Category Archives: Celebs and Media

Where Deadrobot brushes up against celebrities

Then we’ll leave you as we came… In peace

Celebs and Media
V Chicks

V Chicks

But will they rip their faces off while they’re here?

Potentially this could be the next Battlestar if they treat the story with enviromental issues, like Battlestar did with religion. But then again, like Knight Rider, Sarah Connor and the Bionic Woman maybe this should stay buried.

Fun trivia from the original show (IMDB source)

In a massive media campaign before the series aired, posters with the line “The Visitors Are Our Friends” appeared in subways around the United States–just as they did in the first part of the mini-series. Days before the first episode aired, each poster was spray-painted with a bright red “V” exactly as was done in the show.

The music that plays when the ship is first seen has as a major motif consisting of three short notes followed by one long note. This is the letter V in Morse code. It is also patterned after Ludwig van Beethoven’s fifth symphony

Due to the high cost of the laser special effects, it was decided that human resistance fighters would use regular rifles and pistols. This was explained away in the script as due to high security on the alien armories.

Battle In Seattle

Celebs and Media

A “docu-drama” of the 1999 WTO protest, so Americanly named the Battle In Seattle, seems a bit appropriate as the current economic melt down ripples through everyone’s savings right now.

Go back with me to November 1999. Everyone is already crazy with Y2K, so when greedy capitalists decide to meet at a highly concentrated liberal city on the west coast, VW vans are fired up and everyone who has an opinion about poverty and money converged on Seattle. Social consciousness groups came together in a peaceful attempt to “stop” the convention which turned into one of the largest riots the US as seen since the 60s. Somewhere, someone got pissed off and the riot ignited like a Spike Lee movie ending. You might remember video of riot police casually coating a passive, sitting crowd of protesters with a fire extinguisher sized can of mace. Or countless images of rugby scrums with black armored cops hunched over cotton/hemp wearing youths. Whoever you side with, it was a violent few days.

What makes me curious about this movie is that it seems to be “Crash”-like in its structure: multiple viewpoints, perspectives and storylines converging to one point: downtown Seattle, just in front of the riot police. But in reading reviews from it’s TIFF showing, the movie hammers home it’s hatred for the WTO within the opening sequences, so it seems biased more towards the protesters. Another clue is that Woody Harrelson plays a cop. I think his acting default is set to “Villain” lately so he may be swinging a truncheon with abandon.

I’m also curious about the Massive Attack soundtrack. But that’s probably another blog post. Battle will be playing in limited release in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver October 17th.

Art With Heart

Celebs and Media, Queer stuff, Toronto

Once a year Casey House asks artists to donate work to their annual Art With Heart auction to raise funds for their AIDS/HIV hospice here in town. Every year there’s been one piece that collectors will go ga ga over (last year it was a Ken Danby, donated shortly after his death) and this year is no exception: Who wouldn’t want a Attila Richard Lukacs hanging in their bathroom? And a steal at $750!

Two pieces in particular made my culture vulture turn a lumpy beak: Gum Blonde – a portrait of Madonna made entirely of chewed bubble gum and an abstract of lines and circles named Damn it Jim I’m a Doctor not a Magician. There are tons more at amazing prices all listed at artwithheart.ca

Auction:
The Carlu, 444 Yonge Street, 7th Floor
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008
7:00 p.m. (sharp)
Valet parking will be provided

Free Public Previews
Ritchies Auctioneers, 380 King Street East
Tuesday, October 21st to
Friday, October 24th, 2008 (11:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.)

Reception and Final Viewing:
5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

Tickets $125 per person
To order tickets, please contact the Casey House Foundation
T: 416.962.4040 ext 236
F: 416.962.5595
E: heart@caseyhouse.on.ca

Disclaimer: I volunteered my skills to concept, create and build the AwH website.

Cloris Leachman

Celebs and Media

…just said “Shit” and “Bastard!” to the judges on Dances With The Stars on live television! Bless her heart!

…And Bruno just said “Tits”. If ABC isn’t fined for this show, then the whole Janet Jackson showing a boob thing was for naught!

Wait. What? Am I Asleep Here?*

Celebs and Media, Queer stuff

Funny gays in the news!

From bsteward23’s blog comes a tip that McCain’s Chief of Staff is a Log Cabin Republican. Expect this story to burn up the bloggosphere for a few hours but much like the gay hooker plant in the White House press gallery, I bet this will not garner much attention outside queer blogs.

Meanwhile Canada’s own self-loathing, “I make dumb remarks on the internets”, right-winged openly gay motormouth (motorfingers?) is (supposedly) ousted from the Conservatives for making utterly useless comments on the bus beheading saying it could have been prevented with a good ol’ gun. Hey sometimes you gotta love Google cache.

I’m actually more amazed that George Michaels is stupid enough to be caught yet again with drugs. And he seems to be mixing his indescretions now, he was arrested in a loo. Where police had to be called to on a tip. Which says to me that he was in there for some time. Oh right, he was on crack AND pot. Time has no meaning.

*Post title from SharkBoy who uttered this to one of his “clients” who just wasn’t listening to what was coming out of their own mouth.