Street Struck

The trailer for the upcoming doc “Street Struck: The Big L Story.”  Need I say more?

movies

Unlike all the American movie critics still picking Quentin Tarantino’s pubic hairs out of their teeth, I didn’t really enjoy Inglourious Bastards.  It kept switching modes so quickly that there was hardly any of the eccentric and offbeat character development that made his previous movies so great.  He took the time to thorougly introduce characters who subsequently died 10 minutes later.  Paced with some consistency, the movie could have been an hour and a half, rather than two and a half.

And so, that’s, perhaps, why I enjoy the latest commercials from Japanese cell phone service provider Softbank, which also star Brad Pitt.  The below advertisements, directed by Spike Jonze, have only served to amp me up for Where the Wild Things Are

The End is Near, My Friend

The Morning After

The Brazilian newspaper EXTRA hit the stands this morning with the above image gracing its cover and no headline.  This is a thousand times the cover that the NY Post or the Daily News could ever come up with.  Respect.

Ironically, my favorite Michael Jackson moments are from before I was born or old enough to appreciate his music.  I will never get over how dope and timeless Off the Wall is.  I’ll leave it at that.  Rest in Peace, Michael.

VSTs Are Gateway Synths

Synthesizers are a vice like any other; I have several vices already but i’d like more synths.  A Res Ed survey @ Oberlin College once estimated how much my weed habit was costing me in terms of another desirable commodity.  They determined that I had smoked away a winter vacation for four.  Well, my consumption has been comparable in the last couple months, and I’ve only copped one sack since I got out here.  So, fuck you, Res Ed; I found your loophole.

For the industry leader in keyboard porn, head over to Vintage Synth Explorer.

The Pirate Party: A Political Platform

No, not as in the Somali pirates that Obama had gatted; We’re talking pirates as in piracy of copyrighted materials.  Results from the recent Swedish elections revealed today that the Piratpartiet (or Pirate Party) secured 7.1% of the total votes, guaranteeing 1, and, perhaps, 2, seats at the European Parliament.  After Swedish courts dismantled the Torrent portal Pirate Bay, the Pirate Party, formed in 2006, saw its membership triple in size.  Their platform calls for major reforms of European copyright laws that would decriminalize non-commercial dissemination of these materials, as well as a 5-year maximum copyright term.  According to their website, “Culture and knowledge are good things, that increase in value the more they are shared.”

Certainly a blow to record companies worldwide, although, lobbyist culture is so entrenched on this side of the Atlantic that I can’t see anything remotely similar happening in the U.S.  On one hand, I do feel that it is within the artists’ rights to see the proceeds from record sales.  But, at the same time, record labels have a majority of artists locked into shitty contracts where the musicians are pocketing mere pennies from each unit sold.  Some equitable medium is possible, but until the recording industry undergoes an overhaul, that day is far off.

via Torrentfreak

Extra Prolific

Dear Friends, Strangers, and Lion Lovers,

The Skilled Labor Blog is not dead!  I will keep updating here with my personal ruminations as usual, but you can stay up with your boy Ak-in-Jelly at various places on them internets, as I have begun contributing to a handful of sexy and reputable sites/blogs.  You’ll find me laying lines over at The Daily Swarm, Zebra is Food, as well as the Musikvergnuegen Blog.  I know that all of you are concerned that I’m stretching myself thin, but each has a different type of content, so worry not.

Look out for the latest volume of the “5 O’Clock Free Crack Giveaway” coming soon.

Wu Tang Clan Album Covers Redesigned Blue Note-style

Reasoning that the early Wu Tang Clan albums looked “pretty dated,” designer Logan Walters re-imagined a handful of the covers using stylistic elements from the classic Blue Note album covers, which, I believe, came out in the ’60s and ’70s.  Ironic as the logic is, he’s right— they look really fresh.  If I had to complain about one thing, it’d be that, with exception of “Enter the 36 Chambers” and “6 Feet Deep,” they look too smooth, glossing over the raw nuggets of Shaolin goodness contained inside.  Here are 4 of my favorites, and you can check Logan Walters’ website to peep the rest.

Lions, Lions, Lions, Lions, Lions

For the last couple weeks, I’ve been getting 100+ hits each day from people performing Google searches for “lions.”  I’m sort of mystified how they actually navigated their way to this site in the first place, since The Skilled Labor Blog doesn’t come up among the first ten pages of results (I didn’t bother to look any further).  But, anyway, to all you tenacious 8 year olds stopping by despite my limited lion-related content— Thank you!

Marijuana Pepsi: Not A Ploy to Beat Out Coke

This just in: Marijuana Pepsi Jackson (pictured below), having completed her masters in higher education administration, is going for her doctorate.  Yep, that’s her legal name.  Marijuana.  Pepsi.  Jackson.  According to the Journal Sentinel in Milwaukee, the name can be attributed to “fun-loving” parents that would “cool off with a Pepsi” during a time when “reefer was rampant.”  Of course, to make Marijuana feel even shittier, they decided to name her siblings (one older, one younger) Kimberly and Robin.  Great job.

via Journal Sentinel Online