Simpsons Crack on (M)Apple

I was only a matter of time...say, where can I get one of those myCubes?

Doing the iPhone Dance

Found this Joy of Tech today and sadly it's something to which I and iPhone users everywhere can relate.

Nigerian Prince's Biggest Investor

We've all gotten the email - some prince in Nigeria needs your help to move millions of dollars around and if you send $100 here and $1000 there you get it back a thousand fold. This king of all internet scams is so unbelievable it's been poked fun at a thousand times - even Saturday Night Live has referenced it a couple of times (most recently Anne Hathaway joked: "I found this amazing new guy, we met on the internet. I usually don't read letters from strangers, but how often do you get an email from a Nigerian Prince? He's such a sweetheart, and - not that it matters - but he's incredibly wealthy.")

That's funny and all, but consider this: the scam is still out there for a reason, and that reason is that there are actually people still falling for it.

For example, Janella Spears from Sweet Home, Oregon recently "went public" with her experiences - a story that ultimately ends with the nursing administrator and reverend investing over $400,000 into the fictitious deal.

$400,000. That's almost half a million dollars she shipped away, and not all in one payment, mind you. This was a total achieved over two years of scammage, and all of it seems gone for good (which, by the way, begs the question - where did it go?).

Embarrassing, yes. Legal, no-ish. Morally derisive, definitely.

Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade

Apparently I'm the last person on the planet to know about these.

Seth MacFarlane, creator of favorites like Family Guy and American Dad, has a series of shorts on YouTube called "Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade". I was only able to get through a few so far - with mixed results, unexpectedly. They have the SNL movie disease insofar as they can, at times, seem like skits that go on for to long. Still, they have their moments.

I present to you the Super Mario Brothers ending we never got to see as 13-year-olds - probably a good thing in retrospect. I recommend checking out "Jeff Goldblum Wafers" when you're done.

Pictures are Worth Almost 64,000,000 Words

Twas the Night Before 'Lection

I was originally going to try to write a parody poem, but quickly realized it was going to be much more time consuming than it'd be worth. So I found a funny picture of McCain instead:


According to all the polls, if John McCain gets what he's wishing for tomorrow, it seems as though most of the country will be as surprised as he'll be.
 

Missing George Carlin Already

I was sad to hear that George Carlin passed away Sunday. He was hands down my favorite comedian, and though he's done much in his career (first host of SNL, Rufus from Bill & Ted), it was his stand-up that made his great.

My introduction to Carlin came when I unearthed my father's record collection. Amidst all of the Beatles and Led Zeppelin albums I found something called "Toledo Window Box" (and I was about the age where I got a stoney kick out of the reference). It was a recording of a show he'd had in Oakland and had some bits that, for lack of a better phrase, made me howl with laughter. Who knew nursery rhymes were that dirty?

Though he might be remembered best for his "Seven Dirty Words", my favorite George Carlin bit of all-time is easily "Baseball and Football", a version of which you can hear below. The lack of success I've had trying to recite mere portions of the skit to people who'd never heard it before stands as testament to his comic genius (or my lack of timing).

We'll miss you and remember you, George. And of course, your unique views on politics, religion, and the English language...

Towel Day 2008

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." -Douglas Adams

Happy Towel Day!

The Wyndee Martini

Happy Birthday Denise!!

We hope you like your present (particularly since you've been asking us to help you set one up since last year).

Behold: The Wyndee Martini!!!

Oh, and the Peanuts gang are making an appearance just because...

The Family Circus

If you were ever a fan of the comic strip "Family Circus" (and I dare say most of us were), you'll fondly remember that some of the most interesting cartoons were those that featured the dotted paths. Who knows why, but we found ourselves simply needing to go from start to finish every week. When you stop and think about it, the comic's creator, Bil Keane, basically innovated a new way of delivering a narrative, different than the tried and true, left-to-right cell-by-cell method.

The Joy of Tech paid some homage to that memorable style today, and in doing so they attempt to answer the question: Why does it take a pharmacist so long to fill a prescription?
 

April Fool's Day 2008

Today is April Fool's Day (no really, it is), that wonderful day that comes once a year where people showcase their imagination and creativity through pranks and gags that test the gullibility of others. Ok, so some pranks aren't that imaginative, and most aren't as funny as the pranksters think they are, but there are definitely some out there that get you, and some even make you laugh.

This one is my winner for this year (yes, I know Google may have gotten you with Virgle or Google Weblogs). I don't know if it's real and I don't want to download anything that identifies itself as a virus to find out, old school or not.

Need to Clean Your Screen?

In one of the rare cases where I find one of those emails making the rounds to be funny...


...and for those who think cats are better cleaners...


For full screen versions, click here for the pug or here for the cat.
 

Joy of Tech at Macworld Keynote

I had to at least post one of the many reactions out there...this one was one of the funniest (click on the pic to see the full comic):

Balls of Fury

So I finally got around to watching "Balls of Fury", the 2007 sophomoric flick billed as "a huge comedy with tiny balls"...and you wonder why TLM didn't want to go see this at the theaters with me.

Well, it exceeded my expectations, and I was surprised my a few things. For example, I had no idea that the movie was essentially a spoof of to-the-death martial arts tournament movies like "Enter the Dragon" and "Mortal Kombat", except it's to-the-death ping-pong. Go figure.

[ On a side note, there's at least one actor who was actually in "Mortal Kombat" (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and one who should have been (James Hong). ]

The main reason I wanted to see the picture, however, was to watch serious actor turned caricature of himself Christopher Walken play the part of Feng, the sillily evil grand master of the tournament. He did what I expected him to do; that is, talk in the oh-so-recognizable Christopher Walken way and steal the show. It didn't matter what getup he was in (this one was pretty out there), he's still that guy dancing around in the Fatboy Slim video for "Weapon of Choice" (is there anything this guy can't do? Oh, right, talk differently).



Walken had some strong competition, though, from relative newcomer Dan Fogler, who won't be receiving any Oscar nominations anytime soon but still gave a great performance with his deadpan, slapstick, Def Leppard shirt wearing character and hero, Randy Daytona.

I laughed enough to give this one 3 stars, even.

50 Top 10 Lists of 2007

Well, it's New Year's Eve, and what could be more appropriate for this time of reflection than a top 10 of 2007 lists?

How about 50 of them.

TIME recently posted their "50 Top 10 Lists of 2007" complete with pictures, text blurbs, and lots of video clips, a testament to the popularity of online communities like YouTube and Google Video.

There are lots of topics to go through and you may find yourself spending entirely too much time going through and reliving such instant classics like Miss South Carolina Teen USA's countless references to "the Iraq" and the Rosie O'Donnell vs. Elisabeth Hasselbeck heated verbal catfight on "The View". My hands down favorite list was the "Top 10 Viral Videos", though the clip that I just had to embed in this post comes from the sports moments list. It's the last play of a Division 3 football game that's...well, just see for yourself (just make sure you have at least a minute to watch the one play:

Futurama is Back!

I just finished watching "Futurama: Bender's Big Score", and it was like seeing an old, witty, yet still very adolescent friend.

You read correctly; "Futurama", quite possibly the most underrated of all the modern cartoon series, is back after being canned four years ago ending with a shortened fourth season. Apparently the execs at FOX had only so much time for a sci-fi cartoon with esoteric references, math-based humor, and an alcoholic robot with more one-liners than Rodney Dangerfield in his prime (who I'm pretty sure makes a virtual "head-in-a-jar" cameo in the series).

There will also apparently be a fifth season, interestingly slated to be first released as DVDs and then shown on Comedy Central. FOX's decision to give the go ahead was due in no small part, I'm sure, to the show's massive fan base and it's success while being rerun on AdultSwim (it ate up half the space on my DVR, at least).

Wired has been running some great articles revolving around "Futurama" and video games. Video games, you say? Yes, and the first is a review of the quintessential episode "Raiders of the Lost Arcade", a must-see for anyone who ever played an Atari.

I need some Slurm...

UPDATE 12.23.07
Oh, and as for a movie rating for "Futurama: Bender's Big Score"...
3 and a half starts, so there.

I Has a Hot Dog

TLM found the compliment to "ICanHasCheezBurger" today...and this one is (dare I say it?) for the dogs. It's called "IHasaHotDog" and is similar in format and unique vocabulary to it's catty cousin. There's another post about it over on TMT today, too.

Though we may be just a little biased, we both agree after going through lots of the pics on the site that cats are definitely funnier than dogs...but there are still gems like this:

How the Matrix Should Have Ended

Firstly, Happy Birthday Dan. Get all that BAmBUu stuff lined up and ready to go.

Secondly, in light of a conversation yesterday revolving around the many stellar performances Keanu Reeves has delivered to us on film (I know, I know...), I found this on YouTube. It's an animated clip from larger collection at a site called "How It Should Have Ended".

Unfortunately there's no parody there for "Ocean's 13", but I guess that movie's a parody of itself already.

Day of the Ninja 2007

Pirates vs. Ninja...why is that again? I'm sure there is a story (more than just "the Ninja were jealous that Pirates had their own day"), but today is the Day of the Ninja, so celebrate by busting out your black ski masks (just don't walk into any convenience stores!).

Are you a Ninja? Take a (sorta long) quiz at quizilla to see.

Last year "Ask a Ninja" enlightened us as to the origin of the day (see below), but for some reason I don't think he's being entirely serious...you be the judge.

Thanks for Coming

I found this comic on BoingBoing, and I think it's an interesting take on today's holiday, it's history, terrorism, and let's throw in illegal immigration (why not).