Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The greatest year of our lives...
I've gotta start finding more productive things to do on the internet.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
"Henry" - a clever short film sponsored by IBM
Apparently this film was sponsored by IBM for a recent exhibition in Paris. The artists invited to participate had to incorporate some aspect that IBM covers (e.g. education, transportation, etc.). Daniel Levi, the man behind this film, was the only director who was invited to participate. As you can see from the film, he chose "electricity."
Thursday, September 9, 2010
My girlfriend just paid me the ultimate compliment
She said that I remind her of one of her childhood heroes. Here's the link she sent me to show me who she is talking about.
So sweet...
This just in...
My mom asked ME what a MILF is.
Is it 2012 yet? Can the asteroids arrive a little sooner???
The man who could save SNL
Sure, there were some great moments last year on SNL (everybody's favorite Golden Girl, Jon Hamm - "The Curse" and "Hamm & Buble" were pretty inspired, um, "What's Up With That" the first two or three times) but as far as I could tell, most of the rest of the season was kind of a waste.
SNL just announced 4 new cast members, and out of curiousity I checked each of them out on Google, and came across this great clip. This is Jay Pharoah, doing a bunch of impersonations over 8+ minutes. It's very funny and he's especially good at capturing the voices of Eddie Murphy, Will Smith, 50 Cent, DMX, Prince, Bernie Mac and Chris Tucker (remember that guy?), etc. I'm looking forward to see what the writers give him to work with next year!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
We all float on...
Several of these spectacular images from Chinese artist Li Wei remind me a bit of the scene from Waking Life, where the main character uncontrollably floats away. I know I've felt that sensation in my dreams from time to time, and maybe that's why these images resonate so strongly with me. I found these images on this great website called Fubiz, which tauts itself as a "Daily Dose of Inspiration." I would say I've definitely been touched by the creativity in these photos, and it inspired me to dig deeper and understand more about the artist and what he is trying to say about his experience living in China.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Oooh mama...
I introduced Pelin to Spaced a couple of months ago and of course, she loved it! She took a special liking to Daisy, and some of the littly quirky things she would do or say. One of my favorites is "Ooooh mama" which Pelin now says all of the time.
Anyway, here's a great deleted scene from Spaced - you can tell that these guys were having fun making this show!
New Sufjan Stevens
If you're going to be in one place for 17 minutes, I HIGHLY recommend checking out this amazing new song from Sufjan Stevens, who re-emerged a few weeks ago with a new EP, out of the blue.
Really beautiful, but don't take my word for it, listen now:
http://sufjanstevens.bandcamp.com/track/djohariah
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Como estan, ladies...
Airborne (1993) - File this one under "Good and Terrible." This is one of those movies that always just seemed to be on in my house growing up, and my brother and I were too lazy to change the channel. I think it was Jack Black's first movie, so that's something...
Good and terrible
I woke up this morning with this exchange in my head:
"That boy is good!"
"Umm hmm. Good and terrible."
Mister Randy Watson!!! from TC Awards Committee on Vimeo.
Everything about "Coming to America" was great - I suggest you go through the IMDB quotes page to be reminded of some of the gems from this movie. I forgot this one from the barbershop:
Clarence: You know, Sweets, I met Dr. Martin Luther King once.
Sweets: You lyin'. You ain't never met Dr. Martin Luther King.
Clarence: Yeah, I met Dr. Martin Luther King in 1962 in Memphis, Tennessee. I walkin' down the street minding my own business, just walking on. Feelin' good. I walk around the corner, a man walk up, hit me in my chest, right. I fall on the ground, right. And I look up and it's Dr. Martin Luther King. I said 'Dr. King?' and he said 'Ooops, I thought you were some body else.'
Sweets: Oh man, you lyin'. You ain't never met Martin Luther the King.
Clarence: Knocked the wind out of me, yes he did.
Sweets: No, he didn't.
Clarence: Yes, he did.
Sweets: No, he did not!
Sweets: You lyin'. You ain't never met Dr. Martin Luther King.
Clarence: Yeah, I met Dr. Martin Luther King in 1962 in Memphis, Tennessee. I walkin' down the street minding my own business, just walking on. Feelin' good. I walk around the corner, a man walk up, hit me in my chest, right. I fall on the ground, right. And I look up and it's Dr. Martin Luther King. I said 'Dr. King?' and he said 'Ooops, I thought you were some body else.'
Sweets: Oh man, you lyin'. You ain't never met Martin Luther the King.
Clarence: Knocked the wind out of me, yes he did.
Sweets: No, he didn't.
Clarence: Yes, he did.
Sweets: No, he did not!
This was one of Eddie Murphy's last great movies (although I have some really funny snippets in mind from later posts - the question is whether I want to admit having watched Dr. Doolittle 2...)
Friday, September 3, 2010
Louie Louie Louie...
God I love this show. I'm going to be sad when the season ends next week. Also, what a great Jaime Moyer shoutout...dude is so old...
Colloquial Italian
From the Transparent Language: Italian Blog - some colloquial Italian words and expressions.
1. addirittura
When used on its own ‘addirittura’ is best translated as ‘really?!’, i.e. an exclamation of surprise, e.g. Marco: ‘Ieri sera sono entrati cinque cinghiali nel nostro giardino’ Paolo: ‘Addirittura?!’ (Marco: ‘Yesterday evening five wild boars came into our garden’. Paolo: ‘Really?!’)
When used as part of a sentence however, the meaning changes slightly to ‘even’ or ‘actually’, e.g. Ieri sera ho visto addirittura cinque cinghiali nel nostro giardino! (Yesterday evening I even saw five wild boars in our garden!).
2. anzi
Anzi is used when we want to say ‘on the contrary’, e.g. Non mi disturbi affatto, anzi mi fai piacere (You aren’t disturbing me at all, on the contrary it’s a pleasure); Non è uno sciocco, anzi! (He is not a fool, quite the contrary!)
The other common meaning of anzi is ‘or better still’ or ‘or rather’ e.g. Questa torta è buona, anzi buonissima (This cake is good, or rather, very good); Mi telefoni domani, anzi mi mandi una posta elettronica (Phone me tomorrow, or better still send me an e.mail).
3. appunto
This can be used on its own as an exclamation equivalent to ‘exactly!’, e.g. Marco: ‘Giulia voleva andare a trovare la zia stasera, ma le ho detto che ormai è troppo tardi per andarci’. Paolo: ‘appunto!’ (Marco: Giulia wanted to go and see her aunt this evening, but I’ve told her that it’s too late to go there now. Paolo: exactly!)
It can also be used as part of a sentence to mean ‘just’, e.g. Stavamo appunto parlando di te (We were just talking about you); Stavo appunto pensando alla stessa cosa (I was just thinking the same thing).
4. altroché
Altrochè is an expression of enthusiastic affirmation which is similar to ‘absolutely!’, e.g. Elisa: ‘Ti piace veramente la mia nuova gonna?’ Luca: ‘Altroché!’ (Elisa: Do you really like my new skirt? Luca: absolutely!)
5. a voglia
This can be used as an alternative to altroché, e.g. Elisa: ‘Quegli sbandieratori sono veramente bravi, vero?’ Luca: ‘Eh, a voglia!’ (Elisa: Those flag throwers are really good, aren’t they? Luca: absolutely!); Luca: C’è ancora un po’ di pasta? Elisa: A voglia, quanta ne vuoi! (Luca: Is there a bit more pasta? Elisa: Absolutely, have as much as you want!).
1. addirittura
When used on its own ‘addirittura’ is best translated as ‘really?!’, i.e. an exclamation of surprise, e.g. Marco: ‘Ieri sera sono entrati cinque cinghiali nel nostro giardino’ Paolo: ‘Addirittura?!’ (Marco: ‘Yesterday evening five wild boars came into our garden’. Paolo: ‘Really?!’)
When used as part of a sentence however, the meaning changes slightly to ‘even’ or ‘actually’, e.g. Ieri sera ho visto addirittura cinque cinghiali nel nostro giardino! (Yesterday evening I even saw five wild boars in our garden!).
2. anzi
Anzi is used when we want to say ‘on the contrary’, e.g. Non mi disturbi affatto, anzi mi fai piacere (You aren’t disturbing me at all, on the contrary it’s a pleasure); Non è uno sciocco, anzi! (He is not a fool, quite the contrary!)
The other common meaning of anzi is ‘or better still’ or ‘or rather’ e.g. Questa torta è buona, anzi buonissima (This cake is good, or rather, very good); Mi telefoni domani, anzi mi mandi una posta elettronica (Phone me tomorrow, or better still send me an e.mail).
3. appunto
This can be used on its own as an exclamation equivalent to ‘exactly!’, e.g. Marco: ‘Giulia voleva andare a trovare la zia stasera, ma le ho detto che ormai è troppo tardi per andarci’. Paolo: ‘appunto!’ (Marco: Giulia wanted to go and see her aunt this evening, but I’ve told her that it’s too late to go there now. Paolo: exactly!)
It can also be used as part of a sentence to mean ‘just’, e.g. Stavamo appunto parlando di te (We were just talking about you); Stavo appunto pensando alla stessa cosa (I was just thinking the same thing).
4. altroché
Altrochè is an expression of enthusiastic affirmation which is similar to ‘absolutely!’, e.g. Elisa: ‘Ti piace veramente la mia nuova gonna?’ Luca: ‘Altroché!’ (Elisa: Do you really like my new skirt? Luca: absolutely!)
5. a voglia
This can be used as an alternative to altroché, e.g. Elisa: ‘Quegli sbandieratori sono veramente bravi, vero?’ Luca: ‘Eh, a voglia!’ (Elisa: Those flag throwers are really good, aren’t they? Luca: absolutely!); Luca: C’è ancora un po’ di pasta? Elisa: A voglia, quanta ne vuoi! (Luca: Is there a bit more pasta? Elisa: Absolutely, have as much as you want!).
Thursday, September 2, 2010
No better way to test embedding a video...
than with Ms. Sharon Jones (or is it Mrs. - crap, I should really be researching these posts first...)
The New Sincerity
The movement has a face, and that face is Jesse Thorn.
From his manifesto:
What is The New Sincerity? Think of it as irony and sincerity combined like Voltron, to form a new movement of astonishing power. Or think of it as the absence of irony and sincerity, where less is (obviously) more. If those strain the brain, just think of Evel Knievel.
Let's be frank. There's no way to appreciate Evel Knievel literally. Evel is the kind of man who defies even fiction, because the reality is too over the top. Here is a man in a red-white-and-blue leather jumpsuit, driving some kind of rocket car. A man who achieved fame and fortune jumping over things. Here is a real man who feels at home as Spidey on the cover of a comic book. Simply put, Evel Knievel boggles the mind.
But by the same token, he isn't to be taken ironically, either. The fact of the matter is that Evel is, in a word, awesome. His jumpsuit looks great. His stunts were amazing. As he once said of his own life: "I've had every airplane, every ship, every yacht, every racehorse, every diamond, and probably, with the exception of two or three, every woman I wanted in my lifetime. I've lived a better life than any king or prince or president." And as patently ridiculous as those words are, they're pretty much true.
So now, dear reader, you're in on the Next Big Thing. Something more Hedwig than Rocky Horror; more Princess Bride than Last Unicorn; more Bruce Lee than Chuck Norris. Something new, and beautiful. So join us.
Our greeting: a double thumbs-up. Our credo: "Be More Awesome." Our lifestyle: "Maximum Fun." Throw caution to the wind, friend, and live The New Sincerity.
Ladies and gentlemen (I'm talking to you, my 0 followers!), I present to you, for your listening/viewing/laughing/styling pleasures, the canon of Mr. Thorn, guru of the New Sincerity:
The world is just a little more awesome with Jesse Thorn in it.
Today's Turkish...
patlama - explsion (because I was watching Iron Man and I told Pelin that sometimes I just like to watch movies where a lot of things asssplode...)
her neyse - anyway...
enginar - artichoke (not where Pelin's last name comes from, which my friend Melisa predicted).
fırt fırt - bumpety bump (love this guy's site - a great resource for learning Turkish!)
estek köstek - so so, that's the way it is
haşlamak - boil (for Pelin's boiled chicken)
Pretty Much Everyday
Pretty Much Amazing is one of our favorite blogs. Not only does the site offer a constant barrage of great music, but you can also download songs and listen to playlists (often from the equally excellent Famous Sounding Words - scroll to the bottom of the page to listen to a stream of all of their audio posts).
My current favorite:
She said that!
Somebody made the mistake of saying something slightly suggestive in front of me and Pelin the other day. Because I am a 10 year-old stuck in a 32 year-old's body, I couldn't help but blurt out, "That's what she said!"
This was a new phrase for Pelin, and she loved it. Later on, again something was said that was ripe for the picking, and I paused waiting for Pelin to jump in.
"She said that!" Pelin yelled, with a proud smile on her face. Could she be any cuter???
Here are all of the "That's what she said's" from The Office, for your viewing pleasure:
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