October 7th, 2008 — Design, Humor, Politics
Still confused by Sarah Palin’s performance in the debate, despite Tina Fey’s clarfiying parody? Couldn’t shake the feeling she was getting her answers from a lower intelligence in an alternate dimension?
Aden Nak’s brilliant ph33r and loathing blog is about to make it all clear as the space between the Alaskan governor’s ears: From his “Moosehunter” post: Sarah Palin’s debate cheat sheet, above.
October 7th, 2008 — Africa, Environment, Money
Chances are this will never make the TV news: According to an estimate by Eric De Place of Sightline Daily, “every cent of Africa’s crushing debt” could be retired for $350 billion. (The sum was actually estimated at $320B by the U.N. in 2003, so De Place just adds another $30 billion to make a round number. It could be higher, or lower.)
Now, that would leave $350 billion. Working from this figure, De Place then states,
You could install solar panels on 20 million American homes for $300 billion. …
We could install ground source heat pumps for 5 million American homes for $50 billion.
October 7th, 2008 — Entertainment, Humor, Politics, TV
As evident to anyone whose been watching Tina Fey’s Saturday Night Live Sarah Palin parodies, like this weekend’s wide rip on the debate, above, the comedienne is destroying the Republican VP nominee. She does it by creating take-offs on the Alaskan governor’s goofy regular-gal-isms and studied folksiness that border on performance art. If Fey keeps it up, watch if she doesn’t get the Emmy, Twain, and Pulitzer, all in one glorious shot.
October 6th, 2008 — Gender, Music, Music Video, Pop Culture, Religion, Sex, TV
Seeing the video for Alanis Morrissette’s “Thank U,” above, released ten years ago today, is probably the closest I’ve ever gotten to a religious experience while considering a piece of popular art.
October 3rd, 2008 — Politics, Race, Religion
That’s what humorist Sarah Silverman, above, says she’s going to do if Barack Obama doesn’t become the next president of the United States. It’s all caught on tape in the racially prickly, mildly NSFW political promo, The Great Schlep. Schlep is an effort by JewsVote.org, itself a project of the Jewish Council for Education & Research (JCER).
Its noble ends? “The Great Schlep aims to have Jewish grandchildren visit their grandparents in Florida, educate them about Obama, and therefore swing the crucial Florida vote in his favor.”
(Schlep, for non-Yiddish speakers, means to carry, or drag. So, the idea, as the stylish logo, right, may indicate, is that young Jews from across the nation—moving by plane, train, and automobile—congregate en masse in Florida, between now and Election Day, and persuade their oldest living ancestors to vote for Obama.)
Huh?
This is the strangest thing I’ve ever heard.
I mean, first of all, why Florida, as opposed to any other state, and why does the geriatric Sephardic demographic require a special effort, of this unique kind: one made by, of all people, their own grandkids?
October 2nd, 2008 — Black Music, Hip-Hop, Music Video
I was at the book party, Tuesday, for colleagues Cey Adams’ and Bill Adler’s upcoming tome DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop, which outlines the history of graphic art in the form. (I’d urged Cey to do a book about this topic easily a decade-and-a-half before, based on the work his company, The Drawing Board, was doing in the early ’90s for pretty much everything that left Def Jam in those years. I even strategized on how we might do it together, so I’m glad that it finally exists.)
There were many faces in the house I’d not seen in a month o’ Sundays, more I’d never met before, and hugs all around, but easily the most startling reunification was with rapper Positive K, above, who I’d not run into since, well, since I was talking to Cey about doing a book on rap music and graphic design.
October 2nd, 2008 — Advertising, Animation, Film
Pretty much anything Disney does in animation these days is annoying. But the trailer, above, for Bolt, out Nov. 26, is pretty good. It’s about a television superhero dog who escapes the set of his show for the real world, but doesn’t realize he’s actually an actor with no special powers. As one writer noted, think The Truman Show meets Ol’ Yeller. Plus, try and take your eyes off the skittish and impressionable hamster.
October 1st, 2008 — Advertising, Controversy, Film, TV
I think director Christopher D’Elia’s spec commercial for Bud Light is pretty funny, at least as far as the brand’s actually-sorta-troubling, guys-using-beer-to-get-over-on-women schtick goes. Plus, the music cues are golden.
But as American commercial advertising, its racial politics are in a fantasyland, and getting an actor who looks like Obama Girl isn’t gonna change that. You mest not be frum ‘roun’ these parts, eh, Chrissy? If you want a job in Hollywood, stick to racism.
October 1st, 2008 — Internet, Media
I finally bit the bullet and got a Twitter account. So, until I run the feed directly through MEDIA ASSASSIN and/or my Facebook page, please slip on over here, at http://twitter.com/harryallen, for 140-character bursts of staggering genius.
September 30th, 2008 — Humor, Politics, Satire
As reported by The Onion, John McCain proposed his Marry A Beer Heiress for America Plan yesterday to a group of Detroit business leaders, as part of an economic package designed to stimulate the stagnant American economy.
“We can do it,” urged McCain in the speech. “Americans, together, we can do it.”
“This isn’t a government handout,” said McCain spokesman, Dan Beckner, as members of the House objected, saying that the GOP nominee’s plan was merely a bailout in another form. “No one is going to be given a beer heiress. You’ll have to woo one on your own.”
Barack Obama’s camp “slammed” McCain’s plan, saying that it discriminated against Americans who, instead, sought to get out of the recession by writing two best-selling books and making a speech at the Democratic National Convention.
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