Technabob » evil http://technabob.com/blog Cool Gadgets, Gizmos, Games and Geek Stuff Sun, 27 May 2012 20:00:08 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Darth Saddam: Artist Reveals Parallelisms Between Infamous Villains http://technabob.com/blog/2010/02/26/darth-saddam-art/ http://technabob.com/blog/2010/02/26/darth-saddam-art/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:19:29 +0000 Lambert Varias http://technabob.com/blog/?p=28864 “The worst condition is …]]> Do diabolical minds look up to villains in the same way that good men and women idolize heroes? In his exhibition, “cultural archeologist” Michael Rakowitz presents evidence that Saddam Hussein may have fancied himself to be like the Sith Lord Darth Vader. The exhibition is entitled “The worst condition is to pass under a sword which is not one’s own”, which is taken from Saddam’s declaration after Iraq’s victory over Iran. The Hands of Victory monument, shown below, was commissioned by Saddam to commemorate the victory.

hands of victory monument

As he passed through the monument on the day of its inauguration in August 1989, Saddam declared, “The worst condition is to pass under a sword which is not one’s own or to be forced down a path which is not willed by him”. The monument, which is located in Central Baghdad, does indeed look similar to a drawing in one of the movie posters of The Empire Strikes Back:

empire strikes back poster

Not too convincing a connection right? New Scientist‘s Jessica Griggs tries to fan the flames of parallelism: “You may have heard that when US troops stormed one of Saddam’s palaces they stumbled across lurid posters by fantasy artist Rowena Morrill.” Griggs says that Morrill is a “close friend of Boris Vallejo,” the artist who drew the Star Wars poster shown above. Rakowitz played on the similarties with his own version of the Hands of Victory:

Michael rakowitz exhibit

Still not impressed? Neither am I. But this one’s crazy:

darth vader helmet with saddam army helmet

The helmet on the left needs no introduction; the one on the right was part of the uniform of Saddam’s army. The uniform was mandated by Saddam’s son, Uday, before he passed the command of the army over to his younger brother. Griggs said that Uday presented the new uniform to his father “as something to remember his (Uday’s) work by.”

What do you guys think? Personally I’d sooner believe that Guerilla Games stole the Helghast design from Kerberos Panzer Cop than Saddam Hussein being inspired by Darth Vader, but perhaps if I saw the whole exhibit for myself I’d change my mind. Rakowitz’ exhibit is currently at the Tate Modern in London, England.

[via New Scientist]

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2010/02/26/darth-saddam-art/feed/ 1 Tv-B-Gone Goes Pro, Shuts of Tvs 300 Feet Away http://technabob.com/blog/2008/08/19/tv-b-gone-goes-pro-shuts-of-tvs-300-feet-away/ http://technabob.com/blog/2008/08/19/tv-b-gone-goes-pro-shuts-of-tvs-300-feet-away/#comments Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:40:39 +0000 Technabob http://technabob.com/blog/?p=3723 Got an evil streak? The makers of the infamous TV-B-Gone remote control have come up with an extra-strength version of their gizmo which can turn off almost any television set from hundreds of feet away.

tv b gone shp

Packaged in a case that’s designed to look like a super-chunky mock iPhone, the TV-B-Gone SHP (Super High Power) can shut down more than 90% of all televisions worldwide with a simple push of a button. 8 ultra-powerful infrared emitters ensure that no TV will be safe from its hypnotic gaze. There’s even an instant reactivation mode which lets you turn off a bunch of sets in rapid succession.

Check out this video clip of the TV-B-Gone SHP wreaking havoc wherever it goes:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Ready to get your your ass kicked out of the local sports bar or big box retailer? You can get your hands on one of these portable mischief makers over at the Maker Shed for $49.95.

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