Be About It : Game of Thrones!

I got so pumped up that I've had to rewrite this three times now: HBO has released the latest teaser footage for its upcoming EPIC series Game of Thrones, the best fantasy series ever.  Shooting since June, the new show has been teased out with details of the kind hardcore fans crave, and have only served to get devotees slathering.  Here's the latest 60-second spot:

Clip Preview

The entire HBO production blog has more awesome vids and production stills.  Check em out and Be About It!  January cannot come too soon.

YaarrAahaahaaggrraahah!

Have you ever wanted to watch every single scream Arnold Schwarzenegger did during his acting career in one long solid cut? Well now you can.



Personally I think he did his best screaming in "Total Recall". After that I just don't think his heart was in it.

Father and Son film outer space, DIY.

Seeing as how no one was injured I think this is really clever. I'm reluctant to do this myself because I think the title of this video could just as easily have been, "8 killed on freeway by homemade space craft. On board video incriminates owner." or "Airliner brought down by amateur astronauts."

I'm drinking SunnyD & Rum tonight, how about you?

The Gregory Brothers have done it again. They've taken some unfortunate soul's ill-conceived video performance and created another pop-tune that you can't get out of your head once you've heard it. This one is a perfect mix of "oh god, gimme the eye-bleach!" and "hey, that sounds pretty good, actually". I fully expect to serve a few of these at my next party.



What brilliant honesty and courage to share her invention and inspiration with us all, complete with a heart-felt belch of satisfaction.

Have you tried it yet? Did you break into song? What concoctions inspire you to create art?

Ye Olde Intarwebs

This morning, I opened my Slashdot digest and found a little nugget of nostalgia waiting for me. Someone over at PC Magazine took a moment to reflect on the online games of yesteryear. As I scrolled through their list of titles, I think something got stuck in my eye. It got a little misty in here, I'm not gonna lie.

You see, few people know this, but back in the day, Yob ran one of the more popular Bulletin Board Systems (or BBSes for your fetuses out there) in the Phoenix area.

Thinking back on that time, I have fond memories of dragging a 50-foot phone cable across the living room every night. You see, in the 80s and 90s we didn't have persistent, always-on high-speed internet access. In fact, home "servers" could only talk to one visitor at a time (unless you had a lot of money and could afford multiple modems). So that meant lines were frequently busy, and you had to wait for your turn to log into a BBS.

Can you imagine waiting in line to check your Facebook? People would riot.

But I digress.

So there I was, a VERY nerdy early teenager, running a pretty popular BBS. But because I was a kid, the BBS had specific hours of operation when my parents would allow me to tie up the phone lines for hours on end.

It was there that modern-day file sharing was born. But more than that, it was there that modern day Massive Multiplayer Online games (or MMOs for you decrepit old farts) were born.

First off, there were games like Tradewars 2002.


To this day, I am hard pressed to find a game that I've been addicted to playing more that TW2k2. The only one I think comes close would be the Mass Effect series. In TW2002, my brother and I would join forces and dominate our own little corner of the universe, building trade relationships with a slew of spaceports, and amassing our forces to fend off intruders and the occasional wandering Ferengi. (Yes, Ferengi... apparently the game's authors just couldn't resist the irresistible urge to reference Star Trek).

Another favorite was Legend of the Red Dragon (LORD).


If you think of today's games like Oblivion, Dragon Age and Neverwinter Nights... you can probably trace their roots back to the likes of LORD. Knowing that, it's pretty obvious how addicting it was. Sadly fantasy RPGs of that era tended to be full of corny dialog and cheesy monsters. But LORD took itself just seriously enough to provide a balanced, engrossing gaming environment. Thus, another genre of computer game was born.

Casting aside the obvious gaming tropes for a moment, there were other gems from the dial-up BBS era that we just don't see much anymore. Games like BarneySplat!

If you were born before 1989, you will probably remember that fucking purple dinosaur named Barney and his vaguely creepy delivery of god-forsaken children's songs.


Kids loved him, adults quickly grew to loathe and ridicule him. And the teenagers caught in the middle? ...we dismembered him. Over and over again. Bloody, rage-filled, Dexter-like mutilation. It was a thing of cheese-filled beauty. I make no excuses for that behavior - that fucking dinosaur deserved every single beheading.


*ahem* ...But I digress (again).

My point here is this: take a moment to remember and pay homage to the people and the culture which helped bring us forward into today. Without the lowly teenage BBS owners of the 80s and 90s, would we all have our own personal 40mbps download speeds? Would we have the power to become our own online TV station, radio personality, hell, even movie star? Probably not.

Sure, the technology of that age was being used for legitimate business. But it was we who co-opted it for entertainment and leisure that ultimately resulted in our always-on, always-connected, insomnia-inflicted, text-while-driving, WoW-before-bills world of today.

So go on, hold that phone lower so the cops can't see your thumb-typing as you drift in and out of lanes all over the country. Play WoW 'til your fingers bleed. Pick your friends based solely on their Twitter and Facebook feeds. We know how you feel. These are the things we dreamt of doing as children, and new toys continue to flood the market faster than any of us can keep up with.

Part of me says, "keep up the great work." and the other part says, "Can't I enjoy the toy I just bought for a little while first?" But in the end, today's nerdy teenagers are doing things with this soon-to-be archaic tech that will continue to drive innovation even faster.

Like my father told me when I was a kid, "Your Grandmother went from a horse and buggy, to putting a man on the moon in her lifetime. Just imagine what will happen before you die."

Now, if you'll excuse me, my Team Fortress 2 clan is waiting for me. I've got to go light a few spies on fire.

Stupid Babies Need the Most Love...

Not to poke fun at child injuries, but how dumb is your kid? Genital bleeding?! Could they even make a softer rounder key? What kind of injuries did our grandparents receive playing with rusty shell casings and sticks?

Perhaps if we spent time with our children instead of letting them dry hump there toys like a neurotic hamster for hours on end? Then perhaps we wouldn't have to make everything fool proof or unsupervised proof.

Zombie Charts

I'm continuing my pre-Halloween ramp up with this piece. Here I've compiled a list of my favorite graphs and charts dealing with zombies.

Survival


These charts deal with survival techniques during a zombie outbreak.

Informative

These graphs (and related article) collate data from various zombie movies over the years and present the information in an interesting and novel way.

Zombie Movies vs Times of Upheaval

Silly

Last, I present a pair of my favorite charts that take a silly view of an already ridiculous topic.

Do you have any zombie data to share?

BFG: 1Kj Homemade Portable Coilgun

The best part is when he gives the toaster a good kick @ 3:36.

Post Script: Creepy Dolls

There are plenty more creepy doll themed movies out there I'm sure I've missed. I'd like to see them all at one point or another because I am strangely drawn to them. Maybe I am subconsciously suspicious of dolls because my mother made and collected so many of them while I was young. They still sit around my parents' house, watching and waiting to this day. List some of the notable creepy doll films you recommend in the comments below.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite Johnathan Coulton songs about this very topic: Creepy Doll.

Getting in the Mood for Halloween

Hey all. I've notice it's been slow going around the Empathetic Egotists' office these last couple weeks. I think we're all busy with our own stuff. I'm looking forward to the next installment of the "Gin Rummy", so if you're out there Mr. Nice Guy, get on it.

I've been spending my time in a nostalgia time-warp watching movies from 1985 to get ready for our Ultimate Movie Showdown '85 event. Then I got temporarily side-tracked on Netflix instant watch, as it's easy to do when you start clicking around. I ended up watching a series of Full Moon Productions schlock films, many of which were straight to video during their time.

I started with "Demonic Toys (1992)".



This is why I love Full Moon's movies. It has all the elements I want in a crappy horror film: the perfect mix creepy yet cheesy looking monsters, a thin premise and plot, characters that don't take themselves too seriously, and plenty of over the top gore. The clown-in-a-box and Baby Oopsie-daisy are by far the best characters, especially with the foul-mouthed baby doll that drops the F-bomb constantly throughout the film.

Netflix recommended I keep mining this vein of creepy toys and suggested "Dollman vs Demonic Toys (1993)" and "Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys (2004)". Before I dined on those delicacies however, I chose to go back to the source and watch "Puppet Master (1989)".



I love this movie. The Puppet Master series is Full Moon's flagship product, in my opinion. These movies were inspired largely by the recent success of "Dolls (1987)" and "Child's Play (1988)". The puppets in the Puppet Master movies are unique in that they exist in this gray area between villains and heroes. Yes, they kill people, and in horrible ways, but they are usually killing Nazis or people that have wronged their master in some way and "deserve" their deaths. If their current master goes too far or threatens the puppets, then their strong sense of self-preservation overcomes their loyalty and the puppets eventually turn on their master. The puppets' creep factor comes from their lack of speech other than grunts or other weak types of vocalization. Also, the scenes where the puppets are manually operated are usually far creepier than those where they are stop-motion animated. Because they are supposed to be puppets, the manual operation looks appropriate and life-like. Pin-head is one of my favorite puppets, due to his huge meaty human hands, which gives him his personality.

Next up was "Dollman (1991)":



This is a terrible film, with a few funny moments. The trailer tells you everything you need to know about it. The first few minutes of the film are the best, where the police-cop is on his home planet shooting up bad guys and making them explode needlessly. The best element of the movie is that the villain is a disembodied head kept alive in some sort of life preserving floating saucer. They hint at how each showdown with the hero has ended in the villain losing a body part so that eventually all that was left was his head. For some reason they go to Earth where the hero is only 13 inches tall. They get a ton of mileage out of the "13 inches" joke. After he's on Earth it turns into your basic good people in the slums fighting the drug dealers story.

Once I had the previous films out of the way I watched the cross-overs:





Both of these were terrible films, but the Puppet Master/Demonic Toys mash-up was by far the worst. Dollman vs Demonic Toys was essentially a retelling of the first Demonic Toys film with the addition of Dollman and the nurse from "Bad Channels (1992)". They save some film by reshowing several minutes from both of those movies. In fact, you could skip the first Dollman entirely since you get the gist from watching this film. The toys are back with the addition of a GI Joe like character played by a stunt-man with a creepy plastic head. Baby Oopsie-daisy now inexplicably is male and wants to have sex with the nurse. Since the toys have to interact with "tiny" human actors now, there are several scenes where the toys have to be built on a large scale and never look convincing, although the huge clown-in-the-box head is nightmare-worthy. There are plenty more "13 inch man" jokes in this film as well.

Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys is horrible. This was made for TV. If you wondered what happened to Cory Feldman, well here he is. He over-plays the quirky puppet master and affects a terrible gravely voice throughout the film. The puppets have been remade and look more plastic and worse for the wear. Pin-head's signature human hands are now fuzzy pink muppet-looking gloves. The demonic toys are even worse. They've been given the plastic treatment as well and are far less scary looking. The sets are awful in this movie. For some reason they have these iron maidens that are supposed to look like Santa with the face cut out, but instead it just looks like a frothy vagina. They should not have tried to remake these films.

I've got the rest of the Puppet Master films on their way in the mail, since only the first two are on instant. I'm looking forward to these and I'm sure they'll get me in the mood for Halloween. If these don't do the trick I'm sure the Creep Shows or "Trick 'r Treat (2008)" will do it. If you haven't seen that last one, I strongly recommend it.



What are your favorite Halloween movies?

Fun with Fluid Dynamics

No one wants to play with dirty equipment.

How It's Made: Pre-Cooked Bacon

Have you ever wondered how pre-cooked bacon was made? You know the stuff they put on fast-food burgers and sandwiches? Yeah, well here's the video for you:



It doesn't make me want to stop eating bacon, just the pre-cooked stuff. I mean that curing liquid looks pretty gross.

What cool bacon related things have you seen on the interwebs lately?

This is Why We Have the Internet...

..so we can share things like this:

Sex Officially Banned from the Internet

Over the weekend Craigslist took down their "exotic services" category and put up a "censored" image. Read more about it here. No official response as of yet, but it appears they may have had to cave to outside pressures to avoid lawsuits.

Get in my Belly!

Which European country do we need to invade to get this treat in my hands, and quickly thereafter in my stomach?!  Probably The Netherlands, they have the good shit.

To Geeks in Love (and are willing to enter into legal partnerships)

To honor the recent nuptials between Jefe and his previously stated hot new wife, and their wedding with its delightfully geeky elements (handmade boardgames anyone?), I present here some scenes of geeks entering into legally binding bliss.  Whether it be awesome invitations and announcements, ceremony in a geek venue, or wedding party decked out in their finest homemade costumes (or uniforms, farbeit for me to offend those nuts), what follows are some examples of folks letting their freak flag fly.

And good on them for it.

Invitations and Announcements (from io9)

These are just so creative, and have such geek yet personal elements.  I'm most partial to the comic book covers, especially the "indie" comic style example.  He's dressed for Firefly, she's in BSG gear, and the items stacked are great personal touches.  The Star Trek logo invites are very "geek sleek", and the ouija board is totally outside the box creative.  A shame they couldn't have the ceremony in the fall.

Ceremonies

That first wedding looks like a hoot, but talk about your mixed media.  They must have told guests to wear whatever they wanted.  Halo, Star Wars, AND Spiderman?  Madness!  Master Chief as the officiant of the wedding of what looks like a regular wedding?  The bride must have caved on that one ;).  I know that Trek fans can take any part of the Roddenberry-verse, but ToS mixed with Next Gen, and of all things a Borg in attendance is kooky.  And WTF is going with the Katamari wedding?!  Cut to scene of elderly family looking confused and a little frightened.

And Now, the Cake!

Casting a broad generalization about our geekiness, I assert that we like the sweet treats.  And these cakes are the perfect centerpiece to a geek reception:

 This AWESOME cake topper can be found along with a ton of neato trinkets @ Etsy's Website.

Both are awesome, but I've gotta give it to the Mario cake!

Finally, this wedding looks like it was so cool I had to give them their own rundown.  The lady of the house quickly put the kibosh on any such theme to any potentially pending wedding of our own.  But a man can dream.

Browncoat Wedding

Invitations autographed by both Joss Whedon and Nathan Fillian.  Wow.  All the best wishes in the 'Verse to these citizens.

Been to a geeky wedding lately?

Back in the Saddle, with a Stash Pocket

Hey readers! I'm back from foreign lands and reacclimating to the West coast timezone and rediscovering my regional allergies. Good times. Luckily, I still have a job despite a new round of fresh young hires. Because of the increased competition, however, I haven't had time to catch up on my web-slacking and my Google reader is overflowing with articles (1000+) and my podfeeder is leaking audio content (100+ podcasts)! I don't know if I can catch up, folks, and I may need to do the unthinkable and just hit reset and start over.

Before I do that though, here's something fairly recent I saw that I wish I had had on my travels. Luckily I didn't get pick-pocketed on my trip, but I was hyper vigilant about it ever since losing my wallet in Poland. If I'd had a pair of these babies on me, however, I wouldn't have had a care in the world.



Brilliant. Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but I love watching this guy shove stuff in his pants. I doubt anyone would want to bum a smoke off him after they've been in there for awhile, and not just because they got bent, but would have a slight hint of man taint to them. What kind of stuff would you hide in your Stashitware shorts?

Shameless Self-Promotion

Hey all you intertube-heads! I'm out of the country right now, having some fun in London-town with my hot new wife, so I won't be around to keep your eyeballs fixed to the site. If you can't stand the wait or if you're just looking for something else to keep you occupied, then go over and check out my travelogue. It'll get updated and pics will get uploaded as I get a chance. Here's a taste:

Survival of the L33test: Humanity continues to defy Darwinism

Take notice Sarah Palin and your "Momma Grizzlies", who speak of fierce defense of your children in defiance of whatever it is you fear at any particular moment; here is a real story of the "meek" casting off assaults from the "strong".  An Internet Gaming Center (or geek nest) in Kaneohe, HI was "held up" by a couple of idiots who thought they'd have easy marks in the pale, fleshy owner and customers inside.  But the tale turns when the geeks instead throw themselves upon the would-be criminals, arms flailing and bodies tackling.  But I'll let the video speak for itself:

Read the full story:
Gamers Fight Off Would-Be Thieves

See any other recent stories of Geek Heroism?

Lego Futurama!

Yob's Steaming Pile of Awesome!: The Deuce

That's right, y'all.

Today, the intarw3bs has done its duty (see what I did there?), and given us something else to enjoy.

The only thing I can say to introduce this overflowing bowl of awesomesauce is, "Here Lies Poop Face."

(this shit just writes itself.)





If after seeing this video, you too want to make Poop Face die of dysentery, fire it up in all it's original Apple IIGS glory, here.

Yob's Steaming Pile of Awesome!

I'd like to think I'm not a neanderthal male.

...so when I ran across this insanely cool piece of art at Beijing's Ministry of Art:



...the only thing came to mind was this scene, from the not-so-awesome movie, "Entrapment":



I am ashamed.

I assure you I'm a nice man. Some might even go so far as to call me "Awesome." But I suppose everyone's got a little neanderthal in them. Right?

Check out the rest of the exhibit, here.

Words to Live Backwards By

What Exactly Are They Selling Again?

As I slog through the summer "offerings" from the networks (more on that later), I often catch the errant commercial before I can grab the remote to hit the skip button. Commercials have long pushed the envelope of taste and decorum in an attempt to get our attention, but recently I've seen a few that caught my eye for the wrong reasons.

Best Buy: Laptop & a Geek


Mom just bought her son a sex doll apparently.  Good luck getting him to video chat now.


Tiger Woods Nike Commercial


This takes some context explanation for those not familiar with professional athletics (Jefe), specifically golf. The voiceover is a recording of Tiger's late father Earl Woods, asked a decade ago what he would ask young Tiger about his career in Golf; now used here to ask him about his famous sexual scandals.

Oh, and to play emotionally on the notion that the audience should pity and forgive the first billionaire professional athlete.

KIA Hamster Soul


Anthropomorphic Rapping Hamsters mocking other hamsters who drive toasters and laundry machines? And we all know a hamster wouldn't be able to dunk with that low center of gravity.

Lastly, this one's creepy in a different way:


Sorry about that, here's a "softer" kind of creepy:

See anything delightfully creepy lately?

The Social Network

You all know by now my irrational hatred for Facebook runs deep. Well, I should just get over it since now it is being promoted from temporal internet phenomenon to part of our shared cultural mythology via film. Yes, a movie is being made about Facebook, or more correctly, about Mark Zuckerberg. The "creator" of Facebook, and anti-hero of this film, is played by Jesse Eisenberg, of Zombieland fame. Shenanigans describes him as a more serious Michael Cera and I think that fits precisely. Here is the first trailer I was exposed to.

I also encountered a second trailer via a GeekSpeak episode, which they describe as almost thriller-esque. See here.   Despite my detestation of Facebook, my curiosity is significantly piqued. I will watch this.


During the same episode of GeekSpeak I was turned on to this fake movie trailer advertising the JavaZone 2010 event. Very well done, and believable since they use all the same tropes of this genre and trailer techniques. I'd like to see this movie, even though it doesn't exist, but that's because I'm a Java programmer and it strikes close to home.


What do you think? Should we stick to posting about lolcats and nut-shots instead?

[Classified]

The Onion has done it again. One of their videos of fake news has been taken seriously and then shared as real news by paranoid conspiracy junkies. Here's a list of links:

http://www.urlesque.com/2010/07/21/obama-martial-law-onion/

http://www.buzzfeed.com/reddit/idiots-everywhere-fall-for-fake-onion-story

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/onion-news-martial-law-2010

My favorite part is about a minute in when "Rep. John Haller" is reading a classified section and is stunned to silence for a few seconds before just remarking "...Jesus" and then continuing.

Is satire not universally understood? Is sarcasm really that difficult of a concept?

Dry Ice Nut Rocket

I'm aware that these kinds of posts lower the bar, but stick with me for a sec.

If I'm feeling blue or just out of gas in general, in the past I've tried all sorts of ineffectual methods to chipper my self up. Some have been down right dangerous or illegal. =)

Watching this video gives me the right amount of stimulus I need, every time. This is the most powerful pill in my medicine cabinet. I dare you not to at least crack a little smile after watching this no matter how bad your day was.

Yob's Steaming Pile of Awesome

Now, I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking: "But, Yob! I thought you were supposed to be the supreme purveyor of preferably steaming piles of Awesome! How could you miss the boat on Improv Everywhere's latest Star Wars Subway stunt? How could you let one of your fellow Egotists scoop you?!"

To that, I say NAY.

I did NOT miss the boat. I allowed it to pass me by.

But "Why?" do you ask?

Because, alas, I was in the minority who felt it could have been funnier than it was. I've learned to hold Improv Everywhere to some pretty high standards, considering the impressive nature of their track record.

So when I wasn't blown away by Star Wars Subway, I said to myself, "Yob, are you really going to pander to popular opinion? Are you really going to lower your standards just because people will think you failed if you don't?"

No. No, I will not do that. Because I owe you, my 2 faithful readers, more than that.

Instead, I bring you something far more awesome than Star Wars Subway.

I present to you Star Wars Subway....the Outtakes!



Now, I realize this is not necessarily Improv Everywhere's finest work. With so many shining moments thusfar, that might be hard to accomplish. I do contend, however, that these bloopers are far more awesome than the finished product was.

Just Plain Awsome: Improv Everywhere

Do you like the Funny?  Do you like your funny to blindside you when you least expect it, such as on a subway, walking out of a courthouse, sitting in a library, or possibly while eating lunch?  Then you should already know about the geniuses at Improv Everywhere, and you're like "thanks much there Shenanigans, got any news on what Michael Jackson's up to?".  For the rest of us that aren't mean jerks with jerk faces, check out their YouTube Channel, where you will find such brilliant vids as these below:

Star Wars Subway Car



My favorite element is Leia's "Galactic Rebellion for Dummies: Princess Edition".

Who you Gonna Call?



The guy playing Venkman should have announced "Relax folks, we're the Ghostbusters" when they first entered.

I Love Lunch! The Musical



"That looks delicious, wish I could eat lunch twice!".  Ann Curry?!

How do you like your funny?

Orbiter 2010 Space Flight Simulator

Orbiter 2010 Space Flight Simulator - The Simulator

Dan's Orbiter Page - essential add-ons (like sound)

Orbit Hangar - Tons of add-ons. Everything available for Orbiter from historical to near future and beyond.

VSS Enterprise Makes First Crewed Flight

Two pilots made a six hour flight over the Mojave desert Thursday. Starting the first maned flights of the VSS Enterprise. Virgin Galactic estimates beginning commercial flights as early as 2012.

We are heading in the right direction again, finally. Only took 51 years. Imagine what we would have now if we had continued down this line.



P.S. NASA SUCKS.

Smart parody take on Old Spice viral ad

You've probably seen some of the videos in the viral ad campaign for Old Spice, but if you haven't I will send you here before sharing this next bit. Look at the ad, now back at me, now back at the ad, now me.

Good, now that we're on the same page now look at this:



Bravo.

Actually, there are quite a few lols to be had mining the Old Spice videos on their site. I recommend checking them out. They've been whipping out new ones based on comments and questions people have been sending them.

What would you ask of Isaiah Mustafa?

You're DEFINITELY a little short for a Stormtrooper....

Interesting Lectures, Awesome Cartoons

It's not hard to be inspired by the double-rainbow guy, but if you're looking for something more cerebral, but equally entertaining I suggest checking out some of the lectures and accompanying cartoons at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers, and Commerce (RSA). Sounds like a very dry organization, but I was very inspired by the following vids:

Smile or Die



I've encountered this idea of "positive thinking" as being a destructive force in our culture before and I find it compelling. I am a realist in my outlook on the world and yet I am often confused for being a pessimist by more up-beat people. I embrace it to a certain extent, I do proudly drink coffee at work from my pessimist's mug. Most people can't grasp the concept of a continuum between optimism and pessimism, just like they can't grok he idea of a wide political spectrum, so if given a false dichotomy go ahead and file me in the pessimist category.

The Secret Powers of Time



How do you view time? I fall somewhere in the Past Negative / Present Hedonistic categories. I enjoy the slower pace of life here in Eugene, Oregon. I struggle with the feeling that I am somehow less mature than people who are future oriented or enjoy a faster pace of life, because the prevailing culture is that way. I think this talk helped me realize that about myself.

Drive



I found this talk very relevant as well. I've always wondered why I'm not more motivated by money alone. I guess I'm still striving for mastery and purpose in my life.

What do you think?

The Mindblowing, Orgasmic Power of Simple Physics (when on drugs)

Ever seen a rainbow?  Ever seen a rainbow ON WEED?  This apparently simple soul seems to have just discovered the awesome, spirit bursting, orgasmic power that seeing a rainbow literally for the first time.



I'm all for appreciating even the most mundane aspects of Nature's Glory, I've been there myself; you're finally at the mountaintop you've been struggling to climb all morning, you're dizzy with exertion and jacked up on adrenaline, Nature Valley granola bars, and the sense of superiority that comes from thinking that you're one with Gaea.  You look out over the horizon to see the full expression of light refraction from ambient water vapor along the focal plane of the curvature of the Earth known as a Rainbow and you think to yourself, "That's Effing Beautiful!", but the cinematographer of this vid takes it right through to creepy.  I like to imagine that after the clear sweet release he attained from this mystical connection, he turns around to face the horrified stares of dozens of people standing behind him in the parking lot, many of them children and the elderly.

Don't do drugs you can't handle kids.

Gin ♣ Rummy: The Morning After

Famous People show off their pu....cats.

From the Awesomely named Your Cat Was Delicious blog, comes some great pics of the famous, notable and iconic (and Richard Nixon, he knows what he did!) posing with their feline friends.  A couple of my favorites:

I'm not sure those last two count, and I'm pretty sure Kelsey Grammer is gonna eat those kittens.

Graphgasm!

From the truly sick individuals that brought us LOLCats comes the most fun I've had with math since I used Van Wilder's Topless Tutors service in college: Graph Jam! Graphs that truly represent stuff that I care to have statistically recorded:

The best part: they have tools to make your own!!!  3 exclamation points of excitement!