Wow, Deja Vu!

Hold On, I've Seen This Before: How Star Wars, Star Trek, The Matrix, and Harry Potter are Actually the Same Movie | Spiteful Critic: "Do your favorite movies sometimes seem a bit…familiar? When discussing Harry Potter, do you sometimes mistake Voldemort for Darth Vader? Do Neo’s abilities in the Matrix remind you of the Force, only just a little bit different? Well, you would be right, as the most wildly successful franchises of the last 40 years are basically the same recycled story you have heard over and over again."

Point by point comparisons at the link. This is what comes of all the writers reading The Hero's Journey.

New Story at BEAT to a PULP :

BEAT to a PULP :: Y Not :: Travis Erwin

Seven Years of College Down the Drain

BBC NEWS | UK | Education | Schools to rethink 'i before e': "The spelling mantra 'i before e except after c' is no longer worth teaching, according to the government.

Advice sent to teachers says there are too few words which follow the rule and recommends using more modern methods to teach spelling to schoolchildren."

Three Stooges Update

Paul Giamatti could warm up to ‘Stooges’ role - BostonHerald.com: "Would Paul Giamatti consider replacing Sean Penn as Larry Fine in the Farrelly Brothers upcoming “Three Stooges” flick? Soitenly!

The Emmy Award-winning actor, who is here at the Nantucket Film Festival with his dark comedy “Cold Souls,” revealed that, as a kid, he thought Moe, Larry and Curly were scary and creepy. But he’s come to appreciate their comedy in middle age."

This Pretty Funny

He's Barack Obama | Funny Video Animation by JibJab

What the World Needs Now

Moviehole. Exclusive : Teen Wolf Howls Again?: "This one won’t come as much of a surprise - a remake of the classic Michael J. Fox starrer “Teen Wolf” is in early development.

Warner Bros (who snagged the rights to the film series about five or six years ago) are currently out to writers, looking for the craftiest reinterpretation of Rod Daniels’ 1985 hit."

The Boxer and the Spy -- Robert B. Parker

I liked this book best of the three Robert B. Parker YA novels I've read. When his classmate is found dead, supposedly a suicide, Terry and his friends, including Abby, his one true love, don't believe the official story. Terry sets out to find the truth of the matter.

This is one of those books in which the reader knows who the killer is the first time he appears on the page, so the only real mystery is, why wasn't this Parker's "Young Spenser" novel? Change Terry's name to Spenser, and this book would have been perfect. There's the black mentor who teaches Terry about boxing and life, with all the expected lines about what it means to be a man. There's the perfect girlfriend (she's pretty, she's smart, she's "the one") with whom Terry discusses everything. The book's told in the third person, but the dialog and the descriptions are pure Parker.

Here's another interesting thing. The book's about 200 pages long, but it's about one-third the thickness of a Spenser novel. Maybe the books for adults are fattened up so grown-ups will think they're getting a bargain, while books for teens are slimmed down so as not to intimidate reluctant readers. If you like Parker, you'll probably enjoy this one.

Good News for Us Geezers

Old People May Be Immune to Swine Flu | Wired Science | Wired.com: "Just having been alive for a while could protect you from getting the novel swine flu circling the planet.

In 1977, a type of H1N1 virus, commonly known as the “Russian flu,” spread across the world, infecting people under 25 at much higher rates than their elders, who had been exposed to similar viruses in the ’40s and ’50s. In the first documented American outbreak, 70 percent of the students fell ill at a high school in Cheyenne, Wyoming, while their teachers proved immune. As the Air Force Academy’s chief medical officer said in 1978, “It’s one of the advantages of being middle-aged.”"

This Should Solve All Problems

Pizza Hut makes a name change - Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money: "Blame recession cuts. Pizza Hut is slicing the 'pizza' from its store name on its boxes and some store signs The fast food chain will now brand some stores as 'The Hut.'"

No Comment Department

WBBM 780 - Chicago's #1 source for local news, traffic and weather - Nude hiking buffs prepare for summer: "HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- Every year on the first day of summer, a few outdoor enthusiasts nationwide expose virtually all of themselves to insects, scrapes and thorns for the pleasure of bonding with nature au naturel.

They call it Naked Hiking Day.

'There's no way to explain it until you experience it,' said Andrew Williams, 28, a machinist from Warren, Pa., who first hiked naked six or seven years ago. 'It's not about being lewd and crude and all that. It's just enjoyment.'"

Redneck Noir

NY Man Who Faked Death Fit For Molestation Trial - wcbstv.com: "A Buffalo man who police say faked his own death after getting his girlfriend's 11-year-old daughter pregnant has been found competent to stand trial.

Edtition Thompson, facing possible life in prison, has pleaded not guilty to predatory child molestation.

[. . . .]
Thompson fled Buffalo last summer and authorities say his family staged a fake memorial service. He was arrested in Sacramento, Calif., in March.

Police say he's since faked a heart attack and suicide attempt."

Start Saving Those Toenail Clippings

Site seeks everyone's 'world record' - UPI.com: "NEW YORK, June 18 (UPI) -- A pair of New York men said their Web site, the Universal Record Database, was created so everyone can find the 'world record holder in them.'

Dan Rollman, 35, president and co-founder of the Universal Record Database, said he and co-founder Corey Henderson created an online database for people to invent their own world record categories and post videos of themselves performing the feats, the New York Daily News reported Thursday."

Forgotten Book: CHANDLER -- William Denbow

Another book that's deservedly forgotten. But that doesn't mean it's not interesting. William Denbow no doubt wanted to capitalize on the success of Joe Gores' Hammett, which came out a couple of years before Chandler. I mean, if it worked for Gores, why not for Denbow. But he decided to double your pleasure by presenting both Hammett and Raymond Chandler in the same novel.

Hammett is drunk and sick, and he's being threatened by a killer. He needs help, and who better than to strap on a gun and come to his aid than Ray Chandler? Well, okay, maybe Chandler's not your idea of a tough guy, but this is fiction. Anything goes.

The blurb on the back cover is from Peter McCurtin, who says, "A wild idea but it works. The writing is smooth, the action violent." The last statement is true. Everything else is a lie, including the words "a" and "the." (You know who I stole that from, right?) The writing is awful, and the idea doesn't work at all. If you want to find out why Hammett was such a success, read Chandler, where everything goes wrong. Instead being published by a big-name hardover house, Chandler came from Belmont-Tower, one of the really low-end paperback publishers.

Of course I could be wrong about this. Chandler could be an undiscovered classic. You'll have to read it and decide for yourself.

2009 Chesley Awards Nominations

Missions Unknown � 2009 Chesley Awards Nominations!: "The list of finalists is here and Yours Truly [John Picacio] is nominated for four 2009 Chesley Awards! Very stoked about the news. The Chesley Awards are the peer awards given annually within the worldwide science fiction and fantasy artist community. The winners will be announced at the World Science Fiction Convention in Montreal this August."

Is Our Children Learning?

Twilight makes MTV's 2009 milestone list: "Today, MTV lists its top graduate milestones for 2009:
5. Gay marriage
4. Twitter
3. Twilight
2. Lady Gaga
1. President Obama"

Barry Awards Announced

Mystery Fanfare: Barry Awards Announced: "Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine and Mystery News announced the nominations for the 2009 Barry Awards. Congratulations to all of the nominees. The winners will be announced at this year's Bouchercon in Indianapolis."

Complete list at the link.

AHMM

The latest issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine has Fritz Leiber's classic "Space-Time for Springers" as it's "classic" this time around (September issue). I remember reading the story in Star Science Fiction #4 way back in 1958 and loving it. The story has a fine introduction by James Lincoln Warren, and it's great to read about Gummitch again. If you've never read the story, the issue's worth it for this one alone.

Gator Update (NASA Edition)

Space and Astronautics News � Blog Archive � STS-127: Space Shuttle Endeavour’s crew adopts an alligator as its mascot.: "Taking a mid-day stroll, an alligator crosses the Saturn Causeway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in front of the Astrovan with STS-127 crew members aboard. The crew was on its way to Launch Pad 39A on June 2 for a simulated launch countdown, part of the terminal countdown demonstration test. The crew agreed to “adopt” the alligator as its mascot."

Hat tip to Brent McKee.

50 Best Western TV Series & 50 Best TV Movies/Miniseries

Gunsmoke, Lonesome Dove Top List of Greatest TV Westerns, According to Western Writers of America: "OKLAHOMA CITY, June 18 WWA-Westerns-top10
OKLAHOMA CITY, June 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- GUNSMOKE, which ran for 20 years on CBS, has been chosen the Greatest TV Western Series of All Time by Western Writers of America. LONESOME DOVE, an Emmy-winning 1989 CBS production based on Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize-honored novel, was selected Best TV Western Miniseries/Movie."

Complete lists at the link, for which a hat tip to Ivan at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear.

Paris Hilton Update

The Associated Press: Paris Hilton brings her reality show to Dubai: "Paris Hilton said she studied the culture of Dubai and promised the Middle East version of her reality show will steer clear of the drinking and the swearing it had in Los Angeles and London.

The remarks came as Hilton, 28, launched the Mideast edition of her 'Paris Hilton's My New BFF' series in Dubai, a glitzy sheikdom in the United Arab Emirates. BFF stands for best friends forever.

'I wanted to know everything about this place first because I wanted to make sure everything was OK,' the hotel heiress was quoted as saying by The National newspaper Thursday. 'I just want to respect everyone here.'"

Thanks to Jeff Meyerson and Scott Cupp.