Crazy Christmas Lights to Music
November 30, 2005 | 12 Comments
Sara passed me along this great video courtest of one of her co-workers. Whover did this clearly has both skill and a great deal of time on their hands. A great feat in Christmas over-engineering. Normally I find excessive decorations or lights tacky, but this is just plain impressive.
Turn up you volume and enjoy this music. I think it’s even Trans-Siberian Orchestra which rules.
View the Video (WMV format 5MB)
I suppose there is a good chance this was done as stop motion animation and completely faked, but even if that’s the case, it still rules.
(If anyone knows who I should credit as the source of this video, let me know and I’ll happily do so. I received it uncredited, standalone.)
Tags: christmas, christmas lights, crazy, decoration, light, lights, music, orchestra, synchronized lights, video
New Avengers, New Comics Legend
November 23, 2005 | 5 Comments
Over the last few months of reading Amazing Spider-Man, a continually running core plot point has been his membership in a newly reformed Avengers. Never having been a huge Avengers fan, I wasn’t initially very interested, but this interest has slowly increased.
I just completed reading New Avengers Volume 1: Breakout, which collects New Avengers #1-6. After completing this, I was hooked. The writing was just all out fantastic. I hadn’t been this excited about a comic since the Ultimate Spider-Man Collection. It was then it hit me.
Bendis wrote Ultimate Spider-Man, and he also wrote New Avengers. In fact it was him who dissolved the original Avengers. That series has been compiled in the aptly named Avengers Disassembled.
Bendis has also been involved in writing Daredevil, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four. In the meantime he created and wrote Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Secret War, Alias, Powers, and House of M. He’s also responsible for bringing Spider-Woman and Luke Cage back to life.
I’m looking forward to getting my hands on as many Bendis written stories as I can. As far as I’m concerned he’s a living legend like Stan Lee, Frank Miller, Jack Kirby, or Steve Ditko. In 5-10 years all the comics based movies will be driven by the characters and worlds Bendis is creating and expanding right now.
Tags: alias, amazing spider-man, avengers, bendis, book, breakout, brian michael bendis, comic, comic book, comic books, comics, daredevil, fan, fantastic four, frank miller, house of m, jack kirby, marvel, marvel team-up, new avengers, powers, secret war, spider-man, spider-woman, spiderman, stan lee, steve ditko, ultimate, ultimate fantastic four, ultimate spider-man, ultimate x-men, ultimates, x-men
MasterWish, Gift Lists Made Easy
November 22, 2005 | 2 Comments
The holiday season is here again. Time to make lists of what you want from friends and family for holidays. In the past this had always been difficult for me. How could I tell people what I wanted without getting duplicates? How could I avoid telling someone about something priced to high? How can I be sure they get my sizes correct?
Well, a group of friends and I decided to solve all these problems and more by creating MasterWish.com. This free service should make it really easy to get what you want this holiday season and beyond.
Once you have a bunch of items you can organize them into lists. I have lists for music, videos, kitchen toys, and more, but the great thing is items can belong to more than one list. My birthday is coming up so I created a birthday list and added items from all my categories to it. It’s that easy.
The other big difference with MasterWish is you can control who sees your wish lists. You can create a wish list of what you want from friends and one for family and control who can see them.
There is much more to MasterWish than I have mentioned here, but the best way to learn more is to sign up for an account! It’s free (and will always be free) and I think it’s pretty cool.
MasterWish is a web 2.0 application, and most likely will always remain in beta. Also as part of the we’re still working on improving and streamlining the site. If you have any suggestions please leave them at the Bugs & Suggestions link. We’ll do our best to implement everyone’s suggestions.
I hope you enjoy the site, Make lots of suggestions, and get everything you wish for.
Don’t take my word for it, go sign up now, it’s free and always will be. Heck, if you like it, tell your friends!
Tags: christmas, christmas list, cool, free, gift, gift lists, holiday, masterwish, registry, web 2.0, web20, wish, wish list, wishlist
World’s Ugliest Dog Dies at 14
November 22, 2005 | 107 Comments
Sam, the world’s ugliest dog, died today at the age of 14.
According to CNN’s article ‘Ugly dog’ Sam dies at 14:
At the time of his death, Sam was scheduled to be filmed for a Discovery Channel series on the world’s ugliest species.
[…]
Lockheed said she had Sam euthanized after a veterinarian told her Sam’s heart was failing.She said she’s felt a little lost ever since, and is sleeping with Sam’s favorite toy — a stuffed bear he picked up and carried home.
“I have snuggled Sam under my blankets on my bed for six years,” said Lockheed, who has three other dogs named TatorTot, TinkerBell and PixieNoodle.
I’m actually suprised to feel a bit sad about Sam’s passing. I originally posted about him because I was absolutely repulsed, but in the end my curiosity has warmed me to the creepy little fella. It will be interesting to see who the Sonoma-Marin Fair will crown ugliest next year. Stay tuned.
Tags: chinese crested, dog, sam, sonoma marin fair, ugliest, ugly, ugly dog, worlds ugliest, worlds ugliest dog
Happy Feet
November 19, 2005 | 28 Comments
A trailer for Happy Feet ran in front of the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire show I saw last night. The trailer didn’t give a clear idea of what this movie will be about other than it is musical, digitally animated, funny, and about penguins. It has me hooked. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t alone, as a palpable buzz infected the entire packed theater after the trailer ended.
The official blurb on what Happy Feet is about:
Happy Feet is a comedy adventure set in the land of the Emperor Penguins in the heart of Antarctica. These penguins sing, and each needs their own special song to attract a soul mate. Our hero Mumble (ELIJAH WOOD), son of Elvis (HUGH JACKMAN) and Norma Jean (NICOLE KIDMAN) is the worst singer in the world… but he can tap-dance something fierce!
Tags: antarctica, elijah wood, emperor penguin, emperor penguins, happy feet, harry potter, harry potter and the goblet of fire, hugh jackman, jackman, kidman, movie, musical, nicole kidman, penguin, penguins, teaser, trailer, warner brothers, wb, wood
Buffy Completed
November 17, 2005 | 5 Comments
After an entire summer of watching four or more episodes twice a week, we finally completed the entire seven season run of Buffy the Vampire Slayer tonight. This show has has it’s ups and downs, but overall was one of the most entertaining series I’ve ever watched.
For those just getting into it, the show does not truly hit its stride until midway through season 2. Granted, season 1 is only 13 episodes… Anyway, season 2 was when the core characters had all become interesting enough to me that I was drwan into the entire Buffy universe.
From my perspective, Sarah Michelle Geller is by far NOT the key character in this show. Instead it is those that surround her that make Buffy what it is. In no particular order: Alyson Hannigan as Willow, Nicholas Brendon as Xander, Emma Caulfield as Anya, David Boreanaz as Angel, Anthony Head as Giles, Seth Green as Oz, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia, Elisha Dushku as Faith, and James Marsters as Spike. These are characters and experiences that will remain with me long into the future. Joss Whedon is truly the master of character development.
Now to move on to the fifth and final season of Angel. If only Firefly was still on TV…
Tags: angel, buffy, buffy the vampire slayer, David Boreanaz, firefly, joss whedon, Nicholas Brendon, serenity, willow
Partially De-Fatted Cooked Pork Fatty Tissue
November 15, 2005 | 1 Comment
Reading DamnInteresting, I was pointed at Steve, Don’t Eat It!. Reading this was at times laugh out loud funny, but continually stomach churning. I thought Hufu was bad, that’s nothing compared to what Steve faces down over the course of nine outragous volumes!
From Volume 1, Potted Meat Food Product:
Inside is a smooth, oddly pink meat paste. So smooth, in fact, I dare call it “creamy.” (I actually got a little gaggy just typing that.) Surprisingly, it was a little spicier than I expected. Although, that sensation may have been a by-product of my tastebuds dying.
From Volume 2, Pickled Pork Rinds:
These are not the crunchy pork rinds you’ll often see over by the chips. These are their grosser, soggier, potentially botulism-ier cousins.
[…]
I knew I was in trouble as soon as I opened the jar, and heard no reassuring vacuum seal. I must admit that made me nervous, but what are the odds of a dusty jar of warm pig skin going bad, right?Lifting the lid revealed a weird sour smell, something akin to mild vinegar and stale meat.
From Volume 4, 1991 Urkel-Os:
I’m not exactly sure how to say this, but… THE CEREAL IS STILL GOOD! I swear to God.
I’m a little freaked out. Should I call the Pope? This is a miracle, right? I mean, I used to think the idea of suspended animation and cryogenics was pretty cool, but the hell with that. If I die, don’t freeze my brain — just bury me in a box of Urkel-O’s. Apparently it has the ability to stop time.
Alright if any of that was at all intriguing, go read the whole torrid affair.
Tags: cereal, creamy, disgusting, eat, fat, fatty, food, funny, gross, gross food, humor, meat, meat food, miracle, pickled, pork, pork rinds, urkel