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July 30, 2006
Eddie van Halen Plays for Porn
Now Eddie van Halen is lending his talents to a "couples movie" directed by his friend Michael Ninn: Sacred Sin.
(via sex drive daily)
Posted by Groonk at 07:04 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Music, Sex
July 29, 2006
16 Year Old Rocks the Tabla
Must be video day.
(link via ponzu)
Posted by Groonk at 08:28 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Music
Welcome, to the End of the Computer Age!
Laughable doesn't begin to explain this. And it may be why I don't use macs. If a rapper popped onto my computer screen and rambled on for 10 minutes why I shouldn't use my floppy drive to copy whatever it is you can copy onto a floppy drive...feeling "put out" wouldn't begin to describe my emotional state. :
You know what happens to kids dumb enough to fall for this kind of anti-piracy marketing?
They grow up to work for the RIAA.
snap
(via 7d)
Posted by Groonk at 10:52 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Video
Ze Bastardizes YOU! But it's More Complicated Than That
Joanne from Rocketboom Mach II reluctantly amuses me. Amanda Congdon still hasn't exposed her new public plans but seeing her "Where are they now?" feature made me miss her. Ze breaks down complex issues like music, dancing, and playing with your penis in public within a 5 minute show.
Team Joanne. Team Congdon. Team Ze.
Wonderful.
FYI: Just "playing with it" is how I learned photoshop, coreldraw(back in the day), html, and several other skills.
I said skills, not "skills".
Gutter mind.
Posted by Groonk at 09:43 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Funny, Just Freaking Neat, Podcast
The World is Angry: The Messages were Clearly Noted
Israeli girls write messages on a shell at a heavy artillery position near Kiryat Shmona
AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner
Everyone would kindly recall that during the 40s the people US and I suspect Britain was not averse to similar actions. I can't say for sure that children ever did such things but I am sure the sentiment was there.
After all, it was war.
(via rocketboom blog)
Posted by Groonk at 08:58 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of War
July 27, 2006
Proof the Universe Hates Us Very, Very Much
(via neil gaiman)
Posted by Groonk at 08:13 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Technology, Weird
CBS Backs Egg-Disaster Advertising
Marketing can be inventive, profitable, and sometimes even human.
This "Outernet strategy" is downright asinine.
More than 35 million eggs will be marked with phrases such as “CSI: Crack the Case on CBS” and “The Class, New Grade-A CBS Comedy” as part of a deal between the CBS Marketing Group and EggFusion, an egg-coding company.
The campaign is part of what the network is calling its “Outernet strategy,” an effort to reach viewers “outside their homes as they go about their daily lives…”
(via warren ellis)
Posted by Groonk at 01:30 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing
From Gecko Feet to Spiderman Suits
The plastic, known as Synthetic Gecko, has been developed by researchers at aerospace and defence firm BAE Systems. Like the reptile’s foot, the polymer is covered in millions of tiny mushroom-like hairs that provide grip.
Future applications could include an adhesive to repair aircraft, skin grafts or even a Spiderman-style suit.
“It would mean that your local window cleaner could dispense with his ladders and climb up the side of your house,” says Dr Sajad Haq a principle research scientist at the company’s Advanced Technology Centre in Filton, Bristol. “There’s a whole host of applications. It’s just a question of your imagination…”
More Gecko tech.
(via warren ellis)
Posted by Groonk at 01:26 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Nanotech, Science
The Simpsons Movie Preview Totally Rocked My Brain
I Watch Stuff did a lovely thing and shared 2 links from God's Loving Heart featuring The Simpsons movie footage shown at Nerd Prom 06.
The footage has no color because they're still working on the movie. Homer explains it all here.
This one made me laugh the most.
That movie's gonna be fucking funny. Maybe that's what they've been doing the last few years. They took bits of funny from the seasonal shows and saved them for the movie.
I'm not saying they've been unfunny on the TV show. I'm just sayin' the quality has been lacking lately.
Just a bit.
(via i watch stuff and youtube)
Posted by Groonk at 10:56 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Digital Share, Funny, Movies
Shawn Hogan vs the MPAA
Giants against giants.
Now he’s embroiled in a surprisingly rare situation – a drawn-out legal fight with the MPAA. The organization and its music cousin, the Recording Industry Association of America, have filed thousands of similar lawsuits between them, but largely because of the legal costs few have been contested and none have gone to trial. This has left several controversies unresolved, including the lawfulness of how the associations get access to ISP records and whether it’s possible to definitively tie a person to an IP address in the age of Wi-Fi.
Hogan, who coded his way to millions as the CEO of Digital Point Solutions, is determined to change this. Though he expects to incur more than $100,000 in legal fees, he thinks it's a small price to pay to challenge the MPAA's tactics. "They're completely abusing the system," Hogan says. "I would spend well into the millions on this."
It was all fun and games until you picked on a guy who can fight back eh, MPAA?
(via wired news)
Posted by Groonk at 10:32 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Movies
$100 Laptop Crusade Sallys Forth
All the hoo-ha over the $100 laptop and whether it's feasible and such continues.
What I find interesting is, most of the naysayers have made money off of what was considered at the time to be impossible. What? they get a little comfortable in the system, they become above the little guy?
If the $100 laptop is on the level. At least they are trying something. That's more than I can say for those kids who have the money to do the same.
...it promised to outsell every other laptop in the world in just a few years. Oh, and one more thing: The machine would need to cost one-fifth the price of the cheapest laptop at Wal-Mart. The Media Lab dubbed the project One Laptop per Child, but everyone else knew it simply as "the $100 laptop."
Behar was skeptical at first. And who wasn't? After Negroponte announced the plan at the World Economic Forum in January 2005, the critics descended: Most scientists said a $100 laptop was unbuildable, many development experts said it was out of touch with the needs of poor communities, and a good number of educators wondered about giving computers to kids who go without modern textbooks. Steve Jobs dismissed the idea as "a science project." Intel's chair, Craig Barrett, called it "a gadget." Bill Gates mocked the idea of its battery-charging crank. Behar saw their point. "I grew up as a designer in Silicon Valley," the Swiss-born Behar says, "but I'm not one who sees computing as the remedy for everything."
There was something about the project that appealed to him, though, something that almost sounds like nostalgia. "Computers were supposed to be a democratizing tool. You used to see that boundless optimism from Silicon Valley hardware companies. I'm not sure it's still there," he says. "One Laptop per Child is the first thing I've seen in many years that is in line with the original goal of the PC."
Ok...off the soapbox.
(via wired news)
Posted by Groonk at 09:45 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture, Technology, World
Fruit Stickers are Definitely My Future
A University of Arizona professor has invented a sticker that can tell consumers if a fruit or vegetable is ripe. The stickers will be available to growers next year and should make their way to supermarkets within two to three years, said Mark Riley, a UA assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering.
He said growers and grocers throw out thousands of bushels of fruit each year because it ripened faster than it could get to market or be sold.
With no simple way to tell whether fruit that looks good on the outside will taste good on the inside, consumers often buy peaches, pears and melons they can't eat because they're under-ripe or overripe.
"Right now, picking fruit is more of an art than it is a science," Riley said.
(link via 7d)
Posted by Groonk at 09:35 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Marketing
July 26, 2006
A Miracle was Found in an Irish Bog
Archeologists in Ireland are treating the finding of an ancient book of psalms unearthed from bogland as a miracle.
The book was discovered by a man digging peat from the bog with a backhoe.
"This is really a miracle find," said Pat Wallace, director of the National Museum of Ireland, which has the book stored in refrigeration.
He is one of a team of manuscript experts who spoke about the discovery on Tuesday.
"There's two sets of odds that make this discovery really way out," said Wallace. "First of all, it's unlikely that something this fragile could survive buried in a bog at all, and then for it to be unearthed and spotted before it was destroyed is incalculably more amazing."
The book has about 20 pages and experts believe it was written by monks between 800 and 1000 AD.
Posted by Groonk at 09:26 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of History, Religion
July 25, 2006
NASA Gives Up On Earth
The time for amusement is done.
My heart, once again, fills with hate. A hate so blindling and hot, that it would fuel the world's motorized toothbrushes from now til beyond the end of time itself.
That statement was repeatedly cited last winter by NASA climate scientist James Hansen, who said he was being threatened by political appointees for speaking about the dangers posed by greenhouse gas emissions.
But NASA officials told The New York Times the elimination of the phrase that was used by Hansen was “pure coincidence.” The statement now proclaims the agency’s mission is “to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research.”
A NASA spokesman said the change brings the agency into line with U.S. President George W. Bush's goal of pursuing human spaceflight to the moon and Mars.
One observer noted results from NASA's increasing involvement in monitoring the Earth's environment have sparked political disputes concerning the Bush administration's environmental policies…
(via warren ellis)
Posted by Groonk at 07:33 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Mars, Politics, Science
Disney Animation must Burn in the Deepest Hell
They made Fox and the Hound 2. They sequeled, or more accurately prequeled, one of their most perfect movies from the 80s.
I knew there was a reason I never liked their noise. Even before I learned about the art of greed.
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 04:49 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Trailers
Gonna Make Banana Fritters for the Lord, For the Lord!
The State on DVD? Sweet Jeebus, it's about time!
...actors/writers Thomas Lennon and Ben Garrant, best known for their Comedy Central show "Reno 911," revealed that the long-awaited DVD collection of their sketch comedy show "The State" would finally be released in some form later this year. "The State," which starred Lennon and Garrant's previous comedy troupe of the same name, aired on MTV from 1993 to 1995, but never has been re-released in any form.
"'The State' at long last actually is coming out either on DVD or iTunes," Lennon told us.
"They just rescored and we're all doing ADR," Garrant continued.
"The thing that was preventing it was the music clearances," Lennon explained, "because at the time, MTV had a deal that anything with a video you could just use. No longer the deal."
"All our sketches that were built around a Breeders or a Lenny Kravitz song, which was a lot of them," said Garrant, "so we had to rescore everything, but finally, MTV put up the money to rescore it, and I guess it's coming out."
"It's coming out sometime this year, I bet," Lennon concluded.
Fuck me, it's gonna be rescored? I don't know about all that. Damn you music industry bloated fat-cat execs, damn you all to hay-yul!
While we're damning things, please no damn iTunes. I want The State firmly in my hands...DVD style.
I've got designs on winning the Dinner with The State contest.
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 04:19 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat
China Prepares its First Plasma Discharge
Recall China's fusion station project?
The discharge, expected about Aug. 15, will be conducted at Science Island in Hefei, in east China’s Anhui Province, the Peoples Daily reported Monday.
Scientists told the newspaper a successful test will mean the world’s first nuclear fusion device of its kind will be ready to go into actual operation, the newspaper said.
The plasma discharge will draw international attention since some scientists are concerned with risks involved in such a process. But Chinese researchers involved in the project say any radiation will cease once the test is completed.
The experiment will take place in a structure made of reinforced concrete, with five-foot-thick walls and a three-foot-thick roof.
(via warren ellis)
Posted by Groonk at 01:07 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Science
July 24, 2006
Mako was the "Godfather of Asian-American Theater"
And now, he is gone.
Mako Iwamatsu 1933 - 2006
In the early days of his acting career, when most roles offered to Asian American actors were caricatures or stereotypes, Mako took just such a part and used it to open the doors of Hollywood and Broadway to others.
In the 1966 film "The Sand Pebbles," he played the Chinese character Po-han, who spoke pidgin English, called the white sailors in the movie "master," and treated them as such. But through the power of his acting, Mako transformed Po-han and compelled the audience to empathize and identify with the engine-room "coolie."
The portrayal earned Mako an Academy Award nomination, which he used to continue his push for more and better roles for Asian American actors.
Mako, who in 1965 co-founded East West Players, the nation's first Asian American theater company, died Friday of esophageal cancer at his home in the Ventura County town of Somis. He was 72.
"What many people say is, 'If it wasn't for Mako there wouldn't have been Asian American theater,' " said Tim Dang, current artistic director of East West Players, based in the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles. "He is revered as sort of the godfather of Asian American theater."
[...]
"Of course we've been fighting against stereotypes from Day One at East West," Mako said in a 1986 interview with The Times. "That's the reason we formed: to combat that, and to show we are capable of more than just fulfilling the stereotypes — waiter, laundryman, gardener, martial artist, villain."
The company's mission soon expanded to include training writers. "Unless our story is told to [other] people, it's hard for them to understand where we are," Mako said.
Mako was in tons of character roles as well as the big ones. He also did voice overs on am myriad of shows. Ones that I have seen being Avatar's Uncle Iroh, Samurai Jack's Aku. He made those characters more than just ink and cels. I can't see anyone else replacing his work.
(via la times)
Posted by Groonk at 01:48 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture, Quotables
Cory Doctorow Talks on Charisma and Why Artists in the Future Need It
Boingboing's Cory Doctorow has an interesting word or two to say about the file sharing world of the 21st century. In it he compares the advances of file sharing with that of the radio only a few decades before.:
But what kind of artist thrives on the Internet? Those who can establish a personal relationship with their readers — something science fiction has been doing for as long as pros have been hanging out in the con suite instead of the green room. These conversational artists come from all fields, and they combine the best aspects of charisma and virtuosity with charm — the ability to conduct their online selves as part of a friendly salon that establishes a non-substitutable relationship with their audiences. You might find a film, a game, and a book to be equally useful diversions on a slow afternoon, but if the novel's author is a pal of yours, that's the one you'll pick. It's a competitive advantage that can't be beat.
See Neil Gaiman's blog, where he manages the trick of carrying on a conversation with millions. Or Charlie Stross's Usenet posts. Scalzi's blogs. J. Michael Straczynski's presence on Usenet — while in production on Babylon 5, no less — breeding an army of rabid fans ready to fax-bomb recalcitrant TV execs into submission and syndication. See also the MySpace bands selling a million units of their CDs by adding each buyer to their "friends lists." Watch Eric Flint manage the Baen Bar, and Warren Ellis's good-natured growling on his sites, lists, and so forth.
Don't be shy, read the entire essay.
(via Locus)
Posted by Groonk at 01:02 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Digital Share, Marketing
The Houyhnhnm are Plotting
(via rebekka "lol")
Posted by Groonk at 12:19 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Animals, Flickrlicious
July 23, 2006
Nerd Prom Day 3: ONI is Full of Surprises
More good stuff from Oni:
Unveiled to applause, "My Name Is Earl: The Comic Book" was the first item on the block. Editor James Lucas Jones explained that some might think a book of this sort might be a change in direction and focus for Oni, "but it's really not. From the very beginning we weren't adverse to doing licensed books. It just had to be something we liked; a property we'd read. ['My Name Is Earl'] fits in with the Oni brand."
Joining the Oni team to assist with the writing of "Earl" is Hunter Covington, the script coordinator on the NBC television show.
"Hopefully we will be able to do some things in the comic that you can't do on TV," Covington said. "Such as Earl flying a plane. That would be something." Covington explained that telling the stories of Earl in comic form made a lot of sense from a writing standpoint, as creativity is often severely limited by the television budget. He remarked, "In comics, you don't have to buy a special pencil to see something exploding."
The creative teams for the "Earl" comic have not yet been sorted out, although Oni artists Steve Rolston and Dean Trippe have created many designs to assist in translating the world of Earl's Camden into comic book form.
[...]
Finally, James Lucas Jones announced the biggest surprise by playing a clip of Comedy Centrals "The Colbert Report," in which faux host Stephen Colbert promoted his epic science fiction Mary Sue novel, featuring lead character Tek Janson.
Following the clip, Jones declared, "when I first saw that, I said 'we have to secure the rights to do the comic book adaption of Stephen Colbert's Tek Janson.'"
Details are still being sorted out with Colbert and his writing staff, but they will be involved with the new series' development along with a regular comics creative team.
Other books that stand out to me:
"['Jumper'] is what a regular kid could do if he could start teleporting," said Oni managing editor Randal Jarrell. "He'd rob a bank and have crazy adventures."
"The Earth's been invaded by aliens and that's going to complete change our entire existence," Guggenheim explained. "Just knowing we're not alone, rebuilding the planet. It's a bit of an allegory for rebuilding after 9/11." Guggenheim says that at first, the means to the human's victory will not be disclosed, although the details will be revealed slowly over the course of the ongoing series.
(via cbr)
Posted by Groonk at 09:59 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics
The President Talks Shit at G8
As much as I despise most everything the current president has said and done over the last 5 years, the bit of candid talk CNN caught at the G8 dinner is the only true thing I've ever heard come from his mouth.
Apparently I'm not alone in this thinking. So at least I know I've not gone insane recently.
(via youtube, daily show and peter david)
Posted by Groonk at 09:45 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Politics, Video
LED Throwies Morph into Readable Graffiti
LED Throwies have morphed. I first saw throwies on 02/17/2006 Rocketboom, throwies are now something that I can get on board with.
Inside, the secret is learned.
(via youtube)
Posted by Groonk at 09:32 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture, Technology
July 21, 2006
The Simplest Things Amuse Me
what if...
(via Comic Con 06 Flickr Pool)
Posted by Groonk at 08:45 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Flickrlicious, Just Freaking Neat, Marketing
The Toys of Lost Island
Nerd Prom(SDCC 06) is filled with useful things:
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 08:22 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture
Superman and Kumar Rap about Rogue Dinosaurs in LA
Yes, that is Chester Tam(Chez Chat) and Kal Penn(Harold and Kumar go to White Castle) and Brandon Routh(Superman) as the rapping cop Officier Dino Wong doing a rap video about a dinosaur in the trunk of a car.
All courtesy of The Lonely Island filmmakers.
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 07:43 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Funny
July 20, 2006
Rubber Johnny will Freak You the Fuck Out
Rubber Johnny totally freaked my noise. I refuse to watch it twice in 24 hours. And I don't freak out over this kind of stuff easily.
You should send it to the biggest wuss in your social circle make make him/her watch it in a dark room. Then laugh your fool head off afterwards.
editor's note: Had to replace the first video embed with a YouTube embed. The previous one starting on its own volition was pissing me right the fuck off.
(link via ponzu)
I don't know exactly what Rubber Johnny is or how long it's been freaking around the interwub. All I know is, it totally freaks my shit. Ponzu sent this during the early hours of the morn. How glad I am of that can't be measured in dollars.
RJ did get silly when he started breakdancing. But it never got less "WTF".
Closer inspection of their official site leads to a UK film company. That explains a lot.
Not really.
Posted by Groonk at 05:54 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Movies, Trailers, Weird
Kevin Smith Speaks for the Fanboy/Normal Joe in Us All
Some critic, whose name I don't recall and can't be bothered to click over a tab in my browser to re-discover it, threw a tantrum at the screening of Kevin Smith's "Clerks II". "Clerks II" is getting my money regardless of what some dipshit getting paid to sit on his ass and review other people's work says. I vent on flicks, but god helo me I don't get paid for it. If I ever do become a salaried reviewer, I've paid a friend to whip the piss out of me every day until I get a job worth having.
Now I've heard and seen this before. You have to see and hear it yourself before you would ever believe it. WATCH Kevin Smith talk about the first time the new Superman project was being bounced around Hollywood, how he got to write th efirst draft, and his many, insane, interactions with a producer by name of Jon Peters.
It's about 20 minutes but what else do you have planned today?
Hmm. Peters didn't want to see Superman in the suit. And he didn't want him to fly? Sumbitch, that's freaking Smallville. Maybe that's why I can't fully get on board with that show.
(via the superficial)
UPDATE: A radio interview with Joel Siegel(the aforementioned critic) backtracking on his rude behavior and doesn't realize he's talking to Kevin Smith. So now this hooha is becoming viral. How funny...curious...sad. It's definitely one of those.
LISTEN: The rants are iPod ready.
Posted by Groonk at 03:19 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Digital Share, Interviews, Movies
July 19, 2006
Quantum Dots Discover Your Secrets
Nano-sized fluorescent probes that can slip inside living cells and elucidate life’s most fundamental processes, or track the effectiveness of cancer-fighting drugs, are barely noticed by the cells they enter, according to a team of researchers led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Using a high-throughput gene expression test, the team determined that the probes, which are specially coated quantum dots, only affect 0.2 percent of the human genome. This finding should quell concerns that the mere presence of these promising but potentially toxic sentinels disrupts a cell’s function, confounding quantum dots’ ability to accurately track cellular processes or monitor the effectiveness of pharmaceuticals…
(via warren ellis)
Posted by Groonk at 08:08 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Nanotech
English Roads are Melting
Gritting lorries have been sent out to spread crushed rock dust on melting tar to create non-stick road surfaces.
Monday was the year's hottest day so far with a reading of 32.7C (90.9F) at Heathrow. Forecasters say temperatures could be 37C (99F) later in the week.
The average maximum temperature in England for this week in July is only 21-23C (70-73F).
Whatever, kids. You whine to me when that heat index hits 110F. Then we'll be on common ground.
(via warren ellis multi-link)
Posted by Groonk at 08:04 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Research, World
Metallica has Only One
There's only "One" song I continue to like by Metallica. And that's only cause of the movie(Johnny Got His Gun) they use throughout the video. But stringed instruments can also create a weakness to Lars' overrated bullshit.
(via b55seddel)
Posted by Groonk at 07:36 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Music, Video
July 17, 2006
The Case of the Half Baked Lobster
(via 7d)
Posted by Groonk at 02:49 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Animals, Weird
July 16, 2006
Rosario Dawson is Goddamn Awesome
The cool thing about running your own site and not being under Big Media's thumb, you get to curse as you damn well please.
I love me some Rosario Dawson. That lady's pleasing to the eye as well as the mind. And did I mention she's pleasing to the eye? In the following Entertainment Weekly interview, she talks about being a "hot geek" and apparently whatever else enters her mind. The world needs more "hot comics geek chicks".
I mean, she's starting her own comic. My gods, she may be the perfect girl.
"The Bible has been translated into Klingon," she exclaims, apropos of nothing. "That idea is so fascinating to me: language, how we communicate." From there, Dawson warp-jumps to talk of Illinois senator Barack Obama, Shakespeare, and impulse buying. "You know that movie A Christmas Story?" she blurts, her full lips spreading into a broad smile. "Remember the leg lamp? Dude, I got it! One leg and a high heel with fishnets that lights up. It's, like, the cheesiest thing on the planet."
[...]
Now, all of a sudden, Dawson's choices are forming a pattern. In August she begins shooting Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's film Grind House. And she'll soon reprise her role as Gail, the trigger-happy streetwalker, in Sin City 2, Rodriguez's second adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novels. More immediately, she's starring in Clerks II, the sequel to Kevin Smith's breakout 1994 slacker salute, which opens July 21, and she's just released her own comic book, Occult Crimes Taskforce, which features a gun-toting likeness of her. But it seems Dawson isn't so much a dream vixen for game-playing, metal-loving, comic-flipping nerds as she is one of them.
''[She] is one of the few actresses that I've met who doesn't have eyes on the prize,'' says Clerks II director Kevin Smith. ''She's not sitting there going, 'How many films will it take me to get an Oscar? How many to get on the A list?''' Even so, the filmmaker couldn't fathom why Dawson would want to play fast-food manager Becky, the seductive love interest in his low-budget dudefest — that is, until she showed up praising Rob Zombie and quoting lines from an obscure comic called Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. ''She's a fangirl,'' declares the director. ''The hottest geek on earth.''
(photo by Katrina del Mar)
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 04:13 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews
July 15, 2006
WATCH: George W Bush USA of WHATEVER!
omg...I just peed myself a little:
The clearest version can be found here: Liam Lynch - My United States of Whatever (George Bush Re-Mix) on Transbuddha
(via dirt)
Someone took the lamest episode in the series and made aCowboy Bebop mashup.
Posted by Groonk at 08:52 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Flash, Funny, Politics
July 14, 2006
Made in Eureka: We're gonna make that mean Something Again
Sci Fi Channel's new hourly series EUReKA is a mere days away. I stumbled upon this wholly fake advertisement website a few days ago.
I'm all about the Short Range Personality Scanner, the TemporalVision monitor and the Plasma Screen Interior Walls.
Posted by Groonk at 08:58 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Marketing
The Bong of the Dead
The witnesses said they then went to the tomb to see the casket and saw that the lid was removed and the body in the casket was headless.
Morristown said that while executing a search warrant at Buckalew’s home, they found a human head wrapped in bags, a necktie, a hacksaw, crowbar, garden trowel and two small parts of the damaged casket, according to the newspaper.
A psychiatrist has diagnosed Buckalew with mental health issues.
No shit, Doc? Mental issues. You must have graduated top of your class to come up with that astute analysis.
(via b55seddel)
Posted by Groonk at 08:49 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of USA, Weird
July 13, 2006
"The Internet is a Series of Tangled Up Tubes"
A while back, Diesel Sweeties did a comic on it. Jon Stewart finally got around to it last night. Ponzu sent me a link to a techno remix of it.
So here it is. The hat trick of Senator Ted Stevens'(R, Alaska) internet. By the by, Stevens is famous for wanting to build a bridge to nowhere.
1) Comic
2) Video Satire
3) The Techno Remix
LISTEN: Ted Stevens - The Internet is Tubes(remix)
Posted by Groonk at 07:22 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Digital Share, Funny, Music, Politics, Video
'Super-scope' Synchrotron light Changes Lives
The Diamond machine has produced its first "synchrotron" light beam, which will allow experiments to get underway.
Diamond is described as a series of "super microscopes" that will probe the structure of matter down to the scale of atoms and molecules.
Experiments at the Oxfordshire facility could lead to breakthroughs in physics, medicine and environmental protection.
(via bbcnews)
Posted by Groonk at 12:48 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Science
Stephen Colbert "Got Naked and Reproduced"
What a lovely thing is YouTube. You miss a program or interview, odds are, it's on God's Loving Heart the next day.
This time it's the Colbert interview on Conan. When Colbert geeks out in front of millions, it makes my heart shine. Not sure why but it does.
I should see a doctor about that.
part 1
Funny that he did the dance outtake from the TV "Strangers with Candy" during the interview. Ah, showbiz. Where would we be without reused comedy bits?
Part 2 under the cut.
(via ONTD)
part 2
Posted by Groonk at 10:44 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Funny, Just Freaking Neat, Video
July 12, 2006
There'll be Drinking, Drinking in the Streets
These are the things Huntsville has debates over.
Take that however you please.
Matsos said that means a patron who orders a fancy bottle of wine can't keep the bottle on the table. A separate health regulation prevents proprietors from serving the beverage in a glass container, restaurant owners say.
"The city is wanting a sidewalk atmosphere like in Europe and big cities where they can serve beer and wine," said Matsos, who owns Papou's Greek Restaurant on the courthouse square.
The proposed ordinance change comes on the heels of businessman Jeff Sikes' plans to turn a vacant building on the south side of the courthouse square into a European-style restaurant/martini bar with outdoor tables.
(via al.com)
Posted by Groonk at 04:54 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Alabama
The Laser Saber Enables Geekdom for Future Ass Kickings
And with the laser saber, the circle is complete.
It's kinda cool. I'd have one for Halloween or that wacky mid-life crisis situation comedy I plan to experience in a few years. Otherwise it's just collecting dust on a shelf.
Why am I sure this thing will inspire spectacular kickings of some nerd's ass when he tries to stop a fight with it?
(via geekologie and hacked gadgets)
Posted by Groonk at 02:11 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture
Han Solo is Full of Rainbows
Diesel Sweeties creator, Richard Stevens, has much to answer for...
Not sure why I'm finding so much Star Wars bukkake. These finds usually happen in threes, though.
(via rstevens journal)
Posted by Groonk at 10:51 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Art
...And The Universe was Mapped...And it was Just Okay
If one actually had control over where one was going in that universe map, I'd upgrade it to "good". Otherwise it's just a glorified screensaver.
(via digg)
Posted by Groonk at 10:20 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Flash, Science
Auschwitz Concentration Camp gets Re-Branded
Poland asked the U.N. in April to rename Auschwitz, where 1.5 million people, mostly Jews, died in World War Two.
Warsaw objects to references to "Polish gas chambers" at the "Polish concentration camp" in foreign media. Nearly 3 million non-Jewish Poles died at Nazi hands, and Poles see themselves as victims of the war.
(via cnn news)
Posted by Groonk at 09:54 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of WorldWarII
Han Solo is a Rocker. He Rocks Out.
my god, why?
(via 80s rewind)
Posted by Groonk at 12:13 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Art
July 11, 2006
Genghis Khan is a Rock God
A festival has begun in Mongolia to honour the nation's most famous emperor, warrior Genghis Khan.
Celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of the Mongol empire have been going on all year
.But the highlight is the three-day Nadaam festival, which features the traditional "three manly sports" of horse-racing, wrestling and archery.
The games are taking place around the country, with the population thronging to district centres to take part.
"This is the most beautiful and important holiday of our country," Tsendsuren Majaa, who was attending the games in the western town of Arvaikheer, told Reuters news agency.
(via bbc news)
Posted by Groonk at 07:28 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Holiday, Research, World
Betty Rizzo Should not Raise Children
Sue Bailey, of the University of Central Lancashire, said bullies were more likely to become teenage mothers, often in violent relationships.
She told a Royal College of Psychiatrists conference in Glasgow that as mothers they were often "prone to maternal irritability".
She called for better psychiatric understanding of girls' aggression.
They were just as much in need of understanding and help as their male "teenage hoodie" counterparts, she told the confernce.
She said: "How exactly does 'girl talk' ignite into hurtful, interpersonal aggression and how does that aggression lead to some girls becoming physically violent towards their peers, adults and romantic partners?"
(via bbcnews)
Posted by Groonk at 07:22 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Research
Matthew McConaughey Shares Drunken Secrets
The world's going to hell. Let's laugh at some celebrities.
7d and I agree, this drunken "shhhh" photo of McConaughey is fucking priceless. And really, who hasn't been there before?
More pics of libationary antics after the jump. As well as photos of celebs on bicycles. I can't tell you how many of those pics I've come across over the past few weeks. Really, kids, what is that fascination?
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 07:03 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture, USA
July 10, 2006
My Will to Live...Officially Gone
The Hoff must be stopped. When his end comes, it must be violent. we'll tape his eyes open and force feed him a steady diet of Big Gulps while he watches Armageddon and Pearl Harbor back to back for two soild weeks sans bathroom breaks. Maybe that will stop him from slowly murdering our souls.
(via the superficial)
Posted by Groonk at 06:20 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Video
The Science of Sleep has Yarn Ponies
And really, can you beat a film with yarn ponies? I know I often sit around my house and wonder, "What can I think up today that has a yarn pony prancing about in a dreamlike state?" If I think of something that has no pony with a thread-like visage, I throw that idea right out the window.
That's what makes The Science of Sleep a trailer you want to watch. Cause otherwise I would have wasted five written pages in trying to explain what I just saw.
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 08:06 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Movies, On the French, Trailers
Adam Carolla knows how to Treat a Lady
Which is why the... controversial... Anne Coulter was promptly hung up on after she called into his radio show an hour an a half late.
HEAR: The first Anne Coulter interview that pissed off no one.
The transcript of awesome:
ANN COULTER: Hello.
CAROLLA: Hi Ann. You're late, babydoll.
COULTER: Uh, somebody gave me the wrong number.
CAROLLA: Mmm...ow did you get the right number? Just dialed randomly - eventually got to our show? (Laughter in background)
COULTER: Um, no. My publicist e-mailed it to me, I guess, after checking with you.
CAROLLA: Ahh, I see.
COULTER: But I am really tight on time right now because I already had a -
CAROLLA: Alright, well, get lost.
(via crooks and liars)
Brilliant!
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 07:52 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Digital Share, Interviews
Dark Horse is Unapologetic
The Oregonian did a fairly decent article on comics very own Dark Horse publications. Dark Horse is the company that will release the Whedon's 8th season Buffy comic sometime this fall.
As the Internet, video games and other forms of entertainment vie for comic lovers' attention in more recent years, the company has shown flexibility, working to transform itself from a publisher of comics into a company whose array of products strives to reflect ever-changing pop culture.
Some in the industry question whether the company's creative luster has dimmed slightly in the process. But Dark Horse is unapologetic, charging ahead in the wake of what executives call the best year yet for a company whose varied efforts -- comics, graphic novels, toys, books, movies and retail enterprises -- racked up $30 million in sales in 2005.
A company dealing in the business I want to work in and based in the city I want to live in. You can't get more poetic.
(via The Oregonian)
Posted by Groonk at 06:33 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics
Astronauts...on a Stick
The title of today's post is taken from some comedian whose name I've completely forgotten. His act included a jalapeno...on a stick. I guess it's only funny to me then. Won't be the first time.
The first task was to replace or immobilize a cable cutter on the station's mobile transporter, or railroad car. A duplicate cable cutter accidentally cut a cable leading to the transporter late last year, and NASA wants to make sure it doesn't happen again. The transporter moves along a space station and is used for constructing the complex which orbits 220 miles above Earth.
The spacewalkers were then to test whether a new robotic boom, with astronauts attached at the end, could be used for inspecting or making repairs to hard-to-reach places on the shuttle's underside. Fossum and Sellers planned to simulate repair-related movements while at the end of the boom, which will be attached to the shuttle's 50-foot robotic arm.
The technique was developed to make sure there's never a repeat of the Columbia disaster that killed seven astronauts in 2003. Foam from the shuttle's external tank struck Columbia's wing during launch, creating a breach that allowed fiery gases to penetrate the shuttle during the return flight to Earth.
Fossum and Sellers may get a chance to use the boom for a real repair on their third spacewalk, now scheduled for next Wednesday. NASA managers are evaluating whether a piece of fabric filler protruding from the thermal tiles on Discovery's belly needs to be removed by the spacewalkers.
(via wired)
Posted by Groonk at 05:31 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Science
In Order to Save Humanity, Stephen Hawking Turns to Internet for Help
Some of the answers were short -- "get rid of nuclear weapons" -- and others vague -- "Somehow we will." Many were doubtful: "I don't think it is possible unless we expand into space," one user wrote.
A number of people suggested thinking differently, ending bickering or fostering cooperation.
Officials at the University of Cambridge, where Hawking is a mathematics professor, confirmed that Hawking wrote the message but said he would have no further comment.
(via wired)
Posted by Groonk at 02:53 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture, Research
July 08, 2006
"Nobody's Watching", But You Damn well Should Be
No words. Shoulda...brought a...poet.
Televisionary, please explain:
Nobody's Watching cleverly plays with classic situation comedy trappings such as three-sided sets, live studio audiences, multiple cameras, etc., but it's all seen through the modern (and somewhat jaded) lens of single camera comedy and juggled with the surreal, pop culture reference-laden humor of Scrubs. Just look at the show's title for a sense of the off-kilter humor in the show. Part of the title's joke is the fact that Will and Derrick decide ultimately to name their amorphous sitcom Nobody's Watching, knowing full well that the critics will savagely use that very title to bash the show; also, everybody's watching Will and Derrick: the network, the live audience, the video cameras in every nook and cranny of the sets, including their "secret bathroom" (don't ask). It's a telling commentary on the state of shock television today. It's even more telling that network execs thought this wouldn't find an audience, despite boffo numbers over the years for lousy sitcoms According to Jim, Coach, and Yes, Dear, all of which get mercilessly mocked -- by name, no less -- by Will and Derrick. (It's worth noting that the creator of Yes, Dear, Greg Garcia, who went on to create the superb My Name is Earl, had a falling out with Bill Lawrence after seeing Nobody's Watching's pilot.)
Have a taste with Part 1:
Part 1
Thanks to Televisionary and "God's loving heart" for sharing.
View the rest after the jump.
UPDATE: Paul Campbell's fan site posted an article that raves about "Nobody's Watching" possible second life.
And he would prefer that to the current system, relying on network executives and focus groups, where a show's fate is in the hands of ``sweaty people being asked leading questions.''
UPDATE #2: In true cheesy network TV announcing fashion, Carson Daly(July 21, 2006) "called up" the president of NBC Entertainment and "got him" to release Nobody's Watching unto the world.
When I think on it, that's the perfect way to advertise the rebirth of this neat little program. A tired, weak TV stunt for a show that expertly mocks tired, weak TV stunts.
Chew on that for a while.
Part 2
Part 3
Posted by Groonk at 02:28 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Marketing, USA, Video
The Boom Heard Round the World
Ripples from the Rocktboom fallout continue.
Was Congdon surprised by such a public offer? "That's the thing about the Internet," she said matter-of-factly. "It's all about being transparent."
And about being, well, KNOWN.
"I would say Amanda has a friend base, rather than a fan base," says Jeff Jarvis, author of the BuzzMachine blog, who has provided advice to Rocketboom. "You get a very personal relationship with people in this medium. It's this mass sense of knowing."
Certainly, this may have been easier for Congdon because unlike previous Internet stars like Wonkette's Ana Marie Cox, for example, she was an "on-air" personality - a vlogger, as video bloggers are known.
(via 7d)
Posted by Groonk at 07:02 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture
July 07, 2006
Google Wants You To Draw
Google SketchUp (free) is an easy-to-learn 3D modeling program that enables you to explore the world in 3D. With just a few simple tools, you can create 3D models of houses, sheds, decks, home additions, woodworking projects - even space ships. And once you've built your models, you can place them in Google Earth, post them to the 3D Warehouse, or print hard copies.
Google SketchUp is free for personal use. No registration is required.
(via Make Podcast: how to make a workbench)
Posted by Groonk at 06:30 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Google-fied, Just Freaking Neat, Tutorials
July 06, 2006
Ready for Ghost Shift
The Glass Eye seems to have caught a spectre haunting his person.
He claims no photoshop and no double exposure.
(Via warrenellis and the glass eye)
Posted by Groonk at 10:46 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Flickrlicious, Weird
Daft Punk's "Electroma" is a Little Weird
To anyone who has not seen "Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5olar 5ystem" this Daft Punk movie teaser might seem a tad strange. Interstella 5555 was an anime movie done in the style of "Captain Harlock" himself, Leiji Matsumoto. It was set entirely to Daft Punk's album Discovery and had no dialogue. I own it and think the damn thing's brilliant.
So I watched Electroma's trailer figuring that DP was up to similar tricks.
WTF? Robot marriage? Robots on a rip roarin' road trip? Robot's clad in black leather? I don't know what this movie's about but I'm sort of intrigued by it.
Clips from Interstella 5555 can be found on "God's loving heart" here, here, and here.
(via I Watch Stuff who gets gracious kudos from me for naming YouTube "God's loving heart")
Posted by Groonk at 12:45 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Movies, Music, On the French, Robots, Trailers, Video
50s/60s Commercials Make Great Italo-Disco Music Videos
There are lady gyrations, naughty beach balls, and even hand washing imagery(for those into that kind of thing) galore in this Putsch '79 video dubbed "Asian Girls". Yet there's nary a hint of any asian girls. Now that's either extremely avant-garde or outstandingly pretentious.
(via yourbartender)
Posted by Groonk at 11:22 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Music, Video
Brothers and Sisters of the World, We're all Cousins
Yet this was the ancestor of every person now living on Earth -- the last person in history whose family tree branches out to touch all 6.5 billion people on the planet today.
"It's a mathematical certainty that that person existed," said Steve Olson, whose 2002 book Mapping Human History traces the history of the species since its origins in Africa more than 100,000 years ago.
The rest of this article can be found here.
(via Wired)
Posted by Groonk at 11:17 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Science
KT Tunstall Might be a Witch
In February 2006, Charles mentioned her. In April 2006, 7d fell in love with her. Today, July 2006, Dunc! went and bought her album. This KT Tunstall person has entranced my friends with her siren song. And when the Law of Three is envoked, I can ignore her no longer.
The "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree Song"? Yeah, I like it, too. Very catchy and not at all trite.
Fuck. Now I'm bewitched.
(via lots of folks)
Posted by Groonk at 11:01 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Music, Video
July 04, 2006
Animated Music in the Round...
...leads to a catchy visual sound.
Musicanim.com did three things for me.
1) It introduced me to the works of poet Ogden Nash(Frog Round fea above). Some of his works I knew but didn't know I knew.
2) It introduced me to the Music Animation Machine proper.
The experience of watching the Music Animation Machine can be a remarkable awakening to the inner structure of music, especially for people who are sensitive to music but lack the training to "see inside" a conventional musical score. A tool for listeners of all ages.
3) It gave me something calming to watch and listen before bedtime.
There are bunches uploaded on YouTube.
(via 7d)
Posted by Groonk at 02:27 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Digital Share, Music, Video
July 03, 2006
Ricky Gervais was an 80s Pop Video God
When I see that Ricky Gervais was in an honest to badness 80s pop band, playing his heart out and stinking up the airwaves. And I realize that a veritable comedy genius like Gervais was once complete rubbish. It gives me hope that I too can achieve greatness one day.
But mostly it makes me laugh my face off at Ricky Gervais.
Not with him, at him.
(via televisionary who unintentionally gave me the best birthday present ever)
Posted by Groonk at 05:33 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Video
July 02, 2006
The Turnover E-Reader is a Lesson in Simplicity
According to designer Timothy Yeoh, "Turnover is two pages with infinite possibilities - you can lose yourself in any number of worlds." Touch the on button for a few seconds to bring up the book select menu and use the scroll wheel to select the book or quickly skip to the desired page. Touchscreen capability lets you bend the corner to toggle bookmarks on or off, with a bookmark symbol on the page for easy reference when scrolling through.How long since the birth of e-readers has it taken for some guy to make one look like an old fashioned book. 5 years? More? I'm telling you, sometimes the corporate schmucks have the foresight of a fox in a henhouse.
(via geekologie)
Posted by Groonk at 09:10 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Technology
The Pattern Clock Knows You are a Lazy Ass
When the word genius was created, this invention is what they used as a description. I've gone through many a way to fool myself awake. Some examples:
Problem
I set the clock ahead 10 or so minutes.
Solution
I end up doing that quick math in my head at 7 in the morning. And if you knew me and math, you'd know that was a feat in itself.
Problem
I place the clock 10 feet from my bed.
Solution
I use my bo to kung fu the hell out of the snooze button.
Problem
The Pattern Clock makes me actually think in order to turn it off.
Solution
I'm not sure what I'd do when faced with a clock that tricks me awake. Either I'd abide and recognize it's superior intelligence or I'd throw the thing out a high window. Again this would be a feat since I live on the bottom floor.
(via geekologie)
Posted by Groonk at 08:51 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Technology
