talk about viral marketing, there’s been an incredible amount of it surrounding the upcoming release of the new batman movie the dark knight… (for a pretty good roundup of the latest efforts, click here)… and so we delve into the same realm for our new timewaster… a deceptively addictive game that will transport you back to the carnivals of old… assuming that your memories of carnivals include killer clowns and man-sized bats..

today let’s peek in on the superfriends and see what they’ve been up to lately…

oh, and for those who were wondering this week’s moose droppings WILL be posted later this weekend
… along with a new timewaster…

i’ll be honest, i’ve had the feeling for awhile lately that steven has not exactly been on top of his game lately.. ever since the writer’s strike it’s seemed that he’s been… i dunno, just a little off… but at the same time, when something like this is dropped in his lap, how can he help but make something great of it…

and there, in the nighttime sky, were the words writ that would change my life…

stan winston, special effects master has passed away at age 62

and going to the movies just got to be a little less fun…

dunno why, but i’m in the mood for a little jeff lynne today, so why don’t we start by going back to the elo days with turn to stone…

then it’s up to the eighties (and i mean ya seriously don’t get much more eighties than this) with elo’s team-up with then super-hot olivia newton john for the movie xanadu…

and finally, to the nineties and a very different team up - jeff lynne, geaorge harrison, roy orbison, tom petty, and bob dylan, otherwise known as the travelling wilburys…

let’s take a look at what other people have been writing and thinking about lately, shall we?…

item! let’s start over at the atlantic, where nichloas carr takes a look at how the internet is beginning to shape not only what we are thinking, but how we are thinking…

For me, as for others, the Net is becoming a universal medium, the conduit for most of the information that flows through my eyes and ears and into my mind. The advantages of having immediate access to such an incredibly rich store of information are many, and they’ve been widely described and duly applauded…But that boon comes at a price. As the media theorist Marshall McLuhan pointed out in the 1960s, media are not just passive channels of information. They supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski…

Maybe I’m just a worrywart. Just as there’s a tendency to glorify technological progress, there’s a countertendency to expect the worst of every new tool or machine. In Plato’s Phaedrus, Socrates bemoaned the development of writing. He feared that, as people came to rely on the written word as a substitute for the knowledge they used to carry inside their heads, they would, in the words of one of the dialogue’s characters, “cease to exercise their memory and become forgetful.” And because they would be able to “receive a quantity of information without proper instruction,” they would “be thought very knowledgeable when they are for the most part quite ignorant.” They would be “filled with the conceit of wisdom instead of real wisdom.” Socrates wasn’t wrong—the new technology did often have the effects he feared—but he was shortsighted. He couldn’t foresee the many ways that writing and reading would serve to spread information, spur fresh ideas, and expand human knowledge (if not wisdom).

item! meanwhile, at sfgate, mark morford says a special thank you to pres. w. noting “without your dark and spectacular failures,we wouldn’t be so ready to leap forward.”

I’m here to suggest that maybe it’s time we offered up some sort of warped, tentative thanks to George W. Bush, for all the appalling trauma he hath wreaked upon us. Maybe he is, in a slightly nauseating way, the best thing that ever happened to us. You think?

Maybe he’s exactly what we needed. Maybe Bush’s brand of frighteningly inept politicking has been just the right kind of sociocultural emetic to induce a true purge of our congested system, just the thing to finally snap us out of our lethargy. Hell, sometimes you gotta go deep into the darkness to realize just how much you need the light.

So thank you, George, for exemplifying and embodying everything that’s wrong with the neocon agenda, for serving as the final death knell of the failed conservative movement, of a once-noble Republican Party that’s run out of ideas and has turned bitter and nasty and paranoid.

item! this article from rationallyspeaking.org is a little old, but it does echo many of my own thoughts about the perils ahead for the democrats come november…

No, these won’t be the reasons the Dems are likely (though by no means certain) to lose the race for the White House this year. The reason isn’t even the well-known Republican penchant for sleazy tactics (swiftboating and such) or downright electoral fraud (Ohio 2004). Nope, the reason became clearer the other day, with the West Virginia primary: a sizable enough portion of Americans are simply stupid and bigoted.

I know, to insult someone isn’t going to make them change their mind. But from time to time one has to call them as one sees them. Besides, I doubt many West Virginians are reading this blog anyway. Of course, stupidity and bigotry are not (entirely) the result of genetic inbreeding: more likely they both stem from lack of a suitable cultural milieu and a well-rounded education, which goes a long way toward explaining why Republicans have always mounted vicious attacks against public education and in favor of “parents’ choice” (i.e., religious schooling).

item! another bite on the same topic comes from wonkette (and unfortunately hits a bit closer to home…)

One of the funniest, tragic outcomes of Obama’s takeover of the Democrats is how certain factions of the party — white, rural “yellow dogs” or “blue reds” or “purple assholes,” depending on the current lexicon — cannot, at all, give support to Obama, for fear of losing support in their red-leaning districts. This comprises 10-25 Democratic members of Congress and virtually all Southern branches of the party. Now, silence is one thing. But when they start literally calling him a terrorist — as some Democratic leaders in Tennessee are doing — to distance themselves, then that might be a modest form of overkill.

item! green mountain daily takes a look at the recent supreme court ruling on habeas corpus in relation to gitmo and finds both good and bad news…

The Court reached the only defensible position available to it. This case was, literally, a constitutional no-brainer, which is a big part of the problem. A razor thin majority willing to affirm fundamental aspects of the Constitution in the waning days of the Bush administration is a good thing - sure. However, the context of the ruling is more evidence of . . . the bad news . . .

Now the BAD NEWS — We’re Really Screwed, America, Face It.

It took the United States Supreme Court 134 pages to explain that a basic, fundamental protection against government tyranny cannot be whimsically cast aside by a lawless President, a timid Congress and an uncritical nation.

last item! finally, new york magazine presents john heilemann’s take on what hillary may have actually won by losing the democratic primary…

What strikes me as inarguable is that Hillary is today a more resonant, consequential, and potent figure than she has ever been before. No longer merely a political persona, she has been elevated to a rarefied plane in our cultural consciousness. With her back against the wall, she both found her groove and let loose her raging id, turning herself into a character at once awful and wonderful, confounding and inspiring—thus enlarging herself to the point where she became iconic. She is bigger now than any woman in the country. Certainly, she is bigger than her husband. And although in the end she may wind up being dwarfed by Obama, for the moment she is something he is not: fully, poignantly human.

the store may have moved to bellevue and the ambiance may have changed, but the memories and the sign remains on charlotte…

ah, the late sixties… everyone wanted to be a rock star… and nowhere was this more evident than on saturday morning where it seemed everyone was trying to get in on the act…

from the jetsons…

to josie and the pussycats…

even fred and barney’s kids were trying to get famous…

but no group had more success than the archies, whose bubble gum pop hit “sugar sugar” spent four weeks at the top of the billboard hot 100 and was the number one single of 1969…

yeah, it’s been awhile… life happens… nonetheless here we are today so be glad for that, right? and yeah, we may be messin’ with the format a bit, but hey… anyway, off we go…

item! ok, honestly, we’ve been more than a little lukewarm on the new hulk movie… though we didn’t hate the first one as much as some, still, the previews we’ve seen for this year’s iteration have done little to dispel that “been there, done that” feeling that it’s going to wind up another over-cgi’d mess… which, after the huge success of iron man and the obvious attempt that marvel is making to build their movie franchises into the same kind of “universe” that is the strength of their comics, really is the last thing they need… the hulk being a bust could be a real momentum killer… then along comes this particular tv spot (see below) which, while suprisingly giving away what was supposed to be an end-of-the-film easter egg for the faithful, at the same time shows that marvel realises the precarious position they’re in with this one and is pulling out all the stops to get butts in seats…

of course, it’d be even sweeter if the supposedly shot captain america cameo had been left in, but that may be made up for by stan lee’s supposedly expanded cameo…

item! while we’re on the topic of movies and tv we’re looking forward to, of course we can’t help but mention the new x-files movie due out next month… can all involved recreate the old magic, or is this a show whose time has passed? well, from the looks of the new trailer, (again, see below) we may be in for a treat… (hey, what can we say, everyone here at moose central are huge billy connolly fans, so seeing him have such a prominent role definitely is a positive…)

item! and looking forward to the fall, really the only new show that’s caught our attention so far is fringe coming in september from fox… we quote:

Coming to FOX in fall of 2008 is Fringe from executive producer J.J. Abrams. Described by one Fox executive as The X-Files meets Lost, this series features an FBI agent investigating mysterious and unexplainable incidents. However, the best way to describe this new series (which will air at 9pm Tuesdays) is in FOX’s own words…

“From J.J. Abrams (”Lost”), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the team behind “Star Trek,” “Mission: Impossible III” and “Alias,” comes a new drama that will thrill, terrify and explore the blurring line between science fiction and reality.

When an international flight lands at Boston’s Logan Airport and the passengers and crew have all died grisly deaths, FBI Special Agent OLIVIA DUNHAM (newcomer Anna Torv) is called in to investigate. After her partner, Special Agent JOHN SCOTT (Mark Valley, “Boston Legal”), is nearly killed during the investigation, a desperate Olivia searches frantically for someone to help, leading her to DR. WALTER BISHOP (John Noble, “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King”), our generation’s Einstein. There’s only one catch: he’s been institutionalized for the last 20 years, and the only way to question him requires pulling his estranged son PETER (Joshua Jackson, “Dawson’s Creek”) in to help.

When Olivia’s investigation leads her to manipulative corporate executive NINA SHARP (Blair Brown, “Altered States”), our unlikely trio along with fellow FBI Agents PHILLIP BROYLES (Lance Reddick, “The Wire”), CHARLIE FRANCIS (Kirk Acevedo, “Oz”) and ASTRID FARNSWORTH (Jasika Nicole, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”) will discover that what happened on Flight 627 is only a small piece of a larger, more shocking truth. ”

FOX is going all out in supporting this program including having a number of cows situated outside of the presentation (picture attached) in a nod to a fact raised in the series that “genetically, humans and cows are separated by only a couple lines of DNA.” They were also distributing copies of the New York Post with a promotional Fringe wraparound cover.

Fringe will also be the first program in a new FOX initiative called Remote Free TV where the commercial load and number of promotional minutes will be half what is found in a typical program. Additionally, the commercial breaks will be shorter. Fringe will also be joining a number of other FOX shows (including Bones and Prison Break) in premiering prior to the traditional season during the week of August 25th.

whaddaya think? want a preview? ok:

of course, this being fox, it’s likely to be canceled after 4 episodes no matter what the ratings are like…

item! on the political front, for the third time now, the supreme court yesterday told pres. w. that he’s not as all-powerful as he’d like to be, basically restoring the habeas corpus rights to those being held in gitmo… in the 5-4 opinion, justice kennedy wrote “The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times.” … fotunately, those extraordinary times are set to expire next january… now if we can only trust mccain to stand by his approbation of dictatorship by pen fiat… (unfortunately, obama (and for that matter hillary) has not ruled out that particular practice, instead sounding quite a bit like someone from the current administration: “No one doubts that it is appropriate to use signing statements to protect a president’s constitutional prerogatives.” ummm… senator, i’m not sure that’s “change i can believe in”… as a matter of fact, i’m not even sure that it’s change…

item! speaking of following in his predecessor’s footsteps, (seriously, i’m starting to get a little confused here as to who is in which party and who’s supposed to be zooming who… one reason we just had to step away for a little while…) while calling pres w.’s fiscal policies “the most irresponsible in history“, guess who’s at the same time proposing sending out another round of “stimulus” tax rebate checks? we’ll give ya a hint… it ain’t the geezer republican…

item! meanwhile, john mccain continues to spout the usual democratic lines (and at the same time show just exactly how little he understands about how economics really works) about speculators ruining the stock market and the obscene profits the oil companies are making… quoth the senator:

I believe there needs to be a thorough and complete investigation of speculators to find out whether speculation has been going on and, if so, how much it has affected the price of a barrel of oil… There’s a lot of things out there that need a lot more transparency and, consequently, oversight.

I am very angry, frankly, at the oil companies not only because of the obscene profits they’ve made but at their failure to invest in alternate energy to help us eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. They’re making huge profits and that happens, but not to say, ‘We’re in this so we can over time eliminate America’s dependence on foreign oil,’ I think is an abrogation of their responsibilities as citizens.

item! all of this as mccain continues to rally the troops behind him… go base!

item! hey, how about a little musical interlude? ok, here’s a song from hayes carll we think you’ll enjoy…

item! well, it appears that though cleanliness may be next to godliness, your shower curtain may be next to deadliness…

item! ok, now this study has aroused (ahem) quite a bit of discussion here at moose central … in some ways, the results are not that surprising… “Bikinis and other sexy stimuli can make men more prone to seek immediate gratification — leading to blown diets, budgets and bank accounts, new research suggests.” but in other ways… “The researchers conclude that there is one common appetite system in the brain monitoring our desire for a host of pleasures from sweets to pretty faces, alcohol to lotto winnings. When it is stimulated by, say, a sexy picture or the smell of baked goods, we experience a general craving for anything pleasant. ‘Basically, you just want to be rewarded,’… hmmm… also interesting was this observation: ” It wasn’t that the men were simply distracted by their sexual arousal, which caused them to choose more impulsively. On the contrary, they exhibited improved cognition and creativity after exposure to sexy stimuli.” now we know what to do right before that big exam, right? of course, the way the study was conducted -”men alternately fondled t-shirts and bras (which were not being worn during the test)” really led us to two major questions: 1) how would the results have been affected if they were being worn, and 2) where do we go to sign up for this kind of study?…

item! let’s see… 16,500 condoms divided by 125 staff members equals… when do these people have time to do any research? or maybe we should ask what exactly it is they’re researching?

item! we certainly have to thank dennis kucinich for introducing new articles of impeachment against pres. w. earlier this week… not because they have any chance in hell of going anywhere, but because it gives yet another reason to run another picture of his way hotter than he deserves wife…

item! for those who might have forgotten there was still another contender in the presidential race, ron paul has officially ended his run for the white house…

item! from the “know what you’re all about” department, the texas gop has been working on their platform… among other things, it advocates:

prayer in school, getting out of the United Nations, teaching intelligent design with evolution in science classes, repealing of the minimum wage, declaring illegal immigrants criminals and outlawing abortion with no exceptions.

The platform calls homosexuality contrary to “the unchanging truths” ordained by God. It opposes gay marriage, civil unions and the custody of children by gays.

The party’s own leaders aren’t spared. There’s a call to repeal the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, sponsored by the party’s presidential nominee, and to oppose the Trans-Texas Corridor, the brainchild of Gov. Rick Perry.

oh, and as far as the war goes?

“There is no substitute for victory!” the platform says in supporting the Bush administration’s war on “radical Islamist terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries around the world.”

last item! finally… we always suspected something like this was going on, but we weren’t sure until now:

In a ruling made public on Tuesday, Judge Peter C. Dorsey of the United States District Court in New Haven agreed that the plaintiff, Robert Jordan, was denied an opportunity to interview for a police job because of his high test scores. But he said that that did not mean Mr. Jordan was a victim of discrimination.

Judge Dorsey ruled that Mr. Jordan was not denied equal protection because the city of New London applied the same standard to everyone: anyone who scored too high was rejected.

what more need we say?

moose out…