Many, many years ago Douglas Adams got together with Infocom to produce the remarkably successful Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy game. Then, being Douglas, he got bored before the sequel was written. Now you can find out some of what happened behind the scenes that meant that Milliways was never released. Fascinating stuff.

Labels: computers, Genius

I'm in a total Talking Heads fest right now. It's funny really, as I was never a big fan of their hits back when they came out, now after some water under the bridge I've realised quite how outstanding they were and how much they've influenced modern bands. That and lead singer David Byrne was one of my more regular celeb spots back in New York, striding purposefully around the East Village with his spiky gray hair.

Labels: Genius, Music, new york

Neil Gaiman is one of my favourite authors, and also a prolific blogger. Not only do we get a glimpse into his alternatingly calm then hectic life, but he also takes the time to write essays on how his stories are formed. One of these is on the subject of what gender your story has, and it's a fascinating read for anyone interested in the art of story telling.

Labels: Genius, Writing

Richard Feynman is one of the geniuses of the 20th century, not only winning the Nobel prize for Physics, but also for being able to explain complex physics theories in a manner that even dumb Physics degree students (like me) can understand. Feynman was also involved with developing the bomb at Los Alamos that later went on to destroy Hiroshima, and hearing him talk of his and everyone's elses' reaction at the time is somewhat chilling.

This video is only part one of six, all of which should should up in the related videos if you go direct to youTube.

Labels: Genius, heroes, Physics, Richard Feynman, videos

Following on from Heath Ledger's unfortunate, accidental death the filming of Terry Gilliam's latest epic was put on hold. With one of his lead actors dead, Gilliam and the rest of The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus team were faced with an awkward and probably uncomfortable decision - stop the film entirely, or find some other way to do it without Ledger, perhaps using computer animation or a new actor.

Well, according to the BBC they've decided to push on with a typically Gilliamesque solution. Ledger's character will be played by not one, but three of the most outstanding actors in film today - Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law! Depp comes as no surprise, as he and Gilliam work together regularly, but the other two are somewhat from left field. As a Gilliam fan I'll be waiting to see how he pulls this together, and as a fan of Heath Ledger's work it's great to know that his final legacy will make it to the screen with such a 'supporting' cast paying tribute to him along the way.

Labels: Colin Farrell, Genius, Hollywood, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, movies, Terry Gilliam

Since both Miette and I are addicted to 'We Heart Katamari', the genius, bizarre game that involves rolling stuff up into a ball (like food, toys, people, countries and so on) we finally bit the bullet and retro-graded to buy the original - Katamari Damacy. So apologies to anyone who expected to see us this weekend.

The original Katamari outing is, strangely enough, almost identical to its sequel. You have the enigmatic/mentally deranged King of All Cosmos giving quests to his son the Prince to restore all the stars to the sky, after an apparent drunk driving accident caused them all to be knocked down. You have the wonderful techno-jazz sound-a-like songs. You have cows and bears that really p*ss you off. You have confusing instructions that make no sense. And, of course, you have to roll. Where the game differs is, unsurprisingly, in the handling of the Katamari, the round ball you use to roll everything up. The game mechanics obviously haven't been as smoothed off as they are in the sequel - so you sometimes find yourself frustrated/confused/shouting about a situation where the katamari is stuck for no reason, or loses a pile of collected items from a very very slow collision, or just won't get out of a corner - plus the game designers hadn't yet implemented the ability to see through walls when they get in the way so sometimes you can't see where you are... Of course all of this is due to us being used to the sequel, and once you learn to forget the other mechanics the fun is still all there, and that's the important thing. Really.

The only bad news in all this is that the latest Katamari game - Beautiful Katamari - is only currently out on XBox 360. Dammit! There is a rumour about a Wii version, but who needs yet another reason to yearn for a Wii? Please send answers written on a Nintendo Wii to the usual address.

Labels: games, Genius

After many years of wishing everyone would hurry up and put Neil Gaiman's excellent Sandman books out there as a movie, I've now decided that it would probably just upset me and most other folks who have their own Sandman vision in their heads. It's funny how with books you'd expect this concern, but with Sandman being a comic you might think they'd be no issues - but having seen a few comic conversions recently I've realised how much editing they'd have to do and the story is the thing. So I'm happy not to hear of any Sandman movie news. Ever.

That said I'm always happy to hear of more Gaiman related movie news when I'm not so emotionally invested in the books. I loved Stardust, I'm much more tempted to go see Beowulf now I've found out Gaiman worked on the script and soon we can see Coraline - an adaptation of one of his wonderful children's books.

What I'd really love to see out of Sandman is a stand-alone movie, penned by Gaiman and using the characters without impacting the main storyline. That would be awesome.

Labels: books, comics, Genius, movies

Even though the writer's strike is still on the ever awesome Colbert Report, along with other less wonderful daily shows (sorry Sandra), is back on the air. Woo! Of course now that I'm living in Montreal without cable I have no way of knowing how amazing Stephen is being without a script... unless of course there was some kind of way to see him on the internet or something... Nah. That would never happen because that's why the writer's are striking... Oh wait.

And that was a standing ovation of over two minutes... only slightly spoilt by the geeky overweight guy saying 'I love you, Stephen!' at the end. We get it. We all love him. He knows, we don't need to tell him. Doi.

Labels: america, Genius, tv

Well Led Zeppelin have just finished their one-off gig at the O2 arena in London. From the Radio 6 broadcast I'm listening to the set list was full of classic Zeppelin tracks - Song Remains the Same, Kashmir and Stairway to Heaven all featured. Hopefully soon someone will put some bootleg tracks up and we can all have a jolly good listen to find out how the old rock fogeys have held up. Some of us can't afford £86,000 for a pair of touted tickets y'know.

In related news, the Vicar owner of Bron-Y-Aur, the small cottage in Wales near Machynlleth, has asked that Led Zeppelin fans refrain from doing the pilgrimage to his remote home. Back in my young student days in Birmingham I made that trip as part of an ill fated camping weekend. I hadn't planned on it being a special visit, but as soon as I saw that cottage named on the Ordnance Survey map I had to go. It was dusk when I got there, so I snapped a photo of the wonderfully atmospheric, tree covered driveway then went home - happy to see the place where Page & Plant had spent a weekend creating some amazing songs.

Labels: Brit Stuff, Genius, gigs, London, Music

Today is the 27th anniversary of the senseless murder of John Lennon, outside of his New York apartment on Central Park West. Yoko Ono has posted a short notice on the website Imagine Peace about that day.

What's strange about this personally, other than the personal significance of that number, is that yesterday I was in a small antiques shop on the outskirts of Montreal looking at the National Enquirer from December 30th, 1980 with a claimed last ever picture of Lennon at rest in the morgue on the cover.

Rest in peace, John. You, and many like you, are sorely missed.

Labels: Genius, war

It's been a few years since genius film-maker Wes Anderson's last film, The Life Aquatic, so it was with great pleasure that tonight we went to see his latest, The Darjeeling Limited. Unsurprisingly we weren't disappointed, Anderson's trademark visual style has been transposed effortlessly onto an Indian continent backdrop and the story, written by Anderson, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman, is wonderfully uplifting and melancholic at the same time.

The movie centers around three estranged brothers on a journey across India on the Darjeeling Limited line. Each brother has his own character flaws, and the inter-play between them all is wonderfully engaging. As their journey progresses across the country other colourful characters are introduced, each with varying impact on the brothers and their life trajectories. Family relations, trust, spirituality and escapism are all investigated as the brothers continue their journey, and by the end of the film they are all changed - but for how long is the question given the embedded character flaws that have kept them going up till now.

Darjeeling Limited is a another great film from Anderson, perhaps not his best but it's hard to tell these things on first watching. The dynamic nature of Life Aquatic is missing somewhat, being replaced more by emotional tones than melodies. If you love Anderson, you'll love this - and if you've never seen his films then this is a great place to start.

Oh, and as a bonus before the main feature there's a short - Hotel Chevalier - which fills out a sub-plot of the main movie, plus gives you a chance to how short both Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman are. Amongst other things.

Labels: film reviews, Genius, movies

Many years ago the Monty Python chaps cames over to the US o' A to publicize their show for PBS. Luckily for us, an enterprising TV chap kept a small snippet of the interview - featuring Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam and a mildly inebriated Graham Chapman, all with wonderful 70s hair. Enjoy.

Labels: Genius, heroes, tv, videos

Last night we went to see Stardust, the film adaptation of Neil Gaiman & Charles Vess' same titled graphic novel. Gaiman's last foray into movies, MirrorMask, was interesting but somehow un-engaging, but Stardust is an absolute delight all the way through. A fairy-tale love story, set in a world alongside England - reached through a hole in the wall next to the town of Wall (near Ipswich). Once the protagonist, Tristran Thorne, sets off on his quest to find a fallen star the action comes thick and fast, with twists and amazing characters on the way that keep you constantly engaged and smiling.

My personal highlights are the ghostly chorus of the dead princes, all named based on their order of birth, from Primus to Septimus, and all vying to be the next king by dint of being the last one alive. The already dead brothers includes David Walliams and Rupert Everett, and en masse they inject a wonderful note of humour into a Shakespearean tradition. The special effects are also fully integrated, never too showy just there in subserviance to the story as they should. Plus you have Robert deNiro as a flying ship captain with a hidden secret, Ricky Gervais with a brief cameo as a salesman plus a panoply of other famous actors from both sides of the pond - thankfully a lot are British given that's the general accent. Even Claire Danes' accent is reasonable, if a little too plumy in places.

You know this movie would never have gotten made were it for the success of Harry Potter, so for that we owe J K Rowling another thanks. Gaiman is an amazing author and explorer of the imagination, but his popular success is still limited even after the oustanding Sandman graphic novels and a selection of successful novels. Indeed, rumours of Sandman's movie debut have been around for many years now, but it has yet to appear. Fingers crossed that Stardust has enough box office success to put some steam behind other Gaiman adaptations. So go see it!

Labels: film reviews, Genius, movies

Tony Wilson, founder of Factory Records and the infamous Hacienda, music afficianado and subject of 24 Hour Party People, has died from cancer. A sad day indeed. He was just 57.

Labels: Brit Stuff, Genius, Music

Prince recently courted controversy by releasing his new album, Planet Earth, free with a major UK newspaper. The uproar came mostly from the music labels and stores - people who make money from distributing other people's creations rather than the musicians themselves. Prince himself doesn't seem to care, as far as anyone knows since he rarely gives interviews these days. His music is his message and he keeps playing, and playing damn well as I saw a few years back at Madison Square Garden. He may have been around a while now but he has an amazing energy, even way back from the stage. Undaunted by his secrecy, the NY Times has a great piece on what Prince has been up to all these years [From metafilter].

Labels: Genius, Music

The BBC has tapped Harry Enfield to play Dirk Gently in the Radio 4 adaptation of Douglas' Adams book. Other stars include Andrew Sachs, still mostly famous for playing Manuel in Fawlty Towers - no, he's not Spanish. Really. If this adaptation is as good as the then it'll be worth staying glued to your internet radio for.

Labels: Brit Stuff, Genius, heroes

This older interview from the Charlie Rose show featuring Stephen Colbert is wonderful. Colbert is actually himself rather than his character 'Stephen Colbert' and there are some moving insights into the show as well as his own history, parts of which are very sad indeed. All of this has gotten me even more fired up for next Monday, when I'm going to go see him do his show in person. Woo! Yeah! Etc!

On a related note: this means that when I bumped into Charlie Rose at Heathrow airport over Christmas, he has already met Colbert - so guess I should have thanked him even more effusively than I did.

Labels: celeb spot, comedy, Genius