100 Movies, 100 Quotes, 100 Numbers

A movie quote countdown that counts down the numbers. It's from a couple of years ago and still holds up nicely and is extremely well edited. You can make a stab at guessing all the films or just give up and read the full list of 100 films at Alonzo Mosley's site. But don't read it before you watch.

From the comments: "The whole process took about two months. I had earlier done a blog post with the 1-100 quotes listed, but when I went to do the video, I decided to change a bunch of them for various reasons. About a third of these I knew off the top of my head, and the rest I found through relentless Googling and IMDb-ing."

The depth of his movie knowledge leaves me in awe. This one goes to 11.

Hot Buttered Popcorn

Fire eater makes his own popcorn. If this guy tells you he's going to bring the popcorn, I'd suggest giving it a pass.

(Link via Information Nation)

Ginocchio And Winnie the Pope

Rarely Seen Disneyland Characters from illustrator Adam McCauley. Now this is a Disney I could get behind

Watcharama: Who watches the Futuramen?

This is the best trailer mashup I've seen in ever. Futurama, Watchmen, Jesus Zoidburg! Thanks to Topless Robot for alerting me to this piece of joy, and for the headline "The world will look up and shout "save us," and I'll whisper, "bite my shiny metal ass."

Here is the official trailer, should you need a refresh:


Ok, I just opened them in separate windows and played them side by side and they match perfectly, scene for scene. This is some geeky goodness.

Lost Cake Flashes Before Your Eyes

The cake for the 100th episode of Lost, as pictured by Jorge Garcia. Yep, Hurley has a blog. He has loads more photos of the details.

So the feed of tonight's Lost just cut out on me at the end. The local CTV affiliate filled the end of the show with ads and so I don't know what happened after Locke said "that symbol is from the Dharma Initiative." Arrgh.

Anyway, I'll be catching up at Lost author Nikki Stafford's blog, who has far more insight on the show than my posting of cake pictures. I encourage you all to go there - she should have something posted tonight and the group comments are great.

Ronald McDonald's Dark Side

Weird Fetish Prostitute Ronald Only Gets Two Customers a Year

Homeless Ronald Ruins Your Day

From Unreality's The 20 Most Terrifying Pictures of Ronald McDonald Ever. "So yeah, Heath Ledger + Childhood Fears + Google Images = this post."

I too have an obsession with McDonalds and even, while taking my break from a stint as Mayor McCheese at a small town parade, mashed that costume with the Hamburglar's and created McPimp. If I ever find that photo, I will burn it.

(Link via Listicles)

Twitter Me This? Andy Richter & Steven Page

A couple of hundred updates later and I think I might be getting a hang of this Twitter thing. With just a few minutes perusing my fellow Twits (that's the nomenclature, right?) I came across two bits of breaking(ish) news:

Andy Richter is returning as Conan O'Brien's sidekick! I haven't paid much attention to the end of O'Brien's run at Late Night or the ramp up to his taking the helm at the Tonight Show as I've given up on the late night chat shows and spend my nights with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. But back when I was a regular watcher, I loved the goofy, easy-going interaction between Richter and O'Brien. Apparently, so does he:

"Andy is one of the funniest people I know and we've maintained a close friendship since he left "Late Night," said O'Brien. "We have a proven chemistry that will be an incredible asset to "The Tonight Show." I'm looking forward to working with Andy on a daily basis again, particularly since he owes me $300."

I may have to start watching again. I'm glad to see Richter back as he has mostly been wasted in everything since the cancelled-too-soon Andy Richter Controls the Universe.

The other tidbit of news to filter through on Twitter was that Steven Page is leaving the Barenaked Ladies and going solo. The news was announced by Page himself on his new blog, via Twitter:

"Yes, it's official. I am no longer a Barenaked Lady. After twenty years (plus a few months), I'm heading out on my own."

And it was confirmed on the BNL site:

"By mutual agreement, Steven Page will be parting company with the remaining members of Barenaked Ladies. Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart will continue recording and touring together as Barenaked Ladies."

Wow, that's a pretty major move seeing as they have been together for 20 years. One can't but help think this has all been triggered by his cocaine arrest last July, but perhaps it was time for him to do something new. Sure, I took my shots at Page's arrest in a typical bit of schadenfreude, and there will be many who will scoff at this turn of events, but I've always had a soft spot for the boys of BNL. They always seemed to be genuinely enjoying what they do and I do hope it all works out for them. Time will tell, I suppose.

Strange Things I Learnt At Work Today...

While combing the news wires and photo sites on a daily basis, I read a lot more than I have have an opportunity to post. Occasionally I even learn something that I wonder how it had escaped my attention. Today was such a day:

They make Taser shotguns! That is insane.

...and there is a McDonald's at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where even Ronald McDonald is behind bars! Bizarre.

Ok, back to the pop culture.

Rise And Fall Of The Nazi Dinosaurs

There are Nazis and dinosaurs, all in old-timey stop motion animation. What's not to love? U.S. paratroopers explore a desolate German research lab in Antarctica and discover, well, the title kind of sums it up.

Produced in five days by Alex Poutianinen for the grand total of $20. He's looking for work in the film industry but he should be looking for financial backers. If they are going to greenlight a Jane Austen zombie flick, why not a Nazi Jurassic Park?

Invaders! Possibly From Space!

I suppose everyone needs to learn somewhere. From Threadles: A Simple Plan by Neil Gregory.

Which gives me warm and fuzzy memories of the Raiders of the Lost Arcade segment from Futurama's Anthology if Interest II.

Lrrr: People of Earth, I am Lrrr of the planet Nintendu 64. Tremble in fear at our three different kinds of ships.
Fry: Alright, its Saturday night. I have no date, a two litre bottle of Shasta, and my all Rush mix tape! Let's rock!
Nd-Nd: We're losing ships, sir. What are your orders?
Lrrr: Increase speed, drop down and reverse direction!

Oddly enough I can't find that short clip (or at least not anywhere but Hulu) though I did find the whole segment. Weird.


Actually, now that I think about it, there was a Rush/video game connection on an episode of Chuck. In Chuck vs. Tom Sawyer (I don't know if that link will work), Chuck must play a game of Missile Command all the way to the kill screen to get to a set of satellite codes. He realizes the rhythm of the game matches Rush's Tom Sawyer and defeats the game.

So what is it about Rush and video games, or was this just a nod to Futurama?

Previously on Popped Culture...
Watcharama: Who watches the Futuramen?
Obsoletely Fabulous
Popaganda: The Pop Culture Revolution

Che's Big Adventure

National Post illustrator Steve Murray sums up the 4 hour and 15 minute run time of Che thusly:
Now I feel like going and reading a Babar book, for some reason. You can see more of Steve's work at Extremely Bad Advice and Posties and Stevetastic.

(Link via, indirectly, Boy Reporter)

Oscar Night Predictions: Every Slumdog Has His Day

I feel like a fraud. As of two nights ago the only Oscar-nominated films I'd seen were The Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder and Wall-E. My bragging rights came from having caught Waltz With Bashir at the Toronto Film Festival in September.

This might not seem like a big deal to some, but I used to run a commercial mainstream entertainment website for four years and even my current co-workers ask me, "I thought you some sort of culture vulture?" Some vulture. Some days I barely even get a whiff of the corpse, let alone get a good chew, especially when it comes to movies. I suppose that comes with the territory - an early-morning job and an active two-year-old. But still.

Last night I may have stumbled across the solution, though it feels like a Faustian bargain. A friend passed along a website (http://www.watch-movies-links.net/) where all the Oscar-nominated films are steaming, along with some 10,000 other films. We watched Slumdog Millionaire on the laptop with no problem. It was clearly a screen and had some occasional pixelization issues, but the stream never dropped, never buffered.

I do have some problems with this. I know I lost some of the visual wonder of having not seem this on a big screen or even in a DVD format on my TV. I also think content creators should get paid. I get that films cost money — I'm no privacy advocate.

That being said, I loved the experience. I popped on the site, typed in a name of what I wanted to see, clicked and it played. No fuss. I want to see these film, but I can't right now, so what can I do. This site embodies what we have been promised for years — being able to chose what you want to watch, when you want to. Truly personalized and on-demand.

This site could be the Napster of movies and the studios need to learn the lessons of the music industry and not try to quash it, but get behind it and find a way to monetize it. There will always be pirates, but make a site like this that is simple to use, delivers a good product and for a reasonable price and I will pay and so will others. It's why iTunes has succeeded.

The other point of this rant is I will likely be catching up with the other films soon, but don't actually believe that you need to see them to enter — and win — an Oscar pool. And with that, here are my predictions for what they are worth.

BEST PICTURE
Slumdog Millionaire

DIRECTING
Slumdog Millionaire

ACTOR, LEADING
Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler

ACTRESS, LEADING
Kate Winslet in The Reader

ACTOR, SUPPORTING
Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

ACTRESS, SUPPORTING
Viola Davis in Doubt

SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL
Milk

SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED
Slumdog Millionaire

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Waltz with Bashir

ANIMATED FEATURE
WALL-E

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Slumdog Millionaire

VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

ART DIRECTION
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

COSTUME DESIGN
The Duchess

FILM EDITING
Slumdog Millionaire

MAKEUP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Trouble the Water

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The Conscience of Nhem En

SHORT FILM, ANIMATED
Presto

SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION
Spielzeugland (Toyland)

SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight

SOUND MIXING
The Dark Knight

ORIGINAL SCORE
Slumdog Millionaire

ORIGINAL SONG
Down to Earth from WALL-E

And here are my sources:
EW's Oscar predictions
Film Experience
Awards Daily: Oscar Contender Tracker
New York Magazine: Oscar Predictions You Can Bet On!

And after a couple of years of live blogging this Hollywood love-in, I think I will leave that task to the millions of others who have taken to the sport. I may drop in at The Ampersand, just to see what they have to say, but other than that I might just watch the show.

Update:
I got 16/24 right, about my usual par. Last year was 15/24, so having watched fewer films made no real difference whatsoever. I bet against Slumdog twice (what was I thinking?) and lost on a few of the smaller tech categories. I also went for Rourke in the 50/50 contest and got the short stick. Ah well.

Other than that, a fairly tight show, though they could drop at least one of sound categories and maybe the original song, which is mostly played over closing credits and has nothing to do with the film (Slumdog notwithstanding.)

Meme-tastic

I couldn't resist getting sucked into the latest music-related meme currently taking Facebook by storm and I was so pleased with the results I figured I needed to show it here. I figure Electronic Literature Organization probably plays some fairly unlistenable, art-student prog-rock.

I've pulled together 20 of the albums I've seen just in the last day. I'm sure you all be tagged soon.

Here be the rules and it needn't be relegated to FB:

1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit "random" or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations" or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on "explore the last seven days" or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop, the gimp or similar to put it all together.

5 - Post it to FB with this text in the "caption" and TAG the friends you want to join in.

A Day in the Life of Abbey Road

The video for Blame Ringo's first single Garble Arch from their new album, Lucky Number 9, featuring a cast of tourists all attempting to recreate the iconic Beatles album Abbey Road, and trying not to get flattened in the process.

It's a surprisingly busy spot and clearing a fan magnet. I didn't have to watch the webcam long before I say a group taking photos, though most people cross obliviously. You can see many of the results on Flickr.

The Australian band, described as "wussy indie folk-rock," has received a creative boost from a legal dustup with Ringo Starr himself.

"Originally billed as "Goodnight Vienna," the band had to change its name in late 2007 after being threatened with legal action by Richard Starkey Jr. (aka Ringo Starr). Apparently "Goodnight Vienna" was the name of Ringo's fourth studio album and although he 'thoroughly enjoyed the music' he was 'obliged to dissuade any profiteering which resulted from the use of his intellectual property.'

"What a bastard.

"After a spiteful name change (and a lot muckracking) the new and improved Blame Ringo are set to have their revenge by seeking to expose the man who claims to inventing the peace sign.

And expose they do: "...he is a malevolent force, instrumental in many ugly world events, including, (but not limited to) the secret conspiracy to break up the Beatles."
Photos: A retouched picture show Lee Harvey Oswald's head on the photo of Ringo holding two Marxist newspapers — The Militant and The Worker — in one hand, a rifle in the other.

Ich bin ein Ringo - On February 6, 1932 Hitler met with Putzi Hanfstaengl at a German airfield. This photograph was take on that day. Closer inspection of the photo reveals a shadowy figure and a familiar grin. Could it be?

(Link via Boing Boing)

Death Star Disco Inferno

Stormtroopers got to get their groove on too. From redbubble via Topless Robot.

Don't believe me? Then watch below:

Your "Mother" Doesn't Work Here

An overflowing RSS reader and an overstuffed blogroll makes it near impossible to read all the sites I'd like to. But here are two I need to get to more often, and you should too:

The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks
Bethany Keeley finds it entertaining to pretend that quotation marks that are used for emphasis instead indicate insincerity, sarcasm or euphemism.


Passive Aggressive Notes: Painfully polite and hilariously hostile writings from shared spaces the world over

Seriously... Sugar Ray?

Panties

Spoons

Insipid Woodland Pleasantries

"I feel so warm and tingly inside. Now we will be friends forever."
I know, another video. It's that kind of day.

What are Emerald Nuts? Dunno, they didn't send me any! Or the Frito Lay dips for that matter. I just give this stuff away for free. And that's ok, because if it means advertising is going to be clever and amusing, I'm happy to encourage that sort of behaviour. But don't think I'm not on to you, Feed Company.

Paris Hilton Raps, Universe Implodes

Paris Hilton: "Yo whassup, My name is P Hizzle, I'm chillin in the clizzle with my homeboy Snoop Dizzle, he's sexy, he's fine, he is the man of our time. I love him..."

Snoop Dogg: "Sweet P! Ohhh wee!, Do it to 'em Dogg After Dark baby gurl. Don't stop, won't stop, can't stop. Look in yo eyes, look in my eyes, no surprise. 'Sweet P' and the D O Double G Yyyy."

Ugggh, this is just so full of terrible. Seriously, how does she continue getting work? Ironic appreciation or not, I think Snoop Dogg has had any last vestiges of street cred scoured off him with this.

(Link via Ampersand)

'The People vs George Lucas'

"The People vs George Lucas delves into the impassioned feelings and opinions expressed by fans and foes of legendary screen icon George Lucas, and the many debates surrounding his legacy.

Revered by some, feared and demonized by others, George Lucas is undoubtedly the most talked about and criticized filmmaker in movie history.

Why is George Lucas the constant target of bloggers, critics and self-proclaimed devotees? And why are millions of others staunchly prepared to defend him in the face of innumerable accusations?"

Why? Because the Star Wars prequels were terrible. As the busker sings: "George Lucas raped my childhood."

(Link via Geekologie)

Best. Couch Gag. Ever.

With Sunday's re-imagining of The Simpson's opening sequence my thoughts have turned to the oft-changed Simpsons couch gag. Some intrepid (insane? obsessive?) fan has spliced together all of the show's couch gags (at least up to last year) and while they may not have gotten them all, I defy you to tell me what they missed.

The video runs at quadruple time, so they kind of speed by, because other than that the runtime is 19:23, which is almost as long as a regular episode.

For that version, head to Listicles, who alerted me to this gem, and wallow in the overload. And it's a minor quibble, I don't think the video contains over 400 couch gags, as many are repeated each season. For that kind of fanboy, nitpicking pleasure, head to Wikipedia's exhaustive List of The Simpsons couch gags. I'd tell you I dodn't, but you'd know that was a lie.

Heeere's Cookie Monster!

All work and no cookies makes Jack a dull boy.

I have no idea where I found this or who photoshopped it. I figure Worth1000, but couldn't find it. Anyone? Anyway, share and enjoy.

HD Embiggens The Smallest Man

The Simpsons are debuting a new opening sequence tonight to make their grand entrance into the world of high definition. It is the first full, permanent revamp of the show's opening titles since its premiere in 1989.

There are a quite a few additions from the show's ensuing decades, including the decapitation of Jebidiah Springfield, Lard Lad, Krusty O's and Mr. Sparkle and Tomacco Juice at the checkout counter, Sideshow Bob, Apu and his octuplets and a fabulous end sequence that I've already paused through numerous times.

What? It's a perfectly cromulent thing to do.

Via Viral Video Chart

Update: So Fox is back to its usual ways. After having over two million views of the opening sequence and untold free publicity they have demanded the clip be pulled from YouTube. Of course you can see it on their Simpsons site where, of course, the full episodes they have available are for U.S. residents only. Because The Simpsons is ONLY shown in the U.S. You can search for another version on YouTube, and you'll find it. I'll leave the Fox link to you.

It is getting tiresome watching these big media companies continue to misunderstand both online users and fans. Has nothing been learnt from what happened to the music industry?

Love & Sockets

"Little Boris lives in a beautiful land filled with mechanical fireflies. Everyone is aglow with happiness. Everyone that is, but Boris."

A lovely like animation from FritoLay that make you wonder why all advertising can't look like this. Of course the message that all you need to be happy is to find the right socket to stick you plug into might be a little too on the nose for Valentine's Day, but I can't disagree with the notion that nothing goes together like chips and dip. Mmmm, chips and dip, now that's love.

There are more of these animations at MadeForEachOther, which sucked me in for quite awhile.

And in not so Valentine news, other than the timing, the Vancouver Sun is giving away a free, 13-song download called Seriously Westcoast III. It's an Arts & Crafts sampler featuring Feist, Stars, The Stills, Broken Social Scene, Apostle of Hustle, Jason Collett, Bell Orchestre and more. Offer ends tomorrow at midnight.

Paraskavedekatriaphobia Butchery

The National Post's Andrew Barr and Mike Faille breaks down Jason Voorhees' body count since he started waging his one-man war against the evils of premarital sex, drug use, being a teenager and not being Jason Voorhees. Click on the pic or here for the full-size version.

Today marks the release of the 12th Friday the 13th movie. Expect a huge outbreak of paraskavedekatriaphobia when they roll out the 13th edition.

Until then, stay away from any abandoned, lakeside summer camps. I'm just sayin'.

Update, Aug. 6, 2011: Welcome Hey Oscar Wilde! fans. Andrew Barr can be found at Somethingagogo and @DunwichHorror, Mike Faille at mikefaille.com

Update, Aug 10, 2011: Monsterologist Andrew Barr has updated his Jason body count infographic, changing Shelly from Part 3-D from female to male. I have updated it above and linked to his site.

Robot Dance Contest

Just like the Robot Dance, this is old, but it makes me happy. From designer Cameron McEwan at Threadless.

Previously on Popped Culture...

Robocorn

Robot Evolution

The Android Team

Jane Austen Monster Mashup

"Turn it into a movie and we'll talk," I said two weeks ago about the forthcoming Jane Austen monster mashup Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The studios were listening. The Sunday Times is reporting that Hollywood big wigs are bidding on the rights to the book and "co-author" Seth Grahame-Smith expects to sign a deal soon.

“It quickly became obvious that Jane [Austen] had laid down the blueprint for a zombie novel,” Grahame-Smith told The Times. “Why else in the original should a regiment arrive on Lizzie Bennet’s doorstep when they should have been off fighting Napoleon? It was to protect the family from an invasion of brain-eaters, obviously.”

This, of course, is a terrible idea, which is why it will most likely be made. “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains,” opens the book, a truism equally applicable to Hollywood executives. Just because everyome on the web is excited about an idea (this author included) doesn't mean anyone will buy it. Snakes On A Plane anyone?

But let's enjoy the insanity while we can. Here is an excerpt from Cinema Suicide, via Austenprose:

“Come, Darcy,” said Mr. Bingley, “I hate to see you standing by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance.”

“I certainly shall not. You know how I detest it.”

“I would not be as fastidious as you are for a kingdom! I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening; and several of them are uncommonly pretty.”

Before Mr. Darcy could respond, a chorus of screams filled the assembly hall, immediately joined by the shattering of window panes. Unmentionables scrambled in, their movements clumsy yet swift; their burial clothing in a range of untidiness.

Guests who had the misfortune of standing near the windows were seized and feasted on at once. Elizabeth watched Mrs. Long struggle to free herself as two female dreadfuls bit into her head, cracking her skull like a walnut, and sending a shower of dark blood spouting as high as the chandeliers.

I imagine it will look a lot like the fine piece of photoshop work above. Billy Connelly makes such a fine zombie. Mmmm, Keira Knightley's brains.

According the The Times, more monster-lit titles are on the way, including a "version of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, where Catherine, the deceased heroine, returns as a Japanese-style ghost not only to haunt but also to terrorize Heathcliff.

In a reworking of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Mr. Rochester has something more terrible than an insane spouse in his attic, and a version of George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss is powered by human sacrifice."

Finally, some accessible literature! Now if someone could rework The Iliad and the Odyssey, I could go back and work on my masters.

Thanks to Kyle for letting me know the madness continues.

The Necessities of Life

The nominations for the 2009 Gennie Awards came out today and I was impressed to see that I had seen three of the nominated films, including two up for Best Picture. Seeing as I've only seen five of the Oscar nominated films this year, I think that's pretty good.

For those who don't know (and that would be most people), the Genies are the awards for Oscars for Canadian films, which gets about as much attention as, well, Canadian films.

The Necessities of Life (Ce qu'il faut pour vivre) picked up eight nominations, including best picture and best actor for Natal Ungalaaq, an Inuit actor who I last saw in Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (ain't I cultured?) The Necessities of Life was the Canadian entry for best foreign film for this year's Oscars, and made it to the semi-finals but did not make the final list. Oddly enough, I saw it four days ago as part of the Canada's Top Ten program.

It was a beautiful film and follows an Inuit man in the '50s who, after being diagnosed with tuberculosis, is taken from a remote island in the far North to a sanatorium in Quebec City, where he is separated from his family and unable to communicate with those around him. It is in French and Inukitut and the trailer is above, but I could only find it in French, thought the official site has an English version.

Though it may be hard to find it, keep an eye out for this film. It's supposed to be having a limited release in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver later this month.

My Little Pony Madness

In the 1980s my sister was obsessed with My Little Pony. They were candy-coloured, sparkly and everything a teenage boy wanted nothing to do with. Some people have decided to do something about this. Tiffany, this is for you...

My Little Alien: I knew there was something wrong with My Little Pony, I just didn't know it would come bursting through my chest cavity. This, and several more are from Mari Kasurinen, who has a Flickr page, a Deviant Art site and a website devoted to her custom toy creations.

My Little Edward Scissorhands: A misunderstood My Little Pony with razor-sharp blades for hooves. Marvelous! It even looks like Johnny Depp!


My Little Buckbeak: Nothing really horrifying about this custom My Little Pony, in fact the Buckbeak was a friendly to Harry Potter. I just loved the look.

My Little Han Solo: Had carbonite freezing been available in my teen years, this is how all of my sisters Ponies would have ended up.

My Little Boba Fett: If you have My Little Han Solo, you naturally have to have My Little Boba Fett. Now no more of this before George Lucas gets any ideas.

My Little Borg: If the Borg were to assimilate everything then it follows that they would assimilate My Little Pony as well. But it would be there undoing...

My Little Cthulhu: H.P. Lovecraft's embodiment of extreme horror, terror and evil, Cthulhu is a perfect candidate for a My Little Pony mod.


My Little Worf: Comes with his own bat'leth. I think Klingons would secretly love My Little Pony, just like they love prune juice — because they are both so terrible.


My Little Master Chief: The Chief isn't quite as imposing as a pony, but I'd happily stick a few plasma grenades on him, just to see what happens.


My Little Trojan Horse: Ah, the Classical Studies education pays off once more. How could the Trojan's resist bringing in something so cute? Which makes me wonder about Trojan condoms — oh sure, it's clever, there's something hidden inside! But when it gets out (and it does) it will slaughter you and burn everything you have to the ground. Hmm, guess that's why I'm not in advertising.

And for good measure, Robot Chicken's Apocalypse Ponies: Pestilence Pony, War Pony, Famine Pony, and Death Pony.

Duoseptuagenuple Stuffed Oreo

"One package of Double Stuf Oreos has thirty-six cookies. Each cookie is 'double stuffed' which means there is enough of the good stuff in there for seventy-two Oreo cookies. So what would you call it if you stacked all that gooey goodness into ONE MASSIVE COOKIE?"

Ok, that's wrong, isn't it? So why do I want to get a massive glass of milk.
Om nom nom nom.

From Jasongraphix via Neatorama

The Breakfast Cereal Club

“You see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a leprechaun, a monster, a cap’n, a tiger, and a rabbit. Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Cereal Club.”

Wow, I don't know how I missed this one when it came out. Bravo, Ironic Sans. Reminds me of Rob Sheridan's Cereal Mascot Reunion. Let's just say it doesn't really work out for them.

And, of course, there is the Family Guy version. "Oh, it was a banner freaking year at the old Tiger house. I got a carton of cigarettes. Old man grabs me and says, 'Hey, smoke up, Tony, they're grrreat!'"

Penguin Dreams and Stranger Things

"Fans have pestered me for years,” said Berkeley Breathed, “for this ultimate Bloom County collection in that polite, respectful badgering way that only fans can manage. Thank God I can now tell them something better than just 'please remove your tent from my lawn.' I can say, 'It's coming!"

With that, it was announced that IDW Publishing will publish The Bloom County Library, five volumes that will each collect nearly two years worth of daily and Sunday strips, in chronological order. But wait, you say, don't I already have all those comics? Not so. This will be the very first time that many of these strips have been collected. Cool.

I was a bit of a fan. In my final high school yearbook, listed under Future, it says Bloom County. That was the same year I wrote my English independent study (for an extremely indulgent teacher) comparing Northrop Fry's theory on satire from Anatomy of Criticism to examples from Bloom County. It was The Simpsons for me before there was The Simpsons.

And when Breathed walked away on August 6th, 1989, I was crushed. I followed Outland for awhile, but it was never the same. I didn't even realize until this year there was a recent Opus comic, now also departed, until I read my friend Nikki's heartfelt remembrance of the strip.

So we'll get one more go around with Opus, Bill the Cat, Steve Dallas, Milo Bloom and the rest. I can't wait to see them all again.

Photo above: Bloom County's Billy and the Boingers (aka Deathtöngue) and their parody of U2's Joshua Tree.

Link via Topless Robot

Batman Gets Pwned

Remember when the psycho in Batman was the Joker and Christian Bale had only played one on the big screen. This is not that video. This is just Batman trying to play Batman in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.

"Why would I punch Superman? This is dumb. It's fun though! This is what I did to Lois last night. Huh, huh. Huh, huh."

But speaking of people who curse like sailors, "What the f#@! is everyone swearing about?" That's what Cursebird is trying to find out, by aggregating all swearing Twitter folk do in their Tweets. There are so many you'd think you'd walked on to Christian Bale's set.

Oh yeah, @PoppedCulture is on Twitter too. You can follow me — I don't swear that much.

OK, I can't resist, here is RevoLucian's remix of Bale's epic freak out. Turns out he's also working on RuPaul's next album. What a weird career.


Update: The speed of this viral phenomenon is stunning, even for the interweb. Now somebody has mashed up the Facebook fave David After Dentist with the Bale blowup to create Christian Bale takes David to the Dentist.


And should you care to make your own, there's always the Christian Bale Soundboard.

Stay tuned...

Teh Lolcats Theme Song

Did the Lolcats need a theme song? Do we need lolcats? Silly question, needs got nothing to do with it! You will want to look away, but you won't be able to. How nobody thought to use The Cure's Lovecats before, I don't know. Robert Smith must be rolling in his grave.

From the twisted minds at rathergood.com. I would have used their embed, but autoplay of this song isn't something that anyone should be subjected to.

Link via Neatorama

Groundhog Day: Rodent Prognostications

It really could go either way:

Phil: You want a prediction about the weather, you're asking the wrong Phil. I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life.

Phil: When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter.

OK, the woodchucks have spoken — crappy weather for all:
Shubnedacadie Sam (Nova Scotia): Six more weeks of winter
Punxsutawney Phil (Pennsylvania): Six more weeks of winter
Wiarton Willie (Ontario): Six more weeks of winter

Stupid rodents.

Anyway, Groundhog Day is by far Bill Murray's best role. He owns the film — there isn't a scene without him and everybody else is just window dressing. I love Stripes, Ghostbusters, Scrooged and Lost in Translation, but Groundhog Day embodies the best of his surly, weary comedy. I hope it's on tonight.

Kirk & Spock 2.0: Star Trek Superbowl Spot

The latest Star Trek spot is airing during the Superbowl which, to my disappointment, is not a contest of wills between two opposing, superpowered bowls. Oh well, enjoy for the few hours it lasts until Paramount put the boots to it. It is crazy full of action.