Neil Young: I love this guy.

Queensbridge.

"It's not a prop, it's my lightsaber."

You know, I've always thought Rachel Maddow was the smartest and funniest pundit on TV. Now I know...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Makes that Kung-fu Panda movie look like a joke

Via the Huffington Post.

Bizarro is the new Far Side

All right, whose bright idea was this?

WWE owner Vince McMahon has done some pretty awful things (screwing Bret Hart *what up Canadian readers?!?!*) but putting American hero Buzz Aldrin through this has to take the cake:


He's been made a shill! A shill for his own wares!

A clip featuring Aldrin addressing the crowd has also made the rounds but it has mercifully been pulled from You Tube. It's not that I think pro-wrestling is beneath the man, heck I used to be a pretty big fan myself when I was a kid, but Aldrin was just not the right guy for this job. And given his status as the second man to walk the surface of the moon (the friggin' moon people) the last thing we need to do is make him a laughing stock.

*And, for fans, yes I know that what I just said could very well be applied to Bret Hart's current run in the organization but seeing as how I'm a (in the parlance) mark for the guy let's just skirt the issue, shall we?

Fun with Google Analytics

Here's what I've learned in the past week about the viewership for both my personal blog and Celluloid Annoyed:

1. People who visit Celluloid Annoyed through this site spend WAAAAAAAYYYY more time on it than those who visit it via Twitter.
2. As much as you guys hate plugs on social media sites, they work: Celluloid Annoyed gained a 750% surge in views since I began promoting it on the networks I use. And I'm not nearly as aggressive as I could be.
3. Most people reading my personal blog don't know me personally as most visits are from Blogger referrals.
4. The T&S board I'm on is the largest generator of unique hits to Celluloid Annoyed.
5. The video I posted below has nothing to do with anything I've discussed here, I just haven't seen it in awhile and though it was funny.

All around, interesting stuff. I'm amazed this site gets any hits at all since I only broadcast new post alerts via my personal Twitter account which has only 19 followers.

I hate Julie Bowen

So Julie Bowen, star of the show "Modern Family" (which I have never seen and, thanks to her, will never see) has been making the rounds lately for airing a photo of her breastfeeding on the George Lopez show. Because I'm not socially inept like Bowen, I'm not going to post the photo here but you can view it over at the Huffington Post. That's not why I hate her.

The real reason I hate her is because of her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel a few weeks back where she hates on "Star Wars" fans, despite the fact that the series is a world wide phenomenon and George Lucas will be revered and remembered a hundred years from now while she, being in an actress in her early forties, has nothing more than a career in Lifetime TV movies and plastic surgery to look forward to (best case scenario). If you've got the stomach for her cloying personality you can view the Kimmel clip here:

Classic Stern: Billy West as Lucille Ball

Review: "The Complete Metropolis"

"The mediator between head and hands must be the heart!"

It's been about 11 years since I last saw Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" in a film history class I took during my sophomore year of high school. I've changed quite a bit since then and, perhaps fittingly, so has the film. After a near miraculous discovery of a 16mm print featuring scenes once thought lost, Kino International has afforded the film a complete reconstruction and restoration to create what has become known as "The Complete Metropolis." Finally modern audiences will have a chance to see what patrons first experienced way back in 1927 (fyi-the year my grandfather was born) and sitting in that theater tonight I couldn't help but think back to how those audiences must have reacted when they first caught a glimpse of this, one of the most fully realized worlds ever committed to film.

For those not up to speed on "Metropolis" lore, the film follows Freder, the son of Metropolis founder Joh (or John depending on which version of the film you're watching) Fredersen, and his awakening to the plight of the hands that built his father's city. He is led on his journey by the maternal Maria, a leader of the under-dwellers who gives them hope and strength as they toil away and make the city run. An uprising soon occurs and the fate not only of the city but its very people, rich and poor, hangs in the balance.

Although it's universally praised, I couldn't help but feel a disconnect while watching the movie then and now. The film is more about storytelling than the actual story. The characters are very broadly sketched and it was difficult for me to truly become engaged in any ones' struggle. But that's neither here nor there. The city itself is the film's most prominent character and what supplies us with our most vivid memories. It doesn't just exist but comes to life and fills our imagination with a kind of wonder that has yet to be equaled despite (and perhaps because of) today's technology.

Basically, and at the risk of dispelling any goodwill I may have built up with you to this point, I think I admire and respect the film more than I love it. That said, it's impossible not feel your spine tingle when the robotic Maria awakens or the goose bumps on your arm rise as the music crescendos over vistas of towering skyscrapers. These are moments to be cherished and this is what the movies do better than any other medium.

No matter what your opinion is, it's difficult to view this film as just a another movie. "Metropolis" carries with it the weight of nearly a centuries' worth of science fiction imagery. There is not a genre picture that doesn't owe at least something to Lang's vision of the future and that is its greatest legacy. Let there be no doubt: this film absolutely must be seen (on the big screen if possible) by anyone who loves the movies.

The Complete Metropolis official trailer

Just so we're clear

My @joe1138 is my private, personal feed meant to keep people who know me up to speed on my goings on. I'm going to keep it private from here on out permanently however, you may send a request to follow my Twitter feed. @celluloidannoid will be my public stream and will focus on Celluloid Annoyed updates, news items of interest and anything else that I feel like making public.

Pope to gays looking to marry and mothers pregnant with unwanted children: "No."

But just so we're clear-touching little kids and doing nothing to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted disease in third world countries? A-okay.

Pope Benedict XVI: Gay marriage 'insidious and dangerous'

theotherjc.net Book Club Selection: Too Fat To Fish

I finally picked up Artie Lange's book, Too Fat To Fish, today and boy is it a page turner. I'm up to chapter 3 right now, wherein he recounts the details of the infamous bank hold-up story. It's much more honest and revealing than I expected and, as much as I appreciate Lange's backstory, I really hope he makes with the funny soon.

Get well soon, sir. The Stern show just ain't the same without you.

Artie Lange: Too Fat To Fish

Armstrong to Obama: You Astro-nut!

Via Yahoo! "Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, blasted NASA's new plans for future space exploration Wednesday, adding that President Barack Obama was poorly advised when he canceled the space agency's previous course for U.S. human spaceflight earlier this year."

Neil Armstrong: Obama's New Space Plan 'Poorly Advised'

theotherjc.net is now Joebook: the Joecial network

I am so fed up with Facebook. Seriously. I was reluctant to jump in and now that I have it seems like it just one headache after another. Seeing as how I own this domain in addition to celluloidannoyed.com *plug* I am basically turning this into the hub for all things Joe. If you want to keep up with me and my exploits/thoughts, this is the place to do it from here on out.

I'll remain active on Twitter, You Tube and (to a lesser extent) Vimeo but Facebook is a closed chapter. I probably don't have to fill you in on the details as to why I'm leaving but here's a quick story over at PC World which cites just a few reasons.

Facebook keeps telling lies

While it's not my place to tell you how to connect with others, I strongly recommend you consider looking at other options to maintain all of your contacts. I mean seriously, how many of those people do you talk to on a regular basis anyway?

Looks like I need to get a Tom Tom now