The folks over at Teehan+Lax plan to make my iPhone a lot more useful. They’re in the process of working with the Cydia folks to release a new lock screen for the iPhone entitled Element. I’ve spent a fair amount of time with the Android, and the single feature that always stood out as heads and shoulders above the iPhone is their notifications system. Hopefully, as soon as next week, that will no longer be a problem. Take a look at some more screenshots.
I admittedly have a soft spot for Jon Stewart (who, thank goodness, now has a key to Bellingham, WA) and Stephen Colbert, and not so much of a soft spot (a hard spot?) for Christopher Hitchens. I first became skeptical of Hitchens after reading about his stance on the Iraq War. And that feeling only increased after he attempted to join Richard Dawkins at the head of the Atheist movement by trying to mask his lack of scientific background with an even larger combative ego than Dawkins.
Hitchens uses the fact that Stewart was ranked as the #1 trusted newscastor in an online popularity pool to whine and complain that he is no Mark Twain (Is anyone really arguing that point?). His evidence seems to be Al Franken’s books (I’m still trying to figure out what that has to do with the Daily Show). My best guess is that either Hitchens is still bitter 4 years later that Stewart didn’t promote his Jefferson book well enough, or is formally applying for Andy Rooney’s position as Old Crank Laureate.
What?! That is enough basis for the foundation of a television show? My pops might not be that cranky, but give him 5 years. He’s on his way; and soon I’ll be rich.
PS: I love that the one person he follows is Levar Burton.
Lots to take away from this. For me, most of all is that I’ve been in this employee’s shoes and this story reaffirms that I will make sure to never be wearing shoes like his in a company like that again. It sounds clear that AA is a seriously messed up company, and, as folks have said, the original critique is a little naive of the situation: A little screenshot does not a website make.
You’ve committed your life to Jesus. You know you’re saved. But when the Rapture comes what’s to become of your loving pets who are left behind? Eternal Earth-Bound Pets takes that burden off your mind.
I am dying to know how much $$ they’ve pulled in from this…
Someone took “A New Hope” and cut it up into 15 sec. segments, then set up a site that assigns users to “swede” chunks of Star Wars. Once completed, this will be a surreal mishmash of glorious proportions.
Speaking of collaborations: Over 40 DeviantARTists picked a Mario Kart Character and rendered them in their own style. Make sure to check it out in its full size.
Interesting design concept for grocery receipts to drive the point home about the thousands of miles your food travels to get to you and the result it has on global warming. I bet this would have a dramatic effect on people’s food choices. They’d either shop locally or stop buying fruit and vegetables.
Speaking of food: Take the shittiest food possible, and make it look convincing enough that you might eat it until you realize that you’re about to loose a couple years of your life. Great idea for a website.
I highly recommend this quick addictive little puzzle game. It used to be a $3 download, but now the first half of the game is available for free online. It’s beautifully designed and worth every penny.
I got a deal on a Nintendo DS a few years ago because I was curious about New Super Mario Bros., but I haven’t really touched it since. Now I better find it, because this game looks amazing. You have to lead your character toward the star within every level through solving puzzles. But to do it, you have at your arsenal any object in the living world you can think of. They did it by sitting down 5 people for 6 months and scour the Dictionary and Wikipedia. Comes out in September.
American Todd Margaret (David Cross) bluffs his way into an apparently great job opportunity, heading up the sales team in his employer’s London office. All he has to do is sell several thousand energy drinks before his boss visits him in a week. Simple. Apart from the fact that he knows nothing about British culture and nothing about sales. This is further complicated when he lies continuously to cover his ignorance and spectacularly fails to impress Alice the first beautiful girl he meets. Dave his British co-worker, soon takes full advantage of Todd’s situation and chaos ensues.
When I was a kid, I used to have dreams about binding books this big (seriously). My pops has these *huge* pharmaceutical books and I wondered that if the bindings could be that big for his books, what would the limit be. Turns out that it’s pretty big.
Also, somehow KCRW was able to coax Sly out of hiding for his first on-air interview in over a decade. Interesting bits in the interview: If You Want Me To Stay is a literal edict to fans that he’ll stick around as long as people want him around; and that he used to get into arguments with Charles Manson at Doris Day’s place around the time he recorded Que Sera Sera. Listen below:
Great six-page article on my favorite stand-up comedian. He single-handedly made a poor movie watchable. Good call on Todd Phillips’ part on letting Zach be Zach for this film, which is more than can be said for this piece of shit.
Someone posted this unreleased re-recording and also somehow came across a great cover that John Lennon did of I Want You To Want Me around 1980 that is a touch more minimal (w/ clarinet!):
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
It’s just like Dougie Bendle in reverse! In ‘86, his parents took him at the age of 14 months to see the Dalai Lama. He was enthroned as the reincarnation Lama Yeshe, the reincarnated lama of a spiritual Buddhist leader. Now he’s 18 and has escaped. Now wants to use his Kiss tickets and make out with Patty Matthews.
And what have we found? That over the years of domesticating cows and selective breeding, we’ve ended up with a mentally retarded version of the species former selves. GREAT FOR BUSINESS!
Both types of cattle show evidence of natural selection in genes that appear to be involved in making the animals — large, horned and potentially dangerous — docile. In some breeds, specific variants of behavior-related genes are “fixed,” or seen in essentially every animal. Curiously, some of those genes are in regions that in the human genome seem to be involved in autism, brain development and mental retardation.
Great for any fans of the Wire. BONUS: Also great for fans of inner city crime and bureaucratic mess. BONUS BONUS: A fan caught Simon before his appearance with Moyers and took him out to lunch. I like this David Simon character. If you haven’t started the Wire yet, start now. And you can’t stop until you at least finish a season; they start off decidedly slow.
Stephen Anderson makes a great case that good looks in design go more than skin deep:
The more we learn about people, and how our brains process information, the more we learn the truth of that phrase: form and function aren’t separate items. If we believe that style somehow exists independent of functionality, that we can treat aesthetics and function as two separate pieces, then we ignore the evidence that beauty is much more than decoration. Our brains can’t help but agree.
An in-depth look into Wes Anderson’s style and choices through the first few minutes of The Royal Tenenbaums. Some of the analysis is a little manufactured, but most of it is pretty interesting. Make sure to pause often. If you’re an Anderson fan, be sure to check out parts one, two, three, and four.
