Commercial of the Week: Sony VAIO

The best of working from home from Sony. But then, no one ever does this, right? (Windows wmv file approx. 3.0 Mb)

Deduct-A-Buck

Well, it's tax season once again and H&R Block is working overtime. But they still managed to find time to create a fun new website (H&R Block -- FUN?!!!) called Deduct-A-Buck featuring their very own gameshow host, Max Refund. Guess the five correct answers and qualify to win real prizes. What a great promo idea from a normally staid company.

Bustabot -- The First Online Pop-Up Book

I love to collect pop-up books of all kinds. Some of my favorite books are interactive and since our housefire a couple of years back, I've been adding all of Robert Sabuda's books to my new collection. Anyway, I just discovered this interesting link today for the Adventures of Bustabot. You can make the images move or pop up by pulling (clicking and dragging) the tabs on each page. Fun!

Women Will Never Understand...

Hey -- the Seattle Seahawks are goin' to the Superbowl next weekend! I generally love going out to shop on Superbowl Sunday because there's almost NO traffic on the roads and not very many men in the stores once that game starts. Seattle will probably resemble a ghost town when Superbowl XL starts. And with that, here's a commercial for the Spanish Fox Sports that says it all.

How to Build a Sideways Room

Many of my friends also know that I never actually officially graduated from high school (I never went back to write a history exam to up my score -- oh well...). But if I had gone on to college, this is the kind of stunt I'd probably also have been doing there. This kid has documented his sideways room project complete with photos on LiveJournal. Hmmm -- April Fools Day is coming up!

Get Your Last Best Chance DVD Here

Last Best Chance is a new movie that was backed by a surprising group of people bonded by a common goal: preventing the proliferation of nuclear and biological weapons into evil hands. Their website tells you more about the movie and recent reviews and you can actually order the movie as a FREE DVD directly from them (postage included!).

Last Best Chance was originally shown on HBO. Their backers are a bipartisan, international coalition of liberal AND conservative leaders and actors who all want to get this chilling message across to as many people as possible. Spread the word and order the movie.

Voted Best Joke of the Year in Australia (Sadly)

Aussie walks into his bedroom with a sheep under his arm and says: "Darling, this is the pig I have sex with when you have a headache."

His girlfriend is lying in bed and replies: "I think you'll find that's a sheep, you idiot."

Aussie says: "I think you'll find I wasn't talking to you."

A Woman from the Inside Out

Nothing dirty here. But this is some really cool code work to present a drawing that seems to draw itself. I played with the speed and the high/low resolution settings for some interesting effects. I can see why it won awards.

Want to Waste Some Time Today?

For those of you with a love for stupid computer games...

Catholic Code Words

I always suspected that different groups and religious affiliations had their own secret codes. The Masons have always had their special books and secret handshake. Well, someone sent me this Catholic Code list today and I decided it was worth passing on:

This information is for Catholics only. It must not be divulged to non-Catholics. The less they know about our rituals and code words, the better off they are.

AMEN: The only part of a prayer that everyone knows.
BULLETIN: Your receipt for attending Mass.
CHOIR: A group of people whose singing allows the rest of the Parish to lip-sync.
HOLY WATER: A liquid whose chemical formula is H2OLY.
HYMN: A song of praise usually sung in a key three octaves higher than that of the congregation's range.
RECESSIONAL HYMN: The last song at Mass often sung a little more quietly, since most of the people have already left.
INCENSE: Holy Smoke!
JESUITS: An order of priests known for their ability to find colleges with good basketball teams.
JONAH: The original "Jaws" story.
JUSTICE: When kids have kids of their own.
KYRIE ELEISON: The only Greek words that most Catholics can recognize besides gyros and baklava.
MAGI: The most famous trio to attend a baby shower.
MANGER: Where Mary gave birth to Jesus because Joseph wasn't covered by an HMO. (The Bible's way of showing us that holiday travel has always been rough.)
PEW: A medieval torture device still found in Catholic churches.
PROCESSION: The ceremonial formation at the beginning of Mass consisting of altar servers, the celebrant, and late parishioners looking for seats.
RECESSIONAL: The ceremonial procession at the conclusion of Mass led by parishioners trying to beat the crowd to the parking lot.
RELICS: People who have been going to Mass for so long, they actually know when to sit, kneel, and stand.
TEN COMMANDMENTS: The most important Top Ten list not given by David Letterman.
USHERS: The only people in the parish who don't know the seating capacity of a pew.

Commercial of the Week: Smartest Man in the World

This one's an ad for Montavit Mineral Water, which uses the byline "A Moment of Clarity." About 46 seconds and funny (at least for guys!). (MPG file format 3.8 Mb)

T-Shirts as Great Social Humor

A lot of my old friends know me as having made my first big bucks in the t-shirt business. So while I have sworn off ever wearing imprinted t-shirts or logo-branded crap for life, it doesn't mean I don't appreciate an exceptionally funny one that comes along on rare occasion.

I looked on the t-shirt phenomenon as something of a social commentary for the times. When I first started printing them in the late 60's (right after the short-lived tie-dyed craze), the more irreverant the better. We made political statements and made fun of corporate slogans, among some of the subjects we picked. This clip came over the wire today that covered a company producing the Willy Nagin and the Chocolate Factory t-shirts and bumper stickers. I love it! Here's to Ray Nagin -- Eat chocolate, you racist bastard!

LOVEMAKING TIPS FOR SENIORS

1. Put on your glasses. Double check that your partner is actually in bed with you.

2. Set timer for 3 minutes, in case you doze off in the middle.

3. Set the mood with lighting. Turn them ALL OFF!

4. Make sure you put 911 on your speed dial before you begin.

5. Write partner's name on your hand in case you can't remember.

6. Keep extra polygrip close by so your teeth don't end up under the bed.

7. Have Tylenol ready in case you actually complete the act.

8. Make all the noise you want. The neighbors are deaf too.

9. If it works, call everyone you know with the good news.

10. Don't even think about trying it twice.

(Notice I posted this in large type so you can read it)

World's Dumbest Dog

This dog has got to be the all-time stupidest dog I've ever seen or it's suffering from the worst case of canine dementia I've ever seen. (Windows Media format 2.9 Mb wmv file)

Like Word Puzzles and Mind Games?

Here's a fun Mensa-style test on old English expressions. Amazing how many you know (or don't know).

Getting from Here to There (or There to Here)

The never-ending number of places where you can find information simply numbs the mind. Want to know the distance from city-to-city in the States? Click here. Or you can also look up other destinations around the globe.

How to Set a Table

Here it is, albeit late for the holidays this year. But in case you ever wondered where everything goes on a table...

Stop-Motion Photography

Photography has come a long way since the days of Eadweard Muybridge and his trip-wire photographs of humans, animals and humans AND animals, all caught in mid-movement. Here's a collection of some incredibly crisp photos that truly seem to stop time.

So There was This Deer on the Hood of A Car, see...

From Comedy Central, a funny 3-minute clip of a dead deer strapped to the hood of a car. Always fun messin' with people's heads... (Windows WMV Media file: 5.2 Mb)

The Norwegian Firetruck

One dark night outside a small town near Poulsbo in Washington, a fire started inside the local chemical plant and in a blink of an eye it exploded into massive flames.

The alarm went out to all the fire departments for miles around. When the volunteer fire fighters appeared on the scene, the chemical company president rushed to the fire chief and said, "All our secret formulas are in the vault in the center of the plant. They must be saved. I will give $50,000 to the fire department that brings them out intact."

But the roaring flames held the firefighters off. Soon more fire departments had to be called in as the situation became desperate.

As the firemen arrived, the president shouted out that the offer was now $100,000 to the fire department who could bring out the company's secret files.

From the distance, a lone siren was heard as another fire truck came into sight.

It was the nearby Norwegian rural township volunteer fire company composed mainly of Norwegians over the age of 65. To everyone's amazement, that little run-down fire engine roared right past all the newer sleek engines that were parked outside the plant.

Without even slowing down it drove straight into the middle of the inferno.

Outside, the other firemen watched as the Norwegian old timers jumped off right in the middle of the fire & fought it back on all sides.

It was a performance and effort never seen before.

Within a short time, the Norske old timers had extinguished the fire and had saved the secret formulas.

The grateful chemical company president announced that for such a superhuman feat he was upping the reward to $200,000, and walked over to personally thank each of the brave fire fighters.

The local TV news reporter rushed in to capture the event on film, asking their chief, "What are you going to do with all that money?"

"Vell," said Ole Larsen, the 70-year-old fire chief, "Da first thing ve gonna do is fix da brakes on dat focking truck!"