The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You

I was looking over the newer postings in the 100 Best Albums of 2009 list over at Bears Eat People [a site that The Zeppo highly recommends if you are into music] and saw The Avett Brothers' album sitting at number 2. I suddenly remembered with shame that I had not given the the CD a proper play-through in a few weeks. At the exact same moment the title track, "I and Love and You" fiercely implanted itself into my brain and demanded that I put it on repeat in iTunes. This song is just plain awesome and I now share it with you:

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Deadmau5 - Ghosts N Stuff

I have had this cd ["For Lack of a Better Name"] pretty much since it came out but I just saw the video for the first time. Good stuff.

Mt Eden Dubstep - Sierra Leon

I have not been able to get this song out of my head the last few days and am constantly humming the tune, to my wife's chagrin. I am sharing so that the rest of you might suffer the same fate.



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The cake was a lie: Portal

I know I am way behind, but I finally got around to playing/beating Portal. I really wish I had played this sooner! Since it has been out for a few years now I won't go into tons of detail describing it but lazily link to other sources (IGN, Wiki). Portal is basically a puzzle game that you solve with your gun that shoots portals. As accurate a description that is, this teaser video does a better job of explaining how this works itself out in gameplay:

..

From the robotic voice of GladOs (that my wife hates) saying hilarious things to the fun of just falling through a line of portals, Portals is one of the funnest games I have played in a while. You can pick it up in a variety of ways: Xbox Live, stand-alone, or (the way I recommend since you get Half Life 2) as part of The Orange Box collection. You can pick up The Orange Box for $15 used most places. The Xbox Live version does have an extra 14 challenges though....

Seriously, if you are any type of gamer I can't recommend this game and more strongly. It will only take you a few hours to get through it, but you will definitely want to replay it. I leave you with a video made to the greatest credits song ever, Portal's "Still Alive" (sung by GladOs itself):

..

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Portable Emulator from ThinkGeek

Over at Techland they have a review up for a sweet new portable emulator that ThinkGeek is selling. (If you aren't familiar with ThinkGeek, it is pretty much the Mecca for all things geek merch.) The emulator costs $100, but I think it is actually a good buy for the apparent quality. I personally don't fair too well with portable devices so if I were, um, to use a console emulator I would keep using...scratch that...I would use my laptop. As ThinkGeek says:

"But ThinkGeek" you ask "where can I procure such old skool gaming roms to load onto the Pocket Retro Game Emulator?". Well young hardcore gamer, we hear tell of a mystical soothsayer whose name is "Google". Upon entering such phrases as "NES roms" or "SNES roms" a person may be directed to easily download such roms. But keep in mind that our attorneys do not approve of such behavior and the above statement is likely completely untrue. In fact you should probably forget about this whole conversation. A handheld gaming system that can play all your favorite old classic console games? Nope. Just too good to be true."

So, if you are one of those people with GBs and GBs of ROMS and want to take them on the road with you perhaps this is the perfect Christmas gift for you.




ThinkGeeek: a320 Pocket Retro Game Emulator

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Christmas Traditions

It is almost Christmas so that means it is time for three special traditions in my house:

1. Cranking "Christmas at Ground Zero" up on the stereo (10 sec commercial before it starts):


Weird Al Yankovic - Christmas At Ground Zero (Official Music Video) - For more of the funniest videos, click here



2. Watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas". This year I get to watch it in 1080P goodness on Blu-Ray thanks to my wife buying it for me last year. Huzzah!





3. Watching "A Christmas Story". Yeah, I know everyone gets sick of it because TBS marathon loops it for 24 hours, but I still love sitting down and watching the DVD. Actually, I may rent the Blu-ray this year and see how good the transfer is.


What are your non-traditional traditions?

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Are the popular kids actually popular?

Ok, so here is a question I have pondered and proffered since I was actually in high school:

Are popular kids actually popular?

My contention is that no, they are not popular. Allow me to explain.

Note: A lot of this is based off personal experience and anecdotal evidence. If your High School was different huzzah for you.

The "popular" kids tend to make up about 3-6% of the student body population, but to be generous we will say 10%. Except for the genuinely cool popular kids, 90% of the remaining students are apathetic to or straight up hate the popular kids. From my experience, most 'normals' dislike the popular kids.

My assertion is that the popular kids are in fact the most unpopular kids. I mean, a large section of the student body actively dislikes them.

If we accept my conclusion, why are the popular kids considered popular? Easy: treatment by faculty and administration.

Teachers, coaches, and administrators treat the popular kids (who tend to be athletes or the close friends of athletes) differently. They are given special treatment. I'm not really going to expand on this since I assume we all know what I'm talking about since about ten movies with this theme come out every year. The way they are treated by those that run the school MAKES the popular kids what they are.

What do you think? I am always interested in hearing people's response to this question. I think your answer tends to show if you were popular or not. ;) Seriously, though, let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree. Show me where I am mistaken; I'm open to changing my opinion.

Disclaimer: I was not unpopular in High School. I was friendly with most everyone and generally well liked. However, I definitely was not popular. I basically enjoyed High School for the most part (of course, I LOVE cafeteria food), but there were people that everyone absolutely hated that were still considered popular.

BONUS: Here are some pictures of me from High School for you to mock:

How was your November?

See that woman there? In the field?

Brace yourselves: She became my wife on November 7th this year.


I know those of you that read my blog - and even more so those of you that actually know me - are wondering what in the world would cause such a beautiful girl to marry me, a dude that posts Japanese rock videos and debates proper toilet paper placement? I'm chalking it up to God's sovereignty and just rolling with it!

But seriously, I'm extremely blessed and look forward to a lifetime with you, Christy.

I love you.

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Clash of the Titans remake

Clash of the Titans was one of my favorite movies growing up. I have always been a fan of Greek/Roman Theology and the movie was just plain awesome. As I have gone back and watched it as an older person I still enjoy it but the graphics are FAR less impressive. I have often thougth it would be cool if someone re-made it.

Well, someone has.

I am looking forward to seeing this when it finally comes out. The trailer leads me to think this will either be very good or very bad. There will be no middle ground.

Is anyone else looking forward to this?

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The Envy Corps

I just picked up their album, Dwell, and am really enjoying it. In particular, I can't stop listening to their song, "Story Problem". If you are into indie/indie-pop then run, don't walk to.....wait, no one goes to record shops anymore. Hmm. Ok, then just hurry and click the link below to Amazon.com's Mp3 store. Huzzah!

(Note: the audio sounds a little odd in this but it is the best video I could find)

Dwell on Amazon

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2

What else is there to say?

Catch me on Live: II Pyre II


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Sweet Carousel

Le Manege Carre Senart from cesar on Vimeo.

New Lecrae video: Go Hard

I just found out there is a new Lecrae video. Sweet. Go Hard isn't my favorite song off his new album (seriously, can we get a real video for Got Paper already?) but is still a solid song. The song iteself sort of reminds me of one of my favorite Lecrae songs, Send Me (included as a bonus at the end of this post). If you haven't picked up his cd, Rebel, then I highly recommend it.




bonus:



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RE: Your Brains

I've been in a zombie mood even more than usual here recently.....sooooo this Jonathan Coulton song is pretty much going to be my ringtone by the end of the day.



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Pixar Lamp

As a HUGE Pixar fan, I found this quite humorous.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Are you ready to Wrock?

So here is the dilemma: you are a huge Harry Potter fan but none of the music you listen to seems to ever sing about anything from the books OR the movies. What's up with that?!?

Well, problem solved! Yes, I still remember the first time I heard Wrock a few years ago. Wait, let me back up.

Wrock is how the cool kids (warning: definition of cool may vary by reader) refer to Wizard Rock. Now,I know we are all familiar with rapping Hobbits but this is totally different. Wrock bands focus their lyrics exclusively within the world of Harry Potter. Oh. Heck. Yeah.

There are many...many...many wrock bands, although the number that can be considered to actually play music that doesn't make your ear hole break is somewhat limited. You can explore wrock at the Wizrocklopedia, WizardRock, and Real Wizard Rock. You can even check out the monthly collection put out by the Wizard Rock EP of the Month Club.

As with any genre, there are standouts. Here are a three groups that I have been listening to for a while. No super fancy write up,just a video and a link. You have time for that, right?

Harry and the Potters
"Song for the Death Eaters"


Draco and the Malfoys
"My Dad is Rich (and Your Dad is Dead)"


Ministry of Magic
"Escape from Azkaban"


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Carl Sagan - A Glorious Dawn remix

While I certainly have issues with many of Carl Sagan's theories (particularly towards creation, etc), I definitely respect his contributions to science overall. His view of space has always been very interesting. I stumbled onto this video earlier today and really enjoyed it.



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Oh, the Temptation

Dude Perfect Basketball

Dude Perfect is a group of college guys that all used to play basketball. At some point they started competing with each other for the best trick shot. One day someone decided to start filming them and when people started liking their videos they became Dude Perfect. They have a lot more videos than these if you want to look them up on YouTube. Be sure to watch the second video with a crazy long shot.





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Ok, I'll say it: I don't like CFL bulbs

We have all heard how the new CFL light bulbs are the end all be all. You can't go more than an hour watching TV without seeing a commercial for them or someone referencing how they are going to single handedly save the world. Honestly, it is a bit ridiculous - it's a stinking light bulb. Will they save you money? I guess. Is the cleanup and disposing of them a pain in the butt? Absolutely. This is taken verbatim, copy-paste from the EPA website describing what to do if you break one:

Fluorescent light bulbs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal below.

Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room

• Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
• Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
• Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces

• Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
• Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug

• Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
• Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.

Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding and Other Soft Materials

• If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
• You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
• If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.

Disposal of Clean-up Materials

• Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
• Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
• Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming

• The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming.
• Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

On top of this, you can't even throw the bulbs away! You have to return them to a recycling center or someone that will do it for you (such as Home Depot). Um, pass. They also cost too much for me to think about switching out all my light bulbs at once.

And by the way, haven't we been told for the last few decades how evil mercury is? I don't remember my light bulb ever having this strong a potential to give me cancer before....

So, will I be getting CFL bulbs? Nope. I will just wait for a huge drop in price on LED or whatever the next tech to come down the pipeline is. I will help the Earth in other ways, such as by eating a lot of beef. Oh, wait; that's apparently bad, too. I give up.

I'm all for being a good steward of the Earth but this whole "Go Green or we are all doomed" stuff is getting annoying. I mean, it is to the point where I've put my copy of Silent Spring in my basement next to my paint thinner and bug sprays just to mock it.

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Happy Birthday, Bilbo and Frodo!

As I am sure ALL of you know, today is the co-birthday of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. Huzzah! I'm sure, like me, you all have this day circled on your calender for celebration each year. Today I will be eating as many cinnamon rolls and honey buns as I can (so, basically a normal Tuesday) and I may even thrown in the old 1970s animated film.

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Dating Video Monatage, 80's style

Funny and sad at the same time.

Dating Montage
Uploaded by smithy00101. - Discover more animation and arts videos.

HT: Hot Air


BONUS: Don't miss this previous video dating post.

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Andy Richter Owns Wolf Blitzer on Jeopardy

Man, that has GOT to sting.



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RIP Swayze

I wasn't a HUGE fan, but I did enjoy several movies he was in. Despite his body of work, my favorite moment was when he was in one of my favorite SNL sketches of all time. The actual sketch was a few minutes longer and had some funny dialogue, but this is the best version I could find. I'll edit in a better one if I find it.

Patrick Swayze - Chippendale
Uploaded by tressage -

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Oh, Kanye

Even Chris Brown was like




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One Year of Walking in China

This video semi-documents a guy attempting to travel from China to Germany solely by foot (heh, 'solely' by 'foot'). In the end he doesn't make but it he did get over 4000 miles across China. His website tracked his movements and I recommend checking out his daily journal entries. This video records his beard and hair growth over the course of the trip. I found the video especially interesting when I would realize I had stood in some of the same places he took a picture.

You you check out his website here.




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Flying/Skiing Motorcycle

I honestly can't figure out if i find this to be really cool or really stupid. Your thoughts?



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The Orchids - Another Saturday Night

This song has been stuck in my head since the first time I heard it somewhere around 2 years ago. I was just sitting here watching the video for the [insert large number] time and decided to go ahead and post it.

New Weird Al EP - "Internet Leaks"

Ah, the greatness that is Weird Al. I have been rocking out to Weird Al on at least a weekly basis for, oh, over 20 years now. That's right. Anyway, Al has a new CD coming out sometime next year and has released an EP with a a few songs that will be on there. Videos for most of the songs are floating around so I present you with them now. You can download the EP by following the links below. Enjoy!

Weird Al on Twitter

Amazon Download




1. Whatever You Like


2. Craigslist


3. Skipper Dan
Click Here for Video

4. CNR
Click Here for Video

5. Ringtone
Click Here for Video


Bonus:

Here is the video for "You're Pitiful", the parody of the James Blunt song that didn't make it onto the last album.



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It's here. Are you ready?

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Sweet Bumblebee Costume

Even I am frightened by the internet sometimes

Here are some videos I have come across the last few days. Some of them....cannot be unseen.








Enjoy!
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Winkers

I have no words.

Avatar - Teaser

The first trailer for the new James Cameron film, Avatar, came out today. I've been looking forward to this film but have mixed feelings about the trailer after my first viewing. It looks like it still has the potential to have a sweet Sci-Fi/Fantasy story, but some of it looked a little hokey. Time will tell all and for now I am still looking forward to the film's release this December.






Plot:

In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na'vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture.

IMDB: Avatar

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Longest Crash Ever

I have no idea why I find this so funny, but lol.



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East Asia Pictures

I have finally had some time to upload a few of my trip pictures to my Flickr account. I didn't put up all 1500 (you're welcome) but I do have several pictures from the various places I went. Below is a mosaic I made with a free website so you could get a little preview. The pictures included in the mosaic are low res and cropped a little, but I think you will get the gist. Follow the link to my Flickr collection and feel free to leave comments here or on the pictures.

My Flickr Collection




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Um, what?

This is...odd.



HT (and more info): Mashable

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Asian Music Recap

Hello, loyal readers! I'm sure the two of you really missed me while I was in East Asia. I fully expect to write several blog posts on various topics relating to my trip so go ahead and brace yourselves. Perhaps later I will make a nice, long post about all the Asian bands I already listen to, but not today. Today I wanted to share some Asian music that I either found shortly before going or while on the trip. The music television over there often played - wait for it - music videos all day so a lot of these songs are pretty stuck in my head right now. I hope you find at least one artists you like, but if not it is OK to laugh at the videos. These are in no particular order.

Amber Kuo
Between the round the clock showing of this video, the 'making the video' and the commercial for the CD the chorus to this song is so stuck in my head I may never get it out. Taiwanese.



Outsider
This Korean rapper holds the unofficial world record for fastest rapping: 17 syllables in 1 second. The offical record is only for English, though. Still, he is a very fast rapper.



Car-Sick Cars
Do you like Sonic Youth? If so, you'll enjoy China's Car-Sick Cars.



Super Junior
As much as I know I should really dislike this song I just can't help playing it really loud in my truck. I feel such shame right now. plus, they have like, 80 members or something. Crazy! Korean.



BoA
I have been a BoA fan for a loooong time but it wasn't until i was in Asia that I found out she just released her first English cd in America. Here is the first video off that cd. It is very weir to me because I'm used to hearing her in Korean.



Mouse on the Keys
I really like bands that bascially just make noise. This video is pretty sweet, too. Japanese.



Monkey Majik
Featuring two Canadians, this Japanese band is interesting with the way they switch between English and Japanese.



P.K.14
This Chinese indie-rock band is starting to get some international buzz, from what I understand. Good stuff.



Ayumi Hamasaki
Last but not least - J-Pop star Ayumi Hamasaki. I have been a fan for forever, it seems. I own over 30 of her albums, several concert DVDs, and even a poster or two. Anyway, she has a new CD and the first video from it was airing in Asia while I was there. While not as great a video as some of her older stuff I still enjoyed it.




There are some other bands I could list but I really didn't want to overload you. Please feel free to comment about the videos you liked.

I Shall Return

No, I haven't died or given up on the blog. I will be unavailable for the next few weeks but look forward to many, many trivial postings when I return.

Zombieland Trailer

Man, this looks like it is going to be great. It reminds me of one of my favorite zombie video games, Dead Rising. Here's hoping there isn't 'excessive language'.



Official Site

Buffy vs Edward

A great mashup of Buffy and Twilight.




If you enjoyed this video then you would probably enjoy this shirt (which I own).

PS Don't worry, this isn't turning into a Buffy blog. There has just been a lot of good stuff showing up recently. Huzzah.

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Two movies I want to see

Outside of the heavy promoted summer blockbusters and DVD releases there are often good movies just waiting to be seen. Here are the trailers for two movies that I am looking forward to checking out.

The Way We Get By
In Limited Release Now

"Since the first Gulf War in 1991, a group of veterans and townspeople from the area have greeted every troop flight that arrives or departs from Bangor International Airport. They’re so loyal to their mission that the airport set aside a permanent room for them.....“The Way We Get By” follows the lives of three troop greeters." from Hot Air

Official Site
IMDB
Rotten Tomatoes


The Hurt Locker
Already Out, Coming Soon to DVD

"Kathryn Bigelow’s film, which was written by Mark Boal, manages to be many things at once—a first-rate action thriller, a vivid evocation of urban warfare in Iraq, a penetrating study of heroism and a showcase for austere technique, terse writing and a trio of brilliant performances.

...

The focal point is a three-man bomb squad working bravely and meticulously, on the streets of Baghdad in 2004, to disarm a succession of the improvised explosive devices that are killing civilians and soldiers alike. While all members of the squad are skilled professionals, one of them, Staff Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner), has a special relationship with bombs. He loves the circuits that must be decoded, the detonators that must be disconnected. He loves the challenge presented by each bomb, the chance to taunt fate and come up a winner or go up in flames; it’s the ultimate form of a gambler’s high. (In military parlance, bombs send their victims to the locker of the title.)' from Joe Morgenstern via WSJ.

Bonus: I hear that The Hurt Locker does not have a political edge or stance on the war in either direction and can be enjoyed for what it is.


IMDB
Rotten Tomatoes


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Daybreakers - Trailer

I just stumbled across this trailer and was overcome with glee. Ethan Hawke and William Dafoe? Vampires? Yeah, I'm on board.

Here is the plot summary from IMDB:

In the year 2019, a plague has transformed most every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save humankind.


Look for it January of 2010.

U.S. Apache vs Taliban

All the checking in seems a little overkill (pun maybe intended), but a sweet video nonetheless.



If you like this video you'll probably like this site, too.

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I laughed. A lot.

Linkage: Hijinks Ensue

For geeks that care:

Buffy Remake Without Joss? Whedonites will Burn L.A. to the Ground First

Buffy in for feature relaunch

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Thundercats Movie trailer

Fake - but awesome.



From the creator:

Here's the list of the actors movies and music I used to make this.
Actors
Lion-O: Brad Pitt, Mel Gibson.
Panthro: Vin Diesel
Tygra: Hugh Jackman
Cheetara: Gigi Edgley
WilyKat: Daryl Sabara
WilyKit: Alexa Vega
Jaga: Robert Eddison
Mummra: Richard Cetrone

Movies
10,000BC, Masters of the Universe, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Lord of The Rings: Return of the King, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, Chronicles of Riddick, Pitch Black, X2:X-men United, X-men:The Last Stand, Troy, Star Trek6: The undiscovered Country, Space Hunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, Stargate, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, Garfield, Enemy Mine, Spykids, Underworld, The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, Galaxy Quest, John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars, Planet of the Apes, Aliens, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Reign of Fire, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

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Pogo

The last few days I have been listening to a musician named Pogo on Last.fm that mainly creates tracks using samples of dialogue from Disney movies and other films. Here are a few of my favorites:

Alice (caution: this will get stuck in your head)



Extra: click here to watch a 'remix' of the Alice video that will make your eyes glaze over. You can do this with any video at Yooouuutuuube.com


Expialidocious



Alohomora



Mary's Magic



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New Best Worst Movie Ever?

Oh....yes. I just came across this trailer this morning and am blown away. I honestly cannot wait for this to come out. The end of the trailer is EPIC.

Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus

Official Site

IMDB





edit: I just noticed this was posted over at BEP in early May. See what happens when you don't check your Google Reader everyday, kids? You have to wait a month to find sweet trailers.

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Parker Lewis Can't Lose

Ah, the early 90s. From 1991-1993 the then new FOX network ran a show called Parker Lewis Can't Lose. The show was basically a direct rip-off of the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off and I mean that in the best possible way. While I cannot claim to remember a lot of the specifics of the show since I was only 12, I do remember it being awesome.

I think of particular scenes every now and then and specifically think of it every single time I see Abraham Benrubi as Jerry on ER. I would like to say that what I remember most were the great story lines, the interesting characters, and sweet music. While all of these things are true, what I most remember are the shirts. That's right, the shirts. If you have never seen an episode, Parker Lewis wore the busiest, most colorful shirts you can imagine. Really, it was pretty impressive.

After the longest wait, Parker Lewis Can't Lose is finally making its way to DVD on June 30 of this year. I recommend it to anyone interested in mocking the early 90s while getting to watch a really good show.

Parker Lewis on Amazon.com

Parker Lewis on Netflix

Parker Lewis Wiki


Here is a mini-episode from season 1. What the folks at Miniepisode do is take an entire episode and edit it down to 5 minutes. While you do lose a lot of the side stories and character interactions, I post this here so that you can get a taste for the show - and the shirts!



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Project Natal Motion Sensing Controller for XBOX 360

I have to be honest, when I heard about this earlier today I thought it was something I wouldn't be interested. Now, after having watched the trailer, I think it is pretty awesome and look forward to seeing what developers do with it.

I will add links as they start showing up. Most of what I found so far are just reporting the announcement.



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Another crazy parkour guy

A lot of people that put up these videos are lame but this one is pretty sweet.



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Toy Story 3 teaser

It seems a bit of an understatement to say that I am a huge fan of the Toy Story series. I have the DVDs I bought individually, the box sets, and the collectors sets. I have WAY too many collectibles ranging from key chains and book to a cell from the movie (yeah, I'm that guy) and everything in between.


I used to want to go into computer animation so naturally I was drawn (pun intended, sadly) to the series. There has long been mention and rumour of a third movie coming out and finally, finally we have a teaser trailer. It would appear that all the major characters will be back. I am really looking forward to the release next year.

Toy Story 3




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Even I worry me sometimes

Are you familiar with Tweet Grid? Tweet Grid is a very handy site for tracking things on Twitter. You can create grids (go figure, right?) of the size you want i.e. 1x1 2x2, 2x5, etc.and track phrases or words in real time. It comes in very handy when you want to see what people are saying or linking to re: a topic you are currently interested in. It also lets you track #hashtags. Sweet.

Anyway, I was just sitting here doing some work and looked up my screen. Even I was suprised by the odd mix of terms I had typed in. Click the picture to go to the full size picture. Bonus points for catching my Google search in the upper right. I am one odd dude.



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Sigur Ros

I've been having a bit of a Sigur Ros day so I figured I would share some of the goodness with you. They are one of those bands that you can't explain and that must be experienced to be appreciated. All of their albums are amazingly awesome and warrant your purchase and frequent playing.

If you can't understand what they are saying you aren't alone - it isn't a real language. Click here to find out more about the band and Volenska.

Enjoy!






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Fast Swing Dancing

How do people get their body to move that fast? This here is some crazy dancin'!





Shamelessly taken from: Dark Roasted Blend

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The random photo love continues

An online map site has used one of my pictures for their Atlanta map. How weird is that?

Click here, it is on the right side.

Here is the original:




This isn't the first time a website has asked to use one of my photos. I don't say this to be prideful or to boast, I just find it very odd since I don't think they are that great. If you care, here is my other picture used on a site (the sleeping dog on the left).

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1 vs 100

Oh, man. I can barely stand the wait! This Xbox Live game will be releasing May 24th so there isn't much longer. If you aren't familiar with it, 1 vs 100 is a live (as in live, not Xbox Live) game that is played with a lot of real people in real time. It is based on the NBC game show of the same name.

On Live you will compete against real people [thousands, even] for real prizes. The game will move much faster than the TV show did. I've heard that you average about 4 seconds to get your answer in. You are also ranked on speed so people cheating with Google shouldn't be a problem.

Did I mention yet that I am a HUGE trivia fan? Most of my knowledge is trivial in nature and I am pretty excited since people I know tend to not want to play me in trivia games. Links at the bottom for more info on everything.



Xbox.com Game Details Page

IGN Game Page


Here is an explanation of the game taken from About.com:

Overview:

1 vs. 100 pits a single contestant against a "mob" of 100. The contestant and the mob members must all answer general knowledge, multiple choice trivia questions to advance in the game. If a member of the mob answers incorrectly, they are eliminated and the contestant receives a pre-determined amount of money for each eliminated mob member. If a contestant answers a question incorrectly, they lose the game and walk away with nothing.

The first three questions in the game must be answered by the single contestant. After the third question, contestants can opt to walk away with their winnings or keep playing the game, but this decision must be made before seeing the next question. The amount of money to be won with each departing mob member increases as the game continues.

If a contestant can eliminate all 100 mob members, they win the grand prize of one million dollars.
Helps:

Contestants have three "helps" available to them during the course of the game. Helps can be used on any question, and players can use more than one help on a single question. Each of the three helps may only be used once, however.

* Poll the Mob – The contestant picks one of the three possible answers for their question, and then the mob is polled to see how many of them answered the same way. The contestant is then able to change their answer if they wish.

* Ask the Mob – Two mob members are randomly chosen. One of them has answered the question correctly, while the other has not. They each explain to the contestant why they chose their answer.

* Trust the Mob – The contestant's answer will match the one chosen by the majority of the mob's answers. In the case of a tie, the single contestant must chose which answer to lock in.

The Mob:

One of the innovative twists to this game is that the mob stands to win money as well. If a contestant answers a question incorrectly, thereby losing the game, all mob members who answered that particular question correctly get to split the remaining prize money between them. These members of the mob may also return to play in the next round, and continue playing until they have been eliminated.

The mob almost always features celebrities and/or groups of people who belong to the same organization, have the same careers, or have other things in common. Some of these groups have included Mensa members, models from Deal or No Deal, telemarketers, and former game show champions. Since 1 vs. 100 airs on NBC, it's not unusual to see past and present cast members from other NBC shows in the mob.

Lastly, here is a clip from the show to you a small taste of the game in action:



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No, Todd, I don't trust you

Favorite lines: "She's OK. She's alright." and "I've done this A LOT."

Fear the mullet.

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Free Enterprise

A cartoon from 1948.



HT: IMAO

District 9

This movie is looking pretty sweet. It is scheduled to come out in August of this year.



IMDB synopsis: An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly find a kindred spirit in a government agent that is exposed to their biotechnology


This is shaping up to be a pretty good sci-fi/fantasy summer.

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TROOPS

This video is old. I mean oooooooooooooold. I believe I first watched it in college....in 1998. However, I have referenced it a few times over the last few weeks and apparently none of my local friends have ever seen it. Since this is completely unacceptable I post it now for you and them. It is a parody of COPS set in the Star Wars world. Anyone that has seen Star Wars will get the general humor but fans will get the subtle things. Also, I love Tom Servo as a droid, lol.



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Ok, now I feel bad

I have owned guitars longer than this kid has been alive and I'm still working on stringing three chords together, lol.





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Some Change

Hmm, I can't seem to remember seeing Bush laugh at a 9/11 joke or a joke about hoping someone's kidneys fail. Is this that tolerant, open-mindedness to others' ideas thing that I keep hearing about? I'm glad we are finally bringing the country together!



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Yeah, I cried a little

I know this is old but I came across it again today and figured I would join the masses of people spreading this video. Also, that is pretty much exactly the way my dog tries to hug.




Here is a fuller version of it:




This is from a documentary, Christian: The Lion at World's End. You can read a little of the story here. Animal Planet also started running a new documentary this week, Christian the Lion.

Edit: I just found out apparently Oprah has been showing this recently or something. Um, I don't watch Oprah, I promise! Here is another video I found:



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Meme of the moment

Today I am enjoying the meme "Play him off, keyboard cat". (If you don't know what a meme is click here.) I know it is pretty stupid but I have watched about 20 of these today already. Yes, I am at work. Why do you ask?

Basically, the way it works is something that wasn't supposed to be funny turns out to be funny or embarrassing and a cat plays the keyboard. Simple!

Here is the original video:



Here area few classic viral vids with the keyboard cat treatment.







You can start your adventures here.


Perhaps later I will post on my favorite meme, "I accidentally".


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Your business card is CRAP

**insert witty America Psycho reference here**

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