threefourtwo

"When John Garlic enters a room, you know you’re going to have fun."

Today's New York Times has a nice history of the gyro, which may have been created by a man named John Garlic.

-izikeyl

The Big Lebowski

Film: The Big Lebowski

Year: 1998

Director: Joel Coen

Writer: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Tagline: (I'm not really sure there is one)

Actors: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman

Thoughts: I watched this again after reading a good Rolling Stone article about how this film has become such a huge cult favorite ten years after it was initially released.

It walked on my pillow!

In what was the high-point of my morning here at the home office, I managed to corner a pretty good-sized spider using the tried-and-true plastic cup/envelope humane trapping method. (It was definitely big enough that I wouldn't want it to bite me. I feel like I could see its eyes.)

Anyway, when I got to the front door - cup and envelope in hand - I realized that it had somehow escaped from it's Hannibal Lecter-esque plastic cell, and now I'm a little concerned that there's a somewhat scary spider with a vendetta on the loose, and in my bedroom, no less, where I sleep.

Exciting times.

I may have to leave the house for a while.

-izikeyl

Reckoner remix contest

Radiohead posted a bunch of different "stems" from my favorite In Rainbows song "Reckoner" on iTunes, and they're asking fans (or whomever) to remix the track and post it on the site Radioheadremix.com.

The winning track - based on the democratic practice of voting - gets a t-shirt and a kiss on the mouth from guitarist Johnny Greenwood.

-izikeyl

popless

Back in January when I was working my *ss off at a job that probably won't be mentioned in this weblog, The Onion's AV Club music reviewer Noel Murray was unplugging from any new music in 2008 and revisiting his voluminous record collection, writing his thoughts on certain bands and also posting some tracks in a feature called "Popless."

He's set to finish next month, but - having some time of my own this week - I've been reading it from the beginning, and it's well worth checking out if you have some time.

(Because of the way it's formatted in the AV Club's archives, I had to post it backwards, but you'll figure it out.)

-izikeyl

Grizzly Man

Film: Grizzly Man

Year: 2005

Director: Werner Herzog

Writer: Werner Herzog

Tagline: "In nature, there are boundaries"

Documentary Subject: Timothy Treadwell

Thoughts: Timothy Treadwell spent 13 summers in Alaska living amongst Grizzly bears in a national park. His own footage is of the uninhabited Alaskan wilderness which is is lush, hard, and very beautiful - it looks like another planet. His hubris that he would ultimately be accepted as an equal by a predatory species was his ultimate demise, but it was very evident he was prepared for the eventuality of an attack, and he lived and died doing what he felt he was born to do.

The Onion Movie

Film: The Onion Movie

Year: 2008

Director: Tom Kuntz, Mike Maguire

Writers: Todd Hanson, Robert D. Siegel

Tagline: "Steven Seagal is... Cockpuncher!"

Actors: Steven Seagal, Michael Bolton, possibly Rodney Dangerfield

Thoughts: Kind of like a Mr. Show-style sketch comedy, where different scenes are vaguely inter-related and strung together, but it doesn't completely work out as well or is as organized as Mr. Show; maybe they could've brought David Cross on board as a quality control consultant or something. Not great, but also not bad, and the one joke they make about Asian Americans is really spot on and fantastic.

David Foster Wallace

Rest in peace. I love you.

Bubba Ho-Tep

Film: Bubba Ho-Tep

Year: 2004

Director: Don Coscarelli

Writers: Joe R. Lansdale, Don Coscarelli

Tagline: "The King vs. The King of the Dead"

Actors: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis

Thoughts: Fun B-Movie horror. The best faux-horror comedy you could possibly imagine making for $1,900. Bruce Campbell is a very convincing 80-year-old Elvis Presley. "Ask not what your retirement home can do for you, ask what you can do for your retirement home."

Radiohead at the Santa Barbara Bowl

I saw Radiohead on tour in Seattle a few weeks ago, and they were predictably very good.

This is a show from the same tour.

-izikeyl