0409.27 UPDATE : Well, we're still not really back yet (patience, patience...), but in the meantime, here's a little something to chew on - freaky as hell Japanese commercials for toilets, bathtubs and stuff from Toto. (Why, I ask you, don't I have dancing penguins in my bathroom? WHY???)

0409.25 BONUS : No, we're not really back yet, but FYI, check out my first AICN article in a year-and-a-half, devoted to the "unbridled brilliance, unadulterated insanity, and unapologetic glee" that is THE VENTURE BROS. (which you should be watching on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim). Go Team Venture!

0405-0409 UPDATE : Robogeek is currently on summer hiatus, but will hopefully return sometime this Fall (is that vague enough for ya?), at which point we will resume regular publication and unveil a few upgrades. Thanks for your patience!

0404.26 : Sorry I've been slacking off on updates, but it's been an extra-busy couple of weeks. (Okay, I admit it... I spent an entire week mesmerized by this.)
Anyway, as a follow-up to our post from the 12th...
A reader from Tokyo (!) kindly wrote me over the weekend with word that the May issue of Esquire apparently has a piece about "Colin Mayhew and mysterious robot sightings around Oxford, England." I'll have to pick up a copy the next time I'm at BookPeople.

0404.23 : The new issue of P.o.V. (my fourth and final one as editor-at-large; whew!) is out around town, in the mail to subscribers, and available as a free download online.

0404.13 : Save Wonderfalls. (Sign the petition.)

0404.12 : Last night Harry IM'ed me this tantalyzing link to a Dr. Colin Mayhew's remarkable "vehicle to autonomous biped robot conversion for the Mini Cooper r50" project in Oxford, England. Check out this video of said Mini Cooper Robot (powered by six Linux PC's) stopping an oncoming car in its tracks. (I would so love for this to be real!)

0404.11 : THE EXORCIST in 30 seconds, as reenacted by bunnies. (Happy Easter!)

0404.10 : The Guardian interviews Kate Winslet.

0404.09 : The Alamo finally opens today, and was actually a rather pleasant surprise. After a torturous (and well-chronicled) behind-the-scenes journey and a preponderance of negative buzz, it proved to be an all-too-tempting target for many critics today. That's a shame, because it's really not a bad film. Granted, it's not a great film, either (the script has had major structural flaws since day one, and no main character), but it is a good one with many great moments - mostly involving Billy Bob Thornton, who's thoroughly fantastic as Davy Crockett. I look forward to seeing the longer (and probably even better) cut, which I hope will be released as an extended edition DVD. [Disclaimer: I have many friends who worked on the film, which shot right here in Austin.]
Roger Ebert's review (Chicago Sun-Times)

0404.09 : $14 Homebrew DIY Steadicam

0404.08 : Electronica act Skeewiff has remixed the Soggy Bottom Boys' "Man of Constant Sorrow" and released it as a free download (3 min., 7 MB MP3). It's quite cool.

0404.08 : U.S. Federal Budget Simulator. Portable Crap Detector. (Take your pick.)

0404.06 : PC Magazine's Top 100 Web Sites

0404.02 : After a long six years, my dear friend Guillermo del Toro has finally unleashed his $60M vision of Mike Mignola's HELLBOY in over 3,000 theaters today, starring Ron Perlman, Selma Blair (my idea!), John Hurt, Jeffrey Tambor, Karel Roden and Rupert Evans. Check out the rave reviews...
Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)
Elvis Mitchell (The New York Times)
Joe Morgenstern (The Wall Street Journal)
Stephanie Zacharek (Salon)
David Edelstein (Slate)

0404.02 : (And no, it wasn't an April Fool's joke.)

0404.01 : Harry Knowles is executive producing Robert Rodriguez's A PRINCESS OF MARS for Paramount, based on the book by Edgar Rice Burroughs. (It will shoot in Austin next year.)

0403.31 : The Associated Press offers an excellent chronicle of HELLBOY's six-year journey to the screen. (The L.A. premiere was last night.) Also, there's yet another great profile of Ron Perlman today (this one in the New York Daily News).

0403.30 : Behold the new Batmobile. And check out the new Superman movie (directed by Barry Levinson), which you can watch online. (There are more details at SuperHeroHype.com, and the New York Post has a rave review.)

0403.30 : Nick Nunziata raves about HELLBOY over at CNN.com today, while the Boston Herald offers up a profile of Ron.

0403.29 : The Ron Perlman love-fest spreads to Canada today, with great profiles in the Calgary Sun and Montreal Gazette. Meanwhile, MTV interviews Selma Blair.

0403.28 : The San Francisco Chronicle has a really nice profile of Ron Perlman today.

0403.27 : The Guardian tours the Kubrick archive. Thoroughly fascinating.

0403.26 : Very exciting news! My friend Fay Masterson (who recently starred in THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA) has been cast in the forthcoming spin-off of THE PRACTICE opposite James Spader and William Shatner. How cool is that? (More coverage from E Online.)

0403.25-30 : So I'm off to L.A. on mysterious business and stuff, but will be reachable via e-mail and my trusty Treo 600 (with which I may intermittently moblog my trip with).

0403.25 : Variety has the scoop on Rogue Pictures, the new "upscale genre label" of Focus Features.

0403.24 : Did you know you can download NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, REEFER MADNESS, and a ton of other public domain cinematic goodies at the Internet Archive's Movie Archive? Kind of amazing.

0403.23 : Whoa. TRANSLUCENT CONCRETE. Damn.

0403.22 : At 9am next Monday (3/27), there will be an open casting call for the second season of NBC's THE APPRENTICE at Buffalo Billiards on 6th Street. (You can download an application here.)

0403.21 : Ah... Linda Cardellini.

0403.20 : Have I mentioned how happy I am about the FIREFLY movie?

0403.18 : Ooo... SKY CAPTAIN posters! And Treo accessories!

0403.14 : Read this and begin to understand why the movie I'm most looking forward to this year is SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW.

0403.12-20 : SXSW. (More on this later, after I recover.)

0403.11 : HELLBOY. DEL TORO. MIGNOLA. PERLMAN. SUNDAY. MIDNIGHT. THE PARAMOUNT. FREE!

0403.10 : To follow-up on my post from the 4th... the EFF is quite justly suing the FCC over their thoroughly odious "Broadcast Flag" mandate. Meanwhile, in tangentially related news... News.com.com has an upbeat article on the state of TiVo... as well as a special report on robots entitled, well, INVASION OF THE ROBOTS. (Have you preordered your Robosapien yet?)

0403.09 : Yes, last night I was indeed one of the first five hundred people to see Kill Bill Vol. 2. No, I'm not allowed to talk about it. [cough-cough-kickass-cough-cough] However... Tim sent me this yesterday, which is bloody brilliant and well worth sharing. (Upon further investigation, I discovered it's called Drum Machine, created by Drew Cope of tokyoplastic, and a runner-up in Rockstar Games' Third Annual Upload online digital media competition.) Anyway, stop whatever you're doing, turn your speakers up, click here and behold the joy of percussion - anime-style. There's also an extended/alternate version here... and HOLY CRAP, go explore the rest of Cope's freaky cool site. Awesome.
(P.S.: A couple weeks ago Dominique sent me this [formerly located here]. I call it "How To Open A Door"... and wish to God it had sound.)

0403.08 : Damn. My friend Sachin IM'ed me the very sad news that Spalding Gray, missing since January 10, has been found dead. He was 62. Like so many others, I had feared the worst... but still hoped. Damn. I had the great pleasure of making Mr. Gray's acquainance several years ago (in 1996, I think), back when I was marketing/PR director at the Paramount. He came to Austin to perform his then-new monologue, "It's A Slippery Slope" , and I got to hang out with him for a few days, showing him around town and accompanying him to various interviews. It should go without saying that he was thoroughly fascinating and entertaining - a gentleman raconteur. Strangely, the thing I remember most vividly is that he was traveling with an audiobook of Homer's "The Odyssey" (unabridged, narrated by Ian McKellen before most people knew who he was). He told me he would listen to it at night before going to bed, but then fall asleep and lose his place, so he'd have to backtrack to the last part he remembered - over and over again, like some Sysyphian joke. He wondered if he would ever finish listening to it. Eight years later, I wonder if he ever did.
(P.S.: Here's the New York Times obituary. Apparently hours before he went missing, he took his two sons to see Big Fish - which I just finally saw Saturday, and actually offers considerable explanation.)

0403.07 : Zen is among my favorite fast-food restaurants in Austin (had dinner there tonight)... though I really wish they served bubble tea. Then there'd be no stopping them. Anyway... I just learned something new, so I have to share it... Do you know why the Oyako bowl at Zen is named thus? I'll give you a hint... "Oyako" literally translated means "mother and child". Hence... Chicken and egg (in this case, served over rice with vegetables). Isn't that both enlightening, and yet also disturbing?

0403.06 : The ever-confounding Vincent Gallo is inexplicably selling his entire production package on ebay, which he used to make The Brown Bunny. (It apparently includes "the famous super long throw lens that Kubrick had made for Barry Lyndon".) Still not sold? Well, consider this choice assertion: "All in all, Gallo put more effort into this production package than the whiny Wes Anderson, the sputtering Spike Jonze, the un-darling Darren Aronofsky have put into their whole lives." All righty then. (The auction closes Monday evening.)

0403.05 : IGN FilmForce has an in-depth script review of David Goyer's Batman Begins, which is currently being helmed by Christopher Nolan. Sounds very promising.

0403.04 : The evil that is the MPAA wants to control your TV. No, really, they do (starting a year from July 1st). Fascist bastards.

0403.03 : Blissful word arrived last night that Universal has actually greenlit Joss Whedon's Firefly feature film, to be entitled Serenity (not, alas, "Captain Tightpants"). So far, I gotta say this is a pretty damn good week in Robogeek's world.

0403.02 : Robert Rodriguez will direct A Princess of Mars next year for Paramount, based on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. (More details at AICN.) Rodriguez is currently shooting SIN CITY.

0403.01 : Last night, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won a record-tying (with Titanic and Ben-Hur) 11 Academy Awards, and became only the third Best Picture winner ever to sweep every category it was nominated for (alongside The Last Emperor and Gigi). Congrats to Peter, Fran, and the Queen of the Geeks herself, Philippa Boyens (the three of whom I had the pleasure of seeing at Butt-Numb-A-Thon).

0402.29 : Holy crap, where has the time gone? (Actually, it's a long story.) Anyway, sorry for the extended hiatus, but bear with me as I get ol' robogeek.com back in gear. Coming soon (hopefully in time for SXSW)... an upgraded blog engine (hello, Blogger!) and a brand-spanking new companion roboMoblog (hello, Buzznet and Treo 600!). Stay tuned... (P.S.: Miramax still hates you.)

0311-0312 : Click here for November and December, 2003.

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0307-0308 : Click here for July and August, 2003.

0305-0306 : Click here for May and June, 2003.

0303-0304 : Click here for March and April, 2003.

0301-0302 : Click here for January and February, 2003.