Back Home

Word Origins

Maybe I'm just on a language kick lately, but do you think Kojak was named after Co-Jack?

Spontaneous Clubbing

Wow. I ripped this clip off the TiVo and threw it on YouTube months ago, then completely forgot about blogging it! In fact, Ali and Kaylee don't even watch this show anymore! GAH!

Ni Hao Kai Lan is, more or less, is a Chinese Dora the Explorer. Cute bilingual girl protagonist? Check. Monkey side-kick? Check. Single parent who lets the child run free unsupervised? Check.

Yes, I know Dora's dad makes appearances from time to time, but don't you get the feeling he's one of those guys you find out has, like, a whole other secret family the next state over? Like maybe we'll get a shot of him peeking through the kitchen window of one of The Backyardigans? Anyway...

In this particular episode, Hoho (the monkey) is learning an important lesson on patience. So while the other (more intelligent) animal friends are fixing the car, Hoho has been doing stuff like building a rock tower and playing hide and seek. But it's just not jonesing his ADD. So...

Gotta give props to Laura for spotting this gem.

Go, Nads!

If someone had ever asked me, "Where could I find slow-mo footage of a guy getting pelted in the nuts with a tennis ball? For science?" I would have instinctivly blurted out "One of the TV channels with 'Fox' in its name!"

Turns out I was right.

HT: With Leather

Copernicus Weaps Weeps

I have to admit to being a tad weary of the elitist attitude many Europeans express towards the US. Like, oh, I don't know... claiming you have a right to vote in our elections.

Which probably explains why I enjoyed watching this clip of the French version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire". You think it's bad until he gets to his lifeline. Then it gets worse. It's like watching a nation-wide cultural train wreck.

HT: Cynical Nation

For Hosts. And Malcolm

Author's notes: Why hurt Frakes?

Whedon Is Back

Joss Whedon has a new show with a seven-episode commitment from Fox. Why he'd go back to Fox after the horrors they enacted to Firefly, I have no idea.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon is returning to television with "Dollhouse," a sci-fi project starring "Buffy" alumna Eliza Dushku.

The project has received a seven-episode commitment from Fox. It marks Whedon's first TV project since his short-lived 2002 Fox drama "Firefly."

Dushku plays Echo, a member of a group of men and women who are imprinted with different personalities for different assignments. In between tasks they are mind-wiped, living like children in Dollhouse, a futuristic dorm/lab. They have no memories of their previous lives, until Echo begins to try to find out who she was.

More here. And here. HT: Hobbes

Can You Smell The Movement?

I never would have considered this possible, but then Whedon & "Serenity" did it. Well, I guess technically "Family Guy" did it first. Okay, maybe "Futurama" counts. "Angel" certainly tried.

I'm talking about TV shows coming back from the graveyard of untimely cancellations due to the vigilance of a committed fan base.

Could Veronica Mars be next? Apparently the season 3 DVD set (HT: motormouth) contains the 20-minute "presentation pilot" for season 4, featuring Ms. Mars in her first year at the FBI academy. Rumor is it's quite good. Could this be the spark to get fans rallying to her side, clamoring for some network (any network!) to pick up the torch (carry our torch?) for the lovely Veronica?

Let's hope so. With Battlestar Galactica ending next spring and Burn Notice not coming back until summer, we need some good TV news these days. Heroes can only hold us over for so long...

TPQ: Wednesday

Let's "dust" off this feature for a sci-fi special...

Category: Science & Nature
Question: What was ground into dust and dropped by stage to make Star Trek transporters "glitter"?

I think that's supposed to be "by stage hands".

Let's Play Linktoss!

Weekend was madness, so I'm going to rest the small part of my brain used for posting and just share some interesting things from around the Internets.

• Jonathan Coulton was one of the subjects of an interesting article about the new world of being a musician.
• The oddest man in comics, Alan Moore, got married. And the pictures are pretty much what you'd expect from Alan Moore's wedding. Except with less druidic cult activity.
• Not new, but I finally got to watch the entire episode of Penn & Teller's "Bullshit" about gun control. VERY good. (lots of cussing, btw, so audio probably NSFW)
• The "global warming" crowd gets outed again for partisan stat warping, this time with snowpack levels in Washington.
• I totally sympathize with this Words & Pictures comic regarding daughters defending themselves.
• Copyranter pulls back the curtain on the creative process. Now you know why so many ads look the same. (language warning here, too)
• And finally, a fascinating piece from the Foundation for Economic Freedom arguing that fuel economy standards for cars not only have no positive effect on gas consumption, but they actually have several negatives effects—including increasing automotive-related deaths.

Here's hoping something tickles your fancy.

I'm A Ninja!

In an effort to move the nose hair trimming graphic below the fold, I offer you "Ninja Warrior" contestant Makoto Nagano. The clip is a little long (around 9 min), but it'll only continues to stun you as the challenges get more intense. His athleticism and endurance are pretty frickin' amazing.

Apparently, he's only the second man to complete the entire course in ten years. And the dude's a regular ol' fisherman. Whose about to get a lot more chicks. And throwing stars.

Rumor is you can catch the show on G4 during the week.