It would be hard to argue with the fact that humanity has, over the countless eons of its existence, provided a plethora of reasons why its future shouldn’t be every bit as fractious and be devilled as its past. And yet, for all the evidence stacked high to the Continue Reading
Stephen Hawking needs a new voice – which celebrity can fit the bill?
SNAPSHOT Stephen Hawking has had the same trademark voice for 30 years and has now decided it’s time for a change. Watch him view the audition tapes from hopeful celebrities… (synopsis via Laughing Squid) You know how it is – you’ve had something for a while and true you Continue Reading
Guide to the classics: Neil Gaiman’s American Gods (curated article)
Article by Elizabeth Hale, University of New England Fans of Neil Gaiman are having a bountiful year. In February there was the release of his retelling of the Norse myths. In March, Dark Horse released the comic book adaptation of his influential 2001 novel American Gods. And this month, American Continue Reading
What what?! What do Ryan Reynolds and Jake Gyllenhaal make of their most popular Google searches about them?
While Life, the film they were promoting may not have performed to expectations, being variously described by critics as “an inferior addition to the genre” (David Stratton, The Australian) and a film that “goes nowhere fast” (Gary Dowell, Dark Horizons), stars Ryan Reynolds (not Debbie Reynolds son FYI) and Continue Reading
Farewell Grimm: “Zerstörer Shrugged” / “The End” (S6, E12 and E13)
It is a rare thing indeed to get to the end of a six-season old show, even one you have loved passionately from the start, and be able to say that it is as good now, if not better, than when it began. Most shows either start out strong, Continue Reading
Don’t be scared! Will and Grace are coming back, with a brand new trailer to boot
SNAPSHOT That’s right, honey! A decade after their unforgettable eight-season run, comedy’s most fabulous foursome is back. Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally reprise their infamous roles as Will, Grace, Jack and Karen in this exclusive 12-episode event. There’s no doubt that with this crew’s indelible Continue Reading
Now that the glitter has settled: Eurovision Song Contest 2017 wrap-up
This was an oddly quiet year for the Eurovision Song Contest. Granted yes there was the kerfuffle over Russia sending along an act to compete who had, in contravention of well-documented Ukrainian law, performed in Crimea, a brazenly provocative act that saw them withdraw from the event this year, Continue Reading
Video essay: Wonder Woman – A Symbol of Progress @kaptainkristian
Hailed by her writer W. M. Marston, who was the educational consultant at publisher DC Comics, as “an antidote to the bloodcurdling images of masculinity”, Wonder Woman made her debut in December 1940 in the final eight pages of All Star Comics #8. While she didn’t get the front Continue Reading
I have been waiting for these Visitors: @gezanthony’s amazingly evocative ABBA videos #Eurovision2017
If there is one thing that really made ABBA’s name, apart from their superlatively good music and a handy high-profile win at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, its the way they pioneered the use of visual images, in concert with now-famed director Lasse Hallström, to promote their songs as Continue Reading
Book review: A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka #Eurovision2017
It’s often not until something traumatic or highly unusual happens in a family that you discover how well you do or don’t know these people with whom you have spent all or much of your life. And that many of the assumptions you have made about them come unravelling Continue Reading