If anyone's life is worth recounting, it's Gore Vidal's. The celebrated writer not only made his mark on literature over the past six decades, he also had a front row seat to history. His father romanced Amelia Earhart; he feuded with Eleanor Roosevelt and William F. Buckley among many others; and he went shooting with John F. Kennedy. Kurt finds out that despite working on this chronicle of his life, Gore Vidal isn't thinking about posterity: "Who gives a damn about being remembered? That's really for amateurs."
To make a convincing zombie, it's all in the pacing. George Romero invented the modern zombie with his 1968 film "Night of the Living Dead," and he still likes them old-fashioned -- slow-moving but hard to stop. "I don't know if you're aware of the rift in the zombie community," says Ruben Fleischer, director "Zombieland." He's all for speeding up the undead. Produced by Jonathan Mitchell.
This West Coast hip-hopper hit stardom in 2001, but he wasn't born for the limelight. His reputation as hip-hop's oddball stems from his raps about science fiction, "Dungeons and Dragons," and public transit. Del explains to Kurt how his path diverged from that of his cousin, gangsta pioneer Ice Cube.
(Originally aired: April 4, 2008)
Watch the music video for "Flashback" from Del's new album Parallel Uni-Verses with Tame One:
"Raw Sewage" Del the Funky Homosapien
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Eleventh Hour
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Definitive Jux
Design for the Real World: Skulls
Graphic designer Noah Scalin created a new skull design every day for a year and posted them to his blog Skull-a-Day. He used whatever was at hand: breakfast cereal, sparklers, and little green army men. Scalin thinks that no matter the material, the skull is timeless. Produced by Studio 360's Michele Siegel and Erin Calabria.
"Memento Mori" Matmos
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A Chance to Cut is A Chance to Cure
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Matador
"Nothing Glorious" Musee Mechanique
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Hold This Ghost
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Frog Stand Records
Horror School
At Tom Savini's Special Make-Up Effects School in Pennsylvania, it's not books the students are cracking open, but heads. A veteran of horror movies like "Friday the 13th," Savini teaches students how to make the disgusting riveting. Matthew Cavnar finds out how the tradition of hand-made special effects is staying current in the digital era.
Commentator Jack Handey, of the famous Deep Thoughts, wants to leave a big impression, even after death -- no "ho hum" for his remains! Handey offers tips on how to make your skeleton as scary as possible.
