Thanks VSL

It’s a commercial (for Phillips TVs), yes, but a brilliant one.  Adam Berg, through some amazing combination of CGI and live-action filming (and maybe some still photography?) basically constructed an uninterrupted tracking shot to rival the one at the beginning of Touch of Evil (rival, perhaps, but not beat — considering that shot was a minute longer and was shot on film with no digital trickery).

I have no idea how Berg did it, but it’s pretty cool.  And like the opening of Touch, it’s a self-contained story.  I like it.

via VSL

In the same vein as Being John Malcovich, Van Damme plays himself — a past-his-prime action star, returning to his home in Brussels, and playing out his remaining career shooting more and more questionable B movies.  Until one day he runs out of money.  And finds himself in the middle of a real-life bank robbery.  Comedy and drama ensues.

I know what you’re thinking — Jean-Claude Van Damme? From Universal Soldier?

I know.  I had the same reaction.

The amazing part is — at least in the trailer — Van Damme’s acting is actually pretty good.  He’s actually funny and compelling — and overall the film – JCVD - looks really good.  It comes out on DVD on 4/28, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Thanks for the tip VSL!

At first this seemed unfair and unrealistic, but if you recall, Obama actually asked the American people to hold him to the promises he made.

Answering the call, PolitiFact made the ‘Obameter‘ which tracks Obama’s progress on each and every one of his 500 campaign promises.

It’s fascinating to see numbers and ratings on these things.  And honestly, looking at the numbers, he’s doing quite well.  Check it out for yourself.

Thanks VSL

Say no more, I’ve got just the thing for you:

No your eyes do not deceive you.  You are indeed just one click away from Henchman’s Helper — a site consolidating all of the tools and gadgets you might ordinarily stock in your lair into one convenient web site.

Now you can keep an eye on all of your normal sophisticated surveillance equipment from the comfort of a Starbucks.  Or your living room.

Thanks VSL!

That, apparently is a Nokia commercail that aired in China last month. With some really clever digital wizardry.  Nobody is quite sure how they got Mr. Lee into the footage, but man, it’s pretty sweet.

Read more about it on VSL

The whole thing is like a cross section of fringe 20th century music.  Blues, Jazz, Folk, early Rock & Roll, Bluegrass… it gives you the feeling that you’re listening to the music that’s always been rolling through Dylan’s subconscious.  And in the 4 discs that came with the set, I think I’d only heard about 3 of the songs before.  It’s truly a great collection.

Not convinced?  Read more:

- Very Short List first talked about Bob Dylan’s XM Radio show in 2006, including details on how you can tune in on AOL Radio.

- You too can get your own copy, bu as VSL explains, you have to order it from someplace outside the US — the powers that be didn’t want to deal with our annoying copyright laws.

Thanks VSL!

I’m sure by now we all know that her 17 year old unmarried daughter is preggers (you probably caught that yesterday when CNN dropped its coverage of Hurricaine Gustav and began a full court press on Bristol.  Seems like a bit of an unfair match to me, but what the hell.)  And that Palin’s involved in a lawsuit over the wrongful dismissal of a public safety official who refused to fire her sister’s ex-husband.

But more fun facts came out today!  Like the fact that she has a DUI on her record (although that didn’t stop Bush from getting elected) and that she was once a member of Alaska’s Independence Party — one of whose purposes was to drive Alaskans to vote for secession from the Union ( although once again, Bush’s home state of Texas threatens that all the time).

I have to say the best part of it (imho) is the fact that the McCain people did not even ARRIVE in Alaska to BEGIN their vetting process until last Thursday.  As you know, McCain announced her as his running mate on Friday. So they had less than a day to find all of the dirt on Palin.

Since you can’t find all the dirt there is on a person in less than 24 hours, she now gets to be vetted in real time.  By everyone, including the Democrats, CNN, NYT, AP… you get the idea.

What a delicious mess.

Perhaps the Republicans should do a little bit of catch up on SP by taking the time to read her blog, PalinDrome (actually a clever work of fiction, but then there’s already a lot of that in McCain’s campaign so I’m not sure anyone would notice the difference.  Take, for example, their preemptive edits of her Wikipedia page).

All ranting asside, you should check out PalinDrome if you get a chance.  It’s really funny.

Thanks for the link, VSL.  You’re my cocaine.

The Amnesiac by Sam Taylor

You can read more about it on VSL

The result is hilarious.  Check it out.

The Parallel Universe Film Guide

It’s fast becoming one of my favorite pastimes at work to browse through this and see if I can figure out which real movie they’re mocking (although films like ‘Big Ass Monkey’ and ‘Ow, That Shark Bites’ are pretty straightforward).

What’s also amazing is how insanely intricate the site is.  Stars and directors are cross-referenced.  Plot descriptions, movie quotes and fun facts are fully fleshed out.   This whole thing is slowly becoming its own comic book universe.