Arts-&-Literature

“There are people in this world who don’t like Astro City. Those people we call Communists.” - Comics Should Be Good I don’t know about Communists, but Kurt Busiek is one of my top three in terms of comics writers. He could write the phone book and still make the setting and characters interesting. My best Ebay find, other than the first issue of Lobo, was a full run of Astro City (so far). I purchased the collected Astro City: The Tarnished Angel first, and was hooked on the atmosphere created in Busiek’s tale of a down-at-the-heels villain who investigates a string of killings. Of course, it helps that the character is based on Robert Mitchum. It’s just as hard not to watch Mitchum on the printed page as it is during a movie. ...

Or perhaps “Fergie Ferg” fails words. Fergie, from the Black Eyed Peas, in her first solo video. I didn’t think anything could compare to the lyric “lovely lady lumps,” but she somehow surpasses it with this song. At least people could pretty accurately guess what the lyrics meant in My Humps. In this song, what the heck is her “London Bridge?” Update: YouTube pulled the video. Of course, someone uploaded it again immediately here.

Something in me loves these Polish movie posters…it must be something very dark. Of course, if I actually walked into a theater and saw a wall full of them, I might never go out again. The originals are for sale at PolishPoster.com.

General Zod for President in 2008 When I first came to your planet and demanded your homes, property and very lives, I didn’t know you were already doing so, willingly, with your own government. I can win no tribute from a bankrupted nation populated by feeble flag-waving plebians. In 2008 I shall restore your dignity and make you servants worthy of my rule. This new government shall become a tool of my oppression. Instead of hidden agendas and waffling policies, I offer you direct candor and brutal certainty. I only ask for your tribute, your lives, and your vote. - General Zod ...

Video Game Julio Franco looks back on his career, still playing at 48 years old. Link courtesy of Deadspin

Battlestar Galacticsimpsons Peanuts Meets Marvel Year One As mentioned before, Apropos Comics

If you need to see these 102 movies to be movie-literate, I’ve still got a ways to go. Blatantly stealing from kottke.org, I’ll list the movies and mark the ones that I’ve seen with an *. :) \* 2001: A Space Odyssey The 400 Blows 8 1/2 \* Aguirre, the Wrath of God \* Alien All About Eve \* Annie Hall \* Apocalypse Now \* Bambi \* The Battleship Potemkin \* The Best Years of Our Lives \* The Big Red One The Bicycle Thief \* The Big Sleep \* Blade Runner Blowup \* Blue Velvet \* Bonnie and Clyde Breathless \* Bringing Up Baby Carrie \* Casablanca Un Chien Andalou Children of Paradise / Les Enfants du Paradis \* Chinatown \* Citizen Kane A Clockwork Orange \* The Crying Game \* The Day the Earth Stood Still Days of Heaven \* Dirty Harry The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie \* Do the Right Thing La Dolce Vita \* Double Indemnity \* Dr. Strangelove \* Duck Soup \* E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial Easy Rider \* The Empire Strikes Back The Exorcist \* Fargo Fight Club \* Frankenstein \* The General The Godfather, The Godfather, Part II \* Gone With the Wind GoodFellas The Graduate \* Halloween A Hard Day’s Night Intolerance It’s a Gift \* It’s a Wonderful Life \* Jaws The Lady Eve \* Lawrence of Arabia M \* Mad Max 2 / The Road Warrior \* The Maltese Falcon \* The Manchurian Candidate \* Metropolis \* Modern Times \* Monty Python and the Holy Grail Nashville \* The Night of the Hunter Night of the Living Dead \* North by Northwest \* Nosferatu On the Waterfront \* Once Upon a Time in the West Out of the Past Persona Pink Flamingos \* Psycho \* Pulp Fiction \* Rashomon \* Rear Window \* Rebel Without a Cause \* Red River Repulsion The Rules of the Game \* Scarface The Scarlet Empress Schindler’s List \* The Searchers \* The Seven Samurai \* Singin’ in the Rain \* Some Like It Hot A Star Is Born A Streetcar Named Desire Sunset Boulevard \* Taxi Driver \* The Third Man Tokyo Story \* Touch of Evil \* The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Trouble in Paradise \* Vertigo \* West Side Story \* The Wild Bunch \* The Wizard of Oz ...

Sigh…They just don’t get it. You always sacrifice your work life first. ;) http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvp.video.google.com%2Fvideodownload%3Fversion%3D0%26secureurl%3DoQAAANi2KMARzGgBgaOY2ZBlLixt11aLUqB7DcJiCaXvSXTitmCKJhCHOkoA–uxFMmlJgvEd7WkZhDPyYfUf_1dFwbbwkiAFDHiNZ24xS6sMicPwizsIlq_ncAh1RtJtUup9cLHU6SfwJQsJerRrj2KptlJYI4smVot3B6FuB88PPAqkdSOH8H7SrMIIVuNZ9QABdSCtYh-BEQxzVw63bFrnE4mWb5owcc7M0AudIz5sWhi%26sigh%3DnQkEYH4zuCa6gLN-U-jA9iTf0K8%26begin%3D0%26len%3D232880%26docid%3D1329362959167995041&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer%3Fapp%3Dvss%26contentid%3D74c7bd18530bbdb5%26second%3D5%26itag%3Dw320%26urlcreated%3D1145934080%26sigh%3DtEArLZ839xsnOmp80jU6Tncbbe4&playerId=1329362959167995041 Courtesy of Google Video

Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy, reaches out and touches high-school students in North Carolina. No, not that way… Turns out a Rockingham County High School English class noticed the film The Tragedy of Macbeth was produced by Hefner back in 1971. They were watching the film on an old television set, so students joked that Hefner could buy them a new TV. The teacher wrote a letter to Hefner asking for a new TV. The letter signed by the students and sent to the Playboy Mansion and the Chicago headquarters. Two weeks later, a new 32-inch TV was on the way. ...

The Onion’s AV Club checks out some songwriters who aren’t really into the details. :) Link courtesy of EdCone.com