Various and Sundry

A Savage Outlook on Work

A few weeks ago, I realized I could easily go back and re-watch a bunch of episodes of Mythbusters, which led to the natural rabbit hole of watching additional Mythbusters-related videos on YouTube which led to some of Adam Savage’s current YouTube videos originally recorded as a video/Patreon version of Reddit’s “Ask Me Anythings” (AMAs)… though, in truth, this seemed to be themed around work which, hey, works for my often work-focused Wednesday posts… This…

Continue reading

Various and Sundry

Let’s Talk About Dead Bodies!

I’m not gonna lie: I thought of the Monty Python skit when I saw this video as Victor Sweeney is everything you thought a mortician might be. This was apparently decently popular, so they brought him back for a part 2: And wouldn’t you know it? Mr. Sweeney has also done one of those experts-review-films videos and it’s very informative: Hope everyone’s spooky season is starting off right.

Continue reading

Acting Producing Writing

WGA/SAG-AFTRA Strike Update

So, it’s August and both the screenwriters and the screen actors are still striking. The WGA is meeting about returning to the negotiating table this Friday, but that doesn’t mean their strike is ending and, at the time of me writing this, there’s no news on AMPTP talking with SAG-AFTRA (though per that article, they’d be happy to). I’ve gone back and tagged all my relevant posts about the strike(s) for ease of reference, but…

Continue reading

Various and Sundry

Is a Pirate’s Life for You? Ask the Expert!

I’m going through my final round of Netflix DVDs and this weekend’s entry was the 2012 mini-series of Treasure Island with Eddie Izzard as Long John Silver. The short version? Izzard delivers a great Silver, but the mini-series takes some odd diversions from the source material that are far from satisfying. My wife actually suggested, knowing my penchant for ranking, that I rank all the different version of Treasure Island, which is very tempting –perhaps…

Continue reading

Various and Sundry

Bond, Historical Bond (A Retrospective)

Having done villains last week, let’s take a look at heroes. Okay, James Bond is something of an anti-hero as established from the get-go in that “you’ve had your six” moment in Dr. No. But still, he is working for Queen and Country as well as saving the world (sometimes as a sad clown). This is a fun overview of how James Bond has changed with the times that Fandom released just before No Time…

Continue reading

Various and Sundry

Heraldry, Design, and Ranking State Flags

A bit overdue for Father’s Day, but definitely thinking of my dad, for whom heraldry was a passion, here’s CGP Grey ranking all the state flags with the requisite amount of snark because so many of them are just so bad as flags. My dad also loved flags and would have approved of many of the guidelines Grey (and others) mention for good, clean, flag design. Not sure if he’d agree with all the rankings…

Continue reading

Various and Sundry

Enjoying your Road Trip on a Deeper Level

School’s out for so many people and summer road trips are going to be on many minds in the weeks ahead, so since while working on a post featuring a CGP Grey video next week, I thought I’d drop this here. As with many of his videos, I knew some of this information, but Grey gives you so much more detail, like the odd exceptions. It’s something to think about as you’re driving on the…

Continue reading

Various and Sundry

Babylon 5: Billy Pilgrim Edition

Okay, so we’ve had several sci-fi stories where the main character slips between timelines and times in their lives (looking epecially at you, Picard in “All Good Things…”), but they specifically mention Sheridan being “unstuck in time” which is absolutely a Slaughterhouse Five reference. Also, for folks who have checked out the Babylon 5 Viewing Guide, this is almost certainly a film to check out after checking out the series. If you don’t believe me,…

Continue reading

Various and Sundry

“AI” is BS (and NSFW on several levels)

Come on, between a key demand of the Writer’s Strike being the regulation of AI in screenwriting and some of my other posts about AI this year, did you really think I wouldn’t share this half-hour comedy screed from Adam Conover? It may be foul-mouthed, but it is funny. However, if you’re looking for a TL;DR one might sum it up as such: And did I mention it’s foul-mouthed? Beware around kindern and co-workers who…

Continue reading

Various and Sundry Writing

More Context for the 2023 Writers’ Strike

So the not-quite-a-week-old writers’ strike is still on my mind, in part because much of the online forums I visit are full of, well, writers. So here’s a few more resources that I feel give you a bit more context about what’s being demanded, how the studios usually respond and what is officially on the table. First up, an 8 1/2 minute video from Nerdist that sums up the strike: If you’ve been following other…

Continue reading