Interesting essay on how the work of late science fiction author Philip K. Dick can be seen to have prefigured today’s role playing video games over at the mighty Pop Matters blog.

The thesis of author “L.B. Jefferies” is straightforward enough: “Philip K. Dick?

 
Another sort of art forgery is being investigated by British police, but there’s a twist: someone is impersonating Turner Prize-winning artist Tracey Emin in a mass mailing sent to her neighbors “explaining” her supposed plans for a swimming pool to be constructed inside of a building in Spitalfields she acquired in 2008 for ?Ǭ

 
Just as David Tennant is about to leave the series and hand over the keys of the TARDIS to the eleventh doctor Matt Smith—the final episodes with Tennant air Christmas and New Year’s Day—the last remaining Dalek from the original series in 1963 is about to go on the auction block in Britain:

Despite the Daleks’ fearsome reputation onscreen, off it the plywood and fibreglass mutants were frequently cannibalised due to tight production budgets.

Mr Beech said: “Every time a new artistic director came in and ordered a redesign, they were re-patched and re-patched, until they got so bad they couldn’t be patched up any longer.”

Only the lower half of this Dalek dates from 1963, he said.

Also to be sold are a number of Cybermen, Sea Devils and Tractators.

They were all part of a touring Dr Who exhibition and are being sold because of the cost of conserving them.

Read more: Last Dalek from original Dr Who series for sale

 
Since April, a persistent Internet meme (reported on today’s Huffington Post, in fact) has to do with ecstasy tabs pressed in the shape of President Obama’s head. Sounds plausible, there are even photographs of the items in question, but were they really ecstasy?

Probably not, according to a “pill reviewer” going under the pseudonym “dezmon” on a website called Pill Reports. Dezmon seems to think the Obama pills are nothing more than caffeine:

“went to a rave ... last saturday and took a red and yellow one of these. took three hours and never kicked in at all. i think they were straight caffeine or something cause i was dancing a lot but no high. after these failed i turned to a quad stack yellow lacoste with mescaline and molly.”

Another report on a website called Ecstasy Data seems to confirm dezmond’s “findings”:

“The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Western Regional Laboratory (Asheville, North Carolina) received five tablets shaped like the heads of Ninja Turtles, Snoopy, and Barack Obama, suspected Ecstasy (see Photo 1). Analysis of the tablets by GC/MS revealed that the tablets contained BZP, TFMPP, and caffeine (the predominant compound). Clandestine tablet preparations containing BZP are common submissions; however, these were the first tablets of their kind to be submitted to the laboratory. Most tablets submitted are round and vary in imprint/stamps. These tablets were quite detailed.”

Just a head’s up, kids. And stay away from drugs!

Cross posting this from Brand X

Oh boy, do I have mixed feelings about these final moments of David Tennant’s tenure as Doctor Who. On one hand, I simply can’t wait to see the Christmas specials, I expect nothing less than an utterly spectacular, mind-bending final adventure. They’ll be the highlight of my television viewing year (along with Russell T. Davies’ genius Torchwood miniseries Children of Earth, natch, which I reviewed here) but once they’re over, David’s gone for good and this will be the end of an era. His iconic portrayal of the Doctor is as decade-defining for this one as Sean Connery’s Bond was for the ‘60s. Doctor Who will be unthinkable without him (and Russell).

I may have to lie in bed for a week to get over it!

Thank you Xeni Jardin!

 
Poor Britney Spears just can’t catch a break! Earlier this week, the beleaguered pop strumpet, still smarting from the walkouts and poor reviews she encountered during her recent Australian shows, had her Twitter account hacked and defaced with an “Illuminati” wallpaper background. In addition, the hackers also made two tweets, one reading ?

 
Just in time for the upcoming Runaways biopic—directed by Floria Sigismondi and starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning—the Mattel toy company is unveiling its “Ladies of the ‘80s” collection’s Joan Jett Barbie. The collection also features Debbie Harry and Cyndi Lauper dolls, available in December.

Although I wholeheartedly approve of this, the first thing that came to mind was: What, no Annie Lennox or Siouxsie Sioux dolls? No Pat Benatar? No Lydia Lunch? Give ‘em time; the nostalgia machine will eventually crank ‘em all out.

(Note: There is also a Barbra Streisand Pink Label Barbie, but it’s ‘60s Barbara, not “Yentl”-era Babs.)

Below, Joan Jett and the Runaways perform Cherry Bomb in Tokyo in 1977:
 

 
Cross posting this from Brand X

Comics Alliance shares this combination of two of the greatest things ever. It’s like my personality ideals as a 7-year-old and a 27-year-old were combined into one big stew of awesome:

If you missed the “Mad Men” finale last night, my lips are sealed, but daaaaamn am I excited for the next season. As the interminable wait begins for Season 4, we’ve got a little something to tide you over: An X-Men Meets “Mad Men” mashup. Tell me these aren’t perfect (except for the spelling of Jean Grey’s name)! The notion of a smoldering brood-off between Jon Hamm and Hugh Jackman is truly a wonderful thing to imagine.

(Comics Alliance: Mad Men/X-Men)

I recently watched the pilot episode of the new V series just cause, you know, you gotta keep up on your mass brainwashing. It was stupendously bad. However, I did have to laugh that the reptilian alien visitors in the show come bearing promises of “change” and then offer humanity… wait for it… wait for it… UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE. Sweet holy f*K, is that what it’s going to take to get the U.S. up to the baseline quality of life standard of the rest of the “first” world? Space lizards? Well, if so, I for one welcome our new overlords. (Wink wink)

Asylum points out the similarities to the Obama administration:

1. The aliens come to Earth using Obama-campaign watchwords hope and change, and offer the most literal form of universal health care. Aided by a complicit news media, they assuage rabid protesters through a sweet-talking figurehead. Skeptics try to warn everyone of the impending danger, but nobody listens.

2. Of course, the most striking comparison is that, while many Obama opponents are sure he’s concealing an alien birth certificate, the seemingly benevolent V’s are pretending to be just like us, but (spoiler alert) are hiding lizardy evidence that they just aren’t.

3. The whole thing could have been lifted from the minds of Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs.

For bonus points, check out this fundie blog going off about the show, and this video from C-SPAN of the White House reacting to the show.

 
Alan Moore‘s bi-monthly ‘zine, Dodgem Logic, launches this month and you can read a typically engrossing interview with Moore (yes, Watchmen and Vendetta, but Tom Strong, too!) here.  Hoping to “resurrect a spirit of the ‘60s underground papers,” Dodgem Logic is just one of the new projects on Moore’s always-crowded plate (see also this). 

Living up to his ‘zine’s tagline, “colliding ideas to see what happens,” Moore’s also composing the libretto for the currently untitled opera masterminded by the Gorillaz’ Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewitt.  Those two, incidentally, “curate” a few pages in Dodgem Logic #2.  Moore’s ‘zine will soon be available for sale in the US via Top Shelf comix.  Some animation from the prior Albarn-Hewitt opera, Monkey: Journey To The West, follows below:

 
(via Pitchfork)