- The real real Ghostbusters?
- You know what you need to do with the endearingly low-key, sleeper-hit of a musical? Turn it into a big-budget Broadway spectacle.
- “Kazran, trust me, it’s this or go to your room and design a new kind of screwdriver.” The sonic screwdriver for the Nintendo Wii. That seals it, I’m buying one.
- Remember that Udo Kier interview I linked to last week? Here’s audio of his absolute best line.
- And finally, octopuses or octopi? [via]
games
Wednesday various
- Roger Ebert on the MPAA’s rating system. [via]
- A 21st-century Moby Dick isn’t the single worst idea I’ve ever heard… At least, that’s what I thought before I saw the trailer. At least Barry Bostwick seems to be having fun. [via]
- Teller on why Harry Houdini mattered. [via]
- Understanding Pac-Man Ghost Behavior [via]
- And finally, Carrot Track, a cute little game from Orisinal. [via]
Monday various
- You know, I’m all for preventing the spread of AIDS and everything, but I’d pay good money to keep a lot of these people off Twitter.
- The New York Times‘ 100 Notable Books of 2010 looks like an interesting list. I’ve read — count ’em — one of the books on the list.
- I may have discovered a reason to use Facebook as something other than a Scrabble-delivery system: supposedly there’s a Monty Python game coming soon.
- Swede broadcasts music from his stomach. Apparently he was disappointed by the sound quality, however. [via]
- And finally, Scott McCloud on comics [via]:
Thursday various
- Maybe I’ve been living under a rock, but is “it’s on like Donkey Kong” actually such a popular phrase? I’m going to try to popularize the phrase “This is gonna hurt like Q*bert!”
- I didn’t love what I saw of the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, and it seemed a little like a well-intentioned but disjointed mess. But I’m perfectly willing to accept Jon Stewart’s argument (expressed in this long and compelling interview with Rachel Maddow) that those intentions were entirely apolitical on their part. That they were just trying to put on a comedy show, and whatever “message” the rally had, it was not the same message that so many of his viewers, so many of the left-leaning progressives who attended the rally and are bemoaning its outcome, clearly wanted it to be. I’m perfectly willing to let Stewart pass for falling short of what I hoped the rally would be — a call to arms, groundbreaking satire, something, anything other than a singalong with Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow. I’m willing to let Stewart pass on this, the same way I’m not willing to let Obama pass for falling short on his own call to arms, because when you get right down to it, I buy Stewart’s contention that he’s just a comedian. A comedian with a political bent and sometimes important insight, but one following in pretty well-established treads and with pretty well-established boundaries. It can seem like a cop-out, and I think Stewart acknowledges that, but I think he also does a good job of explaining why it’s not, why his job isn’t drumming up progressive activism (on the left or right) but instead making people laugh.
I think you can argue that the rally wasn’t entirely successful on that front either, but I think it’s important to weigh expectations against intentions.
- On a less serious note, Harry Potter as space opera [via]
- Uwe Boll: he just might make you root for the Nazis.
- And finally, building the perfect zombie safe house.
Monday various
- Ten Things to Know About the Future of Comics. [via]
- After this interview with Roger Ebert and his recent Fresh Air interview, I’m starting to think maybe I underestimated Justin Timberlake.
- Inside the Lennon/McCartney connection [via]
- If you sign on to social networks over public WiFi, you might want to check out Firesheep. Then, if you have the patience, you might want to wade into the debate over whether revealing this security hole to the general public does more harm or good.
- And finally, There Will Be Blood for Nintendo.