february 2008

click here for permalink February 29, 2008

Curiouser and curiouser, this circus of current events.

In the distinguished tradition of deadpan satire, The Onion is the online equivalent of Walter Cronkite and their latest video takes it to a whole new level of scaryfunnytruthiness. As the disclaimer says, "Warning: For those of you who have been keeping up with the election, this clip contains spoilers." Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results of '08 Election. What may be even scarier is the fact that the comments in response to this clip are noticeably more literate, thoughtful and intelligent than average.

The History Channel's Life After People is an eerie sci-fi thought experiment that begins with the world waking up one morning to find that all the humans have vanished. (I was searching for the name of this one similarly-themed novel from the 50s to throw in as a comparison but wikipedia's List of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction proved way more distracting than helpful.) When you're done watching the plants and wild cats inherit the planet (sorry, dog people), you may want to run the reel in reverse. Check out Robert Newman's latest brilliance, The History of the World Backwards, a hilariously bizarre mindfuck of a good show.

In one climactic CGI scene from Life After People, the cities crumble under their own weight as decades of disrepair finally take their toll — but, as apocalyptic visions go, it packs a lesser punch than, say, the chilling panorama of post-ice age Manhattan in Speilberg's AI, drowned and frozen but with Towers intact... or the premonition-driven paintings of a nuclear nightmare at the heart of Heroes' first season.

boom

click here for permalink February 1, 2008

Bravenewfilms.org is the newest project of prolific documentary filmmaker Robert Greenwald, the man who brought us "Walmart: the High Cost of Low Price" and Iraq for Sale: the War Profiteers. The site's mandate: "Using cutting-edge new internet video campaigns, Brave New Films has created a quick-strike capability that challenges corporate media with the truth and empowers political action nationwide." And I just love the tag line; "Pssst... Do Something!" Here is their latest:

Well, well, well... This is certainly an unintended — nay, serendipitous — consequence of my redesign! Here I thought I was rearranging deck chairs when, really, I was drastically reducing my overall evilness. Now it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. Can't exactly question the objectivity of the Gematriculator, can you?

This site is certified 1% EVIL by the Gematriculator

This site is certified 99% GOOD by the Gematriculator