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.

Cool Shit 7/18

Snake Island! Honestly though, the legends the locals tell about it - not really that "legend-y" if you think about it.

While I don't think this compilation can be considered the "worst" death scenes (you can't include comedies as some of them were made to be bad on purpose) there are a few gems in here.



Truth stranger than fiction? Here's a list of movies that went the extra yard to get the perfect shot.

So Sharknado was a moderate success. We all know what that means: Sharknado 2! Submit your own title for the sequel!

Want a quick guide to everything that is Comic Con? Here you go.

Haven't seen Star Wars yet? Luckily for you, someone is posting it on Instagram, 15 seconds at a time!

Cool Shit 7/3

How about a homemade death star destruction scene from the original Star Wars to start your morning?



Or perhaps you'd rather listen to a new single from Beck?



Ranking Stephen King's television endeavors.

If you have any interest in the Battle of Gettysburg, or alternately, cool interactive shit on the internet, this link is for you.

I consider myself a Val Kilmer fan and even I had never heard of this movie. But any project devised as a global warming thriller has my attention.

Cool Shit 5/29

I don't like to think of this Holy Land amusement park as going out of business, I like to think all the employees vanished because of the Rapture.

In case you had a burning desire to see what it's like to sit in the middle of the tornado:



So it seems the Star Wars prequels COULD have been better.

All you diet soda drinkers. From this link I can only deduce that you should be doing meth as well.

What's it like to work with Bill O'Reilly?

Cool Shit 5/6

You do realize some of the greatest pieces museums have are the ones they're not showing.

I'm sure everything mentioned in this article about the difficulties of self-publishing for a published author is true. And yet, that's the current landscape of publishing, and that's what the majority of authors have to do. It's not as though it's a hardship just for this specific individual. It's not as though authors had an easy time before the self-publishing industry arose.

Not only does it seem as though there's a Kickstarter for everything, it seems a lot of are actually meeting their goals. Including these 4, which...yeah.

Some science fiction is actually based on fact. More fact than you know.

Big Star Wars fan? Then you must take a look at these items!

Another summer movie preview. What are you anticipating?

Oh no. This exists.



I guarantee there's a moment (near the end) when someone looks at Channing Tatum and says, "You've got the job."

Cool Shit 4/30

Sometimes when a movie is bad, the people involved will apologize for it.

A really good article on what it took to catch the Boston Marathon bombers. From the Boston Globe.

Not sure if there is some sort of law that speaks to the idea that all bands who break up will eventually reunite at some point in the future; regardless I'm extremely excited for the recently announced Neutral Milk Hotel reunion. Not familiar? Here's a song...



If you're a Star Wars fan, you'll love these set photos from The Empire Strikes Back. Then, head over here for an article on how they shot the speeder chase in Return of the Jedi.

So there's this movie Snowpiercer that I'm kinda of intrigued about. It's about, well I won't do it justice so just go here. There's no release date, and no trailer. So this, to my knowledge is the first footage of it...



You can get anything on the web if you know how to use it. Silk Road everyone!

Cool Shit 4/18

Just when I thought I've been completely been desensitized to the Internet, it somehow reaches back and gets that extra 2-3 mph on its fastball and shocks me once again. In a world filled with false hyperbole, I think this is one of those rare occasions when "worst" is used appropriately.

While I enjoyed this 8 minute "diatribe" by Patton Oswalt on Parks and Recreation, I also believe I could do a similar job. Now, I have no training in improv whatsoever and am probably stupid for thinking that, but I DO know I have a plethora of useless knowledge to call upon should the moment ever arise.



I simply appreciate that someone out there saw a problem like this and came up with an app that could solve it. Soon, cousin fucking will be a thing of the past!

Audition tapes of famous people before they were famous auditioning for the roles that made them famous.

Gleaning all you can from a bomb.

New trailer for a movie called R.I.P.D. Something something zombie cops fighting the dead. Just assume a complete rip off of Men In Black. I predict this movie will fail miserably.

Cool Shit 4/11

A couple new looks at the new Arrested Development promotions.

Books you might not know that have sequels.

New Zealand is cool. Time lapse videos are cool. When you put them together, you have double cool.



A look at Star Wars action figures as though they were from a Russ Meyer film. Commissioned by Patton Oswalt! (Really, I have no idea what's going on)

There were some weird television series spin-offs through the years.

What's that, you say? You wish you could take existing Google Street View photography and create your own time lapse movies? Well, ok.

Here's an example of what the hell I'm talking about:



Ok. Where to begin with this one...it's a documentary called Sirius - which is not about the satellite radio company but: well, I'll just offer you the first line of the movie to help explain it:

"The existence of UFOs has been known for millennia..."

And from there, it only gets crazier. Seriously - each frame of this trailer is crazier than the previous one.



April 22 can't get here fast enough.

Cool Shit 2/19

Remember Ken Jennings? Guy who won all that cash on Jeopardy? He's still doing pretty good for himself. And good for him.

A stone forest in Madagascar.

For the ladies. A pencil sharpener that doesn't sharpen pencils, but creates, well, you should just check it out.

Look, given enough time, any event can be spun the way you need it to be spun. Take, for instance, the destruction of a planet...



Celebrity scents that didn't quite make it to market. I would buy 100% of these if given the opportunity. But obviously 27th Precinct would top my list.

Cool Shit 2/13

Whoa. Dan Harmon, the creator of Community, is a complete whack job. And that is completely awesome.

Wired asked some fairly famous fans of the Star Wars movies what makes a good Star Wars movie. Here are their answers. Also, if you enjoyed that, you might enjoy this complete breakdown of the battle on Hoth, and how stupid the rebel forces were.

I'm not sure I can get behind Chicken & Waffles or Cheesy Garlic bread flavors, but sign me up for Sriacha flavored potato chips!

Trailer for the movie Computer Chess - a faux documentary (I think) about people in the 70s developing the first artificial intelligence to beat a chess grandmaster. I think. Actually, just read this if you're interested.



Dirty pool or capitalism at its apex? The war between big brewery and micro craft beers in the shopping sphere.

And finally, a look at a cover of a song - but you're going to have to work with me a little bit here. So please, don't skip to the second one - (re)acquaint yourself with the original song first. It gives much needed context...

David Bowie's song Sound and Vision, from the album Low is a nice little song, with a rather difficult arrangement. You can take a listen here:



But that of course would never stop Beck from attempting to perform it live...with a full orchestra and choir. Take a listen to that right here (and I know it's over 9 minutes long, but try to stay to the end - it's worth it):



(Mildly related: I now am on a quest to get that awesome jacket Beck is wearing)

Cool Shit 2/6

A look at people's Facebook comments after they believe an Onion article. My hope for humanity's redemption remains extremely low.

Guy visits every country on Earth, which is impressive enough, but also does it sans airplane travel!

Sure the parentheses in these songs probably don't make much sense, and don't have a lot of meaning, but try to get a point in Music Trivia with my friends without mentioning them and you'll be sorry!

No one can say they are the best at living off the grid until they get more remote than this family.

Wait, what? There are going to be standalone character movies within the next set of Star Wars movies? And the first one will be about Yoda? I'll give them this...Good or bad, Disney is definitely taking control of the Star Wars universe.

So there's a new show coming out called The Cult. And it's about people who start watching a new show called The Cult. But then weird things start happening in real life (the fake real life outside the fictional show The Cult, which is what the real television show is about). I'm so watching this.

Jam of the Day

Neutral Milk Hotel - Holland, 1945

Cool Shit 2/4

For any of you who wanted to understand the Star Wars universe a little more, here's a map with everything laid out, that...probably won't help much, but it looks kinda cool.

A couple hangover cures from bartenders. Though, to be fair, why should we listen to bartenders about hangover cures? They're not the perpetually drunk ones - they're the scary shadows in the corners that provide the rest of us with the poison! They're the pushers. We're the victims. Shouldn't we be telling the bartenders the cures so they can provide that information to other people in their times of weakness?

Sure Super Bowl Media Day is crazy in and of itself. But what is it like on acid?

Netflix released a new series this weekend called House of Cards -- and released all of its episodes simultaneously. Many out there are suggesting this release is going to change the way we watch television, which I guess is possibly true, except didn't the release of entire shows' seasons on DVD already do that? Articles like this one seem to be the old media trying to catch up with the present entertainment landscape.

Here are 50 reasons to be excited about music in the upcoming year.

Cool Shit 1/28

A list of the top 30 beer can designs.

There are such beautiful, deadly extremes when firefighters battle a fire in sub zero temperatures.

Porn has changed so much in the last 20 years. So very much.

There is going to be a lot of talk about JJ Abrams and Star Wars in the next few years. Here are 14 things we might be able to expect about the pairing.

Sundance 2013 comes to a close, so here's a good roundup of what is worth seeing from it, and what isn't.

Cool Shit 1/25

I think it's pretty obvious I need one of these, so I can digitize my entire life.

Trailer for Inside Llewyn Davis, the new movie from The Coen Brothers. Warning, you will be depressed for the rest of the day after watching this.



By now, if you're a Star Wars fan, you know that JJ Abrams will be directing the next movie. Should we be excited or terrified?

Sure snow and ice can be considered a nuisance when you have to drive in it, but you can also use it to make crazy art.

Thinking about living off the grid? Maybe you could buy one of these houses.

Even science fiction movies can be too out there. Here are 10 examples.

Jam of the Day

Prince has a new single! Screwdriver:

Cool Shit

It's rare to find someone that (mostly) agrees with me on the quality of the 1976 King Kong remake, but I've done it. I really can't explain why I think this one is superior to the original (let's not even start with the Peter Jackson one); maybe it was the timing (I was an easily influenced 10 year old when I probably first saw it) maybe it was Jeff Bridges' rugged awesomeness, maybe it was the implied beastiality (look, I have no idea what drives my psyche). Regardless, here's a great essay about all that and more.

Portishead is talking new album! That would be cool! In the meantime, enjoy this...

This is kind of weird...wondering what Topher Grace has been up to recently? Me neither, but I stumbled across this article about how he's taken the 3 Star Wars prequels, and edited them into one film, and apparently it's getting good reviews...? Not like he had a high watermark to clear - hey yo! Doesn't seem to be online, but if any of you have the jump on it, I'd love to see it.

I'm a sucker for "against all odds" movies. Which is probably why I'm excited for this movie...

And finally, Dave Hill returns to Fashion Week, and gives his own unique take.

"I LOVE COCAINE!"

Cool Shit

It's weird. There was an uproar when Frank Darabont was fired from The Walking Dead, but there's also been some strong criticism about the show so far. I'm not sure anyone really knows what he's had his hands on up to this point. I'm pretty sure the episodes to come are Darabont-free, but I have no idea about the episodes we've seen. Regardless, we do know what he had planned for at least one episode, and it sounds like it would have been pretty cool. Check out the description here.

Craig Finn, the lead singer of the band The Hold Steady, has a new solo album coming out that I'm excited about. Don't know who The Hold Steady are? Shame on you...

(Yes, if you can't get past his nasally delivery, then yes, it's possible his solo album is going to do much for you. But I would still ask you to check out an album called Separation Sunday, and enjoy the lyrics. It is a criminally underrated album. Here's a taste - I'll best describe it as Led Zeppelin meets punk sung by a guy who screams. And that's a good thing:)

Anyway, here's a song from Mr. Finn's upcoming album.

Speaking of music, Jeff Mangum has a box set coming out. Who's Jeff Mangum, you ask? Only the creator of one of the most influential albums of the last 20 years, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. But don't take my word for it...you can go here, here, and here to get an idea of how much people laud this album.

Now, that the guy may or may not be crazy is not a debate for you or me...I'll just say simply that he hasn't really been in the public eye for a really long time. So, when out of the blue, news that he had a box set coming out, I got excited. And so to keep my linking to youtube a pattern, here you go:

I think it's safe to say that Crispin Glover is an odd individual. This interview goes a long way to cement that belief. And please don't take that the wrong way...I think it's great. Too many of Hollywood's actors are cardboard cutouts that agents and publicists stand behind and marionette. Glover is far from that. Case in point, his entire experience with the Back to teh Future series.

Finally, here's something I had never heard of...Star Wars Uncut...basically, it's a crowd sourced project asking people to submit 15 seconds scenes recreating the original Star Wars movie (A New Hope. Combing through those submissions, they were then stitched together to recreate the movie. Ingenuity at its finest! Check it out!

The Power of Improvisation

No, this isn't another one of those organized flash mob dance parties...this is a list of 25 unscripted moments from film. While I can't vouch for the authenticity of the list, if even half of them are legit, it's a testament to what actors can bring to the table when they're fully invested in the project. Enjoy...

Visual of an Audio Mashup

It certainly doesn't hurt to start anything out with the iconic Shaft beat, but don't worry, it stays awesome from there...

Don't hold back, just push things forward from Ithaca Audio on Vimeo.

You will never watch Star Wars the same way again

When the "sequel" prequels to the original Star Wars trilogy came out, it was popular for many fans of the original movies to say, "George Lucas raped my childhood." A bit harsh, and who are we to question the artist/creator of something.

But this...this will rape your love of Star Wars...

Tracy Morgan Explains Star Wars

I'm not really sure Tracy Morgan ever saw Star Wars. I mean the inaccuracies are stunning!