Sci Fi Films

Don't Remake These 21 Movies, Film These Books Instead! - Movies - io9:

"Instead of remaking Escape From New York...
Apparently the script for this remake by Allan Loeb is really quite clever, and this time around Snake Plissken's rescuing a female senator (instead of the president) from the walled-off Manhattan. The banter is said to be razor-sharp, and New Line Cinema is putting this on the fast track.
...Film Glasshouse by Charles Stross instead.
Why has none of Stross' brilliant novels been filmed yet? In any case, Glasshouse is one of his best, and it's a brilliant portrayal of a town that's also a dystopian prison, where the people are tagged. Another good alternative is Catherine Fischer's Incarceron, but that's already becoming a movie."

I second this. Glasshouse was such a wonderful read and basing it on a panopticon is awesome.

Has anyone played this?

And are there zombies involved?

Figure Skating?

Manwhores, Gays, And Pantomimed Couch Lifting - Ballsdeep - Deadspin:

"If there is ever an active gay athlete in pro sports, it'll never be in football (too many players, too many control freak coaches who don't want to deal with it), or baseball. It'll be in basketball. Because the teams are smaller, so there are less teammates to win over. And, if the gay player is crazy talented, the team will support him because there are only a finite number of superstar players. I'd expect that to happen sometime around the year 3498."

I still find her fascinating.

Five Insightful Insights From the Hipster Grifter - Hipster grifter - Gawker:

"From Constantine Koutsoutis: 'How much did it cost you to get Gawker to do this?'
KF: 'My dignity.'
We Say: The price was the same for all of us."

Caprica

As many of you may know, I had an autistic devotion to Battlestar Galatica.

Recently, the prequel to the series launched on SyFy, (episodes are available on Hulu) and I have mixed feelings about it, however, now that James Marsters is joining the cast, I may be watching with renewed interest.

Like BSG, there is a weekly podcast which describes the making of the episode as well as providing some interests bits of history regarding the universe in which the characters are living.

I am willing to give this show more of a chance, however, I have been disappointed by Dollhouse and Flash Forward. Television is not life.

Liz Phair's Flower

NB: Exile in Guyville is one of my favorite albums of all time.  It is entirely listenable and it...makes me happy.
Flower is one of the songs on the album is NOT RADIO FRIENDLY. (Check it out on YouTube)

Just as an example, here's a sample of some of the lyrics:
I just want your fresh, young jimmy 
Turning, slamming, ramming in me 
Everytime I see your face I think of things unpure, unchaste 
I want to fuck you like a dog 
I'll take you home and make you like it 

Now someone has made a cleaned up version of this song.
Blasphemy!

(Via The Awl)

Amazing

Roy Ashburn ARRESTED: Anti-Gay State Sen. Got DUI After Leaving Gay Nightclub, Sources Say: "Early Wednesday morning, State Sen. Roy Ashburn (R-Calif.) was pulled over and arrested for drunk driving. Sources report that Ashburn -- a fierce opponent of gay rights -- was driving drunk after leaving a gay nightclub; when the officer stopped the state-issued vehicle, there was an unidentified man in the passenger seat of the car."

Rep. Mark Foley and Sen. Larry Craig both voiced their support for Sen. Ashburn.

Amazing

Roy Ashburn ARRESTED: Anti-Gay State Sen. Got DUI After Leaving Gay Nightclub, Sources Say: "Early Wednesday morning, State Sen. Roy Ashburn (R-Calif.) was pulled over and arrested for drunk driving. Sources report that Ashburn -- a fierce opponent of gay rights -- was driving drunk after leaving a gay nightclub; when the officer stopped the state-issued vehicle, there was an unidentified man in the passenger seat of the car."

In other news, Sen. Ashburn is considering joining forces with Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho...though not for work.

Ghosts of Presidents Past

Funny or Die's Presidential Reunion from Will Ferrell

In support of the Main Street Brigade, which is arguing for the CFPA, which Sen. Dodd wants to make part of the Federal Reserve.

Fascinating

A wonderful book about the Planet of the Apes films as a overview of race relations in the United States.

(Google Books)

Worth the read

Bipartisanship and your health : The New Yorker: "Orwell’s position on the House and Senate health-care bills is unknown, but, like Camus, he was a lifelong democratic socialist (he was a member of the Independent Labour Party, which regarded regular Labourites as wishy-washy) and, as such, a big fan of government-run health care."

The Senate and Hypocrisy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Rachel Maddow on Sen. Hatch and his hypocrisy related to his op-ed piece in the Washington Post regarding the use of reconciliation.

Sen. Gillibrand & DADT

Sen. Gillibrand's statement on DADT.

New Music

Broken Bells - The High Road



I have become obsessed with this over the past week, and I have to thank Dana for the suggestion.

The Latest in Safe Sex Ads

NSFW



Thanks to Alainn Sorcha who found it on Salon.com.

By the way, I have no clue what Arabian Goggles are and I never thought about elephants in quite that way.

Oh, and yes, this is what we talk about when a bunch of guys sit around.

Go Goodhair Go!

Didn't someone want to see the headline, "Perry dominates in Three-way"?

‘Yes’ for Texas Governor Perry Over Senator Hutchison Is ‘No’ to Washington - NYTimes.com: "In the past, the voters who come out for Republican primaries have proved to be from the most conservative wing of the party, and this year the party placed several nonbinding resolutions on the ballot that motivated them to show up, among them a measure urging mandatory sonograms for women seeking abortions and another allowing the word “God” and the Ten Commandments to be displayed on public buildings."

This was the plot of Hoosiers, right?

Indiana Hazing Scandal Proves High School Kids Are Still Obnoxious - high school basketball - Deadspin: "Carmel High School's basketball Senior Day was ruined—ruined!—by shameless tabloid reporters snooping around in the stands for salacious gossip. Oh, and the fact that three of the four seniors were kicked off the team for alleged forceable sodomy."

FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: The Difference Six Years Make

FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: The Difference Six Years Make: "Those qualifiers aside, in 10 of the top 12 Senate race states, Democrats are in a better registration situation today than they were going into the 2004 elections. The two exceptions—Arkansas and Kentucky--are not particularly surprising, given that they include many of those 22 percent of the counties nationally where Obama underperformed relative to John Kerry in 2004."

All We Have Is a Blind Governor

California's Debt: Now Riskier Than Kazakhstan's - And A Bigger Worry Than Greece?: "Just how dangerous is California's budget crisis?

Extremely dangerous, according to two recent evaluations of California's debt by financial industry insiders.

California's debt is seen by investors as riskier than Kazakhstan's, according to Bloomberg News."

The Sandpit

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

Via The Awl

Beautiful and haunting and something that I am very glad that I took the time to watch.

Song for a Sunday

Liz Phair

What Makes You Happy