[the.mudflap]

Lower the dignity of my blog? You bet your ass I will! This poor...

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:04:00 -0600

Lower the dignity of my blog?

You bet your ass I will!

This poor soul got caught up in a ski lift and was left with his nether parts hanging out for 15 minutes or so. What makes this more humorous? The incident occured at Colorado’s posh Vail ski resort.

I know the economy is bad, sir, but this is no way to freeze your assets {{smirk}}.

Via The Smoking Gun where there are more pictures!

Man On A Wire: I was so moved...I teared up a little

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:24:00 -0600

As a 40-something male, I don’t like to admit when I cry. And I didn’t really “cry” during this movie—it was just a tear to the eye.

Man On A Wire is the story of Philippe Pettite, a French highwire walker, and his dream to walk a wire between the Twin Towers in New York City. It takes place in the mid-70’s around the time Nixon resigned because of Watergate.

A couple of things struck me as profound:

1. There was a strong juxtaposition in the personality of Philippe. He referred to the highwire act as a dream—not one that existed in the temporal realm, but one that inhabited his imagination like some kind of fairy tale quest. Yet, he and his cohorts managed to plan and execute the difficult engineering feat of stringing a wire between the Twin Towers.

2. The high wire attempt itself was not a stunt or dare to gain attention, but a piece of art. Most of the people interviewed in the film understood and appreciated Philippe’s act as an artistic thing of beauty. Even 30-some years later, many became emotional in front of the camera when they talked about the day he made the crossing. (That’s what made me tear up, by the way.)

So, to quote the fake James Lipton (played by Will Farrell):

If you have not seen it this movie, go out right now to where films are sold or rented and buy it…or rent it.

Bender the Robot: My Role Model

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:30:00 -0600

I like to think of myself as a bit of a rule breaker. It’s hard to do when you have two car payments and a mortgage, but I try. To help me rally to the cause I use a sort of mascot.

Bender the Robot from Futurama is as good a role model as any. He likes “booze and hookers” (his words not mine), and his favorite saying is “bite my shiny metal ass.” A bad boy to be sure.

Plus he appeals to my nerd frame of mind because he lives in the future and is a robot. He could kick C3-PO’s ass, but would get pounded by The Terminator.

A fair balance, I’d say.

Futurama is on Comedy Central.

Ah it’s the holiday season which always reminds me of...

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 21:43:00 -0600

Ah it’s the holiday season which always reminds me of yummy holiday treats like…Schweddy Balls.

Sorry about the ad in the frame. Blame NBC.

I was having a pretty bad day today and then checked out...

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 15:14:44 -0600

I was having a pretty bad day today and then checked out failblog.org. This made me snigger out loud. Hope it brightens your day as well.

Christmas specials have gone significantly down hill since I was...

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:38:52 -0600

Christmas specials have gone significantly down hill since I was young. I can remember watching this one as a boy. I was kinda freaked out about David Bowie at the time. Looking back, it was a great Christmas special.

"Everybody had a hard year, Everybody had a good time, Everybody had a wet dream, Everybody saw the..."

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:30:00 -0600

“Everybody had a hard year,
Everybody had a good time,
Everybody had a wet dream,
Everybody saw the sun shine”

- John Lennon and Paul McCartney, “I’ve Got A Feeling”, Let It Be, 1970

One of my favorite Beatles lyrics. Check out the audio snippet of the song below.

“I’ve Got A Feeling” (excerpt), Let It Be,...

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:24:00 -0600

“I’ve Got A Feeling” (excerpt), Let It Be, 1970

I'm More Than A Nerd, More Than A Geek

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:17:00 -0600

In case I haven’t made it clear, I am a HUGE Star Wars fan. I may not be as crazed as this crew from the movie Fanboys. But in a parallel dimension…yep…that could be me.

I smell Oscar gold.

Fanboys official website.

My First and Only Christmas Cartoon Post

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 04:45:09 -0600

I’m not a big fan of Christmas humor (or of Christmas commercialism, food, songs or trees). This one made me laugh. Hope it brightens your day.

How I Discovered the Kinks 36 Years Later

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:53:16 -0600

I stumbled upon this wonderful video of the Kinks performing two songs from 1972 in front of a live audience. A few highlights:

Ray Davies’ familiar smile, and his unruly hair
The magnificent brass section backing the band
The melancholy sentiment in the first song “Waterloo Sunset.”

And even though I suffer greatly from the myth of nostalgia, I find this performance some what soothing compared to the candy-coated and overly-bombastic (or just downright profain) pop music of today. Oh go ahead, call me old fashioned. You just wait for my next post.

Via Kung Fu Grippe

This quotation above is from Merlin Mann via Twitter. You can...

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:07:00 -0600

This quotation above is from Merlin Mann via Twitter. You can also follow Merlin at his blog: www.kungfugrippe.com.

Found on failblog.org. I laughed out loud. By the way, Mommy...

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:48:00 -0600

Found on failblog.org. I laughed out loud.

By the way, Mommy works and Home Depot and was selling a snow shovel.

I love Star Wars. I love panel cartoons. I love Post-Its. ...

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:57:30 -0600

I love Star Wars. I love panel cartoons. I love Post-Its. Savage Chickens, I love YOU!

The truth can be refreshing. I found this on Boing Boing today....

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:30:00 -0600

The truth can be refreshing. I found this on Boing Boing today. It made me laugh.

"I don’t make my bed for the same reason I don’t tie my shoes after I take them off."

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:21:48 -0600

“I don’t make my bed for the same reason I don’t tie my shoes after I take them off.”

- Jim Gaffigan, Comedian

December 4th, 2008

Austin Texas

Time Keeps Tickin' Away

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:50:10 -0600

Daily Mugshot

Dailymugshot.com is a fun website that allows me to take a “mugshot” of myself every day and then puts it into this little gadget which runs all the mugshots in fast forward. It’s sort of like time lapse for your life. I’ve tried to keep my face oriented and sized the same so that the effect is more pronounced.

You can also view other people’s “mugshows” on the website. They even have an iPhone app so you can use your iPhone camera to upload your mug. I can’t wait to get a whole year of these.

This is a graphical representation of my Facebook network of...

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:23:00 -0600

This is a graphical representation of my Facebook network of friends. It was created using the TouchGraph application. I like it because it shows a large amount of data, and how it relates, in one picture. Click on it to see a larger view.

A Gimpse Into the Past I found some footage of WW II air combat...

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:28:21 -0600

A Gimpse Into the Past

I found some footage of WW II air combat that was only recently discovered. The video is long so feel free to take just a peak. I find this type of footage extremely valuable because it’s educational. It’s not hyped up movie special effects.

My daughter is eleven and getting braces. My wife snapped this...

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:12:35 -0600

My daughter is eleven and getting braces. My wife snapped this with her iPhone.