Nothing really to say about this except that it’s pretty much awesome.
It’s okay, just keep staring. I did it, too. They’re the most detailed photos of the Earth ever taken and they were just released by NASA.
Read the full story here.
Click Image for Hi-Res Version
Click Image for Hi-Res Version
Super Mario Galaxy probably should have been on the list of my top 10 video games of all-time. Even though it got left off the list, the fact is that I love Super Mario Galaxy to death and much, much more than Super Mario 64, which many people consider to be the most groundbreaking video game of all time, if not the greatest ever.
So, it should be no surprise that I’m pumped beyond belief for Super Mario Galaxy 2 - release date just announced to be May 23rd. The only problem is that Nintendo is pretty infamous for delaying games over and over again, claiming that they are supremely dedicated to delivering the highest quality product they possibly can. The only problem is that people (like me) get impatient when a game announced to be released in January doesn’t see the light of day until August or worse. We’ll see how this one goes.
With that being said, Nintendo is looking at a pretty active middle of the year. Not only do they have a new Mario game coming out, but they also have Metroid: Other M on deck with a release date in June. And to boot, top men at Nintendo have also said that they expect a new Zelda to be released in 2010, as well. Hopefully all of these will be released on their set days. Until then, just know that I’m super pumped for each and every one of those titles.
Here’s the brand new trailer for Super Mario Galaxy 2.
Even though Google is getting a little bad pub these days, the company is still rolling out world-class services at an amazing pace. Even though it is a little scary that Google is making its way into so many aspects of so many people’s lives, the fact of the matter is that Google does a lot of things about a billion times better than anyone else – and that’s hard to ignore.
For me, one of the Google services that just blows everything else out of the water is Google Voice. Even though Google Voice has been around for awhile, I’ve only recently realized how amazing it is. I’ve had an account for a long time and use it as my primary voicemail portal on my cell phone. There are so many things you can do so easily through this service that there’s really no reason you shouldn’t have it on your phone.
While it would be really fun to sit here and explain what exactly Google Voice does, I don’t have to. Google has recently uploaded a series of short YouTube videos detailing all of the different aspects of their service. Take a look at them and, should you feel so inclined, shoot on over to your Google Account (or create one as the case may be) and sign up for Google Voice. It really is amazing.
The introductory video is below. For the rest of the videos, check out the Google Voice Channel on YouTube.
This story would have been cool had I written this in 2008.
But unfortunately, the people who run Research in Motion do one thing well (that is make an epic full-keyboard messaging phone) and really are ignorant to the rest of the world. And as all other phone manufacturers started to encroach into RIM’s wheelhouse – things like security and Enterprise support, also a solid e-mail experience – they failed to expand and adapt to the changing environment. And as a result, BlackBerry is on the verge of irrelevance to basically all consumers except those who a) are already committed to the platform, or b) require heavy mobile messaging devices.
But the folks up in Waterloo are trying to change that. They attempted to make a multi-media intensive device (the Storm series) and failed rather spectacularly and their newest entry into the Bold line is a pretty impressive device. The knock against these devices, as phones move more and more in the direction of mobile PC’s, is that the native BlackBerry browser is basically garbage. And it is. There’s really no excuse for how bad the BlackBerry Internet experience is. I know from painful, painful experience.
That leads to the big reveal today at the Mobile Web Congress. In hopes of improving their own browser, RIM bought Torch Mobile in August 2009, a company that developed a browser built on the WebKit devlopment technology. Which only means, their new browser will be made with the same technology that all the better mobile browsers (iPhone, Android, webOS) are made with. The the below videos is the first anybody as ever seen of it.
While the verdict is still out, I can do nothing but shrug my shoulders at this latest development. BlackBerry has kind of lost me. I own one now and really don’t plan on re-upping with a new device with or without this new addition. I didn’t have a bad experience, I’ve just moved on. I’ve been seduced by the sweet Siren calls of Android. But maybe this changed minds for some people.
All you need is love.
I don’t know what it is.
It goes against pretty much all of my most basic musical instincts. I know she’s an empty pop act. I know she’s capitalizing on the trend of the past few years that is making catchy songs about chicks being total skanks. She rocks a lot of auto-tune. And she’s incredibly good looking and in a perfect position to be the hottest thing going for the next year or so and then never be heard from again. I know all this and I don’t care.
I came across her not by listening to the radio (even though I have heard her song “TiK ToK” played everywhere every three seconds) but because I got her mixed up with another girl, Uffie, who basically sings the same song. Truth be told, I like the collabo Uffie does with Justice far better than anything that Ke$ha does (she has a dollar sign in her name, it’s ironic and I love it, shut up). But there’s something undeniably sexy and irresistible about her and her music. It may be because her best song contains one of my all-time favorite lyrics: “Don’t be a little bitch with your chit-chat/Just show me where your dick’s at.”
If you can’t turn off your brain and enjoy this, you take yourself far too seriously.
If anyone can fill me in on this mystery, it would be greatly appreciated.
For some reason unbeknownst to me, John Mayer apparently still has a career in music. To be perfectly honest, I only know a few of his songs: there’s the one about running through the halls of his high school, there’s Your Body is a Wonderland, and there’s the recent tune from the movie “The Bucket List” where he more or less sings, “say what you need to say,” over and over and over again broken up by a few 8 bar verses. To me, John Mayer’s voice is basically unlistenable as are the few songs that I can attribute to him. I’m just not a fan and probably never will be.
His music is less the problem for me right now than is John Mayer himself. You see, the guy is a complete douchebag. He had (or still has) a show on VH1 a few years back that was basically him running around entertaining himself in disguise or as a character, and just being a general d-bag to everyone until they find out it’s him and then all are astounded and awestruck that they have actually met the great and hilarious John Mayer. More recently, he can be counted on like clockwork to be on any of the national news aggregate websites with bizarre and sexually explicit comments that he’s volunteered to whatever magazine will listen.
His newest spouting isn’t funny or sexually explicit, however. And to be honest, it’s not all that offensive if only because it comes from John Mayer who, as I’ve outline, I think is a raging jerkoff. The following are his latest words of wisdom he gave in response to a question as to why black people love him to Playboy Magazine:
“Someone asked me the other day, “What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?” And by the way, it’s sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a nigger pass. Why are you pulling a punch and calling it a hood pass if you really have a hood pass? But I said, “I can’t really have a hood pass. I’ve never walked into a restaurant, asked for a table and been told, ‘We’re full.’”
Again, I’m not offended by what he said because I’m sure he’s coming from an honest place and and isn’t a racist. But with that being said, I am astounded by the complete arrogance that he displays when he thinks the rules of basic social interaction don’t apply to him. He has since apologized for the quote on Twitter (three real sincere tweets). Now, I’ve been told he’s basically a virtuoso on the guitar, and that may be true, I really don’t know. But for the record: it’s never cool for a white guy to drop the “N” bomb, John. You should know that.
You’re a douchebag.
My official iPad response: “meh…”
This looks way better. But in much the same way there are Apple fanboys/girls…well, I love everything Google.
This is just a mock-up showing how a touch screen version of chrome “could” work and isn’t a preview of any potential product.
Just for the sake of clarity: the above picture is one of Tony Horton, not me. Just to clear that up.
In the days following the night of my engagement, I came to the horrifying realization that a wedding would inevitably be followed up by a honeymoon. Honeymoons are typically spent in tropical environments, I’m told – with much of the time spent without a shirt. It is during these times that your new wife/husband will want to take a few pictures so you can look back on these happy moments and see how much fun you had forever, and ever, and ever, and ever. Which is exactly how long those pictures will last.
It was this thought, coupled with my bathroom mirror, that made me realize I needed to get in shape.
With the last meaningful exercise ending the second my feet hit the sand on my final long jump the week after I graduated high school, it would be accurate to say trying to be fit again was going to take a significant commitment. I had tried going running, but the weather was cooling down and the prospect of running in sub 15 degree temperatures wasn’t appealing. Appealing even less was the idea of paying $40 a month for a gym membership that would be used once a week at the most – and as I’m sure many people already know, spending money on a gym alone does not a good body make.
So, after waking up before 11 AM on the weekends, as I’ve been known to do recently, I stumbled upon a ridiculous infomercial for a series of workout DVD’s called P9ox. While it seemed like being interested in the product was in and of itself getting scammed (infomercials just feel dirty), I eventually got interested enough to seek out the DVD’s (I got them for free – while I didn’t do this, rumor has it, they can be found at many local libraries – or on the Internet – that’s just what I’ve heard). With my new fiance telling me she was really pumped to see me do my week of P7x and then quit, I committed myself to doing it, and low and behold, 90 days later I had done the entire “classic” workout.
Well, for the most part.
P90x is a six day-a-week workout schedule, coupled with an intense, comprehensive diet plan (which I didn’t even attempt to follow). Various workouts target specific muscle groups. Namely, core/abs, legs, biceps, triceps, chest, and back (with a little shoulder work sprinkled in). The workouts are done at near break-neck speed and are comprised of a variety of moves. But, just to clarify, I’ve provided a quick key to help you figure out how the workouts are done:
Chest workout = push-ups. Back workout = pull-ups. Arm workout = weighted curls/weighted “kickbacks.” Leg workout = squats/jumps. And abs, well…
Do this for 90 days and you’ll be ripped - or so the infomercials would have you believe. So, 90 days later, am I ripped? Quite honestly, the answer to that would be no. But I have seen results of which I have never seen in my life. I may be in the best shape of my life (I was in pretty good shape at various points in high school) and I feel as good as I ever have. I have a little bit of abs where I’ve never had abs before – a little bit of muscle in my arms that I’ve never had before – muscle in my chest and back that I’ve never had before – and my legs feel as strong as they ever have. The best part is, these results are done in your own home with the aid of virtually no equipment. All you need is a pull-up bar ($30 at Target) and some dumbbells. There’s really no other way to put it: while you may not see the results that you see on the infomercial, there’s really no way around it. You will see significant results if you do the 90 day program. You will lose weight, you will gain muscle. There’s really no way not to.
The trick is sticking with it. The workouts are hard. They aren’t nearly impossible and if you’ve played any sport in your life you’ll find that there isn’t a workout that is any harder than your hardest basketball, football, or track practice. For older folks who’ve haven’t worked out in 10+ years, I’d guess starting this program would be a little bit of a shock to your body – but it’s possible. The video’s provide you with variations of each workout that allow people of different ability levels to modify so they aren’t expected to do plyometric push-ups in week 1. Each day lends itself to a workout totaling about an hour. As they say, “keep pushing play” and the rest will take care of itself.
I think what allowed me to keep going and really enjoy the workouts was the wit and wisdom of the lead trainer, Tony Horton. First, the guy is yolked (as any fitness DVD personality would be – see above). But in addition to that, he’s endlessly watchable, entertaining, and full of tips, tricks, and encouragement. I’ve found from reading around the Internet that many find him incredibly annoying – I guess that’s why they let you mute his audio track. But I love it. All his stupid one-liners, all his accents, his douchey bragging and showing off – I love it all. To see someone so excited and jacked to be fit and to be so committed to it, is honestly kind of inspiring. It’s hokey, but it’s true.
The best recommendation I can give is this: after finishing my first 90 days, I’m genuinely excited to start again. Since I didn’t take before-and-after pics, I guess I have an obligation to go through again to document my results. But my first 90 results are undeniable and real – and anyone committed to do the program can do the same. When I’m done with the second go-through (I’ll finish around the beginning of May) I’ll try to suppress my feelings of douchey-ness and post the pics. Or maybe not.
Full Disclosure: I didn’t follow the diet plan or even try to. I tried to eat better, but the dollar menu at Wendy’s can get the best of you sometimes. I’m really hunkering down on my diet the second go-around. We’ll see how that goes. Also, one day of the week, the workout is a 90 minute yoga exercise. It might have been my favorite workout. Only problem is, I literally never did it. The hour and a half time commitment is just too much, to say nothing of the fact that yoga is ridiculously hard. I’ve already come to terms with the fact that I won’t allow myself to skip it when I do the program again – at least not all of it.
Also, I think it goes without saying, but there are a lot of bogus P90x reviews on the web, so for anyone that doesn’t know me or who I am: I AM NOT A BEACHBODY COACH.
Check back in 90 or so days and I’ll let you know how it all went. But if you’re even kind of interested in the program, you should absolutely try it.
Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Since this came out a few weeks ago, I won’t go into a big, long review or try to break the movie down all that much. But for the sake of chronicling what movies I’ve seen, I’ll go ahead with a pretty quick review.
“Up in the Air” was great. It stars George Clooney as Ryan Bingham - a guy whose job it is to fire people. He’s called a “Termination Facilitator” and it’s his job to do the things that your spineless boss won’t: tell you that you’re (abruptly) out of a job. He’s brought in by companies that are quickly downsizing – something that one would think is happening frequently these days. Ryan follows a very strict lifestyle: he flies around the country for 300+ days a year – virtually living on a plane – and his only interactions are with the men and women he’s firing and his fellow nomads who he meets on hazy nights in hotel bars. It’s a lonely life, but it is uniquely his.
The film is an interesting examination of a compelling lifestyle. He’s not married but he has a family, though his two sisters really don’t know him. It bothers him that he’s not close to his family, but that’s who he is. Roger Ebert cleverly and accurately describes Ryan as “one of those people you meet but never get to know.” He doesn’t apologize for this, but he’s never unlikable. It’s just his makeup. It’s in his DNA and he couldn’t get it out if he wanted to.
In all, the movie is extremely poignant and topical. It deals the realities of unemployment and hopelessness as it relates to losing your job in a really mature and sophisticated way. It is a movie that is perfectly married to the times and should be seen by everyone. Clooney is great, the supporting cast who I haven’t mentioned here, is also great. Jason Reitman, coming off of the success of Juno, has directed another interesting and important film.
Excellent, excellent work.
My Grade: A
P.S. Katie thought it was depressing.
“I’m not going to do this again anyway.”
Hilarious.
