Thursday, February 2, 2012

Posted By on Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 12:00 PM

tumblr_lyrou2rXUa1qzk73xo1_500.gif

A hat tip to Tumblr user "Luciwithani" for this particularly timely animated GIF (but aren't they all?).

If you'd like, you can watch the Bill Murray classic on YouTube today for free.

Tags: , ,

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Posted By on Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 5:00 PM

Bill_Murray_is_awesome.jpg

Backstage at the David Letterman show last night, Bill Murray met up with Korean pop group Girls Generation.

Tags: , ,

Posted By on Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 3:00 PM

The weather these past couple of weeks in Tucson has been sunny and around 75 degrees almost everyday. I often find myself in a frantic panic when I realize that in a couple of months, the weather will return to the mid-90-degree dry-heat that I've grown about as accustomed to as any Tucson native can.

So, to calm myself down from these weather related mini-freak-outs, I ask myself: How can I take full advantage of the weather conditions that hundreds of snowbirds come here to enjoy? About a week ago I took a day trip to one of Tucson's gems: The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. I am always blown away by the many facets the I seem to forget the museum has to offer and it is always such a treat to get out to the west side of Tucson. So, while the weather is not only bearable but more importantly beautiful in Tucson, I suggest you head out to the good ol' Desert Museum. And while I evade my next weather-related freak-out by finding some other weather-specific Tucson oddity to enjoy, here are some pictures to enjoy from my visit.

The Prairie Dogs are always a treat.

Tags: , , , , ,

Friday, January 27, 2012

Posted By on Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 1:00 PM

Untitled from Dr Danger Stunts on Vimeo.

(My wife and I are the people in this video who are holding hands while on fire. Such activities come highly recommended.)

I met Dr. Danger last Friday on the night of my wedding. I’d just picked up my old friend Terry Trash, the front man for local band Texas Trash and the Trainwrecks, and needed another person to witness the marriage at the courthouse. Trash said there was a stuntman staying in a trailer outside of his house who would help. We picked up Dr. Danger ten minutes later and headed downtown.

It was clear the good doctor was a hospitable and helpful man. He spoke with a tremendous honesty that’s rare these days and was prone to statements like, “This is all really a quest for peace and respect.” I liked him immediately. So did my fiancé and the judge who married us a half-hour later.

As we headed downtown after the ceremony Dr. Danger spoke of his life. He’d traveled hundreds of thousands of miles from one demolition derby or monster-truck show to the next, blowing up cars and lighting roller derby girls and other things on fire along the way. He'd been on CBS, in National Geographic and at Evil Kneivel's funeral. I'd never met a real daredevil before and I couldn't help wondering how a life of blowing things up, launching cars through burning heaps of wreckage and other asundry madness had created a man so gentle and intelligent. It was intriguing.

“If you guys aren’t doing anything this weekend, I’d love to light you on fire,” he said. “We’d be honored,” we said. He showed up two days later with several gallons of gas, a bus-load of gear and enough fire extinguishers to let everybody know he meant business. He also found an interfaith minister who was happy to stand inside a ring of fire and a small film crew willing to get to work on a Sunday afternoon with no more than a few hours notice.

Here’s the thing about getting lit on fire: It’s way more fun than you could ever imagine. You have to wedge your body into layers of wet coveralls and fireproof head coverings, and it’s hard to tell if it’s water, accelerant or sweat that’s running down your back. You also get to smear pudding all over your body so the flames don’t evaporate your skin. And when the good doctor says “run,” you better run. The fire is very real and you’ve got precious little time before it tears through fabric and into tender flesh.

Dr. Danger has pitched this idea to a reality-show production company as “Extreme Weddings With Dr. Danger.” The company has sent him paperwork to start moving forward with that. I'm not certain, but he might even light your wedding on fire if you ask him nicely. I wish him the best of luck in everything he does. He’s a great guy, and a lot of fun to hang out with.

Tags: , , , ,

Friday, January 20, 2012

Posted By on Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 9:00 AM


Once upon time in a land as close as your nearest computer, you could call this thing called a help desk if you needed a fix with technical issues of one sort or another.

Each manufacturer had its own help desk service, each stocked with people familiar with its products and issues surrounding them.

A helpful-sounding someone would answer the phone, listen to your problem, and then offer a solution. If the first fix did not work, the person would keep trying until your issue was resolved, or at least as close to a resolution as you could come without ripping all the wires out and hurling your computer and related gadgets out the window.

Even if the help desk helper was unable to fix your problem, the call was usually worth your while. At least you knew you had been supported by someone who knew what you were talking about and what was going on.

All that has changed.

That thing called a help desk has instead morphed into more of a hell desk, where you no longer reach knowledgeable staff but random overseas workers who follow a written-out script regardless of your particular problem.

Tags: , , , , ,

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Posted By on Thu, Jan 19, 2012 at 2:00 PM

While most media types focused on how terrible Lana Del Rey was as the musical guest (and she was), the "You Can Do Anything" sketch was the actual highlight of the episode. I'd personally like to dedicate this post to the guy I know who has an extensive blog about the art of writing that he posts to everyday, offering "expert" advice on a career he's never been paid to do. You can do anything, buddy!

Tags: , , ,

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Posted By on Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 11:00 AM

encarta.jpg

While I do believe that SOPA and PIPA are terrible bills threatening the very internet we enjoy today, I also understand that the need for information doesn't just stop just because Wikipedia is down in protest today (Katie Notopoulos is collecting the tweets of panicked college students wondering how they're going to write their papers, the sheer volume of which is causing me to worry about our country's future).

So, as a public service, I will be happy to answer any knowledge-based question that you might have ordinarily gone to Wikipedia for. Just ask in the comments. Keep in mind, I won't actually be doing any research in the answering process, but I have appeared on two game shows in the past, so I think I know a little bit.

Also, if you'd like to contact your Congresspersons to tell them to leave the internet alone, the widget below makes the process super easy.

Tags: , , , , ,

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Posted By on Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Here's another issue with TUSD...a serious Daft Punk deficiency in the educational process. What if synchronized sign holding is the job of the future? The Koreans are already way ahead of us. It's sad, really.

[Daily What]

Tags: , , ,

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Posted By on Thu, Jan 5, 2012 at 11:00 AM

The best concepts for online videos operate on the simplest of ideas, and the Thin Wall Challenges fit that mold. A guy lives in an apartment with thin walls, his neighbors have sex a few times a week and it doesn't last terribly long, so the guy challenges himself to accomplish Minute to Win It-style tasks before his neighbors finish up. This time, he's trying to bounce five quarters into a glass or he'll hit himself with a Taser. Fun times!

[The Daily What]

Tags: , ,

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Posted By on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 5:00 PM

kroeger.png

I always thought that Nickelback's Chad Kroeger was sort of a misogynist knucklehead, but I guess I misread the dude. His music is still awful, however, even if he's reading postmodern cultural literature backstage.

Tags: , , ,