From the Wire

Another in an occasional series of tidbits and amusements culled from press releases I receive.

“10 Ways to Make Your Kid Fat” was the headline of one recent release. That’s a headline that will at least get me to read the release. Way to go, ZisBoomBah.com, although your name could use a little work. ZisBoomBah.com is an innovative website that challenges conventional wisdom through tools that empower children and inspire parents to live a fun, active, and healthy life. – or so says the release.

Among the tongue-in-cheek tips: Continue reading

Heard on the Wire

Comic geeks (and I use the term affectionately for I am one of the tribe) can spend hours debating who would win in a fight. Wolverine vs. Captain America. Wonder Woman vs. Jean Grey. The JSA vs. the Avengers. In one arena, Batman has bested Superman. Detective Comics #327 issued in 1939 features the first appearance of The Bat-Man, as he was originally known. A copy of that comic is currently going for $418,250. This puts the Dark Knight ahead of the Caped Crusader. Superman’s first appearance (Action Comics #1, 1938) sold for $317,000 in 2009.

More press-release goodness after the jump.

Continue reading

The First Link Collection of 2010

Yes, it’s 31 days into the new year. I could tell you I haven’t been captivated by any new sites on the ‘net, but we all know the truth – I’m lazy.

New sites came and went in my limited attention span, and I forgot to bookmark them for the blog or bookmarked them but never got around to blogging. If I were the type of person who made (and/or kept resolutions), I’d make one to blog daily or weekly. But simply making a list of resolutions also requires I address the lazy thing.

In any case, here are some links that I deemed worthy of sharing. Click on the bold headlines to check them out.

Nic Cage As Everyone
“Founded on the belief that everything in life would be better with a little more Nic Cage, the most unique and versatile actor of his generation.” Not all are hits, but few are complete misses. Plus the Photoshop jobs are pretty decent.

Dante Meets Family Circus
I was never a big fan of Family Circus in the Sunday funny papers. They were kind of “eh,” except for the map ones. The ones where Billy lost something and a series of Xs showed you everywhere he looked for his missing baseball hat and the distractions that caught his eye. They were fun. Anyway, Dante Meets Family Circus (which picks up from Scott Meets Family Circus – go back in the archives) introduces a new character to the family. It’s not laugh-out-loud funny, but it’s amusing. And I like the one where Billy or Jeffy asks Dad why he’s lying on the bed sobbing.

Catch Up on Lost
The last season of Lost premieres tomorrow night. Sadly, the show will reach its finale before the much-hyped zombie season. For those of you who forgot what came before and those of you who unwisely chose Feb. 2 as the day to start watching Lost for this first time, here’s a recap. I wish my family get togethers were like this.

Accordion Magic
I’ll close this pop-culture edition of Links No One But Tammy Cares About with a musical tribute to Star Wars. It’s from WNET’s NY On the Clock series, which profiles “the New Yorkers who make [the] city great.”

From the Wire

One of the nice things about working in publishing is access to PR Newswire. Sure, I use it to see what new developments are coming in healthcare, but I quickly discovered I could receive press releases about all kinds of stuff.

I set up a profile to deliver entertainment, food and book news. Not everything that comes through is about Quentin Tarentino walking a red carpet for the release of Inglorious Basterds. Some releases are more … specific to their target audiences. Or just plain weird.

Here are some of my favorites. My comments are in italics. Continue reading