Friday Funday CLXXXVIII
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1652 hrs
Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet. Funday links will open in a new window.
Five funny videos for your Leap Day!
Red links are not safe for work.
Star Wars according to a 3 year old [del.icio.us]
This girl is absolutely adorable!
1-900-NERD-GIRL [del.icio.us]
If a service like this really existed, it would make so much money (*cough*WorldofWhorecraft*cough*).
TSA Gangstaz [del.icio.us]
Thankfully, my trip on Wednesday was without this type of TSA experience. One agent actually joked with me about the liquid ban!
Silent Porn [del.icio.us]
I don't know what's funnier: this video (which is hilarious), or the comments left by people who didn't get it.
Barack OBollywood [del.icio.us]
Two things I like mashed up into one. This just makes me want him to win even more.
Trackbacks Disabled
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2147 hrs
Due to copious amounts of trackback spam, the feature has been temporarily disabled. I found a solution and will implement it this weekend, after which I will re-enable trackbacks.
Bond, Thomas James Bond
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1857 hrs
"Actually, it's Brown, but it's a common mistake."
That was the joke this afternoon while going over the itinerary for my planned-at-the-last minute trip to the Quileute reservation in La Push, WA tomorrow.
Yes, I said tomorrow. And when did I know I was going? Shortly after lunch today.
I should point out that this wasn't the result of poor planning, it was just a last minute decision that will result in a positive outcome for both our company and the Quileute Nation.
The Quileute board of directors is meeting tomorrow afternoon and I'm slated to be there. I leave Spokane at 5 A.M. and should get into La Push around 10:30 or 11 (after driving an hour and a half from Port Angeles). The meeting is at 1:30 P.M., then it's back to Port Angeles to catch my return flight to Spokane, which should get in around 9 at night (unfortunately, I have a couple of hours of layover each way)!
Why such a fast turnaround? Because I have a meeting on Thursday afternoon in Plummer, ID that I have to attend.
This job is awesome.
Who is Barack Obama?
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1948 hrs
I just received the following e-mail from someone I expected to be quite liberal (all spelling and grammar is as I received it):
Who is Barack Obama?
Something that should be considered when you make your choice.
If you do not ever forward anything else, please forward this to all your contacts...it is very scary to think of what could lie ahead for us here in our own United States...better heed this and pray about it and share it.
We checked this out on "snopes.com". It is factual. Check for yourself.
Who is Barack Obama?
Probable U. S. presidential candidate, Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu , Hawaii , to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a black MUSLIM from Nyangoma-Kogel , Kenya and Ann Dunham, a white Athiest from Wichita , Kansas .
Obama's parents met at the University of Hawaii . When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced. His father returned to Kenya . His mother then married Lolo Soetoro, a RADICAL Muslim from Indonesia . When Obama was 6 years old, the family relocated to Indonesia . Obama attended a MUSLIM school in Jakarta . He also spent two years in a Catholic school.
Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that he is a Muslim. He is quick to point out that, "He was once a Muslim, but that he also attended Catholic school."
Obama's political handlers are attempting to make it appear that that he is not a radical.
Obama's introduction to Islam came via his father, and that this influence was temporary at best. In reality, the senior Obama returned to Kenya soon after the divorce, and never again had any direct influence over his son's education.
Lolo Soetoro, the second husband of Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, introduced his stepson to Islam. Obama was enrolled in a Wahabi school in Jakarta .
Wahabism is the RADICAL ISLAMIC teaching that is followed by the Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad against the western world. Since it is politically expedient to be a CHRISTIAN when seeking major public office in the United States , Barack Hussein Obama has joined the United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim background. ALSO, keep in mind that when he was sworn into office he DID NOT use the Holy Bible, but instead the Koran.
Barack Hussein Obama will NOT recite the Pledge of Allegience nor will he show any reverence for our flag. While others place their hands over their hearts, Obama turns his back to the flag and slouches.
Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential candidacy.
The Muslims have said they plan on destroying the US from the inside out, what better way to start than at the highest level - through the President of the United States , one of their own!!!!
Hopefully you're already prepared to leave a comment of, "WTF?!" Because, seriously, are people actually stupid enough to believe this crap? I guess just getting the e-mail is proof that the answer is yes (it was part of a mass-forward that had everyone's e-mail addresses in the "To" field, so that should give you some idea of the kind of person we're talking about).
This e-mail is a perfect example of what's wrong with most Americans and is part of the reason why I'm an atheist. We're content to let other people tell us "the truth" without bothering to do a modicum of research to see if any of it holds up.
Popular myth-busting site Snopes.com is mentioned by name at the beginning of the e-mail along with a statement claiming that it's all true and that you can check for yourself. Whoever wrote this knew that people wouldn't bother, especially if someone else has already done the "heavy lifting." Of course, checking Snopes for yourself is as easy as Googling "snopes obama," which is exactly what I did.
Snopes.com does, in fact, have an article all about this e-mail. The only trouble is that Snopes says the information is false. So if you do bother to take 10 seconds right at the beginning of the e-mail, you could save yourself the time it takes to read the rest of it.
Let's assume for a moment that it's all true. The e-mail claims that Muslims, "plan on destroying the US from the inside out, what better way to start than at the highest level - through the President of the United States." This is absurd. If an anti-American Muslim managed to become president (which is highly unlikely these days), it isn't as though he could just start making laws that destroy our government. That's part of the reason why we have a system of checks and balances; as soon as he tried to screw us over, everyone would come down on him and kill him (or, worse, send him to Guantanamo Bay).
What really boils my blood, however, is how un-American the e-mail itself is. While it only suggests that Obama might be anti-American, it comes right out and says that all Muslims are evil.
Really? Is that the country we want to be? When did we forget that the reason this country was founded was to allow every man to practice his own religion without fear of persecution? If our founding fathers could read this e-mail, they would shake their heads at a glorious country gone astray.
If that's the America that people want, then I'll choose to live in another country. It's sad to watch our great nation reduced to a population of narrow-minded, stubborn, blindly-following idiots. There's still hope for our country; change is possible and I truly feel that we are on the cusp of an incredible resurgence in education, openness, and acceptance. The course our country takes hangs in the balance of the upcoming presidential election. I can only hope that one day soon, Liberty will once again be a beacon of enlightenment, and that her torch will signal the "open arms" policy that made our grand.
"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Friday Funday CLXXXVII
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 0728 hrs
Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet. Funday links will open in a new window.
The Apple Product Cycle [del.icio.us]
It's funny because it's true.
Vista Sucks [del.icio.us]
Also funny because it's true.
Music using ONLY sounds from Windows XP and 98! [del.icio.us]
While we're on the topic of Windows, here's a cool little song created, as the title implies, using only sounds from Windows XP and 98.
Red Bull Flugtag Flight Lab [del.icio.us]
Build and fly your own plane, or choose from one of the templates. I'm far from mastering this...
Metro de Madrid [del.icio.us]
This commerical for Spain's Metro system is one of the most creative ads I've ever seen. The effect is stunning and extremely well-executed. I would love to know how it was done.
Duty Calls
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 0556 hrs
Man, this made me laugh and laugh and laugh this morning. It's so right.
Not Into the Whole Brevity Thing
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 0615 hrs
This Mutts comic made me giggle with delight. I have to watch The Big Lebowski again soon.
UPDATE: Dude comic #2...
UPDATE: Dude comic #3.
UPDATE: Dude comic #4.
UPDATE: Dude comic #5.
My IMDb Listing
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1706 hrs
Today is truly a glorious day, for today, I am listed in the IMDb (so is my wife).
Friday Funday CLXXXVI
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1609 hrs
Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet. Funday links will open in a new window.
Airbus A380 Cockpit [del.icio.us]
This is so cool! The quality of the images is simply amazing.
New Jersey Freakshows [del.icio.us]
There's nothing like a dark tan to show everyone how cool you are! Unless you overdo it (like these guys). Seeing this page makes this comic so much funnier.
Google Maps [del.icio.us]
A video about 2 guys who discover just how invasive Google Maps' Street View feature can be.
The FAIL Blog [del.icio.us]
Fail.
Script Cops [del.icio.us]
It's like the show COPS, but they deal with script issues. Where were these guys when I was in film school?
Happy Valentine's Day
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1206 hrs
I found this great valentine at the Diesel Sweeties website. I e-mailed it to Morah this morning, but seeing Michelle's blog entry inspired me to post it here as well.
Happy Valentine's Day, honey! I love you!
Spongebob Classic Movies
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2150 hrs
I wanted to put this in my Friday Funday, but it's already disappeared once, so hopefully it will stick around long enough for you to see it. I laughed my ass off watching this.
Dirty Crossword
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1159 hrs
I'm working on a crossword and I wanted to stop and blog about this because it made me laugh out loud. I'm at #47 down. It's a 4 letter word beginning with "sh" and the clue is, "Scat!"
I Shot Michelle Obama
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2014 hrs
Wow, I haven't written a title like that since I threatened to kill the president and bomb the White House. Seriously, though, Michelle Obama was in town on Friday afternoon and I was plucked from work and plopped behind a video camera.
At about 1 P.M., my boss called me and asked if I could help Don Hamilton shoot Michelle Obama's speech. What was I going to say? No? Of course not. So at about 2:30, I headed down to the Fox Theater (I had never been there before). The doors were set to open at 3, and the line of Obama supporters stretched down the block. I walked about halfway down the line and stopped at the stage door. I called Don and had him let me in, which seemed to impress all of the people standing around the door.
As soon as I walked in, Don handed me a press pass and took me out onto the stage. The Fox is a breathtaking theater, and I spent a good minute or so just standing there and taking it all in (meanwhile, everyone wanted to talk to Don about stuff). He then took me up to the back of the theatre to the cordoned off media area. A camera was all set up and ready to go (already aimed and focused, no less! Let me tell you, that's the way to shoot something - let someone else do all of the setup for you) and Don basically said, "you know what you're doing, see you later!" Really, I had very little idea what I was doing, but I had an hour to kill, so I familiarized myself with the camera and practiced zooming between different shots.
Don came back a short while later and handed me a Nikon D3 with the biggest lens I've ever held. "You've shot this before, right?" I had, but not for very long. He showed me how to adjust a few key settings, then ran away again. I still had another 45 minutes to kill, so while people started milling in, I played around with the D3 and took a few pictures. I wish I had a picture of me holding the D3, but the camera on my mobile phone was basically useless in the darkened media area (I did manage to get this shot of another photographer's gigantic lens. This lens is probably almost 2 feet tall). Don eventually needed it back, so I didn't get to shoot anything really interesting with it.
A couple of people came on stage and did a goofy skit about how important it was to go to the caucuses, then another woman came on and said basically the same thing. But hey, it ate up 10 minutes and really drove home the importance of everyone going to the caucuses (and what time they were supposed to be there).
As it got closer to 4 P.M., the organizers started seating select people in the on-stage seats. Among them were the president of KAI (where I work), her husband (who also works at KAI), and another woman I work with. I found out later that a guy I work with was also supposed to be up there, but he arrived too late and didn't even get in.
While waiting, I chatted up Rochelle Ritchie from KREM-2. I recently found out that she lives in the same apartment building that I do, and she thought that was a funny coincidence. We talked about how it's been hard to park as a result of the snow, and how they send her on weird stories sometimes. She's a really nice person, which can be rare in the industry (I've met a lot of "leave me alone" types).
When 4 P.M. finally rolled around, Chris Marr and Lisa Brown took turns speaking before Michelle Obama finally came out. The crowd went absolutely nuts, prompting Michelle to say, "my work here is done. Good night!"
The next hour was nothing short of amazing. Michelle touched on a lot of issues that are important to me, and that have been largely ignored by most other politicians. Not only is she a brilliant and eloquent speaker, but what impressed me the most was that she did the entire speech without any notes or teleprompter.
Barack Obama's campaign is all about change, and after Friday, I'm actually hopeful that if Obama wins the election, change really will happen. Here's hoping.
Friday Funday CLXXXV
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1924 hrs
Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet. Funday links will open in a new window.
Complaints to the FCC [del.icio.us]
If there's anything I've learned about T.V., it's that no matter how much people love to watch, they also love to complain (especially after watching). Reason.com has collected a series of links from FOIA-logging website governmentattic.org that chronicle the complaints various popular T.V. shows have received.
Interactive Art Director [del.icio.us]
This video made me smile, not only because I found the content to be funny, but because it's shot in the style of an educational film from the '50s.
Half life: Full Life Consequences [del.icio.us]
Some fanfic is good and contributes to the overall story world. Most of the time, though, it sucks. In some rare cases, it sucks so badly that it comes full circle and is once again entertaining. This video is sheer brilliance. Via Brynna.
Learning America Smarter: Northern European Geography 101 [del.icio.us]
It's no secret that citizens of the United States have a hard time knowing the difference between the Scandinavian countries (I certainly don't know much about them). Luckily, this handy Venn diagram is here to help.
Opening the Windows Vista box [del.icio.us]
That Microsoft has to publish this on their website should give you a crystal-clear indication that someone, somewhere, got fired for the packaging.
Need some more laughs? I posted a new photo essay yesterday and it's a real hoot.
No T.V. Update
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1006 hrs
When I made my resolutions for 2008 just over a month ago, I mentioned that Morah and I were going to stop watching T.V. altogether (with the one exception that Morah could watch the news in the morning). We decided to try the whole "no T.V." thing out for a month and see how it went.
Right away, I felt great. The feeling of liberation and the realization that there's so much more time in the day cannot be accurately described. I am pleased to report that we managed to make it the entire month without breaking our "television fast," and that we plan to continue for the foreseeable future.
I should point out that we bent the rules a bit. When I originally set forth the challenge, I said that we would, "not watch T.V. after we get home from work." And that's exactly what we did. That meant that we could watch T.V. on the weekends, but the only shows we really like on the weekends are on for a couple of hours on Saturday morning, and one hour on Saturday night (what can I say? I love COPS). The rule also applied only to the television set itself, and not to the computer, which we used a number of times to watch T.V. shows.
I don't count this as cheating because we weren't slaves to the T.V. in order to watch. We were able to watch what we wanted when we wanted, and best of all, there were significantly fewer commercials (sometimes none). Really, there are probably at most a half a dozen shows that I'm interested in watching enough to do so online, and I think I can spare 5 or 6 hours a week (especially if I count those hours as free time).
Speaking of free time, we created a schedule and are attempting to adhere to it, although exercising has been difficult for me lately with all of the snow (getting to the exercise room across the street now requires 2 Sherpas and a dog sled team). Although we've been slipping lately, Morah and I agreed last night that we need to be more strict about following the schedule. When we're on schedule, our apartment is cleaner, we're more organized, and we're able to enjoy our free time instead of stressing about what we could or should be doing instead.
I'll have another resolution update at the beginning of July, if not sooner, but I wanted to let you know how living without T.V. has enriched our lives. It's kind of funny: when I was in seventh grade, my teacher had a "Kill Your Television" bumper sticker hanging on the wall. It took over 13 years, but I've finally followed that advice. I should have listened sooner.
The ShamWow! Verdict
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 0850 hrs
Remember how we couldn't decide whether or not ShamWow! is a real product?
It is.
Yesterday, Emily told me that she saw a commercial for it on television. They got one thing right: I'm definitely left saying, "wow."
Shopping at Safeway
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1322 hrs
Morah and I went shopping at Safeway instead of Albertsons because we're going to a Super Bowl football game party and I like Safeway's chicken strips better. We decided that, since we were already at Safeway, we might as well do all of our shopping there.
You know what I noticed? More hot young women shop at Safeway than at Albertsons. I'm not sure why that's the case, but it was definitely noticeable.
While we were standing in the checkout line, I overheard the conversation of two other shoppers:
Woman: "The man I'm seeing doesn't really like to watch football."
Man: "Well, then he's a communist."
Seriously.
Friday Funday CLXXXIV
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2115 hrs
Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet. Funday links will open in a new window.
Hit Me On My iPhone [del.icio.us]
Nerdcore rap about the iPhone. It's a pretty catchy tune.
Tony-b Machine [del.icio.us]
Speaking of catchy tunes, you can make one with this. It's pretty freaking awesome.
Mauvais Rôle [del.icio.us]
A French short about a video game character who aspires to be more than just the bad guy.
Nose Hair E-Card [del.icio.us]
Sometimes I wonder how I find this stuff.
Fuck Planet Earth [del.icio.us]
This is funnier than it sounds. If you're watching this at work, wear headphones.
Solicitation Section
Be my boss!
If you visit my Amazon.com PayPage, you can pay me as little as $1. I could be your underpaid employee!
