New trailer for Cloverfield
So it looks like that’s what it’s officially called now, Cloverfield. Hmm. In any case, it’s shaping up to be a mindlessly fun yet vaguely thoughtful disaster spectacle, and it’ll be out in just two months’ time. Which is nice. Permalink   ·

Wikipedia entry on dog communication
Fascinating reading, here. I never realised a tail wag could convey so many different meanings. Permalink   ·

The AV Club interviews the Meat Puppets
They’re playing ATP the weekend before the one I’m going to; I hope they’ll hop over the water and play a show in Dublin, too. But while I’m in Dublin, of course. Permalink   ·

Outtakes from the first Meat Puppets album
You know, the one that no one likes because it’s too noisy and screamy and it hasn’t got ‘Lake of Fire’ on it. Permalink   ·

Jessica Hagy and her index cards
I concur with the Demetri Martin comparisons. Permalink   ·

The iPod Death Clock
According to this, mine’s got less than a year left before it buys the farm. That’s not good. Permalink   ·

The AV Club interviews Steven Wright
From last November. Steven Wright is a comedy genius, and a great performer to boot; when I saw him live a few years ago he did two-and-a-half hours straight, no breaks. That’s something. Permalink   ·

Manhattan Elsewhere
What would Manhattan look like if it could be floated to another city? Nice work, but an even more radical thought occurs: what if any city could float? We can already reclaim land from the sea and live on soil where there was recently only water — what’s stopping us from constructing a true floating city? And I don’t mean some humongous ocean liner — I mean a giant man-made island that could be propelled from one sea to another. Rather than a Manhattan Elsewhere, how about a Manhattan Anywhere? Permalink   ·

The Guardian profiles Fray Tormenta, the Mexican wrestling priest
Published near the release of Nacho Libre, the film very loosely based on his life. The Independent also has a profile of ‘Friar Storm’ — or ‘Father Thunder’, as he was called in a documentary on lucha libre I once saw on RTE Two in the early ’90s. Permalink   ·

Meet the Life Hackers
Another piece from my year-old collection of open tabs, thanks to which a new term has been introduced to my vocabulary: ‘interruption science’. Permalink   ·

The AV Club interviews documentarian Errol Morris
It might be more than a year old, but it’s still worth posting; I always find the background workings and politics of film production a fascinating read. Permalink   ·

David Byrne posits a Marshall Plan for the Middle East
I was thinking of something along these same lines when I first noted this link some months ago: some Americans love to boast about their nation’s nobility towards Europe both during and after the Second World War, but their government hasn’t demonstrated much of anything like it elsewhere in the world in the 60-plus years since. Isn’t it about time they started building things instead of destroying them? Permalink   ·

What Really Causes Civil War?
In the end, it all comes down to greed, power and money. Permalink   ·

How I never quite fell for South Africa
The Guardian’s Rory Carroll reflects on his tenure as Africa correspondent, giving a glimpse of the all-too-real dark side of the ‘Rainbow Nation’. Having been there (and soon to return) myself, beyond the paths where the tourists tread, I can somewhat identify with his sentiments. Permalink   ·

Electric Picnic set times announced
I won’t be going, but it’s nice to dream — and consider whether I’ve crossed a threshold in my life when I realise I’d rather see Sparks than Yo La Tengo. Permalink   ·