Not to be a complete downer with my last post, I have to include a cheerful entry. This one is an excrutiating pun, but of this one I am innocent. It comes courtesy of the outstanding xkcd webcomic.
[via xkcd]
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Cheer Up!
On destructive desires
Yes, this entry is not going to be true to form, it is far from cheerful. But I wanted to link to two touching expositions of addiction and compulsion from two normally cheerful sources. I list them together because I found them both to be extremely touching and insightful. Whether you suffer from one compulsion or another, yield to cravings you wish you could avoid, or just know what it's like to have to make an effort to gain control over a want that may well harm you, both Craig Ferguson's monologue and Stephen Fry's "Blessay" will hit home very hard. If you are fortunate enough (or, hopefully not, delusional enough) to feel completely untouched by any such affliction, they are both worth careful consideration and respect, and have both earned my sincerest admiration.
The following excerpt is from Stephen Fry's "I Give Up" blog entry:
Imagine that one day someone hit himself lightly on the head with a parsnip. Instead of stopping (for this is a foolish thing to do) he carried on doing it. When he eventually did stop he went about his business but discovered, much to his surprise, that he had a sudden unconquerable urge to hit himself lightly on the head with a parsnip all over again. So he did. And the more he did it, the more he needed to do it. The act of doing it gave him a tiny surge of joy, a little rush of pleasure that had to be elicited, never mind what a twazzock he looked, parsnipping himself on the head all day.
[via YouTube and Stephen Fry's Blog]
Friday, November 9, 2007
24 ... pre-SmartPhones
Well, I couldn't help but smile at all the references to "old" tech in this College Humor parody of Fox's "24." I'm embarrassed to say that I still remember the (ancient?) days of the BBS and acoustic couplers. Agent Jack Bauer would have a much harder (and in this case hilarious) time without the widespread acceptance of smartphones and "rich media." Keep an eye out for the pre-Google references to Lycos and Encarta.
[via College Humor via Engadget]
Model B29 with Bell X-1
While not a rocket-powered X-Wing, this is still an impressive demonstration of an impressive model B-29 with accompanying X-1.
On a very marginally related note, if you don't fancy the flying fortress, a fun video of "flying boats" can be found here.
[via YouTube]
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Dutch promo website - outstanding use of flash
I tend to hate flash-heavy websites. The Dutch retail chain Hema have forced me to make an exception. A truly amazing (and flash-heavy) website promo that is just a delight to watch. Follow this link and you will not be sorry. Give the site a few seconds to load, and enjoy one very creative website.
[Via Boing Boing]
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