MUTO
AN AMBIGUOUS ANIMATION
PAINTED ON PUBLIC WALLS

As the unfortunate lapses between my posts show, it sometimes takes something really amusing or interesting for me to add something here. This is the first time I couldn't wait to post something.
A coworker turned me on to this video, which is truly one of the coolest things I've ever seen on the Internet. It's called " MUTO " and is a time lapsed, wall-painted animation by an artist who simply calls himself, " BLU ". Make sure to click his name to check his site and other works of art.
This incredible animation was done in "Buenos Aires and Baden", according to the credits.
I normally do not post video clips or refer to other people's work or blogs, but this is just outstanding. Be prepared to sit back for a while, as the video is about 7 and a half minutes long.
But keep in mind that it probably took him weeks or maybe months to paint, repaint and re-repaint all the thousands of separate frames for the animation.
It's that kind of incredible patience and endurance, coupled with his ingenious, often bizarre creations that make this such an astounding and entertaining work of art. Oh, and make sure to have your sound turned on as there is music/sound effects that accompany the animations and is also very well done.
Enjoy it and make sure to pass it on to others!

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Credits:
MADE IN BUENOS AIRES AND BADEN

ANIMATION AND EDITING BY BLU
ASSISTANT: SIBE
MUSIC BY ANDREA MARTIGNONI
PRODUCED BY MERCURIO FILM

"Died in a Blogging Accident"
Becoming a Much More Popular Way To Go

The really humorous web comic XKCD had an excellent exercise in irony recently with a self defeating strip. They made a funny reference to the decreasing number of Google hits you will likely get, the more obscure and benign an activity you insert into the phrase, "Died in a *** accident".

So, you fill in the blank, you get either a few or a lot of hits, depending on the type of death. As you would expect, "Died in a Blogging Accident" is at the bottom with only 5 Google hits. The results shown overall are accurate enough, even with current results, that it shows the strip creator may have really done the searches, instead of making up random numbers.

Unfortunately, the strip is very likely to be mostly read by computer geeks (read a bunch of their archived strips to confirm this), so the question is how many hundreds of thousands of those computer geeks read it and then immediately tested the "results" of the strip, thereby affecting the outcome?

At the bottom of the strip you will see that "Died in a blogging accident" is at 5. My last test showed it has now ballooned to 22,100.

Bloggers . . . be careful out there.

My most current Google results:

Died in a skydiving accident - 863
Died in a elevator accident - 93
Died in a surfing accident - 520
Died in a skateboarding accident - 516
Died in a camping accident - 212
Died in a gardening accident - 263
Died in a ice skating accident - 5
Died in a knitting accident - 1,870
Died in a blogging accident - 22,100

The strip that started it all:

"PURPLE Haze? More like a GREEN one . . ."

I almost got my head stomped on in when I was a teenager, because of those 7 little words.

My first day in yet one more new school, someone had warned me to avoid their worst bully, named "Danny".

I was only given subtle warnings, such as: "stay away from him", "toughest kid in school", "major druggie", "family problems", "goes into fits of rage", " can beat up guys twice his size", "always suspended for fighting", etc. etc.

GREAT. So, at the last class of the very first day, I was already nervous when I was told I HAD to sit next to him. It was at one of those two seat lab tables. As I sat down, I tried to be friendly and said, "hey" to him. He just scowled at me.

About 5 minutes into class, he was completely ignoring the teacher and everything else. He began "quietly" rocking out, swaying, "banging" his head and singing to himself.

Then he started singing Jimi Hendrix's, "Purple Haze". At that time, I actually owned the record - yes, RECORD - but for WHATEVER reason, I didn't know that it was that particular song he was singing. Then he got a little louder when he got to the words:

" . . . acting funny, but I don't know why . . . 'scuse me while I kiss the sky"

Because God and Jimi were apparently setting me up, I still didn't recognize it was "Purple Haze". Right then, my brain shut the REST of the way off and I turned to the toughest bully in school and loudly blurted out: "Did you just say, 'scuse me while I KISS THIS GUY?" I should have just punched myself in the face at that point.

People started snickering and some even laughed out loud, until he turned to look at them. Everyone would immediately stop, if he looked in their direction. Then he glared at me and simply said, "YOU'RE DEAD". I believed him.

The weirdest part is that I'm positive I somehow, miraculously avoided having him kicking my head in that day, and even for the rest of the school year. I do remember that albeit uselessly, I tried to persuade him that I also loved Hendrix and smoking weed. But it was far too late for any of that. He told me to shut up and repeated that I was going to be "dead", as soon as school was out.

At this point, I sort of blanked out. I retreated into my own mental world. I'm sure it was a world where I was probably a black belt and I didn't blurt out brain damaged comments as a cheap way of committing suicide.

That must be why I can't remember for sure how I escaped his boots and fists that day. Who knows, maybe the teacher grabbed him while I made my getaway and I then I kept myself as invisible as possible for the rest of the year. Maybe I bribed him with a promise of some free pot. Whatever the case, it took a while before I could enjoy the song without cringing at the first verse. All these years later and I have no clue what happened to that old record. I still regularly crank it up nice and loud, now it's just on my MP3 player. True story.

I wrote all this down because after all these years, I just discovered these 2 little known "facts":

1) It's the "world's most commonly misheard lyric"

2) Jimi deliberately chose (or even copied) those words so it could be sung and/or heard EITHER way

Seem hard to believe? Check out the claims at - believe it or not - KISSTHISGUY dot com! (The "Misheard Lyric Archive")

Don't let the name of the site fool you, it's safe to click:

http://www.kissthisguy.com/jimi.php

"I rear ended the car, trying so hard to read it . . . "

Saw an interesting thing on the way to work.

A bumper sticker that said "01-09-08 - Bush's Last Day".
It was right at a part of the drive where cars tended to cut in front of others vying to get in line for the on ramp to 405 North.

A couple of things struck me as interesting. One is the phenomenon where individuals who cannot cope well with life, reality, etc. will place all of their focus on what they hate, fear, etc. on one primary object. It is a way to try to function and deal with everyday life. Everything seems so chaotic and out of control that if we can find a singular thing to channel all blame, all discontent, all doubt . . . then we feel more as if we have retaken control from the otherwise uncontrollable mess.

Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer half jokingly calls it "BDS" or "Bush Derangement Syndrome".

I know that psychologists would probably have another name for this mentally placing all of ones chickens into one basket, so to speak. At the very least, it is a weak attempt to try to shirk responsibility for the problems in ones life.

I find it interesting (or comical) that people who have chosen to place all their focus of phobias and anger on this one man (George Dubya), have no logical conclusion except to also take the route of this person and their bumper sticker, which is to believe that "everything's gonna be all right" once Bush is out of office.

Make no mistake. There will be cheering and partying and dancing and hoopla like you NEVER did see on his last day. But will it suddenly be heaven on earth? No. This is similar to the silliness that took place when the Democrats gained more seats in Congress in '06. There was cheering and partying and dancing and hoopla . . . then nothing. All the promises to get us out of Iraq fell through. All the promises to cut funding to Iraq so we would HAVE to pull out fell through. You get the picture.

One last thing struck me as interesting. A person was merging/cutting in right in front of that person, like they always do at that on ramp to 405, with one small difference. This anti Bushy would NOT let them in, no matter what. They practically had an accident. This is highly unusual for this area, even by those who hate the cutters.

I drove up once we got on the highway to see what the person looked like and saw what I considered the typical liberal extremist . . . it was a 55 yr old woman, about 4 foot nothing, buzz cut super short haircut, horned rimmed glasses, and an expression sour enough to spoil milk on contact.

Portland Mayor Tom Potter, immediately following the revelation the FBI wouldn't grant him top secret clearance he recently "decided he needed".

Portland, OR (UFIA) - Just this week, Portland mayor Tom Potter made the groundbreaking decision to be the first in the US to formally withdraw support from the regional FBI anti-terror task force.
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He said that if they were unwilling to change the long standing protocol to also let him (and not just the specially dedicated officers) have full access to all of the FBI's top secret local information, that he was going to make a statement by withdrawing their protection of the over half a million people populated city. After negotiations broke down and he formally cut ties, he expressed having a "basically really good feeling, having stood up for principal over the mere practical protection of human lives."
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Potter's contention of requiring access to all the local top secret files was his insistence that he was Portland's necessary and supreme protector of human rights. He made it clear that he alone could guarantee that no citizen's liberties would be trampled or their feelings hurt through FBI policing work. He called it a "gift" he owned and one with which he was born. He said that he clearly stated this as the centerpiece of his campaign promises that gained him the mayoral office victory last November: "They knew I promised to withdraw city support for those Neanderthals in the FBI before last November, and that's why they voted me into office. It's obvious."
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The press conference was cut short when a family dispute broke into the proceedings via a phone call from Potter's wife. Sources secretly reveal that earlier in the morning, before leaving home for work, Tom walked into the kitchen and approached his wife as she tended a young toddler she was babysitting. Sources claim that when Tom saw the child sitting in a small portable wash tub filled with dirty bath water, he immediately threw both of them into the back yard. He insisted it was the only way to keep from offending anyone who might have an aversion to dirty water of any kind. "As long as no one gets offended, everything will be OK. Trust me."
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Immediately before leaving the proceedings, Tom stopped and spoke out in a calm voice, "if the council knows what my liberal handlers have told me to be right, they will immediately support and vote through my decision to dump these Red state liberty and feeling tramplers from our fine city. If they don't, they better remember that I own the damn ball we're playing with. And I sure as hell won't hesitate to take it and go home. Thank you and have a safe weekend!"

None of the characters in this story are real. Sadly though, much of the fiction in this story reflects some current events. If they at all make you feel uneasy, then we highly recommend you try going home and hiding under your bed until the fictional character "Potter" is either voted out or impeached.

Now, if we could only find some HOT AIR....

I went to get a coffee at the local barista, only to find yet one more brochure pandering to the environmentalists that their business adheres to the holier than thou standard of "SUSTAINABILITY". I guess they felt they had no choice, with their competitor, Starbucks, giving the appearance of being the leader in this matter.
I definitely don't give them the credit of sincerity. They've had forever to brag about their love of "sustainability", but are only doing it recently because of increasing pressure from the enviros.
I gave a copy of the brochure to an enviro here in the office and sent him the following email. He told me if he wasn't so busy he would, "address it". Here's my little soapbox rant to him:

Dude

Don't you have to admit that the word, "sustainability" is a grey, unspecific and manipulative term that's used to dictate to a people or government what they may or may not do? (i.e. what business you can do, where you can live, what you can drive, etc.)

"Sustainability" is thrown around endlessly, as if it were a scientific constant, like the boiling temperature of water. In reality, it's a politically charged rhetorical term that only it's own creators (environmentalists) are supposedly qualified to define, confirm or deny. The very ones who will tell me if my business practices are "sustainable" or not, are the very ones who created the term!

I think, as with some other government lobbies, environmentalism may very well have some adherents that are sincere, but there are plenty inside which are simply looking for new ways to take away people's freedoms and money.

So, how was your weekend?

p.s. - My email spell check doesn't recognize "sustainability" as a real word. Hmmmmmmmmmmm . . .

You haven't had that more than 4 hours, have you?

I don't normally complain about the countless ads for meds that are suppose to help "erectile dysfunction", but a recent commercial really crossed the line.
It's the Levitra ad "line", where the man never speaks. Only the non-stop grinning, satisfied woman. Maybe you know which one I'm talking about.
Well, until now, the ads have only annoyed me. But in the most recent one, the most powerful parts of the commercial, the parts which will undoubtedly bring in thousands of new customers, should flat out be banned.
I'm not even talking about something being salacious. Several times the woman (with the drunken smile) says "Strong and Lasting." And both times she says it, the words are splashed on the screen. (I don't know why they beat around the bush, they should have had her just say, "Longer. Harder.") Then finally the ad ends with her (still smiling - big surprise) saying, "Experience Levitra".
Now, you might be wondering why these seemingly innocuous words are so offensive. That goes to show you why ad execs get paid disgusting amounts of money.
Here's what's I think is so wrong with the ad, that I hope it gets pulled. Levitra is supposed to be prescription medicine for "erectile dysfunction". Instead, it's being pushed as a drug of choice and a performance enhancer.
Now, an ethical doctor will tell you it is only for those with slightly broken plumbing. But many will not hesitate to prescribe these to otherwise healthy young studs looking for something to add to their Red Bull/Vodka cocktail.
Bottom line: only if you really do need this Rx, should you have access to it, let alone have it pushed on you like so much crack.
One last thing. Does it strike you as insincere when they say a "negative" side effect might be a 4 hour erection? Yeah right. How many guys have refrained from buying it because of that "warning"? Please. That's just to grab the attention of anyone not already watching.

Bailiff! Whack his peepee!

"You don't help yourself with other nations when you turn away . . . or when you refuse to deal at length with the United Nations. You have to earn that respect. And I think we have a lot of earning back to do." - John Kerry (1st Presidential Debate, September 30, 2004)

Hmmm . . . I wonder exactly what kind of genious, what kind of culture, what kind of "nuance" we can learn from our European superiors? Well, let's see, kids!

In January,> a judge in Breda, Netherlands, officially ruled that a 46-year-old bank robber, who stole money worth the equivalent of $8,400(US), could only be charged with a crime worth about $6,100(US) because the court had to let the man offset the equivalent of $2,300(US) that he paid for his gun, as a legitimate business expense. [Associated Press, 1-27-05]

I think the crook would have gotten more justice from >the judge that Cheech and Chong were sentenced by . . .