captain random's roundup of miscellanea...

I got a lot of items on in the hopper and not much time or energy, so I'm starting a new, semi-regular feature on this blog. Every so often I'll toss up a post with a whole mess of links on it.

Good news for me, I clear my Inbox of possible blog posts. Good news for you, I inundate you with quality reading.

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Monster By Mail

The artist who runs this site creates one-of-a-kind caricature type drawings of monsters based upon a seasonal theme. This summer's theme is zombies, and you know how I love zombies! I just ordered one... Once I get it I'll post a picture here and let you know what I think. It is also pretty cool that you can get a video of him creating your monster for an additional fee.

a zombie ophthalmologist: the eye is the quickest way to the brain

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Generation Chickenhawk

Max Blumenthal is a lefty writer and quasi-documentarian whose work has appeared in The Nation and the Huffington Post. You can check out his blog here.

This short movie was filmed when Blumenthal attended a College Republicans convention at a hotel (Moonie-0wned!) across the street from Arlington National Cemetery. All the folks he talks to are gung ho for the war in Iraq. But when he asks why they aren't over there fighting for their country the self-contradictions and hypocrisy kicks into high gear.

In conversations with at least twenty College Republicans about the war in Iraq, I listened as they lip-synched discredited cant about “fighting them over there so we don’t have to fight them over here.” Many of the young GOP cadres I met described the so-called “war on terror” as nothing less than the cause of their time.

Yet when I asked these College Republicans why they were not participating in this historical cause, they immediately went into contortions.

Check the disconcerting political hilarity:

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Johnny Depp to play Hunter S. Thompson Once Again

Say what you will about Terry Gilliam's 1998 release of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Johnny Depp did a hell of a job portraying one of the most important (in my opinion) figures in twentieth century journalism. Hunter S. Thompson's death was the first death of a celebrity that affected me as much as did the passing of Jerry Garcia.

From reading after-the-fact stories about the filming of Fear and Loathing I learnt that Depp lived in Thompson's basement for months in preparation for this role in order to be able to imitate to unmistakable Gonzo master. That's dedication...

the Gonzo One's Trademark

Depp will play a younger, slightly more sober Thompson in the Rum Diary (IMDB page here), due in theaters in 2009. For those of you who have never read it, a brief synopsis:

Depp will play Paul Kemp, a freelance journo writing for a rundown newspaper in 1950s Puerto Rico and surrounded by a bunch of lost souls bent on self-destruction. The journo was 22 when he wrote the autobiographical novel and had yet to develop his trademark gonzo style. It was written in 1959 but not published until 1998.

This is not my favorite H.S.T. book, but I'm excited to see Depp reprise the role.

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Symphonic Video Game Music

I'm a child of the video game generation. I'm also moved into a somewhat cultured phase of my life. So what better then world-renowned symphonies playing the tunes from videogames--Super Mario Brothers, the Legend of Zelda and others--that served as the soundtrack of my childhood?

National Public radio did a nice little story about the Video Games Live tour's recent stop in Washington D.C. I'd love to see this show and I hope it comes down to South Florida...

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That's all for now, I hope you enjoy! Posting will be sporadic to non-existent the next few days as I will be in NYC for a little mini-vacation. I'm going to see the Beastie Boys in Central Park on Wednesday, which is only a warm up for the concert event of the summer... DAFT PUNK in Brooklyn on Thursday. I got a good crew of folks coming up from Florida and a bunch of people meting us in the city. On Friday, we are going to take my good friend BKNY's Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tour and feed out faces before heading home on Friday night.

Hopefully, I'll have it together enough to review my trip this weekend.

Ubiquity Records makes some sweet tees...

...not sweet teas, for all y'all southerners who got excited.

Ubiquity Records is a west coast record label that is home to some innovative jazz and hip hop artists like Sa-Ra Creative Partners, the Breakestra and Gilles Peterson. but in addition to dropping funky fresh beats on the masses, the also print up some pretty sweet music-related t-shirts.

Here is one of their designs from the latest collection:

product page can be reached by clicking on the shirt

I don't play drums (except for air drums, and that doesn't count), but I seem to have an affinity for drumming t-shirts. I really like the text on this one, and it comes in a more earth toned color palette as well. $23.99 is a bit steep, but it is one nice design...

And here is one of their classics, with text courtesy of the late, great maestro of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti:

Classics Collection can be reached by clicking on the shirt

This same shirt--or an identical rip-off--has been sold by pop culture homogenizer Urban Outfitters (and possible t-shirt plaguerizer) for a while, but it was on a brown tee. I like silver shirts, but I got one long sleeve and one short sleeve and I'm trying to cut back on my t-shirt addiction.

One last thing: Ubiquity is having a t-shirt grab bag sale. Basically, you tell them what size you are and they'll send you three shirts. More details are available here. Unfortunately, they don't have my size, or I'd be all over this.

Only in america...

America is a pretty materialistic country, wouldn't you say?

But I never knew the extent that peopl,e would go to to get a coveted consumer item such as this:

If you don't know what this is you've been living under a rock this summer.

What would you do to get an iPhone?

Would you make a deal with the devil and sell your soul?

Would you sell you first born child?

What about selling your future children?

That's kinda what Mr. Johnson did. This man made the huge mistake of purchasing hte $600.00 phone without the permission of his (fiscally responsible) better half. When she found out that he had made the reckless purchase, she (as any demanding female would) made him return the phone immeadiately.

Except after bringing his new toy back to the store, Mr Johson fell into a depressive funk:

He was sad, non-talkative, down, depressed. You know, putting the Bambi Eyes and sighing at the sight of any Apple logo on display. The whole treatment. Noticing it, she broke the question:

— Honey, how badly you want the iPhone?

— Badly —he said, puppy eyes again, no doubt— very badly.

"Would you be willing to finally make that appointment for a vasectomy?" she replied.

Mr. Johnson absolutely loves his new 8GB iPhone

Only in America would a man trade his (symbolic) manhood for the latest piece of technology. Actually, maybe in Japan, too...