NSFW Sunday: The Lifestyle and You

Looking for a new hobby? Need to know what it takes to be a part of "The Lifestyle?" Check out this informative and educational video to see just how easy it is to get in on all that hot monkey action.

-- Mad monkey love to Jenea for the link ;)

Daft Hands

It takes her minute to get going, and once you figure out the idea it ends up getting old in a hurry -- but do me favor and hang around at least until she links the whole thing together that first time and tell me that it's not just a little bit kickass.

Anything Neal Stephenson Has Ever Written, Done, Thought, Uttered, or Noted Might Be Acceptable with a Slight Tilt of His Head

If you haven't read Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, or In the Beginning ...was a Command Line, then we could be better friends if you'd just get off your ass and get to the library.

If you haven't read The Baroque Cycle, well, don't worry, I haven't finished it either.

That's about to change, though, because this article at Wired about author Neal Stephenson is one of those peeks into a celebrity's life and persona that force you to stop and say, "Ah, dammit, that guy really is as cool as he seems." His new book takes place in a brand new world, with its own history, its own language, its on socio-political turmoil into which its characters are thrust (and thus, vicariously, are we). I don't know about you, but this sounds to me like it could possibly maybe be perhaps ohgodi'mafraidtotypethis...

... you know, Neal Stephenson's Dune.

And if that's true, my inner geek has died and gone to heaven. Like the theatre nerd inside me did when he heard that Burton and Depp had teamed up to do Sweeney Todd. Like the comic book loser inside me did when Mike Mignola took on the steam-punk Batman story "Gotham by Gaslight".

The skinny is that yes, Stephenson is a sci-fi writer. He gets long-winded and his action is laced with subtle but ever-present philosophical suggestions. But he is amazing at what he does, and this is one of those rare times in popular culture where a talented person has worked their way into enough real-time success that they can do exactly what it is that they're so good at - and in its fullest form.

Catch up on the Neal if you don't know him already. I'll meet you at the library over lunch.

Sexy People

It's kind of like Post Secret, but without the anonymity. People send in their old portrait photographs, and the rest of us shudder. Good times.

The Tragedy of Grover

This has been an oft-discussed topic for me, but the folks over at Deja Poop do a really nice job of chronicling the Muppet universes greatest victim, furry lovable old Grover.

Chuck Norris' Twitter

There's a lot of Buzz going around right now about some fake Mad Men-inspired twitter accounts that were suspended after the AMC network protested.

And even though AMC eventually relented and let the fun continue, the door is now open, prompting some to wonder if some other fake twitter-ers might not be quite as lucky.

If that's the case, then you need to see this one now -- before someone tries to suspend the account and ends up with a boot in their face.

5 Reasons Why Neil Diamond Will Always Rock...Softly

Neil Diamond. You kinda hate him, but you know the words to every one of his songs. He's one of those guys. Here's five possible reasons why. Digest, discuss, and dissect.

Yearbook Yourself

Cool idea here where you take a pic of yourself and set it up so you can see kinda what you'd look like if you lived (and went to school) in a series of different eras. Want to know what you'd look like in the 50's? Ever been curious to know what you the hippie would look like? Need a painful reminder of the 80's? This site makes it happen.

Note: The interface is simple, but choose your photo wisely to get the full effect.

Advice for Would-Be Presidents

Should Obama win the general election, he should remember the 9th President of the USA.

Even Better Than That One Episode Where They Compared The Real World to "Tron"

NSFW Sunday -- This Thing I Like to Do After..

Moral of the story: If you see a guy with one of those tanktop nightshirts -- RUN.

The Friday Smile -- Yeah, He Always Does That Edition

One of the things I really like about the idea behind this site is that the world is simply too big sometimes to keep up with. You try to keep up with the news, people forward you messages -- but the law of averages sorta dictates that there really is no way to be ahead of the curve all the time.

Which is why the team here does it's best to try to point out the kinds of things that we feel are worth a look, even if they are sometimes a little off the beaten path.

Like that time the Empire invaded San Francisco and no one cared.

Or those other Olympic games you might not have heard about.

Talented singer/songwriters that somehow slip under the radar

Books that offer a new perspective on real world issues

A comic shop employee who keeps his customers sane

The newest in pimpmobile styles from Germany

Cool tricks to play on your politicized friends (although I guess now it won't work quite so well).

Funny stories about the foods we used to enjoy as kids

Or a better class of cute pony criminal

At the same time, no matter how many new and interesting things appear on the horizon -- there's always gonna be those things that never fail to entertain

..No matter how silly they might seem.

Its almost like a curse or something, but I pretty much always laugh at this. I mean, it's not even really funny -- but I guess there's just something Pavlovian inside of me that can't resist a singing parrot.


The strangeness really kicks in at about :39

Their owners ..not so much.

My Little Joker

More than just the Joker, you can find versions of all sorts of characters from movies and comics done up in "My Little Pony" style. Kinda cool.

Pixifoods Part I

"Pixifood (PIKZ-ee-food), noun: Any food substance that is highly pleasant to the taste as a child and tastes shockingly unpleasant once you become an adult."

What follows this definition is a hilarious discussion of several of these items that is definitely worth your time. The article has apparently been around a while (I only just discovered it today), but if you've got a little time to kill (or I don't know.. a tropical storm bearing down on you) -- give this a look.

Here's a few choice experts:

Pink Snowballs
As a child tastes like: Coconut cream filled pink cakes.
As an adult tastes like: Triple bypass surgery.

Kentucky Fried Chicken
As a child it tastes like: Picnics in the park.
As an adult it tastes like: Salt.

There are more detailed explanations, but I don't want to spoil it.

Even better are the comments that follow, where adults who have clearly outgrown their sense of humor proceed to defend the foods in the article.

Obama's VP Choice is..

Are you a Democrat with friends who are "a little too into" this election for their own good? Are you a Republican looking to have a little fun with the people you're always arguing with at the bar?

This might just do the trick -- instructions on how to utilize Verizon's website to send your friends a fake text from Obama announcing any name you want to insert as his new running mate.

Hillary Clinton? Paris Hilton? Michael Phelps? Aretha Franklin?

It's all up to you, compliments of the rabble-rousers over at Wonkette.

Considering my own affiliations, I probably shouldn't find this as funny as I do -- but c'mon. How much fun would it be right now to see if you could get that one guy in the office all riled up over the idea that Brett Farve might have a chance to have his finger on the button?

The Volkswagen T6

The T6 is the latest concept car from Volkswagen. It features a futuristic design, two separate sections; one in the front for the driver, and another that is essentially an "office on wheels."


I'm not gonna lie -- this thing looks super cool, like something out of an episode of Buck Rodgers; but at the same time I can't help but wonder what sort of businessman really needs this particular sort of convenience.

And the only thing I can come up with is this:

Kyle Piccolo - Comic Shop Therapist

"Listen buddy, no one's trying to rain on your parade of raining on parades."



Kyle Piccolo dispenses knowledge, empathy, and comics to customers who find their way into his shop. You've got to sit through a Dark Knight commercial to get to the episodes, but it's worth a peek -- especially if your local comic book guy isn't really being that helpful with your personal problems.

As an added bonus, it's filmed at Midtown Comics NYC, which means there's always a chance our boy Satorical might show up in the background at some point.

Perspective, Hope

I'm just getting around to readying Who Hates Whom by Bob Harris. I wish I hadn't waited so long. It's a quick read about conflicts around the world, and Mr. Harris (who also wrote a book about his stint on Jeopardy! called Prisoner of Trebekistan) has a great sense of humor that keeps you from falling into despair. Here's a description of the map he draws of the Middle East:

What Israel's Opponents See:

Shaded areas represent Israeli-occupations or recent airstrikes (everything besides Israel is shaded).

What Israel's Supporters See:

Israel: "Teeny Island of Democracy"
All Other Countries: "Countries Not Exactly Psyched About Israel"
Water: "Open Water - Probably Will Not Attack Israel, But Who Knows?"

A Thousand Points of Recommendation

See that "Imperial Fleet Week" post down the page? That was our 1,000th post. We're getting ready to pour it on, too: we've added a new contributor (Werdna), are about to relaunch the site, and have generally looked at ways to avoid becoming like every other "This is cool!" blog on the Web. Thanks for reading, and keep spreading the word.

Pink Moon

I'm ashamed to say that it took a car commercial to open my eyes to this guy's work -- but considering how truly great it is, let's just say I owe Volkswagen one.