A fun activity for these economically strapped times: Go to your local library, rifle through the shelves, and try to locate the most ridiculous book you can find! Or, if you prefer to save gas money -- or are currently wondering, "What are books?" -- just log onto Awful Library Books, an awesome blog that posts the worst reads available in local libraries. The blog, which was started by two Detroit-area librarians -- see TIME's article about the duo here -- is a little like a literary version of FailBlog, highlighting long-forgotten treasures like Bert Bacharach's Book For Men, Dee Snider's Teenage Survival Guide, and Guide to the Return of Halley's Comet (useful once every 75 years!).
While we would never condone illegal wagering, we would like to call your attention to an Irish online betting site we like to check out from time to time called Paddy Power. Why? Because in addition to the various sporting events folks can risk their paychecks on (rugby, cricket, soccer, even darts!), the good folks there also take what they call "novelty bets" on the world of entertainment.
For example, at Oscar time, the site handicaps all of the nominees. Unlike EW.com, however, Paddy Power will actually pay you if your hunch is correct and that obscure little Japanese foreign language film manages to walk away with a statuette. While most of the site's fiscal propositions tend to focus on British pop culture -- like, who will win their latest edition of Big Brother -- sometimes it sets its bookie gaze to our side of the pond and comes up with some pretty insane stuff.
Right now, you can wager on what the name of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's next baby will be. (For the record, "William" is the 8/1 favorite, with "Tatoo" coming in at 150/1.) Another hot topic is who will play Frank Sinatra in Martin Scorsese's recently announced biopic of Ol' Blue Eyes. Leonardo DiCaprio is the obvious frontrunner at 13/8, followed by George Clooney 9/4, Johnny Depp 11/4, and rounding out the bottom of the list, Joe Pesci at 150/1 -- a sucker's bet if ever there was one.
Finally, there's a pair of 007 bets. The first is an intriguing one: who will be the next Bond Girl? Leading the oddsmaker's book is Slumdog Millionaire's Freida Pinto at 15/8, followed by Jennifer Aniston at 4/1, Megan Fox at 6/1, and way down the list, Amy Winehouse at 250/1. The second is more surprising: Who will be the next James Bond? Will Smith apparently has the inside track at 4/1, trailed by Clive Owen and Christian Bale at 8/1, and get this, P. Diddy at 100/1.
Personally, I'd say save your money. But if I were Daniel Craig, I'd be watching my back.
Jun 3, 2009, 02:05 PM | by Annie Barrett
Categories: Art, British things, Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion, Guess Who!, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake, Ridiculata, Sexytimes, Site of the Day, Strange Bedfellows, Things That Make Me Die Inside
For worse (Marilyn Monroe as a present-day video skank, left) or better (Dawson's Creek-era Katie Holmes as Girl With a Pearl Earring, right), artists at Worth1000.com have undergone some treacherous Adventures in Photoshop to bring us Telegraph.co.uk's excellent Celebrity Time Travel photo gallery. This is like that time EW.com image-doctoring superstar Jef Castro put Gokey's face on a lean-sirloin dancer's bod. But classy! Definitely check this out.
SOME NOTES:
--Reese and J. Lo look great as polka-dot pinups and should work this look in 2009
--Simon Cowell as old-fashioned curmudgeon might actually be from 2009
--Tom Cruise must be the most important person in Britain's idea of Hollywood because he got two portraits
--Whatever you do, keep clicking until you hit Justin Timberlake the 12-year-old soldier
--Breaking! Eminem is hard at work on his new album
--Mandi has already made this her wallpaper. Tile that s---, girl.
Blinding white time travel-y light: in 3...2..1....boom.
You guys, the Internet is slowly but surely solving all our problems, one goofy, unprioritized issue at time. Today, we can cross off the dilemma of when to go to the bathroom during a movie: RunPee has user-submitted timelines of movie lulls to help you plan your brief exit. Helpful! Sort of! Not unhelpful, and vaguely entertaining, at least.
The site's focused on current releases -- makes sense, since "pause" is an option for older movies -- and the submissions I browsed through seemed pretty on-point. The site itself is a tiny bit buggy, but the concept makes me chuckle. (Thanks, Daily What.)
What minor entertainment-related issue has the poooooower of technology recently solved for you, PopWatchers?
Feeling apathetic? Is it another one of those days when nothing unusual happens? Well, it's time to embrace the pedestrian nature of your life on MyLifeIsAverage. If you've ever crossed the street when the signal was blinking red or restarted your computer
because it was running slowly -- congratulations, your life is officially average! Nodding toward the more R-rated FMyLife, this site's users post the mundane occurrences in their everyday lives. My personal favorites include: "Today, I tried to type an exclamation point but my finger didn't hit the shift key, so I typed a '1' instead. MLIA"; and "Today I was watching American Idol. I thought about phoning in a vote. I decided not to. MLIA."
So, PopWatchers, are you ready to waste some time and read about how you experience the same ordinary things that everyone else does?
My dreams of a Chewbacca dance party might finally be coming true! StarWars.com has unveiled an official soundboard. You can pick from a whiney Luke's "I don't even know what I'm doing here -- we're wasting our time!" (or 29 other choice Skywalker zingers, like "nooo!") but I'm partial to the Ewok portion of the site. "Yub yub" is a classic, or "no! grrrr!" Seriously, this is hours of fun. I am totally making my ringtone "Why you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy looking nerfherder."
But the soundboard is more than just listening to hilarious Chewbaccaisms ("awrggh!" and "ahhhgh!" sound different, you guys). You can also assembled said clips into a two-line song. If only there were an autotune option, my next album would basically be ready at this point.
In light of this week's phenomenal Gossip GIrl episode, and the fact that I still have to wait five days for the next one, I advise you to direct your attention to What Chuck Wore! If you haven't already stumbled upon this blog devoted to the ever-amusing wardrobe choices of Chuck Bass, you're welcome (and please beware of some tangy language). And if you have a spare moment, why not check out what Claudia wore? As in Claudia Kishi. As in The Baby-sitters Club. That's right. Gotta love the Internet.
When she heard the news that Natalie Portman was launching a website, one of my coworkers pretty much summed up my reaction with a single word: "NOOP?" But after checking out MakingOf.com, I'm happy to report that it has pretty much nothing in common with Gwyneth Paltrow's me-me-me Web portal (Note: my love for GOOP runs deep, but let's be honest; it's nuts).
Created by Portman and her friend, Silicon Valley vet Christine Aylward, MakingOf aims to provide behind-the-scenes access to filmmakers and film lovers alike through intensive interviews with people involved in every step of the moviemaking process, from the gaffers to the directors and stars.
"Anytime someone visits the set with me, they're always like, 'Wait a
minute. Who's that person? What are they doing?'" Portman told EW last
week after presenting the site at the TriBeCa Film Festival. "I feel
lucky getting to do what I do and live what I live. And to be able to
share that and extend it to people who don't have that access is really
exciting."
The site is still brand new, so it isn't exactly overflowing with content. But what it does have -- a chat with Ron Howard about Angels & Demons, a discussion with Whatever Works casting director Juliet Taylor -- is impressively in-depth. And unlike many star-centric sites, Portman's presence here is minimal, save for a company bio and an interview under the "Actors" heading.
Bottom line: MakingOf still has a long way to go if it wants to compete with major movie websites. But if Portman and Aylward make good on their promise to bulk up its resources, it could become our go-to site for straight-from-the-horse's-mouth film wisdom.
Okay, PopWatchers: Your turn. What do you think of MakingOf.com?
"Should I be worried about Swine Flu?" Your answer awaits...
This concludes today's PSA portion of PopWatch. Back to "reality"!
Ever wonder what happens to the Carrie Bradshaws of the world once they start breeding? Wonder no longer: The swells behind JuiceBoxJungle provide a funny-but-true peek at life among well-heeled urbanites with kids. The site is built around its series of well-produced how-to short films, which cover everything from dealing with an excessively permissive grandma (pictured) to sleeping family-style to anti-TV crusaders. I especially like the astute observations -- moms never trust dads to do anything right -- mixed in with useful advice. It's a huge relief to read anything about life with kids that isn't terminally ernest and sanctimonious. You go, girls.
