DEAD FAMOUS
Do you ever wonder how Tom Cruise has survived another film? You might think that he would have had the dignity to die at the end of The Last Samurai, but no. Yet he has kicked the bucket on celluloid. Cruise was shot dead in both Taps and Collateral, and committed suicide (albeit off-screen) in Vanilla Sky. We know this thanks to the mighty efforts of Cinemorgue. This website collates every major actor and actress’s on-screen deaths, and it makes for fascinating reading. For example, for John Wayne fans out there, how many of the nine movies featuring the Duke’s demise can you name?
www.cinemorgue.com
MAKING TRACKS
It could be said that music fans have never had it better, what with downloading, custom radio stations and the grand sense of community to be found on the internet. Therefore Nick Hornby’s head might explode should he ever visit the Art of the Mix. It appears that the ritual of making a mixed tape for friends or like-minded music fans has not died, it has just moved here. The site does not host music files, but simply lists the best tracks for great compilations. As ever, the tracklistings make for an interesting peek into other people’s tastes and, perhaps, even their minds. www.artofthemix.org
DEVIL IN THE CLASSROOM
You might think showing opera to a group of schoolkids would be an edifying experience. However, The Denver Post has reported the terrible consequences of playing a 12-minute clip from Charles Gounod’s Faust to 260 six to nine-year-olds. The showing of a 33-year-old music series named Who is Afraid of Opera, by the teacher Tresa Waggoner “set off a firestorm of controversy” at Bennett elementary school that has led to parents’ calls for her to be sacked. Casey Goodwin, whose nine-year-old daughter saw it, called it a “satanic video”, which glorified the Devil. However, one mother disagreed. Linda Miller said: “I don’t think it should have been blown out of all proportion like that.” Ms Waggoner is currently on administrative leave.
www.denverpost.com
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BLOG OF THE WEEK
We may not like the majority of what constitutes television today, but good writing about all kinds of TV, whether terrific or terrible, allied with the latest news and links is always a godsend. TV Scoop is a case in point. Thankfully British, but not confined to the UK, it has in recent weeks brought us the tragic rumour that Channel 4 is planning to kill Peep Show, and the link to the online petition to save it. It also features fashion analysis of the stripy Versace dress worn by Sandra Oh, the star of Grey’s Anatomy, at the Screen Actors Guild awards; and says that Kevin Whately playing Lewis had “all the charm and charisma of wet toast”. The Quote of the Day feature is often edgy.
www.tvscoop.tv
PODCAST OF THE WEEK
Taking the light approach to its subject, Art a GoGo proves that art fans love to talk about the stuff that inspires them, but it also does a good job covering events in the global art world. It has done “soundseeing” art tours of Scotland and London, and constantly promotes other noteworthy podcasts and occasionally music from the likes of the Candy Butchers. Interviews include one with the British performance artist Mark McGowan that asks why he tried to set the world hamburger eating record and rolled a peanut with his nose for 11 days.
www.artagogo.com/blog