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Galileo Isn’t the Only Famous Figure Missing Body Parts

By John Steele on

Two fingers and a tooth removed from the exhumed body of Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei nearly 300 years ago were rediscovered yesterday. They were last seen over 100 years ago in a sealed glass jar. When a similar sounding container went up for auction recently, a donor to the Museum of the History of Science in Florence nabbed it, delivering the jar and its contents to museum director Paolo Galluzzi. These last remnants of the famous astronomer will now remain at the Museum in Florence.

Strange and morbid? Yes, but as it turns out the historical resting place of famous body parts is cause for widespread debate. Here are some of the more famous body parts to go missing through the… Read More

Film

A Veteran’s Day Salute: Our 5 Favorite Fictional Soldiers

By John Steele on

Veteran’s Day gives us the chance to reflect on all the service men and women, their sacrifice, and their innate bad-assness. Because, let’s face it, no matter your stance on war, politics, or anything else, there is no draft anymore. These people are putting their lives on the line to protect us by choice. What could be more bad ass than that?

Nothing. So let’s celebrate the real heroes by rounding up some of our favorite fictional ones from film, shall… Read More

Film

This Is It: Our Top 5 Concert Films Sans Moonwalk

By John Steele on

According to the LA Times, Michael Jackson’s This Is It isn’t performing like a concert film. In the six days it has been in theaters, the doc has already grossed over $100 million worldwide, with its biggest numbers happening overseas. Concert movies’ ticket sales usually drop off after fans hit up the opening night; This Is It grossed more on Sunday than it did on any day since it debuted.

Perhaps this will lead other acts — other than Miley Cyrus and the JoBros — to reinvigorate the genre with theatrical releases. Animal Collective? The Dirty Projectors? After the jump, five concert films we think they should take their cues… Read More

News

One Small App For Man: NASA Releases iPhone App

By John Steele on

With seemingly limitless scientific ingenuity, it should have been easy to guess that the one thing the brainiacs at NASA don’t know how to do is be popular. NASA’s rep has been on the decline since word of an economic slowdown hit and resources began going to the war in Iraq. Then there was the moon bomb that wasn’t. But with new missions — including today’s unmanned rocket mission that totally rocked — NASA has a lot to crow about once… Read More

Music

Sounds Like Interrogation: Top 10 Torture Songs

By John Steele on

Last week Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails joined Pearl Jam, the Roots, R.E.M., and other bands who support the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo’s effort to declassify documents dealing with the uses of loud music as an interrogation technique. According to previously declassified reports, interrogators have used Metallica, Britney Spears, and even Sesame Street in the past. Many artists are outraged that their music was used without their… Read More

Music

Them Crooked Vultures’ First Studio Song: “New Fang”

By John Steele on

With the success of True Blood and Twilight, anything with fangs is in style at the moment. But the “New Fang” everyone is talking about doesn’t vaporize at sunrise. It’s the single from Them Crooked Vultures, a raucous combination of Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age). As supergroups go, these guys would blow Monsters of Folk out of the building with their relentless rhythm-based rock.… Read More

Music

2009′s Top 5 Indie Soundtracks That Aren’t the New Moon

By John Steele on

Whatever your thoughts on vegetarian vampires, sexual repression, or the world’s most puzzling sex symbol Robert Pattinson, you can’t argue with the numbers: the New Moon soundtrack has sold 115,000 copies after just three days. If it goes to number one (which history tells us is likely), Twilight will become the first movie franchise to have two soundtracks reach the top. All of this leads us to believe that middle school kids aren’t the only ones drooling over the New Moon. It’s all of… Read More

Web

Does Hopping in Bed with Bing Make Twitter Legit?

By John Steele on

For months now, it has been easy to dismiss Twitter — the massively popular micro-blogging website — as just another internet fad. From the made-up abbreviations to the celebrity gossip postings, some dismissed Twitter as megalomania 140 characters at a time. But not for… Read More

Television

Marge Simpson Does Playboy, Plus 5 Other Toons We’d Like to See Nude

By John Steele on

For Simpsons fans everywhere, a historic announcement went out last week, as Playboy unveiled their November cover model. The bright yellow beauty in the buff would be none other than Marge herself. Now the question on every animation ogler’s mind (besides how Homer is going to deal with his wife’s centerfold status) is what other hand-drawn hotties would make good nude… Read More

Television

Car Talk: Fictional Characters Say Goodbye to Their Saturns

By John Steele on

The recession-era woes continue for the American automotive industry as it was announced last week that GM brand Saturn would be phased out of production over the next year. This will no doubt have a negative impact on auto-worker jobs as well as the brand strength of GM going forward. But one group of Saturn owners are especially affected by this and seem to be largely ignored by the mainstream media: TV and film… Read More