Wikipedia Knows Too Much

For the record, I loves the wiki. It's one of my main go-to web resources for information about things. At the same time I occasionally find myself a little befuddled by just how expansive it has gotten.

I mean, it is nice to have somewhere to go that knows just about anything you ask it -- but do we really need an encylopedia that has an entire division dedicated to this?

Soda Selling Saaviness

As the eternal cycle goes, what was once really innovative is starting to become normal and expected. It's why every ad agency in the book is cooking up some sort of viral campaign, in the hopes that you'll be so enthralled with the gritty cleverness that you'll adopt the exclusive use of their product due to a sense of shrewd loyalty.

All of that said, the newest online campaign by Pepsi's UK group has a lot going for it. I'd say that it's more than the sum of its parts, but when you add an internet prank to some really killer variable video technology AND a super hot girl, the sum of your parts is actually pretty nifty.

Awesome slash Horrible slash Awesome again

National Archives Films

It's not that any one of these films is so great (check the bizarro experimental symphonic soundtrack under this one), but more that the films in the National Archives are being made available for people who can't get to Washington, D.C.

Old Spider-Man

Can he swing from a thread?
..No.



If nothing else, this clip serves as proof of web animation law #5:

"If you sense the joke wearing thin, go for the chipmunk voice."

King Midas in Tantalizing Fruit Flavors

Skittles commercials rule. Haters can meet me outside.

Spot the Knockoff

Can you look at two products reportedly made by high priced designer brands and pick out which one is the fake? Probably more a useful skill to have in cities where street vendor traffic is more prevalent, but still an interesting little quiz to take.

For the record, I failed miserably -- but to be fair, I only gave it a minute of my time (or at least that's what it said on the dial of my Folex).

How Does Gmail Work?

Great little project where you have the chance to submit videos that help explain how an email message travels around the world. All it takes is a video camera, the Gmail M-velope (available to download and print), and some creativity.

Further proof that while Google will one day own all our souls, they'll do their best to make us smile along the way.

Twinkle Twinkle Little What?

In space, no one can hear you reading the newspaper.

Another NSFW Sunday

While there continues to be plenty of stuff on the web that's not appropriate for the workplace, this week was surprisingly shy of things that weren't just out and out pr0n (not that there's anything wrong with that).

I feel a little like John Lovitz in that old SNL sketch here, but there's NSFW and then there's NSFW -- and as overqualified as I might be for the position, it ain't my job to find your naughty pictures for you.

At the same time, what would your sunday morning be without a little hanky panky, eh? So without any further ado -- here's a couple of goodies for you to check out now that you're on the fun side of the firewall.

On my planet, this courtesy announcemnt would play before every movie.

On a lot of people's planets, Sex in the City would have never gone away (regardless of the consequences)

Now get out there and enjoy the rest of your weekend -- but make sure you clean up before you go, lest you catch some sort of disease, you pervs.

The Friday Smile: One Flew Over the Monster's Nest edition

Hi Satorical & Hex!

I thought you'd like a quick update on the treatment of my Shuffle addiction. I'm sorry that all I could do was email, my therapist found out I had ShuffleMobile on my phone, and they took it away. Otherwise, things aren't too bad here at the institution... though the food isn't very exciting, and they never show any good movies in the common room.

Still, I barely think about Shuffle anymore. I've been reading some great real-crime novels and they've even suggested other educational games to fill the void.

Plus, I've had time to work on all of those projects I've been talking about. I've finished my line of dog costumes, recorded a few songs, and nearly completed a screenplay that will be a real tear-jerker, if we can cast the right star.

The medicine is helping, too... last night I didn't dream about little marbles at all (instead, I was a limo driver in San Francisco. What a nightmare!). I'm sure I'll get plenty of good rest now, as long as that cat doesn't come around.

So overall I'm doing really well. Unless they shuffle things around, I should be able to shuffle out of here in a shuffle of weeks. And who knows? Maybe I'll be able to shuffle this energy into a new talent.



Shuffly Yours,

Monster

Chocolate Rain by Tay Zonday

Raise your neighborhood insurance rates.

I'm in Your Nursing Home, Killing Your Old People

Keep this cat the hell away from me.

Worst Prom Night Ever

I don't know if kids these days see things the same way, but when I was younger the one thing that I believed would mark my arrival as a "rich person" would be to have the luxury to ride around in a limousine. I'm not sure why this took precedence over things like ..say, having tons of money or whathaveyou -- but the mystique of the limo is something that I still secretly keep in the back of my mind.

These days limos seem more of a rental thing for everyone. With story after story of millionare Hollywood starlets and pro atheletes who are getting busted for speeding, DUI, or getting in crashes I guess the idea of having someone drive you around in your huge stretch caddy is something that's past it's prime.

Still, it's hard not to get a little chuckle out of these photos of what happens when you rent a limo to drive you around the impossibly hilly landscapes of San Francisco.

Statetris

Just what it sounds like -- 48 game pieces and a familiar-looking gameboard. It's not quite as easy as it looks, as things have to be placed exactly right on the board to get points, which means even if you know where Michigan goes, you might have to try a few times to put it there.

Use the early levels to get used to the controls and gameplay, because the advanced ones get to be a mindbender.

Still, if this had been the format of my Geography tests back in the day, I bet I would have done a lot better.

Enjoy!

Thinking of the Future

Should the current scandal surrounding Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick cost him his future as an NFL player, there's no need to worry.

According to the guys over at Shoutfan, he can just fall back on his um ..acting career.


(man, check out that ace Photoshop job. Nice neck, Mike).

Not Recommended: Selling Pot to Third Graders

But don't take my word for it... ask the Ninja Turtles!

6 Movie Formulas That Must Be Stopped

Shuffle

Great little point-and-click flash game. Easy to play, hard to stop playing despite the real need to get other things done during the workday.

You have been warned.

Real News or Scooby Doo Plot?

Great quiz from Mentalfloss that offers readers 10 scenarios that are either real news stories or mysteries that were solved by Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby Doo.

Trickier than it might originally seem -- and a perfect time-waster for cartoon jinkies er, junkies like me.

Enjoy!

I Knew It!

Ever wonder why Darth Vader's breath sounds so laboured and loud?

NSFW Sunday

You're not at work, no one's watching, it's time to get dirty!

Well actually it's more like there are a couple things I've come across recently that are worth a peek, but probably aren't the sort of thing you should probably watch over and over at work (even though you'll probably do it anyways).

Read a Book

Superjail

The iPhone is a piece of s#@t, and so is your face

Pot Noodle - The Slag of All Snacks

Of course the easiest way to post a list of NSFW sites would just be to say "The Internet" - but you already knew that, didn't you ;)

Enjoy!

The Friday Smile -- Hot Hot Hot Edition

Consider for a moment the plight of Buster Poindexter. The late 80's "everybody mambo" incarnation of former New York Dolls frontman David Johansen.

It's the mid-1980's. Madonna is everywhere, David Bowie is making millions off songs like "Let's Dance" and "Modern Love." Re-invention is the order of the day, and David Johansen wanted in.

And so after what surely were many late night sessions of crumpled paper, cigarettes, and half-finished coffee an idea was born -- What if I was like a big-haired lounge lizard guy who's always ready to party?

And so for the next few years Buster assaulted us with pseudo-mambo smart bombs aimed directly at that part of our souls whose emptiness could only be filled by a raspy voiced maitre'd who always seemed to have a martini in his hands.

Then this guy showed up.

There you are hanging out in your apartment, shaping your big hair and getting ready to put on the tux when all of the sudden a dog with a beer comes on TV and drains away every remaining seconds of your 15 minutes just like that.

Don't let this happen to you.

Don't rest on your laurels to the point where you don't see the new guy coming to knock you off the block -- get out there and stay on top of things!

For example, did you know that this week at Highly Recommended we:

Discovered the secret to fear

Laughed at Cary Elwes' inconceivable weight gain

Gave ourselves jaundice

Checked out six-degrees of Dylan separation

Played one note

Drank a lot and then complained about a dog

Watched animation

Voted for Ralph

Had a beer

Created a budgetary goal for our ass pennies

That's a pretty good list. Certainly worthy of celebration.

Somebody fire up the mambo band, I feel a song comin on!!!!

But before I go let me leave you with this -- a VERY SPECIAL Friday smile, because right here, right now I'm going to give you the link to

THE HOTTEST SITE ON THE INTERNET

Have a great weekend -- see you soon!

Finally

Long, long overdue -- The State is coming to DVD!!

Works Every Time

Have a great weekend, you scoundrels you.

Best. Simpsons Character. Ever?

As part of the continued relentless cross-promotional campaign to help promote the upcoming release of The Simpsons Movie, The Chicago Tribune has been running a bracket-style tournament (a-la Band Madness) to try to find out who everyone's favorite Simpsons character might be.

Voting has been going on for a while, and and the field has been narrowed down to the final eight. Most of the names listed are the ones you'd expect, but among the possible surprises so far is the fact that with the elimination of Lisa and Marge, there are no more women in the running --

but perhaps most bizarre of all, Ralph Wiggum is kicking butt and taking names.

Comments (if any) should be phrased as Simpsons quotes.

Folks at Pixar: Still Weird, Still Bored

Oh, and still talented.

Lifted
Uploaded by tycovka

Peanuts, by Charles Bukowski

Sounds like a C sharp

The White Stripes have been playing a series of "secret shows" across North America. Here's a video of the show to celebrate their presence in Canada:



Listen at the end for the crowd chanting, "One more note! One more note!"

I'm Not There

What you are about to watch is a clip from a biopic of Bob Dylan. I've been pretty vocal about how it doesn't take much to make a good film about an interesting person (a la Ray, Walk the Line, Hurricane, The Queen, etc)... but "I'm Not There" looks like it's trying to escape anything tired and overdone. For starters, there are six different people listed to play Dylan, each meant to "embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work".

Here, Cate Blanchett does a spot-on Dylan, and David Cross appears as Alan Ginsberg. Color me intriuged.

Simpsonize Me

Takes some time to complete -- and it's too late to get into the movie, but definitely a lot of fun. Updload a good sized photo of yourself into the interface and within a few minutes you're taken step by step through the whole de-bigulator experience, with the eyes and the skin and the subtle corporate advertising you only hardly notice every five or six seconds.

Enjoy!

The Princess Bride: 20 Years Later

Whether you realized it or not, it's been 20 years since The Princess Bride first came to screens -- and to celebrate the anniversary here's a photoset of what the main cast members look like today.

Not exactly what you'd call a box of surprises since so many of these people are still very active in movies and television (it's not like it's that hard to come across a current picture of Billy Crystal), but if I can forward an opinion -- in a collection of photos including giant-sized wrestlers and guys who played albinos

Carey Elwes got boned.

Who knows, Hollywood's a weird town, maybe someone over at ABC News has an axe to grind over his involvement with the first Saw film -- because of all the photos that could have been chosen to show how far the young Westley has come over the years, this one wasn't it.

Regardless, it's still a great film that's proven its appeal again and again over the years.

Heck, I might just go rent it tonight.

The Only Thing We Have to Fear is... Well... Nothing

Those crazy MIT scientists are at it again, this time identifying a molecular basis for fear and subverting it in mice.

They isolated a protein-changing enzyme called Cdk5, the inhibition of which "facilitates the extinction of fear learned in a particular context".

Li-Heui Tsai, resident extremely smart dude, says this of the research: "This data points to a promising therapeutic avenue to treat emotional disorders and raises hope for patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or phobia."

Possibly related - an alarming number of MIT grad students ask for dates. With GIRLS.

The Friday Smile -- Better Nate than Lever Edition

Friday, Sunday -- sometimes things get so crazy at work that you can't even tell the difference. So even though it's more like Sunday outside, we'll just close our eyes and pretend it's Friday-Friday land.

Of course, no fake Friday would be complete without our recap of the week that was here at the Highly Recommended, and this one was another classic -- featuring all sorts of fun things to see and do.

We started out with dramatic pussies, bouncing balls, and big bottoms (which sounds a lot dirtier than it actually is).

That was followed up with plight of the Hello Kitty husband, the plight of the hornball wookie, and of course, the plight of office workers who only have five minutes to off themselves in any way possible.

If that wasn't enough, there were we had headbangers pretending to be kittens, rabbits pretending to be women, unbelievably rich soccer players and their wives pretending to be horny superheroes who "bom chicka bwooam" ran out of gas in their trans-am (..or something like that)

Finally we found ourselves enjoying Clichemonster's animated dancers, learning about Satorical's magazine subscriptions and favorite musical artists (ah, who am I kidding -- we all dig K.D.).

Add one creepy monkey-lookin' thing selling peanuts, and you got yourself a pretty great week.

But before I go, here's an odd thing you might not have noticed before (I know I certainly didn't). Kind of like the way I hardly noticed it wasn't really Friday anymore until just now.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

The Peanut Vendor

"Buy a bag of peanuts now before you sleep."

BEFORE YOU SLEEP FOREVER! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

ME MONKEY! ME EAT YOUR SOUL!

Johnny Get Angry

Like Hex and his i can has addiction, I have these things that make me happy, and would occur to perhaps only two other people. This is for you two folks. I love and pity you.

I've been a giant k.d. lang fan since I heard "Trail of Broken Hearts" in high school. One of the coolest things she used to do was a cover of a song called "Johnny Get Angry," which was about as far from liberated as something could get. I finally found the original song, and playing the two back to back is just great. Lang's piece is this brilliant homage/satire that I doubt she does nowadays, having traded in bizarreness to croon with Tony Bennett. Anyway, here 't'is.

Chuck Norris Action Jeans

Because I'm that much of a geek, I was reading the archives of Chris Sim's Invicible Super Blog last night, and found this:



Holy god in heaven - aside from the amazing star power beholden unto these blue jeans - they also won't bind your legs. Did you read that? NO LEG BINDAGE!

Him

At the end of a series of what are supposed to be super-sexy pictures of David and Victoria Beckham, there is the little gem above.

Look closely. Doesn't that outfit look familiar?

What's Opera, Doc?

Highly recommended at any moment, forever and ever.



Thanks, as always, to Chuck Jones - he was the first guy to make me laugh and never ceases to do so.

What's the Matter Baby, Chewie Not Good Enough For Ya?

Note to self: Just because Han Solo says he can arrange for women to kiss a wookie doesn't really mean you should let him do it.

Five Minutes to Kill (Yourself)

Pictaps

Draw a crude bitmap style drawing, and watch it dance for a crowd of itself.

Far more amusing (and far far FAR more time-consuming than it sounds).



I ain't trying to front, I had to make two attempts at Mr. T.

I had to add another I was particularly proud of.



Let's see those links in the comments, I want to watch your crazy digital sketches dance!

lolMetal

I know I'm gonna catch all kinds of hell for this, but it's just too funny to pass up -- because really, what two things belong together more than black metal and kittens?

Of course maybe this is just me -- because not only do I happen to be the resident headbanger around here, but I'm also the one who's currently 12-stepping away from his own Caturday Night Fever issues.

     What can I say -- rehab's a bitch.

But whatever the case the photos and reader submissions cracked me up something serious.

Enjoy!

Do Not Taunt Happy Fun Ball

One of my absolute favorite blogs out there is Hello Kitty Hell, where one man deals with the perils of cute overload on a daily basis -- being that

1) his wife loves the stuff (he doesn't, but wants her to be happy)
2) thinking it might be a way to make extra cash, he suggested she start a business where she distributes the stuff (which of course, she did).

Of course anyone who has ever dated or been married to a HK fan knows that it doesn't take much effort at all for a cute little hobby to turn into a full-on obsession - and before he knew it his whole life became a tornado of everything from Hello Kitty toilet paper to the inexplicable mix of horror and brilliance that is the Hello Kitty Microscope.

So to deal, he put together a blog where he chronicles what it's like to have to deal with this literally every day.

Unfortunately, one simply does not walk into Mordor -- because almost from the beginning he has been tormented by emails, angry comments, and even death threats from rabid HK fans who either disapprove of his approach to the whole thing or are infuriated by his refusal to divulge where people can find and purchase these items.

Luckily he seems to have a good sense of humor about it all, but man -- it's like the Sanrio gods themselves are out to hassle the guy.

Still, it's a great read for open-minded Hello Kitty fans and haters alike. If you're ready to see what it's really like on the dark side, it's definitely worth a click

Big Bottom Sound

Spinal Tap plus every bassist they could find at Live Earth.

Turn your crappy PC speakers up to 11.

Boomshine

Such soothing, wonderful music to accompany such a motherf@#%ing, s%@#-eating, oh, no effing way, level 12, level 12, LEVEL 12! I'm gonna kill somebody if I have to listen to this song for one more goddam minute, frustrating, addictive, highly imaginitive, simple to play chain reaction game that I think you'll like very much so go try it now it's fun thank you gubye.

Catastrophe

You may remember a while back when I pledged to not post any more lolcat-type links on this site.

Well, word has finally reached the cats.

Reactions follow.

The Friday Smile -- Everyone's Having Group Sex But Me Edition

It's the end of a short 4th of July week here at the HRTOTM home office, and it appears I'm the only one working with a firewall. What's this country coming to when a man can't do a random websearch for suggestible topics while he's on the clock!?

So in retaliation, I have decided to present this week's wrap-up in the form of badly drawn innuendo and double entendres. Because everyone knows the next best thing to a bunch of ladybugs going at it on your head is the chance to wax your vampire peacock poetic all night long.

Say baby, how'd you like 15 Seconds of Pure Perfection?

Lets go to my place and fold your minivan seats down!

And of course, everybodys favorite dirty joke:

Q: What's green and smells like bacon?
    A: Kermit's Crotch.

Now keep it down in there, some of us are trying to sleep!

Partially Clips

Continuing on today's theme of group sex, here's a great strip from the long-running brilliant web comic Partially Clips. Robert T. Balder has been bringing the funny for years, based on what otherwise would be unused bloatware hidden in Word.

Thanks to n'Drew for the original link.

Bringing Sexy Way-Back

American automakers, take note: it may be time for more inference of group sex in your advertising.

I mean seriously, now I want a minivan.

The 50 Greatest Muppets (Part 2)

As promised, Progressive Boink returns with the second half of their 50 Greatest Muppets listing. Not a real surprise who's #1, but just like the first installment, plenty of great minor characters get love here.

To quell reader worries, The Swedish Chef, Grover, and Janice (as part of The Electric Mayhem) all show up in this half.

The question now is, who didn't make the cut? While he may not be considered an official Muppet, not seeing Yoda was a bit of a surprise -- especially considering that Kermit's whiny nephew made the top five (!?)

At the same time, any list that gives props to the best villains ever -- The Riverbottom Nightmare Band is worthy of a recommendation in my book.

The City Without People

Anyone who's lived in a big city has probably reached that boiling point where they wish all the people around them would just go away and leave. But what would that really be like?

That's the thought behind a new book written by University of Arizona professor Alan Weisman called "The World Without Us."

Click the link to check out an interview where Weisman discusses the fate of NYC without people to live in it, care for it, or keep it from falling apart. Pretty interesting stuff, in an Omega Man/Logans Run sort of way.

The 50 Greatest Muppets (Part 1)

The funsters over at Progressive Boink apparently have some free time on their hands, during which they've started work on a comprehensive list of the 50 Greatest Muppets of all time. So comprehensive in fact, that it's gonna take two posts to get them all listed.

Here's the first installment.

Good news -- love him or hate him, Elmo sort of has to be included in there somewhere. However, this poll already scores points in my book for having him finish almost dead last in the rankings.

Better News -- Grover's ranking will not be known until the top 25 is released, hopefully sometime this week.

15 Seconds of Pure Perfection

My day just got five million times better.

Vampire Peacocks

NEW YORK (AP) -- A peacock that roamed into the parking lot of a Burger King in New York City was beaten by a man who insisted it was a vampire.

Animal control officials in Staten Island say the bird was beaten so fiercely that most of its tail feathers fell out and it had to be euthanized.

The seven-year-old male peacock wandered into the restaurant parking lot and perched on a car hood last week. Charmed employees had been feeding it bread when the man appeared.

A restaurant worker says the man grabbed the bird by the neck, hurled it to the ground and started stomping it. She says when he was asked what he was doing, he responded, "'I'm killing a vampire!"'

Employees called police, but the man ran when he saw them.

--

First, I would imagine that this will be submitted about a thousand times to News of the Weird.

Second, it's nice to know that my adopted home state of New York is giving my native state of Florida a run for its money in the loonball category.

Third, insert sad emoticon here for the peacock.