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May 31, 2008
Guy steals crap, film at 11
For anyone no in Iowa or paying attention to the news much, last week, Parkersburg, Ia, was hit by the biggest tornado in Iowa in 30 years.
So, this guy (allegedly) went to the Parkersburg tornado site and started stealing other people's stuff that was strewn all over. But look at the photo of the computer monitor he took. That must have hooked up to an Apple //E. Buddy, it's not worth picking up unless you're helping give it back to them. Which you should.
May 30, 2008
Two quotes
So I rushed past the pretty girls, and all the prettiest girls in the world live in Des Moines. - Jack Kerouac, On The Road
Jack Kerouac, of all people, thought that Iowa women were the prettiest in the country, but I don't think he ever went to Merle Hay Mall on a Saturday. - Bill Bryson, The Lost Continent
May 29, 2008
Chester's wolf kicks in
Might want to lower your volume a tad...
Vast left-wing conspiracy
May 28, 2008
Yet MORE Indy
Rating the top Indiana Jones moments... might not want to click if you haven't seen the fourth one yet.
Help me out Woodsie, you know you want to
Opening action sequence:
1. Anything Goes (Temple)
2. The idol and boulder (Raiders)
3. Young Indy chase (Last Crusade)
4. Warehouse chase (Crystal Skull)
Best Bad Guy(s)
1. Belloq/Toht (Raiders)
2. Mola Ram (Temple)
3. Irina Spalko (Crystal Skull)
4. Elsa Schneider/Walter Donovan (Last Crusade)
Sidekick hi-jinx
1. Henry Sr., Sallah and Brody (Crusade)
2. Mutt (Crystal Skull)
3. Short Round (Temple)
4. Sallah (Raiders)
Fate of Bad Guys
1. "You chose poorly" (Crusade)
2. Face melty (Raiders)
3. Fall off bridge/cliff (Temple)
4. Thrown into alternate dimension (Crystal Skull)
Best action sequence
1. Airplane fight (Raiders)
2. (Tie) Truck rope scene (Raiders) / Basket chase (Radiers)
3. Tank/horse chaase (Crusade)
4. Rope bridge (Temple)
Most pointless character
1. Dean Charles Stanforth (Crystal Skull)
2. Mac (Crystal Skull)
3. Oxley (Crystal Skull)
4. Earl Weber (aka Dan Akroyd) (Temple)
More Indy
Deleted "sword fight" scene...
Also, I was reading this book at Barnes and Noble and it talks about how Spielberg, Ford, and the big bald stuntman were all pretty inspired planning this fight:
They were brainstorming all sorts of things, then Spielberg went off, circling the plane, and cut the whole 120 shot sequence in his head before he shot it.
May 24, 2008
I have a bad feeling about this
Aimee and I saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Here are titles that would have been better:
Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull
Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull
Indiana Jones: SG1
Indiana Jones and the Kid From Transformers
Indiana Jones 4: Wow, We're Old
Indiana Jones Phones It In
Indiana Jones and Something About Psychic Powers and Aliens
Indiana Jones: Give Us Your Money
Indiana Jones: Weren't the 80s great?
But, really, for the most part I liked it. At points I thought Harrison Ford wavered between the old Indiana Jones we all know and love and some old guy acting like Indiana Jones. I don't know if it was the directing or the acting or the editing, but some his performance was just awkward. More thoughts with possible spoilers after the break.
Gags I liked:
The Marcus Brody statue
The greasers vs. jocks fight
Hiding in the fridge from the nuclear blast
The bit in the library with the motorcycle
The ants were kind of cool
The rocket sled
The dry quicksand bit
Gags missing:
The holster bit! You know, in Raiders he pulls the gun on the swordsman, in Temple of Doom the gun isn't loaded, and in Last Crusade the gun is missing. Lack of holster bit is sad. I was waiting for it.
Also: Sallah!
Obvious Spielberg Theme:
Dads and missing dads. See: pretty much every Spielberg movie.
What didn't work:
The whole psychic powers angle with the skull. I didn't really get how you get the powers. By looking at it?
Whatever happened to the FBI guys?
Who is this Oxley guy?
Mac.
Also, the whole inter-dimensional aliens who help humans with technology and advancement has been done (Stargate!).
I would have liked more references to previous Indy movies. Now to watch the originals again...
...out!
Aaron and I were discussing how Barry Bonds is missing from baseball. No one really wants him right now, and I guess you can't blame them; he was indicted on 14 counts of perjury. Quite the fall from grace; it wasn't that long ago people (well, mostly Giants fans) were cheering him on as he broke the home run record. LA Times reports on how he's been removed literally and figuratively.
May 22, 2008
Cloney Island
Star Wars: The Clone Wars trailer.
You know, it looks like some talented 16-year-old knocked out the animation in his basement in about three weeks, but the acting is at about the same level as Episodes I-III, so not all that much has changed.
Actually, I sort of wish Episodes I-III would have just been all CG or animated because humans on an all green-screen set really didn't work for those movies. I caught part of Episode III while at home a couple weeks ago, and wow, it really didn't hold up any better from when I saw it in the theater. The last battle between Obi Wan and Anakin is terrible. And Anakin burning alive is way too intense for little kids.
May 19, 2008
Mmm... calorific
Unhealthiest drinks... exposed!
Unhealthiest drink in America:
The Unhealthiest Drink in America
Baskin Robbin’s Large Heath Bar Shake (32 oz)
2,310 calories
266 g sugar
108 g fat (64 g saturated)
Wow, that's worse than the infamous Hungry Man breakfast. Anyone ever have one?
Fun with tilt-shift
May 17, 2008
Obamarama
Woot... Obama is spending Tuesday in Iowa... will it finally be "the end"?
May 15, 2008
Lightning bolt! Lightning bolt!
New trailer for Monster Camp, a LARPing documentary...
Whoa.. and this guy is awesome.
Some kind of World of Warcraft meets Braveheart...
And battling a dragon (!)
Road rules
I know this is your first stop for all car related news, so here is Jay Leno reviewing the Tesla Roadster.
May 14, 2008
I like pit'churs
I made a "macro" photo studio, based on this how-to. Check out my Flickr set for more.
For those times instantrimshot fails...
Joke fails? Try sadtrombone.com.
May 13, 2008
Merit: Dresses for breakfast
A Marital Ratings Scale from the 1930s that rated if your wife was Very Superior or Very Poor.
I like the demerit: "Wears red nail polish." (via Boing Boing)
Edit: The rest of the test... sure to be as funny as the first page. ("Squeezes toothpaste at the top. Wears pajamas while cooking. Fails to wash top of milk bottle before opening it. Visits mother too often -- a spoiled child. Insists on driving thecar when husband is along.")Give me your wallet... did it work?
NLP is neuro-linguistic programming. Using subtle physical, visual, and auditory clues to influence people. Check out Derren Brown work his magic (YouTube):
I know that confused stage where you are trying to orient yourself and are open to suggestion... now to use its powers for evil. I mean good.
(found via this comment... )
I need a pocket one of these
Make a (bad) joke an need some emphasis? How about instantrimshot? (via metafilter)
May 09, 2008
TK 421, why aren't you at your post
Storm Troopin': a Flickr photoset
Starting Monday...
...it will cost 42 cents to mail a letter. When will it reach $1.00? Predictions?
Dream job?
NASA offers $5,000 a month to stay in bed all day for a study. But hey, <insert lazy friend's name here> does it for free already! Ba-dum, ching.
May 07, 2008
Imperial shopping
May 04, 2008
I'm scared
May 02, 2008
Tomorrow is Shutdown Day
I just learned this, but tomorrow, Saturday May 3, is "Shutdown Day." Can you live without your computer for 24 hours? I'll be on the road for six of them, but I'm up for it!
May 01, 2008
Gas tax holiday
Prediction:
Temporary lift of 18-cent per gallon gas tax over the summer, followed by permanent 18-cent per gallon rise in gas prices.