+ Mechanical squirrels have arrived...and soon they will be using graduate students as their own personal meat puppets. Until then, they're just marking time helping scientists research squirrel social behavior. Is it wrong that I totally want a mechanical squirrel? I would name him Jeeves, and he would wear a little hat.
+ I'm an idiot which is probably why this appealed to me so much: "Five Cats That Look Like Wilford Brimley."
+ Also via Pop Candy, an interview with J.J. Abrams about the upcoming "Star Trek" movie.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Friday, May 02, 2008
One woman, two word games...and a world torn apart.
Remember in elementary school when little Timmy Rosenblatt* was the light of your life? The way he ate graham crackers, the way he cried during dodgeball, the way he waxed Socratic on the meaning of “Sesame Street,” all made him irresistible to you. Until little Jimmy Hosenfeffer** came on the scene and you were suddenly swept up in his flip-collared Izod t-shirt, the confident way he rode the tire swing, the way he made you feel like a lady every time he held your place in the juice line? I have learned, though, that old loves can be replaced by new loves. Scrabulous, I’m sorry, but I’ve met a new game. His name is Scramble and like the Tonka-truck filled sandbox at recess, he rocks my world.
My passion for the Scrabulous has been well-documented... by me. I’ve been happy with the game. Sure, I get my ass handed to me by every single person I play against (you know who you are), but I think I’ve been getting better and the game continues to be a challenge. Plus, honestly – and this is quite sad – I have rarely been as thrilled as I am when I hit a bingo. Crushing someone’s soul with a 78 point word is just, well, let’s just say I imagine it’s how the first chimpanzee felt when he got shot into space, looked out the rocketship window and flipped the bird to all his earth-bound brethren. Oh yes, that is how good it feels.
So you’ll understand my naïve belief that nothing could supplant my Scrabulous passion. I thought we would be together forever, eating graham crackers on the playground and talking about Big Bird. But then Scramble came along. For those unfamiliar with the game, it’s basically Facebook’s answer to Boggle – you’re given a board of jumbled letters and have roughly three minutes to ferret out as many words as possible. My first attempts with Scramble were tentative. “Surely this can’t be as good as Scrabulous,” I mused.
Oh but it was. In fact, it was oh so much better. You know why? Because I can win. Hallelujah, praise the Lord of Online Amusements, I can actually win. Even better, though, I can’t always win which means that the game challenges me and fires my sad little neurons in ways that I’m assuming are beneficial. (Or not. Who cares? I’m winning!) It has increased my vocabulary, especially my knowledge of three letter words. (I shine with the three letter words). But I’m still failing with the longer words. It’s difficult – in a fun way – to tie 8 separate letters together into one coherent, not-made-up English word. For a vocabulary whore like me –- a sick woman who actually used to enjoy vocab quizzes -- the whole thing is bliss, bliss and more bliss with rainbow sprinkles and unicorns on top.
I’ll still stay friends with Scrabulous. The game’s been good to me and there is no better thrill than those all-too-infrequent bingos. But I don’t know if I’ll ever “like like” Scrabulous again now that my heart belongs to that bewitching young character known as Scramble.
* Name made up out of thin air to protect the innocent.
** Name even more made up than the first one!
My passion for the Scrabulous has been well-documented... by me. I’ve been happy with the game. Sure, I get my ass handed to me by every single person I play against (you know who you are), but I think I’ve been getting better and the game continues to be a challenge. Plus, honestly – and this is quite sad – I have rarely been as thrilled as I am when I hit a bingo. Crushing someone’s soul with a 78 point word is just, well, let’s just say I imagine it’s how the first chimpanzee felt when he got shot into space, looked out the rocketship window and flipped the bird to all his earth-bound brethren. Oh yes, that is how good it feels.
So you’ll understand my naïve belief that nothing could supplant my Scrabulous passion. I thought we would be together forever, eating graham crackers on the playground and talking about Big Bird. But then Scramble came along. For those unfamiliar with the game, it’s basically Facebook’s answer to Boggle – you’re given a board of jumbled letters and have roughly three minutes to ferret out as many words as possible. My first attempts with Scramble were tentative. “Surely this can’t be as good as Scrabulous,” I mused.
Oh but it was. In fact, it was oh so much better. You know why? Because I can win. Hallelujah, praise the Lord of Online Amusements, I can actually win. Even better, though, I can’t always win which means that the game challenges me and fires my sad little neurons in ways that I’m assuming are beneficial. (Or not. Who cares? I’m winning!) It has increased my vocabulary, especially my knowledge of three letter words. (I shine with the three letter words). But I’m still failing with the longer words. It’s difficult – in a fun way – to tie 8 separate letters together into one coherent, not-made-up English word. For a vocabulary whore like me –- a sick woman who actually used to enjoy vocab quizzes -- the whole thing is bliss, bliss and more bliss with rainbow sprinkles and unicorns on top.
I’ll still stay friends with Scrabulous. The game’s been good to me and there is no better thrill than those all-too-infrequent bingos. But I don’t know if I’ll ever “like like” Scrabulous again now that my heart belongs to that bewitching young character known as Scramble.
* Name made up out of thin air to protect the innocent.
** Name even more made up than the first one!
News of the Day -- Friday, May 2
+ Okay, this has nothing to do with nerdiness, but it still cracked me up and I have to share. A man in Texas tried to cash a personal check...for $360 billion dollars. "(The man) said his girlfriend's mother gave him the check to start a record business." And buy a small country presumably.
+ I've been derilect in my Captain Tightpants reportage. Nathan Fillion has signed on to a new ABC pilot called "Castle." He'll play "a mystery novelist who consults with the NYPD on difficult cases," writes Zap2It.
+ And don't forget, tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day. Check out the link to find participating stores...and maybe bring a U-Haul.
+ Speaking of great literature, Vladimir Nabokov's last manuscript -- an unfinished novel called The Original of Laura -- will finally be published, against his dying wishes. Vladimir's son Dmitri says the author was working on the novel until nearly the last few moments before he died, and only wanted the manuscript destroyed because he hadn't been able to complete it. I'm glad this is being published. More Nabokov can only make the world a better place.
+ I've been derilect in my Captain Tightpants reportage. Nathan Fillion has signed on to a new ABC pilot called "Castle." He'll play "a mystery novelist who consults with the NYPD on difficult cases," writes Zap2It.
+ And don't forget, tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day. Check out the link to find participating stores...and maybe bring a U-Haul.
+ Speaking of great literature, Vladimir Nabokov's last manuscript -- an unfinished novel called The Original of Laura -- will finally be published, against his dying wishes. Vladimir's son Dmitri says the author was working on the novel until nearly the last few moments before he died, and only wanted the manuscript destroyed because he hadn't been able to complete it. I'm glad this is being published. More Nabokov can only make the world a better place.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
I wish I'd thought of "Aztec Rex" first...
In the world of TV movies, there can be only one king. And I’m sorry Lifetime Channel but your overuse of Meredith Baxter Birney has lost you the crown. I submit that the Sci-Fi Channel deserves the throne because, really, how many other networks would have the temerity to actually produce the gloriously wonderful crap they do?
I realized this a few weeks ago when I woke up early Sunday morning and lost an entire 90-minutes to a Sci-Fi Original. Yes, while other people were at the Farmers Market or ensuring eternal life by going to church, I watched a movie about gigantic rubber mosquitos trying to eat a band of misfit humans. The best part was when one of the actors was supposed to be fending off a mosquito with a chain saw but had to keep NOT hitting it for fear, I presume, of wrecking the one rubber model on which they’d blown their entire budget.
The titles of these movies are the best. “Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep” and “Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy” are just two that bear mentioning. Even better than the titles, though, are the taglines. No doubt if you watched any Sci-Fi a few weeks ago, you’ll recall their promos for “Warbirds,” the “film” about World War II pilots fighting…wait, for it…pterodactyls. The tag line, I believe, was something along the lines of, “They knew they’re voyage was historic. They just didn’t know…it was prehistoric.” Brilliant! I love it.
And don’t even get me started on the synopses. Hemingway himself would have wept for a chance to write these. “Aztecs and Conquistadors must unite to battles a T-Rex in Mexico,” is how “Aztec Rex” is described. Awesome. “Heatstroke” is even better. With a title like that, guess what the movie is about? Yup, you’re right – it’s about “a model and a soldier fighting aliens that are causing global warming.” Yeah, the title’s practically a spoiler for the whole plot!
I have seriously great affection for these made-for-TV productions. Cheese is so much fun. Embracing the cheese and just exuberantly promoting swarming pterodactyls, rubber mosquitos and models fighting aliens over global warming is so wonderfully ballsy you can’t help but feel love for the little network that could. Go ahead, Sci-Fi Channel, keep making ridiculous movies ‘cause I’ll sure as heck keep watching.
I realized this a few weeks ago when I woke up early Sunday morning and lost an entire 90-minutes to a Sci-Fi Original. Yes, while other people were at the Farmers Market or ensuring eternal life by going to church, I watched a movie about gigantic rubber mosquitos trying to eat a band of misfit humans. The best part was when one of the actors was supposed to be fending off a mosquito with a chain saw but had to keep NOT hitting it for fear, I presume, of wrecking the one rubber model on which they’d blown their entire budget.
The titles of these movies are the best. “Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep” and “Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy” are just two that bear mentioning. Even better than the titles, though, are the taglines. No doubt if you watched any Sci-Fi a few weeks ago, you’ll recall their promos for “Warbirds,” the “film” about World War II pilots fighting…wait, for it…pterodactyls. The tag line, I believe, was something along the lines of, “They knew they’re voyage was historic. They just didn’t know…it was prehistoric.” Brilliant! I love it.
And don’t even get me started on the synopses. Hemingway himself would have wept for a chance to write these. “Aztecs and Conquistadors must unite to battles a T-Rex in Mexico,” is how “Aztec Rex” is described. Awesome. “Heatstroke” is even better. With a title like that, guess what the movie is about? Yup, you’re right – it’s about “a model and a soldier fighting aliens that are causing global warming.” Yeah, the title’s practically a spoiler for the whole plot!
I have seriously great affection for these made-for-TV productions. Cheese is so much fun. Embracing the cheese and just exuberantly promoting swarming pterodactyls, rubber mosquitos and models fighting aliens over global warming is so wonderfully ballsy you can’t help but feel love for the little network that could. Go ahead, Sci-Fi Channel, keep making ridiculous movies ‘cause I’ll sure as heck keep watching.
News of the Day -- May 1
+ A motorized unicycle. Clowns everywhere rejoice -- at 100 miles per hour!
+ Star Trek tricorders are a few steps closer to reality with a new medical scanner that will fit with cell phones and allow doctors in areas without access to advanced medical equipment to check on everything from "detecting tumors to monitoring fetuses," says Yahoo News. You know, all these "Star Trek" style advances are great and all, but I'm not going to be satisfied until I can wake up at five minutes to 8 and use my transporter to get to staff meeting by 8:03. Or until I get my own Data to fight Borg for me.
+ Just in time for the Ironman film debut this Friday, a new contest that lets you live the life of Tony Stark. The grand prize includes first class air transportation to Los Angeles, three nights' stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel, $1,000 spending spree on Rodeo Drive and dinner and spa treatments. Also you get to play Diane Arbus' hirsute man friend. No wait, that's the "Live the Life of Robert Downey, Jr." contest. Totally different. Anyway, below is a preview outlining the contest.
Become Tony Stark for a Weekend!
+ Star Trek tricorders are a few steps closer to reality with a new medical scanner that will fit with cell phones and allow doctors in areas without access to advanced medical equipment to check on everything from "detecting tumors to monitoring fetuses," says Yahoo News. You know, all these "Star Trek" style advances are great and all, but I'm not going to be satisfied until I can wake up at five minutes to 8 and use my transporter to get to staff meeting by 8:03. Or until I get my own Data to fight Borg for me.
+ Just in time for the Ironman film debut this Friday, a new contest that lets you live the life of Tony Stark. The grand prize includes first class air transportation to Los Angeles, three nights' stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel, $1,000 spending spree on Rodeo Drive and dinner and spa treatments. Also you get to play Diane Arbus' hirsute man friend. No wait, that's the "Live the Life of Robert Downey, Jr." contest. Totally different. Anyway, below is a preview outlining the contest.
Become Tony Stark for a Weekend!
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