And now for something competely different

Was hoping to write a bit about reading the first issue of Aquaman, only the store I have my pull list was shorted, not enough for even those that were a little late in adding it to their pull lists and they've not gotten any more in yet.

So, instead are a couple of neat little videos and links.


SPCA of Wake Co., NC: My brother showed me this one, of volunteers lip syncing to Abba in one continuous take and full of kittens and puppies. Think my bro should volunteer with them. He likes animals and it looks like there are quite a few cute girls who hang out at the shelter. As he noted, this would make a far better commercial than the one with all the abused animals with the Sarah McLachlan son. One video that has you humming and smiling vs one that makes you change the channels or want to gouge your eyes out. Hmm. Which to choose? One warning. After this video, I have spent 3 days with the song running through my head.


Curse of the Phantom Shadow: This popped up in one of the pulp-related newsgroups I follow. Some guys in Vegas are trying to make a low budget superhero movie inspired by the pulps and movie serials of days gone by. You too can contribute and be part of it. Not too keen on the computerized backdrops and such in the little preview. Can we finally just admit that computerized coloring and special effects are by themselves no more realistic than other methods? They may look more modern but at the end of the day they are often just as fake and obvious as the old stop-motion techniques, just different. What made Jurassic Park work was a melding of all techniques, depending on what each scene demanded. But an obviously computerized background is just as bad as one that's obviously a physically painted backdrop or obvious miniatures representing a town getting flooded. Still, check it out here.

Guy on a Buffalo: Again, thanks to my brother for this little piece of surreal 1970s cinema set to a song lampooning it while explaining exactly what is going on in the scenes. There's a couple of these (with the footage taken from a pair of actual movies). Minor quibble... it's a BISON not a buffalo. Calling a bison a buffalo is like calling a fox a wolf.