Best. Christmas. Sitcom. Episode. Ever.

It's rare enough for a sitcom to actually be funny, let alone say anything of substance. To do both during the stock "Christmas Episode" is even rarer. This is part 2 of 3 of one of All in Family's Christmas episodes. You really only need to watch this clip to get the meat of the thing (but you can watch all 3 parts by clicking through to YouTube if you prefer). If you just watch the 8 minute clip below, all you need to know is that David Brewster is a Vietnam War draft dodger who risked a visit to the States over Christmas (and this is being hidden from Archie). I can actually say "I laughed, I cried" about this one:

Gibberish "English" Rock.

This video features a rock song done by an italian comedy group, that is supposed to sound like it's in english, but it's all gibberish words. I find it fascinating to hear what my language and accent (or at least a southern americanized version of it) sounds like to non-english speakers. It sure sounds like english to me (minus actually communicating any meaning).

See more funny videos and Music Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Best. Wedding. Invitation. Ever.

(Click to enlarge).

From an original posting here.

Spong Monkeys

I have to admit that I wasn't with it enough to have caught the initial Spong Monkeys internet phenomenon that broke about five years ago. I did, however, see the Quiznos Subs commercials that followed (Best. Commercials. Ever.) Here's the original "We Like the Moon."

Vader Time

A "Darth Vader doing weird stuff" theme is starting to develop on my blog. I can't steer away from it. It is my destiny.

Brilliant

The increasingly corroding carbon conundrum is a breeding ground for great ideas. I really like this one.
"... the hybrid part of the bike (a regenerative braking system) wouldn't be used to help power the bike itself at all, but would instead store the energy in an ultracapacitor that'd then feed the energy back into the grid when its parked at a special bike stand, which would in turn be used to help charge the hybrid electric buses. Not one to overlook an ingenious little detail, Chen has also devised a special card RFID card that would not only be used to unlock the bike, but keep track of the energy that each rider generates -- build up enough credits and you can ride the bus for free."

Put These on My Christmas List

This company makes tarps that cover your garage door with a photo that makes it look like the door is open with something interesting inside. If only there were a real alligator like this in my garage; He could eat all the junk cluttering it up.

A Real Beer Church

A Church of England parish actually has children hand out beer to the men in the service! I can die happy now.

** The old newspaper ad pictured here has nothing to do with this blessed congregation (except beer). I just liked the line, "It's the He-man brew - that the gals love too."

Great Gender Targeted Advertising Parody

Twitter was in use in 1935!

I don't twitter (at least not yet). Despite my inability to post continuous short notes on my moment-by-moment movements, I found this 1935 version of Twitter pretty neat.

Bumper Balance

I'm not a big bumper sticker fan (at least on cars ... as a teenager I had some bumper stickers on a pair of shorts, along with a rubber spider web and assorted other nonsense. ... but I digress). These bumper stickers are hilariously understated and balanced. I especially like the one that reads, "In many contexts, "What would Jesus do?" is not a particularly helpful inquiry."
Nuanced Stickers Link

Back Alley Brilliance

I was in the alley behind The House Cafe, and a young punker I know named Mikey was hanging out there with an older, domestically challenged guy "named" Stix. Mikey expressed his disappointment in me for "dressing like a nerd again." He suggested I wear an old AC/DC shirt of his.I pointed out to Mikey that: A. I am a nerd, B. I'm old &, C. I used to dress just like Mikey. Stix came to my defense and pointed out that he too was old, but he was NOT a nerd AND the shirt he was wearing was the same sort of shirt as mine. I attempted to aline myself with Stix by opening up my shirt like his (exposing exteme whiteness). The picture here is the result of this great meeting of minds.

Globe Article

"Will the truth finally set Galileo free?

No, the Italian astronomer was never imprisoned for his beliefs. A new book exposes this and 24 other falsehoods about science and religion."

Total Eclipse of the Heart - Literal Version

Total Eclipse of the Heart with lyrics that literally describe what's going on in the video:

Games & Narrative

I'm not a gamer; or, more precisely, I'm only a casual gamer. Puzzles are great, but I prefer my adventures delivered in narrative forms: books, short stories, graphic novels, moving pictures and the stage plays my children spontaneously create in the living room.

Despite my non-gamer-ness, I downloaded a free demo of a game called Braid. I downloaded it because it's received some significant praise, it's creators are independants, not feeding into a corporate machine, and it's re-inventive. Essentially, it takes the puzzle-filled, casual-gamer-grabbing powers of Super Mario Brothers and immerses them in a deeper, painted, gentle, narrative universe.

The video doesn't do it justice ... but, as I said the demo's free, so you can try it for yourself

Crazy Train Nine Year Old

Emily and Kaylee have been singing Crazy Train since they were two years old. I thought that was kind of unique, but apparently this is something of a childhood anthem. On several occasions, guests in our home have asked Kaylee and Emily who their favourite musician is. I'll never get enough of the horrified looks on the questioners faces when my sweet little girls holler "Ozzy!" at the top of their lungs.

A Curveball in Your Brain.

This is an amazing, interactive optical illusion that illustrates how a curveball fools a batter.

Pirates and Patriots for Jesus?!

I'm starting to wonder if AmeriChristianity is some narcotic-induced, collective consciousness trip. It can't be real. This is amazingly, insanely disturbing-funny-weird:

Witness Uncle-Sam-For-Jesus pay tribute to his deceased pal Captian-Hook-For-Jesus. Cuz you know, between raping, pilaging and murdering, everyone knows pirates had revival meetings:


When I think of the mystical man who claimed to be God, living amid the poor, confounding the religious elite, the first metaphor that comes to mind is "That's just like pirates! And nationalist, military-recruitment personalities!

If you're strong (or crazy) enough to press through to the middle of this seemingly endless clip, you might hear reference to the "confession canon (please, don't blow my head off - I'll convert!) and "believing bear" (Oh, the sweet, sweet joy of being mauled by a wild animal with Jesus in his heart).

PS: The horrific content above is all ripped from http://baikinange.blogspot.com/2009/03/pirates-for-jesus.html - credit is due for the intrepid bad-music hunting done on this blog.

Emily and Kaylee Visit Hoth

I dragged out my old (25 years!) Robotix building toys for Emily and Kaylee to play with. With a little help they made some great vehicles and robots and began to spontaneously reenact Star Wars scenes. Here's their Hoth battle scene:

Best. Sermon. Ever.

This ranting baby is producing more intellectually solid content than several other fundamentalist sermons I've heard delivered in the same style.

Teenager Annoyance Frequency

This is the only evidence I have that I'm still young. Everything else in the universe is singing the siren-song of geezerdom to me:

Created by Train Horns

Best. Public. Service. Ad. Ever.

Star Wars Retold

I think I like this better than the actual Start Wars orginal trilogy. I have to go wiped the laughter tears out of my eyes now:

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

Dun-dun-dun-du-du-dun-du-du-dun

Despite my church-culture-aversion, I'm a sacramentalist at heart. Though it's oft-attempted but rarely realized, but there's still something transcendent about sacramental acts and liturgical forms. At their best, they allow us to connect with God in a way that can't be captured in words alone.

But there's a fine line between the majesty of God and simply reveling in our own pomposity. People (like me) who (occasionally) dress in vestments are in real need of a good dose of humility and humour. With this in mind, I am grateful and thoroughly entertained by the guy in this video who snuck into the annual Icelandic Lutheran Church procession of the clergy: