The Sad History of Pro Wrestling
If you have even the smallest interest in Professional Wrestling then I highly recommend Dan O’Sullivan’s excellent article Money in the Bank.
Source: Jacobin Magazine.
The Beatles Live 1965 Performance!
One of the things that I love about YouTube.com is that you can find almost anything there. You know, like a rare appearance of The Beatles performing in 1965!
20 Greatest “Pulp Fiction” Trivia Facts
My guess is regular visitors to this site will know most, if not all of the 20 Greatest Pulp Fiction Trivia Facts.
For the record, my favorite is #15.
Matt Wagner’s Grendel and The Shadow!
Matt Wagner presents his creation Grendel and The Shadow!
Behind the Scenes: 25 Classic Hollywood Movies
If you get a kick out of behind-the-scenes photos, you’ll love Do You Remember’s post Behind the Scenes: 25 Classic Hollywood Movies.
You’ll see Eastwood, Hitchcock, Star Wars, Schwarzenegger, and more. Check it out!
Frank Miller & Robert Rodriguez on Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
I thought that Sin City: A Dame to Kill For was better than the original Sin City movie, and I liked the original a lot. The fact that A Dame to Kill For isn’t tearing it up at the box office doesn’t surprise, but it sure disappoints me.
My hope is that overseas dollars and dvd purchases make it possible for more Sin City yarns from Miller and Rodriguez. Scott Huver at CBR. interviewed Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez and it’s obvious they feel the same,
Torrance, Stallone & Mitchum Say, “Farewell, My Lovely”
Mike Torrance aka The Krayola Kidd is back and he’s brought Sly and Robert Mitchum from Farewell, My Lovely with him! Over the coming weeks/months I’ll be posting more of Mike’s sketch card commissions. My goal is to eventually get a card for every character Sly has played. We’re well on our way!
You can see more of Mike’s art at his Deviant Art site. Mike is available for commissions and his prices are very reasonable.
Z-View: “Westworld”
Ed Neumeier recently introduced Westworld at the Trailers from Hell site and it reminded me how much I love that movie.
Spoilers lurk below…
Man, I was the right age to love Westworld when I saw it in a theater when it premiered in 1973. I loved the concept of a Disney-like park where adults could vacation and live out their fantasies. Heck, who wouldn’t? Maybe any age is the right age for that.
Yul Brynner was on-point as the Cowboy killing machine. James Brolin was the perfect movie-star-leading-man who would save his nerdy buddy [played by Richard Benajmin] and the day. So when Brolin was gunned down by the gunslinging Brynner and Benjamin was left to make it out on his own, I was shocked. And hooked.
Westworld Rating: 4 out of 5
The Most Engrossing Crime Comics in History
Mark Peters at Salon recently posted his choices for The Most Engrossing Crime Comics in History. Peters’ choices are solid. Both the article and recommended comics are worth a read.
Although they didn’t make Peters’ list I would also heartily recommend:
- Gravedigger by Mills and Burchett
- Sleeper by Brubaker and Phillips
- Damned by Grant and Zeck
- All the Sin City yarns by Frank Miller
- Liar’s Kiss by Eric Skillman and friends
- Parker by Stark and Cooke
- and so many more…
10 Bone-Chilling Urban Legends
Gregory Myers at ListVerse presents 10 Bone-Chilling Urban Legends.
You won’t find an escaped con with a hook for a hand, but there are more than a few scary stories. My favorite of the urban legends presented is Chilling Discovery.
So lights on, or lights off?
15 Things You Might Not Know About “Conan the Destroyer”
I enjoyed Chris Hutchinson’s 15 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Conan the Destroyer more than the movie Conan the Destroyer. Here are my three favorite things…
1. THE DIRECTOR INSPIRED HIS WAY.
Director John Milius drew major inspiration for the first Conan movie, Conan the Barbarian, from 1958’s The Vikings. When Milius was unavailable to direct the Conan sequel, Conan the Destroyer, producer Dino De Laurentiis went to the original source by hiring The Vikingsdirector Richard Fleischer. [They should have waited for Milius. – Craig]
11. ANDRE THE GIANT MAKES A VERY SUBTLE CAMEO.
Who was the actor underneath the rubber suit created for the monstrous deity Dagoth? None other than André René Roussimoff, better known as the wrestler André the Giant.
15. AND THEN POLITICS SCRAPPED ANOTHER SEQUEL.
Original director John Milius came close to making a third Conan movie with Schwarzenegger in 2002. His script, entitled “King Conan: Crown of Iron,” was to be directed by The Matrix’s Andy and Lana Wachowski, but was scrapped after Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California. [Can you imagine what that Conan film would have looked like. Crom! – Craig]
Source: Mental Floss.
6 Ways Movies Get Space Wrong
Continuing with our space theme, Mark Hill at Cracked presents 6 Ways Movies Get Space Wrong (by Astronaut Chris Hadfield.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the piece which I highly recommend reading…
SPACE WILL KILL YOU IN SURPRISINGLY MUNDANE WAYS! Luca Parmitano came close to drowning in space when his water supply leaked into his helmet. The crew of the Russian space station Mir had to put out a fire while dealing with malfunctioning gas masks. And we all know the story of Apollo 13, although the true-life incident involved much less Tom Hanks.
GOING INTO SPACE MAKES YOU PUKE, COMING BACK MAKES YOU SHAMBLE LIKE A DRUNK. …On average, it takes about one to three days to adjust to weightlessness… Once you’re physically comfortable, you’re still a long way off from moving around gracefully…
Returning to Earth is a bigger adjustment, because your bones and muscles atrophy when they aren’t in use. I lost 8 percent of the bone across my hips, and that’s after two hours of exercise every single day in space. I wouldn’t have been able to pass a sobriety test for a week after I returned, and it was four months before I could run properly. In that first week, you’re lumbering around like a guy in a Godzilla costume.
10 Little Known Facts About the Apollo 11 Moon Landing
Eric Newill at Do You Remember posted 10 Little Known Facts About the Apollo 11 Moon Landing.
You’ll probably know some of the facts, but there may be a surprise or two along the way. These were my three favorites…
The crew originally wanted to call their vessels Charlie Brown and Snoopy, but the bureaucrats in charge thought that would undermine the gravity of the mission. Snowcone andHaystack became the working names, before the more august Columbia and Eagle were decided upon as the final choices.
Armstrong carried on board a piece of wood from the 1903 airplane crafted by the Wright brothers, as well as a diamond-studded pin in honor of the deceased astronauts of the doomed 1967 Apollo 1 mission.
In covering the landing live, CBS anchor Walter Cronkite was not only overjoyed to deliver such good news in a troubled time, but was also famously at a loss for words, rubbing his hands gleefully and saying only, “Whew…boy.” In recognition of his continued enthusiastic coverage of America’s space program, NASA presented him with an Ambassador of Exploration Award in 2006; he was the only non-astronaut or non–NASA employee to receive one.
I hope that someday space flight becomes important again. I would love to live to see a manned expedition to Mars.
32 Movies With Unbelievably Bleak Endings
Louis Peitzman at Buzzfeed recently took a look at…32 Movies With Unbelievably Bleak Endings.
These endings aren’t just unhappy — they’ll leave you feeling completely hopeless.
Of the 32 movies with bleak endings, I’ve seen 22.
Of the 22, while more upbeat endings could be imagined, the bleak finales seem right. I am still surprised that The Mist ended the way it did. Talk about bleak endings. That is the bleakest ending of all the movies listed. I commend the folks behind it to have the stones to go with it.
The Fury 500 Cap Machine Gun
The Fury 500 cap machine gun is a toy I would have loved to have had as a kid! Sadly, I never had one, or had even seen even a photo of one until recently.
I wanted to find out more about the Fury 500. The Nichols Cap Gun site had the info! The Fury 500 was produced in 1960 [I was two years old and way too young for that bad boy]. Can you imagine a gun like that today for kids? Parents and consumer groups would go crazy.
