Bethany Larson

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Remember that new M.I.A track we told you about the other day? Well it turns out that it’s a protest song entitled “Space Odyssey” that M.I.A. and producer Rusko recorded after the New York Times ran a travel article that touted Sri Lanka as the best place to vacation in 2010 just two days after posting an article about brutal war crimes that may have been committed in the country.

We’re assuming that this lede is what set her off:

“For a quarter century, Sri Lanka seems to have been plagued by misfortune, including a brutal civil war between the Sinhalese-dominated government and a separatist Tamil group. But the conflict finally ended last May, ushering in a more peaceful era for this teardrop-shaped island off India’s coast, rich in natural beauty and cultural splendors.”

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As you probably know, we love a good chart and anything body part-related. Now, thanks to data visualization artists Fernando Viégas and Martin Wattenberg’s Fleshmap, we get the best of both worlds. They listened to over 10,000 songs to create their visual compendium of odes to visible body parts (this makes the inner organs obsolete — so if you were hoping to find out how often heavy metal bands reference the brain, you’re out of luck) in 10 different music genres.

Read the full article at Flavorwire.

Read the full article at Flavorwire.

Published by Ozarks Unbound.

During Thursday night’s “30 Rock,” we witnessed the mid-season creative hump with “Winter Madness.”

Jack is still jonesing for Nancy (Julianne Moore), the TGS cast and NBC staff is grumpy, and Jack decides that they should all go to Boston (instead of Miami, as Liz and Pete suggest) to film TGS, so that he can visit Nancy.

Now, we all know how I feel about Jack and Liz, so it comes as no surprise that I cannot stand Nancy. I think she’s highly annoying and not funny and Moore’s Bwaston accent is awful. I’m very excited to report that by the end of the episode Nancy had decided that, despite her pending divorce, she couldn’t allow herself to be with Jack. I did a happy dance.

As for the rest of the episode, the cast and staff of TGS is extremely irritable and fighting amongst themselves to the point that Liz doesn’t think the episode is going to happen. Jack suggests that Liz reunite the cast by creating a common enemy, preferably Lutz.

As Liz attempts to do this, the staff turns against her and she “creates” a fictional common enemy, Dale Snitterman. Unfortunately for Dale, he isn’t fictional–he is the man who occupies the office across from Jack’s Boston office, which looks exactly like his NYC office. So, the TGSers bust into Snitterman’s office, yell at him, and Lutz Truffle Shuffles him. It’s disturbing.

The funniest sub plot of the show involves Tracy yelling at Revolutionary War actors because of their racist attitudes and vague writing when drafting this country’s founding documents. Tracy takes so much pleasure in this, that he returns to the Freedom Trail tour to heckle them, but inadvertently angers Patriots fans and is then attacked.

Although the episode had its funny moments, any show that relies on Tracy Morgan’s Revolutionary War jokes is lacking momentum.

Hopefully next week will return to the quippy norm.
Favorite Quotes
Liz pitching Jack the idea of filming in Miami.
Liz: Cross-promotional… deal mechanics… revenue streams… jargon… synergy.
Jack: That’s the best presentation I’ve ever heard

Kenneth, about Boston: ”They’re all named Sean, they’re mean, and I hate it here.”

Jack: The imaginary enemy. Classic move, Lemon. The Salem Witch Trials, the Red scare, global warming.

Tracy to John Hancock impersonator: “For a dude that has the most hilarious last name I ever heard…..you blow!”