Trying Not To Get Starstruck

Nine years in NYC left me pretty jaded when it comes to celebrity sightings. At one point, I saw Jennifer Connelly so often I was convinced she was stalking me.

What? I'm stalkable.

I think the only time I truly lost my shit was when I saw Salman Rushdie at a party. I was already hammered and whatever came out of my mouth probably translated as "I am here at last to fulfill the fatwa."

Anyway, my cool will be put to the test tomorrow when I go see Cinematic Titanic live. The site says they sign pretty much anything with a hard surface, so I'll bring some signable schwag.

For those who can't make the show, the crew is doing a signing here in Portland on Saturday at 1pm at the Lombard Street Videorama.

I know we go on and on about Mystery Science Theater 3000 here, but when you make us laugh for 20 years, we cough up the love.

Update

Photos of stuff I got signed, plus bad pics of Joel, Mary Jo, and Frank. The pics of Trace and J. Elvis did not turn out.

Movie Watching, the Highly Recommend Way

Recently, I went to see Star Trek (yes it was awesome, all the things you've already heard). My problem was that this movie was pretty much non-stop - and with about 30 minutes left to go I had to urinate with a capital URI. I made a mad dash for the door at the end, and ultimately there was no violation of my personal Prime Directive (that is, Never Piss on One's Self in a Movie Theatre).

Still, it would have been great to know, going in, when there might be enough of a lull to hit the loo. Never fear, the folks at RunPee.com have our collective large-soda-drinking back. Search for a film, and you'll see when it's best to slip out for a self-proclaimed intermission. It even tells you how long a given pee-break will last, so you know if you've gotta rush it.

And just when you thought we couldn't make you're movie-going life any better, I humbly direct you to MovieStinger.com. This fancy-pants service lets you know whether a film has one of those plucky little post-credit barbs that everybody will be talking about tomorrow. Since you consulted RunPee, you don't have to do any mad bathroom dashing, so you can leisurely relax and enjoy an extra 90 or so seconds of movie goodness. (Note: The MovieStinger example image suggests you should stick around after the newest Night at the Museum movie. This implies that you were inclined, without encouragement, to sit through the rest of the film. Highly Recommended Thing of the Moment accepts no responsibility for any mental anguish endured during a Ben Stiller sequel.)

And in case you're a non-theater-going type, check out FeedFlix. This site links to your Netflix account to help you monitor whether your montly fee is, in fact, less that you'd fork over to your real-life flesh-and-blood movie rental shop. It even includes a service to let you know when a movie has just been available to stream.


There you have it, folks. Go forth and view film.

Seeking Alpha Awkward

What makes this site all the more awesome is that people send in their own photos: "You think that's awkward? Here's my fam..."

Ongoing props to Dorie for the link.

Animal Abuse

We understand that your precious Wuggums is the cutest thing ever, and that Doggles would make him cute times cute.

However, all the other dogs are gonna laugh, so cut Wuggums some fucking slack.

You May Be Right, Bill Stone May Be Crazy

...but it just may be a lunatic we're looking for.

David Ochs, College Freshman

As always, we would be nothing without Cartoon Brew leading the way.

Megashark vs. Giant Octopus

You can't make this stuff up. Well you can, but you never believe it gets the greenlight and then made into a film.



Can't believe I beat any of the others to this post. It must be a repeat.

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Sans Sock 'Em

Via Make Magazine's blog -

A super cool combination of cameras, led recognition boards, and hacked up fake guitars is frankenstiened together to make the Guitar Hero Robot.

In the following video, it plays Foghat's Slow Ride with 94% accuracy, which is WAAAAAY better than Foghat could do right now.



It will be much cooler when the wires from the cameras are running into a Teddy Ruxpin with some kinda Casio keytar strapped to it, but it's still pretty awesome.

Getting Serious About Your Burger

BurgerRankings is the scoreboard for the Burger of the Month Club, eight NYC guys who go out once a month in search of the perfect burger.

Here's an A/V bit with two of the guys talking about some of the best burgers in NYC, as well as some of the most overrated.

Tactical Bacon

Well what did you expect survivalists to eat, tofu?

Here's three pounds of pre-cooked bacon that will last for more than 10 years.

Note: We've already made our swine flu post. Let go.

This Is Not For The Arthritic

Bicyclists, Re: Parkour

"Yeah, we fucked 'em."

One of the many things I find amazing about this is the absence of axle pegs, which takes away a lot of surface area for landings.



Superprops to Martina for the link.

RIP Dom DeLuise (August 1, 1933 – May 4, 2009)

It's very vogue to acknowledge the brilliance of a b-list celebrity AFTER they die.

So call me trendy. Dom ruled.

Garage Rock

Get some of the Sonics:



And then a little:



And then go find your own garage rock favorites...

IsThisYourLuggage.com

It happens, you know? Missed connections, crappy desk agents, whatever - luggage gets lost during airline travel. It's a big pain in the butt, but usually after a few phone calls and a couple of days in the same boxers you get your big black zipper case and once again have access to that sweet skull hoodie you grabbed on sale at Hot Topic.

Maybe it's due to severe absent-mindedness, confusion, laziness, shame... or perhaps it's sudden & severe brain injury... but for whatever reason, many people never claim the lost luggage. The airlines keep it for a while, and then auction it off for charity.

If you're lucky, the Salvation Army benefits from your inability to navigate the Delta lost luggage call center - but if you're less fortunate, the guys at isthisyourluggage.com have the winning bid.



Yep - they open it, take everything out, and photograph it. There's not tons of content here yet, but already we get gems like souvenir rugs (I guess) packed with underwear, and one obviously non-regulation nurse's outfit.

I know what you're thinking - and it's only a matter of time.

(mad props to co-work Elizabeth's weekly "interesting news" email for the link)

This (Specific) American Life

Last month, the always-great public radio show This American Life did a live show, simulcast to a bunch of movie theatres around the country. I was gonna go, but my current American Life doesn't support a $20 on-a-whim movie theatre ticket, so I skipped it.

Thankfully, they broadcast the show as their regular radio hour last weekend. It's all great, but the song by Joss Whedon and the subsequent bit by Dan Savage (who hosts a great podcast of his own) are must-listens.

As a bonus, here's an animated short by Chris Ware (music by the also always-great Andrew Bird) that was part of the visually-enhanced original program.

Quimby The Mouse from This American Life on Vimeo.

Enabling the Crazy

One thing that I miss about the apartment from which I just moved is the huge balcony. My cat is missing it too. I had her trained so she could walk around the 12'x15' space and enjoy the sun, without leaping over the ledge from four stories up into her new life with a kitty wheelchair.

The new joint has a 4'x5' veranda that's big enough to let you step out and get some air. There is no real ledge to speak of, except for a bit which extends onto the wall, outside the veranda area--three stories up, over a concrete sidewalk. Seeing my cat get up there twice (she can't resist) gave me a frickin' heart attack. So, she's banned from the veranda (which will be her first CD title).

I told Dorie over at Clicking about this, and like a good friend, she Googled "Outdoor Cat Cage."

Holy shit, what a bunch of expensive gear for insane people. Your cat is either an indoor cat or an outdoor cat. Maybe an outdoor cat with catdoor access to the house, but that's it. This indoor/outdoor cat Habitrail nonsense says two things:

1) You have too much free space in your backyard.
2) You're a loonball.

Added bonus weirdness: this pic is one awful Photoshop job. The cat in the center of the cage apparently can balance on a pinpoint. The one on the lower left has a ghost.

Close Range: the video game

Seriously, click the post title to play.

Swine Flu is an Asshole

Swine flu gives out toothbrushes to trick or treaters.

Swine flu can’t seat you until your entire party has arrived.

Swine flu calls it "EVOO."

Swine flu reminds you that it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.

Swine flu joined LinkedIn and emailed everyone in its contact list to join. Twice.

Swine flu was faking it.

..and many, many more.

Real Uses for Wearable Tech

Ok, so Surface was pretty cool, but it still doesnt hold a candle to Anderton's interface in Minority Report. But what it you could use anything as the surface, and the world was your monitor?

Check out how we'll take snapshots in the future: