"Ataque de Panico!"

It's not a Dicken's Christmas tale, but here's a story that I really love to hear.

Apparently a producer in Uruguay created a 4 minute short of a robot attack on Uruguay's capital called "Ataque de Panico!". The Playlist stated that the director may be the next Neill Blomkamp, who made the South African-based alien flick "District 9." With the blog abuzz, the South American short went viral, and has already been viewed on YouTube 1.5 million times.

Well, apparently nothing gets by Hollywood these days. The lucky duck told the BBC, "I uploaded 'Ataque de Panico!' on a Thursday and on Monday my inbox was totally full of emails from Hollywood studios." Long story short, a bidding war ensued. The offer he pocketed: A $30 million deal with Sam "Spiderman" Raimi's Ghost House Pictures. That's a nice return on investment.

This a perfect example of what happens when you put it out there. Got hit single, screenplay, art installation, cupcake recipe rolling around inside dying to get out? Well, Fede Alvarez had a dream and he is now about to see what happens when you put a plan into action.

iPhonetastic!

One the reasons I love Apple so much is because they make products that allow everyone the opportunity to express themselves artistically. A prime example of this is the myriad of photography apps available that allow you to manipulate and alter images taken by your camera. My latest favorite is the imimux iPhone application, TiltShift. It allows you to transform any scene into a miniature world. This application simulates a tilt-shift lens that tricks your mind into viewing a photo as a miniature scene like a model railroad for example. Here are some that I shot recently here in SoCal. I really love using the app ($2 bucks!) and am always looking for an opportunity to use it. (And no, I was not paid by Apple to post this...)

It's a Jean-Charles de Castelbajac’s Xmas!

I really wanted to post something beautiful so, this is it.

To bring Christmas Cheer to Paris, 2 well known Parisian retail facades will be dressed-up for the holidays by non other than Jean-Charles de Castelbajac this month to visually stimulate and excite Parisian shoppers. At the second-oldest department store in Paris, Bazaar de l'Hotel de Ville, or better known as the BHV, a dynamically neon-lit facade will be lit up on November 17, blasting powerful vocals performed by the 28-year-old, Arkansas-born Beth Ditto of the group Gossip.

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac’s the other Holiday installation is at the top of Champs Elysée, at Publicis Drugstore, established in 1958 and located on the site of the famed Astoria Hotel. The complex now houses two restaurants and several specialty shops, including a high-end grocery store. From November 20 to January 20, the building will be covered with gigantic colour glass panels and the inside will have a similar color-rich treatment with the theme “Pop your X-mas”. I'm a big fan of having renown artists to manipulate and enhance our surroundings and I doubly love the fact that there isn't a gigantic logo hovering above the installation. Joyeux Noël!