Jun 28 '08
Wall-E
Wall-E was a good movie, don't get me wrong. But I had such high expectations that I was a bit disappointed. I liked the idea of the movie-- the loud-and-clear warning that if we don't change our habits, our world might end up like that in Wall-Es. Wall-E was funny, and the animation was 'pretty'. The movie started out great, but I became distracted by irrational actions by characters that hadn't been introduced enough yet, a physics engine going bad somewhere halfway through the movie, and the climax of the movie came and went faster than I could blink. Come on Pixar, you could have done better than that. And what was up with all the Apple product placement? Step away from the animators, Steve Jobs.
Jun 22 '08
Carillon Bell Tower at UW-Madison
I had the unique opportunity to go up into the Carillon Bell Tower at UW-Madison today-- and guess what-- there is actually a man up there playing the bells. Yeah, I have always been told that there was a man up there, but for some reason thought it was a myth and the bells were actually computerized.
His name is Lyle Anderson, and if you catch him on the right day at the right time, he'll let you come up and watch him play. I wish I would have taken a video so you could see how fast he works the foot pedals and levers. I posted a video of him playing the bells on YouTube. You can even allegedly hand him any sheet music written for piano, and if you're nice enough, he'll play it for you. Additionally, there are stairs that go up to the top where the bells are-- but I may now be partially deaf from that experience.
listed in: music, uw-madison | Comments (2)
A Life for Sale - A bitter man auctions his whole life off so he can start over.
Hakone Kowakien Yunessun - Food themed spas in Japan, where you relax in giant tubs of tea, coffee, wine, or sake.
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New 'Girl Talk' Album Out - Called 'Feed the Animals'. Pay what you want. Yeah, I paid. No, I won't tell you how much.
Teach the Controversy - My professor for 'Evolution and Extinction' never taught us that the devil buried dinosaur bones in such a way to confuse us. Although, actually, I do remember we spent a day on creationism.
Edith Macefield - The women who refused to sell her house to developers for $1 million, died this week.
listed in: commerical development, inspiration | ∞
Jun 14 '08
Tineye Image Search - A search engine that uses images to search for images. Great tool to see if somebody is stealing your graphics, or to find out originally where a graphic or photo came from.
Aviary - Set of web-based video, photo, an text editing tools. Currently in beta, so sign up now. I finally got my invite, and what I see is pretty cool so far.
American Apparel opening on State St - Woo! T-shirts that fit tall skinny people.
Wisconsin Department of Transportation's Map of Flooding - I'm glad the Wisconsin DoT has a good grasp on technology. This map has really helped at work when people ask "Um, how do we get home?"
Jun 9 '08
Jun 7 '08
Now I've Seen Everything
Sorry about the lack of updates. I just started a new job, and then my computer decided to stop working and I had to reinstall Windows. But I'm all good now, and regular updates should follow.
Now, for your viewing pleasure:
Yes. That is a monkey riding a dog. Spotted at the Harvard, IL Milk Days. Now I've seen everything.
listed in: milk day, trained monkeys, website | Comments (1)
Sensible Units - A unit converter that actually makes sense. For example, 12 square feet is equivalent to 2.5 40" widescreen TVs.
listed in: calculations, units of measure | ∞
Goosh - A unix-shell-looking front end to Google search. If their website isn't simple enough for you.
People's Court Raw - A Youtube-esque website where two people upload a video of their side of a debate, and the viewers vote.
