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Sunday Old School With 'Jason and the Argonauts'
Today is Sunday. Check the calendar if you don’t believe me. Okay? We good? Maybe take a guy’s word for it next time, huh?
Anyway, as I often do on Sundays (at least until Project M “officially” begins), I’m watching old movies. Although, the one today isn’t that old.
It’s 1963’s Jason and the Argonauts featuring the amazing stop-motion work of the master Ray Harryhausen. If you’ve never seen it, it is definitely worth watching. . . for many reasons.
Not the least of which is this pretty awesome skeleton fight that blew me away when I first saw this movie as a kid. No, not when it came out. Later, on TV.
In fact, I think the first time was a Sunday much like this one on the old Channel 13 in LA. I miss that channel, they had some great stuff.
Here’s the skeleton fight, just so you can get a taste of what I’m talking about.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF_Fi7x93PY?rel=0&w=525&h=295]
Your Caffeine Intake Levels
As you might have guessed, I like coffee. In fact, some would say, I’m slightly obsessed about it. Truth be told, I don’t think I’m alone in that. I think lots of others like coffee as much, or more, than I do.
So, in the spirit of helping out my fellow coffee fans, here’s a handy little graphic that helps illustrate just how much caffeine you’re getting from various kinds of beverages.
I hope this helps.
The 70's Were Awesome
Because it’s Easter weekend (and I had had a few drinks), H and I watched Jesus Christ Superstar last night with some friends at a BBQ where we had earlier in the evening eaten a lot of steak. The irony was not lost on us.
Based on the rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, JCS tells the story of Jesus' rise, fall and rise again through song and dance. If you’ve never seen JCS, the video below will give you an idea of what it’s like.
It’s not my favorite musical (or my favorite ALW/TR collaboration), but it’s still pretty fun. It’s also directed by the guy who directed Rollerball (the original), so that’s pretty cool.
Enjoy.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3mFBh2z9sc?rel=0&w=525&h=295]
How to Teach Your Unborn Child About 'Star Trek'
Geeks/nerds out there expecting a child in the near future, this video is for you: How to Teach Your Unborn Child About Star Trek. That’s right, it’s never too early to start teaching your child the important fundamentals.
Well, you might want to wait until they actually have ears and can hear (about 20 weeks or so). But then, get to it.
If I ever have children (hey, you never know), in addition to Star Trek, I will also be teaching them about Star Wars during the all-important internal gestation period. This will, of course, inevitably lead to many enjoyable Star Trek vs. Star Wars debates.
That does sound like fun. I may have to work on that.
[youtube www.youtube.com/watch
(h/t to Dr. Tom Mahoney for the link)
Google Glass Meets Beer Glass
In honor of St. Patrick’s day (on Sunday, you drunks), some enterprising folks thought about what it would be like to use Google’s Glasses during the holiday. Naturally, they made a video. You can see that below.
In other news, I made another step towards responsible adulthood today. There was a lot of paperwork, phone calls and, unfortunately, some harsh language. But in the end, it all worked out and basically boiled down to writing a big check.
To be honest, it was the biggest one I’ve ever written. And yes, it hurt. . . But only a little.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to one and all. Yes, I think I’ll have a beer. I know I’ve earned it today.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GAd1QDcutc?rel=0&w=525&h=295]
A Helpful Coffee Chart for a Tuesday
In the interest of being helpful, I found this handy coffee chart that you can use to determine exactly what you’re drinking and, more to the point, what your drink consists of. Of course, if you like coffee as much as I do, you probably already know all of this.
Still, I kinda like it and it could be helpful, so there you go.
Shakespeare and Joss Whedon? Heck Yeah
In truth, this is one film I really wanted to see at SXSW. Sadly, due to other commitments, I won’t be going to Austin this year. Next year for sure. Of course, I said that last year too, so yeah, who knows?
Anyway, Joss Whedon has made an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. It’s got a great cast including Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Nathan Fillion, Fran Kranz, Jillian Morgese, Sean Maher, Reed Diamond, Clark Gregg and Tom Lenk, is in black and white and is based on one of my favorite plays. And yes, it’s Joss Whedon so I, of course, pay attention.
Anyway, here’s the trailer. Enjoy.
Steve Jobs and 'One More Thing'
I had the good fortune to be at several MacWorld Keynote events over the years, including the one in 2007 where Steve Jobs announced the first iPhone, so this video was a real treat for me. In it, the enterprising folks of YouTube’s Every Steve Jobs Video channel have compiled pretty much all of the times Steve Jobs had “one more thing” to share.
And his “one more thing” was usually pretty awesome. He would have been 58 this week. RIP Steve.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QQLyS0MnzM?rel=0&w=525&h=394]
Some Useful and Interesting Things For A Friday
Hey, it’s Friday. Congrats, you made it through another week! I’ve had a fun week (more on that below) but, as usual, I’m glad it’s Friday and the week is over.
Although, knowing me as I do, I’m pretty sure I won’t be taking the whole weekend off or anything. Much too much to do, especially with the new project and knowing we’re going to be moving again in a few months.
But that’s later. Now, sit back, relax and enjoy another edition of Useful and Interesting Things.
• My pal Matt Raub and I are back doing a podcast for The Flickcast. I’m very happy about it and you can listen to the brand new episode which kicks off season two right here.
• Confused about who’s who and who’s related to who in the Star Wars universe? Perhaps this handy chart will help.
• I know, you’re still sometimes having trouble with well-known punctuation like the comma “,” or the semi-colon “;” but that hasn’t stopped some enterprising individuals from coming up with 8 new punctuation marks to surprise and delight you.
• Feeling anxious or nervous? Lifehacker has you covered on how to beat it. No, alcohol or other controlled substances are not involved, sorry.
• If you make coffee at home and ever do a Pour-Over, you need a Hario V60 Power Kettle
• Angry, sad, happy, undecided, indifferent about the end of Downton Abbey season three? Perhaps these tidbits about season four will help you feel better/worse/whatever?
Finally, a here’s a little video I like to call Lego Michael Jackson. Coincidentally that’s pretty much what the person who made the video calls it too.
Plus, in case you haven’t seen it, here’s a little bit of Alison Brie and her freestyle rap skills. This video is here mostly so I can put a photo of her at the top of this post. Yes, she’s eating ice cream, so?
What, you don’t like ice cream or something?
[vimeo 60169112 w=525 h=395]
The New 'Die Hard' and Some Amusement for President's Day
First off, I finally saw the latest Die Hard movie. This one, called A Good Day to Die Hard, was not terrible. It wasn’t great, by any means, but it wasn’t terrible. It just was.
I won’t get into a lengthy review here, mostly because Nat Almirall does a fine job of it over at The Flickcast. However, I will say I mostly agree with him and his review, but I didn’t dislike it as much as he obviously did.
I also didn’t have as much of a problem with following things as he seems to have had. Maybe it’s because I have a background in editing or have just seen so many rough assemblies of films that jump cuts and poor attention to scene geography don’t really bother me.
Perhaps it was all the coffee I had before I saw the movie? Or, maybe seeing the movie with Matt Raub made me stay on my toes and pay better attention in case of potential discussion later? I don’t know.
The movie did spark one thing, though, Matt and I have a terrific idea of what the next Die Hard movie should be. Maybe we’ll share that with the class if we ever do another podcast. Hey, it could happen.
Now this:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnM_tcDcZLE?rel=0&w=525&h=295]
The Doc 'Room 237' Looks Very Interesting
Even though they’ve already covered this over at The Flickcast, I also wanted to call attention to it here. As you know, I’m a big fan of director Stanley Kubrick. We’ve discussed this before.
So, when I hear they’re coming out with a movie about Kubrick and The Shining, I take notice. The movie in question is called Room 237 and a trailer for it has recently dropped.
Check it out below. Can’t wait to see this.
Video Friday: 'Super Mario Busters'
Today is Friday. I’m tired and I don’t feel 100%. Still, that doesn’t mean I can’t share a video with you fine folks.
Today’s is an example of mashups done right. I present to you: Super Mario Busters. A mashup of Ghostbusters and Super Mario Brothers. Yep. Love this.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srXN-1DUd3Q?rel=0&w=525&h=295]
(h/t to Nerdsworth for today’s video)
And Just Like That . . . He Was Gone
Or, so they thought. Turns out he was just working very long hours producing a movie called The Beautiful Ones. But now, at least for the moment, that’s over.
To explain in greater detail, the first phase of the shooting is over. The second phase will commence in about six weeks. I’m still working on other aspects of the production.
The reasons for this particular, and somewhat unorthodox, schedule are many, so I won’t bother to get into them now. Suffice it to say this is the way we’re doing it this time and that’s pretty much it.
Regarding this phase of production itself, I will have more to say about it, and various other related topics, after I’ve slept a bit more. Until then, enjoy this:
[vimeo 27009580 w=500 h=281]
A Couple More Useful and Interesting Things
Yeah, been kinda busy, you know, making a movie and all that. Still, I can’t forget you, my dear Internet friends. So, in the interest of furthering our relationship, here’s another in my semi-regular feature I like to call “Useful and Interesting Things.”
I hope you find these as useful and/or interesting as I do.
• This weekend in LA you can take not one, but two walking tours of the secret life of Los Angeles. It’s fun, you learn something and get much needed exercise. What could be better than that?
• Like emoticons? How about a collection of all Japanese emoticons in one place? Yeah, that’s right. My favorite? This one: ⊂(￣(工)￣)⊃
• Are you a writer? Thinking of self-publishing a book? If so, read Guy Kawasaki’s top ten list of mistakes writers make when self-publishing. You’ll be glad you did.
• And, as I’m currently making a movie, here’s a list of five survival skills the movies have taught us that are completely wrong.
Back On Set Again
So yeah, I’m producing a movie. It’s called The Beautiful Ones and it’s written and directed by a good friend of mine, Jesse Johnson. We’ve got a great cast, including Ross McCall, Julie Warner and Ed Lauter, and a great crew. So far, things are going very well. I’ve posted some pics and such on my Twitter.
It’s nice to be back on set again and I’m having a great time. I guess I missed all the fun and excitement. I’m not going back to producing full time, as I’ve got other things I want to do, but it isn’t a bad way to spend 14 or so hours a day.
I’m also meeting some interesting people. In fact, there’s a couple of them in the photo above. I’ll post more on the movie as it goes along.
For the D&D Fan In Your Life
Okay, this is kinda cool. D&D fans, take note. The fine and generous folks at Wizards of the Coast, in conjunction with DriveThruRPG, have launched Dungeons & Dragons Classics.
What is this, you ask? Well, it’s an “online PDF store that features classic content from every issue of D&D, including fan-favorite supplement materials and iconic adventures.” Awesome, right?
As a true D&D geek, I still have all of my old rulebooks, modules, etc. Yes, I’m the guy who never gets rid of anything. But for the rest of you, or those of you who want new copies as PDF’s to put on the iPad (for example,) this is a great resource.
No, they’re not free. However, the prices are quite reasonable and if you really want the classic books in a much more manageable format, worth it. Check out all the fun over at the D&D Classics Website.
(H/T to ADD for the 411)
These Guys Look Familiar
I’ll admit it, I was a big fan of Tech TV and especially its flagship show The Screen Savers. Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton and the rest of the gang made computers and tech fun, interesting and entertaining. When The Screen Savers ended, I was sad to see it go, especially when it was replaced by something like Attack of the Show.
Although, to be honest, Attack of the Show kinda ended up growing on me . . . a little. Still, it was no Screen Savers. I don’t think anything ever will be again.
Recently, Attack of the Show ended its run on G4 after seven years. Fortunately, even at the end, they didn’t forget their roots and paid due and proper respect to those who came before.
Enjoy.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVcBj_37Umg?rel=0&w=525&h=295]
Still More Useful and Interesting Things
Here we are again with another list of things I find useful and/or interesting. Yes, as you might have gathered by now, I’m going to be making this a somewhat regular thing.
Well, as regular as one can be when one has twenty or thirty things one has to do each and every day. When did I start referring to myself as “one”? I really can’t say, but I’ll stop now.
Moving along, here’s some more useful and interesting things I find, well, useful and/or interesting. Enjoy.
• Mailbox for iOS looks really cool and I’ve already signed up to be part of it. I’m always looking for newer and better ways to manage email on the go. This could finally be “the one.”
• A guy made a movie at Disneyland and Disney didn’t even know about it. It’s called Escape from Tomorrow and it looks really cool and weird. I would love to see the whole thing, but probably never will. I blame the lawyers. Again.
• I’m considering a new vehicle purchase and to help me decide on what to get, there’s a website about various vehicles and their respective fuel economies, courtesy of the U.S. government. You can even compare hybrid versus non-hybrid to see if it makes sense to spend the extra money. Hint: it sorta does, if you plan on keeping the vehicle for longer than 5 years.
• Technology has come a long way in the last 18 years, but we’ve also got a lot of the same problems we did back then. For proof (and some fun nostalgia) check out the trailer for the cutting edge movie The Net.
Oh, in case you forgot, someone at the USA network must have liked The Net enough to make a TV series out of it. Remember those amazing 22 episodes from 1998? Yeah, neither do I.
[youtube www.youtube.com/watch