doych

Holy Triceps, Batman!

Congrats, Serena Williams, on the Australian Open victory.  I think your dad can reduce the telephoto lens on his camera now. We really can see what you're made of. Wow.

Oh, and do the earrings ever get just a *little* annoying? Come on, admit it.

Lives more ordinary.

Ok, it’s been some time since my last post. Life happens. So I’m picking back up where I Ieft off with a look at two older but still cool films. Born into this is a documentary about Charles Bukowski, the poet everyone in Hollywood wants to say they’re into just to be hip. I have to admit I never read him until after this movie, as I’d always assumed he was just another Elmore Leonard Pulp-type writer. After watching though, it’s clear that even though his hard-drinking rep preceded him, his words never got that email.

Cantankerous, horny and painfully shy, Born the film seems to reflect the man as not just a look at how life’s torments inform your art, but also a look at someone seemingly happy to pursue a life more ordinary while writing poems anyone can relate to.

Like all things hip though, eventually the cult of personality takes over and next thing you know, Sean Penn, Tom Waits and Bono are referencing your work. Speaking of, forget Bono and his current (Red) + Oprah bullshit cause marketing gigs. He’s far more cooler here when he comes to life reading selected Bukowski poems on the DVD's extras section, as is Tom Waits.

His story in ways parallels the life of Harvey Pekar in the brilliant American Splendor, another must-see for creatives into animation, storytelling and illustration. Paul Giamatti has now assumed the Richard Dreyfuss mantle: very talented but ain’t never gonna be the classic leading man. That’s not hatin, just sayin. While both films came out in 2003, American Splendor got more attention from mainstream audiences.

It’s a great look into the mind of a person you never suspected could imagine the things they do, not just because of the acting, but the actual style of the film as well. Having both the real Harvey and Paul appear as themselves on camera, then breaking down the 4th wall, this film merges a pseudo-documentary storytelling format with traditional Hollywood fiction like no other. (Borat did it as well but that film was more a moc/doc/Jackass reality show melting pot than AS is.)

Skip Hostel 12 and Saw 19. Rent these instead.

NJ Govt. Warning: Being a redneck may be hazardous to your health

Squirrel hunters: drop your weapons! Squirrels being caught near a toxic waste dump might contain lead. New Jersey is advising that adults eat squirrel no more than twice a week and even less for children and pregnant women.

Uh, Ok.

"We've known for a long time something was wrong here, we just didn't know what it was," resident Myrtle Van Dunk said.

Wake-up-call to Myrtle - Of course there's something wrong. You're eating squirrel!!

Ooo, those goody-goody Smurfs

I grew up with The Smurfs on my daily TV diet. My adoration lead me to follow this link that my friend just sent. It's a quiz, and you guessed it, called "What kind of Smurf are you?"

It's pure entertainment value for 3 minutes of your life. You'll be shown a list of Smurfs that will make you think "Oh yeah! Forgot about Snappy Smurf!"

I am proud to report I am Brainy Smurf, apparently "the only Smurf that takes everything seriously." Sounds appropriate - after the quiz I hit up Google Images to look up Snappy.

This is Mellencamp Country

As tired as we are of hearing John Mellencamp's "Our Country" backing Chevrolet Silverado commercials, he's sick of hearing from his fans that he's "sold out."

The songwriter pleads his defense here in an interview with The New York Times.

Real Superheroes

Meet Sergio Garcia from Mexico. He  works as a waiter in New York.
He sends $350 a week to his family in Mexico.

Photographer Dulce Pinzón pays homage to Sergio and other Mexican immigrants in her project "The Real Stories of Superheros."

She puts a powerful cover onto brave and determined men and women that somehow manage, without the help of any supernatural power, to withstand extreme conditions of labor in order to help their families and communities survive and prosper.

You can fit a Heiny anywhere

I stumbled upon a Dutch blog moments ago - I love when I chase a rabbit trail that only leads to a stranger beast. I have no idea what the written words are exactly saying, but this blog looks damn interesting. Enough so, that I attempted to translate the whole page in Systran with some luck.

The words I read look smart. Must be the extra vowels. They're accompanied by interesting photos and sidelined by links to such blog subjects as Film, Boeken, Filosofie, Architectuur and Schilderkunst. Thanks to Systran I learned of an art opening in The Hague called "Sixties!" and based on, what else, the 1960's.

I also learned about new Dutch postage stamps which will - get this - have mini Heiny's on them! Ten icons were created for the new 44 eurocent stamps to "represent" the Netherlands, including the Heineken Longneck, Philips spaarlamp and Bugaboo pram. And seems typical Dutch to include a smoked sausage (sponsored by UNOX).

I guess when weighing the popularity of an image of the queen over smoked sausage... well we know what won.

One icon I didn't see was a nice healthy marijuana leaf. If not, maybe a plate of hash brownies?

Is 2007 the new 1975 for the MLS?

Drink up, David Beckham, for your reported $250 million contract on U.S. soil, or turf, depending on the venue.

The question that weighs heavy on his contract is this: Can this extremely handsome face do for a failing U.S. sport what Pelé did for it in 1975? I don't think so.

For 32 years our country has been ridiculed by, basically, the rest of the world, for grabbing the skill-deteriorating soccer greats from other countries to attempt a kick-start in soccer sales, soccer attention, soccer anything.

Last year, Brazil's Ronaldo was rumored to have been offered $120 million for ten years with the New York Red Bulls. THAT would get me out more to Giants Stadium. Ronaldo is amazing to watch. At 29 years old, he'll stay with Real Madrid but may also be looking to a U.S. team for his "retirement years."

Pele was 35 on his signing in 1975 (for $7 million) to the NASL's New York Cosmos, compared to Beckham who is now 31 and signed with the MLS' LA Galaxy for 5 years. How did it work for Pele? It's simple - he brought beauty to the game itself. He made the game magical and astonishing to watch. His intentions were not financial gain - although with his signing he was the world's highest paid athlete of the time. He claimed he'd rather help make soccer "truly popular" in the U.S.

I don't see that passion in Beckham.

Ramen Noodle inventor dies at 96

His twelve cent noodles definitely helped me during a rough 2001 web agency year, but now I prefer a little less salt and MSG. Farewell to the king of Cup Noodles. Amid bad 1998 web design, you can surf his company site for Ramen recipe ideas...

Ramen on a salad. Ramen on pizza. They list lunches, snacks, and even main dishes.

If you're up for some Mexican flavor, try Top Ramen Olé!

You do not like them? So you say.Try them! Try them! And you may.

Need a new manicure

Nail-biting but they did it. First round was all I cared about.

Now back to the real sport.

I swear this stuff finds ME

Uh, I don't wanna look either, buddy, but you're too damn funny not to post.

I went to flickr. I wanted to start a new group of public images to help out a friend who does great work. I researched what was out there in the construction field. I started searching for the terms "carpenter", "construction", and the like.

I soon learned that a search in flickr groups for "blue collar builder"  lists results with a group actually named "You Wearing A Glass Bowl on Your Head"

I have no idea where "blue", or "collar", or "builder" falls into this group's keywords (except maybe the blue towels), but it's entertainment that can't be coached.

If you're into latex fetishes (or maybe silicone, rubber, or vinyl), have fun searching flickr groups for simply "blue collar" (check the #1 result). It's closely followed by a group on Beaded Knitting & Crochet.

Needless to say I was too disturbed to create my own group so I'll venture back at some point. I have to wonder - don't those guys in latex overheat easily? Especially when they're photographed on a latex sheet...