video | puppet wrangling

Thursday various

Netflix wants to know: How often do you watch racism like Mark Twain? This may be Photoshopped — Netflix apparently thinks so — but it’s still amusing.
Speaking of movies (in a roundabout way), Roger Ebert shares some thoughts on 3D from Oscar-winning film editor and sound designer Walter Murch. It’s an interesting read, particularly for Murch’s contention that 3D simply can’t work, from an evolutionary standpoint. Ebert gets a lot of flack for not liking 3D, or for continuing to express his dislike for the effect, but I don’t think he’s wrong. Even in the handful of recent films that I thought used 3D reasonably well, and to the max of its potential — like Avatar and Coraline — didn’t benefit enough from the process to make the overall experience worth it.
So George Lucas doesn’t believe the world is going to end in 2012. Good to know. I’ll admit to being amused by the Lucasfilm rep’s response.
Warren Ellis on naming characters:

I tend to look for a name, particularly with protagonists, that somehow strikes sparks off elements of the character….Or not. You can easily reverse that out.
And finally, a planet where apes evolved from men?! A British gorilla has learned to walk upright. [via]

No more Caps Lock? FAREWELL, OLD FRIEND. [via]
I bet you didn’t know Inception and Sex & the City 2 are essentially the same movie, did you?
The day Niagara Falls ran dry. [via]
One man was responsible for one-third of the world’s spam. Then again, I haven’t actually noticed a drop-off in my own spam since his arrest. [via]
And finally, the bar for wedding proposals has been lifted:

You know, I’m all for preventing the spread of AIDS and everything, but I’d pay good money to keep a lot of these people off Twitter.
The New York Times‘ 100 Notable Books of 2010 looks like an interesting list. I’ve read — count ’em — one of the books on the list.
I may have discovered a reason to use Facebook as something other than a Scrabble-delivery system: supposedly there’s a Monty Python game coming soon.
Swede broadcasts music from his stomach. Apparently he was disappointed by the sound quality, however. [via]
And finally, Scott McCloud on comics [via]:

I like Todd VanDerWerff ‘s write-up of Dancing With the Stars a lot more than I think I would ever like the show itself.
Popular Mechanics looks at shipping scientifically: “One disheartening result was that our package received more abuse when marked ‘Fragile’ or ‘This Side Up.'” [via]
The Harry Potter series from Hermione’s point of view [via]
John Scalzi’s accurate but misleading descriptions of famous science fiction films. Mild spoiler warnings all around.
And finally, John Cleese on the creative process [via]:

The Monsters of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, As Drawn By Children [via]
I would so read an entire comic about The Motleys:

Lurk was the muscle. He didn’t talk much, except about Joss Whedon.

The Mime wasn’t on the team, he just followed them around, as if it was really windy.
An incredible story about twins joined at the brain. [via]
Ursula K. Le Guin’s touching tribute to her friend and collaborator: Someone Named Delores [via]
And finally, Science Saved My Soul [via]: