Ray Harryhausen passed away last week. This has been noted by people more qualified than I to discuss the master of stop-motion magic—Rick Baker, Adam Savage, Todd Masters, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and more. The superhuman talent and perseverance evident in a Harryhausen effects sequence can easily be seen in countless visual effects artists since he first brought his creations to frame-by-frame life on the big screen. That makes sense. So how can I really say anything of worth when I say that I was also profoundly influenced by the artistry of Ray Harryhausen? With modesty, and a story about Clash of the Titans. Continue reading…
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Recent Features
Ray Harryhausen and Me: A Life of High Adventure and Escapism
Things That Change You Forever
I have a ghost story of my own. At least, I have a ghost-cat story.
My final year as an undergraduate was spent in relative splendor. My friends and I lucked into tenancy in the house of a professor on sabbatical. Twelve foot ceilings! Built in bookshelves! Three cats! Real, grown-up furniture! Wait… let’s get back to the cats. The professorial family had three cats and a dog, though the dog was sent to a friend with a farm (later, they told us later that we clinched the lease when they told us that cat care was part of the deal and our response was, “Aw, we don’t get the dog?”).
So. Three housemates, three cats. One morning around the (solid oak!) table, we were chatting about the cats’ sleeping habits. Two of the cats routinely slept in my room, the third with one of the others. Feeling a little left out, the third roommate said, “That’s okay, because Ghost Cat slept on my bed last night.” Continue reading…
Secret Agent, Detective, Genius, Jerk: Modernizing Sherlock Holmes
A man with dark wavy hair wakes up in an iron-framed bed in the middle of a windowless room. He leaps out from under the white sheets and stares intently at a corner of the white ceiling. Suddenly, gracefully, he spins to defeat an invisible opponent in four swift motions, finally falling to his knees in front of an empty chair, hands outstretched.
There’s something about the way Benedict Cumberbatch plays the lead role in the BBC series Sherlock that seems like it could be Holmes’ fantasy version of how a brilliant detective behaves. Continue reading…
My New Weapon of Choice
In April, the Guttersnipes like to mix it up a little. This month, Comics Editor Carol Borden writes about romance.
“You hit him with a frying pan,” he said to her. “How come you didn’t grab a knife?”
“The frying pan was closer.” Her eyes slid away. “It’s not like I had time to pick a weapon. It’s not like the frying pan is my weapon of choice.” –Agnes And The Hitman (27)
Growing up in a town where Elvis was sighted post mortem, I despised and mocked The King. Now, I have held wakes in his honor. I used to only like punk. Then I used to say I liked everything but country. Now I don’t even bother arguing that I’m listening to “Americana,” not country. It is a truth universally acknowledged that something I once despised I will come to appreciate and, often, love. So when both Chris and alex recommended Jennifer Crusie, the author of many romance novels, and in particular her collaboration with Bob Mayer, Agnes And The Hitman, I knew I needed to read it. Continue reading…
Star Wars Filibuster, Animated
Patton Oswalt’s multi-franchise super-movie described in his Star Wars filibuster from Parks and Recreation, animated.
“Who Let The Girl In Here? Notes from the Star Trek: Into Darkness Premiere
Corrigan Vaughan writes an open letter to “Fans of Geek Things“: “I appreciate that you think I have a nice rack and that some of you even find my friends and I to be pretty. That’s very kind. I’m not, however, super in love with the fact that having a rack at all seems to [...]
Chromatophores + “Insane In The Membrane”
Scientists hooked a squid up to an iPod. This is what happened.
Jane Austen, Master Game Theorist
Jane Austen responds to Michael Chwe naming her a master of Game Theory.
“Keycard to Room 237″
Jim Emerson collects and breaks down the criticisms of Room 237, a documentary of people who obsess over Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. And Drew Morton created a visual essay in response to the film.
“They All Sing Yabba-Dabba-Doo!”
Black Lodge Singers perform the theme from The Flintstones pow-wow style (via @WFMU).
“Nerdiness and Whiteness”
The Black Girl Nerds Podcast ponders nerdiness and whiteness: “Does Being Nerdy Mean You ‘Act White?’”
Canadian Book Publishing Twitter Rap Battle
Gutter friend and Coach House Press publicist Evan Munday is in ongoing Canadian book publishing Twitter rap battle with Found Press/Cormorant Books’ Bryan Jay Ibeas.
The Adventures of Dr. Beverly Crusher
Gates McFadden‘s Dr. Beverly Crusher action figure is having many non-Starfleet-related adventures and they’re being recorded on the Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Tumblr page. (via Tor.com)
Silent Shadow of the Bat-Man
“Silent Shadow of the Bat-man” is a 1920s Batman story created from clips from silent film.
Robocop Statue Update
The Detroit Free Press has news about Robocop’s return to Detroit–in statue form.
The Gallifreycrumb Tinies
Doctor Who in the style of Edward Gorey. (Boo, Adric! Yay, Wirrn!)
50 Wonderful Things in 2012
Linda Holmes shares 50 wonderful things at NPR’s Monkey See blog.
Indiana Jones and the Mystery of Ravenwood’s Journal
Wired digs deeper into the mysterious journal sent to Henry Walton Jones, Jr., aka, Indiana Jones, at the University of Chicago.
Krampus Papercraft!
Make yourself two little Krampusse just in time for Krampusnacht! Krampus 1 and Krampus 2.
Cage + Cage
Nicolas Cage performs John Cage’s, “4’33″.”
Reading 50 Shades of Grey So You Don’t Have To!
“I don’t think she knows how the human body works.” Tonjes reads Chapter 1 and 2 of 50 Shades of Grey. For your further pleasure, “A (Drunken) Dramatic Reading” of 2 (NSFW) sex scenes by Gineriella. (And, in case you missed it, Jennifer Armintrout blogged her whole experience reading the book).
Welcome To The Goretorium!
Eli Roth’s Goretorium brings Grand Guignol horror to Las Vegas with his new haunted attraction, The Goretorium! “There’s a barbershop where a little off the top has a literal meaning, a conveyor belt for moving dead bodies in the aforementioned laundry room and a tunnel of dismembered body parts that leads to a human meat [...]
Mad Men + Rick Astley
The cast of Mad Men is never gonna give you up. (Thanks, Mark!)
Old School vs. New School
New school gaming icons face an old school threat. (Thanks, @Calavera_Kid)
keep looking »Of Note Elsewhere
“It’s easier to tell the same stories everyone else does. There’s no particular shame in it.
It’s just that it’s lazy, which is just about the worst possible thing a spec fic writer can be.
Oh, and it’s not true.”
Kameron Hurley writes about lazy writing, cannibal llamas, female soldiers, and women here. (Thanks, James!)
Patton Oswalt’s multi-franchise super-movie described in his Star Wars filibuster from Parks and Recreation, animated.
Corrigan Vaughan writes an open letter to “Fans of Geek Things“: “I appreciate that you think I have a nice rack and that some of you even find my friends and I to be pretty. That’s very kind. I’m not, however, super in love with the fact that having a rack at all seems to preclude me from being considered a ‘real’ fan.”
The Hollywood Reporter interviews director Takashi Miike about his new film, Shield of Straw: ” In Japan now, films are very safe. When I was young and went to old cinemas, they had a distinctive feel, an adult smell about them. As you got in your seat and the lights went down, there was a feeling of excitement: What if the film is scarier than I thought it’s going to be? You’re taken into that world. Nowadays, you can sit in the theater and know it’s going to be safe. That’s good for business, but not for filmmaking.”
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