Brrrrr

[cleolinda]

Freezing, freeeeezing-ass cold. Actually, the only reason I mind is because I have to take the dogs outside and because I'm going out to dinner tonight; I like the cold if I don't actually have to be out in it. So I'm wearing my giant Queen Susan coat (no wools harmed in the making of it), which is a pretty medium slate green color and is v. v. warm.

Linkspam:

Deaths: Ian Richardson. One of British acting's three great Ians; very sad.

The Anna Nicole Smith tragedy snowballs: Report saying it was a drug overdose; Anna Nicole's cause of death still a mystery; Anna Nicole Smith's mother blames drugs; final Footage of Anna Nicole Smith Sells for Over $500,000 (final as in "her final moments"); ANS DNA wanted so that Dannielynn cannot be switched with another baby during paternity case; Zsa Zsa Gabor's Husband Claims to Be Baby's Father (wha?); Smith left tangled legal web.

NBC's Russert: Witness stand unpleasant. What I loved was the nightly news report I saw on--Wednesday?--where they talked about how the jury's body language visibly changed--for the worse--when they went after Russert.

Gore rules out 2008 US presidential run.

Head of Cartoon Network resigns over Aqua Teen Hunger Force incident.

Ex-NBA player Amaechi comes out publicly.

John Walsh doesn’t think Dahmer killed his son.

Norway Reveals Doomsday Vault's Design. And what is the Doomsday Vault, you ask? It's a "Noah's Ark"... for crop seeds. Which is an excellent idea, really.

EMI in talks to sell unprotected MP3s. Well, it's about time.

Clint Eastwood against Iraq war, but admires Bush "tenacity." My irrational annoyance at Director!Eastwood is trying to suppress a WHO ASKED YOU? here.

42answers, a nifty community where you post "answers" and commenters try to come up with many possible questions.

sound_of_bells: "AMC is doing an all-day Best Picture marathon on February 24th from 9:45 am to 11:00 pm in all of its theaters. It's $30 for an all-day pass. I am so, so going, even though I've already seen three of them. *slightly rabid* Anyway, I thought you (and everybody, really) might like to know." Unfortunately, I don't think we have AMCs down here, so y'all go for me.

(Y’all, I just saw a commercial the other night for 300. In IMAX. I actually said the other week that that would be one of the worst movies to put in IMAX ever. My God. </td>)

From psammead: Who really made Babel? and Benicio Del Toro as The Wolfman.

Best name for a movie ever.

From skyblade: Bridge to Terabithia filmmakers say that advertising is grossly misleading:

The filmmakers behind Disney's upcoming fantasy film Bridge to Terabithia disavowed any connection with the movie's ad campaign, which they told SCI FI Wire was deliberately misleading. The ads show a boy and girl entering a fantasy world; the scene actually takes place at the end of the movie.

"I believe it's a stretch, and it's a very difficult decision on Disney's part, but we the filmmakers had nothing to do with that promotion," said director Gabor Csupo (The Wild Thornberrys). "We don't really think that it's an appropriate way of selling the movie, but they're convinced that that's the way to get kids interested, and hopefully they will be positively surprised. If they are anticipating a Harry Potter movie, then we are in trouble. It is not a Harry Potter kind of a movie."

The film is based on a book by Katherine Paterson, which tells the story of a friendship of a boy and girl who are bullied at school and escape into their own fantasy world of Terabithia. The book was published 30 years ago, and it took 17 years for Paterson's son, David, to co-write the screenplay and produce the project. Director Csupo said the novelist was happy with his vision: "She was very pleased from the beginning, because we did not want to turn the movie around or do a movie like the ad campaign is suggesting. We didn't want to do a movie like that."

So basically, there's going to be a lot of angry parents and sobbing kids next weekend.

And finishing up with Prince Week:

jessica_dwg: "Dave Grohl Gives Thumbs Up to Prince." Heh. My initial thought Sunday night was, "Dave Grohl must be wetting himself right now," but apparently he didn’t hear about it until afterward and had to go watch video of it. I do kind of love the idea of Dave Grohl sitting in front of his computer on Monday, frantically searching YouTube. “Prince did WHAT?” Trufax:

The subsequent buzz — and news that Prince had covered the Foo Fighters' recent hit ''Best of You'' — prompted lead singer Dave Grohl to seek out the show on YouTube the next day. "Having been a massive Prince fan my whole life, I was flattered beyond words," says Grohl. "What an honor to be covered by one of your heroes!"

....But let's get back to that downpour. How in the world did Prince avoid becoming a small fry on that slick stage? Some dangerous off-camera heroics helped, for one: After an electric cable was accidentally severed moments before the show, a stage hand channeled a scene straight out of Back to the Future by manually inserting the exposed copper wires into an outlet and holding them in place for the duration of the nearly 12-minute show. It's a wonder he wasn't injured, which is why Mischer says he wants to find out the guy's identity, because ''I think I should give him a medal.''

Downloads:

Extended version of "Thieves of the Temple" from jessica_dwg;

Two versions of "P. Control" (original; remix, also from Jessica), one of the most awesome Prince songs ever (warning: not for the children. No, really. Includes hilarious scream sound effects for the schoolyard catfight verse). And I'm still looking for the first version I ever heard: it was the VH1 Fashion Awards, and they opened with Prince performing live, models striding cheerfully down the catwalk, and the background chorus, "I don't know if you been told, but [word they totally didn't bleep at all] got you in control";

"Thunder," off the Diamonds and Pearls album;

"Cream," also from Diamonds and Pearls, and still one of my favorites, mostly because it has one of the few decent videos Prince ever did and the line "You're filthy cute and baby, you know it";

"Little Red Corvette." If you don't have this in your '80s collection, you need to seriously reevaluate your life. If you don't have an '80s collection, well, then... carry on;

An eight-minute version of "Purple Rain";

"Darling Nikki," the original version of the song the Foo Fighters covered;

"I Would Die 4 U," another favorite;

"Scandalous," off the Batman soundtrack (it actually runs over the credits of the movie);

And two songs you can hear Prince doing backup on, if you listen closely: Sheila E.'s "The Glamorous Life" (the other song that got me through "Titanic in Fifteen Minutes") and Martika's "Love, Thy Will Be Done," both of which he also wrote.

Comments

[skinheadskippy.livejournal.com]

Thunder is a song that I can crank up to top volume, blow the windows apart and bounce on my floor until the people in the apartment below me start jabbing the roof with a broom. Have also made mistake of holding wine glass whilst dancing. Room now smells of Jacob's Creek which gives the impression that i'm a pisspot. Which is correct.

Has anyone been able to put Prince's cover of The Best Of You onto the interwebs, in mp3 form?

[anonymisty.livejournal.com]

"We don't really think that it's an appropriate way of selling the movie, but they're convinced that that's the way to get kids interested, and hopefully they will be positively surprised."

Yeah, well, maybe not so much. I'd never read the book, but I decided to after seeing the ads. I thought "Hey, here's a fantasy book I've missed along the way."

Oops.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

While I look forward to the insanity that will be 300 and I wouldn't mind Gerry popping out of the screen at me...holy mackeral you're going to have to have a strong stomach to get through the insanity of that movie IN GLORIOUS 3-D. If one flinches at the thought of Sin City being big and bold, one has to think twice about 300 coming right at you.

[t4-flirt.livejournal.com]

you are an angel for finishing Prince Week with such download goodness. now i'll be occupied for the night with my new toys. LOL

[skinheadskippy.livejournal.com]

Scratch that. Found it.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I did!

http://cleolinda.livejournal.com/478858.html

[t4-flirt.livejournal.com]

blow the windows apart and bounce on my floor until the people in the apartment below me start jabbing the roof with a broom

oh dear lord. i happen to be listening to Michael Jackson's Black or White right now, and your post made me think of the video, with the intro part featuring Macaulay Culkin and that Norm dude from Cheers. *cracks up laughing*

[skinheadskippy.livejournal.com]

That's another song that gets me, er, jumpin' jumpin'. Bless early 90's pop.

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Am I the only one scratching my head over this new Adam Walsh theory? This doesn't fit Dahmer's profile at all; he killed adolescents/young adults, and his MO was to lure them into his home. None of that matches the Walsh case, so even if they don't think Toole's the guy, I don't get how they're jumping to Dahmer.

Changing subjects, it probably makes me a bad person, but I think the Terabithia advertising is one of the greatest swerves I've ever seen. The end to Terabithia is supposed to be a shock.

[theatre-angel.livejournal.com]

Terabithia was one of the saddest books I ever read. Those poor kids. :-(

[nohara-megami.livejournal.com]

Omg, so much icon love.

[t4-flirt.livejournal.com]

I'm feeling generous. Here's a download for you(and anyone else who wants to relive 90's pop).

Michael Jackson's Black or White :
http://download.yousendit.com/1B30EF66285A518C

[lilitou.livejournal.com]

I'm completely baffled by the Dahmer theory, too. I don't even know how someone would have come up with it. The Walsh boy was so far from his usual victim profile that it doesn't make any sense at all to tie him into the pattern. Especially given that Dahmer had a fairly distinctive victim profile in that most of his victims were not of his race, which is unusual for serial killers.

On that other subject, I'm one of those who was perturbed by the Terabithia ads. I see your point about the ending, but they make it look like the entire thing is about their super fantastic CGI and this weird fantasy world, when it's not meant to be about anything of the kind.

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Thanks! superherogricat made it. I'm so tickled with it; I'd needed a Doctor icon and a Heroes icon, and now I have both!

[morganwolf.livejournal.com]

1. Leave it to Norway to come up with some great invention and give it a totally metal name like the Doomsday Vault. I love you, Norway.
2. Last night my fiance and I had a 15-minute discussion on whether or not Gerard Butler's 300 abs were real or not.
3. The whole Terabithia advertising debacle is exactly the reason people need to read some damn books. As soon as I saw those previews I thought, "Oh, spit, there are gonna be some seriously traumatized tots out there once that comes out." That's a classic of young adult literature and if you didn't read it in school, or on your own, you should at least know enough to be outraged that they're selling it as a fantasy film appropriate for young children.

[bigeyedrabbit.livejournal.com]

Eeeeee! "The Glamorous Life!" I don't think I ever knew Prince wrote that one, but I should have guessed. It's a little bit ridiculous how much I love that song. :) Thanks as always for sharing the musical goodies with us folks on the Internets.

[elisa0984.livejournal.com]

Of all the bizarre things to come out of ANS, Prince Whatshisface was not one of them.

Wanted to let you know that The Feb 12 issue of The New Yorker has a pretty lengthy interview with Cate Blanchet. And that I'm having fun with your wiki.

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Is Terabithia really considered YA literature? I was eight or so when I read it, and most of my friends were in the 8-10 range when they read it. It's one of those books that got passed around because it's so sad.

I'm kind of WTF at how over the top the ads are, too, but I can't help but like that they're hiding the ending. Most trailers give the whole movie away, and this is an ending that (like in the book) you really shouldn't see coming.

[frodosgoosegirl.livejournal.com]

The Bridge to Terebithia trailers totally confused me because it was not like the book I remembered reading. I read it when I was very young, but every time a see a trailer I'm just like (spoiler) wait doesn't she die...? I just remember them playing in the forest a lot, less of the whole fantasy world part. So I guess I'm not crazy after all.

[morganwolf.livejournal.com]

We were probably in the same age range when we read it in school-- 9 or 10, maybe. When I was babysitting, the kids were more like 11 or 12 when they read it. "Young adult" may not have been the right phrasing, but I'm guessing that's where you find it in the bookstores.

I agree with you on not spoilering the ending, but I think it would have parents up in arms because they might be lead to believe it's appropriate to bring a child who's younger, 5 or 6, for the fantasy content, and then have to deal with explaining the heavy concepts the plot brings up. Some younger kid could handle it, sure, but I still remember what a big fuss it was that Mufasa died in The Lion King. Apparently there were bunches of kids seeing it that just were not equipped to deal with death yet.

[trede.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I read this book maybe 8 or 9 years ago, and when I saw the trailer I just assumed they'd taken a lot of liberties with the story and turned it into a fantasy movie.

[chocolat-violet.livejournal.com]

My french teacher told my class about one of her former university professors, a guy named Taylor Mali, who was a crazy slam poet. This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU) is him performing his poem, "What Teachers Make." This poem is so freaking good and please PLEASE add this to your next pile of linkspam because anyone who has ever has gone to school needs to watch this.

[chocolat-violet.livejournal.com]

Pardon my grammer, Taylor Mali IS a crazy good slam poet.

[polly-moopers.livejournal.com]

When I was little, I actually wasn't that sad when Mufasa died because he got to go and chill with Lion Jesus.

I was pretty guillible as a kid.

[kosher-jenny.livejournal.com]

Head of Cartoon Network resigns over Aqua Teen Hunger Force incident.

Oh, for...

EMI in talks to sell unprotected MP3s. Well, it's about time.

So very true. When I saw the headline I thought "this is in response to the Steve Jobs speech, isn't it?" and sure enough it is. Hopefully this leads to more good things, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. Still, death to crappy DRM!

Lastly, I don't know if you've heard (I just found out today myself) but Elie Wiesel attacked by holocaust denier (http://www.examiner.com/a-556256~Author_attacked_in_S_F__hotel.html). The attacker then went on to post an account of what happened online:

The online posting states that the writer intended to “bring Wiesel to my hotel room where he would truthfully answer my questions regarding the fact that his non-fiction Holocaust memoir, Night, is almost entirely fictitious.” Later in the posting, the Holocaust is portrayed as a “myth.”