- Following up on yesterday’s revelation that Michael Palin didn’t like A Fish Called Wanda when he first read the script, here’s a letter sent by a “comedy script editor” to the BBC, calling Fawlty Towers — incidentally named the all-time top British television program by the BFI in 2000 — “[a] collection of cliches and stock characters which I can’t see being anything but a disaster.”
- Following up on the Wonder Woman post on Monday, here’s two more dissenting views.
- This I Write Like meme is getting torn apart all over the place, notably here [via] and here [via]
I’d post my own results, but they change with every different piece of text I have “analyzed,” and none seem remotely accurate — a weird mix of ego-stroking and insult.
- And that’s one way to ensure fewer comments… [via]
- And finally, Zombies: The Kid Vector:
Here’s somethin they don’t tell you, but you better listen good if you want to survive out there: It’s the kids you gotta watch out for. They stay in the shadows, in the dark. When you see ’em, they don’t run right at you like the big ones, they stay back, let you come in closer. You think you’re rescuin a kid, you get in close and BAM! The dead brat goes for your throat or face, workin for a quick kill.
internet
Tuesday various
- I see the dead Tauntaun wedding cake. And I see the zombie wedding cake. But what I don’t see is the obvious next step: the zombie Tauntaun wedding cake. Get on it, cake-makers!
- The movie(s) may still disappoint, but I’m genuinely excited by the new Harry Potter trailer.
- Martin Scorcese, meanwhile, has never seen the Harry Potter movies. I think they passed up a great opportunity to have him direct one of them. Seriously, can’t you see De Niro or Keitel as Voldemort?
- I’ve been saying this about emoticons for years and years. [via]
- And finally, today through Thursday marks the third Harlan Ellison Rare Book Purge. I’m tempted, though mostly by the stuff that’s a little outside of my price range. Say what you will about the man — and heaven knows there’s a lot to be said, both for and against — there’s no denying that he’s written some phenomenal work.
Tuesday various
- Keith Phipps revisits Dick Tracy: “Inescapable in 1990, it’s become at best a hazy memory.”
- Doctor Hoo – Doctor Who In Owl Form. Because of course. [via]
- Well here’s something that might make me change my (mostly negative) thinking on 3D movies: Plan 9 from Outer Space in 3D?
- Great Literature Retitled to Boost Web Traffic [via]
- And finally, Winscape, the virtual window. [via]
Tuesday various
- Thinking of the Past or Future Causes Us to Sway Backward or Forward [via]:
University of Aberdeen psychological scientists Lynden Miles, Louise Nind and Neil Macrae conducted a study to measure this in the lab. They fitted participants with a motion sensor while they imagined either future or past events. The researchers found that thinking about past or future events can literally move us: Engaging in mental time travel (a.k.a. chronesthesia) resulted in physical movements corresponding to the metaphorical direction of time. Those who thought of the past swayed backward while those who thought of the future moved forward.
- Gene Roddenberry’s original pitch for Star Trek (PDF). [via] I keep meaning to finally watch the original series, now that it’s on Blu-Ray, since I’ve never seen more than bits and pieces. (That way, I’d also get to read Zack Handlen’s reviews. He’s had some interesting things to say so far about The Next Generation.)
- Erotica for the blind? [via]
- You’ve got to give Sita Sings the Blues director Nina Paley credit for sticking to her anti-DRM guns.
- And finally, Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Game [via]
Monday various
- Snapple Iced Tea Ingredients, depicted graphically.
- Crayola Thanks the Tea Partiers. The video was pulled from YouTube, even though it’s clearly parody. Sound familiar? [via]
- Speaking of Crayola and parody… [via]
- I got a real kick out of these Gashlycrumb Losties. Huge spoilers for past episodes of the show, it should be said. Personally, I don’t really have much of an opinion one way or another about Zoe.
- And finally — finally — Asimov’s enters the late 20th century and starts accepting electronic submissions.