| I SWEAR I thought this was a parody at first... |
[Mar. 2nd, 2012|09:26 pm] |
Ah, I hate to give some people more attention than they deserve, but...combine two 80s Apple ads with an odd amount of fail and you get this:
I do like the poop shooting one much better though! It's supposed to be mud, but come on!
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| Bug Jack Barron |
[Jan. 8th, 2012|09:07 am] |
It's funny how you can know about something, yet not know about it at the same time. Such is the case of Bug Jack Barron, a 1969 novel by Norman Spinrad. The reason I should have known about it is that it heavily influenced Transmetropolitan - his name is plastered all over writings about the graphic series and yet somehow in my youthful HST tunnel vision I failed to pick up on it.
It's possible that the timing was all wrong too - it was recently re-released as an eBook on Smashwords, so it was probably out of print for some time. The first couple of chapters had me lost for a bit before the story picked up its groove, and once I got on track that the "Bug" part was not a nickname, but the name of Jack Barron's call-in show, things went more smoothly from there.
I think it's unfair to categorize the book as science fiction, but it certainly must have seemed that way over 40 years ago. People were still struggling to figure out how all this new media and technology jazz was going to work or change their lives. Thankfully there isn't a heavy focus on technology - nothing is more painful than the clunky names that authors gave technology back then. In the future, a phone will still be called a phone, but there's no way Philip K. Dick and Ray Bradbury could have guessed that. The one glaring piece of outdated technology in the book is in fact the Bell Videophone, which just never ever caught on. The videophone figures prominently as the main form of communication between Jack, his friends, callers and enemies.
A good deal of attention is paid to the format of the call-in show, where Jack constantly signals to his producer to manipulate what the viewer sees - such as splitting the screen and cutting callers off. As such, the book also explores media literacy. I almost want to know if TV and radio personalities had as much power back in the day, or if Spinrad was just able to predict the power one personality could have over an audience.
Bug Jack Barron really gave me the shivers in more ways than one and it's fair to say that a lot of the concepts in the book have come to pass. Jack Barron is a social activist turned talk-show superstar, inviting his audience members to call in with what's bugging them. He stumbles quite by accident into a conspiracy that crosses race, economic status and political corruption.
It seems prudent to warn that the character of Jack Barron is also a little sexist and the characters often expouse racial ephitets. Jack is a bastard, plain and simple, and either you love bastard characters and writers or you don't. Anything that involves the future is also a product of the time it was made. I sense there is increasing discomfort with people of today looking at things of the past with all their ugly inequalities and prejudices. But it would be a shame to reject these cultural works or histories because they only serve as a reminder of how much growing and changing society has done and still has to do.
Like HST, Spinrad was also influenced by the Beats, seen in the stream of consciousness flow of the characters thoughts, anxieties and nightmares. Naturally there is a drug influence too. More straight up narration and storytelling alternates with this flow to make an interesting, well-rounded novel. I really enjoyed Spinrad's economical style of writing which keeps the book at a great pace. Gonzo fans will definitely enjoy this story of a hero-journalist! |
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| Tweets for Today |
[Aug. 28th, 2011|01:00 am] |
- 05:30 Tweets for Today: 19:50 Tweets for Today: 00:00 Tweets for Today: 05:45 Roxanne Pulitzer's amazing Telluride man... t.co/EA34Xoo #
- 07:29 @Borzage Nope :-) I was trying to feed Twitter to LJ, but I think something is broken with LoudTwitter. #
- 07:30 Rum Diary trailer now available! t.co/ecT5C2u #
- 07:36 @Borzage It's hard to believe those times ever existed! So magical :-) #
Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter |
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| Tweets for Today |
[Aug. 26th, 2011|01:00 am] |
- 19:50 Tweets for Today: 00:00 Tweets for Today: 05:45 Roxanne Pulitzer's amazing Telluride mansion - t.co/pxGzCDG - HS... t.co/eRH1XNp #
Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter |
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| Tweets for Today |
[Aug. 8th, 2011|01:00 am] |
- 00:00 Tweets for Today: 05:45 Roxanne Pulitzer's amazing Telluride mansion - t.co/pxGzCDG - HST wrote about her during... bit.ly/nVfZhC #
Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter |
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| Tweets for Today |
[Aug. 7th, 2011|01:00 am] |
- 05:45 Roxanne Pulitzer's amazing Telluride mansion - t.co/pxGzCDG - HST wrote about her during her divorce trial. #
- 09:10 @loudtwitter Is the service still in...service? I'm still waiting for an activation email and it's not in the junk folder. #
- 22:09 @breakbeat Belated thanks for the RT! #
Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter |
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| I'm amused! |
[Mar. 20th, 2011|10:13 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | fun | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  amused | ] |
If you enjoy wasting time on the Internet like most people, you'll probably love 20Q.net a 20 questions game that is surprisingly good at guessing -
Q19. I am guessing that it is Hunter S. Thompson?
Right, Wrong, Close
18. Are you Catholic? No.
17. Are you a teenager? No.
16. Are you white? Yes.
15. Are you American? Yes.
14. Are you a business person? No.
13. Are you part of an association or league? Yes.
12. Have you used a weapon? Yes.
11. Did you die under suspicious circumstances? No.
10. Were you involved in a scandal? Yes.
9. Are you known as a hero? Yes.
8. Were you nominated for an Academy Award? No.
7. Are you still alive? No.
6. Are you a political figure? Sometimes.
5. Are you known for your live performances? No.
4. Are you a movie star? No.
3. Do you play outdoors? No.
2. Are you old? Yes.
1. Were you popular in the '90s? Yes.
Q19. I am guessing that it is William Burroughs?
Right, Wrong, Close
18. Were you involved in a scandal? Yes.
17. Are you an only child? No.
16. Are you comedic? No.
15. Are you on a hit TV show? No.
14. Have you ever been in jail? Yes.
13. Do you appeal to teenagers? Yes.
12. Are you white? Yes.
11. Are you still alive? No.
10. Were you popular in the '40s? No.
9. Are you funny? Sometimes.
8. Are you attractive? No.
7. Are you a singer? No.
6. Are you a game show host? No.
5. Were you born between 1900-1950? Yes.
4. Do you wear makeup? No.
3. Are you an actor? Sometimes.
2. Are you still on the air? No.
1. Were you popular with children? No. |
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| Rum Diary Film News |
[Jan. 30th, 2011|08:49 am] |
Hi peeps, if you haven't created a Google Alert for Rum Diary film news, I suggest this would be a good time to do so! There's nothing like timely information in your inbox. Also, check out Stu's Rum Diary fan site. Stu has been faithfully chronicling film news for over a decade now. |
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