Wednesday, December 28, 2005

i was just really very hungry.: OMG, Turducken

OMG indeed: 3 hours boning poultry?

Official Google Blog: I'm feeling silly

“Three weeks later, I had an eighth of a ton of Silly Putty delivered to my desk.”

Friday, December 23, 2005

Cinema Blend: Brokeback Mountain

Hints for movie reviewers: it’s hard to read a review as objective when it’s laced with “eeww, butt-sex” squeamishness. And despite the not-that-there’s-anything-wrong-with that opening, the closing paragraph’s “in my home state of Texas, we just outlawed gay marriage” is rather more revealing, no? (via Google Movies. See also the thoughtful reviews by Mick LaSalle and Roger Ebert; and a big hoorah to Advocate's skewering of the “aren’t they brave” hoopla: “I seem to have missed the volumes written about the courage of gay actors playing straight.”)

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Jimmy Dean: Recipes

Just reading the titles make me feel greasy and queasy. My favourite stomach-churners so far: the tater-tot-tastic Breakfast Boat and the heart-attack-on-a-plate Breakfast Casserole. 1 pound sausage, 10 eggs, 2 cups cheese; and those pesky few vegetables? Optional. (On the other hand, though: 2 for 1 at Safeway this week, plus a dollar off…)

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Google Press Center: Zeitgeist 2005

There’s something mildly fascinating about Google’s Zeitgeist roundups of most-searched terms. My favorites from this year-end version: the BBC kicking CNN’s arse online; and the oddly mundane “computer desk” coming in at number 9 in Froogle’s otherwise gadgety top 10. (via Matt Cutts)

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Ask Metafilter: Lookin' in your big brown eye

Why do cats do the here’s-my-arse thing? “Googling Cat Butt Face got me nowhere that anyone would want to be.”

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

USPS FAQs: Does the USPS have suggestions for parents sending Santa Claus letters?

Letters from Santa can be postmarked at North Pole, AK. Cute, but at the same time slightly creepy in its patronising paternalism: “Santa might want to remind the child to be in bed at a certain time.”

USPS Frequently Asked Questions: Addressing a letter to Santa Claus

Apparently, as far as the Postal Service is concerned, Santa lives everywhere. Bonus *boggle*: “Letters to God can be addressed in the same way, replacing ‘Santa Claus’ with ‘God’.” [Update: Boing Boing is so last week…]

Monday, December 05, 2005

Wired News: Monsters of Photorealism

The release of the XBox 360 provides a handy excuse to revisit the Uncanny Valley: “Sure, the 360 can generate the most photorealistic human avatars of any game console in history. But that is precisely why they look so creepy.” (This linked article is a much better read.)

Alertbox: Talking-Head Video Is Boring Online

Well, duh: it’s pretty boring offline, too. (Oddly, Jakob notes attention on the caption—which doesn’t seem much in evidence from the heatmap graphic—without noting the much bigger hotspot around the window’s Close button…)