June 2012
3 posts
2 tags
☞ Man Cannot Live On Chunky Strawberry Toppers...
It occurred to me earlier today that while I don’t consume a lot of meat, I do consume a lot of living organisms.
Like, a lot.
Like, billions.
A day.
If you’ll look here at the Rafferty Food Pyramid, you’ll see that it has a sturdy base consisting entirely of yogurt and bread. Above that, you’ll see the middle is made up of kefir and Jamba Juice, and the very top is a...
Reggie Watts at TED. →
Reggie Watts performs at slash makes fun of TED. This is the best video I’ve seen that captures the feeling of seeing him live. I imagine it’s also what it feels like to have a stroke. [via]
Game Of Thrones theme song, with lyrics. →
In my continuing coverage of a show I do not watch, I offer you Anamanaguchi’s take on the Game Of Thrones theme song. (If you care about the show, I would advise not watching this video, since it will forever ruin the opening credits for you.) Inexplicably (and, seemingly independently), someone else created essentially the same video back in November. This is better, however. [via]...
May 2012
12 posts
2 tags
☞ Sir, Do You Know How Slow You Were Walking?
I have long maintained that I should not have a driver’s license. I am not a good driver. I have a lead foot. I often change lanes in intersections. I was texting while driving before it was not cool. I once ran over a guy just to watch him bleed.
What’s the statute of limitations on running over a guy?
There isn’t one?
Innnnteresting.
Moving on.
Point is, I should not have...
Measuring the Universe →
Another educational video. This is great. Science. It works, bitches. [via]
You're vs. Your by Mac Lethal →
Maybe the kids would have better grammar if it was all taught via rap. I mean, probably not, but maybe. [via g]
2 tags
☞ I Would Totally Buy Kinect Bocce.
Show of hands, who made a baking soda volcano for a grade school science fair at some point growing up? Uh huh. Okay, how about the ol’ potato with toothpicks growing roots down into a mason jar? All right, okay. Now what about programming a software application for editing video using artificial intelligence? No? Notsomuch? Huh. What about the player piano that makes different mixed drinks...
Abed's "Cool" Supercut →
In honor of Community’s finale/renewal. Although after last night’s triple episode assault, this video could use some updating.
Fast & Furious - Just The Gear Shifting →
This is the closest I’ll probably ever come to linking to pornography. [via]
2 tags
☞ Boffo Box Office Blowout Bows to Big Business...
Last weekend The Avengers broke all sorts of box office records. Biggest opening weekend ever, fastest film to hit $250 million, most gratuitous Scarlett Johansson booty shots (sorry, Horse Whisperer), and a ton more.
Point is, summer movie season is officially upon us. So you know what that means, it’s time for another installment of The Raffertyesque Guide To The Movies: Summer Edition.
...
Prochronisms →
An excellent site dedicated to finding linguistic anachronisms in television. Very Mad Men-centric. I’m a sucker for anachronisms in general, throw in some charts though, and add some etymological seasoning and you’ve got yourself a nice little stew. Don’t you agree, lamb? [via]
Old People Icons →
There’s some good stuff in here. I find the voicemail reel-to-reel particularly egregious. [via]
2 tags
☞ Free Vince Lombardi Mousepads!
This time last week, I wasn’t sure where NFL players came from. I just assumed that they’re genetically engineered… grown in a lab, adjacent to the cloned sheep and killer tomatoes. I mean, no normal human can run that fast or hit that hard or actually believe Jesus helped them catch a football, right?
The reason I wasn’t sure where NFL players came from was because it...
The Geek Shall Inherit The Earth:
How Joss Whedon... →
Is it Avengers day, or is it just me? Alex Pappademas interviews Joss Whedon. The writers chart is quite excellent, as is Whedon’s take on Batman. Holy crap, I want to see his Batman.
Jonathan Coulton vs. The Avengers →
Like his new TV lineup predictions back in the fall, Jonathan Coulton attempts to figure out what the Avengers is about using limited means. I am amused.
April 2012
12 posts
2 tags
☞ New York City Walking Tour #22: Hamilton Heights...
Please proceed to the intersection of Convent Avenue and West 135th Street before beginning this walking tour. Press “Play” when ready. Mind the white people.
Hamilton Heights is a neighborhood within a neighborhood within a borough within a City. Within a country. On a continent. On a planet. We can keep pulling back here, but you get the idea.
Named after founding father Alexander Hamilton,...
Go Right →
Mesmerizing. I’ve watched it half a dozen times already. Sure, as a nerd I am biased, but I dare say it’s probably almost just as mesmerizing to non-nerds.
That’s right. I dare it. [via]
RETRO BOBBY →
Is it a hair salon or is it a toyshop? I feel like that question is not asked frequently enough. Either way, Ruben & Bobby is the answer. Clearly need to hit this place up next time I’m in Copenhagen.
2 tags
☞ Fu Manchu Was Never Even A Consideration.
Today, in Part 277 of my 1,001 Part series, Pat Rafferty Questions His Masculinity, we will explore a heretofore undiscussed topic: facial hair.
For the majority of my adult life I had a goatee. From senior year in high school until a couple years ago. It evolved over the years, gaining a mustache, losing a mustache, separating into a soul patch once in a while… sometimes with a shaved...
ping pong - a sports movie about old age →
Excellent trailer. Old people and ping pong. Done. I don’t see any way that I could not love this movie. [via]
Fat Betty →
Probably still amusing even if you don’t watch Mad Men, it’s just that good. 47 seconds of genius. [via]
2 tags
☞ Have You Seen My Scarf?
I trust people, generally speaking. Because generally speaking, people can be trusted. I mean, you can’t trust lawyers or bankers. Or carnies or Australians. But other than that, people are pretty trustworthy.
Oh, and male flight attendants. Can’t trust them, either.
But yes, other than a few select occupations and continents, people are generally pretty good.
This is why for many...
HAWP : Skyrim →
Sometimes I feel like the HAWPers phone it in (hell, I phone it in all the time), but this week’s Hey Ash Whatcha Playin’? is solid. And I’ve never played Skyrim.
Propaganda posters of Soviet space program →
I’m a sucker for this type of stuff. There is a second set as well. [via via leonard]
2 tags
☞ Extra, Extra! Osama Bin Laden Pregnant With...
“Print is dead.”
So spake Egon Spengler in the opening minutes of Ghostbusters.
It’s unclear if he meant “print is dead” in the “paper is printed on dead trees” sense, or “print is dead” in the “print is over” sense.
The dead trees theory strikes me as more likely, since this is 1984 we’re talking about, and while Egon is a...
I WILL FEAST ON YOUR SOUL →
Inexplicably paired with the South Park music from the Cash 4 Gold episode. [via]
Obama Has Friends In Starfleet →
Or Uhura has a friend in the White House? Wait, does the White House even exist in the 23rd century? Doesn’t matter. This trumps Q and Data checking out the iPad. [via]
March 2012
15 posts
2 tags
☞ Show Me Aero The Acro-Bat!
Remember the first time you heard that the playgrounds at McDonald’s are there so kids will have fond memories of McDonald’s growing up, thus making them life long customers?
Oh, you’ve never heard that?
Well, yeah, that’s why they have playgrounds. Sorry to ruin the surprise, fatty.
Similarly, it never even occurred to me that all the cartoons I watched growing up were...
George Lois Gives Some Damn Good Advice →
Good stuff. Old guys, so wise. [via]
Dr. Seuss: Ad Man →
Very cool but very strange to see Seussian characters hawking Esso oil and the like. Now I’m waiting for the inevitable Dr. Seuss appearance on Mad Men this season. [via]
2 tags
☞ Beware the Deadly Asparagus Planet.
All great filmmakers get their start when they are young. Steven Spielberg made 8MM home movies and charged his family 25¢ admission to view them. (Jewish business acumen.) Woody Allen made short movies in his teens that he paid his family to watch. (Jewish guilt.) Orson Welles directed Citizen Kane while he was still in his 20s. (Not Jewish, but his agent probably was.)
What I’m trying to...
The Best of Joan Leaving Rooms →
In honor of Mad Men’s triumphant return on Sunday, I offer you this supercut.
Tacocopter.com →
Does what you think it does. Wait, what do you think it does? [via]
2 tags
☞ Everything Is A Remake
Are we familiar with the term “fan fiction?” It’s when fans write their own stories in the universe of a TV show or movie or book of which they are a fan. It’s a thing. Particularly on the internet. There are websites, forums, newsgroups, interactive fiction, and, uh, other things.
But we’re not here to talk about fan fiction. That’s not why you called....
Chinatown Fair Returns! →
I have written about Chinatown Fair twice before. Both times it was sad news. This time, it’s good. It would appear a new arcade is opening in Manhattan. Or is it an old arcade? I don’t even know. And I don’t even care. [via frank]
Stratocam →
Surprisingly addicting. Basically it’s Hot or Not for Google Earth. Good call, Ken Jennings. [via]
2 tags
☞ Let's Go Beat Up Old Man Rafferty!
I’ve been an old man for sometime now. Since birth, practically. I was very calm and quiet as a baby. Or so I’m told. I believe it, though. Seems about right. Must have been all the Bob Ross my mom watched on PBS while I was gestating. Very calming. Those happy little trees will stick with you. For life.
When I say I’m an old man, I don’t mean that in the literal sense of...
DollarShaveClub.com →
I will not be signing up for their service, but I will be watching this video a few more times. Well done. [via]
Your Favorite Team Doesn't Give a Damn About You →
Yes, it’s about sports, but only tangentially.
2 tags
☞ Hey, I'm Not Walking Here!
There are people in New York who never use the subway. This seems crazy to me. That’d be like living in the suburbs and not owning a car. Or living in Toyko and not owning a bike. Or living in Waterworld and not owning a boat. Or living in Star Trek and not using the transporter. Or living in Dr. Who and not using the telephone booth thing.
I could go on. I probably will.
Or living in Tron...
TV Is Broken →
Nice little funny/fascinating story about a kid, television, and commercials. This sort of thing is the new normal.
Robot Quadrotors Perform James Bond Theme →
It’s the guitar riff at the end that really seals the deal.
February 2012
12 posts
2 tags
☞ Happy Sol 17th, Everyone!
So I always thought it took the Earth 365.25 days to orbit the Sun. Hence every four years those .25 days add up to an extra day and we get a leap year. Turns out I was wrong, though. Turns out, it takes Earth 365.242374 days to orbit the Sun. I know. I feel so foolish now.
It was Pope Gregory the XIII (P. Greggy Gregg as he was known back in the 1500s) who first noticed this. Well, probably a...
Admiral Ackbar Speaks →
Old guys are the best. [via]
Worst Episode Ever →
Leonard charts out the quality of TV shows over time. SNL is particularly interesting, as it appears to have gotten better recently… but everyone clearly knows SNL was best back in (SNLseason = yourYearOfBirth+15)
2 tags
☞ Hipsters and Hand Grenades
It seems like every time I go somewhere new in Brooklyn that I’ve already been there. Which is weird, because I never go to Brooklyn. But when I do, apparently it’s always to the same neighborhood. Which is weird, because it isn’t.
On those rare occasions when there is a Brooklyn trip on the agenda, I’ll look at the destination on the subway map and say to myself:...
Everything Is a Remix →
Kirby Ferguson’s year-long project ended yesterday. Everything Is a Remix is about, uh, everything being a remix, I guess. Watch the first part. It’s seven minutes, and I guarantee you’ll want to watch the rest. It is as entertaining as it is informative. Seriously, it’ll change the way you look at, like, everything. Like life. Life on the streets. Homicide: Life on the...
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore →
Really quite excellent. Take 15 minutes out of your day and watch it.
2 tags
☞ Ladies Love Progress Meters.
I lost my wallet a couple weeks ago. The Port Authority bus terminal was involved, which almost goes without saying. It is the original hive of scum and villainy… first mentioned in Revelations, if my years of Bible Schooling taught me anything.
Wallet lost, I spent a few hours singing and dancing on the sidewalk in order to scrape together enough coin for subway fare back to my apartment....
Lenticular Manhattan Map →
I want one of these. That way, when an EMP takes out all the iPhones, I will be king of directions! Bow before me! I know the closest train stop to Murray’s Cheese Shop! [via]