Leftovers 2010: King Kong's footprints

David & Goliath left huge footprints in the sand on Santa Monica Beach, complete with a crushed lifeguard vehicle, to promote the new King Kong 3-D attraction at Universal Studios in Los Angeles.

*Buy King Kong toys at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Beautiful photograph of a police helicopter at night. Via.

2. The LA Times:

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca directed detectives to launch a criminal investigation outside his agency's jurisdiction on behalf of a well-connected supporter who has given the sheriff political contributions and expensive gifts, a Times investigation has found.

The sheriff's investigation targeted a tenant who was embroiled in a rental dispute with Ezat Delijani, a longtime Baca political donor. The sheriff assigned his detectives to the case after Beverly Hills police had concluded that Delijani's allegations did not amount to a crime.

3. Tweet and win art.

4. Email and win art.

Los Angeles in Maps

Los Angeles in Maps by Glen Creason:

An illustrated cartographic history of the City of Angels from the colonial era to the present. Los Angeles inhabits a place of the mind as much as it does a physical geographic space. A land of palm trees and movie stars, sunshine and glamour, the city exists in the imagination as a paradise; of course, the reality is much bigger than this. Through seventy reproductions of seminal and historic documents, Los Angeles in Maps presents the evolution of this almost mythical place. Maps featured include historic Spanish explorers’ charts from as early as 1791, as well as more recent topographic surveys, tourist guides, real estate maps, bird’s-eye views, and more. Like the course of the Los Angeles River, the book winds through essential terrain: the discovery of oil, the rise of Hollywood, the streetcar system, Los Angeles Harbor, earthquakes, sprawl, and splendor.

37% off at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Chipotle says paying an ad company was a waste of money. (Their product is actually good, and thus they don't need to spend a lot of money on advertising.) Via.

2. It appears that the outline of Bill Gates's mugshot photo is the default photo in Outlook 2010. Via.

3. Jessica Alba's nude scene in Machete was computer generated.

4. Interactive map shows crime in Los Angeles. Via.

*Buy Sin City toys at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. "The tall, sleek, curving Vdara Hotel at CityCenter on the Strip is a thing of beauty. But the south-facing tower is also a collector and bouncer of sun rays, which -- if you're at the hotel's swimming pool at the wrong time of day and season -- can singe your hair and melt your plastic drink cups and shopping bags."

2. Octopus with Tron-like lights around the edges of its tentacles.

3. Racial and ethnic clusters mapped out in Los Angeles. Via.

*Buy Tron toys at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. "Welfare payments to children of illegal immigrants in Los Angeles County increased in July to $52 million, prompting renewed calls from one county supervisor to rein in public benefits to such families."

2. "A world-renowned Texas scientist specializing in infectious diseases who was once charged with smuggling dangerous samples of plague bacteria into the U.S. was questioned by authorities after a suspicious item found in his luggage caused a massive evacuation at Miami International Airport Thursday night."

3. Anyone who loved the old NES game 1942 will enjoy this 8Bit demake of Tom Clancy's HAWX 2. Via.

Link roundup

1. New Marvel vs. Capcom videos show off a truly devastating, screen shattering finishing move by the Super Skrull.

2. Intel pays Dell a whole lot of money to prevent them from using chips made by rivals.

3. The most valuable material the LA Times has ever published - - its ranking of Los Angeles public school teachers and school. Thankfully, the school my boys will attend gets an excellent score.

*Buy Skrulls at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. The Los Angeles Times looks at highrise penthouses in Los Angeles that the owners can't seem to rent out. "The top two floors of a premier Westwood high-rise have been empty since the building was completed in 1989."

2. There's now a website for the new American McGee Alice in Wonderland game.

3. Gawker has picked a fight with 4chan.

*Buy Alice in Wonderland toys at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Great article about how strange and rewarding it is to work with Bill Murray. For example:

While filming 1993's Groundhog Day, the producers pleaded with him to hire a personal assistant to facilitate better communication between him and the studio. Murray acquiesced, sort of, hiring a deaf-mute who spoke only American Sign Language. Don't worry, Murray taunted the suits, I'm going to learn sign language.

2. USC wants to spend a billion dollars on a new shopping mall/student housing complex.

3. Extremely negative review of just about every aspect of Puzzle Agent.

*Buy The Life Quatic posters at eBay.

The Magician (link roundup)

Tarot Card/Promotional postcard by Edward Kwong.

And a few more links:

1. Toy Story 3 Easter Eggs.

2. Writer talks about the time he hung out at a club and hotel with various NBA players including Ron Artest. Via.

3. Photos show Los Angeles at night in 1908, 1988, and 2002. Via.

*Previously: The Super Punch Tarot.

*Buy tarot cards at Amazon.

James Jean's Rift (link roundup)

Video look at James Jean's Rift, which is $8 at Amazon.


And a few more links:

1. Los Angeles doesn't have the money to hire people to work at its brand new $74-million jail. Via.

2. Wicked Witch and buff Flying Monkey by Joe Vriens for Hey Oscar Wilde.

3. Catbus cake.

*Previously: Flying Monkey taxidermy.

*Buy Totoro toys at eBay.

Black Bear and Snake Charmer (link roundup)

Black Bear and Snake Charmer prints by Nora Aoyagi on sale at Etsy.

And a few more links:

1. Animated gif of Batman and some playful cats.

2. LA Gang Tours - - $65 gets you a tour through gang territory in LA. Via these sites.

3. Clever way to use Chatroulette to warn people about the dangers of STDs. Via.

*Previously: Snake strings t-shirt.

*Buy vintage advertising at eBay.

Vampire with a nose bleed (link roundup)

Vampire with a nose bleed by Michael Hacker.

And a few more links:

1. Good suggestions for losing weight.

2. Scvngr hunts for the Getty Center and other museums in LA.

3. Good Food Restaurant Map in Los Angles. I'm particularly excited to learn that there's a place selling fried Twinkies nearby (although I think I'll pass on the Fried Twinkie hot dog).

*Previously: Comicon scavenger hunt.

*Buy vampire toys at eBay.

Funny lightswitch (link roundup)

Lightswitch with a mustache via these sites.

And a few more links:

1. Creepy sketch by Alex Pardee for Adult Swim. Via.

2. Carson in Southern California:

This, they told themselves, was the perfect place to raise their three kids.

Six years later, they noticed workmen drilling holes and leaving cryptic white marks on the streets.

What did they find?

3. Spicy Horse now has an art store, which includes prints of the concept art from American McGee's theoretical Red Riding Hood game I previously mentioned.

*Previously: Mustache key rack.

*Buy Adult Swim toys at eBay.

Kite flying (link roundup)

Kite riders by Aurelie Neyret, who has original art on sale here.

And a few more links:

1. Author's wife exposed as writing negative Amazon reviews on competitors' books. Via.

2. A highly-desirable job in Los Angeles is tour guide at Universal Studios - - guides get access to free acting classes and auditions with top casting directors.

3. Dune started out as an article about Oregon sand dunes called "They Stopped the Moving Sands." Via.

*Previously: Paul Atreides Lego CubeDude.

*Buy Dune posters at eBay.

Assassin's Creed fan art (link roundup)

Assassin's Creed fan art by DarkSabata, who is currently accepting commissions, as described on the right column of this page.

And a few more links:

1. Even though the city has grown by one million people, water use in Los Angeles has dropped to 1979 levels. Perversely, we were so good at conserving water, that it caused the city's pipes to explode.

2. StarCraft Cheating Scandal Rocks South Korea. Via these sites.

3. Karen Traviss talks about her now job writing Gears of War stories. (A real loss for the Star Wars universe. Her Legacy of the Force novels were dramatically better then the books in the series written by other authors.)

*Previously: Altair with a rifle.

*Buy Starcraft toys at eBay.

Plush tempura shrimp (link roundup)

Plush tempura shrimp by Karin Yamagiwa Madan.

And a few more links:

1. Downtown Los Angeles' 10 Worst Eyesores (including the Hall of Justice). Via.

2. The actress playing Catelyn Stark had to be replaced in the Game of Thrones series. (Maybe the original actress wasn't quite hateful enough?)

3. Scott Campbell has a new blog devoted to his Showdowns.

*Previously: Ramen shrimp pouch recipe.

*Buy Hall of Justice playsets at eBay.

Two masked girls

Girl with a gas mask by J.A.W. Cooper for an article in the LA Weekly about pollution in Los Angeles.



Poster by Hugh D’Andrade for the 15th Annual Anarchist Book Fair. You can see more of the posters that he's created for the Fair here. Via.

*Previously: Cooper's business cards.

*Buy gas masks at eBay.

Macbook knockoff (link roundup)

Real apple laptop via.

And a few more links:

1. In retrospect it was probably a hint: Jenny Sanford says her husband, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, refused to promise to be faithful, insisting that the clause be removed from their wedding vows.

2. Cool bird's eye view of the San Fernando Valley (where I live).

3. Some interesting anecdotes about designing Disney collectible pins.

*Previously: Up knockoff.

*Buy portable lie detectors at eBay.

Many-eyed monster wreath (link roundup)

Many-eyed monster wreath by Mandy Jouan, who has various items on sale at Etsy.

And a few more links:

1. Reebok claims its shoes will tone your butt and legs, and according to the NY Times, bases that claim on "a single study involving just five people, not published in a peer-reviewed academic journal."

2. Interactive database and map that includes test score data for all Los Angeles Unified School District magnet programs.

3. Read about "The Lobster All-Sky X-Ray Monitor."

*Previously: McDonald's serves lobster.

*Buy telescopes at Amazon.