The Most Retro-Futuristic DMV in America onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com The Most Retro-Futuristic DMV in America

S

In 1979, two artists covered a Southern California building with futuristic murals. They painted moon motorcycles, high-tech highways, and spaceships that would look right at home in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. But as delightfully retro-futuristic as the building is on the outside, what happens inside may surprise you. It's the Culver City DMV.

Artists David Rivas Botello and Wayne Alaniz Healy, founders of the muralist collective East Los Streetscapers, created the images, which still live on 35 years later.

The paintings serve as a beautiful snapshot of late-70s American futurism: an era defined by frustration with the state of the world and America's place in it, and yet still optimistic that some forms of technology may help humans thrive in the coming decades.

Yesterday I headed down to snap a few pictures of the place, which you can see below.

S

S

S

S

S

One of the coolest sections of the mural shows the highway of the future. Here we see the driver of tomorrow zipping along past bubbletop algae farms, clearly inspired by the 1970's obsession with aquaculture and alternative protein.

S

S

S

S

[Update: As has been pointed out in the comments, the painting above appears to show the crew from the Challenger disaster in 1986. I've reached out to the artists to get a timeline of when that side of the building may have been updated.]

S

S

S

The muralists included an artist's statement near the front entrance of the DMV:

The painting of Moonscapes represents an exposition of thought related to our position in the universe. The mural poses many questions to those who look beyond the graphic design. For instance, Why does the mind's ability to comprehend lifespans that vary from stars to subatomic particles oftentimes come easier than our willingness to understand the ideas of a fellow earthling? Or; How can we allow our society's overburden of advertising belligerence, "labor-saving" electrical nonsense, and strategic arms overkill to take precedence over the care and maintenance of spaceship Earth as we hurtle through the cosmos? It is hoped that questions such as these will stimulate your consciousness as you view "Moonscapes" and as such, enhance your interest and enjoyment.

Not exactly the kind of stuff you'd expect on a government building today, I suppose.

S

S

S

S

S

S

S

So what does the Culver City DMV look like from the inside? Does it have images of futuristic magic highways and lunar colonies all meant to "stimulate your consciousness"?

Sadly, no. It looks like pretty much any other DMV in Los Angeles. But at least now you can make an appointment. What a futuristic world we live in.

S

---

All photos shot by your humble bloggist, Matt Novak

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com The Most Retro-Futuristic DMV in America

This Breaking Bad remix is way catchier than it has any right to be onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com This Breaking Bad remix is way catchier than it has any right to be

A followup to the equally catchy remix of Breaking Bad seasons 1 and 2, this newly released mashup from YouTuber placeboing draws on memorable scenes from the show's final three seasons to yield one highly addictive earworm. This should go without saying, but here be spoilers.

This "outtake" is pretty perfect, too:

[placeboing]

Related

Breaking Bad remix is the perfect soundtrack for your next meth cook

As we get ready to bid farewell to Breaking Bad for now (and so soon!), let's relive some of the glory days of Seasons One and Two by nodding… Read…

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com This Breaking Bad remix is way catchier than it has any right to be

Phillip Seymour Hoffman will be digital in his final Hunger Games scene onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Phillip Seymour Hoffman will be digital in his final Hunger Games scene

When Phillip Seymour Hoffman died last weekend, he apparently only had one scene left in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II left to shoot — but it was a major one. So major, it seems, that Lionsgate will be forced to digitally recreate the actor for it.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

A source with ties to the project said that with the exception of one major scene in the final film, "they seem to have plans that don't seem very complicated" to complete both pictures without Hoffman. "You can do digital things, you can have conversations where you're not focusing on him but the people he's talking to," this observer said.

Rob Legato, a veteran effects supervisor whose latest credit is The Wolf of Wall Street, says he has no specific knowledge about the Hunger Games films but at this point, technology is most likely good enough to generate a convincing image of Hoffman, though some scenes might need to be rewritten. "These days the technology of using someone's likeness is a whole lot easier to do," he said. "I won't say you could generate a Philip Seymour Hoffman with all the acting ability, but you could certainly replicate him for a shot or two."

Given today's VFX, it honestly shouldn't be that hard to recreate a decent Hoffman; use some previous footage of Hoffman from the earlier films, make some judicious edits, and then maybe an actual 3D model for long shots, if necessary. But as Legato says, there's no way any amount of computers could program the real Hoffman's acting ability, which is a big deal for a major scene. And since his dialogue almost definitely still needed to be recorded, and that's not something that can likely be taken from previous footage, they're going to have to get a sound-alike as well.

Hopefully the scene won't be too awkward, or too noticeable. No matter what, though, it's going to be sad.

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Phillip Seymour Hoffman will be digital in his final Hunger Games scene