It's Ovah!

If you didn't live in Boston at some time during the Big Dig, then you will not appreciate the fact that it will officially be complete as 2007 ends. When I was in college from '98-'02, I thought I would never see it happen. Hmm, I guess I didn't. I moved out of Boston in November of 2004.

This is pretty awesome -

"A study by the Turnpike Authority found the Big Dig cut the average trip through Boston from 19.5 minutes to 2.8 minutes."

Here's a great article on the history of the project from The Christian Science Monitor.

Hyuck hyuck hyuck. A dootley doo. Put some fried on that.

I think that's how real rednecks talk. I don't really have to worry about offending them since they think the internet is the lining inside one's bathing suit.

I can't since I'm an independent, but please don't vote for this guy in the primary if you're a Republican. Huckabee? Seriously, I would be too embarrassed to tell people I was American if this were the White House Christmas card.

Medford's Own

Bloomberg might still take a shot at the presidency. Campaigning has changed so dramatically from even recent contests that I think he really could hop in at the last minute and make a good run, though that depends on the results of early primaries. If one candidate gets some momentum, he might be out of reach by the time Bloomberg got it together. The New York Post has an article about some recent rumors of his maybe possibly running here, potentially.

Top Ten

We Americans love top ten lists. I think it's because we're so competitive and goal oriented. We even make ones up like "Top Ten Starlicious Makeovers" on VH1 or E! or something. Time has a list of 50 top ten lists for 2007 which is pretty awesome. That reminds me of a great Wikipedia entry - The List of Lists of Lists.

U-S-A!!!

The soccer hooligans who came over to Las Vegas, pretending to be boxing fans, looked like real a-holes when they booed Tyrese's stirring rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner"before Mayweather-Hatton. That dude is a class act and kept his cool throughout. Funny how the Americans in the crowd were respectful while Tom Jones stank up the ring with his hoarse "God Save the Queen". They're still upset about that Revolutionary War thing, I suppose. Plus we are able to speak English without that silly accent. Well, except for people in Massachusetts.
I was already pretty pumped up by the time Mayweather started down the aisle, and on comes "Born in the USA"! Even though the lyrics are clearly not patriotic, the song ended up so. Hilarious. Take that Springsteen, you commie.

lb. 4 lb.

Untitled

I was wandering around Art Basel last night and I happened upon this piece by Lisa Ruyter -


It's just a camera phone shot of part of the painting, and it doesn't do her work justice. Check out some more of her stuff here. It's awesome. Probably really expensive, too.

YouMail Me Like

This is pretty awesome. YouMail is a free service that allows users to replace their existing voicemail systems with one that allows custom messages to be recorded. For example, you could be waiting for someone to call back but be at, oh say, the opera. You could record a message that says "Hello friend. I'm at the opera. Sorry, but I'll have to return your call when it is over". Or could you leave a message for your girlfriend that goes "Baby, you know I love you and I miss you. Smoochie smoochie smoochie". Or something like that. I don't know what people like that say to one another.

As I write this, I'm realizing that I have friends who already use this (or something very similar).


That YouMail guy sure is cool

It Will Always Be Burma to Me

My family and I were in New York City for our traditional Thanksgiving trip and passed John O'Hurley, Seinfeld's J. Peterman, on Madison Ave., pushing a stroller. It was probably a Mongolian horsehair stroller, come to think of it. It was pretty awesome.

Well, my friend Jeff Boden clued me in to the fact that the character was based on an actual person, John Peterman, who went to Holy Cross (Jeff's and my brother's alma mater) and really has a catalogue named J. Peterman. Turns out it went bankrupt in '99 but has resurfaced in part thanks to John O'Hurley, which explains the Mongolian horsehair stroller.

G-G-G-G-G-G-G-phone

This looks pretty awesome, but I'll stick with my BlackBerry.

Reefer Madness

Happy Halloween

That's a Spicy Meatball

"A father wants investigators to pursue fraud and larceny charges against a Panhandle strip club after his son ran up a $53,000 bill in a single night. He was celebrating his college graduation."

There's a clip from a Pensacola, FL newscast here. The correspondent says it "quite literally cost him an arm and a leg".

Toot Toot

The Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show, the world's largest, begins tomorrow. You're unlikely to see Tiger Woods' yacht, which is named Privacy -

Last Supper

I guess chefs' equivalent of the Aristocrats joke is to tell each other what their last meal would be, if they had to choose it. There's an article in the October 29th issue of Time about it. Of course, you don't have to buy the magazine, you can just read it here.

I was amused to find that, if a chef says his last meal would be an elaborate one, then everyone says he's a liar. One of the most famous chefs of all time, Jacques Pepin, would opt for a hot dog.

Here's an interesting blog to check out - the morbid "Dead Man Eating", which shows what death row inmates choose as their actual last meals. Some of them have pretty good taste.

S-E-X

How awesome is this? Google Trends shows that Arabic speakers are the top group of people who search for the word "sex" on Google's search engine. We're the Great Satan, but they're some horny bastards. Now, don't be an ignoramus and confuse Arab with Muslim. Not all Arabs are Muslim (but most of them are) and not all Muslims are Arab (Indonesians are not Arab, and Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world, with a population of 225 million).

Che, Viste?

It doesn't bother me that much that people wear Che Guevara t-shirts, because people are stupid. So when they do stupid stuff, it doesn't surprise me so much.

On the 40th anniversary of his death, here's a pretty awesome article that gives you a quick reminder of why he should be reviled and not revered. The author makes the excellent point that he's probably famous and admired in large part because there was a cool picture taken of him.

But how do you feel about MALE models?

This is pretty awesome. It's a short Reuters video that was posted on Liquid Generation about The Ugly Modeling Agency. I've often wondered how the less glamorous among our species get cast in movies and commercials, and here's one of the ways.

One of the funniest things about this is that the British owner was worried about offending people when he opened his branch in the U.S.

The Greatest Rivalry in Sports

If you've had the pleasure of living in Boston you will likely agree that this is a sentiment shared by many Red Sox fans. I feel sorry for them. Really I do.

" As long as the Yankees don't win the World Series ever again, I ultimately don't care if we do, either."

For me, the best outcome would be Yanks-Sox in the ALCS every time. I will never get sick of that.

Chris Crocker

In case you live under a rock (like Rich), you may not have seen Britney Spears super-fan, Chris Crocker, and his emotional rant.



Seth Green has a response to the public. I'm glad to see he's taken, uh, Mr. Crocker's side.

Totally

Webster's word of the day is "bodacious". That's awesome.

The Word of the Day for September 26 is:
bodacious \boh-DAY-shuss\ adjective
1 Southern & Midland : outright, unmistakable
*2 : remarkable, noteworthy
3 : sexy, voluptuous

Example sentence:
"Bears are not picky eaters especially in the spring, after they wake up from their winter hibernation with a bodacious appetite." (George Osgood, _Star-Gazette_ [Elmira, New York], May 12, 2007)

Did you know?
Some of our readers may know "bodacious" as a word that figured prominently in the lingo of the 1989 film _Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure_. Others may recall the term’s frequent use in the long-running "Snuffy Smith" comic strip. Neither the creators of the comic strip nor the movie can claim to have coined "bodacious," which actually first appeared in print in 1832, but both likely contributed to its popularity. The exact origin of the word is uncertain, but it was most likely influenced by "bold" and "audacious," and it may be linked to "boldacious," a term from British dialect.

Sign up here if you'd like to receive Merriam-Webster's word of the day.

U.S. Open (of squash)

This video speaks for itself.

Iran Doesn't Have Homosexuals Like in Our Country

I was a little upset, at first, that Columbia University had decided to invite Iran's controversial president, Mahmoud "Say My Name Five Times Fast" Ahmadinejad, to speak at the famed, Ivy League university. I thought that they were legitimizing him by giving him a prestigious forum in which to spout his b.s.

Well, I was wrong. And I should have thought of my favorite foreign policy term, "Fatal Hug", that is, a policy of openness and engagement even with foreign leaders we deem to be dictatorial despots. The rationale is that, if you isolate such leaders, you only embolden and empower them. They control information in their country, so they can tell their people whatever they want. The best thing that ever happened to Fidel Castro is the on-again, off-again U.S. trade embargo.

Now we see Ahmadinejad for what he is; a delusional man or a big fat liar. He's one or the other, and it is impossible to conclude otherwise. Read below. His last quote reminds me of another delusional person I know from the Middle East, Deina Abdelkader, a Tufts professor who said the very same thing about homosexuals in her home country of Egypt.


Quotes by Iran's Ahmadinejad

Sep 24 03:29 PM US/EasternBy The Associated Press
Comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose remarks were translated from Farsi.

—On a toughly worded criticism in the introduction by Columbia University president Lee Bollinger, who called him a "petty and cruel dictator":
I think the text read by the dear gentleman here, more than addressing me, was an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience here, present here. In a university environment we must allow people to speak their mind, to allow everyone to talk so that the truth is eventually revealed by all.

—On the Holocaust:
Why is it that the Palestinian people are paying the price for an event they had nothing to do with?

—On Holocaust deniers:
My question was simple: There are researchers who want to approach the topic from a different perspective. Why are they put into prison? Right now, there are a number of European academics who have been sent to prison because they attempted to write about the Holocaust or research it from a different perspective, questioning certain aspects of it. My question is: Why isn't it open to all forms of research?

—On Israel as a Jewish state:
We love all nations. We are friends with the Jewish people. There are many Jews living in Iran with security. You must understand that in our constitution and our laws and the parliamentary elections for every 150,000 people we get one representative in the parliament. For the Jewish community one-fifth of this number they still get one independent representative in the parliament. Our proposal to the Palestinian plight is a humanitarian and a democratic proposal. What we say is that to solve this 60-year problem, we must allow the Palestinian people to decide about its future for itself.

—On nuclear research:
Some big powers create a monopoly over science and prevent other nations in achieving scientific development as well. This, too, is one of the surprises of our time. Some big powers do not want to see the progress of other societies and nations. They turn to thousands of reasons, make allegations, place economic sanctions to prevent other nations from developing and advancing, all resulting from their distance from human values and the teachings of the divine prophets. Regretfully, they have not been trained to serve mankind.

—On 9/11:
Why did this happen? What caused it? What conditions led to it? .. Who truly was involved? Who was really involved and put it all together?

—On executions of homosexuals in Iran:
In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country. We don't have that like in your country. ... In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have this.

A Massacre

I'm pleased to announce that my dog, I mean, dawg, in the race has won. KanYe's album is outselling 50's by a wide margin.

You can read a little about "capital of the World" New York's buying trends and attitudes in this Rolling Stone article.

This quote is pretty awesome -

"While the SoundScan numbers keep climbing, one customer who bought both albums thinks most of the hype is off the mark. 'We all know Kenny Chesney is going to win,' said Latrice Blakely, 24, of Queens. 'C’mon, country music is the number one selling music in the United States. So let’s be real – they’re fighting for number two and three right now.'"

I happen to think that Kenny Chesney is as overrated as Nickelback, Fergie and Linkin Park. I can't believe people pay money for their music. It's still a good quote, made better by the fact that the interviewee is named "Latrice".

As popular as hip hop is, this is still a nation of light beer-drinking, NASCAR-watching, country music-listening hicks. Look out! They might vote for the Democrat this time...

The Way We Were

There is not a single person with whom I have spoken in the past six years who has expressed the opinion that New York's World Trade Center towers should be rebuilt in any way other than this -

More Sicker Than Your Average Post

I just came across this in a recent issue of Time. There's an open casting call for a new film about the Notorious B.I.G. There's a website with audition tapes that have been sent in.

This is the first one I checked out, and it's pretty awesome. It's shot pretty dark, but it's a pretty damn good impression. I like the word pretty.

http://content.foxsearchlight.com/RUBIG

New Nano

The turtlenecked one has done it again. Say hello to the new iPod nano; obviously quite awesome -
There's also a version of the iPhone without the, er, phone. It's called the iPod Touch; shockingly poorly named for an Apple product.

This Might Tarnish His Reputation in France...

So, I'm not sure if you've heard, but Jerry Lewis let a slur slip during his latest telethon (which raised a record $63.8 million). WWTDD had the best explanation of that behavior, when coming from an old-timer -

"When old people talk for more than 30 seconds, it feels like you could hear 'fag' or 'nigger' at any moment. They might not even mean anything bad by it. They could be recommending their heart surgeon. 'I go to this Chink, and he's amazing...'"

It reminded me of the time Krusty the Clown delivered the following performance. Hmm, do I come off as a racist if I say it's pretty awesome? -

Not Too Crappy

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Great Scott!

It's quite a coincidence to hear this news after having attended a Back to the Future party over the weekend. The news is that you can buy yourself a new Delorean, starting at just $57,500. I think that's a pretty good deal, but I have no idea how good the quality of the automobile is. I know the company went under shortly before the BTTF movies were released, without which the Delorean would probably be long since forgotten. It's still pretty awesome.

delorean.com

Children Are the Future

I feel a little bit bad about making fun of this girl, but really, only a little bit. This was posted on WWTDD, but without subtitles. I think reading Miss South Carolina's response is even funnier than just watching it. Either way, it's pretty awesome, in an embarrassing way.



Hmmm, I wonder if she would be able to point out the U.S. on a map. Or South Africa. Or the Iraq. And, come to think of it, we should be known as "U.S. Americans", she's right. Brazilians, Uruguayans, Bolivians, heck, even Canadians all live in the Americas.

Google Continues Its Plans to Take Over the World

Everybody knows that Google provides lots of awesome services, and keeps adding to its already robust arsenal. Maps.google.com now has a "Customize Your Route" option, where you click on the blue line that indicates your route, and you drag it to whichever street you'd like to follow.

If you know that Google is taking you through an undesirable neighborhood, or you'd like to drive along the coast, rather than a nearby highway, you now have that choice. Give it a shot.

Only That Cartoon Cat from "Opposites Attract" Could Love Her

WWTDD has been posting clips of Paula Abdul's realty show, Hey Paula, lately. I usually feel kind of bad for celebrities whose privacy is invaded by paparazzi and even total wackos like Britney Spears, whose fame has turned her into a complete nut case.

But Paula Abdul has put herself in the spotlight and willingly participated in a show all about her. It's not painting a pretty picture. I have to say that it's pretty awesome to watch someone so self-absorbed keep crying about the most insignificant problems. Please watch this very mild example of her behavior -



You can click on other clips of the show after you watch the one above, like when she goes to NYC and weather keeps her hair and makeup people from flying and she blames everyone around her, all the while hysterically crying.

What's that? You want to watch "Opposites Attract"? Ok, fine. Don't start crying please. Keep your eyes peeled for some video magic. The cartoon cat smokes!

Family Guy is Kinda Like South Park, NO, It's Kinda Like the Simpsons

The Simpsons is the greatest television show of all time. I loved the Sopranos, but it's not quite as good. I am hoping to see the Simpsons movie soon, and I read a review of it in USA Today (they gave it out on the plane, that's why I read what should normally be used for wrapping breakable items to be shipped or for wiping your butt) that gave it 4 stars. So, it should probably be pretty awesome.

Here is proof that Family Guy is far inferior to The Simpsons. I'm sorry if you are a friend of mine and like Family Guy. There are many of you. In this regard, I regret to say that you are mentally deficient. They might be able to do a PET scan and determine exactly what is wrong with you, but this video evidence might just do the trick -







Ok, ok, I'll give you that the "zip zop zoopity bop" part is pretty funny.

Gizmoogle

People have been talking about Google's "Street View" a lot lately, which is pretty awesome technology and allows users of Google Maps to have 360 degree views of a street at eye level. However, a lot of people are worried about privacy issues, and this is, of course, part of Google's dastardly plan to take over the world.

Gizmodo has an article about the phenomenon and photos, sent in by readers, of the cars that take the photographs. Keep your eyes peeled for ones that look something like this -

Might I suggest giving the finger or pulling your pants down if you see one of these cars driving near you? Yes, I think I will.

Cheap Chills

One more reason to love NPR is how awesome the website is. You can search old shows of which you maybe heard only a part. You may then listen to the segment, by clicking on the "Listen" button. Check it out.

This is pretty awesome -

" Credit Suisse uses a supplemental system to keep its New York City offices cool. It makes large blocks of ice at night, then uses cool air from the blocks to maintain a comfy 74 degrees in the offices during the day. William Beck, the head of critical engineering systems for Credit Suisse, estimates that the system saves the company about $1 million a year in energy costs."

What is the problem with Michael Jackson, my main man?

Inmates at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) in the Philippines have done a damn good job remaking Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. The balding female lead is a little creepy-looking, but his acting is superb. I think you'll agree that this is pretty awesome -



Apparently, this is some kind of crazy prison with a thriving culture of corruption. Somehow, they manage not to take things too seriously, and find time to choreograph some pretty complicated numbers. Here's some more of their hard labor. Get it? Hard labor?

Nair for Men, Anyone?

This is pretty awesome -

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The widow of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl filed a
lawsuit on Wednesday against al Qaeda, other radical groups and Pakistan-based Habib Bank Ltd over the 2002 abduction, torture and murder of her husband.

She's seeking an amount that she hopes will prevent the involved parties, including Khalid Sheikh Mohamed and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, from committing such crimes in the future.

Mohamed has been quoted as saying, "I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl, in the city of Karachi, Pakistan. For those who would like to confirm, there are pictures of me on the Internet holding his head."

In case you've forgotten, Khalid Sheikh Mohamed is this handsome devil (now in US custody)-

Dueling Guitar Heroes

My brother was talking about "Dueling Banjos" on Guitar Hero over the weekend, and I asked him what he was talking about, and he's all "it came on after the clip from Deliverance that you posted on 'This is Pretty Awesome', idiot". This is what my brother looks like, by the way -


So I got all investigatory up in the piece. The first thing I did was watch said "Dueling Banjos" clip on You Tube -



I noticed that it was listed as a "custom song", so I read a little about that phenomenon here. I'm not sure what that all means, but it appears to be pretty awesome. People who know how to do stuff with computers and stuff are able to put any song they like on Guitar Hero, and all it takes is a bunch of steps.

This is from Destructoid.com, whatever the hell that is -

"While the original poster in the "How-To" thread claims the process is idiot-proof, I beg to differ. It requires eight separate freeware program downloads, involves a 12-step process that makes my head hurt just looking at it. You'll also need a PlayStation 2 modified to play 'backups'."

Death to Family Guy

Prepare yourself for the only funny thing that has ever appeared on Family Guy; it's pretty awesome -

Woof

I have no idea how much 19 stone 10 lbs. is, but this is pretty awesome. Okay, I'll look it up. 1 stone equals 14 lbs. So, Samson weighs 276 lbs. He's also 6 ft. 5 in. on his hind legs.


He lives in England, so you can read about him on the Daily Mail website.

Squeal Like a Pig

I've been hearing Deliverance and Dueling Banjos talk lately. For some reason, someone was talking about the "squeal like a pig" scene from the aforementioned movie. Don't worry, that's not the one I posted. My girlfriend's family has a pig named Piggy, incidentally.

This is pretty awesome -

The Most Badass Bird of All Time

This is pretty awesome. The bald eagle has been removed from the endangered species list. In the 1960's, there were only about 400 of them in the lower 48 states (there are 40,000 in Alaska, but none in Hawaii), and there are now about 10,000. The nation's symbol will continue to be protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Sweet. Read whatever article you like here to check up on my facts.

W2

I am astounded that there are people who spend their time making stuff like this, but it's pretty awesome. It's one of the best things about the Internet, I suppose, like funny t-shirt sites and compilations of great QVC clips like this.

Design to Die For

If you don't already have a set of Global knives and a pyramidal knife block like this -
Then you might consider this. It's pretty awesome.

You may have seen the Voodoo knife block before, but it was just featured in mental_floss.com's "Killer Home Decor" article.

C to the D

I don't know if this will ever come in handy, but it's still pretty awesome -



According to lifehacker, you can turn a C battery into a D, by stuffing the empty space with quarters, since they have the same voltage. Looks like 4 is the magic number.

Don't Waste Another Minute On Your Crying

Oh man. Please don't ask how I stumbled upon Kirk Cameron's website. It's pretty awesome how the theme song from Growing Pains just plays over and over, and also how many times he uses the phrase "full house of growing pains". Way to plug his sister's show, too.

On a related note, Joanna Kerns, Kirk's TV mom on Growing Pains, appears in the new movie Knocked Up. She's had some work.

kirkcameron.com

"Baby, you and me, we gotta be the luckiest dreamers who never quit dreaming."

Dahctah Jones, Dahctah Jones!

I am really surprised at how excited I was to read on WWTDD about production starting on the fourth Indiana Jones movie. There's even a photo of Harrison Ford in costume -

I think it's pretty awesome that you can see blood on his ear and pants. That's hardcore.

And I Ran

I hear that song every day on CNBC. It's contained in some commercial that I really can't remember. I suppose it's not selling the product very well, but I love hearing that distinctive guitar riff.

I can't believe there was a time in the world when this was an acceptable way to present oneself. You have to admit, it's pretty awesome that there was a guy who used to style his hair this way.

The lead singer's name is Mike Score. I think that might come in handy some day. According to a Wikipedia entry, he used to be a hairdresser. I was disappointed to see that on the band's MySpace page, members are unable to add their songs onto their own profiles.

First He Kills All Those People in Cambodia, And Now This

This is Paul Potts, the guy who just won "Britain's Got Talent". I heard him interviewed on NPR last week. He's a Welshman who, until recently, worked in a cell phone store. Clearly, he was the favorite from round one -



The reaction to his incredible voice is pretty awesome, except for when the one female judge calls him "a wittoo wump of coa". That's "a little lump of coal" in American.

iPhone, YouBuy?

The iPhone comes out in 10 days. It's very expensive ($499 and $599 for the 4 and 8GB models, respectively), and appears to be quite delicate. I don't see this as a practical smartphone for many people, but it's still pretty awesome.

I Have to Return Some Videotapes

This isn't pretty awesome. It's a good deed. It's extremely awesome. This guy transcribed my favorite movie here.

Here's a preview of what you have in store -

Our pasta this evening...
is squid ravioli in a lemon grass broth...
with goat cheese profiteroles, and I also have an arugula Caesar salad.
For entrees this evening, I have swordfish meatloaf with onion marmalade,
rare roasted partridge breast in raspberry coulis with a sorrel timbale.
...and grilled free-range rabbit with herbed french fries.

David Elsewhere

You might recognize this guy's signature moves (they're pretty awesome) from some Pepsi, Volkswagen, and iPod ads. You should know who he is and that it all began at Kollaboration -

Oh Solio Mio

Well, I don't own one yet, but that's the title that popped into my head. YOU try coming up with a clever one every time you post something to YOUR blog. Oh, you don't have a blog?

I just saw something about the Solio on CNBC, and it looks like a pretty awesome device. It's a compact hybrid solar charger for mobile phones, iPods, etc. It retails for $99.95 and you can buy one at solio.com. If you're planning on traveling somewhere remote, you might consider buying one.

This is Pretty Awesome

I have been thinking lately that I need a blog where I just talk about stuff that I think is cool. "This is Pretty Awesome" is born. It's an online diary of sorts, and I think it will be a good way to organize my Internet bookmarks. I don't really care if you read it, but it will probably be pretty awesome.