Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Obscarvations.

The nominations are in. I think these are the biggest news stories therefrom:
  • Clooney is everywhere: Best Picture, Supporting Actor, Director, Original Screenplay x2... Was I right to devote my 2005 New Year's Speech to him or what?
  • Michelle Williams - Best Supporting Actress nomination. Acting: the other way to go from being "that Dawson's Creek chick" to movie stardom.
Nearest to dead certs are, I think, P-S Hoffman (Actor), Witherspoon (Lady Actor), "Don't make me" Ang Lee (Director) and Brokeback Mountain (Picture).

Bumments?

Education - Attending lectures in Oxford may become legal requirement

This would have made me an even bigger multiple felon than I am now...

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Society - Cold calling

Why oh why anyone would choose this as the way to make their living, escapes me.

Friday, January 27, 2006

Wrestling - Misbehavin'

Yikes - a Mexican serial-killing female wrestler doing bad things to little ol' ladies - economic necessity my ass.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Family Guy - Stewie gets own talk show


Stewie-hosted online-only talk-show coming-soon (I sure hope that it's Seth doing the voice) - the press release doesn't really offer any hints as to content/format/guests.

Comedy - Twofer

1) Boosh Movie? Yes, please.

2.) Reports on Iannucci's Oxford lecture (1 of 4) here and here.

In Pictures - 0 to 60 in 5 sec

Oh Lord, protect this rocketbike and all who ride upon the rocketbike1.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Science - Funny sexy

From an article in Nature:
[...]the conclusion of two recent studies that confirm a long-standing stereotype of flirting: that women like joky men, while men like women who laugh at their jokes.

[...]
Women ranked the humorous men as better potential partners, the researchers found - and as more friendly, fun and popular. Men's view of a woman, on the other hand, appeared to be uninfluenced by her wit.

Bressler suspected that men and women do, in fact, both value a sense of humour in a mate, but that they might be looking for slightly different things: women valuing an ability to be funny and men valuing an ability to see the joke.
According to one theory, proposed by psychologist Geoffrey Miller at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, women prefer funny men because their wit reveals an active and healthy brain - and a fine set of underlying genes. "It's a very powerful and reliable way to show creativity and intelligence," Miller says.
Exactly what I've been thinking all along. Sadly for us:
The entire idea remains speculative, however. And this particular study only looked at humour in North American college students.

This does remind me of one of Roger's (from Roger Dodger) little speeches:
- Ask any woman, "What's the single most attractive quality a man can possess?"
And what do they invariably answer?
- Sense of humor.
- Sense of humor.
- Sense of humor is huge. Definitely.
And yet, if two lean, mean, play-by-their-own-rules, motorcycle-riding men strolled up to this booth, and beat the shit out of us two humorous guys, right, and asked you out for a ride, you would be weak at the knees.
- No way.
- Weak at the knees.
- Well, actually, guys who ride cycles are pretty sexy.
- Thank you. You see?
- Sorry.
The fact is that touchy-feely, weepy, in-touch-with-their-feelings guys...
make you sick-- you're repulsed by them.
Give me the Ice Age, okay? Survival of the fittest.
No mixed signals. No bullshit.
Just the meanest, hairiest bastard wins all the time.

Entertainment - Take that, Spielberg

What's the deal with these movie-making 10 year olds today?

Entertainment - Lazy Sunday Redux

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - the Samberg impersonation made my lips twitch upwards (it's far better than what I was doing when I was 10).

Work - Love what you do

A good version of the Neil song, in essay form. I like and agree with the constant productivity thing.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Religion - The third way

I think that this article rounds off the Mew's gay/Scarlett Johansson/sex week nicely.

Literature - Self-made Man

This just confirms what we hipsters all knew already - being a jock blows.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Education - US graduates apparently stupid

This seems to go a long way towards explaining why Bush is in office - zing! (it tickles me that they define "identifying a location on a map" as an intermediate skill).

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Friday, January 20, 2006

In Pictures - Robo-Conan

Clearly, separated at birth

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Music - Stephin Merritt Chinese Operas Coming Soon

Stephin Merritt (he that is Magnetic Fields) has written 3 Chinese folk operas, apparently (a bit more info here), and now a "best of" is coming out in March. Potentially interesting...

Robo-hansson

Sexiness, nano-enhancements, whatever next for the girl?

(couldn't choose just one of these snaps, so here they all are - Ed)