As usual, my elite squad of chain smoking monkey researchers have uncovered various tidbits that may be of interest:
- Powered Jacket MK3 – I seriously can’t tell if this is meant to be serious or if it’s some sort of parody (I’m actually pretty sure it’s a real product, but this video is so bonkers insane that I don’t know what to make of it). Either way, the video is amazing. Another gem from my i’mnotscaredenoughofthejapanese tag on delicious.
- When THE THING Became John Carpenters’ THE THING – Fascinating look at a fortuitous quirk in scheduling that allowed some course corrections on the script, yielding one of my favorite movies:
It is often mentioned that John Carpenter had the luxury of time when he made THE THING … and that this expansive schedule in large part contributed to the films’ overall quality. Although this was true in some respects it stands in contrast to a frenzied Six Week period from late October to early December, 1981 in which THE THING shape shifted into something harder and more powerful, and in the process took a decisive turn toward the dark side. During this time John restructured the film, wrote what was essentially a new Second Act to conform to the editing he had done ( including new death scenes for two characters ), adopted MacCready as his spiritual doppelganger, and scrambled to get all of it shot on location in Stewart, B.C.
This post touches on every change, every decision made during a 6 week break in the schedule, and it’s utterly fascinating. Hat tip to Film Crit Hulk.
- The evolution of soft drink cans – Pepsi sucks. (The link doesn’t really support my claim, instead focusing on interesting notes surrounding the way can designs have changed over the years for lots of brands. I just hate Pepsi.)
- The Rock ‘n’ Roll Casualty Who Became a War Hero – This is a pretty amazing story:
Jason Everman has the unique distinction of being the guy who was kicked out of Nirvana and Soundgarden, two rock bands that would sell roughly 100 million records combined. At 26, he wasn’t just Pete Best, the guy the Beatles left behind. He was Pete Best twice.
Then again, he wasn’t remotely. What Everman did afterward put him far outside the category of rock’n’roll footnote. He became an elite member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, one of those bearded guys riding around on horseback in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban.
Heh.
That’s all for now.