, cool, hip hop humour for black people and all wiggas out there in suburbia (from Comedy Central):

3D-rooster

This new guy coming up for Swedish biz-2-biz magazine about magazines:

Apple's delivery policy

Now my headphones on the Iphone has gotten kinda wacky. The volume on one plug is down to half of the other. So I ordered a new guarantee-pair on their website, great, delivery next day, by a brown UPS-truck. Now, these headphones only cost 184 crowns (25 bucks). So I am at work, downtown. What happens? The UPS person can not leave the headphones in the mailbox, it has to be a personal delivery. They try this for 3 days. Now they've ended up in a UPS warehouse somewhere. I just wonder how much this must cost? Apple must have lost the profit on my phone just on these UPS costs. And how environmentally friendly are those big brown trucks? Surprisingly silly! Steve, are you in on this?

Henry Poole Is (not) Here

Been watching this very slow, quite pretentious movie for two nights on my Iphone. It's starring Luke Wilson, so I thought it would be good. Now I've seen 2/3rds of it, and all I can think of is if the church somehow sponsored it? I wouldn't recommend it, it is very depressing, even though it's set in LA, with palmtrees and all. Luke plays it in the Duchovny school, by the way, same squint, and kind of deadpan acting.

Finished 3D illustration

I put the speed reader Woody-character in a photo I took today of a book on my kitchen table. The book is by the way "Byt Namn" by a friend of mine named Klas Ekman.

The Financial Crisis?

I do 3D while the Economy crashes

Hey, check out this 3D character I'm pretty proud to present:

The new BOMB-track (Bond track, I mean)

I read in a Swedish tabloid that the new Bond theme from Alicia Keyes and Jack White sucked. So I believed it, and didn't bother checking it out. Now I came across it, and it is great! Now, when Jimi Hendrix reincarnate Jack White is joining forces with Aretha Franklins little soul-daughter Alicia Keyes, things just can't go wrong. Sure it's over the top, sure it's larger than life artists with humongous egos just doing their superstar thang. So what, it's showbiz at its best. Enjoy:

AC/DC:s Black Ice

Just heard the new ACDC album Black Ice. Sounds awrite, a few tracks, maybe 5 of them, are really good. The rest are more fillers, but anyhow, how many 60 year olds do you know that can produce classic kick ass rock'n'roll? The tracks that are best are the ones where they allow themselves to cool down, maybe let the all instruments go quiet except the drumbeat for a few seconds. Many songs have a tendency to be overproduced, and they get annoying quickly. ACDC are best when they strip down the sound like on Back in Black for instance. On one song the singer Brian Johnson sings in his regular voice, without pitching it up. Strange! But Okay! They will be touring summer of '09. Should be massive, but maybe not so thrilling.
Here's a video of the first single Runaway Train. Sounds like AC/DC...

New 3D work in progress

Z-Brush is just so much fun to work with. After having been working for 19 years in Illustrator (started at newspaper Expressen in 1989) it sure feels like a paradigm shift, as Dilbert would say. Here is a new character for magazine illustration about speed reading:

Why D'oh I think this is funny?

http://unique-strange.blogspot.com/2008/09/simpson-alone-in-his-journey.html

3D progress

I'm pretty happy about my getting into 3D, doing some progress. Here is a study of Swedish cartoon character Bamse in 3D program Zbrush:

Fire her PR-agency

The Republicans should get a new media training agency for Sarah Palin. This is just so cheap and banal. Who should be inclined to liking her more because she winks? Or did she come up with it herself? That would even be worse...

Me gettin' into 3D # 2

Happy with my first more serious 3D-study. Bamse is a famous Swedish cartoon character. Will colour him, and try to add a furry effect. Finally I could get the eyes as separate materials. Love Z-Brush, great program!

Palin goin' down

Wow, missed this. SNL spoofs Palin again, from an interview with Katie Couric, where rumours were out that Palin came out as incoherent. Well, here's proof, Tina Fey basically reads the rambling answer Palin gave, with minor changes, and one thinks its parody. In this clip, we can see the spoof, then the real Palin side by side. This is embarrassing. Palin can't handle the pressure, and just rambles on, mixing in all possible messages into one answer. She probably thought something like: I just say all I've been trained to say, and make it sound complicated, and I might get away with it, you know; politician speak!
Well, congrats Obama...

StepBrother Crack-Up

I've watched about half StepBrothers on my Iphone in bed, and am glad to tell you Will Ferrell hasn't become Chevy Chase yet, he's still the NEW Chevy Chase. This one is fun in the same vein as Ton Hank's BIG. Adults playing 10 year old boys. And being a father of one 11-, and one 9-year old boy, this movie is full of fun scenes at least I recognize totally. If you dig Will, and liked him and John C. Reilly in Talladega Nights, this is as funny, I'll vouch for the first half.

Stockholm Skate Legends

The two dudes who will go down in the Swedish Skateboarding Hall of Fame as the founding fathers of Highvalley Skatepark at Högdalen in Stockholms Suburbs. Ants Neo and Johan Sandstrom. They have been working 9 years for this. This is a message to us all: Never give up on your dreams, and pretty much anything is possible. Sk8 on, dudes!

Dungen is backsprungen from dee shwungen

Have you heard Dungen? Swedish great prog/psychedelic rock band sounding like some stoned out prog/folk/rock combo from the '70's, only cooler & better, somehow. The dude behind the band's name is Gustav Estjes, claiming not to be a prog rocker (proggers were far left). Here is a song (he don't make that many videos) from the new album #4:

Californication # 1 & 2 '08

Just saw them, the show is as good as before. It has gotten wilder, rowdier and more explicit with lots of nasty, dirty dialogue. A bit better if you ask me. one is starting to get attached to Duchovny's screwed up character.
The only time the show stalls is when his ex-wife gets in a scene. I don't know what it is with that woman, but the scenes she's in are always boring, and one loses attention of the show. She's just like a blank paper with high cheekbones. A Dr House-like character enters the show, who is an even worse guy at womanizing and drinking than Duchovny. Quite funny! If you're a feminist, don't watch, you'll go postal! And how funny/cool is it not that the daughter looks exactly like emo-cartoon character Emily The Strange!

Entourage # 1 & 2 '08

Just watched them, seems to me they have dumbed down the show just a little, making it more like a lad mag than before. Anyone remember the lad mags of the 90's like Loaded? Anyhow, they let Vince have loads of chicks, much more than before, and Ari is meaner than ever. Johnny Drama starts getting roles, while Vince flopped out with Medellin, and is unhot. It is watchable, not as sharp as before, but still funny. If you're a feminist, don't watch, you'll go bananas.

Le Disco Stylee St Tropez

Fun legendary club one-shouldn't-miss when in St. Tropez, free entrance, but hey, the Champagne was NOT free! Crowded with what we in Sweden call "Stekare". Les hommes with large expensive watches, top brand shirts unbuttoned below the chest, Les femmes in designer dresses, high heel shoes and tons of gold jewelry. All gulping insanely pricey Champagne like there is no financial market downturn whatsoever. Mixed ages, actually had a pretty good time there.

Le French Stylee

Just got back from the Riviera, had a great time. Very interesting trip to Marseille, St Tropez, and Moustiers St Marie in the mountains.
Very flippant is the dude-styles of St Tropez. Unbutton ze shirt!

Europe's largest skatepark to be built in Stockholm

Great news for anyone interested in outdoors sports in the surf category. The guys at Stockholm Sub Surfers, Ants Neo and Johan Sandstrom, to name a few, have done a fantastic job getting the 3 million Euros needed to build a park that will be truly amazing. This will make Stockholm even hipper, and draw skaters from all over the world to Stockholm. Hope they will get a few Euros more and put at roof over the whole thing, since Sweden is a bit close to the north pole to be able to have skateable weather too many days of the short summer.
Read more: http://highvalleyskatepark.blogspot.com/

More 3D

I'm starting to get a little bit into Z-Brush:

Damien Hirst helluva guy

Congrats, this guy is a marketing genious. He sells for 125 million US dollars in one day, and there is more stuff to be sold. He's (his assistants, mostly) been working a year and a half producing 225 items to sell. He sells through Sothebys since there he has to give only half the commissions compared to an art gallery, that charges 50%.
Wow, one can only salute the guy.

Me gettin' into 3D

Check out my first Z-Brush sculpture (under work):

Hillary Clinton & Sarah Palin in SNL

Very funny, and how perfect isn't Tina Fey as Sarah Palin?

Palin Longstocking

This lady is bit of an amateur, she's a Pippi Longstocking of politics, usually winging her way around questions. Do Americans really buy her unprofessional retoric?
Maybe housewives will like her?
Here's the big interview on ABC, where she comes out not even knowing what The Bush Doctrine is...!
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5783816

Russell Brand - brilliant fun

Wow, believe the hype, Russell Brand is really funny. Brilliant guy, really!

Keep on Truckin' Sept 21st

Hey, maybe he's not so rock'n'roll, but I like him more than Dick Cheney any day:

Is the end nigh?

http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/
(It might be a good thing they didn't start it the 11th?)

Michael Moore's Slacker Uprising

You can say many bad things about Michael Moore, but hey, he IS a pain in the butt for GWB and his sponsors in the oil- and weapons industries, and there are too few who dare to stand up for their opinion in these times of nasty US politics.
MM's got a new movie out, it will be free for download Sept 23rd. I see Michael on Larry King right now, and what is freaky to me personnally, is that MM is interviewed from a bowling alley in Traverse City, Michigan. I spent 1981 there as a high school senior year exchange student, and this is the first time I hear TC mentioned ever since!
Here's a clip of the new MM movie:

Larry David by Ricky Gervais

Larry David hardly ever gives interviews, mostly because he thinks they suck, but there is a one hour long clip of Ricky Gervais interviewing Larry out there. Really great, sincere stuff, from two clever top dogs of comedy. Soon I'll write a little something about it.

Anyone remember Guy Richie?

Lock stock was fab, and he had another one called Snitch, (I think) that also was fab. He's got a new one out called Rocknrolla. Cool title, did Maddie come up with that one? Wonder what his Kaballah-preachers think of this one? Anyway, interesting trailer:

Hell Ride - Hell, right?

This movie is so nasty and distasteful it's funny. The dialogue is cartoon-cool and miles over the top. The violence is usually just vile and stupid. All the guys are bad, quite old and mean as hell. The women look like 20 year old models. The music is good. The graphics are cool. The bike scenes are a drooler for any badboy biker dude.
What more can you ask for? Smartness, maybe, but since Quentin is involved, at least it's semi smart. Fun set of actors: Dennis Hopper, David Carradine, Vinnie Jones (UK footballer) and Michael Madsen. Directed and starred by biker movie legend director Larry Bishop. All dudes have extremely hoarse voices, maybe they get that way from all the dust and fumes and bad whiskey? Anyhow, if you dig culty Americana with a Tarantino flair, this is a must. Very violent, see it as a cartoon movie. Seen on my Iphone.

Super 3D-program, now for the Mac

ZBrush, the most interesting 3D-program is out on Mac Sept 29th:

Palin delivered, following a good script

Sarah Palin delivered a solid speech, but she sounded a lot like someone who had learned a script very well. Can she deliver as good under debate-pressure? We'll see. She had the whole family on-stage, including 17 year old pregnant daughter, and wide-eyed hockey boyfriend, facing a "shotgun wedding".
Here is a clip of McCain and her getting to know each other, they had hardly met until a few weeks ago:

White Trash Wedding

My god, what has McCain done? Don't the Republicans have any people up in Alaska that could have checked out the Palin's before the nomination? Now the poor hockey kid has to get married...Why can't the Republicans read Freakanomics? Unwanted pregnancies are one of the world's biggest problems humanitywise...

Tom Green's Web Talk Show

Wow, check this out, Tom is always a bit loopy, outrageous, funny and, shall we say alternative? www.tomgreen.com

Ice Cube melting from Global Warming?

Woddup widdiz? Ice Cube's new album is not filled with gangsta clichés, but instead he seems to have wisened up and become aware of society like Kanye, Common and Talib, to name a few. Cool. I'm not sure about this, but this album sounds better, and cooler than The Game's. The production is heavier, harder, but cooler. Does that make sense?

Like he delivers!

What an amazing speaker, what a fantastic speach. Hope he is sincere, and it's not all talk, like usual. My guess is he means it a bit more than the average suititician. Say, he really means and will try to come through on about 75% of what he claims for. If that is true, things couldn't be much better for USA. Go Obama-lama!

The Dorkiest Dance Scene Ever?

This is just too much fun. Watch a young 80's Kevin Bacon "Dancing his ass off" as they would have said back then, being mad at teachers and nasty jocks at his new high school. The fun starts almost at half the video, but it's definitely worth watching, you'll get a few hysterically funny minutes. What were they thinking? What did Kevin think of it? Was he okay with the moves? Who choreographed it? Paula Abdul?

Zach's got a new bag - I mean band

One Day As A Lion is the name of the band, consisting of Zach de la Rocha (of Rage Against The Machine, of course) and Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore. Sounds good, and if Zach's in it, it's definitely got more soul and rock'n'roll into it than most any other band. Not for the soft RnB-fans out there.
The name comes from a photo of a graffiti tag on a LA wall from the seventies: "It's better to live one day as a lion, than a thousand years as a lamb".
No videos, but listen here on Youtube:

Here is their home page: http://www.onedayasalion.org/

The Game Getting Paid in Full

In the hit-sounding song "Money" the LA-man drops "Air Force Ones" (Nike shoes) and "McDonald's". Great, he'll get a few bucks off of that, however, it feels a bit cheap, don't it?

Dick Dale is still among us!

I just assumed he was not around, since he really hasn't made that much new material one would have heard since the 60's, but there he was, on TV's Monster Garage.
He looked better in the 60's, but he didn't have a comb-over ponytail hairdo with a headband and a hot pink wifebeater shirt back then either. Anyways, here's an old video:


And here's a new one:


However, a legendary guitarist he is, sad he's more into playing his guitar than keeping up his fashion sense.

The Game's back in da game.

Remember cruising down LA's freeways zapping between the two fantastic radio stations, one of them playing mostly new wave, hosted by, among others, Steve Jones from The Sex Pistols. The other great station was Power 106, who broadcast hip hop, the commercial top list stuff in the daytime, and more hardcore gritty mixtape-stuff at night.
One of the most LA-obsessed rappers is The Game. His LA-tattoo on his chin definitely proves he's representing. His rap is melodic, coming out of the hood, being a west coast-rapper, of course his style is melodic, laid back. His albums are always good, and this one is no different. It's got Dr. Dre in there, and Kanye, producing. Almost every song has a guest artist, and it's a bit of a rap Super Star Showdown goin' on.
However, first impressions are good, it seems that The Game is keeping his game top notch, and this will stay in my headphones for a while. Check out his new face tattoo BTW, it's a big red star on his right cheekbone. Keep it real, fo sho!

Tropical Blunder

Have watched half Tropical Thunder on my Iphone, thinking it's a weird movie. It's one of these movies about a movie-production gone wrong. This one spoofs all Vietnam movies. The whole thing is confusing. It's smart as the same time as it's silly and lame. It's both appealing to the duh-crowd as well as the super-tongue-in cheek hipsters. Jack Black is in it, but he doesn't get to be funny. It's both super-violent as well as a comedy. It just feels a bit too uncertain about where the director wanted to go. If you saw the Entourage-episodes about the Medellin-movie you can imagine what this feels like. Interesting, however, kinda like passing by a car crash, hard not to watch:

Great chopper-scenes however, all done in 3D-programs of course, looking better than ever.