Caught on the Bound

Planet in Peril

2008-12-10T23:08:00.001-05:00

Alternatively, could be titled "Anderson Cooper makes stoic faces at various problems"

Dumbledore vs. The Establishment

2008-11-13T22:43:00.000-05:00

Game respect game.

Sacrifice

2008-11-11T19:33:00.003-05:00

Nothing screams "economic crisis" like a bunch of politicians going on cruises!

"Liberals also organize political cruises. Last year, The Nation magazine organized an Alaska trip where subscribers rubbed shoulders with left-leaning figures such as actor Richard Dreyfuss."

Rephrased: Liberals are also capable of having fun. Last year, The Nation magazine sent them to Alaska to avoid having too much fun. Richard Dreyfuss is a flaming liberal Marxist tree-hugger.

Post-Election Reboot

2008-11-09T23:23:00.002-05:00

Depending on what you think, we may or may not have our country back. I tend to think we do. Naturally, this calls for governor's mansion shenanigans:

"Schwarzenegger said his wife has been “gloating now for these last few days” and running around the house with a life-size cutout of Obama saying, “We won.”"

I have several questions:

1) Where did Maria Shriver get a life-size cutout of Obama?

2) What purpose does it serve in the house?

I suppose she could have been keeping the cardboard Obama in a hall closet for the last few months, secretly checking in on it and whispering "Soon, my precious....soon...."

Where I Been

2008-10-24T23:51:00.002-04:00

John writes in the comments: "Where have been the updates, man?"

Well, all you had to do was ask!

Sorry, everyone. I've been busy since moving to New York. It's crazy. I know people say that about a lot of things these days and I almost regret invoking the word to describe something that is actually quite ordinary for millions of people; but it hardly seems worth the effort after writing so many words after it. I don't even know where this paragraph went.

I'm endorsing Barack Obama. Why? Because I am brainwashed by his celebrity. No other reason.

McCain gets desperate and hires three different directors to make ads for him. The Wes Anderson one is my favorite:

Transporting a Dozen Eggs

2008-10-08T19:31:00.001-04:00

My graph made it on to GraphJam:

more song chart memes

September Madness

2008-10-01T20:44:00.001-04:00

Get your bracket now! I had Goldman Sachs, the Federal Reserve, The Queen of England and Barack Obama in the Final Four.

Biden, Palin's Accent to Face Off in Debate

2008-09-30T21:52:00.002-04:00

The VP debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden is this Thursday on ~~ESPN~~ television and there seems to be a healthy fixation on the Governor's don't cha know-ish accent.

"Palin ... makes people’s ears prick up. “‘Oh,’ they think, ‘she sounds like us, she sounds like me, she understands me.’”"

Only if you live in Fargo, I assume? I actually like the accent, but I've never heard it out west anywhere. Anyone else have first-hand experience? Is this a common accent for Alaska or the Pacific northwest in general?

Most Incoherent Article, Like, Ever

2008-09-30T19:01:00.002-04:00

A former Tour de France director levels devastating charges against Lance Armstrong like "Why are you coming back?" and "People will whisper about doping." and "You use dark magic to bulge out your calves right? I knew it."

If anything, Armstrong raised the profile of cycling all over the world and inspired thousands of others to give it a try (not to mention the hope he gave other cancer survivors). I was one of the quickest to defend France during the heady days of Freedom Fries and Freedom Toast, but this strikes me as a little too...well, French. Be glad that the American media and consumers are paying attention to your unique national event!

Also, it was fun when they started it in London a few years ago because in all of the pictures of people watching from the street, there was always a guy in the background walking back from the store, completely unaware of what was happening, with a facial expression that conveyed something like, "Tour de Whaaaaaaaat?"

The Pretender

2008-09-29T23:02:00.002-04:00

One of the best things about YouTube? The covers. Some of them really stand out. I liked this cover of Jackson Browne's "The Pretender":

Jimmy Kimmel on Palin

2008-09-29T20:07:00.000-04:00

"John McCain showed up without running mate Sarah Palin, which is a shame because she actually has a lot of experience with financial matters. You know, she lives right next to a bank."

Colbert-Spiderman

2008-09-29T19:59:00.002-04:00

Stephen Colbert will be teaming up with Spiderman:

“Well, it’s kind of a team-up,” laughed comic book scribe Mark Waid, who wrote the eight-page story that will appear in Amazing Spider-Man #573. “Let’s put it this way: Stephen Colbert thinks it’s a team-up. Spider-Man keeps telling him it’s not a team-up.

I can only assume DC Comics will strike back with a Jerry Seinfeld-Superman combo.

We Have A Meme!

2008-09-29T19:21:00.002-04:00

Brian takes similar delight in UCLA's new #12 ranking in the polls after that tussle with Fresno State.

My Monies Asplode!

2008-09-29T19:08:00.003-04:00

Or whatever it was the headlines said today about Wall Street.

Notre Dame Beats Purdue, Ranked #9 in Poll

2008-09-28T21:12:00.002-04:00

For Best College Food, that is. Reasons we aren't ranked higher, based on personal experience:

1. Seafood Salad
2. Lobster Quesadillas
3. Spicy Sea Nuggets.

Oh, Heather! How You Toy With Us!

2008-09-28T21:05:00.001-04:00

Heather Locklear gets arrested for suspected DUI in Santa Barbara.

Racist Poll on Racism

2008-09-20T09:11:00.002-04:00

I don't get it. A survey was conducted to determine how blacks are perceived by whites. Using a framework of "How well does each of these words describe blacks?", the survey throws out words like "hardworking" and "friendly."

How do they get away with this? They're asking people to make a sweeping judgment about an entire population of diverse individuals. I understand that it's trying to measure bias or prejudice, but isn't this survey inherently so?

Would you describe all whites as "hardworking" or "lazy"? Of course not - everyone is going to be different and the variety is overwhelming. How is this premise even valid? Am I overreacting?

Love and Badminton

2008-09-20T00:21:00.002-04:00

My brother is Bachelor of the Month at the University of San Francisco.

"SFF: How would your friends describe you if they could only use five words? You can brag, go ahead.
KC: Too hella fly to handle.
SFF: I meant five different adjectives, but that’s so crazy I’ll accept it."

Big Gay California Weddings

2008-09-19T20:45:00.001-04:00

Gay marriage is now legal in California, but it's not without it's difficulties:

"The California Supreme Court has affirmed my right to a wedding registry at Neiman Marcus, but it feels a bit like an unfunded mandate. How can I plan a day worthy of memorializing in oil paint before the November election? Where is my gay reparations check to help me afford a stylist, a calligrapher, an artisinal cheesemaker, three albino virgins with a harp, a glitter-and-rainbow machine, a team of midget aerialists on wires to simulate Baroque puti, a Valentino gown for my mother-in-law, a liposcuptor and a phalanx of angry queens with clipboards and headsets shouting at their minions, "Damnit, Bruce, I said 'CUE THE CHAMPAGNE FOUNTAIN!' The champagne fountain was supposed to begin bubbling BEFORE the albinos started Canon in D!""

Rats

2008-09-14T23:07:00.003-04:00

At risk of betraying my New York greenness, I just wanted to let you know that I saw a rat jump two feet in the air on the subway tracks this evening. The whole idea of Master Splinter teaching turtles to be ninjas seems all the more plausible now. Good night, and good luck.

Forde: How Can I Make This ND Win A Bad Thing?

2008-09-14T10:48:00.002-04:00

College football is underway. I suppose I should have been blogging more about it, but I decided to actually watch football instead.

Nice win for the Irish yesterday over Michigan. I'm not sure what it says about the team, but they were certainly helped a great deal by six Wolverine turnovers.

Pat Forde has a column up on ESPN. The gist: Notre Dame's win was no sign of a resurrection or impending national championship.

Well, who was ever making such a claim? Most ND fans seem to be hoping for an 8-4/9-3 season - a fairly realistic and grounded ambition if you ask me. It's telling that a column is immediately out there debunking Irish greatness after a nice win under any circumstances.

"Respect will have to be earned, and it will take more than Notre Dame showed in this game for that to happen."

Well, yeah. But that doesn't mean a win isn't a win. This column appears to be written in response to a statement that was never made. He could have at least saved it for some occasion like Notre Dame getting a flukey 7-3 win over a USC or something.

Lance Coming Out of Retirement

2008-09-09T18:00:00.001-04:00

Armstrong pulls a Jordan.

Somewhere in Middle America - One Vote in a Red State

2008-09-09T17:50:00.002-04:00

Obama is aiming to pick off one of Nebraska's electoral votes - Omaha's. As a native Nebraskan, I'm glad to see Nebraska's quirk of the electoral system given some attention (Maine is the other state that splits it's electoral votes by Congressional district).

It goes without saying, of course, that one electoral vote could make a difference; especially with how tight the polls are at the moment.

Final score: Obama 270 McCain 268?? How pissed would the rest of Red Nebraska (politically, of course, because everyone is Football Red) if Omaha, the home of ConAgra, Berkshire Hathaway and Marlon Brando, cost them a McCain presidency? If the Cornhuskers are undefeated at that point, it won't matter.

The Dreaded Mask of Internet Anonymity

2008-09-07T23:42:00.001-04:00

Esquire dishes on blog commentors, featuring Professor of Communications Paul Levinson and comedian Mike Birbiglia.

Commute

2008-09-07T18:30:00.001-04:00

From Wikipedia:

"The word 'commuter' was originally used for travellers paying a reduced or 'commuted' fare for an advance-purchase rail season ticket valid for a fixed number of days, weeks, or months. Such tickets usually allow the traveller to repeat the same journey as often as they like during the period of validity: usually, the longer the period, the cheaper the cost per day."

I did not know that. Note how I accept Wikipedia without question.

Socotra Island

2008-09-07T17:51:00.002-04:00

The most alien-looking place on Earth.

Useful Fact of the Day

2008-09-07T16:58:00.002-04:00

Estimated amount of glucose used by an adult human brain each day, expressed in M&Ms: 250 - Harper's Index, October 1989

I'm in favor of the M&M becoming the standard unit of glucose (SUG).

When is Now?

2008-09-07T16:44:00.001-04:00

How does time move forward? Very much a sound of one hand clapping question...

New York, Ladies?

2008-09-07T15:41:00.002-04:00

Let's get this out of the way first - women in New York. Specifically, women from the ages of 22-26. I know it's kind of arbitrary and limiting to open with that, but I'm mainly talking about women roughly around my age. There are exactly two kinds here: the artsy, bespectacled, skinny jeans/flats, scarf around the neck set; and then there's the vast majority I see in midtown - they wear a Sex and the City dress and over-sized sunglasses. Weird. I know, it's kind of a crude and sweeping stroke of an observation, but it seems to ring true.

Wait, I think there's a third category....it's basically comprised of celebrities who wear whatever when they go out to get Starbucks.

I really need pictures, but that's creepy.

New York

2008-09-03T19:21:00.002-04:00

I've made the move to New York.

Normal posting to resume shortly.

It is a truth universally acknowledged...

2008-08-30T15:00:00.002-04:00

American Book Review posts its 100 Best First Lines from Novels.

My favorite?

3. A screaming comes across the sky. —Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow (1973)

The Lag

2008-08-28T22:50:00.003-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted much lately - but here's why:

I'm moving to New York this weekend! Once I get settled, I'll be back to normal posting hopefully.

There she is....Miss Vatican

2008-08-24T15:05:00.001-04:00

An Italian priest is organizing a beauty contest for nuns.

"We are not going to parade nuns in bathing suits," Rungi said by telephone from his town of Mondragone. "But being ugly is not a requirement for becoming a nun. External beauty is gift from God, and we mustn't hide it."

George Obama

2008-08-23T12:00:00.001-04:00

No, that's not some clever attempt at comparing Barack to Washington or Bush. It's his half-brother.

Meditations on the Meaning of Life

2008-08-23T11:42:00.005-04:00

Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything

East Coast Quakes?

2008-08-21T21:39:00.001-04:00

And here I thought I was getting away from them...

Not Photoshopped

2008-08-19T22:08:00.002-04:00

A collection of pictures that look fake, but aren't.

(Photo from Flickr user Kevin O'Mara)

Bigfoot Busted

2008-08-19T20:56:00.000-04:00

Well, it had to happen, I guess.

AP: You're Old

2008-08-19T08:22:00.002-04:00

A look at incoming college freshmen, most of whom were born in 1990.

(Perspective: The movie "Home Alone" came out in 1990.)

Post-Phelps

2008-08-19T08:11:00.002-04:00

Ann Althouse wonders if you're still watching the Olympics after the season finale of The Michael Phelps Show, and also - do you prefer sports where someone crosses a line or touches a wall first or receives a mystical score from a panel of judges and experts who meet in a circle at midnight wearing hoods around a fire?

I made up a bit of the last part, but my sympathies are with the crossing the line crowd (former track and cross-country athlete, what did you expect?); however, Ann's post got me thinking - do women prefer sports like gymnastics or figure skating because they're more complex and allow for infinite variety or difficulty? Is the feminine brain somehow programmed to more readily accept 7.5 6.5 7.5 7.0 7.5 3.0 7.0 than the masculine head-fluff?

I really want to say yes, but then again, my favorite sport involves a huge panel of experts and journalists voting for their favorite at the end of the season to award a mythical national championship - and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

Forever Sunset

2008-08-18T18:51:00.002-04:00

The sun never really sets when you chase it around the world. This website continually shows a sunset image that corresponds to a location where the sun is currently setting.

Conegate

2008-08-17T22:04:00.003-04:00

I think "Cone of Silence" will enter the lexicon of American political lore. There's speculation that McCain heard some of Obama's answers and was not at Saddleback in Rick Warren's "cone of silence," but actually just leaving his hotel.

Of course, this is all on the honor system, but I would be very, very, very naive to assume he or someone on his staff didn't see the broadcast and prep him in advance.

Other points:

-Rick Warren admitted that he wasn't at the church when Obama began his session

-McCain mentioned something about getting to the Supreme Court question, which suggests he knew it was coming

-McCain's answers were very quick and concise, very different than his normal style to those who have followed him. There's no doubt he performed well and wowed the audience, but he was almost answering them before Warren finished. A lot of the anecdotes and responses seemed a little canned and quick to be truly off-the-cuff.

-To be fair, Obama mentioned that he had "cheated" and thought about something beforehand, but why would he say cheat if it wasn't a joke?

I think there's a lot more to come out on this. The point isn't to complain that McCain must have obviously cheated since he did so well - the point is that Rick Warren gave us the impression that McCain would not be able to hear Obama's answers or his questions and that is now in doubt. Lame.

Yay! Commence partisan bickering!

Happy 18000 Hits!

2008-08-16T11:10:00.001-04:00

Did I refresh the page at 17999 to get to that number? Yes I did.

Change You Can Believe In

2008-08-16T11:03:00.002-04:00

Like a very trustworthy dime, or something. Anyways, you may have noticed some different things on the blog. I meant to initiate this about a year ago, but never had the time: you're seeing the beginning of a multi-pronged new media launch for Caught on the Bound. Comics! Random scans! And coming soon - video!

Let me know what you think. Once things get into a groove, I think it will shake things up around here nicely and give you a break from my lackluster posting. I've been posting more often, but usually it's more of a link log and nothing substantive. Well, I'm working on that and still tinkering around with the tone of this blog. Fortunately, I seem to have hit upon a consistent string of updating the past few months and I don't see that faltering anytime soon.

Hope you're enjoying the blog!

How Michael Phelps Did It

2008-08-16T10:35:00.001-04:00

Bill Murray Jumps Out of Plane

2008-08-16T08:55:00.000-04:00

Lives to joke about it.

Caught on the Bound - The Comic Strip

2008-08-15T21:12:00.001-04:00

Follow-up on Bigfoot(?)

2008-08-15T18:01:00.002-04:00

I was able to catch some of the press conference held regarding the possible Bigfoot discovery. In short, it was kind of ridiculous. The "evidence" was, of course, a Blobsquatch - the usual indistinguishable blob/shadowy figure/object barely discernible in the image and some DNA results which came back as undetermined/human/opossum.

The whole thing was ludicrously cloak-and-dagger: no definitive proof, no real scientists on hand and certainly no body on display.

There were a couple of "gotcha!" moments, too. One savvy reporter asked why the men had cameras with them while hiking out in the middle of northern Georgia. The alleged co-discoverer appeared to freeze for a moment, then mumbled about there being all kinds of animals to look at and film.

You could hear a few reporters shouting "hoax!" or questioning aloud, "Why would they take cameras up there, but not guns?" This just isn't going to end well.

Quite hilarious and truly worthy of a blog post - but nothing more until we see ourselves some BODY.

Post-It

2008-08-15T17:54:00.001-04:00

Don't Worry, Obama Not Anti-Christ

2008-08-15T10:19:00.004-04:00

What does it say about this election when authors of fiction have to debunk crackpot theories that Obama is the Anti-Christ?

Request for NBC

2008-08-15T09:50:00.003-04:00

Can you please televise Michael Phelps eating any of his 4000-calorie meals? I just want to see how it's done.

"For breakfast: three fried egg sandwiches, with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, fried onions and mayonnaise, followed by three chocolate-chip pancakes; a five-egg omelette; three sugar-coated slices of French toast and a bowl of grits (a maize-based porridge), washed down with two cups of coffee."

Georgian Bigfoot?

2008-08-14T22:00:00.002-04:00

While one Georgia is at the center of international conflict, another may have produced Bigfoot. Apparently, a few guys in northern Georgia (The Peach State) are going to be presenting evidence in Palo Alto, California tomorrow.

Lots of skepticism here. Odd that they didn't go straight to a scientist with this - but who knows?

Movie Letter Quiz

2008-08-13T22:09:00.003-04:00

Can you identify a movie based on one letter from its poster?

I got 16. Post your score!

Praying for Rain

2008-08-12T13:19:00.001-04:00

Focus on the Family prays for rain during Obama's speech. What would Jesus do?

The Olympic Story

2008-08-12T10:50:00.003-04:00

Andy Borowitz pokes fun at the preponderance of human interest stories in NBC's Olympic coverage.

It's the one thing that really bothers me about the Olympics. The emphasis on storytelling and obsessing over a few athletes gets tedious. Sometimes a lesser-known athlete is profiled and you might think, "Hey! They talked about someone who wouldn't otherwise get a lot of attention for her table tennis talent!" only to have it revealed that she is the mother of 26 children, beat back cancer six times and saved her Iowa town from an evil spectral phantasm by challenging it to a table tennis match and winning.

I love cheering for the USA, but I cringe when the commentary gets a little one-sided. For example, I was watching the USA vs. Cuba beach volleyball match last night, and the announcers went into great detail about the U.S. players' love lives, surgical bandages, homes in California, etc. while never mentioning anything about the Cuban players. They said their names here and there, but never really discussed their background, ambitions or epic battles with things.

Additional Olympic thoughts: I want every major television coverage block SATURATED with table tennis, just for a day or two to see the reaction. That would be awesome.

Cup Stacking

2008-08-12T09:09:00.001-04:00

Abort, Retry, Fail?

2008-08-12T07:47:00.002-04:00

Y/N? It's a real picture from the opening ceremonies in Beijing - the uncompromising dead-end of all computer problems: the Blue Screen of Death.

Clinton Memo Dump

2008-08-11T22:33:00.002-04:00

The Atlantic goes live with a collection of internal memos from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. The results? It turns out there was a lot of xenophobia and forgetting about things like delegates, money and Obama. Other than that, it's hard to see what went wrong!

Wikicandidate

2008-08-11T22:08:00.003-04:00

John McCain borrows a page from the "College Student Panicking at 3 AM" Playbook. I think the four or five dudes that sit in a closet and write all the Wikipedia entries should run the world. That way, if you disagree with some foreign policy or tax issue, you can just click edit and fix it.

Virtual iPhone

2008-08-10T09:59:00.003-04:00

If you don't have an iPhone, like me, you can try an online version here. It's apparently missing a lot of features, but still pretty cool.

The Other Woman From the Beyond

2008-08-09T18:22:00.001-04:00

Rielle Hunter, newly-revealed mistress of John Edwards, is a moonbat.

The Greatest Rickroll Ever?

2008-08-09T14:14:00.000-04:00

Yesss.

2008-08-09T12:43:00.001-04:00

Angels 10, Yankees 5

Montauk Monster Follow-up

2008-08-09T12:37:00.002-04:00

It's not over yet. Rumors of a hoax or viral marketing campaign swirl.

Who Discovered What Now?

2008-08-09T11:32:00.002-04:00

The "discovery" of a small snake in Barbados is causing some controversy among the locals.

Barbados: "We totally knew about that snake! My grandmother showed it to me!"

Scientists: "Discovery means scientifically studied for the first time!"

Barbados: "Oh yeah? Well we don't need foreigners coming into our backyard and telling us what's what!"

Scientists: "Snakes are apolitical!"

Barbados: "You act like you own the snake!"

Scientists: "It's the size of a quarter, isn't that cool?"

Barbados: "OH! Couldn't compare it to one of our coins, could you!"

etc....

Notre Dame Student Wins First Gold for U.S.

2008-08-09T11:24:00.002-04:00

Mariel Zagunis wins gold in the women's individual saber! Mariel was a year behind me and arrived on campus shortly after winning gold at the 2004 games. Her dorm welcomed her with a giant banner - not bad for a freshman.

She took a break to focus on this:

"Zagunis is an anthropology major at the University of Notre Dame. She has put school on hold since the winter of 2006 to focus on defending her Olympic title after feeling she was losing her sharpness because of too much homework.
She will complete her degree after the Games.

“Being at a prestigious, hard university, I wouldn’t be able to do both well and so I think taking the time off was very important for me,” she said. “I just went home to Portland. That was the only way I was going to have a result like this again."

Bernie Mac (1957 - 2008)

2008-08-09T11:14:00.002-04:00

Sad to hear of his passing. Strangely, I saw Bernie Mac in New York a few weeks ago out and about in public.

You can never truly know celebrities, but Bernie seemed like a genuinely good guy and he certainly entertained me with his stand-up and movie performances. Rest in peace.

George Orwell Blogs

2008-08-09T10:58:00.002-04:00

This is a brilliant idea: The Orwell Prize will be posting George Orwell's diary from 1938-41 in blog form - Orwell will be blogging along with the rest of us!

I'd love to see more diaries/journals from well-known figures posted in this way. When you read an entry a day, you get a better sense of the time elapse and change that informs the writing and thinking. Can you imagine reading Anne Frank's diary on a day-by-day basis? I recently read Michael Palin's (of Monty Python) diary and would have loved to see it in a blog form.

Anyways, this gives me a great excuse to post a quote from Orwell's essay Politics and the English Language, in which he has some fun and translates a well-known passage from Ecclesiastes into "modern English of the worst sort":

"I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."

becomes

"Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account."

Study: Studies About Caffeine Are All Correct or Something

2008-08-06T23:56:00.002-04:00

You know how a new study on caffeine comes out every week and contradicts the previous one? I do too. Let's end that.

Henchmen Needed

2008-08-06T20:33:00.002-04:00

I swear Caught on the Bound did not post this on the London Craigslist:

"20-30 henchmen needed for moderately-sized supervillain organisation with large expansion potential (fortresses built into geological structures, corruption of government officials, possible genesis of 'nemesis' vigilante). Electrical theme."

OK, we thought about posting it, but someone beat us to it. They beat us bad...and they're going to pay.

Another Manhattan Project

2008-08-06T20:17:00.002-04:00

An ecologist maps Manhattan as it would have appeared 400 years ago. Spoiler alert: there were no buildings. Or roads! The subway was there, but you couldn't enter it because of all the dirt in the way.

Cheerleaders Go Wild!

2008-08-06T17:18:00.002-04:00

26 girls, ages 14-17, attending a cheerleading camp at the University of Texas crammed themselves into a dorm elevator.

Campus officials weren't amused.
"It's dangerous, actually," said a school police spokeswoman, Rhonda Weldon.

Age 14-17 is a dangerous, weird, peer-pressury time to be a girl, I hear. 8th grade seemed to be a big excuse for girls to congregate in judgmental gaggles and make boys feel outrageously awkward. Glad I spent most of that time playing chess in the library.

Cheerleaders in large groups have long been associated with stuff. That's all for this post, I think.

Torched

2008-08-05T20:09:00.002-04:00

A nifty graphic from the NYT on Olympic torches since 1936. Note how curvy they're getting lately. My favorites: Rome 1960 and Salt Lake City 2002. I kind of like Beijing 2008, too.

The Montauk Monster

2008-08-05T09:55:00.000-04:00

...is a raccoon!

Purple Haze

2008-08-04T20:03:00.001-04:00

Picked this up from 10 Things You Didn't Know About Classic Rock:

"In 1968 Jimi Hendrix bought a studio located in the 52 West Eight Street, Greewnwich Village, New York, with the idea of transforming it into a nightclub. His sound technician convinced him of turning it into a studio and in August 27th 1970 “Electric Lady” officially opened it’s doors. Both recording rooms haven’t changed a bit since Jimi jammed there (one still has the same paints hanging on the walls and sofas, and the other -Purple Haze- still has the purple console). When The Clash recorded “Sandinista!” there, they swear Jimi’s spirit added an extra guitar line in the album. That may sound weird (and stoned) but the truth is that doors close on their own, floors creak and a magic can be sensed in the air (or so they say)."

Wild.

Britain from the Air

2008-08-04T18:16:00.002-04:00

A new BBC series gives us some cool satellite imagery of London taxis, air traffic and telephone calls.

Calvin and (Steve) Jobs

2008-08-04T14:49:00.001-04:00

Some fun at Steve Jobs' expense.

Trajan

2008-08-04T14:45:00.001-04:00

...is the movie font.

Because it's Monday and we need to shake things up

2008-08-04T14:28:00.002-04:00

Title: A Flock of Seagulls - I Ran
Year: 1982
Why?: 1982

Morgan Freeman Injured in Car Accident

2008-08-04T14:09:00.002-04:00

I hope he's OK. I don't think I've ever met a person who doesn't like Morgan Freeman. He was apparently joking with the rescue crew and some would-be photographers after the accident, so here's hoping for the best.

"I'm Batman!"

2008-08-04T12:09:00.002-04:00

What is so hard to understand about this? Bruce Wayne, a well-known billionaire and Gotham celebrity, decides to disguise his voice with an intimidating fear-inducing growl when he dons a tricked-out suit of body armor. Would you rather have him use his smooth regular voice making snide remarks as he throws a guy off the roof? It would be like Captain Planet tossing the bad guys into the dumpster and saying something like, "Time to take out the trash!"

I guess I just don't see how Batman could effectively use any other kind of voice. Gee willickers.

Elsewhere in Cool Stuff...

2008-08-04T09:36:00.002-04:00

John is gearing up for an interview with Charlie Kaufman and enjoying Gershwin juxtaposed with New York.

Superjumbo Touches Down on US Soil; Some Passengers Bathed

2008-08-01T20:20:00.003-04:00

Exactly what my post title said. And this nugget:

"Some of us were lucky, we had showers before got off the airplane," Emirates President Tim Clark said, shortly after disembarking, losing no time in marketing the plane's two "shower spas," 14 first-class suites, bar and lounge.

The rest of "them" were packed in the cargo compartment sweating like hogs. I hope President Tim Clark didn't actually say "before got off the airplane" because that would be a baddest grammaritical err.

Translating Hollywood

2008-08-01T19:36:00.001-04:00

An amusing article on movie title translations for overseas viewers.

"Local customs are also taken into account. Last year's comedy hit Knocked Up was given the gentler title Slightly Pregnant in Roman Catholic Peru and the gloriously blunt One Night, Big Belly in China."

NCAA Football Coaches' Poll Out

2008-08-01T17:15:00.002-04:00

The season is coming, whether you like it or you love it. Here's the preseason coaches' poll. Where is Steve Spurrier's token vote for Duke? Notre Dame gets 5 votes; 4 of them from Charlie Weis, presumably. Nebraska receives a whopping 17 compared to an astronomically improbable, mindblowingly better and nearly infinitely superior, hard-hitting 1,438 for #1 Georgia.

The top ten, shamelessly copied and pasted from USA Today:

1.	Georgia (22)	11-2	1,438	3
2.	Southern California (14)	11-2	1,430	2
3.	Ohio State (14)	11-2	1,392	4
4.	Oklahoma (3)	11-3	1,329	8
5.	Florida (5)	9-4	1,293	16
6.	LSU (3)	12-2	1,163	1
7.	Missouri	12-2	1,143	5
8.	West Virginia	11-2	1,008	6
9.	Clemson	9-4	999	22
10.	Texas	10-3	979	10

Clemson is getting a lot of buzz this preseason. I have no idea why...I need to keep up more. Do they have a "secret weapon" athlete who has to be carted onto the field in a crate marked "DANGER" and wears a jersey with number "00" which stands for how many seconds you have to live? Like I said, I have no idea. But that would be awesome.

Rififi Closes

2008-07-31T20:23:00.002-04:00

Rififi, the alternative comedy hotspot in the East Village had its final show last night, and I happened to be around to catch it after its closing was announced a mere 24 hours before, it seems. Very fun to see comedians and regulars converge for one last hurrah at the favorite hangout - even though it was only my second time there. Highlights included Eugene Mirman as John McCain and shouting requests to Jon Glaser, John Mulaney trying out some new jokes and a Star Wars Pez dispenser lip-sync to Les Miserables. Chewbacca's head partially detached.

It was great to maybe perhaps be a little part of something that might possibly go down as something somewhat big. Here's hoping another good indie room opens in NY.

Earthquake in Southern California

2008-07-29T15:55:00.003-04:00

I may have been in Brooklyn when it struck, but I can sure feel it.

Some quick thoughts:

1) The news stations apparently think this is the perfect time to get in the helicopters and survey the extensive......uh, usual traffic, it seems.

2) I saw this on CNN: "Stuff Comes Off Shelves in Chino Hills Store"

3) A brief glance at Facebook updates from friends back home suggests the whole thing was a bit "whoa" but nothing serious.

4) I hope everyone is safe and not too spooked...let's also hope that buildings, bridges, pipes and overpasses aren't too damaged.

5) The L Train just went by and shook the building. NOT FUNNY L TRAIN. NOT FUNNY.

Profiles in Startups

2008-07-27T23:01:00.002-04:00

A Who's Who of the Dotcom Crash. There were a lot of "Whatever happened to _____?" questions that were answered for me on this list. It was also strange to realize that I have been using the Internet is some capacity since late 1994 and made my first website in 1997 - 11 years ago. I started using instant messaging in 1997, as well. Weird. What will it be like in 11 more years?

Famous Last Words

2008-07-25T15:51:00.001-04:00

Randy Pausch, he of the "last lecture" has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 47. Sad and uplifting story all at once.

Quote of the Day 2 - Master Splinter Edition

2008-07-25T15:48:00.002-04:00

New York is yielding some outrageous comments today. I overheard this from a guy talking to a girl on the street near a sewer grate:

Man: You know, people always say that rats are filthy, but I think it's amazing that a rat can crawl through something like that and be as clean as it is.

Woman: What?

Man: I mean, they must have a good cleaning system down.

Woman: They're still dirty...their fur is dirty colored.

Man: Nuh uh!

(Both of them miss the light to cross the street)

Man: Rats.

Quote of the Day

2008-07-25T15:44:00.002-04:00

At Princeton Junction Station, while I was stirring some cream into my coffee with a very thin stir stick:

Older man in heavy Yiddish accent, watching me: "Mix!"

Me: "Oh, I know...it's taking me forever..."

Man: "It's because it's too thin! You need to use a finger, you do!"

Juuuust Right

2008-07-24T20:33:00.002-04:00

(GraphJam user Ben E.)

Stewart/Colbert/Conan Feud Outtakes

2008-07-23T14:14:00.004-04:00

I found this very entertaining clip of outtakes from the Stewart/Colbert/Conan feud over who "made Huckabee" from earlier this year. It's a cool glimpse of their off-screen personalities and how they work together to make something funny. Seeing these guys do straight-up physical comedy for a few minutes is wildly refreshing.

A Fantastic Error

2008-07-23T13:01:00.003-04:00

The Valley News spells its name incorrectly on the front page and prints a correction.

Facebook Facelift

2008-07-22T15:46:00.002-04:00

You can check it out here.

Batman Arrested

2008-07-22T11:00:00.004-04:00

Yikes...Christian Bale arrested on assault allegations in London. Apparently, he's accused of assaulting his mother and sister before The Dark Knight premiere. Who does that?

UPDATE: Bale issues a statement.

UPDATE 2: All explained, I think. I don't know when this site became a gossip beat.

Tonight with Conan O'Brien

2008-07-21T20:29:00.000-04:00

I like the sound of that. The date is set!

Heaven or Hell?

2008-07-21T16:24:00.002-04:00

A Pew survey finds that there are more Americans who believe in heaven than those who believe in hell. Really not that shocking, is it? The results seem to reflect the role of religion in American life, which I think tends to be self-affirming and provides moral justification. Also, hell is icky. No one ever wants to think that someone they knew could possibly end up in a place like hell. It doesn't jive with the ideas of forgiveness, second-chances and benevolence that mainstream Christianity has placed in the American consciousness, for better or for worse.

Religion seems to get distilled down to the things that are easier to deal with. What does that say about religion? To quote a gay character from Futurama who paired same-sex animals together on a reimagined Noah's Ark: "There are parts of the Bible I like and parts I don't."

"At first blush, the idea of a God who rewards good but does not punish evil seems counterintuitive, after centuries in which one of the key benefits of eternal salvation, and one of the promises of conversion to Christianity, was the avoidance of eternal damnation.

But hell experts — and yes, there are scholars who spend this life studying the next one — say the underworld has been losing favor for some time.

Since the Enlightenment, a liberalizing trend in religion has favored conceptions of God as benevolent, rather than judgmental. But also, there are peculiarly American characteristics to this emerging hell gap: an insistent optimism, perhaps a kind of cultural self-contentedness, and a tolerance born of diversity that makes damning the other more problematic."

Frankly, I don't think the idea of an afterlife is a very positive thing. It downplays and cheapens the significance of our current existence, something that we are sure of. The Egyptians spent centuries building monuments to aid the deceased kings in an afterlife no one believes in anymore. Now, we crash into their tombs and say, "Look at these beautiful things that were never meant to be disturbed! Glad we believe in sensible things now!"

Makemake

2008-07-20T19:25:00.001-04:00

Just another Pluto.

A Twist for "Life of Brian" in Aberystwyth

2008-07-20T16:36:00.003-04:00

The town of Aberystwyth in Wales banned Monty Python's Life of Brian in 1979 when the film was released. An actress from the film wants the ban overturned.

So? Well, the actress, Sue Jones-Davies, is now the mayor of Aberystwyth.