Who are you?

According to Liquid Generation, my Star Wars personality would resemble that of Qui-Gon Jinn. That made me feel a little better on this hectic Monday. Interested in finding out your own, then head on over to the Ultimate Star Wars Personality Test.

(Oh, and I found this via Pop Candy. I figured I should tip the hat that direction.)

Has anyone else ever thought this?

I am the only one who thinks that Aaron Douglas (Chief Galen Tyrol on Battlestar Galactica) bears a resemblance to Brian Dennehy?

That's about it. I think he looks like Dennehy. Nothing groundbreaking today I suppose.

Money cures all?

In the checkout line of my local Whole Foods Market are a stack of cards you can buy to purchase carbon emission credits. As I think I posted about awhile back, companies like Whole Foods and the Vail Resorts group have been buying power credits from energy companies utilizing renewable sources to offset the electricity they use from conventional power plants at their local stores and vacation properties. Now, the public can do the same? Worried about how much pollution you're creating by that commute to work or that electricity you're using to watch television at night? No problem. Buy some carbon emission credits, and you've essentially funneled some money to a windmill somewhere to make clean energy for someone else.

It seems, though, that this has become more of a fad, rather than a lifestyle change. As pointed out by a recent article in The New York Times, carbon trading is hip, but may not necessarily be making the impact celebrities would make us think it does:

“The worst of the carbon-offset programs resemble the Catholic Church’s sale of indulgences back before the Reformation,” said Denis Hayes, the president of the Bullitt Foundation, an environmental grant-making group. “Instead of reducing their carbon footprints, people take private jets and stretch limos, and then think they can buy an indulgence to forgive their sins.”

Seems he may have a point. Even during the most recent Academy Awards, Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio proudly announced that the entire extravaganza of the Oscars was totally green, as they had purchased enough carbon emission credits to offset all the carbon production from the electricity used during the festivities. The audience of celebrities and Hollywood executives gave a standing ovation, as if to pat themselves on the back for their wonderful deed for society, and later exiting the awards show in their gas-guzzling limos to go to indulge in the post-Oscar parties that I'm sure were full of environmentally unfriendly party favors, gift bags, imported foods, and unrecycled garbage.

After the Al Gore won an Oscar for his film about the encroaching dangers of global warming, many in the press called him a hypocrite by citing his use of electricity in his large mansion in Tennessee. The more modest ranch house of George W. Bush in Crawford, TX, in comparison, was found to be much more progressive in it's measure to be "green"--kind of odd for a President seemingly in bed with the energy and petroleum industry.

Now I'm not trying to berate Al Gore. Most of you have read about my growing admiration of him for his efforts to increase awareness of global warming. My point, though, is that I think some of the rich in this environmental movement are sending the wrong message. Simply throwing money at the problem isn't necessarily going to change how society views the problem. It only makes those with less money feel that they can't help decrease our production of carbon emissions because they don't have the funds to buy credits like the Hollywood stars that are the so-called role models of the movement. It's a bit sad that many in the public look up to the celebrities for guidance, but that's the reality. And we do have the Ed Begley, Jr.'s running around in Hollywood, but they seem to be looked at as radical freaks. However, perhaps we need the rich to take some more radical, lifestyle changing steps like him.

Anywho, I think I'll go drive down to the Whole Foods that's just a few blocks away from my home now to buy some bottled water that was shipped over from Iceland, and buy a few carbon emission credits to offset all that car exhaust I just blew into the atmosphere in addition to the pollution created by the plane and trucks that had to transport my water over here in the first place.

Have you really taken a careful look at your dog's tail recently?

The most emailed article today from The New York Times describes a study from Italy looking into dogs and tail wagging. Based on research demonstrating emotional asymmetry in the brain, they hypothesized that dogs would wag their tail in a predictable direction based on their emotional state.

When the dogs saw their owners, their tails all wagged vigorously with a bias to the right side of their bodies, Dr. Vallortigara said. Their tails wagged moderately, again more to the right, when faced with an unfamiliar human. Looking at the cat, a four-year-old male whose owners volunteered him for the experiment, the dogs’ tails again wagged more to the right but in a lower amplitude.

When the dogs looked at an aggressive, unfamiliar dog — a large Belgian shepherd Malinois — their tails all wagged with a bias to the left side of their bodies.

Thus when dogs were attracted to something, including a benign, approachable cat, their tails wagged right, and when they were fearful, their tails went left, Dr. Vallortigara said. It suggests that the muscles in the right side of the tail reflect positive emotions while the muscles in the left side express negative ones.

I could see this observation being utilized in some Turner and Hooch genre movie. The unsuspecting protagonist is clued into the fact that a person is a villain only by the subtle signal by his trusty pooch.

They make nice Megaman costumes, too...

Forget Lazer Tag. We all know this is something we all would have had more fun with. The Bong-Bong Boxer is a concept design for some foam mitts, booties, and a helmet that "makes fighting fun and educational."

So basically, we could have beaten the crap out of each other without beating the crap out of each other. Brilliant!

Do you know what E means?

DYP-21D
118-WCZ
BDR-70Y

and 115-CLF

What do they mean?

And what about this one:
BPX-83D

Here's a Time Killer

Since I have heard a couple of you spending time at the popular blog Pop Candy, I decided to spend some time there checking it out myself. She posts a great time killer where you get to create your own superhero. Pretty fun.

Trivial Survival Tip #1

Every once and a while you receive a Christmas gift that you would have never thought to ask for, and it turns out to be a nice treat. This last Christmas I received a book on survival techniques written by a special forces guy from England - John "Lofty" Wiseman. The book has become my bathroom reading. There is nothing like learning about how to survive in the Arctic from the comforts of my own throne.

I thought that I would share some of the trivial pieces of survival information with you on occasion. Today, I wanted to let you know that if you are in a survival situation in the Arctic, you should never eat seal or polar bear liver because they contain toxic levels of vitamin A.

Best. Commercial. Ever.

Remember my birthday party in 1988, playing lazer tag in the church parking lot... man that was cool!

Just think what he could have done with four...

Django Reinhardt is perhaps the greatest jazz guitarist (if not the greatest guitarist in any genre of music) to have ever lived. He's well known for his technical riffs, but little did I know until watching this video that he does this all using only two fingers. TWO fingers!

Video Perfection

After falling asleep on the couch last night I awoke to the video for "Beautiful Lie" by Shakira and Beyonce. Although not a bad video technically, and definetly a great video for the eye candy, in my barely awake state it flared connections that led me to thinking of this blog. I wrote this in my head about 2 this morning, let's see how it translates.
I no longer purposley watch videos for the most part as I believe it has really passed its prime. Back when we were watching MTV everyday after school there was a social relevance to it. That was our medium. It was created for us, and was singularly ours. But now, there's a reason MTV only plays about 4 hours of actual videos everyday: It's all been done.
This leads me to the point of this post. In 1985, 6 years before he would win a Best Director Oscar for 'Silence Of The Lambs', Jonathan Demme directed the video for New Order's song 'Perfect Kiss'. Never widely played, and only actually played a handful of times on MTV, the video stands today as the pinnacle of what a video could be. Both NYU and UCLA show it in their Video Production classes. For New Order fans, it is all that is great about the band. We see in thier faces even as they are creating this incredible piece of music live with no retakes, the sadness that underlies everything that they create. Born from the ashes of Joy Division after lead singer Ian Curtis's suicide due to near terminal epilepsy, New order set out to not stand in the shadow of their former band. Yet in so doing,they couldn't overcome it. Bernard Sumner, guitarist for Joy Division stepped into the lead singer spotlight, becoming renowned as the most unwilling frontman in music. Peter Hook, the bassist for both bands continued to wear his bass low and play it at punk rock speeds no matter the song. Stephen Morris took on the sampling keyboards, eschewing the drums, during the age of machine rock, while his wife Gillian played melody keyboards. They were, and still are in my opinion, nearly perfect in their musical meshing. The most unlikely creation of a band, with the most unassuming members, have become one of the most succesful bands of all time. Even today they are still playing, recording, and touring yearly, with only Gillian staying home to look after kids and business matters now. Indeed, as my second favorite group, I could have picked ANY of their songs to put on my Finetune 'Wander Well' list. The song I chose is 'Who's Joe', the first song off their most recent album, "Waiting For The Sirens Call". A song that is just the lead in to the album, and recieved no air play. If you can pick a song like that to best represent what you love about a band on a list of favorites, that is a band with some meat on its bones.
Like New Order, or thier music, or not, the video speaks for itself.

Vince Young Is Doomed

Although well documented among gamers, it is less well known among most simple sports fans of the 'Madden Curse'. That is almost every player featured on that years Madden NFL game has recieved a season or even career ending injury right after the games release. It is true, it is strange, and although I can't think of any examples to give you, it is well documented throughout the net, and some even gamble on who will be on the cover that year, what injury the player will recieve, and how long they will be out. I personally know people that will eschew picking that certain sports superstar in fantasy drafts. So, as I believe there have been vague rumblings on this blog about a contributor or two being Vince Young fans, I thought I would let you know of Vince's terrible fate.
Here's the word straight from the fat man himself:

"You've heard the rumors and read the betting odds (IGN called LT even and Vince Young 3-2 favorites), but nothing was made official until John Madden's radio show on KCBS when the man behind the biggest sports franchise in gaming officially named Titans QB Vince Young as the Madden NFL 08 cover athlete."Vince Young is going to be on the cover…why, is that not out yet…did I just let something out of the bag?" Madden said on his show this morning as the hosts asked him about the rumors.
Madden was also asked about the cover curse saying that he's never heard from a player on the cover complaining about the curse, adding: "We had one version where I was on the cover, so I was thinking if you admit there is something to it, then it's going to get you if you're on the cover, so I had to pooh-pooh it."

John, looking at you, I can't help but think there are few things on this earth you haven't pooh-poohed at least once.

The questions I really want to ask.

I recently got a response from an eAcrimony match that read something like "Sorry I didn't really answer your questions, I guess I'm just sick of all these prefab eHarmony questions."

"Not a problem" I responded. I was lying, of course. Seriously, those were underhand pitches compared to some of the questions I've asked. Why do I ask hard questions you may query? Because when I get matched up with party girls or girls who I just don't seem to click with, I send hard questions to shoo them away. I send these kind of questions, or pick random prefab questions, because I can't ask the questions I really want to ask. Here is a random sampling of the questions I really want to ask, but tact prevents me from sending.

* Why aren't you more interesting?

* What possessed you to type your entire profile in CAPITAL LETTERS, LIKE YOU'RE SHOUTING, "THE LAST BOOK I READ WAS HARRY POTTER."

* Why don't you have an upper lip?

* We all make spelling mistakes, but how did you manage to misspell "Texas" in addition to a third of your profile? I mean seriously, did you not think it a good idea to proofread?

* Do you honestly think that anyone will respond to you if you don't post any pictures? It's been three weeks, girl. Find a friend with a camera phone.

* Why on earth would you post pictures of you with your friends when your friends are all better looking than you? It makes me want to get to know you just so I can meet your friends.

* Why would you post pictures of you at some resort or national park where the location comprises 98% of the picture and you are the speck in the middle? I want to see what you look like. If I wanted to see the Grand Canyon, I'd go buy a postcard.

* Why are all your answers and open communication completely incongruent with what you have in your introductory profile? Those are supposed to represent who you are, not what you want others to think you are like.

* Why would you answer the question "Why did you join eHarmony" with "because my friends made me"? If you're not looking for a lasting relationship, you are seriously wasting everybody's time.

And, the one I've wanted to ask most often,

* Would you be really offended if I truthfully answered why I closed the match? I mean, would "because I find you unbelievably boring and/or unattractive" be such a bad answer? Wouldn't you appreciate the truth?

As you can tell, I'm feeling pretty cynical right now.

Haloid

Although not representative of Halo play at all, this video is indicitive of the incredible user created media that is being released more and more from within the gaming community. This video speaks volumes to me about what we will be watching in the future, both from private citizens and the entertainment industry as they slowly merge. There is goodness out there Gentleman, and soon we will reap its rewards.

Edit: This is the original video, much larger and clearer then the bastardized 'digity' YouTube copy.

Edit Edit: While editing to add the last edit I deleted the video itself. Sorry, I suck.

Edit Edit Edit [from Swany]: I fixed the video. I am awsome.. ;-)

Well said ...

I happened to be perusing the net today and stumbled upon an interview with Battlestar Galactica's Ronald Moore. It was a good interview and can be found here. What I really liked though was this quote which made me want to set up a lunch between Moore and the creators of Lost. Now I have not seen the last two episodes of Lost, but I seriously doubt that they have changed their mindset to be one like Moore's. Here are his thoughts:

But the tease only works to a certain point. Ultimately, if you take the story all the way to the end, you do need to give the audience some answers to some of these things. Maybe not everything. There's probably some elements that we will leave mysterious even after the show is over. But I think you have to at least ground the audience in some reality for some of these things that have happened. Even if the explanation is a supernatural one, you want to give them some explanation and feel a payoff for the time and effort they've put into the show up to that point.

The reason I have not seen the last two episodes of Lost is because I don't feel like I am going to get that payoff.

Some more Spidey stuff to get you in the mood...

A little over two more weeks till Spiderman 3 comes out. I saw a link on Pop Candy to this video by Snow Patrol who contributed a song to the soundtrack. It's not technically brilliant, but it's awesome nonetheless. Really makes me want to be a kid again:

As Wander's mom once told me, "If they make fun of you again, and ask you if you know karate, just give them a good karate kick to the nuts!"

My wife came home today and asked me a somewhat perplexing question about the tragedy at Virginia Tech yesterday--when is the backlash going to start? Out of all the new information that was disclosed today about who the shooter was--being a loner, seriously depressed and deranged, on the brink of a psychotic break perhaps--what some have focused on was his race.

For an Asian here in the United States, I guess it's only natural to think this way. I hate to admit it, but the thought had crossed my mind, as well. Living in the minority in this country, we can't help but think this way. Life is a constant struggle to measure up to the majority. When we don't, it plays as an example of how we're inferior and perhaps lower-class citizens. And when a minority commits the ultimate act of murder, well, break out the torches and prepare the nooses 'cause it's time for a lynching. When the Japanese invaded at Pearl Harbor, Americans (who happened to be of Japanese descent) were rounded up and placed in internment camps. The acts of a radical group of Middle Eastern terrorists on 9/11 brought a wave of racism that many in this country still struggle with.

Timothy McVeigh kills 168 people in Oklahoma, and the country pointed to his extremist beliefs. At Columbine, it was the proliferation of media violence and suggestive music that was to blame. Charles Whitman and his killing spree from atop the University of Texas tower? Child abuse. Granted, these were acts committed by isolated people not affiliated at all with any larger entity that would pose any continuing threat, but I use them to illustrate the point that we didn't question their racial backgrounds in the aftermath. No one is going to go out and say that Caucasians are dangerous. And I'd hope the American people won't make an issue about Cho Seung-hui's Asian or Korean ethnicity either.

The guy was clearly not psychologically sound based on what little the community knew about him, and perhaps his racial background played a role in pushing him further into an isolated world within himself instead of fully interacting with those around him. I've often felt that sense of isolation at times just from being a minority in this country, and I find myself a bit intrigued by how he fell into this hole of despair. I share some similarities to him, being the first generation of an immigrant family to grow up here in the States and being a bit of a quiet loner (although not quite to his extent). I even noticed that I have the same birthday as him. Yes, it was tough being a kid with immigrant parents who spoke with accents and did things differently than what we saw other "American" families do. It's hard enough to fit in with the peer pressures of childhood and adolescence, and harder still with parents that were trying to fit in themselves. What makes me different? Perhaps I wasn't genetically fated to have the extreme psychiatric issues he may have had. I don't know. What I do know, though, is that I grew up with a close group of friends that never made race an issue. I was raised in perhaps one of the more racist areas of the country, and at times I think it was just by the pure grace of God that I met friends like the Kool-Aid Gang of this blog.

So when my wife asks me if there's going to be a backlash, I really hope that there isn't. There's certainly other minorities in this country dealing with the same issues as this guy who perhaps are sitting on that tipping point between a decent life and a tragic one. If we can learn anything from history or even this horrific event, it's that racism only fuels more disaster.

Why you don't want to be late paying rent...

Is it just me, or does Will Ferrell have a slight resemblence to Scratch?

[Click on the picture to get to the video]

Channeling your inner Norris...

OK, guys. Yet another version of the Kool-Aid Gang banner. It's perhaps a bit too reminiscent of that movie Sidekicks, but I kind of like it. I even managed to get Scratch out of the Phantom Zone, brought Willie out from the background, and blew up George a bit.

I'm back in black, too. I think the sidebar needs a revamp. Suggestions?

In case you ever wondered what Star Wars would have been like with The Hoff...

Now that's some comic book movie casting I wasn't expecting...

When I heard that they were going to make a new Incredible Hulk movie that would have no continuity or relation to Ang Lee's version with Eric Bana, I wasn't all that enthused. But Edward Norton as the Hulk? They've got my attention now.

I thought Eric Bana was pretty good in The Hulk, but I don't think the CGI was quite up to par. A shame, really, since it was an extremely well done film otherwise.

Anywho, Ed Norton and the Hulk? I think I just heard Firecracker George "WOOHOO!" somewhere in Texas. Imagine if Ang Lee was helming this one--I think his head would have exploded.

That was Sofa King Great!

Very rarely do I watch Saturday Night Live anymore, especially since you can get most of the funny stuff online the following day. Something struck me differently this last week, and I decided to record it on my dvr. I usually stop watching after the first 30 minutes or so because the skits don't seem to be as funny later in the show, but when it is recorded it is a different story.

I happened to watch this last week and suprisingly enjoyed the whole thing. My favorite skit though was one that didn't strike me as funny at all at first. But then I realized that it was Sofa King Great.

To put a nice little bow on this wonderful post you should head over to their website and check out some of the videos. Sofa King is a good one, Shia and Maya was funny when Maya flips out and Shia almost loses it, and then you should dig into the depths and watch Laser Cats 2.

Nothing like a good puppet show...

I debated as to whether or not to post this video, but then I said, "Eh. We're all adults here. It's all in good fun." It's rather NSFW, and makes "D@ck In a Box" rather tame in comparison. Kind of reminds me of that gear-shift cozy that Firecracker George knitted back in high school.

Yes, a truly romantic song that would make any woman absolutely melt with desire for you.

(My apologies to Wild Willie's wife--it just occurred to me that he will now be wooing you with this catchy tune):

Do YOU know what to do with monsters?

What Are you Gonna Do To The Monster - Click Here for more great videos and pictures!

For when your personal bouquet isn't quite as appreciated by others...

Playing with fire can be dangerous, and if farts are flammable, do you really want to be lighting matches while you're doing your business?

This stuff must really work, because the website where it is sold says it's already sold out!

Say "goodbye" to the courtesy flush. Just two drops of Ritual's Nature Calls Toilet Deodorizer in your toilet water, prior to your morning constitutional, obliterates all odor. This truly revolutionary, plant-extract-derived solution doesn't just cover up your funky fumes, it eradicates them with extreme prejudice.

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

OK, I've been a bit stressed out lately, meaning I find ways to really waste my time. This includes cleaning the lint out of the cracks of my cell phone, watching late night showings of B-movies on TBS, and playing around with the appearance of this blog. The format may radically change over the next week or so unless I find some other way to calm down and relax.

Question: Which background color do you guys prefer, the new white or the old black? And what do you think of the new title banner? Too big? Too busy?

For Firecracker George

I watch this video and it's like I'm with you.

Sighting #9

On a recent trip to Austin, I happened to stumble upon this little guy on the corner of 5th and Congress.

Official uniform of the Kool-Aid Gang?

Forget those high-fallutin' designer jeans that cost upwards of $200+. We need man jeans! This picture speaks for itself:

3 More Weeks!

Who else is getting super excited? I know I am.

The argument for big and heavy cars...

I'll remember this video and yell, "Bullsh@t!" the next time I see any movie where the action hero drives up to a 747 and somehow manages to jump onto the landing gear and climb aboard the plane:

The Dharma Initiative? Now those Lost tie-ins are getting a little out of hand...

Photo: NASA

So did anyone catch these pictures taken from the Cassini Space Probe orbiting Saturn that were released by NASA a couple of weeks ago? According to the NASA site, this phenomenon isn't new, as it was also seen by Voyager 1 and 2 as they passed the planet, as well. I think the red color above is just a result of the infrared imaging used to capture the picture, but it's still kind of freaky nonetheless.

Of course, when I worried about strange alien life inhabiting Saturn and creating such a geometric shape that surely could only mean impending doom from an extraterrestrial weapon of mass destruction set to destroy the Earth, it turns out that swirling hexagonal shapes actually do occur in nature. HC? Well, I guess it's gotta be PHYSICS!

N = C + {fb(cm) . fb(tc)} + fb(Ts) + fc . ta

So after Wander's recent picture post about that heavenly porcine meat, I seem to be running into all sorts of articles about bacon.

First, is a recipe for--get this--bacon popcorn! I guess it's popcorn, and that's kind of a healthy snack, right? Yeah, does anyone notice that it's always the overweight people (me included) that you always see snacking on popcorn and drinking Diet Coke, and it's the skinny people you see in magazines always boozing it up in nightclubs and bars?

Then in The New York Times, we get the mathematical formula for the perfect bacon sandwich. Again, I wonder why I do what I do for a living, and not this. If my biggest worry in life was to determine the optimal decibel level for bacon crunch noise, I think I would truly be in heaven...or is that hell? That could be truly boring. I wonder how much governmental funding they got for that study, though? Now that's what I call pork barrel spending! Ba-dum-bump!

More Nintendo Flashbacks

One of my favorite Simpsons moments.

If Only...

Defying the Odds

In the last four months, a bizarre occurance has taken place in my life. I have accomplished a feat rarely seen within the confines of marriage. As is normally the case, I started my winter journey of growing a beard. This typically starts soon after (usually the same day of) my wedding anniversary. The journey consisted of the usual full beard which stays trimmed and comes off in February.

On the first of the year, I shaved the beard down to a goatee which my wife has put up strong opposition to in the past. This time, though, she did not think it looked as bad as she thought it would. I attribute this feat to having gone from a full beard to a goatee, and I decided to keep it for a while. As it grew I decided that I wanted to take this thing as far as I could. It would accompany me on a personal journey heading towards one of my goals for the year of 2007. I would not, I could not, get rid of it or trim it until I had reached this goal. The length grew and grew. Little did I know that my wife would put up with such antics as long as she did and all the while continue to be "intimate" with me. This defies all odds.

Last night, however, proved to be a moment of weakness, and I caved. It would prove to be rather timely though. After achieving a length greater than I did in my mid twenties, I got rid of my goatee before reaching my personal goal because it was even too ugly for me to see in the mirror. Little did I know that this morning I achieved that personal goal and the growth was not in vain. It has accompanied me well on my journey. While it was ugly, I had grown accustomed to the warmth it provided. And so it too will provide you with some warmth today - the warmth of laughter - in the viewing of some pictures.

The Pippi Longstocking Version:

The Perv Version:

The Singing Bush Version:

The Dreadlock Version:




The Cowboy Version:

Rubbing isn't racing, it's just stupid...

I watched a bit of the Malaysian Grand Prix yesterday. Now, I won't go back into a rant about the inferiority that is NASCAR, but since I've still got F1 on the mind, I'll share this really nice commercial from Shell and the Ferrari Formula One racing team.

This also got me thinking about the whole environmental movement in the car industry. You'd think that at some point in the future, we'll all be driving some form of zero emission cars. Will that mean that gas as we know it will be gone, as well? What will oil companies like Shell be selling, and what will race cars run on?

Super Mario!

Happy Friday everyone!

Am I getting to old for this?

It's been a little over 24 hours since I saw Snow Patrol at The Pageant here in St. Louis, and I'm a little worried because my left ear is still ringing. It was a great concert, but I left feeling a bit like an old fart.

My wife is a huge Snow Patrol fan, having discovered them a few years back when they debuted in the U.S. with their album Final Straw. Of course, her enthusiasm shot up into the stratosphere when their music was prominently featured on her favorite television show of the moment, Grey's Anatomy. I think they're a pretty awesome band myself, so we staked out some prime space close to the stage on the floor, and passed on the amenities of seats and booze in the "21 and over" section towards the back. Nope, instead we huddled with the young folk--14 and 15 year old girls puffing on cigarettes trying to look cool, adolescent boys with that bad "I'm going through puberty" B.O., college kids talking to who knows whom on their cellphones.

The opening acts, Silverspun Pickups and OK Go, were great. Really got the crowd going. But in the midst of it all, I kept catching myself being like some grumpy old man. The music was too loud. These kids were annoying me and invading my personal space (which apparently my wife was thinking, too, when she shoved back some girl trying to squeeze her way into space behind us that wasn't there). My back was hurting from standing there so long. Why does it take so long to set up between bands? I'd look up in the balcony seats and see crowds of middle aged adults, thinking to myself, "Boy, I should be up there. It would be nice to sit down, order a beer from the cocktail waitress, and watch the show where the speakers weren't dead-on aimed at me."

Oddly, the space around me thinned out a bit after OK Go, and I ended up really enjoying my vantage point when Snow Patrol came on. But now my ear is still ringing, my back is sore, and I'm still annoyed that kids are smoking (in public, no less). Yup. I'm turning into middle-aged man, and I'm still in my early 30's.

Interesting tidbit I learned from Wikipedia: Apparently, Snow Patrol came up with their band name while eluding the police in Telluride, CO after being caught trying to cut down a Christmas tree and hiding out in a cave for a few hours. Sounds like something we would have done in our younger days. Scratch that--something YOU guys would have done. I would have been at home while you guys did this, then scratching my head the following day trying to figure out how you guys always seem to get in trouble when I'm not around. ;-)

Since Wander mentioned him...

I had to go find an adult picture of Ralphie.



Just mentally put those glasses on him and you can see it.

I wonder if he ever runs into Scott Farkiss?

Sighting #8. And I was almost thinking Willie's use of the Force was becoming more powerful than mine...

This one was literally right under my nose. I walk this way to the hospital almost on a daily basis, so either R2-D2 wandered over here (meaning Tusken Raiders can't be far behind) or the U.S. Postal Service has been putting out more. This placement probably made the most sense to me, though, being in front of the children's hospital. Anything to make a kid that probably isn't feeling too well put a smile on his face.

A Moment Of Silence

S0me sad news out of Hollywood.

LOS ANGELES -- Film director Robert Clark, best known for the beloved holiday classic "A Christmas Story," and his son were killed Wednesday in a car wreck, the filmmaker's assistant and police said.
Clark, 67, and son Ariel Hanrath-Clark, 22, were killed in the accident in Pacific Palisades, said Lyne Leavy, Clark's personal assistant.
The two men were in an Infiniti that collided head-on with a GMC Yukon around 2:30 a.m. PST, said Lt. Paul Vernon, a police spokesman. The driver of the other car was under the influence of alcohol and was driving without a license, Vernon said.

As I've mentioned before, "A Christmas Story" is one of my favorite films, and Tellulah and I watch it every Christmas all day (and I usually watch it on dvd a couple of times throughout the year).
What a sad ending.

Although on a more interesting note, Peter Billingsley, who played Ralphie in the film, is an Executive Producer on the upcoming "Iron Man" film. Apperently he and Jon Favreau, the director on "Iron Man" (and not a bad actor himself) are good friends. Go figure.

The Rising Price Of Energon

Some sweet new pics from the Transformers movie were released today. I'm sure there will be plenty of haters out there, but me? Man, I couldn't have asked for a cooler Optimus Prime then the one in the pic above. Well, except maybe this one.

When I die, this is how I want my funeral to be...

I can't remember if I ever posted this video before, but since I've got The Wrath of Khan on the brain:

What's the greatest sci-fi movie ever? No, this is not a gimme question...

I remember Wild Willie raving about the movie Serenity a while back, but haven't managed to put it on my Netflix queue yet. Perhaps I need to see this film. Based on a poll by SFX, a British science fiction magazine, Serenity is the best sci-fi movie of all time, even beating out Star Wars (and by a pretty large margin)!

Considering Willie's passion for all things Skywalker in light of his endorsement of Joss Whedon's film above, I'm wondering how he feels about this.

I'm just disappointed Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan didn't crack the top ten, 'cause that movie was awesome.

KHAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!

R2D2 Sighting #7

Sighting #6 was a use of the force coupled with some plans retrieved by a Bothan spy, but after that sighting I turned off my targeting computer and decided to just "roam" downtown a little more. Within a matter of minutes, I was led by the ancient jedi about three blocks east to the corner of Fayetteville St. and Martin Street. Now you have #7.

R2D2 Sighting #6

Yesterday started out with a nice use of the force, and with my evening being spent in Raleigh it only got better. The midiclorians within me decided to kick it in high gear and lead me to the corner of Dawson St. and Martin St. in downtown Raleigh, NC.

R2D2 Sighting #5

On the corner of Market and College in Greensboro, NC R2D2 #5 was sighted.



This little fellow proved to be a tough one to find. After having no luck with seeing him around town, I broke down and went to the main post office to ask where I might find him. As is often the case, I came in contact with a non-Star Wars fan who was one of our very own postal workers. I was amazed that they didn't even know what I was talking about. My guess is that the USPS doesn't do much with making their employees aware of their own marketing efforts. (Hey USPS employees, did you know that at one time you were the sponsor to one of the 21st century's dominate athletes?) Anyway, I explained the whole campaign to him and told him that there are only 400 of these in the system. With much excitement I proceeded to tell him that we were blessed with at least one in Greensboro. He responded with very muted excitement and said he would see if anyone else knew what I was talking about. After about 5 minutes he returns from the back to let me know that they have one alright. It was sitting in the back currently to which he had just spent some time looking at it. It had already been taken off the streets for reasons I was not told. Could I see it? Would it make it out again? Where? When? I could not see it because I was not of the proper postal status to be able to get into the back. All the other questions were met with the same muted excitement and responded to with an, "I don't know." It seems though that the force was with me, and I found it a few days later.

I never made it through engineering school. I guess I lost "The Knack"...

Thanks to Fandango for making us aware of this video clip, with some added footage at the end courtesy of YouTube:

Because canine obesity is the real epidemic problem we face as Americans...