Nike Short- Black Mamba - By Robert Rodriguez

I caught this short film yesterday morning, essentially an advertising promo for Nike trainers, starring of all people Bruce Willis, Kanye West and Danny Trejo ! I hate sports so don't know much about Kobe Bryant however it is one of the more entertaining advertisements I have seen and Kanye West is hilarious as main villain 'The Boss'.

The style of the short is very much in the vein of Rodriguez's Machete and From Dusk Till Dawn with a bit of Sin City thrown in for good measure.

I also quite enjoyed the subversive nature of it with Rodriguez commenting on the increasing amount of product placement we see in films/music videos and how that relates to the budgets directors have to work with.

Pic Of The Day- David Lynch

Director David Lynch gets pic of the day primarily because of his amazing style, now in his 60's, just look at that lustrous grey hair and stylish formal shirt/blazer combo. He is not only stylish in my mind but also a man of extreme substance.

I've been on a bit of Lynch binge lately. Always been a massive fan of this director, his dream like films have continually defied any sort of logical explanation and really stay with you for days (even months !) after you have viewed them.

He is the director of films such as Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet, Lost Highway and the 3 hour long mind fuck that is Inland Empire !

If you have an open mind and don't mind doing a bit of work while watching a movie his films are among the most rewarding out there. Just be prepared not to sleep for a few days afterwards !

U.S Graduate Debt Levels Through The Roof

A variety of news reports today have highlighted the recent problem of graduate debt in the U.S.

The U.S has had a long standing policy on having a highly educated workforce but paradoxically no longer has jobs available for that workforce. The result has been that the majority of graduates are having to take low paying jobs that are in no way related to their degree or their skill level.

This is coupled with massive debts due to crippling student loans. The U.S is famous for having the most expensive tuition fees anywhere in the western world, many parents saving from a child's birth for their college education. However, it is becoming increasingly hard for parents to provide tuition money as the recession has hit their savings hard.

As a result the U.S is now populated with a high level of unemployed graduates whose futures are uncertain. The majority are now looking at work abroad where the jobs market is more fruitful or resorting to low paid work domestically in order to pay off their student loans, some totaling as much as $ 70,000 per student.

With recent riots in the Middle East started by a disenchanted highly educated youth, where unemployment and lack of jobs was also high, you really have to think how long this can go on for before graduates take action politically and start to turn their anger towards the state.

This situation is also not unique to the Middle East or the U.S, the United Kingdom is also having a current crisis with regards to the recent rise in tuition fees and the lack of jobs available to university graduates.

Perhaps governments across the western world would do well to stop cutting various forms of welfare for their population and start calling in the money that the administration gave to the financial sector during the bank bail out and use that money to stimulate the jobs market.

Banks are yet again giving out huge bonuses to their employees and posting huge profits (Barclays posted pre tax profits in the U.K of £ 11.6 billion !)

In any event it will be interesting to see how the U.S administration reacts to this crisis as it is only set to get worse with the economy still reeling from the bank bail outs.