Afternoon Meme: "The Hobbit" Has a Script, Conan Might Have a Gig, Hugh Jackman Gets a Son, And Girl Scout Cookie Personalities

Thanks to a terrible headline from hollywoodnews.com, I thought Rose McGowan had been cast in The Hobbit. Fortunately, she’s just been cast in Conan the Barbarian – as a witch. Typecast much? The bulk of the article is about the fact that Sir Ian McKellen says he’s got a script for The Hobbit and begins shooting in June.

You know how a favorite Republican stall tactic is complaining that we should be talking economy or war instead of debating DADT, gay marriage, ENDA, or anything else? Well, in this case I might agree, since the New Hampshire government is all bogged down picking out an official state drink, with lines of battle split between apple cider and milk. How about we compromise on maple syrup?

I’m willing to admit I may have put some things in my mouth other people wouldn’t. (What? I was talking about chocolate covered crickets!), But there's a culinary line even I won't cross. And canned cheeseburgers are over it, as are a couple more things in this list of 12 Things You Should Never Put In Your Mouth.

Hugh Jackman has a son! Well, yes, but I’m talking about an onscreen son for his upcoming robot fighting movie Real Steel. Canadian actor Dakota Goyo nabbed the coveted part.

The fact that St. Patrick had nothing to do with green beer isn’t going to stop me from drinking it tonight. Manolith tries to be spoilsports with their list of 5 Saints Who Had Absolutely Nothing To Do With What They’re Known For.

I’d never really thought much about the fact that when a helicopter flies, the engine spins the blades one way, and actually spins the body of the helicopter the opposite direction, thus the need for a tail rotor to fight that spin (and waste energy). Otherwise it’s less a transportation device and more an amusement park ride to make you puke. Now someone has a helicopter that runs on H2O2 that solves that problem, and it really flies.

Conan O’Brien gets talked about a lot these days. While he’s likely to end up on Fox, there’s a backup plan to syndicate CoCo to the masses in the 7pm time slot, which is a little early for his stoner audience if you ask me.

New thermal imaging of the Red Spot on Jupiter shows that it’s not really a red spot, and the solar system’s largest storm is a lot more complicated than that.

Again, we’re always hearing that young people don’t care about health care because they’re healthy. It turns out they’re not: they’re fat, out of shape, smoke, and binge drink. In other words, they’re college students.

Matt Damon is done making Bourne movies, which somebody should have told him before he made Green Zone. But seriously, I read all the original Bourne books decades ago, and since the author is too dead to write new stories themselves, Matt may have a point.

Dublin Pride is lashing out at New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade for not letting gays march. They figure if they can in Ireland, they should when America celebrates Ireland. Silly Celts, American’s don’t care what you think your culture is, only what we think you think your culture is.

Do you know what your favorite Girl Scout cookies say about your personality? Since I’m a Thin Mint guy: 

You’re outgoing and smart with a quick sense of humor, which means you’re often the center of attention. But like your favorite cookie your even disposition has a hint of bite.

The film awards have been handed out at SXSW, and the only thing I spotted that I was sure was queer was a Runner Up music video for Forest by Grizzly Bear with out front man Ed Droste.

Adam Lambert is in Japan this week. Considering all I know about Japanese pop fashion I learned from Gwen Stefani, he's had to step up his game a little.

I'm too uncoordinated to wear spikes near my face.

This pillow is made of awesome (and 98% polyester fill).

I don't think a paperclip and a rubber band is gonna solve this one.

A while back I ran a video of a terrifying dog/man hybrid eating at the dinner table. he was an adorable retriever and fairly nonthreatening. This looks more like heavy infantry of their army.

Perspective - it can make all the difference.

I feel pretty...

I'm sorry, but this is what happens when you let straight women do makeovers on men. This guy was so much hotter before she put her hands on him. Leave it to the gays, please. Wow - never thought I'd say that.

Last night Jon Stewart covered a lot of ground on healthcare. He made lots of great points, but it was when he went to interview Jude Law that he really ripped apart the entire Republican platform in a single sentence. And made me choke on my Red Bull. Oh, then he tied Jude's new film Repo Man into the healthcare debate, which was brills.

Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert decided to take on the Texas Textbook Commission and their rewriting of history by having a history professor who wrote textbooks about, well, history on his show. Glad he's catching up to the topics we've been talking about in Meme since December.