Happy Thanksgiving
A Happy [American] Thanksgiving to those south of the border. I'm not sure we actually have anybody from there reading the blog, but if we do, enjoy Turkey-day!
Wired on cellphone carriers
Link: http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/10/10-reasons-to-h.html
Alas I have to agree with everything in the referenced Wired article.
The flip side is that most of us put up with the cellphone carriers because the product they sell is darn useful. Is it still worth it despite their rather antisocial behaviour? Guess so: I still have an active cellphone.
Wired on Xkcd
Link: http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/news/2007/11/xkcd
Link is to a Wired story on the true geek's webcomic. Funnier and more cutting than Dilbert, Xkcd also has a very romantic heart. Give it a whirl.
Why "24" wouldn't have worked in the early '90s
Link: http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1788161
Cellphones and high-speed internet connections have significantly changed how action films/TV are written and paced. Link is to an extremely funny revisioning of the "24" pilot, set ten years earlier.
(Via Wired)
Bollywood does Busby
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA1NoOOoaNw
Busby Berkley didn't die; he just moved to Bollywood and started producing in Hindi.
Star Wars viewing order
Link: http://www.kottke.org/07/09/star-wars-viewing-order
Kottke -- y'know, there's a permanent link in the right hand bar, but I like highlighting specific posts of his -- poses this question:
Let's say you're a new father and a movie fan. When your child is of an appropriate age to start watching movies, in which order will you show him/her the six Star Wars movies?
This is an conundrum that has to be solved quickly; Ritchie and Dena only have another six years to figure out the answer before Axel makes the decision himself...
Finding somewhere good to eat
Link: http://rob-donoghue.livejournal.com/275931.html
I've seen this done with other areas of interest, but never with restaurant recommendations:
"The Baconator"
Link: http://www.thewvsr.com/baconator.htm
Link is to an extremely funny expose of the current top-of-the-line Wendy's burger.
Stupidity is its own reward
Having demonstrated my innate gullibility by going to one of their "network previews", the geniuses over at Television Preview decided to reward me with more tickets to their next event. Actually, they gave me four tickets this time instead of the two from the previous go-around.
Gosh, maybe they'll have a show made within the last ten years to bore me with this time.
The CBC on poor student knowledge of Canadian history
Link: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/11/09/canadians-quiz.html?ref=rss
This is the lead paragraph on a CBC story about the poor knowledge of Canadian youth:
If you know why 1867 is a noteworthy year in Canadian history or what top job Sir John A. MacDonald held at that time, then you've already outsmarted most college-aged Canadians on parts of a basic pop quiz.
Video Games Live in Calgary
A few posts earlier, I referred to how computer-sourced music -- specifically game music -- was a rather transitory affair. It was therefore with great interest I saw that a roadshow called Video Games Live was making a stop in Calgary, using the Calgary Philharmonic as its orchestra.
The concept at its core is relatively simple: play some of the better tunes from various computer games and use a symphony orchestra to do it. Then you start adding in the extras: fancy light show, video screens, audience participation and so forth. It appears to have worked as according to the tour schedule, with very few exceptions, the shows have sold out. Certainly the two dates in Calgary have.
Death Star Canteen
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv5iEK-IEzw
Little Lego animation to go along with an Eddie Izzard skit.
Given the teller, you may not want to play this in earshot of younger Star Wars fanatics.
Innumerate idjits
Link: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1022757_cool_cash_card_confusion
Link is to a failed lottery ticket theme in the UK.
Summary: people who can't do math can't do math. There's a shocker.
