The Smarmy Carny

There are plenty of stories about the politicizing of Star Wars Episode III, and I generally scoff at these. I scoff equally at boycotts of such movies.

I just read an article at NYT (shaddap, it was linked from Drudge!) titled "Latest 'Star Wars' Movie Is Quickly Politicized." It discusses the politicizing of the movie before its release. Of course, it attempts to minimize any boycotts of the movie, but at least this time, they are correct.

Regarding this whole debacle, I agree with Peter Sealey, who likened the political interpretations of the movie to a Rorschach test.

Still, there's something of note. The typical Hollywood crowd takes a left turn again, as Lucas makes some DNC Donkey-headed comments:

And just what was Mr. Lucas – who could not be reached for comment Wednesday – thinking when he told a Cannes audience that he had not realized in plotting the film years ago that fact might so closely track his fiction?

Alluding to Michael Moore's remarks about "Fahrenheit 9/11" at Cannes a year earlier, Mr. Lucas joked, "Maybe the film will waken people to the situation."

Apparently in all seriousness, though, he went on to say that he had first devised the "Star Wars" story during the Vietnam War. "The parallels between what we did in Vietnam and what we're doing in Iraq now are unbelievable," he told an appreciative audience.

Here's a fun little video titled "Is This the Way to Armadillo?" Apparently, it was made by the boys in the Royal Dragoon Guards at the Al Faw base in Iraq. Of course, you can always get the original song, "Is This the Way to Amarillo" by Tony Christie & Peter Kay.

Either you'll love it or hate it, but either way, you should check it out.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Now that the movie has been released, Zap2It has The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Personality Test. Take it, if you dare.

Honestly, the quiz isn't that great. It's one of those personality quizzes that, if you have read the books or seen the movie, you realize that "If I choose C, I'll end up being Arthur." I just did my best to ignore that when I came up with answers.

My test result? I am Marvin. Here I am, brain the size of a planet, and they ask me to take a personality test.

MARVIN
Like Marvin, you are chronically depressed. Unlike Marvin, you are probably not a robot. Marvin is a new generation of robot, infused with GPP (Genuine People Personalities). Marvin finds little job satisfaction in his menial tasks and he's quick to remind others that he won't enjoy them. To be fair, opening doors and fetching things can be a little tough to swallow with a brain that can compute your personality problems to thirty decimal places, while predicting the weather of an entire planet.

Sand Animation

Sand animation is a really neat art. Actually, it's more of a really messy art, but let's not get picky.

Take a few minutes to watch this video. It's a couple years old, but it's certainly worth watching. From what I have gathered, this was the opening "act" for SICAF 2003. SICAF is the Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival. The clip features Ferenc Cako telling the story of Genesis 1-3 via sand animation.

Granted, the art created is not breathtaking, but the method certainly is. Then again, you try your best to create some "breathtaking" art as quickly as he does. That's where the "animation" comes in.

If this video had piqued your interest, check out Ferenc Cako's homepage, as well as sandanimation.com.

I think that an interesting finale to his show would be to have a beach bully run up and kick his creation over, but that's just me.

Amazon is currently allowing everyone to vote on short films.

Amazon's Tribeca Screening Room brings up a random entry for the Tribeca Film Festival's short film competition. After watching the film, you suffer through a Ellen DeGenerate commercial, and then you are allowed to vote on the film. Simple voting . . . one to five stars.

As with all film festivals, there are some inventive pieces, some cute little comedies, and some useless fodder. If nothing else, you are rewarded by the bad ones by being able to give them the lowest possible score. Overall, however, I haven't seen any true losers yet, and I haven't given any of the films the lowest possible score . . . yet!

If you've got time, check it out. You just might learn something.

Pie Hole

Here's a fun little flash animation by Norboto titled "Pie Hole." It's fun.

I always enjoy a nice little "this sound plus this sound plus this sound equals a song." Maybe that's why Fruity Loops (now called FL Studio) is so much fun.

I'll be posting another flash animation in a few days that uses a similar technique.

This article has been re-posted at Idle Idols, the site for the funniest American Idol auditions.

Numa Numa Dance

Countless people have imitated the Numa Numa Dance video, but few compete. None truly compare. It is this precise reason why I have not mentioned any of them, until now.

Take some time to check out this Flash animation of Gary Broslma on American Idol. It's not so much a lame imitation, but more of an artistic representation of the Numa Numa Dance on American Idol. The artist behind this has also gone to some trouble to draw the male AI contestants.

Still, this item pales in comparison, but it is worth watching if you have the time, and especially if you watch American Idol on a at all this season. (In my defense, I normally would not have seen any of the non-audition episodes of AI, but several people at work have the television tuned for the full show.)

If you haven't seen the original "Numa Numa Dance" (a.k.a. "Mya Mya," "Mya Hee, Mya Haa," "Hilarious Dude Lip Syncing," and many other things) video yet, you simply must take the time to watch it. It's basically a guy lip-syncing to a song titled Dragosta Din Tei by O-Zone.

Read my original post about the Numa Numa Dance, too!