Now YOU can be Wild Bill.

If you don't get the joke, you're lame.
posted by Gray at 12:55 PM | | link

I'm not sure how this slipped by me, but two of my favorite pieces of promo art from the past couple of years are by the same artist... Mr. Bill Sienkiewicz.

Bobby Digital
Good vs. Evil

(No, I'm not discovering him just now. I'm quite a fan of Mr. S's artwork -- from the covers for those old Starriors comics I have tucked away somewhere to last year's Sentry vs. Hulk book.)

Here's a bonus link to an amazing Superman piece.
posted by Gray at 2:01 AM | | link

Wow, I know that I've complained about the Eclipse commercial with the pop-lockin' chica before (check the archives), but there's actually a very cool video for the track ("Days Go By" by Dirty Vegas). It's got breakdancing. And...and that's it! Just a guy breakdancing. It doesn't get much better.

Maybe if they could have gotten Salma to just stand there while he danced. That would work for me.
posted by Gray at 1:24 AM | | link

Please, everyone...can't we all work together to save little Jessica?
posted by Gray at 5:17 PM | | link

Watching The A-Team reruns on TNT with the score to Bram Stoker's Dracula playing over it transforms the show into some sort of bad-assed holy war-sounding epic.
posted by Gray at 4:16 PM | | link

I would guess that whoever stole Lemmy's hat is going to soon be in a world of hurt.
posted by Gray at 2:51 PM | | link

Again I say...I can't wait for Star Wars Galaxies to come out. I think it will be very cool. There's an interesting story about it in WIRED regarding the eventual dispersed ownership of the Star Wars mythos in a world where (possibly) millions of people are running around in the living Star Wars universe.

Worth a read if you like Star Wars or RPGs (role-playing games, not rocket-propelled grenades, though I'm not discriminating against Soviet anti-tank weapons afficionados).

And, on a related note, check out Lucas' initial plot for Star Wars. [ link ]
posted by Gray at 5:58 PM | | link

...and what kind of commando stealth effort is it going to take to get Maury Povich off my TV? DAMNit... I pass by and hear the entire crowd yelling, and Maury's introducing a bunch of are-they-girls / are-they-guys in swimsuits. Damn you Maury. Damn you to Hell. You are not entertainment.

This crap won't die, but The Job got cancelled? Yeah, America's smart, alright.
posted by Gray at 10:07 AM | | link

What must we do to defeat Ja Rule and end his reign of terror?
posted by Gray at 2:38 AM | | link

I watched Blood: The Last Vampire tonight. A short, but visually impressive anime. I read some criticisms of the story afterwards @ imdb, and yeah, there wasn't too much to it, but I dug it. I thought it had a just-mysterious-enough X-Files-kinda vibe to it. A nice, quick thrill-ride with a cool-looking mix of CGI and traditional.

*looks up at TV*
*notices Duane Barry on screen*
...freaky.
posted by Gray at 1:49 AM | | link

In muting the car dealership commercial that interrupted The Simpsons just now, I heard a couple of seconds and learned that there's a carpimp here in Atlanta called "John E. Cash"... and that is just wrong. I don't care how sick Johnny is, he could still come beat that guy's hinder to defend the honor of his name.

Ahh...the show's back on. The "Behind the Laughter" episode rules.

Encyclopedia Selfdestructica! HA!
posted by Gray at 6:42 PM | | link

Have you ever wanted to make a fleet of tiny, tiny Star Wars ships out of LEGO, but lacked only the inspiration? LACK NO MORE!
posted by Gray at 4:59 PM | | link

EGAD! Only click here if you want to see a scary freakin' born-with-no-feathers Israeli chicken.
posted by Gray at 9:47 AM | | link

The Xbox just isn't going to win this console war. I think that is apparent. Sure, it's powerful, but it's also expensive to make and lacking in any real must-have titles if you ask this white boy.

Here's an article by someone who agrees. [ link ]
posted by Gray at 11:55 PM | | link

Well, from what I've heard, the Downtown Rocks free concert series may not even happen, but if it does, they've got a couple of cool acts lined up. (specifically, Jerry Cantrell and N.E.R.D.)
posted by Gray at 6:58 PM | | link

I think I agree with at least the top two choices on this X-Files Top Ten from Entertainment Weekly. Not all 10, mind you... but they've picked some of the very coolest stuff to top their list.
posted by Gray at 3:19 PM | | link

Teacher accused of throwing booze and porn party for students

It's pretty screwed up, but you've gotta love the headline.
posted by Gray at 8:54 PM | | link

There seems to be a good bit of discussion in the various geek forums about the timeline for these new Star Wars movies. Well, someone posted this up as a quote from the recent issue of TV Guide... and I'm sharing it with you 3 readers.

TPM = 32 years before ANH
AOTC = 22 years before ANH
EP III = 18 years before ANH

(ANH being A New Hope, aka Star Wars)

...an' if ya don't know...now ya know!
posted by Gray at 6:04 PM | | link

Man, some people are just way cooler than you or I. The ones that build life-sized Millennium Falcons, for example.
posted by Gray at 2:09 AM | | link

I have seen the Star Wars, and it was good.

PRO:
-Yoda!
-bigass battles
-ear-rending sound effects
-"seismic charges"
-more lightsabers than you can shake a...glowing stick at
-very little Jar Jar
-many projectile weapons

CON:
-more Jedi info/background, please
-John Williams' ass got lazy

...and that's all I'm sayin' for now. Go see it, fools.
posted by Gray at 12:40 AM | | link

The Atlanta Film Festival starts soon. Sweet.

Don't miss Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter.
posted by Gray at 12:53 AM | | link

Now you all know that I value a delicious Krispy Kreme doughnut above many other things in this world. A hot, fresh doughnut now (with "now" being ANY TIME THAT I'M AWAKE) is one of my most beloved treats.

With that in mind, I was understandably excited to find Krispy Kreme Fruit Pies in my local Publix on the way home from the gym tonight. I grabbed a "cherry" one and proceeded to the dairy case for milk, thinking to myself, "Ahh...this will negate the workout I've just completed!"

I won't bore you with too many details, but suffice it to say... not the best pocket-pie-shaped-thing I've ever eaten. Disappointingly bland. Lacking in frosting-based excitement. If there was anything resembling a cherry in there, it avoided my detection.

O Krispy Kreme...why have you forsaken me?
posted by Gray at 12:54 AM | | link

Eugene Mirman, that marvelous crooning child, has learned some new songs... but more importantly, he's shared a Very Special Motley Crue VH1 program with us.

[ link to an .MOV ]

This is truly the funniest thing I've seen this week.
posted by Gray at 12:32 AM | | link

Apparently I'm a little bit smrt, but I really suck at unscrambling words. [ thinker test ]
posted by Gray at 11:29 AM | | link

I guess my grilling skills are getting more consistent. Tonight's steaks turned out pretty tastily. Call me Jr. Grillmaster Gray.
posted by Gray at 9:25 PM | | link

We finally see the new cover art for the Criterion Collection 2-DVD set of The Royal Tenenbaums. Now that we know for sure that they're not messing around with some kind of crapified bare-bones edition before they release the nice version, you can all go ahead and order your copy from the supercheap saviors at DeepDiscountDVD.
posted by Gray at 10:14 PM | | link

Geek that I am, I'm spending some of my (now ample) free time refreshing my memory of the many plot threads of The X-Files that have been tied up or left hanging. I haven't kept up with things all that well for the past year, and when I tried to think about it last night, I don't remember much from Season 8, either.

Upon reviewing a bit more, I see that Season 7, which contained quite a few entertaining one-shots, really ended the compelling mythology that had held me in its power so completely for 6 years. After the BAD ASS mid-season-6 peak of The Syndicate and their families being incinerated by the alien rebels, there wasn't much more that could be done, though admittedly, the final shot of the season with Scully's discovery of an intact UFO on an African beach was an impressive visual shocker.

[tangent: Shakira is really, really easy on my eyes.]

So yeah... interesting one-shots (X-Cops, First Person Shooter, Brand X), Mulder gets abducted, then the Terminator shows up for Season 8 and the mythology just didn't matter much anymore. The theme for Season 9 seems to be something about Supersoldiers and people trying to make off with Scully's new baby. Obviously, little William Scully is some sort of Superbaby, the likes of which the world has never seen before (not even in a Rick Moranis movie)... but I guess all this will get wrapped up in a couple of weeks when Mulder shows up for the 2-hour finale. Or not. I'll be watching, whatever the case. (Alias, my true TV love, will be done by then.)

...and what about that little psychic bald-headed kid? Gibson? I'll bet he makes another appearance, too.

I really just started writing this because I wanted to point out that Mark Snow is one of the coolest composers around, and that his scores played a big part in making The X-Files (and Millennium) so cool. I guess I got a little off track, huh?

[ X-Files 101 : refresh your memory ]
posted by Gray at 2:48 AM | | link

Despite the fact that it has numerous cameos by big-time stars in it, the coolest part of Moby's new video is clearly the fact that he had faux-old video games made up with a little Moby-man in place of Frogger, Pac-Man and Mario.
posted by Gray at 1:35 AM | | link

I think last night, my dreams involved publishing my own comic book, and something about running a giant oil tanker. I've already lost most of the details of these things... they seem to fade very rapidly for me. I'm trying to remember them, though.

Maybe playing Ape Escape for hours at a time gives me good dreams. Hmmm. Or maybe it's the Traffic soundtrack that I have been known to leave on a loop for hours at a time...

Oh, and yesterday was Free Comic Book Day. I made off with quite a haul! Free comics rule. I hope that anyone out there who likes comics didn't miss out.
posted by Gray at 1:16 PM | | link

An entertaining post from Aint-it-cool-news, a movie news site:

Was Spiderman good?? Ive heard both sides. I haven't been to a movie since Zoolander last August! I hate movies, TV is better. Movies are too long and expensive. I will go see Spiderman and Star Wars though.

posted by Gray at 6:25 PM | | link

I have seen the Spider-Man, and it was good.

There are not many CDs better-suited to driving through the dark on a backroad in rural Georgia with the windows down than the soundtrack to Sling Blade... especially the first track. Just perfect. Trust me on this one. (It works in Texas, too. I checked.)

now playing :: Cinematic Orchestra - "All That You Give"
posted by Gray at 3:29 AM | | link

Apparently the foolish Minnasotans think that they can somehow defeat a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Silly customer! You cannot hurt a Twinkie! er...Krispy Kreme!
posted by Gray at 9:58 AM | | link

Apparently, if one searches for "Gray Davis gets funky", they can find their way to this page. Funky, indeed.

...and this one, I don't understand: "donnie darko + how to get past level 2". If Donnie Darko was a video game, this would make much more sense. But it's not. It's a movie about how crazy Bubble Boy is.
posted by Gray at 9:14 PM | | link

Wow. Words almost fail me.

Okay, no they don't. I've got plenty. Making radio-controlled rats is just asking for something to go terribly, horribly wrong. Mark my words...they'll make the robo-rats, then they'll move on to robo-kitties or robo-bunnies or something (for, I don't know... remote carrot reconnaissance missions...) and then before you know it, FURRY APOCALYPSE.

With the nipping and the biting and the cybernetically-enhanced, yet still somehow lazy furry creatures. Only a matter of time, I tells ya. It'll be like Night of the Lepus meets The Terminator, and there won't be any handy pneumatic industrial presses to save our collective-Sarah Connor-asses.
posted by Gray at 6:04 PM | | link

Have I mentioned that I need a job? Yeah? Thought so.

...oh, and I could also use some sort of a holy light beam to strike me upon my fair, shiny forehead and reveal unto me the plan for my immediate and distant future. Also, if they could tell me where I lost my pocketknife, that would be cool.
posted by Gray at 2:16 PM | | link

Hey kids! Do you know what tonight is?! It's...

FREE SCOOP NIGHT AT BASKIN-ROBBINS!

So be sure to plot out your routes now. Gas up before you leave, and plan to hit the gym tomorrow. Free ice cream... there is nothing sweeter.
posted by Gray at 1:37 PM | | link