Boston's Finest

After some sparkly ads for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie had been around for three weeks, Boston's Finest decided to freak out. Oh, and apparently the Pentagon doesn't like being flipped off either:

"The discovery of nine of the devices around metro Boston led state, local and federal authorities to close the Boston University and Longfellow Bridges, and block boat traffic from the Charles River to Boston Harbor.

"In addition, the Pentagon said U.S. Northern Command was monitoring the situation from its headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but said none of its units were sent to assist."

My Animated World

Ah, Holland - that faraway land where your clothes put themselves on your body, your hair cuts itself, people move without walking, and video games beg you to play them when you get home.

Several mood-altering substances are legal there as well, but it seems unlikely that such a fact would have any bearing on the life of a guy who wakes up promply at 8 am so he can travel across town to buy a copy of Ms. Pac Man, right?

The Dancing Herve Villechaize Page

You know, if you're gonna have a "dancing something" page, I feel like you really need to have more than just three something's represented.

Seriously, when you think about it -- the hamster dance probably only really needed one, but did it stop there?

No, it did not.

I appreciate the thought, Dancing Herve Villechaize Page -- but from where I'm sitting your job isn't even close to being finished.

Suicide Rabbit

This is not The Bunny Suicides. Instead, this is a Chinese cartoon where the bunny is done in by everyday travails in the modernizing country. Kinda like a lethal M. Hulot.

The Best Fight Scenes of All Time

Man, there's nothing like an overly subjective top-10 list to get the old nerd blood flowing. To wit, here's one man's opinion of the best movie fight scenes of all time. The rules are as follows: It has to be individuals or a group fighting in (reasonably) close quarters, so no vehicle combat (Mad Max 2), no space battles (Return of the Jedi) ,and no epic warfare or sieges (The Return of the King).

While I disagree with a few of the choices, it's important to keep in mind that the object of any web top 10 is not to be correct in any sense, but to spark off the inevitable talkback thread where you are promptly informed of everything that you missed.

For example, after reading the article I found myself all huffed at the glaring omission of the sheer brilliance that was David Keith vs. Roddy Piper in They Live or Uma Thurman plowing through the Crazy 88 in Kill Bill -- only to find as I scrolled down that a half a dozen geeks had already covered those bases for me.

Then again, how can I take any list of fight scenes
seriously if it's not going to even consider this?

Spore

Not that Wil Wright needs any more press, but this nifty intro animation is worth a look in and of itself. Plus, Sim freaks everywhere will be rushing to get this when it's released.

Zombie Redenbacher

I'm not sure what's creepier -- the fact that without warning a man who's been dead for more than a decade showed up on my television the other night hawking popcorn as if nothing bad had ever happened to him, or the surprising revelation that the commercial itself was actually directed by David Fincher of Seven and Fight Club fame.

Then if that's not bad enough, halfway through the ad Orville starts doing his best impression of the shoulder lean to gain the trust of the office workers standing all around him, who apparently have no idea what a zombie's food of choice normally is.

Here's a hint -- it's NOT popcorn.

Smack the Penguin

Highly addictive game where you assume the role of a Polar Bear doing his best to secure his place in Cooperstown whilst downplaying the chemical enhancements running through his bloodstream.

The game was probably made to appeal to baseball fans, but I have to be honest here -- a month or two I took my little boy to see the absolute suckfest that was Happy Feet, so I'm probably enjoying the revenge factor more than anything else.

Take that, Mumbles!

Get A First Life

I'm especially loving this, since it seems like all my company's clients want to talk about these days is Second Life. Wasn't Lawnmower Man warning enough for everyone?

I parked in a bike lane

Giving attention to the special people who park in bike lanes.

Muffy's World of Vagina Euphemisms

Please tell me you're not wasting precious time reading my comments instead of checking this out for yourself (not at work, show some sense).

Go on, click the link -- the map of tasmania awaits you!

Meth

Coffee, as described by Francis E. Dec.

Cockmonkeys

Thanks to n'drew about 15 years back for this one. If anyone is looking really closely at your screen, this is NSFW.

It's Flicky

I just replaced my cel phone, and now I want one of these instead.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Up Butt Coconut

How could you not love this?

Planet Rock Album Quiz

Trickier than it looks, this quiz asks you to identify both album title and artist from a snippet of cover art. There are 54 covers to look at, with each correct answer being worth one point.

Considering the fact that some of the choices are fairly esoteric, I feel pretty good about the 26 points I earned on my first try.

Leave some comments, Let us know how you do!

Idiocracy

Cue this up on Netflix right now, 'cause Fox has made sure you won't see it in theaters. There are a couple of weak moments, but for the most part Mike Judge's (Beavis & Butthead) vision of a future ruled by idiots is spot-on.

Example: 500 years from now, Carl Jr.'s tagline will be "Fuck you, I'm eating!"

3 Moments of Silence, then Add Flavor Packet

The guy who invented Ramen noodles died last week at the age of 96.

I repeat, the man who helped keep most of us from starving to death at college has passed away.

Tonight I think it's only appropriate that we all go to the store, spend the 30 cents, and show our appreciation.

Used Cassettes

I feel for this guy. Really I do. As someone with about 400 cassettes which are dumpster-bound as I digitize them, I would love it if I could find a home for my collection spanning 15 years of love of music.

However...

If the picture you're using to represent the heart and soul of your 1,300 tape collection spotlights a hearty column of Savatage cassettes, you really have only yourself to blame when the whole deal goes bidless.

Gamer Theory/Institute for the Future of the Book

Gamer Theory is an as-yet-unpublished work by McKenzie Wark. Wark teaches media and cultural studies at the New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College in New York. This guy is among those asking questions about games using critical theories typically applied to text and film, while inventing those needed specifically for games as well. As a fr'instance, Wark thinks that game code functions as narrative usually does in movies. I personally think that code remains technical and part of the process, more like choosing which lens filters to use than functioning like a script, but this still makes for a great read.

Equally interesting is the way this text works--it's unpublished, but open to comment and influence by those comments. It's a rare writer who wants to show his work before it's finished. This isn't open-source writing, and Wark is still the author, but it's not your traditional text, either. This is one text hosted/sponsored by the Institute for the Future of the Book. The Institute's site is chock full of wonderment for readers present and future.

Toilet Monster

Tired of having to explain to your friends why your USB Humping Dog is drinking from the toilet?

Problem solved.

USB Humping Dog

What's obscene about this is that there are so many dogs in the world who need to hump already. Spending $55 on a mechanical dongle (sorry) seems heartless. And won't the average humping dog think he's having his job outsourced to robots?

Mono

Clickable weirdness under the pretense of a New Years greeting.

Lots of fun, but somehow reminds me of that old "vend-a-face" sketch on the Muppet Show that used to give me nightmares when I was a little kid.

(Also probably a decent approximation of what actually happens when you ask that old guy from e-harmony.com to find "true happiness" for you instead of trying to find it yourself).

Trial by Stone

Famed cartoon historian Jerry Beck will be holding a first-come first-serve trivia contest tomorrow morning to give away free two copies of the soon to be ultra-rare Tom and Jerry, and Tex Avery Too! -- a two-disc CD compiling the best scores from MGM animated shorts of the 1950's written by composer Scott Bradley.

If you're a fan of Golden Age cartoons, you already know how unique an offering this is, but for those who aren't -- imagine a collection of full-orchestra compositions that not only cross myriad musical styles and traditions, but convey character, atmosphere, humor, and action all in less than 9 minutes each.

At the same time, Cartoon Brew is one of the true daily must-read sites not only for cartoon lovers, but for animation industry professionals as well (which means that the competition for getting in first with the right answer will be pretty daunting) not to mention the fact that the person asking the question is essentially a walking encyclopedia of animation industry knowledge -- so don't expect a gimme question by any means.

Still - for a prize like this, it's definitely worth a shot.

Rise of the Silver Surfer

Five seconds of Jessica Alba, followed by a New York minute full of the galaxy's favorite Spicoli doing his best to earn enough to hire Van Halen to play at his birthday bash.

Enjoy!

Mr. Reach In the Mouth of Mystery

You may have heard that George Lucas will be producing a new Indiana Jones movie next year. What you may not know is that it's already finished, and that it's actually an interactive adventure. Never one to shy from merchandising, Lucas went with a single sponsor on this one.