Billy Eichner Has A New Show On Fuse TV

NYC comedian and on-the-street interviewer Billy Eichner has a new show coming to Fuse TV!   He's doing a game show where he asks folks on the street pop trivia questions for money.  But to win big in  the final round he asks a question about whether you share his taste in pop culture (i.e. "What's the best Christmas movie of all time?" You'll be surprised by the answer).

Anyway, I've posted a few of Billy's videos and spoofs here before and I just think his stuff is hysterical.  I'm so glad to see his uniquely crazy brand of humor will now have a regular outlet. The trailer for the show is below and I LOL'd more than once.  Make sure you watch til the end for some insight into Nicole Kidman's career.  Only in New York, kids...

Happy Halloween From Randy Rainbow & Beau Arthur

A rare double-posting for Halloween but this video was too good to wait until tomorrow.  Randy Rainbow is up to his old tricks again with accompaniment by Beau Arthur and special guest phone calls from Pat Robertson.  It's good scary fun!

"Party Rock Anthem" Rocks Halloween House In California

With five million hits and counting, this viral video has become a Halloween sensation over the last week.  A man in Riverside, CA who does up his house with a crazy lights/disco combo for major holidays picked LMFAO's song of the moment, "Party Rock Anthem" to do a Halloween themed light show.  It's so good that it's not only stopping traffic in front of his house but also driving traffic like crazy to YouTube.

What's also amazing is how unassuming the creator of all this is.  Kevin Judd, 39, who works as a technician for Verizon, said he didn't particularly like the song but his kids did, making him officially the coolest dad of the year.  It is a pretty impressive display for a guy who calls himself a "hobbyist".  And it's certainly rockin' the web  this Halloween.

What's In A Subway Sign? A New Font

In a break from their 45-year old master plan, the New York City subway system has introduced a new font to their signage.  At stations in and around the World Trade Center site, they have used Gotham instead of Helevetica to direct passengers to the entrance of the 9/11 Memorial.  The reason is that Gotham is the font of the memorial's trademarked design.

It is rather surprising change given how Helvetica has become a trademark of the system itself.  But the TIMES City Blog reports the MTA says this is actually just a temporary move.  The signs to the memorial are there because it currently has one controlled entrance (due to continuing construction at the site) and this is to guide thousands of visitors to that area in a clear, visually arresting way.

VHS Comes Back From The Dead....Literally

The '80s are proving to be the decade that won't die with all the revivals lately in terms of fashion, music and movies.  Now another totally unlikely return is upon us....yes, that's right, the VHS tape is back!  In the same way that vinyl has lived on in an era of CDs and MP, the clunky ol' videotape is having a revival of sorts, but only for a specific type of film....grade Z gorefests.

There was a fun article in the TIMES about this curiously revival, with the above-pictured cute boy as one of the true believers in analog technology.  Note the big, bold VHS tattoo on his bicep.  Now that is some serious low tech-love!  Apparently, when watching bad horror movies made in that decade, the terrible quality of VHS tapes only helps make the experience more enjoyable.  Huh?  Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction too. But then again, I'm not a fan of those trashy horror films, other than the DAWN OF THE DEAD series which is more brilliantly trashy.

Herman Cain's Smokin' New Campaign Ad

Yesterday morning, I saw a link to an ad for rising Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain on FB.  I clicked on it and it was so bizzare I thought it must be a hoax.  It only had about 300 hits too.  Today it has nearly 400,000.  The ad shows Cain's campaign manager, Mark Block, talking about Cain and the campaign somewhat haltingly and then smoking a cigarette at the end.  No, make that relishing a cigarette. Then there is a weird/creepy shot of Herman Cain turning towards the camera in extreme closeup.  

Well, believe it or not, the ad is real.  And many are calling it the worst political ad of all time.  You can listen to Herman Cain himself on a radio show explain the whole thing, though he seems somewhat surprised by it too.  But basically, his message is that he is going to be who he is and his campaign manager is going to be who he is....a guy who loves smoking on camera. Whether or not this is a saavy strategy to get people to vote for him, it is certainly getting his message out there.  And now, according to a new CBS poll,  Cain has taken the lead over Romney by 4 points.

Actor Luke Evans Comes Out, Goes Hollywood, and Then Goes Back In

A week after seeing two celebrities come out publicly, this story is just a little sad.  Actor Luke Evans, a Brit who got noticed doing theatre in London and then ended up in CLASH OF THE TITANS, had given some interviews a few years back where he talked openly about being gay. But now, with the release of the movies THREE MUSKETEERS, IMMORTALS and the upcoming mega-buster THE HOBBIT in which he stars, he is suddenly silent on the topic and seemingly straight.  

Media site Dot429 has the full details on the story and how his managers/agents are saying that admissions he made in earlier interviews were when he was young and immature.  The person who wrote this article claims that he knows, through mutual friends, that Evans would like to continue to be openly gay but the corporate media system has thrown his back in the closet.  They even revised his Wikipedia page to say that he "doesn't like to talk about his personal life." 

So while some actors like Zachary Quinto are brave enough to buck the system, for an up and comer like Evans, the more things change in H'wood the more they stay the same.

Documentary about Divine Needs Your Help

Earlier this year, I had a campaign on IndieGoGo to raise money for the off-Broadway debut of my play, WTC VIEW.  Now a fellow filmmaker I know has his own crowd-sourcing campaign going for a documentary about Divine, the fabulously filthy star of John Waters early films from the '70s and '80s, including most famously HAIRSPRAY. So it's time to pay it forward, as they say....

Today is the last day of Jeffrey Schwarz's IndieGoGo campaign for I AM DIVINE and he is still trying to reach his goal for this film.  So give what you can...$10 or $100 or more. There are some fun and trashy perks too.  (I got a copy of Jeffrey's William Castle doc!)  And Jeffrey has also put together a hilarious appeal video/trailer for the project as well which is (obviously) NSFW but is highly entertaining. Just like Divine!

&$@!*? That Siri Says...And Sings Too

In the last week, people have been having fun with Siri, Apple's new built-in digital personal assistant that comes with the new iPhone.  Though you can make appointments, phone calls and search the internet for all sorts of information, people of course like to ask Siri personal questions.  To some of these there is a built in response while to others, Siri seems to go a little blank.  There is now a Tumblr devoted to the "Shit Siri Says" where you can read what people have said (PEOPLE: "I Love You" SIRI: "All You Need Is Love. And Your iPhone"! ) and add your own too.

But asking Siri what she looks like is not enough for us humans either. We also have to sing it to her.  A talented young musician named Jonathan Mann has created a little duet with Siri.  How cute.  And very funny too....

Radioactive Wolves on PBS's NATURE

Whenever there's nothing to watch on TV, you can always count on something interesting on PBS.  Last night, I randomly clicked over to WNET-13 and found a fascinating show about how packs of wolves have not only survived but thrived in the radioactive no-man's land surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.  The explosion at the Soviet-run reactor in 1986 remains the worst nuclear accident, bypassing even the near meltdown in Japan earlier this year.  The disaster created a zone of intense radiation around the plant that also emptied nearby company-town Pripyat, turning it into a creepy industrial ghost town.

Though humans cannot live in this disaster areas, wild animals strangely enough do and have actually thrived there.  The documentary, presented as part of the NATURE series, is not only about the wolves but also about how herds of bison and wild horses (extinct in this part of Europe since the 1880s) now roam this desolate landscape.  The area has become something of a sanctuary for endangered species.  One of the oddest facts is the super-size catfish living in a former reactor cooling pond that are now more than 8 feet long.  They aren't that size though due to radioactivity.  It's because they just kept growing after 1986 when their immediate natural predators were killed off the by initial accident.  Catfish can live up to 100 years old, if not eaten by other animals.  So these fish as enjoying an unusually fat, chill, relaxed life in the shadow of a nuclear disaster.

The doc was filled with all sorts of bizarre facts like this, told in the typically dry and slow-pace that PBS still favors. In fact, I'd go so far to say PBS is a sanctuary of sorts compared to the insane pacing and utter lack of information on most commercial television.  So if you're looking for something unusual and informative, it will surely repeat again or you can watch some cool clips on the PBS website.