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Gilbert Gottfried Dead at 67
Gilbert Gottfried, whose amazingly grating voice so perfectly illustrated his abrasive brand of comedy, is dead at 67.
“In addition to being the most iconic voice in comedy, Gilbert was a wonderful husband, brother, friend and father to his two young children,” the Gottfried family said in a statement on his Twitter account. “Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert’s honor.”
He was a rare comedian who managed to make a career telling some of the most memorable dirty jokes while also having a prolific run in some of the biggest family-friendly films and TV shows.
WATCHTOWER
Warren Ellis wrote a new short story entitled WATCHTOWER, and it’s a fun read. Here’s how Ellis pitched it to potential readers:
I was in the mood to try some pop-sci Andy Weir style good time writing, a mood that was responding to the preponderance of Sad Astronaut stories in tv and film. It has a jumpcut sort of structure, because I also was thinking about the idea of the condensed novel, in JG Ballard’s conception, and connecting that with a certain style of film editing — Christopher Rouse with Paul Greengrass on THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, for example. It kind of took a turn during the writing, which I personally ascribe to watching two seasons of Ed Stafford’s FIRST MAN OUT.
Anyway. I wrote it. And 10,000 words is worse than a novella. I don’t think Kindle Singles are a thing any more, and it had no other utility other than having amused me to write it and get it out of my system.
I dunno how I’d describe it. Indiana Holmes And The Case Of Elon Musk’s Rendezvous With Rama? It’s a bit of fun, but it’s also about human damage, exploration and colonising. It probably makes no sense at all. If you decide to read it, I hope it at least amuses you.
It’s definitely Indiana Holmes And The Case Of Elon Musk’s Rendezvous With Rama.
Alternate Universes
Nicholas Bate on writing:
Incredibly, there are whole new alternate universes hidden deep in your brain. Unique to you.
Writing will access them.
He’s not wrong.
Transforming in the Here and Now
Rebecca Toh, writing on her site, explains where she’s at with self-improvement.
There is simply no imaginary day in the bright future ahead when we’d wake up in the morning transformed, an ideal version of ourselves.
There is only transforming in the here and the now.
She is absolutely right. I want to improve myself and become that idealized version, but I also like French fries and pizza. What do I want more? That’s the question.
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 8
Honestly, this is what everyone really wanted at the start.
Now is the New
Niklas Goke wrote something worthwhile about “newness” and “nowness.”
In Effortless, Greg McKeown muses that “the word now comes from a Latin phrase, novus homo, which means ‘a new man’ or ‘man newly ennobled.’” The etymology may differ, but the essence is true: Now is new. Actually, now can be new.
Sometimes, now is new without our doing. One second we have a job, the next we don’t. One moment the sun shines, the next it rains. More often than not, however, new is neutral because we choose it to be. We could wear a different mood, pick a new identity, or throw away or phone — but we don’t.
We don’t because we’re comfortable, afraid, doubtful, stuck, hurt, or stubborn, but it’s not uncertainty we’re stealing time from. The seconds we take when playing it safe come out of our own pockets. And tomorrow, the uncertainty will still be there.
“Each new moment is a chance to start over,” Greg says. “A chance to make a new choice.”
Make sure now is new.
I feel like I play it safe a great deal. Maybe I shouldn’t be so comfortable.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Damn it. I’m going to have to break down and get Paramount+ aren’t I?
In the Shadow of the Star Wars Kid
In 2002, a 15-year-old Quebec boy named Ghyslain Raza filmed himself swinging a golf ball retriever in imitation of Darth Maul’s double-bladed light saber from The Phantom Menace. The private video leaked onto the internet and became perhaps the biggest viral video of the pre-Youtube era under the name “The Star Wars Kid.” Traumatized by the ensuing ridicule and bullying, Raza has spoken about the video only once before, and the man who initially helped popularize it, Andy Baio (MetaFilter’s own), has declined to be interviewed about it. They talk together for the first time about this formative moment in unwelcome internet fame in a new documentary Star Wars Kid: The Rise of the Digital Shadows/Dans l’ombre du Star Wars Kid streaming free from the National Film Board of Canada.
H/T: Metafilter
The Japanese Sword as the Soul of the Samurai
This documentary on the making of Japanese swords, narrated by George Takei, offers a fascinating look at the exhaustive process of forging samurai swords.
In the 1969 short documentary The Japanese Sword as the Soul of the Samurai, the US filmmaker Kenneth Wolfgang (1931-2011) is allowed rare access to the Tokyo workshop of a master samurai swordsmith to explore the craft and history behind the iconic Japanese weapon. Instantly recognisable for its elegant shape and sharp cutting edge, the samurai sword was long one of the most fearsome weapons in the world, as well as an object of great symbolic importance in premodern Japan. Here, its creation is documented in rich detail as a swordsmith and his apprentices hammer, fold and weld to create a near-perfect steel blade in a process that melds expert craftsmanship with Shinto religious ritual. Alongside the workshop footage, Wolfgang uses traditional Japanese woodblock paintings, dolls and the narration of the US actor George Takei (Lt Sulu in Star Trek) to take the audience through the sword’s history — from its mythological origins and into the 20th century, well past the samurai era. In doing so, Wolfgang demystifies the object for Western audiences while also conveying its deep significance to Japanese history and myth.
Jackassery
Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse (R), during today’s confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson:
I think we should recognize that the jackassery we often see around here is partly because of people mugging for short-term camera opportunities.
I’m sorry, but no shit. Having televised hearings like this always defeats the purpose of transparency and allows the jackasses to have a platform to strut their bullshit for soundbites and viral videos.
Digital Dust
Rick Beato plays the demo he made with a country duo, Muddy Magnolia, that was lost to the sands of time, and it sounds like something you should’ve heard on the radio.
I enjoyed the Muddy Magnolia live version, but the demo is better.
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman Become New Voices of Monday Night Football
From Derek Volner in the ESPN Press Room:
ESPN has signed acclaimed play-by-play commentator Joe Buck and leading football analyst Troy Aikman to multi-year deals, as the NFL’s longest current booth pairing and Pro Football Hall of Fame members will become the new voices of Monday Night Football. The iconic duo’s 2022 Monday Night Football debut will mark their 21st NFL season in the booth together, matching the legendary Pat Summerall and John Madden’s all-time record as on-air NFL partners. In their two decades together, Buck and Aikman have called six Super Bowls, surpassing all other pairings/booths except for Summerall and Madden. […]
Buck and Aikman are the best duo since Madden and Michaels. It’s a good lineup and should put the shine back on Monday Night Football.
Online Roland Synthesizer
In celebration of 50 years, Roland has collaborated with sound designer Yuri Suzuki to create Roland50 Studio, a digital reworking of some of their most famous and influential devices.
You can play with a trio of Roland music machines for the musically inclined (and the no so inclined): the TR-808 drum machine, the TB-303 bass synthesizer, and the SH-101 synthesizer.
Even better, once you have your masterpiece set, you can download it. I wish I had the time to create something extraordinary.
Scott Hall, RIP
Hey…yo.
Scott Hall, WWE Hall of Famer and co-founder of pro wrestling’s legendary New World Order faction, died on Monday after being taken off of life support by his family following complications from hip surgery. He was 63.
He was the man who kicked off the biggest boom period in the history of professional wrestling. Along with Shawn Michaels, he innovated the ladder match, now a staple of the sport.
His life behind the scenes was filled with constant struggles with substance abuse and personal demons, run-ins with the law, and sexual misconduct allegations. In 2013, “Diamond” Dallas Page invited him to live at his home and get clean. A year after moving in with Page, Hall was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and would be inducted again in 2020 as a member of the nWo alongside Hogan, Nash and X-Pac.
His acceptance speech was amazing. “Bad times don’t last, but bad guys do.”
Whether you knew him best as the Diamond Studd, as Razor Ramon, or simply as himself, “Da Bad Guy” was always one of the coolest wrestlers to ever set foot in the ring.
There Will Be Baseball
Let the fun begin! pic.twitter.com/c7KQKSj618
— MLB (@MLB) March 11, 2022
Baseball is back!
After 99 days of a lockout on the players, the MLB owners and Players Association agreed to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. So, after all that hand-wringing and soul-crushing shenanigans, what exactly happened? What’s different?
In a Twitter thread by Evan Drellich of The Athletic, he outlines the details of the new CBA agreement.
Some final details of a CBA where players made some notable gains:
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) March 10, 2022
• Pre-arb bonus pool at $50m
• Min salary: $700k, $720k, 740k, $760k, $780k
• CBT: $230m-$244m
• Draft lottery at 6 picks
• Universal DH
• Amateur draft is 20 rounds
• Player can be optioned 5 times per yr
Bonus Pool
The players wanted a bonus pool of $100M. The compromise number of $50M is excellent. It’s a way for the impressive rookies and quality players to get a bit more money.
Minimum Salary
The minimum salary is now $700k and a sliding scale up for each season. When the lockout was going on, there was a narrative of millionaire baseball players against the billionaire owners, and that just wasn’t true. Most professional baseball players were not making a million dollars. With the minimum salary going up, it will help the most significant number of players.
Universal DH
I’ve been screaming about this for years. The National League was behind every other example of organized baseball in existence. This will make the game much better and make the World Series a more equitable set of games.
Schedule Changes
The regular season will be delayed, but only a tiny bit. More importantly, there will be a full slate of 162 games. To do that, it looks like there will be some scheduled doubleheaders during the season. Also, the doubleheaders will be nine-inning games. No more of this seven innings crap. Plus, no more stupid “ghost runners” on second to start extra innings.
Expanded Playoffs
The owners wanted expanded playoffs because that’s where a lot of money is made. The players used this as their primary bargaining chip. The owners wanted a 14-team playoff. The players proposed a 12-team playoff, and that’s the compromise. I hated the one-game Wild Card, and expanded teams mean Wild Card three-game series, which is much better.
On to free agency, spring training, and an actual regular season starting in about a month.
Friday Night Baseball
Somehow, I missed this news from Apple entirely. The Verge outlines the new way for people to watch baseball:
During the company’s Peek Performance event on Tuesday, Apple boss Tim Cook announced that Apple’s streaming service will feature two Major League Baseball games on Friday nights during the regular season. Kicking off when the season begins, Friday Night Baseball will feature pregame and postgame programming.
Apple TV Plus subscribers in the US and Canada will additionally have access to a new 24/7 livestream with Major League Baseball replays, news, highlights, and analysis, as well as what Apple described as “a full complement of on-demand programming, including highlights and MLB-themed original content.” In addition, a new live show titled MLB Big Inning will air highlights on weeknights during the regular season.
I recently changed my television from digital cable to YouTubeTV and several streaming services. What I missed by going this route was watching St. Louis Cardinals games on Bally Sports Midwest. I don’t watch a lot of major league baseball, but I’ve found in my old age that I like just sitting back and taking in a random game. This feels just about right.
3x5
The 3 x 5 life of Patrick Rhone. This is an interesting approach to task management. I’ve always thought his Dash/Plus system was cool. I appreciate Patrick providing his GTD guided mindsweep.
I might have to try this.
Star Trek/Wars Teasers
New Star Trek and Star Wars television series are coming soon, and their first real teasers have hit the interwebs. Both shows hit their respective streaming services in May.
First up is the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds teaser trailer, which fans of Star Trek: Discovery have already seen glimpses of with a reintroduction of a few characters fans knew were traipsing around the galaxy at the same time. Of course, Star Trek fans were introduced to Captain Pike, Number One, Spock, and others in the original pilot, and a version of Captain Pike made an appearance in the Kelvin-Timeline Star Trek movies. However, this version is the retro-updated version of the USS Enterprise back before Kirk and company took command.
There are a lot of Star Trek shows, but this is the only one that reminds me of the fun and hope of the original series. It looks beautiful and the cast is top-notch. I’m hoping we see a Captain April.
I always thought there was a story to be told right after Obi-Wan Kenobi drops off Luke at the Lard Homestead and walks into the Tatooine desert. Now, we are going to get one.
Obi-Wan Kenobi dropped its first teaser trailer for the Disney+ show and we finally get a glimpse of what’s in store.
Man, when the “Duel of Fates” hits I actually got a tingle in my spine. Actually, when the music transitions from “Battle of the Heroes” to “Duel of the Fates” then back to the first was amazing. Also, the lightsaber swiping to form the Disney+ logo at the end was a good bit of design.
May looks like a good month for Star Trek and Star Wars fans (like me).
Emilio Delgado, Luis on Sesame Street for 45 Years, Dead at 81
Emilio Delgado, who portrayed singing shop owner Luis Rodriguez on Sesame Street, died in New York. He spent more than half of his life on the show, and he holds the record for the longest-running role for a Mexican American actor in a television show.
Sesame Workshop mourns the passing of Emilio Delgado, known the world over for his role as Luis on Sesame Street. A beloved member of the Sesame family for over 50 years, his warmth and humor invited children to share a friendship that has echoed through generations.
— Sesame Workshop (@SesameWorkshop) March 11, 2022
1/2 pic.twitter.com/DnncBZCg5G
Sad.