Myth or Reality Review: Michael Jackson mummified?

Just saw this picture of a 3000 year old egyptian bust that has an uncanny resemblance to the King of Pop right down to the disintegrated nose. This is not only a rare coincidence, but also pretty freaky. If there is a face in this world that is worth being legendary and remembered for many many years to come, it is Michael Jackson's. Of course, his first ,and might I add his only, call to fame is great music that divinely transcends all divides created by us mere humans. But the list of his call to infamy runs long, from the repeated plastic surgeries to the ever changing face and skin color to his tryst with the child molestation cases to over the top accessories and lifestyle. But if in death he gets another shot at being remembered, this man was born to be legendary. No questions asked.

I can imagine Michael Jackson now sitting with the Gods in heaven and singing and entertaining them. And watching the live telecast from earth and amusing himself at what a magical life he lived. Yes, as fellow humans we troubled him, we never let the spotlight off him for too long and we never understood his love for kids (at least the way he professed on an interview). But his life was magical and blessed for sure. And if a blessed soul comes on earth once an era, maybe they share a common face. Just a thought.

So, coming back to the bust in question (not the bust that I would like to be in question), is it possible that Michael Jackson modeled his face after this ancient relic? No one has an answer to that question to be honest. After all, how much about Michael do we know for sure? Not much, almost everything we have ever held him to has been speculation, including the reason for his death.

This bust can be found at the Field Museum at Chicago. A museum spokesperson agrees that the resemblance of the bust to Michael Jackson's face was quite astounding, but did not know if Michael had ever seen this bust. This bust has been identified to have come from the New Kingdom period (1550 B.C. to 1050 B.C.), the same time as Ramesses and King Tut.

Another thing that is striking is that Michael Jackson did the video for "Remember the time" with an Egyptian theme round about the time when his face was almost identical to the bust. And now, the nose of the bust is further disintegrating. Is there some connection between the disintegration of the bust's nose and Michael losing his nose? Though I think this last point is pushing it too far, the other things are pretty striking. Like the curator clarified that 95% of all Egyptian statues and busts were defiled (a.k.a. break the nose) by early Christians and Muslims because they were used for idolatry. Maybe Jackson did see this bust and wanted to be as pretty as it.

Unfortunately someone forgot to mention to him that this was the bust of a woman. Arrggghhhh.....

Here are some other blogs about this:
Did Michael Jackson model face after Egyptian bust? - By Micheal Sneed, Sun-times Columnist
Michael Jackson = Ancient Egyptian? - By Marcus Gilmer

Technorati Tags: Michael Jackson, Mummy, King Tut, Ramesses, King of Pop

Redefining HOT!!! - Davorka Tovilo - you got to see her to believe her

Saw this picture of Davorka Tovilo in the newspaper today and me liked it. So, I go to Google and do an innocent search. Mind you, my safe search is set to moderate and the set of images I get as a result for the simple name search of "Davorka Tovilo" is astounding. Me like it more.

And then I realized that she does not even have a Wikipedia page. Wikipedia does have a couple of her pictures in the creative commons media directory, but nothing written about her. The most I could gather is that she is Croatian born, 28 years old and an actress in German films and is living in Munich (mostly). And her picture gets splashed in an Indian newspaper halfway across the globe. My guess is her qualification were merely globular in nature that they travel the globe with such ease.

So, since me liked the whole Davorka Tovilo experience a lot, especially because of the inability of us mere mortals in hiding anything from Lord Google, and since Lord Google is so gracious to give us free access to all his visions (which include enough to make me sweat even with safe search set on moderate), here is a sample of what Davorka looks like (with very very little left to imagination).

I am trying to organize the pictures below in ascending order of sorts from what I think are lot left to imagination to a little left to imagination. So be warned that scrolling to the bottom of this page may not be appropriate for everyone. This post is almost like soft porn. Sorry! ;-) Who could have imagined an innocent encounter with a morning newspaper would lead to this?

























For more, click on the following links:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2495417/
http://www.zimbio.com/Davorka+Tovilo/pictures/pro
http://www.zimbio.com/Davorka+Tovilo/articles/2/Davorka+Tovil
http://www.platinum-celebs.com/models/davorka-tovilo

Comedy Show Review: The flight of the conchords in their 'Business Time'

Flight of the Conchords - Business Time

I have just found out that the newest most hilarious way to spend my laughter is to buy a ticket on board the "Flight of the Conchords" and kick up my legs and let the stomach relax. Because soon enough the stomach will be bouncing and jiggling in all sort of funny directions. Sometimes trying to get over the torture of the funny, tickling yet delivered with the straigtest possible face comedy imaginable. "Aahhh Yeah... Baabyyy... Aahaaa...", as Jemaine would say while giving a hot chick the massage of her lifetime. And I presume it would be a wednesday and that is the night we all make 'Loveah'. What undeniable logic that is? Who could disagree that wednesday is the best day of the week to get laid, especially after marriage since there is really (and I mean really) nothing interesting on the television and your morale is on the verge of getting over this weeks hill that you need the little (2 minute?) push.

And then what better use to put your 'Business socks' to than as the best attire for enticing your lady love. "Leave her wanting more", he means to say in his sexed up voice while Bret strums on the guitar with heightened excitement, "leave her wanting more and she will remember you". Again, the logic is infallible. And conserves energy to get through the rest of the week, don't it? And after all, it is all about reading the signs right. When she says, "I have to get up in the morning and I have work to do", you need the clarity of Casanova to know that she means business, RIGHT NOW.

"Then she goes and sorts out the recycling, which is not part of the foreplay but is very important", means she wants me baby aah. Wants me in only my business socks and she wants my business sock with me in them, right about NOW. And to show her that you are all turned on by her, remove your jeans with your shoes on. And the stumble that slowly transforms into a sexy snaky dance will really get her woozy, on a wednesday night with work the next day. What else could work? And two minutes in heaven is definitely doubly better than one minute in heaven and then she goes, "Is that it", the work is done and done well, coz "Yeeeaaahhhhh, that's it bayhbeee... Yeahhhhhh"

Signing off for now in my socks, and you know when I am down to my socks, what time it is... 'Its business... It's business time... Business time for my business... my business... It's my business time... (3 INTENSE minutes later) ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... Business hours are over...

Click here to search for all Flight of the Conchord videos on youtube
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PS: And now imagine the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy sung by the flight of the conchords. Now, that would really be something to remember and pretty difficult to forget aah.

Technorati Tags: Flight of the conchords

One hot cuppa Comic Con 2009 coming up (only for hardcore dreamers???)

Where are you going to find EA (Electronic Arts), 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers and Google on a single platform? Comic Con. Wish I could be there. I am sure it is going to be a great event with this being the thick of the recession and all. What new movies are coming out? What about the games that are going to tilt the cats on the fence to pick up their piggy bank and break it? Anything that is going to be any exciting is going to be showcased. If they don't, then they may just lose out on the best opportunity this time of the year. I am an avid follower of IMDB for reviews of new movies and of GameSpot for the reviews of upcoming games and both these sites are going crazy about the Comic Con event. I am new to this and took a couple of days to warm up to the idea of a common platform for movies, games and so much else.

There is going to be so much going on that merely thinking about it makes me weak in my knees. Sneak Peeks of new TV series like Human Target, V and the Vampire Diaries. Talks on character development that would interest authors and game developers alike. A session by Howard Simpson of Abba Studios on how to tell stories and make storyboards work. A pre-production and screenwriting film school session. An informative session by DC Comics on what they look for in artists and how anyone can start working with DC.

Here are some others that caught my eye from the detailed itinerary:

TheOneRing.net: The Hobbit— With Middle-earth returning to the big screen in December 2011, TheOneRing.net will take you behind the scenes of the latest news, announcements, and rumors pertaining to the Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro production of The Hobbit.
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Science Fiction That Will Change Your Life— The staff of io9.com, Eisner Award–winning author Douglas Wolk (Reading Comics), and others talk about science fiction from the last year that does more than blow things up. It might also blow your mind. What science fiction should you be reading and watching if you want your brain to grow so big it pops out of the top of your skull and starts throbbing and shooting lasers?
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Comic Book Law School 101: Let's Get It Started— The popular Comic Book Law School series, which provides a basic foundation for understanding copyright and trademark law through an interactive lecture.
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Secret Origins of Comic-Con — How did it all begin? Those who were there in 1969 (most of them teenagers at the time!) have the behind-the-scenes story of the very first meetings, the first mini-con, and the first Golden State Comic-Con at the U.S. Grant in 1970.
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The State of MMOs: A Discussion with the Developers— Join Henrik Strandberg (Turbine), John Smedley (Sony Online Entertainment), Dave Brevik (Gazillion), Min Kim (Nexon America), and Leo Olebe (BioWare / EA) for a panel discussion and Q&A moderated by George Chronis (DFC Intelligence) about the current state of the massively multiplayer online games market.
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Archie Comics: Archie Marries Veronica— It's the wedding of the century, but that is just the start, with plenty of surprise announcements about the future of Archie Comics, including the latest news about Archie on television and in feature films! Panelists include legendary The Dark Knight movie producer and Archie writer Michael Uslan, new Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater, iVerse CEO Michael Murphy, IDW Publishing COO Greg Goldstein, Archie Comics president/director of circulation Fred Mausser, and Archie Comics vice president/managing editor Mike Pellerito.
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World of Warcraft: Epic Loot— Get your game on outside of Azeroth! Join a panel of Blizzard Entertainment decision makers along with their proud licensed partners for an all-out discussion/unveiling of World of Warcraft–inspired product awesomeness.
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Hasbro: G.I. Joe— The Hasbro design and marketing teams—Aaron Archer and Michelino Paolino (Hasbro Design), and Jeff Labovitz (Hasbro Marketing), discuss the upcoming release of the G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra movie, the new toy line hitting shelves, the new video game, and much more!
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DC: Superman: Two Worlds— Torn between New Krypton and Earth, the Man of Steel has only just begun his latest adventure. You've seen the stories: a new planet of Kryptonians; scores of super-powered beings. The people behind Superman's future are here to face the most trying times in his life. Meet the talented folks behind Superman as they give you a glimpse of what is in store for our favorite Super-family.
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Crime: Usual and Unusual— The heart of crime fiction is a crime committed against people or institutions—but the range of subgenres is diverse and fascinating. Panelists: Max Allan Collins (The Goliath Bone), Jeffrey J. Mariotte (Cold Black Hearts), Alexander Irvine (Buyout), Gregg Hurwitz (Trust No One), Thomas Greanias (The Atlantis Revelation), and Kat Richardson (Vanished) cover traditional mysteries, espionage, paranormal mystery, and more.
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Avatars, Icons, and Antiheroes— The new hero is the anti-hero: twisted fairy tale icons, magicians turned hitmen, and avatars of both Good and Evil are cold-blooded killers and worse in the pages of these writers' imaginations. Moderator Diana Gill (executive editor of Eos Books) leads a discussion on this phenomenon with Kevin J. Anderson (Enemies & Allies), Brom (The Child Thief), Richard Kadrey (Sandman Slim), Vicki Pettersson (City of Souls), S. J. Day (Eve of Chaos), and Holly Black (Ironside).
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Assassin's Creed II: Video Games and Hollywood Converge— Yannis Mallat (CEO, Ubisoft Montreal), Pierre Raymond (president & head of operations, HYBRIDE Technologies, a VFX studio involved on 300, Sin City), and key team members discuss the convergence between Hollywood and video games, featuring the fastest-selling new franchise in video game history: Assassin's Creed.
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A Darker Shade of Ink: Crime and Noir in Comics— Crime comics are back with a bang! Darwyn Cooke (Parker: The Hunter), Greg Rucka (Gotham Central), and Steve Lieber (Whiteout) join moderator/noted mystery and comics writer Max Allan Collins (The Road to Perdition) to talk about the new incarnations of crime and noir in comics.
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Animation on a Shoestring— Learn the down and dirty tricks on how to create your own animation studio on a low budget, from the author of Animation on a Shoestring. Find out how to assemble the equipment you will need, how to build or buy equipment, and what software to use to edit and composite your project. Featuring Larry Loc,  animation educator.
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Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes— Join legendary Disney Animation producer Don Hahn, famed Disney animator Glen Keane, creator of Aladdin's Genie Eric Goldberg, director/teacher/animator Tom Sito, and Masked Avenger Studios owner and sculptor Ruben Procopio for a discussion of the life and influence of Disney mentor, trainer, and artist Walt Stanchfield.
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Capcom 2009 Lineup— Capcom's premiere producers present sneak peeks at the most anticipated games of the year. Featuring Jun Takeuchi (Lost Planet 2), Morgan Gray (Dark Void), Daryl Allison (Spyborgs), Motohide Eshiro (Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth), and Masachika Kawata (Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles) and moderated by Capcom-Unity.com's Seth Killian. See exclusive gameplay footage and behind-the-scenes making-of features, followed by a Q&A session!
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Evolution of Fantasy— Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, Twilight—the great mega-selling series of recent years have all ended. What will the next one look like? Or is it already here? How is fantasy evolving? Panelists Jacqueline Carey (Naamah's Kiss), Lynn Flewelling (Shadows Return), Patrick Rothfuss (The Name Of The Wind), Thomas Sniegoski (The Fallen), Greg Van Eekhout (Norse Code), and Cindy Pon (Silver Phoenix : Beyond the Kingdom of Xia) answer questions posed by moderator Lev Grossman (The Magicians).
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Marvel: Breaking into the House of Ideas— Are you a writer or artist? Ever dream of working for Marvel? Do you find yourself thinking "I could do that...if I knew how!" Well, here's your chance! Join C. B. Cebulski, Marvel's talent liaison, and panelists writer Jeph Loeb (Ultimatum), Marvel editor Charlie Beckerman, artist Mike Choi (X-Force), colorist Christina Strain (Runaways), and more to find out the answers on how to get your foot in the door at every level in the creative process and how to make your job Marvel!
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Professional Writing— Ideas are a dime a dozen. Executing those ideas (instead of assassinating them) is what separates pro from wannabe. But only you know what steps you need to take to get there, so if you show up for this talk, bring questions to ask J. Michael Straczynski, who has created a massively successful cross-platform writing career in movies, television, comics, and print.
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Cartoon Network: Chowder! The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack! Adventure Time with Finn and Jake!— This panel celebrates three of the best comedies from Cartoon Network Studios. First up is a sweet treat with Chowder, including special guests C. H. Greenblatt (creator) and Tara Strong (voice of Truffles). Then set sail with The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and creator Thurop Van Orman (voice of Flapjack) and Steve Little (writer, voice of fan favorite Dr. Barber). Finally, hold onto your seats for a sneak peek of the new series Adventure Time with Finn and Jake with creator Pendelton Ward. It's algebraic!
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The Halo Franchise: What's Next— Frank O'Connor (franchise development director for Halo) will be joined by a number of special guests to discuss how Halo is evolving into a robust entertainment franchise and what's coming in the future.
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Showtime: Dexter— Calling all Dexter fans! If you're a Dexter fanatic and can't wait for the new season, you don't want to miss this killer panel! Moderator Ralph Garman (KROQ Entertainment Reporter) presides over a revealing interview and Q&A session with the stars and executive producers of Dexter. Plus, get an exclusive first look at clips from the new season! Featured panelists include series star/executive producer Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Julie Benz (Rita), Jennifer Carpenter (Deb), and executive producers John Goldwyn, Sara Colleton, Clyde Phillips, and Melissa Rosenberg. The new season premieres September 27 at 9:00 PM EST/PST only on Showtime!
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Writing for the Computer Gaming Industry— Great storytelling forms the foundation for immersive games that emotionally draw players into a gaming universe.
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Unlocking Arkham: Forensic Psychiatry and Batman's Rogues' Gallery— Arkham Asylum holds some of Gotham City's most disturbed criminals. But do they truly belong there? From the vantage point of a forensic psychiatrist utilizing real-world psychiatric diagnostic criteria, panelists explore the mental disorders of the Dark Knight's Rogues' Gallery, with in-depth analyses of The Joker, Two-Face, Riddler, The Ventriloquist, Mad Hatter, and Mr. Zsasz, among others. Learn as three psychiatrists explain the meaning of such terms as "psychotic," "not guilty by reason of insanity," and "psychopathy." Bring your questions, and join the fun as experts unlock Arkham Asylum and possibly set free some of its "inmates"! Panelists include H. Eric Bender, M.D., University of California, Los Angeles; Praveen Kambam, M.D., University Hospitals/Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio; and Vasilis K. Pozios, M.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
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Technorati Tags: comic con, games, movies, comics

Game review: Plants vs. Zombies (Gamespot score: 8.5)

Super cute and super super addictive, plants vs. zombies (Read Gamespot Review) is a game where the antagonists have a most nefarious design, to eat my brains (Aaarrgggghhhh!). In a parallel universe around a beautifully colored cartoon house, hoards of zombies have launched an all out attack on the frontyard, backyard and the brightly tiled roof. Their demand is very simple. They want the brains of the person in the house, and that happens to be me. And I am not going to give my brain up without a fight. Like Will Smith so well portrayed in "I am legend" and Milla Jovovich in "Resident evil", its hard work to save your brains from these supposedly brain dead zombies. Why do they need my brain again? Anyway, technicalities aside, a zombie that just sits around is not much fun. Give him a whiff of the delicacy of his dreams, a raw fresh brain, and he can become so interesting. Interesting enough to kill a whole weekend clicking the mouse buttons like crazy. I might just get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome if this game goes one for another day.

So, there are these zombies attacking my house from all directions. They start during the day, but then grow in courage and desperation to reach their meal (that's shivering in my head). They then decide to attack the backyard for a weakness. And when the fort holds under my brain's able (and selfish) leadership, they launch an attack of an unprecedented scale on my roof. How did they get up there when the frontyard and the backyard are safe? Bungee zombies would you believe? And as if fighting crazy zombies handing from bungees is not enough, there is a dancing zombie with four accompanying dancers around him who looks too much like Michael Jackson in thriller. Then there is the huge zombie with a dwarf zombie on his back who is launched behind enemy (me) lines. Then there is a joker zombie, a pole vaulting zombie, one with a ladder, a miner zombie, a flying zombie and the list is almost endless. At a point of time you might even wish to simply be dead rather than have to face these persistent undead who love having their heads roll. And when one puts a bucket on his head he becomes much more difficult to kill. After all, there are no gunpowder based weapons to blow these walking cadavers sky high. This is a game that is environmentally conscious and allows only euro IV compliant power to stop the imminent lightheaded feeling.

So to fight this menace, the stash of weapons under my hood is...... Plants. That's right. You have fight off hoards of brain hungry zombies with the green thumb. No nuclear weapons, no M16, no grenades. Hell, there are no guns and knifes. You will fight off these waves with cute looking colorful plants. But that is just the disguise of Clark Kent and there is superman's underwear in the jeans just under that button fly . Sunflowers and sunshrooms will fuel the war machine. Fuel to buy pea shooters (the basic infantry if you will), the zombie eaters (heavy infantry), the potato bombs (sappers), chemical mushrooms that can fume the wide eyed fanatics, from an amazing arsenal of zombie fighting tools from nature. There is even an atomic plant that leaves a barren crater while exploding and sending all the zombies on screen to their death (or second deaths). But alas, the atomic plant works only in the night and is expensive. For the middle game when the hoards are at the maximum, the star plant is good as it fires in five directions. Even the wall is a good defense, but can fall under the persistent hunger of the enemy.

There are more than 50 colorful levels, each long enough to build the tension but short enough to enjoy without really getting serious. After all its only dead guys who are losing their heads. We are allowed to keep ours in this game. Phew. With each level starting fingers twitch to start with a sunflower, but then the different strategies take shape. Should the corn lobber be built first or the cabbage lobber. Will a defensive approach be good or is offense the best defense. Zombies have a simple life so to say. All they have to do is walk in their trademark zombie and eat anything in their path. But I have to stop them from getting near my head. Lob a few cabbages, fire a few peas, strategically place a few garlic pods to make them change lanes.

The feeling is of really being in a war (with your legs up on the center table). Its exciting, its visually appealing, its fun. And thankfully its short enough to have ended in a weekend. Otherwise I would not have gone to office today. Pretty intelligent and insane in the same breath. And it is real value for money. A game where killing zombies is rated universal so that the kids can play it, is always welcome. And the bonus missions are going to keep me kicking the zombie butts for another weekend I think. So, for now, adios from the zombie killer (oxymoron?)

P.S. I think I heard a zombie whisper outside my window. Going to check it now. If I don't return, you know what to do. You don't? Hmm... You should spread the word and get all the peas you can.