Tales from the Fish Store

Once upon a time, I worked at a fish store. Specifically, I was once a manager-on-duty and African cichlid expert for a shop that bred and sold pet fish. The shop wasn’t a run-of-the-mill mall-based pet shop. It was a place for aquarium super-nerds. We had about 30 employees on staff, …

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Letting the Joke Rest in Peace

Waaaay back in the foggy mists of time, I used to run a web site named Cthulhu Coffee. The site is still out there, laying dormant in the darkest wayward corners of the Internet, looking very… HTML3. I stopped updating regularly somewhere in 2003, but for several years after, I kept …

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Cinematic Oddities: Caged

When I say the phrase, “It’s a women-in-prison movie,” my guess is that your first impression is pretty far from what Caged actually is. The trope of a women-in-prison movie was well-worn in the exploitation era, which means it brings to mind things like scandalously torn clothing, shower scenes, and …

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I’ll miss you, Mr. Ebert.

I can credit my intense love of movies to two people: my mom and Roger Ebert. I used to watch Sneak Previous and At the Movies religiously, and I’d make note of the movies I was too young to see, but would undoubtedly seek out when I was older. Mom is …

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Quick, Tell Me: Stupid Human Tricks Edition

Genetic variation is an amazing thing. The chance that another human has or had an exact copy of your genetic code is pretty much nil.  When the FBI uses STR (short tandem repeat) technology to identify forensic samples of DNA, they only look at 13 regions of the human genetic …

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New Project Alert! WHOOP WHOOP!

That’s right! As if I didn’t have enough projects, I started a second blog. This new site, called The Sound and the Foley, is dedicated to identifying and researching the history recycled sounds and melodies. From the Wilhelm Scream to the “Shave and a Haircut” ditty, these sounds are famous …

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Cinematic Oddities: A Talking Cat!?! and the Art of Exquisite Incompetence

Recently, a new movie sensation has been making the rounds in the z-grade movie fan community. This movie showed up on Netflix a few weeks ago, and a few of my friends have talked about nearly nothing else since. My friend Aric even started a new blog entirely dedicated to this movie. This …

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Quick, Tell Me: Springtime Edition

Folks here in Minnesota have had a long winter season this year. In the last week or two, temperatures were still below 10 degrees Fahrenheit on some days, and one day dipped to -12 including windchill. Yesterday was the first day where the weather crept up above 40 degrees, and everyone in the office seems a …

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Thursday Night: PowerPoint Karaoke!

That’s right! This month’s show is almost upon us! Our victims contestants this month are Levi Weinhagen, Tim Wick, Joe Bozic, and Josh Carson. Come see them bravely attempt to give a PowerPoint presentation for a deck of slides that they have never seen before. Why? Because it’s hilarious, darlings. Join us …

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One Last Word on Blurry Wieners

This morning’s Twitter discussion about the censorship in Holy Motors was capped by this exchange. I love my friends.

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