Great. What’s the visual equivalent of an earworm?

Thanks to Glenn Reynolds, I’ve got Tremors stuck in my head. Ever see it? It was one of those movies where a bunch of actors did a better job than they were really supposed to with a script that was just a touch better than it had any right being and a plot that was remarkably fresh for being in a can for forty years. I say this with all love and affection: it’s rare that I get to see a movie that combines the Cthulhu Mythos (sorta) with automatic weapons fire.

The sequels, of course, pretty much sucked… oh, God help us all, but they made it into a television show.

The inappropriate casting decisions for Foundation thread.

I was alerted that Hollywood’s going to do Foundation – which will, of course, suck: but it probably won’t suck epically, so we’re going to have to help them with that.  I’ll start: the director?  Tim Burton.  It’s not that Burton’s bad; it’s just that Burton is all wrong for Isaac Asimov.

Feel free to chime in with your own suggestions for casting: the only rule is that the choice either has to be hilariously wrong, or fascinatingly wrong.

A better man would not mention the Joaquin Phoenix rapping thing.

After all, judging from some of the stuff that Phoenix supposedly did to get into his parts in Walk the Line and The Village*, he might be involved in something pretty deep, here. A decent man wouldn’t mock that – or the other possibility, which involves recreational chemicals.

I am not that man.

(non-linkable h/t my fellow-RS Contributor Paul Cella)

Apropos of nothing, Pat Boone must thank God every day that the Internet wasn’t really around when he started out doing heavy metal covers.

Moe Lane

*I don’t want to know what he did to get into his role in Gladiator.

Spirit Airlines did *what*?

So, let’s review the bidding.

  • You and your friend are flying to Myrtle Beach to do some golfing.  Sounds like fun; have a good time!
  • Oops!  Your regular carrier cancels your flight!  Well, that’s all right: they get you a flight on another airline.  So, you fly off…
  • …and your plane promptly loses both engines because of a flock of what were likely geese*.  And, oh, look, there’s the Hudson River.
  • Fortunately, your captain today is Chesley B. Sullenberger III, who proceeds to demonstrate that he’s just that good.  So you manage to actually walk away from a forced water landing in the middle of winter.  Don’t buy any more lottery tickets, by the way – and look both ways while crossing the street from now on.  You’ve used up your quota of luck for a while.
  • All of this means that you never actually make it to Myrtle Beach.
  • And so, when you eventually get around to calling your original carrier to cancel your return trip, guess what happens?

That’s right!  Spirit Airlines charges you a $90 cancellation fee! See also here.

(pause)

You know, in some cultures the response to this would be to lock the customer service representative in a room with a gun and expect him to do the honorable thing.  I’m not saying that this is the right solution – but it’s probably the one that Spirit Airlines might end up wishing that it could pursue… Continue reading Spirit Airlines did *what*?

In which I glom onto the electronic publishing RPG craze.

You may have noted that I’ve put up the fact in the sidebar that I’m part of the Drive Thru RPG affiliate program. These guys do PDF publishing, which is actually a pretty handy way to get access to roleplaying game material that’s: a, obscure; b, out of print; or c, privately generated. I bought my copy of Ken Hite’s Dubious Shards there (very good combination of analysis of the Cthulhu Mythos, with a Delta Green adventure added in); I’ll probably pick up Tour de Lovecraft if/when I ever get the money together to get away with buying it.

Also, check out e23, which is Steve Jackson Games‘ own electronic publishing store.  I don’t see anything from that, but it’s got a lot of good stuff in it anyway.

A useful corrective, for us political types.

I’m not saying that Randy Milholland is precisely normal – he’d probably be offended if I suggested that – but he may not be completely incorrect, here.

Something Positive needs some better sharing options, though. Just saying. The way that Achewood and xkcd set things up is pretty good.

So, who will this tick off more?

I’m thinking that they may need to get the camera out for this one.

Obama Reaches Out for McCain’s Counsel

WASHINGTON — Not long after Senator John McCain returned last month from an official trip to Iraq and Pakistan, he received a phone call from President-elect Barack Obama.

As contenders for the presidency, the two had hammered each other for much of 2008 over their conflicting approaches to foreign policy, especially in Iraq. (He’d lose a war! He’d stay a hundred years!) Now, however, Mr. Obama said he wanted Mr. McCain’s advice, people in each camp briefed on the conversation said. What did he see on the trip? What did he learn?

[snip]

Over the last three months, Mr. Obama has quietly consulted Mr. McCain about many of the new administration’s potential nominees to top national security jobs and about other issues — in one case relaying back a contender’s answers to questions Mr. McCain had suggested.

Mr. McCain, meanwhile, has told colleagues “that many of these appointments he would have made himself,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and a close McCain friend.

Continue reading So, who will this tick off more?

Support your local Morris dancer.

Seriously, they’re worried about keeping the practice going.

Morris dancers urge young to strap on the bells

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s morris dancers, renowned for bells on knees, colored rags and flower-bedecked hats, are launching a recruitment drive to convince young people that their stick-slapping art form is not a thing of the past.

The folk revival of the 1960s and 1970s, spearheaded by artists like Bob Dylan, led to a surge in interest in morris dancing in Britain.

But dancers who started out then are now in their 60s and often unable or unwilling to try and keep up with the accordion music.

Continue reading Support your local Morris dancer.

What republics *really* can’t survive happening: proscription lists.

I cannot believe that the Democrats would elect a House Speaker that doesn’t know this in her bones.

Which is why I’m nonplussed on why Nancy Pelosi’s playing with fire, here. Via Ace of Spades HQ:

Pelosi Open to Prosecution of Bush Administration Officials

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is receptive to the idea of prosecuting some Bush administration officials, while letting others who are accused of misdeeds leave office without prosecution, she told Chris Wallace in an interview on “FOX News Sunday.”

“I think you look at each item and see what is a violation of the law and do we even have a right to ignore it,” the California Democrat said. “And other things that are maybe time that is spent better looking to the future rather than to the past.”

Continue reading What republics *really* can’t survive happening: proscription lists.

If you’re looking for a handy resource on “dinosaur/prehistoric gaming”…

…and really, who among us is not? – Anyway, I suggest that you check out this post by Yours in a White Wine Sauce!, which appears to be a site that’s all about the Vernian–Wellsian–Castle Falkenstein flavor of steampunk.

No, there’s more than one flavor to the genre.  For example, compare the above to, say, The Difference Engine…