Long post ahead, get comfy, let me take your shoes off, would you like a milo, etc. Here's some party photos I didn't take and am just hosting until they find a permanent home. Some of you are in them, so http://holloway.co.nz/book/24/ And here's those Estonian commercials from last night by Harry Egipt, http://www.lehvalehva.ee/?op=body&id=25

"Because there was no need to advertise any products, the Soviet Union didn't use to have any TV commercials to speak of. However in Estonia, the proximity to Finland (only 50 miles) and the availability of Finnish TV were seen as a thing of some worrisome capitalist influence, particularly because of glossy advertising of products that "Soviet" people could only dream of.

The fact that the TV sets were supposed to be incompatible (the Soviet system used SECAM instead of PAL) didn't deter crafty TV repairmen. Party lectures about how everything seen on those naughty Finnish advertisements was either fake, or that nobody there could afford anything advertised, didn't ring very believable to anyone.

Hence somebody in the administration came up with the idea of a "counter-strike" to those darn capitalists, and start making their own TV commercials of the best of the (mundane) stuff that the glorious Soviet life could offer. Since nobody in the country had ever had any experience with the subject, apparently they simply tasked some young TV people to fix something up. Some of those rather eccentric commercials were found here."

//

"Harry Egipt has long time experience working in television and advertising doing various stuff: writing copy to radio, writing scripts to TV-shows and videoclips. He's taken the role of scriptwriter, director, editor, photographer etc. Worked 8 years in national television ETV and 11 years in Eesti Reklaamfilm (state run organisation whose goal was making ads during the Soviet times) where he made more than 80 ads. Now his retroads are regular part of local Night of the Ad Eaters."

And here's that site about feral children. http://www.feralchildren.com/en/showchild.php?ch=genie And here's those lyrics by Ani,

Of course numb is old hat, old as my oldest memories, see that one's my mother, that one's my father and that one in the hat, that's me. there's never been an endeavour so strange, trying to slow the blood in my veins, to keep my face blank as a stone just sank, 'til not ripple remains.

And here's those high-res scans of Charlie White's art: http://holloway.co.nz/charlie-white/ (well there is more but it's filthy and kinda dull) And here's the worst idea in the goddamn world, a dark retelling of Mario Bros.,

I, Mario <http://www.imario.tk/ >. Some may call it a fan-made game. I call it an abomination. Made with the best of intentions and the worst of ideas, it's yet another gothing up nobody asked for.

...

/"Imagine Super Mario Bros. as a dark and disturbing psychological horror shooter game. Imagine a rendition of the Mushroom Kingdom where mushrooms really are narcotic, where Bowser is actually intimidating, where all of the things that don't seem to make sense do, in a twisted and sick sort of way. Imagine being able to help make this game."/

Fuck yeah! I know that the world needs more dark and disturbing psychological horror shooter games, especially ones that star a fucking Italian plumber. I mean, when it comes to computer games, the shortage of dark and gritty games is at fucking epidemic levels - especially ones that intend to sully a game from our childhood. Well, most of our childhoods, anyway.

...

/"Bowser would be something akin to the alien from the movie Alien, who's kidnapped Mario's girlfriend, Daisy "Peach" Toadstool, because his asexual race can only procreate by implanting their parasitic eggs into unsuspecting host bodies, who slowly waste away under the ministrations of the pre-nadal koopas. There'd be a disturbing silloute cut-away rape scene."/

These guys think of everything! I know I've been playing Super Mario Bros. and thinking "Hey, I really wish I could rescue the Princess from being raped to death by an alien." Not to mention all the drug use and gore that was missing from the original game. They're sure improving it!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v428/Binjovi/IMarioSig_Specter.jpg

Yeah that's it. Take care dudes! .Matthew Cruickshank http://holloway.co.nz/