Misc. Thoughts and Links

I now can do a one-man performance of the instrumental part of Golden Earring's song "Twilight Zone." I think I'm going delightfully mad.



The Writer's Strike is underway, and Paul Dini helps to put the whole thing in a perspective I can understand. At least, the writers' side of things. I'd honestly like to see how the studios can defend themselves, because so far, they just seem to keep coming off as greedy fucks who have been dicking over writers for too damn long.

I'm very curious as to what this will do to the film industry, and what sorts of projects will be greenlit out of studio desperation. Will there be a new SOUTH PARK? How screwed are THE DAILY SHOW and COLBERT?



BEOWULF gets a glowing review, but *urges* everyone that it absolutely must be seen in IMAX 3D. I mean, it's co-scripted by Neil Gaiman, who seems very proud of the film, so it's probably worth watching in 2D creep-tastic motion capture format (I realize the Uncanny Valley factor will be a huge turn-off for many).

The reviewer recently stressed that it actually a damn good film on its own anyway. But this film was supposedly made to be seen on IMAX 3D, and by several accounts (reviewers and Gaiman himself), the experience is so much better.

So yeah. Keeps your eyes out, folks. BEOWULF in IMAX 3D, shaping up to be a must-see.

Plus, Crispin Glover as Grendel, speaking only Old English. I mean, c'mon, what else do you need?

Hey, Guyyyyyyyyyy

Something about today's date... hmmm... was I supposed to remember something today?

Remember... remember...

Oh well. I wonder what's on TV?



Just in time for the AV Club's article on "20 Good Books Made Into Not-So-Good Movies" comes CHUD.com's new round-table discussion of the snazzy new DVD edition of Stanley Kubrick's THE SHINING. When it comes to Kubrick's film and Stephen King's original, most people I know vehemently love one and hate the other.

( Personally, I love both, but for very different reasons, because each offer something the other doesn't. )

One more thing. I've been reading collections of PEANUTS strips from the 50's and 60's.

Like many people, I used to think of PEANUTS as a harmless, inoffensive, gentle, watery relic, not as taste-assaulting as, say, GARFIELD or FAMILY CIRCUS, but not really ever that funny either. A classic, only because it's widely considered a classic. I imagine some feel this way about CITIZEN KANE and CASABLANCA.

Then I started reading the classic PEANUTS stuff. And... oh... my god.

I had no idea how subversively brutal, how thoroughly rich in literary value PEANUTS was. Really, the best summation of its true power and timelessness was described below by Ivan Brunetti (whom I usually strongly dislike, and still sounds like an out-of-touch snob, perhaps purposefully so, but makes some compelling points):

( I hereby declare PEANUTS the greatest post-war comic strip of all time... )