this comic totally reminds me of an old SNL sketch where Dana Carvey is doing Tom Brokaw testing various newscasts in case President Ford was killed by various ridiculous scenarios (below comic)….too funny…
candybowl
So Amazon is trying to get on the ‘online studio/streaming’ bandwagon with a number of new pilots – most of which I haven’t paid attention to, but The Man in the High Castle is of particular interest, given that it’s based on a PKD book, one for which he won the Hugo back in the 60’s.
This the story of an alternate history where the Axis won WWI and divided up the world (specifically the USA for the plot of the book) between them. The story flips between the East Coast (dominated by Nazis), West Coast (run by the Japanese) and a central ‘neutral zone’ (I think it was called the Colorado Free State in the booK).
After some stupid tech issues, I finally got the video to run – the first episode is free, although it does make you log in with your Amazon account. Not sure if they are doing a miniseries (like the initial return of BSG was before it became a full-on series) or trying to extend the original story beyond that of the novel, but it’s an interesting start, and well-made so far. I liked the several Seattle ‘architectural cameos’ in it – nice touch, Bezos – and I liked that the actors aren’t big names – for a series like this, I think that in many ways detracts from the story, especially with an ensemble cast.
Definitely interested to see more – although now I may need to take a spin back through the original book too, as it’s been so long since I read it. Hoping they do this justice like A Scanner Darkly, Minority Report or Blade Runner – and NOT like the recent adaptations of The Hobbit (for which JRR T must be doing backflips in his grave about now) but time will tell….here’s a clip:
candybowl
was on The Atlantic’s site today and saw a 1913 pic of the Wuppertal Schwebebahn – I got to ride that thing several years ago – way cool! Have to dig up the pics and writeup from then as the FOM site is no longer online, apparently….click here to see the Schwebebahn as it is today…apparently hauls 25M people a year? wild. Suck on THAT, ‘Sound’ Transit!
On This Day: The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn in 1913
candybowl
this is one of the most surreal things i’ve ever seen – and I love it! This is (obviously) done by Aardman Animations, the creators of Wallace and Gromit (CHEESE!) and Chicken Run – but this is way, way weirder and harder to follow than those. Which is yet again, why I love it. Apparently there are about 26 episodes, and the series is already 15+ years old? How did I miss this? Off to watch some more…:)
candybowl
I’m on a John Scalzi kick – catching up his past several books I hadn’t got round to reading yet. So after the recent Human Division read, I just finished Agent to the Stars, actually his first full-length novel that he originally published for free, but then later after he’d had some success, his publisher found the book online on his site and asked to publish it.
Pretty good story, engaging even if a bit predictable. And as seen in later books, he’s not above scatological humor by any means – this may have been where it all started. And there are other funny bits in here, if you like your pop culture references. But I liked the characters, too and it’s definitely an interesting premise, even if it seems to have been inspired in part by The Simulacra and The Star Beast in parts, with a bit of Clans of the Alphane Moon thrown in (one of the main characters here definitely reminds me of Lord Running Clam in the earlier PKD book).
But none of that is bad stuff, and it’s an entertaining read. Check it out – you can still read it online here.
candybowl
candybowl
saw this in passing on YT – then looked up the episode elsewhere and watched it. You ever watch something thinking it’s going to be funny and then you wish you had that time back? This is arguably the only really good joke in the episode, and it’s the last 30 seconds…..but gotta love that ‘bane’ voice though…..respect his authoritah! 🙂
candybowl
8,000 Glowing Balloons Recreate the Berlin Wall
As Germany celebrates this, an amazing art installation is in Berlin. Wish I could get there to see it – i’ve been there twice, once in 1987 (before it fell) and once in 1992 (right after). Very strange on the second visit how it had immediately changed and the desolation at the center of the city between the two sectors – i’m sure much, much more has changed since …. Such a cool city – can’t wait to go back again….!
Enjoy and congrats, Germany.
LICHTGRENZE from Fall of the Wall 25 on Vimeo.
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