Couple things for everyone, first, The Onion will be getting a second show, the first will be “news,” the second will be sports centered. I just rewatched The Onion movie over the weekend, highly recommended!
A followup to the passage of Healhcare Reform:
The note, which reads “Dad, the unfinished business is done.” was left by Patrick Kennedy on his father’s grave
Also as a follow up to Healthcare Reform, I donated a dollar to A Ticket for Rush. I don’t expect him to go, but it’s fun anyway.
Glee comes back in two weeks! Check out the new trailer, as well as a special message from Sue Sylvester:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDLk1t47u1E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLDrntGjvo8
And just for fun, here’s a man who taught an alpaca to stay on a surfboard in the water. Alpacas are cool, but not as cool as llamas!
Hello everybody! Big ole update for you today, enjoy the links and all the fun things!
I saw Alice in Wonderland last week, and I enjoyed it, although the 3D was totally unnecessary, and I would suggest you save the money and see it in normal 2D. One entire section of the movie is the classic orange/blue contrast (Alice’s dress and the Mad Hatter’s hair), which was cool, but kind of overdone. And strangely enough, every singe preview before the movie was for a Disney movie. My brother and I both noticed it, I hope that does not become a trend. Disney however, did do a cool thing and pull the original Alice out of the vault for an ‘unanniversary’ release. And finally on the subject of Alice, check out what Disney did with $700,000 dollars:
The Wrap discusses the blurring of the line between news and advertising and the journalistic integrity/ad revenue debate that always rages on. Do I like te ad? Not really, I don’t think it made much use of the medium. Do I think readers realized it was an ad and knew to turn the page? Yes. Do I think it probably annoyed them? Yes. But then again, those are just my thoughts.
Queen of the Nerds, Felecia Day will return as Little Red Riding Hood on SyFy (I feel dirty just typing that). I’m very excited, hopefully it turns out well. Now to wait for The Guild season 4!
Also in nerd news, BrentalFloss’s first CD is coming out soon:
I’ve been dating someone really great for a few months, but he’s never referred to me as his girlfriend. How do I take it to another Level?
While the obvious answer is “Accomplish a story task in the boyfriend track for XP equal or greater to your next level threshold,” I get the feeling you might be hinting that you want to descend into the fetid labyrinth that festers beneath his ancient wizard’s tower. In that case the stairs are in quadrant M23, behind the Throne of the Kobold Hetman.
I know it’s been over for a while, but this is one of the coolest things to come out of the Olympics: Water usage (specifically dealing with toilet flushes) during the gold medal hockey game. Pretty awesome!
Here’s a cool video made entirely from a flatbed scanner:
I missed it (due to date and the fact it was in Washington State), but even though I’m horribly afraid of any kind of public protest, I might have gone to a protest for Pluto:
ATTENTION ALL CONCERNED CITIZENS!
A horrible injustice has occurred! Aghast astronomers, intrepid interstellar adventurers, and many others have joined forces to protest one of the darkest days in recent solar system history. Pluto—the smallest and most distant planet—has been removed from the planetary pantheon.
We refuse to bow to this outrageous decree and declare: PLUTO IS A PLANET.
It’s been stirring for a while, but here are some of the letters that have been send to the Itawamba County School Board, in response to their cancellation of prom and then trying to blame it on one of their students.
And speaking of, here is a great, great editorial piece written in response to it, here is one of my favorite paragraphs, which is a little out of context, so I would encourage you to read the whole thing:
What happens is that some Protestants cherry-pick edicts out of the Bible that support their prejudices and then, in a neat bit of mental judo, spread their arms wide and claim their religion is under attack if anyone contradicts them. “What about tolerance for ME?” they cry. It’s as if I seized a copy of the Bible and began beating someone over the head with it and, when you try to stop me, I accuse you of failing to respect my faith.
And some more old news, check out Jon Stewart discuss the Massa/Beck interview:
Cool video showcasing monsters/aliens taking profile pictures:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcbZ0v8Mpvk
Here’s an interesting article about how to put together a useful online news room, some great ideas, although I would probably pick and choose a couple of things, depending on the situation of course. And Nathan discusses some of his favorite online tools.
I saw this on Slog, and I think a couple other places, but here’s a cool video about possible future kiosks that will work with tablets:
Penguin Books is going to be releasing cloth bound, hard cover classics, the design is very old, but impressive (especially the cloth). Here is what the first and second sets will look like.
Apparently one of Tiger’s mistresses has released the contents of her text messages with him. Apparantly we already knew half of the conversation, so Slate put together their own version:
Joslyn: Sent: 04:02 PM 08/28/2009: What would you say to Carlsbad Caverns if you were there right now?
Tiger: Sent: 04:06 PM 08/28/2009: I want to be deep inside you
Joslyn: Sent: 04:12 PM 08/28/2009: LOL. I love spelunking.
And in scout news, the Girl Scouts (who are surprisingly more and more progressive, even if their paperwork or organization doesn’t really work or make any sense), even (denying and then admitting) to putting out a sex-positive, realistic pamphlet. The PR is kind of a nightmare (denying it, then making up lies, then saying that it was yours all along). And the story is at a conservative site that uses a boy scout merit badge sash by the way. And over on the other side of the gender gap, an Eagle project had to be changed from a volleyball court to bocce due to noise concerns. It doesn’t make any sense to me at all, but that is part of the process, working with the community. I will add though, that when we play bocce at camp, we are generally pretty loud, it’s because we’re having fun!
The Kill The Gays bill in Uganda debate rages on, Andrew Sullivan covers it, here’s a quote:
The anti-homosexuality bill, simply put, is a backlash. A backlash from a group that, in the long run, is losing the battle of ideas.
Even though we have been together for six years, shared a household for five and a half years, pooled our finances for five and a half years and will be celebrating our third wedding anniversary this summer, we are total strangers as far as the federal government is concerned. And if the federal government recognized our marriage, I would have been an American citizen three years ago. In fact, if I had married a longtime female friend 20 years ago, I would be a long-standing citizen right now. (Yes, a heterosexual marriage would have voided the HIV ban automatically for the past 22 years.)
What does the federal government call a legally married man who has paid taxes for twenty-two years and has a PhD, and a job? A faggot.
In college we read a book called The Influentials, and this made me think of my friend Teri, who most certainly was an influential on our campus. I’ll have to alert her to her changing status…
I don’t have anything to add to this trailer, it’s just awesome:
And finally, here’s a cool montage of movie endings:
I forgot to post this in the last entry, which had a lot of video to begin with, but here is a quick remix I put together from the images of the Closing Staff Slideshow ’09 with DJ Earworm’s “United State of Pop 2009: Blame it on the Pop”
Couple things for everyone real quick before I get back to work. Firstly, Mika sings the title track from the upcoming movie, Kick Ass:
Here’s a bunch of Glee spoilers, all kinds of awesome things in there, including the fact that Matthew Morrison and Neil Patrick Harris will be doing an Aerosmith duet, and this gem of a line cut from Sue’s part:
“I will kick you square in the vagina.”
And on a related note, Brooklyn has their own brand on condoms and recently the city voted (online) for a new design, the one I liked the most won:
Although to be fair, I did like the one with the manhole cover, and the one with a top hat, it was classy!
The Guild Season 3 is now being released on youtube (and DVD and iTunes), check out the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_5xcBUydP8
And on a related note, here is a great series on how to make Codex’s staff. Check out Felecia Day and her use of power tools! She makes the Sears’ Blue Crew proud!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJjJyq2yrf8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se2hlrjAsp8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9if6jZs3nqQ
Best. Cuckoo. Clock. Ever.:
Would you like to know more about Daylight Savings Time? Of course you would!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z48Mg0dl4Gw
The government is finally moving forward a little bit on the issue of gay blood donation. Here’s what I don’t understand. Why is it only if someone has had homosexual sex since 1977? What happened in 1977 that made blood after that unsafe? What if a couple was having sex at midnight from December 1976 going into January 1977? So many questions, so little thought. Also, hemophelia groups? I didn’t even know that was a word.
And finally, another video! This one for an academy award nominated movie:
These girls are in sixth through eighth grade. Good gravy they are amazing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmvUVPlvs3E
As a quick wrap up to the Olympics, Virginia has a great article over at That’s Church, make sure to check it out.
Looking for good, online entertainment? Check out this year’s nominees from the Streamy’s. I recommend The Guild (and also The Legend of Neil), but I’ll be using the nominee list to find new programs, I’ll let you know what I find that I recommend.
Did you know that the earthquake in Chili shifted the Earth and made the axis about three inches shorter? Which in turned shortened our days by about 6.8 microseconds. I believe it was Carbolic Smoke Ball that took that opportunity and ran with it.
Weird confession time: I love signs. Ask anyone who has ventured out into the real world with me, if I have my camera, I inevitably made them stop so I could take a picture of a sign. And now Slate is running a series of articles all about signs! I haven’t had a chance to read any of it yet, but I’m super excited! So geeky!
Take a look at this awesome chart. DRM may be all but extinct from music, but there’s still more to worry about, namely at the moment: books.
See! I told you Avatar was really Pocahontas. Again, not that’s a bad thing, there are only so many stories that can be told. But I will be made if Avatar wins for best editing, I thought that part of the movie was done poorly in a few spots that really stood out.
Good job, D.C! Check out an awesome video over on Slog. I think I read that they have been together for 13 years already, so good for them!
I love the idea of this chalkboard table, but the guy who came up with it came up with all kinds of uses I would have never even thought of! Makes setting the table a breeze! And no more placemats to wash!
I have to check with the Myst/URU folks, but there may be some weird copyright conflict going on here with the OA’s new program Mysterium Compass. Mysterium is the annual Myst conference. Yes I’m a nerd, no I’ve never gone, yes I always lobby for it to be held in Pittsburgh, and yes, I really want to go to one held in Spokane so I can get a tour of Cyan’s headquarters.
Foe everyone keeping track at home, Fucking retard Sarah Palin didn’t get a good response on Leno, it was added in by a sound engineer. Original article here. Again, I’m allowed to say that Sarah Palin is a fucking retard, it’s satire, just like Rush Limbaugh (did I even spell that correctly?) and Steven Colbert told me.
Another quick political thing, I love Rep. Grayson. So much! Watch him with crazy Bachmann (who looks frightened) on Larry King Live:
I can’t embed it, but go watch Jon Stewart take on Chat Roulette and the other news stations “investigating” it.
I love Fleury, a whole lot. Here’s him and Sid talking about the snow (which I realize is ridiculous on at least three levels, but hey, it’s fun):
Speaking of Fleury and Sid, Olympics! Here’s what Slate suggested you watch if you watch just one thing a day. A really funny read (and I apologize in advance for the tardiness of all the Olympic articles, I got so caught up in the games that I didn’t write about them). And here is their awesome Sap-O-Meter. I’ll give you a hint, NBC is really sappy, and generally, awful at covering the Olympics.
I don’t know what’s going on in this picture, but we are seeing Bob Costas outside of his living room, so it’s got to be a plus. Also, Colbert! Make sure you watch this video that I’m not allowed to embed. Stupid NBC.
Slate also takes a stab at the biathalon. Awesome read, which just helps me galvanize my mindset that it’s a weird sport. I have more respect for it, but it’s weird.
I’m thinking it may not be actually from Verizon, but this is an awesome blend of nostalgia and current technology:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkWKdJF7Md0
This might be one of my new favorite sites, someone watching season six of Lost, who has never seen it. It’s worth it just for the drawings!
And the healthcare debate rages on, it’s a few days old, but still worth a watch. Rachel Maddow is, of course, amazing:
A gut wrenching blog entry over at PG+, if you’re a subscriber, check out the link. If not, consider signing up! And I know I’ve promised to talk about it over at Metblogs, and I still am planning on doing that, I promise!
A great follow up to the video clips I posted before about the phrase “fucking retard.” As in, “Sarah Palin is a fucking retard.”
I’ve been really, really excited about the return of URU. To help you get into the Myst spirit, check out this awesome online fan project – Myst and Riven books! And in related news, over a million people are now playing D&D online, probably because it’s free (with some premium content). Maybe we’ll see a lot of interest in URU! We can only hope!
The Onion does a great job, and maybe humor is what we need in the discussion, but marriage equality is serious. Don’t believe me? Try filing taxes as a same-sex couple.
What is Wes Anderson directed Spider Man? Oh yes:
Cool ad that was apparently really effective, although the price must be really big, and installation I’m sure was a pain:
Alright everyone, I have a lot of stuff to post again, so bear with me.
First off, Dollhouse went off the air two weeks ago, I’m still sad about it, but I highly suggest you watch it on DVD (skip the first few episodes of Season 1 and start with “Man on the Street”), in case you’re wondering here’s what you missed (spoilers, obviously):
Priya’s painting from season one was auctioned off for over $6,000, all going to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. And io9 recaps why we’ll miss Dollhouse, and it’s an excellent read.
But luckily, Lost is back. Here’s what you missed the first five seasons:
And here are Newsweek staffers who have never seen Lost trying to explain what’s going on:
A new series of books is going to be published via Geocaching. I saw an updated interview with the author, and he’s trying to spread them all over the globe, pretty cool, but kind of impractical. Also, I don’t seem very interested in the books themselves. Oh well.
Thankfully, PG+ has more than 35 members. And by the way, it’s awesome! I’ll be writing about it over at Metblogs pretty soon I hope.
Thanks Supreme Court:
I’m not sold on the iPad, if it was open to more than just the app store, I think I would get one, but right now, I don’t think it’s worth it. Check out Slog’s coverage of it, icnluding this gem of a sentence:
UPDATE: Post edited and cleaned up, because I was drunk.
Pensblog has an awesome guide to hockey fans. Check it out here. And the game is still going on tonight but the doors open early at 6 p.m.
One of the guys I work with is the Mayor of North Irwin! I call him Mr. Mayor now. Apparently the city council just fights a lot, so I want to get a group from work to show up with posters and bells like at a little league game or something. I think it would be fun. Also, as I like to mention, he won by 23 votes: mandate of the people!
NPR has a great article about the passage of time, and how we perceive it as we age. Check it out.
Rob Tisinai is back, his videos are articulate, well researched, and just all around amazing:
The Don’t Ask Don’t Tell hearings continue on. Want to see McCain absolutely owned? Check out this link. Not that he’ll change his stance, but it’s great to see nonetheless. Here’s more reactions to the hearings.
This is pretty awesome, and I think Pat would really dig it:
I commented earlier about the first legal male prostitute, and how he, ahem, compared himself to Rosa Parks. Yeah, he’s not bright at all. Well, the New York Post partook in his services (not all of them), check it out, but be ready to laugh a lot, and barf.
And if that didn’t enrage you enough, check out these three links about the “relief work” Scientologists are doing in Haiti. Disgusting. Because Haiti doesn’t need food or water, no, they need machines to con them into thinking they have dead alien spirits inside them. If you’re still looking for something to do to help, look no further than Savage Love, Facebook, and an awesome idea.
I like the ads, especially the first one, a lot. However, I do have to agree, I won’t be taking marriage advise from Utah thankyouverymuch. Also, the comments are a great read!
Want to commemorate the recent snow, get the t-shirt (I also suggest the map of Pittsburgh shirt):
That’s all I have for now, I have more, but I need to take a break, this has been a long post, but I’m almost all caught up! Catch everyone in a little bit!
