Signs Taken for Wonders

10:50AM - In the news

Great. Now we have (another) Iranian nuclear crisis. And Greece's debt is threatening the euro.

On the more upbeat side of things, here's an article about an interesting "early college" program. It makes a lot of sense to me: For Students at Risk, Early College Proves a Draw

11:40AM - Corinne Bailey Rae - I'd Do It All Again

The first music video from "The Sea." Like I said in an earlier post, I'm very impressed with this album.

A word of explanation for the video: Rae's husband died in 2008, when he was 31. They'd been married for seven years. This is Rae's first album since his death.

11:28AM - 'Paris Nights / New York Mornings' by Corinne Bailey Rae on Q TV

I've been listening to Rae's new album & I really like it. Not a lot of music videos for it yet, so here's a TV performance of one of my favourite songs.

10:36AM - In far more positive news

Trace of Thought Is Found in ‘Vegetative’ Patient

At last, we may have a technique that could allow family members to communicate with comatose loved ones. Isn't this amazing?

10:40AM - More in the news

A new book about Henrietta Lacks, the woman whose cancer cells became the basis of a highly successful experimental cell strain, raises questions about ethics, race, and ownership: A Lasting Gift to Medicine That Wasn’t Really a Gift

Vaccine-Autism Study Is Retracted

Where to Eat in Vancouver, according to the Times. Of course I haven't eaten at any of these places.

12:09PM

Oscar nominations announced.

To me, the winners for the screenplay awards are really the ones to watch. Maybe because I write I have a bias towards story, or maybe it's because the ridiculous hype surrounding the Best Picture award leaves the screenplay awards unscathed so that they usually go to the movies that, y'know, deserve it. Either way, I've noticed that the films I usually think genuinely are the best films of the year tend to pick up screenplay awards from the Academy.

Who am I rooting for this year? So far, "Up in the Air" would be my personal pick for Best Picture. I'm going to watch "The Hurt Locker" this week, though. I'll let you know what I think.

11:38AM - Bale Out - VIDEO REMIX

Dear Amazon: to you, from Christian Bale.

10:34PM - Bad bookseller! Bad!

For those of you who have been following the latest AmazonFail! crisis, here's John Scalzi's astute analysis of all the things Amazon did wrong.

11:35AM - Entertainment news

RIP, Mirimax. Disney has closed down the famous art house distributor responsible for the art house Oscar runs of the 1990s. The Weinsteins continue elsewhere, of course, but Mirimax was synonymous with the unexpected success of films like "The English Patient," "Trainspotting," "Pulp Fiction," "Good Will Hunting," etc. It's the end of an era. Meanwhile, "Avatar" looks likely to win Best Picture. *sigh*

In directing news, James Bobin, co-creator of comedy series "Flight of the Conchords", will direct the new "The Muppets" movie, while the infamous "Caligula" Director is planning World's First 3D Porn Film. All of our prayers have been answered.

Meanwhile, in TV land, Hollywood is trying yet another 'La Femme Nikita' remake. What's the bet she does parkour in this one?

9:50AM

The problems with the Oscar foreign film category: Oscars Try to Navigate Through Babel

6:34PM - Heh. Thanks, dcm.

"Recently, in a large city in Australia, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said, "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

A middle-aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

"To Whom It May Concern,

Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans.) They have an active sex life, get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Bering Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia. Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don't exist.

( Read more... )

11:06AM - The very secret Diary of Aragorn

10:55AM - In the news

A sad article about what happens when radiation treatment goes wrong: Radiation Offers New Cures, and Ways to Do Harm

10:36AM - The Very Secret Diary of Legolas

9:35AM - Yoinked from sarcastibich

The 'true story' of how Dr. King kept Uhura on Star Trek

7:46PM - For those of you who like your art, well, funnier

Yoinked from d_aulnoy: That's Priceless!

1:00PM - Entertainment News

Dear birdy: I think Tim Burton makes movies just to please you. Tim Burton is considering a Wicked-stye take on Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent for his next project.

Meanwhile, Disney has begun filming "John Carter of Mars", hopefully making it easier for future!Me to explain what "pulp" is to my students.

And in Horrifying American Remake News of the Week we learn that an American remake of "Torchwood" is in development.

8:29PM

*Avatar* won the "Best Picture, Drama" category at the Golden Globes? Come on.

1:37PM

Q. What are the best charities to donate to in order to help out Haiti?

10:44AM - Entertainment News

Much as I love Supes, I'm not sure how I feel about this: Supernatural may have 6th season. If there's anything that Buffy has taught me, it's that sometimes its better to end with your 5 year arc.

Elsewhere in TV land, Showtime is to replace "The Tudors" with "The Borgias," starring Jeremy Irons. "The Borgias" I can totally get behind. I'm less fond of Irons, though.

Meanwhile, in the world of film: Sony has split with Sam Raimi over Spiderman 4, will reboot franchise without Tobey Maguire & Raimi. Dudes. It's way too soon for a "Spiderman" reboot.

In other WTF news, Zemeckis is remaking the Beatles' Yellow Submarine for some reason. Tim Burton's Yellow Submarine I'd be interested in. But Zemeckis?