Michael Moorcock is one of the basic architects of the crumbling Piranesi-like structure that is my brain. As a teenager I was a major major Elric fan. Give a skinny albino nobleman a massive black parasitic sword, and there is really nothing I don’t want to know about what happens next. During that period of my life I was not absolutely …
Apps & Web
Something Else That Is Like the Matrix
Every time I write a non-search-engine-friendly headline, a little piece of our Internet consultants’ soul dies. The Jeopardy response to that headline would be: What is the Daybreakers trailer?
In Which I Finally Read The Dark Is Rising
When I was little there was a sort of hierarchy among kids who self-identified as ‘clever.’ Which was code for ‘we suck at sports and have no other source of self-esteem.’ We would try to impress each other by reading clever books. Or by lying and saying we’d read clever books when we hadn’t. One of the books I used to lie and said I’d …
A Fake Interview with Steve Hely
Steve Hely is both a comedy writer (American Dad!) and a real writer (How I Became a Famous Novelist). As you can see from this piece he wrote in The Believer, Steve’s mind is rich with loving observations of the many terriblenesses of book-writing. I wanted to interview this hot young talent for the Nerd World blog, but what with the …
Monday Afternoon Video Amusement x2
Four minutes forty-one seconds from 9, a movie (apparently) about animated bean-bag dolls just tryin’ to get by in a post-apocalyptic cyber-wasteland. Sackboy, man, you gotta call your agent:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZXGTWQz6is&hl=en&fs=1&]
Elijah Wood, actin’ up a storm. OK, next, this Buffy/Twilight mashup, which …
Nerd Ephemera: 1984-ish
Actual Letter Retrieved From Grandparents’ Files, Reprinted Verbatim:
Dear Grandma and Grandpa,
Thank you for the beautiful grey shirt with the while collar and the luxurious dark grey sweater with the colored stripes. Remember the fifty dollars you have me for Hanuka? Well I spent part of it on some great beige pants. I spent …
Ten Best iPhone Apps for Dad
Dads may be sweet and uncomplaining, but they’re also impossible to buy presents for. But if your dad has an iPhone, we’ve got you covered with our guide to the perfect apps for fathers of all ages. Some are even free. Not that …
The 2012 Trailer is Apocalicious
It is a sign of the apocalypse in the Mayan calendar that when Roland Emmerich actually releases an awesome movie about the apocalypse, things are pretty much over. And behooooold:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz86TsGx3fc&hl=en&fs=1&]
And lo, the giraffes will be borne aloft by helicopters! And Oliver Platt will be an …
Confessions of an Execrable Imbecile
Longtime Simpsons writer and world-class hilarious person Mike Reiss responds to critical reaction to his latest movie:
I wrote a sweet little romantic comedy called My Life in Ruins. It was about a bus tour of Greece, and had big laughs, gorgeous scenery, and a simple message: don’t judge others too harshly.
One critic called …
Nicholas Meyer’s Star Trek Memoir
Meyer, you may or may not remember, directed and co-wrote Wrath of Khan and Undiscovered Country and co-wrote Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Now he’s written a memoir called The View From the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood. The book is out in August, but I have an advance copy here that I’ve been thumbing …
No Commentary Needed, Really
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UqFPujRZWo&hl=en&fs=1&]
I’m a monster. Rawr!
Guillermo del Toro and Some Other Guy’s THE STRAIN: Gross Vampires!
I will actually be doing regular blogging this week. Last week I had to go to Seattle. Then I was at BEA, which is the big publishing ho-down. But this week I will be functioning normally.
The trailer for the new Twilight movie is up. You might just want to skip straight to :45, since the first part is just about mushy feelings. Then …