The Edge

I've tried for years to nail the Edge's delay sound. Most guitarists don't even try. You can't just step on a delay pedal and expect magic to come out.

But one guitarist approached it scientifically. And got it from every angle. It's fascinating, perplexing and an enormous help. My only problem now is to play this right, I'm gonna have to get somebody else to sing.

Check it out.

Marion Ravenwood

I've never been a big collector of custom figures. The furthest I usually go is a head swap or Sharpie to fix the blacks. But when it comes to Indiana Jones, I have no limits.

So when I was trolling ebay and came across this custom sculpt of Marion Ravenwood, my jaw hit the floor. A day or two of online research proved Sideshow Toys had no intention of releasing a Marion figure on their own. So I pulled the trigger.



Now I had to build the rest of her. The latest Hot Toys female sculpt was in perfect proportions and although it was no longer on sale, it was easy enough to find on ebay.

The dress was trickier. I ended up finding a guy in Istanbul that custom makes them. He even ripped it to make it more film acccurate.



I took a look for shoes but after watching the film again I noticed she doesn't wear them long. If Marion could run from an exploding plane barefoot, she could go without the high heels.



It took about a month and more money than I care to admit but she's fantastic. It's been three years since Sideshow announced their 12" line. It's trickled down to about 1 piece a year but it's worth continuing. And if I can keep finding customs like this one, it's worth adding even more.

Bill Cosby

Friday night at the Chicago Theater I ticked off another life goal; Renee and I saw Bill Cosby.

The man is 73 years old. I know this because he started many bits with it. And he hasn't lost a step. Sure, he's slower than he was but like the greats he shifted his persona to match his speed. Pauses became pregnant. Anticipation ran higher on each set-up. And the audience was glued to every word.

When Ed Murray and I were working at the Improv we used to marvel at "Bill Cosby: Himself". "The man sat down!" We couldn't believe he'd have that much control over the stage to not hold his ground. Now he's even more relaxed in an oversized sweatshirt, sweatpants and crocs, wearing a wireless mike around his ear. No frills.

Two hours. No opener. No introduction. Some crowd work. All new material. He's still telling stories of his childhood which became the basis of "Fat Albert" in the 1970's. He's still telling stories of his wife and children which became the basis of "The Cosby Show" in the 1980's. But now he has grandparent stories, as sharply defined as any material he's ever done.

In "Jerry Seinfeld: Comedian", there's a scene where Chris Rock urges Jerry to go see Bill Cosby. "All new material. Killer." That movie was five years ago and Chris Rock can rest assured, it's still true.

Captain America Trailer

Okay. Now I'm "Thor" excited. You take that any way you want.

Slash, Dave Grohl and Lemmy

Ben Freaks Out to Motorhead

Who wants to know why I'm tired all the time?



Direct Link.

Planet of the Apes Discussion

Continuing the vein of reviewing movies you've already seen a hundred times, Roger Ebert's site has a cool retro review of the original "Planet of the Apes". Because who doesn't want to think about "Planet of the Apes" again?

Indiana Jones Screenwriting Discussion

Here's a series of great articles: the first explaining why Raiders of the Lost Ark is so well written, the second why Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was not and why the unproduced Indiana Jones and the City of Gods was better than Crystal Skull, but not by much.

Crybaby Movie

It's completely out online.

Part 1:



Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:

Movie Locations Guide

Ever get completely distracted in a movie thinking, "That street! Where is that!"? Growing up in New York this happens to me once a week (not counting every time 30 Rock is on.

Now we can know for sure. Movie Locations Guide has a comprehensive list of iconic locations, and establishing shots of buildings that were really in a studio. There are even maps of New York and LA. Now stop making yourself crazy.


Check it out!