Pop Culture
Rat Pack Vegas: Ocean’s 11 (1960)
Hitting the town with Frank, Dean and Sammy There’s probably no crime that elicits more sympathy than robbing a casino. When the house always wins, a person can develop a strong sense of revenge. So for one of the best heist movies to be set in Las Vegas is...
Please Mr. Postman
In this world of technology, is there anything better than receiving real mail? NASA may be the coolest government agency (hello, space food!), but the post office is still our favorite. Who else brings delightful missives from friends and love ones? True, the postman brings bills and jury duty...
Gadabout TM-1050 in Believer Magazine
The Gadabout hits newsstands this month in a review by Stephen Burt. Our favorite literary magazine, The Believer, has published a review of the Gadabout TM-1050 Time Machine Manual in the June issue. Written by Stephen Burt – poet, literary critic, Harvard University professor – the article is thoughtful...
The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, 1960
Comedy gold, one phone call at a time. Bob Newhart is certainly the world’s most successful former accountant. His debut comedy album, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, was the first comedy album to win a Grammy award for Album of the Year, and he is the only comedian to...
Lights, camera, popcorn!
Celebrating the real star of the silver screen. Popcorn and entertainment have long been partners. As early as 1870, popcorn was a common staple at stadiums and parks in the United States. Popcorn in the cinema really took off during the Great Depression; because of its cheap price it...
How to Steal a Million, 1966
A terrific how-to for film or fashion. How to Steal a Million is a perfect film. It’s a heist caper, first of all, and those are always perfect. (I’ve never met a heist film I didn’t like – except maybe Art Heist with one of the lesser Baldwins.) So...
Modern, stone-age branding
The Flintstones characters are (bed)rock-solid salesmen. The Flintstones haven't gone out of popularity since they first came on screens in 1960, so the characters have graced a wide variety of merchandise. While candy seems such a natural fit for cartoon characters, you have to wonder why this particular company...
Schrödinger’s Saturday Night Fever
At last, the scientific community has made sense of the John Travolta “classic.” It’s a familiar story: you exit the cinema with a friend after seeing the latest cinematic clunker only to hear your friend exclaim, “That was the best movie ever!” Huh? Were you both watching the same...
E.T., the flop
Take one mega-blockbuster, put it in the hands of the leading video game manufacturer, and you’ll end up with a sure-fire winner, right? E.T. opened in June 1982 to immediate success. By the end of its first theatrical run it had grossed over $600 million worldwide. A video...
WonderCon 2012 Round-up!
Who couldn't use a dose of Stan Lee? WonderCon's always got you covered. What a terrific WonderCon! Many die-hard WonderCon fans were worried about the show's move from San Francisco to Anaheim. While it's true that we missed seeing our friends in the bay area, we thought Anaheim was...
Ready for WonderCon?
The books are boxed and our bags are packed; Anaheim Convention Center, here we come! The excitement level at the office is rising as we get ready for WonderCon 2012. If you're heading to the conference - and why wouldn't you? There's so much to see and so many...
Civil War - Back to the Battlefield
Drama, special effects, rounds of applause. Forget Broadway, try Gettysburg. Civil War re-enactments might sound like a just a bunch of history buffs with guns, but you couldn't be more wrong. Some of us in the office took a trip to the Annual Spring Civil War Re-enactment at the...