If you bought or rented the new Fight Club blu-ray and brought it back to the store convinced you rented a faulty disc, you've been Punk'd by director David Fincher. When the disc boots up it displays the menu for Never Been Kissed for a few seconds before showing its true Fight Club colors.
Fincher should have taken the joke the extra mile and substituted the entire Never Been Kissed movie for Fight Club as some sort of anti-materialist, marketing-media complex deconstruction statement.
From The Consumerist.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Stolen VW bus found 35 years later
This 1965 VW bus was stolen in Spokane, Washington in 1974. During a routine inspection of shipping containers, at the Port of Los Angeles, the VW’s vehicle identification number was run and the bus came up as stolen.
The VW Bus wasn’t worth much when it was stolen back in 1974, and Allstate Insurance paid the owner a settlement for the car. In its current condition, the bus is now worth about $27,000. The owner of the vehicle? Allstate Insurance now owns this classic, which is standard procedure for recovered cars after a settlement has been paid.
Full story here.
The VW Bus wasn’t worth much when it was stolen back in 1974, and Allstate Insurance paid the owner a settlement for the car. In its current condition, the bus is now worth about $27,000. The owner of the vehicle? Allstate Insurance now owns this classic, which is standard procedure for recovered cars after a settlement has been paid.
Full story here.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Cozy Coupe
We got Bodhi a Cozy Coupe for his second birthday. He was so thrilled. He wanted to play with every piece I took out of the box. He was so excited about it, I literally had to assemble it around him.
Back wheels on:
Four wheels, starting on the roof:
Most of roof, steering wheel. He loves to open and close the door:
Back wheels on:
Four wheels, starting on the roof:
Most of roof, steering wheel. He loves to open and close the door:
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Butthole Surfers, Stubbs Austin, October 31, 2009
Anyone who knew me in college knows that the Butthole Surfers were practically my religion back then. Anytime they hit the road, I'm going to want to see them.
My wife and I were both excited about this show. Unfortunately, only one of us made it. As we were getting ready, I put on Psychic...Powerless to get us in the mood. Turns out my two-year-old loves the Buttholes too, and he started jumping and spinning around like crazy to the music. Unfortunately, all this jumping and spinning got him dizzy, and he fell and got a goose-egg on his forehead. (I call this his first mosh-pit injury.) He was fine, but as a precaution, Liz stayed at home to keep an eye on him. I went to the show with my college roommate Andrew, who just moved to Austin.
We caught a few songs by opening act Peaches, then settled in to wait for the Buttholes. Their pre-show music was an endless recording of The Price Is Right theme song, blared at painfully high volume. Not a cool remix of The Price Is Right theme song--the actual song exactly as heard on TV. It went on for 15 minutes, literally. Finally, they came out: Gibby, Paul, King, and a bass player whom I didn't recognize.
Gibby stood center stage with his box-o-vocal-effects within easy reach. It looked like the exact same box he had when I saw them at Sunken Gardens in San Antonio in 1993. Paul wore a Stevie Ray Vaughn hat and a Palin T-shirt. (After 25 years, they still find ways to be offensive.) King sat behind a traditional drum kit. The bassist wore a Halloween costume. Behind the stage was three screens that showed open-heart surgery, fish swimming, plenty of psychedelic colors and patterns, and given the date, lots of horror movie footage. Here's a short clip of the show on YouTube.
Their setlist was heavy on their old, good stuff--the first few recordings plus Independent Worm Saloon. It was similar to this setlist from a Baltimore show a few nights earlier.
After the first two songs, Gibby greeted the crowd, saying, "Happy Halloween. You know, to people like us, it's sorta like Christmas." Then they launched into "100 Million People Dead," a pretty obscure track which I think was only released on the 1984 P.E.A.C.E. Compilation. Back then I met a guy named Terence who played bass for them for awhile who supposedly wrote that song.
In the middle of the set, they played "Comb." For this live version, in addition to the atonal riffing and Gibby's knob-twiddling vocals, they added lyrics. Apropos of nothing, Paul would periodically scream, "LOU REED?!?" It was inexplicably funny.
They ended the set with "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave," then launched into an audience-testing wall of noise assault, entirely filling the huge Stubbs stage with dry-ice smoke so you couldn't see anything but intense, seizure-inducing strobe lights.
It was a classic show. Definitely lower in intensity than their early shows, but completely satisfying.
My wife and I were both excited about this show. Unfortunately, only one of us made it. As we were getting ready, I put on Psychic...Powerless to get us in the mood. Turns out my two-year-old loves the Buttholes too, and he started jumping and spinning around like crazy to the music. Unfortunately, all this jumping and spinning got him dizzy, and he fell and got a goose-egg on his forehead. (I call this his first mosh-pit injury.) He was fine, but as a precaution, Liz stayed at home to keep an eye on him. I went to the show with my college roommate Andrew, who just moved to Austin.
We caught a few songs by opening act Peaches, then settled in to wait for the Buttholes. Their pre-show music was an endless recording of The Price Is Right theme song, blared at painfully high volume. Not a cool remix of The Price Is Right theme song--the actual song exactly as heard on TV. It went on for 15 minutes, literally. Finally, they came out: Gibby, Paul, King, and a bass player whom I didn't recognize.
Gibby stood center stage with his box-o-vocal-effects within easy reach. It looked like the exact same box he had when I saw them at Sunken Gardens in San Antonio in 1993. Paul wore a Stevie Ray Vaughn hat and a Palin T-shirt. (After 25 years, they still find ways to be offensive.) King sat behind a traditional drum kit. The bassist wore a Halloween costume. Behind the stage was three screens that showed open-heart surgery, fish swimming, plenty of psychedelic colors and patterns, and given the date, lots of horror movie footage. Here's a short clip of the show on YouTube.
Their setlist was heavy on their old, good stuff--the first few recordings plus Independent Worm Saloon. It was similar to this setlist from a Baltimore show a few nights earlier.
After the first two songs, Gibby greeted the crowd, saying, "Happy Halloween. You know, to people like us, it's sorta like Christmas." Then they launched into "100 Million People Dead," a pretty obscure track which I think was only released on the 1984 P.E.A.C.E. Compilation. Back then I met a guy named Terence who played bass for them for awhile who supposedly wrote that song.
In the middle of the set, they played "Comb." For this live version, in addition to the atonal riffing and Gibby's knob-twiddling vocals, they added lyrics. Apropos of nothing, Paul would periodically scream, "LOU REED?!?" It was inexplicably funny.
They ended the set with "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave," then launched into an audience-testing wall of noise assault, entirely filling the huge Stubbs stage with dry-ice smoke so you couldn't see anything but intense, seizure-inducing strobe lights.
It was a classic show. Definitely lower in intensity than their early shows, but completely satisfying.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Doodle Jump Halloween Easter Egg
As I have mentioned before, Doodle Jump is one of my favorite iPhone games. One of the best things about the game is that the developers update it all the time, adding new and fun elements. It is easily the most frequently updated iPhone app I have.
For Halloween, the developers made a very interesting--and free--update. Usually, the game looks like this:
But, after the latest update, if you change your user name to Boo, the game takes on a scary Halloween atmosphere:
To change your user name:
1. Play Doodle Jump till you fall.
2. On the Game Over screen, you'll see your user name. Tap your user name, change it to Boo, then click Done.
The next time you start the game, you will see the Halloween version. It's harder to play, because it's a lot harder to see. But it's fun, though. Some of the monsters have been replaced with jack-o-lanterns, and there may be more surprises that I haven't gotten to yet.
For Halloween, the developers made a very interesting--and free--update. Usually, the game looks like this:
But, after the latest update, if you change your user name to Boo, the game takes on a scary Halloween atmosphere:
To change your user name:
1. Play Doodle Jump till you fall.
2. On the Game Over screen, you'll see your user name. Tap your user name, change it to Boo, then click Done.
The next time you start the game, you will see the Halloween version. It's harder to play, because it's a lot harder to see. But it's fun, though. Some of the monsters have been replaced with jack-o-lanterns, and there may be more surprises that I haven't gotten to yet.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Harpy with a Sharpie
Here's a funny teen-angst cartoon I saw scribbled on the playground equipment at the park the other day. Kind of a cross between Ghost World and Lynda Barry. If you're going to deface public property, you should at least sign your name, as this person did. Click to view full-size.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
R.I.P. Vic Mizzy, Addams Family composer
Vic Mizzy, a songwriter who was probably best known for penning the themes to ’60s sitcoms The Addams Family and Green Acres, passed away Saturday at his home in Bel Air, Calif. Mizzy, a Brooklyn native, rose up through the vaudeville circuit, eventually writing standards for the likes of Doris Day and Dean Martin. He provided lead vocals for the theme to The Addams Family, and gave the show’s principals direction on just how to snap their fingers while feigning boredom.
Full story, video and audio on idolator.
Full story, video and audio on idolator.
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