Losing face on the mean streets of NYC
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
We tuned into Charlie Rose last night to get the Wall Street back story on the Bear Stearns bailout from NYT’s Andrew Ross Sorkin. (An extraordinary story, by the way. You may not realize how close the U.S. economy came to a depression-style bank run over the weekend.)Of course, we immediately noticed that Charlie had been assaulted by someone or something recently (see inset picture).
It turns out Charlie took a face-plant early yesterday while walking the streets of New York. He apparently tripped while shuffling along with his MacBook Air, and sacrificed his distinguished good looks for the sake of rescuing the world’s thinnest laptop from an almost certain deadly fate.Charlie is awesome—don’t get me wrong. But does he really need to show off by putting on airs? Sorry. Couldn’t resist that one.
In hindsight, we suggest a nice laptop backpack, providing both MacBook protection and hands-free operation for safer pedestrian endeavors. It may help him save face in the future. Please, somebody stop this post.
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There are reasons why…
Saturday, January 26, 2008
…so many things suck. Take a look at the current issue of Wired for a laundry list of the top things known for suckage: tech support, tomatoes, roads, and even whiteboards.My favorite is the history of FM radio, and why most of it sucks today. Think it’s the iPod or P2P that drove radio into oblivion? Think again. If anything, the iPod is saving music from the wasteland that is FM radio today. I’ve had this discussion with a few people in the past year, but this article explains well why music stations like 89.3 public radio have shot past their commercial counterparts in listenership.
Reading about something that sucks? Go out and do something about it. Becoming a member of public radio is a good place to start.
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A post for my sports-loving readers
Saturday, December 08, 2007
A couple weeks ago someone forwarded me the Mii Lebowski on YouTube, which is totally not appropriate as a post on my blog. However, the clip put me on to the viral video trend of combining real-world video and/or audio with video game animation. One result is a video recut that is sure to warm the hearts of any classic NES playing sports fan (although Red Sox fans may not want to relive this one).
The 1986 World Series, Game 6, as reenacted in RBI Baseball.
(Spoiler alert: the Mets win.)
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Today’s news from tiny minds
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
In my PR work I ran across a wire news release for the The Itty Bitty Bible. This company has miniaturized the entire Bible onto a wallet-sized card, only readable via a microscope. They’re even giving away 5,000 copies to our troops for the holidays. Such a thoughtful gesture on their part. I can see a brave soldier, hunkered down in an armored vehicle, perhaps under enemy fire, pulling out a microscope so she can read her Bible. Thanks Amazing Faith, for the best idea since Testamints—evangelism that freshens your breath.Here’s hoping their profits are as tiny as their thinking.
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You can do anything
Saturday, September 29, 2007
I finally found the answer I've been looking for to all of life's questions. Please, just visit this web site. And help spread the word--don't keep something this amazing to yourself. You can do anything. The only limit is yourself. TSAWWT Bookmarks:
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Spoon serves up robotic Grooves
Thursday, August 16, 2007
I’m not all that well versed in this band (Spoon), but who am I to keep you from the latest viral video infection. Dance, Dance!TSAWWT Social Bookmarks:
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On a philosophy kick
Friday, July 06, 2007
I’ve been hitting the philosophy pretty hard lately, with my core MA curriculum reaching into the rhetorical traditions of ancient philosophers, and the modern/postmodern aspects of the thesis work. So, when someone mentioned this old Python sketch, I had to search YouTube to find it. And there it was. If you’re familiar with all or any of these philosophical athletes, you’ll get some giggles out of this classic soccer match. Those ancients can bring it!TSAWWT Social Bookmarks:
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Classic rock like you’ve never heard it before
Friday, June 22, 2007
I don’t think I’ve laughed as hard at any time in the past few years as I did when I watched a few of these “Legion of Rock Stars” videos. And maybe it’s just me, but I can’t help myself. Here’s my favorite so far:Four others that had me ROTFLMAO: Journey, The Rolling Stones, Jim Croce and Tears for Fears.
I know your probably asking, how’d they do that?
To really appreciate this, you have to understand the process involved. A “super” group of barely passable musicians get together to play and record a classic rock song live. They accomplish this by each wearing noise-cancelling headphones that only pipe through the original version of the tune. So, each performer in the band can’t hear them self and can’t hear each other at all. They call the diabolically ingenious new recording process, "Pure Pleasure."
I think you’ll agree, some of these songs have never sounded better. Here’s a YouTube link to a page full of these musical gems paired with the original band/artist videos. Thanks to Zack Lind of Finding Rhythm for unearthing this unique new art form.
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How a mouse really works
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Ever wonder? This picture should give you an idea of the analog technology underneath the digital marvel that is the PC mouse pointing device. If you're running Explorer on a PC, this link should take you to a working demo. Hilarious, yet coded without any thoughts for web standards, which ticks me off to no end. Sadly, you'll need a PC running Explorer to see this in action.
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That's no moon
Saturday, June 02, 2007
That’s a space station! Or rather, it’s a convention center and hotel complex proposed for UAE, of all places. I guess it kind of makes sense if you think of OPEC as some Imperial Empire. Wired.com just published this fascinating real estate news item, but I’m sure the real, super secret plans have been hidden safely in the memory banks of some R2 unit hoping to find its way to the Rebel alliance.
Sure, it’ll be a fun place to stay, until some farm kid in a rebel X-Wing fighter blows it to kingdom come.
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Tunes on the side
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
I added an MP3 player to the sidebar, mainly because I wanted to see how hard or easy it could be. Pretty easy it turns out. I've turned off the autoplay so as to not offend visitors. If you want to hear some of what I'm listening to from time to time, give it whirl. It looks like this (and this one also works). Just press play:
David Brent on Microsoft Values
Thursday, January 25, 2007
I can't help but think that Microsoft UK has more going for it than the HQ in Redmond after seeing this video. It's nice to have some more David Brent after such a long absence. Nobody understands the business world better than Brent. Genius.Impossibly successful parody
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
I always thought that Michael Cera, who played George-Michael Bluth, the hapless son of Arrested Development’s Michael Bluth, had an uncommon comic talent. Now that the show has been cancelled, many have been wondering what has become of some of the shows cast members.The embedded video is a first rate send-up of the Aleksey Vayner personal resume video that was virally circulated in 2006. It seems Michael is busy keeping his comic new media chops in top shape.
Enjoy “Impossible is the opposite of possible.”
A disturbing ONE
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Okay. I work for a large corporation. I admit to performing music (a cover song) at a corporate meeting--rewriting the lyrics and everything (a funny version of YMCA). But nothing compares to the current viral video for U2's "One" covered at a corporate meeting by a Bank of America sales guy. 
It's beyond the pale. The lyrics start off a little quirky, and then get downright creepy. My advice would have been, what reads okay on paper will probably sound really weird when sung to an audience by a Bono wanna-be wearing a shirt and tie. But some people just don't have that kind of internal editor. Lucky for us.I would link to it here if YouTube still had it, but you'll have to do some clever Google searches to find it on the web. Try this link for starters. I have no idea how long it will last. Obviously B of A lawyers wanted this thing off the 'net. Easier said than done. If I ever do this, somebody please rush the stage and slap me upside the head.
Signs of insanity
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Okay, so I don’t always get turned on to some internet goodness when it first hits. But thanks to my university pal, Sally K., I’ve got this one to share with you. 
If you’re sick of lame or embarrassing church signs, just make your own. You don't have to have an M.Div. to wax theological on a lighted marquee. The churchsigngenerator.com site allows you to choose from one of five designs and create a custom message image that you can grab and post. Here's one using the First Baptist Church flavor. As you can see, I'm a fan of totally exasperated preachers. That kind of leadership frustration leads to some great church sign ideas.Every time I do this I crack up. It seems like everything is funnier on a church sign. Try it for your self. Send me a few of yours via Email. I love 'em.
Your bod in a ‘pod
Monday, November 06, 2006
For the past several years I have been scoffed at because of my idea to dress up my beloved children as iPods for Halloween. To put it bluntly, it hasn’t happened. 
But 67 million iPods later, and I don’t seem like such an idiot. The iPod seemed to be the costume dujour this year—just behind the immense popularity of pirate Jack Sparrow, Narnian characters and comic book superheros. This post points to a link of user-submitted photos on Engadget that prove home-made iPod costumes kicked a little sweet music into Halloween 2006. My favorite is this all black iPod silhouette dancer from the kinetic iPod commercials, complete with color background and white earbuds. Bust a move!
Next year costuming one of my three is gonna be my domain—be it a Shuffle, Nano or 5G. Wait and see.
News Flash: New Mexico has WMDs
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
This is why I love reading Engadget. This techno blog covers all manner of super cool electronic gadgetry. Aside from their misguided affection for the Zune, they pretty much keep me up to speed on everything electronic going on out there.Today they published a story about two "New Mexican" inventors who recently filed a patent for a “high-power microwave system employing a phase-locked array of inexpensive commercial magnetrons.” More on this alarming news from Engadget:
“Translated into English that basically means that these guys claim you can combine the magnetrons (the bits that generate the actual microwave that cooks your popcorn) from a bunch of consumer-grade microwaves and tweak 'em a bit to develop a megawatt-level death ray, or in military/legal parlance, a ‘directed energy weapon system.’”But it’s not just the article, as much as it is the comments that crack me up. Here are three of my favorites from this one:
dextro @ Oct 23rd 2006 3:24PM
I, for one, welcome our death-ray equipped overlords....
Rat (expletive) @ Oct 23rd 2006 3:38PM
So they built the BET from G.I. Joe? Are they going to use it to gestate spores in the upper atmosphere as well? Meh. Call me when you get in into a rifle form factor.
Oh, and shouldn't that be ‘New Mexico inventors’ rather than ‘New Mexican’?
T. Bell @ Oct 23rd 2006 4:15PM
I would like to echo the concern of others here and say that we can't let this technology remain in the hands of any Mexicans, be they New, Old or otherwise. I've severely burned the roof of my mouth on a surreptitiously over-microwaved burrito on more than one occasion, and I can only imagine the carnage a burrito whose refried core is superheated to plasma and launched in a projectile weapon.
The choice is clear. We must rid Mexico of these Weapons of Microwave Destruction.
See the full article and all the comment posts here.
Beam me up, DA
Sunday, October 08, 2006
The news broke recently that Dutch scientists recently conducted successful quantum teleportation experiments.
Cool. Could the ability to beam ourselves across the globe (or across town to the office) be very far away? Probably. The scientists maintain that what they did is more akin to creating a doppelganger than a Star Trek transporter. Daniel Amos was on to something big back in 1983. It certainly gives new meaning to the phrase double Dutch. Okay, I’ll stop writing now.
Podfather III
Friday, September 01, 2006
Fans of the Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and comedy enigma Karl Pilkington, will be pleased that Season 3 of the Ricky Gervais Show is off and running with Episode 1. 
The world’s most popular podcast ever (even recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records) now charges $1.95 an episode for its dry, offbeat and riotous installments—well worth it if you want to giggle your way through a 45 minute bus ride. I can’t recommend it for drivers, as I fear most listeners would become quickly impaired and become a danger to themselves and others. Get the links to subscribe on rickygervais.com.
Meet an internet celebrity
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Space 150 has gone and done it again. We are the Web unites “internet celebrities” to support ‘net neutrality. Get on the bandwagon and show your support here. Unless, of course, you’re totally against this. In which case, you can just enjoy the goofy new music video featuring gem keeper Leslie Hall, the Tron guy, Peter Pan, the Chinese Backstreet Boys, and more. Check it out.Then, get even deeper into the madness by visiting Leslie Hall’s Gem Sweater Mobile Museum. All your Gem are belong to us.
Van Halen was right
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Might as well jump. That’s what one scientific hypothesis suggests. German scientists contend that the combined force of 600 million human beings jumping simultaneously could help change the earth’s orbital rotation resulting in the reduction of global warming—in effect, resetting the global climate. Get the overview here.Sure, this might be complete hooey. But what if it isn’t? Are we missing out on a sure-fire quick fix to global climate change? Is jumping just a convenient solution to an “Inconvenient Truth?”
Or what if the scientists get their calculations wrong? What if all that jumping actually creates a cataclysmic seismic shift like the one that doomed the dinosaurs ages ago? I once heard about a synchronized toilet flush prank at a college dorm that resulted in the destruction of the building’s entire plumbing infrastructure. Or, what if the jumping is horribly misaligned because nobody thinks to synchronize their watches. Can we take that kind of risk?
Perhaps we should just sit down.But what if it’s too late and too many people have bought into this scheme. Does the effect of 600 million people jumping at once in the western hemisphere need to be cancelled out to avoid the destruction of life as we know it? This means we’ll need to recruit a like number of people in the eastern hemisphere to jump at the same moment (11:39:13 GMT on July 20, 2006). Can we mobilize the citizens of China, India and other nations quickly enough? The Great Jump is scheduled for this Thursday. It all seems hopeless now.
Planet earth is hanging in the balance. Email your congressperson and stock up on water and canned food. Dust off that portable generator. This may be bigger than Y2K.
Live action d’oh
Friday, June 09, 2006
I think I’m late to the party in discovering this, but nonetheless, this must be posted. If you like funny and fascinating parodies check out this live action version of The Simpson TV show opening sequence. Simply amazing in its detail.I’m getting a feeling that the short-form internet movie is coming into its own as an entertainment genre—beyond faddish novelty to a normative media. More and more content is coming out on a regular basis and there is advertising to support the creative work involved. I’m always surprised by what viral video I see next. Two sites of note in this regard: iFilm and Rocketboom.
Jinx! Buy me a Coke
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Now for some truly weird science. Another viral video you have to see to believe. Ever wonder what can happen with you drop Mentos candy pieces into a liter of Diet Coke? Go here to see the amazing result. Now that’s what I call the freshmaker. You’ll want to think twice about eating Mentos with Coke for a chaser.How to dismantle your BF
Monday, May 29, 2006
This is too funny to pass up. If you think you might have a medical condition recently identified as Bono Fatigue (or BF), you’ll want to take advantages of this web site for support.
Although I’ve been a raving U2 fan since the age of 13 (with some time off in the 90s), I don’t think I’ve quite succumbed to this disorder (denial?). Although please warn me if you think otherwise. I might require an intervention.
VDub in the house
Saturday, March 11, 2006
A couple weeks ago I saw one of these ads. It was one of those rare and hilarious moments of TV advertising you wish would happen more often. VW taps into the uber-German mystique, while at the same time doing a send up of MTV's Pimp My Ride and tacky car mods from across the globe. Here's my bias: I despise car mods. If you are like me, these commercials with be cathartic for you.
"Time to un-pimp your auto."
"Holdin' it down on the engineering tip, y'all."
"Looks like it could fly."For the guys in my office, these are the links to the three commercials that have been created. Enjoy.
A round of Guinness for Ricky, Steve and Carl
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Ricky Gervais has landed himself in Guinness Book of Records after scoring the world’s most successful podcast to date. More than 500,000 fans a week have been downloading the Ricky Gervais Show from Guardian Unlimited in the UK. 
Truth be told, it should be called the Carl Pilkington show—former radio producer and podcast regular. Most podcast episodes (12 in this initial series) simply consist of Ricky and The Office co-creator Steve Merchant asking Carl questions, reading Emails mostly about him, getting his inexplicable view on questions of science and current events, readings from Carl’s hilariously mundane diary, and, of course, Monkey News—again, from Carl.It’s much funnier than I make it sound, however. And, of course, there is the dance music phenomenon initiated by one of Carl’s more unexpected and colorful comments. I’ll leave this link to let you discover it for yourself.
One last holiday gem to share
Monday, January 16, 2006
Surely most of you have been exposed to the seasonal fashions (often modeled for all to see at family and office Christmas parties) that consist of sweaters or sweatshirts bejeweled with seasonal glitter, rhinestones, beads and metallic fabrics affixed with hot glue, embroidery and other crafty methods.I now know that the aforementioned garments are classified as “Gem Sweaters.” This fashion phenomenon has been captured for posterity in the form of a dance video by the local internet media agency, Space150. Known for changing their logo and identity system every 150 days, the folks at Space somehow found the time in between creating podcasts, RSS feeds and flash animations to film and produce the linked Seasonal Greeting.
To better understand the folks from Space, do yourself a favor and check out this linked video overview on the evolution of Space150. I’m still chuckling about that one.
Now, children, go experience the gem sweater in all its luminescent glory.
Lost in translation
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Recently I was engaging in a product naming exercise at the office and was doing some research on blogs devoted to the subject when a commentary about the unfortunate name of the pictured IKEA product caught my eye. 
Needless to say, I laughed out loud. Known simply as “Fartfull,” the indecorous name is compounded by the bizarre design of this portable computer cart. If I were to see this for the first time with no context whatsoever, would that be the first word that popped into my brain? And then there are other strange questions: Does the fartfull have WiFi? A built-in powerstrip? How about a firewire hub? That’d be a gas.If you don’t know him by now
Thursday, December 08, 2005
All of those who are fans of the BBC’s program, The Office should check out the new podcast from Ricky Gervais, creator of the series and lead character. The Weekly 30-minute podcast began December 5th on the UK Guardian site. Click the show graphic at the left for the XML podcast feed URL. If you need more instruction on how to subscribe to a podcast like this, click here for a good how-to from Guardian. While I can’t yet vouch for the humor or content of the new podcast programming, I’m looking forward to many future warm grins and giggles on the bus as I nestle those white earbuds in my ears for a cold winter commute to the city each day.
Internet fads you never needed to know about, but now do
Monday, November 21, 2005
You can thank me later. I came across this list on CNET.com recently, which will most certainly include the Numa Numa and Chinese Students sing Backstreet Boys videos of more recent fame at some point. Number 7, the Ellen Feiss Mac Switcher TV Ad from 2002, provided the vague photo for by Nov. 11 post. I’m so trendy (three years late). You don't need to know about these to be hip, but once you do, how could you not be hip? And who could forget Hampsterdance (sic) or that poor Star Wars kid?
You know you want it that way
Saturday, November 12, 2005
As much as I could say about this linked video clip, words just fail me. It's simply another Internet fad. Just enjoy it and don't ask too many questions. Thank you, China.We like to party...seriously
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Okay, I had to share this. I was explaining to Dawni this morning that Lazy Town, a TV show on Nick Jr. and one of my favorite kid's shows, had a theme song similar to the Venga Bus song by the Venga Boys. So I hit the 'net to find her a sample of the song. Not knowing that it is titled, "We Like to Party" and is in the iTunes Music Store, I Googled Venga Bus and stumbled onto this web site. It is a simple home-made .Mac site, but this family music video is quite possibly the best iMovie creation I have ever seen:The Venga Bus Is Coming
At over 1,000 hits it sure has found itself a wider audience, which is why Google found it so readily. Keep in mind that it is compressed for web. Even so, you can see the hours of editing that had to go into this. I gotta get my camcorder out more. The bar has been raised. Enjoy.