The Ranting Beaver

Crazy. Bettie Page has died.

I know I was too young to appreciate her in her prime, but I feel that she has always been a big influence on what we know today with regards to pin-up drawings and photography, not to mention an influence in what I consider to be attractive. Personally, I always liked the notion that she was neither super skinny, nor blonde - both of which have always been popular but neither appeal to me.

Whether she liked it or not, her look will forever be immortalized in the minds of many and an inspiration for others. I wonder if she truly realized the impact she's had, for better or worse.

Either way, I hope she spent the rest of her life happy.

... and because this is one of the best toons from back in the day. Enjoy - Happy Friday!

Gasoline. We all want it and apparently, the breaking point is about $4.00 a gallon (give or take). The social experiment is over and now gas has settled back down to under two dollars a gallon. Seems a bit odd to me, but hey, we're all just happy to have the price more reasonable again, right?

I'm not a complainer. We'll OK, maybe I am, but not in this case. I actually like spending half as much for gas as I did a few months ago.

The thing that has been bothering me is that the price has never dropped so much and definitely not so quickly. Sept 4th - a gallon was $3.79 for me. November 3rd - a gallon was $2.21. That is a 41.6% drop in two months. Three weeks later the price was well under the $2 mark, at $1.64. That is another 25% drop in three weeks (and well over half-price since September). Craziness. This means one of three things - (1) things are REALLY that bad and the value of many things is virtually nil, (2) the oil companies have made all their profit for the year and wanted to give us all a break, or (3) gasoline was so overly inflated (you know our current leader is an oil man, right?) but the economy can no longer support it.

I'm not pointing any fingers, but it does seem kinda fishy that all this is happening amidst the banking and auto industry fiascoes. I'm hoping I'm not the only one to notice this. While we are distracted with the woes of those other industries, the price of gas has quietly slipped back down to normal. I am certain that the powers that be are hoping we are 'just happy to have cheaper gas' so we can spend our money elsewhere, including buying vehicles again. Meanwhile, the gas companies are quietly counting their millions and now are no longer square in the bullseye of the people's disdain. And the results of the social experiment are in, either people will not pay more than $4 a gallon or the economy cannot support it, so that IS the breaking limit. That is how badly we were being screwed.

Trying out a new site for prints and t-shirts - MySoti.com. I like it so far and it seems to have some more flexibility than CafePress with the layout afforded.

I've uploaded the Hotel Hallway @ 3a.m. image for prints. Looks pretty good I think, but I am open to feedback too. Check it out. Buy if you like. A few t-shirts likely to be added this weekend too.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled YouTube surfing for messed up videos.

-K

For your convenience. Courtesy of Google.

Oh wow. Even I couldn't believe they went there:



You gotta know the saying to get the joke. Just saying.

I have lowered the price a bit on the Lead Lemming Dark T-Shirts, so if you were waiting to buy one, now is the time. Given the CafePress markup, this is the lowest I can go on the dark shirts (I am making hardly anything on these at all now).



Go check them out and buy one for everyone you know! I'm shooting to sell as many as possible this month, so don't wait! Prices to return to normal at the end of October.

While you're there, check out the rest of the store - you may find something else you like.

Ken

... just saying. In case anyone is thinking of a gift to get me.

In fact, I'll make it easy on you and point out my favorite brand -- Glencadam.

In other news, I have been reading a couple of online comic strips (yeah, beside Penny Arcade, of course). You should check these ones out:

Ugly Hill
Sequential Art

Happy Saturday!

WarioLand Shake for the Wii - just watch and wait. You won't be disappointed.

The game doesn't look to shabby either. Might have to pick up this one after all ...

So, a little disappointed in the Mets. Not fully and completely disappointed, but they are pushing it. They have the Wild Card, but after last year's self-destruct, you would think they would've taken the added measures to make sure they don't repeat. They have the talent -- I guess it is just a mental game at this point.

Two things are for sure, the Rockies proved well what a fluke last year was (c'mon Kaz couldn't have made THAT much of a difference ...) and the Yankees are no where near the playoffs. Sad for the Rox, not so much for the Yankees. Part of being a Mets fan is being happy that the Yankees are not doing well. LOL.

In other NY related stuff, I'm going to NY twice next month - just booked both trips. The late one may be interesting as I am traveling with my boss and I will be coming back on Halloween. We shall see. I hope the Mets are still playing, at least while I am there for one of the trips (hopefully both). Well, either way, it'll be nice to go back again.

My mom now has a MySpace page. You read that right.

At first, I wasn't sure what to think of that. Then I got a bit of pride because she's come a long way - she (a) used to be someone who was somewhat paranoid (probably still a bit) about people having access to ANY info about her and (b) was not the kind of person to get up in front of a group, let alone have an online 'persona'.

Now, this doesn't mean you can go and stalk my mom. Or hit on her. And don't spam her please! We don't want to scare her away. Heh.

But if you know me and her, feel free to add her as a friend. :)

- Ken

... all with a similar theme. Testing out a couple of ideas lately and, let's face it, some are naughtier than others. Click on the image below to order one today!



Feel free to look around the store while you're there. If you want to go to the main store page instead click here.

I like Tiger Woods. I like to play the Tiger Woods games. Now, I like EA (the company that produces the games) even better. Or at least their ad agency. The person that came up with the concept of using a response to a video on YouTube to advertise their game should be given a bonus. The commercial is a little hokey, but the concept is great.

Check it:


Granted, some folks might have a problem with the comparisons made, but those who would take stuff too seriously. Really.

Their advertising has always been clever. But never this good:


I love it when people aren't afraid to amuse, even if it may cross someone's proverbial line. Have a good one!

- Ken

New shirt added to the CafePress site. Click on the image below to order one today!



Thanks to Mr. Scary for the idea.

Feel free to look around the store while you're there. If you want to go to the main store page instead click here.

If you are not already watching this show, shame on you. It's like G4's Ninja Warrior meets Spike's MXC meets Funniest Home Videos, plus a dash of bad humor (provided by John Henson, formerly of Talk Soup). See for yourself:



I like the parts where people have to cross the big red balls. Force + mud + bad judgement = funny.

I command you to add this one to the TiVo now. You won't be sorry.

- Ken

Hola Kiddies,

So I see Ken’s review here, and now it is my turn for The Dark Night. I know I am going to be vilified in my own circles, but here we go. Ok let me preface this by saying I am not a huge comic turned movie fan Iin fact I still have yet to watch spiderman 1 in full, haven’t watched a single second of spidy2, and really really disliked spidy 3. Hated the last superman, couldn’t stand the first Hulk a few years ago which is why I refuse to watch the latest hulk..etc etc etc) So there now you know where I am coming from.

BLAAAAAAAAAAAH is what I felt afterward.

Was it an entertaining movie….YES

Was Heath Ledger a great Joker…YES

Was it too long…YES

Was it all over the place when it didn’t need to be…YES

Is it possible to have the Main character not be in the top 5 characters in the movie…..after this YES

I had many different feelings watching this film. One of which, how can the movie be called Batman :The Dark Knight but your “main” character is probably the worst of the actors and did no justice to the part at all. In fact whenever he put on the suit why did his voice turn into something resembling Patty & Selma from The Simpsons? He just sounded so forced and fake, and most parts when he was just Mr. Wayne I found myself very bored and not into his part.

Next, Heath..ahhhhhhhh yes I am going to go there. He played a great Joker, that I cannot deny, But I think it was the script and the director as opposed to Heath himself. Watching the film I couldn’t help but think (thanks all the prehype from tv and internet) could anyone do what Heath is doing? And a few names popped into my head. I wouldn’t mind seeing the likes of J Depp, C Slater, L Dicaprio try their hand at this same role….I think they could easily pull off the same effect if not better given the same script and same director. And I hate to say this but I think his death is what is making people see Heath in a different light in this character.

Two-Faced….loved loved loved this actor! He stole the show from Batman almost as much as Joker did, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing the movie was called Batman, not Joker and friends. So that is part of my dislike, but again I loved the two faced character beginning to end.

Rachel Dawes….yaaaaaawn, anyone could have played this part and been better, Came off to me as a little spoiled crybaby with that letter at the end and all.

Pennyworth…can’t say anything bad, another bright spot

Lucius…again good character, but at the end also came off to me a little crybabyish…wahhh I didn’t sign up for this blah blah blah

So yeah that’s enough I guess. But umm yeah again..blahhhhh

Watchman trailer looked good, but again..comic turned movie makes me not want to run out and see it.



So out of 10 stars I give Dark Knight 7 stars.

Not a huge surprise to many, but I just saw the midnight showing of this movie.

Two words: Blown Away

Not one character seemed two-dimensional, the movie was engrossing from start to finish, and it didn't have a campy or cheesy feel to it that comic book movies can get (especially sequels). On top of all this, you get to see the single most saddening thing ...

Heath Ledger gives the performance that is due the Joker. All due respect to Jack Nicholson, but this guy plays the part as it was originally written - crazy, psycho, unpredictable, funny, sick, twisted, and most of all human. He's not simply a patsy or buffoon - he is the Yin to Batman's Yang. It's subtle, but you do see it as the movie goes on. Sadly, the character will never be properly captured again - now that the bar has been set and Ledger won't be around to follow it up.

While watching him, I couldn't help but feel a bit saddened that such talent was now wasted. He did, however, go out with a bang. It will be what he will be remembered for. To say he stole the show would be wrong, it was his performance to give. He was the centerpiece and the rest were supporting him. It would have been this way even no matter what.

I don't want to ruin it at all for anyone, so no spoilers here. No secrets, no tidbits. To do so would be shameful. You have to witness this one for yourself.

Oh ... ok ... one tidbit. The previews included one of the Watchmen. Can't wait for that one now. Heh. That's how they 'keep ya coming back'.

Now that it is close to 4am, I bid you a 'good night'.

- Ken

Why wouldn't you go out and buy this shirt right now, I ask you.

So awesome.

Seriously though, the whole site has some decent schwag. Go check it out.

Thanks to Michelle A. for sharing!

I'm feeling a bit of funk, so I went to YouTube for a perk up. Here is what I found:



Enjoy!

Don't you hate it when your e-mail application shows an unfortunate subject line? Here's an example in GMail that might get your attention.



Click for full view and share with your friends!

Let me just say my wife is awesome. She (and the kids) sent me an Edible Arrangement for Father's Day. It was something different and so damn tasty. I took a quick picture before digging in - check it out:




Hope what you got was just as cool. If not, I hope you at least had a good Father's Day.

Another great Orbit commercial. Check it out.



Whatever they are paying their ad agency, they are getting their money's worth.

Check your donkey door, indeed!

Apparently, if you have lots of time and focus, you can make money on Facebook without even creating another annoying application. All you have to do is create a bunch of bogus profiles and makes lots of friends. And then sell them.

That is exactly what someone did. Read about it here.

Almost wish I thought of it first. There's lots of lonely suckers out there. Need proof? Just log on to Facebook or MySpace and take a look around.

Back with another kiddies!
Now I know I said I would stay away from bigger budget releases, but I sometimes can't resist...WHEN WILL I LEARN????
Now I will say there were a couple a good f/x, ok acting, but the actual plot and some of the happenings in the movie leave you scratching your head.
First off stop me if you have heard this sort of plot before....electronics can be the bearer of your death. Can anyone say Ring & stay alive just to name a couple of recent ones?
Now acting was ok, like I said f/x were nice, but come on! you get a voicemail from yourself with your last words? on top of that we have to assume that there will be a cop who was connected to the string of voicemails as well as he will let you just tag along to cool awesome places and break into homes with you. Add to that we are also forced to believe that whenever you get a death voicemail, video game, vhs whatever...that you are to follow this dark creature and it will lead you to safety not death. Oh yes but other believable parts are a college student has a very nice house that is not on campus, and someone who has seen 3 straight deaths in person and has a bad reason for them will never ever ever be named a suspect. Plus, all of this same town must have 1 cell phone to choose from, because they all have some awesome flip phones, no iphones or blackberry's or nothing like that for this bunch, just everyone with flip phones, sounds believable right?
1 thing I can say though, this movie did reiterate to me that evil babies, be it in porcelain, dream or real life form are AWESOME!
God why do I watch US remakes or big budget horror to begin
WHEN WILL I EVER LEARN??????


3 out of 10 stars

So, one of the folks I watch on Deviant Art has a web comic. It's called Sequential Art and while it is a bit odd (at least two of the characters, sometimes more, are a cross between human and animal), it is pretty damn good. Some lowbrow humor, but damn it if we don't need more or that in the world today. Heh.

I suggest strongly that you check it out. There are 400+ posts, so feel free to peruse the past strips too.

Happy Saturday!

I know that this is something that can be subjective to each individual, but someone has put together a site where you can rate pictures taken by other people (and posted on Flickr or Picasa). Including a handful from yours truly. :)

Go check it out >>> Goodshotornot.com

If you're interested in getting yours added to the rotation, you can do so via the following:

Picasa - tag/label your pictures with "goodshotornot" (without the quotes of course)
Flickr - you have to submit your photos to the GoodShotOrNot group

If you want to rate mine, go here.

Ok, so this is NOT a reference to the Beastie Boys movie of the same name. Nor a review -- I leave those to Mr. Scary. I just wanted an interesting title for this post.

Here's another picture I took with the new camera and I'm pretty damn proud of it:




If you click thru to the page, there is a download link where you can get it wallpaper size. Feel free to comment here too and let me know what you think. Thanks!

Not quite sure where they do this, but I can't believe how many people are in this video. Keep your eyes peeled for a the full on rabbit costume, the gorilla outfit and a bear on a tricycle.



The AQR crew + big wheel bikes + downhill = fun like no other.
(Thanks to Clint for showing me this one!)

Movie Review: Fido

Hellllllllllllo Everyone. Todays review is on the little known movie Fido. Now when you think of the name Fido you think of mans best friend right? Well thats what you have here. A movie about the family pet. And of course not everyone in the family wants a pet, but the kids love to play with the pet, you have to go through the house training of the pet..yada yada yada you know the story and deal with pets, we've all had them.
But not like this you haven't! The world is being invaded by Zombies, and 1 company has taken upon themsleves to turn these zombie into house pets. Now don't leave me, sounds like a campy B movie that should be reserved for 3am on cable tv right? It's not! Sure you have semi mediocre acting, not the greatest f/x, plot not an A-list plot, etc etc etc...but this movie works! It's funny where it has to be but yet keeps the feeling of what will the zombies do next.

May not be for younger kids but most in the family could probably watch this as it is not over the top gory or scary. I mean come on, zombies as pets, a mom who loves the new pet and the pet who loves her back, dad not wanting the pet in the house, oh yeah lets not forget the part where the son loses track of the pet for awhile.
And with a catchy little tune that all the kids will be singing...through the heart and not the chest, headshots are the very best
I give this movie a 7 out of 10 stars....not bad for direct to dvd flick now is it? Now this is me. Someone not into horror, zombies, etc will probably be in the 5 or 6 range, but again...direct to dvd flick noone ever promoted...not bad at all!

Hey to all the Men In the Blog . Get your ass up and take care of your ladies It is mothers day SHe is the Queen 4 the day .. na mean

Is it just me or is it wrong to have a Chinese restaurant in 'da hood' with the name Ho Mei?

Just want to make sure I'm not crazy here ...

I know people may not agree with me, but this damn thing makes me laugh every time. Some of the best writing I've seen in a bit.



All I gotta say is 'What the French Toast?"

Hiddy Ho Blogarinos,
This weeks review will be the movie Sweeney Todd.

I was very hesitant going into this movie. I love Johnny Depp movies, I love Tim Burton movies, I love dark themed movies, I hate musicals. See the problem here? Going into the movie knowing full well what I was in for, I wanted to love it and wanted to give it a chance. But let me be honest, after 20 minutes I was just about ready to get up and turn the dvd player off.
That is where the bad part of the review ends. I really enjoyed this movie. The first 20 minutes was very much more on the musical side, then something either clicked with the movie or just myself but it got better and kept getting better. Outside of all the musicalness (I know it's not a word) of this I would say this was a perfect movie. Acting A+, Costuming A+, Editing A+, Musical score A+, ETC ETC ETC you get my point.
Who doesn't want to see a barber who slices peoples throats and dump them down a hole in his floor, only to have the bodies baked into some yummy meat pies from the girl who owns the restuarant below? I don't want to give anything away so I will leave my review only giving that away (but who didn't already know thats what the movie was about).
So if this moive would have been about half less with the musical parts and took that half into "acting" this movie would have been a 10....a 10 I tell you, but because the first 20 minutes bored me to death and there was still quite a bit, ready for it, musicalness, on the back half of the movie I give it a solid 8 out of 10 stars

Alright boils and ghouls, I am going to start a weekly movie review. Most of these, in keeping with my name, will be horror movies and on top of that may be some most have never even heard of or have only seen the titles on late night movie channel guides. I will also review bigger name flicks as I see them.

So the first film to review for you all is The Covenant.

If you read the summary and such on your tv guide it sounds pretty interesting. A small group of kids (4 to be exact) are bonded together by centuries old witch spells and therefore are a "tight" group. Well then things happen, hot chicks barely dressed come into play, etc etc etc you know your typical pg-13 horror movie, then things go wrong. The new girl is liked by 2 of the 4, but she only likes 1 of them. The one she likes things the other is doing things to get her....you know like the typical sending darklings and such...well it turns out another new kid has these same powers but they dont know it until later. Well some power fighting here, fake effects there blah blah blah...new kid wants one of the 4 kids powers before he ascends to make himself stronger.



Sounds decent right......I mean for a late night horror flick anyways......well thats where you are wrong.


The reason the kid wants more power and is mad at the world????????


HE GREW UP WITH NOONE WHO KNEW WHAT HE HAD GOING ON......oh boo hooo hoooo the kid didn't know about the "group of 4" unbtil after he had hatred and a thirst for power...blah blah blah.....bitching here, moaning there...another fake cgi fight, and you have boy saves girl and all is well movie ending.



LAME!!!!!



They had a decent plot but made nothing of it other than a cry baby mad because he had powers but didn't know why.

The effects made me think of a couple guys just getting there new computer programs and wanted to try them out on film.....thier "f/x" for fighting we nice power orbs they threw at eachother....nice and new right??? ugh! why the hell would witches have orbs of power they throw???

oh well... on a scale of 1-10 I give this movie 3 stars! Wasn't bad acting as you would think in a late night horror movie, like I said decent plot, and chicks scantily clad in a few scenes.....but it was pg-13 so don't expect much unless you are a 15 year old boy.



Well until next time kiddies keep that night light on, look in your closet before you go to sleep and don't forget to check for me under the bed!

Thanks to Mr. Scary for this one:



Good stuff!

Was feeling like a little Ozomatli today and thought I'd share. In case you are not familiar, here is a video:



You should pick up their CD(s) if you really like this. Highly recommended and good music to make the day go faster.

Ken you are a freak and we all know it so next time the is a show i will call you and see if you want to go with hey I can get free ticks my sis has hook ups in the industry. the next vegas convention we are there all three of us, the TBR team ... did you miss me that much that you had to dump your dirty thoughts on us all..

Beaver

oh yes ......
guess who is back and found time to check it out and say hay all....
IT IS ME THE BEAVER ,, this year has started out with a bang bang bang ( J. witherspoon) that is my boy check out the number one stand up comidian on dvd . I have been verry bussy and my fickin computer has been acting up.. I can use some help with my computer ..... plug ken I v u u know.. hey hey Who will i see at Monday Night raw may 26 I will be there repersenting AQR and The TRB .. now i must go I will post soon and soon

Peace the beaver

While I am glad to still have my job, a number of folks I have known for years now do not. Sure, now I am part of one of the largest online companies (I think you know who I am talking about), but it surely will not be the same now that I cannot share that with some people I have come to know and trust quite a bit.

This sucks. I wasn't directly affected and yet, I feel probably as crappy as any of them do. Perhaps it is because I have been through something like this before and I can understand. Perhaps I am just pissed at how the whole thing was handled with very little discretion -- hell even the online rags knew more than us employees did and certainly long before we were given any info.

I wish employees were treated like people (yes! we are people!) and not as commodities to be bought and sold when the whim strikes. Often enough, employees have about as much value as office supplies and that is wrong. I'm just thankful that we don't depreciate in value (at least as quickly) as the rest of a companies property.

Today will be a hard one to get over. But get over it I must. Ugh.

Two things:
1) I think I am going to try an idea that a friend of mine from work gave me - take at least 1 picture each day. She's been doing it for a few years now and I think I like the notion. Thanks Janice!

2) I am fairly proud of this picture:

Go see the larger version (by clicking the picture above) and let me know what you think!

Thanks!
- Ken

OK, so a friend of mine likes to send me things that 'aintquiteright' so that I can share them with you fine folks. When he sent me the latest link, I have to say that it is the complete opposite of sexy.

Judge for yourself ...

What is sad is the fact that she likely thinks she is sexy.

Here are some better examples of what IS sexy:

Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

At least one of those should appeal to someone. Take STOCK of what you like and decide what is sexy to you.

I know Rico is so going to go get one of these. Imagination + perversion = internet fun.

Thanks goes to Clint for pointing this one out. And for laughing his ass off for 5 minutes, of course.

Finally, after 11 months of nonsensical debate, Google and DoubleClick are a done deal. Have to say it is about freakin' time.

Press Release from Marketwatch

Now comes the fun part - finding out where the chips fall. More to come on this one I am sure. For now, a bit of celebration.

- Ken

P.S. - In case you hadn't seen it yet, here's who I am voting for in '08 ...

Gotta love the family that you're given ... no really, it's like a law or something.

Pretty funny stuff (and she's cute too).



Happy Friday!
- K

Rich, a friend of mine, got a little crazy with Photoshop in celebration of the upcoming G/DC merger. Fantastic stuff. Something tells me this is not how Google will be recognizing the event when it is official (or, we just gave them an idea).

Feel free to let us know what you think!

You can't make this stuff up ... well, you can, but real life is so much more entertaining. This one is for the Beaver.

------------
NATICK, Mass. (AP) - A child's birthday party at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant was cut short after a fight broke out between two mothers. Natick police said the mom of the 9-year-old birthday boy apparently became enraged because the other woman's son was "hogging" an arcade game.

Sgt. Paul Thompson said Catherine Aliaga, 38, and Tarsha Williams, 33, both of Boston, would be summoned into court to answer charges of simple assault and battery stemming from the scuffle.

Thompson told the MetroWest Daily News that police received a number of 911 calls about the fight Saturday night.

He said what started as a birthday celebration turned into a "birthday melee."
-------------

It's all fun and games until a couple of moms throw down (hey - maybe that could be a new t-shirt ...).

I want to see this movie pretty badly. What can I say, Will Ferrell cracks me up. For some added fun, here is a look back at the ABA (ah, the old school days of the Denver Nuggets ...).

Some of you will remember some of this and some of you will simply laugh at the hair and clothes. Either way you win, I say.

Happy (Leap Day!) Friday!

Since the last post was a bit on the 'deep' side, I thought I'd post another example of someone with too much free time. Apparently my new hobby is to find these kinds of things ... perhaps I have too much free time. Enjoy!

Who doesn't like an adult film? (I mean beside the Christian right, the state of Utah and other Puritans ...)

For me, it seems to be a bit more. The subject of the industry as a whole seems to hold my interest. Beyond the aspect of enjoying the imagery on the screen, some part of me realizes that these are indeed people and for some reason I am fascinated in their stories. Sure, there is the titillation factor (that's why we watch in the first place) but once you get beyond that, haven't you ever thought about what happens when the cameras stop rolling.

It might have something to do with seeing quite a bit of it as a teen, but I think some of it is purely my inquisitive nature. I want to know "why" someone would chose to make a living by having sex on film. The back story (even in a history class) has always been something I've sought out - it's always more interesting than what has been recorded for posterity. For me, I think the start of this was shows like 'Real Sex'. I mention this one in particular because to me it was always a show that insisted on showing sex as a natural thing, no matter how 'non-mainstream' others would consider some of the items presented. It was always a "naughty little treat" for me to watch. Ironically, I watched a new episode not too long ago (HBO hadn't shown a new one in years) and I felt it was boring and they had lost their touch. Perhaps this is a result of them opening some of the doors that were previously closed and now mainstream is a bit more broader than it used to be. Perhaps I am simply more informed than I used to be as a young adult. Also, it may be that reality shows like 'Family Business' that was on Showtime and 'Cathouse' on HBO have extended beyond what a 10 minute snippet on 'Real Sex' can show.

Not too long ago I read a book - The Other Hollywood: An Uncensored Oral History of the Adult Industry which was quite informative (from the mouths of those in the business, past and present) regarding the how and why the industry got started and has quickly become one of my personal favorites. This is a highly recommended read if you have any interesting in knowing the 'rest of the story'. Not all of it is a happy read and some of it is predictable (the Mafia was involved heavily in adult movie production ... who'da known? yeah right), but it is a good read. Some of the personalities also interest me - not really this weeks star, but more so some of the older stars. For example I recently was given (as a Valentine's day gift) Ron Jeremy's book - The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz. Gotta love that my wife gets me ... she knows I wanted that book for a while. He in particular is one that interests me because he is such the every man, but he's a legend when it comes to the Adult business. The sad part is that he so desperately wants to be accepted by mainstream Hollywood. I am looking forward to cracking that one open soon as well.

I am sure not many people share my interest in the subject, but I am hoping I've at least opened up some room for discussion. Had something on my mind and wanted to share.

Happy Monday!
- Ken

For those of you who don't know which candidate fits your views best, there is VoteChooser!

Simply answer a handful of questions on your views and it will tell you who agrees with you the most. Takes the busy work out of actually making a decision! Now you have no excuse to be on the fence!

Do it now! Before it's too late! Hypno-toad demands it!

Damn Super Bowl.

As much as everyone hates (or says they hate) the Patriots, I really think the Giants got lucky last night. Sure, they played a good game and I think the Pats underestimated them, but it all comes down to a fingertip catch. He drops the ball and that's the game really. Ah well, "Any Given Sunday" as they say.

I just wanted a decent game, and I got one. It was a boring one (all Defense) but at least there were a couple of lead changes.

The commercials, by and large, were utter crap. There were a couple of good ones - the Will Ferrell Semi-Pro/BudLight one in particular - but the rest were very "meh". Not an improvement over last year for sure. Guess when you are spending $2.7 million for 30 seconds, it doesn't leave much budget for creativity. Dear ad agencies, we want to be entertained. If you are going to have a captive audience, at least do something clever. Otherwise, why bother. No wonder I love my TiVo so much.

Today is the 50th Aniversary of the Lego Brick (yes, I saw it on Google damn it). If you were a kid and you didn't get the chance to play with Legos - even a little - that is a sad travesty.

It seems that some adults are still playing with them. Here is a couple of keen examples:

A working computer -


Van Gogh's Starry Night -


Some video as well ...



Enjoy! Happy Monday!

Yet another example of too much time on someone's hands, but kinda cool as well. Gotta be a fan of games from the 80's (think old Arcade/Atari games) to appreciate this.



Happy Friday!

Sorry for not posting in a long while but but between work, holidays and birthdays been somewhat busy. But I will try to be back.

Let's see some things on my mind? hmmmmmm

1) well I haven't been this non-excited for a super bowl in well forever! Between this match-up and the piss poor excuse for good commercials last year, I just can't bring myself to get excited. 1 of 2 things are going to happen here. 1. Brady and company win and we will have to listen for the rest of our lives how they are the best team ever...far from it in my opinion. Or 2 Giants win pull the "greatest uset ever" yeah right...and another Manning wins which forces them to be in our faces for who knows how long....yeah sorry for not being excited about either possibility.

2)Directv customer service SUCKS! Anyone who knows me knows I have been a loyal supporter of directv for years, even backing them on message boards. But Now in the past 5 months I have had 2 very piss poor customer service situations with them and just may leave! No Sunday ticket for me??? eh oh well, maybe now I will try to figure out how sopcasts work and save me a couple bucks!

3)Being without Directv has forced me to use redbox....hmm nifty little service I must say! Sometimes not that great of a selection but at the same time there is always something for everyone! YAAAAAAAY for $1.00 rentals. And if you google redbox codes you can get free rentals too.

4)My Nuggets, Avs and Broncos are just straight underacvhievers with no depth and can't stay healthy. Oh well I guess these next few seasons will weed out the non fans!

Well thats all for now kiddies!

Until next time

Scare ya later!

mr-scary

If you haven't heard of Buckner Funken Jazz yet, shame on you. They're a local Denver band and you should try to catch one of their shows if you are in town. You will not be disappointed.

I actually took some pictures at one of their recent gigs (my friend Jason plays the drums) and I've posted a couple of shots on the Deviant Art page. Here is my favorite one:



Please feel free to leave a comment if you like. Thanks!

- Ken

When you were a kid, did you ever watch a cartoon and listen to music? It's kinda cool how it sync's up sometimes. Well, if you have the resources you can make a mashup to et this effect too. May I present:

Spongebob does Soulja Boy.



Crank Dat indeed.

If I had the amount of free time it took to piece this together, I might actually run for President. Some people should use their powers for good and not evil.

Draw 'em big and bouncy. LOL. Not for the kiddies.



Some Friday fun. At least the song is a catchy tune even if it is in Japanese.

- K

It's official - I have pulled down the AQR website. Welcome those of you who have been redirected here.

A quick explanation - quite simply, the site hadn't been updated in ages (for pete's sake, the splash page still referenced the Scavenger Hunt and we haven't had one in at least a couple of years).

Myself, Da Beaver and Mr. Scary need to regroup and decide what will come next. Needless to say, we need something a bit more dynamic. Maybe it just stays like this for a while ... who knows. Believe me, when we know, you all will too.

For now, the come here for all your AQR needs.

- Ken

This was pointed out to me ... The Church of Google.

Seriously? A search engine religion? I'm dumbfounded ...

Those that know me, know I am a fan of Google. I'm about to be a bigger fan -- as soon as the EU gives the old thumbs up for DoubleClick/Google entity (what can I say, it affects me personally), but I am by no means ready to join the "religion".

Also, anyone that knows me, knows that religion (or the notion of someone else's ideal of organized religion) and I don't walk the same path (once again, affected personally).

I hope that this is all in fun ... if not, then frankly, I am at a loss for words.

Here's a cup check that won't be soon forgotten ...

I know this link is likely to make the rounds today (it was the 12th anniversary of the last strip yesterday), but I'm feeling a bit nostalgic in the new year.

The top 25 Calvin & Hobbes strips

Enjoy and Hope 2008 is a great year for you all!