Vitamin Briefcase

Trust drug may cure social phobia

Thu, 22 May 2008 14:23:42 +0100

“A nasal spray which increases our trust for strangers is showing promise as a treatment for social phobia, say scientists from Zurich University.”

THIS IS AN OBVIOUSLY BAD IDEA. I REPEAT: THIS IS AN OBVIOUSLY BAD IDEA.

He Took a Polaroid Every Day, Until the Day He Died

Thu, 22 May 2008 13:17:00 +0100

He Took a Polaroid Every Day, Until the Day He Died: Breathtaking.

Hancock Trailer

Thu, 22 May 2008 00:32:12 +0100

Hancock Trailer: This looks immense. Via kottke.

Jon Stewart interviews former under secretary of defence Douglas...

Tue, 20 May 2008 20:59:55 +0100

Jon Stewart interviews former under secretary of defence Douglas Feith on The Daily Show. Stewart presents an articulate and dispassionate argument against the rubric that the Bush administration did not actively mislead the public over the war in Iraq. When you contrast his debating style with O’Reilly you can see everything that is wrong with ole Bill.

the pepsi challenge

Tue, 20 May 2008 18:31:51 +0100

the pepsi challenge

via Davenetics

Tue, 20 May 2008 18:30:08 +0100

via Davenetics

Tropic Thunder Red Band Movie Trailer

Mon, 19 May 2008 14:02:45 +0100

Tropic Thunder Red Band Movie Trailer: Please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck please don’t suck.

Water balloon at 1000FPS

Mon, 19 May 2008 13:12:10 +0100

Water balloon at 1000FPS

Four Architects’ Renderings of the Empty Plot at Varick...

Mon, 19 May 2008 11:51:01 +0100

Four Architects’ Renderings of the Empty Plot at Varick and Canal Streets - New York Magazine

Via Monster Munch.

Pen Review

Sun, 18 May 2008 15:38:27 +0100

Pen Review: In response to the ‘interesting’ pen review that mysteriously made it onto Digg’s front page earlier today, and was in-fact dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull.

via upload.wikimedia.org Woah. Just woah.

Sun, 18 May 2008 12:23:09 +0100

via upload.wikimedia.org

Woah. Just woah.

Weird but compelling food art.

Sat, 17 May 2008 23:48:51 +0100

Weird but compelling food art.

Average looking themepack for Ubuntu Mysteriously Garners Critical Acclaim

Sat, 17 May 2008 21:11:03 +0100

Average looking themepack for Ubuntu Mysteriously Garners Critical Acclaim: I just don’t get Linux right now. Ubuntu was supposed to be the moment it gathered enough momentum to hit it big, but it’s still way too ugly for me to use. The typography in particular is just hideous - not to mention the nasty looking Windows Vista transparency. Eugh!

via farm3.static.flickr.com I remember when I had this much...

Sat, 17 May 2008 21:05:33 +0100

via farm3.static.flickr.com

I remember when I had this much time on my hands.

"I usually work in a direction until I know how to do it, then I stop. At the time that I am bored or..."

Sat, 17 May 2008 21:01:07 +0100

“I usually work in a direction until I know how to do it, then I stop. At the time that I am bored or understand — I use those words interchangeably — another appetite has formed. A lot of people try to think up ideas. I’m not one. I’d rather accept the irresistible possibilities of what I can’t ignore.”

- Robert Rauschenberg (via 37signals).

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Sat, 17 May 2008 00:44:36 +0100

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace - Wikipedia

Everything about this film seemed to go wrong. Superman III was terrible kitsch and the franchise looked dead in the water after Supergirl, in which Christopher Reeve was slated to cameo, bombed. However the rights were obtained by the Golan-Globus group and they approached Reeve, with no script in mind to reprise his role.

Reeve rightly voiced some reluctance at the manner Superman III had dissolved into absurdist comedy, so Golan & Globus offered him an insane deal involving story input, free reign over a project of his choice and the possible notion of his directing a fifth Superman title.

Due to budget cuts, the infamous scene on 42nd Street where Superman walks up to the United Nations was actually filmed in the rainy English city of Milton Keynes.

Even the score suffered. John Williams was unavailable, so he elected Alexander Courage (who sadly passed on May 15th and prompted this post) to score the thematic material for the film in his stead; with the Symphony-Orchestra Graunke in Munich. To quote Wikipedia directly:

“As the sessions progressed it became apparent that the players were not up to the challenge of some of the complex action cues. After the completion of recording on May 18, the sessions in Germany were canceled and the rest of the score was recorded with the National Philharmonic Orchestra at CTS Studios in England from May 23-June 2. Courage scored 100 minutes of music for the film and also recorded album versions of three new John Williams themes. A soundtrack album was prepared in 1987 by Cannon’s musical advisor Jack Fishman, but it was aborted when most of the music selected for it (including three songs by his son Paul Fishman) ended up getting cut from the film. No music from Superman IV was released for over twenty years until the Film Score Monthly soundtrack label presented the complete score as part of their 8-CD anthology Superman: The Music (1978-1988) in 2008.”

Tim Burton's Concept Art for Superman.

Sat, 17 May 2008 00:14:21 +0100

Tim Burton's Concept Art for Superman.: To say that this would have been a bit of a departure for the series is understatement of the millennium (Although thanks to rabid comic geeks, internet millennia only last for a petasecond).

Amazing Fractal Furniture. fractal Takeshi Miyakawa Design via...

Sat, 17 May 2008 00:11:14 +0100

Amazing Fractal Furniture. fractal Takeshi Miyakawa Design via Kottke

The Anime Laws of Physics

Thu, 15 May 2008 21:43:56 +0100

The Anime Laws of Physics: #12 - Law of Phlogistatic Emission
Nearly all things emit light from fatal wounds.

Breaking: CBS to Acquire CNET for $1.8 Billio

Thu, 15 May 2008 18:21:56 +0100

Breaking: CBS to Acquire CNET for $1.8 Billio: I’m not sure CBS have thought this one through…