Activity from JHarris
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Mystery Science Theater 3000: WIZARDS OF THE LOST KINGDOM II
Re-rewatch! In contrast to the movie of the previous episode, which was quirky and had interesting characters, this movie is sometimes cited as one of the worst of Season 11. It's a meandering fantasy that reused footage from four other fantasy movies, into a plot that doesn't make much sense. Despite the title and an attempt to tie it in with the previous movie at the start, it really has nothing to do with the first Wizards of the Lost Kingdom except it also had Roger Corman as an executive producer. Previously and again.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Artificial Intelligence
James O'Keefe was removed from ethics-challenged right-wing ambush muckrakers Project Veritas over allegations of misusing donator funds. And Now: Mike Huckabee's Show Looks Like Fun. Main story: Artificial Intelligence, the dangers it poses and the ways that it falls short, for now at least, of its promise. On Youtube (28 minutes).
The Microsoft minefield that Minesweeper survived
Before Minesweeper became ubiquitous as one of the built-in games for several iterations of Windows, it had to survive a culture at Microsoft that was deeply anti-game, that looked down on the idea of computer games. An excerpt from a coming book from Boss Fight Books tells of how Microsoft got over themselves enough to produce the Microsoft Entertainment Pack, which ultimately led to Xbox, Halo, and more.
Going Meta
Cory Doctorow on people who defend fraudsters online, beginning with a side trip to Google's sponsored ads and how malign actors take advantage of them.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: WIZARDS OF THE LOST KINGDOM I
Re-rewatch! A wizard apprentice searches for warriors to help him retake the castle from Thom Christopher (he has a habit, he's trying to quit) and his minion Apelua. Ends up finding a walking pile of shag carpeting and Dadbod the Barbarian. Features a moonshining gnome and a cyclops in a wedding dress. One of the best episodes of Season 11!
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Psychedelic Assisted Therapy
Welcome back, John Oliver! This week... Fox News is being sued by Dominion Voting Systems for amplifying conspiracy theories involving them about Trump losing the election, revealing that privately, the people at Fox mocked Trump's lies. "Multiple Fox hosts seem to see telling the truth as a possible existential threat." The story after that was on the train derailment in East Palistine, Ohio and the burn from it, causing burning eyes and dead animals, despite not being termed a "high hazardous material train." And Now: Jim Cramer Will Not Shut Up About His Brioni Suits. Main story: Psychedelic drugs, like Psilocybin, LSD and MDMA, and their transformative use in therapy in treating conditions like depression and PTSD. The potential is vast, can we avoid stigma this time? And Now: A Retirement Tribute To NBC4 Washington's Beat Poet Pat Collins.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: YONGARY, MONSTER FROM THE DEEP
Consider the Lobster
Back in December 2021, tommasz linked us to
the story of Leon the Lobster, a grocery store lobster that Brady Brandwood started keeping as a pet. Leon is thriving, and Brady has a playlist of Leon's entire saga so far, as well as a best episodes list, although I think they're all good. Super relaxing video to enjoy on its own or as background for other things!
Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE LOVES OF HERCULES
Re-rewatch! Oh, more super-muscled hijinks with the mythological demi-man. Hercules' wife gets killed (again) and he hooks up with another woman within days (again). He just can't keep his spouse alive! It's wacky! Previously and again.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT
Re-rewatch! A German U-boat sings a passenger vessel, but rescues survivors. The strife between the two groups is set aside when they find a land peopled by prehistoric people and dinosaurs. Previously and again
Mystery Science Theater 3000: STARCRASH
Re-re-rewatch! (what, really?) Stella Star is a star rogue kind of lady, whose second-in-command and guy-pal Akton also seems to have weird space powers. Anyway, they're on the run from the Space Law, until the Emperor of the Universe wants them to track down his lost son amidst the "Haunted Stars." If this seems awfully random, trust me, it's only the beginning. By the end there's amazons with a giant lady robot with metal breasts, a Texan-speaking law robot, the evil Count Zarth Arn, and much much more. A legendary ridiculous movie, and prime fodder for Jonah and a pair of wisecracking robots. Previously, again, and one more time.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN
Re-rewatch! How many movie genres would be improved by a stop-motion dinosaur suddenly attacking in the third act? Film noir? Road movie? Heist? Serious drama? Period romance? Can you guess why I'm asking this question? Previously and again.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: AVALANCHE
Re-rewatch! A real estate developer's hubris results in the deaths of some of the guests to his new hotel. This one is seventies-tastic! Previously and again.
Kicking lit for a quarter of a century
In the 1998 Webby Awards (remember them?), the category of Print+Zine was won by Salon, but one nominee was a plucky little site called Literary Kicks.
It is now 2022, and while new posts are sometimes separated by months these days, Mark Eliot Stein's Literary Kicks is still kicking. And they have two podcasts! World Beyond War, and Lost Music, on literary opera.
MST Club New Years Eve
Usually each year, as a kind of follow up to all the CHRISTMAS MADNESS, we do a New Year's Eve thing. This year, we plan to do it mostly with shorts, with some countdowns and other minor things mixed in! Nothing long, just things like a half hour or less. We usually do a countdown for each US timezone! And, as also usual for us, it's in our video share room. We plan to start a few hours before midnight Eastern Time.
The Pac-Man Dossier is Back
The Pac-Man Dossier is an extremely detailed description of the game logic of arcade Pac-Man. It explains why, once in a while, monsters will harmlessly pass through Pac-Man. It explains why they won't go up through the tunnels above the monster box. It explains why occasionally, after losing a life, monsters will refuse to leave the box . It explains when and why Blinky becomes Cruise Elroy, and why sometimes Pinky gets confused and loses track of Pac-Man. It even explains, as far as the player can continue to play, what to do on the kill screen. It is awesome.
Zelda Day 2022: 841 facts you probably didn't know about Zelda games
Gamespot has an epic series of videos covering various bits of esoterica concerning The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Here's a playlist of all of them. Youtube channel Looygi Bros has a similar playlist covering Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask and Wind Waker. Added together, it totals 841 miscellaneous pieces of Zelda lore! By the time you've finished watching them all, it'll probably be Zelda Day 2023!
9th Annual MST Club Xmas Video Marathon
Going from the early morning on December 23rd (going by US Eastern time) and going to midnight December 25th and usually a bit beyond, three solid days of riffing, weird movies and Christmas specials! It all takes place in MST Club's video share room. See inside for details!
Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE TIME TRAVELERS
Re-rewatch! Continuing with the first streaming season, some scientists are trapped in the future because of Danny. Thanks, Danny. Previously and again.
It's a Decemberween Miracle!
Despite the death of Flash, through the holiday magic of Ruffle Homestar Runner has a new interactive feature, a Decemberween Advent-ish Calendar of sheet music of various H*R songs, along with the characters commenting on them and the odd animated grace note.
your in a bathroom looking in a mirror looking back? is a SKELETON!
You Are a Skeleton & That Is a Problem, a Gameboy homebrew game made by Nicky Flowers. There is a Good Ending, and there is a BEST ENDING!!!, and there are a whole lot of bad endings. It's short though! It was made for Bad Game Jam, and you might like these other entries.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: CRY WILDERNESS
Re-rewatch! One of the best episodes of the streaming era of the show, Cry Wilderness is an absolute classic and proved to many that MST3K was back. It's an incredibly strange film combined with brilliant riffing. Parents, please don't get your information on how to raise kids from this bizarre bigfoot movie, please. Bang! Previously and again.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: REPTILICUS
Re-rewatch! It's the beginning of the streaming era, and it's Denmark's turn to get attacked by those darn kaiju. Previously and again.
Food experiments from 1994 & 1998
Some gems of the Old Web (note, posts do not link to video):
June 1994: And, if you take a grape, cut it in half but leave the sides attached by a piece of skin, and then microwave it. Sparks!
August 1994: If you leave a pop-tart in a toaster too long, the results are... incendiary.
And from 1998: Marshmallow Peep research
June 1994: And, if you take a grape, cut it in half but leave the sides attached by a piece of skin, and then microwave it. Sparks!
August 1994: If you leave a pop-tart in a toaster too long, the results are... incendiary.
And from 1998: Marshmallow Peep research
The McCallister Clan is Riding a Shooting Star
A family moves their inn from the Earth to outer space in a failed 1979 TV pilot. Obviously inspired by a certain scene Star Wars, "Starstruck," on YouTube (27 minutes), starring Beeson Carroll, Lynne Lipton and Roy Brocksmith, may remind you of a certain holiday special from the year before.
Turkey Day in the MST Club room!
It is Thanksgiving Day, and as is our wanton wont, we are watching the official 2022 Turkey Day marathon (via their YouTube stream) of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes in the MST Club room all day long! It started at 7 AM and should be going for quite a while, they have a lot of episodes this year, and they've been "surgically enhanced," meaning they're uprezed and restored! Come join us for a while if that sounds fun!
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: The World Cup in Qatar
This week... Elon Musk has been running Twitter for three weeks now and it hasn't been going great. And Now: People On TV Have Some Thoughts On Thanksgiving Foods. Main story: the World Cup comes to Qatar, a nation with some serious problems. A million people are coming to a tiny nation that casually threatens journalists, a nation that will now simultaneously host a plethora of human rights abuses and the world's biggest soccer tournament. On Youtube (25 minutes). And Now: People On TV Interrogate The Important Question: Do You Say Pecan Or Pecan. Finally, this is the last episode of Last Week Tonight for the season, and so we return to AI image generation, along with a whole bunch of clowns on unicycles. "Why do unicycles exist?" Why, indeed.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: DIABOLIK
Re-rewatch! An amoral thief's goal in life seems to be to have sex around as many expensive things as possible with his girlfriend, while the world tries to catch him. Previously, and again. This is the last episode of the classic run of the show.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: The British Monarchy
This week.... the Democrats did unexpectedly well in midterms, perhaps helping to staunch the gaping chest wound the US has been suffering since 2016. Republicans seem to be turning against Trump (FINALLY) and towards Florida governor Ron Desantis (still pretty awful). And Now: Steve Kornacki Is Never Not At The Big Board. The main story involves the British Monarchy, "the best thing to happen to white actors since literally everything else." But these days, what really is the point of the monarchy? And while most British people support the institution, the monarchy has some serious baggage attached to it. On Youtube (28 minutes).
Mystery Science Theater 3000: SQUIRM
Rewatch! A power line goes down, supplies continual live current to a bunch of worms, and as a result they go nuts and eat people. Fixing the power line ends the situation. Who would have thought? Also has the short A Case of Spring Fever, featuring Coily the Spring Sprite, may his dark name be praised. Previously.
MST Club Election Day Show
Mystery Science Theater Club, that odd tiny little corner of MeFi that shows bad and weird movies Thursdays every week, is doing a day-long show on Tuesday for US Election Day, in our video share room. Most of what we'll be showing is riffed material this time, with the expectation that we'll need something cheerful. It is no excuse for not voting if you're in the US, but other than that come on by!
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Election Subversion
This week.... Heidi Klum dresses as a worm in an awesome costume. Lula defeats Bolsonaro (YAY). Elon Musk takes over Twitter, which knowledgable people describe as "a nightmare built on sticks that might fall apart at any time," and he just fired half of the employees. Main story: Election subversion, trying to change the outcome of elections after they take place, a tactic that looks like it is coming to the United States in a couple of days, due to misinformation spread by conservative media. On Youtube. (33 minutes) Ends with a nice clip of Nick Offerman.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Bail Reform
This (well last) week.... Liz Truss resigns as UK Prime Minister after 45 days, to be replaced by Rishi Sunak. And Now: Unnecessary Full Disclosure. Main story: Bail reform, and how important it is despite it being used by right-wing attack ads to try to damage progressive, and, you know, just plain non-evil candidates. On Youtube (27 minutes) This is LWT's second report on bail; here is the first. (18 minutes) And Now: Unnecessary Full Disclosure All Tamron Hall Edition.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: HORRORS OF SPIDER ISLAND
Rewatch! A plane crashes onto the titular island carrying a cargo consisting mostly of bikini girls. You can probably guess how the proceedings go from there. Previously.
This video isn't sponsored by anybody
Youtube creator GiantGrantGames gives the details of how Youtube assigns the ads on a video, why there are so many ads there now and only more coming in the future, and what you can do about it (hint: uBlock Origin), in a video titled YouTube Ads Are Getting Insane And I Hate It. It also reminds us that, in 2023, you won't be able to block ads in Chrome anymore.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: IT LIVES BY NIGHT
Rewatch! A guy is bitten by a bat and begins to turn into a creature with bat aspects. Batspects. We're nearly at the end of the classic series again, just three more episodes after this one. Previously.
YAD KCOL SPAC
OCTOBER 22 IS INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY!!! EVERY YEAR WE GET TOGETHER AND MAKE SALMON FOR TOAST, EVERY YEAR WE GET A CROCKETY BLOAT, EVERY YEAR WE GET DRUNK ON THE DOCKS, AND EVERY YEAR WE HAVE SEX WITH OUR CAPS LOCKS!!!!
Mystery Science Theater 3000: HAMLET
Rewatch! Hamlet (a prince)'s dad (so, the king) is killed by a guy who wants to marry his mom, so he pretends to be crazy to gather evidence of the murder. It's a German production of the famous play, with two of the voices being Ricardo Montalban and John Banner. It's cut down a lot for time and has sparse sets. This is a challenging one. Previously.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Transgender Rights II
This week.... Russia's forces, under the direction of General Sergey "Armageddon" Surovikin, strike back at Ukraine for destroying the Crimea Bridge by firing missiles at Ukrainian cities. And Now: More Electrifying Small Talk From San Antonio's "Daytime With Kimberly & Esteban." Main story: the struggle for transgender rights, and Republican efforts to use it to drive supporters to the polls, often using ridiculous exaggerations or outright lies to do so (as is their standard practice). On Youtube (27 minutes). Last Week Tonight is off next week.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: H.G. WELLS' THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
"Beyond the earth... beyond the moon... beyond your wildest imagination!" It's the future in space, and there's a plague, and important drugs are being brought from a distant planet, and Jack Palance is trying to take over the universe, and there's a teleporting robot, and some kids in one scene. I couldn't make heads or tails of this one folks. There's a plot synopsis on Wikipedia, read that. It's another movie that tried to cash in on Star Wars' gigantic success. It's not nearly as campy as Starcrash, but that makes it very bland as a film. Even with Jack Palance as the villain, he's simply not in enough scenes to make it memorable. Other than sharing some character names and being set in the future, this movie has almost nothing to do with H.G. Wells' novel. Premiered October 7, 2022, in the Gizmoplex.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: FINAL JUSTICE
Re-rewatch! Joe Don Baker plays a Texas policeman who brings his vaguely-legal brand of justice to Malta. Previously and again.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Crime Reporting
This week... protests by schoolgirls in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest for violating hijab rules. And Now: Christopher Columbus: Kind of a Cool Guy (according to Fox faces). Main story: how crime is covered by the media, which is frequently sensationalist and leaves people with a sense that crime is a much bigger problem than it is, and can stoke fears of false problems like "rainbow fentanyl." It's often compounded by an unquestioning stance regarding police statements. On Youtube (26 minutes) And Now, finally: Another Installment of Local News Beat Poetry From NBC4 Washington's Pat Collins.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: TRACK OF THE MOON BEAST
Rewatch! Yet another guy named Paul turns into a monster in this movie; it's the fourth such movie in MST's history! The others are The Crawling Hand, The Projected Man and Werewolf. Note that Cry Wilderness is not included, the Paul in that movie is just friends with a monster. Anyway, the episode is not on many best-of lists, but it's generally fondly remembered. Previously.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Antiquities in Museums
This week... Liz Truss faces a cost-of-living crisis in the UK and decides to solve it with trickle-down bullshit, and is roasted by British media after only one month in office. And Now: Shopping Networks Recognize Queen Elizabeth's Death The Only Way They Know How. Main story: Antiquities, artifacts of great cultural worth that are frequently stolen from their homelands in order to be displayed in museums, where they frequently remain indefinitely, one of those practices that people seem to think is okay mostly because it's done so often, and has been for so long. On Youtube (34 minutes)
MST Club Presents: "30" Nights of Horror
valkane had an idea: showing a horror movie in the MST Club room every night in October, AT 8 PM Eastern! We use that room for other things on Thursday and Sunday nights, but the other nights should work out! valk's doing this by the seats of his pant, and we're worried by sudden Youtube takedowns (where we're getting our films, we've been stung before), so we're not announcing movies ahead of time. Drop by if you want to!
Mystery Science Theater 3000: BOGGY CREEK II: AND THE LEGEND CONTINUES
Rewatch! Another Bigfoot search movie. Compared to Season 11's Cry Wilderness, this one makes more sense, but is also kind of disjointed. Beware the outhouse scene, which word is was much longer and more awful in the unedited cut. This is also the episode with Old Man Crenshaw. I feel bad about some things I've said about his appearance in the past, but the character is still written as a jerk, and the fact remains that his one-strap overalls, rubber-band-bound beard attire is not a flattering choice of costume. Previously.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Bolsonaro
This week... Biden declares the pandemic to be over, which it isn't. Florida governor Ron DeSantis flies migrants (from Texas, not Florida) to Martha's Vineyard at Florida taxpayer expense in a ridiculous stunt for the benefit of Fox News. Puerto Rico, hit by Hurricane Fiona, has power problems again, in large part due to the mismanagement of LUMA Energy. Puerto Rican rap artist Bad Bunny drew attention to the island's continuing electrical woes with a video that at first appears to be a music video, but then turns out to be a 22-minute documentary. And Now: The Queue to End All Queues (the one to pay respects to the deceased Queen of England). Main Story: A return to Jair Bolsonaro, the far right President of Brazil who is running for election. He seems likely to lose but may decide to refuse to leave office, following Trump's example and encouraging a riot. On Youtube (20 minutes). At the end, John Oliver wishes support for the people of Brazil, speaking Portuguese while swinging nunchaku around. There's a reason, kind of.
"Isn’t Star Trek: The Next Generation just a remake of The Smurfs?"
Stephen Lindholm's Smurf Research Center lists a treasury of Smurfy miscellanea. It has all the episodes of the show with plot synopses, speculates about the existence of gay Smurfs (with only one adult female, how could there not be?), and also records systematically whatever the hell it is that Gargamel wanted them for. The title of the post comes from their "magnum opus," The Exegesis of the Smurfs.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: BLOOD WATERS OF DR. Z
Rewatch! I thought this one had come up in the list of best-of episodes, but apparently not, so it's only this film's second time on MST Club. "Sargassum... WEED of DECEIT!" A deeply odd movie. Also called Zaat, the movie has a fansite that's still online. Come see a man declare his love for a fish. Previously.
Tories are only found in the most humididulous jungles of the Vorp
Nearly completely forgotten in this age is an early Rankin/Bass cartoon that aired on NBC in 1970, The Tomfoolery Show (WIKIPEDIA), which animated nonsense works from Edward Lear, Ogden Nash, and Lewis Carroll, as well as containing original silliness. Seventeen were made, but most seem to be lost. Four episodes are preserved on Youtube by video rarities collector Anthony Gonzalez: one, two, three, four. Here's a playlist I made with all four. Some highlights are inside. WARNING: contains puns, limericks, and things that don't fit into traditional systems of logic.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Law & Order
The President of Chile was undermined during a speech by a toddler on a bicycle in a Superman outfit. Queen Elizabeth died, and Liz Truss replaced Boris Johnson as the Prime Minister of the UK. And Now: Sean Hannity Does The Opposite Of An Ad For Walmart. Main story: Law & Order, not the concepts but the show, and how it's taken as a true depiction of how policing is done when it really shouldn't be. On Youtube (27 minutes).