- The biodiversity of publishing logos. It only covers the big trade publishers (Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, and Hachette), so the company I work for isn’t included, but this is really amusing. [via]
- Ever wonder what words readers of The New York Times look up most often? (If you click a word in any article on their website, it will give you a dictionary definition.) Apparently number one is sui generis, which means “of his, her, its, or their own kind; unique.” Most of these are not too surprising — and hey, people should be commended for looking up words they don’t know when reading — but I do find it weird that 1,964 people apparently needed to look up the word “swine.” For the record, it means “pigs.” [via]
- “So what’s the secret ingredient in KFC’s new grilled chicken?” asks Mark Evanier. “Apparently, it’s beef.
- A long, but fascinating, look at the making of The Godfather. Some major spoilers may follow. But seriously, if you haven’t seen The Godfather… [via]:
The magic was the lucky result mainly of a series of accidents—Coppola’s vision of the perfect cast and crew; misunderstandings between the director and the executives; the strange camaraderie that grew between the moviemakers and the Mob; and a number of priceless ad-libs by actors that turned what was supposed to have been a low-budget movie into a masterpiece.
- And finally, needlessly blurring the line between remake and reboot even further, a new Battlestar Galactica movie based on neither the old nor new television versions. I can’t see this getting off the ground, but I think we should make it a rule that you can’t reboot a franchise when your first reboot has just ended. (And with Caprica and The Plan both forthcoming, it’s debatable how “ended” Ron Moore’s Battlestar franchise is.)
