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19 Dec 2009

Never mind the guesthosts



It's a crying shame Simon Amstel left as the regular host for 'Never mind the buzzcocks'. I liked him better than Mark Lamar even, and he perfectly encapsulated the show's stated goal of puncturing pop star egos. There is nothing funnier than seeing ridiculous, manufactured pop acts being confronted by the level of hostility and sarcasm he brought to the game. Noel Fielding is about as good a replacement for Bill Bailey as possible (though Simon has him pegged in the video) and Phil Jupitus is exactly the same, dependable and solid, but not spectacular. The only one of the guesthosts that was as menacing and hard was Frankie Boyle of all people. He'd do an okay job, but seeing as he stopped at mock the week because the amount of jokes being censored, I doubt he'd do it. I hope the BBC doesn't go for a permanent guest, It hasn't done 'Have I got news for you' any good, there has to be a good presenter and good regulars /team captains. They ensure the pace and a consistent level of quality. For every Boris Johnson as host, there's a ton of forgettable turns for comedians who are funnier in their own stuff or politicians who shouldn't be there. The panel show is a rare animal, really only thriving in Britain, and I think it has a lot more to do with regulars and host than guests, however funny.

18 Dec 2009

Jupiler is apparently the extreme sports beer



I like Jupiler less now. I get the distinct impression that this campaign is the end result of an orgy of high fives after a 'let's work things out' rockclimbing session with executives from Jupiler and the add agency. Glistening sweat, subtle homo-erotic tension, one of the Jupiler guys, out of shape, slips, the rope tightens, saved by the ad agency. While eating sandwiches at the top, the agreement is made. This is why you have to see this. Thanks, male bonding.

16 Dec 2009

Devourer of worlds



It's fashionable among classic moviebuffs to lament that this is Orson Welles' final role. Oh, how the mighty have fallen, etc. That's ridiculous. It may just be an 80's cartoon/toy commercial, but it's the best of it's kind ever made. The movie's plot is market-driven (Like the Bay films..), but in a devastating way for children. In the opening scenes, all the transformers you bought in previous seasons are killed, to make way for new models, and 20-30 new ones are introduced. The animation is of a higher standard than average, there's a lot of ringers in the cast, Leonard Nimoy and Huge star (in the 80's) Judd Nelson. But I think it's a fitting swansong for Orson Welles that he played the logical extrapolation of the 'robots that can transform into anything' paradigm. The new films add all sorts of testicles to devastator and whatnot. But he fails in topping that. There is no topping it, really. This is the citizen kane of robot cartoons, because it has Orson Welles in it.

15 Dec 2009

Asperger's video roundup





There's nothing more satisfying after doing nothing much than watching how someone else better spent their time. I can't believe these videos haven't topped a million views each. Up until they're about 25, most men tend to believe that if their family and friends were brutally murdered and they dedicated 5 years of their life to studying martial arts to take revenge, they would become a Kung Fu Hero. This, however, is what usually happens in reality. Instead of single-mindedly pursuing physical fitness for revenge, you usually end up obsessively doing something that doesn't really matter, which is actually cooler. Think about it, those crazy dedicated (fictional) people tend to be whining emo idiots when they're not kicking ass. Sure you could beat anyone up, but you'd still be a douche.

Gaga for Giger



This is a weirder video than usual for Lady Gaga. That whole bathhaus of Gaga thing is a dead give away that something is up. The whole decor, the storyline, Gaga patched up and sold to an affluent businessman with a gold chinstrap(bidding with wii nunchucks, I think). In some kind of resort with lots of steam. Everything is so Swiss. There is an insistence on her spine as well. I think it's an elaborate tribute to H.R. Giger. The spines, the costumes in the beginning: latex bodysuits? This may just be how my mind works, but the fact that you can see her forehead for the first time is the real Giger connection in my mind. Check out this pic of the original alien head.



There are human eyes underneath that plate, just as I always suspected with Gaga.