Peter HACKson

Say what you want about George Lucas, at least he still has an imagination Peter Jackson will never have. Lucas also takes risks, some of which may even fail (and certainly do, as the present has shown us). But that's why they're called risks.

While Jackson is content at adapting novels or already made movies, Lucas takes things from the imagination, whether it be his own or from the many creative talents he surrounds himself with, and creates, while Jackson borrows.

Lucas created a huge galaxy full of many interesting people, creatures, places, stories, and conflicts. Jackson took a series of novels with a built-in audience and threw a bunch of CGI and overhead sweeping shots at it. There was very little in the way of actual creativity involved. And what exactly did Jackson contribute? The LOTR films are rather drab, lifeless costume fantasies that reek of lack of inspiration. They are NOTHING next to the Star Wars films.

Once again, Jackson is playing it safe with King Kong. Everything is already there; just add a ton of CGI and some 'safe' actors and there's your movie. Just like LOTR, there is already a built-in audience. The LOTR fanboys will clamor to whatever their master hands out. The older crowd who may have been fans of the previous Kongs will go to see this newer version. And of course, Joe Sixpack, who loves a big movie, will be attracted by the largeness of the event and join the other crowds waiting in line.

And of course, the praise will be needlessly heaped on his name once again. Maybe Kong will be a competent movie. Maybe people will love it. But it won't be because of Jackson; like LOTR, it'll be because Jackson simply followed the 'blueprints' that were already laid out and because of the miles of CGI that he threw at it to make it more lifelike.

What is Jackson going to take on next? A very popular video game franchise with a built in fanbase? Oh wait...

The facts speak for themselves:

whether it is version 1933 or 1976 or 2005, the movie king Kong shows:

1-White people going to remote islands reminds of the white british slavery traders going to africa back in the expedition era.
2-King Kong eats dark women but falls in love with white blond woman.
3-The capture of King Kong is a reminder of these white slave traders capturing black africans.
4-The transfer of King Kong to New York is a reminder of black slaves moved to the new world.
5-the exhibition of King Kong for profits is a reminder of slaving black africans in cotton fields and other areas.
6-The revolt and subsequent destruction of KK is a warning to the dark slaves that light-skinned people will prevail.


Boycott this bullshit...

Why I REFUSE to see Peter Jackson's remake of this RACIST Movie...

King Kong
Race, sex, and rebellion

by David N. Rosen
from Jump Cut, no. 6, 1975, pp. 7-10
copyright Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media, 1975, 2004

It’s clear that a central aspect in the critical analysis of a film (or any work of art) must be an appreciation of its historicity. This principle is based on the assumption that the film and its meaning reflect the cultural environment of its time and place. To be aware of the historicity of a given film, then, requires some awareness of the specific complex of factors—social, political, economic, psychological, etc.—informing the sensibilities of artists and audiences at the time of the film’s creation and initial presentation.

An interesting effort along these lines is Gerald Peary’s “A Speculation: The Historicity of KING KONG” (JUMP CUT, 4), which interprets the giant ape Kong as a conservative RKO’s very skeptical symbolic assessment of the New Deal, with the adventurer-promoter character Denham representing FDR. I believe, however, that a historical appreciation of the film should be expanded to include some other themes, those of race, sex, and rebellion. I say “expand” because I don't believe it necessary to “refute” Peary’s interpretation in order to present this one. Symbols can be overdetermined, that is, represent more than one idea.

It doesn't require too great an exercise of the imagination to perceive the element of race in KING KONG. Racist conceptions of blacks often depict them as subhuman, ape or monkey-like. And consider the plot of the film: Kong is forcibly taken from his jungle home, brought in chains to the United States, where he is put on stage as a freak entertainment attraction. He breaks his chains and goes on a rampage in the metropolis, until finally he is felled by the forces of law and order.

The causative factor in his capture and his demise is his fatal attraction to blonde Ann Darrow (Fay Wray). As Denham says in the last words of the film, “Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast.” If we look at KING KONG in terms of a racial metaphor, “Beauty” turns out to be “the white woman.” This kind of theme is foreshadowed in the behavior of the “natives” on the island where Kong is captured. When he first sees her, the “Native Chief” offers six of his wives for Ann, and when this is refused, he kidnaps her. Thus the sequence of events leading to Kong’s capture is set in motion: the romantic lead,/hero of the film, Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot) and Denham organize a rescue party.

This type of plot device is a recurrent element in films of the jungle adventure genre. The white woman comes along on the safari not only to provide romantic interest. She is usually a focus of tension between the white males and the “natives,” furnishing an opportunity for some of the former to display their virile heroism against the savages. An alternate scenario involves the search for a legendary white woman reportedly living among an obscure, remote tribe, for example, TRADER HORN (MGM 1931). In both cases the “natives” view the white woman as a special kind of fetish with magical powers. In those instances where the white woman isn't fetishized by the “natives,” the very opposite treatment of her provides an index of their barbarity—they lack a special standard of mercy for women characteristic of civilized peoples.

Aside from the sexual aspect implicit in the question of race, there’s the more direct, and somewhat delirious, sexual imagery in the film. The ape often functions as a most appropriate anthropoid symbol of “lower,” “animal” instincts. In this case we have a giant ape (literally a huge, hairy monster) and his unrestrained, headlong pursuit of a “blonde,” that archetypical Hollywood sex-object, ending on top of the world’s foremost phallic symbol.(1) The sexual theme touches on the standard racist myth of the black male’s exaggerated sexual potency, and the complementary notion of his insatiable desire for white women.

As stated above, to locate these interpretations in a historical context requires that we ask questions about the specific events and trends influencing the attitudes of the film’s creators and audience. A survey of the post World War I period in the United States or, for our purposes, the fifteen years between the end of the war and the release of KING KONG in 1933, reveals a period of increasing racial and social tension.

During the war period the movement of blacks from rural to urban areas intensified, and migration continued through the l920s, resulting in increased racial friction in the cities. In 1919 numerous race riots broke out, the most well-known being that which began in Chicago in July 27. What was most significant about these riots was their widespread occurrence (six major riots, twenty other racial disturbances in the summer and fall of l9l9) and the fact that blacks were fighting back, as indicated by the Chicago statistics on number of whites killed and injured, which is cited as a major factor in accounting for the particularly violent character of the riots.(2)

The Ku Klux Klan greatly expanded its membership in the twenties, with its biggest gains in the growing southwestern and midwestern cities; in 1922 Chicago had the most Klan members of any city.(3) Miscegenation, of course, was and continued to be an idée fixe with the Klan and white racism in general, the protection of white women viewed as a major part of the task of saving “white civilization.” Although the wave of rabid racism may be considered to have abated somewhat in the late twenties. it is incontestable that the nation was still affected by the same racial preoccupations. In March of 1931 the infamous Scottsboro Boys case began, in which nine black youths were accused of raping two white girls.

The Depression hit blacks, traditionally last hired, first fired, especially hard. Blacks played a prominent and highly visible role in the hunger marches to Washington which took place in December, 1931 and 32, and in the Bonus March to Washington of July 1932. In the election of that year black voters decisively broke away from the Republican party of emancipation’ to vote for Roosevelt.

It should be noted that the popular cultural representations of the twenties and thirties continued to present the Sambo character and the minstrel tradition, exemplified by Stepin Fetchit on the one hand, and Al Jolson end Eddie Cantor on the other. In other words, blacks were presented as the stereotypical good natured, fearful, stupid, lazy characters who loved to dance and sing, and who provided laughs and entertainment for white audiences.

The image of King Kong on a Broadway stage may correspond very closely to white America’s attitudes toward the black men in the 1930s: an object of entertainment, but also of fear. The ape is apparently securely chained, but with the ever present potential for bursting his chains and wreaking violence and destruction with all the power of his supposed “savage” primitive nature.

KING KONG was released a few days before Roosevelt’s inauguration in March of 1933. the high point of the Depression in terns of number of unemployed. If this period of intense capitalist crisis clearly raised the possibility of revolution, in a general sense it can be argued that Kong symbolizes this possibility, the threat of the masses “losing their chains” in a revolutionary upheaval—which conservatives always picture as a strictly chaotic, wantonly destructive dissolution of society. It should be remembered that this threat was not new; it had been haunting the capitalist world with particular Intensity since the end of the war.

A revolutionary wave had swept through Europe beginning with the Russian Revolution of 1917, with soviet republics briefly established in Germany end Hungary in 1919, and all of Eastern and Central Europe in the throes of revolutionary ferment. The reaction in the United States to these events and increased working-class militancy at home was the postwar “Red Scare,” which coincided with the outburst of racism.

The Palmer raids of 1920 were unambiguously directed against “alien elements,” especially southern and eastern European immigrants who were thought to be the carriers of the “Bolshevik” virus. (4) If these immigrants were the carriers of the disease, other racial and ethnic minorities such as blacks. Mexicans, and Orientals were thought to be highly susceptible. In a popular racist tract published in 1920, The Rising Tide of Color Against White Supremacy, Theodore Lothrop Stoddard warned”

“In every quarter of the globe ... the Bolshevik agitators whisper in the ears of discontented colored men their gospel of hatred and revenge. Every nationalist aspiration, every political grievance, every social discrimination, is fuel for Bolshevism’s hellish incitement to racial as well as to class war.” (5)

Attorney-General Palmer’s antiradical division, headed by J. Edgar Hoover, saw fit to publish a pamphlet in the fall of 1919 on “Radicalism and Sedition among the Negroes as Reflected in Their Publications.”

The Communist Party, was later very much involved with black causes, such as the American Negro Labor Congress established in 1925. The International Labor Defense formed by the CP devoted a great deal of attention to black cases, most notably the Scottsboro Boys case.

What’s important here in terms of this analysis is not so much the actual amount of Communist activity among U.S. blacks as the degree to which the government and media of communication fostered this conception and reinforced it In popular opinion, the Scottsboro Boys case in particular was one of the biggest stories of its day. No doubt it played on and contributed to the linking of a series of ideas about race, miscegenation, communism, etc. in sectors of the American consciousness. In other words, it touched on those very thoughts end fears which, as this article has argued, form the latent content of KING KONG.

The movement for “100 per cent Americanism” was directed against all those “alien elements” which were seen to threaten “American civilization.” Seen in this light, the choice of location for the finale of KING KONG is especially appropriate. What better monument to this “civilization” was there in 1933 than the then only recently completed Empire State Building? According to one source, an alternate location considered for this scene of Kong’s destruction was Yankee Stadium!(6)

As mentioned previously—a whole genre of Hollywood films (and TV serials) have been devoted to the jungle adventure theme. An examination of the relationship of these films to the question of race in the United States would probably make an interesting and illuminating study. What may be of significance for the analysis presented here is that the directors of KING KONG, Merien C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, were important figures in the development of this genre.

The explorer-showman-entrepreneur character Denham in KING KONG actually bears a strong resemblance to Merian Cooper. Cooper and Schoedsack had made a name for themselves with the exotic documentary footage of their two previous films, GRASS (1925) and CHANG (1927). GRASS followed the migration of a primitive Persian tribe while CHANG depicted a family’s struggle for survival in the jungles of Laos. These files strongly influenced the production of later African adventure epics such as TRADER HORN, the Tarzan and Frank Buck films, both because of their popularity and in terms of the technical and aesthetic examples they set. Cameramen Schoedsack’s action footage of wildlife, such as the low-angle shots of stampeding elephants taken from a pit, illustrates this. The team later filmed in Africa for THE FOUR FEATHERS (1929) and went to India to do parts of LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER (1935).

Merian Cooper is an intriguing character in still another way. In 1927 he invested heavily in aviation stock end eventually went on to be elected a director of Pam American airlines. He was a supporter of General Billy Mitchell’s drive for increased air power and, as the saying goes, was a “staunch anticommunist.” In 1919 he had volunteered to fight the Bolsheviks as a flyer in Poland’s Kosciusko Squadron, was shot down behind the front limes in July of 1920, and was imprisoned in Russia for ten months before escaping.(7) Later he produced number of films in Hollywood, doing a few with John Ford.

Cooper’s interest in airplanes no doubt had something to do with the very striking finale of KING KONG. In a less obvious way, his political orientation may have figured in this story’s depiction of a monstrous threat to “American civilization” and its final destruction.

In conclusion, it should be understood that an historical appreciation of the problem of symbolism and meaning, i.e., the recognition that meanings and the reaction to images (historically) change with changes in audience sensibilities, implies no fixation on a work of art’s original milieu as the only basis for a “genuine” or “authentic” estimation of it. Such a fixation actually constitutes a one sided distortion of a historical approach, of value only to antiquarians and pedants. Examination of present-day audience reactions to older films is no less necessary or valid. But what’s especially interesting about an interpretation of a film like KING KONG in terms of its historicity is how our more recent experience enables us to retrieve and appreciate its “original” meaning and compare it with our own understanding of it. The racial conflagrations of the 1960s, the resurgence of a radical movement in the United States, and the deepening social—and now economic—crisis stimulate and make possible such an understanding. More recently, of course, we have also been sold some new improved metaphors for social and economic crisis in the form of a capsized ocean liner, an earthquake, and a “Towering Inferno.”

Notes:

1. The Hays Office censored what it considered the objectionable scenes in KING KONG, which included one sequence on the island where Kong gently tears Ann’s clothes off, strokes her with his finger, and then sniffs it. See “King Kong Was a Dirty Old Man,” Esquire (September 1971). pp. 146-9 for stills of this sequence.

2. Stanley Cohen, “The Failure of the Melting Pot.” The Great Fear: Race in the Mind of America. ed. Gary B. Nash and Richard Weiss. (New York, 1970), p. 146. Cohen comments on the riots in the following terms: .”.. race riots were not a new phenomenon in United States history. But never had riots been even remotely as widespread or as violent on both sides as in 1919.” (p. 148, fn. 7).

3. Ibid., pp. 156. 159.

4. The word bolshevik is in quotes here because during the Red Scare it was often used rather loosely, in a pejorative way, rather than in a precise ideological sense.

5. Theodore Lothrop Stoddard, The Rising Tide of Color Against White World Supremacy (New York, 1920), p. 220, as quoted by Cohen, p. 155.

6. Chris Steinbrunner and Burt Goldblatt, Cinema of the Fantastic (New York, 1972). p.52.

7. Rudy Behlmet, “Merian C. Cooper.” Films in Review. 17:1 (January 1966), p. 18.

Rest in Peace -Richard Pryor

Richard Pryor, the groundbreaking comedian whose profanely personal insights into race relations and modern life made him one of Hollywood's biggest stars, died of a heart attack Saturday 10th December. He was 65.

In his autobiography, Pryor said he thought the script for SUPERMAN III was sh-t. But when they offered him $3m to do it, he said to someone "for a piece of sh-t, it sure smells good!"




Rest in Peace, Richard.

Its 9.30am on Thursday morning. My brother Stephen (who is 20 years old and old enough to know better) is presently sat in an ASDA store near his university queuing up for the official launch of Xbox360 (a grossly overrated product in my opinion).
Problem is, the X360 doesnt launch until the stroke of midnight this FRIDAY (tomorrow), so he has 15 hours to survive on the likes of ASDA doughnuts etc... at 9am there were six other geeks sat in front of him - rumour has it that ASDA only have an allocation of 8 premium units to sell.


Spare a thought for him today, wont ya?....!

Interesting email from a Games Industry Insider...

I work in the games industry and have a PSP game in the charts right now. The vibe is that people already are, or should consider ditching their DS. As an "insider", my advice is to hold onto your DS. Here are some facts and figures:

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http://nintendoinsider.com/site/EEEFylpkElFffmiBlr.php

http://nintendoinsider.com/site/EEEZuAypVuTuOJPzyb.php

http://lostgarden.com/2005/09/ninte...n-strategy.html

--------

The division of Microsoft that handles the Xbox has a net revenue of $3.1 billion, but makes a loss of $551 billion, as it subsidises the cost of each Xbox sold.

Sony also spends heavily in order to maintain its presence in the videogame market, though it manages to make a profit for $400 million from its games division.

Meanwhile, Nintendo doesn't subsidise its hardware so makes larger profits of $4.7 billion. Furthermore, it (surprisingly perhaps) has approx 60% market share of total console sales worldwide. From games alone, it makes nearly enough profit as the entire Sony empire combined.

Videogames seem to crop up a lot in people's posts on the moneysaving forums. I just thought I'd balance things out based on facts rather than hype from PR firms.

Analysis of sales figures also throws up some surprises. Eg. a #1 selling PSP game can actually be low (#37) in the multiformat sales chart. A couple of DS games that are higher in the multiformat chart are selling more, but appear lower profile in the shop because Nintendo hasn't payed for them to be all over the place.

That chart-track.com website is the only sales-based chart for the UK. Retailers such as HMV, Game, WHSmiths etc charge us a fee in order to have a game in their chart. They also charge for window displays, shelf space etc... When you walk into a shop and see Burnout (for example) all over the place, its because the publisher has payed tens of thousands of £££s for it to be there. Its not because its a good game, (though in Burnout's case it is actually good).

Be aware that games publishers can buy space in magazines, (and I don't just mean adverts) magazine covers, content, coverdisks, players guides etc... If a magazine gives too many low scores, the game publisher stops sending it early review versions and images for print. The result is that most games mags are just reprints of glossy press releases from the games companies.

If I want an honest opion of a game, I tend to go to www.gamefaqs.com where you can find every game on every platform reviewed by ordinary people. You soon get an impression of what's a turkey and what isn't. www.metacritic.com is also handy.

<<< I expect this post will generate a lot of angry and aggressive replies from Sony and Microsoft fans who have absorbed their PR company's spin >>>

Get Rich or Die Trying...

by ZombieSolutions of aintitcoolnews.com

Sums up my feelings about 'Fiddy' perfectly...

"get rich or die trying." yep, it's the american dream! fuck getting an education; fuck trying to better yourself and your neighborhood; fucking getting organized, getting involved; fuck taking activist action against a racist and corrupt government. fuck all of that shit, right? just get rich or die trying. its all about YOU. it's all about the "Bling Bling." sell crack and shoot down all of your frriends! that's the quickest way to buy that shiny rock and those spinning rims. yeah, thats the most important thing. to prove to everyone else that you have more shit then they do. go America! woo-hoo! get rich or die trying! i wonder how many kids will internalize that message? i wonder how many will be like, "hey, maybe i can sell crack and become a rap star just like Fitty?" only to be gunned down dead before their even 18. yeah! what a great message to send! thanks Fitty you Republican Uncle Tom KKK fuck. your really helping to keep the status quo alive and to keep your people down. good job, asshole! so, much kick back money did you get from the KKK and the Bush Administration, i'm curious? i bet it was A WHOLE FUCKIN LOT. SELL-OUT sucker....

In advance of its cinematic release, I have just one thing to plead to the Black Community...

BOYCOTT

THIS

MOVIE.

Opposition Mounts to 50 Cent Movie -Posters for(fabricated biopic) Get Rich or Die Tryin' show 50 Cent holding a gun in his left hand and a microphone the other.



Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich wrote to Paramount Pictures urging them to take down the posters.
The company said it had taken down one poster near a Los Angeles nursery school, and planned to remove more.
Mr Antonovich sent a letter to Paramount chairman Brad Grey asking him to remove the billboards, starting with one outside a school in Altadena, a suburb north of Los Angeles. "This billboard conveys to the students a disturbing message actively promoting gun violence, criminal behaviour and gang affiliation," he wrote.
Activists in the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Hyde Park - an area affected by gang violence - staged a rally earlier in the week calling on Paramount to remove a billboard next to the pre-school - the sign was taken down the next day

A grass-roots (or more accurately a street-pavement) campaign is now spreading across the USA to promote a boycott of the upcoming 50 Cent movie.
Following the vehement opposition to the placement of the film's billboards in Los Angeles, 21 billboards have now also been removed from the city of Philadelphia.
"The message could be 'rob to get rich,'" Bilal Qayyum of Men United for a Better Philadelphia told The Associated Press. "It's a very offensive message that is part of a mindset that says you can solve problems with violence."
Men United targeted the protest at billboard owners Clear Channel Outdoor, whereas Los Angeles protesters went after Paramount Pictures.
Clear Channel, hearing the strong negative reaction from Philadelphia groups, agreed to remove those billboards from the city.
Of the protests in Los Angeles, 50 told Reuters with typical ignorance: "I don't have a problem with [taking down billboards]. At the end of the day, those kids are going to see the film."

On Saturday, the New York Daily News reported that a similar campaign has been launched in Brooklyn -- not only against the billboard ads but against the film itself. City Councilwoman Letitia James said that it appears to her that the message of the movie is basically, "Do whatever you can to get ahead and advance yourself -- even if it includes violence." The "singer/actor's" yet again typically ignorant response to the latest developments of the controversy was, "I do appreciate it. ... They are helping me out." Yet what the pathetically ignorant Curtis '50cent' Jackson ironically fails to realise is that his actions are NOT helping his own people out. Everytime he opens his mouth or has his picture plastered on TV or print media, he sets the Black Race back years of achievement, advancement and progression. Gannett columnist Deborah Mathis, writing on the BlackAmericaWeb website, commented that films like Get Rich "create the illusion of young black men with power, when all they really have is weaponry. With their glocks and their snarls, it's fear they engender, not respect."


50 Cent: Yet another moronic traitor to the Black Community that glamorizes the gangster lifestyle and violence. Even the title of his "movie" is problematic. Sadly, 50 Cent is seen as a role model to a large segment of the youth population, and that regrettably includes my little Brother Jamie...

PostSecret

PostSecret is a fantastic Blog/website I stumbled upon which consists of artistic (or simplistic) contributions from the normal Human Beings of the world in the form of a postcard. These Postcards, however express secrets shared with no other, some of them light hearted, some of them dark and tragic. It’s a compelling site and yes, its all REAL.
None of the images are archived on PostSecret, so be sure to bookmark the site as the selection of contributions are updated every Sunday.

www.postsecret.com

Got a secret to share? Follow the instructions below…

How Do I Mail-In My Secrets?

You are invited to anonymously contribute your secrets to PostSecret. Each secret can be a regret, hope, funny experience, unseen kindness, fantasy, belief, fear, betrayal, erotic desire, feeling, confession, or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything - as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before.

Create your 4-by-6-inch postcards out of any mailable material. If you want to share two or more secrets, use multiple postcards. Put your complete secret and image on one side of the postcard. Please do not email your secrets.

Tips:
Be brief - the fewer words used the better.
Be legible - use big, clear and bold lettering.
Be creative - let the postcard be your canvas.
Mail your secrets to:

PostSecret
13345 Copper Ridge Rd
Germantown, Maryland
USA 20874-3454

50 Cent's 'Moronic' Movie Ads Draw Criticism

Despicable, 'Pop Rapper' 50 Cent's upcoming movie Get Rich Or Die Tryin' has sparked outrage among Los Angeles community leaders, who are repulsed by the gun theme in advertisements for the film. Billboards, posters and other ads for the movie depict the rapper brandishing two handguns as a promotion for the movie, which is based on the complete fabrication that is sold as the star's real-life rise to musical success from the streets of New York City.

Website AllHipHop.com reports the campaign has led to a call for a boycott from a number of organisations. Najee Ali of Project Islamic Hope, says, "Gun violence is one of the leading causes of death for young black males in South Central Los Angeles and across urban America. It's irresponsible for Paramount Pictures to promote and market a movie that glorifies carrying guns. Guns are weapons of mass destruction that are used to kill people. We demand that Paramount Pictures remove these negative images of death and destruction, images that our young children are influenced by." The group is demanding that the ads showing weapons be immediately pulled from the marketplace.

'Fiddy' is also the endorser of a Playstation video game entitled 'Bulletproof' - in my opinion it would be of BENEFIT to the Black Community if indeed someone proved he was not. He is also the person who dismissed a criticising Black community as 'Haters' when they objected subsequent to the release of Eminem's racist tapes that insulted Black Women the world over as "Dumb Nigger Bitches".

For every time Fifty opens his mouth and spews his usual garbage, he sets the Black race back 5 years of achievement, civility and progression. Representatives for Paramount have yet to comment on the marketing of this travesty of a motion picture.

Once cant help but notice how The Sun (scum) newspaper have been proclaiming 'all-Anglo-Saxon hero' Robbie Williams as the new King of Pop.
Excuse me for being dumb, but I thought to be crowned 'King of Pop' the following criteria applied:

1) You had to outsell the REAL King of Pop, Michael Jackson - who to this day still has the greatest selling album of all time in 'Thriller'.

2) You had to have a broad international fanbase, or at least a market that extends beyond 'White people from the United Kingdom'.

3) You had to be talented or at the very minimum, be able to sing…

Oh well, at least Robbie serves as inspiration to all of the other trumped-up, glorified Saturday-night Karaoke singers out there - one day you too could be king!

As if skin lighting for Vanity Fair a'la Photoshop wasn't bad enough…

Am I the only one who gets slightly annoyed at the fact that in interviews, Beyonce Knowles always harps on about being some sort of song writing / production genius and the brains behind most of her and Destiny's Child's hits? Heck, even her father is receiving production 'credits'!
The reason why this irritates me is that this could not be further from the truth - Destiny's Child and/or Beyonce as solo have not brought released original in years, if at all. This really demonstrates the lazy rut the music industry at large is stuck in.All artists do these days is to sample the TRUE artists/musicians of the past, try to reheat it, make a hit and then say they've written it. Its sad but true.



So fire up Kazza folks!, search for these obscure tunes and see what I mean…

Crazy in Love = "Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)" by The Chi Lites
Baby Boy = "Here Comes the Hot Stepper" by Ini Kamoze
Naughty Girl = "Love to Love You Baby" by Donna Summer
Bootylicious = "Edge of Seventeen." by Stevie Nicks

*Bootylicious is of particular mention because of Beyonce Knowles specifically mentioning (in interview) of "coming up with the rhythm" on-flight while travelling.

Anyone care to contribute to this list?....

Picked up this baby yesterday to compliment my Arcade. Got it from my local Argos, which set me back £27 after a small sale reduction.

Its a really gorgeous Bar Stool that suits my living room perfectly!



Now I can sit down, sit back, rest my feet, grab a beer and enjoy a few waves of Robotron without the leg cramps!

For those of you who care, you can view a Flickr slidehow that chronicles the construction of my Arcade machine pictorially.
From two pieces of MDF to the slick, finished product - this one is worth a watch! Enjoy!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/92651577@N00/sets/1138933/

WTF??!!

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=32981484&Mytoken=EDEF9787-B21A-4F1C-B389C2696194CAF53148614078

Stalking Michael Jackson

I would like to express my utter DISGUST at the attitude of Michael Jackson fans who gathered outside the Dorchester yesterday evening. I'm not talking about all of them, im not even talking about 80's generation fans who grew up on the likes of Thriller and Bad, no. I'm talking about NEW fans, those aged around 16/17 who quite frankly appal me.

Yesterday afternoon I gathered outside the Dorchester on my lunch break hoping to catch a glimpse of Michael who was expected to leave for the afternoon. Alas, it was not meant to be, however I did meet a nice group of European fans who told me fondly of their experiences and how they hope to see Michael for the first time. Later, after work around 4.30pm I went again, the same group of adorable fans were there but there was another group, who although were there in the early afternoon, I did not pay them much attention until now. These were around 16/17 year olds, possibly younger - I prominently remember a skinny white effeminate looking male wearing Black and a short, large (in terms of weight and attitude) mixed race or fair-skinned Black girl. The guy was completely camp, a real diva while the female was bossy as hell. I tried to be friendly talk to them and things seemed quite okay. That’s when Kerry, Michael's chief bodyguard, showed up - he explained how the police have had a word with Michael about disturbances from fans, how if their presence is going to be required to restrain things then Michael may have to pay 100k per day and how they could charge him with instigating a disturbance if he continued to wave at windows etc.. Kerry then asked fans to show some restraint and act a bit more calm and MJ would try to find a time to appear and greet everyone. As Kerry was speaking, a few fans made comment and spoke to one another - what did the short mixed-race girl do? She rudely "Shoooosh"-ed! each and everyone who uttered a breath, it was if Kerry was speaking to her and her alone. She then fell into a hysterical mode about how she wanted to stay but did not want to get Michael into trouble - she was really concerned that she would get MJ arrested or something! Seemed a bit over the top if you ask me.
Later on she yelled at this young Black guy, who I presumed she knew. Accusing him of NOT being a Michael Jackson fan (despite the fact he was seen hanging round singing MJ songs) because he only showed up at 3pm!!

Later on, Kerry appeared by the front of the hotel in a suit, it was clear that MJ and his entourage were going out that evening. A few hours passed and MJs car was waiting by one of the side entrances (The Ballroom I think), obviously the fans crowded to that area with Cameras in tow. The mixed-race girl started to yell at everybody, "If ANYONE goes near MJ I'll fuckin flatten them!" At first I took this in jest, but when she said it repeatedly (and more aggressively each time) it annoyed me.
So after a 5 min wait, Grace (the Nanny to Michael's children) steps out and straight into the car. The car then waits a further 5 mins and pulls away to the next side entrance, for the hotel restaurant. Again the car waits and the fans follow, it seems that it all was a diversion as the car pulls away and drives off with no one else entering it. It seemed (According to Police) that MJ left the hotel ten minutes ago and disappeared from the garage or staff entrance on the opposite side of the hotel while everyone was distracted. Some fans start pulling out their mobile phones and ring various 'contacts' franticly. A group of friendly fans I was with actually said that MJ went to Harrods and that he was seen on the steps with photos being taken. I believed this considering Harrods was not far away at all from Park Lane. The friendly fans hailed a taxi and asked if I would like to join them. It was getting late, I had to go home so I decline and walked back towards Hyde Park Corner tube station.
As I approach the subway just before the station, I see a group of fans, leaded by the short mixed-race girl and the effeminate White guy - as I approach them I hear someone say "shooooosh!", I greeted them with a smile and said "I'm beat, I suppose you guys are off to Harrods then" - I get NO response. Fine I thought, they didn’t hear me. I stepped closer to them again with a smile saying, "you off to Harrods then, its only up the road.." again nothing, not only was I blanked but they walked straight past me like I was dog shit.
Now why did I deserve this treatment? Its because this 'new-generation' of MJ fan is selfish, deluded and thinks that they OWN him. I tell you what, knowing the type of man that Michael Jackson is, he would be ASHAMED to have 'fans' like this. They act childish and weirdly possessive. The MJ fans I remember from the 1980s had a sense of community, they sang and danced together and dressed like MJ together. Never would I have been subjected to such treatment in the golden days.
The ironic thing is that I was an MJ fan before these morons were even born. Heck, I don’t even think they were alive when Bad was released! I have been to all three of MJs solo world tours and they have probably been to none. Biggest difference between me and them? - They are psychotic, I am NOT.

Rant Over! - Let me know your thoughts on this.

The Arcade is COMPLETED!

This is it! This is the day when I complete my three-month DIY project, Wildman's Arcade Classics!

First we sticked the adhiesive vinyl bezel onto the toughened glass that I ordered a week or so back. This is to disguse the fact that we are using a PC monitor as a, erm.. monitor(!) and will also display the operational controls for the arcade and its various emulated platforms.
The centre screen area of the bezel was still in tact and was simply a white square. We had to cut this away very slowly and very accurately using a fine blade.

Once cut, we peeled back the paper backing and applied the bezel onto the glass surface. As you can guess, there were air bubbles galore! A flat plastic card (like a credit card) and a sharp pin are your friends in this situation!

The finished glass bezel is place in the glass retainer (glazing strips) and fit tightly in place on the cabinet in front of the monitor. I applied some ultra-strong glue to secure the strips to the MDF surface with an instant bond upon contact. The glass is now firm and cannot be easily disturbed.



Next we move to the Marquee! I sandwiched the marquee artwork in between two clear sheets of stiff plastic. The plastic and marquee art is then retained with Black Plastic 'L' channels which are screwed onto the MDF surface of the arcade on the top, bottom and sides.



The bottom and the side screws would be visible, so once again we use Black plastic screwcaps for asthetic purposes. I think the visible caps compliment the overall design of the cabinet rather well!



Next we apply the vinyl Pacman decal onto the top sides of the cabinet and on the surface of the lower coin door. The idea behind this was largely to disguise traces of screws that recessed above the surface of the MDF prior to painting. Looked and worked a treat!



So, we finally reach the end, and the very last thing to do is to apply the side artwork onto the cabinet. This was relatively easy, as the artwork was printed on a rectangular sturdy vinyl sheet which would simply peel back and could be applied with ease and minimum fuss from airbubbles due to the strong adhiesive.




And voila! We have one FINISHED arcade!



I could not be more proud of this accomplishment, as it far exceeded my expectations being better than anything I thought I was capable of planning and constructing. It looks particularly beautiful when illuminated within its home in the corner of my lounge, and I look forward to both friends and family alike gaining maximum, nostalgic enjoyment from it! Sure it was expensive, hard work and incredibly time consuming - but it was worth it!




Since constuction completed, several of my friends suggested that one day I could sell it on ebay and gain a tidy profit. HELL NO! Too much of my sweat and tears have gone into this project for me to even think about that!!




Now for some Mortal Kombat!.....

Started the completion stages of my arcade today. Here we attach the front door (which houses the Coin Door) onto the main cabinet build by screwing onto thick timber ledgers. As we screwed to the cabinet externally, we used black screw caps for aesthetic purposes.

Remember, the PC power-on button will be accessible via opening the coin door. So without the keys to the lock the arcade cannot be powered on or off.

I upgraded my mobile phone this weekend. Being a Sony Ericsson fan (and absolutely detesting Nokia) I opted for the gorgeous W800i, more fondly referred to as the 'Walkman phone'.
With an ultra crisp LCD screen, 2 megapixel camera (With light flash and autofocus), 512mb external memory (supplied), 100mb Internal memory and fantastic hi-end Sony headphones (which handle Bass and Treble tremendously), it is, in my opinion the BEST handset on the market!
Musole took out a T-Mobile contract for herself and got one too, so now we have a His&Her set. *Meh!*

Check out this review below for more details...

http://www.mobileburn.com/review.jsp?Id=1178&source=HOMETOP

As you can see, glass is here and Artwork is here - we are now ready to go! Saturday will be the big day that my grueling Arcade project will come to a head and reach its very completition!

I placed my glass order locally for a piece of clear toughened glass measuring 510 x 508mm. At a price of £11 with a lead-time of two days, I didnt think it was too bad of a deal!

Also ordered my arcade artwork today from mamemarquees.com. Scott, who runs the business from Miami Florida. Scott is pretty much the best out there for specialisation in printing Arcade Art, and is a true Gentleman to boot. Very honest and very helpful. He offered me a combo deal of my custom-designed marquee, Bezel and tough-vinyl sideart for around £70 total (a real bargain my my book, considering the quality) and even went out of his way to rectify some of the design mistakes I made within photoshop.

I have been having random restart and shutdown problems with the Arcade PC for a while now.
Diagnostic software indicates that there is nothing wrong with the RAM, and considering that the power LED to the X Arcade controller often craps-out, I figure its an issue with the power supply.
The current Power supply unit in the Arcade PC was 300w, so I went out to the Computer Fair and picked up a 550w unit for under £20. I put it in, connected it to motherboard and other hardware and have not had a shutdown/restart since!

As we more closely approach the end of this exhausting project, it is time to measure for the glass.
I achieved this by using a piece of soft cardboard and cutting to the measurements of the PC monitor.



I placed this card into the glazing strips (that will actually be used to retain the glass) to determine a tight fit.
Through trial and error, folding and unfolding, I got the card to successfully cover the entire screen area. I noted down the measurements as they will form the basis for the dimensions I will supply when ordering the glass.



Although I have no picture as example, I actually duplicated the measurement of the card to cut out a piece of transparent film. I placed this film in the area in front of the PC monitor via the glazing strip retainer and marked out the boundaries of the actual monitor screen area with blue masking tape, again making a note of these measurements for ordering the bezel that will border the screen.

Now we get to work on the Arcade's coin door. I gave the door a clean lick of Black Hammerite paint, to cover over minor scratches and areas of rust. I also replaced the Camlock for access to the top door.



We cut a hole in a piece of painted MDF and attached the coin door from behind, securing it with Timber Mending plates.



As you can see, the coin door opens to reveal the PC's power switch. You will need to have the keys to the Arcade in order to switch it on and off.

Continued work on the Arcade today. We are closing in on the finishing stages of construction - How exciting!!

Covered the holes where the Speakers are to be placed internally (and the grills
externally) with accousticaly-transparent felt. The material had to be stretched tightly and stapled down onto the MDF surface. Unfortunately I didnt have a staple gun at hand, so I used the more colourful solution of Drawing Pins! Worked a treat!!



Drilled small holes through the flat plastic wings of the Creative PC Speakers and mounted tight to the MDF panel using regular screws.



Next stage was to use the Straight-Edge to level and mark where the runners for the hidden drawer will go.



The actual MDF drawer is constructed and ready to fix onto the runners.



The Hidden Drawer houses a mini-keyboard and mouse for emergency administrative purposes and should be camoflaged as unnoticable when closed.



Next, we mount one of the most useful and essential parts of the Arcade Cabinet - the beverage holder! I bought two of these babies from ebay for the dirt-cheap price of £1.50 each! They were originally designed for Golf Trolleys and came with a metal clip that is supposed to hang off the edge. I removed the clip and mounted to my cabinet with screws. When closed, the drinks holder blends seamlessly with the Black Hammerite painted finish. When opened, the holder itself can expand and retract to suit your beverage container, be it cup, glass or can!



Let there be light! The two 10watt florescent bulbs are mounted within the marquee panel with plastic brackets - Incredibly bright!