Remember Mad Magazine fold-ins? The last page of the magazine, where you fold the two tabs together  and get a hidden picture and message? I do. In fact, they were the bane of my existence for my early teens when Mad was my bible. I could never get the damn picture to line up, and I ended up with a bunch of magazines with wrecked back covers, anathema to any geek for whom “mint condition” is a holy phrase.

Anyway.

The New York Times has thoughtfully collected some of the best and most biting fold-ins done by cartoonist extraordinaire, Al Jaffee. And thanks to some nifty techno-coolness, they fold perfectly everytime. Click through for the full display…the techno trickery don’t work on my blog so good.

Dith Pran, Cambodian journalist and inspiration for the film The Killing Fields, has died of cancer. He was 65.

In 1975, Dith worked as a translator for NYT reporter Sydney Schanberg during Cambodia’s slide into Khmer Rouge madness. After the fall of Phnom PenhSchanberg was unable to get Dith out of the country. After four years of living with the brutal communist regime, he managed to escape after an incredible cross country journey. His story inspired the Oscar-winning movie, named after the term he coined for the mass graves he witnessed while fleeing through Cambodia.

Dith was a both a courageous journalist and human being. If you haven’t seen it, I really recommend checking out The Killing Fields. It’s one of my favourite films, a moving chronicle of a horrible time and the extraordinary people who witnessed it.

UPDATE: Check out Dith Pran’s ‘Video Obit‘ at the NYT.

Photo: Dith Pran and his wife Ser Moeun.

Here’s an image of the future for you: the extremists of the world (a.k.a. the idiots) engage in an escalating and violent pissing contest while the intelligent folks try to keep their heads down. Sounds groovy.

You’ve probably heard about Fitna, a movie produced by far-righ Dutch MP Geerts Wilders. It’s a 15 minute screed against Islam, combining stock footage of 9/11, the Madrid bombings, and the London Tube attacks with alarmist statistics about the ‘Islamisation’ of the Netherlands. The upshot: Islam is a violent religion, determined to rule the world and destory Western civilization. I’m not going to post it up here, because I find it distasteful. But feel free to check it out at LiveLeak. Read the rest of this entry »

Challenge!

Dr. Pepper, everyone’s favourite “is that Cola?” beverage, has issued an ultimatum to GNR. If Axl’s long delayed masterwork “Chinese Democracy” hits stores at any point in 2008, the soft drink company will give every man, woman and child in America a free Dr. Pepper.

Suffice it to say, Dr. Pepper only takes the safe bets. Thanks to EM for the link.

Ever wonder what Predator would be like as a rap? Me neither. But if the Internet is good at one thing, it’s answering questions nobody asked.

“Cuz they’re all bad losers where the Predator comes from”. Genius.

Herb Peterson, inventor of the now iconic Egg McMuffin, has died. He was 89.

Despite working in McDonald’s advertising agency, Peterson must have been some kind of freaky genius of tastiness. I defy anyone to find anything better for a hangover than an Egg McMuffin, short of more alcohol.

Thank you, Mr. Peterson. You done good.

In related news, the inventor of the McGriddle is still being sought by Interpol. Turns out, making something that tasty that bad for you violates several articles of the Geneva Convention.

So, there’s a new GI Joe movie coming out. This should be the cause of much celebration, since the original cartoon series was the basis of much of my contemporary problem solving and interpersonal relationship skills. But I’m worried. Instead of an ass-kicking and vaguely imperialist American squad, the new movie will feature GI Joe as a ‘global task force‘. I am now haunted by scenes of Scarlett struggling through mounds of paperwork: her purple and yellow tights garishly out-of-place, her crossbow lying on the ground covered in cobwebs. Cut to a grim-faced Duke facing off against Cobra Commander in a terse Security Council meeting. Terrifying.

But, from the darkness, comes some light. Here’s a new pick of Ray Park (aka Darth Maul) as the non-stop badass Snake Eyes:

Admittedly, that’s pretty cool. Hard to imagine this dude getting bogged down by the hand-wringing international community. Cool, but perhaps not as cool as this:

Crazy firefight at the Statue of Liberty, and not a scratch on her. That’s taking care of business.

Thanks to KJ for the heads-up on the photo.