Russia is in the process of investing at least $2.5bn in extracting Nigerian oil, as the West African state has the seventh-largest proven oil reserves in the world. The company formed as as result of this joint venture has been named with a portmanteau of the two main corporations that comprise it: Gazprom and NNPC, the Nigerian state oil company.  Fine, nothing new there.

Except they named the company NiGaz Energy Company Limited. Whoopsies!

A Guardian article on the topic notes:

the venture is now likely to be remembered for all the wrong reasons ‑ as a memorable PR blunder, worse than Chevrolet’s Nova, which failed to sell in South America because it translates as “doesn’t go” in Spanish…other international branding mishaps [include] the Ford Pinto ‑ which in Brazil means small penis ‑ and the Pepsi slogan “come alive with the Pepsi generation”. In Taiwan this rousing motto translated as “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead”.

Although this whole dust-up is somewhat amusing, I am less concerned with any alleged racism that went into this branding, and more interested in how Russian development will augment Chinese investment in West Africa. West Africa has a lot of oil, and Russia’s talk of building a trans-African pipeline will certainly give them an additional degree of leverage within Euroasian (and international) politics. Also, I’m not sure how good this will be for the average Nigerian, but I don’t know enough about Nigerian domestic politics to speculate.

via Chris Blattman

I really don’t take enough advantage of living seven train stops away from this theater.

There are several documentaries about musicians this month, including one about my beloved Scott Walker, a set of very highly-regarded films about Mozart and Beethoven, and a “clear-sighted investigation into the murky subculture of Norwegian black metal music” called Until the Light Takes Us, the directors of which (Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell) will be present for audience discussion and questions.

There are two animated films - Sita Sings the Blues (yay Creative Commons!) and Azur and Asmar - that would be worth it to see on THE BIG SCREEN. Shockingly enough, there are two Godard films playing! Also, there is a documentary about “being Jewish in France” that I basically have to see because I go to dang school for it. You can also have “The Soderbergh Experience” with Che, King of the Hill, Out of Sight, Bubble, and The Girlfriend Experience (omg porn lady omg).

I will probably be skipping The Windmill Movie, not because it looks bad - it looks seriously great - but I’m worried it might break my little old heart. Maybe the stronger of you can see it and report back.

A few others:

HERB & DOROTHY (2009) Megumi Sasaki, USA, 91 min. This documentary follows the lives of the Vogels, unlikely collectors of minimalist and conceptual art. They look pretty charming.

PANDORA AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN (1951) Albert Lewin, UK, 122 min. Ava Gardner is fancy, as are films about expats in general.

ACT OF GOD (2009) Jennifer Baichwal, Canada, 76 min. “Is being struck by lightning a random accident of nature, a sign summoned up by a shaman, or commentary by a displeased Almighty? Baichwal, director of the mesmerizing cult hit MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES, delves into the mysterious lore surrounding lightning strikes through seven stories from around the globe, for an eerie meditation on chance.”

So come to Chicago and see a movie with me, please.

Modern-Day Martin Luther Nails 95 Comment Cards To IHOP Door
“This house is no longer a house of pancakes—it is a house of lies,” said Lyman, who nailed his 95 comments to the door shortly before the morning brunch rush, when they would receive maximum exposure.

Local Lutheran Minister Loves To Fuck His Wife

Christ ‘Categorically Denies’ Speaking To Lutheran-College Administrator “When I first heard that a man in Indiana was claiming I told him to become a Lutheran-college administrator, I was sort of amused,” Christ said. “When I speak to someone, I’m used to them having–how shall I put it?–loftier goals than a mid-level administration post. This really isn’t the sort of thing Iusually bother intervening in.”

Area Pastor Likes To Inject A Little Humor Into His Sermons

Horribly Awkward First Sexual Encounter ‘Worth The Wait’ For Christian Newlyweds According to the devout Lutherans, after retiring to their bridal suite at the Charleston Marriott East, Linda decided to initiate the evening of romance and dread by excusing herself to the bathroom, where she spent “approximately an hour” changing into the floor-length cotton nightgown she had purchased especially for the occasion. Recalled John: “When I saw Linda emerge from the bathroom, a vision in billowing, opaque cloth, her head and hands peeking tantalizingly from the tight collar and cuffs, the moment we first fell in love came rushing back to me in a wave of adoration and fear.”

This is pretty much how much he meant to everybody.  The best possible video from the best possible superstar.

“And when there was only one set of footprints, that was when I was carrying you.” - Michael Jackson

Want Good Color Schemes?

Who Doesn’t?

Well - you got a free one stop shop right here : http://kuler.adobe.com

Look at this amazing site : http://hongkong.edushi.com/Default.aspx?L=en

Take what is basically a Google maps site, redraw all of Hong Kong with some utterly beautiful pixel art, and you’ve got quite a treat on your hands. Wish I had more detailed commentary on map itself other than it’s gorgeous. Unfortunately, I don’t know Hong Kong too well.

(via notforpaper.com )

A haiku :

I really like Helvetica.

Its a fantastic font.

Its over 50 years old!

I love it because marketing and my brain’s worship of consistent professional branding has for better or worse really focused my taste.

There is a movie about Helvetica that I haven’t seen yet, but I think I’m going to watch it tonight. The website “webdesignerdepo.com” recently posted their top favorite helvetica ad logos. I’m going to put them on the site, so please have a look and see if you love the hypnotizing stare of corporate gold as much as I do.

I’ve added an enormous gallery of Helvetica Logos below the bump. (via webdesigner depot)

(more…)

And did we ever really trust him?

Granted, he did do Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood, which were pretty solidly magnificent.  I’m also inclined to give Mars Attacks!, Big Fish, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd the benefit of the doubt, “Alright, you had your flaws, but you’re still enjoyable.  And short, don’t forget short.”  And while I’ve never seen Sleepy Hollow, a few people really seemed to like it when I worked at a video store.  But the rest of his oeuvre?  Riddled with holes.

To wit:  The Batman movies have aged as gracefully as the Last Knight of the First Crusade sans the Grail.  Planet of the Apes and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory were remakes of classics that were monstrously terrible.  And it is these final two that give me the greatest pause upon seeing his 2010 project: Alice in Wonderland.  He doesn’t do well with remakes!  He does terrible with source material that is not his own!  Oh drat!

A few publicity stills have made their way to the interweb, and upon viewing them I filled with a mix of hope and dismay.  Why always Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter?  Does every imagined world have to look exactly the same?

How does NTH feel?