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
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
A guide to science fiction pandemics and other apocalypses
Ten years ago, Scientific American put together a list of their favorite apocalyptic plots from fiction and film. The grouped them by category, like astronomical catastrophes, war, geophysical disasters, machine-driven takeovers, and, of course, pandemics. Of course, this is far from a comprehensive list of the greatest tales of the end times. Check out their… READ THE REST
The typography of Star Trek
Dave Addey is author of Typeset in the Future: Typography and Design in Science Fiction Movies, a book exploring the typography of films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, WALL-E, and other classics. In an excerpt on his site, Addey studies the typography of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. From Typeset in the Future:… READ THE REST
Get access to Streaming Services, a VPN Service, Fitness Classes, Playstation Plus, and More For 80% Off
It's no newsflash to say the world is full of entertainment options. Heck, just restricting yourself to the digital universe, there are hundreds, even thousands of ways to learn new skills, improve your life, and yes, just relax and veg out on videos whenever you like. But with that many options for entertaining yourself, where… READ THE REST
This 3-piece extra large cast iron cookware set is on sale for just $70
If you're anything like millions of Americans, staying at home these past several months has been followed by a steadily increased diet of cooking shows. It's really not hard to understand why. If you can't go out to restaurants the same way right now, why not bring those delicious meals to you? The next logical… READ THE REST
This coder bootcamp can get you up to speed on 6 key programming skills in 60 minutes each
Training packages are available everywhere. And since everyone wants to know how to code, there are literally hundreds of different courses, lectures, and training sessions that can help teach you the building blocks of this foundational ability. However, most of us aren't very patient. We want the facts we need to know, we want them… READ THE REST
