Joshua Topolsky

The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:56:00 -0500

Did you know that in 1998 — long before Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter — that the UPN aired a sitcom called The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer for about 3 weeks which followed the adventures of the president and his valet Desmond (a former English nobleman)? According to Wikipedia:

A black English nobleman named Desmond Pfeiffer (the “P” is not silent) is kidnapped by his enemies and sent to America on a slave ship. He eventually becomes President Abraham Lincoln’s valet. In the show, he serves as the intelligent and erudite backbone of a Civil War-era White House populated by louts and drunkards.

Needless to say, it was not a hit.

Before the series’ premiere, several African American activist groups, including the Los Angeles area NAACP, protested against the premise of the series. On September 24, 1998, a protest against the series was held outside Paramount Studios. Five days later, UPN released a statement regarding the controversy and stated that the network planned on delaying the controversial pilot episode (which never aired) and would instead air an alternate episode in its place. The first episode of the series aired on October 5, 1998, ranking 116th out of 125 television programs for that week. Desmond Pfeiffer was removed from UPN’s schedule on October 24 and, after airing one episode two days after being removed from UPN’s lineup, was canceled.

Admit it, this is horrifying. Why has there not been a...

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:05:32 -0500

Admit it, this is horrifying. Why has there not been a huge-budget film made based on this stuff? Oh also, see The Mist.

nevver:

Cthulhu

The song you’ll have stuck in your head for the rest of...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:06:30 -0500

The song you’ll have stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

Beyond the Black Rainbow

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:43:49 -0500

This movie looks fucking awesome.

thisistheverge: Ah right, cyber woman with a corn.

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:03:08 -0500

thisistheverge:

Ah right, cyber woman with a corn.

it8bit: Scrambled Video Game Characters - by Laura Vidal

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:21:46 -0500

it8bit:

Scrambled Video Game Characters - by Laura Vidal

youbroketheinternet: perspective.

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:14:11 -0500

youbroketheinternet:

perspective.

Via Behance

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:51:49 -0500

Via Behance

thisistheverge: REBLOG OR LIKE?

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:11:10 -0500

thisistheverge:

REBLOG OR LIKE?

Maybe now I'll exercise

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:28:34 -0500

Via The Verge

Mace

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:15:08 -0500

Via New York Shitty

The Amazing Screw-On Head

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:27:14 -0500

Watching this might ruin your life. Yet it’s so good....

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:25:30 -0500

Watching this might ruin your life. Yet it’s so good. NSFW, amongst other things.

This doesn't sound fun

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:01:00 -0500

“I felt like the disaster itself was manageable,” Smith added, referring to the grounding and tilting of the ship, “but I felt like the crew was going to kill us.”

I think this sums up the problem with American politics nicely

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:12:21 -0500

David Carr, writing about SOPA:

Maplight, a site that researches the influence of money in politics, reported that the 32 sponsors of the legislation received four times as much in contributions from the entertainment industry as they did from software and Internet companies.

Good to be reminded that most of our politicians are nothing more than puppets for private companies whose only mandate is to make more money for themselves.

Uh, new Dark Knight Rises trailer looks insane. Insane.

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:49:30 -0500

Uh, new Dark Knight Rises trailer looks insane. Insane.

Distortions

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:41:13 -0500

Still perfect.

Via @StarFire2258

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:24:14 -0500

Via @StarFire2258

nevver: Occupy Everything

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:48:43 -0500

nevver:

Occupy Everything

I want to go here

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 18:29:20 -0500

Public Hotel