Morning, y’all! Let’s slip the surly bonds of threads and touch the face of chat, shall we?
Two quick downers then some uppers: first, Bret Michaels suffered a brain hemorrhage this week and remains in the hospital. His sister and agent have both said his condition is gradually improving, but medical complications like slurred speech or seizures could still result. Overthinking It wishes this staple of 80s’ pop a speedy recovery.
They Saved Bret Michaels' BRAIN! (... we hope)
Second, British rapper M.I.A. unleashed a controversial new video this week, “Born Free.” YouTube took the graphic video down almost immediately, but it remains available on M.I.A.’s own site. Warning: not safe for work in any conceivable way, and also not really pleasant. Yours truly still thinks it’s worth a look.
South Park thought they were hard. They don't have scratch on M.I.A.
But what goes on at Overthinking It? First off, Clichemageddon 2: The Clichemagging has kicked into turbo boost. If you haven’t yet, you should definitely submit your cliche taglines for this year’s contest. And if you already have, then let your Facebook and Twitter pals know about it by linking them to The Official Clichemageddon 2 Trailer.
Second, this will be your final reminder that you can see Overthinking It LIVE! at ImprovBoston’s Geek Week 4.0. Why? Because after this weekend, you won’t have another chance! Until someone else offers us a venue! But unless that blessed day comes, for now your only chances are Friday, April 30 (11pm) and Saturday, May 1 (8:30 PM) at ImprovBoston (40 Prospect St, Cambridge MA). Local alt-weekly the Boston Phoenix labeled us one of five acts not to be missed!
Do you have a conference room or union hall that could host our epic intellect? Do you have a controversial music video that’ll raise awareness of rock stars’ neurological health? Sound off in the comments on these or any other topics, for this is your … open thread.
My favorite thing about the “Born Free” video is definitely the huge billboard for Cop Out in the background of one of the shots.
Errr. Guys?, FlashForward? Anyone?. What’s wrong with it? Other than an uncertain “soap opera cheeseness”?.
Bret Michaels: Very shocking, very sad. In many thoughts and prayers (if you’re into that). My two housemates had no idea who he was when I brought it up at dinner. They profess to be “children of the eighties” and yet they only vaguely remember “Every Rose Has its Thorn.” I don’t get that. It’s like the girl I met in college that IN EARNEST didn’t know who Tom Cruise is. I just don’t get how people can live under boulders so ginormous.
For such a short film, “Born Free” is pretty amazing. Yes, it’s disturbing, and of course it’s going for shock-value, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend everybody see it, since some people just get *too* distraught over violence. But it’s done beautifully. I liked the attention to detail in the redheads and how I could tell each had their own *character* in the way they responded to what was happening- the looks on their faces, the body language, they each had their own.
S75: I actually happen to enjoy “FlashForward” very much (in an EXTREMELY masochistic way), but I can see why that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
But that leads me to a segue: On Demand. I have digital cable, and up until a few days ago, ABC wasn’t available on On Demand in my area. Then I saw a commercial for it and said (literally, SAID), “NO! LIARS!” only to be proven wrong when I checked. “Dancing w/t Stars” and “V” are notably non-present, but still, ABC has finally gone to On Demand now for most of its big-name shows (“FlashForward,” “Lost,” and “Castle” being the ones I care about- and I’m sad the aforementioned aren’t). But CBS and Fox still haven’t jumped on board yet. I’m curious, is this just a thing in my region, or are those networks still nowhere to be found on On Demand? And I realize the content is online, but that’s not the point- I’m wondering if there are any theories as to specific reasons why some networks were so much faster at making their shows available at the time of the viewers’ choice through cable instead of just the internet. USA, TBS, NBC, they’ve been doing it for ages.
Lee, did you make that trailer? It’s made of awesome.
Oh, and Lee, I saw this and thought it would appeal to the whole Overthinkingit crew, but you in particular.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBBw9E2Q_aY
Another topic: “How to Train Your Dragon” keeps holding the #1 slot at the box office, only losing it I believe one weekend since its release, and that was to “Kick-Ass” (but correct me if I’m wrong, please!). I saw it and absolutely loved it, so I’ll admit I contributed to that a little, but I’m wondering what that says about the rest of the movies it has been competing against. And given what’s opening today (the “Nightmare on Elm Street” remake and “Furry Vengeance”), I’m anxious to see if it will be able to at least keep a top three position, maybe even second.
It’s odd you say “Not safe for work in any conceivable way.” You see, I read the same thing about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHRDfut2Vx0&feature=youtu.be
Also, what is the pronunciation on Clichémagging.
GEEK WEEK! GEEK WEEK! If you are in the Boston area (or can be) this weekend, come check out Geek Week at ImprovBoston. Its going to be a flippin blast. Last night was a lot of fun (my sketch team had a show). OTI LIVE is Friday night at 11 and Saturday night at 8:30! Do it to it! OTI LIVE was recommended by the Boston Phoenix as one of the five shows not to miss this weekend!
From Get Thee to the Geek: An abridged guide to ImprovBoston’s Geek Week:
“Overthinking It contributors have dedicated themselves to giving pop culture a “level of scrutiny it probably doesn’t deserve.” They, and improv group Mosaic, will be bringing you said scrutiny, in living color, to the studio at ImprovBoston. The folks behind such breaking news as the inexplicably terrible font chosen for Avatar’s promotional posters will be on hand to shine the harsh light of truth on American culture. If you have spent even a single second pondering the continuity problems of Glee, or the role of foreign policy in the 1994 Street Fighter movie, or whether Stand and Deliver’s Jaime Escalante could teach calculus to a Kraken, do not miss this.”
The pronunciation of “Clichemagging” is, hmm, how to explain it. Accents on the e and the ging. Imagine Mr. Magoo’s name, then imagine it was Mr. Magging. NOT like Maggie. That’s an accent on the first syllable. This is ClichEmagGING. Confusing enough?
By the way, it’s a reference to Highlander 2: The Quickening. You’re welcome Pete.
Oh, exciting news! Three of the Overthinkers will be playing some Left 4 Dead 2 (X-Box version) on Sunday, at about 6. But it’s sort of a four player game. Anybody want to kill zombies with us?
Thanks for the pronunciation. Next year, I say go with a Die Hard reference (i.e. Cliche Harder, Cliche with a Vengeance).
Yes, maybe my critical faculties are impaired, but I love FlashForward – it has deadlines, so can’t really spin out indefinitely, it has Jack Davenport, it’s collecting guest stars from other great shows of recent times (Dexter, Battlestar, Lost), it has Jack Davenport and John Cho, and it has that cliffhanger-style structure that keeps giving you a reason to keep tuning in (as it were).
I’ll kill zombies with you, but you could have more people plat if you do a versus match.
*play
and on the topic of oppression and abuse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0IVuGK7sAw
@Timothy J Swann:
“Yes, maybe my critical faculties are impaired”
Well, mine CERTAINLY ARE SCREWED ‘cos I enjoy that show, despite of a number of thing about it that I plainly hate ’bout it (how convenient not to remember any right now), so I’ll keep insisting ON EVERY OPEN THREAD UNTIL I GET AN ANSWER. Whatever the outcome at least I enjoy that.
@Gab:
S75: “I actually happen to enjoy “FlashForward” very much (in an EXTREMELY masochistic way), but I can see why that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.”
Not made of awesome, but it has awesome chips in it. I’m afraid it’ll develop into something more watchable and then it will drop that marginal awesomeness along the cheese stuff and become more competitive.
But what do I know.
Any of you seen Ironman 2, I did. but may i’d be bets to start from the beggining so…
http://www.the-editing-room.com/ironman.html