Congrats to Libyan strongman Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi for making Esquire Magazine’s list of “The Seven Wonders of the Totalitarian World”.
Actually, the political-science major in me cringes slightly at this haphazard use of the term “totalitarianism”, which properly describes only the most repressive and all-consuming political regimes. Not that Gaddafi hasn’t been doing his level-best Stalin, Mao et al impression all these years, but frankly, his dirt-poor satrapy doesn’t have the state resources to do the full totalitarian schtick.
Still, the ostentatious giant sculpture of a golden fist, rising from the earth to snatch and destroy a U.S. fighter jet goes a long way toward covering the requisite public propaganda imagery. Plus, this belligerent Tripoli landmark makes a handy backdrop for not-so-subtle anti-American photo ops with visiting dignitaries (especially French ones).
I’m wondering how much of the annual governmental budget goes toward keeping this thing clear of pigeon droppings…
Category: Comedy, Creative, Political
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What do you get when you combine a mathematician, a software developer, and — oh yeah — The Who’s Pete Townshend?
You get Lifehouse Method, of course.
Upload a multimedia melange of yourself:
- A photo
- A rhythm
- A voice sample
- A random sound
You get back a personalized “musical portrait” that could serve as the basis for a future fully-fledged composition. Some of the results are quite inspired.
It occurs to me that Townshend is using this as a free way to shepherd raw creative material (although apparently he will pay contributors if the end result is original recording/concert material). So he can sit in his home studio and have the inspiration uploaded his way — brilliant!
Category: Creative, Internet, Pop Culture
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Suddenly, that kooky faux assault on the QM2 cruiseliner by a replica Revolutionary War “Turtle” submarine makes a lot more sense.
So, obviously, Brooklyn artist Duke Riley was just social climbing. All that higher-purpose artsy-fartsy stuff was just a smokescreen. Typical.
Category: Business, New Yorkin'
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