Athens, We Have A Problem

I'm a sucker for mythology humour.
Jason and The Astronauts by Eduardo San Gil

Previously on Popped Culture...
Odysseus And The Facebook Peril
Ancient Greek Superheroes
The Birth of Ginger

For A Few Credits More

I'm a sucker for space cowboys — you really don't come across many. (Annie Wu via Comics Alliance)

Previously on Popped Culture....
A Fistful of Points
Reservoir Bitches
Josey Wales And The Pussycats

In Space, No One Can Hear Muppets Scream

This is exactly how they should update Pigs In Space — parodies of classic space movies. (Open Sesame by Eric Fan via Geek-Art - though the link seems to have disappeared. Muppets getting heavy-handed with the copyright?)

Previously on Popped Culture...
In Space No One Can Hear You Phone Home
Alien Operation: The Board Game
Alien Vs. Pooh

My God, It's Full Of Muppets!

Behold, the Muppetverse! Well, maybe just one galaxy at least — I'd sure like to see the full pantheon. (Ruaraidh Bruce via Comics Alliance)

Previously on Popped Culture...

The Heckler Causality Loop

I Want To Believe. Wocka, Wocka, Wocka!

Kermit & Miss Piggy Were No Rainbow Connection

Space Oddity: The Book

Andrew Kolb has taken David Bowie's Space Oddity and turned it into an illustrated children's book, full of bright, happy folk. Well, at least until the end. I don't think I could read it to my kid without having to answer some uncomfortable questions, but it looks beautiful. Comics Alliance has the whole book on their site and you can download it here.

Previously on Popped Culture...

Goodnight Dune

The Battlestar Bears Learn About Cylons

This Ain't Rock 'N' Roll, This Is Genocide

HAL 9000: Foolproof And Incapable Of Error

Dave Bowman: Hello, HAL. Do you read me, HAL?

HAL: Affirmative, Dave. I read you.

Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.

HAL: I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.

Dave Bowman: What's the problem?

HAL: I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.

A vintage mock ad for the HAL 9000 computer by Justin Van Genderen. (Link via Reelizer)

Previously on Popped Culture...

A Space Oddity: Thirty Five Space Helmet Reflections

King Kong Is Ape Amongst Apes

2010: A Toy Odyssey

A Space Oddity: Thirty Five Space Helmet Reflections

This is major Tom to ground control, I'm stepping through the door

And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

And the stars look very different today

Here am I floatin' 'round my tin can far above the world

Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do

3 Ton Gallery pulled together a whole lot of Hollywood astronauts (and one Thom Yorke)

Previously on Popped Culture...

Stanley Kubrick Bloopers

Close Encounters of the Redneck Kind

Music And Blasters And Old Jedi Masters

One Giant Leap For Fakery

 

I don't understand why NASA says it can't return to the Moon, I mean how much can one of these sets really cost? (Lunar Studio via GlennzTees)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Goodnight Keith Moon
One Giant Leap For Parody...
Close Encounters of the Redneck Kind

Close Encounters of the Redneck Kind

Close Encounters of the Redneck Kind from Marc Bullard on Vimeo

Dueling Banjos, of course! Now we know why aliens are always turning cows inside out and picking up dudes in pickup trucks. They're kin! Aliens, they just never stop surprising you. (Link via Miss Cellania)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Space Invader Autopsy
Checkmate In Four Moves, Predator
Invaders! Possibly From Space!

One Giant Leap For Parody...

Forty years ago today, man landed on the Moon. Well, supposedly. You folks probably think that Obama is an American too.

I kid, but at least the loony conspiracy theorists are still interested in the lunar landing, while the rest of us give little thought to the Moon's "magnificent desolation." On the other hand, the Moon landing has been a rich source of parody. Herewith are 13 of the best.

TARDIS Moon Landing

Seems like we were beaten to the Moon by Doctor Who.

SPQR Moon Landing

Actually, no, it was the Romans who got there first. Hmm, history is hard.

Canadian Moon Landing

Wait, wait, wait — Canadians got there first? Now I'm a loyal Canuck and even I know that can't be true.

Redneck Moon Landing

See it was Americans after all. I'm kinda surprised they didn't go in a souped-up version of the General Lee.

Watchmen Moon Landing

At least we know who took that famous photograph — Dr. Manhattan.

Onion Moon Landing

In any case, The Onion sums up how I think every paper should have really reacted to the Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's feat. "Holy living fuck... Are you fucking believing this? Over," Armstrong radioed back to NASA headquarters nearly 25,000 miles away. "I abso-fucking-lutely am standing on the surface of the fucking moon."

Mooning Moon Landing

Perhaps we haven't been back because the moon wasn't everything it was, um, cracked up to be.

Giant Moon Landing

Then again, maybe they found something far too terrifying. And here I thought it would be super-intelligent chimps.

Tractor Moon Landing

One theory on our continuing lack of interest in the moon is that budget cutbacks mean the equipment astronauts would have to use these days would be considerably less than high tech.

Video Camera Moon Landing

It would be easier to dismiss the moon landing hoaxes without pictures like this surfacing. What were they thinking?!

Studio Moon Landing

Turns out they NASA really just went to Sears and got the family special with the Moon backdrop.

Rolling Moon Landing

"Hey guys I got us some McDon.... Crap are we shooting?"

Previously on Popped Culture...
Popaganda: The Pop Culture Revolution
Tank Man of Tiananmen Square
The Evolution of Satire

Star Trek: The Remixed Generation

The new trailer for J.J. Abrams reinvention of Star Trek (a la Batman and 007) only hit theatres last weekend, but it has already been subjected to numerous remixes, mashups and fan edits.

I figure a perfect nerdstorm is accounting for the quick turnaround. Trek fans feel an incredible sense of ownership over the characters of Kirk, Spock, et all; there is much trepidation about the use of young actors and any re-envisionment in general; and they are all pretty much online.

So hence we get the trailers for Star Trek 90210, Top Trek and, to my amusement, The A-Trek (above) among others, which you can see over at TrekMovie.

I don't know if this bodes well for the film. Trek fans were already going to see it, so nothing lost, nothing gained, but if people are already turning to parody, I'd be a little concerned. Or maybe awareness is all that matters. In any case, it made me laugh, which is all I care about anyway.

(link via Topless Robot)

Inspirational, Celebrational, Muppetational

Quick, name the first Muppet that comes to mind. You're likely to say Kermit, Big Bird or, if you're of a certain age, Elmo. But in the cast of thousands, there are many that are on the outside edge of the spotlight.


Such as Link Hogthrob, captain of the USS Swinetrek, of Pigs in Space fame. Hogthrob is precursor to Furturama's Zapp Brannigan. All bluster, no brains.

Topless Robot put together a fabulous list of the eight most underrated Muppets, all with clips, that makes me love this blog ever more.

Fly Me To The Moon...

Fly me to the Moon
Let me sing among those stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars

Nothing to add here, just really loved this picture.

Photo: A plane flies past the full moon on November 13, 2008, seen from the southern German town of Kalchreuth, near Nuremberg, Bavaria. (Timm Schamberger/AFP/Getty Images)

Imperial Stormtroopers... Wheeee!

Roger Denyer's t-shirt design combines to '70s classics: Star Wars and space hoppers. Who needs a TIE fighter or an AT-AT when you can bounce your way into battle? (Much like Fry does on Futurama's War is the H-Word.)

Now go and check out more of Roger's designs and pick up a shirt. If you had an online t-shirt store, he'd buy one from you.

In A Voting Booth Far, Far, Away...

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Happy voting day, my U.S. friends. Here's hoping you get Lando Calrissian instead of Emperor Palpatine.

Music And Blasters And Old Jedi Masters

His name was Solo
He was a pilot
With a blaster at his side
And a smile 12 parsecs wide
There with Chewbacca
He was a Wookie
They met with Luke and Obi-Wan
About the Millenium Falcon
Docking bay ninety-four
Stormtroopers at the door
With a flash of Ben's light-saber, now there's an arm on the floor

At the Star Wars, Star Wars Cantina
The weirdest creatures you've ever seen-a
Here at the Star Wars, Star Wars Cantina
Music and blasters
And old Jedi masters
At the Star Wars...

I came across this video of Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine's parody of Barry Manilow's Copacabana last week and I can't get the damn thing out of my head — so I'm passing it on to you. Mind you I was already susceptible to this happening as Copacabana has always been a guilty pleasure of mine, often appearing in karaoke rotations.

Popped Culture — bringing you last year's videos, today!

The Art Is Strong With This One

Classic works of art with a Star Wars spin from Worth1000.com, my favourite photoshopping site.

I'm going offline for a couple of weeks, but there will be an number of guest editors adding their pop culture wisdom. Play nice.

The Ultimate Lego Weapon

Having no artistic or engineering skills, all my Lego creations tended to be square houses, square cars, squares, well, you get the picture. Even my pre-formed sets never turned out the way they looked on the box, so I've always been impressed by intricate dioramas.

But nothing prepared me for the 3,800 piece Death Star recreation. Gizmodo has some great hi-res pics of this piece of geek Nirvana, which is going for the low, low price of $499 (Canadian). Yeesh, who says Lego is for kids?

Of course for your money you get "the Death Star control room, rotating turbolaser turrets, hangar bay with TIE Advanced starfighter, tractor beam controls, Emperor’s throne room, detention block, firing laser cannon, Imperial conference chamber, droid maintenance facility, and the powerful Death Star superlaser," plus a trash compactor monster!

Ok, I'm off to play with my son's Duplo blocks and make a, um... box.

Stormtroopers Can Dance If They Want To...

We can dance if we want to, we can leave the rebels behind

'Cause if the rebels don't dance and if they don't dance

Well they're no friends of mine

These are just a few pictures of the secret lives of Stormtroopers from Doctor Beef's Storm Troopin' Flickr site. Hilarious stuff. Link via Information Nation.

Little Boxes

And none of them look the same. I've been slumming around the house sick for the past three days and took it upon myself to get craft, but in a pop culture way of course.

Cubeecraft has a fabulous collection of cutouts of animation and video game characters that you can print out at home and stick together with tabs (no glue or anything). I'm working on the Dr. Zoidberg but have realized I need to print it on thicker paper stock. I'll post a pic if I ever complete it.

So bookmark Cubeecraft, there's a new character every week.