The city of Baltimore declared today Frank Zappa Day in honor of the iconoclastic rock musician and composer, who was born there 69 years ago on Dec. 21, 1940. Last week the city’s public art commission also announced that a bronze statue of Zappa would be erected outside of a public library sometime next year. When will Los Angeles, where Zappa raised his family and lived most of his adult life, follow suit? Maybe a nice statue somewhere in Laurel Canyon?

Also in Zappa news, today marks the release of a previously unheard concert from Philadelphia in 1976 on two CDs. The liner notes for “Philly ‘76,” taking a cue from its bicentennial date, reproduce the Declaration of Independence, but with a twist: Endeavoring to show how history repeats itself, the Founding Fathers’ claims against the King of England are highlighted, drawing parallels that probably would have made the independently minded composer smile.

www.zappa.com

In honor of David Tennant’s final Doctor Who episodes, here’s a repeat of Richard’s interview with the outgoing Time Lord and Doctor Who executive producer Russell T. Davies, shot at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena, CA in early August for Boing Boing Video. Read the original entry here. Dangerous Minds returns in the new year with Genesis Breyer P-Orridge

 
It will be a bittersweet holiday season this year for sci-fi fans around the globe. On one hand we’re getting two new “Doctor Who” specials (I don’t count “The Waters of Mars” because it aired in Britain a while back. Any Who fan worth their salt downloaded that one on BitTorrent five minutes after if aired on the BBC!). On the other hand, we’ll be seeing the last of David Tennant as the 10th Doctor, when the Scottish actor hands over the keys to his T.A.R.D.I.S (that’s what his time machine is called, the one that looks like an old British pay phone booth. Long story…) to incoming Time Lord, Matt Smith.

Over at the LA Times Hero Complex blog, Robert Lloyd has an interview with Tennant that includes the surprise announcement of a U.S. TV pilot for NBC titled “Rex Is Not Your Lawyer,” which costars Jane Curtain and Jeffrey Tambor. There’s also an exclusive extended trailer for next Saturday’s special, “The End of Time.” (On reading the final scripts for his character, the actor said: “I was nervous they would somehow disappoint, but of course they didn’t. I read them in my trailer and had a wee cry. They are so beautifully written. I was just delighted to be going out with such a bang.”)

This week (see above), you can view my own interview with David Tennant and Doctor Who (and Torchwood) executive producer/writer Russell T. Davies (now a Los Angeles resident). I met up with Tennant and Davies in Pasadena in early August when I interviewed them for Boing Boing. The duo had just come from the San Diego Comic Con where both experienced what can only be compared to a geek version of Beatlemania. During the interview Tennant discusses what it’s like to walk away from the part he wanted to play his entire life and the responsibilities of taking on such an iconic role.

 
Via What’s the Matter with Dino?

 
I strongly urge you to check out the interior photos of this Lincoln Bugazzi. From Auto Blog:

We’re beginning to think that George Barris’ movie cars were more restrained than his customer cars—and that Dolemite had the man on speed dial. Barris built the car you see above: a Bugazzi (boo-GOT-zee), which started out as a 1972 Lincoln Mark IV and was turned into “an American version of a Rolls-Royce.”

That means it’s been slathered in thirty coats of pearl lacquer and trimmed with 24-carat gold-leaf, hand-applied pinstripes. Up front are two lanterns where the headlights would normally go. Inside, you’ll find gold, suede upholstery, Persian rugs, Italian doorhandles mounted on Italian marble slabs, a television, and a back seat wet bar. That could explain why the car cost $10,000 more than a Rolls. Or not.

Find of the Day: Barris-built 1972 Lincoln Bugazzi has interior like a dictator’s bathroom

 
Is Sen. Jim Inhofe jealous of Sarah Palin’s starring role as pied piper to the idiot wing of the Republican party, or is he perhaps trying to position himself as a potential running mate for her in 2012? It’s hard to tell what the silliest Senator from Oklahoma was thinking, or if he’s really capable of much thinking at all. Witness what the witless Republican had waiting for him when he showed up in Copenhagen with his “message” of a Hollywood conspiracy that’s behind global warming:

Sen. Jim Inhofe flew across the Atlantic and ?

(Thanks Brian Morishita)

At first she doesn’t reveal much about herself…
 

 
Then you delve deeper:
 

 
And deeper still. It all makes no sense. No sense. Not at all. This is the world of ceeceelemon.
 

 
Via Jesse Merlin

 
Go-Go Jane Wiedlin is renting out her amazing sci-fi fantasy penthouse loft in Little Tokyo. Check out her Blade Runner-esque decor. A sweet crib for those with more unique tastes than the average Earthling, don’t you think?

 
I have no idea if this is real or not. I’ll let you be the judge.
 
(via Nerdcore)