1. Sal and Kitty
How heartbreaking was it to see Kitty watch Sal recreate Ann-Margaret's dance?
2. Joan and Dr. Douchebag
There's a case to be made for this permanently being #1, but right now the good doctor is merely being a jerk instead of a raping jerk.
3. Roger and Jane
Nosediving.
4. Don and Betty
Surprisingly stable, all things considered.
5. Pete and Trudy
See above. The Charleston = marriage saver!
6. Harry and Jennifer
Hardly worth mentioning, even.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
This Week in Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
http://www.theawl.com/2009/09/silvio-berlusconi-not-a-fan-of-silvio-berlusconi-documentary
The state-run news network in Italy bans the trailer for a film about the Italian PM's control of the media.
The state-run news network in Italy bans the trailer for a film about the Italian PM's control of the media.
Once Again, Tweenage Girls Ruin Everything.
HarperTeen, a division of HarperCollins, is putting out a new edition of Wuthering Heights and the cover makes me weep for humanity.
Will the Twi-hards be disappointed when they find out that Wuthering Heights is the extremely non-romantic story of a batshit insane guy who can't get over this one chick's death? Or has Stephanie Meyer covered that in the books already?
All I know is, I have an excuse to post this video:
(soul-crushing discovery of the book via Topless Robot)
Will the Twi-hards be disappointed when they find out that Wuthering Heights is the extremely non-romantic story of a batshit insane guy who can't get over this one chick's death? Or has Stephanie Meyer covered that in the books already?
All I know is, I have an excuse to post this video:
(soul-crushing discovery of the book via Topless Robot)
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Top Chef Las Vegas 9/2
Is it just me or was Padme being a bit of a bitch at judge's table tonight? It doesn't matter - the Indian boy got kicked off and it's high time for some power rankings!
1. Jennifer
2. Kevin
3. Eli
4. Michael
5. Bryan
6. Ash
7. Robin
8. Hector
9. Mike
10. Mattin
11. Ashley
12. Ron
13. Laurine
14. Jesse
These feel a little cobbled together, but at least I have a good feel for the cheftestants now. Not enough to make totally informed decisions, but I'm not grasping at straws either. I don't know why I'm so high on Jennifer; her ranking at the top reflects her character more than it does her talent (though she's shown definite talent, of course). The bottom two aren't any surprise. The people in the middle are somewhat interchangeable - what has Mattin done to distinguish himself? Anything?
Bad showing by the ladies so far. They really need to step it up.
I must say that I'm pretty stoked that the Atlanta chefs are doing so well. I really want to try the winning dish. Mmmmmm...
1. Jennifer
2. Kevin
3. Eli
4. Michael
5. Bryan
6. Ash
7. Robin
8. Hector
9. Mike
10. Mattin
11. Ashley
12. Ron
13. Laurine
14. Jesse
These feel a little cobbled together, but at least I have a good feel for the cheftestants now. Not enough to make totally informed decisions, but I'm not grasping at straws either. I don't know why I'm so high on Jennifer; her ranking at the top reflects her character more than it does her talent (though she's shown definite talent, of course). The bottom two aren't any surprise. The people in the middle are somewhat interchangeable - what has Mattin done to distinguish himself? Anything?
Bad showing by the ladies so far. They really need to step it up.
I must say that I'm pretty stoked that the Atlanta chefs are doing so well. I really want to try the winning dish. Mmmmmm...
Sunday, August 30, 2009
That Darn Hitler
The vast majority of the Downfall subtitle videos are crap, but this one is pretty good. I'm not chomping at the bit to trash Avatar but I can't say I was especially impressed by the theatrical trailer. Then again, everyone expected Titanic to fail and look what happened.
I still think the gold standard of the Hitler videos is this one, though:
Saturday, August 29, 2009
RIP Reading Rainbow
Reading Rainbow aired its final episode yesterday.
On one hand I'm crushed; on the other hand, I had no idea the show was still going on. Were they just re-airing old episodes? Producing new episodes?
If you're looking for a scapegoat, you can turn to everyone's favorite contemporary villain: George W. Bush. According to NPR, the Department of Education decided that the show wasn't focusing enough on the nuts and bolts of how to read and instead focused too much on all the cool things books had to offer. According to another NPR article, "Of the nearly 8 million children entering kindergarten and first grade this school year, up to one-third will arrive with little or no familiarity with the written word." It's increasingly up to PBS to teach kids how to read.
But that's another story, one for a pissed off sociologist. The show spanned 26 years and 155 episodes and will soon be gone without a trace. The show's website claims that 153 of those episodes are on DVD, but I have no idea how commercially available they are. The sets listed on Amazon seem to be out of print, so I guess a re-release would be doubtful.
It's been over 15 years since I've watched the show but I can still remember some of the episodes, although my memory is a tad foggy. There was one about science fiction that I really liked (naturally, it went into LeVar Burton's stint on Star Trek: The Next Generation) and another about pottery made from volcanic soil. One about mummies freaked me out because it described the embalming process and how all the organs got put in jars.
And even though I wouldn't have needed YouTube to refresh my memory, I really loved this musical number (now that I'm older, the first thing I notice is how LeVar Burton gets the easiest dance moves):
On one hand I'm crushed; on the other hand, I had no idea the show was still going on. Were they just re-airing old episodes? Producing new episodes?
If you're looking for a scapegoat, you can turn to everyone's favorite contemporary villain: George W. Bush. According to NPR, the Department of Education decided that the show wasn't focusing enough on the nuts and bolts of how to read and instead focused too much on all the cool things books had to offer. According to another NPR article, "Of the nearly 8 million children entering kindergarten and first grade this school year, up to one-third will arrive with little or no familiarity with the written word." It's increasingly up to PBS to teach kids how to read.
But that's another story, one for a pissed off sociologist. The show spanned 26 years and 155 episodes and will soon be gone without a trace. The show's website claims that 153 of those episodes are on DVD, but I have no idea how commercially available they are. The sets listed on Amazon seem to be out of print, so I guess a re-release would be doubtful.
It's been over 15 years since I've watched the show but I can still remember some of the episodes, although my memory is a tad foggy. There was one about science fiction that I really liked (naturally, it went into LeVar Burton's stint on Star Trek: The Next Generation) and another about pottery made from volcanic soil. One about mummies freaked me out because it described the embalming process and how all the organs got put in jars.
And even though I wouldn't have needed YouTube to refresh my memory, I really loved this musical number (now that I'm older, the first thing I notice is how LeVar Burton gets the easiest dance moves):
Let's Talk About Posters
I've never counted the exact number but I get something like 100 cable channels, most of which I never watch. For reasons that escape me, I don't get SyFy or TCM. Not a huge tragedy, but it's still kind of annoying. So when TCM does something brilliant like this, I get a tad bit jealous. I don't know who did these, but they're Criterion Collection-worthy.
Meanwhile, the Lost brain trust has created a series of limited edition posters to commemorate the final season. They're way out of my price range - seriously, 50 bucks? - but so far they're pretty awesome and the one for Locke is the balls.
Meanwhile, the Lost brain trust has created a series of limited edition posters to commemorate the final season. They're way out of my price range - seriously, 50 bucks? - but so far they're pretty awesome and the one for Locke is the balls.
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