Mike Browne’s Blog

Gone Daddy Gone is one of my all time favourite Violent Femmes songs. I guess my age is showing. Gnarls Barkley covered the tune and made this rather adult themed and Kafka-esque video to go along with it:

Hilarious, sexy and creepy. A brilliant mix of CG animation and live action.

I’ve seen this everywhere lately I just had to post it. It’s a wonderfully artistic take on Web 2.0 for the non nerds. Brilliance.

I actually have one! This, fairly acurrately, is me:

More on my type:

ENFP

outgoing, social, disorganized, easily talked into doing silly things, spontaneous, wild and crazy, acts without thinking, good at getting people to have fun, pleasure seeking, irresponsible, physically affectionate, risk taker, thrill seeker, likely to have or want a tattoo, adventurous, unprepared, attention seeking, hyperactive, irrational, loves crowds, rule breaker, prone to losing things, seductive, easily distracted, open, revealing, comfortable in unfamiliar situations, attracted to strange things, non punctual, likes to stand out, likes to try new things, fun seeker, unconventional, energetic, impulsive, empathetic, dangerous, loving, attachment prone, prone to fantasy

favored careers:

performer, actor, entertainer, songwriter, musician, filmmaker, comedian, radio broadcaster/dj, some job related to theater/drama, poet, music journalist, work in fashion industry, singer, movie producer, playwright, bartender, comic book author, work in television, dancer, artist, record store owner, model, freelance artist, teacher (art, drama, music), writer, painter, massage therapist, costume designer, choreographer, make up artist

disfavored careers:

data analyst, scientist, researcher, financial advisor, business analyst, govt employee, office manager, mathematician, investment banker, office worker, computer tech, it professional, network engineer, strategist

I’m not sure about the anti IT stuff as I love the geeky stuff too. 🙂

More personality tests at similar minds.

Oh Trent Reznor, what’s in that head of yours? I guess we know a bit more after this very creative campaign.

From Digg:

Nine Inch Nails Concept Album Builds Story With Websites From The Future

A set of websites have emerged in support of the new Nine Inch Nails album “Year Zero“. The first of the sites was discovered by fans who noticed highlighted letters on the back of a nine inch nails shirt for a tour that kicked off this weekend. This led to the discovery of various IP addresses and an entire story of the future built through sites.

more: link

Here’s a screenshot I took of one of the websites, anotherversionofthetruth.com:

Looks innocuous enough, but go to the site and drag your mouse over the graphic and it changes to something else entirely.

Yesterday an mp3 was ‘found’ on a USB drive in Portugal where the band was playing. Here is “Violence in my Heart”:

Interestingly, when viewed through the spectrum analyzer in the Fruity Loops program the noise at the end of the song creates an eerie picture of a hand reaching downward:

There are other websites and marketing materials to explore as well but it would take me hours and pages of writing to cover exactly what others have found so far. If you want to explore further check out the often updated forum post at echoing the sound.

Wow. I love viral marketing especially the calculated and artistic depth of campaigns such as this one. Having done some myself I can tell you there’s more coming for sure and these folks had tons of fun putting this together. A dream gig would be to do this kind of thing full time. I’m brewing a little something of my own right now. *wink wink*

Oh, one last thing on this. There’s a phone number (1-310-295-1040) you can call to here a creepy phone message if you like, but I’ll save you the long distance charges. Here’s the message (NOTE – It contains some not safe for work language):

I will buy this CD as I always buy NiN stuff, but this one seems to have earned my cash a bit more. I can’t wait until they come around on tour so we can see them.

Ooh, that smarts. I’m sure it sucks to be Lisa Nowak right now.

The song by The Phantom Surfers reminds me of The Archies cartoon I used to watch as a kid.
[source boingboing]

Road to Guantanamo is a film everyone should see, but not many have.

I wasn’t sure what to expect before putting this film into the DVD player tonight. I picked it up on the strength of an interesting synopsis:

Part drama, part documentary, Road to Guantánamo focuses on the Tipton Three, a trio of British Muslims who were held in Guantanamo Bay for two years until they were released without charge.

Little did I know how disturbed I would be by this film about young Muslim Brits who were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Here’s the trailer:

Upon further reading I found out that the MPAA deemed the film’s poster ‘inappropriate’ as it shows a disturbing image of a mistreated prisoner. You can see for yourself. I’ve given you a choice, just click the link if you want to have a look:
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Taken in the context it is meant to be seen in the poster is nothing but appropriate.

What did this films show me? It enlightened me as to how naive I was in 2001, blinded by anger and fear after what happened in New York city. It took me back to exactly how I felt then and that to me, action, however it came, was justified. I’m embarrassed to say that I was wrong.

Yes, the suicide bombers of September 11, 2001 did a horrible thing and the Taliban sound like nasty folk too. I’m not questioning that at all. I am questioning what ‘we’, and by we I mean the countries in the coalition that invaded Afghanistan, did in response to those acts. I’m not sure how more death and the abuse of the rights other human beings sets right those wrongs.

Perhaps we should treat everyone by the standards we ourselves would expect if in similar circumstances. The biggest one is the idea that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Where the hell is that for those being held at Guantanamo? It doesn’t appear to apply in these cases.

Why haven’t more people seen this? I try not come off like a conspiracy theorist so I won’t even go there, but there has to be real reasons why. Perhaps it’s a case of the truth hurts. If you don’t see it it isn’t there. Right?

The box office was tragically low as per IMDb at only $316,694 (28 July 2006). When films like Eddie Murphy’s Norbit (panned by critics) are opening to box office counts of $34.2 million in a single weekend and films like this one are going unnoticed I have to ask myself what is wrong with this world.

What a yucky feeling.

Here are some links from the film’s web site to help you ‘Get Active’:

amnestyusa
ACLU
witnesstorture.org

For we Canadians:

amnesty.ca
human rights watch is good too.

To close, here’s a little trivia about the film:

Two of the actors (Riz Ahmed and Farhad Harun) and two of the ex-detainees were detained temporary and interrogated at the airport by the British police when they returned from the Berlinale-festival where the movie got the Silver Bear. According to BBC-news Ahmed said he was asked if he intended to make any more political films.

Disgusting.

Here comes the pre-attack spin:

Iranians ‘at highest levels’ meddling in Iraq war: intelligence officer … of course

Blowup? America’s hidden war with Iran Doesn’t hidden mean ‘out of view’?

U.S. sending third carrier strike group to Gulf. Why not?

‘We would welcome your troops with flowers…’ (I bet)

Iranian Remains Defiant on Nuclear Program They’re asking for it. Right?

And interestingly… Iran, Venezuela To Open Air Route

This has to stop somewhere. It sucks being this powerless to do anything about a situation. Watching people kill one another isn’t how I’d planned to spend my days, but it’s in my face all the time. I can’t help but be affected by it. Time to write a letter to an MP.

Watch the canucks.com exclusive debut of the Sedin Twins’ new “Just Like Us” NHL commercial. Shot last week at the Sutton Place Hotel by director Scott Weinstock, the new ad features Daniel and Henrik dancing at a bachelor party.
300k | 700k (windows media player required)

Cool ad even Paulie the Leafs fan would like I think. Until the ad is up on YouTube (I could do it but I won’t) here’s a little something with a whole lot of not safe for work language obviously done by a couple of Canucks fans bashing away at Edmonton Coilers star Ryan Smith:

Look at what Rosie said on the view just hours before Anna Nicole Smith is found dead:

How much do you want to be Anna Nicole saw this and was upset about it. Ugh. I don’t like Rosie. First it was a scrap with The Donald, then it was racist remarks against Chinese people and now this.

Rosie’s a voodoo witch. No doubt about it. Her powers are growing with every incident. Who will she do in next?

Rosie’s email address is conspicuously missing from The View website. Perhaps a lot of hate mail today?

Rosie, you’re an unfunny cuckoo bird.