QI

My buddy Sean Covernton has introduced me to an intelligent British alternative to most of the brain-dead pre-school game shows of North America and Oz ('Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader' anyone?) called QI (Quite Interesting). Hosted by the brilliant Stephen Fry.



Here's a little grammer lesson.



It's good to know intelligent pursuits can still be entertaining.

Three-Toed Sloth

I have loved these lazy South American hairballs (after whom one of the seven deadly sins gets it`s name) for years, but never really bothered to research them much because I seem to share a common trait with this creature.


Three-toed sloths are about the size of a small dog and spends most of it`s life chillin in the trees. From the look of those poor fellows above I`d say a stoll between trees is a terrifying prospect. It can take them literally hours to crawl between trees or to and from lakes etc.


The kinda have the feeling of being a sort of South American version of a Koala, only less fluffy and more blissfully cool.


The sloth travels at a top speed of 0.15 mph. Not good for crossing busy roads.



And this one has a little educational commentary too.

Eaters of the Ants

So now we enter the wildlife section of my blog. I'll start with Giant Ant Eaters. I have fascinations with any animals that are, well... weird.


They are found in Central and South America. They are generally solitary creatures and feed on up 30,000 insects per year. (Thanks Wikipedia)


If threatened, Giant Ant Eaters will bear hug you, crushing your ribs and spine and tear your back open with its clawed hands, all while kissing you gently on the back of the neck. But they look so damn cute. I wanna ride one.

Jon Dore

Jon Dore rocks. I've had a gentle love affair with this show for a while now. He's just... fun to watch.

Street Fighter IV

Finally! It took bloody years but finally we are about to experience Street Fighter 4. The super moves look pretty sweet though I'm having a love/hate relationship with the visual style. Still, can't wait to sample it for myself.

I Am Reborn

My mate Ed Coy has just finished the first 2 installments of his comic I am Reborn. He tells me it's 3D models made in ZBrush/Maya, Photoshop and Flash... I think.

Elephant Art

Holy shit!! I've seen this before but it came my way again and I had to share it. Zookeepers at a Thai zoo are starting to give paint brushes to elephants and letting them express themselves as a way of calming and entertaining them. Apparently they find it rather soothing and seem to enjoy it. Thats all great but take a look at some of the work...


... They are AMAZING! There is more to be found at http://www.rainbowgifts-usa.com/elephant_art.htm. The composition is simply incredible. These elephants can paint better than I can. They do the work on paper made from Elephant dung. These creatures actually see the world similarly to us. Interetsing that most of the work is of flowers and elephants, but what a beautiful way to view the world. SO damn cool!

Jesus is a Friend of Mine

I saw this on my mate Johnny Darrell's blog and just had to add it to mine because it brought me such joy. Thanks for the find JD.

Too Much Heaven

Just when you thought rock was dead along comes Wing. This hip little Chinese woman living in New Zealand has been making waves covering all your favourite rocksters; AC/DC, the Beatles, Elvis and much, much more. Make sure you check out the samples page on her website and rock your socks off to a little Highway to Hell. She apparently guest starred on South Park with an episode even named after her (though I couldn't find it in my exhaustive 30 second search). AND for a meazley $3 she will even sing to you over the phone. Badass!!

Save Superman's Birthplace!!

In 1932 American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster created the world's most famous comic book character in a small house in Cleveland Ihio. Today however that house is in complete shambles. Realizing the birthplace of the world's greatest hero needs saving, a number of celebrities and comic industry folks decided to start raising funds to restore the house to its original glory or risk having it demolished. You can check out what items are on sale for the fundraiser at OrdinaryPeopleChangeTheWorld.com

Here's a video about the situation;



And as a reminder of how goddam awesome Superman is here's two badass clips from the recent film Superman: Doomsday.





These are the fights I always wanted to see Superman have. It's like watching two god's battling to decide who will rule the planet. AWESOME!

Purple & Brown

I was only introduced to this wonderousness a few weeks back and I feel it must be shared.

Rubber Johnny

An oldie but a goodie. I saw this stoned out of my brain in a blackened room and it freaked me the fuck out... then the unrelenting hilarity ensued. Oh Chris Cunningham, can you do no wrong?

Not Quite Hollywood

I am totally stoked about this doco on the OZploitation films of the 70's and 80's called Not Quite Hollywood. This trailer actually makes me proud of the Oz industry I have bagged for so long. These films were made in the good ol' days of generous tax breaks for local filmmakers and will hopefully act as a guide for rethinking the funding structure in Oz today.



Seems Tarantino is a fan of Oz film too. WOO!

Wind Power For Your Home

Forget the gigantic wind farms that are popping up all over the place, it's time to take that idea and personalize if for each home on earth. Meet the 'Energy Ball'.

It apparently works in low wind and powers a generator of spinny goodness. Imagine an entire city powered by a cool looking energy ball on the roof. Hell's yeah. Free power for all! WOO!

Shhhhh!

Ok, I finally checked out the film of the book 'the Secret' after a friend recommended it today (Perhaps Karma is suggesting my time had come), and I wholeheartedly agree with what it is saying!!

Disregarding some of the goofy filmmaking techniques and oddball 'specialists' in the film (who the hell claims themselves to be called a 'visionary'?), the core message of what each person is saying is profound!

Watch this video! I get the feeling these fuckers are on to something!

I'll let you know it's working as soon as I make $100,000 in one year. That's my first public declaration. I expect to be giving a positive report very soon.

(BTW its an Australian book and production by a woman named Rhonda Byrne. It's cheesy, but enlightened, and I gotta give props to home grown goodies :)

No Heroics

No Heroics is a new superhero show from Britain. It looks fan-fucking-tastic. Check out the trailer:



It airs September 10 in the UK. Hopefully we get it soon!

Mountain Bike World Speed Record

A guy named Eric Barone recently broke the world speed record for a mountain bike by racing down the side of a volcano in Nicaragua. He was clocked at 107 MPH just before this happened:



Holy goddam shit!

Esoteric Agenda

In the spirit of Zeitgeist (a must see for ALL) is a new film I've come across called 'Esoteric Agenda'



It's another indie doco about New World Order and all that goes with it. It's a fascinating film but you need to somewhat take it with a grain of salt. I'm not sure I agree with his veiws on climate change but the conspiracy theorist in me totally digs the rest. It's got it all, 2012, population control, the Illuminati, religion... all the juicy stuff.

Mary & Max

I just found some info on the new stop motion animated feature being made in Melbourne called Mary and Max by Oscar winning (Harvey Krumpet won best short animated film in 2004) writer/director Adam Elliot. I have known he was making a feature for a while now but this is the first image I have managed to find so far.


Fuck I can't wait for this film! I abslutely loved his other films (Harvey Krumpet, Uncle, Brother, Cousin) and I just know this one is gonna be a goddam gem. Everything this man does is pure gold! Here's the synopsis:

A simple tale of pen-friendship between two very different people; Mary Dinkle, a little chubby lonely eight year old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max Horovitz, a 44 year old, severely obese, Jewish man with Asperger's Syndrome living in the chaos of New York.

Spanning 20 years and 2 continents, Mary and Max's friendship survives much more than the average diet of life's ups and downs. Like Harvie Krumpet, Mary and Max is innocent but not naive, as it takes us on a journey that explores friendship, autism, taxidermy, psychiatry, alcoholism, where babies come from, obesity, kleptomania, sexual difference, trust, copulating dogs, religious difference, agoraphobia and much much more.

His work is always richly character driven and beautifully executed in his 'non-animated' animation style. I really hope this does well. God knows the Oz scene needs a few successes!

It's due for release in April 2009.

Frankenchicken

Just found this cool promo for a new animated show called Frankenchicken made by a few peeps back home in Melbourne. I assume they are currently shopping it around the networks for funding. GO AUSSIES!