Season of the Spacecraft

I came across this excellent tool today and deemed it worthy, no, necessary to inform everyone I can. Check out this list of things to do in the terrifying and exciting event of contact with a UFO. Tip number 9 is the one to memorize.

And check out this set of Penguin books (you know, the publishing company) from our childhood that we will all remember. And what a bargain! I mean, free shipping is something so great about Amazon.

-J

Movie News

There was a PC game called American McGee's ALICE based on the Alice in Wonderland stories, but much darker and more fighty. Now they're making a movie of it, and Sarah Michelle Gellar will be playing Alice. Isn't it funny that while she really doesn't want to play the role of Buffy ever again because she doesn't want to be just Buffy she still takes the roles putting her in danger all the time? I'm all for it, I just think it's weird.

Also, here is the new poster for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

The White Witch looks so cool. I think this movie looks great. It comes out in December and in case you didn't know, WETA, masters behind the LOTR trilogy's special effects, are doing this one, too. No cheesy looking monsters for us!!!

-J

Milk and Cookies

Thanks to my brother, Adam, for this link. Yet another demonstration of how much the Japanese love to torture themselves with ridiculous physical activities (i.e. Most Extreme Challenge). This looks like it would be fun, but the poor guy's face tells a different story. Everyone notice the music from "Independence Day" in the last half of the clip. Oh so triumphant.

This Milk and Cookies website is similar to del.icio.us. Both sites are a place to post cool websites and links to share with others. If you have access to a fast connection and are done checking your email, this is a fun way to waste some time and find some great hidden gems. Notice how both names of these sites are food related? I know some more sites like this that I'll mention later. The internet is a crazy place these days.

-J

MONKEYS!!!!!!!

I'm sure you've thought to yourself once or twice, "Hey, it would be really nice to have a little help typing at my computer," or "Man, I'm so sick of not being able to turn my PC on because I'm stuck in this wheelchair." Well, it seems that an organization called Helping Hands has discovered a simple and fun solution.

Look at that little monkey symbol on the disabled persons lap, he's so cute.

Please, please, PLEASE click on that image and watch the flash ad at the top of the linked page. Only there can you see these beautiful little angels carrying out their newfound destiny.

What is this world coming to? I guess interweb addicts who acquire carpal tunnel syndrome or lose their hands in some freak accident are the targets for this one. Don't forget, though, your little angel helper might have another, less helpful face like these.

Good luck, monkey lovers.

-J

PS - Happy Father's day. I'll be celebrating with lots of dining fathers, not including my own.

SUPER MARIO BROS. SUPER SHOW!!!

Good news everyone! This beloved show from our childhood is coming to DVD soon. Every episode will be in the set, including the Friday "Zelda" specials. I don't know about you, but for me those Fridays were so awesome. And after watching a couple episodes of that cartoon when I was older I found that there are some classic gems ("Whatever you do, don't touch the statues." *Zelda places her hand on the statue* "Why?") I can't wait to get a hold of this. The only downside is that it also includes the cheesy live-action hijinx, video game sound effects and all, of Mario Mario and Luigi Mario, you know, the Mario brothers.
But Zelda beats everything. Plus I often think of that Mario cartoon and wish I could see it again. Now everyone has a chance.

-J

Why?!?!?

What is with George Lucas? We all knew he was a money-hungry, limited-ability directing, juggernaut of marketing ploys, but I don't know if any of us saw this coming. If you check out the Digg news to the right you'll see the headline about Lucas considering yet another prequel to the original prequels to the original trilogy. Wow that sounds crazy. Yoda may be a headlining character, though, so all those who thought it was ridiculous seeing him jump and flip around with a lightsaber, get ready for a comedy. Oh well, at least Spielberg is with him on the new Indy movie.

-J

Jose Cuervo

Just got back from a sweet promotional party for the Jose Cuervo brand of tequila. Yesterday my boss, Peter, was like, "Hey, what are you doing tomorrow night? Wanna go to a Cuervo party?" So I said I'd go, and I had to go into the office and RSVP online because it was an exclusive party for people in the restaurant business. It was at this club that Peter goes to at least once a week called Sound-bar. It's on the outskirts of the main downtown area right off I-90 (coming from the good old northwest suburbs). It's a really nice place that I'd definitely like to check out when it's set up like normal.

Tonight it was all airplane styled because it was a "Flight Club" party. It was actually pretty lame, but there were girls dressed in skimpy flight attendant outfits and a faux-airplane cabin where you experienced a presentation on the creation of tequila from the agave plant that was reminiscent of the crayon factory video that Mr. Fred Rogers used to show me again and again. Entry to this "plane" was limited to those who finished getting their Cuervo passport stamped at all the different stations throughtout the club, which also gave you an opportunity to win a trip to Mexico. Unfortunately I did not win that lovely getaway, but my consolation prize was a set of spectacular Cuervo wings, like the kind little worm pilots would wear if bottles of tequila could fly. We also received some Cuervo glasses on the way out. Hey, I just realized that I have acquired my first bit of SWAG (stuff we all get) since I learned the term!

-J

PC takes the point!

Lately I've been trying to determine whether my next computer should be a PC or a Mac. I know that it's horribly disloyal of me to even consider a mac, but really, they always run so smoothly and look so pretty. And after last night talking with Scott about it, it appears that it would be even easier to keep myself organized with a mac, and I love being organized.

The main point that I will not be switching to Mac, however, is that it doesn't do gaming at all. I'm not that into PC gaming, but I do have a few and I'm interested in a couple new ones, too. But now the PC has gained another point against Mac: TopDesk. This is a feature Mac users have enjoyed for a long time, but now we can do it too. This feature makes it so that you can press a single button on your keyboard and it separates all the open windows into thumbnail views. This makes it very easy to switch between applications that you're using, especially when the little buttons in the task bar are tiny and you can't read what they say. Plus it looks pretty cool, too. So try it out. It's just a trial version, but all that means is that each time you boot up your PC you have to open the application, it's not automatic.

Have fun!


See how pretty? 

-J

Hey, everyone's doing it...

Check out this monkey!!!


Watch out, he's a tough one.

No More "Kevins on Board"

It seems that whenever I stop going to school for at least a whole semester I grow to love at least one show (always at 11am) on daytime television. Back during my sophomore year, when I took the second semester off, I could find absolutely nothing else on except ridiculous soap operas. Then I came across horrible acting and semi-beautiful people talking about vampires. Plus there was this skeleton woman that I could not stop myself from watching because of her scary, sinewy body. That is how I came to love the "General Hospital" spinoff called "Port Charles."

This time, after graduating in December, I can only say that my new daytime obsession is a little less embarrassing. G4, the video game channel, was a little lacking in content for a long time, but I still loved it despite Tommy Tallarico. Then they teamed up with (bought out) TechTV, a smaller network based in San Francisco, CA, that covered mainly computers with one show that reviewed video games called "Extended Play." So watching G4 I found a show called "The Screen Savers" that was a little silly because it was filmed in a studio without an audience, but you would randomly hear the set people laughing at the jokes said on air. It just seemed like a bunch of friends having fun making a show just for themselves. Well, it turns out it was that and so much more. I went from almost hating the show to loving it in about a week. They actually talked about things I was interested in, and some things that I had no idea about.

After they were bought out, "The Screen Savers" (TSS) and "Extended Play" (now "X-Play," still a great review show) were the only two TechTV shows to stay on the new G4TechTV. Then the name of the network switched back to G4 and TSS changed to "Attack of the Show" (AOTS). The only thing that stayed the same about TSS/AOTS was a man named Kevin Rose. At almost 30 years old, he really still looks about 14, but he loves computers and has a really good way of explaining things. As with the rest of the show hosts, Sarah Lane and Kevin Pereira, I grew to feel like I knew K. Rose. And despite the fact that he was upset that AOTS covered much less tech stuff that the old TSS, it seemed like he was really enjoying working with his girlfriend and the other Kevin on the show.

Then about two weeks ago he announced on his blog that, after a lot of lawyer-talk, G4 had let him out of his contract. So last Friday, May 27, 2005, was his last day on AOTS. I have to admit that I was really sad to find this out. The other Kevin on the show reminds me a little of our favorite Lady Elaine Fairchilde look-alike in the slightly jerky sense. I love everyone on the show, though. But Kevin Rose, you will be missed.

But have no fear. K. Rose and his old TSS buddies have started a new online tech show called Systm. Even if you don't like computers a TON, I would recommend downloading an episode just to see what it's like. The first episode, released this past Monday, was about a box you can make that can pick up video feeds from surveilance cameras. Not too useful, but interesting and scary that it can be done. It was fun to see him interacting with the other hosts on AOTS, but at least we can still get good tech lessons from him.

-J

PS - While I was writing this my brother called to inform me that he had just seen Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. More than his review of the film, he wanted to tell me that he thought the stuttering lawyer from "My Cousin Vinny" was the same person as the evil Emperor Palpatine. Click on these other links of the lawyer guy and the emperor to help make your judgment.