Taylor apologises for outburst - What Do You Think?

Oven Dweller Pedro O'Klinkerhoffen had me chuckling this morning. What he said was even funnier.

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Here are some Swedish dance bands

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Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg make mashed potatoes

Perhaps they were cell mates or something.

Bates and Cattermole arrested - What Do You Think?

News that Lee Cattermole and Matthew Bates have, once again, made idiots of themselves is rich fodder for Red Eye's panel.

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Obama likes Spider-Man, and that means...

Gabriel Fowler, owner of New York comic book store Desert Island, gives his analysis on what Obama's favourite comic books say about America's next President.

“Unlike previous teen super heroes, Spider-Man did not benefit from adult mentors like Captain America and Batman. He was his own man, and had to learn for himself that ‘with great power comes great responsibility’. Perhaps Mr. Obama identifies with Peter Parker’s lone-wolf outlook?"

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Are Justice faking it?

The MIDI controller that Gaspard is twiddling with isn't plugged in.

Maybe it just came loose mid-set and the problem hadn't yet been recognised, or maybe their sets are just pre-programmed.

Hmmmmm.

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Super Obama World

Super Obama World is a basic Super Mario Bros clone that exchanges Koopa Troppers for lipstick-wearing pigs.

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Notion #37

The new issue is in stores now, or will be very shortly. In it, you'll find, amongst other things, a brand new gaming section.

I've reviewed crazy popular shooter Gears of War II and written a piece called Who The Fuck that dissects Metroid's Samus Aran. It's well worth looking at just for Alex Figini's awesome drawing. Although my words are kinda cool too.

You can pick up Notion from WHSmith's, Borders and loads of other outlets.

Obama headlines

A selection of newspaper front pages from around the world on 5th November 2008.

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Josh Martinez review up now at PopMatters

My review of the latest Josh Martinez album is up now at PopMatters.

"There are moments outside of the first three tracks when Martinez does get back on track. “Fight or Fuck” is akin to Aquemini-era Outkast, offering organic beats and double-time rhymes that collide with intergalactic synth runs and elements of P-Funk-inspired swirls. “Going Back to Hali” offers a low-down, ass-shaking beat and is easily the album’s most danceable track."

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Flickr set of the Obamas on election night

Obama For America campaign photographer David Katz took these wonderful shots of the Obamas and the Bidens watching the results come in on election night.

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Yes we did!

The streets of Los Angeles were chaotic last night as America elected Barack Obama as their 44th President.

The official victory party – hosted at the Century City Hyatt – was massively over attended and quickly shut down by fire marshals and the LAPD. The party spilt out in the street and police and hotel staff attempted to send everyone on their way, but the overwhelmingly positive mood made for no acrimony, no agitation, simply a once-in-a-lifetime party.

It was a special, special night and I feel humbled and honoured to have been part of it.

Now, okay, the election result wasn't quite the landslide that some commentators are calling it (Reagan 525 – Mondale 13 was a landslide), but Obama has redrawn the electoral map that we've known for the last two elections.

With subtle references in his victory speech to Martin Luther King and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Obama has set the bar almost unfathomably high for himself. But he has all of the charm and charisma of Dr King and will hopefully be able to stand up to the powerful interests of those who helped him become elected and retain the beautiful idealism that will be required to force the same sort of sweeping changes to America that FDR was able to.

Welcome back to the world, America. We've missed you.

Comic book adverts

Following on from my earlier post, here's a superb collection of old adverts from comic books.

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Ordering a live monkey from a comic

On Comic Book Resources, Jeff Tuthill recalls the time he ordered a live squirrel monkey from an advert in the back of an issue of Spider-Man.

"I figured, well, it’s probably near dehydration, so I opened up the cage to put some water in it. It leapt out of the cage when I opened it up the second time! I mean, it was eyeing the pipes that I was unaware of. As soon as I opened the cage, it leapt up and grabbed onto the plumbing up on the ceiling and started using them like monkey bars, and he was just shooting along in the basement, chirping pretty loud. It was heading towards the finished side of the basement, where there was a drop ceiling, and if it got into those channels, I never would have got it. It would have been days to get this thing out of there. I grabbed it by its tail, and it came down on, starting literally up by my shoulder, like a drill press it landed on my arm, and every bite was breaking flesh."

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Being part of the Obama campaign

I'm currently volunteering for Barack Obama's Campaign for Change in Los Angeles, California. And I'm having the time of my life.

On the other end of the phone I've had people query my involvement in an election foreign to me, others give their thanks that I'm volunteering in this campaign and one man who told me that he "supposed he had to vote for the nigger".

In the phone bank itself, I have met some of the most passionate, energetic and inspirational people. Everybody who has given their time for this most important of causes deserves a mention, but Cameron, who when I asked him for a prompt sheet in case of tough questioning told me just to tell voters why I was giving up my vacation to support this campaign; Freddie, who had marched with Martin Luther King in the 1960s; Erik, who had campaigned for Eugene McCarthy in 1968; Anahid and Jon, who helped me after some tough calls; and, of course, my friend Randy, stand out.

As the campaign draws to a close, I feel genuinely humbled to have worked with and met such wonderful people. If Obama, should he be elected, can maintain this hunger and passion, America's next eight years will be much, much more fruitful than the last eight.