Ploafmaster General

Capacity is
doubled now. I'm closer to
wanting an iPhone.

Phunniest Pharmaceutical Pharce I've seen in ages:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrVqD67zils&rel=1&border=1&w=425&h=373]
(via Joshua Blankship)

Against the odds, my New York Giants have defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII!!!!!

Eli Manning deserved his MVP, with his only interception the result of a bobbled reception, and an otherwise strong game that made Tom Brady look like, well...Eli Manning :-)

In addition, the defense for the Big Blue Wrecking Crew played as hard as any defense could, stuffing run after run and putting so much pressure on Brady that he looked like he was about to blow. Now we go into the books as having shut down the almost perfect season of the Patriots, allowing the '72 Dolphins to breath easier. Eli gets to feel like a real quarter back, and Tom Coughlin proved his value as coach.

What a fantastic end to an unexpected playoff run, too! Excepting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round, every team we defeated in the post season beat us during the regular season, so it's nice to payback for those earlier losses.

I suppose I'll be wearing my Giants jersey to work on Tuesday (I'm taking tomorrow off...too wiped out), if I don't get called out on it...

UPDATE: For anyone interested, here's the INCREDIBLE play where Eli broke the tackle and tossed it to David Tyree for the helmet catch.

Slate is carrying Ron Rosenbaum's...ahem - glowing - ode to the incandescent light bulb. I think he makes some fine points, but fights a losing battle.

Director Paul Thomas Anderson has done great things with There Will Be Blood. After my first viewing, I believe the film to be about runaway ambition at the cost of anything and anyone around you - but I could be wrong. At any rate, I plan to watch it again, and I can only hope that Daniel Day Lewis indeed receives the Oscar for Best Actor.

There were scenes in this film which tightened my innards, making me writhe with discomfort. There's one scene, particularly, where Lewis' character forces his son to drink a glass of of goat's milk mixed with a heavy dose of whiskey to calm the child down. It's a fixed shot held for what feels too long - not in the poor editing sense, but rather long enough to force the audience into sharing the discomfort.

5/5, and I certainly plan to add this to my collection when it releases on DVD.

P.S. The sound editing was excellent - every little scuff and scratch, match strike, and tool click was audible just the right way. No wonder that's another of the 8 Oscars for which it's nominated.

Please do yourself a favor and check out this trailer for Son of Rambow - a film that looks totally hilarious and gorgeously photographed:

http://cdn.channel.aol.com/aolexd_widgets/aolwidget_9.swf

I just received an email at work about the impending blockage of iTunes on company computers.

Let me start by acknowledging that yes, it's not my computer or my network, so I have no right to install software of my choice or what-not.

Well I'm still pissed, because it helps me get through my day. I use iTunes at work to listen to my iPod. This way I can control the music on my iPod through the computer, and sync up some podcasts as well. I also can't think of a reasonable cause for blocking the entire program. Is it because of ripping CDs or streaming media? Because we can still do those things with Windows Media Player. Is it because of buying music through the iTunes Store? Because I can still buy MP3s from Amazon on the internet. Is it because of some obscure security hole? Because I'm pretty sure our use of Windows and Internet Explorer alone is enough to make iTunes look like a fortress.

I think they only accomplishment here is the clear display of incompetence by some folks higher up the IT chain (and likely not even in my office building).

Mugs has provided one of the coolest videos I've ever seen...a world champion cowboy monkey!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3-qx08ZJ6c&rel=1&w=425&h=355]

I think my internet heart is breaking...

If Yahoo! accepts Microsoft's unsolicited offer, that means several nice web properties would fall under control of the Evil Empire. Properties like Upcoming.org, and Flickr. Yeah, FLICKR. That upsets me no small amount.

Of course, Yahoo! rejected the last bid from Microsoft, but their financial outlooks wasn't so weak at the time. We'll see what happens. Resist! Resist!

This clock, designed by Sebastian Wrong (really his name!) is excellent not only for its style, but because it's a freakin' FLIP CLOCK! Sweet! There's a larger version that includes the day of the week, day of the month, and the month name, but something about the proportions of this one and the limit to 2 different type faces at once (more than that gets kinda noisy) strikes my as just right. It's pricey, so it's not in my future, but I guess that's just the price of art.

I watched the film adaptation of Glengarry Glen Ross last night - I won't go in depth here, but the short version is excellent acting, sometimes interesting film making, and a pace that unfortunately doesn't keep up with the play. 4/5.

"a recent breakup results in a montage of memories and scattered events."

That's what film maker Isiah Flores has to say about his short film "Holding Hands" on his Vimeo page. See for yourself - it's breathtaking.


(via Gentle Graffiti)

Despite his most thinly-veiled comments, we all know he's guilty.

Holy CRAP:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzkNI4YIU2o&rel=1&border=1&w=425&h=373]
(via kottke)

Today I decided that I'd ditch Sage - the Firefox extension I use for feeds at work - for NewsGator's FeedDemon. So far, so good - though it's definitely a bit clunkier than NetNewsWire (seriously, what is it with camel case everybody?) and isn't 100% analogous in functionality.

What I'm MOST interested in, however, is the NewsGator Online feature - the ability to sync my feeds between the Mac at home, and the computer here. This way when I get back to the house I don't have to wade through the news items I've already read here at my desk.

Wow...that's a nice start. I have the personal (that is, FREE) version of EE installed on my server, and setup was a breeze.

I just have the default template up for now, and I haven't touched a thing, but you can peep it (Piep it?) on this subdirectory:
/cms/

Okay, so I decided to see what all the fuss about ExpressionEngine is, and I'm in the process of installing it in a sub-domain of my site right now. More to follow, so for you non-tech types, you'll have to pardon the possibly semi-frequent posts about nerdy stuff in over the next few days.

Great pickled apple blossoms! New Kids on the Block is reuniting?!?!?

It's news like this which tempts me to believe, like Job's friends, that I've done some sinful thing to deserve such a horrible reality. I remember when my late Pop Pop, meaning well, gave my brothers and I some NKOTB trading cards (to be fair, he also gave us Batman trading cards). We taped them to our dressers and threw darts at them.

Here's hoping this is short (if at all) lived.
(via Gentle Graffiti)

Who knew? Apparently the Beatles were banned from Israel in 1965 for fear of corrupting the youth. Well now Israel wants them back in order to celebrate the 60th birthday of the modern incarnation of the state.

The New York Times Magazine has a fascinating (though QUITE long) article that theorizes a world in which America no longer enjoys hegemony, the changes leading thereto, and the consequences thereof.

Thanks to a delightful Google logo this morning, I've found that today is the 50th anniversary of the Lego brick.



Now I played with Legos nearly every day of my life from 1 year to 16 years, and I still occasionally lust after the higher-end Star Wars sets. Growing up I went through nearly every variety of theme and skill level, from pirates to cities, from little cars to full-blown Technics boom cranes. I still have a custom-designed spacecraft in my bedroom, and an A-Wing from Return of the Jedi in my office.

I have to admit, however, that I have mixed feelings about the mighty little bricks these days.

On one hand, today we have a greater incidence of specialized bricks and pieces that preclude much of the construction that would have been required in years past. What's the point of a building-block set where half the building is done for you? On the other hand, I have to admire the longevity of such a fundamentally simple toy. In an age of electronics and video games, Legos have adapted admirably with their popular Mindstorms kits and a slew of reasonably successful video games. They also, meanwhile, continue to offer multifarious kits for all ages that allow for the creative rebuilding and invention that so attracted me to Legos as a child.

So happy 50th indeed, Lego. Here are a few useful links in honor of the best toy since the cardboard box:

Lego's own history and manufacturing process (PDF, close to a Meg)
Wikipedia's rather exhaustive Lego entry (if only because of the near-overwhelming array of links to subsections and related articles)
And lest we forget what may be one of the coolest Lego kits ever conceived...the Motorized Walking AT-AT.

All I have to say about Ocean's Thirteen is that it's not like haute cuisine. It's not going to change the way you look at and consume food. No, this film is more like that bacon cheeseburger from Carytown Burger and Fries. Familiar, and by now not too groundbreaking, but tasty none the less. And satisfying from start to finish.

4/5

Have you seen that commercial for the Ford Edge "crossover" vehicle? The one with the gal in the backseat staring up through the sunroof at the night sky in a city? There's some totally sweet music playing, and I've finally figured out what it is: "The Funeral" by Band of Horses. This song came out in 2006, I believe, and sometimes I just feel so behind the curve when it comes to what all the cool kids are in to these days...All the same, this song rocks my face off (even if it sounds like James Mercer from The Shins is moonlighting with these guys), and submitted for your approval is the original video for "The Funeral":

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibE7IqEjni4&rel=1&w=425&h=355]

I'd known for quite some time that the EU legalized the sale of Absinthe a few years ago, but I had no idea that the wormwood-infused boisson was now allowed in the U-S-of-A.

Now to seek out a bottle of the stuff...