Fanzines Plethora

Quote of the day: 7-year-old boy, calling 911 when armed men attacked home

Fanzinaro — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:43:26 +0000

"Bring cops... a lot of them!... And soldiers too."—Carlos, a brave 7 year old boy from Norwalk, California, calling 911 after armed attackers broke into his home and threatened to kill his family. (Audio of the call)

3*TYPE text leaps out at you

Fanzinaro — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:32:57 +0000

Ben Greenman invents the 3*TYPE 3*TYPE process, saves text-based media from ignominious death death.

Old Jews Telling Jokes: Charlotte Bornstein

Fanzinaro — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:29:58 +0000

Eric Spiegelman of "Old Jews Telling Jokes" explains this episode: "My cousin Michael recommended that we get Charlotte Bornstein on camera to tell some jokes. He also advised that we 'just keep the camera running.' You'll see why."

Many more new episodes of this stripped-down, oldschool comedy at oldjewstellingjokes.com.

(Technical note: If you have trouble viewing the embedded Flash videos hosted on Blip.tv, as I did, you may have better luck downloading the videos as iTunes podcast episodes.)

Previously:

White trash video addiction: Bargain Barn

Fanzinaro — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:15:58 +0000

"You buy it, you like it!" Bargain Barn was a public access cable show in Shawnee, Oklahoma in the mid-1990s—a sort of QVC for hillbillies, a televised flea market where one might pick up stray drill bits, chickens, or stained and ripped pillows. As WFMU notes, it's a damn crime YouTube shows only one upload of this gem. The host/barker, whose face we seldom see, is selling nothing but absolute crap. He himself admits most of the junk is "broked," "tore up," or "needs to be warshed a few times." I think my favorite moment in the clip above is 8:35, when we get to the Style Studs ("It don't have no Style Studs in it! I'd call that a pig in a poke, m'self.") I could watch this for hours.

(Thanks, Mikael Jorgensen!)

Minute To Win It: fun game show premieres this Sunday on NBC

Fanzinaro — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:15:50 +0000

My friend Eric Hoberman helped develop a new game show that will premiere on NBC on Sunday March 14 from 7-9 p.m. ET/PT. It's called Minute To Win It, and the object is to win a series of 10 easy-to-understand but increasingly-hard-to-win challenges. As the title suggests, the players must successfully complete each of the games in a minute. The award structure is like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire -- the cash amount increases with each game up to a million dollars, you can walk away with what you've won at any point, and you can lose it all if you blow a challenge.

Eric gave me a box of props so I could try out the games myself. The show's contestants are also given props and rules for the games before they come on the show so they can practice. The props are household items -- golf balls, cookies, a deck of cards.

Here are a few of the challenges contestants will have 60 seconds to complete:

• Move two Oreo cookies from your forehead to your mouth using your facial muscles only. (I failed!)

• Stack three golf balls vertically. (I failed!)

• Balance a deck of playing cards on a soda bottle and blow all the cards off but the bottom one, the joker. (I failed!)

• A dollar bill is sandwiched between two bottles, one upright, the other inverted and placed on top of the upright bottle. You have four tries to remove the bill without touching or toppling the bottles. (Success!) I'm interested to know if anyone can successfully complete the tasks I failed at. If you make a YouTube of it, please provide the link so we can watch it!

Minute to Win it site on NBC

Lady Gaga trash mosaic portrait, Jason Mecier

Fanzinaro — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:39:22 +0000

Lady Gaga, a "trash mosaic portrait" by San Francisco-based artist Jason Mecier, who has shows coming up in LA and SF. Richard Metzger has more at Dangerous Minds.

Fight terrorism with science: Scott Atran

Fanzinaro — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:13:36 +0000

"We are fixated on technology and technological success, and we have no sustained or systematic approach to field-based social understanding of our adversaries' motivation, intent, will, and the dreams that drive their strategic vision, however strange those dreams and vision may seem to us."—Anthropologist Scott Atran, who believes the quest to end violent political extremism needs more science. (edge.org)

Untitled 3

Fanzinaro — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:56:37 +0000

Yup.

More on Alexander McQueen’s final collection (and tweets): Angels and Demons

Fanzinaro — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:52:06 +0000

Snip from Wall Street Journal article on the last collection of Alexander McQueen.

Twice in the weeks leading up to his Feb. 11 death, Mr. McQueen messaged on Twitter, 'Hells angels [sic] and prolific demons.' What seemed a non sequitur now appears to be a reference to the collection he was working on, imprinted with the angels of Sandro Botticelli and the demons of Hieronymus Bosch.

He had finished some 16 looks, about half of what the collection would typically include, at the time of his death.

His Twitter account has been taken offline, but a Google Cache exists. The final tweet: "De sade, Marie A- god rest there souls." [sic]

(thanks, Kelly Sparks)

Previously:

BristleBots and LED throwie art at Crash Space

Fanzinaro — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:22:53 +0000

Look at Todbot's BristleBots go! He held a workshop at Crash Space in Culver City, CA last night and showed people how to make them. (I'm sorry I didn't announce it in advance!)

BristleBots and LED throwie art at Crash Space