Flash Gordon is love

Apparently it's the 30th anniversary of one of my all time favorite sci-fi classic movies... and no, I don't mean Empire Strikes Back. All you misguided fools can keep your precious second film in the Star Wars trilogy, yes, it's one of the greatest films ever, but better than the first?? the original?!? Hardly!!!

But I didn't take a moment to argue the merits of Star Wars over Empire (although I could, at length), no, I'm talking about another cherished sci-fi blockbuster from the Gen-X lexicon, I'm talking about a bolder, louder, stranger, crimson colored, gold plated gem... the one and only Flash Gordon.

And just like the merits of episode four over five, I could go on and on about dear Flash... how I still recall the first glimpse of the trailer on our old black and white 12" TV and proceeded to rave about it to my parents, even describing the color of Ming's crimson guards, despite only seeing them in gray scale... the jaw dropping moments of hilarity and fun upon first watching at theaters... and sharing the love of the film with friends on cable (as only pre-teen boys could enjoy and share in such a wondrous work of pre-teen fantasy brought to life)... Max Von Sydow's Ming is pure genius, the green blood, the tree stump, the death duel with Hawkmen, the perfect crescendo of a climax... but where's the time for that? I just wanted to pop in and give a quick mention of the milestone, and link to a page that's been making the rounds, a Flash Gordon fan page on YouTube... HERE

While there's not a terrible amount of content there, it is well done and interesting, comparing some differences from cable to DVD, and scenes with the final (and much cherished/maligned) Queen soundtrack, versus what was intended as a full orchestral score. Just an interesting spot for fans of the film, with hopefully more to come.

If anyone knows of more content/pages out there, be sure and let me know!

Now here's some old Flash Gordon fan art...

Cool videos

Some amazing recent music videos...

MIA - Born Free
Ginger's beware...


LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls
Insanity on film...


How To Destroy Angels - The Space in Between
Otherwise known as Mr and Mrs Trent Reznor...


I also recently discovered/explored some of the expanded music video channels on our cable... I was pleased to realize that MTVU is a fairly decent facsimile of the early days of the network (IE mostly cool tunes with hardly any commercials).

So while these videos aren't as cool to watch, here's some of my fave new sounds...

Dominique Young Unique - Show My Ass
Stoopid beats, and fresh rhymes...


The London Souls - The Sound
More then a little Kravitz, and more than a little heavy groove...


...then there's Die Antwoord, a category all to themselves...

Die Antwoord - I'm A Ninja
It's like if the Morlocks formed a b-boy crew...

ARTWORK: Lost commission

The penultimate episode of Lost is tonight... and this week I'm working on finishing a huge lost commission, just in time for the big finale!

It's a group shot of the main cast, and I've been tackling the cast members individually (to put together in one large shot). Here are the first few, all the main heavy hitters...









Can't wait to see how the show wraps, regardless of HOW it wraps... I know last week's Jacob/MIB origin ep had many haters, but I'll roll with whatever they give us, I have every confidence in the producers.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Grant Gould, rockstar!

Grant Gould, creator of SRG Presents Wolves of Odin, has a super fan, Jarmo from Finland...
He's super because he does things like taking the time to create 4 minute YouTube videos promoting Grant, and not only that, half the video showcases Wolves of Odin. So, check it out, because of course Wolves is cool, but ya know, so is Grant, and you can peek at his awesome 2009 sketchbook and some of his other non Wolves artwork!!

IN CASE U MISSED IT: Gorillaz VS Beijing