Ploafmaster General

My nephew is more awesome than your soul.


Donoblaster from ploafmaster on Vimeo.

One of my best friends, Robert, was just accepted into Virginia Tech's PhD program! Congratu-frickin'-lations man!

I dropped a few more pics on the ol' Flickr-oo. I managed to get 11 pictures out of 4 rolls, this time :-)

Of course, the highlight for me is that the pics that didn't make the cut for Flickr are substantially better than my past efforts. I also know for sure now that I need a sturdier tripod if I want any of my 300mm shots to be worth anything.

Well, Brett, you had a good run.

My dad passed away over night from complications following an otherwise low-risk hernia surgery.

I've always viewed my relationship with my dad as more like a really close uncle, so it's hard for me to know how to deal with this right now. I'm sure the shock will wash over me in the coming days, but for now, I'm just taking some time to clear my head. My posting may be sporadic over the next week or so. I don't really know how to approach that, either. Is it profane for me to seek out and reference the absurd web content that usually fills my site? Or is that therapeutic?

Whatever.

Rest in peace, Thomas Treacy Warshaw Jr.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Fifty-eight per cent.

Flickr user Nick Wheeler has a really cool tutorial on how to make a home-made ring flash, thoroughly illustrated with step-by-step photos. I may have to try this out some time. Maybe I need to get a flash first, though :-)

This is too cool to ignore:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z25t-PQDn5A&w=500&h=418]
(via kottke)

"Five Primal Emotions" OR "Watch Dan Practice Facial Gymnastics" from ploafmaster on Vimeo.

Less artistic, but more appropriate to today (just make sure you turn up the volume, it's pretty quiet):


February 29 from GuySansom on Vimeo.

Tasty.


18fps from 16:9 on Vimeo.

Wikipedia's entry for February 29th is full of distractions for your Friday, with lists of notable historical events, births, deaths, et al.

Dan Benjamin has done it again.

Today he's posted full instructions for a "roll your own" install of Ruby, Rubygems, Rails, and Mongrel on Leopard. As soon as I get home I'm going to take a stab at it, but I'm sure it'll be as easy as his previous efforts.

Reasons Why I Love "The Sneeze" #2874: Naming a toilet.

Make sure you won't disturb anybody with your laughter before you read this.

If you get a chance, check out the music of Vampire Weekend. Yesterday's Fresh Air contained a review of their self-titled disc, and I have to say that while their music sounds quite derivative, it's still VERY pleasant to the ears.

You can hear two tracks, "Oxford Comma" (Trey and Phil may go bonkers over this one...) and "M79", on their website. I'm a particularly big fan of M79, and after hearing snippets from several other tracks on the Fresh Air review I may have to snag the album.

Alright, I know I'm not the first person to talk about it, but it's just so funny that I can't contain it any longer.

Go read Stuff White People Like. And don't take it too seriously or I'll pee in your Cheerios.
(via Blankenship)

So this morning I hopped in the car and started driving up Seminary Ave. on my typical route to work. I was almost to Brookland Park Boulevard when I noticed a tall, lanky fellow standing by his car on the side of the street. A feeling of recognition hit me, and as I started passing by, I realized it was my friend Isaac from when I was in high school! He recognized me, too, so I parked and jumped out.

It turns out that he just purchased a house three blocks up the street from Valerie and myself. So now I have one of my old pals living in the same neighborhood. Rock, rock on.

The above shot was taken by my buddy Dave on his first day shooting film with a manual camera. I think he managed to capture my prettier side.

Today Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited releases on DVD. After I pick up my developed film, I'm heading straight to the store to snag a copy. HUZZAH!

Except when politicians are involved.

I have to say, it was refreshing to see an Academy Awards ceremony last night where major award categories were mostly devoid of "mainstream" films. I don't know whether that bodes ill for ABC's ratings or not, but at no point did I feel as if a quality actor/actress or film was usurped by crap. I was particularly happy to see Daniel Day-Lewis pick up Best Actor, and while I'd have liked to see Brad Bird snag Best Original Screenplay for Ratatouille, at least he collected Best Animated Feature.

I think the nominations reinforce the notion that 2007 was an uncommonly good year for the art of film making. I don't know (or much care) how the studios fared, but the craft certainly advanced, and I think the world is better for it.

Hilarious new-ish commercial from Old Spice:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPYWTkP9NDM&rel=1&w=500&h=418]

This fine post about bathroom fixtures reminds me of why I read The Sneeze.

Mugs has pur-chased his own domain in order to resurrect The Writing on the Bathroom Wall. Go check it out, quickly, before he uploads something useful...

Better not cross this Elmo doll...
(via Engadget)