8 posts tagged “internet”

The interactive trivia show where high culture and pop culture is back on the Internet tubes! That's right -- You Don't Know Jack! is once again heating up the web scene. If you've missed the clever, witty humor of this crazy trivia game, you just might want to take a look. (I still blame/thank Eclipse for introducing me to this crack in the first place!)

(Via All My Faves.)

tyrannosaurus rex

Time for some morning math.

Today = Monday.
Monday = Not Fun.
Webcomics = Fun.
Monday + Webcomics = ?

To counteract the horribleness that is Monday, I bring you two of my newest favorite webcomics. These comics are guaranteed to make you forget your troubles after you pee your pants from laughter. (Guarantee void if you don't regularly pee your pants.)

• Dinosaur Comics: How could a comic that uses the same art every day be so crazy delicious? I don't know, but you can find out for yourself! (Does anyone want to buy me the sexy exciting book?)
  
• The DM of the Rings: Tolkien would be spinning in his grave, but The Lord of the Rings is a perfect edutainment RPG tool. Laugh at the sacrilege while you learn how to be a better player, GM, and/or hobbit.

Enjoy the hilarity! Maybe it'll be enough to forget that it's horrible, horrible Monday without the case of vodka that it usually takes.

Electronic Point of Interest

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by Google by Bruce Sterling

It's not that we can't do it: it's that all our social relations have been reified with a clunky intensity. They're digitized! And the networking hardware and software that pervasively surround us are built and owned by evil, old, rich corporate people! Social-networking systems aren't teenagers! These machines are METHODICALLY KILLING OUR SOULS! If you don't count wall-graffiti (good old spray paint), we have no means to spontaneously express ourselves. We can't "find ourselves" - the market's already found us and filled us with map pins.

Is the evolving digital networked buzzword-laden landscape consuming our souls? (The irony is that I couldn't share this half as well without a social network like Vox.) Are the exponentially expanding digitized networks ushering in an age of greater communication yielding enhanced understanding of the "global village"? Or are they harbringers of a stratified, digitized hierarchy that removes us further from others and from ourselves?

Sometimes I answer "yes" to the former question, other times, it's to the latter. Caught as we are in the present, I suspect none of us will really won't know until 2026, probably never.

"May you live in interesting times" goes the (supposedly) ancient Chinese curse. But the jury's still out on whether "All Hail Our Google Overlords" turns out to be our generation's blessing or our curse.

I was IMing with BlueDelt earlier this morning and commented that there's been a lot of activity lately in my neighborhood. (And I don't mean the cops showing up and busting the meth dealers.) It's really awesome to see blog posts and comments flying back and forth across the virtual commons, creating and continuing conversations.

As further evidence, I sort of use Leyna as my personal benchmark in Internet phenomena. I remember when she was steadfastly sticking with her Hotmail email address, even while the rest of us were jumping onboard the Gmail train. Eventually, however, she threw her hands up in the air and migrated to Gmail. (And I'm pretty sure she wouldn't go back to Hotmail now.)

So now that Leyna, after much cajoling and persistent nagging, has shifted her blogging over to Vox, I'm taking it as a sign that Vox is reaching critical mass among my friends. And with luck, it'll only keep growing -- yet, still have that personable, personal feel that I associate with Vox.

The question now is not whether Vox has potential -- it's whether it has the staying power of Gmail. Part of that depends on the website, but most of it falls on each of us. Will we keep blogging in the long-term? Will we eventually reach a point where we'll wonder what we'd do without it? And will we keep thinking [this is good]?

Whatever the answers, I look forward to the journey.

What's your favorite song to sing karaoke-style?  If you don't have one, why not?

The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny. A Dungeons & Dragons (or d20 Modern) boss combat just isn't the same without a rousing singalong of this bouncy, fun and geeky song. Some of the best moments are when Ernie, Looney, and myself have belted out the lyrics together while rolling dice.

Old Godzilla was hopping around
Tokyo City like a big playground
when suddenly Batman burst from the shade
and hit Godzilla with a Batgrenade
Godzilla got pissed and began to attack
but didn't expect to be blocked by Shaq
who proceeded to open up a can of Shaq Fu
when Aaron Carter came out of the blue

and he started beating up Shaquille O'Neal
then they both got flattened by the Batmobile
but before it could make it back to the Batcave
Abraham Lincoln popped out of his grave
and took an AK47 out from under his hat
and blew Batman away with a rat-a-tat-tat
but he ran out of bullets and he ran away
because Optimus Prime came to save the day

this is the Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny
good guys, bad guys, and explosions as far as the eye can see
and only one will survive, I wonder who it will be
this is the Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny

Godzilla took a bite out of Optimus Prime
like Scruff McGruff took a bite out of crime
and then Shaq came back covered in a tire track
but Jackie Chan jumped out and landed on his back
and Batman was injured, and trying to get steady
when Abraham Lincoln came back with a machete
but suddenly something caught his leg and he tripped
Indiana Jones took him out with his whip

then he saw Godzilla sneaking up from behind
and he reached for his gun which he just couldn't find
'cause Batman stole it and he shot and he missed
and Jackie Chan deflected it with his fist
then he jumped in the air and did a summersault
while Abraham Lincoln tried to pole vault
onto Optimus Prime, but they collided in the air
then they both got hit by a Care Bear Stare, oooh

this is the Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny
good guys, bad guys, and explosions as far as the eye can see
and only one will survive, I wonder who it will be
this is the Ultimate Showdown...

angels sang out in immaculate chorus
down from the heavens descended Chuck Norris
who deliver a kick which could shatter bones
into the crotch of Indiana Jones
who fell over on the ground, writhing in pain
as Batman changed back into Bruce Wayne
but Chuck saw through his clever disguise
and he crushed Batman's head in between his thighs

then Gandalf the Grey and Gandalf the White and
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail"'s Black Knight and
Benito Mussolini and The Blue Meanie and
Cowboy Curtis and Jambi the Genie
Robocop, the Terminator, Captain Kirk, and Darth Vader
Lo Pan, Superman, every single Power Ranger
Bill S. Preston and Theodore Logan,
Spock, The Rock, Doc Ock, and Hulk Hogan
all came out of no where lightning fast
and they kicked Chuck Norris in his cowboy ass
it was the bloodiest battle the world ever saw
with civilians looking on total awe

and the fight raged on for a century
many lives were claimed, but eventually
the champion stood, the rest saw their better:
Mr. Rogers in a bloodstained sweater

this is the Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny
good guys, bad guys, and explosions as far as the eye can see
and only one will survive, I wonder who it will be
this is the Ultimate Showdown...
this is the Ultimate Showdown...
this is the Ultimate Showdown...
of Ultimate Destiny

Of course, Cobra Starship's Snakes on a Plane (Bring It) is also a great singalong. 'Cause I haven't yet had it with that motherfuckin' song from that motherfuckin' movie!

(Tag: Colleen better mention some of her favorite singalong songs in her journal, because I know she has several.)

What movie would you really recommend renting or seeing this weekend?

Snakes on a Plane

AGENT FLYNN: "That's it! I've had it with these motherfuckin' snakes on this motherfuckin' plane!"

Lamassu and I just got back from seeing the iconic Snakes on a Plane. We thought seeing a movie after dinner sounded like a nice thing to do. After reviewing the titles playing at our local first-run movie theater, the only movie out of the whole lineup that sounded even remotely entertaining involved (you guessed it) snakes and a plane.

Given that our expectations weren't that high to begin with, we both enjoyed this silly, cheesy movie. It succeeds because it doesn't try to take itself too seriously. It's a little bit gross in some parts, but it's funny as all heck if you can put up with that. Go see it while it's still in theaters!

Even if you don't see the movie, check out an awesome video mashup of TWO Internet phenomena: All Your Snakes Are Belong To Us. Geeks rejoice!

Also, check out the Cobra Starship's catchy Snakes on a Plane (Bring It). (It's going to be joining The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny on my fun RPG combat music playlist.)