Entertainment
pharyngula | June 18, 2008I've got all this work to get done right now, and what happens? Electronic Arts sends me the Creature Creator for their upcoming Spore video game (which is not going to be about evolution, no matter what their PR says — I've read the blurbs, and it's all non-evolutionary). It is fun, though. And of course I quickly whipped up a pharyngupod:
Now I'm putting the game away. No more playing until I get back from my meetings this weekend.
pharyngula | June 16, 2008As I said I would, I'm watching this History Channel documentary about the origin of life. How about a little live-blogging?
8:00. Ugh. It begins with a bunch of tripe from Coyne and Polkinghorne, claiming we need religion to understand the meaning of life. This is a bad, bad start, but I'm hoping it's nothing but a weasely preliminary that they will then abandon to get to some real science.
There are lots of gimmicky special efects, but OK, let's get the general audience interested. I'm not too keen on the parade of talking heads, though: they keep trotting out different investigators,…
pharyngula | June 16, 2008In addition to the abiogenesis program on the History Channel, it looks like Ken Miller is going to be on the Colbert Report on Comedy Central. I hope you've got cable!
By the way, if you don't have cable, and you still want to see Ken Miller, the HHMI offers a DVD of Miller lecturing on evolution and ID for free to North Americans. I'm reviewing it right now for consideration in our introductory biology class.
(I actually don't use a television, I've got one of these tuner gadgets for my laptop, so I'll probably record both programs tonight.)
pharyngula | June 16, 2008There seems to be a lot of interest in theories of abiogenesis around here — and it looks like The History Channel is showing a program on How Life Began tonight. Is the History Channel actually trying to ramp up some good science content, or have I been missing some good stuff on that channel?
pharyngula | June 14, 2008I can't believe people are actually going to see Shyamalamadingdong's new movie, The Happening. Just as George Lucas ought to be hogtied and gagged anytime he tries to write a single line of dialog, Shyamalan needs to be slapped silly next time he tries to invent a plot. The man has some artistic talent, but unfortunately, it's imbedded in a brain that is simply not very bright, and sees Portents and Significance in inanity, which really gets in the way of composing a good story. What makes it even worse is when he starts pontificating on his version of Science — it was disastrous stupidity…
pharyngula | June 14, 2008Would you like to host a TV series?
Leading cable television network is casting for female scientists (professionals or grad students) to host a reality/documentary series. Smart, energetic, charismatic candidates wanted. No previous media experience required.
"Reality series" always means "mindless" to me, but hey, maybe you can inject some intelligence into it.
These shows always want someone who is not me, though, which is always a bit depressing, even if I'm personally not at all interested in doing anything like this.
pharyngula | June 12, 2008People have been asking me what's up with that potentially interesting television series called Evolve that is supposed to be shown next week — it's not showing up on anyone's schedules. I wrote to the executive producer, and she said the History Channel has delayed it to sometime in July. She'll let me know more when the schedule firms up more.
pharyngula | June 9, 2008
Randy Olson has a new movie that is premiering today: Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy. We all know it's going to be funny, and that because it will also criticize the scientists studying climate change, it will be infuriating and annoying and will draw lots of fire from both sides.
Go ahead and start sharpening your knives, but do keep this in mind: Olson is the only guy we've got trying to widen the market for science documentaries beyond the gray-haired, PBS-watching, NPR-listening audience. He's opening this thing at Outfest, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, rather than as a…
pharyngula | May 22, 2008You all know how the Indiana Jones movies are written, don't you? Let me recreate for you the day Steven Spielberg sat down with his head writer to put together the outline of what would be the fourth installment in the franchise.
Spielberg: Guys, here it is: the secret formula for a successful Indiana Jones movie. [Spielberg waves a tattered 3x5 index card around] Take this, and let's get to work.
Writer: Steve…this is just a scribbled sentence with some blanks.
Spielberg: Right. Haven't you ever played Mad Libs?
Writer: OK, but don't you kind of have this memorized? Why go through the…
pharyngula | May 21, 2008And you all know what that means…the premiere of the new Indiana Jones movie. It's opening here in Morris at 12:01 am, and Skatje and I will be there…and since it is Morris, the line will be negligible, and we'll get the best seats in the house, and we'll have a grand time.
I've been looking forward to this one for a while. It's so reassuring to know that even an old geezer can be an action hero.
Who else is mobbing the theater tonight?
pharyngula | May 4, 2008By now, many of you have probably seen the latest super-hero summer blockbuster, so the time is right for opening up a discussion.
I thought it was excellent and loads of fun, although the irony did not escape me that it was about a conscienceless weapons merchant who has an epiphany about the tragic consequences of his industry, and decides to end his contribution to the bloodshed…so he goes home to build a new, super-powerful personal weapons system that allows him to beat up bad guys. Whatever you do, don't think deeply about this movie! It's just some good acting, excellent special…
pharyngula | May 1, 2008I've been neglecting my prayers today — I've got all this writing to get done, and I chose to actually sit before my keyboard and move my hands and think with my brain, rather than calling upon the Lord to do my work for me. I've actually gotten a fair amount done.
Now comes the part where one might expect some heavenly reward for one's pious industry, but I don't believe in that, either. I'm going to have to do something myself … so here I come, Iron Man! We have a late night premiere showing of a first run movie in Morris, so of course I have to go.
It looks like a darned good action movie…
pharyngula | April 21, 2008We have a confession! It was made by Michael Edmondson, and it was produced by the people behind Expelled. He wrote to me, and says, "The intent of the video has been questioned a lot…I suppose the answer is that I tried to make something that was funny to me and It's not really meant to convince anyone of anything." That's how I felt about it: it's amusing, and that's all that matters — it's vague enough that it can be read any way you want.
Edmondson has also made a brief sequel.
Note that Stein is wearing a t-shirt that says "Poe's Law".
pharyngula | April 19, 2008I mentioned some of the good stuff in Morris this weekend, and some are imminent: at 3:00, it's Vincent Price in Theatre of Blood at the Morris Theatre; then at 8:00, it's the Auditorium of Creationist Blather, as Angus Menuge argues with me about whether neuroscience leaves room for god (answer: no. Hey, that was quick!). You Twin Cities residents can still make the movie if you leave right now — we're about 3 hours away.
Or you could rent the video and watch it at home, and apparently the debate will be recorded, so you'll be able to watch it on the interwebs later on.
pharyngula | April 18, 2008Hey, I remember when this piece from Rush came out, and I remember the snake-like tree in the video, but I don't remember the ending … and it's the ending that makes me laugh now.
pharyngula | April 16, 2008Plan ahead! It's going to be a fun weekend!
This Thursday, 17 April, get a head start on the weekend with Virtually Speaking on Second Life. I'm being interviewed at 6pm Pacific Time, and this could be spectacularly entertaining: I'm a total newbie at SL, so I'm going to be getting lessons in how to sit down this afternoon, which tells you that there will be opportunities for major klutzy gaffes at this event. I'm afraid I might turn into a giant flying penis sometime mid-interview.
Friday evening at 7:30 pm, we have the UMM Dance Ensemble performance in Edson Auditorium here on campus. Some…
pharyngula | April 14, 2008Jay Hosler has a new book out, Optical Allusions(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll). If you're familiar with his other books, Clan Apis(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll) and The Sandwalk Adventures(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), you know what to expect: a comic book that takes its science seriously. Hosler has a fabulous knack for building serious content into a light and humorous medium, just the kind of approach we need to get wider distribution of science into the culture.
This one has a strange premise. Wrinkles the Wonder Brain is an animated, naked brain working for the Graeae Sisters, and he loses the one eye they…
pharyngula | March 11, 2008What's that? Some of you are unfamiliar with the phrase "Big Science," so freely tossed about by creationists like Ben Stein? Here's what it means:
Coo coo it's cold outside.
Coo coo it's cold outside.
Ooo coo coo.
Don't forget your mittens.
Hey Pal!
How do I get to town from here?
And he said "Well just take a right where they're going to build that new shopping mall, go straight past where they're going to put in the freeway, take a left at what's going to be the new sports center, and keep going until you hit the place where they're thinking of building that drive-in bank.
You can'…
pharyngula | March 8, 2008I've been seeing all the ads for this new movie, 10,000 BC, but I haven't even been tempted to want to think about going to see it. Come on, people: One Million Years B.C., while even more grossly inaccurate, at least had Raquel Welch in that adorable bikini, and Quest for Fire had the invention of the missionary position. This movie has nothing but nicely modeled woolly mammoths, and I don't see any teenagers stampeding the head shops for that poster to hang on their bedroom walls.
Anyway, here's a review of the latest dreck from Emmerich. That's as close as I'm getting to it.
pharyngula | March 6, 2008Yeah, I cried at the story of The Dog, the Cat, and the Giant Squid.
Quick, someone, get the movie rights!