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Pop Culture

The Most Bizarre Celebrity PSAs of All Time

By Alison Nastasi on

As our friends at Open Culture recently pointed out, the heyday of the public service announcement has passed. The Internet is our new gateway for learning about social issues — once you sort through all the false information, of course. When we saw a cheeky anti-smoking PSA from John Waters, we got a hankering for more vintage awareness videos with a bizarre twist. Go henceforth to see what the Pope of Trash had to say about cigarettes, and enjoy other PSAs that mesmerize with their well-intentioned weirdness. … Read More

Web

What’s On at Flavorpill: The Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

By Alison Nastasi on

Today at Flavorpill, we spotted Halloween costume ideas inspired by real-life characters on TLC. We listened to the best divorce albums of all time. We shopped for things we couldn’t afford thanks to young celebrity ad campaigns. We read a case against buying an iPad Mini. We… Read More

Celebrity

Rare Photos of Pee-wee Herman Looking Serious

By Jennifer Lewis on

Happy birthday, Paul Reubens! On this day, good ol’ Pee-wee Herman turns 60. Can you believe it? Sixty! To honor this once-in-Pee-wee’s-lifetime occasion, we should all blast this song, find one of these to stand on, and proceed to dance like this. Got it? Good. Or, if your busy grownup Monday won’t lend time for such shenanigans, go ahead and whip up some ice cream soup and watch Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (which is pretty much the best movie ever). Or, if you don’t even have time to watch Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, just click through our handy Pee-wee birthday photo gallery, where you’ll find 15 records of Pee-wee Herman looking serious. Why? Well — why not?… Read More

Film

Watch an Early Animation Test for ‘Roger Rabbit’ Voiced by Pee-Wee Herman

By Emily Temple on

Most of us remember Disney’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, which hit theaters in 1988, as one of the first films that blended live action and animation — though some viewers have probably blocked out everything except one very sultry Jessica Rabbit. At the time, the movie was the most expensive animated film ever made, largely due to the technology involved. But even the most complex projects have to start somewhere — we recently came across this very crude 1982 pencil test, featuring an early Eddie Valiant and sketchy prototypes of both Rabbits — with Roger himself voiced by Paul Reubens, aka Pee-Wee Herman. We must admit, we’re glad things turned out the way they did. … Read More

News

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

By Caroline Stanley on

1. Bravo has announced the new cast for the ninth season of Top Chef, along with the show’s premiere date (November 2) and guest stars (Pee-wee Herman!, Charlize Theron, Patti LaBelle). [via Pop Candy]

2. Watch the hour-long set that Wilco played for David Letterman last night here. The band’s eighth… Read More

Television

The World's Creepiest Kids' TV Shows

By Romy Oltuski on

Painfully wholesome, G-rated American children’s television of our current kid-tested, mother-approved era not doing it for you? Yeah, we’re not feeling it, either. As the fall TV season kicks off, we assume most adults are concentrating on all of those highly anticipated season and series premieres — but we think it’s time to devote some attention to the deliciously dark and downright bizarre children’s entertainment from around the world. Our roundup of creepy kids’ TV shows, past and present, is after the jump. … Read More

Pop Culture

Gallery: Art Inspired by Pee-wee Herman

By Judy Berman on

We love all things Pee-wee Herman, so when we heard that the culture vultures at Venice’s Gallery 1988 were mounting a group show in his honor, we marked our calendars. The adorably named I Know You Art, But What Am I? opens from 7-10pm Friday and runs through August 19th. Many artists from the exhibition have already posted their contribution online, and we love what we’ve seen so far: an old-school baseball team where every player is Pee-wee; our hero as a ventriloquist dummy, a piece of toast, and a tequila ad; and even a bloodthirsty zombie Pee-wee. In other words, the art is as odd and imaginative as Paul Reubens’s character himself. Check out what we’ve spotted so far, and keep an eye on Gallery 1988′s website for more work and information on buying pieces from the show. … Read More

Pop Culture

Ranking Actor Comebacks from Best to Worst

By Judy Berman on

Quentin Tarantino, that great rescuer of acting careers, strikes again. This time, he’s in talks to bring back Kevin Costner, the man who melted hearts 20 years ago in Field of Dreams, Dances with Wolves, and The Bodyguard before the embarrassment of Waterworld drove him into semi-obscurity. Beginning in the late ’90s, he was reduced to appearing in small films, buying minor-league baseball teams and casinos, and touring as part of the country band Kevin Costner and Modern West. So, it seems appropriate that Tarantino is going after the actor for a Western, Django Unchained. But, should Costner sign on, he won’t be taking his traditional, golden-boy hero role; his potential character, Ace Woody is described as a “sadistic trainer of the male fighting slaves who entertain the white patrons of Candyland as well as the female slaves who are forced to be prostitutes.” Intriguing!

The news of Costner’s possible Tarantino-facilitated revival got us thinking about some of the best — and worst — actor comebacks on TV and film. We rank them from wonderful to awful after the jump. … Read More

Television

Watch the Credit Sequence for a New Pee-wee Herman TV Show

By Judy Berman on

Boing Boing points us to an inspired video, created by AndyTDesigns, imagining what the credit sequence might look like if Pee-wee Herman were to launch a new TV show. (Note: he absolutely should.) “It would be great to see a Pee Wee show based more on Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, and more episodic in nature, with P.W. solving mysteries, finding missing things, and having adventures, but along the way his playhouse friends help him as well,” writes the film’s creator. The minute-long opening credits find our hero on his bike, solving crime with the help of some familiar friends. And the animation, which rotates ably through a number of styles, is superb. … Read More

Pop Culture

A Brief Survey of Ridiculous Anti-Drug Propaganda

By Sophie Weiner on

Yesterday, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, a high-level group that’s been studying drug usage and policing around the world, came to the somewhat unshocking conclusion that the war on drugs has utterly failed “with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world.” Not only has the decades-long war cost world governments untold trillions of dollars, it has taken the lives of countless people, innocent and guilty alike, all while doing nothing to stop the global spread of illegal drugs. The comission, which includes former international presidents, U.S. Secretaries of State and Federal Chiefs, recommended that we simply stop fighting, legalize marijuana at the very least, and experiment with the legalization and regulation of other drugs.

In celebration of this news, we present you with a some of the best (and worst) anti-drug propaganda the media has to offer. We hope that future drug education takes on a tone that is less about fear-mongering and more about providing real facts, but while we wait for that to happen, we may as well laugh at the absurdity of these campaigns. … Read More