stuff
The Watchmen revealed - Nite Owl, Ozymandias, Rorschach, Silk Spectre and the Comedian. Can you recognise Carla Gugino under that costume? I can't. [imdb]
David Simon talks to NPR about The Wire's finale season. And published in Time is the writers of The Wire's condemnation of the "war against drugs":
'What the drugs themselves have not destroyed, the warfare against them has. And what once began, perhaps, as a battle against dangerous substances long ago transformed itself into a venal war on our underclass. Since declaring war on drugs nearly 40 years ago, we've been demonizing our most desperate citizens, isolating and incarcerating them and otherwise denying them a role in the American collective. All to no purpose. The prison population doubles and doubles again; the drugs remain.'
David vs. David vs. David. Andrew Johnston, Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz debate which is the best TV drama of all time - The Wire, The Sopranos, or Deadwood - at The House Next Door.
Gossip Girl fans might find this amusing: Janet Malcolm reviews Cecily von Ziegesar's, on which the series is based, in the New Yorker.
Jeff Smith's Bone comic series has been acquired by Warner Bros. for a film. No decision has been made yet whether it will be animated, live-action or a combination of both. (Hollywood Reporter) [boneville]
Simon Hattenstone (Guardian) on Brian de Palma's controversial and award-winning pseudo-documentary Redacted, and the commercial failure of fims about Iraq. Reviews from Venice 2007. [imdb]
Interplanetary trade without the benefit of spice. (via)
A photojournalist falls in love with a female assassin. No, this is not the summary of a new TV drama! Jason P. Howe writes about his experiences in Colombia. (Independent)
January Magazine snap-shot on Beijing-born crime writer Diane Mei Liang, author of the Mei Wang mysteries series. Her debut novel was Eye of Jade.
Geoff Manaugh on the New Scientist article about insect-cyborgs used for surveillance:
'Will there ever be articles in New Scientist saying: "The next time you use a doorknob, it may not be a doorknob at all..." Or: "The next time you stay in a hotel room, it may not be a hotel room at all, but a top secret government research lab..." Is there an architectural paranoia? And, if so, what would the treatment be - walking tours of all the unmarked buildings downtown? Nights spent alone with your psychoanalyst in empty suburban houses?
'How does one treat an architectural affliction?'