The Evil That Men Do
Hitler ‘Downfall’ Parodies Removed From YouTube
Popular Hitler ‘Downfall’ Parodies Removed From YouTube; Company Cites Copyright Infringement
(AP) Adolf Hitler, for years a vessel of frustration in a popular Internet meme, has been quieted.
“Downfall,” a German film released in 2004 about Hitler’s last days, has been adopted for wildly popular YouTube parodies that have spanned mock rants about topics as varied as playing Xbox video games to Kanye West to Apple’s new iPad.
Every spoof is from the same scene in the film: A furious, defeated Hitler, played by Bruno Ganz, unleashes an impassioned, angry speech to his remaining staff, huddled with him in his underground bunker.
The scene takes on widely different meaning when paired with English subtitles about, say, a late-season collapse by the New York Mets. Most any subject could be – and was – substituted, made even funnier by the scene’s intense melodrama, artful staging and timely cutaways.
It was the meme that refused to die – until it did.
On Tuesday, the clips on YouTube, many of which had been watched by hundreds of thousands, even millions, began disappearing from the site. Constantin Films, the company that owns the rights to the film, asked for them to be removed, and YouTube complied.
Was It Simply Bad Timing Behind Oprah Winfrey’s “Personal De-spleening” of James Frey?
from The San Francisco Chronicle
Nobody knows the trouble I made up
Writer/memoirist James Frey got fried for making up the downer times of his life in the best-seller, “A Million Little Pieces.” When he was busted, 
Oprah personally de-spleened him on her show after she initially had made him a confessional hero.
That was four years ago. Frey just had bad timing.
Today, the two most powerful celebrities in the world, Barack Obama and Oprah herself, are getting tagged for re-arranging their personal histories to fit what’s referred to widely in our contemporary culture as “the narrative.”
This concept of narrative, otherwise known as “a story,” has become a clichéd requirement not just in politics but for anyone famous using personal plot lines for traction in the public arena.
So if people at the top of society, like the president and Oprah, are going to fabricate some things in service to the larger sense of history and purpose, maybe we should loosen our standards for facts.
[ click to continue reading at the San Francisco Chronicle ]
Kick-Ass
Movie review: ‘Kick-Ass’
It’s a shrewd mixture of slickly made comic-book violence, unmistakable sweetness and ear-splitting profanity that is poised to be a popular culture phenomenon.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times Film Critic
“Kick-Ass” is the movie our parents warned us about, the movie you don’t want your children to see. A highly seductive enterprise that’s equal parts disturbing and enticing, it will leave you speechless because its characters — especially a 12-year-old virtuoso of violence named Hit Girl — are anything but.
This shrewd mixture of slick comic-book mayhem, unmistakable sweetness and ear-splitting profanity is poised to be a popular culture phenomenon because of its exact sense of the fantasies of the young male fanboy population. Directed by Matthew Vaughn and written by Jane Goldman and Vaughn, this comic-book-come-to-life was not just based on a book by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., but made at the same time the original comic was being created.
Doc Banksy
Exit Through the Gift Shop, Brought To You by Banksy, Sort Of
By Aaron Hillis
A genuinely hip, thought-provoking work of art disguised as a doomed documentary resurrected, Exit Through the Gift Shop is not just the definitive portrait of street-art counterculture, but also a hilarious exposé on the gullibility of the masses who embrace manufactured creative personas. Though it’s credited as a Banksy picture—as in the ever-elusive U.K. graffiti ninja whose puckish, anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian stencils have appeared everywhere from metropolitan billboards worldwide to the West Bank barrier wall—the film ostensibly began with him tapped as its on-camera subject.
Banksy’s talking head appears faceless under a dark hood, with his pithy wit digitally masked, to help narrator Rhys Ifans explain how the role reversal occurred. The real “director” of most of the truly fascinating, dangerously obtained footage herein is Thierry Guetta, an eccentric French expat and family man living in Los Angeles. Guetta’s fanatical devotion to recording every banal moment of his life yielded massive amounts of tape from the early days of the ’90s street art scene—tape that would ultimately become Exit.
Outcast
Interview: James Frey may still be a literary ‘outcast,’ but he’s keeping busy
Photograph by: Andrew H. Walker , Getty Images file photo
“I embrace (the Million Little Pieces episode) as part of my career, but I try not to make it my entire career,” James Frey says.
If you read, you’ve heard of writer James Frey.
However, there’s a chance you don’t know much about Frey the art dealer, Frey the art writer or Frey the conceptual writer.
Oh, and Frey the Class Dad.
Arguably one of the most controversial American writers in recent memory, Frey is coming to the five-day Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival, which begins Wednesday.
“I have a 5-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son,” Frey said during a telephone interview from New York City. “I’m lucky enough to have a job with flexible hours so I can spend more time with my kids. I love their (pre)school. Little kids are the best.”
Frey speaks with Joel Yanofsky as part of the festival’s CBC Blue Literary Series, at Hôtel Delta Centre-Ville, Saturday, April 24 at 3 p.m.
Sharlto To I Am Number Four
‘I Am Number Four’ Sets Sights on ‘District 9’ Star Sharlto Copley
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, New Releases, Dreamworks, Steven Spielberg
District 9 star Sharlto Copley isn’t a household name yet, but that might change in the not too distant future. The actor has wrapped up work on this summer’s movie version of ’80s television series The A-Team(where he’ll play Howling Mad Murdock) and now THR’s Heat Vision blog is reporting he’s in negotiations to appear in a new sci-film with franchise potential entitled I Am Number Four.
Dreamworks has the rights to the title, based on the first novel in a planned six book young adult series by authors James Frey and Jobie Hughes. Adapted by Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar, I Am Number Four is about a group of aliens who escape to Earth after their home world is annihilated by a rival species. Once here, they disguise themselves as regular high school students and presumably do their best to fit in. Alex Pettyfer has already been cast as Number Four, while Copley would be playing an alien from a lower class who finds himself as Four’s adult guardian. I’m guessing some wacky situations arise out of this arrangement.
D.J. Caruso is set to direct with Spielberg and Michael Bay handling production duties — so at least we know this won’t be some cheap-looking book tie-in. I expect explosions and maybe even a few “giant f***ing robots” from the Bay camp.
Argentinian Fuzz Befuddled By Fake Sheep
Ewe Will Never Get Us Back In Prison
TWO escaped convicts have dodged a huge manhunt – by disguising themselves as SHEEP.
The pair dressed in full sheepskin fleeces, complete with heads, to lie low among farm flocks.
Robbers Maximiliano Pereyra, 25, and Ariel Diaz, 28, stole the sheep hides from a ranch after breaking out of an Argentinian maximum security prison a week ago.
And they have managed to evade the 300 cops on their trail – despite locals seeing them running through fields at night.
A farmworker at La Almeda said: “They were wearing grey clothes but had full sheepskins, including the sheeps’ heads, over their heads and backs.”
Baked fish with mint (samcocho)
Recipe: Baked fish with mint (samcocho)
Total time: 50 minutes
Servings: 4
4 whole sea bass or Tai snapper (each about 3/4 pound), gutted and scaled
Salt
Fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
Wrinkly potatoes
Green cilantro sauce
Red chile sauce
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle the fish with salt and set aside 15 minutes. Tuck a few mint leaves into the cavity of each fish. Place the fish in a baking pan and drizzle with the oil.
Doc Martens 50 Years Old
Dr. Martens: The doctor is still in
The iconic footwear favored by punks and postal workers alike has had a long and storied life. The company is celebrating its 50th anniversary with some limited-edition 1460s and 1461s.
Cinderella’s fragile glass slipper and rugged Dr. Martens boots appear to have nothing in common. But you’d be surprised. That storied maiden slipped into her perfect fit and lived happily ever after. Millions have laced up their first pair of DM boots and, seemingly, lived just as happily, sticking with the footwear for decades. The brand marked its 50th anniversary last week and is still drawing fans from around the world.
Not many shoes appeal to such a range of people. Mail carriers, rock stars, skinheads, rebels and conformists are among the avid converts to Doc Martens.
The official anniversary was April 1, but this iconic footwear (it even appears in the Oxford English Dictionary) has roots more than a century old. In 1901, Benjamin Griggs and Septimus Jones set up a boot business in England, and 10 years later, Benjamin brought in his son Reginald to form R. Griggs & Co. Flash forward to 1945 Germany. Dr. Klaus Maertens has invented an air-cushioned sole. On leave during World War II, Maertens injures his ankle skiing. His army-issued boots are torture, so he designs a pair with finer leather and air-cushioned soles. The footwear doesn’t earn Maertens a reichsmark — until he teams up with Dr. Herbert Funck in 1947. Using abandoned rubber from Luftwaffe airfields, they create the perfect sole.
Maertens and Funck, now running a successful factory in Munich, are keen to sell internationally. Coincidentally, Bill Griggs of the Griggs company has heard of their magic soles. He calls the doctors to see whether he can manufacture them for his company in England. Getting an enthusiastic “ja,” Griggs designs different footwear uppers for the German air-cushions. He conceives the eight-eyelet boot, introduces yellow welt stitching and a two-toned, grooved edge. The famous black and yellow heel loop is added. Anglicizing the name, Griggs now has Dr. Martens footwear ready to soothe weary British soles.
Event Horizon Statues Confound Cops
Cops Rush to Aid Empire State “Jumper,” Turns Out He’s a Statue
NYers trained to “say something” if they “see something” — just not in this case By JENNIFER MILLMAN
They warned us this would happen.
Police raced to the Empire State Building yesterday after a frightened 911 caller saw what appeared to be a person poised on the ledge, preparing to jump, according to a published report.
Once they arrived, they realized the possible jumper was only a statue – one of the cast-iron life-size figures modeled in the form of an artist whose “Event Horizon” exhibit has sparked a flurry of 911 calls from passersby who mistake the statues, many of which are posed on precarious ledges and roofs around Manhattan, for possible suicide risks.
The presence of the statues dumbfounds some workers and tourists, particularly at the Empire State Building, from which half a dozen people have plunged to their deaths over the last 10 years. Just last month, a Yale grad student became the latest to leap to his demise from the observation deck.
James Frey credited for Elvis-like comeback – Oprah Accused Of Embellishing Life Story
James Frey’s second coming
James Frey is having the last laugh. While Kitty Kelley‘s “Oprah: A Biography” reveals the talk queen embellished her childhood and concealed her bisexuality, her nemesis Frey was just credited with one of the “most impressive comebacks of all time.”
Jesus Christ topped the list in the UK’s Independent on Sunday for his resurrection, followed by Muhammad Ali, Winston Churchill and Elvis Presley. After Winfrey attacked Frey for exaggerations in his memoir, “A Million Little Pieces,” Frey redeemed himself with “Bright Shiny Morning,” which the Independent called “a triumph of a novel, vividly depicting LA and the American dream.”
[ click to read at NYPost.com ]
Solid Potato Salad
Oprah Embellishes Life Story – Future Episodes of Show May Feature Disclaimer – Some Viewers Consider Class-Action Lawsuit
Oprah lied about poverty, sex abuse, tell-all book claims
By JEREMY OLSHAN
Last Updated: 4:40 PM, April 12, 2010
Oprah Winfrey embellished her poor upbringing and made up stories about sexual abuse to boost her ratings, her relatives say in Kitty Kelley’s new biography.
Although Winfrey claims she never had any new dresses or dolls, and had to adopt two cockroaches as pets growing up in rural Mississippi, her cousin contends she was actually relatively “spoiled” as a little girl.
“Where Oprah got that nonsense about growing up in filth and roaches I have no idea,” Katherine Carr Esters said. “I’ve confronted her and asked, ‘why do you tell such lies?’
Oprah told me ‘that’s what people want to hear. The truth is boring.’”
Jimmy Stewart’s Long Lost Beau
James Frey Awarded 3 Shrouds of Turin from The Independent for Greatest Comeback of All Time – Jesus Christ Nabs Five
Lite Baconnaise, Bacon Salt 3-Pack & Bacon Lip Balm Combo
Double Breasted Burger
Tranquilize The Sheep
The automobile driving manual says the average driver’s reaction time is: .75 seconds or 1 car length for every 10mph. Test your average reaction time.
Be careful this can be addictive! You will be surprised at how slow you really are 🙂
Score One For Those Who Don’t Believe In Evolution
Happy Easter
Emil Nolde, Der Prophet, 1912
All Life Suffers From The Damage We Have Done.
Happy Easter Bunny
Alex Pettyfer Number Four For Sure
Alex Pettyfer is ‘Number Four’
Alex Pettyfer, the British-born actor making his American debut by starring in “Beastly,” has nabbed the lead role in “I Am Number Four,” DreamWorks’ adaptation of the upcoming young-adult science-fiction book by James Frey and Jobie Hughes.
“Four” revolves around a group of nine aliens who escaped their home planet just before it was annihilated by a rival species. Hiding out on Earth, the title character (Pettyfer) disguises himself as a human high schooler, only to discover that he is still being hunted by his planet’s enemy.
“Smallville” creators Al Gough and Miles Millar wrote the screenplay, adapting what HarperCollins Children’s Books, which published the book in the fall, plans on being a six-book series.
Michael Bay is producing with Steven Spielberg. Chris Bender and J.C. Spink exec produce along with David Valdes.
Heavy: The Last Homeless Man In Times Square
Times Square’s Homeless Holdout, Not Budging
Michael Appleton for The New York Times
Heavy, as he is known, is said to be the only person still living on the streets of Times Square.
By JULIE BOSMAN
Published: March 29, 2010
As long as there have been homeless people sleeping in Times Square, there have been social workers and city officials trying to persuade them to leave.
In the past, the homeless were offered a free ride to one of the city’s warehouselike shelters. These days, workers for nonprofit groups help people move into apartments, keeping track as the number of the chronically homeless in Times Square goes down.
According to their records, by 2005, there were only 55. Last summer, it was down to 7.
Now there is one.
His name is Heavy, and he has lived on the streets of Times Square for decades. Day after day, he has politely declined offers of housing, explaining that he is a protector of the neighborhood and cannot possibly leave, the workers who visit him every day said.
Yet they are determined to get through to Heavy, the last homeless holdout in Times Square.
Erotic Capital
Have you got erotic capital?
It can be just as valuable as a university degree—especially for women
Katie Price, aka Jordan, does not owe her astonishing success to university
Michelle and Barack Obama have it. Carla Bruni and David Beckham have it. Jordan has even made a career from it. So great is the advantage “erotic capital” can bring to the labour market—especially in sport, the arts, media and advertising—that it often outweighs educational qualifications.It’s a term I coined to refer to a nebulous but crucial combination of physical and social attractiveness. Properly understood, erotic capital is what economists call a “personal asset,” ready to take its place alongside economic, cultural, human and social capital. It is just (if not more) as important for social mobility and success.
Erotic capital goes beyond beauty to include sex appeal, charm and social skills, physical fitness and liveliness, sexual competence and skills in self-presentation, such as face-painting, hairstyles, clothing and all the other arts of self-adornment. Most studies capture only one facet of it: photographs measure beauty or sex appeal, psychologists measure confidence and social skills, sex researchers ask about seduction skills and numbers of partners. Yet women have long excelled at such arts: that’s why they tend to be more dressed up than men at parties. They make more effort to develop the “soft skills” of charm, empathy, persuasion, deploying emotional intelligence and “emotional labour.” Indeed, the final element of erotic capital is unique to women: bearing children.
Time To Jump On The Home Butchering Bandwagon
Behind the Home-Butchering Craze
By JOSH OZERSKY
(See pictures of what makes you eat more food.)
Many of the young pioneers of this latest culinary trend may not even realize that butchers, like milkmen and iceboxes, were a mainstay of American culture for most of our history. The rise of supermarkets in the 1960s and ’70s, and the general decline of the blue-collar trades throughout the postwar years, contributed to the near extinction of the retail butcher — that gruff but lovable lug in a white apron who stood behind a counter and cut up chops for your dinner, and whom you knew as well as your baker and, yes, your banker. Butchers mattered in people’s lives, because they were part of the food supply. And they’re not coming back.
(See pictures of gourmet food trucks.)
But the service they provided is, thanks to recession economics and a very of-the-moment mood for getting engaged with how and what you eat. At specialty shops like Brooklyn’s Meat Hook, hipster parents and earnest “gastronauts” attend cult butcher Tom Mylan’s weekly lessons in how to cut up animals.
Oprah Foes & Art School
ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL
Mar. 26, 2010
“MENTORS” AT SVA
Fancy a spot under the wing of youthquake photography superstar Ryan McGinley? What about with author-turned-Oprah foe-turned-art dealer James Frey? Or how about with brainyArtforum editor Tim Griffin? Well, those are the kinds of opportunities that 80+ School of Visual Arts photography BFA students got with the most recent round of the institution’s “Mentors” program. The pairings are set up by photography department chair Stephen Frailey, who chooses mentorships based on the direction of the student’s work. As to the structure of the mentorships, it is described as “variable” in character, depending on what kind of sparks fly between participants. The artistic results of the 2010 collaborations are currently on view in a show at the SVA’s Visual Arts Gallery at 601 West 26 Street, Mar. 19-Apr. 3, 2010.
Worthy figures who donated their time as SVA mentors include critic-curators Vince Aletti (teamed with Aaron Boldt), Mia Fineman (Alex Bush) and Neville Wakefield (Nathaniel C. Shannon); artists Tina Barney (Dani Saul), Gregory Crewdson (Michelle Labriola), Tim Davis (Carly Planker), Liz Deschenes (Inga Moren), Adam Fuss (Katherine Schweitzer),K8 Hardy (Kelly Hopper), Laurel Nakadate (Kyle Ganson) and Taryn Simon (James Thomas Josephs); and dealers Jen Bekman(Elizabeth Ribuffo), Bonnie Benrubi (Anna DePalma), Yossi Milo (Matt Kushan), Yancey Richardson (Helen Ann Michelsen) and Julie Saul (Stephanie DelMonte).
