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]
Take On Me, North Korean Style (with accordions) →
North Koreans, they’re just like us! Mostly! [via]
2 tags
☞ That's Master Jobsman To You.
Remember a few years back when every TV channel had a home makeover show? It was ridiculous.
Trading Spaces, While You Were Out, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Trading Spaces: Family, Curb Appeal, Trading Spaces: British Invasion, Clean Sweep, Trading Spaces: European Takeover, Trading Spaces: What The Hell Did You Do To My Bathroom?, Trading Spaces: I Want My Kitchen Back To How It Was Before.
...
IGN Daily Fix →
I’m sure this isn’t nearly as funny to everyone else as it is to me, but I’ve watched in three times now and I’m still laughing, so here it is.
NYPL Labs : Stereogranimator →
NYPL’s Stereogranimator is amazing for a number of reasons. #1: Stereograms are awesome. #2: Old things are awesome. #3: Animated GIFs are awesome (obviously, old file format). #4: It’s a really well-written web app that can generate Animated GIFs from old stereograms. Done. [via]
January 2012
12 posts
2 tags
☞ Meow Meow oh Meow Meow oh Meow oh Gaga.
This past week the House of Representatives and the US Senate were supposed to vote on two separate but similar bills, both with awesome acronyms. The Senate’s was SOPA, short for the “Stop Online Piracy Act” and the House’s was PIPA, short for the PROTECT IP Act, which is short for PROTECT Intellectual Property Act, which is short for Preventing Real Online Threats (to)...
Jonathan Coulton on Megaupload and SOPA/PIPA →
Essential reading.
“Make good stuff, then make it easy for people to buy it. There’s your anti-piracy plan.”
Wastelander Panda →
There are few things I like more than a post-apocalypse. But I can now tell you with great certainty that one of those things is a post-apocalypse… with a panda. [via]
2 tags
☞ Fear, Uncertainty, and Make Sure You Ground...
“I would just like to let the record show that I disassembled and reassembled my television and not only did I not have any pieces left over when I was done, but not once was I electrocuted. It is for that reason that I humbly accept this award, the Noble Prize in Television Repair.”
Right around then, I woke up.
It was all true, though. I really did repair my television. The main...
The Bark Side →
Takes a couple seconds to figure out what’s happening, but once you do, it’s solid. [via the internet]
Oops! I ruined your life. :) →
Gotta love the “like this” button on the Xbox error page. [via]
2 tags
☞ Powerful Stuff, So Watch That Plug!
Benjamin Franklin always gets all the credit for electricity. For (allegedly) flying a kite in a thunderstorm. Whoopdee doo. Great job, guy. Here’s a sticker.
The real hero though, the real pioneer of electricity though, is Egyptian Fred. We don’t even know his last name. That’s how badly history has screwed Fred.
Fred discovered electricity back in 2750 BC. How, you ask? Dude...
2 tags
2011 and Some Pennies.
2011 was a return to movie-going form. After seeing a mere 15 films in theaters in 2010, I saw 35 in theaters in 2011. I said goddamn.
The films in question (roughly in order of release date):
The Green Hornet, The Adjustment Bureau, Rango, Paul, Sucker Punch, Source Code, Hanna, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Fast Five, Thor, Bridesmaids, The Hangover Part II, X-Men: First Class, Super 8,...
Fotoshop by Adobé →
It’s the ´ that makes the joke, really. Sometimes that’s all it takes. [via]
2 tags
☞ Juggalos In The Pot Smoke
In my on-going commitment to bring to you the latest news from the land of the juggalo, I risked life, limb, and about $27.95 (plus surcharges) this New Year’s Eve to attended…
The First Annual Ninja New Year’s Party, hosted by the Insane Clown Posse!
Yes, indeed, this past weekend, 1,672 juggalos and juggalettes (and one non-juggalo and one non-juggalette) (me and a friend)...
smart thief caught on cam →
Yeah, turns out it’s an ad, but it’s clever, so I’ll give it a pass. [via]
Pingu's THE THING →
Pretty excellent. Nothing like using a lovable children’s television character to recreate classic horror/scifi in claymation.
December 2011
15 posts
2 tags
☞ Food, Clothing, Shelter... and Fire!
I think in another life I may have been a pyromaniac.
I’m not, let us be clear, here. I was nowhere near Oldman Peabody’s barn at the time. But under slightly different circumstances, had my nature been nurtured or my nurture been natured, I could see my inner pyromaniac emerging. The spark is there. (I’m more of a two rocks guy than a two sticks guy, you see.)
These visions of...
December 17th. Xylophone. →
This might be a little inside baseball, but here’s the gist: somebody made a video game controller accessory, hired the worst marketing guy in existence, then the marketing guy wrote some nasty emails to paying customers, and then the internet exploded. And then someone else made this video based on the marketing dude’s emails. ”I know the yellow Power Ranger and Richard...
NerdGirlfriend.com →
It just launched, so there isn’t much content… but NerdBoyfriend.com is pretty excellent, so I expect NGF to grow into its own soon enough. [via]
2 tags
☞ What Do You Give When You Hate Giving Anything?
We’re getting down to the wire here, folks. T-minus two days until Christmas. Have you finished all your shopping? Unlike last year, this year I didn’t put things off until the last minute. I’m all set. My list is complete. I’ve dotted the Ts and crossed the lowercase Js.
I imagine 99% of the rest of you are done as well. But for the 1% of you who just don’t know...
Kim Jong Il— Homicidal Dictator, Filmmaker →
Part two of two. Here’s part one. And here are some yankees visiting North Korean labor camps.
Best Table Tennis Shots of 2011 →
I love me some ping pong. Table tennis. Call it what you will. Set it to Christmas music, and it’s even better. The dude in #7 seems like he needs medical attention. [via]
2 tags
☞ Hibernation, Aestivation, Cryonation,...
Humans don’t hibernate, right? I mean, not normally. I’m sure there’s some dude in Japan who hibernates. But there’s a dude in Japan for everything. There’s a dude who hasn’t slept in like 20 years. There’s another who just eats hot dogs all the time. There’s probably one who’s been playing Tetris hanging upside-down while blindfolded and...
Louis CK: Live at the Beacon Theater →
In case you haven’t heard, Louis CK released an hour-long special exklusiv to the internetz last weekend. It’s pretty good. It’s DRM-free. You should buy it. [via everyone]
3.2 Million Dots. →
Recreating a photograph in pointillism is pretty cool on its own. Doing it with Bonobo playing in the background? Even better. [via]
2 tags
☞ 84 Out of 100 Women Prefer Men Who Wear Hats
Show me an executive on Wall Street who’s taken a pay cut in the past five years and I’ll show you a New Yorker who likes the MTA.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority runs the subways here in New York. And the buses. And the Metro-North Railroad. And the Long Island Rail Road. (Which is inexplicably two words, “Rail Road,” instead of “Railroad.” Don’t ask...
Death to Pennies →
Very convincing video outlining why we should get rid of the penny. And the nickel while we’re at it. I can’t help but think the common man would somehow get screwed if we did, though. You know, moreso than usual.
It’s A Wonderful Lie: Bank Fraud, Bailouts And... →
George Bailey as the 1%. It seems so obvious in retrospect. Merry Christmas you wonderful old Building & Loan!
2 tags
☞ Zen And The Art Of Castle Maintenance
I’ve don’t want to brag, but I’ve been to a castle or two in my day.
I know, I’m pretty awesome.
Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria was pretty sweet. It’s on the border of Germany and Austria outside of a town called Füssen (which literally means “feet” in German) (whose town crest, from the looks of their Wikipedia page, seems to be a circle of feet,...
Letters of Note: Space: The Final Frontier →
A series of memos between Gene Roddenberry and his producers, showing various drafts of the opening monologue for Star Trek. Awesome.
Street Skiing →
This is ridiculous. It takes a couple minutes to get going, so I give you permission to fast forward if you get bored. You’re going to watch it again anyway, I assure you. There’s a whole “Where’s Waldo” thing going on in the opening shots. [via]
November 2011
12 posts
2 tags
☞ Isn't Calling The Sale "Door Busters" Kind Of...
During my brief tour of duty at Circuit City back in aught two, I only saw battle once: Black Friday.
It was a cold November morning. The air was foggy. I remember it well. Two nights prior, my band of brothers and I had prepped the store for battle. We stocked the shelves, updated the planograms™, printed the sale tags, and loaded the mortars with Christmas music.
Did I say mortars? I meant...
The History of English - In Ten Minutes →
Entertaining and informative. Would watch again.
Dauntless, Defiant, Resolute →
DDR? I don’t understand how this only has 6,154 views. It’s a scientology rap video. Featuring lyrics like “Psychotropic drugs— we’ll make a thing of the past / Expose the fraud of the psychs and watch them dwindle real fast” you’d think it’d be in the millions by now. Seriously. It’s amazing. It’s also the first time I’ve ever asked...
2 tags
☞ New York City Walking Tour #11: The Bowery
Please proceed to 1 Bleecker Street before beginning this walking tour. Press “Play” when ready. Mind the hobos.
The Bowery, which encompassess a narrow strip of Manhattan between Cooper Square and Chatham Square is a neighborhood in flux. Its rapid gentrification in recent years is emblematic of the City as a whole. Its juxtapositioning of old and new, homeless and...
John Hodgman & Ragnarok →
A lengthy two-part interview with The Onion AV Club and John Hodgman. Funny in parts, serious in others, but interesting through and through. There’s a lot of thought put into complete (fake) world knowledge.
Dead End Thrills →
I’d say Dead End Thrills is just a collection of really nice screenshots from video games, but that would be selling it short. These screenshots? They’re like, really nice.
2 tags
☞ From Dropped Pins to Dropped Calls.
In the great pantheon of technological rivalries… Edison versus Tesla, Gates versus Jobs, that caveman who made fire by banging two rocks together versus that other caveman who made fire by rubbing two sticks together, one rivalry stands above all the rest: Cooper versus Engel.
Who versus who? Martin Cooper and Joel Engel. Of Motorola and Bell Labratories, respectively. In the early 1970s...
Trash80 at Blipfest Tokyo →
I’ve been listening to this on repeat for the past four days. And up until now I’ve been listening to the new Seed A.I. album on repeat. It’s been a good month for chiptunes.
Twitter Language Map →
Very cool visualization of language use on Twitter. Europe is the most interesting, but check out Japan. I think Japan might be more even homogenous than the United States! [via]
2 tags
☞ Whoever Wins, Bananas Lose.
What do Goldfingers, Señoritas, Lady Fingers, Rhino Horns and Double Dragon have in common?
Give up?
They’re all types of bananas.
Except Double Dragon. That’s not a banana. That’s a video game. Come on here.
We also would have accepted Plantain, Latundan, and Grand Nain. We would not have accepted Double Dragon II or Double Dragon III. Those are also video games.
I eat a...
Pocket Full of Hawthornes →
I promise this is the only time I’ll link to an NBC/Universal-owned website. Or at least the only time I’ll link to an NBC/Universal-owned website featuring a drag queen so prominently. But I can’t resist. It’s a catchy tune.