I've heard about this on and off over the years, but had never seen it until Kottke posted a link this morning: It's a clip from "My Best Friend's Birthday," Quentin Tarantino's first film, ca. 1987. If I didn't know better, and I'm not sure I do, I'd suspect it's an elaborate prank. The young Tarantino who appears as a motormouth DJ is a pretty good caricature of everything we associate with Tarantino the actor — all the hyperkinetic, can't-sit-still, chew-the-scenery mannerisms are there in full. Fortunately, the things we associate with Tarantino the writer are present too — the black humor, the perfect pauses, the on-a-dime conversational switches. The directing? It's a wash. The thing's pretty primitive, but most of it was apparently destroyed in a fire at the lab. Still, it's a satisfying glimpse of one of our greatest, weirdest auteurs in utero.
Where Tarantino came from
AMC cinemas now offering private party screenings for $100
Today, AMC Entertainment, struggling due to COVID-19, launched a new private cinema rental program. They had been testing the offering for the last month and received a staggering 110,000 inquiries in just four weeks, four times as many as during all of 2019. Unfortunately, even private parties are prohibited from bringing in their own food… READ THE REST
Back to the Future, the animated short film
In celebration of Back to the Future's 35th anniversary, Universal Pictures compiled fan-made animations into a cartoon short, Back to the Future: Reimagined. Sure beats DMCA Takedown Notices and nastygrams! Credits: "My Dream Amp" by Javier Benia; "The First Time Traveler" by Elliot Ruddy; "Alien in the Barn" by Crankub Animation Studio; "Marty McFly and… READ THE REST
Buffalo Bill's home from Silence of the Lambs is up for sale
Unfortunately there's no well in the cellar, but this Princess Anne Victorian in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania is an idyllic place for it to rub the lotion on its skin. The house where Jame Gumb, aka Buffalo Bill, lived in Silence of the Lambs (1991) is up for sale. You and Precious can move right in for… READ THE REST
The DeliverySafe is the ultimate foil for porch pirates and it could save your holidays
With everyone stuck in COVID quarantine for much of the year, online sales for Amazon and other retailers have gone through the roof. That means more and more packages coming right to your door, to the sheer delight of a more loathsome brand of COVID opportunist: the porch pirate. Thieves taking off with delivered packages… READ THE REST
Become a machine learning aficionado with this training bundle
In the past few days, the U.S. Air Force rolled out new tools fueled by machine learning to help stem the spread of misinformation about COVID. Additionally, the Library of Congress has launched a project on how to use machine learning to better cross-reference all 170 million items in its overflowing archives. Every day, we… READ THE REST
This portable USB charger can get an Apple Watch back to full power on the go
The Apple Watch is a great addition to any tech arsenal–until it runs out of juice, that is. Then, you have to go about the process of recharging. Of course, the Apple Watch only recharges via wireless charging, meaning it can sometimes end up being pretty inconvenient to power up, especially if you're out and… READ THE REST