Linkpharm:
- “In one of history’s more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission.” [via]
- The world’s most insane weatherman. Seriously. [via]
- TUN3R — explore hundreds of free streaming radio stations [via]
- Mark Twain’s novel from beyond the grave [via]
- The Lester Dent Pulp Paper Master Fiction Plot. “No yarn of mine written to the formula has yet failed to sell.” Hmm. [via]
- Edward Gorey’s “The Trouble with Tribbles” [via]
- I think I could have done without knowing that something like Vampyroteuthis infernalis (or vampire squid) exists — much less that it looks like this. [via]
- I could also have remained happy in my ignorance of the sexual habits of Japanese fishermen. I’m reminded a little of this story of Russian fishermen who, not knowing what they’d caught (and apparently thinking it was some never-before-discovered alien) proceeded to eat the weird fish. (Although, truth be told, I’m no longer sure if that story was true. I think I’m going to pretend this new one isn’t either.) [via]
- “A Polish pulp fiction writer was sentenced to 25 years in jail yesterday for his role in a grisly case of abduction, torture and murder, a crime that he then used for the plot of a bestselling thriller.” [via]
- The Matrix Goggles [via]
- Ashes and Snow — the artwork of Gregory Colbert. Simply incredible. [via]
- Are we really “drowning in quirk”? [via]
- Is Clint Eastwood really “the David Bowie of Westerns”? The AV Club considers 17 Truly Grim Westerns
Yes, but would the Japanese fishermen fuck the vampire squid. (Gotta agree with the commenter who said that looking at the picture is like looking at Cthulu.)
Also, why is “The Naked Spur” not on the list of grim westerns?
If the would, I don’t want to know about it. Really, I don’t.
And I don’t know. I’ve never seen The Naked Spur. (I don’t know that I’ve even heard of it, to be honest.) I’ve only seen five of the 17 films the AV Club mentions. (Although I’ve heard of all of them.)
I highly, highly recommend “The Naked Spur.” James Stewart plays a rancher with some personal demons who decides to hunt down a murderer so he can get the reward money. Lots of obsession, paranoia and deceit. (If you thought Stewart was dark and obsessive in “Vertigo,” that’s mild compared to this one.)
This is one of a trio of westerns Stewart did with Anthony Mann in the early ’50s (“Winchester ’73” and “Bend in the River” are the other two) that are all about greed and obsession. This one’s the best of the three.
Okay, I haven’t seen those either. I think The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is the only Stewart western I’ve seen — and, I’m sort of chagrined to note, one of only two Stewart films I’ve seen altogether. (You can probably easily guess what the other one is.)
Assuming the other one isn’t “Vertigo,” then you really ought to see that one, too. Oh, and “Destry Rides Again,” too — some fun, light comedy with Jimmy and Marlene Dietrich.
The other one is It’s a Wonderful Life.