Satoshi Kon, The creator of some very excellent anime films, has died. In a genre that has become very cookie-cutter, Kon’s work was always original and different. His vision will be missed.
Suggested viewing:
- Perfect Blue
- Tokyo Godfathers
- Paprika
Star Wars: Uncut is finally finished!
Dorks around the world have remade the entire film, shot for shot, 15 seconds at a time. You can watch the whole thing, strung together as a vimeo playlist, here.
A fiendishly complex metal puzzle block containing over 100 hand-machined pieces and weighing 40lbs is impressive. But when you find out that some of the pieces can be re-assembled into a functional .45 caliber pistol, it becomes the most badass piece of art ever. (via Engadget)
Infographic: Where Did the Money to Rebuild Iraq Go?
People complain about corporate bailouts here in the US, but at least we know who got them and what they spent it on. Sure, it’s mostly managerial bonuses, but at least we know. Not so much with the Iraq reconstruction money. Nobody - not even the pentagon - knows what happened to nearly all of it. And that’s just the money earmarked specifically for rebuilding. They also shipped over pallets of cash and essentially handed it out to anybody with an empty duffel bag and a good story. No receipts, nothing.
The bailouts here could have been handled better, but they seem remarkably well planned and managed in comparison to this bullshit.
Flying Donkey Frightens Russian Sunbathers
No doubt Yakov Smirnoff would have something unfunny to say about parasailing donkeys in soviet Russia, but Russia is all capitalist now, so screw his worn out joke. This donkey flies for the free market!
Seriously. It was part of an advertising gimmick.
Ever since Sense & Sensibility & Zombies, it has been apparent that gawdawefully dull Jane Austen books can actually be made interesting with the addition of a heaping helping of something awesome. Jane Austen’s Fight Club seems to prove the theory. Though to be fair, I’m not sure there is anything so boring that a little Fight Club wouldn’t make it watchable.
Remember when camcorders were huge? It wasn’t all that long ago when they were 15lb behemoths that sat on your shoulder, ate full-size VHS tapes and cost more than a used car. Well, we’ve come a long way baby.
I just got one of these nifty keychain cameras specifically for the purpose of taping to the top of my RC cars. Not only is it tiny and light, the built-in battery is good for about an hour of recording, and that will run out before you fill a 2GB microSD card. And the price for this miracle of modern science? A whopping $13. How cool is that? Everything you could ever want to know about these little guys can be found here.
Remember the opposed-piston engine video I posted last year? Well Bill Gates must have seen my post because he’s just invested a bunch of money into its development. This design shows a lot of promise, and it’s good to see heavy hitters like Gates throwing their support behind it. (via Digg)
Harvey Pekar, underground comic writer and long-time collaborator with Robert Crumb (one of my favorite comic artists) has died. RIP, angry man. (via Boingboing)
