So Freaking Neat!

Ever consider having a statue of Bigfoot crossing your front lawn? How about Dracula’s coat-of-arms hanging in your man-cave? These items and more can be yours from DesignToscano, whose website features some of the most eclectic items I’ve seen in quite a while. I came across this intriguing site while I was reading about a solar-powered steampunk pocket watch (regular readers know I’m crazy about steampunk), and you can spend hours exploring the unique offerings to be found here.

Check out some of the site’s items below:

Return of the Wooly Mammoth? – No, it's not a SyFy movie. Scientists in Siberia have uncovered the preserved remains of a female mammoth, and, in their efforts to remove it from its ice crypt, drew liquid blood with their pick axes. According to this CNN article, they are now considering the very real possibility of being able to clone the beast and, in effect, bring it back from extinction. All together now: IT'S ALIVE!!!

Tactical BBQ Vest – For those who take their backyard grilling seriously, this vest provides the ultimate in protection and preparation for the outdoor chef. With two large pockets and three smaller ones, you can go armed to the grill with your burger-flipper and favorite condiments. Creating the perfect burger – well, you're on your own there. Available from ThinkGeek for $34.99.

iOS 7 Rumor – The latest rumor out of Cupertino hints that the newest iOS iteration will dump the traditional “skeuomorphic” designs of your smartphone's apps to a flatter (and duller?) design. “Skeuomorphic” designs are those that reflect the real-life looks and patterns we associate with a product – think of the wooden shelves in the Newsstand app, or the leather border and tear marks in the Calendar app. Jonathan Ive, who is responsible for the look and feel of Apple's hardware and software, is no fan of his predecessor's designs, and iOS 7 may present a flatter, less glossy and more unified look for the various core apps. As usual, we'll have to wait until the Fall to find out how accurate these rumors are.

DON'T PANIC! You haven't missed it…yet. Towel Day, that annual celebration of all things Douglas Adams, arrives tomorrow with events scheduled both online and throughout the world. At least 35 countries, from Argentina to Finland – and more – are lining up festivities to honor the memory of the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. And all you need to do is bring your own towel.

So if you can't get to Innsbruck's Don't Panic Party, or if you can't find your way to the Safare Restaurant in Indonesia to get your free Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster (towel required), you can still go online to any number of sites that are celebrating Adams and his creations to join in the fun. Check out www.towelday.org to see a complete list of activities.

And if we should cross paths tomorrow, I hope you'll think, “Now there's a frood who really knows where his towel is.”

(WARNING: SPOILER ALERT! This review assumes that if you’re a Trekker/Trekkie, then you’ve seen this film at least three times already – and if you haven’t, shame on you. The rest of you may scratch your heads and wonder, “What spoilers?” Either way, this post ain’t subtle about plot twists, and you proceed at your own risk. So there!)

Star Trek Into Darkness begins at breakneck speed and keeps the adrenaline running for the length of the film, proving that J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot of the franchise was no fluke. Where sequels limp, his soars – and after a year of disappointments (I’m looking at you, Skyfall), this film, while far from perfect, is a rousing lurch into a promising summer.

The acting is uniformly excellent. The regular characters, having been established in the Abrams’ original, now fit their respective actors like well-oiled machines. Kirk, Spock and McCoy have started to settle into their familiar relationships with each other; Karl Urban as Bones, in particular, has marvelously channelled his inner DeForest Kelley. The old beats have been picked up nicely by the new actors. But the roles that intrigue the most are the “secondary” characters: Sulu, Uhura, Scotty and Chekov. Since the original series only gave a passing nod to these Starfleet members, the actors inhabiting the rebooted roles have a much broader canvas on which to develop their personalities, and both the actors and the writers have embraced the opportunity to expand on the characters.

There’s a reason that I’m focusing on the acting first. Star Trek is nothing if it isn’t the ideal buddy series. These characters and their interplay are at the core of the Star Trek experience, to the point that they have become iconic in American culture. They need no introduction beyond their names, and a floodgate of memories and perceptions are opened in all of us; this is the reason that Star Trek is universally recognized as the premiere science-fiction series, even surpassing Star Wars. And that is why this movie succeeds. Because the plot, whether brilliant or labored or full of holes, is really only the connecting tissue that allows us to tag along with old friends.

Speaking of plot, you may want to re-watch Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan before you see this film. Darkness is a kind of re-imagined mash-up of the original series’ Space Seed episode and Wrath, with other fan-favorite references thrown in for good measure (my favorite was the reference to the small freight ship the Enterprise seized during “the Mudd incident last year”; the idea that Harry Mudd is lurking around somewhere is quite the tease, and with the late Roger C. Carmel gone, well…anyone think Robin Williams would be terrific as Mudd?). What I find interesting is that Abrams has put his individual stamp on this film while hinting that somehow certain events and situations are destined to occur no matter how much the Star Trek timeline has been changed. Kirk and Khan are mortal enemies, and they are doomed to clash with terrible consequences in any timeline, no matter how striking the differences.

In retrospect, if I have one complaint with this film, it’s that there are just a few too many dire situations that always seem to have that one last-ditch way to overcome disaster, usually involving Star-Trekky gobbledygook to avoid certain doom. Still, the mark of a great movie is its ability to carry you through the film without second-guessing the action as it unfolds, and on that score Star Trek Into Darkness succeeds brilliantly.

He wears a slouch hat, but he's not The Shadow. He wears a black cape, but he's not Batman. No, this is Judex, the twentieth-century's first great pulp hero! Pre-dating other popular superheroes and masked avengers by decades, Judex is the French creation of film director Louis Feuillade, who turned from making serials about super villains (Fantomas and Les Vampires) to creating a 12-part adventure with a superhero. Judex, which means “Judge,” has his own underground lair similar to the Batcave and a set of futuristic gadgets that help him in his quest for justice. And if you think Superman pulled off a coup by putting on a pair of glasses and fooling everyone about his secret identity, watch this serial's titular hero put on a hat and cloak and instantly become the unrecognizable Judex!

Turner Classic Movies has resurrected the original 1916 serial (titled simply Judex) and is showing it on three consecutive Sunday nights this month. Hopefully a DVD of the entire collected work will be made available soon. Judex, though not as hyperactive as some of the early Hollywood serials, has a European languidness about it that makes for relaxed viewing, but it still holds one's interest due to the characters. Chief amongst these is villainess Diana Monti, played by the extraordinary Musidora (real name: Jeanne Roque). This vampish actress – a Gallic Theda Bara – is a stunning beauty who found fame initially playing Irma Vep in Les Vampires. She steals each scene she's in, one minute charming and demure, the next cool and calculating as the leader of a criminal gang.

Black Coat Press, one of our favorite publishing houses, now distributes the novel (Judex) based on the original serial and written by the director (Feuillade) who created this turn-of-the-last-century hero. Also available is The Return of Judex, also by Feuillade and based on his sequel serial (no word yet on whether TCM will follow up with the second adventure). A third work, The Shadow of Judex, is forthcoming from Black Coat, and will feature 32 stories by various contemporary authors expanding on the legend of the French “judge.”

So 2013 may just be the year that this French avenger returns in a big way for fans of superheroes, serials and lesser-known pulp crimefighters. You can still catch the final five episodes of the original serial (in glorious black-and-white and sepia) next Sunday at midnight (Monday morning); and you can continue to get your pulp-fiction fix at Black Coat Press by ordering the Judex canon. Enjoy!