Cool Shit 7/9

It's web pages like this that fully embrace the full potential of what the Internet can give you: Lifestyle pictures featuring wookies.

If you enjoy reading, you won't want to miss the Millions (great book blog) list of anticipated novels for the second half of 2013.

Sure, Amazon reviews are generally worthless, but sometimes, you'll find gold.

By now, if you haven't at least heard of the television show The Wire, you're an idiot. But with such heavy themes and material, how did the cast handle themselves off set?

After bombs such as The Lone Ranger, White House Down and After Earth, this article lists 3 reasons trying to explain the recent flops. I'll add a fourth: the movies have to have some "positive" entertainment. What do I mean by that? I mean they need buzz from people (not just critics; I'm not suggesting box office profits are tied to reviews) that the movies in question are entertaining. That they connect on somewhat of an emotional level with the moviegoer. After Earth was too dense and pretentious; The Lone Ranger was too old of a reference and doesn't even connect with the main star (seriously Depp is the one they bank on yet the movie isn't about him) and White House Down, well White House Down is the one I'm surprised about. But if I had to guess, I would say making the president of the United States one half of a buddy cop duo had something to do with it. The movie's marketing positioned it almost as a comedy, and I think that hurt it significantly. Also, Channing Tatum doesn't get to be Bruce Willis yet. He needs to put in a little more time.

I guess I'm naive, but I had no idea there was a website that tracked every UFO sighting. And apparently last week saw a uptick in sightings. I can't imagine why.

Cool Shit

I'm a sucker for anything abandoned, so I was thrilled to see someone took eerie pictures of China's answer to Disneyland, Wonderland.

If you were a fan of Lost, I think you'll get a kick out of this. And no, it has nothing to do with the cobbled together ending.

If you have a Kindle, and have 99 cents to burn, why don't you check out the country's highest ranking private detective? Haven't gone through any of these yet, but the price seems right to take a risk...

Speaking of reading, there are few things I enjoy more. And part of that is discovering new books out there that challenge, frustrate, entertain, and satisfy me. The website The Millions is a great place to do that, especially now, with their A Year in Reading series. Check it out.

Like drawing? Like cars? Like checking out other people's drawings of cars? Well, you don't have to have such specific interests to enjoy this site, but if you do have them, I definitely recommend you check it out.

I recently finished Everyone Loves You When You're Dead, by Neil Strauss and found it to be a fascinating look into the many different personalities of popular music. Specifically:

• Courtney Love is cheap
• David Pirner is insecure
• Orlando Bloom could be perceived as not the sharpest guy in the world
• Ludacris is exactly how you'd expect
• Bo Diddley is bitter
• Chuck Berry is smarter than you think

And it goes on and on. A great book to pick up when you want and find out not just about these individuals, but also how fame and celebrity can affect a person.