popplers

One from Column A, and…

Via little. yellow. different.: Who Was General Tso And Why Are We Eating His Chicken?

[…] It would be possible to leave the story here and say that General Tso's Chicken simply honors a great personality, just as Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, is honored in Beef Wellington; Pavel Stroganoff, a 19th-century Russian diplomat, in Beef Stroganoff; Count Charles de Nesselrode (another 19th-century Russian diplomat) in Nesselrode Pudding; or Australian opera singer Nellie Melba in the dessert, Peach Melba. Indeed some believe it quite likely that the dish was whipped up for the general after some signal victory, just as Chicken Marengo was whipped up for Napoleon after he defeated the Austrians at Marengo on June 14, 1800.

Still, the recipe is not particularly original -- the ingredients are used in many stir-fry Chinese dishes -- and the dark meat chicken argues for a humbler origin. It's a poor man's dish, not a feast for a field marshal. […]

Who doesn't need a laugh in February?

Join i Sebastiani (the greatest Commedia dell' Arte troupe in the entire world) for "What's So Funny About Commedia dell'Arte?" at 7 p.m. on February 22nd, at ImprovBoston in Inman Square, Cambridge. This 45-minute show is a fast and furious look at the characters, plot devices, and 500 year history of Commedia dell'Arte. Tickets are only $5 and are available at the box office, by calling (617) 576-1253, or on line. When reserving, please make sure that you tell them you're coming to see i Sebastiani!

It all makes perfect sense.

Tom Tomorrow on how conservatives see the world.

Go see this movie! The Skeleton commands you!

What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than with an outstandingly cheezy B-movie? We actually got to meet some of the cast and crew of The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra on Saturday night after the show. For those who haven't seen the trailer, it's available at the official movie site (requires Flash and Quicktime).

Saucier than a killer tomato, more powerful than a 50-foot woman, this sci-fi send-up spoofs the best B-movie thrillers of the 1950s. Assisted by his clueless, overly hair-sprayed wife (Fay Masterson), a dedicated "man of science" (writer/director Larry Blamire) rolls up his shirt sleeves to save the world from radioactive monsters, mutant beasts, curious space aliens and an evil skeleton. Shot on location in Bronson Canyon and Lake Arrowhead, California—in some of the original locations of classic '50s sci-fi films.

According to writer/ director Larry Blamire, the film is, depending on your point of view, "a spoof of, an emulation of, or an homage to the wonderful black and white, low-budget, sci-fi/horror films of the 1950s." The theatre was reasonably full on Saturday night, but not completely sold out. After the show, Robert Deveau (the Farmer) commented that we were a really good audience-- that we "got it". (I think he was just relieved that we were laughing throughout the film.) Cortney Skinner (designer and constructor of the Transmutatron and the Mutant) talked about the prop budget (he brought it in at under $200, thanks to Home Depot, Michael's Crafts and some creativity with foam rubber). Cory Blamire (skeletal manipulation crew and part-time Mutant) kindly modeled the Mutant's head, and agreed that he wasn't part of the crew just because he was the director's son.

The Landmark Theatres guy (Bryan) said that the best way to support independent cinema is to go see it and tell everyone you know. (Actually, he said to tell people that you don't know, too.) And he also said to go see the movie on opening weekend-- apparently opening weekend box office is a really important number to the studios. So, don't wait! It'll be at Kendall Square for one week only, but if it does well, it may be held over. Mrowr!

Gnome wanderlust

So, our friends gave us a gnome for New Year's. Not your garden-variety garden gnome, but an electric stick-the-light-bulb-up-his-bum genyoowine glow-in-the-dark 110V A/C gnome. His name is Norm. When we returned from our travels, we filled his hollow plastic base with pennies (to keep him from blowing over), sat him down on the front steps, and plugged him in. He's on a timer, so he happily lights up around dusk and turns himself off in the wee hours of the morning.

We realized that we'd never brought in today's mail, so Chris went outside to get it. A few moments later, he came back in and asked if I'd moved the gnome. I said that I hadn't, and asked him if it had gotten knocked over. He said, "No, it's more interesting than that." I put on my shoes and stepped outside to take a look.

Norm had reached the end of his tether (the extension cord) and was standing on the front lawn, gazing wistfully at the coach light. Maybe it's just those damn commercials, but I have to wonder if he's contemplating a better life elsewhere. Maybe he's tired of standing on the steps, and feels a deep need to have his boots touch the soil. There are those who advocate an end to oppressive gardening and those who claim that garden gnomes are happy where they are. While I want to encourage him to spread his wings, I do worry-- he could meet a terrible end. It's February in New England. Maybe Norm just needs a vacation.

Zim!

roomwithamoose.com has posted the DVD cover artwork. I can't wait. I'm gonna sing the doom song!

"Persons of artistic accomplishment"

Visited the Peabody Essex Museum last night for the first time in several years. The newest show, entitled Geisha: Beyond the Painted Smile, opens tomorrow, and the Japan Society and the museum hosted an event to preview the exhibition. (Online exhibition is probably nifty, but requires Flash.) Watched a Discovery Channel documentary on the life of the geisha, noshed on some dessert, and enjoyed looking at photographs, paintings, kimonos, and more.

The Peabody Essex (or PEM, as it's now known (yes, they hired someone to rebrand their image, and their new MoMA-style bit of pretension includes the italicized M in the logo) looks really good. I know that they've poured a ton o' money into revitalizing the museum, and the galleries and exhibits look terrific. I'm looking forward to heading up again so that I can see the Chinese wood-block print exhibition Men Plow, Women Weave.

Blinded by science!

Scratch that, reverse it:

A great horned owl found starving in the wild because it had gone blind could be released this spring after having new eye lenses implanted in a first-of-its-kind surgery. […]

Contact lenses for owls-- brilliant!

Invader Zim!

What a great week for Zim-loving Earthanoids! The DVD comes out on May 11, and I just read that there will be action figures! Palisades Toys sez:

We will show painted prototypes of all the Series 1 characters at Toy Fair, but for now we can let you know what the Series 1 line-up is going to be. Series 1 (of DOOM!) includes Zim in Alien Form, Gir in Robot Form, Dib, Ms. Bitters and Almighty Tallest Red. Expect a few faceial expression variants of Zim in Series one, along with a Military Mode Gir! If the line takes off we have a lot of other cool stuff planned for it.

The Toy Fair will take place Sunday, February 15 - Wednesday, February 18, 2004 in New York City at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Woot!

G5/ PC hoax

You've probably heard the story by now. Guy gets a dual-processor G5 for Christmas, decides that he'd rather have a Windows PC, and converts it. Yes, it's a hoax. But don't piss off the Mac community… or else. As Wired News put it: Reaction from the Mac community was swift and brutal.

Andy said his e-mail inbox quickly filled to capacity, with more than 1,300 messages, and an unknown number bounced. The mail he did receive was full of nice, kind thoughts like death threats, insults and all kinds of colorful invective.

"I hope your PC blows up and leaves your miserable face disfigured forever," read one. "You will surely burn in hell for an eternity for this one." [...]

Andy said he was critiqued by PC users as well as Mac fans, but the truly unbalanced stuff came from the Mac camp.

"Mac users are nuttier than a fruitcake," Andy said. "People have an unnatural emotional attachment to object(s) like computers. For some, their reaction was akin to me butchering their parents or a beloved pet."

I love The Onion.

New Anger-Powered Cars May Revolutionize The Way We Drive:

[…] Lutz said automakers have been researching fury fuels since the mid-1970s. As early as 1984, they began to look for ways to take advantage of the limitless supply of bad temper generated daily by American drivers—outrage currently vented wastefully into dashboards, steering wheels, and passengers.

An engine burning clean, white-hot hatred will release few harmful byproducts into the atmosphere—bad vibes and a small amount of water vapor will combine to be released in the form of human spittle. In addition, anger technology will turn the standard fuel-economy paradigm on its head: An anger-powered engine is actually more efficient in heavy urban traffic. […]

What keeps mankind alive?

Went to see the New Rep production of Threepenny Opera earlier today. I was extremely impressed with the costumes, staging, and performances. The Boston Globe gave quite the favorable review:

Oh, this shark has sharpened teeth, dear, and it sinks them into your neck from the moment you walk into the New Repertory Theatre for its magnificent production of "The Threepenny Opera." […]

Rather than try to recreate the 1928 feel of the musical, this production (which originated at Britain's Donmar Warehouse in 1994) moves the proceedings to a London awaiting Prince William's coronation as king. The beggars and whores, thieves and murderers, are beautifully positioned with one foot in Brecht-Weill and the other in "Blade Runner." They're both victims of social Darwinism and practitioners of Dickensian cruelty. […]

Mai tai

Chris has been searching for the Ultimate Mai Tai, and apparently it's right here in our back yard. I can't wait to visit the Tiki Lagoon.

"Wardrobe malfunction"? Right…

Now I almost feel bad that I fast-forwarded through the freaking half-time show. Almost.

The baring of one of Jackson's breasts at the end of her duet with Justin Timberlake, which caused a flood of outraged phone calls to CBS, was replayed a record number of times by TiVo users, a company representative said Monday.

"The audience measurement guys have never seen anything like it," said a TiVo representative. "The audience reaction charts looked like an electrocardiogram."

Conspiracy theories

I'm sure that the Men in Black are going to cover this up, too. Fell asleep at the wheel? Bah! I'm sure there's a more nefarious plot at work here.