Computer Overload

I need to close some windows or my computer asplode, so I’m gonna go all bulleted-list on yo’ unsuspectin’ ass. Bear in mind that half of these can be found at boing boing:

• So, you’re a Neil Gaiman fan? And you think that Dave McKean is a damn fine artist? Oh, and you really miss those really excellent Jim Henson movies from the early 80’s, like The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth? Well, it just so turns out that said creators are all working on MirrorMask. Written by Gaiman, directed by McKean, and produced by Lisa Henson, daughter of the puppeteering genius, this is going to be really excellent. Take a look at some of the screenshots from the film in this article from Comic Book Resources and tell me they’re not wickedly weird and beautiful. Personally, I can’t wait.
• Speaking of Muppets, Fraggle Rock finally came out on DVD. I would go on and on about the merits of this television milestone, about how it was light-years ahead of its time, that its themes were more concrete and viable than many of the Saturday morning cartoons that stood alongside it, but Danny at ToughPigs does a better job than I could.
• Don’t Panic.
• We’re all in danger of Disney’s new Dream Desk personal computer for kids. Here’s hoping it doesn’t “gay” them up. Apparently FOX “News” Channel’s “Your World with Neil Cavuto” (my world with Neil Cavuto sounds kind of like a punishment that might be given to me, a kind of liberal “time-out” that I might receive if I were to, say, purchase a Ford Escapade or something; an act that would no doubt jump-start me back to my senses) had Robert Iger, Disney’s President, on to interview him about the product. Sub host, Stuart Varney, actually brought up the Disney theme parks’ “Gay Days” in connection with this kids’ computer. “You got any ‘Gay Days’ on the Mickey computer?” he asked, obviously in reference to the hordes upon hordes of pornography available for download on the Internet. “You don’t protect the kids from ‘Gay Days’ at the theme parks, do you? Why do you have to protect them in the computer?” What an ass.
• On “Gana la Verde,” which translates to “Win the Green,” contestants compete for a team of immigration lawyers who help expedite their entry into the United States. It’s basically the same competitions as on that awful show, “Fear Factor,” but there’s no cash prizes. I thought that maybe “The Simple Life” or “Amish in the City” or even “The Bachelor” were enough to realy cement the fact that reality television is the root of all evil, but making people eat live scorpions or a worm burrito, all the while promising them something that really can’t be guaranteed… this is sick. Absolutely disgusting.
• Jesus is fucking metal, folks.

That about does it. It’s the weekend, and I am prepared to make it worthwhile. Last weekend was “pay weekend,” where members of our small household go “buck wild,” eat out for three consecutive meals, order multiple pints of alcoholic grain-based beverages at $4.50 a pop from expensive Irish pubs, and even attend the picture show. We saw M. Night Shyamalan’s latest, The Village, which was notably better than the reviews it got. I would recommend it to anyone who was bummed out by Signs or Unbreakable.
I also opened up a subscription at the comic book store down the street, and I signed up for three titles. Books of Magick, which started off in the early nineties as Neil Gaiman’s exploration of magic in the DC universe, is about a young man named Tim Hunter (bespectacled kid with black hair… interesting, huh?) who may just be the world’s most powerful wizard. I’m not saying that J. K. Rowling was ripping anyone off, but… it’s interesting, nonetheless. Also, Powers and Hellblazer. The latter, because I want to be John Constantine, ill luck and sour demeanor notwithstanding.
Now we’re off for a stroll. Cold front came in on the heels of Alex, and there’s a beautiful calm-after-the-storm in effect. Gonna check my box at Parts Unknown for new titles, and get some incense down Tate Street, and later, we’re off to the coolest store in the state, Edward McKay Used Books for some cheap reads.
Take it easy!