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Okkervil River Leaks, Barack Obama Speaks, Olympic Equine CheatsThe Stand Ins debuts via cover songs, Obama pulls more viewers than the Oscars, and horses doping with chili peppers in Beijing.
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A Case Against Turning Bad Ideas into Awful Franchises: Three Tips for Xbox Originals
“Masters of Horror Taking on Comedy” betrays its embarrassing boardroom creativity. Here are three ways Microsoft could better serve their audience and build their service.
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‘Coraline’ re-envisioned, ‘Daily Show’ re-reported, ‘Nick and Norah’ reminiscent.
Behind the scenes of Henry Selick’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman, another of many articles on why ‘The Daily Show’ beats real news, and a trailer with some familiar touches.
3 commentsplaying
The Joys of Untangling ‘Braid’
In a sense, Jonathan Blow’s indie gem is storyless, and leaves us to extract whatever story we glean from playing it.
watching
Ad Men Push ‘Mad Men’
How marketers turned the idea of a target audience back on themselves, creating a unique feedback loop whose reverberations may be partly responsible for the show’s success.
side notes
Rogen on Buddy Flicks, Patton on Graduating, and a Nursery Rhyme on Net Etiquette
A top five from the Pineapple Express star, Mr. Oswalt addresses his alma mater, and Baby’s First Internet.
playing
I Feel the Pain of Every One, Then I Feel Nothing: Death and Distress in ‘COD4′
Call of Duty 4 is much more than just another war game for the trigger-happy — it evolves the way you experience pain, and even death, through your game character’s eyes.
2 commentsside notes
Watching the Watchmen, Draining the Super-well, & Bringing the Payne
The Watchmen trailer (plus its great music), the limits of the superhero film genre, and our first look at a Max Payne movie.
3 commentswatching
The Two Faces of ‘The Dark Knight’
A review in two parts: a look at how the latest Batman supersedes the superhero mold, and as a counterpoint, a piece on how The Dark Knight’s hype weighs down an otherwise great movie.
4 commentsreading
Fan Fiction: John Darnielle Mixes Crit with Lit
The man behind the Mountain Goats makes his book debut with an entry into the 33 1/3 series. But tackling Black Sabbath’s ‘Master of Reality’ in the form of a novella is more than just a novelty.
side notes
‘Blood’ and ‘Kill’ Fill in at HBO
True Blood comes to a boil while Generation Kill makes its debut.
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