Mickey Rourke is not fighting Jericho (thankfully)
1/30/2011"...as human beings we are capable of making sense of situations based on the thinnest slice of experience."
Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and The Tipping Point.
GOOD THINKING, MICKEY: Actor Mickey Rourke returned from his self-imposed wilderness with an Oscar-worthy performance in The Wrestler and then made noise about getting in the ring with Jericho. Now he's saying it's not going to happen. The old Mickey probably would've done it, which would've been a bad idea. (RL)
SPIN THIS: Digital music technology has brought us portability and a clean sound. But at what cost? YouTube user h6ksa1 (and others) reminds us of what's been lost in the transition from vinyl to CDs and MP3s, namely the retro-warmth of hissy pops, and scratchy sounds. h6ksa1 has a large collection of albums, which he spins on a standard record player in hypnotic clips from a wide-range of acts: Billy Thorpe, Steely Dan, Haircut One Hundred, Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin, Seals and Crofts, Rush, Supertramp, Jethro Tull, Slim Whitman, The Doors, C.W. McCall, and many others. h6ksa1 features chestnuts -- Blue Oyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) the Reaper" -- and forgotten gems -- Pink Floyd's "Fearless" -- all of which are given a second life from the first age of music recordings. (KB)
DVD PICK OF THE WEEK: Released in May, Speed Racer sputtered at the box office and crashed with critics. But the movie should be enjoyed for what it is, a glorious cartoon come to life about a hot-shot young racer, Speed (Emile Hirsch), his lovably odd family, and, of course, the ultra-fast, ultra-cool race car, the Mach Five, which is armed with enough gadgets to make James Bond envious. Speed Racer is available on DVD and Blu-ray. The Wachowski brothers (The Matrix trilogy), who wrote and directed the movie, apparently made this film for 10-year-old boys strung out on a three-day Mountain Dew binge. So, load up on Dew this weekend, buckle-up tight on the couch, and enjoy the ride. (KB)
VOLCANO ALERT: The Redoubt volcano outside Anchorage
is gonna blow!!! We'll be keeping our eye on it as Alsaskans stalk up on windshield wiper fluid. (RL)
MEET...THE BOSS: Thin Slices is reserving its opinion on the new Bruce Springsteen disc, "Working On a Dream" until we actually hear it (we're funny that way), but we're intrigued by the wildly divergent reivews it's getting. Rolling Stone. says it's worth five stars. Greg Kot at the Chicago Tribune. says it's a big-time let down. Meantime, Springsteen and the E Street Band are getting ready for the Super Bowl. (RL)
SPEAKING OF THE SUPER BOWL: Say all you want about the upcoming game between Pittsburgh and Arizona, we all know that most people watch the Super Bowl for the commercials. Check out
the 10 best ever. And here's one you won't see Sunday.. (RS)
"THRILLER" GOING BROADWAY: Michael Jackson, the artist formerly known as the King of Pop, may be bringing his song "Thriller" to Broadway. Zombies are dancing in the street at this news. (RL)
BONUS BABY: When doctors planned a Caesarean section for seven babies that a California woman was scheduled to deliver there were surprised to find an eighth child. Now the parents are going to have to completely redecorate their nursery. (RL)
HERE SHE IS: Yep, Miss America. Indiana's Katie Stam won the coveted pageant, helped along no doubt by the fact that the 22 year old has been competeing in beauty contests since she was 15. She had better behave herself, lest she end up on this list of Beauty Queens Gone Bad. (RL)
OMINOUS: We're not trying to scare you or anything, just making you aware of something out there that's spooky: an Internet worm that is attacking computers world-wide. Sounds like it's time to update the security programs and batten down the virual hatches. (RL)
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