Nick Offerman is in with the Weird YouTube crowd
Posted: March 14, 2013 Filed under: Film, Internet, Marketing, Strange, Techology, Women, YouTube Leave a comment »
OH MY
The irony of Twitter bots, and a poem about RoboCop
Posted: November 24, 2012 Filed under: Film, Techology 1 Comment »I finally watched RoboCop last night. I know, I know, I should have seen it long ago, but the film was so 80′s in its gratuitousness violence and depictions of cruelty, I don’t think I could have handled the movie at a younger age. (My empathy levels when I am not sober are off the charts…and I am anyone.)
If it wasn’t for the occasional punchy joke, experimental depictions of masculinity and futuristic metaphors, I would have abandoned the film this time too. But I didn’t, and when it ended, I sat in the dark imagining the satisfaction growing inside what remained of the man-machine Murphy. The movie made me laugh, made me cry, and before the credits rolled, made me nod with a sense of peace.
Before I watched the movie, I tweeted my intention to do so and a Twitter robot programmed to tweet one quote from the film responded to me immediately. (As if I ever doubted this movie was an important part of our cultural lexicon!)
I hadn’t started the film yet so I hadn’t viewed that line, but from the robotic actions, I knew this line was important and a joke I was supposed to laugh at. You could say I was culturally obligated, if not socially programmed, to laugh at line now. (I admit, the line would have been way funnier if that bot didn’t tell me of it beforehand, but I can’t disparage the bot’s existence either, it being a cultural artifact at this point.)
Later I would come to appreciate the Twitter robot even more when characters within the movie used that line – which comes from a fake commercial – as a pop culture reference. Read the rest of this entry »
Wheat Thins Internet Ad Campaign Sucks (also, Nanalew has a purdy mouth.)
Posted: March 5, 2012 Filed under: Art, Commericals, Film, Internet, Women | Tags: Wheat Thin, YouTube Leave a comment »So, I am checking out the site I work for, before going to bed, and I notice a story I hadn’t read or heard about.
I go to see out who had tweeted the story that evening, (I am curious of our audience) and lo and behold, I see a sponsored tweet, purchased in EARLY JANUARY.
I had no idea these sponsored tweets had that long of a shelf life. Seem like a good value, now that I think about it (or so I thought, at the time).
Corporations, Companies, and Supporters of SOPA
Posted: January 15, 2012 Filed under: Business, Crime, Fashion, Film, Internet, Media, Sports, Strange, Style, Techology 5 Comments »If this Pastebin document, created by Anonymous members involved in Operation Hiroshima, is to be believed, the following companies lobbied Congress in support of SOPA.
I smell a boycott… and the weird thing about this list is, how are most of these companies affected by online piracy? Especially all these clothing companies…
PetMeds
3M
ABRO Industries, Inc.
Acushnet Company
Adidas America
Bose Coporation
Burberry
CBS Corporation
Chanel USA
Coach
Columbia Sportswear
Dolce & Gabbana
Electronic Arts, Inc. (individuals within have voiced opposition?)
Entertainment Software Association
Happy Birthday, Raquel Welch!
Posted: September 5, 2011 Filed under: Art, Entertainment, Film, Media, Women | Tags: Freddie Mercury, Myra Breckinridge, One Million Years BC, Raquel Welch, YouTube 1 Comment »Yes, I know it is also Freddie Mercury’s birthday. Considering all the digital love he’s gotten (which he deserves, don’t get me wrong, even if he is dead), I thought I’d share with who ever is reading this blog my favorite videos of Welch. If you don’t know who she is, go skim her wikipedia page first please.
These are all found on YouTube, because my new job is to cover YouTube…
I first came upon Rachel Welch, like most of America, when I watched One Million Years B.C. (Starting the Earth’s Children book series in Junior High will do that) It is only fitting that I begin this video list with a compilation of her from One Million Years B.C.
I don’t expect you, dear reader, to watch all of the above video, but I do expect you to watch all of the one below. It’s only 3 minutes long, and while there is no dialog until the very end, I can promise it is engaging. It’s literally one of the best fan compilations on YouTube.
Little Thor Commercial
Posted: April 26, 2011 Filed under: Commericals, Film | Tags: Acura TL, Avengers, Captain America, Chris Hemsworth, Darth Vader, Movie, Thor, Volkswagen Leave a comment »This is a film commercial based off a car commercial. Yes, this happened.
As for the film, is this advertisement saying fathers will enjoy watching this movie with their sons? Or that Thor cares more about destroying cars than saying hello to his father when he comes home?
Indie Fallout 3-inspired movie in the works
Posted: May 18, 2010 Filed under: Film, video games | Tags: Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, Black Velvet, desert story, Fallout, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, feminism in video games, Games, hookers, law abiding engineer, porn, Princess Bride, prostitutes, Prostitution, roger ebert, sex slaves, team fortress 2, the princess bride, video games, zelda 1 Comment »I have long been saying that Fallout 3 was an amazing game, if not one of the best ever made. From the story line, to the creatures, to the post-apocalyptic environment, the game play to the music (I cannot decide if “Mighty Mighty Man” is my favorite song, or if “I don’t want to set the world on fire” is ), to showing women have hair above their lip too… oh my lord, just talking about Fallout 3 gets me excited in a variety of ways. It’s not just me though, that adores this game in a borderline fanatical way. Check out this fan movie inspired by Fallout 3 titled “Desert Story”:
[youtubevid id="dw1Vh9Yzryo"]
You may be wondering why at the end of the film the two females didn’t go with the male hero, off into the wilderness. The Fallout 3 universe includes people who are not cookie – cutter good or bad, or who think logically- these two females decide to stay in their home. Most likely they were raped, mistrust all people except for themselves (because how could you get by in that world looking like they do without becoming prostitutes or sex slaves?) , and figure they’d be better off without the male hero.
If you want to be good in Fallout 3, you have to accept that sometimes you will save bad people from bad people, or saving people doesn’t necessarily influence their decisions in any way. Even if you saved two females, that doesn’t mean they’d join your party. By staying with each other, the freed ”prostitutes” are unintentionally feminist, as opposed to the hero who is intentionally feminist by treating the hookers as people.
I now have a small writer crush on Tim Pape (why didn’t I think of this, dammit!). Wild Gunmen has an interview with the Papes here, where it is revealed there will be 2 more episodes in the same vein, and a feature length movie that is already “partially funded” titled Black Velvet. (oh, what would I do to be cast in this?!) For another interview with the Papes, check out Co-Optimus.com, where the Papes mention the next two short installments are inspired by Zelda and The Princess Bride (<3!!!!!).
Another fan movie worth checking out is Law Abiding Engineer. Suck on that, Ebert!
Anime: Why two nukes on Japan wasn't enough
Posted: March 28, 2010 Filed under: Entertainment, Film, Politics, Uncategorized | Tags: Anime, Archer, Astro Boy, Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Barack Obama, Business and Economy, Cowboy Bebop, ghost in a shell remake, Government, Hayden Panettiere, Japan, Kurosawa, Neon Genesis Evangelion, New Hampshire, New Hampshire House of Representatives, Nick Levasseur, Nuclear weapon, Ozu Yasujiro, Paprika, Pearl Harbor, Politics, steven spielberg, United States, United States armed forces 5 Comments »
Image via Wikipedia
Two days ago, New Hampshire state representative Nick Levasseur wrote this as his facebook status: “Anime is a prime example that two nukes just wasn’t enough” . (Click here to watch a video compilation of the local media’s take)
The medias coverage has focused on him either being a racist (another right wing media link), or on how this is an insult to anime.
Nick appears to be around 26 years old. Nick looks like he watches anime. I think Nick was telling a joke. A really bad one, but nonetheless, a joke. Would you ever hear a Japanese politician joke that they should bomb Pearl Harbor again because they just can’t stand our summer blockbusters? Absolutely not.
This isn’t the first time Nicky has made really bad jokes though. Back in 2007, on his Myspace page he listed under his interests: “the hunting of neo-conservative Reaganites” and in 2008, also on his Myspace page, he described himself as “the magic mushroom. Shove me in a dark place, feed me a fist full of shit, and watch me grow!” This latest attempt at a joke, by insulting the Japanese tragedy, reveals his under developed sense of humor.
No other country in the world has been attacked with nuclear weapons, and if you know ANYTHING about Japanese history, or culture, you know to this day they still struggle with that happened to them (hello, Godzilla films?). Consider the new book, ” The Last Train from Hiroshima” or even this recent gem about Hayden Panettiere’s efforts to save dolphins in Japan:
As the group arrived, a truck of right-wing nationalists blasted slogans, saying Japan should not be singled out for whaling and dolphin hunts because Westerners “are killing cows.” They also demanded President Barack Obama apologize for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
-‘Heroes’ Actress visits Japan dolphin hunt town via Associated Press
Japanese society has long used the arts to deal with their nuclear past, and if you are going to include anime in this artistic realm, you have to mention the famous manga-turned-anime-turned-American-film Astro Boy. Astro Boy was born in 1951…. just years after the bombs were dropped. Astro Boy’s name in Japan is “Mighty Atom” and is a direct reference to the nuclear attacks. Astro Boy was made to appeal to little boys, perhaps to help the children cope with new post-war reality?
Sadly, this joke also reveals that Nick has never seen any good anime. Action movies tend to be really bad too, but I don’t go around advocating the bombing of Hollywood…. and every once in a while, an action film does comes along that I can appreciate (Fifth Element, for example…). The same applies to anime.
If you’d like to watch some good anime films, I’d recommend anything by Oscar winner Hayao Miyazaki, as well as the films Paprika, Ghost in the Shell (which Spielberg is remaking), and Perfect Blue. For anime series, I’d recommend Cowboy Bebop, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Lain (though the last two do get creepy later on).
Famous girl gamer used in viral marketing campaign for 'Repo Men' movie
Posted: March 11, 2010 Filed under: Entertainment, Film, Techology, video games | Tags: Alternate reality game, Ciji Thornton, Geneva Conventional, Reality television, Social network, starslay3r, the repo men, Twitter, Universal Pictures, Universal Studios, Video game, Viral marketing, Wired 1 Comment »Wired, Universal Pictures, and Lone Shark Games launched an alternate reality game combined with a manhunt. It’s connected to the upcoming March 19 release of the movie Repo Men. In the futuristic movie, characters who have received replacement organs from “the Union” fall behind on payments have to go on the run from Repo Men. In the new game, four real people have gone on the run, and it is the job of the public to find them.
via Wired.com What’s This Crazy #repomen Thing on Twitter?
Ciji Thornton (StarSlay3r) is one of the very few professional female gamers out there, and I was personally excited that she was picked to participate in this viral marketing campaign. She’s already been in two gaming reality shows and proven her acting chops, so if anything, this will only further her career…. and maybe get her an acting gig? It’s all about the connections, lady. Ciji’s got that punk rocker/”guitar hero” look (complete with tattoos) that works well with zombie movies, futuristic post-apocalyptic flicks, and if any studio wants to make a film revolving around video games, she is a natural shoo-in. And acting wouldn’t necessarily prevent her from gaming….
Says StarSlay3r on her website:
“I did this for the opportunity to take a break from my normal life. I’m hoping to meet new people, experience new things, and experience life on the run to the fullest extent. I’m going to be keeping a notebook with me at all times so that I can log everything that happens so that I can share my story upon my return. I hope the fact that I have a decent size fan base will help me to make it the full 30 days by having them tweet misdirecting information, planting moles in the repo men chat rooms and leaving messages to warn me when the repomen are getting close to figuring out my location. I’m very thankful that I was one of the 4 chosen out of hundreds of applicants and I can’t wait to start my adventure!”
Sadly, after having been on the run since February 25, Ciji’s journey ended yesterday. Ms. Thornton was caught at a skating rink by Geneva Conventional who is now $15,000 richer, thanks to grabbing not just Ciji, but another runner named Usman Akeju. (Woah, this viral marketing campaign is giving out money!?) Ciji’s capture is disappointing for a couple of reasons:
One, Ciji cannot win seven grand now that she has been captured, and we know she has a daughter back in Michigan. Cue the Les Miserables song “Castle on a Cloud”…. j/k!
Second, the clue that led Geneva Conventional to the skating rink to capture these two, was just for Usman Akeju who had an “assignment” there. It appears that Ciji was just tagging along. That sucks. That’s what you get for being friendly, Ciji!
And… for those of you who want to get involved in the manhunt and win some money before the movie comes out, go here to enroll, …..and here is a more in depth post by the Alternate Reality Gaming Network about Ciji’s capture (including links to podcasts and the video of Geneva Conventional talking about her experience).
Filmmaker raising funds for first feature length film
Posted: January 5, 2010 Filed under: Chicago, Entertainment, Film | Tags: Arts, Ben Hicks, Canada, Culture of Japan, David Attenborough, David Gordon Green, Derrick Jensen, English Conversation, Eric Zunkley, Feature film, Filmmaking, Hayao Miyazaki, Howard Zinn, independent film, indie film, Japanese language, Jim Henson, Kids Go Free To Fun Fun Time, Movies, Paul Thomas Anderson, Pea vs. Carrot, Tokyo, United States 1 Comment »Local filmmaker Ben Hicks is currently shooting his first feature length film titled Kids Go Free to Fun Fun Time. Funds have run out, and Ben Hicks is stranded in Japan. Kids Go Free to Fun Fun Time is the sequel to his award winning short Pea vs. Carrot. Kids Go Free to Fun Fun Time stars the same couple as they globetrot around the world (Japan, Taiwan, Germany) and eventually end up running into the woods. Hicks made a video on Kickstarter to raise funds for Kids Go Free, and as it stands right now, he just needs to raise 2,000 dollars by January 10th in order to continue filming. An interview via e-mail after the jump.
[vimeovid id="4252107"] Read the rest of this entry »
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