Entertainment
pharyngula | November 2, 2008As anyone who has followed computer games at all lately knows, Spore is the recently released computer game from Maxis that was initially touted as a kind of partial simulation of evolution. Unfortunately, It wasn't a very good simulation of much of anything, and as a game it has only been a partial success, with some parts being quite entertaining and others deserving a resounding "meh". (Disclaimer: I have the game, but haven't bothered to install it yet; I've let Skatje play it for me, and I've read the reviews, and suffered a noticeable loss of enthusiasm from that exposure.)
Now there…
pharyngula | October 31, 2008It's Halloween, and I'm on my way to Toronto, where I'll be spending a most unhallowed evening giving a talk. The one thing I regret about this is that I won't be indulging in my favorite guilty pleasure for this time of year: watching an old horror movie or two. I'll just reminisce here for a few minutes over my favorites. Don't expect profundity, I admit up front that my taste is indiscriminate.
All of the Hammer films — I happened to hit adolescence just as there was this renaissance of British horror, so these caught me at an impressionable age.
The Abominable Dr Phibes. Vincent Price…
pharyngula | October 5, 2008This new movie, Religulous, is doing reasonably well on its opening weekend, bringing in about $3.5 million. This is comparable to what Expelled brought in (about $3.7 million). There are a few differences, though.
Religulous hasn't had much of an advertising campaign. Remember all the Expelled commercials everywhere, including The Daily Show? Maher's movie has only relatively recently been getting plugged. It's ads are more intelligently targeted, though.
Religulous only opened on 500 screens, compared to Expelled's 1000.
Religulous is coming off its opening weekend with great word of…
pharyngula | October 3, 2008And it's not showing anywhere near me. In fact, I will be very surprised if it opens anywhere in this rural, religious area…I'll probably have to wait for it to come out on DVD. Religulous is the new movie by Bill Maher, an agnostic who thinks religion is a "load of nonsense", which by all reports is going to mock religion mercilessly — if this hysterical review by a devout fundamentalist is any indication, it's going to be great. Maher, though, isn't exactly an unblemished source with a deep dedication to reason, since he's fallen for some embarrassingly silly altie medicine nonsense before…
pharyngula | October 1, 2008Even though it's actually 1,037,696 comments on ScienceBlogs right now, and they're a little slow, the New Yorkers are finally getting it together for a big shindig in the Big Apple. If you're somewhere near Manhattan on 7 October, stop by and party with the nerds.
pharyngula | September 17, 2008Let's see…it must have a lot of accordions in it, or cowboys singing drunken love songs to their trucks, right? Just to blow your minds, my colleague with esoteric musical taste, Nic McPhee, is getting interviewed tonight, and he'll be playing some of his favorite songs on the radio. This is our local university radio station, which has a limited license and can't play anything that has cracked the top 40 in the last 10 or 20 years, but I don't think Nic's taste will conflict at all with the station rules.
So tune in to KUMM, 89.7FM, at 6:00pm Central and have those rural Minnesotan…
pharyngula | September 14, 2008Either that or it's just plain obvious to anyone with their eyes open. This is Frank Zappa in 1988, singing about the Big Lies:
You can find the lyrics here.
pharyngula | September 10, 2008I have very mixed feelings about this game, but I've ordered a copy anyway (Skatje told me I had to). I've played with the creature creator, which is actually rather fun…but it's really just the most elaborate version of Mr Potatohead ever designed. What I've seen of the game itself puts me off a bit, though. It's not going to teach one single thing about evolution, and actually teaches several things that are anti-evolutionary. It's a design toy, not any kind of evolution simulator, but people are gushing over it as if it might actually improve the image of evolutionary biology.
So I have…
pharyngula | September 9, 2008We actually own a television now, installed right in our living room. In the past, I've gotten by with an adapter for my laptop that lets me see the occasional interesting program, but now I can actually tune in to cable stations and flip through what's being broadcast. It has not been a worthy effort, since most of what's being shown is dreck.
So I turned to the video store for DVDs. When I want to slack off, I've long been a fan of science fiction and horror movies — I grew up in the days of Hammer Films and Vincent Price and many of the cheesy classics of old school SF and creature…
pharyngula | September 8, 2008I am shocked — people mistook my reference to "Gloria" in the last post for some cheesy 80s dreck, instead of one of the greatest rock songs of all time. So here, for those who are confused, here's an education:
Laura Branigan? Girlfriend, please.
pharyngula | September 5, 2008There's a new movie being developed on the life of Charles Darwin that actually has the potential to be good. It's based on Randal Keyne's book, Annie's Box(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), which is an excellent source that humanizes the man well. It also has a good cast so far, although, seriously, Jennifer Connelly is way too hot to play Emma Darwin — they're going to have to dress her down quite a bit.
Husband and wife Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly have been cast as a married couple in an upcoming film titled Creation (previously known as Origin). The film tells the life story of Charles…
pharyngula | September 2, 2008I told you that Roy Zimmerman had a new topical song about Sarah Palin…and here it is:
pharyngula | August 31, 2008I'm down at this funky coffeehouse in Fargo, the Red Raven, watching Roy Zimmerman set up. It's not too late, the show starts in a half hour, so you Dakotans better come on over! It's a nice cozy little venue, and a great place for a performance.
Definitely a great performance — Roy is great about making you laugh over situations that ought to make you cry. I heard a few new songs, including one about Sarah Palin that must have been written in just the past few days. Here's my obligatory fanboy picture:
If you missed him tonight, there are more chances. He's about halfway through his 48…
pharyngula | August 31, 2008Shortly, I'll be heading north to the lovely town of Fargo for an evening of fine entertainment. Roy Zimmerman will be playing at the Red Raven Espresso Parlor at 8pm! Come on down!
If there any other Pharynguloids in the eastern North Dakota area, let's try and pack the house!
pharyngula | August 30, 2008You can watch it here. She did as well as she could, but whoa…this is a perfect example of how Stephen Colbert will tromp all over an interview for comic effect.
pharyngula | August 28, 2008Once upon a time, I made some unfortunate remarks about knitting, and I felt like I'd prodded Madame Defarge, which is never a good idea.
But really, I love you guys, and here's a whole page of cephalopod craft patterns to show it.
pharyngula | August 26, 2008They're remaking The Day the Earth Stood Still…with Keanu Reeves! It looks very, very bad. What did they think they had to add to a SF classic? More special effects?
(At least there's one bit of good news: Watchmen looks fabulous.)
pharyngula | August 25, 2008I bet all they had to do was tell the investors what it is — an Australian musical romantic zombie comedy with giant cephalopods — and the money must have come rolling in for $QUID. I'd pay to see it.
Although…the teaser does need more squid in it.
(via Twitch)