Track Stars: The Unseen Heros of Movie Sound (1979) 10 min., 16mm, Terry Burke and Andy Malcolm. A split screen contains on one side an action thriller while on the other side two sound effects artist keep their eyes on the playback and work their tails off. [more inside]
posted by Herodios on Jan 8, 2009 - 25 comments

Just the other day I was thinking about World War 2-era propaganda songs, so of course I gave a listen to Smoke On the Water. Say what? You didn't know it was about kickin' Hitler's ass? Or Hirohito's? Guess you weren't listening well enough when ol' Red Foley sang: "...there'll be nothing left but vultures to inhabit all that land, when our modern ships and bombers make a graveyard of Japan..." I tell you, they just don't write songs like that anymore, friends. Anyway, by 1951 Red was looking forward to Peace in the Valley. [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Apr 9, 2008 - 20 comments

The Illustrated Guide to GOP Scandals
posted by trinarian on May 14, 2007 - 44 comments

Why Are British Sex Scandals So Much Better Than America's? A recent (Feb. 2007 issue) Vanity Fair article by James Wolcott examines the Profumo Affair , the Major-Currie revelations and the recent shenanigans at the U.K.'s The Spectator magazine, as compared to Mark Foley, Clinton-Lewinsky and much more.
posted by amyms on Jan 15, 2007 - 35 comments

Voters will see Foley's name on signs to help them make the 'right' choice, if they don't know about his page proclivities. But John Boehner would have 'canned him' had he known about what Foley was doing. In the meantime, Foley has been offered sexual reorientation, even while he's in exclusive alcohol treatment in Arizona, with an 'average stay of 30 days'. Just long enough, don't you think? He'll be relaxing by the pool with a Shirley Temple, but the blogger who exposed him will be out looking for a new job.
posted by Kickstart70 on Oct 29, 2006 - 58 comments

Camille Paglia opines on how the Foley story coverage hurts not only gays but Democrats; on how women have a stake In Conoleeeza Rice's success; talk radio in general; and how the Democrats have to play the religion card well to win, not only now, but in 2008.
posted by nj_subgenius on Oct 27, 2006 - 70 comments

Do you know this scream? Originally labeled in studio reels in 1951 as Man Being Eaten by Alligator, the sound effect now known as the Wilhelm has turned up in dozens of films; sound designers have made a game out of sneaking it past the director's notice. This NPR feature (includes link to RealAudio file) tells much of the story of the Wilhelm Scream. Or you could just watch the best of Wilhelm, compliled in this (27MB) video compilation (read the making-of here). (By the way -- an orc in The Two Towers lets out a Wilhelm as he falls to his death.)
posted by argybarg on Jan 3, 2003 - 45 comments