Sunday, March 13, 2011

Louis Vuitton Whores


Ok, now before you say that I Rick Rolled you, hear what I have to say....

The group Anonymous (think like wikileaks, only more serious) has declared war on Louis Vuitton after the clothing company’s victory in court against an artist who painted a portrayal of a starving African child clutching a handbag. I personally feel that their stance is correct for supporting the artist and I am frankly appalled that a judge or any court would side with the prosecution on this one. Screw Louis Vuitton, if you guys can't handle someone using an image of your product in a tasteful form of artistic expression, then you guys deserve anything that happens to your company as a result of winning such a ridiculous law suit if the majority are un happy with the decision....

The company argued that the portrayal was “offensive” to their brand, punishing the artist for simply expressing herself.

Anonymous proposes that participants engage in non-violent methods of protest against the company by buying replica LV handbags and cheap old ones to give them away to homeless people. They also encourage the the removal and/or defacement of LV advertisements, the handing out of flyers outside their stores, and other forms of artistic protest.

Kittens and Glitter Louis Vuitton, kittens and glitter!!

(NSFW below)




Monday, March 7, 2011

Mardi Gras, Carnival, Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday... What does it all mean and a few things to do


So with Mardi Gras (literally Fat Tuesday in French or Shrove Tuesday in English tradition) only a day away and the Mardi Gras season hours from starting, I decided it would be a great idea to write a little bit about the season and the events, where it all comes from and what the meaning of the whole thing is.

In a word, Mardi Gras or Carnival can both be summed up as... Oh I don't know, mind-blowing for those that like to really party hard? In all seriousness though, Mardi Gras and Carnival are really the last chance at decadence, debauchery, and disorderly conduct prior to the observance of fasting for lent in the catholic faith, that runs from on or after Epiphany and ends on the day before Ash Wednesday in most places.

So what does this all mean? Well, in a nut shell, it means that Mardi Gras is the last chance for people to cut loose partying and to eat and drink like gluttons before lent.

What's this?


If you happen to be from Louisiana, then the previous image is nothing new to you, however, for those reading this from the rest of the world, you are looking at a crawfish boil, which I can honestly say is a probably one of the best examples of cajun cuisine and a pretty good example of something that you would see devoured by lots of hungry Mardi Gras goers as well! Crawfish are incredibly delicious and are great with a few cold ones and your entire family to share and enjoy! Seriously, don't knock em till you have tried them... Putting aside the food for a moment, Louisiana is often the first place that comes to mind for most Americans at least when someone mentions Mardi Gras, however, Mardi Gras is celebrated in places all over the world quite differently.


This picture was taken at Carnival in Brazil! In Brazil, Mardi Gras is referred to as Carnival and the entire country parties like they mean it! A quick search of the web will turn up many racy and wild photos from the South American Mardi Gras, some of which I was on the fence about posting here because they were beautiful images, but the were NSFW. That having been said, use your imagination and think about what an entire country of people celebrating before a fasting period would be like... Now add alcohol, great food, and some of the hottest scantily clad women in the world and you are only scratching the surface of what Carnival is even like in Brazil. There are many other places across the planet where they celebrate Mardi Gras, such as Canada, Germany, Belgium and more, even Senegal!

In closing, consider this before you go down to Bourbon Street in the French Quarter to raise hell, throwing beads at women who show their breasts and drinking hurricanes, while dancing to "When the Saints Coming Marching In" for the 3000 time in a day; this celebration is in preparation for the remembrance of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ: MAKE IT COUNT!, especially if you are Christian or Catholic.

If you need some other things to do while you are celebrating in Louisiana, here are some great options to check out:

Audubon Zoo:

Bogue Chitto Tubing:

Haunted History Tours:

Friday, March 4, 2011

Those Darlins, Great rockabilly/indie/surf/hick rock

Short post...

These gals are so rad, they definitely deserve praise and props!

Those Darlins "Wild One" from Tugboat Productions on Vimeo.


Apparently, they have a new album that just dropped as well. Check them out!
Those Darlins, Click Here

John Galliano, WTF Mate?

Let me start off saying a few things, before I dive into the story, etc.....

Firstly, the image commemorating John Galliano's time with Dior was shot by Simon Proctor and is being used from the blog of Jed Root, which is an agency in NYC that didn't hire me for whatever reason, after I met the owner Jed Root, who strangely reminds me of John Galliano somehow...
The part I find particularly interesting about this image and the fact that it is still up on the Jed Root blog (and likely Simon Proctor's personal site) is that, neither Jed Root or the photographer have an issue owning up to or displaying the fact that they are supportive of John Galliano and his anti-judaic attitude by still advertising and exhibiting a story including him digitally.

Secondly, but pardon the expression John, there are some things that are just not kosher and I think you successfully discovered that one.... I provide the link to his anti-jewish rant below for those who haven't seen it yet.

Just an FYI, the following is offensive:



So apparently John Galliano has a problem with jewish folks and loves Adolf Hitler.

Um,right....

Well, while he is entitled to his own beliefs and I would never criticize for that, this was one of those situations where another stupid, arrogant, ignorant, fashion victim has decided he is high and mighty enough to unleash his racial bias and low class attitude in a public venue. Thank you John for showing the world that you are a bigot. While I am happy that he outed himself as a Jew hating piece of La Merde publicly and internationally, at the same time I am sad because not only do racist attitudes pervade the fashion industry, but they also are pervasive in society as a whole, it is just rarer that there is a moment where the curtain is pulled back and people are able to clearly see people for who or what they are.

My beliefs are similar to that of the Inglorious Basterds in a manner of speaking.

After time, Mr. Galliano will be able to wash his hands of his indiscretion and will eventually work again (think Michael Vick, Kate Moss, David Duke, Strom Thurmond, etc.) All of these folks did something very against the grain and were eventually allowed back into the limelight (or never left in some cases) and they have managed to carry on like very little really ever happened. I don't believe that this should be ok at all. Particularly in Mr. Galliano's case. I realize that he will loose some money in the immediate future due to him becoming a social pariah because of his outward expression of hate, but after the smoke clears, he will be back to it like it never happened and what he said and did will be forgotten. This shouldn't be the case.

Galliano should have to wear his racism and bigotry on the outside from now on and see how he fares!

Blade Runner Prequel talks! Where is Ridley Scott?


Ok, so late last night I caught wind of there being talks about the creation of a new movie in the Blade Runner universe. I also learned that so far, Ridley Scott is not involved?! How can you even talk about making a Blade Runner without Scott at the helm?

Apparently, Alcon Entertainment the same folks who brought us such unforgettable films as The Blindside and The Book of Eli, have purchased the rights to make a film based on the original characters and setting as the original Blade Runner and are currently toying with multiple ideas for the sequel/prequel, including a web series or full length film.
I find the part about a possible web series interesting, because I believe a few years ago Ridley Scott and his son were rumored to be working with RSA Films on that same concept. They were rumored to be producing 10-15 minute shorts that would be available online, that would be based in the Blade Runner universe; to my knowledge nothing has come to fruition to date in that regard.

However, this new news which is making a splash across most of the major new outlets this morning has some weight to it, but indications are that the folks at Alcon are remaining extremely tight lipped about what they are up to. “We have some ideas that we’re not in a position to discuss yet,” Andrew Kosove, Alcon’s co-CEO was quoted by EW as saying, but he goes on in his interview to discuss the relevance of the original 1982 Scott film to our current times and how revisiting the film and its theme about what it means to be human are so appropriate to the current state of the world (at least in the developed countries). Let's see what happens!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Hudson Valley Wildlife Photography



This is one of my buddy's sites, definitely worth a look if you have any curiosities about the flora and fauna of the hudson valley area or if you just appreciate wildlife! Derrick is particularly fond of the birds of the hudson valley, so definitely check it out!!!

Local Exploration by Eidam Photography

The Social Network, Apache Servers and My Thoughts

I watched The Social Network lastnight and the first thing I really have to say about this movie is that I don't believe that there has ever been a movie that has been more over hyped than The Social Network has been. If you haven't seen or heard of this film yet (I have no idea how you couldn't have) here is the trailer:

Now that all of that is out of the way, I will say what I have to say and take whatever criticisms come along with that. I was totally unimpressed.

Jesse Eisenberg's performance as Mark Zuckerberg was way too convincing, to the point of causing anxiety within the first two minutes of watching the film. I realize that this is part of the story and whatever, and maybe Mark Zuckerberg is as big of a douche as he was portrayed in the movie, but they seriously could have toned down the OCD behaviour and the multiple times that Eisenberg mentions Apache servers for street cred and instead focused on the idea process more, rather than the people who implemented them or hated the innovators who ultimately create Facebook.

While I think that the internet and social networking sites are all a critical component of where the future of integrative technology is heading, I think that at the end of the day, the intentions of the film maker in telling this tale are either lost in translation or were truly only for profit. This film sucks pretty bad for so many reasons, I can't believe that on imdb or rotten tomatoes that they are honestly giving it such incredible ratings.

I think there is a valuable life lesson to be learned from the whole Social Network film experience, I guess it goes to show that you can make a completely garbage movie about something interesting and people will not only see it, but also it will win at the Oscars!

In closing, I leave you with some other films and filmmakers that lost out to more of the mass produced crap like The Social Network. Click Here

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

About.me, Yet another Social Media site?

So I just set up an account at About.me per one of my buddies.

Gratuitous link: http://about.me/shawnmadams

I think so far, that the layout is stellar, but I am not exactly sure what it is supposed to be for. If it is supposed to be like a photo resume/business card/something else, then I think it works pretty well in that regard; but honestly, I am not sure exactly how useful About.me really is. It's not facebook and it's not myspace. Check it out and tell me what you think!