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Thursday, February 28, 2008

A Century In Video - 1916


A bizarre little cartoon about Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse visiting the circus.



Krazy Kat was originally a comic strip started in 1912 but was animated starting in 1916.

I can't get a clear answer from imdB on exactly how many films were created, but it looks like lots! There is an imdB entry for the above film.

This Wikipedia entry has a tonne of info in you're interested, and YouTube has quite a few videos (although many are not relevant).

Maybe it's just me, but does Krazy Kat come across like a monkey channeling Zsa Zsa Gabor?

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Jitters, Jitters, Jitters!


Ya baby!

Here the Hubster demonstrates our new caffeine machine.



I'm not gonna sleep for a week :-)

This is our new baby

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Go Indy, Go

Ok, sing along...

Da da da DA! Da da daaaaaaa. Da da da DaHHHHHHH! Da da da da DA.



I think this one will be worth going to the theatre for.

Official site and IMDb page.

And from the National Post: Indiana Jones and the Internet Marketing Campaign.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

A Century In Video - 1915



Here is another Edison short. This one is 3:42 of people coming out after a show in the Claremont Theater in NYC.

This is the type of film I love finding - a little slice of everyday life.



Many of the theatre goers seem to be aware of the camera filming them as they leave, but since they are watching Edison films (perhaps even a few of the ones posted in the series), they may have been told about the camera. You'll notice a few people wave at the camera as they leave.

The clothing is, of course, very different than today. For one thing ALL the young boys are dressed in knickerbockers and ALL the women are in long dresses. But everyone acts pretty well the same as they would now for the same sort of "event"

If you take a closer look at the clothing you may note as I did that the clothing seems rather formal. Keep in mind that going to the movies was a big deal in 1915. Most of these people probably had never seen a film before.

Good news - the building is still around: Remembering an Architect Who Shaped the West Side

Here is a comparison. The old one is a screen shot from the film and the new one is from the above NYT article. (click to embiggen)

theatre

More info about the film via the Library of Congress can be found here

Monday, February 11, 2008

Wordage....

I "found" this page a few days ago at work and had to stop reading after a few minutes because I was laughing so hard.

I introduce you to Sniglets

I've copied a few examples here for your enjoyment. These are ones that resonate with me. However I highly recommend heading over to the whole list as there are many, many more. (Note: the indented comments are my own)

Sniglet (snig'lit) - n. Any word that doesn't appear in the dictionary, but should.

Anticiparcellate (an ti si par' sel ate) - v. Waiting until the mailman is several houses down the street before picking up the mail, so as not too appear too anxious.

  • I've never been sure why I do this. Perhaps it's because if I'm home when the mail is delivered I'm probably still in my jammies.
Blivett (blih' vit) - v. To turn one's pillow over and over, looking for the cool spot.
  • Futile.
Carperpetuation (kar' pur pet u a shun) - n. The act, when vacuuming, of running over a string at least a dozen times, reaching over and picking it up, examining it, then putting it back down to give the vacuum one more chance.
  • There has to be an anthropologist with an answer to this one. I suspect laziness (and yes I do this).
Ellacelleration: The mistaken belief that repeatedly pressing the elevator button will make it go faster
  • When I worked in a hospital the maintenance man would yell at the nursing staff for doing this. His office was right next to the elevator shaft and every time we pushed the button he would hear the clacking sound from his desk. Repeated pushing would produce a charming percussion beat for his pleasure - clack clackity clackity clack. We also broke the button faceplate innumerable times.
Fictate (fik' tayt) - v. To inform a television or screen character of impending danger under the assumption they can hear you.
  • "You asshole, don't open that.... Told you that would happen."
Furbling - v. Having to wander through a maze of ropes at an airport or bank even when you are the only person in line.
  • And feeling like a complete tool in the process.
Genderplex - n. The predicament of a person in a restaurant who is unable to determine his or her designated restroom (e.g. turtles and tortoises).
  • Pointers and Setters, John and Yoko, a picture of a boob and a penis; these are all examples that I've seen. Not confusing so much as silly.
Idiolocator n.- The symbol on a mall or amusement park map representing "You Are Here"
  • Marketing idea: A rented GPS embedded in a map so you carry around your own "you are here". Have it programmable in some way so that you can also see the locations of people you are with. "Hey we lost John and Mary, no here they are over at the roller coaster of sure death"
Maggit (mag' it) - n. Any of the hundreds of subscription cards that fall from the pages of a magazine. (pl. MAGGREGATE)
  • I usually remove these cards (along with perfume cards and other card stock inserts) before I read a magazine. They drive me nuts!
Phonesia (fo nee' zhuh) - n. The affliction of dialing a phone number and forgetting whom you were calling just as they answer.
  • And you hope you recognize the voice at the other end. Not so much a problem anymore with an lcd display on the phone.
Prestofrigeration or Snacktrek: The peculiar habit, when searching for a snack, of constantly returning to the refrigerator in hopes that something new will have materialized.
  • Isn't there a chef living in the fridge?
Squatic Diversion (skwa' tik dy vur' zhun) - n. Any pretended activity that commands a dog owner's attention while the dog relieves itself on a neighbor's lawn.
  • It's not polite to watch.
Wikipedia definition and more examples.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

How Bishopy.....

One of my favourite bands ever (that no-one has ever heard of) finally has a real professional type video out.



I don't care if you've never heard of them or don't like them. This my blog and I'm only here to plug the stuff I like :-)

But given that, please give them a listen and check out their page

I think they are pretty good

Monday, February 04, 2008

Hint, hint....

It's my birthday soon.

Only $20,594.95

Lot's of cool stuff at Hammacher Schlemmer

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Don't Take Your Eyes Off the Internet...


... because it apparently likes to party hearty.

NSFW due to language.



The personalities are pretty well dead on, but shouldn't everyone be a lot younger? After all Google has only been around for ten years.

I think the party should have been busted at the end by someone's dad, played by the barely remembered Mosaic the first real graphical web browser.

Friday, February 01, 2008

I Is a Lemur, Starin Atz Yourz Faces...

Looks like dramatic "chipmunk" has some very intense competition.



Sounds like this dude has an endorsement deal with THX