NEW POSTER: The Obama Matrix

Sometimes, doesn't it feel like we're living in an alternate universe?

Sigh: Enormous, Creepy Sculpture of Obama Being Readied for Democrat Convention; UPDATE: Nearing Completion!

I'm told that Putin, Castro and Chavez are all extremely envious. Can you say "Cult of Personality"?

Speaking of Mount Rushmore, “Team Sandtastic” is putting the finishing touches today on a huge sand sculpture of Obama to be on display at the EpiCentre in uptown Charlotte...

...15.5 tons of sand were shipped in from Myrtle Beach, SC for this. I don’t know who sponsored it (I don’t think it was paid for with DNC money) but massive sculptures of sitting political figures, especially Presidents, should disturb everyone a great deal (no matter the party), for reasons I don’t have to explain – no matter how well done they are.

A more apropos piece of artwork was recently unveiled by Jon McNaughton.

The artist describes it as "one painting that says it all."

Indeed.


Update: The sculpture nears completion (hat tip: @KevinDGregory):

Update II: Not an omen: Storm washes away giant Obama sand sculpture at site of Democrat convention.

Conservative Superheroes [The Looking Spoon]

From a gallery at The Looking Spoon, three of my favorites:

You can see 'em all here. Now that we've completed the set (Liberal Super-villains were published a few days ago), the site should print up some trading cards for kids.

Graphic: the True Size of Africa

Very cool graphic from FlowingData.

Puts things in perspective.

Man of the people: Obama unveils high-priced, designer campaign fashions

Nothing appeals to the middle class during a brutal recession like overpriced, haute couture Obama logo gear.

Forget those pedestrian campaign t-shirts, buttons and bumper stickers. The Obama Campaign has officially gone upscale and chic in an effort to help re-elect the president in 2012.

Their new “Runway to Win” line of designer campaign swag is now for sale in the campaign’s online store, featuring colorful $85 tote bags by big name designers Vera Wang and Diane Von Furstenberg and a $75 version by fashion favorite Tory Burch.

Looking for a t-shirt? Stars Marc Jacobs, Beyonce, Sean Combs and Jason Wu — who designed Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown — have each contributed a design...

...The priciest of the 13 items listed online is a $95 for a Thakoon-designed silk scarf... Standard campaign t-shirts, it should be noted, cost $30, while a simple canvass tote costs $50 in the same online store...

...The money raised from the sale of campaign-themed apparel and accessory benefits the Obama Victory Fund...

The full list of participating designers: Tory Burch, Marc Jacobs, Beyonce & Tina Knowles, Derek Lam, Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez, Tracy Reese, Narcisco Rodriguez, Rachel Roy, Thakoon Panichgul, Grace Tsao-Wu & Laura Kofoid, Diane Von Furstenberg, Marcus Wainwright & David Neville, Jason Wu, Altuzarra, Richard Blanch, Eddie Borgo, Georgina Chapman & Keren Craig, Sean Combs, Prabal Gurung, Monique Pean, Russell Simmons and Vera Wang.

That's the full list of designers that you should boycott (along with any company that sells their crap), since they obviously support the destruction of this republic.


Hat tip: @AmandaCarpenter.

Outrage: Planned South Korean Towers Will Resemble Planes Smashing Into World Trade Center

In what civilized country could this be considered acceptable?

The unveiling of pictures of planned luxury residential towers scheduled to be built in Seoul, South Korea, has sparked instant controversy. The reason is obvious. The towers, which include a so-called “cloud” feature connecting them around the 27th floors, clearly resemble the World Trade Towers in the process of collapsing following the 9/11 attacks.

The designers of the towers, Dutch architectural firm MVRDV, have responded to the controversy by quickly publishing an apology in English. “It was not our intention to create an image resembling the attacks,” the designers insist, “nor did we see the resemblance during the design process.”

They did not see the resemblance during the design process? The problem with this assertion – apart from its inherent implausibility – is that they have admitted the contrary in Dutch. Thus Jan Knikker of MVRDV told the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, “I have to admit that we also thought of the 9/11 attacks.”

Eh, Jan - may I suggest you try roasting yourself in a hot stove for, say, an hour -- so you can better empathize with the victims of the WTC attacks?

Today's Non-Sequitur

Papa B refers us to this Wiley gem:


More Non Sequitur here.

Top 15 Photos From the Old West

Now this is what I call Americana: "Between 1887 and 1892, John C.H. Grabill sent 188 photographs to the Library of Congress for copyright protection. Grabill is known as a western photographer, documenting many aspects of frontier life – hunting, mining, western town landscapes and white settlers’ relationships with Native Americans. Most of his work is centered on Deadwood in the late 1880s and 1890s. He is most often sited for his photographs in the aftermath of the Wounded Knee Massacre on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.."
















You can see the entire, stunning album here.

Rise and Fall of the Kooks Running the Recording Industry

Remember when the Luddites at the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) had the opportunity to buy Napster? This was circa 2000 and, because they were freaking out about all of the piracy occurring on the popular file-sharing network, they sued Napster for abetting copyright infringement, won the lawsuit and shut the service down.

They could have bought Napster for a reasonable valuation. Instead, they killed the service, thereby slashing the throat of the golden goose -- control of digital music before anyone had ever heard of iTunes.

Business Insider recently published some key graphs that depict the idiocy of the RIAA in stark terms (hat tip: Ace o' Spades).

Executive Summary: the RIAA literally set fire to tens of billions of dollars by being technophobic nut-jobs -- and, as an added bonus, put scores of their own companies and artists out of business.

Per capita, each media type has seen a rise and fall. Digital's rise was microscopic - it plateaued and began dropping in the blink of an eye. After all, music is just a series of bits -- and bits are extremely hard to protect. Next to impossible, in fact.

For years, albums were the way the record companies made money. Bundle a hit or two with a bunch of filler and force the consumer to buy the entire package, like it or not (Aside: Cable TV industry? You're next). But those days have long since passed - people buy only what they want and nothing more.

Singles are the only product type that's still working well for the industry, but let me be the first to predict that we will soon see it flatten and then plummet.

Nice work, RIAA schmucks.

Timeless Headline o' the Day

Breaking News from CBC (Canada):

Willie Nelson charged with pot possession

Country singer Willie Nelson has been charged with marijuana possession again after six ounces was found on his tour bus in Texas, according to U.S. Border Patrol Services.

Patrol spokesman Bill Brooks says the bus pulled into the Sierra Blanca checkpoint Friday morning. When the door opened, an officer smelled pot, triggering a search and the discovery of marijuana... Nelson was among three people arrested by the local sheriff.

The 77-year-old singer is an unrepentant marijuana user and he's been busted before... Back in 2006, he was also charged with a misdemeanour after being found with marijuana and mushrooms. He paid a fine and was put on six months' probation...

Some headlines are so unsurprising you wonder why the media even bothers.

Abandoned: a Photographic Series

Several stunning photos spotted in a large collection of abandoned facilities at Pixcetera.






Via: Pixcetera.

10 Amazing Photos From the Turn of the Last Century

Shorpy has an amazing selection of vintage photographs, ten of which are featured below.











You can see more at Shorpy.

Hat tip: Bones.

Photos: Time-Travel -- 1945 to 2010

An outstanding photographic concept spotted at 9gag (hat tip: Escobar) merges the close of World War II with modern day.