Pepperpot - Puppets, Persepolis, Pixar

I've got things to do and samosas to eat, so here are some links to keep you occupied:

Here's the link to a story I've retold a few times on Barroom Opera. Brooklyn Bar Serves Opera On Tap from All Things Considered (NPR). I'd love to see this in Toronto, and thought back to this story as I sat in the Mill Street Brew Pub, and noticed one of the waitresses hitting a few high notes before her shift. There are many opera singers around town, alot of them without a regular gig. Why not open up the back barroom at say, The Cameron House or The Gladstone, and just have opera singers singing a song or two while we down a few beers? It would tear down the pretention and detachment most people associate with opera by bringing it amongst the people.


Culture Bully lists the top 5 music videos featuring puppets (with video links). I assume Interpol's Evil was number 6.


Variety reports that Sean Penn and Iggy Pop have signed on as voice talent for the English-language version of the Persepolis film, based on the acclaimed graphic novel. Persepolis is a beautifially rendered graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi that describes her childhood in Iran after the revolution. It was made into a French-language animated film and won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes.


The A.V. Club interviews comedian Patton Oswalt, who is getting exposure as the voice of Remy in Ratatouille. He's a funny angry man. And Warren Ellis likes him:

I was having dinner with a visiting American comedian friend in London a couple of years ago — one of Marco Pierre White’s restaurants — and he and the others convinced me to order the “roast suckling pig” on the menu. There was great anticipation as the dish arrived — it was fast, we only had time to drink a couple of bottles of wine each. But it was three slices of pork and a sliver of apple. I still pity the other diners who had to put up with the people at the back yelling “Where’s my f*cking pig? Bring us the pig! Get out there and kill me a f*cking pig! We demand a pig with Marco Pierre White in its mouth, right f*cking now!”

Marco Pierre White, if you’re reading this — you are a weakling. Furthermore, you owe me a pig.

Patton Oswalt does not yell “Where’s the f*cking pig?” in RATATOUILLE this weekend.

Warren Ellis, from his new column on the Suicide Girls website, The Sunday Hangover

Speaking of Ratatouille and Pixar, Philadelphia Inquirer’s film critic Carrie Rickey points out something that appears to be spot on:

And am I crazy to read the subtext of Ratatouille as Pixar -- the rats in the house that Mickey Mouse built -- reaffirming the true mission of Walt Disney as Remy the rat reaffirms the values of chef Gusteau?

Adam at ALOTT5MA pointed out that "Indeed, the real-world equivalent of Chef Gusteau's frozen burritos -- Disney's profitable-but-crappy direct-to-DVD sequel program -- has been scrapped under the new Pixar regime." It's quality and legacy winning out over a quick buck. So no "Cinderella 4 - Revenge of the Sith"".

Links via the usual suspects: ALOTT5MA, largeheartedboy