Posted on
02.08.12 by Widge @ 1:38 pm  The animated short is called The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. It's nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short and it's easy to see why. Considering the demographic of our readers--that you're all literate, book-loving types with a love for whimsy (sometimes morbid, sometimes not)--it's almost as if the people at Moonbot Studios were targeting us specifically. Watch it and see why. If you're not utterly delighted with the short by the time you reach the "surgery" sequence, then seek help. It was created by William Joyce (who was a scribe on Meet the Robinsons as well as an art designer for Pixar). It's been turned into an iPad app (which I plan on snagging shortly) which includes "making of" material. I urge you to set aside fifteen minutes and watch this. It absolutely made my day. Categorized as: Stimuli
|
Posted on
02.06.12 by Wolven @ 11:35 am  So. We're all SF nerds here, right? We've all watched the first four seasons of Futurama, and we're all watching Fringe? Yeah, of course we are. So you'll all be with me, and you'll understand what I mean when I say that, I recently realised that Okay, maybe that doesn't make a lot of sense, no matter what you're watching. I will Here There Be Spoilers. What I mean is that they're both lynchpins for their respective universes. In Futurama, we see that, because of Fry, there's a temporal anomaly at the cite of the cryochamber--the point where he goes forward in time (the Why of that is explained in the SUPER INTRICATE ARC of the first four seasons). In fact, we see in a What-If Machine episode that if Fry isn't frozen, then the entire Universe CEASES TO BE. Categorized as: Stimuli
|
|
Posted on
02.06.12 by ScottC @ 1:39 am To paraphrase Douglas Adams, "DragonCon is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mindbogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to DragonCon, listen..." There is so much going on, even DragonCon pros like Needcoffee can't keep track of it all. Things slip through the cracks. Like these two guys:  Who are they? They are stars of DragonCon TV. DragonCon TV is the video content that can be found at the convention, in rooms between panels--pretty much anywhere there's a screen that can be comandeered, it's there. And these two puppets were part of the madness: Bob and Carl: Sci-Fi Janitors Categorized as: Stimuli
|
Posted on
02.02.12 by Widge @ 10:40 pm  Just put it over there by the other three. Thanks. I had no idea that Demi Moore was supposedly a "Red Bull addict." According to an article at The Daily Beast, she's been using them as meal replacements. As in, not eating, just drinking Red Bull. That's the impetus for their article, but I felt compelled to write something after seeing two things in their article. First, the author cites a particular study. Now granted, there are a number of studies listed in the article that state all kinds of results from consuming caffeine. And if health and science have taught us anything, it's that, in general, Studies will show you coffee or red meat or [insert thing here] will cure cancer one week and rain it down on you the next week. Studies, in general, are not actionable. That all being said, you can understand why this bit from the study caught my attention: According to at least one study, merely believing that caffeine speeds us up can speed us up.
So by talking up the fact that my caffeine tolerance has reached such a ridiculous level that caffeine intoxication is a distant memory...that's making it even more true? Categorized as: Stimuli
|
Posted on
01.06.12 by Widge @ 12:25 pm  In general, you can agree with Roger Ebert or not, but when the man speaks he must at least be heard out. And to my delight, on the topic of declining cinema revenues, he's come out swinging in regards to many of the same things that I've been bitching about for a while. The full article is here and it's not long--it's worth reading. I just want to expand on some things. He begins by pointing out "the absence of a must-see mass-market movie." That's because, seemingly, unless the marketing plan comes in on a silver platter and monogrammed, already setup...Hollywood seems to be clueless as to how to proceed. Oh yes, there are exceptions: rolling Ghost Protocol out to IMAX cinemas a week early to get the ball and buzz rolling was a choice move. But there are more missteps than victories: why is Hugo, one of the best reviewed films of the year and the best live action 3D film of the year...sitting at only $62M worldwide box office? I would argue it's because if you watch the trailer, it doesn't set you up for what the film actually is. And while I always love to be surprised by a film (Rise of the Planet of the Apes is more about freedom than Let's Kick Some Homo Sapien Ass and Road to Perdition is more family drama than crime drama), it always helps if the audience is given a freaking reason to show up. Categorized as: Stimuli
|
Posted on
01.05.12 by Jon @ 7:47 am  Dispatched by Leigh, Need Coffee Dot Com Minister of Fine Spirits, two intrepid geeks from The Unique Geek, Jon and Duncan, made their way to the Craft Beer-a-Palooza last month in Tampa. This is their increasingly drunken story. Some highlights to look for: Duncan gives you a number of pro-tips: about why you should maybe choose cider, about popular beers vs. good beers, and party etiquette. He also engages in mortal combat with a particular beer. And some curbs. Jon also would like to point out something to remember whenever you're planning an event like this. Then it all goes to a dark place. On a roof. Categorized as: Stimuli and Video Podcasts
|
Posted on
12.28.11 by Widge @ 7:20 am  Portland, Oregon brings you Voodoo Doughnut. A place that I became acquainted with/addicted to here. Also based out of Oregon, Rogue makes a number of very capable beers, including one of my favorite "just feel like drinking a beer" beers, Dead Guy Ale. (Admittedly, I'm drawn to that partly because I always though that was a great name for a beer while I was unable to drink and always sort of wanted to try it for, you know, a decade or so.) Anyway, these two giants of digestible goodness decided to come together and create a beer called the Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale. Once I heard about this, I knew I must try it. So I did. Can two things I enjoy separately come together to be enjoyed together? Is this just beer for people who are too lazy to actually drink and eat something and want to get it out of the way in one fell swoop? The results were recorded in the name of Science! Categorized as: Stimuli and Video Podcasts
|
Posted on
12.26.11 by Widge @ 4:16 am  In what has become an annual tradition (that winds up making me familiar with a lot of songs I couldn't normally be arsed to listen to during the year without someone like Earworm to make them somehow more enjoyable in mashup form), DJ Earworm strikes once more with the latest in his United State of Pop series. What the hell is it? He takes the Top 25 hits in the U.S. during the year--then mashes them all into a single song. And unlike just laying down beats and words indiscriminately, he somehow manages to make the thing coherent. No idea how he does it. It makes my eyelashes hurt just thinking about how you process that. But it's here, nonetheless. For more info and the complete list of tracks he used, go here. For more of his work, check out his official site. Categorized as: Stimuli
|
Posted on
12.21.11 by Wolven @ 6:26 am  So, in case you hadn't heard, the full trailer for The Dark Knight Rises went live, and it is oh so very much yes. But, in addition to just showing you this brand new hotness and asking you "Christopher Nolan: Great Director? Or GREATEST Director?" I want to take a moment of your time to engage in some wild and nearly baseless speculation. Now, some of you may not know it but, within the past three years or so, there's been a thing in comics called "Batman, Inc." The gist is this: Bruce Wayne has finally realised the extent of what he can do with all of his money and resources, and has started sending himself and other members of the Batman Family out into the world to recruit local candidates to be Batman in that city/part of the world. Each new recruit has their own codename, but they all wear an easily recognisable version of the Symbol of the Bat. This says, "You know who Batman is. Look at me. I'm Batman. I have all of the Batman's resources and the full weight of his network of support." This is really just the logical extension of what had already been happening in an organic way with the rest of the Batman Family. Categorized as: Stimuli
|
Posted on
12.15.11 by Widge @ 9:29 pm  So. SOPA is happening (Wikipedia, which is always right, definition here; latest madness about it here). I will be amazed if it doesn't get passed. And before I tell you what my reaction is, I would urge you to read my rationale behind it before you get pissed off and leave. But the beauty of it is, you are free to do so. But honestly, stick around. What I have to say might interest you. My reaction is: fine. Do it. Still with me? Good. Here's why I say that. The only line I remember from Gene Wilder's show Something Wilder was this: "The problem with bad taste is that you can't explain it to someone who has it." And the problem with dealing with unreasonable people is that reasonable people--and I would include both you and I in that--have trouble fathoming where the unreasonable person is coming from. Because we have a distinct disconnect between reasonable and unreasonable. And we, being reasonable, don't understand that some people simply cannot be reasoned with. But here's the truth. Some people simply cannot be reasoned with. The best way I have found to get unreasonable people to realize you're right is to simply give them what they want. Even if--and especially if--you, being reasonable, know that what they think they want isn't, ultimately, what they want. Are you following me here? Let me give you an example from my own life. Stay with me. I promise, I'm saying all this for a reason. Categorized as: Stimuli
|
|
|
