As we fire up the BBQ for what Fenzel, in his brilliant analysis of Independence Day, calls “this holiest of America’s fireworks-oriented days off from work,” we’re going to take a few days off from overthinking and instead focus on overeating. And glorifying war.

If you can’t get enough of us in that time, did you know we’re on the Facebook and the Twitter?

So as we continue to mourn the loss of Michael Jackson (and the ladies begin to mourn the loss of Kevin Jonas to matrimony, amirite?) let us remember the true meaning of the holiday: Our true enemy is the British.

Oh, hey, anyone see Public Enemies?

The King of Pop is dead at 50. The media circus has already started. The national crisis has assumed such dire proportions that MTV briefly reverted to showing music videos last night. Many are still in a state of shock.

How are you holding up? What are your thoughts about the man, his music, and his decisive influence on the course of global popular culture? And what’s your reaction to the full-court press in the television, internet, radio, and print media?

Today, we present a guest post from ShadowBanker of the excellent blog Ecocomics. As I mentioned in last week’s open thread, we’re big fans here. Along the lines of a couple of our podcast episodes, it presents simple, rational tools for understanding the hordes of undead ravaging the post-apocalyptic world looking for delicious, delicious brains. Enjoy!

Suppose that in 2010 there is a major zombie apocalypse.  Inexplicably, corpses all over the world reanimate and hunt the human race in search of fresh brains.  Now, assume that after years of struggle, the human race prevails and the zombies have been contained on the island formerly known as New Zealand.  What now?  What happens after the great zombie wars?

Fortunately, you can’t kill vampires with a car. According to Reuters, “Twilight star Robert Pattinson was hit by a taxi in New York as he tried to run away from a crowd of hysterical teenage fans, but he was not seriously injured, US media reported.”

I feel sorry for the guy. You really look like a wuss when you have to retreat to defend yourself from from adolescent girls.

We haven’t gotten really excited about a movie this summer (except, that is, for rewatching Ghostbusters for Ghostbusters Week) since Star Trek. (We liked Up, but that’s not quite the same as being excited.) Will that change this weekend with Year One? Hey, what do you think of George Michael Bluth’s…er…Michael Cera’s movie career? A long down-slope form Juno to Nick and Nora to whatever quirky™ indie comedy comes next?

And, since none of us have seen the movie, we should really take this opportunity to pontificate about Bruno and whether it’s offensive to gay people.

Also, a little announcement: we’re excited to be exchanging guest posts next week with the fascinating guys at the Ecocomics blog. I won’t say exactly what they’re writing about—it’s not, strictly speaking, comics-related—but I will say it involves zombies.

I’m particularly excited to have these guys OTI. When Belinkie sent a link to the site around to our email list we discovered that a number of us were already fan of their work. For example, they take up the question of whether Batman villains should betray each other, analyzing it in terms of the Prisoner’s Dilemma (and offering a clear explanation as to why the rational choice to play the strictly dominant strategy leads to outcomes that are Pareto inefficient). You may remember Mlawski’s similar analysis of The Dark Knight Returns…see? They’re right up our alley. Stay tuned.

(Like game theory? Learn it where most of the OTI writers did.)

I once heard a story… “Whatever blooms from the Baobab is given back to the earth, because the mighty tree never forgets its roots.” Like the mighty Baobab, McDonald’s and I will not be moved.

You’re not going to believe this, but the statement above is a direct quotation from the official McDonald’s website. First of all, it makes no sense. The tree gives back to the earth, and the speaker “will not be moved.” I don’t really get the analogy. And I really don’t get how McDonald’s factors into it. Does McDonald’s give back to the earth? Is McDonald’s impossible to move? Here’s my best shot: McDonald’s gives the speaker the strength of a mighty tree. But it’s certainly a confusing way to put it, not to mention a silly thing to say. Not only that, McDonald’s is equating itself with one of the most sacred trees in African folklore, known as “the tree of life.” That seems sort of disrespectful to the culture they’re pandering to, and gloriously ironic given how unhealthy McDonald’s food is and the high rate of obesity among African-Americans.

So basically, it’s not the best two sentences of marketing copy ever written. But the Baobab quote is merely the gateway to something even stranger: 365black.com, McDonald’s special website for black people. I promise you this is real.

We’re pretty proud of Ghostbusters Week, celebrating last Monday’s 25th anniversary of the classic film’s release in 1984. What did you think of the coverage?

Any other important pop-culture anniversaries coming up that you want us to cover?

You’ve heard what we have to say about Pixar’s Up already; anything else you’ve seen? Pelham 1 2 3? How about anything a little smaller — The Girlfriend Experience or Food, Inc. (opening in big cities today)?

And what about Summer TV (hope nobody’s caught out by the digital switch)? Burn Notice and Weeds are back, and Nurse Jackie premiered to the biggest audience in Showtime history…liking it?

In other news… Carrie Prejean, Letterman/Palin, Miley+Joe, Chaz Bono… start your overthinking!

Today, Part 2 of yesterday’s 80stravaganza. Read all the options and vote at the end!

Crazy Eddie, by Fenzel

If we’re going to revive an 80s franchise, let’s go whole hog. None of this “I kinda like this unremarkable cartoon because it was on after cookie time” crap. I mean the real deal. It’s time to get crazy! 80s crazy!

How crazy, you ask? How about Tri-State Area discount electronics store crazy? How about the stock symbol CRZY, and taking it from $8 to $75 and back to $9 in three years crazy?

Movies and TV
Unless you still think Will Ferrell’s still got it, it s a light week for movies (though there is a quirky™ offering this week), and we’re in the lull between TV seasons. (Weeds, Burn Notice, True Blood, and Nurse Jackie—which looks fun to me, and includes Merritt Wever, who I think is great—will fix that soon enough). There was some sad news this week, and assorted reality TV drama, but mostly, all’s quiet on the west coast front.

The biggest news seemed to be Conan O’Brien ascending the throne of the Tonight Show. Did you see him? How do you think he did?

Our Far-Flung Correspondents
On a more self-involved note, we’ve been really happy to hear from readers and podcast listeners elsewhere in the world… we seem to have especially strong representation in Australia. Who’s outside the lower 48? Drop a comment below.

Overthinking: The Home Game
In other news: it’s summer. Overthinkers often take time off from our cushy academic gigs, freelance jobs, and obsessive compulsive twittering to catch up on TV shows they may have missed (Chuck, in my case), read *gasp* a book, or get married (two of our single bretheren have fallen this summer alone). We’re all taking some time off in the near future.

So we’re looking for guest writers. Whether you aspire to sit among the pantheon of Overthinkers or you just want to send in a post every now and again, if you subject the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn’t deserve and can write about it in lucid, concise, entertaining prose, we’d love to hear from you. Email the editor with an idea for an article.

Something Strange in the Neighborhood
Finally, this coming Monday marks the 20th anniversary of one of our favorite films (and rebootable 80s franchises) ever. We’re celebrating with a theme week. Who you gonna call?

Since there’s a lull in the summer action blockbusters, I thought I’d take the opportunity to do a little pimping and housekeeping.

Are you following OTI in all the social media? I hear the facebooks are going to be big. If reading one big, big post a day isn’t enough overthinking for you, why don’t you keep up with our twitter feed and our Facebook page. (Yes, the page is pretty dull right now. What should we do with it?)

UPDATE: You can also subscribe on your Kindle.

Also… did you know that, like newspapers, we are a money-losing proposition? Running a website, hosting a podcast, not paying the writers anything… it adds up. If you enjoy the site, why not throw us some cash so that I can keep myself in Starbucks coffee while exploiting the writers? You could make a donation of cash money or, for the ecommercially inclined, use this link (or the one in the sidebar) when you shop at Amazon and, through the magic of affiliate marketing, simultaneously enjoy low, low prices and send whole fractions of pennies our way. In either case, we’re very grateful.

Finally, I’m gearing up for some design tweaks on the site. (Yeah, yeah, I know… I’ve been gearing up for that since the current design launched.) I’d love some input. If you’re passionate about the look of the site, why not leave your most and least favorite things about the design and user experience in the comments.

OK, that’s it. I promise not to impose on your attention with more pimping or navelgazing for a little while. (Speaking of pimping, have you seen Whorified? I liked satirizing reality shows by implicitly comparing all reality contestants to prostitutes before it was cool. Still, snappy writing and decent talent and production for a web show.) The next thing I write will probably be about Gossip Girl.

Anyhoo…. didja see that movie what had them baloons in it? Here’s your open thread.

"...and there was the man in the middle, with a kind of black, sneering coolness..." - R. L. Stevenson, Jekyll and Hyde.

Certain corners of the internet are agog over the news that Abel Ferrara is working on a version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, starring Forest Whitaker as the good Doctor and 50 Cent – yes, that one – as his alter ego.

I find it somewhat distressing, or at least questionable.  The idea of casting Fiddy as a monster isn’t such a problem, what with his career-making turn as Frankenstein, but I’m concerned about the cultural baggage that goes along with this particular monster.  The whole point of Hyde is that he’s the id personified.  Not just evil: irrational, set in opposition to civilization and even to conscious thought.  There’s something unpleasant about casting a rapper in this part.

Ask yourself:  what’s the difference between a rapper and a poet?  If you answered “nothing,” good for you.  But I think most people, if they’re honest with themselves, and not thinking about it too hard, think that poetry is intellectual and involves skill, while rap is “emotional” (i.e. instinctual), and involves some kind of inborn talent.  Rappers, after all, have to be “real,” while poets—at least these days—just have to be “good.”  And while this is to a certain degree true of all pop music, the dichotomy is… not without racial undertones.