Over Halloween weekend, I went out with the girlfriend to go and see Paranormal Activity, just like everyone else seemed to do. Now, I'm not the biggest scary movie fan, but the movie was actually pretty good. It got me thinking, have I just not seen very many good scary movies?
I looked back at the past fifteen years and I looked at the number of A) bad scary movies and b) the number of "scary movies" (Note: I use quotations with the second type of "scary", as in called-scary-but-not-really-scary. For example, Saw is not a scary movie, and neither is Hostel, Final Destination, or any of the other gore-based "I-don't-want-to-watch-someone's-limbs-being-cut-off-so-I'm-looking-away" movies).
So what makes a good scary movie? We need to look no further than Paranormal Activity. Days after seeing the movie and you're alone and you shut off the bathroom light, and you begin to walk down the hall, does a thought creep in to your head that makes you turn around and check if the light was turned back on? That, my friends, makes a scary movie. It affects you.
So, on the hopes that we'll see less gore and more legitimate scares in scary movies (and in the hopes that the light didn't turn itself on...), I present to you the Links of the Week:
Christopher Walken doing anything is entertaining. Christopher Walken reading something is even more entertaining. So what does that make a video of Christopher Walken reading lyrics of a Lady Gaga song?
Former Duke player and current Orlando Magic guard J.J. Redick has a rap album (yes, that J.J. Redick). I will say no more, but will direct you here.
This post from Deadspin on a Macy's advertisement makes me think of that old SNL sketch where Adam Sandler played a bad stand-up comedian on a game show and only answered questions with, "Who was the ad wizard who came up with that one?"
Here is a great article on Metropulse on the state of commenting on internet articles, with particular attention paid to newspaper articles online. The article, written by Frank Carlson, dives in to the value of these comments, when they, for the great majority, are negative in nature and often detract from the overall value of the original article. One of the key factors in the problem behind internet commenting is the annonymity it provides. Growing up in the electronic age, I've always refered to the sudden power and authority gained to internet commenters as "Internet Muscles". Good read.
Since Veteran's Day is just around the corner, check out this video of a Marvin Gaye rendition on the Star Spangled Banner.
Did you want 7,500 words from The Nation on how overrated Malcolm Gladwell is? As a response, I've got two: "I disagree".
For those of you who haven't heard, there's a bit of a controversy surrounding Michael Jordan's son, a pair of sneakers, and the school he plays for. The University of Central Florida has a contract in place with Addidas to provide the school's athletic apparel, similar to the one VU has with Nike. Well, upon recruiting Jordan, UCF had promised to allow him to wear his dad's shoe line (from Nike), which was in direct violation of the school's contract with Addidas. Long story short: Addidas bailed on the contract, costing the university $3 million in the process. Should Nike ride in on the white horse?
And on your way out, here's The Black Keys covering the Kinks' Act Nice and Gentle with Me: