Alecbugg

Although 30 Rock is really and truly over, having answered its central mystery of “What is the island?” back in January (answer: Manhattan), Tina Fey is producing another NBC show that could potentially fill the void. Fey, her 30 Rock co-showrunner Robert Carlock, and 30 Rock writer-producer Colleen McGuinness have just sold the network another “female-centered workplace project”—one described as “in the vein of Cheers,” which we guess means beer will be served, maybe. What we do know for certain is that it’s about a young woman trying to reconnect with her estranged father, which leads her to discover “a new home and family on Fire Island.” Of course, given Fire Island’s long history as a comedic shorthand for the gay community, you can probably extrapolate what that means: That on this show, everything is constantly on fire. Can this young woman truly have it all, before ...

Although the final moments of Sunday’s Breaking Bad left viewers with plenty of questions yet to be answered—chief among them whether Walter’s scheme to move the air fresheners will pay off, or just cost him another piece of his soul—one of the most immediate was the identity of one Kevin Cordasco, to whom the episode was dedicated. Well, The Hollywood Reporter has answered that, and it’s heartbreaking: Cordasco was a 16-year-old Breaking Bad fan who died in March, after a six-year battle with cancer. And as his father says in the article, Cordasco found inspiration (and finally, a good kind) in Walter’s own struggles with the disease: “There was something about the Walter White character … the way he took control of his illness, and his life, that really resonated with Kevin.” Eventually, Cordasco asked his godmother to use her industry connections to help him ...

Language NSFW

Thanks Mike (from Spain)

via http://www.shockmansion.com/2012/08/01/random-radness-vol-123-55-photos/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+shockmansion%2FwRLZ+%28Shock+Mansion%29

via http://gusnyc.tumblr.com/

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via http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/9/22816490693

The Creators Project has put together a really great mini-documentary about The Postal Service, the flash-in-the-pan band that’s out now on its 10^th anniversary tour. Though the group’s one and only record, Give Up, has sold over a million copies, most of those copies sold after the group toured and promoted the record, and so the short is an interesting look at how Jenny Lewis, Jimmy Tamborello, and Ben Gibbard have all been dealing with the massive crowds and nostalgia blasts at their recent shows.

The Postal Service has a number of dates coming up, including sold out stints in Berkeley, Kansas City, and Chicago. 

via http://www.debutart.com/artist/alex-trochut/work/vampire-weekend

Thanks Krisgo

With so many new series popping up on streaming services and DVD every day, it gets harder and harder to keep up with new shows, much less the all-time classics. With TV Club 10, we point you toward the 10 episodes that best represent a TV series, classic or modern. If you watch these 10, you’ll have a better idea of what that series was about, without having to watch the whole thing. These are not meant to be the 10 best episodes, but rather the 10 most representative episodes.

X-Men wasn’t the only comic-book animated series to debut in 1992, and it’s pretty tough to argue it was the better one, since Bruce Timm’s Batman: The Animated Series hit screens a month before and had an impact that’s still reverberating through a genre it helped create. X-Men didn’t have quite the visual panache ...

The ground beneath our feet, our cars, our buildings, appears to be incredibly solid. But, rarely, that solid ground can simply open up without warning, dropping whatever was above into an unpredictably deep.hole. Sinkholes can be anywhere from a few feet wide and deep, to two thousand feet in diameter and depth. An undiscovered cavern or deep mine can collapse, allowing the ground above to crater, or a broken water main or heavy storm can erode a hole from below, until the surface becomes a thin shell that collapses at once. Communities built atop karst formations are very susceptible, where a layer of bedrock is water-soluble, like limestone, and natural processes can wear away caves and fissures, weakening support of the ground above. Gathered here are images of some of these sinkholes, both man-made and natural, around the world. [28 photos]

A car at the bottom of a sinkhole caused by a broken water line in Toledo, Ohio on July 3, 2013. Police say the driver, 60-year-old Pamela Knox of Toledo, was shaken up and didn't appear hurt but was taken to a hospital as a precaution. Fire officials told a local TV station that a water main break caused the large hole. (AP Photo/Lt. Matthew Hertzfeld, Toledo Fire and Rescue)

Thanks DGNB

In the living Internet that is Universal Orlando’s new Simpsons Fast Food Boulevard, the streets are paved with references, as well as, presumably, stepped-on Krusty Burger remnants. But mostly references, an attention to detail and fan service that extends all the way to a gift shop that carries, yep, “BORT” license plates. [EDIT: Or, fine, they are Kwik-E-Mart name tags. They are tags with the word "BORT" on them. Let's just agree to laugh about this.] Unfortunately, as seen in the “Itchy & Scratchy Land” episode and as documented by CollegeHumor, “Bort” is a very popular name, and there are only so many “BORT” tags to go around. Probably still plenty of “BARCLAY” ones, though. [via Splitsider]

B&P reader Seth F. spent the year between his 29^th  and 30th birthdays recording a few seconds of video each day on his iPhone.  He’s edited it all together and added a little music (All My Friends by LCD Sound System) to make a quite interesting piece.  It would be neat if we all did that.  Good job Seth!

29 from sethnotshep

via http://ploma.tumblr.com/post/44532322664

Have you ever considered that maybe all the Easter eggs in Pixar movies aren't just for good fun? That maybe, just maybe, they were placed there for a purpose, to weave one giant web and tell one epic story?

Even if you haven't, one blogger, Jon Negroni, has, and he's sketched out an entire theory that connects every Pixar film on a timeline, with each film influencing another and all existing in the same Pixar universe. Did you catch that? Yes, we just said every Pixar film may exist in the very same world.

Negroni's theory begins with "Brave," the earliest time period of a Pixar film (the Dark Ages), which kicks off Pixar's cycle of talking animals, talking objects/machines, and talking monsters -- these must be connected, right? This magical possibility of non-human entities having human abilities, according to Negroni, all begins (and ends) with the Witch in "Brave." From "Ratatoutille" to "Monsters, Inc.," Negroni maps out the concept that every Pixar film tells the long history of the animosity between humans and non-humans and the unending desire to connect to one another across species.

While this may sound simply cute and sentimental, trust us, it will leave your mind reeling and make you reconsider every Pixar movie. Want to know why there's a carving of Sully in "Brave" or what the tree at the end of "Wall-E" grows into? Do you want to know who the "Brave" Witch really is?

Read Negroni's full theory here (the whole thing, don't skip ahead). WARNING: Prepare to have your mind blown, because seriously, it's going to blow up.

[Via Jonnegronie.com]

EARLIER: Pixar: 25 Things You (Probably) Didin't Know

It’s a wonder that it took somebody a whole month to insert Arrested Development's Gob Bluth into the world of criminal magicians in Now You See Me.  The magician vs. FBI aspect of the film ties in beautifully with Gob's time in jail and with the hot cops. And all of those scenes with the money flying everywhere instantly bring to mind the idea that a $100 bill is nothing more than 100 pennies. Isla Fisher's role in both the movie and the new season of Arrested Development also helps further the illusion. The only divergence between the two universes is the blatant overuse the word “trick” in the film. But, if you listen closely you can hear Gob correcting both Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine. 

Take a drink if you see a co-worker on Facebook.

Take a drink if an intern is wearing a revealing outfit (no extra drinks awarded if multiple interns are dressed inappropriately).

Take a drink if the printer runs out of ink or if the Internet goes down.

Take a drink if someone says “it takes a village” about a collaborative project that has just been completed.

Take another drink if they end said statement with an exaggerated sigh.

Take one more drink if someone then immediately rolls their eyes (take another drink if you do so yourself, involuntarily).

Take a drink if you spend the next 30 minutes watching “Fail” compilation videos on YouTube and forwarding the links to your Sigma Alpha Epsilon brothers’ listserv.

Take a drink if your boss calls you to ask about a client but instead you mimic your voicemail message, concluding with a belch instead of a beep.

Take a drink if your boss calls again and you repeat the same voicemail act uncannily.

Take a drink if you go out for lunch.

Take a drink if that means buying five bags of Cheez-Its from the vending machine.

Take a drink if at this point, you’re not sure drinking at the office was a good idea.

Take a drink if you decided it was a great idea.

Take a drink if you just urinated in your Starbucks cup.

Take a drink if you notice a co-worker playing this drinking game. Wave him over.

Take a drink if you both decide that drunk-dialing reception would be fucking hilarious.

Take a drink if you speak with an East European accent and mention any of the following words: “a little present”, “WWMD”, “Anthrax, like the band,” or “’b’ as in Bernard, ‘o’ as in orca, ‘m’ as in mandrake, and um, ‘b’ as in Bernard.”

Take a drink if the office frantically evacuates except for you and your colleague, who has passed out.

Take a drink if you waive your Miranda Rights.

Take a drink if you sing “Bohemian Rhapsody” a cappella on the ride to the station (credit this drink to a future game if you are cuffed and/or your drink has been confiscated).

Take a drink if you wake up the next morning in jail with a hangover and a felony charge (above crediting rule still applies).

Take a drink (of water) if you call your lawyer.

Take a drink if you call your wife.

[Originally published July 3, 2013.]

How to begin this review? Few countries that debuted in the 1700s have been as controversial or long running (it’s into its 237th season now) as America. It may not have the staying power of perennial favorites such as China or the credibility of indie darlings such as Finland, but America has proven that it can at least make some cultural impact. It’s not the best, but hey, they can’t all be Louie.

America was originally a spinoff of the long-running England. Airing from the 1776-77 season through today, America focuses on a small ensemble of white people using things in the ground to become rich or kill brown people. A sprawling dramedy, it combines all of the loose plot points of a Tyler Perry sitcom with all the fun of being white.

It has widely focused on the themes of war, freedom, sitting, Fenway Park, maps, the one true Christian god, rugs, pregnancy tits, Vice magazine, butterfaces, coal, butterdicks, “Where’s the Beef?,” Chicago, Larry Flynt, colonialism, Terri Schiavo, NBC single-camera sitcoms, toddlers, suicide pacts, Atari, penny farthing bicycles, SpaghettiO’s (Cool Ranch flavor), tiny dolls, the TLC show Sister Wives, H1N1, television, and genocide. It has some unique perspective every once in awhile, but honestly, America can be super derivative. Most of the stories have already been on The Simpsons.

A lot of episodes in America don’t really hold up. Slavery? Parachute pants? White slavery? It just feels really overdone now. Among the most memorable episodes are “The Civil War,” “Texas,” “World War” (a two-parter), and “Black President.”

Some of the storylines are also a bit of a stretch. Are they really expecting us to believe that they killed all the Indians and that all those Indians did to deserve it was invent diabetes?! And come on—that stuff in the 9/11 episode could not have happened without someone working on the inside. That makes no sense. “9/11” jumped the shark. Hard.

It’s been on so long that no one wants to comment on the OBVIOUS PLOT HOLES. Such awful continuity. Like, how could it be explained that in season 170, George H.W. Bush fathered a mentally disabled son, but then in season 225, that son became president?! Really terrible continuity. I would like to point out that I do appreciate a recent callback to earlier plots. Around seasons 174-184, some of the anti-feminist and sexist storylines were put on the backburner, but it’s nice that we’ve seen a resurgence in this last season.

America has time and time again proved itself as a launching ground for young starlets. It’s fun seeing people before they became huge stars, like John Ritter, Stella McCartney, Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, and Ted “Ted” Bundy. But the ensemble works best when we see the regulars yearn for a raise or promotion, struggle with Mary Tyler Moore’s foibles and be there for Mary Tyler Moore when the going gets rough. I stole this from a review for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but I think it completely and entirely makes sense to literally lift from that review and drop it into this context as well.

As someone with more quirky and alt tastes, I can’t say that America is my favorite thing to watch. I’m more into Breaking Bad. Have you seen season 4?! Season 4 of Breaking Bad is flawless. Season 4 of America is VERY uneven. It had no main black characters. Girls, much?! I love The Wire!

I just hope to God (the American/right one) that they don’t pull some deus ex machina shit at the end of this series. Like, there’s nuclear war with North Korea, or they’ve been dead the whole time or something.

Anyway, it may have veered off wildly from the pilot, but America is definitely worth a look. It’s an interesting experiment in the world of primetime sovereign nations. What the characters lack in consistency, they make up for in body weight, lingering racism, and inconsistency. But it makes for a quick and easy viewing, and can often surprise you with heartfelt turns. It’s like eating Cool Ranch SpaghettiO’s on a warm summer’s eve. And hey, sometimes things get really good right before they’re cancelled.

MY RATING: 50 stars (out of 100).

Available in print with
The Best of McSweeney’s Internet Tendency

Brendan Fraser wants a movie, and -- like fellow celebs Kristen Bell, Zach Braff, and James Franco -- he wants your money to make it. But unlike Bell, Braff, and Franco, he's a little hazy on the details.

In a new parody video for The Onion's celebrity gossip program "Starfix," Fraser launches a hilariously inept Kickstarter campaign, which begins with an absurd tweet: "I would like to apply for one Kickstarter, please."

The "Mummy" star fleshes out his ask over on his blog, writing, "My friend Zach told me that Kickstarter is giving him money to make a movie. I would also like a movie, please. It will be a good, fun movie and star me, Brendan Fraser. If I win, I will make sure the story is inspirational to poor people."

To sweeten the deal, Fraser promises he'll jazz dance in the movie; send 19 people his own T-shirts (he has 20, but he needs one for himself); and visit your home and stay for as long as he can, among other things.

Even more ridiculous, his official application to Kickstarter includes a headshot, a handwritten cover letter, jelly beans, and a VHS copy of "Monkey Bone."

The gag -- which doesn't actually star the living, breathing Fraser; he's simply a foil -- ends with the "news" that Fraser has raised over $1 million so far, despite providing zero details on his proposed film.


Brendan Fraser: 'I Would Like To Apply For One Kickstarter, Please'

Another celebrity to have gotten in on the Kickstarter send-up bandwagon is "The League"'s Jon LaJoie, who solicits money in a joke YouTube clip on a bid to get "Jay-Z rich."
[via The Onion h/t Variety]