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26 September 2008
25 September 2008
[movies] Trailer to Synecdoche … Charlie Kaufman’s new film … ‘There are millions of people in the world. And none of those people is an extra. They’re all leads in their own stories.’ [via Fimoculous]
[comics] Grant Morrison’s Favourite Superman Issues and Moments … On Superman vs. Muhammad Ali: ‘How could you forget that one? Because it had to happen! I had to travel many, many miles to find that comic. I remember getting it and it didn’t quite live up to the hype. But the more and more the years go by, the better that comic gets [because of] the contortions they go through to make sure Ali wins.’
24 September 2008
[comics] Concordance: 2000 AD … a glossary from the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic‘Earthlettes – similar to Earthlets, but applied to females only. This caused a furore on the letters page and eventually was deprecated in favour of the now gender-neutral term “earthlets”, though now “Terrans” seems to be in vogue.’
23 September 2008
[internet] Sept. 19, 1982: Can’t You Take a Joke? … Wired on the origins of the emoticon‘The modern emoticon does trace its lineage directly to Fahlman, who says he came up with the idea after reading “lengthy diatribes” from people on the message board who failed to get the joke or the sarcasm in a particular post.’
22 September 2008
[funny] The Onion – EPA Shuts Down Local Ghost-Entrapment Business‘Though its incarcerated employees were unavailable for comment, the company released a statement denying any wrongdoing. The statement also repudiated claims that those associated with the spectral-entrapment operation were afraid of any individual ghost, and went on to say that the act of capturing said ghosts simply made them “feel good.” Despite being a relatively new discipline, specter reclamation, more popularly referred to as “phantom-busting,” has enjoyed enormous success in recent weeks due to a massive increase in paranormal phenomena in the New York area.’
21 September 2008
[end] How To Destroy The Earth‘You’ve seen the action movies where the bad guy threatens to destroy the Earth. You’ve heard people on the news claiming that the next nuclear war or cutting down rainforests or persisting in releasing hideous quantities of pollution into the atmosphere threatens to end the world. Fools. The Earth is built to last. It is a 4,550,000,000-year-old, 5,973,600,000,000,000,000,000-tonne ball of iron. It has taken more devastating asteroid hits in its lifetime than you’ve had hot dinners, and lo, it still orbits merrily.’ [via Metafilter]
20 September 2008
[comics] From Batman to Incognito, Ed Brubaker Loves the Ultraviolence … Ed Brubaker interview from Wired … ‘I think noir and comics really do go together, yeah. I think the use of close-ups and angles and shadows in noir is really influential to modern comics in general. They taught guys like Eisner and Toth and Johnny Craig how to establish mood on the page.’
19 September 2008
[life] Make the Switch … useful FAQ on energy-efficient lightbulbs … ‘With an old-style 100W bulb, you’re effectively switching on a 20W light source and an 80W electric heater.’
18 September 2008
[mp3] Get Better Genius Recommendations in iTunes‘Don’t customize genres. You may think Aphex Twin’s Come to Daddy belongs in a genre like “Avant Garde” or “Techno,” but the iTunes Store database (which Genius queries) insists it’s “Dance/Electronica.” Change your genres to conflict with iTunes and your recommendations will suffer.’
17 September 2008
[comics] How the mighty Maus fuelled my flights of fancy … Ken Russell on Comics … ‘Comics seem to cater to a certain class of berserkers and brainiacs who like to absorb the big issues through gorgeous drawings, seditious characterisation and wild plots.’ [thanks Kabir]
16 September 2008
[books] Robert Heinlein’s Fan Mail Form Letter … a 1960’s solution for authors dealing with fan-mail …


15 September 2008
[comics] Menace taken out of Dennis to avoid accusations of gay-bashing Walter … the Times on how political correctness neutered Dennis the Menace in the late 1980’s … ‘We eventually gave Walter a girlfriend too, as a measure to combat any further criticism.’
[funny] FCU: Fact Checkers Unit … funny short film starring Bill Murray … ‘Fact: Somebody left a floater in the third stall.’ [more…]
12 September 2008
[science] Large Hadron Collider Webcams … watch closely – you can see the Collider energise every 42 Tachyon loops.
11 September 2008
[tv] When reality bites, it leaves deep scars … Behind the scenes at the Jeremy Kyle Show …

‘When he does reveal the all-important DNA results, it’s absolute mayhem: ‘Right, here we go… the DNA results…she was 120 per cent sure. He found bruises on her legs, he was only 25 per cent sure. The DNA tests show that Jamie… is the child’s father!’ The crowd is in uproar. Booing, jeering cheering, screaming, whistling, shouting insults. Gemma, points her finger at Jamie and screams, ‘Wanker! Wanker! Wanker!’ And so the baby girl, in years to come, will be able to watch, time and again, the moment the world found out the identity of her daddy.’

10 September 2008
[google] Useful Lifehack: Use Multiple Google Accounts Simultaneously in Google Chrome … This tip is also useful if you have multiple accounts on other services such as Delicious or eBay‘When you open a window in incognito mode (Ctrl+Shift+N), your cookies from the standard session are no longer available and you can easily log in to a new Google account.’
[crime] A Classic post from Ask Metafilter: Suppose you killed somebody… How would you dispose of the body without getting caught?‘Truly grinding down a body takes a lot more work, and you run the risk of fouling your plumbing and calling in a plumber. So don’t try it unless you know how to clear bones and meat out of a drainpipe. A good food processor can be useful. But don’t over-use it, or power drills or saws. They’re noisy and they attract attention. And forget the kitchen sink. It’s better if you actually remove one of the toilets in your house from its base, which will give you direct access to one of the largest sewer pipes that enters your house.’
9 September 2008
[comics] Mr. Moore defends rational thought … another reason why Alan Moore is the greatest living Englishman … ‘The protest, organised by Northampton Socialist Forum, came after an information sign about Darwinism at the museum was partially covered following a complaint by what appears to be a Christian fundamentalist. Pat Markey explained the events leading up to the protest, and writer/artist Alan Moore gave an entertaining speech about religion, free speech, and censorship.’
8 September 2008
[movies] Frost/Nixon Trailer … for Ron Howard’s new film on the famous interview starring Michael Sheen as David Frost … ‘Well, when the President does it, that means that it is not illegal.’ [via Ghost in the Machine]
5 September 2008
[comics] Don’t Watch That, Watch This … great Metafilter post covering the pop/ska band Madness and linking to loads of videos on YouTube … ‘I’ve always said that if you don’t find yourself helplessly tapping your toes during “Embarrassment,” then you are either a member of the Klan or clinically dead.’ [more…]
4 September 2008
[space] 31 Million Miles from Planet Earth‘On July 4th, 2005, the Deep Impact spacecraft directed a probe to impact the nucleus of Comet Tempel 1. Still cruising through the solar system, earlier this year the robotic spacecraft looked back to record a series of images of its home world 31 million miles (50 million kilometers) away.’
3 September 2008
[comics] How would you answer if asked what Watchmen is about? … interesting question posed by Tom Spurgeon‘Watchmen is the ultimate mid-life crisis: like Fight Club, but with giant blue balls.’
2 September 2008
[movies] Ten Truly Underrated Sci-Fi Movies‘Ten bucks says that Silent Running is Al Gore’s favorite sci-fi film.’
1 September 2008
[books] Philip Pullman’s essential reading list … includes a couple of comics … ‘The Castafiore Emerald by Hergé – Hergé was the best at everything: plots, draughtsmanship, jokes, characterisation, timing – he could do the lot, and this is his best book.’ [via Robot Wisdom]
31 August 2008
[comics] Q&A: Seth … part one of an interview with the Canadian cartoonist. Seth on memory: ‘I recall the sense of being somewhere-the visceral feeling of being in a childhood room, for example. The images themselves in such memories are Frankenstein constructions of what might have been in the room. You almost have to reassemble the room piece by piece when thinking of it. Feelers go out and supply the details. The mental images are somewhat akin to high contrast photographs-much of the detail is gone but the graphic moment is captured in the bold shapes…’
29 August 2008
[comics] Lord Taco-Puss, The World’s Worst Cat … from Diesel Sweeties‘You’ll note that Clango doesn’t remember L.T.P. in this one. His memory was wiped back in this storyline, which began with Wii sports, suspicions of cheating and ended in a laser attack, a giant magnet and rediscovery of ex-girlfriend and kitten.’
21 August 2008
[books] Novelist Neal Stephenson Once Again Proves He’s the King of the Worlds … update on what Neal Stephenson is up to …‘That’s right-brain surgery is one of the things Stephenson is tinkering with. He and his team are helping refine some mechanical aspects of a new tool, a helical needle for operating on brain tumors. It’s the kind of cool job one of his characters might have.’
20 August 2008
[blogs] What Makes for a Good Blog? … some interesting points from Merlin Mann‘I’ve come to believe that creative life in the first-world comes down to those who try just a little bit harder. Then, there’s the other 98%. They’re still eating the free continental breakfast over at FriendFeed. A good blog is written by a blogger who thinks longer, works harder, and obsesses more. Ultimately, a good blogger tries. That’s why “good” is getting rare.’