Depressing News and Lessons Learned

In a tragic bit of news, the delightfully 1992 web stylings of the Seismo-Zombie Gallery (replete with Mr. T and Dysnasty TV Guide collages) are no long available on the web.

The Seismo-Zombie Home Page is still up, thankfully. A close runner-up to the lost brilliance of the Gallery is the Evil Twin Notebook of Infamy which is still up, but no longer updated. Check out these gems:

"Evil twins.
We know they are around. They are our dark sides. They are our hatreds and our fears, our predjudices and our anger, the corruption of our souls. They are the embodiment of all we do not wish to be. But they are not allegorical. They are REAL.
Identical twins are relatively rare. Evil twins must be far more common, for we see them wherever we look. Yet most of us choose not to look.
It is a paradox. Nevertheless it is one we cannot ignore. Where do they come from? What do they want? Why won't they leave us alone?
Even with a global population of several billion, the odds of a random genetic duplication are infinitesimal. Yet here they are, same appearance, same age. How can this be?
Doppelgänger, Doppelgänger, who are you? Why are you following me?
They seem to know all about us. How come we do not know about them until it is too late?
They do bad things. Probably they have no choice. By definition, they are beings of evil. Because they are our twins, this can lead to confusion when it comes to the issue of blame.
We see them out of the corners of our eyes.
We see them on the television and in the movies and in books and magazines and comics.
We see them in our dreams and in our mirrors.
Something is wrong. Something is very very wrong.
We cannot avoid the truth any longer. There are evil twins all about. They are among us, in the office and the supermarket and the playground.
There was a flurry of evil twin sightings in the 1980s. But they are not gone. Are they biding their time, waiting to strike again? Or are they already here?
They are everywhere.
They look like us. They are related to us. They pretend to be us. In a sense, they are us. Yet they are also our opposites."


And the lesson learned: Host your photos yourself, lest your blog read like a series of flaccid blue squares.

He's a MAN

It was nearly two years ago that a one Stephen Walsh discovered that upon the exact moment of one's 23rd birthday one is transformed into a man or woman through the cleansing waters of a shower.

Stephen's discovery was verified by Ms. Stephanie McCarthy on her 23rd birthday. With an audience of friends eagerly awaiting her emergence she became a woman and outpreformed Stephen in the process.

But it didn't end there. When it came time for Mr. Dave Havelick to become a man he would not be satisfied with a simple shower. Driving from Boston to Amherst, Mass., Mr. Havelick became a man under the clensing waters of a waterfall.

And that, dear friends, is what you will see here.

The only question is what can I do for my 2-3?

Losers Love Computers

I'm one of those people who had a hard time getting into photography. I couldn't feel it the same way I felt painting. Until I got into the darkroom. Then I "got" it.

And that's why I refuse to post Photos (with a capital "p") on Flickr. Instead, I have a collection of snapshots and memories of my little adventures that would have otherwise been washed away by alcohol. To me digital photography is the realm of photoshopping photojournalists and Internet fatties. And that's why every time I hear/see someone talk about their digital photographs I vom a little in my mouth. And I'm not alone!!!

From Wired: Art Does Not Apologize.

Seriously?

After spending what seemed like years transcribing a Zach Condon interview for Tokion I was pretty blown away by how articulate and interesting the manchild was. So naturally, I was superpsyched to see what New York would have to say about Beirut, especially after...well, you know.

Being a huge fan of the mag, I was shocked and awed to see this masterpiece of crap reporting. I hate to be that girl but seriously, when did it become okay to randomly throw quotes into the middle of the paragraphs? C'mon kids, at least put a little bit of work into it.

Check out the disaster here.

Let's all check out the kid this Sunday at McCarren Park Pool.
And let's give the mag the benefit of the doubt and assume that the mismash article was a (failed) attempt to mirror the hodgepodge music. Doubt it though.

r.i.p. arthur lee

Thanks for brining Love into our lives.


More later.

Children Of Men

Was catching up on my summer blockbusters when I saw this preview. Movie looks watchable, but what really caught my attention was a little cameo by Vitché.

Let's talk about American fatties

Today's New York Times looks into why Americans are so much bigger and healthier than ever before. Turns out, you can eat what you want, smoke all you want and never think about exercise as long as your mom was healthy while you were in the room. Well, maybe not.
Interesting, but the fact that at 5'9.5" and 191 lbs the average American man is nearly obese seems nothing to be happy about.

Read the whole article (the first in a series about "the science of ageing") here.

A bit of an afterthought,this article brings obesity into the mix while asking how much longer the trend towards longer lifespans can continue.

In a semi-related note, it seems that the new thing in online advertising is for one company/product to have multiple ads on the same page in dialogue with one another, bouncing your attention back and forth. The red-alert urgency of the Tylenol ads on the NYT health page, the John Tucker Must Die Myspace ads with just enough nudity to make you look, and those ubitiquous Little Miss Sunshine ads that have become a permanent feature on Gawker and the Times website.
Seriously, how dumb do these people think we are? Like anyone is really going to visit a website with blinking ads silently screaming at them. It's enough to give you a headache.

Anyway, enough of that. I'm gonna take an asprin and then head off to a double feature.

Minus 10 points for missing out on Lindsay "Firecrotch" Lohan

The Redhead Cluster Phenomenon, Toronto-based Joe Clark's tragically underupdated website, begins with a backstory that reads like a pulp novel: a first love with a redhead cools off, heats way up, ends tragically. As he tells it, Clark launched his very thorough investigation into redheadedness and the predetermined nature of the appearance of groups or "clusters" of the redheaded, thanks, in part, to the best blowjob of his life. Redheads and fate - a novel concept.

For those of you too busy [lazy] to visit the site, some samples of Clark's brilliance:
From the Definitions page:


"Hair colour is only one indicator of redheadedness, just as some black bears are brown. A ruddy beard is not sufficient. However, hair on the head in an approved shade, plus brows, lashes, and facial hair of the same or related shades, are sufficient.

Redheads may or may not have freckles (the genes tend to be either/or). The skin may seem as if vacuum-packed in plastic. Eyelids may be puffy-looking. Eyes tend toward blue, though brown eyes don’t disqualify you, and genuinely green eyes, as bright and almost as tangible as the dyed cherries you find in a supermarket, confer bonus points."

Site extras include lists of famous redheads, evaluations of their looks, merits and talents - including why Mario Batali (with his presumably uncircumcized Italian sausage) is better than fellow coppertop Bobby Flay (with his unadorned American weenie and bad attitude.)
Clark spares no one, including his lost lover. Just hope that you are never a redhead caught in his path - he will tell it like it is. Hilarious, best writing I've seen in a while. Good blog too. Most importantly, he reminds me of myself. Undoubtedly the best compliment I can bestow.

Spooky but inspiring

Found this little gem on the internet today while researching possible Halloween costumes. Note how the covers range from bored doodles to [presumably] acid-fueled multimedia extravaganzas. Brilliant!

Mr. T says: I pity the fool who don't visit the Seismo-Zombie Gallery and send these cards to their friends!

Dated, but whatever

Came across the 2005 clio winners in print advertising. found this one particularly moving:


Telefonica, Mixed Faces 1, Y&R Buenos Aires

Loved this:


Bic Marker, Old Lady, TBWA/Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt

And while Playstation was lauded in 1,000 different ways, I just don't get it:


PS2, Welcome, TBWA/Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt

PS2, Plugs, TBWA/Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt

Totally unoriginal color scheme. Looking at this year's winners all you have to do is go muted browns to get an award. Minus 5 points all around!

And finally, too cute not to mention:

Buenos Aires Zoo, Lion, Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, Buenos Aires