The Japanese seem to have more fun with commercials. The youth element is so vibrant by adding Peanuts to the fold of this commercial. North American commercials using Peanuts is so bland. This commercial for Hot Pepper CM gives Peanuts that extra sizzle. The advertising magazine Hot Pepper CM is a free coupon magazine that licensed Peanuts for this effective campaign. (via Cartoon Brew)

It’s the end of the world as we know it. In 2012, Obamageddon will descend upon us as many doomsayers are already pooling their soothsayer powers of deceit. Humanity has always exaggerated his demise greatly throughout history. Obamageddon is the Siamese twin word of the day or perhaps for the future failures of Obama. 2012 is becoming the latest countdown clock for humanity from the Aztecs and couple that with Armageddon a Judean/Christian notion and you have recipe for disaster.

Blogging is a tried experiment of failure and success. Many bloggers have tips and tricks that generate traffic to make money for their sites. Some bloggers are so successful that books are spawned from their blogs. Some now go hand in hand and they create a lure for many bloggers like moths to light to find their secrets. Tim Ferriss is the latest poster boy for blogging, he shares his wisdom with present and future bloggers. Tim Ferriss had a presentation at WordCamp recently called, How to Build a High Traffic Blog without Killing Yourself. This 50 minute video is a wealth of information for bloggers who want to increase traffic to their sites. The next Wordcamp is in Montreal and should be a romp for serious bloggers and those curious at heart. Matt Mullenweg founder of Wordpress with be at hand in Montreal for Wordcamp.

Cheap Trick are as irrelevant as the 8-track tape. Many groups have once again embraced vinyl records, but the 8-track machines sounded the death knell at the height of Cheap Trick’s apex of fame in the late 70’s. The Dream Police brigade are releasing their new album called, The Latest, and the music will grace an 8-track tape. eBay will be busy for the true fan looking for an 8 track machine. Is this a Cheap Trick to muster up some publicity? You bet! The album returns to earlier roots of the band. Robin Zander and the boys are still making waves with their music used as the theme for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and video games such Guitar Hero II and Rock Band 2. What was old is once again new. It’s the 70’s show all over again. Welcome back Cheap Trick.

“If a bunch of these stations weren’t going to play it anyway, we’ll send them something that will be a nice conversation piece,” explains Dave Frey, the group’s manager.

Jen Hui Liao’s Self-Portrait Machine is something of a wonder. I remember getting these little contraptions in cereal boxes that did tracing pictures from photographs, not as sophisticated but just as elaborate. The Self-Portrait Machine makes you part of the machine as it guides you to draw a portrait, how it will make you better artist is beyond me. Andy Warhol would have a field day with this machine. Read more about Self-Portrait Machine>>

New pictures of the moon are trickling in like something out of an old Flash Gordon prop set assembled over the weekend. The moon looks a bit like it was created by globed PLAY-DOH ball of thumbed prints encrusted to give you that asteroid feel of an impacted surface. With all the arsenal gadgets at NASA’s disposal you figured the wow factor would be eye popping. I guess we are spoiled rotten with CGI, so the real McCoy looks a bit on the cheesy side. Darn too bad, I was hoping for the moon to be made of real cheese. See more>>

Japan has always been unique when it comes to fashion. They have assimilated with the rest of the world faster than any nation since the last world war. Technology wise, some say they are way ahead of the world. Manba is a youth underground movement that is spreading like wildfire in Europe and finding popularity in England. Manba’s distinctive music is laced in unique fashion and make-up, the skin is darkened using tanning products. Personally it looks like an overblown pajama party where toddlers raided mom’s makeup collection and the party went wrong. It remains to be seen if Manba will make the rounds in North America.

Manba comes from an earlier fad called Ganguro.

Ganguro is where folks either get a suntan or wear make up to give their skin a darker appearance.

Gan = Face and Kuro = Black

Hollywood had a love affair with Salvador Dali and a friendship with Walt Disney was nurtured to a point where they worked on a potential short film called Destino. The project was abandoned in 1946, only 18 seconds of test footage was created. The project re-surfaced in 1999 for Fantasia 2000, Disney’s nephew Roy Edward Disney resurrected the project but was never used for the movie. Destino was shown as an opening cartoon for the movies, Calendar Girls and Triplets of Belleville and is now lost in animation limbo. The marriage of Walt Disney and Salvador Dali is an interesting mash of ideas that Disney was willing to test the limits of imagination, but was never pushed the limit. The stagnant movies after Disney’s death was the proof, the studio stayed true to a formula and refused to change for many years. Destino was not the destiny of Disney. Walt Dali was never to be.

See also. Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock/Salvador Dali collaboration)

The alien invasion movie “District 9” produced by Peter Jackson is slowly making waves without any fanfare. This could be the sleeper of the year. It has shades of Alien Nation made in 1988 and the series spawned from the movie. District 9 is a segregation movie veiled in sci-fi themes. A fear of the unknown always brings the worst in humanity and that fear usually gets us in trouble. Preview>>

The plot of this film has been shrouded in secrecy for quite some time, but at last certain details are coming to light. An alien race has come to earth on a one-way ticket, becoming stranded in Africa. Now seen as yet another mistrusted minority, the “non-humans” live in a dangerous ghetto and labor for little to no pay. But when a human encounters some strange non-human technology that begins to affect him in disturbing ways, his perspective on the situation changes drastically.

Tucked away in many homes are time capsules that famous people would wish they burn up in flames. A yearbook of themselves before they became famous. Some so radical that you could not tell from the picture that they are the same person. Case example, Prince, or as he is known today, “The Artist Formerly Known As Prince” is so radical in appearance. This is the picture formerly known as Prince Rogers Nelson. 11 points has compiled 11 yearbook photos of famous musicians and compared it to how they look today.