44.

The 44th President.

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I’d Like a Refund, Please.

This book is *amazing*…for me to *poop* on!

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The Morning After.

“WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

What Obama supporters feel, now that the campaign is over, according to The New York Times“Election Day WordTrain.”

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Where’s Your Head At?

What the voters feel.

The New York Times‘s “Election Day WordTrain,” above, shows the aggregate mind states of the concerned electorate. Readers enter a one-word description in fields the Times provided on the page. Above, in black, is, over the course of the day, so far, how all respondents feel.

Continue reading →

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Now, That’s How You Foil an Assassination Attempt.

“Say WHAT?”

As expected, EA’s Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (Xbox 360/PS3) is, reportedly, execrable, and Gearfuse.com calls it “the most mediocre game ever.” But this promised DLC (downloadable content) pack, letting you play as Sarah Palin or Barack Obama, has got to be the chilly-most-sweet thing ever for the next two hours.

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Tuesday Night Nightmare.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

People jumping off of bridges, running for their lives, standing in front of moving vehicles…let’s hope that it’s only a dream.

[via The WOW Report]

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Man, That’s Just Wrong.

Gimme a nice big kiss!

You may or may not think U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice is an attractive woman, and, politically, she’s certainly reprehensible, if not criminal.

“Murderer!”But, wow: Beyond the Punchline‘s Kevin Robertson went for both sets of jugulars in this caricature, above, of Condi’s encounter last fall with CodePink protester Desiree Farooz, right. Broo-tal, dude.

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Rollin’.

Hooptie?

A hundred years ago this month, Henry Ford’s company drove its first Model T automobile off of his Highland Park, Detroit, MI assembly line…and changed the world forever.

Priced at $850, not only was it the first affordable, mass-produced car the world had ever seen, but the Model T—that’s a 1912 one, above—revolutionized manufacturing, caused an upheaval in labor, forced a reengineering of the American landscape, and reorganized our nation’s social order.

So argues author Lindsay Brooke, in his new book, Ford Model T: The Car That Put the World on Wheels. Lindsay is a guest today on my WBAI-NY / 99.5 FM radio show, NONFICTION, this afternoon, Friday, October 31, at 2 pm ET.

Then, tomorrow, the Machinima Filmfest 2008 animation gala is taking place at the Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology (540 W. 21st St., bet. 10th and 11th Ave), here in New York City. On NONFICTION, I’ll be talking with Friedrich Kirschner, festival director; Chris Burke, creator of This Spartan Life; and Frank Dellario, director of animation, ILL Clan about the fest, and about machinima, the art of using video and/or computer games to make movies.

Machinima directors use the game’s controller to move, or animate, characters on-screen. They then digitally record that action with a capture card on a computer; dub voices and music; add effects; then edit the output.

How’d I get here?

The results can be wildly diverse. For example, “A Few Good G-Men” remakes the climactic courtroom confrontation between Lt. Daniel Kaffee and Col. Nathan R. Jessep (from Rob Reiner’s A Few Good Men) using the Half Life 2 game engine. Working in Unreal Tournament 2004, on the other hand, Egils Mednis’s “The Ship”, above, creates an impressionistic and eerie mindscape.

You can hear these thoughtful individuals’ ideas by tuning in at 2 pm. If you’re outside of the New York tri-state, you can check out our stream on the web. If you miss the live show, check out our archive for up to two weeks after broadcast.

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Jones-ing for “The Clear.”

In mourning?

I don’t think disgraced track star Marion Jones-Thompson, above, was entirely forthcoming during her one-on-one appearance, yesterday, on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Continue reading →

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Loving Those Meeses to Pieces.

Jerry Fricassee.

James Cauty was half of The KLF, the 1990s duo who, backed by a collective of dancers, vocalists, and other artists, lit up dance floors with “3 a.m. Eternal” and “Justified & Ancient,” featuring country great Tammy Wynette.

Now, he and his 15-year-old offspring, Harry, under the name J. Cauty & Son, are making a new kind of art: Sculptures, limited-edition prints, and a film short, “Splatter,” pushing popular cartoon violence to its blood-soaked maximum. The five-foot resin Aim Point, above, for example, shows Tom, of Tom & Jerry fame, finally bringing their popular cat-and-mouse act to a brutal end.

U.K. anti-crime nonprofit Mothers Against Violence called Cauty & Son’s exhibition at London art gallery Aquarium L-13 “sick.” To my ears, that’s a rave review.

[via BoingBoing]

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