Author: Jim Ciscell

In the original run of The Twilight Zone, there were a lot of current, as well as not-so-current, short stories used as inspiration. Recently, I had a discussion with friends about what other stories would have made a great Twilight Zone episode. The rules are that the story had to be written before the end of…

If any company exists long enough, they’re inevitably going to inspire rumors and innuendo that they may not be proud of. However, some companies, like Coca-Cola, seem to attract those stories more than others. If corporations were truly people, as Mitt Romney insisted they were, they would all gather round in a bar, and listen…

Recently, fans of Veronica Mars may or may not have shocked the world (depending on your point of view) by raising millions on Kickstarter for a Veronica Mars movie. Among the enticements for donating to the project were: receiving a speaking role, naming a character, and having Kristen Bell follow you on Twitter for a…

It’s been almost 70 years since World War II. However, the Nazi party, and their symbols, remains fresh in the minds of many as allegories of pure evil. Nazis and neo-Nazis are the easiest automatic villains left. If you see a Nazi or someone dressed as a Nazi, then you are trained to automatically assume…

It may have been conscious or subconscious. It may have just ended up developing that way. However, there are abundant similarities between the fictional character of Bruce Wayne and the very real President of the United States Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. Some of them may have been intentional upon Batman’s creation, but others seemingly developed on…

Every year, it seems there are more and more movies catering to a portion of the population that used to have their heads bathed in the business end of the toilet. But there are still certain years in which the Movie Gods truly align, to bring you a mind-numbing geek festival of the brain. There…

Jon Stewart once stated “Democrats- you know, for their thing, it’s always they love this country- they just somehow wish it were a different country. You know, Democrats are always like- you know, America’s the greatest country in the world. Have you seen Finland’s health care system? You get back rubs at work. You’re surrounded…

There are a lot of reasons why even a planned sequel will not get off the ground. The most likely reason is that the first movie did not make enough cash at the box office to warrant the higher price tag as well as diminishing return of a second go round. Sometimes, the star themselves…

Using what is considered to be “accepted knowledge” about ghosts and haunting, as well as the Star Wars Universe in general, it can be argued, simply by watching the movies (not the expanded universe or novels,) that Yoda was ALREADY DEAD by the time that Luke got to Dagobah. In short, the ghost of Obi…

We are not here to endorse a political candidate. However, 2016 is going to be a free for all in the Presidential arena. This election will not feature an incumbent for the office with a built in advantage. This is the same situation that occurred in 1980 (Reagan versus Carter), 1988 (George H.W. Bush versus…

Children of the 1980s have the year 2015 marked on our calendars. The reason for this is because the movie Back To the Future II told us we would have flying cars and hover boards by 2015. There are still two years left to mass produce. If an apocalypse can theoretically occur in a day,…

Many people consider the study of ancient languages to be boring. However, every now and again, the guy reading Latin in the library will burst out laughing. The reason for this, is that there are modern interpretations of ancient words that can honestly just strike you as funny. Need proof?  This is the Greek and…

Often, in the United States, there are only a few times when activities of Muslims are reported. Most of these stories tend to involve terrorism, suspected terrorism, or violence, such as 9/11 or the recent attack in Libya. However, there are many positive, as well as heroic, stories involving Muslims as well. This list hopes…

It all started with a simple petition, stating that the United States government needed to invest in a Death Star. The primary goal was to have an armed defense station in space, which is certainly laudable enough. After thousands of signatures were guaranteed, Paul Shawcross, on behalf of Obama, officially rejected the idea. His explanation…

It is an cliché by now that any story about a comic book character’s “death” should be taken with a a grain of salt. However, sometimes the end of the character is not only a great story, but a symbol of growth for every single character around them. That is all undone, however, when the…

Have you ever noticed how Hollywood likes to put out movies of similar material, almost at the same time? Sometimes,  it’s just a huge coincidence; there might just be a lot of interest in the subject at the time. However, when you start to see more than one picture in under a year about Wyatt…

The term ‘genius’ can encompass a number of things. For every person who has their own personal triangle, there is a comedian who made a national catchphrase out of “And away we go.” We throw around the word ‘genius’ for everything from inventing the light bulb, an IQ over 200, to even the subtle complexities…

Some of us look at the sign in the liquor store that says “If you were born after this date..” and get more and more depressed each year. If that is you, this article might be a slightly sad reminder that you’re getting up there. You whippersnappers, on the other hand, might have no clue…

When compiling a list of roles that Adam West has done, it is all too easy to just put a few different versions of Batman at the top. Now, around here, we do not do “easy.” Everyone knows that Adam West played Batman. A lot of other people know that Adam West voiced Batman in…

Sports rankings are always going to be subjective. It matters when you were born. It matters who you root for. It matters who you root against. You can argue points, championships, awards, and the ever-present “eye test.” Also, sports rankings are some of the most fun to debate, no matter what the category. With all of…

Dominance and submission is becoming a more prevalent relationship model in our society. This is particularly true with the emergence of book series like 50 Shades of Grey. So it makes perfect sense that there are certain fictional women who give off that certain…vibe. Sometimes, the vibe is hinted at, and sometimes it’s more or less implied.…

The Justice League of America first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #28  in February 1960.  Any storyline with a 50-plus year history will fall into a bout of lameness every now and again. Our job is to point out just how lame some of those “official” storylines were. Take with us a journey…

Every decade has movie franchises that define the decade in the minds of young as well as old viewers. We are focusing on films whose first part makes its debut after January 1st, 2010. Now that we are in 2012 and assuming there will be a 2013, why wait around to figure out what franchises…

This may seem like a no-brainer to anyone born with a penis. The truth of the matter is the matter of penis removal (even by a licensed professional) can have a lot of horrifying results, as well as a few lesser-known stipulations. 10. Even Attempting To Remove Your Penis Can Lead To Lots of Bad…