- The AV Club on Priest:
It’s as if the filmmakers realize they’re wasting everyone’s time, so they at least want to take up as little of it as possible.
- German TV reveals that Osama Bin Laden was killed by Star Trek rebels.
- Meanwhile, Teacher who vowed not to shave until bin Laden was caught or killed finally shaves. [via]
- Guy who created Mike Tyson’s tattoo suing to stop release of The Hangover Part II.
- And finally, I haven’t watched it regularly in years, if ever, but I’m still a little sad to hear that Good Eats is ending. [via]
tv
Monday various
- You Can Now Whore Yourself Out by Tagging Products and Corporate Pages on Facebook. Because of course you can. [via]
- Lady Gaga to debut new songs on Farmville. Because of course she is. [via]
- Sarah Palin and other Republicans upset that rapper Common was invited to the White House. Because of course they are. (Although, seriously? Common?)
- FCC Commissioner Takes Job At Comcast Months After She Voted To Approve Its Deal With NBC Universal. Because of course she did. [via]
- Facebook reportedly paid to smear Google. Because of course they (allegedly) did. [via]
- And finally, because of course it is, Starbuck and Starbuck drinks [sic] Starbucks at Starbucks. [via]
So it’s Sunday
There’s not a lot to say about today. My friend Maurice still isn’t feeling well, so we didn’t meet for our weekly writing group, or to see Thor, like we’d planned to do last week. Maybe next. I spent the day not doing a whole lot beyond the Sunday crossword, some television (I loved Neil Gaiman’s episode of Doctor Who), and a walk after it rained. That’s about it.
Saturday
My parents spent the day at my father’s junior high school reunion. I’m not sure how many years it’s been since they’ve all seen one another, but this was apparently a pretty big deal, and they managed to track everyone down. There was even a writer from The New Yorker there, and it will be interesting to see if a write-up actually makes it in the magazine.
I spent the day mostly dog-sitting. I did sneak out this afternoon to go see Cave of Forgotten Dreams, which is probably the first 3-D documentary I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure the movie is quite as deep and philosophical as its director and narrator Werner Herzog seems to think, though it is at times spectacular, and the cave paintings themselves are beautiful. The 3-D really does make you feel like you’re there, and one of the few times when I’ve thought a movie would be worse without the technology.
Later this evening, after dinner, I watched Drag Me to Hell, quite a different movie altogether. The movie is basically just “Every Trick Sam Raimi’s Been Thinking of Since Army of Darkness,” and I kept expecting Bruce Campbell to pop up at any moment. There was definitely an unashamedly ridiculous, old-school, Evil Deady feel to the movie.
And that, plus some reading and some Doctor Who — not the newest episode, but the first few parts of Planet of Evil, more old-school stuff — that was my Saturday.
Thursday various
- Is a jail in South Carolina denying prisoners any books except the Bible? [via]
- New York under siege by Will Smith’s ridiculously huge trailer. More, with video of the trailer in (in)action here. It’s not in my neck of the Manhattan woods, fortunately or unfortunately.
- I’ve mentioned before that WNYC’s The Leonard Lopate Show has recently started posting short exit questionnaires with guests. This week, there’s one with actor Tom Wopat, who says the “one thing [he’s] a fan of that people might not expect” is bluegrass. Tom Wopat, star of The Dukes of Hazzard, is a fan of bluegrass. Yeah, color me shocked.
- Forget what I said here, though. UK book sales have sprung back from an eight-year (Royal Wedding-caused?) low.
- And finally, Ken Jennings makes the bold claim that the criminal activities depicted in Scooby-Doo don’t make real-world sense.