When confronted with something like this I would just post it on facebook, but I felt this needed a little more said. Lets start with the link, or if you prefer, the embed. Suggest you click through for full size & HD.
Giant Fucking Robots (c)
Well. I was impressed. I love Giant Robots, especially when they're blowing shit up. The only way this video could get any better would be if the Giant Robots were also Ninja Pirates. Of course if that were the case you'd never see who stole your booty whilst blowing up all the buildings and singing 'A RoboPirate's life for me'.
What made this video better than Transformers was the surprising emotional attachment to these people having only spent mere minutes with them. Of course having a tiny attention span helps me like this video too. Lack of a hollywood plot and dialogue of any kind also rules out finding plot holes and distracting from the enjoyment. The 50's feel also helped, with the old style planes taking on the invaders and indeed winning. No 'Independence Day' forcefields here thank you very much.
This was filmed in Montevideo. I had to look that up as my brain told me Madagascar, which didn't look right considering the cosmopolitan/european buildings being blown to hell. Wikipedia tells me Montevideo is in Uruguay (a place I've yet to visit), and also tells me that I was thinking of Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. What a rookie mistake to make!
Bzzt.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Cinematic Mortality
Last night Jo and I were watching a movie. I wont mention the movie for fear of spoiling a minor plot element*. As it happens it was a recent romantic comedy.
In the movie, a certain elderly family member faked a heart attack to force the lead actor and his father to make up with each other.
It got me thinking. The elderley family member is a 'well known' actress of 87 years. She's been fairly active in Hollywood for 65 years according to wikipedia. At 87 she's likely going to be typecast in roles whose redeeming feature is that she has to die.
I'm now wondering if there is a corrolation between the number of 'death roles' an elderly actor takes and their own mortality. I.e. if you plotted these roles against a timeline of the actor's life, would you see a sharp rise in on screen deaths just before they actually popped their clogs in real life?
Likewise, could you predict celebrity deaths by checking for this trend in today's working, aging, actors? I'm looking at you Danny Glover.....
An obvious exception to any formula would be those great actors who've died young. Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, Marilyn Monroe, Kurt Cobain, Tiny Tim :o)
A quick Google effort turns up Cinemorgue but there's no graphical way to see the correlation. I could do it if I had the time or inclination, but I don't.
I've suggested the idea as a project to the people on B3ta, it's ideal material for their Friday newsletter. I'll update the blog if anyone takes on the challenge (and it reveals anything worthwhile).
*Ask me off-blog and I'll tell you.
In the movie, a certain elderly family member faked a heart attack to force the lead actor and his father to make up with each other.
It got me thinking. The elderley family member is a 'well known' actress of 87 years. She's been fairly active in Hollywood for 65 years according to wikipedia. At 87 she's likely going to be typecast in roles whose redeeming feature is that she has to die.
I'm now wondering if there is a corrolation between the number of 'death roles' an elderly actor takes and their own mortality. I.e. if you plotted these roles against a timeline of the actor's life, would you see a sharp rise in on screen deaths just before they actually popped their clogs in real life?
Likewise, could you predict celebrity deaths by checking for this trend in today's working, aging, actors? I'm looking at you Danny Glover.....
An obvious exception to any formula would be those great actors who've died young. Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, Marilyn Monroe, Kurt Cobain, Tiny Tim :o)
A quick Google effort turns up Cinemorgue but there's no graphical way to see the correlation. I could do it if I had the time or inclination, but I don't.
I've suggested the idea as a project to the people on B3ta, it's ideal material for their Friday newsletter. I'll update the blog if anyone takes on the challenge (and it reveals anything worthwhile).
*Ask me off-blog and I'll tell you.
Driven to distraction
I've been thinking of writing about how the minutiae of daily life in the US compares to the UK. One of the most obvious of those is driving, and so I've decided, following a fairly typical drive home, to summarise some thoughts about US drivers.
For the most part, they're ignorant.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they're stupid. Far from it, but there are many people on the road who are simply unaware.
I think this stems in a large part from the convenience culture in the US. Why get out of a car when you can drive through at the bank, McDonalds, pharmacy etc. Why walk anywhere at all when everywhere has parking. Why stop at a red light when you can turn right if it's clear. Why spend extra time parking at your gynacologist when they have free valet!
Of course in-car convenience is not the only way the US makes things easier for people, but it's a large part of their 'convenience' culture - in fact trying to come up with some non-vehiclular ones on the spur of the moment is much harder! (In fact the only one that comes to mind is table service in bars, but that's because I'll shortly be having a beer).
If it sounds like I'm jealous that the UK doesn't have this level of convenience, it's because I am!
The biggest culprit (or boon, depending on your point of view) in US car convenience culture is of course the automatic transmission (and by proxy, the cruise control).
Automatic transmission, coupled with long straight American roads, takes much of the thinking out of driving. It becomes secondary to listening to the radio, eating a bagel, drinking coffee, or most likely talking on the phone (without a hands free kit!).
Using indicators becomes voluntary. Cars will cut across 2 lanes to take an exit that crept up on them, and will do so regardless of squeezing through the tiny space available between you and the car in front of you. In the UK, motorway exits are many miles apart, placed as they are at major towns or cities, with warning signs placed frequently up to 30 miles before the exit. In the US, exits themselves are so conveniently frequent that you rarely get more than half a mile worth of notice.
So, US drivers are ignorant because they've been spoilt. So have I, and I'll miss it.
For the most part, they're ignorant.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they're stupid. Far from it, but there are many people on the road who are simply unaware.
I think this stems in a large part from the convenience culture in the US. Why get out of a car when you can drive through at the bank, McDonalds, pharmacy etc. Why walk anywhere at all when everywhere has parking. Why stop at a red light when you can turn right if it's clear. Why spend extra time parking at your gynacologist when they have free valet!
Of course in-car convenience is not the only way the US makes things easier for people, but it's a large part of their 'convenience' culture - in fact trying to come up with some non-vehiclular ones on the spur of the moment is much harder! (In fact the only one that comes to mind is table service in bars, but that's because I'll shortly be having a beer).
If it sounds like I'm jealous that the UK doesn't have this level of convenience, it's because I am!
The biggest culprit (or boon, depending on your point of view) in US car convenience culture is of course the automatic transmission (and by proxy, the cruise control).
Automatic transmission, coupled with long straight American roads, takes much of the thinking out of driving. It becomes secondary to listening to the radio, eating a bagel, drinking coffee, or most likely talking on the phone (without a hands free kit!).
Using indicators becomes voluntary. Cars will cut across 2 lanes to take an exit that crept up on them, and will do so regardless of squeezing through the tiny space available between you and the car in front of you. In the UK, motorway exits are many miles apart, placed as they are at major towns or cities, with warning signs placed frequently up to 30 miles before the exit. In the US, exits themselves are so conveniently frequent that you rarely get more than half a mile worth of notice.
So, US drivers are ignorant because they've been spoilt. So have I, and I'll miss it.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Insane neighbour
So I'm sat on the laptop, talking on MSN to a friend when the doorbell rings. It's my neighbour from 2 doors up - Nancy. She has noticed the 'For Rent' sign outside our house - for her this is the first news of Jo and I returning to the UK.
She muscled her way into our front room and proceeded to spend 10 minutes effusing about how wonderful it has been to have us in the neighbourhood, how we bringen her life etc etc.
A year in the US has taught me valuable lessons about Americans, the first being how extremely friendly and sociable they are.
Nevertheless I found it amusing that this nutty old bat, who I've taken lengths to avoid, and have spoken to maybe only once in a year, poured her heart out to me in this way.
Sociable? Maybe. Insane? Yes. I suspect she's been having daily tea parties with a small effigy of me.
She muscled her way into our front room and proceeded to spend 10 minutes effusing about how wonderful it has been to have us in the neighbourhood, how we bringen her life etc etc.
A year in the US has taught me valuable lessons about Americans, the first being how extremely friendly and sociable they are.
Nevertheless I found it amusing that this nutty old bat, who I've taken lengths to avoid, and have spoken to maybe only once in a year, poured her heart out to me in this way.
Sociable? Maybe. Insane? Yes. I suspect she's been having daily tea parties with a small effigy of me.
First!
Welcome to my second attempt at a blog. The first was in April 2003, though what started with good intentions turned into a nonstop rant about my then house purchase issues. It quickly died once we were settled.
This time will be different. I've been enthused about the ability to communicate ever since I started using Facebook in earnest in 2007 and then dabbling with Twitter this year. My intention is to come up with short opinion pieces, amusing anecdotes and personal announcements.
There shall be little to no whinging about personal issues (well not much). I want this to be a very public blog, so I'll keep any work moaning to a minimum, but will post any amusing stories I think of (obviously censored to protect the nature of my job, to whit being a spy).
Likewise, critiques on friends and family will likewise be censored unless I can mock them publicly in a good natured way about something silly that was said or done. I'm mainly thinking of the wife, but other objects of ridicule may present themselves in due course.
In case you're wondering, the title of this first post is a reference to those internet idiots who think it's clever to be first to post any sort of reply to an article, but obviously having nothing to say and so just post "First!".
This time will be different. I've been enthused about the ability to communicate ever since I started using Facebook in earnest in 2007 and then dabbling with Twitter this year. My intention is to come up with short opinion pieces, amusing anecdotes and personal announcements.
There shall be little to no whinging about personal issues (well not much). I want this to be a very public blog, so I'll keep any work moaning to a minimum, but will post any amusing stories I think of (obviously censored to protect the nature of my job, to whit being a spy).
Likewise, critiques on friends and family will likewise be censored unless I can mock them publicly in a good natured way about something silly that was said or done. I'm mainly thinking of the wife, but other objects of ridicule may present themselves in due course.
In case you're wondering, the title of this first post is a reference to those internet idiots who think it's clever to be first to post any sort of reply to an article, but obviously having nothing to say and so just post "First!".
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