Peter Capaldi's FRANZ KAFKA'S IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Following the news that Peter Capaldi will take over the role of the titular Doctor on Doctor Who, the Scottish actor suddenly finds himself an object of intense fascination for nerds around the globe. That's led to the unearthing of Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life, a dark yet daffy and kind of delightful short-ish film that Capaldi wrote and directed in 1994. Richard E. Grant is spectacular as Kafka, making this famously tormented writer both comical and affecting.

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Miniature models of classic artists at work in their studios

Courtesy of the folks at Juxtapoz magazine, check out this amazing gallery of miniature model portraits of classic artists at work in their studios.


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A very Betamax Christmas to you!

If you need a little retro Christmas TV, right this very minute, Betamax Christmas will put the jolly back in your holly. The site recreates a full evening of Christmas TV programming circa 1989 or so, complete with rabbit ears on the TV that you have to fiddle with to get a better picture. (You change the channel by flipping the remote floating over on the right. It seems obvious once you notice it, but it took me a while to spot it.)


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But do you recall... the most obscure Rankin/Bass specials of all?

Much as I love the classic Rankin/Bass holiday specials, at this point I've seen 'em and seen 'em and seen 'em all again. But it turns out that there are a few that aren't familiar to me, and maybe they're just as new to you.

Does Pinocchio's Christmas sound even slightly familiar to you? How about Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey? Or The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold?)

(I get that feeling that as time passed Rankin and Bass started getting kind of desperate for new Christmas special ideas. I mean, Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey?

Read more by Greg Stacy at GregStacy.com. Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.

"I'm Dreaming of a Blue Sunset"

Enjoy this Doctor Manhattan-esque footage of a sunset as seen from the surface of Mars.

Read more by Greg Stacy at GregStacy.com. Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.