June 2006 Archives

I'm surprised I haven't seen this video before now, but better late than never. I can't get enough; it's wonderful on so many levels. I love Jimmy Tamborello's face (or James Figurine*, if you prefer) when he rides his 'cruiser through the tumbleweed, just barely staying upright. Ms. Lewis is gorgeous as always and Ben Gibbard is somehow the perfect cornball in that peach (faux-)Izod.There's also something about the final scene the reminds me of Logan's Run. Maybe that's just me. Without further ado:

The Postal Service -- We Will Become Sillhouettes (link to video on Transbudda)

* Figurine's MySpace page has two amazing tracks from Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake, which I'm really happy comes out next month. I've cozied-up to "55566688833" and it's worn away a little spot in my heart. It's a simple yet smart track and I comment on it here. Oh, and yeah, that's Erlend Øye lending vocals to "All the Way to China". ::swoons like a school girl::

Summer's officially in full-swing, so howbouta nice summer beverage for those firefly-strewn evenings out on the porch swing? Here's an easy recipe for just such a drink:

• 3/4 glass pink lemonade (the pulpier/more homestyle-ish the better)
• 1/2 shot gin
• 1 shot coconut-flavored rum (Malibou or the like)
• ice
• fresh mint, if desired

I like to grind the mint up a bit first; the business end of a spoon or a glass stirrer does the trick quite nicely, though I admit I'm not sure why I'd consider the backside of a spoon its "business end". The amounts listed above are obviously just proportional recommendations. I was surprised about the gin in this one -- can't really taste it -- and I added the coconut rum until just a hint is detectable because I'm otherwise not a huge fan. This picture makes me happy I'm drinking one right now, but really I just wanted to show off that sweet potholder I made in the fourth grade doubling as a coaster. This pink lemonade is a yummy treat. Hope you like it. UPDATE: This actually has a name, "Summer's Eve", which sounds corny, but is a perfect description. I can't take credit for this one, though; thanks, G.

I thought this was kinda neat at first, but it wasn't quite clear why David Ponce over at OhGizmo! was so excited until I watched this almost seven-minute demonstration over on YouTube. The GUI's fantastic, but it's not until about the 5-minute mark that HoneyBrown breaks out the big guns with actual files as opposed to just file-type "tiles". Just check it out; it's pretty cool. A whole new take on file previewing that I think just might have the potential to change the way we interface with computers. Or at least our desktops. If nothing else, listen to some of the technique names -- the narrator pronounces the "Drag'n'Cross" move as "dragon-cross". Cound't help it: "dragon-cross" makes me think of this.

[Potential spoiler? Maybe. Also, Refered to briefly in an earlier post.] Of course I saw Nacho Libre on its opening weekend. Well, I didn't really make it a point or anything, but it sounded like fun and it was. It seems a great many people really didn't like it or, if anything, the film did little for them. Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman felt that way. But I'm gonna have to straight-up agree with Manohla Dargis' review in the New York Times: Jack Black's "Nacho" is a "tender heart in stretchy pants and ankle boots". That pretty much sums it up. I actually don't really want to get into the plot of the movie. Plenty of other people are writing about that and in a such a way that is probably much more entertaining than what I could produce here. But what I find so interesting is everyone who is panning this film is doing so on the basis of Jack Black's "Nacho" because he is, well, not Jack Black. That is, because he's playing a role that is a little different from his usual characters. I'm not a huge fan of Mr. Black, in fact, I find he can get downright annoying if watched for long periods of time. But there are times when he is actually quite funny, and he successfully uses some of those stock moves to make us laugh in Libre: his myriad of facial expressions, singing and quick, jerky movements. Never the staight-man, and I appreciate that. He exercises something in Libre, however, that we hardly ever see from him: earnestness. It's strange because I agree that "Nacho" is almost an under-dog, but that's not exactly the right kind of profile to give his (or his character's actual name in the film, "Ignacio"'s) persona. He doesn't ever seem to notice that he's actually a mediocre wrestler and that, in a way, is inspirational. I almost felt like I could be the champion of orphan's day-old tortilla chips everywhere! But of course there is the (almost) always faithful, however quirky, sidekick who does most of the work, or in this case, takes more than his fair share of the beatings (Héctor Jiménez is *wonderful* as "Esqueleto"; where did they find this guy?!). I'd also like to point out that Jared Hess, his wife Jerusha Hess and Mike White nailed a good, simple comedy. That's not the easiest thing to do. Don't get me wrong, I have criticisms, but Libre is polished in the way that Napoleon Dynamite just couldn't have been as a first film. So yeah, don't go into this movie looking for the best film you've ever seen or because you want to see the Jack Black you saw in High Fidelity or School of Rock (and certainly not Tenacious D's Black), but because you want to smile, laugh and have fun. I mean, when was the last time you had fun at the movies?  (Well, okay, I did at V for Vendeta and Me and You and Everyone We Know, but who's counting?!)

I'm sporting a wonderful b'day gift from Heather - the ultimate in nerd-wear. As my stance suggests, however, it appears I'm a little confused by the difference between Apple enthusiasm and superpowers. I've decided I'm going to wear this to my friendly, neighborhood Apple Store (about an hour away in Short Pump, VA). But instead of being the beacon of hard-core groupie, I'm going to pretend the shirt is the mark of my chosen line of retail. That's right, I'd be a "Genius". You know, those guys running around Apple Stores either helping people or doing the more geniusy stuff camped out behind the "Genius Bar". I imagine there's a Genius hierarchy culminating in the coveted spot of a Genius Bar-tender. Anyway, I'll go in, and just start helping people. "Oh man, you can do so many great things with this MacBook!". Not that I've really messed around with one. Or, "Excuse me, sir, but you will not believe how crisp the video looks on these iPods." When the actual staff asks me who I am, I'll tell a story about how I transfered from the store in McClean (that was one of the first two Apple stores, btw; the other in California) and how my former manager said he would work out the details. "What's that? What do you mean I'm not on the payroll?!?" A little more sob story, my spot is solidified and a genius is born. But, I admit this is not as good as some of the crazy antics of a young Val Kilmer in 1985's Real Genius. I have a lot to learn.

It's kind of nice now that the academic year is drawing to a close--not for me, not because I'm graduating or anything, but because all of of these great commencement speaches are floating around, past and present. I was recently sent a link to Connan O'Brien's 2000 address at Harvard, and lo and behold, Metafilter had a link to that and a few others today, including a Jon Stewart's William & Mary address in 1984 and a commencement address delivered this past Saturday by none other than my-pal-by-several-degrees-of-separation, Stephen Colbert. Now, this isn't a post comparing or contrasting addresses, 'cause I'll say right now that overall, I liked O'Brien's better than Colbert's and I've yet to read Stewart's. Colbert had a lot of repeat material from that little show he does every night on Comedy Central, but he had a few pretty funny jokes (like the somewhat disgusting metaphor about packing our heads with knowledge like plump sausages) and, to be honest, something that's got me brooding a bit. In particular what he says as he's winding to a close:

But don’t be afraid to be a fool. Remember, you cannot be both young and wise. Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying “yes” begins things. Saying “yes” is how things grow. Saying “yes” leads to knowledge. “Yes” is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say “yes.”

Thanks to Mr. Colbert, I realize that I am a cynic. Okay, I already knew that, but I'm not so sure I've really thought a lot about what that means for me. When it comes to me and my state of being and my possible futures, I've got a pretty negative disposition, and that makes me sad. I think I have been convincing myself that this is all just an appropriate response to life and a subsequent result of wisdom. Now, I think it's true that a few circumstances have led me to experience a weird smattering of things otherwise reserved for the middle-aged, but I am by no means "wise". "Cautious" at best, "cynical" at worst and, I think, most likely. So with that, I am pledging that all of my future efforts will be concentrated on telling the difference. That, and to say "yes" more often. I've gotta start being a little more hopeful and stop being such a wuss.

This is one of the most outrageous ad campaigns I've ever seen. It kind of reminds me of that terrible ("unapproved") Ford commercial where the cat gets its head chopped off in a sunroof. All are from Goodyear, asserting their "runonflat" tires are quite necessary as it is dangerous to change that flat out there on the open road. The image to the right is actually a link to three of these Goodyear commercials (all one file. For all you Apple geeks, there's a fun little plugin that will play all .wmv files in Quicktime, if you're curious). These commercials are particularly shocking, very much like the recent Volkswagen "Safe Happens" campaign that is causing a bit of chatter. The interesting part being that VW is basically introducing those of us on this side of the pond to this specific kind of shock-infused advertising. I suppose it makes sense as the American viewing audience has been desensitized to just about every other mode of advertising. Or, if not desensitized, completely turned off.

My brother and sister got me a fantastic birthday present: a hot, little Sony Cybershot DSC-W70. I cannot get over how slick this thing is. Its up to 7.2 megapixels which is ridiculous for what I'll be doing with this camera, but I am not complaining! I love it! It's tiny, and sleek, and the 2.5" viewing screen is practically the size of the entire back of the camera. In fact, now that I look at it, I realize it's actually smaller than my iPod. Crazy! The image to the left is actually a picture I took of a quilted wall-hanging I have in my living room. It was made for me by the mother of the student whose family hosted me when I visited Japan in July of 1999. Now, as some of you know, I find the Stuff on My Cat website quite funny. There's something about dressing up your cat or putting absurd objects on her that invokes the kind of humor that only the likes of whoopie cushions, chattering teeth or rubber chickens can produce. The trick is to not visit this site too often. Only go when you want a guaranteed laugh. What I actually wanted to do was to take a funny picture of something on my cat, Holly. Instead all I got was the shot of her with Happy Guy, the back massager. In other, sadder news, I had to put my cat Star to sleep on Monday from what basically amounts to congestive heart failure. I wanted to do something really silly with the both of them, but that won't happen now. I'm going to keep thinking of silly things to do with Holly and maybe I'll submit one. This is the monkey that lives on the doornob outside of my "office". This guy's been my pal for a few years and he seems to be pretty happy just hanging out. Oh, man. So "gratuitous" might not be quite right, but I did take pictures of some silly stuff. I hope to have more fun pictures from this coming evening.