Month: February 2005

music

How Led Zep Got Their Name

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In trying to prove my theory that Maroon 5’s name is actually a subtle homage to Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing’s call signal during the Death Star attack stage of “Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope” (“…Red Leader, this is Red 5…”), I came across this simple and well worded explanation as to how Led Zeppelin, aka the greatest rock band eh-VER, got its name:

Keith Moon and John Entwistle of the Who were hanging out with Richard Cole (The Yardbirds road manager) one night at the disco “Salvation” in New York. Moon and Entwistle were burnt out on the whole scene with The Who and were talking about the desire to form a band with Jimmy Page and Steve Winwood. And Entwistle said “Yeah. We’ll call it Lead Zeppelin. Because it will go over like a fucking Lead Balloon.” Laughter followed and Cole told Jimmy about the discussion later. So when the time came to change the band’s name from The New Yardbirds they finally settled on “Led Zeppelin” after short stints as “Mad Dogs” and “Whoopee Cushion”. They changed the spelling of lead to “Led” so that people wouldn’t mispronounce the groups name as “Lead Zeppelin”.

If I ever form a band, I was going to name it Red 5. Now I can’t do that because of stupid Maroon 5. Now I have to go with my backup name – Field Order 15. This is the formal name for General Sherman’s order to give all freed blacks 40 acres and a mule, which in my opinion, while great sounding (Land to a former slave? Great!) added insult to injury. The mule, a cross between a donkey and a horse, is a sterile animal and can’t reproduce. Its used as a work animal and let’s face it, freed blacks in 1865 were used to working. So in reality, Sherman would have been much better off giving a plow to the freed slave to push instead of a mule. At least that way the field will get plowed and something might grow instead of just having a sterile animal sitting around, doing nothing except waiting to be fed by a freed slave that probably has no money for food. But that’s just my opinion.

ramblings

Ways NOT To Fool A Drug Test

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I am NOT making this up: Actor Tom Sizemore has been jailed for violating his probation by failing a drug test after he was caught trying to use a prosthetic penis to fake the results, a Los Angeles County prosecutor said on Friday.

According to prosecutors, Sizemore had been caught once before trying to use a similar device, sold over the Internet under the brand name the Whizzinator, and had failed drug tests on at least five occasions.

Read the full article here

Thanks eNos

ramblings

Puzzle Du Jour

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This little flash game called Hapland is fun, irritating and quite puzzling. My co-worker Jason has completed it and printed the end screen as proof so I know it can be done. I’m muddling my way through it – so far, I’ve played about 30 minutes and I haven’t been able to really do a damn thing. Let me know if you beat it.

Via Chris

music

ROCK/DON’T ROCK

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New York Metro reports this week that on the WALK/DON’T WALK sign outside CBGB on the Bowery, the orange DON’T WALK hand has had its middle two fingers and thumb obliterated with black tape, turning it into a devil’s horns-the universal hand signal for “Rock!”

The white walking man is now wearing sideburns, a skull-and-bones T-shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of Converse. Across the street, the walking man has become a woman, with spiky hairdo, miniskirt, and high-heeled ankle boots. Nearby, at the intersection of Allen and Rivington, the man wears an Adidas tracksuit and Kangol hat, and carries a boom box. In all three cases, holes have been carefully punched in the pasted-on “clothing” (made from vinyl), so that the LED light still shines through.

Who has been doing this? Read the article to find out…

via Republica

ramblings

Poseidon Undersea Resorts

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I love the idea and practice of space exploration because space so vast, so unexplored and so unknown. For the same reasons, I love the ocean. I love aquariums, I love fish tanks (just not cleaning them) and I find the world underwater fascinating, especially since the earth is 75% covered by water and the way global warming is going, that number is probably only going to increase.

So, I found this next idea tres cool. Poseidon Undersea Resorts, currently in the final design stages, will be the world’s first sea floor resort complex. The resort will be a unique, intimate and exclusive, five-star destination providing the highest possible levels of luxury and service. Poseidon’s guests will experience a marvelous ambiance of comfort and camaraderie that will not soon be forgotten. For those who have dreamt of visiting their imagination’s wildest destinations; traveling to the moon, reaching the summit of Everest or exploring the mysteries of the ocean depths, Poseidon will be a reality you will truly appreciate.

Via Republica

ramblings

Happy Friday

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I’m on a posting frenzy right now. Such is life, when it rains, it pours. When it doesn’t, its a super duper dust bowl full of drought.

I was sent this link and got halfway down the page before I almost spit up what I was drinking. Its pretty funny how a slice of life action photo, combined with photoshop, can amuse me to no end.

Thanks Michele

politics

I Feel So Safe

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From The American Progress Action Fund’s daily “Progress Report” email from today, 2/11/05:

Whoops. A 185-pound container of radioactive equipment – the material used in dirty bombs – which was imported by Halliburton Energy Services turned up unexpectedly this week at a shipping facility in Chelsea, MA. The problem: the shipment was falsely registered as having arrived in Newark, NJ, four months ago, and Halliburton only reported the missing container last Tuesday. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan, stating the obvious, said that Halliburton’s four-month delay in reporting the loss “did not comply with notification requirements.”

FANTASTIC.

I really want to work at Halliburton because there you can overbill, denigrate our troops, bilk the government AND lose nuclear material without ever hearing “boo” about it. I forget to send one email to my Client and I get into more trouble than Halliburton does for overcharging the Army billions. If anyone hears of any openings there, let me know.

ramblings

Of Course It’s Unavoidable – There Is A Train Ahead Of Us!

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When you travel in the newer subway cars, you are “treated” to hearing an electronic voice talking to you all the time. Like the voicemail woman who welcomes me to Audix (thanks sweetheart). Once in a while you’ll hear a conductor break in and correct the computer – “Next stop is City Hall! City Hall next stop! We are nowhere near the Bronx – this is why people drive the trains!” – and I live for those moments.

The one electronic statement that bothers me the most is when, after not moving for a few minutes, Transmit Woman breaks in and says “We apologize for the unavoidable delay.” OF COURSE ITS UNAVOIDABLE!! We are on a track! It’s not like we can go around it. What genius thought that one up?

This has always bothered me and guess what, it’s going away. The MTA has announced that it is removing “unavoidable” from that statement. Yay. One less thing to get aggravated over.

ramblings

A Movie I Wish Was Coming To A Theatre Near Me

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Once again, I found something cool on Chris’s site. This time, its extra special.

The young geniuses at Untamed Cinema have a created a trailer for a movie that will might never be made. But if there is justice in the world, then maybe, just maybe, it will happen.

The high-res Grayson trailer is well worth the download, even if its a huge file (137 MB). If you have the bandwidth, grab it while you can. Otherwise, watch one of the other versions.

Below is Chris’s review. Please note that he has berated me for liking comics for the past few years and has for the most part bashed the recent comic book movies that have made it to the big screen or that are in development (the upcoming Batman Beyond is an obvious exception). That being said, here is what he said:

“It tells the story of a time when Batman has been killed, and angst-filled Dick Grayson, AKA Robin, trains himself for revenge. He is older now, married with kids, and as his wife puts it, “is training for war.” He also does a little detective work and begins to unravel a conspiracy that runs very deep, through the chief of police, various super villains, and even older heroes. Cameos astound as we see Superman, WonderWoman, Catwoman, Joker, Riddler, and even the Green Lantern. This short film/trailer is spectacular, and is everything superhero movies and comic books should be.”
So, I’m hoping for some real comments get posted about this movie. If the movie is gone, email me and I’ll burn it to a CD and mail it to you. The movie is THAT good. Enjoy.”

Thanks Chris