Tom Snyder 1936-2007

Nothing quite like this anymore, is there?

*** Oh yeah, and also the treacherous Bill Walsh passed away.

1931-2007

Go Broncos.

Let the nerdery begin!

Tomorrow morning I leave for San Diego ComicCon. The biggest gathering of dorks in this side of the Federation of Planets, and Above Middle Earth. As always I will be bringing along my camera to highlight the more horrific moments.

Please, oh please check back in on Monday.

Boozy Boozy Weekend

Ah, the weekend is nigh. Here in Sunny southern California many entertainment companies adhere to the "Gentlemanly tradition" established long ago by the bankers and Madison Avenue execs of half-day fridays durring the boiling summer months. Now, my company does not allow such extravagances, however the companies that do have a ripple effect which slows the breakneck speed of the biz to a crawl, for half the day. And lo there was the promise of drunkeness. So to that ends I present to you.. Mappy Hour! It's Google maps meets..
It's Mappy Hour!

And to get you in the mood here are a few lovely spots for KNOT IRISH WHISKY:

Transformational Memories

Five minutes ago I finished a conversation with a nine year old. Today is his birthday, and he was showing me his new cell phone. I thought, "A child with a cell? What poppycock!"

The cell however was more than meets the eye. The kid flipped some panels to reveal what I knew to be the AUTOBOT emblem. After a few homemade and all too familliar "Chee koo kah kah" sounds the transformation was complete and a conversation about the finer points of Transformers was struck. I pulled up some old transformer cartoons on YouTube, and the lad explained to me that he was a supporter of the Optimus Prime to Rodimus Prime transition. Now, anyone worth their chops understands that the fatal error of the Transformers franchise back in the 80's was the introduction of Roddimus Prime and the death of one Optimus. They jumped the proverbial Sharkticon. Not to take away from the masterpiece that was the Motion Picture, but the seris and the toys went off the deep end, never to fully recover.

The exchange with the lad brought back a few memories of my youth. Playing transformers with my younger brother in the basement, the pogo ball being used as Nuke of some sort, and Nerf Golf Balls being Vector Sigma (And Family, when i was being particularly cruel). The alliances formed in that basement weren't Hasbro approved. Often Autobots and decepticons were mishmashed into roaming teams of ultra-violent, revenge-obsessed, over-hyphenated, marauders. My parents had inadvertently thrown the transformer world into turmoil by giving us EACH a Galvatron action figure.To my parents they were giving us each a "Gun". To US we were given a double embodiment of battery charged light-up evil. Neither of us willing to dispense with our galvatron both action figures were eventually folded into the randomness of our play. However, at that early age, one thing stood out; My brother was a tutu wearing namby pamby hot-rod scrote lickin', Roddimus supporter.

Perhaps like this young un I spoke to earlier, youth was easily influenced. My brother, being three years younger was willing to eat whatever bullshit Hasbro fed him. Whereas I, who at one point was forced to use a bare bones Ultra Magnus as a Prime replacement, knew what a load of crapticon Roddimus/Hot-Rod and all the post film transformers became. Though i must admit the sharkticon with the mace was pretty sweet. History has vindicated me, the return of Optimus Prime in the summer blockbuster has once more proven me wise beyond my years. But, even now i can't help but rub it in my brother's face.

"Optimus Prime..the TRUE Autobot Leader.."

Former Pres. Bush Contemplates Suicide

Emperor Palpatine Second Guesses his Stylist.



ANOTHER Fuckin' Creepy thing about the Catholic Church



Dude, we're totally going to be presidents.




PHOTO PHUN!

SIMON SCHAMA'S: POWER OF ART

History Nerds such as myself who mourn the death of Eugen Webber, or who thrill at a Keegan lecture are undoubtedly familiar with the fantastic work of Simon Schama. His series THE HISTORY of BRITAIN was nearly esquisite in its ability to entertain and inform. Not to be outdone, Schama has come out with an absolutely thrilling new series called: THE POWER OF ART.

My girlfriend and I accidentally stumbled onto the Carravaggio episode, and were riveted at the lunatic tales of these artists on the edge.

From the PBS website:

"In 1941, during the Nazi occupation of Paris, the Gestapo visited Pablo Picasso's Left Bank flat, where a member of the secret police spied a postcard of the artist's most famous work, Guernica. The giant mural memorialized Germany's 1937 aerial obliteration of a small Basque village. "Was it you who did this?" the Nazi demanded of Picasso, to which he replied, "No. It was you." In the eight-part SIMON SCHAMA'S POWER OF ART, internationally acclaimed scholar and writer Simon Schama recounts that story while challenging viewers with a typically provocative query: "Shouldn't art just stick to what it does best, the delivery of pleasure, and forget about being a paintbrush warrior? Or is it, when the bombs are dropping, that we find out what art is really for?"

If you think this is dramatic, you need only tune in to the series to see that this is par for the course. The Artist profiled and their definitive works are as follow:

* Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) and Wheatfield With Crows, (Pictured above with Andy Sirkis as Vincent)

* Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Guernica,

* Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) and David With the Head of Goliath,

* Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) and The Ecstasy of St. Theresa,

* Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) and The Conspiracy of the Batavians Under Claudius Civilis,

* Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) and The Death of Marat,

* J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) and Slave Ship (Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhoon Coming On),

* Mark Rothko (1903-1970) and the Seagram murals.

After watching the Jacques Louis David episode, I have an all new appreciation for a painting I had always ...admired (?)
If you are into Art, watch it. If you are into History, watch it. If you are into Love, Violence, Politics, Intrigue, Sex, Death, and LIFE, watch it!

I have found the following Episodes online (If you find more, let me know!):


Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) and The Ecstasy of St. Theresa


Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) and The Conspiracy of the Batavians Under Claudius Civilis



Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) and David With the Head of Goliath (TOTALLY INSANE!)

Joyeux Fete Nationale!

So Superman went Ballistic...

WARNING: EXTREMELY HIRALIOUS NERDERY

Don't Hassel the Hoff

The Hoff. The burger dropping, stretched out, weepy chanteur of today, is not too shockingly different from the cheeseball of Baywatch and Knight Rider. Yet in Europe the Hoff was and is a HUGE celebrity. His anthem "Looking for Freedom" became a huge hit as communist regimes toppled across Europe, and his impact was such that a captured Bosnian Sniper Rifle known as the HASSELHOFF MAUSER bore his likeness.
Now, far be it for me to judge our Euro Friends, god knows they gave us well, Western Civilization, something I am a notorious proponent of. However, despite all the wailing and gnashing of teeth I am somehow releived that the stewardship of western civilization and media has passed to the more saavy and less cheese encrusted hands of Hollywood. I hate to Imagine what would hapen if This went Global:




What can I say? I now know WHY Communism crumbled.



Do you think Kitt resents being used like that?

Ah Dear friends! On this particular fourth of July, when this fragile democracy of ours faces assaults from both ithe inside and outside, let us not forget that monummental day.



It was on that day when an egg hatched. An egg that would chirp uh... I'll let the founding fathers explain it. IN SONG!





Happy fourth of July Everyone!

Photo Phun

Oh I know I haven't been posting all too regularly. In lieu of anything worthwhile, but preemptive to my fourth of July musical and video tribute to our great nation, allow me to bestow some photographic fireworks.

My favorite pictures of the week

1. WHALE AND DOLPHIN HORSING AROUND



What's Dolphin for "Dude did you just see what I did?"?

“I was observing a strange interaction between a pair of bottlenose dolphins and a humpback whale, when it became apparent that the two species were collaborating in some way. The dolphin was lying on a humpback whale’s head while it was slowly swimming along. Looking through my camera lens the stunt appeared to be orchestrated by mutual “agreement.” The whale very slowly—and vertically—lifted the dolphin into the air. I expected the dolphin to wriggle atop the humpback’s head to get off, but it just laid still and arched, trying to stay on top of the whale’s snout. In this frame the dolphin was beginning its slippery return to the sea. Once back in the ocean, the dolphin swiftly swam away with the other dolphin, leaping joyfully as if they had just scored a coup!”


2. WHY MY BROTHER IS AN IDIOT



FYI my brother nearly got killed sea kayaking in strong currents last week.

3. WHY I HATE CATS



The audacity!

4. THE ONLY KNOWN PHOTOGRPAH DOCUMENTING THE IRISH POTATO FAMINE OF 1845



I know its a downer, but the photograph is astonishing in its candor. Most of the period photographs were looney portraits attempting to romanticize the subjects. Due to the long exposure, there was very little if any candid photography in those days. The fact that this family was captured in the throes of starvation and squalor is shocking, and poingniant.