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Eddie Izzard

New York

The Flavorpill Guide to This Week's Top 10 New York Events

By Judy Berman on

For our (unconscionably high) rent money, the best thing about living in New York City is its endless supply of fun, odd, and inspired cultural events. But with so many options, it can be hard to know where to even begin planning your week. To help you make sense of it all, Flavorpill has launched a new social discovery engine where users can create and share events with friends, as well as follow Flavorpill editors’ and plugged-in local curators’ picks. Below, you’ll find the very best of what’s on offer this week, recommended by Flavorpill NYC’s very own Managing Editor, Leah Taylor. It’s just a taste of what you can find on the new Flavorpill, so if you like what you see, be sure to sign up. … Read More

News

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

By Caroline Stanley on

1. Of course Danny Boyle’s plans for the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony include mosh pits. Also: fake rain thanks to “real clouds that will be hanging over the stadium”; “real grass,” “real soil,” and “real plows”; and exactly nine geese. [via Gawker]

2. Hugh Laurie is currently in negotiations to join Gary Oldman,… Read More

Books

Literary Mixtape: Willy Wonka

By Emily Temple on

If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: Roald Dahl’s most flamboyant factory owner, Willy Wonka. … Read More

Comedy

Comedy’s Funniest Atheists: A Collection of Irreligious Quotes

By Judy Berman on

Christopher Hitchens. Richard Dawkins. And, of course, Charles Darwin. These are the names we usually hear associated with the Great God Debate. But this holiday season, Ricky Gervais has let loose a missive reminding us that atheism isn’t just dour lectures and attempts to discredit Mother Teresa — it can actually be funny. “Next time someone tells me they believe in God,” Gervais writes, “I’ll say ‘Oh which one? Zeus? Hades? Jupiter? Mars? Odin? Thor? Krishna? Vishnu? Ra?…’ If they say ‘Just God. I only believe in the one God,’ I’ll point out that they are nearly as atheistic as me. I don’t believe in 2,870 gods, and they don’t believe in 2,869.”

In fact, poking holes in religion has long been one of comedy’s greatest pastimes. After the jump, we round up our favorite irreligious quotes from our funniest atheists, from Woody Allen and Cloris Leachman to David Cross and Sarah Silverman. … Read More

Art

Great Moments in the History of Lego Videos

By Paul Hiebert on

Lately, there’s been a number of creative, stop-motion Lego videos surfacing around the web. Last week it was a highly-condensed version of the original Star Wars trilogy; this week, it’s an educational documentary about the founders of microbiology. Since Lego is no longer simply about building castles and space stations in your parent’s basement, we decided this would be a good time to round up some of the best videos featuring Lego that we’ve come across. You know, to keep up with the times and whatnot.

We grouped the following videos into six categories for your viewing convenience. Enjoy them all after the jump. … Read More

Film

Rate-a-Trailer: RAGE

By Kelsey Keith on

This week the internet delivers a gift in the form of Jude Law in drag, as part of an ensemble cast in Sally Potter‘s latest film RAGE. The assembled actors, and the film’s plot, are slightly confusing: Dame Judi Dench, Eddie Izzard, Steve Buscemi, John Leguizamo, Dianne Wiest, model Lily Cole, and Law as Minx the supermodel are profiled on neon background performing monologues about the fickle field of fashion, dahling. IMDB describes RAGE as a murder mystery narrated via cell phone interviews shot by a young fashion blogger. Blogging: subversive! … Read More