Happy Slappy New Year! or: The Only Way I Can Stomach The Black Eyed Peas

Despite the careless choice to feature a mascot, I found myself hypnotically drawn to this mash up.

Happy New Year, folks! Hold money at midnight, look someone straight in the eye while toasting, and use public transportation tonight!

Is This What Happens When Guys Go Tailgating?

I am truly at a loss for words.

Republicans Are Crazy Lying Liars.

I will fully admit, not all of them. But ad campaigns like Andy Martin's that I heard this morning on WGN make me wonder why anyone would ever want to associate themselves with such a hate-mongering, vile group of people.

Andy Martin, a perennial runner for...well...any political office (this time around the Senate race in Illinois), and the person that started 2008 rumors that Barack Obama was Muslim released a radio spot that had the following words:

"I helped expose many of Barack Obama's lies in 2008. Today, I am fighting for the facts about Mark Kirk. Illinois Republican leader Jack Roeser says there is a 'solid rumor that Kirk is a homosexual'. Roeser suggests that Kirk is part of a Republican Party homosexual club. Lake County Illinois Republican leader Ray True says Kirk has surrounded himself with homosexuals. Mark Kirk should tell Republican voters the truth." Text found on Huffington Post.

Shocked at both the vitriolic content of this message and the dumbass who SOLD AIR SPACE FOR THIS MESSAGE, I almost couldn't believe what I heard... until the announcer who was filling in for Greg Jarrett said something to the effect of "I am not allowed to comment on the political ads WGN runs, no matter how idiotic and vile they may be."

Well. Points to you, guy I can't remember. Bob Sirott, maybe?

In looking for information on this ridiculous political campaigning, I came across a newspiece on ChicagoBreakingNews.com that discusses how Andy Martin was not only "sanctioned in federal court for filing hundreds of lawsuits", but "found unfit to practice law by the Illinois Supreme Court".

I was ready this morning to boycott WGN and their Fox News-like support for the insanity of intolerance, but the article also gives WGN a small break by explaining that it is against federal communications law and FCC rules for political advertising to ban a particular ad.

I guess Freedom of Speech works for the crazytowns too, but jeez.

It's Like My Worlds of Awesome Have Collided to Make Me a SUPERWORLD!

This is a flashmob in a Roman shopping center for the release of Glee in Italy. I AM IN LOVE. Glee? Spontaneous public dancing? ITALY?? If they could have somehow thrown Twilight, Lee Pace and baked goods in there, I would have exploded.

Oh, and waited 3 months so I could have born witness in person.

This Is Wrong On So Many Levels.

This is the latest Michelin ad running on air right now. Can we discuss how wrong it is to have dancing roadkill? I don't care how cutesy you try to make the carnage, they're still dead animals. Why not make the guts pink and blue and glittery?

Anyone else catch the subtle "ghetto" influence of the "pre-Michelin" road? I was half expecting to see the raccoon dealing rocks to his flattened little homies.

Rocking, Muppet Style.

Who doesn't want Muppets on a Saturday morning?

The Internet is My True Love.

Guess what's now on Hulu?

EPISODES OF MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000, THAT'S WHAT. It's enough to get my geek heart fluttering.

I pledge my alliegance to you fully, Hulu. I love you with all my might. If you want me to kill people, I might. If you throw I Accuse My Parents on there. Just sayin'.

In other geek related news, PeeWee Herman is back. There's a stage show announced, and maybe another movie! Is anyone NOT excited about this? Because frankly, I find you un-American.

Bestill My 12 Year Old Heart...

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a youth book series that I fully enjoy. Yes, I realize that I read more kid's lit than adult lit now (Harry Potter, I blame you), but what's the fun in life if you can't regress?

This movie looks pretty good, but I have a few beefs with it.

A)... Percy Jackson (the kid with the pen) is TWELVE YEARS OLD in the first book. His age plays a pretty significant part in the series plot, so the fact that this young man's testes have undoubtedly descended gives me pause.

B) Steve Coogan is Hades? Boromir is Zeus? Well, Boromir I can handle. (yes yes, Sean Bean, I KNOW his real name)... but Steve Coogan isn't... hmmmm... EVILLLLL enough to be the God of the Dead for me, which is really just a symptom of a larger issue- NONE of the casting looks like I imagined them. I will confess I hold this to the gold standard, Harry Potter, in which most of the characters are realized the way I imagined them back in 2000. Jesus, I'm old.

C) This guy is Ares (who should also have more of a role than "uncredited" suggests). While I expected most of the gods to be, well, older (many are not), this guy? God of War? More like God of Donuts and Looking Sorta Like William Shatner.

I don't know, folks. In a period in which Where the Wild Things Are and the Fantastic Mr. Fox are generating Oscar and nostalgia buzz, could we have given this more effort? Am I overthinking it?

British Farmers Have a Lot of Time On Their Hands.

To the enjoyment of us all. Kudos to Big Bro for the find!

Sheer Poetry

I really like Christopher Walken, despite really weird stories a friend of mine from junior high used to tell about him (Like that he actually filed his teeth down to points... which must have come in handy in Sleepy Hollow...). She used to lie a lot though, so I took everything with a grain of salt. Please. This man was in a Fatboy Slim video for cry-eye!!

PS- doesn't this interpretation remind you of this version of Rocket Man from Shatner at the 1978 Science Fiction awards (do they still have those? turns out they do)? I have loved this since I first saw it as my poetry final in college. I miss ya, Clewell.

PPS- this just proves how awesome Shatner was...