The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas, Austin has a fabulous archive of Mike Wallace interviews. The level of intelligence on display and the depth of the conversation makes you really appreciate just how smart tv used to be. Some of my favorites include his interview with Frank Lloyd Wright, Salvador Dali, and the stripper Lili St. Cyr. Ex-smoker’s beware, however, he smokes the whole show through!
I have a total crush on Sarah Haskins from Current TV’s infoMania. You should go there and watch all her videos. But just to get you started, here’s her take on Disney Princesses.
You likes your Johnny Cash? You likes your Bob Dylan? Aquarium Drunkard has a terrific set of music that finds Cash & Dylan playing together. Two great tastes that taste great together.
And finally, one of my favorite authors ever has a really fun story that combines HP Lovecraft’s Cthullu mythos with the Sherlock Holmes characters . . . and the audio version, read by Gaiman himself, is FREE! I should warn you though, that once you hear Gaiman reading his own work, you are going to want to hear more. In addition to being a great writer, he is a wonderful reader of stories. I have several of his books as Audiobooks and he’s nearly spoiled me when it comes to audio fiction.
First up, the depressing news that America, land of the free and home of the brave, ranks 36th among nations for the freedom of the press:
The United States is ranked 36th in the world in terms of press freedom, up from 48th last year, according to a report released Wednesday by Reporters Sans Frontieres.
The US is tied with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, South Africa, Spain, and Taiwan in the 36th spot. Iceland, Luxembourg, and Norway are tied for first. Iran, China, Vietnam, Cuba, and North Korea are all featured among the ten lowest-ranked countries.
[From United States Ranked 36th In The World For Press Freedom]
Now, the good news is that we have moved up in our ranking from 48 last year. Still, the fact that we aren’t even in the top ten is disconcerting.
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On an entirely different note, check out this Tuvan Throat Singing Hip-Hop song video from Ralph Leighton. If you like, check out the Boing Boing post
Briefly (because I need to go to bed), Christian Bale is great as Batman, but he does have a tendency to make his “Batman” voice all dark and gravelly like he’s trying to talk in a particular dark and brooding kind of font. I seem to remember is was obvious in the last film, but there were a few moments in The Dark Knight when I thought he was going a bit too far with it. Apparently so did others who had the time and talent for this:
According to some people, there are only 36 basic story plots that just get reused. Others say there are merely 20. Some people even say there’s only one plot, but they probably just watch too many Michael Bay movies. I like the theory that there are only seven plots. It’s a nice round number, and the plots are vague enough that you can shoehorn anything from Citizen Kane to a cereal commercial into them.
In the spirit of oversimplifying things so that you can smugly shove human endeavors into pre-labeled slots, I’d like to present my own, contemporary take on this premise: the Seven Basic Blog Posts.
Go, read, recognize the truth of our sad, self-referential virtual existence. Then laugh, and link to it on your own blog!
The chain, sadly, does not remain unbroken. But I’m averaging exercise five times a week. Sometimes the gym, sometimes getting off at Dekalb Ave & walking, briskly, home, sometimes doing aerobics at home, and sometimes going for a walk up to Prospect Park. While I do not have an unbroken chain of Xs on my calender, I do have the majority of days marked off and am feeling good about it.
I have started a new short story, tentatively entitled "The Empty Space." In under a week, I've written almost 3000 words and while there are some tricky elements to the story, I'm feeling good about getting it going and pretty certain that I'll see it through. It's the first in a planned series of stories that combine science fiction and theatre history/critical theory. The idea came to me when I sent this bio into the Drabblecast as I was submitting a story:
<blockquote>Living the American Dream, [LtL] is in debt and living beyond his means on a daily basis. Starting his own podcast at <a title="Letters to Lost Friends" href="http://letterstolostfriends.com">letterstolostfriends.com</a>, trying to get freelance work as a <a title="LtL Sound Design" href="http://ltlsounds.com">sound designer</a>, and coming up with cunning plans to avoid working for "The Man," he expects to somehow pay off all his debt a few years after he dies. In the meantime, his plans include moving to New Mexico, reading Marx's <span style="font-style: italic;">Kapital</span>, attempting a vision quest, and writing a huge science fiction epic based on theatre history and critical theory (that Master's degree has to come in handy somehow).</blockquote>
Maybe I'll get a corner on the underserved theatre history/cricital theory/science fiction market.
I received a card in the mail today from New England Reunions. This year marks 20 years since I graduated high school.
Oh my god.
No. I mean, no. I mean, really no, it can’t be.
Ah but it is. Age happens, my friend, age happens.
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Speaking of age, if you were a teen during the 80s, if you were slightly on the nerd/geek side of things, if you like podcasts, MerlinMann, Jonathan Hodgeman, or obscure humor that borders on the banal, you should subscribe to the new podcast called “You Look Nice Today.” Sometimes scatological, sometimes clever, sometimes stupid, yet always amusing. Go ahead, the first hit is free:
But one man’s problem is a nation’s opportunity. Has any scientist
researched the practicality of replacing coal-fired power plants with
new versions fueled by a never-ending supply of dog hair? Other
promising possibilities: (1) automotive fuel additive (great
opportunity for catchy brand name – Petkinol, Labrodiesel, or
PetroK-9); (2) compressed pellets for use as mail padding to reduce
styrofoam production; (3) wall and attic insulation (marketing slogan –
“Turns your home into your second-best friend”).
