Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was once banned in India for its "racist portrayal of Indians and overt imperialistic tendencies." In particular, some Indians object to a scene showing monkey brains being eaten as a delicacy, as well the "black sleep of Kali Ma" potion that puts Dr. Jones in a trance. But when Burnside Brewing Company in Portland, Oregon decided to make a special beer in homage to "their favorite childhood movie," they were "unaware that it could be offensive to anyone." That "Temple of Doom"—released the same year as Ghostbusters —could be their favorite childhood movie is probably even more offensive in some circles.
Brewery Apologizes To Hindus For Temple Of Doom-Inspired "Kali-Ma" Beer
"Jewish Indiana Jones" Admits He's A Fraud
Last year, a globe-trotting Torah rescuer who called himself the "Jewish Indiana Jones" was accused of being a fraud. And now, Baltimore bookshop owner Menachem Youlus has admitted that he is indeed a fraud: “Between 2004 and 2010, I falsely represented that I had personally obtained vintage Torah scrolls — in particular ways, in particular locations — in Europe and Israel,” he said in court yesterday. “I know what I did was wrong, and I deeply regret my conduct.” And he isn't even the real Jewish Indiana Jones!
"Jewish Indiana Jones" Is Also Allegedly A Fraudster
All this time, we thought Harrison Ford was the Jewish Indiana Jones—but it turns out that Menachem Youlus, who has been going around the world rescuing lost Torahs, has dubbed himself the "Jewish Indiana Jones." But now he's been accused of giving a bad name to Jewish Indiana Jones's everywhere.
Hat-vertising for Indiana Jones
It's unclear as to whether or not Jake Bronstein and his Zoomdoggle team are now hired guns for George Lucas & Co., but considering their latest Indiana Jones-themed stunt began on the day of the latest Indiana Jones DVD release, we're guessing it's a safe bet to say they are. Yesterday a Zoomdoggle employee tipster sent us in these photos of IndiHats around town, and another tipster informed us that Zoomdoggle updated their website with the following:
Here's a fun one, call it hat-vertizing, a brim-job, or just one hell of a scavenger hunt, but some Indiana Jones obsessed compatriots of mine have decided to “hide” 800 of these hats in four different cities starting today. In fact, while I type this, teams are cramming them into crannies, nudging them into nooks, and just plain hiding them them in plain sight in LA, San Francisco, Chicago, and right here in New York. Find one and it’s yours to keep. All they ask is that you snap a shot of yourself wearing it and upload it to flickr with the tag “indihat.”This guy in Chicago seems to be the first to have found one and posted on Flickr, where he alludes to a potential prize being rewarded. Has anyone else spotted one in New York? UPDATE: Someone at Cunning has just told us the marketing campaign "was actually creatively developed and activated by us. [Bronstein's] a friend of ours.... we are his 'Indiana Jones obsessed compatriots'."
Noteworthy Television This Weekend: Real Life Raider
Quest for the Lost Ark (Sunday, 8:00 p.m., History Channel) Tudor Parfitt looks more like Jeremy Clarkson than Harrison Ford, but he is a real life Indiana Jones. This History Channel documentary special traces his search for the Ark of the Covenant – the same thing the fictional Indy searched for in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Pencil This In
MOVIE: Somewhere between Han Solo and Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford (pictured) starred in Ridley Scott's 1982 cult classic Blade Runner, which has been screening over at the Ziegfeld. This director's cut version includes more fights! And more special effects! And way more cyberpunk attitude!
The Cinecultist's Weekly Movie Picks: Avast Ye Mateys edition
Action adventure, animated sci-fi, iconic '80s actresses and French sexual intrigue—this weekend is a good one for movie going in New York. Draw your swords landlubbers, Gore Verbinski's sequel to his bombastic film based on an amusement park ride is out this weekend, . In this installment, shot at the same time as the forthcoming part III, Johnny Depp's brilliant Jack Sparrow searches for Davy Jones's chest to free himself from some sort of curse. There's a boat-load of twisty-turning plot in this 2 hour and a half movie but fortunately there's also tons of great action, Kiera Knightley looking adorable in pirate gear and a huge tentacled man eating beast. So basically, something for everyone.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To the Met
How does a 2,500-year-old Roman artifact, dug up illegally by antiquities poachers in Italy, find its way into the hallowed halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art?
Canadian Geese Damage Plane
Gothamist knew Canadian geese were vicious, but this is ridiculous: A gaggle of geese flew into an American Airlines flight leaving LaGuardia, forcing it to land at Kennedy minutes later. The geese damaged "both the plane and the engine on its right side" according to American Airlines spokespeople. The plane is a two-engine F-100, which seems small, but still, Canadian geese... that boggles the mind. Though it does remind of that cool part in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when senior Dr. Jones played by Sean Connery uses birds to kill the Nazi pilot after them, but that was only funny because a Nazi died.
Harrison Ford, Gothamist Doesn't Know You Anymore
Harrison Ford, where art thou? You're our Han Solo, our Indiana Jones...hell, our Jack Ryan (we need a good CIA hero in this day and age, we suppose). It seems you've been going through a three-quarter-life crisis. In love with Calista Flockhart? The earring? The crappy movies? It's so sad to Gothamist that you have to star in a movie with Bedhead (as for Hollywood Homicide, A.O. Scott likes it, Manohla Dargis doesn't). Yes, you're the most popular star on the earth, but we're waiting for Fametracker to do a Fame Audit.
The Tougher Laptop
Slate has a feature about the laptop that's getting play in the Middle East - Itronix's Go Book Max. "We drop each one 54 times from one meter, bake it in an oven, chill it in a freezer, vibrate it, and submit it to a shower of hurricane proportions," says Itronix materials. Itronix describes itself as being leaders in the "field computing" industry, and they specialize for field service, government, utilities, public safety, telco, and other areas. Cool. It's what Indiana Jones would have used. Slate thinks it'll be a hit with parents who already have the hefty SUVs and crazy kids spilling things, knocking things over. As someone who has fucked up a laptop due to spilt water, sign me up, too.


