A few months ago I posted about Sony filming a commercial where they released 10,000 super-balls on a hill in San Francisco. Well it turns out it was actually 250,000 superballs, and they've posted the commercial online. Pretty cool looking.
October 2005 Archives
A wonderful mashup of Plato's Republic and Reservoir Dogs can be found here.
[Thrasymachus is tied up in a chair. Socrates is brandishing a gun in his face]
Thrasymachus: Don't kill me, man!
Socrates: Are you finished, fucker?
Thrasymachus: Look, look, man, you can have my ten yoke of oxen. My virgin daughters? My pomegranite orchard?
Socrates: You like pomegranites? Shit, motherfucker, I hear they've got a fuckin' all-you-can-eat special going on on pomegranites where you're headed.
Thrasymachus: Don't do it, Socrates. Be fair.
Socrates: [Suddenly contemplative] Fair?
Thrasymachus: [Sees an opportunity for survival] Yeah, fair... think about my wife and children --
Socrates: Would you say that to be fair is the same thing as to be just? [Republic Dogs] [via Boing Boing]
If philosophy class had been like this maybe I wouldn't have done so badly in it.
ARIA is the story of Akari Mizunashi and her day to day life on Aqua as a Undine (gondolier). This is slice-of-life anime at its best. The series started out as a manga and has been translated into animated form beautifully. The stories tend to be fairly simple glimpses into Akari's life. Wether it is giving a free ride to a young girl and showing her what is special about Aqua or practicing her rowing with her friend Aika. You always find a relaxing bit of story. So far, one I'll be watching.
A month ago I posted about 101 things in 1001 days. I started my list (and am nowhere close to 101), but then I ran into this site called 43 Things. It is the same kind of idea, but the site will keep track of the things you want to do, tag them, see what things other people want to do (which is a big help in coming up with ideas). Check it out.
ICv2 has posted information about a marathon of Miyazaki films on TCM in January 2006.
ICv2 has learned that in January 2006, Turner Classic Movies, a prominent cable and satellite network, will run nine animated features by the great Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki's movies have received scant exposure on American TV so the showings on Turner Classic Movies should expose a wide audience to these masterworks.
A complete list of the films (and airdates) will be released next week, but ICv2 has learned that TCM will show such Miyazaki-directed classics as: Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, and Porco Rosso, as well as Whisper of the Heart, which was directed by Yoshifumi Kondou, though Miyazaki wrote the screenplay, drew the storyboards and produced the film. [ICv2]
I'm pretty psyched. I've wanted to see Whisper of the Heart for a while. I'm also hoping for Kiki's and The Castle of Cagliostro.
More and more content for the video iPod keeps showing up. This time it's anime from Central Park Media. Their initial offering is a show called Votoms. While I don't have a video iPod it's still stuff I can watch on my computer. But people are already putting out content.
On November 6th Cartoon Network starts showing the animated version of The Boondocks. Definitely something to check out. For those of you who aren't familiar with the comic strip, Newsweek has an article about it and the upcoming show.
Sometimes you just hear about sites that sound oh so wrong. So, if you've got a daughter and want to make some extra cash, just send her over to RentMyDaughter.com.
It just sounds so wrong. Someone needs to work on their naming.
I always enjoy Halley's blog and today she posts about parents and video games.
I rarely find parents who take THE TIME TO SIT DOWN AND PLAY the games with their kids. That's what I've been doing for three years now. I stink at playing, but I know about a lot of games. Parents who don't play think Tetris, Splinter Cell, Jak and Daxter and Halo are the same -- and they are not.
...
As I mentioned below, even if you are a parent who has ZERO interest in actually playing videogames, please read the book "Everything Bad is Good For You" by Steven Johnson, to get a perspective on what a complex, artistic, challenging, educational excursion our kids are taking when they play. [Halley's Comment]
My sister is one of those parents who has no interest in video games. She watches the ratings of the games, but really has no idea about the content most of the time. To me it seems like issue of paying attention to what your child watches on TV. Just because a show isn't violent or whatever doesn't mean that you would want your child watching it.
Then again, I don't have a kid so I may not be qualified to say much about this. I do know that as a kid I would have loved it if my parents were more interested in the games I liked and wanted to play.
Found in my fortune cookie tonight:
You won't be bored for long! New adventures are on the way.
I think I like the sound of that.
I started an experiment today on note taking. I always have a tons of things I want to do/try, tons of things I have to do, and just lots of random information I'd like to keep track of. In the past I've tried all kinds of things text files (which I still use somewhat). But was thinking of new ways to organize. In the end I thought of using a Wiki and stumbled onto MoinX.
For those not in the know, a Wiki is a web environment that allows fairly easy creation of web pages without having to know HTML. It also makes it easy to put in placeholders for where you want new pages to be. If you haven't seen Wikipedia you should check it out for a good example of a Wiki.
MoinX is a standalone version of a Wiki called Moin Moin set up to run on OS X. You run it and you get a blank Wiki all set to start editing. Pretty slick. So far I've just got pages for general ToDos and to start my list of 1001 Things. We'll see how it progresses.
I just got a great T-shirt that I'd ordered from Cafepress today.
To see what other products are offered, click on the picture above. And remember, being an organ donor is a good thing. Visit the Donate Life webpage for more information.
It's raining cats and dogs and penguins and armadillos outside! When will it end!?
Six months down, hopefully many many many many more to go.
I was kind of dreading driving up to Boston in the rain, and now I'm not driving up. I just got a call from my local pulmonologist asking me to come in for and EKG today (so that I can start pulmonary rehab tomorrow). And lunch plans didn't workout so I won't be missing that either. Of course, now I can't get up there till Friday, which is kind of annoying.
Tonight I did a double feature of two movies. One I've watched many times already, and one that just came in from Greencine. First there was one of my favs, Shaun of the Dead. It still entertains and I needed a bit of that wackiness today. Then came Garden State, which came from Greencine, but which may be purchased soon.
I liked Garden State a bunch, but I'm not sure I could say why. I also couldn't decide right away if I liked it. I'm pretty sure I want to watch it again before sending it back.
Together though, they were an odd combination that I'm not sure were what I was looking for. Maybe I should have done Shaun then Bubba Ho-Tep and saved Garden State for tomorrow.
I just want to take a moment to whine about the weather. I need sun, just a little every day. I love that nice warm feeling. But we've had overcast/rainy weather for days now (with more days of it ahead) and I'm sick of it. Mom and I have been talking about getting a light box this year, since we both felt the benefit of it when we borrowed one from a friend of hers last year.
I also have to drive up to Boston tomorrow, I hate driving in overcast weather. I like to be able to have the windows down, wind whipping around inside the car, and the music playing loud.
On the plus side I might be meeting up with someone from my LJ Friends list for lunch, so that may make the trip more fun than the typical drive up, buy things, drive home. I'm also thinking this may be a good trip to make a stop to do some record shopping, since I haven't in ages.
Maybe it is about time to do a new mix, that tends to put me in a more positive mood usually.
The idea of a squirrel on crack scares the crap out of me.
squirrels, digging up stashesSQUIRRELS are getting hooked on crack cocaine -- hidden by addicts in gardens.
They are digging up the stashes and eating the mega-addictive drug, which comes in small chunks.
Several have been spotted behaving bizarrely in Brixton, South London, since a police blitz against pushers and users.
One resident said: "My neighbour said dealers had used my garden to hide crack.
"Just an hour earlier I'd seen a squirrel digging in the flower-beds.
"It was ill-looking and its eyes looked bloodshot, but it kept on desperately digging. It seems a strange thing to say, but it seemed to know what it was looking for."
...
Crack squirrels are a recognised problem in America. They are common in parks used by addicts in New York and Washington DC. [The Sun Online]
Has anyone else heard of this problem with crack squirrels in America? Should I be frightened? The squirrels in my backyard always look a bit crazed and hyper. I'll have to start carrying a bat to fend them off when I go out to the car.
My parents left for a long weekend in Boston. Which is good, I think they need more downtime to enjoy themselves. That's what you are supposed to do when retired. And this has been a crazy year for them, with my transplant and helping my sister deal with everything in NO. The only thing that sucks is being home alone for a few days. Tends to drive me a bit crazy. Though I think I might drive up to see my friends Brian and Emily in Hadley this weekend.
Thank god this substitute teacher was fired.
Teacher Mistakes Boy's Insulin Pump For Phone, Rips It Out
CLERMONT, Fla. -- A substitute teacher in Lake County, Fla., was terminated and banned from teaching in the county after he ripped out a student's insulin pump during class apparently thinking it was a ringing cell phone, according to a Local 6 News report.
Officials said a ninth-grade student at East Ridge High School, who is a Type I diabetic, was in class Monday when his insulin pump began to beep, indicating he was low on insulin. [local6.com]
A friend of mine has an insulin pump, there's no way I'd think someone could confuse it with a cell phone. I mean, the tube running from it to his body would be a dead giveaway I'd think.
My japanese name is 小川 Ogawa (small river) 拓海 Takumi (open sea).
Take your real japanese name generator! today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.
Now, the question is, which is my first name? Were they giving names in traditional japanese format?
From the "in case you hadn't figured it out already" department. cbc.ca reports "Hollywood movies unrealistic when it comes to sex and pot". Are they implying that they are realistic when it comes to other drugs?
Hollywood movies unrealistic when it comes to sex and pot
A team of Australian medical researchers published a new study today that said Hollywood movies fail to show the negative consequences of sex and drug use.
The team lead by Dr. Hasantha Gunasekera of the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney studied 87 of Hollywood's biggest box-office hits since 1983 and found plenty of sex, but only one reference to condoms. The films contained no depictions of unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease. The report also said that drug-use tended to be portrayed "without negative consequences" among the top-grossing films of the past two decades.[cbc.ca]
Okay, these are too funky. I want a pair of them for myself. I may just have to break down and buy them for myself.
Heelys hidden-wheel skate shoe
A few days ago I saw a little girl skate across the floor of a department store. I saw her head glide by but what she was actually skating on was obscured by racks of clothing. She noticed that I was watching her and when she got to the end of the aisle and I could see her feet, she was walking normally on what appeared to be regular sneakers. I thought I was crazy but a few minutes later I saw her do it again. This time, when she popped out of the aisle, I had caught up with her and saw her gliding and then coming to a sudden complete stop before walking again...
Yeah, they're kinda silly, but they look fun.
In the last five days or so I've run into at least as many references to Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Mostly it has been via mentions in various weblogs. It had actually made it onto my list of books to check out. So today I get home to find that my mom just got it from Amazon. I think the universe is telling me I should read this book.
Coming up soon is the six month anniversary of my lung transplant (Oct. 14th). I'm trying to figure out just what I should do for this. Maybe some kind of get-together that weekend or maybe something this weekend. I definitely want to do something. Leaves look like they've got another few weeks so I'm putting that on hold. Maybe a fall BBQ? A nocturnal party with some music? Anyone up for actually coming down?
I've been feeling really good lately. So I'm up for something fun.
I personally think it should come in a big roll. It isn't really duct tape if it doesn't make that noise when you rip a piece off. It also needs to be multipurpose. You should be able to use it to build some bizzare contraption with it, like MacGuyver.
I am a man's man. Nothing hurts me. I am pretty much invincible, except when my kitty scratches me. The worse thing is going to the construction site (work as I call it) and getting ridiculed by all of the other guys, and even the women for wearing a daffy duck band aid. This is a duct tape band aid for the most hardcore people out there. No longer will people think you are a baby. I mean honestly, nothing says hardcore more than having duct tape wrapped around a boo-boo. Maybe dipping said boo boo in motor oil and wrapping a used diaper around it is harder core, but not by much.The Duct Tape Band Aid [OhGizmo!]
[via Gizmodo]
I have to check on the status of the leaves changing this year. Anyone up for playing hooky from work someday, or maybe driving up to western MA to see if the leaves have changed next weekend? I think my parents are out of town, so folks could stay over. The only condition is that I'd want to visit my high school campus while up there. They have good places for walking too (or did).
I've been real bad about remembering this year, but this morning I remembered!
RABBIT RABBIT
