Sorry for the relative lack of posts lately!  We’ve been busy packing, and packing, and packing, and doing a bunch of other stuff, too.  We’re excited for the big move this Saturday!  Hopefully next week after things settle down a bit I can get back to a bit more regular schedule of posting.

Thanks!

Thanks the fine bloggers over at The Point for this one. It looks like fun!

The point is to have some fun with the American Film Institute’s original list of top films.

1) Your 5 favorite movies that are on the list:

• Star Wars
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
  
• Casablanca
• Citizen Kane
• North By Northwest

2) 5 Movies on the list that you didn’t like at all:

• Unforgiven
• Platoon
• Amadeus
• E.T.
• Singin’ in the Rain

3) 5 Movies you haven’t seen, but want to:

• Schindler’s List
• Dr. Strangelove
• The Godfather, Part II
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• Network

4) 5 Movies on the list that you haven’t seen and have no interest in seeing:

• Gone With the Wind
• Tootsie
• Wuthering Heights
• American Graffiti
• The Deer Hunter

5) Your 5 favorite movies that aren’t on the list:

• Fellowship of the Ring
• Memento
• Gladiator
• The Matrix
• The Usual Suspects

I had a really tough time answering some of those, and I’m sure that on any other given day, the lists would be different. But for today, off the top of my head, that’s what I’ve got.

Anybody else want to weigh in? I’d love to see your picks. Leave a comment and have fun!

For the small segment of those who visit this blog that have read Alan Moore’s and Dave Gibbon’s magnum opus Watchmen, hopefully you’ll get a little chuckle out of the following silliness as I did.

For the rest of you who haven’t read it…shame on you.  Hurry up and do so.  :-)  Or at least check out the movie when it arrives.

Without further ado…the Watchpeanuts!

Once again, I owe thanks to Jeffrey Overstreet at Looking Closer for the following funny.

It’s a hilarious, fast-paced, extremely well-produced, and detailed encapsulation of the Democratic race for the 2008 election so far, riffing on everything from LOST and 24 to Lord of the Rings. With tongue firmly in cheek, it also skewers political mudslinging and irrelevant punditry (because we all like to make a big deal out of details that ultimately don’t end up mattering).

What’s especially funny is how little they have to go out of their way for a joke here. The material has been writing itself for the last two years.

So, whatever your political leanings, enjoy. Obligatory warning: PG-13 language included. Click below for the video.

This isn’t anything new, as the article goes back to August 2007. I just stumbled across it today, though, so here you go!

Last year, the folks over at TrekStor debuted the shiny new “blaxx” model, the latest in their line of mp3 players under the i.Beat brand.

You’d think that today with all the committees, focus groups, and testing that goes into choosing just the right name for a product that somewhere along the line someone might have said, “Hey, maybe ‘i.Beat Blaxx’ isn’t the direction we want to go with this…”

I mean, really. I.Beat Blaxx? There are no words.

Thanks to engadget for the pic and the info.

After knocking a can of pop in the kitchen this morning, watching it explode everywhere, and ending up late to work after the ensuing cleanup, I was hoping for something to brighten my day.

For some reason, this commercial did it. I’m sure I’m one of the last people on earth to hear about it, but I’m reposting it anyway. For a production guy and a big Discovery Channel fan like me, it was a extremely enjoyable watching the editing, recognizing tiny glimpses of favorite shows like “Dirty Jobs” and “Mythbusters,” and thinking about how much work went into pulling off these sixty seconds. I’ve watched it several times, and now I can’t get the song out of my head.

With as much fun as it is, though, things could definitely be worse.

Thanks to Mike for posting this first.

I’ll make the assumption that most everyone who reads this blog is at least passingly familiar with C.S. Lewis’ amazing masterpiece saga The Chronicles of Narnia. Though not spot-on, Walden Media is doing a pretty good job adapting them to screen. The first pass, at least, with The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe was quite entertaining and stirring.

Now, the second trailer is out for movie number two, Prince Caspian, and it looks like they’ve upped the ante. Hopefully the movie is a faithful adaptation rather than a stripping down of the plot and an inflating of the battle sequences, but either way, it should be a tremendously enjoyable film.

Enjoy the trailer below (or, if you’re like me and prefer a larger, crisper look, enjoy it in HD here), and check out my previous glimpse at the similarities between Narnia’s prince and another, less-storied prince here.

It’s not often that I go off on a topical tangent based on a previous post, especially when it’s about something as obscure as the steampunk genre. However, I just had to post this, even though it appears I’m about a year behind in noticing it.

I was cruising through deputydog’s list of annoyingly brilliant office interiors (and wishing my office setting was a little more like these sometimes!) that includes places like Google, Red Bull, and Pixar when I came upon the second-to-last entry: the steampunk offices of game studio Three Rings, inspired by Jules Verne and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea — and we’re not talking Disney here.

Custom desks, secret conference lounge, ceiling hatches…they even have a squid, and it’s the last thing you’d expect.

Designed and built by the studio Because We Can (love the name), this office has got to be one of the most creativity-inspiring places around. I can only say that I’m a wee bit jealous.

Check out the full gallery of shots, courtesy of Wired.  And as cool as they are, it looks like some of the shots that Wired has show some unfinished interiors; visit Because We Can’s site for more updated views.

Steampunk is an interesting genre.

The ever-handy Wikipedia defines it as “a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction…set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date.”

The Thief games about which I recently blogged are an example of steampunk. One may occasionally run across examples of someone modding their home equipment to take on a steampunk look (the Steampunk Workshop gives a great example of a modded flat panel monitor that goes great with a modded keyboard). I like the look and the concept behind the genre, though I don’t have the patience, time, or skill (not to mention desire) to go altering all my stuff.

Anyway, I digress. That’s all setup for what I ran across the other day: Steampunk Star Wars action figures.

I like the images of R2-D2 and C-3PO as steam-and-gear-based droids, while even Darth Vader and his storm troopers look like they might periodically need winding. Han and Luke sport pilot goggles and truly look the part of a pair of flying aces. The style is just cool! Click the link for some better pictures.

Meanwhile, Toymania has another set of period-piece Star Wars figures — this time, re-imagined as WWII-era heroes. This is also particularly applicable, as many of the inspirations for and themes found in Star Wars come from the World War history books.

Han, Chewie, and Luke still fit the pilot motif, and all the various storm trooper (and Darth Vader) configurations are eerily similar to historical Nazi garb.

Then there’s Boba Fett, who still just looks plain cool. Again, for better pictures, click the link.

So what do you think of these? Also, any other eras that should be represented?

Thanks to Amy, I came across a really cool set of CDs that might be fun for those of you with babies. I know I will definitely be keeping it mind when the time comes for us!

It’s called Rockabye Baby, and each CD is, as it sounds, a lullaby disc. The great thing is that they’re “lullabied” versions of songs that mom and dad probably already listen to! It’s a really clever idea, and one that utilizes some really clever and creative graphic design parodies of popular album covers.  I can think of many reasons why this would be a positive thing for parents, while in no way being detrimental to the baby — well, unless, perhaps, if you were getting the Metallica edition…

That’s right, Metallica. And Green Day. Nirvana. U2. Coldplay. The Beatles. Bob Marley. Led Zeppelin. Rolling Stones. Smashing Pumpkins. The Cure. The Beach Boys. Actually, way too many to keep listing, so I’ll just trust that you’ll check out the site.

Meanwhile, how about a little quiz? Check out the song samples below and see if you can identify the the song from its lullabied version. Answers at the bottom.

Number One

Number Two

Number Three

Number Four

Number Five

Number Six

Number Seven

Number Eight

Number Nine

Number Ten

Take a look at the answers, then leave a note.  How did you do?

1. Coldplay - “Clocks”
2. Led Zeppelin - “Kashmir”
3. Nirvana - “All Apologies”
4. U2 - “Where the Streets Have No Name”
5. Smashing Pumpkins - “Today”
6. The Beatles - “Yellow Submarine”
7. Bob Marley - “Jammin’”
8. AC/DC - “You Shook Me All Night Long”
9. Radiohead - “Paranoid Android”
10. No Doubt - “Don’t Speak”