Clearly the one in the middle can hold her own. Inappropriate, maybe, what did you expect me to do, post the totally not safe for work Cunt Smasher video? Image swiped from Brian Cors Nerd Tech photostream on Flickr.

Barack Obama got a sweeping win in North Carolina but failed to close the deal, as Clinton prevailed by a small margin in Indiana. That’s right, read into the win what you will, hold it up to the light and examine it for what it’s worth. You have a few more days to dream of that Obama Bloomberg ticket; ain’t gonna happen. Change is gonna come but it ain’t gonna come with John Edwards. When all is said and done Barack Obama will perform the ultimate act of reconciliation, a statesmanlike gesture so grand that it will place Hillary Clinton on the ticket as his Vice Presidential running mate. Outrageous you say, not so, read the unfortunately titled Obama-Clinton, A Hate Filled Dream Ticket from Andrew Sullivan. I don’t care if you dislike Sullivan, disagree with him 100% or could give a rats ass; he smartly forecasts a potential tsunami in the upcoming election. Flame away if you like, but the man’s right. Why would she want the No. 2 spot, think about it, Better the No. 2 Spot…or Going Back to the Hill?

Who or rather what doesn’t appear in the new version of Grand Theft Auto, true to form the game is even hitting the gay demographic. No, big bruiser Niko Bellic is not gay but rather disturbingly plays a homosexual lothario on an online dating site to lure a gay Irish American mobster. Damn, my ears perked up regarding the gay sequence, but surprise the play is handled brilliantly and with a great deal of humor thanks to acclaimed screenwriter Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, The Last Boyscout and The Long Kiss Goodnight). Per usual players can choose not to complete certain missions; i.e. main character Niko benefits later from a friendship formed with the gay mobster. Remember you’re playing an apocalyptic adult game where no demographic remains unscathed. While GTAIV walks a precarious line I have to give Rockstar Games props for not defaulting to the usual homophobic sequence filled with stereotypes.

Also, look for one of my favorite fighters, Bas Rutten hosting a Grand Theft Auto IV chat show called The Men’s Room. Not that many people remember but Bas is a former runway model turned MMA fighter. Bad Boy Bas also known as El Guapo stars as the co-host of the show which is a very funny parody of Dr. Phil and the Man Show. Sure an attempt is made by the soft spoken host to get men in touch with their feelings but El Guapo defaults to chest beating and solving things by cracking a few skulls. It’s a great send up of all the testosterone heavy programming on the sports networks.

To honor what would have been Keith Haring’s 50th Birthday, The Keith Haring Foundation working with Deitch Projects and Goldman Properties, has recreated the artist’s Houston Street and Bowery mural. Unveiling the piece yesterday the mural will stand until New Years Eve.

Originally painted in the summer of 1982, the mural was only up for a few months before it was painted over. Gothic Scenic, using extensive photographic documentation reproduced the mural which is sure to invoke memories of the downtown scene and inspire those unfamiliar with the artist’s work.

Keith Haring died of AIDS-related illness in 1990 at the age of 31. As always The Keith Haring Foundation was founded to sustain, expand and protect Keith Haring’s legacy, art and ideals. The foundation supports non-profit groups that work with youth, as well as those that research and assist in aids related issues. Via HS.

The images from the new Grand Theft Auto IV game are amazing. The critics are calling the game lusciously dystopian, with an exhilarating play and a cast of characters to match the high intensity graphics. Check out what the NYTimes had to say;

“Published by Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto IV is a violent, intelligent, profane, endearing, obnoxious, sly, richly textured and thoroughly compelling work of cultural satire disguised as fun. It calls to mind a rollicking R-rated version of Mad magazine featuring Dave Chappelle and Quentin Tarantino, and sets a new standard for what is possible in interactive arts.”

“Besides the nuanced Niko the game is populated by a winsome procession of grifters, hustlers, drug peddlers and other gloriously unrepentant lowlifes, each a caricature less politically correct than the last. Hardly a demographic escapes skewering. In addition to various Italian and Irish crime families, there are venal Russian gangsters, black crack slingers, argyle-sporting Jamaican potheads, Puerto Rican hoodlums, a corrupt police commissioner, a steroid-addled Brooklyn knucklehead named Brucie Kibbutz and a former Eastern European soldier who has become a twee Upper West Side metrosexual.”

I often wonder if artist Gregory Crewdson looks at video games?

The last 5 videos added to my Tumblr:
Vintage Beefcake - 1940s-1950s?
Buckethead Video - Hieronymus Bosch animated.
Bulldog Puppy Eats Watermelon - Awww…
H.R Giger At Work - Designer from the film Alien.
The Touchables - 1968 Mod inspired film trailer.

You future dream truly IS a shopping scheme! CBGBs is now a fashion boutique and The Sex Pistols are a set of plastic dolls. I don’t know if I should laugh or cry, wait, I’m laughing. The set features all four band members: Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious, Steve Jones and Paul Cook. Available from GentleGiant.

An bit of an update on the Joe Cino/Caffe Cino entry from earlier in the week. Celebrated playwright, director, producer, critic and gay political activist Doric Wilson was good enough to write to say;

“Thank you for the acknowledgment of the Joe and Caffe Cino. It truly was the birthplace of modern gay theater. The final verison of my Cino play “Now She Dances!” can be downloaded for free from my website: http://www.doricwilson.com. or purchased with another Cino play of mine, “And He Made a Her,” from my publisher: United Stages http://www.unitedstages.com”

If you don’t know who Doric Wilson is, well I ought to hit you with a very large sock filled with some manure. Doric Wilson is a veteran of the anti-war and civil rights demonstrations of the early 1960s-mid 1970s, he was a participant in all three nights of the Stonewall Riots (1969) and became active in the early days of the New York Gay Liberation movement as a member of GAA (Gay Activist Alliance). He was one of the first playwrights invited to join the Barr/Wilder/Albee Playwright’s Unit and later became a founding member of Circle Repertory Company, and those my friends, are just a few of his accomplishments.

I got over my gym class trauma ages ago and learned to love the humble yet power packed exercise known simply as the push-up. I’m convinced it’s one of the best things you can do for your body and the simplest and easiest way to build up strength using your own body’s weight. I do them daily and on days I lift, they are performed post-workout. I’ll make a bold statement and say that if you hit the gym on a regular basis and are unable to accomplish 50 or more before you max out, you need to reevaluate your workout. Here’s a calculator to tell you how many push-ups you should be doing if you are in good shape, trust me when I say the national average is very generous.

According to the NYTimes article An Enduring Measure of Fitness: The Simple Push-Up; “The push-up is the ultimate barometer of fitness. It tests the whole body, engaging muscle groups in the arms, chest, abdomen, hips and legs. It requires the body to be taut like a plank with toes and palms on the floor. The act of lifting and lowering one’s entire weight is taxing even for the very fit.”

Robert Patrick, legendary playwright and author of Temple Slave, is honoring the life of Joe Cino owner of Caffe Cino, with a plaque to be mounted on the site of the Caffe, now the home of Po Restaurant at 31 Cornelia Street in New York. Fifty years ago Joe Cino rented a storefront in New York City’s Greenwich Village in order to open a coffee house, which eventually morphed into what is now regarded as the birthplace of the Off Off Broadway movement and the American Gay Theatre Movement.

From Wikipedia: “Although the Cino had already hosted in 1961 Doric Wilson’s militant gay-rights play, Now She Dances!, and in 1962 Andy Milligan’s adaptation of One Arm, a gay short story by Tennessee Williams, The Madness of Lady Bright, because of its greater visibility, was a breakthrough in gay playwriting, the first conspicuous American drama placing a gay character front and center rather than hiding him in the guise of a female character, as Tennessee Williams had often, perhaps unfairly, been accused of doing. An explosion of gay-themed plays began to appear at Caffe Cino and other venues, much to the consternation of some of New York’s more conservative theatre critics.”

Patricks’ solid bronze plaque stands at 31 Cornelia Street as a gay landmark and a salute to Joe Cino’s courage and innovation as well as his contribution to New York Theater. Be sure to take a look at the 54 pages worth of Caffe Cino photographs from Robert Patrick’s personal collection.

German artist seeks subject willing to die for art.
Wearing a lovely one piece flared pant-suit number in John Waters’ Female Trouble, Divine, brandishing a pistol asked who wanted to die for art, of course someone said yes and the ill fated volunteer was shot on the spot, and rightly so. Only in the movies my friends, as we now realize today, no one wants to make the commitment to die for art. Controversial German artist Gregor Schneider is having a tough time finding a dying volunteer to take part in an upcoming installation: taking his or her last breath while on display.

World’s Largest Penis Erected At An Amusement Park in China.
Most auspicious and shamanistic 30ft. erection named Sky Pillar, stands proudly at Longwan Shaman Amusement Park in Changchun city! What did my friend Jamie have to say about this in Good Magazine?

“China may vie fiercely with Dubai, South Korea and Malaysia to have the world’s tallest skyscraper, but they can lay claim to the world’s largest penis sculpture. At 30 feet tall, it is more imposing than similar icons made by penis-worshipping sects in Korea, Japan and Bhutan (Guangdong is also home to the legendary “Father Rock,” a natural stone formation some 92 feet high).”

Above, a few photos from Love Land on Cheju Island in South Korea.

Huge debut for the UFC in Montreal last night as 21,000 blood thirsty fans watched French Canadian Georges St. Pierre reclaim his Welterweight championship from Matt Serra. A jacked St. Pierre produced a brutal, hyper-physical fight manhandling former champ Serra with a no frills up and down, ground and pound to snatch the win. A cringe worthy barrage of knees to the ribs and punches to the head forced referee Yves Lavigne to utter ‘Mon Dieu!’ and stop the fight with less than 20 seconds left in round two.

After the official announcement of Whoa Canada! GSP Regains Title with TKO of Serra, all animosity between St. Pierre and Serra disappeared, as gentleman Matt picked up the new champion and carried him on his shoulder across the cage, much to the delight of the snarling raucous crowd. I for one got a wee bit choked up holding back a tiny tear, the “bromance” was a bit overwhelming.

Cincinnati High School History Teacher Rich Franklin stopped a valiant effort by toughman Travis Lutter. American Nathan Quarry with a decent win over Canadian Kalib Starnes. Booo Hisss, loudmouth Michael Bispig bested Charles McCarthy. Former Clevelander mighty Mac Danzig tried an an elusive gogoplata submission failed and decided to make mincemeat out of Mark Bocek. Bocek showed a great deal of heart but couldn’t stop Danzig who hit him like a freight train.

The last 5 videos added to my Tumblr:
BBC Medieval Mind - Psychedelic Hendrix Infused Journey
Audi RS6 - Busby Berkeley and Leni Riefenstahl would be proud.
Umbro Soccer WC Advert - No Explaination Needed
Rem Koolhaas Trailer - For Houselife
Bessie Awards Advert - Gruesome yet Best of Canadian TV

Obviously Shepard Fairey has everyone quacking in their boots after he sent a Cease and Desist letter to fellow artist Baxter Orr for creating a parody of his beloved Obama poster. Feeling a bit left out of the fun, Republican’s had to jump in on the act and produce a few posters of their own, which I have to say, are pretty damn funny. That said, I don’t blame them one bit, Obama just scored Springsteen and McCain picked up Pat Boone, and a few polygamists from a compound in West Texas. Jocko favorite Animal New York pops out the Pope with a high quality limited edition Pope Print from artist Michael Ian Weinfeld to honor Benedict XVI’s first visit to the states. I’ll paraphrase from the NYTimes and say that we aren’t sure that Obama will make a great President but he sure is an excellent muse, I can’t think of a single political candidate in recent memory who has inspired so much creativity, produced free of charge and mostly for the benefit of the campaign.

Roberto Cavalli’s “Just Cavalli” announced the launch of its new advertising campaign today featuring 5 star rugby players from The Italian National team and the Montepaschi Viadana club. Shot by photographer Gianpaolo Sgura in the team’s official locker-room, the black & white advert is styled to resemble old High School and College Year Book team photos from the 1940s and 50s. The Cavalli ad is set to run June 2008 in a select number of Italian and international magazines and features the following players; Aldo Birchall, Ross Curle, Matthew Harvey, Hayden Pedersen, and Kaine Robertson. (Via Fashion Windows)

Bansky Paints New Mural. Famed graffiti artist Banksy was at it again over the weekend, painting an indictment of closed circuit TV in central London. Despite the presence of a CCTV camera, he erected a three-story scaffolding and a plastic cover under which he painted his masterpiece. Not only can the real cameras be seen just to the right of the graffiti, a policeman with a camera is part of the artwork. The work, above a Post Office yard in Newman Street near Oxford Circus, shows a small boy, watched by a security guard, painting the words: ‘One nation under CCTV.’ The Daily Mail Reports.

11:12 am*