Today will be about how literally awesome the nature filmmaking is that the BBC makes. People in the US generally assume this is done by the Discovery Channel as that is where they see the episodes but this is not true. The Discovery Channel likes to take the amazing footage that the BBC airs without commercials and in its entirety but Discovery Channel edits the footage to add commercials (the edited shorter version is on the Discovery DVD versions as well) and adds a random American voice (Sigourney Weaver - Planet Earth, Oprah Winfrey - Life) rather than the original David Attenborough. Final note before the trailers, these are always less expensive on Amazon than they are on the Discovery website!
Here is the new "Life":
Here is Planet Earth:
Here is Blue Planet:
Here is a link to the trailer for Nature's Most Amazing Events on amazon.com
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Our Generation
Today will not be my most AWESOME post but it will be fun because at least I found it relevant to much of my youth. I hope some of you enjoy it. None of it is my own original material :-( but i still get some laughs from it.
This video is from College Humor and they have other funny things on their site as well.
The rest of this post is something I received in an email and I find it funny as well!
"If you are 30, or older, you might think this is hilarious!
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot... BOTH ways… yadda, yadda, yadda
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!
But now that I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!
I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!
There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!
Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe!
There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!
Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that's how we rolled, Baby! Dig?
We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!
There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOD !!! Think of the horror... not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how annoying you are.
And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent... you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen... Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no, what's the world coming to?!?!
There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-finks!
And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!
And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside... you were doing chores!
And car seats - oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were luckily, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!
See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980 or any time before!"
Regards,The Over 30 Crowd
This video is from College Humor and they have other funny things on their site as well.
The rest of this post is something I received in an email and I find it funny as well!
"If you are 30, or older, you might think this is hilarious!
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot... BOTH ways… yadda, yadda, yadda
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!
But now that I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!
I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!
There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!
Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe!
There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!
Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that's how we rolled, Baby! Dig?
We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!
There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOD !!! Think of the horror... not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how annoying you are.
And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent... you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen... Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no, what's the world coming to?!?!
There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-finks!
And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!
And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside... you were doing chores!
And car seats - oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were luckily, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!
See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980 or any time before!"
Regards,The Over 30 Crowd
Friday, March 26, 2010
Record Plants
A killer tomato chasing you, fuggedaboudit! It is apparent to me that yesterday's post cannot be outdone but in continuing the theme of the week of plants in general but AWESOME plants in particular, I have a few random things to add.
The largest individual flower is that of the Rafflesia arnoldii, which grows on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. This flower can grow more than 3 feet across and weigh over 20 lbs as seen below.
The largest organism on the planet can also arguably be a plant. A stand of aspen trees in Utah named Pando share a common root structure and are genetically identitical. This stand of aspen trees covers 107 acres and is estimated to weigh over 6000 tons.
Here are a few botanic world records according to Guinness World Records:
Heaviest Apple - 4 lbs, 1 oz.
Heaviest Lemon - 11lbs, 9.7 oz
Clover with most leaves - 18 leaves
The tallest tree in the world (also the tallest plant) is the Coast Redwood which can grow to over 370 feet tall. Here is a picture of one, seeing the total height would not help like seeing a person at the base does.
The largest tree in the world is actually a Giant Sequoia named General Sherman in Sequoia National Park in California. It is 275 feet tall but is larger than the largest Coast Redwood.
The largest individual flower is that of the Rafflesia arnoldii, which grows on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. This flower can grow more than 3 feet across and weigh over 20 lbs as seen below.The largest organism on the planet can also arguably be a plant. A stand of aspen trees in Utah named Pando share a common root structure and are genetically identitical. This stand of aspen trees covers 107 acres and is estimated to weigh over 6000 tons. Thursday, March 25, 2010
Plants on the Silver Screen
Awesome Fun Plant Time Continues:
Today's topic is famous plants. Not plants that are famous for anything worthwhile, like feeding millions or making oxygen or accompanying the spread of colonialism or revitalizing historical economies, but plants that are famous for what is most important in our culture: being in movies.
Probably the top two contenders for "most famous movie plant" would be Audrey Jr./Audrey II from "Little Shop of Horrors" (1960 and 1986), and the Killer Tomatoes from the "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" series of movies (1978, 1988, 1990, and 1991).
The original "Little Shop of Horrors" was originally produced as "The Passionate People Eater," a black comedy, was the inspiration for a musical, which was in turn the inspiration for the 80s remake with Rick Moranis (man, Rick Moranis! Anyone else remember him? I think he was in half the movies I saw as a kid!). A plant-store clerk projects his unrequited love for his coworker onto a plant. The plant, both sentient and hungry, eats people, and demands more and more flesh. Hijinks ensue. Audrey eats for vengeance and sustenance in equal measure, and seems to self-reproduce. Efficient! The movie has inspired dozens of pop-culture references, and is considered (both of them, actually) a cult classic).
Meet Audrey Jr.:
Meet Audrey II:
"Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" is a somewhat bizarre franchise, that could probably only have been born out of the late 70s to early 90s oddness. Ah, remember when movie series were weird, not mostly horrible torture horror (see Saw and far too many sequels/imitators)? Anyway, the tomatoes are diabolical killers with some kind of master plan, and it is not made clear (according to Wikipedia) how they came to be, though radioactive waste is used as a plot device in the first sequel. The tomatoes kill in many ways, showing themselves to be more creative than Audrey--eating people, plotting with humans, poisoning through self-sacrifice (watch the tomato juice), and so forth. The tomatoes have been featured in several sequels, including one where they apparently "Eat France", and a Fox kid's cartoon, but sadly no musicals.
A Killer Tomato:
I'm going to call this one for Audrey, though the tomato does look tasty.
Other notable movie plants:
Evil:
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956, 1978): Alien plants attempt to take over.
Day of the Triffids (1962): Meteorites trigger rampaging plants.
Children of the Corn (1984, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998...): Corn nurtures malevolence, kids kill.
Good:
Lord of the Rings (most famously 2001, 2002, 2003): ENTS, people, ENTS.
I'm sure there's more, but these are the highlights. Suggestions are welcome!
Apparently there is a term for the study of plants that don't actually exist (myth, fantasy, fiction): cryptobotany. Coooooool. Pseudoscience rocks.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Awesome Plant Week Continued...
To build on the awesome plant week that Mad North Northwest began yesterday I started thinking about trees and that led me to think about treehouses. If you were an early reader of No-Profundity you might remember the post about a hotel that is made of treehouses in Southern Oregon.
Today I found a website which is actually another blog with fun and interesting lists. The site is www.oddee.com The post in particular that interested me has some of the coolest and most intense treehouses I have ever seen. All of the pictures here are from their site and their list of awesome treehouses. 
A fireplace in a treehouse? Really? Oh well, I guess you gotta keep warm somehow! I actually think it is pretty cool.
What is this? Do aliens live in this treehouse?
What is this? Do aliens live in this treehouse? Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Plantorama, part 1
I'm going to try posting on a theme, and it's even timely: plants. It's spring. Things are growing. I have nothing mullet-y to say about healthcare reform (yea healthcare!!), so, plants.
I was going to start out with KILLER PLANTS (from and not from outer space), but that requires more research.
So, possibly the most famous novelty plant in the world: Chia Pets.
Oh, Chia Corporation, what have you wrought?
I was going to feature a "classic chia", but they have a SpongeBob SquarePants version.
You can see the commercial here.
Many chia options exist, allowing the discerning collector to, well, fill up a lot of shelves with terracotta and green fuzz.
Some highlights:
Chia Obama (has its/his own website! also, part of a series of "Proud to be American" chias.
Chia Professor (was Chia Einstein too specific?)
Chia Crocodile (original series!)
It's not really made by the Chia Corporation (unfortunately), but by Joseph Enterprises, maker of the Clapper.
The first Chia Pet was the Ram (not the first animal I would think of as a great pet, but to each his own) and came out in 1982.
On a competing blog site someone is running a Chia Pet Rescue effort. I urge you all to consider becoming involved in this important cause.
Apparently, the "chia seed" is nutritionally rich and could solve various and sundry health problems, according to the internets: http://www.living-foods.com/articles/chia.html
Warning: your milage may vary.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Sad Children, Soft Worlds, and Stomping
This feels like regurgitated content (OMG LOOK A DIFFERENT WEBSITE AND IT IS RAD), but since the mission of the blog is to spread awesomeness among the people, I think this is justified. Also, I have not been holding up my end of the blog posting burden, so you get what I've got.
Webcomics. To know them is to love them and curse slow download speeds. I'm not a huge webcomic person, and I still follow 4-5 religiously. This accounts for probably .0002% of the webcomics out there.
I choose to share my three favorites with you today. Honorable mention goes to http://www.xkcd.com/.
I'm not going to upload images, even though that would make this a better post, because it makes me feel weird about copyright and stuff. All three of these comics have pop-up text boxes that add a certain je ne sais quoi to the experience.
PICTURES FOR SAD CHILDREN, or "I want to come home tired from doing nothing"
Stick figures can have ennui. And creepy lives. Also, there are ghosts for a long time. My two all time favorite PFSC comics are on the same theme, though set in vastly different worlds. Are you over-educated for a job that dulls your senses?
Try this one if you're a caveman: http://picturesforsadchildren.com/index.php?comicID=262
Try this one if you're an ensign: http://picturesforsadchildren.com/index.php?comicID=290
A SOFTER WORLD, or "I intend to deserve it"
This is a comic where you *must* find the Easter Egg, i.e. mouse over the comic to get the pop-up text box. Dark humor is the M.O. of this comic, so prepare to be a little creeped out. I really can't pick favorites, so here are two randomly awesome ones. Warning: some of the ASW comics are PG-13 (thematically, not visually)!
Do you ever think, "yeah, I had that coming"? http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=421
Brutal honesty, table for one: http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=510
DINOSAUR COMIC, or "I disagree!"
This comic is premised on six panels of mediocre clip art that never changes. And then there's a lot of sideways philosophizing, stomping, and crazy times. I identify deeply with Utahraptor, for what it's worth.
The Devil, Feminism, and Gaming: http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=859
Think about it and tell me they're not scary: http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=493
Okay! Maybe in this post you found something new on which to spend your precious minutes of the only life you have! Good luck! Remember to close those blinds!
Webcomics. To know them is to love them and curse slow download speeds. I'm not a huge webcomic person, and I still follow 4-5 religiously. This accounts for probably .0002% of the webcomics out there.
I choose to share my three favorites with you today. Honorable mention goes to http://www.xkcd.com/.
I'm not going to upload images, even though that would make this a better post, because it makes me feel weird about copyright and stuff. All three of these comics have pop-up text boxes that add a certain je ne sais quoi to the experience.
PICTURES FOR SAD CHILDREN, or "I want to come home tired from doing nothing"
Stick figures can have ennui. And creepy lives. Also, there are ghosts for a long time. My two all time favorite PFSC comics are on the same theme, though set in vastly different worlds. Are you over-educated for a job that dulls your senses?
Try this one if you're a caveman: http://picturesforsadchildren.com/index.php?comicID=262
Try this one if you're an ensign: http://picturesforsadchildren.com/index.php?comicID=290
A SOFTER WORLD, or "I intend to deserve it"
This is a comic where you *must* find the Easter Egg, i.e. mouse over the comic to get the pop-up text box. Dark humor is the M.O. of this comic, so prepare to be a little creeped out. I really can't pick favorites, so here are two randomly awesome ones. Warning: some of the ASW comics are PG-13 (thematically, not visually)!
Do you ever think, "yeah, I had that coming"? http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=421
Brutal honesty, table for one: http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=510
DINOSAUR COMIC, or "I disagree!"
This comic is premised on six panels of mediocre clip art that never changes. And then there's a lot of sideways philosophizing, stomping, and crazy times. I identify deeply with Utahraptor, for what it's worth.
The Devil, Feminism, and Gaming: http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=859
Think about it and tell me they're not scary: http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=493
Okay! Maybe in this post you found something new on which to spend your precious minutes of the only life you have! Good luck! Remember to close those blinds!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Awesome Nunchucks
As this blog is to spread awesomeness I must share a video that a friend recently shared with me. This video shows Bruce Lee playing ping pong with Nunchucks.
Here is another video, it starts out with putting a striker on the end of a nunchuck and then a guy holds a match in his mouth and Bruce Lee strikes the match with the tip of the nunchuck. Enjoy!!!
As I was home during the day today I also found it interesting that at one point on ESPN they showed some nunchuck baseball as well.
Here is another video, it starts out with putting a striker on the end of a nunchuck and then a guy holds a match in his mouth and Bruce Lee strikes the match with the tip of the nunchuck. Enjoy!!!
As I was home during the day today I also found it interesting that at one point on ESPN they showed some nunchuck baseball as well.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Happy Late Pi Day
Pi Day? Yes on Sunday 3/14 it was pi day, the day that celebrates themost famous irrational number of them all, the mathematical constant of pi also known as 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288......
This holiday has been growing as pi merchandise has become more available in recent years. Here is stuff from thinkgeek that is pi specific including an ice cube tray, shower curtain and t-shirts
Here are some more t-shirts from cafe press that are for pi day. They even have t-shirts for dogs, here is one that is a Pi-rate shirt! Maybe next year I won't be running two days behind.
Monday, March 15, 2010
How nerdy and/or geeky was your weekend?
I'm in charge of posting today, but sadly I have nothing truly awesome to report.
I am thus going to encourage each and every one of you (all three) to go forth and do what you want, without shame. This weekend I went to Emerald City Comicon with friends, and it was the best time ever. Let your nerd hang out!
Leonard Nimoy was there! "Hi, I'm 79, still hot, incredibly charming and warm, articulate, an actor, poet, amazing photographer, and how are you today?" Handled even the Crazy Fans (tm) with grace.
Also, you know, Wil Wheaton, and Stan Lee was around, and Lou Ferrigmo, and Aaron Douglas (can you identify these men [sadly, most of the major celebrities were men]? check the end of the post if you can't!).
Anyway, this isn't meant to be a "What I Did With My Weekend" essay. Look, pictures of people in awesome costumes:
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/03/15/an-illustrated-guide-to-emerald-city-comicon-part-1
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/03/15/an-illustrated-guide-to-emerald-city-comicon-part-2
http://www.flickr.com/groups/720980@N24/pool/
Who are the above mentioned masked men?
Leonard Nimoy - Spock, duh, Star Trek: TOS
Wil Wheaton - Wesley Crusher, Star Trek: TNG
Stan Lee - comic book writer, co-created Spider-Man, X-Men, etc
Lou Ferrigmo - The Hulk, The Hulk (original)
Aaron Douglas - Chief Tyrol, Battlestar Galactica
I am thus going to encourage each and every one of you (all three) to go forth and do what you want, without shame. This weekend I went to Emerald City Comicon with friends, and it was the best time ever. Let your nerd hang out!
Leonard Nimoy was there! "Hi, I'm 79, still hot, incredibly charming and warm, articulate, an actor, poet, amazing photographer, and how are you today?" Handled even the Crazy Fans (tm) with grace.
Also, you know, Wil Wheaton, and Stan Lee was around, and Lou Ferrigmo, and Aaron Douglas (can you identify these men [sadly, most of the major celebrities were men]? check the end of the post if you can't!).
Anyway, this isn't meant to be a "What I Did With My Weekend" essay. Look, pictures of people in awesome costumes:
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/03/15/an-illustrated-guide-to-emerald-city-comicon-part-1
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/03/15/an-illustrated-guide-to-emerald-city-comicon-part-2
http://www.flickr.com/groups/720980@N24/pool/
Who are the above mentioned masked men?
Leonard Nimoy - Spock, duh, Star Trek: TOS
Wil Wheaton - Wesley Crusher, Star Trek: TNG
Stan Lee - comic book writer, co-created Spider-Man, X-Men, etc
Lou Ferrigmo - The Hulk, The Hulk (original)
Aaron Douglas - Chief Tyrol, Battlestar Galactica
Friday, March 12, 2010
Dynamic Duos
OK, to finish off the first week at the Mullet of Blogs, I want to address anyone who is wondering why a great blog such as No-Profundity needed a tandem blog. To do this I will call upon a number of famous couples/pairs, Dynamic Duos if you will. Think about where each of these tandems would have ended up without the other member if they were simply solo.
Let us not forget the pairing of peas and carrots as well!
Please add great pairs that I have omitted with comments below.
Laurel & Hardy
Abbott & Costello
Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis
Gene Wilder & Richard Pryor
Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney
Wayne & Garth
Ren & Stempy
Pinky & The Brain
Chris Farley & David Spade
Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis
Gene Wilder & Richard Pryor
Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney
Wayne & Garth
Ren & Stempy
Pinky & The Brain
Chris Farley & David Spade
Let us not forget the pairing of peas and carrots as well!
Please add great pairs that I have omitted with comments below.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Crazy or Crazy Awesome?
OK, since the morning blog today was not explicitly furthering the spread of awesomeness I have chosen to add a brief afternoon post specifically to address this.
This required me to do an internet search and I found a website that sells ghosts in bottles. Apparently they come with a certificate and everything so they must be legit!
I read a "news" article today from New Zealand about a woman who sold ghosts that she had captured in a bottle in an online auction for over $1400 US. She apparently caught them after she paid for an exorcism at her house.
I will dare to say that this may be more inventive, though not quite as enterprising as the inventor of the Pet Rock was.
This required me to do an internet search and I found a website that sells ghosts in bottles. Apparently they come with a certificate and everything so they must be legit!One more note on the pet rock, thinkgeek.com sells a usb pet rock that may or may not be totally awesome, I will let you be the judge!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Smart Phones - Dumb People
The smart phone trend is a tidal wave and there is no turning back. I am not proposing that we turn back or give up our technology but rather use it in the appropriate places and times. I can think of, as I am sure any of you can, at least 10 times when I have seen someone using their smart phone at a time or place that was inappropriate. Some of these times may not have been inappropriate but the way their usage progressed it made them, in a word - DUMB!
This picture is of a lamp post that is wrapped in padding in what I assume is a staged photo as commentary on exactly what I am talking about.
Today I followed a regular slow walking person up a stairway (I walk quickly up stairs) but I was happy to follow them slowly at first. There was only about 20 stairs but before they got half way they had crawled to nearly a stop and after I passed them it was more than 30 seconds later that they finally completed the remaining 10 steps. This was all due to their inability to delay the gratification of checking their Tweets, Book of the Face, etc. on their so called smart phone for an additional 10 seconds until they were off the stairs!
I know many of you (maybe even most) have talked on your phone while driving despite the silly laws that are increasingly beign enacted to curb this. Many of you have probably even texted while driving - probably not the best idea - but the incessant checking to see if there is a new status update at each stop light that people do is also a little over the top.
My intention is not to use this space for ranting but I especially wanted to point out how the person on the stairs had so much trouble walking and looking at their phone. I can't imagine if they had to "walk and chew gum" at the same time, what would happen? Maybe if they had to walk, chew gum and look at their phone at the same time they would have an accident that would get them nominated for a Darwin Award.
This picture is of a lamp post that is wrapped in padding in what I assume is a staged photo as commentary on exactly what I am talking about.
Today I followed a regular slow walking person up a stairway (I walk quickly up stairs) but I was happy to follow them slowly at first. There was only about 20 stairs but before they got half way they had crawled to nearly a stop and after I passed them it was more than 30 seconds later that they finally completed the remaining 10 steps. This was all due to their inability to delay the gratification of checking their Tweets, Book of the Face, etc. on their so called smart phone for an additional 10 seconds until they were off the stairs!I know many of you (maybe even most) have talked on your phone while driving despite the silly laws that are increasingly beign enacted to curb this. Many of you have probably even texted while driving - probably not the best idea - but the incessant checking to see if there is a new status update at each stop light that people do is also a little over the top.My intention is not to use this space for ranting but I especially wanted to point out how the person on the stairs had so much trouble walking and looking at their phone. I can't imagine if they had to "walk and chew gum" at the same time, what would happen? Maybe if they had to walk, chew gum and look at their phone at the same time they would have an accident that would get them nominated for a Darwin Award.
(pipe wrench fight), or speaking of distinctive hairstyles other than the mullet
My inaugural post! How thrilling. For my first trick, I bring you an example of what the internet does best: provide distribution space for people with nostalgia, editing software, and too much time on their hands.
Anyway.
One of the absolute classics of early music videos (back when they were actually played on the teevee and not just on the interwebs), is "Take On Me" by A-Ha, the Platonic form of "one hit wonders". At some point in 2008, an intrepid group of youngsters decided that the time had come to truly tell the story of this epic work of art. "Take On Me - Literal Version" was born, helping the viewer finally understand the narrative structure and dramatic arc of a previously impenetrable piece of art.
Ha, never fear, there's actually nothing to learn here. I just find the following hilarious (warning: is easily amused, your milage may vary):
Credits and virtual high-fives to:
Lyrics/singing: Dustin McLean
Voices: Jason Nash, Josh Faure-Brac, Priscilla McLean
Concept: Jonah Ray, Steven Olson, Dustin McLean
Also, apparently there are people who haven't seen the original, who didn't waste the 90s watching I <3 the 80s. Heathens. For your reference:
Enjoy!
P.S.: This was the most romantic thing ever when I was 11 years old. What? He took a pipe wrench to the head for her! She helped him become real! (ok, her "help" was pretty passive, but I'm not going to get into gender roles here) It's Twu Wuv!
Anyway.
One of the absolute classics of early music videos (back when they were actually played on the teevee and not just on the interwebs), is "Take On Me" by A-Ha, the Platonic form of "one hit wonders". At some point in 2008, an intrepid group of youngsters decided that the time had come to truly tell the story of this epic work of art. "Take On Me - Literal Version" was born, helping the viewer finally understand the narrative structure and dramatic arc of a previously impenetrable piece of art.
Ha, never fear, there's actually nothing to learn here. I just find the following hilarious (warning: is easily amused, your milage may vary):
Credits and virtual high-fives to:
Lyrics/singing: Dustin McLean
Voices: Jason Nash, Josh Faure-Brac, Priscilla McLean
Concept: Jonah Ray, Steven Olson, Dustin McLean
Also, apparently there are people who haven't seen the original, who didn't waste the 90s watching I <3 the 80s. Heathens. For your reference:
Enjoy!
P.S.: This was the most romantic thing ever when I was 11 years old. What? He took a pipe wrench to the head for her! She helped him become real! (ok, her "help" was pretty passive, but I'm not going to get into gender roles here) It's Twu Wuv!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The Next 4 Minutes of Your Life!!!
This is an amazing music video from OK-Go and it is already a web sensation but when I saw this last week, all of the people I shared it with had not yet seen it.
Maybe you will be seeing this for the first time, maybe you will be seeing it for the 10th time but either way, there is no doubt that this is a fitting addition to the Mullet of Blogs as a first-day post.
Here is also a link to an article in Wired magazine about how the machine was made.
The Mullet of Blogs
This blog is titled the Mullet of Blogs and will be published as a companion blog to No Profundity. Though "No-Profundity" is not a serious blog it often has information that people would consider to be learning from. Using the metaphor of the Mullet and its "business in the front and party in the back" No-Profundity will be the "business" blog while Mullet of Blogs will be the "party" blog. Mullet of Blogs will feature two authors and will have a stated mission of "Spreading the Ways of Awesomeness!!!" The two authors will be myself, "Slightly Smarter than a Monkey" and my prestigious collaborator, "Mad North Northwest"
There will be links to different sites that are some of the author's favorite sites for random, yet AWESOME things both in blog posts as well as on the page.
As part of this initial post I would like to feature one of these websites, despair.com as the picture above is one of their "Demotivator" posters.
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