• Are they great, terrible, or both? You figure it out. Links go to Netflix.

    70105866.jpgOver-sexed Rugsuckers from Mars. Naked aliens from Mars land on Earth and try to create a new species that is a cross between humans and vacuum cleaners. After mating with homeless man Vernon (Dick Monda), one vacuum becomes an unstoppable killer that strangles women and sucks their blood. Full of lowbrow humor, gross-out moments, silly special effects and plenty of violence, this low-budget film has gained notoriety as a cult classic.

    70105969.jpg Apocalypse Africa: Made in America. Journalist Del Walters’s documentary explores secret recordings, classified films and other archival evidence that suggest the United States’ involvement in the downfall of Africa, including genocidal wars in Darfur, Uganda and Rwanda. Through top-secret data, hidden documents and other sources obtained from government archives, this film reveals links between the destruction of Africa and those who influence American foreign policy

    70107956.jpgFaces of Death. Not for the faint of heart, the first film in the cult favorite and controversial “Faces of Death” series (which depicts supposedly authentic death scenes) features such grisly fare as an electric chair execution and the clubbing of baby seals. Other disturbing “deaths” include a monkey killed for its brain meat, a man setting himself on fire and cultists dining on human organs. No wonder why the film is banned in over 40 countries.

    70106446.jpg Lucha Libre: Life Behind the Mask. Get an inside look at the sport of lucha libre, also known as Mexican wrestling, in this documentary that explores the world of Mexico’s most popular spectator sport. Through the masked eyes of four luchadors in different stages of their careers, the film follows a 30-year veteran wrestler, a famous luchador’s son who carries on the tradition, a man at the beginning of his career and a young boy who aspires to enter the sport.

    70054898.jpg The Simpsons: Season 11. After a decade on the air, “The Simpsons” keeps on ticking, and Homer (Dan Castellaneta), Marge (Julie Kavner), Bart (Nancy Cartwright), Lisa (Yeardley Smith) and Maggie are as animated as ever. In the show’s 11th season, Homer weighs in on Mel Gibson’s remake of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; Lisa helps her father keep his job as a food critic; and Bart is confined to a wheelchair after breaking his coccyx.

    70084225.jpgThe Visitor. Widowed professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) discovers an immigrant couple, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Gurira), squatting in his Manhattan flat and becomes wrapped up in their lives when Tarek is thrown into a detention center. A wonderful Hiam Abbass co-stars as Tarek’s mother, who forges an unlikely connection with Walter. Director Thomas McCarthy’s follow-up to his indie hit The Station Agent premiered at Sundance in 2008.

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    Today’s mp3 is the most spectacularly awful music I’ve heard in a while, a kitsch epic. But there’s more to it then just that.

    That’s because today’s music is by the infamous Tony Alamo, in the news yet again, this time for kiddie porn. The FBI raided his Arkansas compound. Sure, he’s in the South now, but I remember when we had him here in Los Angeles. I discovered one of his tracts on a school bulletin board over 20 years ago and have been following the man’s exploits ever since.

    Check it out here.

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    It was probably my 50th call. The line had always been busy. Or the phone had been shut off.

    But on Tuesday morning, someone actually picked up.

    “Can I speak to the pirate spokesman, please?”

    Check it out here.

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  • A grave digger in Lagos who was arrested recently for being in possession of 9 human heads said it was the desire to build a new house that pushed him into the illegal act. Tunde Adenuga, had been exhuming corpses from the Atan Cemetery, Yaba, Lagos, chopping off the heads and other vital parts for sale to ritualists, before he was nabbed by the police.

    Check it out here.

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    Working with video expert Jerome Thelia, David McClain had been using a Panasonic AG-HVX200 to create unique mixed-media spots for his clients that blended high-resolution still pictures with the motion and clarity of high-definition video. When the Red One came along, McLain saw it as the next evolutionary step in his Merge concept.

    “There’s so much cynicism in photography now because it’s all changing and you can either run from change and stick your head in the sand or you can embrace it.” McLain says. “To me, Red seemed like the perfect tool to embrace change and that’s what Merge was all about.”

    Check it out here.

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  • Jim Lavrakas has been a staff photographer at the Anchorage Daily News for
    27 years. Friday, October 3, was his last day. He volunteered to depart, a
    result of McClatchy staff reduction. He put together a retrospective video
    of his career here

    Check it out here.

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    The code word was “chill.” That’s what the crew with Shepard Fairey, the cult graphic artist known for his screen prints and stickers of the wrestler Andre the Giant, had been instructed to say if a police car rolled by as Mr. Fairey was wheat-pasting one recent night here, illegally tagging warehouse walls and empty billboards with his black-and-white images. Then Mr. Fairey and his helpers would know to make a run for it, to avoid yet another arrest.

    Check it out here.

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  • Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten has shot a commercial promoting Country Life butter.

    Check it out here.

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    XDRTB.org is an extraordinary effort to tell the story of extremely
    drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) and TB through powerful photographs
    taken by James Nachtwey.  XDR-TB, or extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis,
    is a new and deadly mutation of tuberculosis. Similar in creation to
    multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) but more extreme in its manifestation,
    it arises when common tuberculosis goes untreated or standard TB drugs are
    misused. James’ photographs represent these varying strains. Learn more about TB, MDR-TB and XDR-TB, and learn how you can take action to stop this deadly disease.

    Check it out here.

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    An old friend of mine has an airplane in Afghanistan, and I’ve hitched a few rides with him. On one trip, I took aerial photos of compounds in Helmand Province, between Camp Bastion and Lashkar Gah.

    Check it out here. Via BoingBoing.

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    I am a little late to this party but Farewell Books has a new release called Naini and the Sea of Wolves by Trinidad Carrillo that is well worth some additional attention as it has now won the Swedish Photobook Award for 2008.

    Check it out here.

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    Exciting updates are on the way this month for the PhotoShelter Personal Archive. In mid-October, you’ll see many of your most requested new features, like:

    Easier customization. New tools will simplify customization — you’ll have templates to quickly blend sales, search, and gallery functionality into your website.

    New look. We’re simplifying navigation and sprucing up the Personal Archive public and member pages, so using PhotoShelter will be more efficient for you and your buyers.

    Member forums! Connect with fellow Personal Archive subscribers for professional and technical discussion — or even just a little fun.

    Gallery widget. Embed a slick gallery slideshow into any website or social network to extend your marketing reach.

    Check it out here.

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    Nintendo hosted its latest press conference in Tokyo last night, and with the gaming giant not displaying its goods at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, the press was expecting some big announcements from the event, and no one was disappointed. New hardware, new games, and new services were all announced and detailed, but the biggest news has to be the revamped Nintendo DS, called the DSi. 

    Check it out here.

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    Later this year, photo bag maker Think Tank Photo will release the Shape Shifter, a way-cool photo backpack that expands to carry both photo gear and a laptop to the assignment, then contracts to about half its maximum depth to hold just your computer and accessories while you shoot. If you’re a newspaper or wire service photographer, or you simply need to carry a minimum of equipment on your back while you make pictures, the Shape Shifter may be for you

    Check it out here.

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    Dan Winters spent 22 days in New York photographing dozens of  New York power brokers, New York newsmakers of the past (wow, Frank Serpico looks nothing like Al Pacino, but Joey Buttafuoco has turned into John Belushi) , New York director Woody Allen, New York pride and joys like Deborah Harry, and 36 New York actors.

    Check it out here.

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    This is me, Trent, talking: This is my new favorite website. Is there any better way to pass the time than to take in these wonderful mug shots and see what they got popped for?

    Jail Bookings and Citations in the last 48 Hours

    by time, descending. Includes Cite and Release.

    Check it out here.

    UPDATE: Thanks to Grayson, here are the Summit County (Park City) bookings. The difference between Summit County and Washington County seems to be the difference between cocaine and meth.

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  • Hey Fake Chuck,
    I’ve already had a bit of a whinge to you about being shafted with my 1d3 doorstop, was just wondering if Canon have any intention of offering all us 1d3 owners some sort of discount or trade-in incentive to upgrade to the 1d4 when it comes out ?

    Check it out here.

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    WINDOWS OF THE SOUL : My Journeys in the Muslim World by Alexandra Avakian is now available.

    The book is a memoir of the two decades (or so) Alexandra spent documenting the world of Islam from Central Asia, throughout the Middle East, Persia, Africa and the United States.

    Check it out here.

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    Today we meet Clancy Chassay, 28, multimedia journalist from London.

    Check it out here.

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  • Julieanne Kost has posted some detailed overviews of Camera Raw 5.0 and the rest of Photoshop CS4

    Check it out here.

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