Count Down to Doctor-Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
Just in case any of you needed reminding, we are just hours away from the debut of Act 1 of Joss Whedon’s episodic Internet musical, “Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.” Throngs of Whedon fanboys (and girls) are undoubtedly overcome with the vapors tonight as they maintain caffeine-fueled vigils in front of their monitors, awaiting the premiere at 3:00 am on the east coast, midnight on the west.
Co-written by Joss Whedon, his brothers Zack and Jed, and Jed’s fiancée Maurissa Tancharoen, “Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” was born of the WGA strike and created with a budget in the low six figures. It features Neil Patrick Harris as a nerd with villainous aspirations and his very own vlog, Nathan Fillion, the hero to NPH’s villain, and Felicia Day as the love interest.
An E! Online review called “Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” reminiscent of “Once More, With Feeling” (aka the Buffy musical.) That plus NPH is good enough for me.
Act 2 of Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog will debut on Thursday, July 17th at 12:00 am PST, and Act 3 will premiere at 12:00 am PST on Saturday, July 19th. Check the official fan site to find the launch time in your time zone. The three episodes will be available online until midnight on July 20th. While you’re waiting, enjoy the trailer:
The Nouveau Noir Dancing of Tempest
Tempest is a performance artist who describes her dances as “Nouveau Noir” though there is clearly a neo-Victorian influence as well as shades of Old Hollywood. No matter how one would describe her work, we can all agree it is a delightful distraction from the bump and grind jail bait videos that pervade YouTube. Here’s a video of her performance at Gothla in England:
Here’s another live performance from a belly dance festival in Pennsylvania:
She has a website for you to visit complete with gallery so I won’t keep you. Click the pic to visit her home on the web.
Vincent Price Curls Up with a Good Book
This 1985 commercial for Time Life Books features a very in character Vincent Price shilling as only he can. I remember when Time Life used to put out cool occult themed mini-encyclopedia sets, those were good times.
It’s a different world now, but this commercial reminds me of when I was a young man who had two loves, blasphemous knowledge and campy horror icons:
I found this at The Abattoir, which is the official blog of Rue Morgue magazine. They have a coffin full of Price commercials for various products sure to bring a smile to the face of every fan.
Raquel Welch and a Giant Prehistoric Spider
Raquel Welch, decked out in a skimpy sequined prehistoric cave-chick getup, shares the stage with a googly-eyed, oversized spider monster in this disco song and dance number from a 1977 episode of The Muppet Show.
The song is Baby It’s Me which was recorded by Diana Ross that same year.
Oh, and here’s some Muppet trivia for you. The spider is one of the full-bodied muppet costumes, meaning there’s a person pulling the proverbial strings from inside the costume, rather than puppeteers animating the character externally. In this sketch with Raquel Welch, the giant arachnid moves so rhythmically and gracefully because the costume conceals Graham Fletcher, a former dancer with the Royal Ballet.
Penn Jillette Lost to Zombies; Teller Survives
The zombie apocalypse has claimed Penn Jillette and most others in Vegas. But Teller, the normally silent half of the magic/comedy team of Penn & Teller, has survived to tell the tale. Here’s Teller’s morose film short, aptly titled & Teller:
via Abattoir - Rue Morgue’s Blog
Impending Doom
photo credit: Ariel Bariel Long via Dark Roasted Blend
Ah, the delicious schadenfreude of watching anthropomorphic eggs about to meet their demise.
Would it be too perverse to mention the best scrambled eggs on the planet in the same post as that photo?