VPILF FTW

Much to my delight, someone finally did it... a Sarah Palin sex doll

New Weird Al single

A parody of TI's "Whatever You Like" for our troubled economic times -- stream it here:

http://therapup.uproxx.com/2008/10/weird-al-yankovic-whatever-you-like-ti-parody.html

I am definitely here.

procrastination loop, anyone? (click to enlarge. see? you got to waste a good 2 seconds just reading this line.)

Several things, but most importantly...

... someone needs to make me this posthaste:

http://bacontoday.com/bacon-cinnamon-rolls.html

You should read the recipe to get the full effect, but here's an image:



EDITED TO ADD: You think I should make this for Thanksgiving this year? It's no kitty litter cake, but I bet it would provoke a reaction.

Other items:

1) Dani, it would take too long to explain the "Still Alive" phenomenon right now, but suffice to say that it is a song written for a video game by Jonathan Coulton, aka the guy who did the Podcast from the Moon.

2) I missed the video below and now it is off YouTube... anyone know of a mirror? I suppose it's not that important but I would like to take the don't-fall-over-laughing challenge if possible.

3) Speaking of Jonathan Coulton, just making sure that any fans of his (and Paul and Storm) didn't miss this gem -- JoCo & P&S recording songs in each other's style for a Song Fu challenge a few months ago. Both are pretty dead-on IMHO, but I have to give the nod to JoCo's "Big Dick Farts a Polka" as the superior style parody. Here's the link if you missed it (scroll down a bit for links to the MP3's):

http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/2008/07/02/masters-of-song-fu-1-round-2-challenge-voting-begins/

Dani, you can probably just ignore #3 unless you want more explaining...

HAR

Lakeshore Theater just called again--with TEN MORE FREE TICKETS!

Oh, well.

I have nothing against people of the christian faith, but...

this may be the most hilarious thing ever. the blog where I found it dared viewers not to fall over laughing at the 1:54 mark, and I failed. whoa man.



dani, promise me that choreographed dances will be featured in your future church, okay? I would come just to see this. and you, of course. but this would be a MAJOR draw.

JoCo and typography...

... two of my favorite things made into a delicious video sandwich:


Portal - Still Alive typography from Trickster on Vimeo.

Scary Wahabis!

I am back on the rerere blog following my computer mayhem! Thank goodness!

And to celebrate, here's a contribution!

Oh, Wahabis....really...did they have to go for Mickey Mouse?

Videos for youuuuuu

This very evening, I have doubled my presence on YouTube. Indeed! Not satisfied with mere photos of our Chicago adventures, here are some videos (sorry about the weird angle on the first one; it fixes itself at the end):



And also:



Finally, of my other two videos, the one of Foxy licking the bow last Christmas has lots more views and five stars, whereas my (granted, kind of lame, and also you can totally hear that I'm losing my voice) Christmas tree tour only has four. I think the biggest surprise is that anyone would bother rating the video at all: "Yeah, it's a pretty good tour, but I prefer my Christmas tree tours with more commentary and less huffing and puffing as the narrator runs up and down stairs. Four stars."

Pop vs. Soda

The debate rages on, but at least we have data now:



(Full post: http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/308-the-pop-vs-soda-map)

What I want to know is... in that one county right in the middle of New Mexico, where 80-100% of the population calls it something else... what DO they call it?

And moreover, what would someone call it if Neil Patrick Harris was drinking coffee in Dubai with muppets?

Important news!

My Rimshot iPhone program had an update today... AND NOW WE HAVE CRICKETS!!! It's like they read our minds!

Rimshot is now, without a doubt, the most useful app I have.

this should really be two posts

...as I have lots to share. first, a video (my very first upload to the youtubes!) from a brief foray into full-on nerddom yesterday evening:




I'm sure there are many options with better quality (and, uh, the first line of the song--I didn't start digging in my bag for my camera until he announced the surprise guest) in the "related videos" section, but hey! first youtube posting! I'm very excited.

updated to add: yes, that IS a nintendo DS someone is waving (in the air, like he just doesn't care) off to my left. it was that kind of convention.

second, say hello to my little friend:



her name is sabrina and I brought her home this afternoon and I already love her to pieces. I will do my best not to send you photos of every single cute thing she ever does, but no promises.

:-D

modeling gig update

They sent me copies of the pictures. They're all pretty much like this... but enjoy:



PS, I have given up on corresponding my post labels with reality

I guess it would be crass to title this "When I Fall"...

Wow, sucks to be a Barenaked Lady:

Ed Robertson involved in small-plane crash

(lookee! I'm blogging again! from my wireless internet! whee! now, if only my furniture would arrive, like they said it would... sigh...)

see? excel can be fun!

I would like spreadsheets way more if I got to make graphs like these:








more here...and I know how I'll be spending the evening. olympics? what olympics?

(also, is this meta? I don't know if it is, but I'll tag it as such anyway.)

dr. horrible, part 2?

...okay, not really. but it IS another video of NPH dancing and singing. love. him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDaszN9ByxM

on a side note, what's with disabling the embedding? this appears to be the official youtube outlet for sesame street videos, so why make it difficult for the kiddies to share?

also, while I hesitate to overuse the "awesome" tag, I believe mr. harris deserves his very own tag, as he has of late personified awesomeness.

oh, and while I'm thinking of joss whedon (NPH --> dr. horrible --> joss whedon), I was recently introduced to the short-lived television series firefly and I recommend that all of you check it out. if you're turned off by the whole "futuristic western set in space" thing, the always funny alan tudyk (also known as the pirate from "dodgeball") and the very, very attractive nathan fillion make it more than worth watching.

my favorite iPhone app review yet

(The bottom one.)



I'm going to give this post the "pimps" tag ironically, and the "douchebaggery" and "people are dumb" tags for anyone who would use this application un-ironically.

Alex Kass gets married

Just in case anyone's interested in the wedding of a fellow Blue Blue member:

Picasa Album

I realize now that I managed not to take any pictures of myself with my lovely wedding date, one Ms. Danielle Tumminio (although I did get one of our place card), but rest assured she was really there...

PS, in related Kass news, in case anyone did not get the email, DJ Canoli's new album is now available on iTunes as well as at several other online music retailers...

awesome, even though I refuse to tag it thus

http://www.zombieharmony.com/

I also note that zombies are frequently to be seen on Halloween; that I send you this link free of charge; that many zombies appear to have scars; and that this sentence consists of metahumor.

Also, Dani is going to Ikea tomorrow and I might go with her.

meep meep!

...wait, is that the road runner? or maybe that's "beep beep!" hm. either way, some muppet-y goodness for you:

Peace for Country Music Lovers!

When I heard Jessica Simpson on the top 25 country music tunes last night, I nearly pulled over and barfed. Ew. I do not want her on my radio. And apparently neither does anyone else.

Let's just hope this new phase will come and go as quickly as her marriage.

we're not done with you yet, [dr.] horrible

Since I appear to be propping this blog up lately with my marginally informative bits of info, maybe you've waited to watch Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, like me? Because you have a bar exam to study for, or something? Well, wait no longer, because Act III (of III) is going up tomorrow, and it's ALL coming down Sunday (though it will be available for purchase from iTunes and your preferred DVD retailer). Seriously, it's SO awesome. If you liked the musical Buffy episode, or anything Neil Patrick Harris has ever done, or have sat through even one video-blog (vlog?) ever, this is for you.

And if I fail the bar because of it, it might just be worth it. (Though, really, eps are about 13 min apiece, so if I fail the bar because of it, that's pretty sad.)

edited to add: Part III is up NOW! go! GO!

oh no, Steve Page!

Say it ain't so!

BNL singer arrested for cocaine possession.

Guess this goes under... things that blow? *rimshot*

ha!

I've always loved Foxtrot, but today's comic is so damn awesome, I can't take it. I know all of the parodies but the last one...

wheeee coasters

Great article on Pennsylvania rollercoasters in the NYTimes today--watch the accompanying video, too. That Ravine Flyer II looks pretty fun...

holy craaaaaaaap

So, I just watched a rerun of Cold Case on TNT (these ever-present procedural cable reruns are my guilty pleasure this summer), and it revolved around some of the characters attending Rocky Horror back in '77, one gets killed, etc. At the end, kind of cutesy, they used the Rocky Horror font to introduce the cast. Lo and behold, who played "scruffy diner head chef" who unwittingly employed a serial killer?

Fuckin' DAVID BOWE.

He lives! That is all.

Congratulations to ^kat^, but more importantly...

... bacon salt is pretty tasty.

They have it in Stop & Shops in CT. It's about $4 for a little jar, which I guess is on par with other spices and such, more or less. It's all sea salt plus various other spices... so no calories or anything like that.

I just had a bowl of popcorn with it and it was pretty darn good. I would not say it is 100% baconlike -- although probably part of that is that you don't really expect things that aren't bacon to taste like bacon -- but I'd estimate it as being 75% like bacon and maybe 25% like the barbecue stuff they put on barbecue potato chips.

All in all, a very worthwhile experience... I'm going to try it on some eggs in the morning if I manage to get up early enough.

If you all don't get around to trying it yourselves, remind me and I'll take it with me on our amusement park trip... if there's any left by then.

BTW, speaking of the amusement park trip, I hear that there is a rollercoaster-like thing mounted on the outside of some hotel in Vegas? Have people heard of this? No time to look it up now (I have to present my thesis prospectus to my committee in the morning... so juuuust enough time for bacon salt posts, but not enough for Vegas building coaster research). I mainly mention this so I can use the "rollercoaster" tag with impunity. Also, I have just started watching the Sopranos finally, and it's pretty good. And although bacon salt is pretty awesome, I shan't be tagging it as much since "awesome" is already overused.

I also bought bananas tonight, and I have an enormous penis.

it's official...

...I have not one, not two, but three jobs lined up. :)

So, I'm still spending a year in Toledo starting in August. But instead of going right to New York, I'm heading to San Antonio, TX for a year to clerk on the federal appellate court (5th Circuit, for those of you keeping track). I just confirmed everything with the judge this morning, and it really takes a weight off of this week--otherwise I would have been in Detroit today, Louisville tomorrow, and San Diego on Thursday, with an interview in Jacksonville, FL waiting to be scheduled. I kept this re-application process to myself because I really wasn't sure how things would shake out, but I've been really fortunate, and I'm super excited--never having been to Texas before Sunday, let alone San Antonio, I had a nice Mexican meal on the RiverWalk, took a mini boat tour downtown, remembered the Alamo, and spent the evening doing BarBri flashcards (...yeah, my day didn't end with a bang).

Perhaps more important to you folks, there is a MASSIVE Six Flags in San Antonio, so maybe we can plan on that in summer '10 (or early fall '09)?

(And how have we not used a "rollercoasters" tag yet? geez!)

mmm...bacon...

this is mostly for ^k^, who recently proclaimed her love for bacon on facebook, but I figured we could all appreciate it:

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/07/07/bacon_mania/

stay tuned -- this is just the beginning of salon's pork week! also, if you're not getting quite enough bacon-y goodness in your life, consider augmenting your pork-free meals with a dash of bacon salt. it's vegetarian, kosher and (I assume) yummy. who wants to try it on ice cream and report back (perhaps with youtube evidence)?

I may have...

...crapped out a little on the chocolate quiz, but I got a solid 11/14 on the Pixar Movie Quiz! Now I really want to see WALL-E...

crackel? special dark? mr. goodbar?

I've got those!

Seriously, though, it's a candy quiz, and it's pretty fun. I got 14/20, which I know at least one of you can beat. Considering my many hours of "practice" eating candy in the Lexis Lab, I thought I'd do better...

White things, hotness, and more

I just wanted to note that if Sarah Palin indeed gets named as McCain's running mate, I might have to vote for them. Because I wouldn't mind four years of that hotness.

In other news, I am going to go to White Castle tomorrow after I do my Kaplan modeling gig. I mention this mainly because, in the name of being equitable to all of our tags, I am now devoting my life to bringing up the ranks of the tags that have suffered discrimination at the hands of awesomeness, Harry Potter, and the like.

On that note, I would also like to mention that McCain is old enough that I consider him to be an honorary zombie. And that Palin is from Alaska, which makes her nearly a Canadian.

Booyah.

Only in Dubai...

Evidently we can now have the joy of all being perpetually seasick in our homes!

But hey, at least it's green energy, right?

just in case there's any confusion...

all the tips and tricks you need to deal with zombies are here:



I happened upon this when someone at work emailed around links to more videos by these guys, and believe it or not they're actually pretty informative about work-related (for me, anyway) concepts. any explanation of social media involving ice cream is fine by me.

also, on a totally and completely unrelated note, does anyone know how to add one of those cool tag clouds to our blog so's we can see how much we talk about, say, harry potter as opposed to things that blow? I'm just curious.

well...

here's a video recap of the Cardo cell phone stuff. I really would like to see that banana video, though. A cursory search of Youtube was fruitless. *rimshot*

In other news, everybody round up your felines and set your tivos!

I enjoy dessert...periodically.

I amuse myself. *snort*

more random dessert-related things? sure.

that can't be healthy.

um...yikes.



anyone (hi, matt!) want to verify this with a real-life experiment?


edited to add: this was a VIRAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN?? thanks, Cardo, for making it even more difficult to defend the marketing profession...we're not all evil, I promise!

OK

NOW I have seen everything:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOLCat_Bible_Translation_Project

this is a waste of time, but hey -- chocolate!

What Your Taste in Chocolate Says About You

You are sweet, mellow, and easily satisfied. You don't like anything too intense and dramatic. Deep down, you're a kid at heart... and you're nostalgic for the past. You are down to earth and lovable. A true friend, you're very tolerant and understanding. In fact, your friends' biggest problem is that they don't like each other! You love being by yourself and thinking. Developing your own theories and ideas is fun. You feel lost when you're forced to be social. Being with other people can be lonely for you.

The Chocolate Oracle

this was pretty much a waste of time as my answers went something like: (1) all chocolate, please, but if I have to I guess I'll pick milk chocolate, (2) hazelnut is the only acceptable item on this list since "more chocolate" isn't an option, and (3) the shape that fits in my bel--I don't care! give me chocolate!

so in other words I'm not convinced that the results of this quiz accurately represent my personality. I *do*, however, really want some chocolate, like, now.

the most useful Internet survey ever

Apparently, I could take 21 5-year-olds in a fight:

21

OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

no, wait...

I'm even awesomer than I thought a second ago.

getting better...

... the night's sleep definitely helped a bit.

If you need a new way to waste time...

... then by gum, here one is:

Torch Run



It's ridiculously stupid and equally ridiculously addictive. You just use the arrow keys to move the Olympic Torch around to grab the little ring icons while avoiding the red dots (protestors). My record thus far is 155, as denoted above... but I'm bound and determined to beat 210 (might have to wait until tomorrow after I have actually slept more than a few hours though), since that was the high score of the Slate editor who mentioned it in an article.

Speaking of which, if you're looking to waste yet more time, you could also read Slate's special issue on procrastination, and enjoy the delicious irony. Most of the articles are pretty decent.

crossposting from my other blog...

...every YouTube meme EVER--I recognize most of them, but there are some references I don't know--in the new Weezer video for "Pork and Beans":

I caught my reflection in a spoon while I was eating my cereal...

... and I remember thinking, "Wow, you're ridiculously good-looking. Maybe you could do that for a career."

I just got an email from Kaplan. They want me to come into Manhattan in June and get interviewed for promotional materials, and take some portraits for the Kaplan website. Apparently there will be professional makeup people there and everything. How fun is that?

I just hope I'll have time to perfect my Blue Steel. And that by the end, no one is reading my eugoogly.

Remember: Words can only hurt if you try to read them. Don't play their game.

huh.

"toxic" is actually a pretty decent song...when played on a ukulele.

check it.



and then check out more of her videos (including on-stage appearances with jonathan coulton and p&s **in seattle** [sadly not the show I attended, which was the following evening]) here.

im in ur applicant pool, pleedin for ur jobz

"Apparently, looking at Lolcats all day is an appealing job. Ben Huh, founder of the site and chief executive of Seattle-based Pet Holdings Inc., has received 250 applications since the job was posted on Monday under the headline "Kittehs Want Moar Workerhumans.""

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24281329/

best.

job.

ever.

if I were a drummer, I'd want to be this guy...

...with his little white tux and his shiny black hair.

love. it.

^kat^ has a ways to go...

Anyone got a few million bucks I can borrow?

a veritable ho-down

This is hilarious, and evocative of that link I remember giggling over in Koffee last November during the weekend of the Game.

you pet, you sip, you find inspiration

I love this article.

OK, I have to say this is pretty cool...

In other news, Digg is ruining my life. But I'm loving it.

oh, god...the pain...kill me now...

one would think that any cover of "the final countdown" would be inherently awesome enough to make up for any musical lapses, but...no.

*shudder*



before your brain explodes from the sheer badness of it all, here's some original-artist awesomeness in all of its big-hair glory:

brilliant mix tape idea (I think)...

... but I need your input to fill it out. The concept is: the most misguided attempt at a gettin'-it-on mix ever. As in, the songs are all about the topic of gettin' it on or persuading someone to get it on, but they are not actually the sort of songs that would ever put someone in the mood to get it on.

The only examples I have so far are Bloodhound Gang's "The Bad Touch" (aka "that Discovery Channel song") and Jimmy Buffet's "Why Don't We Get Drunk" ("...and screw"). But I'm sure there are more. A possible addition is Flight of the Conchords' "Business Time," but I am hesitant there because 1) it is more intentionally ironic, insofar as it is trying very hard to be an unsexy parody of sexy music, and 2) as such it actually sounds kind of sexy if you blur your ears a bit and don't listen to the lyrics. Whereas the first two don't have a trace of the sexy sound, even though the lyrics are quite pro-gettin' it on.

Other suggestions?

Um.

It's ok, my level 12 Orc will protect me.

fairly certain this wasn't what erica was trying to post...

...but it's damn funny (assuming you've seen the films involved)--and sponsored by NBC, so not likely to be going anywhere.

"OMG television is back," or "I continue to [heart] Tina Fey"

political endorsements aside, this is hilarious. we missed you, tina! go back and keep writing episodes of "30 rock" -- the world needs you!

(also, watch this ASAP -- it's only a matter of time before NBC pulls the video)

first post in february!

...and it's already the 21st. what's happening here, people?

I'll let you watch this while you ponder your next witty post :-)

random lolcats

OMG it's been awhile since we've indulged in some nonsensical lolcattery. enjoy!

Also:

This is awesome.

This should keep you busy...

http://www.freerice.com/

My top score: 48. Beat that, suckers.

it's amazing what they can do with an organ these days.

...what? too suggestive?

anyway, this kid plays a MEAN (electric) organ. I don't know the particulars of programming a full rock band worth of sound into an itty-bitty piano-type thing, but it's awesome. I especially like the feather boa.

coooooooool.

3 graphic designers + lots of free time + controlled explosions = awesomeness.

enjoy!

edited to add: okay, try this one. if it doesn't work, try the direct link or search for something along the lines of "omaha battle designers". I hope this works!

some truly awful songs make me twitch, but this is ridiculous

hey, brainman, want to weigh in?

woman cured of seizures caused by reggae

yeah, so this woman really likes sean paul (pre-wikipedia'ed for your convenience...you're welcome, dani :-P), but when she started having mad seizures whenever she listened to his songs, she started getting suspicious. I don't know if it's more ridiculous that she thought her seizures were caused by this one particular singer or that it actually turned out to be true.

I guess this just goes to show that one day, if you're not careful, the rhythm *is* eventually gonna get you. be careful, kids.

when does fan-generated content become copyright infringement?

(too lazy to come up with a witty headline)

I've been using the harry potter lexicon since 2002, and it's been invaluable in helping scope my research for my senior essay, review forgotten plot points, and prepare for the release of book seven. my guess is that this and other similar websites have turned many a casual HP fan into a super-fan, and the authors have put an untold number of hours into creating this resource for (I assume) no money. now they're looking to publish the fan-created guide in book form, and how does ms. rowling thank them for keeping fans happy and informed between book releases? with a lawsuit!

while I have little to add on the legal issues themselves (comments from the lawyers and almost-lawyers who follow the blog are welcome), I just wanted to make it known that my reaction to this lawsuit is a big fat BOO. as long as the fan-generated content makes it clear that it was neither created nor endorsed by the original author (and especially if it makes no sense without having read the original books), I see no problem.

thoughts?

Thinkgeek.com clearance sale

Time to stock up:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/clearance/price/asc/0/200?cpg=cj

Who got the link right THIS time, bitches? Yeah, that's right. It was me.

OK, so...

... I did not realize, till I heard Nickel Creek's version of "The Fox" just now, that Da Vinci's Notebook's song "The Gates" was a parody of that. Once again, things make so much more sense now.

[Dani: Huh?]