"Puppet wrangler? There weren't any puppets in this movie!" – Crow T. Robot
“Magicians are not unique in their absence of creativity.”
That’s Teller, of Penn and Teller, discussing a recent…well, “feud” seems like too strong a word, but it’s certainly a healthy disagreement between magicians Eric Walton and Ricky Jay. It’s The New York Times, so, as always, registration or otherwise required.
Via Shaken & Stirred.
A.O. Scott on Terry Gillaim’s new movie, Tideland:
It might be said that his imagination knows no boundaries; it might be good if he found some.
Sigh. The film’s not getting very good reviews, which is a shame. It seems very unlikely that it will become the new Titanic, as Gilliam hopes (jokes?) here. Andrew O’Hehir of Salon says that it “marks the final, ugly implosion of a one-time maverick’s career.” (Then again, he also calls 12 Monkeys “crap,” which I don’t agree with at all.)
From recent interviews with Gilliam, he doesn’t seem as concerned with the negative reviews as with critics who simply dismiss the film — who don’t talk about why it doesn’t work, or why it disturbs them, but simply say that it’s disturbing, uncomfortable, and therefore bad.
I don’t know about that, but I will say this, having recently read Mitch Cullin’s original novel: the material was plenty disturbing before Gilliam came on board.
The Decemberists cover Bjork. Honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my head around this one, but it’s very cool.
This looks familiar, vaguely familiar…
Oh that’s right. It’s that thing, the Friday Random Guess 10, where I post lyrics and you post the artists and songs. Or stare at your screen blankly and wonder what the crap I’m listening to. Good luck!
Update: Last week’s answers have been posted.
From Bookslut’s recent interview with Neil Gaiman:
How did your interest in mythology start?
I wish I had an origin story for you. When I was four, I was bitten by a radioactive myth.