How my 2007 Resolutions panned out

At the start of the year, I made a list of 10 Blogging resolutions, and I thought since it was the final day of the year, I thought I would look back at them and see to what degree I was successful in keeping them.

And it seems the perfect transition for tonight's post on my 2007 regrets and tommorrow's new list of resolutions.

Here we go:

1. I will at some point pick up the first season of Veronica Mars on DVD or catch it on the Women's Television Network (for the non-Canadians, yes, it is actually called that).

Um, yeah, that didn't happen. I mean, it really didn't happen. Strike one.

2. Appreciate more art... both commercial and non-commercial.

This actually did happen. I went to a few more exhibitions, bought some books on commercial art and read some theory as well. I think I nailed this one.

3. I will try not to mention Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears for months at a time.

I had some bad times this year with this one, especially with the latter two celebs, but I have been pretty clean as of late so I think that again, I would call this one a success. And I think I can give myself a little bit of leeway on this with the prison sentence, the car theft, the meltdowns... it was sort of hard to ignore them entirely in this line of work.

4. Make fun of entertainment/new programming more.

Yeah, I did this too. I made fun of a lot of programming and movies this year.

5. Talk more about books... hell, I'll try to READ more books.

I read more books this year, but I didn't necessarily talk about them, so I am giving myself half credit for this.


6. I am probably going to be an uncle on Thursday, so perhaps I should be a little more kid-friendly(and resolution #3 should cover that).

Well, according to the readability tests, Culture Kills reads at an elementary school level, and most weeks, my blog is rated PG. Success.

7. Find Religion (I am on track to do this one first... more tomorrow ;) )

I am a Dudeist. What can I say.

8. Go Kitsch... Go Kitsch in a massive, massive way

For a blog with a green tartan background, I could have done so much more in this department so I am giving myself another fail on this.

9. Introduce new recurring features(I got three so far... let's try for five)...

I introduced a few new features, so I think I get to give myself a thumbs up for the year. And expect a new celebrity mashup challenge this week.

10. More podcasts... so many more audio posts.

Now this was the resolution that ended up as an abject failure. I did no podcasts this year. Not a one. So I am full of Fail on this one.

Tags: resolutions, veronica mars, women's television network, britney spears, lindsay lohan, paris hilton, dudeism, podcast, culture kills

Week 33: Pageant of the Transmundane

This week's winner sort of puts a cap on the whole Christmas season for me. I think at this point, this post also represents the closest two awards ceremonies have been in terms of posts between them. But the break has done me well, and I hope the holidays have been at least bearable for most of you.

But with that digression aside, it is time to get on with the show.

I was truly messed up by this week's Christmas themed winner, but that's what made it so compelling. You see, there is this guy named Rob Sheridan who runs Rob's SketchBlog, which is a really cool portfolio blog. Anyway, he decided to show what his Christmas Card looked like this year, and well, it is something you truly have to see. It is both so awesome and so shocking, it is a think of macabre beauty.

And since it is a Christmas related winner, well, Homer Simpson stuck in a Chimney in a red suit seemed the most fitting symbol for this particular Transmundanity Award. I hope you agree.



So congratulations Rob. That is some really disturbing work, and I love it.



The rules of this little contest: Every week I will be selecting one blog post that I have seen from the vast reaches of the blogosphere to bestow with the Homer Simpson Transmundanity Award for being one of the freakiest(in a funny way) things I've seen or read during a 7 day period. It doesn't necessarily have to have been written during the week, I just had to have encountered it. That means that if you find something interesting and repost it like a movie or whatever, if I saw it at your blog first, you get the prize. Of course, creating your own content is also a very good way to win.

Now, if you see a post that you think is worthy of this illustrious prize, just drop me a line at campybeaver@gmail.com and we'll see if we can't get your suggestion up and award-ready while giving you some credit and a link to your own blog.

Tags: pageant of the transmundane, homer simpson, rob's sketchblog, rob sheridan, santa claus, christmas card, artwork, disturbing, bizarre

Xmas Greetings from the Year 3000

He knows when your are sleeping,
He knows when you're on the can,
He'll hunt you down and blast your ass from here to Pakistan.
You better not breathe, you better not move,
You're better off dead, I'm telling you, dude.
Santa Claus is gunning you down!

Have a Fantastic Futurama Holiday season from Culture Kills!

Tags: futurama, santa claus, robot, evil, xmas, matt groening, christmas

Week 32: Pageant of the Transmundane

I discovered The J-Walk Blog this week, and after browsing the site for a while, I found something that both creeped me out and really got my attention at the same time. You see, I was not expecting to see a particular piece of stop motion animation. It was sort of like seeing the secret life of bacon, which seems to be alive. It is horrifying really, but I can't look away. I mean, even as I type this, I want to click over to see it again.

And of course, Homer Simpson and bacon's relationship goes a long, long way back, so there is a lot of photo evidence for this delicious combination. So, I thought I would go all the way back to Homer as Adam in the Garden of Eden supping on the freshest bacon around.



Somehow it seems like Culture Kills, Homer Simpson and Bacon are somehow all drawn together into a rather disturbing smoothie of fatty goodness. Anyway, congrats should go out to John Walkenbach for bring this creepy masterpiece to my attention through his blogging work. Huzzah! And to celebrate his win, here is a badge honoring his contribution to transmundanity.



The rules of this little contest: Every week I will be selecting one blog post that I have seen from the vast reaches of the blogosphere to bestow with the Homer Simpson Transmundanity Award for being one of the freakiest(in a funny way) things I've seen or read during a 7 day period. It doesn't necessarily have to have been written during the week, I just had to have encountered it. That means that if you find something interesting and repost it like a movie or whatever, if I saw it at your blog first, you get the prize. Of course, creating your own content is also a very good way to win.

Now, if you see a post that you think is worthy of this illustrious prize, just drop me a line at campybeaver@gmail.com and we'll see if we can't get your suggestion up and award-ready while giving you some credit and a link to your own blog.

Tags: homer simpson, pageant of the transmundane, j-walk, john walkenbach, bacon, garden of eden, pig, magical animal

You say it's your birthday...

...well, it is my birthday too yeah.

Yep, I am 31 today.

Of course, I can't just announce my own birthday on my blog. That would be self-indulgent and less than entertaining. So in addition to being a little selfish, I thought I would extend some additional badass birthday wishes today.



Yes, it is Samuel L. Jackson's motherfucking birthday.

And it is someone else's birthday too.



Yep, it is Jack Bauer's birthday by proxy.

I guess the fact that I talk about Samuel L. Jackson and Kiefer Sutherland's most famous character makes a little bit more sense now. We are just birthday pals.

Tags: birthday, beatles, samuel l. jackson, jack bauer, kiefer sutherland

Clone High: Available on DVD in America

I heard earlier this week that Clone High has finally been released on DVD down in the States, and I was ecstatic. The 2003 series was long overdue for a wider release, and I am glad that my friends down south have a chance to watch the show whenever they please too.

Now I could try to summarize the you what this show was all about but I believe the Clone High Title sequence explains it more succinctly than I ever could.

The show was created by the folks behind Scrubs, and shares much of the same kind of humor(as well as actors Christa Miller and Donald Faison), and I just dig the art style too.

But aside from the cloned historical figures as teens angle, Clone High is also a great parody of all those teenage dramas and movies as every episode is a "very special" one. There is always a prom or some other huge social event going on in the background. And while the main characters(Abe Lincoln, Joan of Arc, Gandhi, Cleopatra and JFK) dominate the show, there are laughs to be found from even the most minor characters. From the gigantic radioactively mutated Marie Curie to the vice-principal of the school, Lynn Butlertron, a robot who wears sweater vests and calls everyone Wesley to an older teacher who looks like Teller and a sheep mated played by Andy Dick... and I still like the character.

And for 13 episodes of bizarre, angular greatness Clone High kept the laughs coming... and left us fans with a cliffhanger that in all likelihood will never been resolved. However, I can hope that like Futurama, perhaps DVD sales will be good enough to make a direct to DVD movie finishing the saga a reality, or in my wildest dreams, with Scrubs going off the air this year, perhaps there may be a place for Clone High to return from the ashes, phoenix-like and take on another semester of goofy goodness.

Tags: clone high, abraham lincoln, john f. kennedy, joan of arc, gandhi, cleopatra, scrubs, futurama, christa miller, donald faison, andy dick, mandy moore, marilyn manson

Can Leatherheads succeed?

Today I finally saw the Leatherheads trailer, and for the most part I liked what I saw, but I still have some reservations.

Now, I've wanted to see a modern take on old-timey football in film form for a while now... after all, think about how many movies have been made about baseball in the 1920's and 1930's. And there are a lot of stories to tell from that era, including the rise of Notre Dame from a little obscure Catholic institution to a powerhouse, the story of Fordham's Seven Blocks of Granite and a whole lot of individual athletic stories as well.

But I don't know if taking a page out of Slapshot was the way to go this time around. Yes, it may very well be funny, and George Clooney is an accomplished comedic actor who took a lot of cues from the screwball comedies of the era, but there is just something that makes me feel uneasy about this movie for some reason.



Maybe it is the fact that John Krasinski is playing a college football stud who also fought in World War I, when the movie takes place in 1925, meaning he certainly is no rookie playing on the same team as a 46 year old Clooney. Now, I know that people were tougher back then, but come on, there are very few George Blandas out there. (I should also note that quite a few people died playing football in those days as well).

And the fact that the third part of the purported love triangle is a female sports reporter played by Renee Zellweger. In 1925. Yeah, I am sure that was going to fly. And since Zellweger and Clooney dated in the past, well, I am sure they will have a little more chemistry on screen.

However I must admit that 1925 is a pivotal year in football history, as it is the year Red Grange was signed by the Chicago Bears, but in actuality, I somehow think that the basis of the basic plot points of this movie are going to be centered around the 1926 Duluth Eskimos who signed a fullback from Stanford to rival Grange, and many of the elements of that real life story seem to be mirrored in the trailer, so aside from a female sports reporter and a few other relative anachronisms, perhaps there will be some good period football yet. I just hope those involved keep in mind that while the forward pass was legal in 1925, it wasn't the most popular way of winning a game at the time.

I guess my only consolation if this movie ends up being terrible and horribly inaccurate is that it will still be better than The Comebacks. Though really, there are better Ed Wood movies than The Comebacks.

Tags: professional football, duluth, princeton, george clooney, john krasinski, renee zellweger, leatherheads, comebacks, ed wood

A Writer's Strike video

With news of WGA member David Letterman trying to negotiate a separate deal with striking writers to get them back to work on the shows he produces, I thought that there would be limited opportunities to post this video from The Daily Show writers on the picket line.

Well, I thought it was funny.

Tags: daily show, david letterman, writer's strike, wga, settlement

Week 31: Pageant of the Transmundane

This week's ceremony is going to be the very model of brevity because my computer is acting a little funky, and I am not digging this new Greasemonkey/Technorati plugin. I may edit this tomorrow to add a little more color.

So without further ado, this week's winner is Tuffy of Fandumb who put up a picture of the most awesome food related toy. I really want to pick up a pair.

And since one of the toys is cheese, well, I thought an image of Homer in the midst of eating 64 slices of American cheese while Mr. Burns and Waylon Smithers hang out on the Simpsons ceiling in all black outfits was the most appropriate thing for this week.



Congratulations Tuffy on your win.



The rules of this little contest: Every week I will be selecting one blog post that I have seen from the vast reaches of the blogosphere to bestow with the Homer Simpson Transmundanity Award for being one of the freakiest(in a funny way) things I've seen or read during a 7 day period. It doesn't necessarily have to have been written during the week, I just had to have encountered it. That means that if you find something interesting and repost it like a movie or whatever, if I saw it at your blog first, you get the prize. Of course, creating your own content is also a very good way to win.

Now, if you see a post that you think is worthy of this illustrious prize, just drop me a line at campybeaver@gmail.com and we'll see if we can't get your suggestion up and award-ready while giving you some credit and a link to your own blog.

Tags: tuffy, homer simpson, pageant of the transmundane, cheese, 64 slices, fandumb, toy

A Headline That Answers itself

David Blaine Fears New Stunt Will Leave Him Brain Damaged

A self evident statement if I ever saw one. I mean, it isn't like he is a real magician anyway.

Basically, the new stunt is going to be David Blaine trying to stay awake for 12 straight days. Wow... what a piece of magic.

If I may paraphrase Alexander Pope:

While David Blaine painful vigil keeps
Sleepless himself, to give his viewers sleep.

I think Blogger broke my Technorati/Greasemonkey functionality today. Man....

EDIT: I did a reinstall of that userscript, and now it should be working. Whew!

Tags: david blaine, stunts, penn and teller, magician, alexander pope, dunciad, technorati, greasemonkey

My Sermon About the College Football Bowl System

Ever March, I don't catch the madness of the playoffs of College Basketball, I don't get World Series fever in September and October, and quite frankly, the less said about the NBA Finals, the better.

But I am a vocal believer in the College Football Bowl system. One might even say I qualify as an evangelical devotee of this form of postseason. Logically, I know that those pushing for a 16-32 team playoff system to cap the college football season have some valid points, but I just can't let go of the traditions and pageantry that the bowl system provides me and for the rest of the college faithful.

I know there are problems with the bowl system and with the selection process, that there are certain inconsistencies which call my belief in a higher authority, mainly the BCS selection committee into question, but then I look at some of the wonderful matchups bowl games provide and my doubts wash away and I have faith that in the end, this is indeed the best system, and those that don't see it that way, well, they are misguided. They don't understand the traditions, they don't love college football in the same way that us bowlers do. All this talk about having a playoff system is blasphemy to all those teams that fought and bled for us for almost a century of football at holy sites all around the country, each with its storied legends, its parables of snatching victory from the darkened heart of defeat and tales of grit and determination, of playing through the pain. And those abowlitionists and abowliests want to destroy these traditions, and wage a war on Christmas and New Year's Bowls. For shame, for shame.

I believe in the principle that the regular season IS the playoffs in college football, and that it is a reward for those teams that have lead a decent life in the regular season. It is the postseason after all, and those who are faithful to a team are rewarded as well, and those that don't get that, well, I guess they can't be convinced otherwise, and that is a shame.

Tags: bcs, college bowl, signs of the cross, playoff system, world series, march madness, ncaa football, nba, religious overtones, satire, evangelical, rose bowl, sugar bowl, fiesta bowl, orange bowl

Now this looks like Campy Fun

I have to see this movie when it comes out. I just have to.

Maybe, just maybe, The Machine Girl will be the movie I was hoping Planet Terror was. Well, with the zombies replaced by ninjas, yakuzas and a woman with a drill bra.

You heard me... a fuckin' DRILL BRA!!!! That is campy goodness the whole family can enjoy. And the fact that the lead is a Japanese porn actress, well, I think that makes this one a winner.

Hooray for supergore and sexiness!

Tags: the machine girl, campy, planet terror, dril bra, gatling gun, rose mcgowan, kataude mashin garu, one armed, midnight movie, revenge, asami, porn, exploitation, grind house, tarantino, japanese cinema

Guess the Celebrities, Round 1

With all the fun we had last week with that TV Show Meme(still 7 characters to guess), I thought another game would be fun for everyone involved. And this weekend, I just happened to discover a place where I could combine celebrity photos, and one thing led to another and thus, we have something new to play in Culture Kills land.

The basic premise is that I've chosen two celebrities and the system put them together and you have to figure out who is in the mix. Some of them are really easy, and one of them... I was really mean.

And again, correct guesses will receive some link love. Shall we begin?

1. An easy one to start with. (Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston - Samuraifrog)



2. A little tougher. (Tom Cruise and John Travolta - Jen)



3. The Devil's in the details, isn't it? (Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway - Samuraifrog)



4. It's like music to your ears? (Beyonce and Alicia Keys - Samuraifrog)



5. Oscar Caliber (Cate Blanchett and Kate Winslet - Samuraifrog)



6. A lot of action in a short time (Kiefer Sutherland and Clive "The Driver" Owen - Samuraifrog)



7. Not too tough. (Alec Baldwin and Hugh Laurie - Samuraifrog)



8. The once and almost action star. (Tobey Macguire and Jake Gyllenhall - Samuraifrog )




9. Now this is a toughie.(Many got Mandy Moore, but none could get the second part, Gwen Stefani)



10. And now I am just being a prick really. (Amy Adams and Isla Fisher - J.D.)

Tags: link love, morph, celebrities, game, culture kills, tv show meme, actors, singers

Week 30: Pageant of the Transmundane

Well, Transmundanity moves forward once again.

I've always been someone who marvels at strange products and packaging, and I just happened upon a post over at TheMishMash.com which featured 12 somewhat strange products.

I have to admit that some of the products don't really shock or even make me laugh (like a medication called 666), but the inclusion of something called "Vinnie's Tampon Case" was enough to push this entry over the top, though I have a feeling it would be up a particular readers alley.

This week's Homer Simpson Transmundanity Award image is a slight departure, as it doesn't feature Homer's face, but instead a product that he had input in creating. And the image does have Homer's hand in it, and that is good enough for me.





Congratulations Dookie McBride.

The rules of this little contest: Every week I will be selecting one blog post that I have seen from the vast reaches of the blogosphere to bestow with the Homer Simpson Transmundanity Award for being one of the freakiest(in a funny way) things I've seen or read during a 7 day period. It doesn't necessarily have to have been written during the week, I just had to have encountered it. That means that if you find something interesting and repost it like a movie or whatever, if I saw it at your blog first, you get the prize. Of course, creating your own content is also a very good way to win.

Now, if you see a post that you think is worthy of this illustrious prize, just drop me a line at campybeaver@gmail.com and we'll see if we can't get your suggestion up and award-ready while giving you some credit and a link to your own blog.

Tags: pageant of the transmundane, dookie mcbride, homer simpson, the mishmash.com, 666, vinnie's tampon case, nuts and gum, together at last

My Sick Movie Idea

I was watching a special on midnight movies of the 1970's (which I may talk about at greater length at some point in the future), and I had an idea for a little piece of film making that might actually be profitable for the studio that goes approached the idea. It is sort of sick, I admit it, but I think audiences would respond to it,

Forget narrative, forget character development and forget extravagant settings. (Without that last one, I would have been describing every Michael Bay movie I know).

Here is what a studio should do.

30 famous actors/actresses that people have a love/hate relationship with.
30 brutal death scenes between 2-5 minutes long.
Each scene is references another famous cinematic death scene.
Each cast member receives a check for between 250K-1 million dollars for their work.
The studio doesn't reveal who is in the scenes, just the premise.
The Audience is sort of asked to keep the the pairings a secret so people who go to see the movie are surprised.

I mean, people cheered when Paris Hilton got killed in House of Wax. And I would certainly go see a movie where Rosie O'Donnell's head exploded Scanners-style or Nathan Lane got the Hans Gruber treatment. Or Tom Cruise meeting his end like the end of Day of the Dead. I mean, the skies the limit with something like this.

It is just sick enough to work. Which to me begs the question, what combination would you love to see in this scenario?

Tags: paris hilton, midnight movies, hans gruber, die hard, nathan lane, tom cruise, day of the dead, house of wax

My Favorite TV Characters Meme (tag-free)

Becca posted this tag free meme, and it was right up my alley.

Here were the rules:

a. Post a list of 10-20 TV shows you love (current or cancelled)
b. Have your friends guess your favorite character from each show
c. When guessed bold the line and write a little bit about why you like that character
d. Post in your own blog

And here are my 16 shows:

1. The Simpsons (minor character) Unanswered: HA HA! Nelson Muntz!
2. Alias Marshall Flinkman (Jeremy of Popped Culture) Small. Geekish. Friendly and overly chatty Q to Sydney Bristow's Super Spy. I'd certainly want his expertise on my side.
3. Futurama Dr. Zoidberg (Jen of Casual Slack) A humanoid shellfish with a mildly ironic personality and no shame... I say woop, woop, woop, woop.
4. 24 Unanswered David Palmer: I am really disappointed by this as a few days before this post, I had put up an entry discussing a Barack Obama T-Shirt I really liked.
5. Drawn Together Unanswered: Foxxy Brown.
6. WKRP in Cincinnati Les Nessman (Jen of Casual Slack):Les Nessman... little, naive, earnest and incompetent. It is a deadly combination in drama but gut-busting in a comedy.
7. Ugly Betty Betty Suarez (Paul of Gor[b]) Yes, as Paul noted, sweet nerdish Betty Suarez enchanted my heart.
8. Soap Benson Dubois (Becca of No Smoking in the Skullcave) Yes, he had his own series and everything, but Robert Guillaume made the role of the persnickety butler of the Tate household.
9. King of the Hill Bobby Hill (Mr. Fab of Pointless Drivel) I was the fat friendly kid... all I am saying.
10. The Larry Sanders Show Artie (Mr Fab of Pointless Drivel) Artie is such a wonderful prick... I believe a lot of older television executive producers are like him.
11. Prison Break Unanswered: Fernando Sucre
12. Dead Like Me Unanswered: Rube
13. 30 Rock: Liz Lemon (Jen of Casual Slack): Yes, it had to be Tina Fey and her semi-autobiographical take on a geekish head writer of a sketch comedy series. I am however surprised no one was giving Kenneth love in their guesses.
14. Spaced Tim Bisley (Becca of No Smoking in the Skullcave): Simon Pegg as a comic book artist, video game playing, pop cultural obsessed geek. That sound like a lot of people I know, doesn't it?
15. Daria: Jane Lane (AG of Techspace) When your title character is sarcastic, it is rare when their equal isn't also their nemesis. Daria and Jane perfectly complement each other as outsiders.
16. Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law Unanswered: The Bear

Can you guess my favorites? Every successful guess gets you some link love (If I can give it of course)

Tags: wkrp, daria, 24, soap, harvey birdman, spaced, prison break, larry sanders, 30 rock, dead like me, king of the hill, ugly betty, drawn together, futurama, alias, simpsons, meme, no smoking in the skullcave, becca

Remembering Tampopo

The CBC used to show foreign films after midnight uncut on Friday nights, and as a curious 13 to 15 year old, the prospect of seeing the female form on film on broadcast television was just something I couldn't pass up. And because of that, I ended up seeing a lot of quality films during that period: My Life as a Dog, Manon des sources and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

But there has always been one movie that I keep coming back to after all this time, a little gem of a movie called Tampopo.

It was the late Juzo Itami's second movie, following his debut comedy Ososhiki (sometimes called The Funeral), and like many of the other movies throughout his career, Itami tackled an aspect of the peculiar social norms of Japan. In Tampopo's case, the broad subject matter was food. In the later years of his life, he would go on to raise the ire of the Yakuza with another one of his films in 1992 and he was rather unflinching when it came to rendering the obsessions, foibles and quirks of his native countrymen. And Tampopo is no different.

The main story concerns a small unsuccessful noodle restaurant run by the title character, a single mother with a preteen son, both of whom are suffering from some misfortune. A chance encounter with two truckers, who are like the heroes from a Western, changes that. They agree to help Tampopo turn her restaurant into a success by giving her lessons and enlisting the aid of people who are masters of the craft and through many humorous trials and tribulation, the story unfolds in the heartwarming ways you would expect. There are moments to cheer at, like when Tampopo's much bullied son finally turns the tables on those that victimized him and as a narrative, it has much to recommend it.

However, the real strength of the film rests in the vignettes that are interspersed throughout the movie, because while for the most part they don't connect to the main narrative (with one notable arc being an exception), they do reveal a wider panorama of the Japanese obsessions with food and manners. Some are surreal, some of sensual and some are just funny. To use an analogy, if the main story of Tampopo are the perfect noodles, then the other material is the best boiling hot broth and finest spices around, each of which complements the other exceedingly well. It is a movie you should check out if you have the opportunity.

Tags: ososhiki, tampopo, the funeral, dandelion, my life as a dog, umbrellas of cherbourg, manon des sources, vignettes, juzo itami, yakuza, suicide, cbc

Alternate Bond Themes: The Sublime, The Bizarre and the Say What?!?

Back when Casino Royale was released, I wrote a post where I went through all the James Bond theme songs and reviewed them. I hadn't thought about that post for quite a while, but I did get a little reminder when I was at Youtube a few days ago. You see, I ended up discovering a series of videos which feature the original opening footage from a bunch of those films, only they featured another artist who was also commissioned to write a theme song for that movie. Here are a few that really stuck out to me.


The Sublime: Blondie does For Your Eyes Only

My review of the Original: "The Bond movie this song accompanies was a more serious turn for the Moore films, and the track carries some of the same gravity, setting the proper mood for this much darker film. It is a good fit all in all but it does show its age, and again, it pales in comparison to the song it came after."
My response to the alternate opening: I think that this is much more in keeping with what a classic Bond theme should be. And I think this Blondie track aged far better than what Sheena Easton laid down.


The Bizarre: Alice Cooper's opening for The Man with the Golden Gun

My review of the original: "Responding to the rock gauntlet laid down by Wings(I never thought I would ever write a sentence like that), we were treated to this sinister sounding though kitschy rendition of a title track by Lulu. While the lyrics are a little wanting, I can't fault Lulu for that. While not a great Bond song, it is a decent intro song so you have a heads-up on the villain of this particular picture, though it is no Goldfinger."
My response to the alternate opening:: Um... I don't think Alice Cooper and James Bond should mix... so I disagree with many of the Youtube commenters on this video and I have to say that in the end, the producers went in the right direction in this case.


The Say What?!?: Thunderball by Johnny Cash

My Review of the Original: "The simplest way I can put this is it sounds like Tom Jones trying to match Shirley Bassey... and that is difficult to say the least. Not the best, not by a long shot, and it looks weak sandwiched between Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice"
My response to the alternate opening:: It was an interesting direction, I have to admit it, but somehow, it just doesn't work. I don't think twangy when I think of 007 for some reason.

I am also ready to take back my earlier comments that Saint Etienne should do a Bond Theme. I admit I may have been wrong.

To check out a few more of these alternate takes, along with some odd mashups, check out the LuiECuomo channel at Youtube.

Tags: james bond, alternate themes, saint etienne, blondie, for your eyes only, sheena easton, luiecuomo, thunderball, lulu, johnny cash, man with the golden gun, alice cooper, review, youtube, mashup

Week 29: Pageant of the Transmundane

Hello from Bana City, Osea. *cough* It has been a long week here at Culture Kills, but as always, I am committed to

This week's winning entry comes from the blog Creative Juice.

Now, I have to say, there is quite a bit at this particular blog that could have won an award this week, from deep fried spiral cut potatoes, tea cup hedges and some strange photo sculpture, but I am a man of particular tastes and well, I couldn't resist awarding the prize to a video of a Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas mod with a very peculiar character set. And I have to say that the fools getting blasted in the video, well, they sort of have it coming as well.

And since this week's prize is Grand Theft Auto related, well, this created image from a YTMND user VomitingKermit seemed the most appropriate for the Homer Simpson Transmundanity Award.



Congratulations to the unnamed proprietor of Creative Juice. Huzzah!



The rules of this little contest: Every week I will be selecting one blog post that I have seen from the vast reaches of the blogosphere to bestow with the Homer Simpson Transmundanity Award for being one of the freakiest(in a funny way) things I've seen or read during a 7 day period. It doesn't necessarily have to have been written during the week, I just had to have encountered it. That means that if you find something interesting and repost it like a movie or whatever, if I saw it at your blog first, you get the prize. Of course, creating your own content is also a very good way to win.

Now, if you see a post that you think is worthy of this illustrious prize, just drop me a line at campybeaver@gmail.com and we'll see if we can't get your suggestion up and award-ready while giving you some credit and a link to your own blog.

Tags: homer simpson, grand theft auto, creative juice, pageant of the transmundane, ace combat 5, unsung war, bana city, osea, vomitingkermit, ytmnd