Friday, January 31, 2014

Cool Shit 1/31

Maybe it was because the first one was so influential on my young life; maybe it was because I felt the vibe was too lighthearted; maybe it was because the expectations were simply too high to meet; whatever it was, I really think Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a much weaker film than the other two, and don't believe it's all that great. While this article doesn't go that far, it does bring up some of what I feel made it a little too hokey.

Here's another list of Sundance movies that should be checked out, this time looking at some films that haven't gotten deals yet, but that probably should.

Check out some images of Kubrick's annotated copy of Stephen King's The Shining. Cool look into the creative process.

I think Spotify is a great service that allows you to enjoy an unbelievable catalog of music. And of course with such a huge catalog, songs are going to slip through the cracks, and never get played. Enter Forgotify: a service you can use to play tracks that have never been played before on Spotify. Just tried it and I got Mitch Ryder singing James Brown's "I Got You."



No idea why Discover Magazine has to be such a buzzkill and suggest some alien moon base recently discovered might not actually be an alien moon base.

Ever wonder what it was like to pull off the Puppy Bowl? Wonder no more!

Season 4 of Game of Thrones is right around the corner (April), so enjoy these fresh new photos of what's to come and get psyched!

You knew Sharknado 2 was coming obviously, but now we can all take a sigh of relief. Ziering and Reid are locked up for the sequel, bypassing the messy need for setting up new characters and messing with the integrity of this series.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Cool Shit 1/30

Wow. So there's this pot. And it's black. And then there's this kettle. And it's black too. I think you know where this is going. Still, I'm intrigued by the idea of a Skype exorcism. Almost as much as I'm intrigued by a real exorcism. Catholic church, want to up your numbers? Sell tickets to exorcisms. I'll be in that confession box tomorrow.

The Mavericks Invitational. Big wave surfing competition. Not for the faint-hearted surfer.

Coogan and Brydon are back with a quasi-sequel to the Trip, and with more Michael Caine. And a surprise or two...



Don't know what the above link references at all? Check out The Trip's famous Michael Caine scene:



(Brydon absolutely kills it)

There's simply no way you're showering correctly, according to the Huffington Post. Thankfully, they've provided some helpful tips so you don't look like an idiot the next time you're in the locker room.

Sure, the idea of figuring out what kind of meat a human body produces might turn your stomach, but you'll be thanking me should you find yourself in a plane crash in the Andes with a rugby team. Or on the Donner trail.

The legal drug market. There is simply no way anyone can stay ahead of the concept of narcotics and humanity. Illegality does little to dissuade use. We should be talking about offering new solutions, not bigger crackdowns.


Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Cool Shit 1/29

So Michael Keaton is a loon. In the best possible way someone can be a loon. Also, I think I need a publicist to write to people about how I'd like to speak to/with them.

The life of a (at least Baltimore Raven) cheerleader. While the facade may be glamorous, it seems it's just like any other job. It seems some of it is a bit unfair, but there is a rulebook that lays it out in some detail, so the women who try out at least know what they are getting into. As for the preferential treatment of some cheerleaders, I've seen that first hand at every job I've ever been associated with, so that shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. I have issues with the concept of cheerleading in general (at least with the concept of professional sports teams having cheerleading squads) so I'm just not sure how to feel reading the article.

Twins; one gives up sugar, the other gives up fat. Read the results. If I were a triplet, I'd have helped and been the control and doubled my sugar and fat content.

While it's low hanging fruit, this look at how awful the movie Batman & Robin really is, will show you just how awful Hollywood really can be.



I love conspiracies. And I love 70s movies. So there isn't much better for me than a list of 70s conspiracy movies.

Wisconsin secret ice caves!

Probably the closest (I like to hedge my bets, just in case Richard Branson or Elon Musk is reading this, and have the space ship capable of achieving this) you'll ever get to flying through a nebula.






Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Cool Shit 1/28

If you were around in the 90s and liked television, odds are you enjoyed the X-Files. And if you liked the X-Files, then you will like this list of links that explore what the X-Files meant. (The show, not the actual existence of X-files.)

Follow the math in The Simpsons. There's a lot more of it in there than you might think.

Think your house is haunted by demons? Call the police, they might believe it too!

I bet you didn't know that your extra virgin olive oil is most likely not extra virgin. Or even 100% olive oil to begin with. Well, be a sucker no more!

A hot sauce taste test. Of course, I think this one only tested a total of ten brands, which seems ridiculously small.

Asparamancer. I don't even care if the idea of predicting the future with asparagus is complete hooey, I love that it at least gave us that word. Hello new dog name.

Here's one of those lists of facts that I certainly can't verify, but they sound cool.

Reviews from Sundance are starting to come in. Here's a look at one that takes on the best and worst, and another one that just focuses on the best.

If you're a fan of Terry Gilliam's work, you'll be excited to watch the new trailer for Zero Theorem, which looks very Terry Gilliam-ish. Seems to me it will be one of those movies that are lauded by a few, seen by fewer and raved about years from now. Just like all of Terry Gilliam's films.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Cool Shit 1/27

Movies that could have been, but aren't, for one reason or another.

Guns are so attached to our culture that this list of pop culture gun facts shouldn't be too surprising to people.

Missed the Grammys because you were watching True Detective? Here's a look at the top 15 moments so you can sound like you saw them, and here's a ranking of the live performances.

Interested in Katy Perry? Learn more about her here. And yes, there are pictures.

Rafael Nadal, one of the best, and his unorthodox style, in just about everything he does. He's a contradiction of paradoxes, all rolled into one. While not DFW on Federer, it's a good article on what makes Nadal, Nadal. But oh how I wish DFW would have written about Nadal.

Most of these you've probably heard of, but it's still interesting to see how accidents can help make a movie better. It's called innovation, and in my opinion, a director needs to have a lot of it to make everything come together on the screen.

The CES (Consumer Electronics Show) held every year in Las Vegas is a great indicator of the technologies that we'll all be talking about in the next few years. Here's a look at what was going on during the 2014 show.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Cool Shit 1/24

Sure, 2014 may have gotten off to a rocky start, but we still have these 61 things to look forward to.

I can't think of a better way to predict the outcome of the Superbowl than with the use of puppies.

The takeaway from this article talking to network chiefs? No one has a perfect batting average when it comes to predicting creative output. Everyone always has something they wished they hadn't passed on, and something they got incredibly lucky with.

It's refreshing and reassuring to hear that a movie like Dr. Strangelove, derided by military analysts at the time for being preposterous, did in fact mirror the truth at the time - that a war could be started by warmongers without approval or safeguards in place.

Some details are coming out about Tarantino's Hateful Eight. Of course, if you'd like, you could read it for yourself. Well, allegedly. I have no idea if that's a legit script or something some dude wrote after a 2 day cocaine binge.

It's nice to every now and then sit back and realize the beauty our world offers us. We don't do it enough.

Not sure why the idea of destroying the middle-class will destroy the economy further is exactly a revelation. Have we learned nothing from Catch-22? The snake eating itself? Sorry, that's art and literature stuff that people don't have time for anymore because it's stupid and stuff like that can't teach us anything. Almost like a vicious circle.


Thursday, January 23, 2014

Cool Shit 1/23

For the most part, the comments under a Youtube video are awful, whether they're ignorant, racist, unbelievably hateful, or whatever. But sometimes, wading through the sludge of the internet, nice things can be found.

I'm sure inspired by the surprisingly sexy moment in the otherwise bleak show True Detective, here's a look at how long it took 11 other popular HBO shows to get to the sex moment.

An oral history of the movie Swingers.

Oh that Esquire, trying to break down what makes the modern man tick.

A look at 50 albums of challenging music.

An interview with the Bourdains. You probably know Anthony as an interesting person, but his wife is probably just as bats hit crazy as he is (in a good way).

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Cool Shit 1/22

Review of Rake, the new show with Greg Kinnear that I'm mildly interested in watching.

Strange story about Quentin Tarrantino no longer bringing his ensemble western, The Hateful Eight, to the big screen anytime soon, because the script was leaked. And I'm okay with that, since I thought his last two films were uneven at best. Also, I guess he's in some way blaming Bruce Dern for this mess? Or at least Bruce Dern's representatives?

All these years, you've been eating your cheese fondue wrong. Unless you're Swiss. Well, you're lucky, because I'm here to show you how to do it the right way. And put down that beer. There are only three things you should be drinking with your cheese fondue!

50 states, 50 beers. Here's a cool interactive map to at least get you to check out some good beers from around the United States.

Interview with Howard Stern.

By now I assume you've at least heard of the burrito vending machine. And now here are reviews of all the burritos you could get out of said machine.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Cool Shit 1/21

It's time to start thinking about new television shows for 2014. Here's a (most likely incomplete) list of what we can expect from the networks in the way of premieres in the next coming months.

I assume you have a freezer, so why not throw some of these foods in there for a few hours in order to blow your tastebuds out of your mouth?

The idea that injuries from grooming pubic hair is on the increase is not the most exciting thing to me in this article; the fact that there is a journal out there titled "Urology" is.

New Beck album this year! Sounds like we're going to get introspective Beck and not funky Beck.



The only thing I really took away from this list of the best scenes in movies that involve lasers is that lasers are cool.

Apparently the places in Twin Peaks were real! At least some of them. And now you can see them all on this handy map.

Drop some acid, put on some Allman Brothers and chill out to some videos of migratory bird patterns, man.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Cool Shit 1/20

If you're a deadhead, you'll probably want to check this out.

Love the concept and execution of the Dakar Rally - race across three countries in South America. Pretty sure I could at least finish in the top ten were I to compete.

Do you want this Boba Fett rumor to be true, or do you think a bratty New Zealand clone kid growing up to be the universe's best bounty hunter is a good back story?

Cool visualization of how music genres increase and decrease in popularity through the years. Of course, it also depends on how you're tagging certain music into specific genres.

More cool stuff about season 2 of Hannibal, and the direction it will be taking. Seriously watch this show!

So this happened - a rock from apparently out of nowhere suddenly appeared near the Mars Rover.

Taxi drivers have all the fun. If you consider driving people around and listening to their problems fun.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Cool Shit 1/17

Hannibal is probably the best show currently on network television. While dark and grisly, it tells a story of characters we already know in a refreshing and interesting way. Too often network television dumbs things down; Hannibal isn't like that. To say that I'm excited for season 2 would be putting it mildly...



Today's example of nobody can be shocked of a this headline: "Subject from the show Doomsday Preppers faces gun charges."

Apparently, there is a time travel store in Los Angeles. I am so sad that I am just now learning about it, that I plan to build a time machine and go back to when it was first opening to create a second, better version of the future, where I always have known of the existence of this place. Of course, if that me ever meets the current me, I'm sure we'll fight, because I know that me will never shut up about a cool time travel store.

For the person who takes their beer seriously, a look at what breweries we should keep an eye on in 2014.

Good information to have, I guess: what do you do if a nuclear bomb goes off in your city?

50 Sundance films to look forward to this year at the festival. And if that's not enough, 15 more (though I'm sure there's some crossover. I haven't properly audited this lists for that. I can't do everything for you!).

And then, since this is Sundance's 30th year, here's a look back at some of the more memorable moments that have come out of the festival.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Cool Shit 1/16

The Internet is useful for a lot of things; one of my favorite is cataloging the accuracy of time travel movies. So really, how accurate WAS Back to the Future 2?

If you're a fan of the cancelled Happy Endings (and really you should be), you may be happy or sad to know the plans for the hypothetical fourth season.

Whichever side of the "war on drugs" you fall, it's hard to imagine completely eradicating them with the amount of money they generate for people. The risk/reward is to great. So while there's been a crackdown on the large factories that have been processing them, cartels have moved their operations to the small scale...



Beer lover? Than you'll love this map of every brewery in the United States.

Alligator hunting in the southern United States.

Crazy pictures of stormy weather from the American Heartland. I remember driving through one of the Dakotas, watching a storm rumble over the plains. It's one of those things that you can't aptly describe to someone who hasn't experienced it.

Just once, even indirectly I'd like to be involved in the truffle black market. While I understand there's a lot of money affecting the import and export of these mushrooms, the absurdity of it all would be too good to pass up.


Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Cool Shit 1/15

Like to cook? Here are 100 tips from famous chefs that might help you in the kitchen.

Keeping with the cooking theme, here are a bunch of French classic dishes (by region) that you should make an effort to eat.

Awesome surfing video from a perspective you may have never seen before. Sure drones are going to disrupt the very nature of our being with the many ways our governments will use them to keep us in our place, but we also get videos like this. Even tradeoff!



Charlie Kaufman is getting a show on FX. And it's not about one show within a show, but TWO shows within a show. I'm sure it won't be meta in any other way.

There's a new Godzilla movie coming out soon, so it makes sense that we start thinking about the science behind the creature. What's that you say? A fictional creature? That's what they want you to believe!

I understand this is more of a joke more than anything else, but I watched at least 5 minutes of American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. Japan the other night, more than enough to see that it indeed looked weighted in the Americans favor. Which sucks. I immediately thought that a challenge like this should be held in Japan, since you know, the game was created there and all. But no, it was in Las Vegas. On a course that I assume the Americans practiced on as much as they wanted. And I realize NBC wants to trump up the idea of a rah rah "U-S-A" mentality so close to the Olympics, but since when do we have to take such a aggressive, "bullied" approach that we are the best in everything? Have we learned nothing from the 1980 Olympic hockey outcome? An underdog is beloved! I'm not saying go into every sport with that thought, but a more realistic approach would probably help us all. It's stupid to think we're the best at everything ever, and that only leads to disappointment. Especially when it comes to the winter Olympics, which we're notoriously not the best at everything, and in fact not great at much of anything. Maybe if we lowered expectations in situations like this, we wouldn't be so aggressive as a society, and therefore not looked at with such disdain by the rest of the world. Quiet confidence goes a long way in this world. It's unfortunate not enough people understand that.

But that's just me.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Cool Shit 1/14

View of a ski jump (olympic variety). Or, I guess to be more accurate, a view of going off a ski jump backwards...



There are a lot of theories out there about the origins of AIDS. And most of them are completely crazy.

I always wondered why taxidermists didn't have much of a sense of humor with their subject matter. Well, I don't have to wonder anymore.

I bet a supershow with Leonard Nimoy AND Robert Stack gets these global unsolved mysteries solved lickety split! (Unrelated: does the In Search Of... intro music create a sense of impending dread in anyone else the moment they hear it, or is that just me? I won't even get into the psychological ramifications of the Unsolved Mysteries music)



Behind the scenes of making a segment of skiing through a rain forest. I'm not sure who comes up with these ideas, or who then hears these ideas and goes, 'yeah, that's a great idea!" but it seems like a lot of work for not a lot of payoff. Also, I'm pretty sure the guy who said the hardest challenge of the whole thing was assembling the right team. I would say the hardest challenge would be "driving to the top of a mountain, collecting as much snow as possible in your car, driving it back to the rain forest, loading up packs and then hiking it in 30 pounds a time, in order to have it stay snow long enough to get the shot." But that's just me.




Monday, January 13, 2014

Cool Shit 1/13

New show called Turn, about spies in the American Revolutionary War, coming this April on AMC:



Finally! We've broken the wimpy 16 story height and gone ahead and built a 17 story tall water slide...



A couple rumors about the new Star Wars movie. And I'm going to say, I agree with Abrams here, focusing on the characters we know, and giving fans a kind of tribute to them before he goes off with new characters. I think it's a smart strategy. Now, if only we can make sure he isn't the primary writer, I think this has the potential to really work.

Now, if Abrams hired this guy to oversee the look and feel of the film, maybe we'd really have something. It is possible of course that Abrams is thinking of things a little bigger than using Legos.

And one more Star Wars link - this one is from the Peter Mayhew, aka Chewbacca, photo collection: pictures on the sets of Star Wars that you've never seen before.

Oh good, Quentin Tarantino is making another western. On the positive side, it won't take much to be better than Django Unchained.


Friday, January 10, 2014

Cool Shit 1/10

We're all excited for the big blockbusters coming on 2014, but what about the indie movies?

I won't pretend to be able to understand everything that is going on in this article and photo about far away galaxies, but I do know that it some of the facts are simply astounding. Perhaps too astounding for us to get too excited about. I sometimes think that's why we're not as interested in space, because our minds simply can't grasp the wonder that is out there.

A 1981 documentary on the Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The quality ain't great, but it's perfect for Raiders' completists. Also if you have an hour to kill on a lazy Friday.



Berkeley Breathed, he of Bloom County fame, once developed an animated Grinch movie, complete with concept art and the hope Jack Nicholson would voice the Grinch. Sadly, We got Jim Carrey instead. Check it out though for some concept art that would have been pretty cool.

Some information about prison conjugal visits. You know, if you're planning a crime with a relatively high failure rate, and want to know how you might get some in the pokey.

Fuck you Fashion Beans and your list of the 5 most popular shoes of all time. Not even a mention of Rod Lavers? That's just stupid.

Anyone catch the Spoils of Babylon last night? A parody (I think) of 70s miniseries on IFC, the concept is funnier than the execution. This review from Grantland sums up my thoughts pretty well. A lot of gags are thrown at you pretty quick; some work and some fail miserably. The problem is the ones that fail miserably take a lot of time to fail and you're stuck, impatiently waiting for the show tp gain speed again. The mannequin was funny for an instant, but it now seems it's going to be in the show for the long haul (or at least longer than the bit is funny for). What I would have rather seen with the mannequin is a real actress playing the "wife" and then a couple shots of her clearly being a mannequin. Anyway, I'll continue to watch, because the setups before and after every episode with Will Ferrell are hilarious, and definitely give off that "Orson Welles selling out and schlepping for products but still bringing his massive ego" vibe. I just hope the show settles into a groove.

Turning our attention to a great show: this is splendid news to hear Sherlock is at least thinking and plotting out seasons 4 and 5!

Oh how I wish I thought of this: "Ranking" the couples in the Cialis commercials we see ad nauseum. Here's part 1, and here's part 2. Personally, I'm not sure how bench STAINING couple isn't #1. Who doesn't get all sexed up during antique restoration? You've got to be ready!

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Cool Shit 1/9

Those movie lines you loved? They probably weren't scripted.

The Olympics are coming! Hopefully you're getting some sort of excited for it. Here's a list of 30 questions (and answers) to help get you up to speed.

Just creating the concepts for eating at Google probably takes more energy than...something that already takes a lot of energy.

I remember going to both Discovery Island and River Country when my parents took me to Disney. To hear (and see) that they're now abandoned and no longer part of the park makes me sad. River Country was the best part of the whole trip dammit! I can't imagine the new, bigger water park offers the same things, as River Country was set up as a watering hole with sand and "murky" water, along with some awesome slides.

We dismiss sleep a lot because, while it's something we have to do, it's also something we can easily ignore to get other things done. And that's a bad thing. So if you're not sleeping well, take a look at these tips that might be able to help you.

I have been anticipating this movie for awhile now, simply because it sounds so insane. A society that now rides on a train in the future (because of the weather I think) hosts a mutiny by the poor people in the back of the train to try and take over the front of the train. Look here's a trailer that won't help the explanation any more:



I assume you've heard about the Billy Joel residency at Madison Square Garden. While that alone is just out of the reach of my comprehension, this analysis of ticket sales takes the cake. Apparently, based on some numbers, Billy Joel will be able to sell out MSG forever.

Not sure if you're an Archer fan or not, but apparently there are some big changes heading into season 5. (spoilers at the link if you like to remain pure for your animated series-watching pleasures)


Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Cool Shit 1/8

I'm not saying this guy DIDN'T kill Bigfoot, I'm just saying he probably should have come up with a better story than repeating the one that was confirmed a fraud 6 years ago about him killing Bigfoot. Also, I'm totally saying this guy didn't kill Bigfoot.

Every web domain that has ever been mentioned on Law & Order. bootyboz.bz is my favorite.

Terry Gilliam is an interesting director, and person. In fact, he's probably one of the best examples of how/what creativity can do, and how it can be crushed when people try to box it.

A new Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings album comes out next week, so why not enjoy the single off it right now?



Sense8 is a new Netflix show, developed by the Wachowskis.

I doubt (unless you're REALLY into movie criticism) that you have heard of the movie critic Armond White. Sadly, I don't think he reviews movies for any publication anymore, but just imagine real life trolling. Yet, it's hard to get a grip on whether he's being sincere or not with his reviews. Because he is an intelligent person and talented writer. Here's a decent breakdown of how his reviews are written,  and here's a look at his heckling of Steve McQueen (the director, not the actor, because that would be weird if he heckled the actor) at a recent event. Honestly, if people don't see this as nothing more than positive publicity for a former film critic to perhaps get a job somewhere else than people don't understand how the world works anymore. Also, regardless of the intentions, seriously, who cares?

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Cool Shit 1/7

Oh nothing much to see here, other than some spooky abandoned prisons. To be fair, occupied prisons are pretty spooky, no?

The best cheesesteaks in Philly, as told by Alan Richman, one of the better food writers out there, and a native.

So it seems Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld have teamed up again to write a new project. Seinfeld 2: Seinfelder? That's my guess at least.

New trailer for House of Cards: Season 2, which is coming back February 14! Valentine's Day just got a whole lot sexier!



Mountain Dew flavored Cheetos sound delicious and completely natural.

I think I just froze my polar vortex. Actually, very few people even know what a polar vortex is, other than an awesome future SyFy movie.


Monday, January 6, 2014

Cool Shit 1/6

I've heard rumors of a Gladiator II script, but this summary of how it came to be is absurd. And to think there was any possibility of it being a success...

Lock picking made simple!

A sommelier offers his thoughts on the Charles Shaw line of wines, or probably more known as the Trader Joe's "Two Buck Chuck" vintage.

A list of movies based on books coming up in 2014.

An expose on white-collar prisons, begging us to believe they aren't so nice as told by...the guys who are in a white collar prison? Huh.

Survival as a fisherman who fell off a fishing boat. It might be my most frightening thought. Drowning with no land in sight; just the sparse, immense ocean.

With cold air routinely gripping parts of our nation here and there, it's never a bad idea to make sure your car can handle the dropping temperatures.


Friday, January 3, 2014

Cool Shit 1/3

Space. It's one giant mystery that we're probably never going to truly figure out.

A research paper suggesting we can find time travelers by basically googling "time travelers." Ok, it's a little more complicated than that. But not much. It also involves using Twitter hash tags.

So Dubai had a little party to ring in the New Year...possibly the greatest fireworks display you've ever seen (unless you were in Dubai on New Years)



This may be the greatest news of all of 2014, and possibly of all time. And I'd like to say I think I had a little something to do with it, since i basically created the concept of betting on the Puppy Bowl (and created odds for the puppies) five years ago. But I don't say that looking for credit or a cut of the profits, I'm just happy Animal Planet is now embracing the idea by officially offering a fantasy draft for this year's Puppy Bowl.

Looks like food prices are going to be going on the rise this year (though I'm not sure why this is really ever considered news).

Craigslist Missed Connections are weird in themselves, but mix in New Year's revelry and you've got a whole new level of freaky.


Thursday, January 2, 2014

Cool Shit 1/2

Stuff you should be scared of that science is advancing/advocating. I think my favorite phrase of the year to date is "edible stages."

Speaking of science and technology, here are the stories we might be reading about in 2014.

I'm sure you're anticipating the new season of Sherlock Holmes to see how Sherlock survived, but are you familiar with the time Sir Author Conan Doyle killed off and brought back the detective?

The sugar wars.

The Indonesian film The Raid was a surprise hit in 2011, pitting a small core group of police trapped in an apartment building controlled by a drug lord. Obviously, because of its success, a sequel is coming out. Based on the trailer, I'm not sure it's going to match the original's sense of cramped fighting.



Though I lost interest in the output of Benjamin Curtis after purchasing Ten Silver Drops, the disappointing sophomore album by the Secret Machines, it's sad to find out he just died of cancer. Now Here is Nowhere, The Secret Machines debut, is an great album, and should be owned by a lot more people.