Atlas Shrugged and Angelina

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Note: Spoiler Alert belowjolie

According to this latest press release, they are going to make a movie of Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged and Angelina is going to play Dagney. Great book and she’d be a good Dagney

I wonder who will play the millionaire playboy Francisco D’Anconia the badass capitalist Hank Reardon, or the man behind the plot John Galt who is a brilliant physicist and philosopher and creator of “Galt’s Gulch” where the brilliant minds of the world go.

Its important to note that Dagney hooked up with all 3 of these guys, so whoever gets to play them is going to get some action. The word is that Brad Pitt wants to play Reardon even though Galt eventually ends up with her.

Like Movies and Want to Waste Some Time?

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It’s Friday and you know what that means – new movie releases! To honor the day, i’m going to post about some movie sites i’ve seen recently

The DoublerDouble Features!

To my parents: “I learned it from watching you!”My parents showed me how you can maximize the value of your$7 movie ticket by going to multiple shows back-to-back. We’d walk out of one and ask “so what next?” The accidental doubler is great, but over the years, we’ve begun to actually plan our lineup is before hitting the theater. You can imagine my happiness when i found the Double Feature Finder online which takes this to the next level. Check it out here. It lets you choose your theater and then it will sort through the times and lineup your double-feature. As they say on the site, “never sneak into movies again”

Dark Movie Finder

This is an interesting little online game which is also a clever little ad for M&M’sDark Movies new dark chocolage candies. In the game, there’s a large painting and in it there are 50 movie titles from a “dark” film hidden (there are also little M&M guys). Each movie title is represented by a visual riddle. To play you scroll around the painting until you figure out a visual clue, double-click, type your guess and so on. For example, the picture to the left shows Blade and Silence of the Lambs. Some of the other movies in the picture are: The Birds, The Fly, Invisible man, Wicker Man, Candyman, and so on. Enjoy and feel free to post what movies you found in there in the comments.  (game is here)
Online Movie Quiz

This is just a classic time waster. The site is a movie quiz which poses 20 questions to you. Each question has 4 pictures from a movie which don’t reveal any plot or major characters. You then have to guess from a list of 10 movies which film it is (here). I found that if i was familiar with the movie, i could usually get it right. If i wasn’t, i could usually guess correctly 75% of the time. But 100% of the time, i was pretty sure my time was being wasted and my life was becoming more and more worthless.

Ridiculous Videos, Vol. 2

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A little man dancing a fantastic dance. I wonder where this guy is now. He should be much more famous.  I like the little dramatic touches he puts in the performance.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx-NLPH8JeM]

David Hassellhoff is kind of a big deal. Well, maybe in Germany.  Here’s a totally ridiculous music video called “Get in My Car” where he plays Michael Knight (in KITT) and tries to pick up chicks and take them home. At least i think he’s Michael Knight although he makes a Baywatch cameo.  Whatever it is, it’s awesome

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibEdNCLyirE]

In the fantastic movie Major League, the Indians did some pretty crazy things, but that was a movie. This video below of the Chicago Bears is real.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-V-qEO7OlY&eurl=]

The first volume of Ridiculous Videos is here

Big Bad Texas Gator

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Here’s a story of a very large alligator in Texas. Not the biggest ever, but still pretty damn large.

Here’s a picture of it taken a KTBS helicopter flying over Lake Conroe in Texas with a whole deer in its mouth! Think of how large it has to be to fit an entire deer in its mouth.

Carrying deer

The alligator was found between Athens and Palestine, Texas near a house. How would you like to meet this fella in the dark? Never let it be said that they don’t grow them big in Texas. Game wardens were forced to shoot the alligator as he clearly could devour an entire family for lunch.Gator stashing deer

Apparently, the locals could hear the bellowing in the night.

Neighbors had been saying around the street that they had seen a mammoth alligator in the waterway that runs behind their house, but every story was dismissed as exaggerations. “I didn’t believe it,” Charles Rogers (on neighbor) said. This past Friday they realized the stories were, if anything, understated. Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens had to shoot the beast.

This last picture is of Joe Goff, 6’5″ tall, a game warden with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, walks past the 23’1″ alligator that he shot and killed in the Rogers back yard.

Huge gator

iPhone Is On Its Way

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This is the guy that Apple sued because he always get it right.  So this is probably the real deal:

Apple iPhone to be Cingular-exclusive at launch
By Ryan Katz, Senior Editor

September 26, 2006 – Apple and Cingular have signed an agreement that will make the US’ largest cell phone provider the exclusive carrier of Apple’s forthcoming phone, sources report. Apple’s iPhone remains on track for an early 2007 release.

As previously reported, Apple’s phone will feature a candy-bar design with a 2.2-inch display and 3 megapixel camera. Robust iTunes and iSync support will also be delivered with the phone.

Apple’s exclusive contract with Cingular is said to be good for the first six months, sources report, meaning other providers will be able to sell the phone in the second-half of 2007. Cingular had an exclusive on the Motorola ROKR—the first phone to feature iTunes—when it launched last year.

Sources say Apple is in talks with providers in other parts of the world on exclusive deals, but are short on specifics. O2 had the exclusive on the ROKR in Europe, however, suggesting that provider may again be tapped to launch Apple’s phone.

Meanwhile, insiders say Apple is internally estimating that shipments of the iPhone will top a staggering 25 million in 2007 alone. Motorola’s RAZR, by contrast, has sold more than 50 million units since its launch in late 2004. Apple is betting a phone with Apple’s iconic design, elegant interface, and iPod-matching functionality will be a strong draw for users who currently carry both devices on them.

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0609cingulariphone.html

Clinton Making Gore His Bitch Again

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We're all bitches!Here’s what i’m picturing in my head: Bill Clinton sitting around this spring with his shirt unbuttoned (one button too far) watching TV. On the tv, there’s a story about Gore’s comback and a review of the very good and disturbing movie The Inconvenient Truth. His immediately thought is, “shit i can’t have that bitch showing me up. That’s my VP!” So, like only the 2 term president could do, he whipped out his rolodex, got his peeps together and started a big “initiative” to put Gore in his place.
The initiative though is pretty awesome. The stated mission of the Foundation is to “strengthen the capacity of people throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence.” To advance this mission, the Foundation is focused on four critical areas: 1) health security; 2) economic empowerment; 3) leadership development and citizen service; and 4) racial, ethnic and religious reconciliation. The Foundation works principally through partnerships with individuals, organizations, corporations, and governments, often serving as an incubator for new policies and programs. To participate you have to agree to put forth cash or action prior to joining which is probably the best way to get anything done. Here’s a good clip of Clinton talking about it on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kr29Lx8dUpg]

Gore’s got to be pissed. He’s spent the past 3 years working on green projects and meeting with scientists, experts and “smart people” to put togehter his latest book and slideshow which is the basis of the movie. Hell, he even wrote a book 14 years ago about the environment (Earth In The Balance) back when being “green” meant being a good gardener. Now, Clinton swoops in and becomes the man when it comes to making a difference. As they say, anyone can be a critic, execution is what matters and aparently he. is. rocking!

Now whenever people think about global warming and helpign the environment,suck it clinton it’s all about the Clinton Initiative. Read the latest about Richard Bramson’s 3 billion pledge from the CNN article:

Clinton praised Branson, calling him one of the “most interesting,” “creative” and “genuinely committed” people he had ever known.

Branson said he was inspired to contribute after a meeting with Al Gore, who served as Clinton’s vice president and has been highly visible in raising awareness about global warming and environmental issues. Gore was scheduled to speak Thursday afternoon.

Quoting Clinton even though Gore did all the work. Poor bastard. I love what Gore’s being doing, and it kind of pains me that Clinton’s getting all the credit and clintonbeing perceived as the man in this arena. Oh well, i guess some things never change.

Paris Hilton, Blogs and Being Derivative

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Nice Belt ClipI read an interesting post last week about why Paris Hilton is such a successful celebrity (here). The reasoning being is that she’s one big walking hyperlink. Meaning, all she does is constantly point the reader/viewing/listener to something else. She endorses, name-drops, evangelizes, and critiques other things. Look at the example of her recent DUI arrest:

“I had one margarita (and) was starving because I had not eaten all day,” she said. “Maybe I was speeding a little bit and I got pulled over. I was just really hungry and I wanted to have an In-N-Out Burger.”

On record, in the press, she’s aligning herself with the (awesome) burger chain In-N-Out. Sure, as a celebrity she doesn’t carry any weight alone, but because she attaches herself to other items and things, she’s becomes interesting and (perhaps) relevant.

What made this perspective intriguing is that this is to what’s happening in the blogosphere. Many blogs in and of themselves aren’t that interesting, but it’s what they point to and reference that provide the value. Look at this post by the sports blog Deadspin – it’s just a list of links to other posts. You track through enough blogs and eventually you get to something with substance.

Another good post which addressed this was MalcolmGladwell Gladwell’s which talked about the derivative nature of blogs and media at large. He argues that:

We need derivative media sources (blogs) to help us make sense of what we learn from primary sources.

There’s plenty of interesting and original material out there and blogs by their nature will reflect, expand, and enhance that. Paris Hilton, in my mind, is then a necessary piece of our world. Of course, she doesn’t’ do it well, but the definitely are some celebrities and blogs that do it well and are just as enjoyable as any primary content.

Knight Rider is Coming Back

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They’re finishing up the script and getting ready to remake the original pilot episode “Knight of the Phoenix” into a feature film.  One thing that has been confirmed: Hasslehoff will not be in the film.  Below is one of the proposed cars for K.I.T.T. (which is a Koenigsegg CCS) although the rumors are that it’ll be more like a 2006 Camero.  All details are fleshed out in this article.  Whatever the car is, i loved the show and am pretty excited to see it come to the big screen. KITT

I'll Be Rockin' This Saturday

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A lot of people have already commented on yesterday’s Bob Dlyan post and while i love listening to Dylan, my mind is really focused on the concert i’m going to tomorrow. I’ll be attending Virgin Fest in Baltimore.

Check out this lineup: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Killers, Gnarls Barkley, Scissor Sisters, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Raconteurs, The Who, The New Pornographers, Wolfmother, Thievery Corporation, and The Flaming Lips.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V76Vq1HMXIk&eurl=]

One of the bands i’m most excited about is The Scissor Sisters. If you haven’t heard of this band – let me enlighten you (from wikipedia)

The core of the band formed in 2000 when Shears (singer) and Babydaddy (keyboard/song-writer) met while attending college in Kentucky. After moving to NYC, the duo met Ana Matronic at a cabaret on Halloween, when she was dressed as an Andy Warhol factory reject, and Shears was dressed as a “back-alley abortion”. The group soon began playing gigs and were signed to independent record label “A Touch of Class”, and recorded a single, “Electrobix”, which had as its B-side a disco/glam cover “Comfortably Numb”.

Their cover of “Comfortably Numb” became noticed in the UK when it was picked up by underground DJs in electroclubs. The song later got the attention of British label Polydor, who signed them to a contract.

The group’s first single for the label, “Laura“, had a limited release in Laura single for Sister Sister's 2003 (reaching #54 on UK charts), and received little attention. Their first hit was in 2004 with the re-release of “Comfortably Numb” (reaching #10 in the UK). This success was followed by fan favourite “Take Your Mama” (#17 in the UK), a re-release of “Laura” (#12 in the UK), the ballad “Mary” (#14 in the UK), and the gay/hedonist anthem “Filthy/Gorgeous” (#5 in the UK).

All the singles came from the self-titled debut album Scissor Sisters, which reached #1 on the UK albums chart and became the best selling album of 2004, beating Keane‘s Hopes And Fears by just 582 copies. As of 2006, it is the 10th biggest-selling album of the 21st century, and the 51st biggest-selling of all time in the UK. Several media outlets have noted that Scissor Sisters stick out like a sore thumb’ on the list of artists who have sold over 2 million copies of an album in the UK in the 21st century — the others being James Blunt, Robbie Williams, Keane, Dido, Coldplay and Norah Jones — all artists considered ‘mainstream’ or ‘middle of the road’, as opposed to the Scissor Sisters’ brash and controversial image.

I will say that i think the songs rock. Here are some of my favorite songs from their first album. Click on them to play, right+click to download the mp3: Mary, Filthy/Gorgeous, Laura, Comfortably Numb
They also have a new album coming out and you can listen to their entire new album on MySpace here.

Writing about this band reminds of a passage i recently read in Chuck Klosterman’s new book (Chuck Klosterman IV) when he breaks down all rock music in one paragraph. He says,

Rock music did not exist until the release of Meet the Beatles in January 1964. From that time until 1970, the Beatles were simultaneously the most artistically gifted and commercially successfulBook cover of CK4 rock artists on the planet. Then they broke up. And at that point, rock split into two opposing ideologies; there were now two kinds of music. The prime directive of the first kind of rock was to be meaningful and important; the prime directive of the second was to entertain people and move product. The first category comprises elements (Springsteen, punk rock, early U2, Chris Carrabba, etc.) that followed a template built by Dylan in the 1960’s. The second category comprises things (Elton John, Disco, everything the Stones did post-Some Girls, Michael Jackson et. al.) that followed the path KISS chose when they formed in 1973. Their era includes 2 exceptions, which are Led Zepplin and Prince; everything else fits into either category A or B. And that is the entire history of rock music.

Elton John has actually written a few tracks on Scissor Sister’s new album Tah-dah so they have to be considered a category B band. Thus, if you look at my Bob Dylan post and this one, i think i’ve been comprehensive and pretty much covered both A and B. Now i can focus the rest of the weekend on just rocking out at Virgin Fest.

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