“He caught our tone exactly, and then added his own Ricky Gervais/David Brent patheticness.” By way of Plasticbag, The Office and Extras mastermind Ricky Gervais has written and will star in a forthcoming Simpsons episode, and Matt Groening wants more. “[Gervais] moves into The Simpson household with Marge as the family take part in an episode of Wife Swap, while Homer moves in with his wife.”
Month: January 2006
Encomiums.
A very happy 5th blogday to one of Sydney’s finest blogs, Kris at Web-Goddess (In case you haven’t been reading her, she’s compiled a very thorough set of Year 5 stats.) Also, a belated sixth blogday to Boycaught of Caught in Between, who, like this site, also got into the blog-game in late ’99. Here’s to many more! Update: And, in other excellent blog news, Raza at HighIndustrial is back for the ’06…booyah.
Oceans Away.
For fans of heist flicks and celebrities behaving badly, word is a Soderbergh-directed Ocean’s 13 may be in the works for later this year. I preferred 12 to 11, and would be up for another outing if it continues in the goofy, self-referential vein of the last one.
You remind me of the power.
Who do? You do. The eerie new teaser for Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, a sequel of sorts to Cronos and The Devil’s Backbone, is now online. (Click through the ad.)
Folding Operations.
“In the short run, members of Congress will get allergic to lobbyists.” As Casino Jack enters a second plea and the fatcats of K St. begin to panic, many top GOP officials burn their Abramoff cash (and for good reason), including Ney, DeLay, Hastert, Blunt, and Dubya. “Abramoff raised at least $100,000 for the Bush-Cheney ’04 re-election campaign, earning the honorary title ‘pioneer’ from the campaign. But the campaign is giving up only $6,000 that came directly from Abramoff, his wife and one of the Indian tribes that he worked to win influence for in Washington.” Update: According to the NYT, the Abramoff plea may have put the dagger to Boss DeLay’s comeback hopes.
Casino Jack-pot.
Happy 2006, y’all. Today’s a travel day for me (from San Diego back to Norfolk), so updates will be sparse. That being said, amid the grim news in West Virginia, I’d be remiss if I didn’t post this glint of light for the new year: As rumored, the Feds have flipped Jack Abramoff, meaning trouble ahead for the DeLay-driven GOP corruption machine. While the inquiry into Boss DeLay, who just picked up a Dem opponent in the 2006 midterms, “could take up to a year and require the cooperation of other witnesses before issues are resolved,” it seems prosecutors will move more quickly against DeLay deputy and GOP official Bob Ney, who corresponds to a “Representative #1” referred to in the plea agreement. Let’s get this show started!