December 27, 2009 – Tired of holiday peace, love and understanding? So was an editor at the Los Angeles Times, who in the days leading up to Christmas 1924, ran an article that asked "What Will Happen When ‘Science' Perfects the Art of War?" Grandma's fruitcake may have been lethal in its own special way, but it... More »
So, Two Guys Are Sitting On a Desert Island . . .
May 14, 2009 – One's wearing a white shirt, the other black. Is it a smackdown between Good and Evil? Macs and PCs? Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? Nope, it's the big Lost season five finale, with tons of spoilers ahead. Well, they certainly crammed a lot into last night's double episode: More »
What Happened, Happened … Unless You Can Change the Past
April 30, 2009 – Why did I read that huge Lost spoiler on io9 last week — and, more importantly, why did it turn out to be true? Spoilers and lamentation after the jump. More »
Hurley Can See for Miles and Miles
April 16, 2009 – The dynamic duo of Hurley and Miles teamed up again on last night's Lost for some soul searching — literally and figuratively. Spoilers and a confession after the jump. First, the confession: More »
It’s Judgment Day for Ben Linus
April 9, 2009 – Mutton dressed as lamb in some bad wiggery, a monologue-ing villain, and one pissed-off teenager: Lost had it all this week. Get spoiled after the jump. I'm so happy that self-confident, cagey, jungle-master John Locke is back! More »
Kate Does The Right Thing
April 2, 2009 – News flash! Last night's Lost was Kate-centric, and I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. Spoilers ahoy. The promise, or threat, depending on your outlook, of a Kate episode has been looming over our heads for several weeks, and last night it arrived. More »
Sayid Jarrah, Natural Born Killer?
March 26, 2009 – Oh, Sayid. You've done a very bad thing-or is it a very good thing? Oh, Lost, you've messed with my mind yet again. Spoilers ahoy! Despite a few awkward moments (*cough*love triangle*cough*), "He's Our You" was a bang-up episode, to say the least. I think I was about young Ben's age when I read A... More »
On the Island, Highs are in the Mid-Seventies
March 5, 2009 – Lost answered an all-important question last night (disco, punk, or Tony Orlando & Dawn?) when it showed us how Sawyer and crew spent the mid-1970s - the second time around. More »
John Locke Gets Played Like A Card
February 26, 2009 – Last night's Lost was an hour-long festival of Locke, with a special guest appearance from the World's Biggest Kid (and I don't mean whiny Jack). Let's talk about it after the cut. I've been familiar with the name Jeremy Bentham ever since I got a wonderful book about mummies when I was in grade s... More »
On Lost, They’re Leaving on a Jet Plane
February 19, 2009 – Though it featured lots of Jack and Kate, Lost delivered the goods last night... with a couple of exceptions. At least, I thought they were discordant notes, but let's discuss and recap after the jump. I suspected that whatever followed last week's fabulous episode might seem weak by comparison, b... More »
On Lost, An Old Friend Stops By For A Smoke
February 12, 2009 – If last week's episode of Lost was one for the shippers, this week's was tailor-made for people like me, who dig the action and island mythology. Let's recap and discuss after the jump. So it's all Locke's fault, eh? More »
On Lost: As the Island Turns
February 5, 2009 – Last night's Lost was one for the shippers. Lots of Jack-Kate angst and a mopey Sawyer. Luckily there were some dramatic reveals for the rest of us. Let's talk about it behind the cut. After three episodes of solid action and excitement, Lost slowed down a bit with last night's show, "The Little P... More »
It’s Bombs Away on Lost!
January 29, 2009 – Hooray! Lost was 100% Kate-free last night. In fact none of the Oceanic 6 made an appearance — but, oh, yeah, it somehow managed to be an interesting episode nonetheless. More »
On Lost, the Island Skips, Skips, Skips in Time
January 22, 2009 – Lost is back! Let's sort through the tangle of weirdness, bad parenting and shirtlessness together, and may the flying spaghetti monster of your choice help us all. More »
Before Westworld, Another Robot Gunslinger Walked the Cyber Streets of Laredo
November 23, 2008 – From the recently-posted Life magazine archives comes photographic evidence of a pistol-packing robot that predated Michael Crichton’s Westworld and Yul Brynner’s Gunslinger by some 13 years. More »
John Cleese Explains Why The Compaq II Is Better Than A Dead Fish
November 10, 2008 – Let's see, to begin with, the fish weighed 22 pounds. So did the Compaq Portable II computer (in retrospect, perhaps "luggable" is more accurate). Here, in a British commercial from 1986 or so, former Python John Cleese lays out the rest of the argument for the computer's superiority - including...
Where Would We Be Without The Miracle of Color Television?
September 12, 2008 – As we get ready to bid farewell to broadcast television as we know it and prepare for our new digital overlord's arrival on February 17, let's take a peek at a past television technology when it was all shiny and new.
A Science Fiction Pixie from a Strange Atomic Race
September 11, 2008 – Here’s a clip from a cartoon I’ve never seen before: Dodo-The Kid From Outer Space. Produced in 1964 and originally broadcast in the L.A. area, Dodo was an alien child with a half-bird, half-computer friend named Compy (in this clip, he’s the one complaining about cake while everybody else...
Speeding Into The Future With The Flying Wombat
September 10, 2008 – Built of steel and aluminum, without running boards or fenders, and using buttons instead of door handles, the 1938 Phantom Corsair was the last word in long, low, streamlined art deco modernity on wheels.
Was Josie & the Pussycats in Outer Space The Best Cartoon Ever?
September 9, 2008 – Oh, don’t get your panties in a bunch—I think we all agree that Hanna-Barbera takes a distant third in the great Chuck Jones/Tex Avery smackdown. But seriously, an interracial all-girl rock band flies through outer space in a giant magic wand, accompanied by their nemesis, her shit-stirring...
