Yes, I like sci-fi.

The San Diego Comic Con is underway. For those who do not know what the San Diego Comic Con is, its is an annual pop cultural event, a conference, convention, festival, fan performance art celebration. It is for fans who love comics, sci- fi movies and Tv shows, who love gadgets, gismos, and cool computer games. It is for the geek in us to speak -- speak? To scream with joy!

More than 120,000 strong are gathered. As usual, G4 (TV cable channel) will be covering Comic-Con extensively.

Featured on opening day at Comic Con was no other than he who is the rock star, he who is a legend, an American icon, he who is the godfather of the comic world, the creator of so many Marvel comics' fictional super heroes, he who is a real life hero, he who is a big draw at the 41st annual Comic-Con in San Diego -- Stan Lee. See the video.

The last comb that combed Elvis' hair

Auctioning in Chicago, Elvis' cold dead bones -- no, but as close as you can get to Elvis' remains.

On August 12th, a few days before the 33rd anniversary of Elvis' Presley's death, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will hold a public auction.

The AP reports, "Instruments used in Elvis Presley's autopsy and embalming are going up for auction in Chicago, including the "John Doe" toe tag used after the original was stolen amid the chaos at the hospital following his death. All of the items used in the autopsy and funeral preparations will be available, from rubber gloves and forceps to a comb and eye liner. Even the coffin invoice and the hanger used to hold Presley's burial suit will be sold. The items were saved by the senior embalmer at the Memphis Funeral Home, which prepared the singer's body."

Doesn't it sound ghoulish?

Well, I suspect there will be public interest. There are some people who want their piece of Elvis, even if it's the last comb that combed his hair.

Let's Get Serious: Ground Zero Mosque, Lohan in Jail and McMillen's Victory

I joke around on this site a lot. I poke fun at celebrities when they're being stupid (which accounts for roughly 8 hours average of each day) and I ask you readers to join me as I point and laugh at our society's most ridiculous people. That doesn't mean I don't take certain topics seriously. There are a few things in the news today that deserve a little extra attention on the respectable side of the equation.

Ground Zero Mosque

Terrorists can't beat smart people. They can kill them, scare them and inconvenience them on a grand scale, but they can't actually get what they want out of people who have intelligence and common decency. That's why it's only complete idiots who are up in a tizzy about the Muslim community center currently in the works for a location two blocks north of where the World Trade Center used to be. Complete idiots like advertising asshole Scott Wheeler, the man behind a blatantly discriminatory ad that opposes the building of the community center, which will include a mosque. Wheeler and other right-wing extremists are textbook cases of people who are easily swayed by terrorist tactics. Just like American Muslims have a responsibility to educate others about what they actually believe (which is exactly what the new community center will do), American non-Muslims have a responsibility to reject the kind of poisonous ignorance promoted by Scott Wheeler and his ilk.

 

Constance McMillen Wins

Several months ago, a high school in Mississippi went to great, even absurd lengths to stop a lesbian student named Constance McMillen and her girlfriend from attending prom together. As of today, that school is now $35,000 poorer thanks to a successful case by McMillen and the ACLU. Considering how ridiculous the school was in its attempts to keep the prom straight, that price tag seems pretty lenient. Instead of just, say, barring McMillen from the prom with threats like suspension, the school created an elaborate hoax to fool her into not pursuing a lawsuit. The school actually created a fake prom, a freaking decoy designed specifically for Constance McMillen and her girlfriend while a real prom was in progress for all the straight kids at another location. If that isn't the perfect demonstration of the irrationality of homophobia, I don't know what is. Congratulations, Constance. Use that money to go to college in a state that doesn't suck.

 

Lindsay Lohan May Get Some Rest Now

The most surprising and, frankly, refreshing part of actress Lindsay Lohan's recent legal troubles is that her judge had the decency to limit the media exposure Lohan got during her transition from civilian life to her short prison sentence. Judge Marsha Revel ordered all cameras off while Lohan was handcuffed and taken into state custody. The judge also made sure that LiLo will actually be spending some time in jail rather than the work release and house arrest programs usually afforded to celebrities. I still have faith that Lindsay Lohan can be a worthwhile entertainer, which is why I hope this low point pushes her to get clean, start working on the issues that made her an addict in the first place and come out the other side a stronger person.

Lindsay Lohan Goes To Jail

Lindsay Lohan got a big send off befitting a Hollywood princess this morning, Tuesday, to begin her 90-day jail sentence for violating probation in a DUI case. She arrived at the Beverly Hills courthouse in a motorcade, was welcomed by cameras, photographers , reporters, and more cameras, and by fans, one of whom, according to People.com, "threw confetti toward her as she walked up the steps. One fan held a sign reading, 'Free Lindsay.' " The only thing missing was a big marching band. Anyone who thinks Ms. Lohan's career is over had better think again. Unless she continues to do things to harm herself, she could go to the next level, a bigger level. But, first the 24 year old actress has to do her time in lock down, and complete parole, which is scheduled to run until August, 2011.

People reports that, "Despite the three-month sentence, legal experts say Lohan will probably serve between two weeks to a month due to the Sheriff's Department's long-standing policy of releasing nonviolent offenders early due to overcrowding."

And yes, Ms. Lohan brought all of this on herself. But when you are young, and think you are going to live forever and nobody can touch you, so ...

Anyway, her career is one hold and her director is waiting. Waiting for her to reboot her life.

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Justin Bieber Is Buzzing Hot

Justin Bieber is still hot and getting hotter. Hotter than Lady Gaga, who is very hot? You Tube reports that "Baby" tops "Bad Romance," that the Justin Bieber has beat out Lady Gaga.

Mr Bieber music video, "Baby," with more than 246 million views, is the most-watched video ever on YouTube. It has scooted passed Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance," is more that than 600,000 views. ahead.

According to the Associated Press, Justin Bieber tweeted a thank you to "Beliebers" and said the video's success was "crazy." The singer wrote: "I started on youtube so ... WOW!"

Lady Gaga's fans may have more to say about this. The AP reports, "Bieber's video and Lady Gaga's switched positions briefly Friday, but as of late afternoon, Bieber was ahead."

My take on this: The kid's is the moment's entertainer. He has the girl teens and tweens clicking away, and tweeting with their young, little fingers Lady Gaga is a talent with a whole lot of depth, and she is going to be popular for a long time.

UFOs Over China

What is it with the UFOs? It seems like they are popping up everywhere. Two UFOs have popped up in China: The first seven days ago over Xiaoshan Airport. This sighting shut the air port down. A second one, yesterday,  in Chongqing in eastern China. The second is reported to really have folks in China worried, and expressing their anxiety. These UFOs were photographed and allegedly captured on radar. Allegedly, because the Chinese government isn't releasing any information about them.

Witnesses to the second sighting told Shanghai Daily they saw "four lantern-like objects forming a diamond shape that hovered over the city's Shaping Park for over an hour."

The Chinese government is following the examples set by the other major and minor governments of the world. The U.S., the Russians, the Europeans keep pretty much mum about these things. Sure, the US and the Europeans have released a dump load of stuff debunking every sighting that can be debunked, but as to the ones that can't be, the governments of the world are silent.

My Wish List for Vampires Suck

As much as I normally hate parody movies—they’re just usually not done very well, are they?—I am absolutely, irrevocably, utterly, and any other word Bella Swan might use describing Edward excited about this summer’s parody, Vampires Suck. It’s—you guessed it—a parody of the Twilight series, with a few other films thrown in, of course. You can view the trailer here.

I really wish I’d been consulted for this parody! We make parodying Twilight our business around this house; in fact, I might say that it’s one of our top five favorite forms of entertainment. So I’m hoping that they might use some of our favorite poking-fun-at-Bella-and-the-Cullens devices in the movie, such as…

A Napoleon Dynamite Scene: Our favorite way to mock this franchise is to mock the way Edward always has to feed Bella—how he’s always concerned that she didn’t preface her day with some cardboard sugar-coated cereal or something. We mimic Napoleon flinging food at his llama, and say in the same nasally voice, “Eat Bella, you fat tub of lard! Gosh!” And then, the one we love best—especially when we actually make potatoes of any kind—is when one of us says, “Jacob! Give me some of your tots!” and the other says, “No! These tots are for Bella, Edward!” Oh, man. I know it might sound lame, but it gets us rolling into hysterics every time.

A Play on Crosses, Garlic, Etc.: One of my biggest grievances with the series—aside from the poor writing and lack of main characters with personalities—is that the only thing these vampires do that make them vamps is drink blood. That’s it. There are no other tie-ins with historical vampires at all (so, like, why was Bella able to even find out what they were based on her crappy “research”? Shouldn’t she have deduced that they were more like aliens, ravers, or just people on steroids?), and instead we got Glitter!Vamps! Oy. I’d love to have something mocking all of that.

Bella Dies: Or Edward dies. Either would be great and interesting. Either could be given a personality and made interesting, as well, if the writers felt like spending five minutes on devising something other than what was provided in the books. Works for me.

What is your favorite Twilight parody? Are you looking forward to the film, or do you think it’ll be just as bad as the rest of the unfunny parodies we’ve seen in the last decade?

Mel Gibson Tapes Tampered With?

Is Mel Gibson A Victim?

What is going on with the Mel Gibson tapes? Each day this week the web site RadarOnline has released a shocking profane, ranting tape allegedly of Mel Gibson, and RadarOnline has been racking in the traffic, and what follows the traffic? Money.

But the real shocker today, is not what's on RadarOnline site. It is what audio experts are saying about the tapes -- That they have been tampered with by a clever professional: Words have been removed, words have been added and the sound has been mixed.

Also Mel Gibson's ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva says that she did not release the tapes.

ABC News reports -- "Grigorieva denied she released the tapes. Now some question their integrity. Forensic audio and video experts examined the recordings for HollywoodLife.com and believe someone tampered with them, editing the audio, removing parts of conversation and piecing together phrases to make the recordings sound real. "

My question is this: So what has America been listening to this past week?

Argentina: It's the 21st century

Argentina early this morning, Thursday, became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage. What this means is that in the eleventh year of the 21st century we really are living in a new century.

In the past, couples came together and committed themselves to each other and formed unions to preserve their families. Couples got married to have children for the survival of the species. Reproduction was the driving force behind public sanctioned relationships. Same sex coupling was taboo and kept hidden -- was something forbidden and scorned, and blossomed only when invisible, far from the public' s sight. Now that the human species has prospered and has multiplied in great numbers, and has the benefits of medicines and an abundant food supply, and the prospect of survival until the sun goes nova, or until we, humans, blow ourselves up, the species has the luxury of the freedom to couple as its members choose. The public sanctioning of same-sex coupling is a natural consequence of human prosperity and social evolution.

Does Whoopi Goldberg Hate Women?

Every time I turn around, I hear Whoopi Goldberg say something that seems like it’s remarkably anti-woman. This is a woman I’ve always looked up to. I’ve always thought she was a comic genius, with the most innovative and awesome name ever. I heard her speak at the March for Women’s Lives in Washington, DC in 2004 and thought she was very inspiring and charismatic in person. She seemed to be very much in favor of women’s rights. So why is she going around defending rapists and batterers?

When Roman Polanski was detained in Switzerland earlier this year, Goldberg—along with several other celebrities who seem to be okay with rape, drugging teenagers, and skipping out of the country rather than serving a jail sentence—expressed her outrage. She claimed that the thirteen-year-old girl was not raped at all. I know it wasn’t rape-rape,” she said. “It was something else but I don’t believe it was rape-rape.”

When I read this statement, it turned me off Whoopi for the rest of my lifetime. Rape-rape? Really? I had no idea there was such a thing. Wow. So the next time a friend gets a drink spiked with Rohypnol and is raped by some predatory beast, I will just tell her it’s okay—Whoopi says it’s not rape-rape. Because this young girl was raped in this exact same manner; she was drugged by the “visionary” Polanski, completely unable to offer consent (although she remembers saying no when she was conscious). And let’s please not forget that she was also thirteen years old; even if she had consented, it would have been statutory rape—not to mention the gross advantage taken of a child by a man in his mid-life. The fact that anyone can defend such behavior is beyond me. Any other regular Joe Schmoe who might do this to a child would be condemned by anyone and everyone, I’m sure.

Now Goldberg is defending Mel “I’m Psycho” Gibson. Gibson, who has recently come under the spotlight as a hate-spewing, violent jerk (why am I not surprised?) again for talking to the mother of his child and partner like she’s a piece of garbage (worse, really; you can hear some of the things he said to her here, as well as some newer audio footage here; be warned that the tapes are extremely graphic and derogatory) and beating the crap out of her. According to Goldberg, Mel’s swell, and would never knock the teeth out of his companion—let alone while she was holding their baby. Goldberg claims that it’s Mel’s girlfriend herself who is the problem.

Wow, Whoopi, does your hatred toward women know no ends—or do you just really like supporting your misogynist, violent celebrity friends?

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