Hitler on Watchmen

Hitler weighs in on the changed ending of Watchmen. I really have no words to describe the brilliance of this gem.



"A Watchmen movie was a very bad idea...I should have believed Stalin."

All of the boys and all of the girls

...are begging to if you seek Amy.

Tom Lenk Makes a Funny

Tom Lenk-Andrew of The Trio on Buffy-attempts to make a YouTube video with hilarious results-one of my favorite parts includes a "debate" about Twilight.



"It doesn't have to make sense; it's for the internet."

Behind the Dollhouse

FOX releases a behind-the-scenes mini-featurette on Dollhouse.



I cannot wait for this show to get into full swing come February and beyond.

Trailer for the Buffster

This trailer for Season 1 of Buffy makes me all warm and giddy like.



I'd see that.

"Fruit punch mouth..." hehe.

All Kinds of Shiny

A fantastic Christmas themed Firefly fan video.



Have a wonderful, shiny Christmas, everyone!

Play Nice, Kitties

It's my 100th post on this blog and I write it on this cold floor in the airport while having waited over 24 hours for my plane to take me to visit my family for Christmas. Cabin fever has started to set in. Could that be why I find the following video absolutely hilarious and kind of awesome?



Is it frightening that I am excited for a movie that may never happen based on an entirely fake trailer?

And Thundercats at that?

Three more hours.

Britney & I Are Back

I made my return to Seattle on Friday evening on a direct flight from JFK leaving the music, lights and relentless buzz of New York City behind. I was glad to have been able to spend such a significant amount of time there to experience so much of the city.

On my last night in the city, my friends there took me out to a multi-level club in Manhattan called Splash and we danced the night away in the over-the top atmosphere of the "Campus Thursdays" theme night complete with Go-Go dancers and $3 Long Island Iced Teas-which, I'm not keen on ordering any other time except for when they're a third of the price of everything else offered at the bar. It was also Madonna night-in anticipation of her tour stop at Madison Square Garden on Saturday-which apparently only meant they were showing Madonna videos and really not playing many of her songs. All in all, I'd go back for sure.


Half the time I kept thinking that the DJ was playing the same three songs over and over again. That thought probably wasn't entirely true but thankfully one of the songs that was definitely played a handful of times was the following. I thought of my friend Ryan-Britney supporter-as the first beats of the song boomed over the stereo. Check out his admirable "Defense of Blackout" over here. I have to admit, this one is growing on me with its shameless repetitive pop beats and simplistic yet sassy lyrics.

Of course, some songs are just better when accompanied by dancing, pretty people, a splashy club scene and Long Islands.

I was pleased to find the music video for "Womanizer" had been released whilst my absence from the internets.



And, if the song doesn't do it for you, the music video is nice, flashy and very..."charged." Who is that guy?!

The director of this video Joseph Kahn also directed Britney's “Stronger” and “Toxic” videos-the latter of which remains my favorite Britney music video. Kahn's pop-saturated aesthetic most recently won the Pussycat Dolls a VMA for their “When I Grow Up” video, which I haven't seen-and is for a song that has not grown on me like other pop singles of late.

I'm happy to be back-maybe not the whole working part-and Britney too, will be coming back full force December 2nd with new album, Circus. I'm sure Splash will be hosting a release party. Ryan?

Mandalorian Dance

Even despite all the negative reviews of the upcoming, Star Wars: The Clone Wars-the two "wars" is kind of redundant, no?-it is refreshing to see new, original and creative content come out of that universe.

Take a look at "Boba Fett does Flashdance"-a glorious melding of two iconic 80s creations.



For the moment, my ache for good Star Wars is suddenly sated.

Sauntom of Qolace

I still have not seen all the James Bond movies. My dad was a fan of them growing up and he and I watched many of them together-especially the Sean Connery ones as he was always the favorite around our house. The Bond Babes, though, were not my mother's favorite parts of the films, thus there was a lot of fast-forwarding going on, however tame the scenes might have been for a late 20th century audience. I am pretty sure I have seen all the Bond films that have come out since I was born, certainly all the mostly-unfortunate Pierce Brosnan movies-and concerning his take on Bond, I always felt he came across as a rather heartless, brick wall of a character. I very much enjoyed Casino Royale, when I saw that at the Cinerama here in downtown Seattle with my dad once again. Daniel Craig's rippled physique and the watch-me-coming-out-of-the-ocean-in-my-hot-shorts-in-slow-motion scene didn't hurt my perception of the movie in the least-hence my guiltness inclusion of Mr. Craig's picture here. I'm also a sucker for dynamic, innovative credit sequences and the visuals associated with the opening of Casino Royale accompanied by a great theme song hit the spot for me.

A recent post over at Ain't It Cool News joked that the video below was the new "leaked" theme song for Quantum of Solace set to come out in theatres later this year on-naturally-the 7th of November. In actuality, the official song is being written and performed by Alicia Keys and Jack White.



Even though it might be somewhat of a convoluted title, I think Quantum of Solace has a nice, slick ring to it nonetheless and the recent trailer that came out for the movie is a great one. I still don't see why all the comparisons are made to the Bourne movies-I think Bond is still distinct character and property-and in Bond's current incarnation, he's much more of a pleasure to look at than Matt Damon.

Talented Kid

An acoustic rendition of one of my preferred songs from Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, "My Eyes/On The Rise."



And the lyrics so you can have your own sing-a-long in your bedroom in your underwear tonight:

My Eyes

Any dolt with half a brain

Can see that humankind has gone insane

To the point where I don’t know if I’ll upset the status quo

If I throw poison in the watermain.

Listen close to everybody’s heart

And hear that breaking sound

Hopes and dreams are shattering apart

And crashing to the ground

I cannot believe my eyes

How the world’s filled with filth and lies

but it’s plain to see evil inside of me

is on the rise.

Look around

We’re living with the lost and found

Just when you feel you’ve almost drowned

You find yourself on solid ground

And you believe there’s good in everybody’s heart

Keep it safe and sound

With hope you can do your part

To turn a life around

I cannot believe my eyes

Is the world finally growing wise

Because it seems to me some kind of harmony

Is on the rise

Horrible: Anyone with half a brain

Penny: Take it slow

H: Could spend their whole life howling in pain

P: He looks at me and seems to know

H: Because the dark is everywhere and

P: The things that I’m afraid to show

H: Penny doesn’t seem to care that soon the dark in me is all that will remain

P: and suddenly I feel this glow

H: Listen close to everybody’s heart

P: And I believe there’s good in everybody’s heart

H: and hear that breaking sound

P: keep it safe and sound

H: Hopes and dreams are shattering apart

P: With hope you can do your part

H: And crashing to the ground

P: To turn a life around

H: I cannot believe my eyes how the world’s filled with filth and lies

P:I cannot believe my eyes how the world’s finally growing wise

H: But it’s plain to see evil inside of me is on the rise

P: And it’s plain to see rapture inside of me is on the rise

Who else is looking forward to the soundtrack?

"Did it bite you?"

How awesome is this? Or rather how great could this have been had it been picked up by a studio?

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Animated Series



Apparently, this is a pilot presentation that was distributed to several networks about four years ago. Lack of general enthusiasm for the show and not enough follow through by the Powers That Be led to the show simply falling through the cracks. A few scripts are still out there for the series, even one by Jane Espenson.

One keen eye over on the boards at Whedonesque suggested that perhaps this was an intentional leak by aforementioned Powers to coincide with the release of Buffy Season 8 Issue #20 that features cover art by Jo Chen in a beautiful homage to the familial, soft-edged, warm images of Norman Rockwell. The issue will also be completely drawn in the tooned-up Buffy style. I'd love to think that the reference to the animated-Buffy-that-never-existed might be some kind of way to drum up interest and support once again for the series. That would definitely be a good incentive to get up early on Saturdays again.

Read more about the development of the animated series here.

Of Grills & Microwaves

At work this morning, my coworkers and I were discussing the events of our respective Fourth of July celebrations. Kelli was telling me about how she hadn't been feeling well earlier in the day so she decided to just stay home and have a quiet evening at home. However, it being the Fourth of July and all she had a craving for a cheeseburger. She told me that she had never made a cheeseburger before, but "how hard could it be, right?" She opened up the grill, which was your standard gas grill and found the spark switch not to be working. She briefly thought about lighting a paper towel with a match and throwing it onto the grill to get it going. That didn't sound like the best idea so she decided to light a match and do it all manually. The gas had been on this whole time, so when she finally lit the match and leaned in to the grill pan, a huge fireball erupted from the surface and probably would have ignited her hair were her hair not still damp from her shower!

This conversation about fireballs then led us to discuss the dangers of microwaves. I told Kelli about a movie I saw on an airplane when I was about 4 that haunts me to this day. I think it starred Roseanne who was playing some psychotic female. I vividly remember her placing an aerosol can in the microwave, keying in the time...cut to wide exterior shot of the entire house BLOWING UP. So for the rest of my childhood I was deathly afraid of putting anything in the microwave that didn't have the explicit label of "Microwave Safe." I would ask my mom about everything. I admit that I am slightly apprehensive about what can and can't go in the microwave to this day. Does anyone have any idea what this movie I speak of may be?

I asked Kelli if she had seen any YouTube videos of CDs in microwaves and told her it was pretty much lightning in a box. We watched a couple of those involving people destroying CDs and their microwaves in the process.

Then, in a twisted YouTube suggestion, YouTube decided that the most relevant video that we may be interested next was this one:



A Furby being utterly annihilated in a microwave!

This, in turn, led us to discover an entire filthy underground world of Furby torture fetishism.

Watch if you dare!



Kelli and I were gasping out loud at this one, first at the brutality of the fur being shaved off of such a tender creature and then how the inflictor NAILED down the Furby's feet before DRILLING into its head!

Thus, from Fourth of July adventures in grilling and Kelli almost getting toasted, we managed to make our way into the dark recesses of the mind of a psycopathic Furby killer.

Oh, YouTube, we have so much to thank you for-not to mention being scarred for life...again.

UPDATE: After further investigation of this harrowing childhood memory, I have discovered that the aforementioned psycho-Roseanne movie is called She-Devil.

The plot-summery begins as follows:

Ruth (Barr) is a frumpy, overweight wife and mother as well, who tries to please her husband. Her husband Bob (Ed Begley, Jr.) is an accountant who is trying to boost his business, meets Mary Fisher (Streep), a romance novelist riding high on her fame and fortune, at a dinner party and begins to originate an affair with her. When Ruth displays much clumsiness, while Bob's parents are visiting, Bob uses that as an announcement that he is deserting her. As he is packing his bags and Babbage, he explains to Ruth that his assets are his home, his family, his career, and his freedom, but Ruth is a liability. Ruth vows to get revenge on him, as well as Mary when she says to herself "I hope Mary Fisher's pink palace crumbles and falls right into the sea". Ruth writes a list to herself titled "Bob's Assets" and lists the four assets that Bob has stated, and will cross off each one from the list when it is destroyed. While he is at work and the children are at school, she sets the house on fire (by overloading the electricity of the house by doing every possibly unsafe task with the household appliances) and it is obliterated in a gigantic explosion.

I must find every VHS tape of that movie and destroy every single one-just as George Lucas has vowed to do with the "Star Wars Holiday Special"! I will also be suing Hollywood for raping my innocent mind. Who's with me?

“The Replacements”: A Brief Chronicle of Saturday Morning Cartoons

I still like Saturday morning cartoons and some other generally-kid-centric-shows that air during that time, but the selection of really good cartoons, especially on all of the four broadcast channels I receive via airwaves, has been reduced significantly since the late 80s, early 90s when I used to get up at the crack of dawn. My family used to go skiing every Saturday morning at
Stevens Pass so my friends would usually stay over and we’d get up early so that we could catch whatever was on ABC at 6:30 in the morning before hitting the slopes.

Two of the highlights were "Land of the Lost" (the remake) and "Bump in the Night," a program filmed using claymation from the mid 90s. If you have not seen either, especially the latter, you must check them out. "Bump in the Night" aired in short segments between the more popular cartoons in 1994 and 1995. Upon revisiting this vivid childhood memory via YouTube, I have come to the conclusion that it is probably one of the more interesting/disturbing aspects of American youth culture over the last two decades.

In this particular episode, Mr. Squishington consumes a troubling item in the bedroom where the show takes place.



I seriously doubt that ABC or any other station would air this program today! I remember having a similar reaction to re-watching "Pee-Wee's Playhouse"-albeit more on the disturbing-definitely-not-child-friendly end of things-a couple years ago. I do wish they would release "Bump in the Night" on DVD, because it would make for great background programming at a party. That being said, television today is not without its kid and adult-friendly Saturday morning shows. My favorite of the moment is one that I began watching when my Saturday work schedule involved not having to be at work until 11:00AM or even Noon. I give you the opening segment of The Disney Channel's "The Replacements."



Building on a very simple plot device-the kids are able to call Fleemco at any time in order to solve problems or make their life more interesting by the replacement of any individual that they come across-the show is virtually limitless in its narrative possibilities (Joss Whedon's upcoming television series, "Dollhouse" anyone?). All in all, “The Replacements” is a very clever show that appropriates from a variety of sources. The design of C.A.R. is styled after the Mach 5 of the “Speed Racer” franchise, but obviously the character is also a direct reference to K.I.T.T. from “Knight Rider” as it speaks and performs a number of tricks with a multitude of cool devices. The writing is sharp and witty and of the two main characters, the siblings Todd and Riley, Todd is actually voiced by Nancy Cartwright, who has been doing the voice of Bart Simpson and a number of other characters on “The Simpsons” for who knows how many years. "The Replacements" is one of those shows that successfully caters to multiple audiences; on the surface, it aims for the 8-14 demographic but manages to engage any adults that might be in the room while the show is on. I imagine this is a way for the staff of these shows to entertain and continually challenge themselves as well.

My continued interest in this show is one that I share with my dear co-worker and fellow visual culture enthusiast KJ. The more I see the show, the more I see its merits and think to myself that were I ever involved in a kid's show, this would be the kind of show I’d love to do.

Let's Teleport Into My Closet

This one goes out to my fair Canadian friends, Nik & Sue and to whoever else in Canada or elsewhere has not been introduced to these incredible YouTube gems. It has come to my attention that there are those who have not experienced the woman that is here presented. For some of you, she needs little or no introduction.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Brenda Dickson. "Welcome to My Home."



Now, here is a parody of Part 2 of the same video:



The newest parody features Brenda Dickson vs. Donna Mills in a Fashion Face Off. Hoot!



There are several more videos of Dickson herself and further parodies; these are the best ones in my opinion, but the rest will provide you with more than a few minutes of entertainment.

I referenced Dickson at the conference this weekend and Sue immediately knew her from "The Young & The Restless" or "Y and R" as the unabashed fan in Sue puts it. This probably marks the first time I have come across someone that became aware of Brenda Dickson via her original television character, Jill Foster Abbott. Oh, and apparently there was more than one Jill along the way...