RIP, Hotmail, and Thanks for All the Spam

RIP, Hotmail, and Thanks for All the Spam



This awkward web service from Silicon Valley altered the world’s notion of fair exchange (and later on, what privacy we were willing to throw away). Most people didn’t know it at the time, but we had become the product.

Read More.

Free Comic Book Day: Here

are the 10 Titles You Need to Grab



Saturday, May 4th is Free Comic Book Day, the very special day each year when comic book shops around the world give away, well, comic books. There will be dozens of free books up for grabs at participating shops--find one near you here--and figuring out what to grab when you get there can actually be a bit overwhelming.

But don't panic. We're here to help.

Read More.

Iron Man 3 Director: Hollywood’s Hottest Screenwriter

Why Iron Man 3 Director Shane Black Was Once Hollywood’s Hottest Screenwriter



Though his scripts are practically soaked in ironic distance, Black knew when to snap to attention and surprise the reader (and the audience) with something authentic.

Read More.

Kickstart a documentary about Dr. Demento!

Kickstart a documentary about Dr. Demento!



A group of filmmakers is working to make a feature-length documentary about the good doctor, but has only about $60,000 raised with four days to go. Under The Smogberry Trees would provide a sanctioned look into the life, works, and massive record collection of Barry “Dr. Demento” Hansen.

Read More.

Bob’s Burgers became TV’s most enjoyable show

Bob’s Burgers became TV’s most enjoyable show by channeling early Simpsons



There are plenty of superficial similarities between Bob’s Burgers and The Simpsons, right down to the number of kids in both families, but what unites the two series at this point is tone. It may be tough to remember after the show hit such a peak by doing anything to get a laugh in seasons four and beyond, but The Simpsons started out as an often deeply realistic portrayal of a blue-collar family doing its best to get by in a world that seemed to have increasingly less room for it. At the time, the show prompted nattering from cultural commentators about how its realistic portrayal of the struggling American working class depicted a country falling headlong into a recession. (Not for nothing did the president suggest America needed more families like the Waltons and fewer like the Simpsons.)

Read More.