Californian Sojourn

Mad TV Has Changed Programming...

to Bobby Lee Korean soap operas:

Thanks to the Marmot for reminding me of this.

Effective Game Advertising

Best I've seen in a long while.  From the game Gears of War (all graphics from in-game engine):

Better version here.

Classical Values Hitting Home Runs With Regularity...

Eric over at Classical Values is just delivering post after post of great commentary about the current political situations regarding identity politics.  Really impresses me how he gets out these well written posts repeatedly with more analysis to add each time.  Certainly something I struggle to try and do myself.

My God...

I didn't even know I had my comment option set to filtering....yikes!

Sorry to those who posted...I feel like an idiot.

*Note:  Did that because of all the sex site comments back in the day I now recall.

You Won't Be Able To Escape Ads In The Bathroom Anymore

Behold!  While you're stuck there without paper towels and can only dry your hands via moving air, this will assault you!  Maybe I they can set up a market watch or something.

For That "That Doesn't Happen Every Day" File

Lightning, meet Minivan...

I'll just say, yikes!

Something I Missed During My Blogging Layoff

    The above image comes courtesy of an older post at Samizdata, your source for some insanity from the UK, and I must tell you that is one scary image.  To think that something like this capable of provoking imagery ripped from any literature that deals with future fascist societies is openly used as a government ad program to stop bullying is  just mind boggling.  Especially for little ole me here in the US.  Here I bristle at any new "Red Light" cameras that go up at nearby intersections and the British people have to deal with this.  Nothing ever happens suddenly I've noticed in life.  9/11 didn't occur suddenly as there were warning signs all the way back to Beirut and before.  And so I can only say this appears to me to serve as a warning sign for the people of the UK and elsewhere of what happens when the government begins to see itself as the only way to improve society.

    Now my question is this, will it jump the Pond?  Or has it already?  And if it does, what would the reaction here be?

    Update:  This is the original thread that brought me to the above picture.  As you can see, things haven't let up since April when the original post generated.

When You Don't Have Much To Post On...

    You ask a question like this: do they have car alarms in Japan or is it redundant?  Caught some Japanese cinema lately and noticed that I've never heard a car alarm go off before.  And especially with Yakuza flicks when someone drops out of a building and falls on a car, the car just goes smash (I seem to be giving away my viewing tastes here).  In a Hollywood flick you'd most likely have a car alarm go off for added effect or something.  So I was kind of curious if there is any need for alarms over there.

    I remember once being in a town near Mt. Whitney where I got out of my car, and like habit, chirped the alarm before going into a store.  As I did this a man in a rather large pickup drove by hanging out his window saying "you won't need that around here!"  He was probably right of course but being a said creature of habit and living in Los Angeles, well you just do some things regardless.

    If anyone has an answer please let me know.  It's a cultural tidbit I'm just curious about.

VDH Weighs in on Millar's 300

And his take is surprising.  I must admit that I was originally turned off by the liberties that were taken with the film (explained further in the article) but if a professor of the Classics can look past that and say the spirit of the Battle of Thermopylae is still there, well that's good enough for me.  Of course will the public who clamor into the theaters to see the violence and gore, among the other things the trailer promises, come out impressed by that spirit?  Well that's the million dollar question.

A Political Ad At It's Freakin Best...

Found this nice Google video via Classical Values (one hell of a site btw, with writing and thoughts that puts me to shame) and it's a barn burner.  And you know what, it probably gets a lot more people's attention then the same ol same ol political ad would.  Note that it's already been flagged by some YouTube users.  And Barbara Streisand says WE don't have a sense of humor!  Or at least shut up if we can't process a joke.

I never knew lil Kim Jong-il had game like that.  Nice hang time for a little fellow too.