Nate Haduch

by Megh Wright

SNL released two sketches today that were cut for time from last weekend's episode hosted by Woody Harrelson, and they're a delightful mix of fun and weird. Check out the above sketch "Tweet" starring Aidy Bryant as a woman celebrating her 10,000th tweet (with cameos by Edward Norton and God) above, then click through to watch "Pentagon Presentation" featuring Cecily Strong as a dancing robot.

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gaslight: to cause a person to doubt his or her sanity through the use of psychological manipulation.

Ultra Records / UL 5660-2

Disc 1 (01:16:08)
1. deadmau5 – Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff (feat. Rob Swire) (5:28)
2. deadmau5 – Raise Your Weapon (8:22)
3. deadmau5 & Kaskade – I Remember (Vocal Mix) (9:53)
4. deadmau5 – Some Chords (7:23)
5. deadmau5 – Strobe (Club Edit) (6:19)
6. deadmau5 – The Veldt (feat. Chris James) [8 Minute Edit] (8:40)
7. deadmau5 – Brazil (2nd Edit) (6:37)
8. deadmau5 – Aural Psynapse (7:30)
9. deadmau5 – Not Exactly (9:15)
10. deadmau5 – Sofi Needs a Ladder (6:41)

Disc 2 (01:09:42)
1. deadmau5 – Some Chords (Dillon Francis Remix) (4:52)
2. deadmau5 – Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff (feat. Rob Swire) [Chuckie Remix] (6:03)
3. deadmau5 & Eric Prydz – The Veldt (feat. Chris James) [Edit] (6:27)
4. deadmau5 – Maths (Botnek Remix) (4:23)
5. deadmau5 – Raise Your Weapon (Madeon Extended Remix) (4:15)
6. deadmau5 – Strobe (Michael Woods 2014 Remix) (7:11)
7. deadmau5 & Kaskade – I Remember (Shiba San Remix) (5:35)
8. deadmau5 – Raise Your Weapon (Wax Motif Remix) (4:33)
9. deadmau5 – Sofi Needs a Ladder (Pig&Dan Remix) (7:40)
10. deadmau5 – Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff (feat. Rob Swire) [Nero Remix] (6:55)

by Megh Wright

Great news for Tina Fey fans: While Fox passed on Fey's show Cabot College, her NBC show starring Ellie Kemper is making a move to streaming. Deadline reports that the Fey and Robert Carlock-created Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (previously titled Tooken) has now moved from NBC to Netflix with a two-season commitment. The first season will premiere on the streaming network in March 2015. Here's what NBC exec Robert Greenblatt said on the announcement:

"When the opportunity arose for Tina Fey and Robert Carlock to premiere their new show on Netflix with a two-season commitment, we decided this was the best possible scenario to launch this captivating new series. While it was originally developed for NBC, we have a very drama-heavy mid-season schedule so we’re thrilled about this Netflix opportunity; it’s an instant win-win for everyone, including Tina, Robert, and Universal Television. We’re already talking to these extraordinary creators about new development for NBC, but meanwhile, everyone here from Universal Television will do everything possible to see that Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt becomes a long-running hit on Netflix."

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It's apparently silly video day on kottke.org. No idea what this is or why it's happening or who's involved or how this situation even came up or anything, but just watch it with the sound on it'll take you six seconds. Well, until you watch it 200 more times because WITAF.

Oh shit, this is a funny cat video I am posting a funny cat video what the hell is wrong with me please someone help me daaisy daaaisyyy giiiiiivve mmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeee (via @daveg)

Tags: video

Credited under the name Parkay Quarts, the fourth full-length release for the New York's Parquet Courts was recorded over a two-week period on a four-track tape and features contributions from Jackie-O Motherfucker's Jef Brown and the Easter's Bob Jones.

Label: What's Your Rupture?

Release Date: Dec 02, 2014

Vladislav Delay - Visa MP3 previous was transcode / FLAC

Following the frenetic, rhythmic experiments of the Ripatti 12” series, Vladislav Delay returns with his first ambient album in over a decade. ‘Visa’ is a thing of immense, absorbing beauty - harking back to his classic albums for Chain reaction and Mille Plateaux, extending 6 longform pieces over an hour of heady dub reductions. And in the fine tradition of some of the best albums, ‘Visa’ was borne out of serendipity - Ripatti was denied entry to the United States and was forced to cancel an entire tour. Suddenly left with unhindered time and a surplus of creative energy, he produced this material in a span of just two weeks. As he explains: “a valve broke open... and I collected what came out the pipes.” ‘Visa’ is complex yet immersive - never fading into the background, instead building layered soundscapes that shift and build before switching direction, changing focus. It’s a technique that Ripatti has crafted and honed over the years - almost 20 years in fact since his shocking ‘The Kind Of Blue’ debut for his own Huume imprint, and here once again subtly augmented via industrial noises and dream-like melodic loops. Made almost entirely with analog hardware, the album was designed to be listened to at high volume and in full detail - and is perhaps the most substantial and rewarding Delay release since 'Demo(n) Tracks’ over a decade ago...

by Megh Wright

Good news for one of this season's new comedies: Not long after canceling A to Z and Bad Judge, THR reports that NBC has ordered five more episodes of its freshman comedy Marry Me from creator David Caspe. This brings Marry Me's debut season order up to 18 episodes, though it's unknown yet whether NBC will eventually expand it to a traditional 22-episode season. Starring Casey Wilson and Ken Marino as an engaged couple, Marry Me is one of the few new comedies to fare well with both critics and ratings this year and benefitted greatly from having The Voice as its lead-in for its first two episodes.

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On their third album, Nude Beach are gradually dialing back the garage punk side of their musical personality and transforming themselves into a good ol’ power pop band. And that’s no insult, even if you happen to like garage punk: on 77, Nude Beach deliver 18 songs full of hooks, energy, and smarts, and numbers like “Can’t Get Enough” and “I Can’t Keep the Tears from Falling,” which suggest this band could have given Dwight Twilley or Cheap Trick a run for their money back in the day. Though 77 has a fistful of first-class rockers on hand, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Chuck Betz also brings along a few fine midtempo numbers where he puts his heart on his sleeve, and the thoughtful tone and mournful mood of “Used to It” and “Geoffrey’s Tune” show Betz is aiming for…

320 kbps | 162 MB  UL | MC ** FLAC

…something more than just another bunch of songs about the joys of cars and girls. The slower, sadder songs give 77 texture, but it’s the rockers that make it roll, and the album handles like a dream. Running 65 minutes and sequenced like a two-LP set (the side breakdown is even listed on the CD’s sleeve), 77 is Nude Beach’s most ambitious effort to date, and Betz and his bandmates Jim Shelton (bass) and Ryan Naideau (drums) are clearly up to the challenge; the rockers are clever and literate, the sophistication of songs like “Time” and “If We Only Had the Time” reveal a growing intelligence that’s thankfully unpretentious, and Betz gives himself an epic-scale guitar workout on the ten-minute “I Found You” and manages to make it memorable. Nude Beach were already a better-than-average garage punk combo on their first two long-players, but they’re growing into something more on 77, and it’s smart, well-crafted stuff that could possibly move them to bigger and/or better things.

For about 50 years now, I've wanted to do a kottke.org t-shirt. But I could never decide on a design I liked enough to wear. A few months back, I came across a service called Print All Over Me, which uses a process called "reactive dye digital printing" to seamlessly cover an entire t-shirt with a design, and I had a tiny eureka moment. After much futzing about in Photoshop, I came up with the perfect simple design for the limited edition kottke.org tee shirt, featuring the familiar blue gradient that wraps all the way around the shirt.

The shirt is made of fabric, has sleeves, and features a hole for your head. It's everything you need in a shirt. Due to the unique printing process, the shirts are custom-dyed, cut & sewn to order, cost $38 plus shipping, and will only be available to order for the next two weeks. After that, poof. Order yours today.

(BTW, when ordering, select the "Print" option under "Back". For some of the other shirts PAOM offers, it might make sense to not get the print on the back, but for this shirt, it's the whole point.)

Tags: fashion   kottke.org

Aphex Twin & Taylor Swift - Aphex Swift MP3

by Erik Voss

When Jim Carrey last hosted SNL in 2011 (the first episode I reviewed for this site), I worried the 1990s comedy icon best known for playing manic cartoons from In Living Color, three comedy blockbusters in 1994, and a well regarded SNL stint, would fail to connect with the show's modern lineup. Thankfully, Carrey proved me wrong, blending nicely with Fred Armisen's eccentric subtlety and showing us how much fun a (then) fresh-faced Taran Killam could be to watch. Carrey's performance was a testament to the fact that while SNL may evolve, with increasingly eye-popping production value and an emerging struggle to make its live multicam elements work, some things will always just make us laugh. And Jim Carrey is one of them.

This episode was largely the antithesis of that notion. Once again, the night played to Carrey's strengths, with an abundance of live sketches giving him plenty of freedom to take the reigns. But this time, the actor struggled to produce the same chemistry with today's cast members (the exception being Taran Killam, who has become even more of a Carrey-esque alpha performer over the years). Depending on your outlook on the show, that may be a matter of a subpar cast failing to keep pace with a true comedy genius, or an example of a comedian from a bygone era relying on over-the-top schtick that doesn't quite resonate with 2014 audiences.

Whatever the reason, this episode lacked the redeeming charm that makes a comedy powerhouse like Jim Carrey an enduring star. Rather, the effect was that of a beloved cartoon being transported into the real world… without anyone knowing quite what to do with him.

Ebola Czar Press Conference. The episode began with an unmemorable press conference with Jay Pharoah's President Obama introducing the new Ebola Czar, Ron Klain (Taran Killam). The premise brought up some legitimate concerns with the administration's handling of the crisis, but it never took a clear POV on the subject, despite stumbling onto a fun political angle by having Klain warn southern swing state voters against going to the polls — except immune Latinos, of course. Yet again, writers-room-darling Kenan Thompson was brought in as the Rev. Al Sharpton to give the sketch some much-needed laughs, which only worked in comparison to the rest of the underwritten script.

Monologue. Jim Carrey took the stage in costume as "Helvis," a crossover between the devil and Elvis Presley, singing an inexplicable rockabilly tune about his love for pecan pie. While Carrey's tight performance was impressive, the bit's unapologetic "crazy town" vibe made me worry that this would be a night with a lot of randomness and little logic. Too often, that turned out to be the case.

Matthew McConaughey Lincoln Ads. One of the more successful elements of this episode was this runner featuring Jim Carrey parodying the Lincoln commercials staring Matthew McConaughey. There's not much here other than Carrey's amusing McConaughey, pondering humanity's existence and why an Oscar winner is going back to commercial work, but I give the show credit for having bits that bring an episode together — and for finding a clever twist to bring it back for a third time.

Carrey Family Reunion. The night's centerpiece sketch was this reunion of the Carrey family, with each cast member trotting out their best Jim Carrey impression: Beck Bennett and Vanessa Bayer as Ace Ventura-Carrey, Bobby Moynihan as Mask-Carrey, Cecily Strong as Fire Marshall Bill-Carrey, and Jeff Daniels stopping by with the obligatory plug for the upcoming Dumb and Dumber sequel. I'm not certain a Jim Carrey impression-off is as earned as the Christopher Walken version in 2008, and Taran Killam seemed like the only one in the room with a rehearsed take on the actor. The predictable routine very quickly lost momentum and resulted in an odd, premature tribute that characterized Carrey as a mimic-able, past-his-prime retiree, rather than the active talent he is.

Graveyard Song. In one of the night's six Halloween-themed ensemble scenes (seriously, would it have killed the writers to limit the spooky undertones to a couple of sketches?), Pete Davidson and Sasheer Zamata played a young couple in a graveyard haunted by ghosts singing a Disney's Haunted Mansion type song, which was quickly derailed by the off-rhythm Paul and Phil (Jim Carrey, Taran Killam), "some nice casual ghosts who are sort of always around." While Carrey and Killam were enjoyable as the folksy duo, their relationship with the rest of the ghosts seemed intentionally vague, resulting in a somewhat confusing conflict between lame ghosts and slightly lamer ghosts. I'm sure that won't stop me from singing "Paul and Phil" to myself all week.

Weekend Update. The news segment began by depleting any other Ebola jokes the writers didn't have time for in the cold open, delivered by an especially Mr. Moviefone-y Colin Jost. Michael Che has had mixed levels of success going on runs on a particular subject, and I sometimes wish he could go on longer — perhaps as an extended aside or separate character segment — rather than have to abruptly throw things back to his cohost. Vanessa Bayer debuted an amusing new character, Romantic Comedy Expert Daisy Rose, whose discussion of the fall rom-coms devolved into a flirty (one-sided) meet-cute with Michael Che. Bayer has rarely blown the roof off with her character work, but she has always brought a sincerity to her roles that the show would otherwise miss. Bobby Moynihan poured another round for Drunk Uncle (XI), a mad-libs recurring bit that continues to be enjoyable despite not having quite the shelf life that Stefon does, it turns out. His disgust at seeing Michael Che at the desk was the perfect reaction, but it was wise to move on, else risk the mean-spiritedness of the gag overtaking the whole bit. (That said, Moynihan plays racist characters more enjoyably than anyone else in this cast.)

Secret Billionaire. My favorite premise of the night saw the cast in a Dating Game-type show, with Cecily Strong as an airheaded contestant trying to guess which of the four bachelors was an actual billionaire — with Jim Carrey's Abbott Bonnerville Caine, a creepy old man in a tracksuit, being the obvious answer. Unfortunately, a clever script about the eccentricities of the super wealthy became buried under Carrey's slurred delivery – a case of the actor's all-in style distracting from the game, when a subtler delivery might have been more appropriate.

Ghost Chasers. While technically Leslie Jones' first line as a fulltime cast member arrived earlier in the night, her first big role came in this video, as Ronda, a "skeptic" among a group of adventurous reality TV ghost hunters who immediately freaks out at anything creepy. Jones has already proven to be such a dynamic presence in both live and pretaped segments, getting a lot of mileage out of a few simple reactions: "Ronda, how does science explain this?" "It don't. It's ghosts!" This was a tricky concept to heighten, as they were walking a thin line with a few stereotypes, but thankfully SNL can now start to play with these ideas in the first place.

Zombie Apocalypse. The horror concepts kept rolling in with a character sketch featuring Jim Carrey as a Georgia redneck in denial that his son (Pete Davidson) is a zombie. This was the same kind of premise the show did as a Walking Dead sketch in the Kevin Hart episode two years ago (minus the racial undertones), and this version didn't fare any better. There's only so far an "ignoring the obvious" premise will go, especially when the only real laughs are coming from over-the-top accents and pandering physical gags.

Chandelier Dance-Off. The highlight of the episode was an elaborate dance-off between Jim Carrey and Kate McKinnon, who both showed up to a costume party as the child dancer from Sia's "Chandelier" music video (which we all should have seen by now… according to SNL, at least). After a sluggish start with Vanessa Bayer insulting guests by incorrectly labeling their costumes (my only guess was that this was to bide time for Carrey to get into costume), the sketch began to retread the same kind of hammy routine Carrey pulled in his Black Swan dance-off four years ago, but then he and McKinnon dove into the studio and continued their duet at home base, the "Graveyard Song" set, and the musical guest stage with Iggy Azalea. It was a fun Blazing Saddles kind of gag that the two of them pulled off quite well. Best of the Night.

Geoff's Halloween Emporium. The night's 10-to-1 was an infomercial for a costume shop featuring Jim Carrey as the owner, Geoff, who was possessed by a demon. Seeing Carrey continue to fuss about day-to-day managerial issues ("Did you tell them about the glitter lashes?") was more enjoyable than the typical demon-stuff, though the fiery vortex on his clipboard and vomiting blood resulted in some effective visual gags.

Cut from Dress: The Kids. With so many live sketches that fell flat, I actually wouldn't have minded this surreal (perhaps a little too much so) short film about a nice boyfriend (Mike O'Brien) getting mobbed by children, in what turns into a metaphor for his fear of commitment.

Additional Thoughts:

• Congratulations to Leslie Jones on her promotion to featured player. Considering the reaction she arouses from fans, the move was a well-deserved no-brainer by producers that will undoubtedly pay off in dividends. Also, I'd like to point out that I called it barely a week earlier. Just sayin'.
• It's unfortunate that SNL's ratings seem to share an inversely proportional relationship with episode quality — this lackluster episode scored a season-best 4.1, while Bill Hader's stellar episode two weeks ago saw record-low ratings for the series. The good news is, those additional million viewers who think the show is this bad every week will keep the lights on in Deadline's comment section.
• Best: "Chandelier Dance-Off." Worst: "Zombie Apocalypse." You'll See It Online: "Matthew McConaughey Lincoln Ads." Worth It For The Jokes: "Secret Billionaire."
• I realize I've been particularly tough on Colin Jost lately, which feels unusual because I normally try to avoid the SNL hate bandwagons. In fairness, Jost should be proud of his work as head writer this season (this episode excluded), and by all accounts he has a strong understanding of what makes good comedy. But good lord, I can't think of any Weekend Update host that has shown less of his personality than this guy has. Really, if he were to end all of his jokes with "And yes, I was that guy who bullied you in high school and still went to better college than you did!" I would prefer that to what we're currently getting.
• Bobby Moynihan's insane wiggling as Drunk Uncle might be my favorite thing I've seen the character do since singing "I wanna feel the beep with somebody!"
• Taran Killam took the lion's share of screen time this week, appearing in major roles throughout the night and being one of the few cast members to connect with Jim Carrey at all. Aidy Bryant came in last, with only a fun appearance in "Chandelier Dance Off" to make her mark: "I'm just a woman trying to do her best." Also tellingly missing were Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett, whose nuanced humor likely went unheard during a week of big character throwback bits.
• It's becoming frustrating how underused Kate McKinnon remains after four episodes, especially considering how successful she was in her few short minutes this episode. McKinnon is a fan-favorite and a workhorse that the show needs to capitalize on more often.
• If anyone wants to buy me a Halloween present, one of those "Saturday Night Live" logo statues they made for the bumpers would look lovely on my desk. (I'm just kidding! I don't have a desk. I write TV recaps for the Internet. Buy me a desk instead.)

I'll see you next week, when Chris Rock will host with musical guest Prince.

Erik Voss is a writer and performer living in Los Angeles. He hosts the Evil Blond Kid podcast and performs on the house teams Wheelhouse and It Doesn't Have to Be This Way at the iO Theater.

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by Megh Wright

After bad ratings and bad reviews, here's some more bad news for Mulaney: THR reports that Fox has wrapped production on the freshman sitcom early and cut its season order down from 16 to 13 episodes, but for now there are no plans to move it from the 9:30pm Sunday night time slot. While Mulaney's ratings fared poorly during its series premiere earlier this month, its second episode saw a 10% increase thanks in part to its Family Guy lead-in — a sign of hope that Fox is counting on. According to THR, Will Forte's midseason sitcom Last Man on Earth will likely take Mulaney's time slot if it doesn't continue to improve; check out the very patriotic trailer for Forte's show here.

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by Megh Wright

Local Denver news reporter Chris Parente is probably used to pretending he's seen certain movies for his job, and at the top of his recent interview with The Skeleton Twins stars Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader he seems more than confident that his complete lack of knowledge about their new movie will have no bearing on the segment to come. After Parente blows his cover by asking Wiig if she has "advice for going nude," the SNL alums descend on him without mercy, and the result is both cringeworthy and entertaining. (via Death and Taxes)

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by Megh Wright

If you ever wanted to enjoy Chris Hardwick's show Talking Dead but would prefer to learn more about delicious carb-based goodies instead of a zombie show you don't watch, Conan has now made that happen. Sadly most television shows don't have the courage required to discuss this hard-hitting topic, but with some help from Tig Notaro and Andy Daly, Hardwick gives bread the spotlight it so richly deserves.

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by Megh Wright

"Well, there's been extraordinary talent, let's get real. I don't want to start listing names because there's too many that I would forget, but between Eddie Murphy and [Dana] Carvey and Mike Myers and Will Ferrell and so forth … I think Bill Hader probably did the best work anyone ever did on that show … It took him a little while to get going, but once he got going it was extraordinary."

- Bill Murray gives some high SNL praise for Bill Hader in his interview with Howard Stern from earlier today.

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You’re Dead!, the morbid new jazz-fusion odyssey from Flying Lotus, comes out tomorrow, and the album has cameos from rap stars Kendrick Lamar and Snoop Dogg. But apparently, FlyLo really, really wants to work with one guy, one who won’t return his calls. You will probably not be surprised to learn that Kanye West is that person. Even though it would seem that FlyLo’s florid maximalism would be a strange fit for the minimal industrial clank that Kanye put together for his 2013 album Yeezus, FlyLo is still a little upset that he wasn’t a part of it.

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by Megh Wright

Comedy Bang! Bang! is coming back to television next month. IFC announced today that Scott Aukerman and Reggie Watts return for the 10-episode second half of CBB's third season on Friday, October 17th at 11:00pm followed by the premiere of The Birthday Boys' second season. Here's some of the guests slated to appear on this round of Comedy Bang! Bang!:

James Adomian, Eric Andre, Dane Cook, Rob Corddry, Andy Daly, Jon Daly, Chris Hardwick, Ellie Kemper, Lauren Lapkus, Bobby Moynihan, Horatio Sanz, Kevin Smith, Amber Tamblyn, Steven Yeun, Ronnie Adrian, Matt Besser, Ben Blacker, Neil Campbell, Whitney Cummings, Rhys Darby, Erinn Hayes, Anthony Jeselnik, Jay Johnston, Jaime King, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin Nealon, Tig Notaro, Lennon Parham, Jeff Ross, French Stewart, Nick Thune, Alan Tudyk, James Urbaniak and Baron Vaughn.

Comedy Bang! Bang! will feature a handful of musical guests as well, including Weird Al Yankovic, Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips, Future Islands, The National, The Vandals, and The Lonely Island. For more on Comedy Bang! Bang!, check out our interview with Aukerman and Watts from earlier this year.

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Hello!  This is the blog of Elsa and Ross, plus our trusty Surly Long Haul Truckers, Esmerelda and Ferdinand, cycling through Europe on an adventure, with no set route and no set schedule, for three months, and a bit more...!!!



We have been in Sweden for almost two weeks now: up north in Lappland for the first week, hiking the Kungsleden with my family (see above; also see the blueberry-pasture background image), then in Stockholm for a day, then here in Göteborg (Gothenburg) for five nights, with my sister and her partner – but now it's just the two of us.

More words and photos on our Swedish experiences to come, whenever we get WiFi again, but for now...we're off!  We've spent today rushing around town getting some assorted bike gear (maintenance tools mostly) to replace things that we lost when my seat pouch and Elsa's handlebar goodie-box were stolen a few nights ago.  But we're finally ready to hit the road... heading south...hopefully to make Copenhagen in three or four days...and we'll see what happens!

by Megh Wright

The one member of Good Neighbor to be left out of last year's SNL hirings has now rejoined his friends on the NBC sketch show. The Comic's Comic reports that Nick Rutherford has officially joined the writing staff for SNL and has already begun working on content for the 40th season alongside his fellow Good Neighbor members Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney, and director Dave McCary. Here's what Rutherford had to say last year on The Poundcast podcast when asked about the possibility of him being brought on the show later:

"I mean, that's all that's ever talked about is like, 'Oh, we gotta get you out here. We're gonna get you out here.' But, you know, I've been burned, man … We had dreams and plans, and they were set in place."

To get an idea of what the complete Good Neighbor might bring to SNL this year, check out our video guide to some of their best work.

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The wonderful new pop star/energy-drink purveyor/marketing expert/way of life recently held her first interview, with Fact Magazine, where she discussed her titanic single “Hey QT,” the recent creative merger with producers SOPHIE and A. G. Cook (leader of PC Music), and some important business details, such as the potential conflict with PC Music’s prior partner/obsession Red Bull. Read the full interview here, with some answers to your burning questions below.

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Good morning, good morning. Welcome back from your beach vacation. Settling in? Good, good. Let's get right to it then: HBO has remastering The Wire in 16x9 HD and rebroadcasting what looks like every episode on HBO Signature starting this Thursday (Sept 4). Here's a teaser:

We haven't had news to report on HBO's The Wire in a long, long time but this tidbit caught our ear. HBO will be rebroadcasting one of its iconic series: The Wire in never-before-broadcast HD glory! The marathon will begin weeknights at 8PM starting on September 4th. You'll find the episodes on HBO Signature, a channel most, if not all HBO subscribers should have access to.

No idea if these new HD versions will make it to HBO Go or Amazon Instant or even into the mythical The Wire Blu-ray. Hopefully?

Update: A reader writes in:

My friend who works at HBO says they are chopping the top and bottom off the 4 x 3 frame for the early seasons to "fit" 16 x 9. We saw this with FX's Simpsons Marathon and I really wish companies would stop doing this. It wasn't cool to chop the sides off Lawrence of Arabia and it is likewise not cool to chop the head and neck off of Stringer Bell.

Boo. Boo-urns. According to IMDB, only season 5 was shot at 16x9. They should just leave seasons 1-4 at 4x3 and make the picture better. (thx, john)

Update: From an extensive piece on how The Wire was filmed:

And perhaps the final contrast to the rest of high-end episodic television, The Wire for each of its five seasons has been produced in good old fashioned 4 x 3 standard definition. DP Dave Insley recalled, "The reason the show has stayed 4x3 is because David Simon thinks that 4x3 feels more like real life and real television and not like a movie. The show's never been HD, even 4x3 HD and that (SD) is how it is on the DVDs. There is no 16x9 version anywhere." As a viewer with an HD set I will point out that like much of SD television that makes its way to HD channels, it appears that HBO utilizes state-of-the-art line doubling technology. It may still be standard definition, but line doubled it looks considerably better on a high definition set than it would on a standard definition set.

Insley explained, "When the show started 2001 / 2002 they framed it for 16 x 9 as a way of future-proofing. Then a couple of seasons ago, right before Season 4 began shooting, there was a big discussion about it and after much discussion -- David, Nina, Joe Chappelle, the Producers, the DPs -- and we discussed what should be the style of the show. David made the decision that we would stay with 4x3. The DPs pretty much defined the look to be what it is now. And it's been consistent for the past two seasons."

If the chopping down to 16x9 rumors are true, David Simon cannot be happy about that. I wonder how much creative control he maintains over decisions like that? I am guessing very little. (via @tubofguts)

Update: HBO has confirmed the remastering to EW, but says the timeline for airing has not been set yet.

A promo claiming that a "replay marathon" of the series would start September 4 on HBO Signature ran prematurely, HBO said, and the series will not be airing this month.

(via @WaterSlicer)

Tags: HBO   The Wire   TV   video

Simple syrup is a key ingredient in cocktail making and Studio Neat's Simple Syrup Kit makes it easier for you to have plenty of sugary water on hand for your at-home sours, swizzles, and daiquiris. The kit consists of a handsome glass bottle with the proper measurements marked right on it, a funnel, a pour spout cap that won't get clogged, and a marker for labeling the freshness of your syrup.

I've been making simple syrup at home (I even did some dill-infused syrup, which was delicious in a dill gimlet) and while the process is, um, pretty simple, measuring the sugar and finding the proper container is a pain in the ass. And the spout of my current bottle does clog all the time. I'm looking forward to trying out the Simple Syrup Kit to rid myself of those little obstacles to my evening libations.

Studio Neat are no strangers to Kickstarter. They have run four successful campaigns, including the recent Neat Ice Kit and the Glif iPhone mount, one of Kickstarter's early blockbuster projects. Help them make it five in a row and step up your cocktail game at the same time by backing the Simple Syrup Kit today.

Thanks to Studio Neat for sponsoring kottke.org this week.

by Megh Wright

Tig Notaro is going on tour. THR reports that Notaro has announced a new tour called Boyish Girl Interrupted Tour, which will make stops in Toronto, Dallas, New York, Denver, San Diego, and more and feature a brand new hour of Notaro's material. Boyish Girl Interrupted Tour makes the first live tour for Notaro since her wildly successful 2012 album Live, which went up for sale on Louis C.K.'s website. "It's embarrassing how happy I am," Notaro told THR. "I don't have a complaint in the world." Here's what she said when asked about the material we can expect from her new tour:

I touch briefly on my family, what I went through, where I am now in my life and just general stories. I have a story about me and my friend Kyle and the time we genuinely thought we saw Santa Claus. You have to hear the story, but it's a true story. There are some stories from my childhood and I feel like it's a richer, more worked out piece of work than I've ever done. And there's other ridiculousness in there.

Click through to check out the full list of tour dates:

Sept. 23-25 — Toronto, ON
Sept. 26 — Northampton, MA
Sept. 27 Plymouth, NH
Sept. 28 — Providence, RI
Sept. 29 — Ridgefield, CT
Sept. 30 — Baltimore, MD
Oct. 1-4 — Washington, DC — Bentzen Ball Festival
Oct. 6 — Charlottesville, VA
Oct. 7 — Durham, NC
Oct. 8 — Athens, GA
Oct. 9 — Atlanta, GA
Oct. 12 — New Orleans
Oct. 16 — Austin, TX
Oct. 17 — Dallas, TX
Oct. 18 — Oklahoma City, OK
Oct. Oct. 20 — St. Louis
Oct. 21 — Omaha, NE
Oct. 22  — Minneapolis, MN
Oct. 23 — Milwaukee, WI
Oct. 24 — Cincinnati, OH
Oct. 25 — Pittsburgh, PA - Early / Late
Oct. 26 – Pontiac, MI
Oct. 29-Nov. 3 — Maui Comedy Festival — Hawaii
Nov. 6 — New York, NY
Nov. 7 — Philadelphia, PA
Nov. 8 — Boston, MA
Nov. 9 — Denver, CO
Nov. 12 — Portland, OR
Nov. 13 — Seattle, WA
Nov. 14 — Vancouver, BC
Nov. 17 — Sacramento, CA
Nov. 18 — San Francisco, CA
Nov. 19 — San Diego, CA
Jan. 30, 2015 — The Regent, Los Angeles

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In the last few years, Liz Harris, better known as Grouper, has made a habit of releasing albums built from past recordings. Don’t call these outtakes, or rarities, or anything you’d think of as a compilation, though. Last year’s The Man Who Died In His Own Boat may have been made out of music from half a decade earlier, but it flowed and was constructed with tremendous care — and it was a fitting process, considering how Harris’ music can often sound like the accompaniment to a hazy half-forgotten memory. Now Harris has announced she will release her newest album, Ruins, this Halloween, and this one was made from recordings mainly done in 2011 (and one that was recorded in 2004 at her mother’s house). It’s especially exciting to hear this news when you take into account that 2011 was right around the time we heard Grouper’s stunning release A I A, a double LP containing the records Dream Loss and Alien Observer. Check out the Ruins track listing, a statement from Harris, and give another listen to her Man Who Died below.

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