Alecbugg

Originally published as a two-part episode in October 2010, this conversation between Marc and Louis C.K. was chosen by Slate as the #1 podcast episode of all time. It is presented here for the first time as a single, uninterrupted episode.  

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Thanks Donnie Mac

 

The post Two Passions – Drinking and Flying appeared first on Bits and Pieces.

Robert Bacon has created one hell of a mapsterpiece. Read the rest

Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons have booked their tickets to "Fargo."

Entertainment Weekly reports that the two actors have signed on to star in season 2 of the Emmy-winning FX anthology series. The first season of the show, adapted from the Coen brothers movie, won the Best Miniseries trophy, and performances by Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, and Allison Tolman garnered gushing accolades from critics.

As an anthology series, like FX sibling "American Horror Story" and HBO's "True Detective," will take place in a new setting with new characters. Unlike the aforementioned shows, however, "Fargo" will maintain loose ties between seasons.

Dunst will play small-town beautician Peggy Blomquist, who dreams of the big city while struggling with traditional societal expectations. Plemons ("Breaking Bad," "Friday Night Lights") is her husband, a butcher's assistant who wants to support his wife, even if he doesn't quite understand her.

Season 2 will be a prequel, of sorts, taking place in 1979 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Luverne, Minnesota. Still uncast is a young Lou Solverson, who was played by Keith Carradine in season 1. Solverson was the father of Tolman's character, and he often made reference to a defining case he worked on as a young officer after the Vietnam War.

"He thought he left the war behind, but he came back and here it is, it's domestic," showrunner Noah Hawley told EW. "We will meet Molly's mother, who was not a character in season 1 ... and we'll learn what happened to her. There were a lot of clues left in the first season and we'll do our best to hit those."

"Everybody's gone out of their mind," someone intones in the new trailer for "Mad Max: Fury Road." That seems like a vast understatement; everybody's gone insane. Like, insane in the membrane.

The trailer lays out the story - the world has gone to pieces, everybody's trying to survive in post-apocalyptic conditions - but who cares about that? The movie looks STUNNING; the trailer is full of gorgeous shot after gorgeous shot. Everything, from people to vehicles to landscapes, are in hues of burnt sienna. The car crashes, explosions, and combat scenes are visually arresting. Then the orchestral music starts to soar, and just whoa. Put us in the asylum too, please.

"Mad Max: Fury Road" stars Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, and Nicholas Hoult, and opens May 15, 2015.

In an alternate timeline, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans would be fighting over civil rights while Andrew Garfield swings around them singing tra-la-la and offering snarky one-liners.

Buried in the massive leak of internal Sony Pictures documents, The Wall Street Journal has found emails between Marvel Studios and Sony over collaborating on future Spider-Man movies. According to the report, "extensive discussions" went all the way up the chain to Sony CEO Kaz Hirai and Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger. Specifically, Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairman tells a colleague that Marvel wanted to include Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War, which kicks off so-called "Phase Three" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on May 6th, 2016.

I...

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As Serious Eats pointed out in its rundown of Philadelphia cheesesteaks, under seasoning is a big issue. Even spots that aren’t just phoning it in often lack adding any salt or pepper. Under seasoning is not an issue on the Train Wreck at Beck’s Cajun Cafe. This Philadelphia take on the Po Boy adds Andouille sausage and salami to the traditional cheesesteak.

Today we take the Train Wreck for a spin and see how the Creole take on the cheesesteak stacks up.

Beck’s Cajun Cafe
30th Street Station
215-382-2800
Additional location at Reading Terminal Market

Roll: French baguette smeared with Beck’s Creole mayo.

Meat: In addition to finely chopped beef, there’s also Andouille sausage and salami, all mixed together.

Onion: Thinly chopped and caramelized.

Cheese: American

Price: $8.95 + tax.

Pro Tip: Want to take your cheesesteak up a couple levels. Add a few shakes of Beck’s 3 Devils Hot Sauce for a sweet and tangy burn or ask for a extra Devil Dust for a more intense smoky flavor. And of course, you can take those sauces and rubs home to experiment with in your own kitchen.

The Verdict

The Train Wreck is an excellent cheesesteak and a really good sandwich. It even teeters towards  Philadelphia Sandwich Pantheon status with the likes of DiNic’s roast pork, Nick’s roast beef and a Paesano from Paesano’s. It is a big sandwich that offers value at $8.95. A half was enough to fill me for lunch. The steak is finely chopped along with the sausage and salami, allowing the flavors of all the meats mingle in every bite. The cheese is also folded into the sandwich, creating a balanced flavor throughout. The spice is prevalent but not overwhelming, making the Train Wreck a cheesesteak with a little bite and not some sort of Cajun Frankenstein. It has been two hours since I woofed down the Train Wreck cheesesteak and I’m regretting sharing the second half. Beck’s Train Wreck is one of the best cheesesteaks in town, and a welcome counterpoint to the under-seasoned steaks that have plagued the Year of the Cheesesteak.

For more of the best cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, read our Year of the Cheesesteak section.

The post Tale of the Tape: Train Wreck at Beck’s Cajun Cafe appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

David Rosen and director Marc Webb have sold their corporate espionage series, Professionals, to Showtime. The network has commissioned three scripts from Rosen, creator of TV shows with much better names like Us & Them and I Just Want My Pants Back. Sounding like a mixture of The Wrong Mans, The Office, and, let’s say, Chuck, Professionals “centers on two partially broken mid-level employees who become ensnared in a dangerous game of corporate espionage.” Should the project be greenlit, the pilot will be directed by Webb. And if not, it will resurface as nothing more than an interesting aside that Webb talks about while desperately trying to sell the next Spider-Man movie.

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Suikoden 2, the beloved Japanese role-playing game from Konami, will be released tomorrow, Dec. 9, as a PSone Classics title on PlayStation Network in North America, Konami announced this past weekend during PlayStation Experience.

The PSone Classics version of Suikoden 2 will cost $9.99. PSone Classics are playable on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita, and some of them are also compatible with PlayStation TV.

"Of all my years at Konami, I think the biggest request I've received by volume is Suikoden II," said Travis Shrodes, associate social media manager for Konami, in a post on the PlayStation Blog.

Suikoden 2 debuted on PlayStation in December 1998 in Japan, and was released in North America the following...

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By Leo Babauta

On a typical day, I’ll be in a work mode that looks something like this:

• I’ll check my email and process it as quickly as possible.
• Then I’ll open a document to write something.
• I’ll quickly switch to one of my favorite sites for finding well-written or useful online articles.
• Then I’ll switch back to the writing.
• Then I’ll go do some cleaning.
• Then back to the writing.

The problem is that my mind isn’t in a mode for focusing on the writing. It’s in Fast Mode, brought on by the processing of email, where I will make quick decisions on emails, take quick action, and quickly dispose of them.

Even in this quick email processing, I have trouble dealing with the two or three emails that require longer thought or action. The ones that require me to deliberate usually end up sitting in my inbox for a few days, because my mind is in Fast Mode whenever I’m in my inbox.

Writing or otherwise creating when your brain is in Fast Mode is nearly impossible, until you switch to Slow Mode. You’ll just switch from the writing to some smaller, faster task, or go to distractions.

Considering a tough decision long enough to weigh the various factors and make a good decision is also pretty near impossible while you’re in Fast Mode. So you put off the decisions until later, even if it would only take a few minutes to make a decision.

Any task that isn’t a quick click or two also gets pushed back while you’re in Fast Mode. You don’t have time to spend five minutes on a single task, because you’re so busy!

You can’t really exercise or meditate in Fast Mode, either, because those take longer than a minute. They take a block of time that isn’t just a minute or two that you can do in Fast Mode.

You can watch TV, because TV has learned to appeal to Fast Mode, switching constantly to new things every few seconds. But you won’t watch a slower film that requires your mind to pay attention and give it consideration for longer than a few minutes.

Being in Fast Mode leads to constant switching, and constant busy-ness. It leads to overwork, because when do you switch it off? It leads to exhaustion, because we never give ourselves breathing room.

Learn to recognize when you’re in Fast Mode, and practice switching to Slow Mode now and then. It’s essential to doing all the things that are really important.

Founding Fathers Sports Bar and Grill opens today. The bar is located at 1612 South Street and features a clean design and a lot of very big TVs.

Owners Owners Jon Adler and Sam Brouwer swing open the doors at 5 p.m. with a full bar and flowing beer taps. The kitchen will be bringing out complimentary food this evening and start full food service tomorrow at noon.

Founding Fathers will add brunch down the line and looks to cater to the neighborhood. Al Anderson, who has previously worked at Johnny Brenda’s and South Philly Taproom is the man in the kitchen.

Founding Fathers Sports Bar and Grill [Foobooz]

The post Founding Fathers Sports Bar Opens Today appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

The Lord of the Rings was always conceived as one long book, and was only broken up due to publisher interference. That being said, it's one long book, filled with songs and lengthy descriptions of meals and travel. It's a comfortable book to read for that reason, as long as you're not in a rush, and there's something to be said for taking the long way 'round a story.

The Hobbit has long been a joy due to its relatively brevity and pace. It's a fun book you can read in close to one sitting, and tells a complete story in a short amount of time.

That's why the three-movie treatment of The Hobbit is so frustrating. Peter Jackson has taken one of the few times Tolkien didn't pad his own content out and all but ruined the original intent by...

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Square-Enix recently announced Final Fantasy VII would be coming to the PS4 - and after a surprising announcement and some build-up, it was revealed that it would be...the PC port. Which is pretty much the exact same game released nearly 20 years ago. While still regarded as one of the greatest and most influential RPGs ever, fans have been clamoring for an HD remake to adjust some of the gameplay to make it a little smoother, and give it a next-gen graphical overhaul. Especially given the recent spate of HD remakes, this doesn't seem too unreasonable. But what is Square-Enix thinking? Here's their pros and cons list:

 

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Like his "Parks and Recreation" character Ron Swanson, comedian Nick Offerman also has a soft spot for whiskey, so much so that he's teamed up with a liquor company to promote his favorite beverage.

Offerman paired with Diageo -- makers of Scottish whiskies Lagavulin and Oban -- on a new video series, "My Tales of Whisky," which the actor kicked off with a song. In the first video, Offerman sings about all his favorite pastimes, including playing guitar, woodworking, and riding his horse -- but none of them is perfect, he explains, because he can't drink whiskey while doing them.

"It could all be so grand if I hand a third hand," Offerman sings wistfully.

Sadly, however, Offerman must wait until he completes all the above activities before indulging in a beverage, otherwise he'll end up with "a puddle of booze in [my] crotch."

Offerman traveled to Scotland to complete portions of the video, and "Parks and Rec" viewers will notice that part of that trip made it into last year's season six premiere, when the gang traveled across the pond to London, and Leslie sent Ron on a scavenger hunt that ended at Lagavulin in Scotland.

Diageo is expected to release more Offerman videos soon. Check out the first clip below.

[via: My Tales of Whisky, h/t TheWrap]

Photo credit: YouTube

It's been nearly two years since the last new episode of Black Mirror, the fantastic, dark-as-hell British sci-fi series created by Charlie Brooker (which you should absolutely be watching right now), but the wait is nearly over: behold, our first glimpse of "White Christmas," the Black Mirror Christmas. There's nothing like Oona Chaplin screaming into an endless, shapeless white void to get us all in the holiday spirit!

We don't know too much about the plot of the special right now, aside from Channel 4's statement in a press release: "It will be the most mind-bending episode yet, showcasing three interwoven stories of Yuletide techno-paranoia." (Let's be real, is there any other kind of techno-paranoia?) From the looks of the promo,...

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Thanks Mike (from Spain)

 

The post Up, Up, And … Ouch! appeared first on Bits and Pieces.