Month: March 2004

Ready for an addictive Flash game? Then try Fowl Words, a fun twist on Boggle-type word games.

Animated Engines is a site devoted to explaining different engines. The site is divided into sections on internal combustion, steam, and Stirling engines, and each engine has a separate page with animated graphics and explanations on how it works. Although the site has a simple design, it’s easy and fun to explore…

Did you ever think about aiming 25 Roman candles at a friend’s bullseye-marked chest? OK, maybe you did too, but did you actually go out and do it? These people did; watch the hilarity/burnination ensue (links directly to Windows Media Video) and hope that they don’t reproduce.

“In January, Long John Silver’s offered to give America free Giant Shrimp if NASA found conclusive evidence of an ocean on Mars. To celebrate the success of NASA’s Mars Rover project, the company is going to give America free Giant Shrimp on Monday, May 10th” (one piece per customer). This is cool news, but now I need to find a Long John Silver’s less than 100 miles away. On second thought, I don’t know if this much driving is worth five shrimp, but I’ve made road trips for less. Mmmm… giant shrimp.

I’m still annoyed that George Lucas refuses to include the original theatrical releases of the Star Wars Trilogy in the DVD set. However, like most fans, I want to experience the movies in their full digital glory on DVD and will grudgingly pony up the cash for the set when it comes out. I’m sure this reality is not lost on Lucas; he knows that he’ll make millions even if he alienates most of his fanbase while doing so. For my part, I’ll continue to rant hypocritically, not that it does any good…

Although the DVD boxed set isn’t officially being released until September 21st, it’s already available for pre-order at amazon.com; see the cool artwork at right. I feel a little dirty for putting it in my shopping cart…

Air America Radio goes live today at noon in four markets. For those of you that haven’t heard of it, it appears that Air America Radio is trying to position itself as a left-of-center alternative to right-leaning programming like Rush Limbaugh, or as they put it, “a smart voice with a sense of humor.” The centerpiece of their lineup is Al Franken, who I think will be absolutely great. I recently read a very interesting New York Times article about him, but unfortunately, it’s now archived and seems to be unavailable without a subscription, and Google doesn’t cache articles from the New York Times. It’s well worth a read if you can find it…

Besides Al Franken, there are several other interesting personalities on their roster:

Saturday Night Live alum Al Franken joined the network early in 2004 and brings “team Franken” with him, (several of whom collaborated with Franken on his best selling book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them). Franken showcases his very original and witty political satire on Air America Radio. Other hosts include Janeane Garofolo (The Larry Sanders Show), Randi Rhodes, whose top-rated program in south Florida gained a reputation for no-nonsense talk radio that consistently beat Rush Limbaugh in ratings, and Lizz Winstead, The Daily Show co-creator long recognized for her social satire and political acumen. Rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy also contributes to the daily line up.

I’ll have to see if I can listen to their RealPlayer feed, as there is no local affiliate carrying them yet. Sounds like it could be informative as well as pretty fun…

The latest Rolling Stone contains a feature entitled The Immortals: The 50 Greatest Artists Of All Time:

The Immortals are the greatest rock & roll artists of all time. They are also more than that. The fifty men, women and bands celebrated in the following pages (and in an exclusive photo gallery) are the singers, songwriters, record makers and performers who are continually in the music – as pioneers, teachers and stars; touching our souls and pulling us to our feet, on a daily basis – even when they are no longer with us. And this is not just a list… [more here]

The coolest thing is that for every artist or group in the list, a tribute article is written by another artist who was influenced by them. It looks like you can only view the top ten online, obviously compelling you to buy the April 15th issue to read the rest. It looks like it might be worth it, though…

CHUD presents, in no particular order, 100 Movies That Deserve More Love:

For all the attention spurted across the chests of a handful of movies each year, there are dozens more that are shunted aside, trampled underfoot or otherwise treated to the shitty end of the stick by the grinding gears of the movie machine. Many of these movies deserve to languish in obscurity, but there are plenty that are worth more than that and that’s why we’ve rolled up our sleeves to retrieve some unloved and under-appreciated gems from the dustbin of history. Within this countdown you’ll find hated blockbusters and underseen cult classics, you’ll find A-list megastars, and unsung C-list heroes. You’ll find an alarming amount of Kevin Dillon and Renny Harlin, plus Donald Sutherland as a monk. You’ll find great movies that you were sure only you knew about, and you’ll find movies that you’ve never heard of. Most importantly, you’ll find that shining a light into the dark corners of movie history almost always unearths something special…

I did see a couple that really should “languish in obscurity,” but on the whole there were a lot of good movies here that just didn’t get the respect they deserved. Definitely worth a look (and a Netflix queue update)…

Aerogel is a “silicon-based solid with a porous, sponge-like structure in which 99.8 percent of the volume is empty space,” resulting in the lightest solid material known to man. It was initially created as a means to trap cometary particles and interplanetary dust aboard the Stardust Spacecraft, since it can slow down and trap such particles without damaging them. I know this is older news, but I came upon this photo gallery and FAQ and was very intrigued.

Gamespot has a great feature on the History of Video Game Music. From the early blips of Pong to the elaborate soundtracks found in games today, the article does a really nice job documenting the influence that sound effects and music have had on the video game industry. There are even some sound samples of the more influential games…