Calvin's Canadian Cave of Coolness

Monday, June 27, 2011

What, Now She Smiles?

I don't trust that smile one damn bit. I could respect her when she was all sad and gloomy in every picture taken of her but this change is just creepy.

The Most Powerful Rings In Fiction 1 - The Mandarin's Rings

As a kid, Ringo Starr was my very first celebrity boyfriend. And he was famous for wearing a lot of rings. However, none of them actually held any superpowers, despite what my kindergartener’s mind led me to believe. The Mandarin’s rings, which he found in a starship (and later found out they were powering that starship) had tons of powers, one for each finger on his hands, and even more than that. Basically, whatever evil the Mandarin wants to inflict on someone, he can do it plus a variation of it with at least one of his rings. He can fire lightning at someone, turn people into ice — or burn them alive, depending on his mood — turn air into gas, turn gas into a solid, or fly himself (or other objects) to another location. The weakest link: the Disintegration Beam Ring on his right ring finger. Because it takes 20 minutes to recharge. Laaaaaaaaaame. And all of them are ineffective against force fields, so hopefully there’s a workaround for that. But nothing that involves using any of the rings together, unless the Mandarin wants to treat himself to an electrostatic shock. Despite those limitations, it seems like the Mandarin has little to complain about providing that he’d mastered how these rings work.

Cats In Tanks

Cats in Tanks from Whitehouse Post on Vimeo.

A Goose In Boots - That Is All

Gator’s feet were sensitive to all of the rough pavement he has to walk across (being as how he’s a pet goose who goes on plenty of walks). So to protect his little toes, his owners ordered him his own custom shoes

http://www.ruethedayblog.com/page/5/

Food On A Stick

SQUID

HOT DOG AND FRIES

HAM AND FRIES

PORK CHOP

BACON WRAPPED SAUSAGE

FRIED POTATO

SEA HORSES

FRIED POTATO BALLS

CHOCOLATE CAKE

CHEESEBURGER

DEEP FRIED CHEESE LOG

SCORPIONS

I hate summer fairs. They are just so tacky with diseased carnies, rickety rides and rip off games of chance. I do miss the strange eats however. They also always had the best rootbeer ever. Unfortunately my desire to eat everything on stick has to be repressed these days but I can still dream can't I?

I Never Miss A Good Yvette Mimieux Movie - Dark Of The Sun (1968)

Set in the troubled nation of the Congo, this heist/rescue drama stars Rod Taylor and Jim Brown as mercenaries hired by it's president to rescue trapped diamond miners. Of course there is more to this story than just that but that is the premise the movie begins with.

Soon enough we learn there is 50 million dollars in diamonds that also have to be retrieved and there are only three days in which to complete the mission. At that time the European bankers shut the piggy bank for the President and his government collapses.

Taylor is to be paid 50,000 dollars if he succeeds. Seems like a bad deal when all he needs to do is cross the border with the diamonds when he gets them. He can cash them in anywhere in the world for a fortune. Who ever heard of a mercenary with ethics? One tenth the value of the prize while assuming all the risk sounds fair.

There are some fun early scenes where Taylor recruits his 'team'. They are all, of course, quirky individuals. You have a Nazi, his all black platoon of soldiers, a patriot, an alcoholic doctor who hates Taylor, and assorted other helpless along the way.

This film was made in the the heyday of 'team mission movies' like the 'Dirty Dozen' and 'Kelly's Heroes' and is based on a novel by Wilbur Smith.

So with the team assembled, they begin their cross country journey on their simple boxcar, caboose and locomotive train. Things would have gone a lot smoother if everyone in the country didn't know they were after a fortune in diamonds. That 'only brings more snakes out from under the couches' (as my old Baba used to say) and they take the form of a lone dive bomber and a whole army of 'Simbas' the rebels in this war torn country bearing down on them.

Taylor is very good as Cuddy, the leader of the mercenary mission. He has ethics and a code of honor that runs counter to the attitude of other whites in the African nation. They are not dealing with the changes in their society very well and are not ready to be ruled by their former servants. Curry believes there can be another way.

Jim Brown is also excellent as he thoughtfully articulates the struggle of the African people against their colonial oppressors - all in an attempt to get Taylor to eat his soup. Now THAT is a first officer.

'I came down out of the trees by invitation. And I'll kill anybody who tries to send me but up again. Russian, Chinese, English, Belgian, or United States - you take your pick.'

I should also mention that the poster is true and the Nazi Officer does threaten Taylor with a chain saw so for once there is truth in advertising.

I love this theme for an adventure film and I was impressed with the way this team of hired guns negotiated each and every obstacle put in front of them. It can also be gruesomely truthful about the violence of the times.

7/10 - 'An adventure movie set in the Congo during the civil wars of the 1960s. that cares about the ethics and evils of a colonialism in it's death throws.

Crazy King Ludwig And His Castles

June 13th was the 125th Anniversary of the death of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, my spiritual homeland. You can see all the pictures with descriptions HERE.

A hundred twenty-five years ago, Bavaria's "Maerchenkoenig" (or "Fairy-tale King") Ludwig II died under very mysterious circumstances at the age of 40, his body found floating in Lake Starnberg, south of Munich. Today, Ludwig remains famous for the castles he built and attempted to build, most notably Neuschwanstein Castle, perched high in the Alpine foothills. The king was a romantic, a friend and suporter of composer Richard Wagner, and he hired theatrical set designers rather than architects to design his castles. More absorbed in his personal world than state affairs, Ludwig spent most of his time on his own projects -- emptying his personal coffers -- and left his ministers frustrated by his inattention. When his cabinet accused him of insanity, he was placed in custody after a brief showdown at Neuschwanstein Castle, and was taken to a castle next to Lake Starnberg. The following day, while out for a walk, Ludwig disappeared, his lifeless body discovered hours later. The death was declared a suicide, but many have rejected that ruling, and the demise of this popular king remains a mystery to this day.

http://www.neatorama.com/

Well It Had To Happen Eventually

How much would it suck to know that you only contributed the EYEBROWS to the creation of this virtual pop tart? That is some harsh judgement right there.

This week, Eguchi Aimi, the newest member of the all-girl Japanese pop group AKB48, was revealed to be a fake human. She was perfectly cute, but Eguchi was nothing more than a computer composite of her six band mates; she existed only in a virtual world. The bizarre, and clever, publicity stunt was unveiled in the above video, which shows exactly how the virtual beauty was created.

Fans of the newest band member are understandably disappointed. But it's not hard to see how many were fooled during Eguchi's short run as a pop star. Watch the video above and see if you can pick out the fake girl before she's revealed. I couldn't. And even when I knew who was fake, she still didn't look fake to me.

So Fabulous

Favorite Movie Title Of All Time

Corrine Alexis Hall's Animation Reel 2010

I found this post over at 'Cultural Compulsive Disorder' and had to repost it over here. I really enjoyed the variety of techniques this student of animation attempted and how they often matched perfectly with the song chosen for the reel. As you all know I am a big fan of 'effort' being put into a project and this project got 100 percent effort and more.