Mouse Eats Spider

Anyone who grew up in the '60s and '70s can remember that kids chose Marvel Comics to get away from the clean-scrubbed world of Disney. Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk and the X-Men all questioned the natural order of things, while Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck were cartoon characters every parent could love. 

That's why today's Wall Street Journal report that Disney has paid $4 billion for Marvel Entertainment comes as a total shock. The recent success of Spider-man and Iron Man movies (and the OK performance of the Incredible Hulk movie) have made Marvel the most successful independent company in Hollywood and a valuable property, but Disney seems like an uneasy fit. Captain Jack Sparrow might cut it as a Marvel character, but there's not much else in the Disney universe that seems to fit. Let's hope they know what they're doing here. No one wants to see the Hulk make a guest appearance on Hannah Montana to sing a duet with Miley.

How Realistic is Portrayal of EODs in The Hurt Locker?

The Pentagon Channel talks to Kathryn Bigelow, director The Hurt Locker, about her efforts to accurately portray the efforts of Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams in Iraq.

As USA Withdraws from Iraq, Americans Contemplate an Invasion of Scotland

The BBC reports that Americans, angry over Scotland's "compassionate release" of the Iraqi convicted of the 1986 Lockerbie bombing, are calling for retribution against the UK country, starting with a boycott of Scottish goods. Angry online campaigners are demanding that bar patrons order "Freedom Liquor" if they can't give up their scotch whisky and the longtime American boycott of haggis now seems to be set in concrete.

The Midnight Cowboy Predicts Civil War

Noted conspiracy theorist and occasional actor Jon Voight now worries that President Obama is "creating" a civil war in the United States through his promotion of socialism using bullying methods he learned from a book called Rules for Radicals by someone named Saul Alinsky. In an interview with The Washington Times, Voight also claims "average Americans don't want a government-run health care plan," but doesn't clarify whether saving America from socialism requires closing VA Hospitals and ending Medicare for the elderly.

Hope for the Digitally Obsessed

Silicon Alley Insider reports that compulsive computer users can now get treatment at the reSTART Internet Addiction Recovery Program. If your family thinks you're spending too much time playing World of Warcraft, they can pay $14,500 for you to spend 45 days on a farm in Washington state, taking care of goats and chickens while you're unplugged from the grid. If this business model works, someone will surely open a fantasy football rehab by 2011.

The Long-Overdue Return of James Cameron

Director James Cameron (Terminator and Titanic) has spent the last ten years making Avatar, a movie that uses a new 3-D capture technology that the movie studios hope will "revolutionize filmmaking." If you didn't get a ticket to one of this weekend's sold-out sneak previews (featuring 15 minutes of footage from the film), you'll have to wait until December to see the whole thing.

The Guy Who Hosted "Extra" Has a Band

Mark McGrath from that Extra entertainment news show has a band called "Sugar Ray" and they're on tour and have a new album called Music for Cougars. McGrath talks to the Pentagon Channel about visiting injured troops at Walter Reed Hospital. (via DODvClips.mil)

Quentin Tarantino Has Some Suggestions for Your Netflix Queue

Inglourious Basterds director Quentin Tarantino recommends the Top 20 movies released since 1992, the year his first film Reservoir Dogs hit theaters. Highlights from his list include Dazed & Confused, Lost in Translation and Team America: World Police.

The Nuge is Too Hot for Texas

Political commentator and sometimes rock guitarist Ted Nugent is speaking out against the Waco Tribune-Herald newspaper, which fired him as a columnist for being "too negative." 

Texas Monthly reports that the paper fired the Nuge after he turned in an editorial that included this challenge to the paper's new owners: 

"The new editor of the Waco Trib recently told me that I could only write nice things about people, that I could not be critical. Basically, that I need to tone it down. I can not, nor will not, comply with this Romper Room request. My reply: Nuts!"

How Les Paul Changed the World

Les Paul, who died yesterday at the age of 94, may have been best know for his namesake guitar (most famously played by Jimmy Page and Slash) or a long string of hit records he made with his wife Mary Ford. 

Either achievement would be enough to make him one of music's all-time legends, but Paul's invention of multi-track recording was the stroke of technical genius that truly changed the word and created the modern record industry.