Street Art Revelation #16: Deranged Midgets with Guns.

Technically Herve Villechaize was a dwarf, not a midget, but Deranged Dwarves with Guns doesn’t sound as compelling and after Lord of the Rings the word Dwarf is pretty much reserved for bearded and armored mountain dwellers. For those who are unfamiliar with the sad tale of this diminutive Filipino sidekick/drunk/depressive/chanteur, you can read more here.  Basically, after too many years of alerting Ricardo Montalban to the impending arrival of fictional aircraft, Villechaize cracked and became a depressed drunk. And in one infamous incident, he held up his own agent with a pistol. Seriously. Not to belittle little people, but if a midget pulls a gun on you isn’t it almost impossible not to crack up laughing? I wonder if the death rate during incidents where little people pull guns on people is higher because the victims just don’t take the sight of a midget with a gun seriously.

Anyway, glad I came across this tribute to Herve. And for those who want a little more…

Street Art Revelation #15: Registered Trademark

The phrase “never again” has taken on a whole new meaning. Apparently India-based Swastika Brand Snuff is doing its part to ensure there’s never another holocaust by trademarking the very symbol of Nazi oppression — the Swastika. Genocidal regimes and hatemongering groups will have to think twice now before they make use of this ancient Hindu symbol of wisdom lest they open up a can of Indian legal woop ass. Now, if only the trademarkers could claim retroactive royalties…

(Authors note: at writing time, it is unclear whether Swastika Brand Snuff owns the rights to all representations of the swastika, or just the fluorescent orange swastika as pictured above. Stay tuned.)