Empire Online's "Wanted" featurette with Mark Millar and Timur Bekmambetov.

Y'know, when I first heard that there was going to be another Mummy movie and that it was being written by the knuckleknob writers of Smallville and directed by the rocket scientist who brought us The Fast and ther Furious and xXx, I'll admit that I was not remotely interested, even if they did get Jet Li. However, here's a trailer for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and I'm willing to say that I may have been wrong.

Trailer: Windows Media Player HD or Flash-based trailer here.

It may still suck, but at least it's a promising trailer, and there's always DVD.

Do you use Twitter? Somebody has to got to explain the micro-blogging thing to me because I just don't get it.

I understand folks want to share aspects of their daily lives, but there's blogging and then there's being Marcel fucking Proust. (I appreciate that someone may have had a cheeseburger and a Coke for dinner, but I don't know that it makes a difference to anyone but the micro-blogger themselves).

[courtesy of monsura - not sure where it comes from]
( Spider-Man, Iron Man and The Hulk )

Best Buy is currently offering all seven individual seasons of "The West Wing" for only $20 each. They usually MSRP at $60 each (even amazon.com only discounts them about $5).

This is practically stealing. $20/season for some of the best writing in television is an amazingly good deal.

I don't know if you're familiar with The Chronicles of Amber. I know that some of you are. I remember first reading Roger Zelazny's books about the royal family of Amber when I started college. I had been turned onto them by my old high school friend urakh_valorfist, and once I started, there was no stopping until I'd finished all of them.

The books have been reprinted all over the world in several languages and editions, showcased in an old computer game for the Commodore 64, featured in several popular MUSHs, translated somewhat unsuccessfully into comics, recorded on audio by their author (now out of print, I think), and spawned an out-of-print visual guide, a dictionary, and a popular roleplaying game, which itself spawned worldwide conventions, called Ambercons.

In short, there is much love for Amber and the Courts of Chaos.

There was also a defunct plan to make a 4-hour miniseries for the Sci-Fi Channel and a feature film. Though neither has ever come to pass, I take some amusement in the exercise of casting a film/miniseries of The Corwin Cycle (the first five books). I don't limit myself to practicalities of budget and who would or would not take such a small part in an ensemble project. I merely concern myself with who I'd like to see in the roles and what they bring to them. Wigs can be worn, hair can dyed, and beards can be worn.

( So, if there ever was a series of films detailing the first five books, and budget wasn't an issue, and I could cast whomever I wanted, this would be what I'd do... )

Feel free to publicly disagree and/or offer your personal suggestions if you like. I'll be happy to explain the logic behind any of the choices. Just don't throw fruit or chairs, please.

"Every breath you take
Every cake you bake
Every lawn you rake
Every dog you wake
I'll be watching you."
-Opus

The concert was great. It would've been cooler if The Police had performed "Synchronicity II", but I can't complain, they did a bunch of standards. rougewench wrote a good review of the evening, so instead of repeating it, I'll just link to it.

( Since her journal is friends-locked, she gave me permission to quote it under this cut. )

Wow, that was the whitest, most middle-aged audience I've ever seen at a concert. rougewench pointed out to me the insane ratio of cougars in the audience, many of whom probably went through high school or junior high when The Police first toured. I just wish the jackass behind us would've done something other than scream (and I do mean scream) out the name of whichever band member was on the big screen for that thirty seconds. He did this over and over again, as if he expected them to point to him and wave or something.

I also enjoyed Elvis Costello, but I have a confession to make: I had never actually heard any of his music before. I know, I know. I understood that he was talented because people like legendofwool, the_lunchbox, digibri and roguewench have all spoken highly of him. I'd seen him before (with Burt Bacharach in the Austin Powers movies (I know, I know, shutup) and maybe with Elton John somewhere(?)), but I wasn't really ever into New Wave music, so it was interesting hearing him for the first time live in concert. And you gotta respect that his new album is a vinyl LP.

On the plus side, tonight is The Police, with Elvis Costello opening for them at the Sprint Center. That should be a blast.

Always nice to see Bill O'Reilly demonstrating how short his fuse is (NSFW for language and yelling).

Dickweed.

"The Fall" is going to be playing at the Tivoli on Friday, May 30th. You may have seen the trailer before, but if you haven't go here (click on trailer at the bottom). Seventeen years in the planning. I can't wait. I know it's almost certainly not going to have a happy ending, but I like those kind of movies.

Plus, Charles Darwin: action hero! What's not to love?

The second inaugural Screenland at the Crossroads Movie Roast featuring Showgirls (the Not Rated version) will debut this Friday, May 16th and Saturday, May 17th at 9 PM. The Movie Roast is hosted by three local comedians in the spirit of Mystery Science Theater 3000, and if they burn this movie the way they did "Hackers" (as beowulphx can attest to), it will be well worth the $10 cost of admission. The comedians sit all the way in the back row, so you never see them, but their cinematic jabs make an otherwise terrible movie a lot more enjoyable.

I will definitely be at the Friday show, and rougewench is going to try to make it.

The official page is here. They sold out last time (which is why they're back), so if you want a shot at one of the leather recliners, get there early.

Random thought: Do children still have show-and-tell, and if so, do they use a digital projector and a Powerpoint presentation?

I used to drag along my favorite toys. When I was 8, this was my favorite toy (he usually picked fights with Mazinger, Raydeen or Dragun).

The coolest toys ever are still Baron Karza and Andromeda and the yang to their yin, Force Commander and Oberon.

I continue to be fascinated by the many ways people funnel and process information. Instead of linking to a bunch of things, here's Presentation Zen.

I don't remember the last time I saw the surreal insane duo of Milk & Cheese, but Evan Dorkin has teamed up with Sara Dyer and they've taken them out and stuck them in the middle of a Furry convention: "The Fur Suit of Crappiness", 2 pages of fandom-scathing love. My affection for this odd, gin-swilling, psychotic dairy-based duo is tremendous.

"Sterno: The poor man's napalm."

In case anyone didn't stay after the credits if Iron Man, there's this. I apologize for the poor video quality, but beggars can't be choosers.

( Question under the cut )

revelsofthedead today FTW!

Go here.