Nicely Played

Do You See What I See?

B3ta.com recently held the "Phallic Logo Awards" where they asked their readers to send in logos from around the world for evaluation. This beauty from The Brazilian Institute of Oriental Studies was the definitive winner. The Institute claims that it is "a stylized pagoda against the setting sun." Who could think it was anything different?

The Cat's Out Of The Bag

I heard somewhere that this is the year of "seven" so I'm asking folks to list seven guilty pleasure songs that you just have to listen to when they play over the car radio (when you're driving alone, of course!)

Against all better judgement, here are my seven:

Miss Independent - Kelly Clarkson
Walking in Memphis - Cher
Complicated - Avril Lavigne
Addicted - A Simple Plan
Toxic - Britney Spears
Helena - My Chemical Romance
King Of Wishful Thinking - Go West

It distresses me a bit that I could keep going...

Don't Offer Him Decaf

Because I never get tired of these and neither should you, here is a Chuck Norris joke I received on my cell today from Cookie:

"Chuck Norris grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his rage."

The Greeters Do Nothing!

Consumers Beware: You are 400% more likely to be attacked at Wal-Mart than Target stores.

According to walmartcrimereport.org, that is.

50 Bonus points goes to the person who can tell me which Simpsons episode I'm referencing in this post's headline.

Pan's Labyrinth Review

HIGHS

• I've been a fan of Guillermo Del Toro's work for some time now, so when I heard about Pan's Labyrinth I was immediately excited even before seeing the excellent trailer. My expectations were not only met, they were exceeded. I think I remember reading a quote from Roger Ebert somewhere calling Pan's a "fairy tale for grown-ups." I think that's a very accurate way of summing it up. Pan's Labyrinth is a magical, violent, imaginative, heart-breaking work of art to behold.
• The fact that the film uses subtitles really worked to enhance the experience for me. I felt more like someone was telling me a story as I read along. The narrative is structured very much like a classic fable.
• I'm not familiar with many of the actors in the film, but they all suited their parts marvelously. The two actresses who played Ofelia and Mercedes were particularly outstanding.
• There are some fantastic character designs in the film that really add to the fantasy element. The costumes and cinematography were also top-notch. Pan's had a very modest budget- somewhere around the $5 million mark- but every single penny was put to good use.
• To put it bluntly, if you enjoy using your imagination and have an appreciation for fine film-making, Pan's Labyrinth is a wondrous experience.
  

LOWS

• The only possible low that could come of all this is if Pan's doesn't snag the Oscar for Best Foreign Film this year.

Torrey's Opinion:
5- Strongly Recommended
4- Recommended
3- A Mixed Bag
2- Sub-par
1- Don't Bother

Random related fact: Doug Jones, who plays both Pan and "The Pale Man" in the film, was also Abe Sapien in Del Toro's Hellboy film adaptation. Jones also played the lead Gentleman in my favorite episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer ever, "Hush." (You can probably guess who supplied the Joss Whedon-related portion of this.)

Now We'll Just Need To Get Our Hands On Some Plutonium...

Someone at the DeLorean Motor Company has a keen sense of humor. Click here and run a search for "flux." I especially like the item #.

Degrees Of Whedon

Cookie seems obsessed with tracing everything entertaining and good back to Joss Whedon these days, so I'm throwing down a challenge. Ms. Treible, I challenge you to link Uma Thurman to Joss Whedon using three people or less. Your challenge begins NOW! (or immediately following your reading this post)

You Don't Say

Take a look at this stunning bit of information I found today:

Studies going back over 50 years have repeatedly arrived at the same conclusion -- racists have lower IQs than non-racists.

(info from SAYAR at Penn State) Way to go, guys.

How Much Is Too Much?

Here's a little factoid I came across today:

If you stand on the corner of Regent Street and Wigmore Street in central London, you are within five miles of 164 Starbucks restaurants.

Jokes Made By Robots, For Robots

BY J. ALEX BOYD

- - - -

A rabbi, an Arab, a robot, and a Catholic priest walk into a bar. Only the robot exits.

A robot walks into a pharmacy. The pharmacist asks him if he'd like anything. The robot replies, "A soul."

How do you stop a robot from destroying you and the rest of civilization?
You don't.

"Waiter! Waiter! What's this robot doing in my soup?"
"It looks like he's performing human tasks twice as well, because he knows no fear or pain."

Knock knock.
Who's there?
A robot.
Oh, shit.

What's the difference between a regular robot and a killer robot?
The gnawing jeers of men.

What's a robot's favorite cereal?
Rob-os.
(Note: Rob-os are made of the tears of human children.)

Little Susie tosses a clock out the window. A robot inquires, "Why did you do that?" She replies, "I wanted to see time fly!" The robot says, "Ah ... A perfect subject for elimination," and shoots her with a laser beam through the face.

Why did the robot order a milkshake?
To blend in with the general human population, making it easier to infiltrate society and—in time—conquer it.

Why was six afraid of seven?
Because seven was a robot.

(thanks to Cookie for sharing this via gmail)

Children Of Men Review

HIGHS

• After seeing Y tu mamá también and the third Harry Potter, I knew Alfonso Cuarón was good. I had no idea he was this good. The direction of this film, both artistically and technically is beyond impressive. I was flat out astounded at what was achieved.
• I can't think of another movie that offers such a realistic look into the future. The landscape is so convincing that you find yourself never doubting their situation for a second. There have been other sci-fi movies that have done a respectable job portraying possible futures (Bladerunner, Minority Report, Waterworld, etc.) but for me COM takes the cake.

(I was just kidding about Waterworld. That movie is ridiculous.)

• I have not felt so emotionally jarred by a film since Schindler's List.
• Children Of Men contains what have to be the most amazing continuous shots (meaning the camera doesn't cut away as we travel throughout a scene) that have ever been done before. It is impossible to explain just how impressive they are; you have to see for yourself. I can't imagine the amount of prep work that went into these shots but the results are very literally jaw-dropping.
• Clive Owen has quickly become one of my favorite actors over the past few years. The man picks interesting and varied roles and does a superb job with them, always. He also has a very commanding screen presence.
• I am pretty certain that Children Of Men immediately made it into my Top 5 Favorite Films. That's after one viewing. It's just that good.
  

LOWS

• The fact that Children of Men has to be shown in the same building as Code Name: The Cleaner.

Torrey's Opinion:
5- Strongly Recommended
4- Recommended
3- A Mixed Bag
2- Sub-par
1- Don't Bother

Random related fact: For the first week of release at Leicester Square in London, there was a mistake on the cinema marquee, declaring the film title to be "Children of Me."

The Meaning Of Gibbing

If you think you know video games, take The Ultimate Game Quiz! (I scored 86%)

What's In A Name

I came across a thread containing a bunch of photoshopped images people had done giving various retail outlets alternative names. I chose a few of the better ones to share with you now...




This one is my personal fav...

Music For My Ears

Just because I'm in the mood to construct a list, here are the ten albums that get the most play on my ipod. As always, feel free to share your own list if it pleases you.

1. The Crane Wife - The Decemberists
2. Transatlanticism - Death Cab For Cutie
3. Twin Cinema - The New Pornographers
4. Electric President- Electric President
5. Funeral - The Arcade Fire
6. Picaresque - The Decemberists
7. Oh, Inverted World - The Shins
8. Antics - Interpol
9. Set Yourself On Fire - Stars
10. Summer In Abaddon - Pinback

Vodka Fixes Everything!

Good gravy, it's been a long time since I've posted on here!

Today I came across a website that has the results from every episode of MythBusters. Something informative AND fun!