Archive for category Parody
Battle of the Bricks
Posted by Hans Haupt in Games, Humourous, Internet, OMG, Parody, Seriously?! on December 3rd, 2009
Any self respecting person has owned and built a Lego creation of some kind. Goodness knows that I own my fair share of Lego products, probably more than I would care to admit. Even now, at the tender age of 24, I still find myself browsing through the isles of Lego products available at any and all Toys R Us stores. In all honesty, and I am sure you will agree, Lego has no age limit.
This entry is focussed on stop-motion Lego filmography. A hobby which no doubt exists for people who really have nothing better to do with their time. Regardless, it really is very cool, especially when done properly.
Alex Kobbs is one of these stop-motion Lego fanatics. He has spent the last six years creating a Halo themed 25-minute short, based on Halo’s Zanzibar map, completely out of Lego. How awesomely insane is that?!
The short film is called The Battle of the Brick and features ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’ battling it out *Halo fan high five*. The completed video is expected to hit the Web in early 2010, but for now you can have a look at the tantalising trailer:
If Lego stop-motion filmography is your thing, you can follow the progress of Kobbs’ work at the Kooberz Studio Blog.
That’s not all folks. I have one more fantastic piece of Lego filmography to share with you.
Every gamer and geek who has watched The Matrix will agree that it is one of the best science fiction and action movies of all time. However, you have not seen anything until you see The Matrix lovingly created in Lego stop-motion!
In honour of the 10th anniversary of The Matrix, a group of fans recreated nearly 900 frames of the film. The entire sequence is animated without any additional effects. What this means, is that the short was filmed ‘in camera’ without the aid of wire removal, Photoshop or any additional special effects; other than what can be created with the Lego blocks themselves. Very impressive stuff! The entire project is said to have taken around 440 hours to complete. For more information and additional videos detailing the projects immensity, check out www.LegoMatrix.com.
How cool would a Lego Matrix game be?! *Waits patiently for Travellers Tales to scoop the rights to create the game*
Until the next ‘blocky’ post “Milieunairs”!
Heroes and Villains: Escaping Reality
Posted by Hans Haupt in Entertainment, Internet, OMG, Parody, Seriously?! on October 16th, 2009
Have you ever wondered what life would have been like if Superheroes and Villains actually existed? For the most part, all we can do is ponder the infinite possibilities, often courtesy of video games, books, television, movies and, most importantly, our very own imagination.
Agan Harahap, a photographer and illustrator from Jakarta, Indonesia, has taken the concept of Superheroes and brought them into a pseudo-reality. By incorporating infamous characters into iconic World War II photographs, Harahap has managed to blur the lines between fiction and truth. In so doing, he has managed to merge the fantastically impossible with our past physical existence, in order to create a Superhero adorned alternate reality.
Harahap’s latest collection, aptly titled ‘Super Hero’, consists of memorable political and wartime scenes from the mid-20th century, but with one difference: the inclusion of notable Superheroes (or Villains?). This extraordinary combination is a true juxtaposition in effect.
With respect to the current global economic crisis, Harahap’s work could not come at a more fortuitous time. Coincidentally, the advent of the Superhero, according to Douglas Hyde (2009), was largely spurred on by the Great Depression and the start of World War II. As a result, comic books and superheroes were said to offer an ‘escapist form of entertainment’, where people could “go into a fantasy world where all the ills of the world were righted by these larger-than-life heroes” (Erin Clancy, 2009).
Subsequently, audiences at large are once again returning to the warm embrace of costumed Superheroes, with movies based on comic books generally becoming box office leaders. This trend, the resurgence of the popularity of Superheroes, may be a reflection of the current global economic crises. Clancy would agree citing “the comic book superhero came out of a context in which the political, social and economic realties were a little tough and we can certainly relate to those realities now in our own day” (2009).
Superheroes are back people and they are stronger than ever!
Until the next time “Milieunairs”!
Pa-pa-pa-pap en Vleis…
Posted by Hans Haupt in Entertainment, Internet, OMG, Parody, Seriously?!, WTF on July 25th, 2009
International readers may be looking at this post’s title and wondering:
“What the hell is ‘pap en vleis’”?
Every South African, and it is not a hyperbole when I write that every single one of us, knows exactly what ‘pap en vleis’ is.
‘Pap en vleis’ is a truly South African dish, one that is deeply imbedded in our history.
According to South Africa Tours and Travel (2009), throughout South African history, from the time of the native ‘Khoi’ and ‘San’ people, through to the ‘Great Trek’ and ‘Anglo/Boer War’, ‘pap en vleis’ was a staple and customary dish. This was primarily in part to the fact that settlers at the time were constantly on the move, along with their nomadic and native counterparts.
Subsequently, very few provisions, all none perishables, were taken when moving from one location to the next. One of these primary imperishable’s was ‘pap’, also known as ‘maize meal’. The ‘vleis’ (meat) on the other hand, was often sourced directly from cattle or native game. Innovatively, gathered meat, a perishable, was made imperishable by being cured, dried and cut into slices to be enjoyed at a later time. Today, this is known as ‘Biltong’; the life blood of a true South African!
‘Pap en vleis’ is often served with gravy and ‘boerewors’, a South African made sausage, during a ‘braai’, the South African variant for the term barbeque (‘Pap en Vleis’ picture courtesy of Giuseppe de Filippis).
In mock-honour of our South African heritage, the primarily Afrikaans radio station, Jacaranda 94.2, created a parody of Lady Gaga’s “Pokerface” tentatively known as Tannie Gogga’s “Pap en Vleis”. I was thinking about saving this little gem for the next Music Monday post, but decided to share it with everyone now. Especially after writing up that whole history lesson above.
So, without further ado, I present to you: Tannie Gogga’s “Pap en Vleis”.
For those who can read or understand Afrikaans, I have also included the lyrics to the song in this post. Simply scroll down, past my Milieu sign off, and hit the link labelled “Read the rest of this entry“.
I hope you have all enjoyed this small taste of South African humour… Well, those of you who can understand it, that is!
Until the next time “Milieunairs”!
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