Five Films That Inspired Linklater

Oscar-nominee Richard Linklater -- who directed, produced, and co-wrote one of my favorite (and, I think, the best) movies of last year, Before Sunset -- talks to Moviefone about the five films that have inspired him most: Godard's Masculin, Féminin, Minnelli's The Band Wagon, Anderson's O Lucky Man!, Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Buñuel's Los Olvidados.

(And in case you missed it, the Austin Chronicle recently published a great inside look at the making of Linklater's forthcoming adaptation of Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly...)

The New Lockheed Marine One

Lockheed Martin won a fierce battle with Sikorsky this afternoon for a $6 billion contract to build a new fleet of 23 high-tech, high-security presidential helicopters, designated Marine One. (This represents a major blow to Connecticut-based Sikorsky, which has built and maintained the current Marine One fleet for nearly 50 years.)

The US101 team was led by Lockheed Martin, English-Italian partnership AgustaWestland, and Bell Helicopter Textron, who will manufacture the fleet in Texas (to be delivered from 2009-2014). However, there is some controvery over the fact that the US101 is based on a European design (the AgustaWestland EH101), and will be comprised of many European-built parts (British fuselages and rotor blades, and Italian drivetrains and gearboxes).

But it sure looks cool.

(More details available from the Associated Press and Reuters.)

Target's "Design for All" Campaign

Target has a really great ad campaign currently underway called Design for All, which articulates their corporate mandate to bring good, affordable design to the masses. Check out the TV spot and website, both of which I think beautifully embrace the question "why does design matter?" (Because it does. And it's cool.)

P.S.: FYI, the music in the spot is "Say Something New" by The Concretes. (Thanks to Cool Hunting.)

$30M Texas Production Incentive Proposed

In today's State of the State address, Texas Governor Rick Perry called for a $30M film production incentive fund in his proposed state budget. If approved by the Legislature (as it should and likely will be), it would go into effect this fall, dramatically countering similar incentives offered by many other states such as Louisiana and New Mexico -- thereby leveling the playing field for the industry here.

This is a Very Good Thing.

(The Austin American-Statesman has more details.)

Sun Angry. Angry Sun!

Scientists report the largest solar radiation storm in 15 years could disrupt terrestrial communications and stuff.

Uh-oh.

Oscar Nominations

Oh, hey, Oscar nominations were announced this morning. As expected they were, well... as expected. I'm so behind on my moviegoing it's not even funny, so I'll refrain from comment until I get caught up.

Best Picture: The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Million Dollar Baby, Ray, and Sideways.

Best Actor: Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda), Johnny Depp (Finding Neverland), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator), Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby), and Jamie Foxx (Ray)

Best Actress: Annette Bening (Being Julia), Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace), Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake), Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby), and Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

For a complete list of nominations, click here.

Tasmanian Devil Audio Nightmare

Ever wonder what a Tasmanian Devil really sounds like? Pretty much like the most horrible nightmare you've ever had. No really -- listen for yourself... if you dare. (Want it as a ringtone for your phone? You know you do.)

(Thanks to my favorite blog in the interverse, Boing Boing.)

Farewell To The King

Johnny Carson passed away yesterday at 79.

As a kid, I consistently tried to finagle my way past bedtime to watch him, and he became a vibrant role model of what I thought a real grown-up was -- and should be. He had a style and wit and grace that I think can only be compared to William Powell (and I can't help but wonder what that meeting might have ever been like).

Anyway, I must say I agree with Carl Reiner, who (I think) suggested that the best tribute possible would be for someone like MSNBC to start airing every single Tonight Show episode Carson ever hosted, in its original time slot, starting from the beginning.

I would love that.

P.S.: Here are tributes from CNN and The New York Times.

It's National Pie Day!

Greetings, citizens! And Happy National Pie Day to ya.

More attentive acquaintances of mine know all too well that I love me some pie. In fact, I just recently rediscovered the wonders of the Wimberley Pie Company, deep in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. (I've got a blackberry pie from them in my freezer.) Another regional favorite is the Round Top Cafe, which I haven't been to in ages. And closer to home there's the legendary Frisco Shop.

Mmmm... Pie.

Sega iDog

(Reportedly) coming in April from Sega Toys...

Squid Apocalypse in the O.C.

CNN.com reports today that "hundreds of giant squid are washing up on Orange County beaches... the biggest weighing 17 pounds."



"It's not a common occurance," says astute Lifeguard Captain Eric Bauer of the Newport Beach Fire Department. (To which I can't help but respond "well, DUH".)

"Beachgoers were advised not to eat them" by authorities. (I refer you to my previous response.)

Personal Self-Destruct Button DX

Shipping in April from livedoor for a mere 3,990 yen.

You know you want one.



P.S.: Maybe Ashlee should get one. (The petition is now over 99,000.)

Stop Ashlee Simpson

An 18-year-old from Staten Island has launched an online crusade to stop Ashlee Simpson from singing.

The Stop Ashlee Simpson Petition reads, in part...

"We, the undersigned, are disgusted with Ashlee Simpson's horrible singing and hereby ask her to stop. Stop recording, touring, modeling and performing. We do not wish to see her again."

I, of course, just signed said petition. (And was number 85,672.)

Fortune Cookie Weirdness

So the other day I was at the grocery store (listening to the 24 soundtrack on my Treo), and couldn't resist indulging a compulsion for fortune cookies. Lo and behold I found a neat little stack of a dozen for 99 cents packaged in clear plastic cases, located rather inexplicably in the import foods section. (Fortune cookies are of course an American creation, and these were actually made in Houston by Southern Noodle Co., Inc.) The red-on-white label made four promises - "Fresh", "Great Taste", "Extra Crunchy", and "20 Years of Making Great Fortune Cookies" - three of which I can attest were fulfilled.

Since then, however, I've eaten half the box, and been fairly confounded by the rather bizarre fortunes contained within. Consider...

"Big brother is not watching you. You are watching it."

"All disasters can become blessings. All blessings can become disasters."

"A cynic is a person who looks down at those above."

"Productive people have more leisure time."

"To understand is to pardon."

"Love does not always wear a friendly face."

Transcribing these just now, I can't help but wonder if I might be facing some sort of existential crisis, so I think I'd better try a seventh one right now. Here goes...

"Your present plans are going to succeed."

Uh-oh.

The New Yorker on Hayao Miyazaki

The current (1/17/05) issue of The New Yorker includes a feature story on Hayao Miyazaki, entitled "The Auteur of Anime." Unfortunately, the article isn't available online, but there is an interview with its author, Margaret Talbot.

For more Miyazaki goodness, visit Nausicaa.net and the official website for his latest masterpiece, Howl's Moving Castle.

Japanese Robot Preserves Traditional Dance

A $365,000, five-foot-tall humanoid industrial construction robot named HRP-2 Promet has been programmed to perform traditional Japanese dance - thereby preserving it for posterity, and serving as a "guardian of cultural heritage".

The anime-esque humanoid robot was created in 2003 by Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and Kawada Industries. (It can reportedly also drive a car.)

Battlestar Galactica: It Doesn't Suck

The new "reimagined" Battlestar Galactica series premiered last night on SciFi, and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised.

The first two episodes ("33" and "Water", both written by executive producer Ron Moore) dramatically improved upon 2003's meandering and uneven mini-series (a considerably better, 48-minute shorter cut of which aired last week on NBC, btw). The beautiful visual effects work by Zoic is now matched by strong writing, acting, and directing, resulting in an eminently watchable and even engaging hour drama that has unexpectedly earned a Season Pass on my TiVo (even if it doesn't quite match the more laudatory reviews it has been garnering).

Plus, Edward James Olmos is a badass.

However, I must admit I still dearly wish Tom DeSanto had gotten to make his more faithful Battlestar Galactica series, which had promised to be an inspired continuation of the original - at least before the rug was unceremoniously pulled out from under him by the powers-that-be. (The curious can download some pre-production artwork here.) And yet ironically, Ron Moore similarly had the rug pulled out from under him on his Dragonriders of Pern series, which just goes to show that the universe is a mysterious place. (And btw, having helped develop the tragically never-produced Bruce Wayne series with Tim McCanlies - not to mention the pre-bastardized Smallville concept - I can identify on both counts.)

BBC: "Roboshark to hunt tourists"

I so want one. Or a dozen. (With fricken' laser beams attached to their fricken' heads!)

Mexican 'Simpsons' in labor dispute

The Associated Press reported yesterday that the Mexican voice actors who dub "The Simpsons" into Spanish are in fear of losing their jobs. They're currently embroiled in a union labor dispute with Grabaciones y Doblajes, which argues it needs new and cheaper (non-union) voices in order to compete.

And yet after 15 years of providing the voice of Homer Simpson for all of Latin America, actor Humberto Velez earns just $55 per episode, and asks, "How am I supposed to take care of my kids?"

Ay carumba, indeed.

"Darth Tater" Mr. Potato Head

Coming soon from Playskool. Really.



Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Apple Announces a Revolution

In case you haven't heard, Steve made a series of product introductions yesterday at Macworld San Francisco, at least two of which are arguably revolutionary.

The iPod Shuffle is smaller than a pack of gum, weighs less than four quarters, holds well over 100 (or 200) songs, has a rechargable 12-hour battery, doubles as a USB 2.0 pocket drive, and costs just $99 (or $149). It is shipping now, and will be in stores next week.

The Mac Mini is a 2" tall, half-foot square Macintosh G4 that weighs less than 3 pounds, and is priced starting at $499 -- $100 cheaper than the high-end iPod Photo, and half the price of a 12" iBook. (It will be available later this month.)

So what does this mean?

Well, for the first time in its history, Apple finally has true entry-level products at highly aggressive consumer price points, which tells me they're making a major assault on market share (emboldened by their success in digital music).

Throughout their entire existence, Apple has been burdened with the reputation that their products are expensive, premium, niche items.

That ended yesterday.

First of all, at $99, the iPod Shuffle becomes an impulse buy. It wouldn't surprise me if Apple sells several times (maybe an order of magnitude) more of these than they have iPods & iPod Minis, which start at $249. (They've sold over 10 million to date, and iPods already account for 65% of the mp3 player market.) Hell, even I'm buying one, and I have absolutely no need for it. (I have an original/vintage 5GB iPod, plus my Treo 600 doubles as an mp3 player thanks to a 512MB SD card.)

Secondly, the $499 Mac Mini is what the ill-fated PowerMac G4 Cube should have been (it sold for $1799 in 2000). Not only does it make a great second computer -- or entry-level Mac for average consumers from students to seniors -- it is clearly designed and priced so that, as Steve himself said, "people who are thinking of switching [from Windows PCs] have no excuses." The Mac Mini is a (relatively) modest investment that allows PC owners to use their existing peripherals (monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc.), thus significantly lowering the barrier to entry to the Mac platform.

Granted, these two products in and of themselves may not be truly revolutionary -- the iPod shuffle is basically a slick combo flash drive / mp3 player, and the Mac Mini is a monitor-less (and mouse-less and keyboard-less) eMac or iBook -- but what they represent strategically is.

Armed with these two tiny products, Apple is in for a very big year.

A Mystery Orbits Saturn

...and its name is Iapetus.

On New Year's Eve, NASA's Cassini space probe conducted a flyby of Saturn's third largest moon, which has been a mystery since its discovery in 1672 (by the probe's namesake, Jean-Dominique Cassini). The surface of Iapetus is nearly pitch-black on one side, and snow white on the other. And no one knows why.

But rather than solving this mystery, the Cassini probe revealed another. It discovered a massive, inexplicable equatorial ridge spanning almost the entire circumference of the planet (808 of 890 miles, to be precise), that reaches heights of 12 miles - three times that of Mt. Everest.



Cassini will return to Iapetus in September, 2007, when it will be in position to take photographs of 100 times higher resolution.

I will be waiting.

Robot Monkey Head

'Nuff said.

Freaky Japanese Pocky commercials

There are few snacks in the world I love as much as the many yummily addictive varieties of Glico Pocky. And that love has only grown now that I've discovered their deliriously surreal commercials... online!

For starters, check out this confounding Mousse Pocky commercial. I have absolutely no idea what she's saying, but it's doing something to my brain... like some sort of hypnotic trance-inducing mental contamination.

And that's just a warm-up. Now behold this bizarrely enticing yet deeply disturbing Decorer Pocky commercial. Holy mother of crap!



But wait, there's more! Watch the mind-altering "Making of" interview with our two Decorer Pocky goddesses. (And it doesn't even end there - here's part two.)

The Pocky women seriously freak me out. And yet... I love them.

Help me.

P.S.: There's another entire set of "ALL NEW" Pocky commercials here... starring four more ridiculously attractive women. (But avoid at all costs the horrifying Kreva Pocky commercial.)

Will You Be My Special Friend?

Attention L.A. readers! I wholeheartedly implore you to check out Tom Lenk's one-man show Will You Be My Special Friend? at the Acme Comedy Theater on La Brea any Wednesday this month. (It premiered last week.)

You may recall Tom's brilliantly funny recurring role on Buffy (and Angel) as failed-supervillain-turned-Watcher-in-training Andrew. Now's your chance to take "a trip through his treasured collection of embarrassing quotes, awful memories, shameless teenage self-promotion, tragic photos, devastating internet postings, inappropriate fan-mail, and strange 'Buffy'-related findings." And believe me, I'm extremely jealous. (Call 323-525-0202 for tickets.)

Best of '04: Cartoon Skeletal Systems

One of my very favorite links/discoveries from last year was artist Michael Paulus' "Skeletal Systems" gallery exhibit. Basically, he took 22 beloved cartoon characters... and eviscerated them, extrapolating what their skeletons would look like. Brilliant and disturbing stuff.

Resolution Resoluteness

(This is kinda more a high level "to do list" than a proper set of New Year's Resolutions, but whatever.)

In no particular order...

1.) Continue to try and be(come) the best possible version of myself.
2.) Clean/organize my closet/life (i.e. Simplify! Simplify! Simplify!)
3.) [None of your business.]
4.) Finish my first two shorts, and make a third this year.
5.) Debut as a filmmaker at SXSW, and attend multiple film fests as such.
6.) Produce my first feature. (Hopefully Tim's third.)
7.) Get the Villa Muse Studios venture funded and off the ground.
8.) Bowl over 200. With witnesses.
9.) Regularly update robogeek.com. Well.
10.) More quality creativity consumption (reading, film, theater, music, etc.)
11.) Do a better job of staying in touch with my 100 best friends.
12.) Take a real vacation, dammit.
13.) And... oh what the hell, start a bar.

And... we're back.

Attentive/nosy visitors to my apartment will note my refrigerator bears a Post-It (written by a particularly attractive ex-girlfriend) that reads "Simplify! Simplify! Simplify!" Years later, I'm still trying to take that advice, and am pleased to be making some tangible progress.

So, fulfilling one of my New Year's Resolutions (see next post), robogeek.com has returned in streamlined, minimalist form that should enable much more frequent and far less painful updating, as I've at long last extricated myself from the morass of manual HTML & FTP madness (which frankly made posting more trouble than it was often worth).

Basically, I've simply wanted to integrate my blogging with my daily web browsing as seamlessly as possible, so after exploring a range of options I went ahead and took the plunge with Blogger. (Their ingenious BlogThis browser button was particularly enticing.) Meanwhile, I'm also switching over from Buzznet to Flickr for the companion moblog (see photos in the right-hand column).

Anyway, for starters I'm using a (very) basic, clean, standards-compliant layout template just to get things going again, but I hope to evolve/customize the design over time to incorporate many of the previous features/resources of robogeek.com in a more elegant/intuitive fashion. (I'll also be preserving the old "retro" robogeek.com in an archive section soon for your collective amusement.)

We'll see what happens.