Blurring the line between games and life | CNET News.com
"The first advertisement appeared in USA Today a week ago, right on schedule.
People from around the world had stayed up all night waiting for it, talking in chat rooms and online forums. It had to be a clue, they thought. Everything before it had been a clue.
'LOST. The Cube,' read the ad, posted at the top of the paper's 'Notices' section. 'Reward Offered. Not only an object of great significance to the city but also a technological wonder.'" (full article at the link) -- Other popular links at Snarkyspot:
"Author Hunter S. Thompson, who committed suicide recently, wanted to be cremated and his ashes to be shot out of a cannon on his ranch.
Sports Illustrated magazine allows subscribers to opt out of receiving the famous swimsuit issue each year. Fewer than 1% choose this option.
There is a company that will (for $14,000) take your ashes, compress them into a synthetic diamond to be set in jewelry for a loved one.
The RIAA sued an 83 year old woman, even though a copy of her death certificate was sent to the RIAA a week before it filed the suit.
Two 1903 paintings recently sold at auction for $590,000 - the paintings were in the famous 'Dogs Playing Poker' series.
Russian scientists have developed a new drug that prolongs drunkenness and enhances intoxication.
Romanian firefighters could not get their trucks close enough to a burning building, so they put out the fire by throwing snowballs at it." Lots of interesting small talk factoids at the link.
"INTERVIEW WITH Daniel Ruiz and Santiago Hurtado regarding the making of Awakening of Consciousness
by, Scott Davis
I ran into these two great artists some time back when I saw their other great short films, El Deseo and The Doorway. I was so impressed by their work, that I asked them if I could show these two short films here on the site. They agreed and we stayed in touch. I heard that they were collaborating on a new effort and got pretty excited. They are both so talented, that I really looked forward to seeing their newest work. They did not disappoint me. Their new short film Awakening of Consciousness is really a visual masterpiece. It is funny, entertaining and visually pleasing. I am very happy that they are allowing me to show this film here at 3dexcellence and help them to kick off the films new almost assured popularity. I was also fortunate enough to have them agree to an interview so we could find out more about these two wonderful artists.
On to the interview:
SD: How did you two guys meet up? Daniel and Santiago: We worked together on EA�s The Lord Of The Rings The Third Age game. We worked at the night shift and we got along well with each other. We had things in common: we always wanted to do something of our own, but it always were just words that gone with the wind. So, after spending some years working on other people's projects it was time to make it real. So, we got involved in this project, that has deteriorated our wealth and cost us alot of money. (...more interview at top link....) This is by far one of the most creative and fun short films I've seen in a long time. Starts out with a serious feel, then gets the humor rolling. Kudos to these two talented film makers.
Anarchist Vampire - Hip-hop white boy undead superstar! With sound clips!
Here's how a friend of mine described this joker in an email:
"What do you get when you cross hip-hop, dracula, some Nebraska white kid, dollar store Halloween makeup, and the delivery of a ninth-grader reading his poetry homework in English class? "
The link to his front page shows a pic of this guy being all spooky. Whoa. Slow your roll there, Nosferatu, don't bust a blood vessel sticking that tongue out.
There are also 8 deliciously awful sound clips on the front page and (as a bonus) an 'Anarchist Vampire Live Chat' area.
See, if he was on top of his game, he could have called it 'Anarchist Vampire Undead Chat', but he's got too much going on to be that clever. -- Other funny links on SnarkySpot below:
"The rapture: When all the believers in Jesus Christ, who have been born again, are taken up to heaven.
After the rapture, there will be a lot of speculation as to why millions of people have just disappeared. Unfortunately, after the rapture, only non believers will be left to come up with answers. You probably have family and friends that you have witnessed to and they just won't listen. After the rapture they probably will, but who will tell them?
We have written a computer program to do just that. It will send an Electronic Message (e-mail) to whomever you want after the rapture has taken place, and you and I have been taken to heaven.
How is this accomplished, you might ask. It's a dead man switch that will automatically send the emails when it is not reset.
If you wish to do something now that will help your unbelieving friends and family after the rapture, you need to add those persons email address to our database. Their names will be stored indefinitely and a letter will be sent out to each of them on the first Friday after the rapture. Then they will receive another letter every friday after that.
This rapture letter service is FREE and will hopefully gain the person you send it to an eternity in heaven." Teh internets is useful to everyone, sinner and saint alike.
I wonder if the Holy Prepuce will be raptured as well? Who will get the email if it does?
Over a year ago, I was asked by BizAz Magazine (a local Phoenix magazine) to speak at one of its “Business Beneath The Surface” breakfast meetings. As part of the event, participants have the option of submitting questions to the speakers, which are then answered during the breakfast.
One of the questions directed towards me was, “What advice do you have for someone who is just starting a business?”
I liked Clint Eastwood's rules.
Also at that time, I happened to pick up a copy of Men’s Journal. Clint Eastwood was on the cover and an article featured 10 items called “Clint’s rules.” I found his rules to be interesting. They were things like, “You are what you drive,” “avoid extreme makeovers,” and things like that. As Clint Eastwood is a pretty easy guy to respect, I thought the whole rule thing was pretty cool. And the more I thought about it, I realized that over the years I had accumulated a number of principles (or rules) that I tried very hard to adhere to -- and these rules (in many ways) have become the foundation for whatever successes I’ve had.
So, a few weeks before the meeting, I sat down and started typing -- in no particular order -- the rules I try to live by. At the breakfast meeting, I read my rules at the end of my presentation. The response was amazing. I was swamped with requests for copies of the rules. An edited list was published in the Arizona Republic newspaper a few days later. I was even called and interviewed by a local radio station about the list.
Here are the 16 rules I try to live by:
1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone. I believe that not much happens of any significance when we’re in our comfort zone. I hear people say, “But I’m concerned about security.” My response to that is simple: “Security is for cadavers.”
2. Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just because what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity.
3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think. There’s an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”
4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of “undefined consequences.” My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, “Well, Robert, if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.”
5. Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, “As you think, so shall you be.”
6. Take things a day at a time. No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don’t look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.
7. Always be moving forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.
8. Be quick to decide. Remember what the Union Civil War general, Tecumseh Sherman said: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”
9. Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.
10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.
11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.
12. Never let anybody push you around. In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you’re doing as anyone else, provided that what you’re doing is legal.
13. Never expect life to be fair. Life isn’t fair. You make your own breaks. You’ll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).
14. Solve your own problems. You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: “You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others.” There's also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: "A wise man keeps his own counsel."
15. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.
16. There’s always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: “We’re not here for a long time; we’re here for a good time.”
"The above (or following) article (or rules for survival) is included with the permission of Bob Parsons (http://www.bobparsons.com) and is Copyright 2005 by Bob Parsons. All rights reserved."
The most popular games are all now marked with little 'popular' labels to make it easier to find the games you're looking for. In other news, MAME is being updated to .91 and the new PC game section has been inaugurated on our sister site XGD.com.
Added 222 Sega CD Games - November 7, 2004
Added 222 Sega CD full ISO games. I also added the screenshots for them.
More Game Screenshots - August 23, 2004"
"samedi 1 janvier ...which brings us neatly to the Other New Year. I do hope you all made it to 2005 safe, happy and horny.
As regards the book - the UK version is out 13 January - the Italian and Dutch versions following shortly after. My agent and I haven't met for ages, due to our mutually overactive paranoia glands, so I will probably be forced to purchase a copy of my own book when it is out. C'est la guerre.
I've not even been invited to my own release party!
...The US publication has been pushed back to late 2005, and my pointless tome will be hitting the shelves months after Washingtonienne's pointless tome. Can America stand two blogging sluts? Will the book be banned or burned somewhere? I certainly hope so.
The rights remain unsold in France, for reasons that probably have no translational equivalent in English.
For those who wondered, N is fine, and in a relationship (the stability and long-term prospects of which it is probably not for me to discuss). A's 1-4 are, to a person, well and happy. My mother thoroughly enjoyed that lesbian wedding and my father is still keeping company with the less mainstream members of society.
My romantic situation? Best to keep shtum. For now.
When I stopped blogging, someone wrote to say that if I was a real blogger I would be back. And here I am. But it's just a one-off, promise." Dig through her archives, lots of honest, juicy reading for the text horny masses.
"ROME, Italy (Reuters) -- Homosexual marriages are part of 'a new ideology of evil' that is insidiously threatening society, Pope John Paul says in his newly published book." Covering up for priests that sexually molest young children is cool, though, right John Paul?
/dwelling in glass houses, stack of rocks at the ready...
"Akamai Technologies and Macromedia on Tuesday announced a media-streaming technique designed to let users more quickly view online graphic and video content."
"'Personally, I am more afraid of dying than death itself. This is not a fear of emptiness but of suffering - and this is what I am most afraid of.'" - Zdzislaw Beksinski
Relatives found Beksinski's body overnight, and "everything indicates it was murder," police spokeswoman Zuzanna Talar said. He suffered multiple stab wounds, and police said there were no signs of forced entry or robbery. His work was of surreal death and decay, fascinating in a twisted way.
Bert F.: "My body is a sacred place, for holy stuff like Capri Sun juices, Lunchable Chicken Dunks, and Slim Jims (I like to snap into them!). The one thing that won't EVER go into my body? Girl slime!"
Greg B.: "I joined Sex is for Fags after watching girls who put out turn my big brother into a major wuss. By learning to repress my urges, now I can to grow up and be what I always wanted: a prison guard or a priest."
Zach P.: "Premarital sex isn't worth it! You can catch AIDS, or cancer, or testicle weevils, or a bad body image or rickets. You know what IS worth it? Making love to Jesus. Because you can't knock Him up and He'll never ask what you're thinking – cuz He already knows!
Tim R.: "I hate fags. Dude, I mean, dudes who can't stop touching their wangs? DUDE. So, like, I joined Sex Is For Fags because it IS. You won't catch me doing that – with dudes OR chicks. Well, at least not until I get my trust fund and start needing some serious tax deductions." So wrong. But pretty funny. Make sure and check out the section titled:
Marvel Comics, October 1991. Fine Condition. (Flat Tight Book with glossy cover. Light general wear)
Okay cats and kittens, I know that good and bad are subjective values. Like licorice and The Three Stooges, one person's idea of bad can be another's definition of wonderful. I bet out their somewhere there is even a person or two who thinks Timothy Dalton was the best James Bond. And I'm sure the artists and writers and editors involved with the 'NFL Superpro' comic worked very long hard hours bringing this beast to print. My apologies to the fine people who worked on this book and its fans. That said, I may never have wasted a dollar bill in more despicable fashio than the day that I purchased this horrific demon pulp. I could've given that dollar to an orphan or bought some peanut butter cups or something!
For those of you who don't remember NFL Superpro, Phil Grayfield is a former NFL player whose career was ended prematurely with injuries sustained while plugging major sports league in a medium primarily read by people who get stuffed into lockers by athletes while trying to escaped unnoticed to math class. He has since moved on to reporting for ESPN, who also gets plugged. Can you believe that in the course of his first major story a freak accident gives Phil superhuman football powers and he picks up a nifty looking red white and blue uniform to run around playing superhero in? Zowie! Apparently neither can the writer who pays the origin one page of lip service and moves on.
Now, you may be asking yourself 'Why on earth would I pay $50,000 for this crappy thing?' Here's the short list:
* The cover does say 'Collector's Item' and everybody knows that collector's items do nothing but appreciate in value. Its not like Marvel Comics or the NFL put out scads" LOL. Funny stuff. I cannot believe someone didn't bid on this comic.
"The Holy Prepuce, or Holy Foreskin (Latin praeputium) is one of several relics purported to be associated with Jesus. At various points in history, a number of churches in Europe have claimed to possess it, sometimes at the same time. Various miraculous powers have been ascribed to it." Claimants: The abbey of Charroux claimed to possess the Holy Foreskin during the Middle Ages. It was said to have been presented to the monks by Charlemagne, who in turn is said to have claimed that it had been brought to him by an angel (although another version of the story says it was a wedding gift from the Byzantine Empress Irene). In the early 12th century, it was taken in procession to Rome where it was presented before Pope Innocent III, who was asked to rule on its authenticity. The Pope declined the opportunity. At some point, however, the relic went missing, and remained lost until 1856 when a workman repairing the abbey claimed to have found a reliquary hidden inside a wall, containing the missing foreskin.
The abbey church of Coulombs in the diocese of Chartres, France was another medieval claimant. One story says that when Catherine of Valois was pregnant in 1421, her husband, King Henry V of England, sent for the Holy Prepuce. It was believed that the sweet scent that the relic was supposed to give off would ensure an easy and safe childbirth. According to this legend, it did its job so well that Henry was reluctant to return it after the birth of the child (the future King Henry VI of England).
As well as the Holy Foreskin claimed by the St. John Lateran church in Rome, other claimants in history have included the Cathedral of Le Puy-en-Velay, Santiago de Compostela, the city of Antwerp, and churches in Besançon, Metz, Hildesheim, and Calcata. That is bizarre. The Holy Funion of The Lord? The Holy Fried Calamari of Christ?
This continues work being carried out by myself and your favorite BEIGE representatives Paul Davis, Joe Beuckman, and Joe Bonn. This page is a tutorial explaining how / why the work was made. I have chosen to present my motives behind the work by adding my thoughts about the project as comments in the source code. As a programmer [not a very good one, though a programmer none the less] my thoughts and motives are most easily exemplified by my code. Also: thanks for 21c for letting post this.
Note: I am in the process of changing the code for this...because I intend to starting working on more cartridges with sound I am rewriting the code for a different assembler X11 using code by Beige's Paul Davis that we used for our Landscape Cartridge....please stay tuned....
Thank you, Cory Arcangel / BEIGE H4x0rz r00l. Cory has the whole code he cranked for this on the page, and pics of him chopping out the chip and re-soldering it back into place.
(Click pic for larger classic Hunter 'fuck you' letter. This should be on his headstone.)
The Associated Press Updated: 12:29 a.m. ET Feb. 21, 2005
DENVER - Hunter S. Thompson, the acerbic counterculture writer who popularized a new form of fictional journalism in books like “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” fatally shot himself Sunday night at his Aspen-area home, his son said. He was 67.
“Hunter prized his privacy and we ask that his friends and admirers respect that privacy as well as that of his family,” Juan Thompson said in a statement released to the Aspen Daily News.
Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis, a personal friend of Thompson, confirmed the death to the News. Sheriff’s officials did not return calls to The Associated Press late Sunday.
Juan Thompson found his father’s body. Thompson’s wife, Anita, was not home at the time.
Pioneer of 'gonzo journalism' Besides the 1972 drug-hazed classic about Thompson’s visit to Las Vegas, he also wrote “Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72.” The central character in those wild, sprawling satires was “Dr. Thompson,” a snarling, drug- and alcohol-crazed observer and participant.
Thompson is credited with pioneering New Journalism — or, as he dubbed it, “gonzo journalism” — in which the writer made himself an essential component of the story. Much of his earliest work appeared in Rolling Stone magazine.
“Fiction is based on reality unless you’re a fairy-tale artist,” Thompson told the AP in 2003. “You have to get your knowledge of life from somewhere. You have to know the material you’re writing about before you alter it.”
An acute observer of the decadence and depravity in American life, Thompson also wrote such collections “Generation of Swine” and “Songs of the Doomed.” His first ever novel, “The Rum Diary,” written in 1959, was first published in 1998.
A counterculture icon Thompson was a counterculture icon at the height of the Watergate era, and Richard Nixon once said he represented “that dark, venal, and incurably violent side of the American character.”
Thompson also was the model for Gary Trudeau’s balding “Uncle Duke” in the comic strip “Doonesbury” and was portrayed on screen by Johnny Depp in a film adaptation of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”
Other books include “The Great Shark Hunt,” “Hell’s Angels” and “The Proud Highway.” His most recent effort was “Hey Rube: Blood Sport, the Bush Doctrine, and the Downward Spiral of Dumbness.”
His compound in Woody Creek, not far from Aspen, was almost as legendary as Thompson. He prized peacocks and weapons; in 2000, he accidentally shot and slightly wounded his assistant, Deborah Fuller, trying to chase a bear off his property.
"It's hard enough to find out that your wife is cheating on you. But it's even worse when her secret lover turns out to be a sock puppet. He's Tube -- the randiest piece of footwear you'll ever meet." Man, I love this short. I didn't know sock puppets were so linty hot.
Ernesto Bottger’s short computer animation Help! takes a caveman slant on the “pull a thorn from the lion’s paw” routine.
Help! [tgsnt] I work with Ernesto, he's animating with us on our next feature for Warner Bros. called 'The Ant Bully'. Ernesto sits in the cubicle right across from mine.
BetBug is software that lets you search and take the best odds on a variety of sports events and propositions. BetBug uses state-of-the-art technology to match your bet directly with others on the network looking to bet the opposing side. There’s no middleman involved, so you save money! Let the buyer beware. More info here.
"Google's browser toolbar is raising eyebrows over a feature that inserts new hyperlinks in Web pages, giving the Internet search provider a powerful tool to funnel traffic to destinations of its choice." Sounds like smart use of information to me. Google pwns.
"compiled by Don Steinberg for GQ
with input from comics and writers including David Brenner, Jim Brogan, Dick Cavett, Larry David, Al Franken, Larry Gelbart, Jon Groff, Richard Jeni, Jonathan Katz, Chris Kelly, Billy Kimball, Robert Klein, Richard Lewis, Jackie Martling, William Novak, and Gene Perret.
(approximately 3/4 of this list appeared as
'The 75 Funniest Jokes of All Time'
in GQ magazine, June 1999) " Funniest jokes, according to these guys, I guess.
"You're in luck - pizza is just a few key strokes away! While playing EverQuest II just type /pizza and a web browser will launch the online ordering section of pizzahut.com. Fill in your info and just kick back until fresh pizza is delivered straight to your door." If I could order to-the-door dropoff of booze, then we might be talking business.
"Asimov, ever the optimist, proposed that any intelligent robots be guided by three simple, and almost foolproof, laws that would insure that we could all get along (and that the humans would stay on top). The very first rule: Robots couldn't hurt a human, or allow a human to come to harm. Unfortunately, he didn't consult the Pentagon." Robots will make excellent masters. I look forwards to being a coppertop.
I really like how his website is set up, it loads as a Flash page with samples of his photos spread out, and you can interactively click to zoom in and out to view his works. Clever and visually appealing.
Rules of grammar are rarely obeyed. Many leetspeekers will capitalize every letter except for vowels (LiKe THiS) and otherwise reject conventional English style and grammar.
•
Mistakes are often uncorrected. Common typing misspellings (or typos) such as "teh" instead of "the" are left uncorrected and may be adopted to replace the correct spelling.
•
Non-alphanumeric characters may be combined to form letters. For example, using slashes to create "/\/\" can substitute for the letter M, and two pipes combined with a hyphen to form "|-|" is often used in place of the
letter H. Thus, the word "ham" could be written as "|-|4/\/\." w00t!!1 /\/\0r3 @ t3h l1nK!!!1 nUbz...
Boing Boing: Punk cover bands: Sony nastygrams Beatallica.org: "Boing Boing recently linked to a site I administrate, beatallica.org, in your post about punk cover bands. I'm writing to let you know that today I received a cease-and-desist notice from Sony Publishing (via my ISP, ThePlanet.com), demanding that all music, lyrics, etc. be taken down immediately or legal action will commence." Read more at the link.
"Matthew Porter co-owner of Bluebottle Art Gallery showcases a collection of brand new paintings at Artemis Gallery. He'll be showing 3 new pieces from his 'Cat that Ate the World' series. Plus, Monkey Heaven and Hell and 20 cheeky little monkeys all in a row.
Hope you can join us for the opening!
If you have trouble viewing: paste this link into your browser http://www.bluebottleart.com/postcard/artemis.html"
Ouch
my friend is giving me a tattoo with a bic pen and a knife right now
hurts so much but he almost finished
Hes finishing up the I in SATIN
...
Yeah, so it'll say HAIL SATIN
This is gonnna be awesome"
"1. ufia
Unsolicited Finger In the Anus. Popularized on the website Fark.com and is a cliche among TotalFarkers. Originated from a news story about a young man who poked his friends in the backdoor with his finger on a high school football bus trip. In the story, the judge is quoted as saying 'an unsolicited finger in the anus, while crude, is not criminal'.
What should you get your mother for Christmas? Well, I gave her a UFIA.
Source: DannyJunior, Dec 12, 2004"
"Intel has unveiled research that could mean data is soon being moved around chips at the speed of light." I vote for progress. Bring on the light saber chips of doom!
Hip-hop heavyweights including the Beastie Boys and Def Jam impresario Russell Simmons are threatening a campaign to urge fans to boycott KFC over their “grossly inhumane” slaughter practices. I do love me some fried chicken. There is a chicken joint in Roanoke, Texas called 'Babes' that totally kicks teh Colonel's ass. It makes me feel better eating there because they read the chickens a nice story of hope and redemption awaiting them in the Poultry Afterlife. Then the chickens kill themselves, happy and assured a spot in Birdie Paradise, surrounded by 79 nubile hens (or roosters, whichever way they like to swing, they all taste the same deep-fried...).
"CNN's Nuke Plant Photos Identical for Both Iran and N. Korea!": "Two stories posted in the last week on the CNN website, one on nukes in Iran last Wednesday, and another on nukes in North Korea on Saturday, both use the same aerial photograph of the same purported nuclear power plant!
But one is supposed to be in Iran and the other is supposed to be in North Korea!
A story posted Saturday to CNN's website suggesting that North Korea is rallying behind their leader Kim Jong Il in his latest nuclear saber-rattling makes use of a satellite photo described in the caption as 'An aerial photo of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear plant outside of Pyongyang'." BradBlog has updated this info (see link for details). Apparently CNN 'quietly switched' the identical photos. BradBlog is still hounding CNN to 'splain themselves.
Watch the excellent 'Trogdor' live-action trailer, it's greatness. Then, verily tis meh blogging, after the trailer, watch the 'Hip Hop Dance' video of Coach Z rapping.
"Going into the 2004 election cycle, just about everyone said the Internet was going to change politics. But no one was sure how. Now we know.
advertisement
Browse through an archive of columns by Michael Barone.
The first signs of change came from the Howard Dean campaign. His campaign manager, Joe Trippi, used the Internet and meetup.com and moveon.org to identify and bring together Bush haters from all over the country and raise far more money than anyone expected. Dean rose to the top in the polls and amassed an E-mail list of 600,000 names. When Democratic voters dropped Dean as unelectable and embraced John Kerry as the most readily available instrument to beat George W. Bush, Kerry inherited Dean's Internet constituency. No one expected the Kerry campaign to raise more money than the Bush campaign. But it did, because of the Internet." Don't forget Poland!
Fossilized Kris Kross Website Unearthed by Archeologists
Behold the anthropological marvel of this ancient Kris Kross website, miraculously preserved by Sony Music in its original state since 1996. Gaze in wonderment at the monstrously pixelated graphics! The downloadable AIFF files!! The seizure-inducing backgrounds!
Let's see how long it takes Sony to wake up now and delete these pages.
"A large black ball, originally designed by Swedish scientists for use on Mars, could be the latest weapon in the war against burglars.
The device, developed at the University of Uppsala, acts as a high-tech security guard capable of detecting an intruder thanks to either radar or infra-red sensors. Once alerted, it can summon help, sound an alarm or pursue the intruders, taking pictures.
It is capable of travelling at 20mph, somewhat faster than a human being. Even worse for intruders, the robot ball can still give chase over mud, snow and water.
The ball relies on an internal pendulum to control its motion which, when shifted, changes the centre of gravity and starts it rolling.
Other devices, including microphones, cameras, heat sensors and smoke detectors are mounted on its central axis." Can anyone say "I, Robot."?
I, for one, welcome our new 20 mph rolling mechanical masters.
"Thousands of items on eBay are listed with descriptions containing spelling mistakes.
These items often expire with no bids on them as no-one can find them.
Type in a keyword below and click the Generate button.
Then click the link and uncover those hidden gems... " Now that is pretty useful. I did a search for 'picasso' for eBay, and there was about a page worth's of links for misspelled items.
"Handicapped Wrestling The Japanese company Dog Legs organizes these matches. At the events, they have handicapped vs. handicapped, handicapped vs. non-handicapped, and handicapped vs. artificially handicapped."
I would wrestle a handicapped person.
Except for a quad.
Quads are tougher than they look, don't be lulled into complacency, they'll kick your ass.
deviantART: 'punk' by the gorillaz. Flash animated music video by *mythicnorms (Kit Allen)
(Click pic to watch the Flash video. Do it, I said.)
This Flash animation by KitAllen is set to the Gorillaz song 'Punk'. It rocks, frames snapping along with the music like a visual ball peen hammer rappin' on your optic nerve.
"Wow. Rigorous Intuition has a unique angle on the White House 'ringer' correspondent that retrieves from the cupboard a lurid, mostly forgotten episode from the recent past involving gay prostitutes, rumors of CIA blackmail, and a fishy suicide.
That so few major establishment papers have latched on to the unfolding Manchurian Beefcake story helps explain why major establishment newspapers are losing readers in droves, unable to spot a juicy scandal when it's doing a lapdance in front of their glazed eyes." Nothing more bizarre than what is crafted in the real world.
"A star three times bigger than the sun has been seen fleeing our galaxy at over 1.5 million mph, according to astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics." Wow. Hey, they said the speeding star may have had a 'companion star' at one point, so I bet they were just taking advantage of the HOV lane.
"3. 'I believe in the complete separation of the left leg from the right.'" Heh, these are rude, but funny. Easily offended by mere letters need not go further.
404 - Someone who is clueless. From the Web error message, “404 Not Found,” which means the document requested couldn’t be located. “Don’t bother asking John. He’s 404.”
Adminisphere - The rarified organizational layers above the rank and file that makes decisions that are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant.
Alpha Geek - The most knowledgeable, technically proficient person in an office or work group. “I dunno, ask Rick. He’s our alpha geek.”
Assmosis - The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard.
Batmobiling - putting up emotional shields. Refers to the retracting armor that covers the Batmobile as in “she started talking marriage and he started batmobiling” There are a bunch of gems on the site, check them out so you know when you've been 'crop dusted' at work.
Shareaza is one of the newest and fastest growing P2P clients available. It's technology is unparalleled, and is the leader in new P2P features and innovations. It is known for it's easy, clean and fast user interface, extensive control and it's foray of unique and exciting features. Sounds cool, a guy at work told me about it. It's like kazza but no spyware, addware, etc. Does bittorrent handling, gnut, gnut2, eDonkey.
Step by step instructions. Pretty cool, a fun craft project, and a great way to confused a mugger. Just hand him your wallet made of money, tell him "Sorry, that's all I got...".
(Yep. Just look at them, flaunting their gayness.)
"Fred and Barney should be banned because they are virtually inseparable, are never seen wearing pants and live together in the suggestively-named town of Bedrock, complains a conservative activist" (full article at the link)
First Spongebob, now the Flintstones? When will this rainbow colored ghey-fest stop?
Do the conservatives have nothing else better to do? Guess not.
(p.s. - I know this is a spoof article, but it's still funny, and makes a nice point about how ridiculous the whole 'Spongebob' furor is.)
"As far as real estate transactions go, there was nothing obviously freaky about David Storey's December purchase.
A total of $26,500 for a piece of undeveloped land in an unpopulated but potentially prosperous new suburb--what's not to like? Except that the property exists solely on the servers of 'Project Entropia,' a computer game where players exchange real-world money for in-game goods, services and property.
Almost every major online game has an in-game economy, where players exchange in-games goods for in-game currency. Most also have a real-world economy, where in-game currency and goods trade hands for hard cash." (full story at link.) Online economies are fascinating, human ingenuity will always lead to exploiting new technology for either profit or porn. Or both.
You went out to your local goth club in your black velvet frock coat, your hair teased up bigger and rattier than Edward Scissorhands’, and lace dripping from your wrists and throat. You looked fabulous. But as soon as you got on the dance floor, everyone started laughing — eventually, they had to toss you out of the club for being “deleterious to the proper level of angst.”
You need to learn to dance gothic.
It’s not that hard; just learn these simple moves and soon you can blend in with all the other spooky individuals on the dance floor at your local batcave. After all, for such an individualistic crowd, it’s kind of surprising how goths all seem to use the same moves. Maybe it’s something encoded in the Goth Genes™ rather than just lack of originality...
All difficulties and Goth Ratings are on a scale of one (pathetically easy or ridiculously non-gothic) to five (tragically difficult or stylishly über-gothic). I don't know if this is in jest or totally serious, but it sure is funny. I like their rating system for the dance moves, very deep and emotional.
FAMOUS NAMES REWRITTEN
IN A WORLD GREATLY INFLUENCED
BY THE MAIN CHARACTER
OF A 1982 DISNEY MOVIE.
By Josh Kramer
Tron Kerry
Tron the Baptist
Tron Lennon
Little Tron
Tron Coltrane
Jasper Trons
Sean Tron
Papa Tron
Long Tron Silver
Sir Elton Tron
Capt. Tron Smith
Pope Tron Paul II
Olivia Newton-Tron Hah! Check the link for more lists.
"We've collected all the commercials from Super Bowl XXXIX for you to watch. Just click on any Watch Now! link and you'll be asked to select your Media Player Preferences, then you can enjoy all of the ads broadcast during the game. Plus, we've got the ads they banned. Enjoy." Well, bully for you, ifilm. The ads this year mostly sucked, though I did love the ones with chimpanzees. The Ameriquest Cat Killer was funny. The Frito Lay spot with MC Hammer made me laugh. The McIlhenny Tabasco ad was SMOKIN' hot.
FedEx: Your ad sorta sucked in spots, but I'll give ya a pass, I chuckled some. Like you care what I think.
Heineken and Brad Pitt: You suck. Your ad sucks.
To Ford Motor Co.: Ok. We get it. Your new Mustang is coming out soon. How about a better ad, or more than just the same one over and over and over and over....
"MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) -- A state lawmaker who heads a committee on child welfare has acknowledged that he lives in separate homes with two women whose children he fathered." I laughed at the picture with the article.
"DURHAM, N.C. - In what police say was an homage to the movie 'Old School,' partying Duke University students were found in a fraternity house basement with an inflatable pool, a whole lot of baby oil and women in bikinis.
Police came upon the scene early Sunday after responding to a noise complaint.
'Inside were several of America's future, re-enacting a scene from the movie 'Old School,' where females wrestle in a pool of lubricants,' police Sgt. D. Gunter said. In their version, the Duke students apparently opted for baby oil.
Officers said they cleared the house of the 200 revelers, sending some of the women home in the subfreezing temperatures in nothing more than the bikinis they wore.
Nicholas Hunter Roberts, who lives at the address, was charged with violating the city's noise ordinance, a misdemeanor that carries a $150 fine.
There has been ongoing tension between students and residents of the neighborhoods that adjoin Duke's East Campus. Other weekend parties in the area resulted in noise ordinance charges and a marijuana possession charge." What? No pictures? Damn.
"And just to prove The Shmoo Group wasn't sitting on their asses for the entire time while planning the con - A new exploit was demo'd by EricJ that left all jaws our on the floor. Want to own ANY domain? Want a trusted SSL cert for it? " Human ingenuity. Just goes to show you that everything can be hax0rd. Hit the link to read about it at Boing Boing.
Cool stop-motion animated film. If you ever wanted to see plastic planes dropping mega-peanut bombs and the ensuing glass Xmas ornament explosions , this is the short film for you. C'mon, it's only 1 minute 5 seconds of your life, give it to PES.
"You are bidding on an unauthenticated *game worn* grade school athletic supporter of ROBERT POLLARD, leader of the now defunct GUIDED BY VOICES, the greatest band to ever emerge from the tri-county area (this includes Farmersville and most of Arcanum).
This unique piece of 'jock 'n' roll' memorabilia is now oop (out of print) and there are no plans to re-issue it so you won't be able to find it anywhere else. Even though Pollard was a three sport star for many years there can't be too many of these out there. Pollard's bowling shoes went for over $200.00 last year so don't underestimate the collectability of this item.
I purchased the athletic supporter at the NORTH DIXIE TRAFFIC CIRCLE FLEA MARKET here in Dayton, Ohio (Hiram Campbell's booth, way in the back near the vending machines). The authenticity cannot be established for certain, but Mr. Campbell assures me that 'Bobby Pollard' used it for *all* three sports at the NORTHRIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL (football, basketball, and baseball). How he knows this I do not know, but he is a very believable guy. He is a veteran.
The athletic supporter is in near mint (NMint) condition - used but not abused. It is a fairly standard 100% all cotton Bike brand. It is a size 10 small (hey - cut him some slack - he was a 5th grader at the time). The bad news is that it has been washed so it contains no actual DNA.
Or does it?
**SERIOUS BIDDERS ONLY PLEASE**" I think the seller coined a new term with 'jock n' roll'. lol.
"Bloggers are speculating that search site Ask Jeeves has acquired one of their own.
Ask Jeeves has bought Bloglines, a privately held start-up that aggregates personal Web sites, according to media blog Napsterization.org. Also, Ask Jeeves' Web site is pointing exclusively to Bloglines via several links for blogs." Dang. I use Bloglines. Hope that fucker Jeeves doesn't pour tea or something on their servers and screw up the works.
STAR WARS
CERAMICS
Rare 1983
Sigma Star Wars Ceramics
Popular line of Star Wars Ceramics produced
for the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983
Excellent collectible series with many pieces still at affordable prices. We also have higher end rare pieces for the serious collector.
START OR COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION TODAY!
Yoda Mug
Due to the fragile nature of ceramics, they must be packed and shipped separately most of the time. We will save you shipping where we can.
ADD $6.85 S&H PER ITEM
except where noted
It [the counterculture] was an attempt to rebel against the values our parents had pushed on us. We were trying to get back to touching and relating and living.
-Lisa Law, 1985
Historical Background
In the 1950s, the culture reflected on TV, taught in school, and promoted by political and religious leaders prescribed an ideal for American life. This American way of life was the means to achieve and sustain political freedom and middle-class comfort. In the Cold War with the Soviet Union, Americans could protect their freedoms and prosperity by fulfilling set roles and respecting authority. For a generation that had struggled through the Great Depression and fought World War II, conformity was a small price to pay for stability and prosperity.
Yet some who grew up in this postwar world felt its expectations were restricting and its rewards unsatisfying. Security and conformity seemed less important than self-expression. Material success and prestige did not seem as desirable as meaningful human relationships. As they gradually became aware of poverty and racial injustice in America, some young people questioned the accepted view of the United States as an ideal and fully free society. Great series of photos and historical information from a true insider and documenter of the 60s counterculture movement at the title link, image goes to larger version at flickr.
"When you coordinate and liberate and release the sexuality and the minds of youth, and can twist it and change it toward a different goal and direction, via rock 'n roll, via fucking in the streets, via dope, via action, direct action ... then you can maybe push this country and we can rewrite the whole structure, based on the kind of energy released by rock 'n roll."
- Ed Sanders
The concept of "Free Love" as expressed by hippies, didn't just appear overnight. It's a philosophy with roots deep in human consciousness. It just needs a little encouragement to surface. And that encouragement appeared in the 1960s in the form of new knowledge about human sexuality, "the pill", psychedelic drugs, and a counter-culture which rejected the conservative ways and embraced individual freedom. A cultural explosion. Shows you how counterculture can shift rapidly into the mainstream.
A new documentary about J.R.R. Tolkien's ardent fans traces the author's impact on pop culture, from '60s hippies to current-day movie fans. Jason Silverman reviews Ringers: Lord of the Fans. Taters, Precious!
"A few hundred movies on an optical disc? That's the goal of the Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD) Alliance.
Six companies, including Fuji Photo and CMC Magnentics, have formed a consortium to promote HVD technology, which will let consumers conceivably put a terabyte (1TB) of data onto a single optical disc." Bring it on! My movie downloads via bit torrent shall be pleased, verily.
Farmer by genetics, Lawyer by training, currently 'vacationing' in Iraq and advising the Iraqi government on border security issues. Before moving to Baghdad, I served in the White House as Deputy Counsel for the Homeland Security Council. I can be reached at opusxryanathotmaildotcom." I liked his post on Blackhawk helicopters being able to fly straight upwards and give you the sense of weightlessness (floaties).
Lots of pictures and good 'boots on the ground' first-hand experiences from an American soldier in Iraq. Worth checking out.
"Smarting from a difficult financial quarter and earthquake damage at a major factory, Japanese conglomerate Sanyo has asked domestic employees to buy goods made by the company. Executives have been asked to buy about $20,000 worth of goods, while regular employees have been asked to buy $2,000 worth of goods. Sanyo, one of Japan's largest manufacturers of digital cameras, also lowered camera shipment estimates.
On Monday, the company reported a $170 million loss, compared with a profit of about $95 million, for the quarter ended Dec. 31. Revenue came to $599 million. Sanyo's earnings were hit by an earthquake in the Niigata region in October, which forced the company to suspend operations at its chip facilities." What the hell? That has to be one of the dumber things I've heard all week.
The size of the average person has increased dramatically over the last century. Most toilets made today are manufactured from designs dating back to the early 1900�s. In the past, the pleadings of big and tall people went unanswered. For this reason GJTC engineers, medical doctors and artists took to the task of creating a NEW GENERATION of products satisfying the needs of today�s customers. Our goal was to create the most comfortable and safe toilet for Large-Size people in the market. The other challenge was to make a toilet that could also be used by any size person. The final result was the creation of a "SIZE FRIENDLY TOILET" R. Whoo. I wish the photo gallery had some cool pics. The plump couple in the picture look so happy, don't they? The advances in modern dam-building technology have been scaled down to accomodate their mega-bowel flexations.
Pass forth those stinky fruits of luxury, with as(s) much force and vigor as you like, girthy America! These toilets can take it.
SpongeBob meets with the Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC's general minister and president, in his office. Explains Thomas, "No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, SpongeBob, you're welcome here."
"SpongeBob goes to church
Despite being spurned by James Dobson's Focus on the Family for being too 'tolerant' and especially for holding hands with a starfish, SpongeBob knows 'all are welcome' in the UCC. Read the full story." Dobson, you and your crew have been officially pwnd by the UCC and Jesus. Boo-yah!
YARD DOG FOLK ART specializes in folk, outsider and self-taught art of the American South. Many of the artists whose work we carry are well-known to those familiar with the field, while others are either known only to a few or are recent "discoveries" of ours.
Gallery Hours
Wed.- Sat. 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday - Noon to 5:00 PM
Gallery Address
1510 S. Congress Ave
Austin, Texas 78704
Gallery Phone
(512) 912-1613
Folk Art is art made by ordinary people, usually people of limited means, made of common materials, and made for humble purposes. It arises from the daily material, emotional and spiritual needs of these people and is thus more related to their lives than to a tradition of art. Further, because it is made by people who tend to express themselves and their beliefs in a direct and forthright manner, folk art is refreshingly free from irony and cynicism.
Outsider Art refers to art made outside the influence of an artistic tradition. It is art made for very singular, personal reasons, and includes, but isn't limited to, the work of people with psychological problems.
Self-Taught Art, another term often used to describe this field, simply means that the artists didn't go to school to learn how to do what they do. All three of these terms are used -- by different people -- to describe the same works of art. This, of course, can be very confusing. Here at Yard Dog Folk Art, we tend to call it folk art. But whether you call it folk, outsider, or self-taught art, it describes art made by people of an independent spirit who create unique, idiosyncratic, highly personal work. Check out the galleries, some interesting art from everyday people.
"In early December, a bombshell dropped onto one of the fastest-growing file-swapping communities online, where Nikolai Nolan has made his home for the last several years....But in early December, a studio called Media Factory began sending letters to a handful of big anime fan sites ordering them to stop distributing or linking to copies of its works online." That's the way to win over your fans. Threaten them.
ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 6, 2004: Soldiers may have armed robots as battle buddies by early next year, according to industry and military officials attending the biennial Army Science Conference.
The Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection System, or SWORDS, will be joining Stryker Brigade soldiers in Iraq when it finishes final testing, said Staff Sgt. Santiago Tordillos, a bomb disposal test and evaluation noncommissioned officer in charge with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Directorate of the Army's Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.
"We're hoping to have them there by early 2005," Tordillos said. "The soldiers I've talked to want them yesterday." Kick ass! Now youngsters can put all of that 'Counterstrike', 'Halo', and 'Quake' experience to good use!
A dreary city sets the scene for this tale of paranoia. A pedestrian encounters a box on the street. In the box is a man, peeking out through a slit. The pedestrian becomes consumed by this box man. Watching him constantly until it escalates into a violent conclusion. This short is based on Kobe Abe short story of the same name.
THE WHO - THE WHO.S TOMMY TO BECOME MOST EXPENSIVE ANIMATION
"THE WHO's celebrated rock-opera TOMMY is to become the most expensive animated movie of all time.
GREASE producer ROBERT STIGWOOD plans to turn the 1975 PETE TOWNSHEND movie into a $400 million (GBP210 million) cartoon, which is tipped to feature the voices of singers ROBBIE WILLIAMS and BONO.
Stigwood, 70, says, 'Pete Townshend is right behind this.
'It will feature the biggest names in the music industry. The original movie costs $3-4 million but this will cost $300-400 million. Holy crap, that's a lot of money.
'If you are going to do it, you've got to do it right.'"
