Crazed Teacups

Quote of the Day

Dear Sirs,
I am.
Sincerely yours,
G. K. Chesterton

- Chesteron's response to The Times, which asked him (and several other eminent authors) to write essays on the theme "What's Wrong with the World?" 

Other witticisms, according to wikipedia:

Chesterton was a large man, standing 6 feet 4 inches and weighing around 294 lb. His girth gave rise to a famous anecdote. During World War I a lady in London asked why he wasn't 'out at the Front'; he replied, 'If you go round to the side, you will see that I am.' On another occasion he remarked to his friend George Bernard Shaw, 'To look at you, anyone would think there was a famine in England.' Shaw retorted, 'To look at you, anyone would think you caused it.'

Jim Jarmusch and Spike Jones

There are two new movie trailers out from a couple of fantastic directors.

Jim Jarmusch - The Limits of Control

It not only stars the always-intriguing Gael Garcia-Bernal and Tilda Swinton, but includes Isaach de Bankole, my favorite cab driver in Night on Earth and the French-speaking ice cream man (Boule glacee!) in Ghost Dog. (Thanks, David.)

Spike Jonze - Where the Wild Things Are

I never thought I'd see the day when this came out. (Thanks to the Mercury.)

Quote of the Day

American culture seemed to me to be nothing but a big, plastic, supersized mall full of fast food, trashy television, and obese gun-nuts. The Europeans, on the other hand, had classical architecture, fine wines, and seven weeks of vacation. We'd spawned Rush Limbaugh, they had Alain Ducaisse.

And yet, after a year or so, I found myself missing American exuberance, our candy-striping, sunny-faced, star-spangled Can-Do-ism. Our happy informality. More than anything else, I missed our out-sized, confessional, emotional incontinence. I missed the way that Americans just talk.

We Americans don't give a shit if your great-great-great grandmother back in Dumfries once showed her ankle to a vicar, or if your name has a "von" in it, or if you went to one of the Grandes Ecoles. We don't care about your pedigree. As far as we're concerned, pedigree is for dogs.

- Author Susan Jane Gilman in a post on the Powell's Blog, where she's this week's guest blogger

Yet Another Quote of the Day

There's a kid on a Pogo stick in front if my house. It's nearly midnight so let's assume he's been drinking. This should end well for him.

- Christopher Walken on Twitter yesterday (thanks, David)

My Final Four

In one bracket, I've got Louisville, Memphis, 'Nova and NC going to the Final Four. But in Mental Floss' Tournament of Genius, I've got Einstein, Shakespeare, Thomas Jefferson and Freud (my Cinderella pick). Who's in your Final Four?

Quote of the Day

What fictional character would you like to date, and why?

Clarissa Dalloway, just so I could buy the flowers myself.

- From Chris Cleave, author of Little Bee, in Powells' Q&A today.  If you're a Virginia Woolf fan, this will bring a smile to your face.

Career Waiters

The LA Times has a fun article that profiles four career waiters: Manny, who "has a smile as big as an iceberg wedge, wire-rim glasses and a Felix the Cat pin on his lapel"; Pablo, who says the most important thing is to return to the table within two to three minutes after the food has been served; Sergio, who says, ""My job is to take care of customers, to be polite, attentive and be seen at the table without making a lot of it"; and Vladimir, who grew up in Bratislava, in what was then Communist-ruled Czechoslovakia and is now Slovakia, wanting to see the world.

Quote of the Day

Eating durian fruit by the roadside. A stench straight from Satan's anal ring, but a taste from an angel's sugared nipple. Mmmm

- Stephen Fry today on Twitter

The Ruins of Detroit

Yves Marchand and Romaine Meffre have a stunning exhibit of photos of decaying Detroit on their website. (Click the 'greater than' symbol in the lower left to see the photos.)  As beautiful as the photos are, I feel like I've seen a lot of these kinds of images on the web.  Perhaps the next challenge is to photograph what's beautiful about Detroit? 

(Thanks to David for the link.)

Blood of the Vampires

I spent a most wonderful weekend in Seattle going to not one, but two Cinematic Titanic shows.  Afterwards, I got to meet the cast, who are all Mystery Science Theater 3K vets, and meeting MST3K creator Joel Hodgson was truly a great moment for me. 

Friday night's movie was Blood of the Vampire, which is set in 1800s Mexico, but filmed in the Philippines with an all-Filipino cast.  I don't think the trailer does justice to just what a howler this was, but you can watch it below.  You can watch the full movie in two ways: download it to burn for $10, or order it on dvd for $15.

(By the way, guess who else is a fan? Ken Jennings, Jeopardy! champion, who apparently was at the Saturday night show.)