Culture Shock

RIP Estelle Getty

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:56:50 -0500

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Estelle Getty, the diminutive actress who spent 40 years struggling for success before landing a role of a lifetime in 1985 as the sarcastic octogenarian Sophia on TV's "The Golden Girls," has died. She was 84. Full story here. --

Batman denies assault charges, Commissioner Gordon says no comment

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:11:54 -0500

Christian Bale is breaking out the Bat Shark-Repellant, denying he assaulted his mom and sister over the weekend. Neither mom nor sis are talking about why they had him arrested. But you've gotta ask yourself: is "Did that guy punch his mom?" the kind of thing you can kill with a statement of denial? If it's not true, but his mother and sister never come forward and say it's not true, how much does it damage his career? Billy Bob Thornton was accused of beating his ex-wife (not Angelina), but you don't often see that brought up in interviews these days.

Heath Ledger was scary. But did he punch his own mom?

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:38:34 -0500

After a long weekend of wowing Bat-fans and breaking box office records, Dark Knight star Christian Bale reportedly got into a hotel brawl with...well, his mom. On the Mel Gibson scale, how bad is this PR? I can only reason that he was sitting around his hotel asking himself: "What do I have to do to eclipse Heath Ledger's epic, scary-as-hell performance as the Joker? Oh, wait a tick...mum, come here love..." On his Twitter feed famed comics writer Warren Ellis (who has written his share of Batman stories and long theorized Gotham city would be a nicer place if The Bat tore off peoples' nipples) lost no time in kicking Bale for...you know, kicking his mom. UPDATE: Ledger has issued a statement denying he assaulted his mother or sister, both of whom apparently reported being assaulted. Contacted by the media, the sister says it's a "family matter." The mother is not commenting.

New species -- big whoop

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:32:26 -0500

ASHEVILLE (AP) — A 10-year study has found more than 6,000 species of plant and animal life previously unidentified in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Asheville Citizen-Times reported today the All Taxa Biodiversity Project also discovered nearly 900 species that are new to science. The results of the study were discussed Monday during a Senate subcommittee field hearing in Asheville. The project began in 1997 to inventory all species in the park which covers more than 800 square miles in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. More than 1,000 scientists have studied species in the park, identifying a total of more than 16,000. --- And not one of these thousands of effing new species excretes some sort of incredibly efficient, clean-burning fuel on which I can run my car for less than $4 a gallon? Great. Big whoop.* * These comments may not represent Mr. Killian's true views on nature and may, instead, be informed by an intense post-gas-station-fill-up bitterness.

Finding books to buy: Just one more way the Internet is changing my habits

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:38:30 -0500

I've noticed this happening a lot lately, where authors (or agents) have videos trailers put together for books. It's interesting, because typically books don't have a lot of visuals other than the cover art nor any audio, so everything has to be done from scratch more or less. Here is a recent one for Brooke Taylor's book, "Undone," that I am waiting for. You can go to YouTube and search for book trailer if you are curious to see how others are doing it, too. It's also interesting because it goes to how much the Internet has changed book promotions, at least in my experience. Most authors have Web sites now (which tend to get more polished as they start selling), and many of them post first chapters, which I love. (Much better than reading the first few pages of a book in a bookstore, which is what I tend to do when deciding.) You can also find a lot of authors on Facebook, Myspace, Livejournal, Shelfari, LibraryThing, just about anywhere people who read congregate. I've friended some of my favorite authors, and on Livejournal, I've even had dialogues with three of them on numerous occasions, about books, world events, Doctor Who, you name it. I think that's one things fans really like -- accessibility -- knowing that if you post a comment telling them what you thought of their latest book, you know they've read it, and they've often replied. And stuff like that will keep me loyal and buying their books, even through a sophomore slump or dry spell, to authors like Shanna Swendson, Vicki Pettersson and Joel Rosenberg. And one of my more recent sources of finding new books to buy are blogs -- two in particular have led to many purchases on Amazon that I can ill-afford: "Pub Rants," a fun, informative blog by a literary agent whose clients I really like, and "Smart Bitches, Trashy Books," which is pretty much just what it sounds like.

Chinese worker sneakers as fashion footwear

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:38:03 -0500

Sneaker company Ospop is now making fashion versions of the traditional Tian-Lang worker-sneaker. Their version comes in many colors and is made without sweatshop labor. Looks like a weird, sturdy little plimsol sneaker -- but something tells me the version that Chinese workers are sporting doesn't retail at $76 a pop. Apparently some of that money's going to an educational program in the area of the factory that makes them, though -- so if you're socially conscious, serious about your sneakers and like having a pair no one else does, this could be a good fit.

Dark Knight Madness: Inside the Bat-Pod!

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 11:12:43 -0500

If you haven't seen The Dark Knight yet, you've got a lot coming to you. Including -- new Bat Gadgets! Among the coolest -- Batman's new motorcycle, the Bat-Pod. Popular Mechanics has gone inside the creation of the Bat-Pod. From the piece: Enter the Bat-Pod, a motorcycle-ATV hybrid that lands eye-popping stunts sans CGI, a hand-built bike that fires grappling hooks—while shape-shifting. After picking through junkyards, a local Home Depot and that surprisingly hands-on garage, Nolan and production designer Nathan Crowley took a month to assemble a foam-and-plastic model for Batman's new ride—enough like the Tumbler, but with a heavy-hauling look of its own. "But to actually have a look at what we were thinking, we went down to Warner [Brothers] and got the front wheels off the Batmobile," Crowley says. When he first laid eyes on the Bat-Pod mockup, special effects supervisor Chris Corbould wasn't sure if his director actually knew anything about motorcycles. But that's what makes The Dark Knight at once a throwback superhero movie and a green-screen-light breakthrough in digital Hollywood: It turns fantasy into reality. And building a concept vehicle without a team of automotive engineers was one of its biggest challenges. "The gauntlet had been thrown down," Corbould says. Also: behind the scenes of the movie's IMAX sequences.

Teaser trailer mania

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 09:40:47 -0500

Watchmen trailer: I have no idea what this movie will be about (haven't read the graphic novel), but it looks amazing, and it's done by the director who did "300," which is enough for me. 24: Exile: The "24" movie. It looks like Jack Bauer does Rambo. Terminator Salvation: Christian Bale as John Connor? I didn't even need to watch the trailer to know I'd see this. But it still looks pretty awesome. Bonus: Not a trailer, but definitely a teaser: The series "Wizard's First Rule" (based on Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series) is debuting the weekend of Nov. 1! And it's Sam Raimi! How exciting is that??? The hourlong series, starring Craig Horner and Bridget Regan, starts with a two-hour premiere. (If you haven't read this series, you have enough to time to finish it before Nov. 1. If you start now. And read fast.)

Rapid Review: The Dark Knight

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:01:53 -0500

Went to the midnight showing of The Dark Knight last night and am dead on my feet today as a result. The above picture? That's me today, minus the smile. But it was worth it. My brief assessment after the jump (minor spoilers ahead, nothing major).

Not-so-underground rock n' roll

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:21:36 -0500

The Hold Steady, as much as critics gush about them, are perhaps one of the few bands in rock that haven't punched through to get the acclaim many say they deserve. And in the mail today, I received my copy of their new album "Stay Positive." I'm a fan. Only a few tracks in, and it's got that same Boss sound with the sad lyrics and paradoxically upbeat music. In the little bit I know about music these days, The Hold Steady are recording some of the most straight-ahead rock music that's being made and released in the country. There's plenty of catchy riffs imported from the late 70s (that got filtered through the 90s grunge), a little twinkling piano here and there, and they're not too proud to include some "whoa-ho-ho" in a song. The way they deliver the tunes, you're apt to remember back to that one party you went to when you were 19 and it was a little too hot outside for 11 p.m. Even though you drank beer you stole from your parents' fridge, it felt really really good in the soft summer, and you didn't worry about tomorrow. The Hold Steady are great at setting that scene just before everyone is too drunk, too sad, and too sorry. And then they'll show the consequences afterward, with plenty of implicit denial and regret flashed through colored stage lights. A few lines so far catch my ear, too: This whole town is lifeless. Been that way our whole lives just work at the mill until you die. Work at the mill and then you die. -from the first track, "Constructive Summer" I've always appreciated bands that work hard. These guys definitely do.

Radiohead animation contest down to five

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:31:53 -0500

Go check out the finalists in Radiohead's contest for best animated video from their album In Rainbows. I kinda dig this one:

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at aniBoom

The Raconteurs on music's lost romance

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:12:13 -0500

Great Q&A with The Raconteurs in the latest issue of Interview magazine. From the piece: INTERVIEW: It seems like not that long ago, people would be excited that a band they liked was releasing a record, but they would know almost nothing about it until it came out. JACK WHITE:You’d know nothing about it, not even the name. Now, because everything is given to you in spades on your laptop immediately—YouTube, iTunes, blogs, bands’ websites, and MySpace—you become disinterested very quickly because you’ve already got it all. ...It’s very tough to compete with all that media. You’re almost constantly trying to tell people that there are these beautiful, romantic things that are involved with artistry and the reception of it, and that there are ways you can participate in and share that—ways that are tangible and emotional and don’t just involve a gadget in your hand or something invisible like digital music. These are real things that you can hold onto if you want to. But it’s hard to compete, you know? We’re trying. It’s like, “Hey, if you want our music on your cell phone or on iTunes or whatever, it’s there. But we’re still putting it out on vinyl and on CD so that it’s something tangible that you can hold onto.”

Becoming Batman

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:17:17 -0500

As we all wait for The Dark Knight (I've already got my tickets for the midnight showing Thursday), Scientific American does an interview with E. Paul Zehr, who has just released a book called Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero. Zehr, an associate professor of kinesiology and neuroscience at the University of Victoria in British Columbia and martial artist, says Batman could theoretically exist -- but not for long. From the interview: Wouldn't fighting Gotham's thugs every night take its toll? The biggest unreal part of the way Batman's portrayed is the nature of his injuries. Most of the time, in the comics and in the movies, even when he wins, he usually winds up taking a pretty good beating. There's a real failure to show the cumulative effect of that. The next day he's shown out there doing the same thing again. He'd likely be quite tired and injured. Is there any indication in the comics of how long Batman's career lasts? The comics are really vague on this, of course. In Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, he deliberately shows an aging Batman coming back after he's retired, and he highlights him being tired and weaker. Somewhere around age 50 to 55, he should probably retire. His performance is going down. He's always facing younger adversaries. That is well at the end of when he's going to be able to defend himself and be able to not have to deal that lethal force. This was actually shown in an animated series called Batman Beyond. Oh right. It's the future; Batman is old and he trains a kid to replace him. You're familiar with that one? What we learn is that Batman, when he was older but before he retired, actually picked up a gun against a thug because he had to. His skills had let him down so that he wasn't able to defend himself without harming another person. So that's when he decided to retire. How would all those beat-downs have affected his longevity? Keeping in mind that being Batman means never losing: If you look at consecutive events where professional fighters have to defend their titles—Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Ultimate Fighters—the longest period you're going to find is about two to three years. That dovetails nicely with the average career for NFL running backs. It's about three years. (That's the statistic I got from the NFL Players Association Web site.) The point is, it's not very long. It's really hard to become Batman in the first place, and it's hard to maintain it when you get there.

Illegal Wiretaps We Can Believe In?

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:12:24 -0500

Obama's vote on warrant-less wiretaps has infuriated one blogger who decided to channel his rage creatively.

Chess-Boxing? Really?

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:01:19 -0500

So... Chess-Boxing is a thing now? I've played chess and I've boxed. I enjoy both but I'm not exceptional at either. But I'd be willing to bet I'd be kind of crap at both if I was trying to do them both at the same time.