Incursions of US border by Mexican cops, troops rising

Here's my latest report for The Washington Times. Border incursions by Mexican authorities have shot up 359% in the course of one year according to a report U.S. Customs and Border Protection tried to keep secret:

Incursions of border by cops, troops rising

Hundred miles an hour

I'm busy as hell at the moment. Working on a new report for The Washington Times and I'm designing the title sequence for Pitch, a show created by Emme Tyler.

I'll post links to both when they're available online.

PerfectLand

This one is up for an Animation Webby. It's my favorite. The Stickman Exodus is pretty damn good too, but this jarring juxtaposition of utopia versus dystopia is enjoyable on so many levels it's hard not to love. Makes you stop and think about what we do to our world:

PerfectLand

Webby Nominee!

I just found out that the Bill O'Reilly Dance Remix video I cut to Revolucian's beat has been nominated for Best Viral Video of 2008 by the Webby Awards!

I am insanely pleased.

Graphic design

I think I'm going to take a shot at this.

God

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?

-Epicurus

Toko-ri

At the moment I'm working on a writing project based on my time in South Korea. I've had it on the backburner for years. As I was doing some Google browsing on Toko-ri, where the majority of the events I'm fictionalizing took place, I came across this completely accurate description:

"Toko-ri a few years ago used to be one dirty, sleazy, and crazy place. If you have ever watched the first Stars Wars movie and remember the bar with the space aliens in it, in the city of Mos Eisley, that is what Toko-ri was like."

-ROK Drop

Wade Wolf

Eulogy

Wade Wolf lived at the trailer park where I shot my first video projects. He always kicked it and came along to help out with the filming. He had epilepsy and a bum hand. He'd been picked on a lot in school, but he didn't let anyone get him down. Always had a good thing to say.

He'd also been in a car wreck so severe doctors told him he'd never walk again. But he walked. Had the brutal scars to prove it.

He always had a good story to tell. Stuff that blew your mind or made you laugh. Despite his ailments, he went out and became a fucking black belt. We'd sit out on a couch in front of his trailer on some summer days and watch him whip a three-section-staff around like a ninja. He knew his shit.

He was lonely though. No family anywhere close. It was hard to function because the epilepsy took a turn for the worse; kept knocking him down and there was no one to help.

Wade had a seizure two nights ago and suffocated face down on his pillow.

Rest in peace Wade. You were one of the good ones.

Cellphone Caprice

This satirical animation by Haruna Karasuda is a great commentary on the disconnected feeling you get from living in a world of ubiquitous 24-hour connectivity:

The musical style and quickly shifting frames of reference reminded me of the original Pink Panther animation by Richard Williams, who also did the Chaplin collage above. This is one of the most stylish intro sequences of all-time:

This reminded me of the title sequence to Catch Me If You Can. Also stylish as hell:

None but the Lonely Hearts

It's a long held belief of mine that genius is timeless. That's why Homer is still engaging, Shakespeare still readable, and Spoke Jones? Hilarious:

Cynicism

Diogenes is by far my favorite philosopher, and coincidentally, one of the founders of Cynicism. I was reminded how much I like the school of thought while reading this New York Times Op-Ed today.

Here's a brief description from Wikipedia on who he was and how he thought:

"Diogenes maintained that all the artificial growths of society were incompatible with happiness and that morality implies a return to the simplicity of nature. So great was his austerity and simplicity that the Stoics would later claim him to be a wise man or "sophos". In his words, "Humans have complicated every simple gift of the gods." Although Socrates had previously identified himself as belonging to the world, rather than a city, Diogenes is credited with the first known use of the word "cosmopolitan". When he was asked where he came from, he replied, "I am a citizen of the world (cosmopolites)".This was a radical claim in a world where a man's identity was intimately tied to his citizenship in a particular city state. An exile and an outcast, a man with no social identity, Diogenes made a mark on his contemporaries. His story, however uncertain the details, continues to fascinate students of human nature."

He was extremely intellectually hostile toward Plato and Socrates, both who he viewed as idiots. This is my favorite anecdote from the all-out philosophical war that Diogenes and Plato waged on one another:

"Diogenes was knee deep in a stream washing vegetables. Coming up to him, Plato said, "My good Diogenes, if you knew how to pay court to kings, you wouldn't have to wash vegetables."

"And," replied Diogenes, "If you knew how to wash vegetables, you wouldn't have to pay court to kings."