BBC - Cult - Hithchhiker's stalled - news story: "Despite a behind-the-scenes feature in the latest issue of SFX magazine, further dramatisations of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy will not be broadcast on Radio 4 in the near future.
We spoke to Radio 4 publicity to find out the reason for the delay, who told us there were 'rights issues' holding up the broadcast. Here's the quote:
'Whilst we are extremely keen to see Hitchhiker return to Radio 4, there are unfortunately some rights issues that remain to be resolved and until they are, we will not be able to release any details, including transmission dates.'
Production of the film version is continuing apace, however. Martin Freeman (The Office) will play Arthur Dent, with Bill Nighy as Slartibartfarst and Mos Def as Ford Prefect."
Thursday, March 04, 2004
Saturday, February 28, 2004
gladwell dot com / Big and Bad: "And what was the key element of safety when you were a child? It was that your mother fed you, and there was warm liquid. That's why cupholders are absolutely crucial for safety. If there is a car that has no cupholder, it is not safe. If I can put my coffee there, if I can have my food, if everything is round, if it's soft, and if I'm high, then I feel safe. It's amazing that intelligent, educated women will look at a car and the first thing they will look at is how many cupholders it has."
I'll bet the woman who backed into me at McDonalds had plenty of cupholders...
I'll bet the woman who backed into me at McDonalds had plenty of cupholders...
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Political State Report: straight from the trenches
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... democracy!!!!
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... democracy!!!!
Thursday, February 12, 2004
NotePAD Entry - 02/12/2004: "COMMENTS FROM THE "CAPTAIN MARVEL" THREAD": "No, I think the whole justification is that it's fundamental hypocrisy for viewers who spend three hours having no problem watching an incredibly violent passtime with a vaguely homoerotic subtext ('Here, man in incredibly tight pants, let me reach between your legs with my head up your ass and grab your ball'), peppered with commercials and entertainment featuring flatulance and sex-based advertising, to suddenly start screaming, 'Oh my God, think of the children!' when a woman's breast is exposed in a far camera shot for two seconds. Not to mention that they KEEP TALKING ABOUT IT FOR WEEKS and now want to LAUNCH GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATIONS, for Chrissake, into something that Paul Kupperberg quite rightly labeled as 'A tempest in a B-cup.'
Which I guess would mean that I'm defending Janet Jackson, so the answer to your question would be that my basis for defending her is saying, 'Cripes, people, an undergarment fell off and her breast was exposed. It's not like they both got naked and started simulating sex.' "
Hey, I just liked the "Tempest in a b-cup" line.
Which I guess would mean that I'm defending Janet Jackson, so the answer to your question would be that my basis for defending her is saying, 'Cripes, people, an undergarment fell off and her breast was exposed. It's not like they both got naked and started simulating sex.' "
Hey, I just liked the "Tempest in a b-cup" line.
NEWSARAMA - EVANIER: DNAGENTS, CROSSFIRE COLLECTED
Crossfire is perhaps one of my favorite comics of all time, so this news that it's going to be reprinted is very exciting indeed. (I don't have the original issues any more, so I'll definitely be getting these books.) DNAgents isn't quite as magically wonderful, but it's a good superhero team comic, and the reprints are every bit as much of a must-have for me as the Crossfire ones.
Crossfire is perhaps one of my favorite comics of all time, so this news that it's going to be reprinted is very exciting indeed. (I don't have the original issues any more, so I'll definitely be getting these books.) DNAgents isn't quite as magically wonderful, but it's a good superhero team comic, and the reprints are every bit as much of a must-have for me as the Crossfire ones.
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
MediasharX :: Jane Swings to ABC: "Sarah Wayne Callies (TARZAN) will swing onto the set of ABC's pilot SECRET SERVICE. Callies will be the star of the show, playing a woman who has to struggle to balance the two focal points of her life: her marriage and her career in the Secret Service. "
Might well turn out to be more crap (se habla Threat Matrix?), but Callies was my favorite part of The WB's short-lived Tarzan series last fall, so it'll be nice to see her again if this show gets picked up.
And next season is apparently the last for NYPD Blue, a personal favorite from the very beginning. Twelve years is a good long run, and it's probably best that they leave while it's still good, but I'll miss it.
Might well turn out to be more crap (se habla Threat Matrix?), but Callies was my favorite part of The WB's short-lived Tarzan series last fall, so it'll be nice to see her again if this show gets picked up.
And next season is apparently the last for NYPD Blue, a personal favorite from the very beginning. Twelve years is a good long run, and it's probably best that they leave while it's still good, but I'll miss it.
Monday, February 09, 2004
Hey, did you happen to catch the Janet Jackson boob thing during the Superbowl halftime show? (And who didn't?) Want to cash in? Because, according to this lawsuit, the whole thing may have been so horrible, so emotionally scarring, so mind-bogglingly evil and destructive to society as we know it, people should get paid for just having witnessed it.
God bless America.
God bless America.
Saturday, February 07, 2004
PvPonline.com ? Hosted By SPEAKEASY.NET
Okay, this link is actually only relevant to what follows if you read the strip for Friday, February 6, 2004. (But you should read PvP every day anyway, and buy the print comic book version, too, because it's hilarious.)
So I didn't watch the Superbowl, because I don't care about football, and I missed the whole Janet Jackson Breastgate thing. This is pretty much my reaction to it: one of the security guards at the library came up to me and said he was disappointed by the whole halftime show incident, and the lack of class it represented, blah blah blah... And I replied that yes, indeed, something like that does stand out in stark contrast to the gravity, dignity, and maturity of a bunch of guys pounding on each other to take possession of a ball.
Come on. It's a freaking football game, and if flashing Janet Jackson's tits on the screen is somehow incompatible with the otherwise serious intellectual content of the game, then someone needs to start laying off cheerleaders and charging tremendous amounts of money for commercials featuring horses farting, old people fighting, and all in the name of selling alcohol (not exactly a brain food). Otherwise, the world is more than welcome to shut the hell up. Thank you.
And then Thursday night, I was watching ER, and they digitally fuzzed out what had to have been a quick glimpse of an old woman's breast as the doctors attempted to shock her back to life. Because that's how breast-shy this incident has made America: somehow, the shot of a wrinkly old breast on a 100-year-old grandma character who has died on a hospital table and is being shocked back to life needs to be fuzzed out, because regardless of the context, breasts are just evil. Or something. As if fuzzing it out doesn't draw attention to the presence of the breast even more.
God.
Okay, this link is actually only relevant to what follows if you read the strip for Friday, February 6, 2004. (But you should read PvP every day anyway, and buy the print comic book version, too, because it's hilarious.)
So I didn't watch the Superbowl, because I don't care about football, and I missed the whole Janet Jackson Breastgate thing. This is pretty much my reaction to it: one of the security guards at the library came up to me and said he was disappointed by the whole halftime show incident, and the lack of class it represented, blah blah blah... And I replied that yes, indeed, something like that does stand out in stark contrast to the gravity, dignity, and maturity of a bunch of guys pounding on each other to take possession of a ball.
Come on. It's a freaking football game, and if flashing Janet Jackson's tits on the screen is somehow incompatible with the otherwise serious intellectual content of the game, then someone needs to start laying off cheerleaders and charging tremendous amounts of money for commercials featuring horses farting, old people fighting, and all in the name of selling alcohol (not exactly a brain food). Otherwise, the world is more than welcome to shut the hell up. Thank you.
And then Thursday night, I was watching ER, and they digitally fuzzed out what had to have been a quick glimpse of an old woman's breast as the doctors attempted to shock her back to life. Because that's how breast-shy this incident has made America: somehow, the shot of a wrinkly old breast on a 100-year-old grandma character who has died on a hospital table and is being shocked back to life needs to be fuzzed out, because regardless of the context, breasts are just evil. Or something. As if fuzzing it out doesn't draw attention to the presence of the breast even more.
God.
Friday, January 30, 2004
Bit of a story this week, but first, some TV stuff:
Watching Keen Eddie's return on Bravo proves that you can still make a classic solo-cop formula show, as opposed to a more contemporary ensemble drama, and still make it fresh and fun and interesting. All you have to do is accept that nobody will watch it, apparently, especially on Fox, where it must have just been too weird. Me, I loved it then, and I'm loving it all over again now.
Another new favorite is ToddTV on FX. Normally, I don't much care for the "reality" genre, but I like the audience participation factor of this one. It's about this guy who agrees to live his life according to the whims of the audience. At the end of every episode, there's a phone-in vote to determine a major decision in his life, and viewers can email suggestions for him to do from the web site. He's a self-centered, arrogant pretty boy, and he's not getting his way, and that's always fun. (I sent in a suggestion that if he's going to act like a kid, he should work with them. Tune in next Wednesday to see if they use it!) Here's how much I'm enjoying the show, after only two episodes: I'm watching it and taping Newlyweds, which is on at the same time. And I really like Newlyweds.
So here's my story: Much as I hate McDonalds, I went through their drive-thru yesterday to pick something up for a friend. I place my order and pull up out of the way of the speaker. I'm watching the big SUV in front of me, and suddenly her reverse lights come on, and she starts backing up. I'm watching her get closer and closer to my car--and I can't go anywhere because there's someone behind me--and when I realize that she isn't going to stop, I lay on my horn. Which she must not have heard, because what actually stopped her was her car rubbing up against mine.
I get out to survey the damage, which is fairly minor. She rubbed up against the side of my bumper, scraped some of her paint off onto it, and caused some minor scratches in the bumper. She calls out from her behemoth, "How bad is it?"
"Well, there are some scratches," I tell her.
"Oh, that's okay," she says. And starts to turn away like we're finished.
"Actually, no, it's not okay. Because they weren't there before you backed into my car."
"Well, you should have backed out of my way."
And that was it. At that point, it wasn't the damage that made me mad, it was her instant willingness to shift the blame onto me, because I didn't get out her way when she started backing up in a fast-food drive-thru, and that absolves her of any responsibility for anything she hits. Like if I throw a punch at her and it connects, is it assault? Or is it her fault for not ducking? So, now I'm not willing to just let it go.
"No," I tell her, "you shouldn't have backed into my car."
"Well, you could have backed up," she says.
"Or," I counter, "you could have not backed into my car."
Things go this way for a bit, and we agree to finish up in the parking lot. Ultimately, she gives me $20 bucks, which is fine, because the damage was too minor to mess with insurance companies. But I wanted to be sure that she sacrificed something, because of the casual attitute she had about just backing into my car. Like it's somehow my responsibility to stay out of her way, and not her responsibility to not put me in the position of having to do that in the first place. And need I mention again that she was driving an SUV, which studies have shown tend to be owned by particularly self-centered individuals?
And this is why I hate leaving the house most days.
Watching Keen Eddie's return on Bravo proves that you can still make a classic solo-cop formula show, as opposed to a more contemporary ensemble drama, and still make it fresh and fun and interesting. All you have to do is accept that nobody will watch it, apparently, especially on Fox, where it must have just been too weird. Me, I loved it then, and I'm loving it all over again now.
Another new favorite is ToddTV on FX. Normally, I don't much care for the "reality" genre, but I like the audience participation factor of this one. It's about this guy who agrees to live his life according to the whims of the audience. At the end of every episode, there's a phone-in vote to determine a major decision in his life, and viewers can email suggestions for him to do from the web site. He's a self-centered, arrogant pretty boy, and he's not getting his way, and that's always fun. (I sent in a suggestion that if he's going to act like a kid, he should work with them. Tune in next Wednesday to see if they use it!) Here's how much I'm enjoying the show, after only two episodes: I'm watching it and taping Newlyweds, which is on at the same time. And I really like Newlyweds.
So here's my story: Much as I hate McDonalds, I went through their drive-thru yesterday to pick something up for a friend. I place my order and pull up out of the way of the speaker. I'm watching the big SUV in front of me, and suddenly her reverse lights come on, and she starts backing up. I'm watching her get closer and closer to my car--and I can't go anywhere because there's someone behind me--and when I realize that she isn't going to stop, I lay on my horn. Which she must not have heard, because what actually stopped her was her car rubbing up against mine.
I get out to survey the damage, which is fairly minor. She rubbed up against the side of my bumper, scraped some of her paint off onto it, and caused some minor scratches in the bumper. She calls out from her behemoth, "How bad is it?"
"Well, there are some scratches," I tell her.
"Oh, that's okay," she says. And starts to turn away like we're finished.
"Actually, no, it's not okay. Because they weren't there before you backed into my car."
"Well, you should have backed out of my way."
And that was it. At that point, it wasn't the damage that made me mad, it was her instant willingness to shift the blame onto me, because I didn't get out her way when she started backing up in a fast-food drive-thru, and that absolves her of any responsibility for anything she hits. Like if I throw a punch at her and it connects, is it assault? Or is it her fault for not ducking? So, now I'm not willing to just let it go.
"No," I tell her, "you shouldn't have backed into my car."
"Well, you could have backed up," she says.
"Or," I counter, "you could have not backed into my car."
Things go this way for a bit, and we agree to finish up in the parking lot. Ultimately, she gives me $20 bucks, which is fine, because the damage was too minor to mess with insurance companies. But I wanted to be sure that she sacrificed something, because of the casual attitute she had about just backing into my car. Like it's somehow my responsibility to stay out of her way, and not her responsibility to not put me in the position of having to do that in the first place. And need I mention again that she was driving an SUV, which studies have shown tend to be owned by particularly self-centered individuals?
And this is why I hate leaving the house most days.
Friday, January 23, 2004
Yahoo! News - FX Comes to Denis Leary's 'Rescue'
I really enjoyed Denis Leary's last TV series, when I finally saw it (ABC's short-lived show The Job), and I like the other dramas on FX, so this is good news, as far as I'm concerned.
I really enjoyed Denis Leary's last TV series, when I finally saw it (ABC's short-lived show The Job), and I like the other dramas on FX, so this is good news, as far as I'm concerned.
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
BRAVO > Keen Eddie
Loved this show when Fox originally aired it, and was disappointed when they pulled it. The premise is a typical fish out of water one: American cop working in London. What makes it special is that it's completely insane. I'm definitely planning on following it here, including the episodes Fox never got around to showing, and I've got my fingers crossed for a DVD release.
Loved this show when Fox originally aired it, and was disappointed when they pulled it. The premise is a typical fish out of water one: American cop working in London. What makes it special is that it's completely insane. I'm definitely planning on following it here, including the episodes Fox never got around to showing, and I've got my fingers crossed for a DVD release.
Friday, January 16, 2004
MediasharX :: CSI Headed To a New City
Wow! A cop show set in New York City! How could anyone possibly consider skipping a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like that?
(Everyone reading this is going to be watching Karen Sisco when it comes back in the spring, right? Because that will probably be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.)
Wow! A cop show set in New York City! How could anyone possibly consider skipping a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like that?
(Everyone reading this is going to be watching Karen Sisco when it comes back in the spring, right? Because that will probably be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.)
Welcome to Pogo's Website!
Just another reminder of how far newspaper comics have mediocred (inventing a word) over the years... Check out this classic!
Just another reminder of how far newspaper comics have mediocred (inventing a word) over the years... Check out this classic!
Yahoo! News - White House: Give Industry Greater Voice
About damned time, too! Corporations haven't had enough of a voice in government lately to suit me, that's for sure! Like those poor Haliburton guys... Thank goodness someone will finally be looking out for them!
About damned time, too! Corporations haven't had enough of a voice in government lately to suit me, that's for sure! Like those poor Haliburton guys... Thank goodness someone will finally be looking out for them!
Bush courts black voters in Deep South
So Bush goes to Atlanta--at the taxpayers' expense, because it's an official trip--to honor the life of Martin Luther King. And while he's there, he goes to a $2000-a-plate fundraising dinner. Only the travel expenses for him and his entire entourage aren't paid for by his campaign, because it's not a campaign trip, it's a place-a-wreath-on-Dr-King's-grave trip.
So Bush goes to Atlanta--at the taxpayers' expense, because it's an official trip--to honor the life of Martin Luther King. And while he's there, he goes to a $2000-a-plate fundraising dinner. Only the travel expenses for him and his entire entourage aren't paid for by his campaign, because it's not a campaign trip, it's a place-a-wreath-on-Dr-King's-grave trip.
Yahoo! News - ABC Says 'I Do' to Kelley Show: "LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - ABC has ordered a pilot for a one-hour romantic comedy from TV maven David E. Kelley's production company after heated bidding with Fox this week.
Described as 'Six Feet Under' meets 'The Wedding Planner' but with a light comedic tone to it, the as-yet-untitled project revolves around three sisters who inherit their family's full-service wedding planning business. "
I'm glad that they added the bit about the "light comedic tone," since The Wedding Planner and Six Feet Under are both such deadly serious stories...
For what it's worth, I'm actually curious about this, since Jason Katims is the guy who created Relativity and Roswell (or at least developed it from the books), both shows I really liked. Something to keep an eye on.
Described as 'Six Feet Under' meets 'The Wedding Planner' but with a light comedic tone to it, the as-yet-untitled project revolves around three sisters who inherit their family's full-service wedding planning business. "
I'm glad that they added the bit about the "light comedic tone," since The Wedding Planner and Six Feet Under are both such deadly serious stories...
For what it's worth, I'm actually curious about this, since Jason Katims is the guy who created Relativity and Roswell (or at least developed it from the books), both shows I really liked. Something to keep an eye on.
Friday, January 02, 2004
Freaks and Geeks
Another favorite, dead-before-its-time show makes it to DVD... And it's one that's pretty much on my "must-buy" list.
Another favorite, dead-before-its-time show makes it to DVD... And it's one that's pretty much on my "must-buy" list.
Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Happy New Year, all.
And while I didn't hate Return of the King as much as a friend of mine thought I did, I'm making an official policy statement right here and now: the next person who tells me they cried at the end gets a boot to the head.
(And this, from someone who started tearing up during 8 Simple Rules About Dating My Daughters the other night...)
And while I didn't hate Return of the King as much as a friend of mine thought I did, I'm making an official policy statement right here and now: the next person who tells me they cried at the end gets a boot to the head.
(And this, from someone who started tearing up during 8 Simple Rules About Dating My Daughters the other night...)
Saturday, December 27, 2003
Belated Happy Holidays to all. (Still New Years to come, so it's not totally late.) Don't feel like writing much. Bitching about politics gives me a headache, TV's all in reruns (although I have discovered the joys of Degrassi: The Next Generation on Noggin; when are they putting all the original stuff out on DVD instead of VHS?), so all I can really talk about are movies. Saw the new Peter Pan movie on Christmas, since Paycheck was sold out. I had wanted to see Pan on the big screen, since the commercials made the effects/cinematography look very Brian Froud, and it didn't disappoint. Loads of fun.
Can't say I had nearly as much fun with Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which I also saw on opening day. Clearly, I wasn't in the mood to see a three-hour, humorless fantasy epic that day, because an hour into it, I wanted to hit pause and go get something to eat. But, since I was seeing it in the theater, that wasn't an option, so I sat through epic CGI battle after epic CGI battle, waiting for someone to make a joke that didn't sound like they were reading it off some translated stone tablet, and hoping that, at some point, the hobbits would quit whining and crying. I really liked the first two movies, and I'm pretty sure this one was good, too. But I completely failed to connect with it when I went to see it, and while I'm willing to concede that that's partly my fault... well, I'm not taking all the blame, is what I'm saying.
Still, there's still Paycheck for me to look forward to, I still kind of want to see Haunted Mansion, though it's not a burning desire, and I want to see Big Fish, though I'm trying to read the book first. And, in February, there's Kill Bill Volume 2 to look forward to, and in April there's Hellboy... And next fall, I can get Return of the King on DVD and watch it in manageable chunks, and probably enjoy it a great deal more that way.
Can't say I had nearly as much fun with Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which I also saw on opening day. Clearly, I wasn't in the mood to see a three-hour, humorless fantasy epic that day, because an hour into it, I wanted to hit pause and go get something to eat. But, since I was seeing it in the theater, that wasn't an option, so I sat through epic CGI battle after epic CGI battle, waiting for someone to make a joke that didn't sound like they were reading it off some translated stone tablet, and hoping that, at some point, the hobbits would quit whining and crying. I really liked the first two movies, and I'm pretty sure this one was good, too. But I completely failed to connect with it when I went to see it, and while I'm willing to concede that that's partly my fault... well, I'm not taking all the blame, is what I'm saying.
Still, there's still Paycheck for me to look forward to, I still kind of want to see Haunted Mansion, though it's not a burning desire, and I want to see Big Fish, though I'm trying to read the book first. And, in February, there's Kill Bill Volume 2 to look forward to, and in April there's Hellboy... And next fall, I can get Return of the King on DVD and watch it in manageable chunks, and probably enjoy it a great deal more that way.
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