Here comes the foreman

Here's a neat little video that shows a male silverback gorilla walking upright, just like us people do. This is no lazy amble either - our gorilla friend is in quite the hurry, it appears.

After viewing this it should be pretty easy for all of you non-believers to simply imagine an eight or nine-foot version of this striding around in the Pacific Northwest, yes? We are all ambulatory, hair-covered cousins on this big blue marble.

Conan, thinking

Or maybe he's brooding - hard to tell. He's frequently described as sullen-eyed, so it could very well be the latter. Whichever it is, you'd best move along. Muscles coiled like a panthers could spring into action at any moment, with your beheading being the most likely result.

artwork by the legendary Big John Buscema

Awesome

The coolness of the above image shatters every conceivable scale that mankind could possibly have in place to measure it, I'm sure you'll agree. But what is it? Well, I'll tell you.

The image is from a Japanese movie magazine circa 1975 or early 1976. It's an artist's conception of what the supposedly functional 40-ft robot gorilla Dino De Laurentiis was constructing for his il-fated 1976 remake of "King Kong" might look like. Eagle-eyed viewers will note that there are no pneumatics or wiring within, just a metal skeleton (much like Homer Simpson's failed robot), but these are minor scientific quibbles.

Reminds me of the incredible cutaway illustrations of Kaiju from a Japanese book called "An Anatomical Guide to Monsters" published in the 60's. I would pay a king's ransom for this book, but after searching for it pretty consistently since I become aware of it's existence some years ago, I fear I shall never hold it in my hands. One could say with little exaggeration that it is my white whale. I keep hoping someone will reprint it. But at least I have jpgs of some of the pages, and now, thanks to the magic of click and drag, so do you.

How to photo direct promotional materials for an upcoming film

"OK guys, we're almost done. Now Jack...for this next set, you think you could arch an eyebrow? You know - to let audiences know that you're the 'wacky one.' Wouldn't want people to think you're playing against type or anything. That's perfect....Michael, you just keep looking slightly unsure like you always do in everything you've ever done. Great..."