All quiet on the Southern front
A Breaking Dawn followup: I have had no flames on the recaps at all, which has terrified me because I'm just assuming that I will get them eventually, and the hey-it-hurts is only going to multiply the longer it takes them to get here, so I keep trying to imagine what's holding the Hater Brigade up, and all I can think is that maybe they're taking a page from Aro's playbook and taking a month to mobilize or something. You know, let's make sure we organize this, stock up on the Haterade, get babysitters for the kids, alphabetize our sweater sets, whatever. And then I started browsing the comments at shinga's Twilight recaps, just out of curiosity, and I think I've figured out what it is (because she got plenty of visits from the Brigade): I have anonymous commenting disabled. I've had it disabled for years, actually. (I can't believe I can say that I've done anything on this journal "for years." But there it is.) I guess only the most dedicated 1% of Twihards is willing to actually create a sockpuppet account, and even that is so exhausting that they can't muster anything more virulent than "Please do not ever mention Twilight again" once they get here, which is what happened before. Which I am perfectly cool with, by the way.
(Maybe I've also dodged the Hater Brigade because I can rarely bring myself to snark on something at length unless I have some kind of genuine enthusiasm for it? And that enthusiasm comes through even when I'm bagging on something? This is the reason I will not be doing a Brisingr recap later this year, by the way. [Also, because I keep wanting to pronounce it "Brisingr...uh?"] The only enthusiasm I have ever been able to muster for Eragon was "Hey! Let's look at the costumes in the movie, because I love costumes! AND ALSO, THEY MAKE NO SENSE.")
(If you go to the Eragon costume link, by the way, please be advised that the "I have not seen the movie" statement is now outdated. I have seen it--on cable--and let me tell you, it manages to be even worse than screencaps alone were able to indicate.)
Linkspam!
Hayes, 'Shaft' singer and disco presage, dies; More than 'Shaft': Hayes was goldmine of influence; Isaac Hayes: Remembering a giant.
Friends, Colleagues Pay Tribute to Bernie Mac; Bernie Mac's family expected him to pull through; Bernie Mac's realness endeared him to everyone.
The Curse Of Billy Bob Thornton Overtakes 'Dark Knight' Curse In Hollywood Death Toll; Is Samuel L. Jackson Next in the Celebrity Death Trilogy? SHUT YOUR MOUTH.
Hugo Winners Named; Michael Chabon's Validation as Sci-Fi Author Complete; This year's Hugo-nominated stories as podcasts (including the winner!); The Hugos! The Parties! The Glamour!
More literary events: Spider Robinson and Ben Bova win the Heinlein Award; Sidewise Winners Announced; Report from PEN's Silenced Writers Event.
'Y: The Last Man,' the triumphal last volume of a fantastic graphic novel.
ursulav is Oprah-approved!
Squeeze fruit seeds, get fuel; My biofuel road trip: Hot as hell, eco-friendly; Diesel lion leaves carbon footprint.
Rolling Stone shrinks to standard size.
It Had to Be Done: Barack Roll.
'Lost': Season 5 premiere scoop; Lost Stars Mull New Deals. Isn't Charlie Sheen currently the highest-paid actor on television? Yeah. You can throw Foxy a little more cash.
Watch The 'Heroes' Scenes The Strike Rescued You From.
'True Blood' Preview and Interview with Creator Alan Ball.
Has Russell T Davies Destroyed The Daleks?
Steampunk PC from Datamancer: The Archbishop.
The Best and Worst of the Olympics Opening Ceremony; Roger Ebert Reviews the Olympics; 'Daily Show' reporter goes to China.
Frodo wanders into a music video.
Via padawansguide: My little Dr. Horrible pony.
New jewelry at Sweet Romance, where sometimes I just go to stare lovingly.
Fall 2008 preview at the new Tonner Doll blog! (Oh, wow, their Luna Lovegood doll is really good.) I did start to panic when I read that they had a Sleeping Beauty, but... really, I don't know that any SB doll can improve on the Disney/Barbie one from several years back. Excuse me while I go snuggle mine.
Nollywood (Nigerian movie biz) captured in Pieter Hugo's photos.
Hollywood Miscalculations: 5 Famous Actors and the Roles They Turned Down.
Images: Beautiful 'Princess and the Frog' Concept Art from Disney; First Look: Jake Gyllenhaal in 'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'; Four More Star Trek Posters: Sulu, Scotty, Chekov, McCoy; First Creepy Stills from Aronofsky's 'The Wrestler' (MICKEY ROURKE NOOOOO); EXCLUSIVE: 'Lakeview Terrace' Photos.
Trailers and clips: 'Watchmen' Video Journal #5; First Three Minutes of 'Mirrors' Clip Online--But is It Haunted, Like How Mirrors Are Haunted???; Exclusive 'Death Race' Clip; Vin Diesel's Sci-Fi Roots - Two 'Babylon A.D.' TV Spots; A Depressing, Star-Studded Trailer for 'Fireflies in the Garden'; Join 'Phoebe in Wonderland.'
Your dailyish dose of Twilight crazy, whether you want it or not: The Fandom Wank WTF Lexicon of Twilight, or, Everything I Know About Twilight I Learned from Boggling Over It in a Communal Fashion (or everything they learned, rather; I learned it all the hard damn way); Twatlympics cause Twilight Moms board to close for the weekend; it's just not an apocalypse without a petition; Laurell K. Hamilton's assistant joins the fray... twice. And from Publisher's Weekly: Breaking Trust?
Aaaaand then MTV turns on Twilight: Move Over ‘Twilight’ Chocolate, Check Out The New ‘Harry Potter’ Candy (O THE STING OF BETRAYAL). Includes the following paragraph:Unicorn Droppings - “It tasted a lot better than you would think unicorn s- would taste like,” Tim Kash laughed. Once you get past the disturbing name - and the “initially overpowering sourness,” as Jem put it, people thought they were “pretty tasty.”
Unicorn shit. They threw over Twilight for unicorn shit.
Dude! Batman higher than stoners at box office; 'Dark Knight' Continues Argument That No Other Movies Should Exist ("You can almost see the guys down at Swing Vote HQ: 'God, Batman again!? We could've been eighth!'"); Some Production Art for 'The Dark Knight'; 5 Villains Batman Should - But Won't - Face In The Next Movie; Joss Whedon Talks About His ‘Batman’ Movie That Never Was; Fan Made: Batman and Joker as Simpsons Characters.
'Tropic Thunder' Boycott Planned?; 'Tropic Thunder' Director/Star Ben Stiller Says Disability Advocates' Planned Boycott Is Unwarranted. 1) I haven't seen the movie, obviously, but it sounds like they're trying more to make fun of the way Hollywood treats mental disability (as a ticket to an Oscar, etc.). 2) Has anyone considered the possibility that this is a giant conspiracy to make sure that The Dark Knight stays number one at the box office?
(No? Just me, then?)
George Lucas Explains Why Familar Voices Won’t Return For ‘Clone Wars’; Vengeful George Lucas Crushes Critic Opposed to 'Stinky the Hutt.' Asked and answered!
800-Word Harry Potter Prequel Sells 10,000 Copies in First 24 Hours; Is Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak Becoming a Reality?; 'Harry Potter' plot holes...in easily digestible cartoon form.
Imagi Revives DreamWorks' 'Tusker.'
Paul Greengrass Directing 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'?
George Clooney to Take on Osama Bin Laden's Driver?
Chris Columbus Sets a Course for RFK Biopic. Yeah. This is going to turn out well.
Rumor: Billy Bob Thornton as Freddy Krueger?! I am preserving this headline's punctuation out of sheer agreement.
Exclusive: Brian Cox Sees 'Red.'
'Night at the Museum' and 'Transformers' Sequels Locked for IMAX.
James Franco Sells Weed to Famous Friends on ‘Pineapple Express’ DVD.
Adrian Grenier Nabs a Bunch of Celebs for New Paparazzi Doc.
A Brief Look at the Technological Advancements in James Cameron's 'Avatar.'
Paul Rudd Quashes ‘Ghostbuster’ Rumors BUT Says ‘I Would Do It In A Second.’
David Goyer's 'The Invisible Man' Going Steampunk!
The Quick 10: 10 Things 300 Didn’t Tell You.
'The Lodger' Redo Goes to DVD.
Megan Fox topless scene removed from 'Jennifer's Body,' plus first (bad) review.
This 'Mall Cop' Video is Going to Go So Viral You'll Need a Once-Daily Pill to Fight It; When Viral Marketing Proves Your Movie is Awful.
‘Anaconda 3’ Finally Brings Together David Hasselhoff And John Rhys-Davies. And let me tell you, it was a knock-down drag-out fight for the Uwe Boll Slot today.
(Maybe I've also dodged the Hater Brigade because I can rarely bring myself to snark on something at length unless I have some kind of genuine enthusiasm for it? And that enthusiasm comes through even when I'm bagging on something? This is the reason I will not be doing a Brisingr recap later this year, by the way. [Also, because I keep wanting to pronounce it "Brisingr...uh?"] The only enthusiasm I have ever been able to muster for Eragon was "Hey! Let's look at the costumes in the movie, because I love costumes! AND ALSO, THEY MAKE NO SENSE.")
(If you go to the Eragon costume link, by the way, please be advised that the "I have not seen the movie" statement is now outdated. I have seen it--on cable--and let me tell you, it manages to be even worse than screencaps alone were able to indicate.)
Linkspam!
Hayes, 'Shaft' singer and disco presage, dies; More than 'Shaft': Hayes was goldmine of influence; Isaac Hayes: Remembering a giant.
Friends, Colleagues Pay Tribute to Bernie Mac; Bernie Mac's family expected him to pull through; Bernie Mac's realness endeared him to everyone.
The Curse Of Billy Bob Thornton Overtakes 'Dark Knight' Curse In Hollywood Death Toll; Is Samuel L. Jackson Next in the Celebrity Death Trilogy? SHUT YOUR MOUTH.
Hugo Winners Named; Michael Chabon's Validation as Sci-Fi Author Complete; This year's Hugo-nominated stories as podcasts (including the winner!); The Hugos! The Parties! The Glamour!
More literary events: Spider Robinson and Ben Bova win the Heinlein Award; Sidewise Winners Announced; Report from PEN's Silenced Writers Event.
'Y: The Last Man,' the triumphal last volume of a fantastic graphic novel.
ursulav is Oprah-approved!
Squeeze fruit seeds, get fuel; My biofuel road trip: Hot as hell, eco-friendly; Diesel lion leaves carbon footprint.
Rolling Stone shrinks to standard size.
It Had to Be Done: Barack Roll.
'Lost': Season 5 premiere scoop; Lost Stars Mull New Deals. Isn't Charlie Sheen currently the highest-paid actor on television? Yeah. You can throw Foxy a little more cash.
Watch The 'Heroes' Scenes The Strike Rescued You From.
'True Blood' Preview and Interview with Creator Alan Ball.
Has Russell T Davies Destroyed The Daleks?
Steampunk PC from Datamancer: The Archbishop.
The Best and Worst of the Olympics Opening Ceremony; Roger Ebert Reviews the Olympics; 'Daily Show' reporter goes to China.
Frodo wanders into a music video.
Via padawansguide: My little Dr. Horrible pony.
New jewelry at Sweet Romance, where sometimes I just go to stare lovingly.
Fall 2008 preview at the new Tonner Doll blog! (Oh, wow, their Luna Lovegood doll is really good.) I did start to panic when I read that they had a Sleeping Beauty, but... really, I don't know that any SB doll can improve on the Disney/Barbie one from several years back. Excuse me while I go snuggle mine.
Nollywood (Nigerian movie biz) captured in Pieter Hugo's photos.
Hollywood Miscalculations: 5 Famous Actors and the Roles They Turned Down.
Images: Beautiful 'Princess and the Frog' Concept Art from Disney; First Look: Jake Gyllenhaal in 'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'; Four More Star Trek Posters: Sulu, Scotty, Chekov, McCoy; First Creepy Stills from Aronofsky's 'The Wrestler' (MICKEY ROURKE NOOOOO); EXCLUSIVE: 'Lakeview Terrace' Photos.
Trailers and clips: 'Watchmen' Video Journal #5; First Three Minutes of 'Mirrors' Clip Online--But is It Haunted, Like How Mirrors Are Haunted???; Exclusive 'Death Race' Clip; Vin Diesel's Sci-Fi Roots - Two 'Babylon A.D.' TV Spots; A Depressing, Star-Studded Trailer for 'Fireflies in the Garden'; Join 'Phoebe in Wonderland.'
Your dailyish dose of Twilight crazy, whether you want it or not: The Fandom Wank WTF Lexicon of Twilight, or, Everything I Know About Twilight I Learned from Boggling Over It in a Communal Fashion (or everything they learned, rather; I learned it all the hard damn way); Twatlympics cause Twilight Moms board to close for the weekend; it's just not an apocalypse without a petition; Laurell K. Hamilton's assistant joins the fray... twice. And from Publisher's Weekly: Breaking Trust?
Aaaaand then MTV turns on Twilight: Move Over ‘Twilight’ Chocolate, Check Out The New ‘Harry Potter’ Candy (O THE STING OF BETRAYAL). Includes the following paragraph:Unicorn Droppings - “It tasted a lot better than you would think unicorn s- would taste like,” Tim Kash laughed. Once you get past the disturbing name - and the “initially overpowering sourness,” as Jem put it, people thought they were “pretty tasty.”
Unicorn shit. They threw over Twilight for unicorn shit.
Dude! Batman higher than stoners at box office; 'Dark Knight' Continues Argument That No Other Movies Should Exist ("You can almost see the guys down at Swing Vote HQ: 'God, Batman again!? We could've been eighth!'"); Some Production Art for 'The Dark Knight'; 5 Villains Batman Should - But Won't - Face In The Next Movie; Joss Whedon Talks About His ‘Batman’ Movie That Never Was; Fan Made: Batman and Joker as Simpsons Characters.
'Tropic Thunder' Boycott Planned?; 'Tropic Thunder' Director/Star Ben Stiller Says Disability Advocates' Planned Boycott Is Unwarranted. 1) I haven't seen the movie, obviously, but it sounds like they're trying more to make fun of the way Hollywood treats mental disability (as a ticket to an Oscar, etc.). 2) Has anyone considered the possibility that this is a giant conspiracy to make sure that The Dark Knight stays number one at the box office?
(No? Just me, then?)
George Lucas Explains Why Familar Voices Won’t Return For ‘Clone Wars’; Vengeful George Lucas Crushes Critic Opposed to 'Stinky the Hutt.' Asked and answered!
800-Word Harry Potter Prequel Sells 10,000 Copies in First 24 Hours; Is Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak Becoming a Reality?; 'Harry Potter' plot holes...in easily digestible cartoon form.
Imagi Revives DreamWorks' 'Tusker.'
Paul Greengrass Directing 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'?
George Clooney to Take on Osama Bin Laden's Driver?
Chris Columbus Sets a Course for RFK Biopic. Yeah. This is going to turn out well.
Rumor: Billy Bob Thornton as Freddy Krueger?! I am preserving this headline's punctuation out of sheer agreement.
Exclusive: Brian Cox Sees 'Red.'
'Night at the Museum' and 'Transformers' Sequels Locked for IMAX.
James Franco Sells Weed to Famous Friends on ‘Pineapple Express’ DVD.
Adrian Grenier Nabs a Bunch of Celebs for New Paparazzi Doc.
A Brief Look at the Technological Advancements in James Cameron's 'Avatar.'
Paul Rudd Quashes ‘Ghostbuster’ Rumors BUT Says ‘I Would Do It In A Second.’
David Goyer's 'The Invisible Man' Going Steampunk!
The Quick 10: 10 Things 300 Didn’t Tell You.
'The Lodger' Redo Goes to DVD.
Megan Fox topless scene removed from 'Jennifer's Body,' plus first (bad) review.
This 'Mall Cop' Video is Going to Go So Viral You'll Need a Once-Daily Pill to Fight It; When Viral Marketing Proves Your Movie is Awful.
‘Anaconda 3’ Finally Brings Together David Hasselhoff And John Rhys-Davies. And let me tell you, it was a knock-down drag-out fight for the Uwe Boll Slot today.