Monday, March 27, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Who figured on Action Figures?
I was looking in the Toys R Us for a cool birthday gift for my niece. There, I noticed more than a few action figures of old Rock Stars. Ozzy Oxbourne, Metallica, Kiss, all of these masters of metal have received the plastic treatment. Meaning that there are action figures made of them. Clear? They even had Beatles figures.
But it got me thinking, why limit it to just the gods of rock or the Fab Four? Doesn't David "Diamond Dave" Lee Roth deserve his own figure? What little straight-edge kid wouldn't love a Moby figure to go kick the butt of an Eminem figure? Think of how much fun Loretta Lynn and Kenny Rogers could have in Barbie's Malibu Corvette? Doesn't Lucinda Williams and Beck need to hang out in the backyard? I definitely think this needs to be done. Imagine little Timmy Jacobsen climbing down stairs early Christmas morning and finding St. Nick had just left him west coast rap innovators Blackalicious in his stocking. Who wouldn't love that?
Maybe I just answered my own question.
Still, I think it would be cool to have someone come into my office and ask about the figures on my desk and I could say, "Oh, it's Tommy James and the Shondells". But maybe that's just me.
I was looking in the Toys R Us for a cool birthday gift for my niece. There, I noticed more than a few action figures of old Rock Stars. Ozzy Oxbourne, Metallica, Kiss, all of these masters of metal have received the plastic treatment. Meaning that there are action figures made of them. Clear? They even had Beatles figures.
But it got me thinking, why limit it to just the gods of rock or the Fab Four? Doesn't David "Diamond Dave" Lee Roth deserve his own figure? What little straight-edge kid wouldn't love a Moby figure to go kick the butt of an Eminem figure? Think of how much fun Loretta Lynn and Kenny Rogers could have in Barbie's Malibu Corvette? Doesn't Lucinda Williams and Beck need to hang out in the backyard? I definitely think this needs to be done. Imagine little Timmy Jacobsen climbing down stairs early Christmas morning and finding St. Nick had just left him west coast rap innovators Blackalicious in his stocking. Who wouldn't love that?
Maybe I just answered my own question.
Still, I think it would be cool to have someone come into my office and ask about the figures on my desk and I could say, "Oh, it's Tommy James and the Shondells". But maybe that's just me.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Animusic
Once in a while, ol' Sluggo (that's me, the six year old part of my personality) finds something so cool that captures my imagination so completely that I just get shut down and smile. And I say "Woah" a lot. Such was the case when I saw a clip of Animusic a break on PBS. It was a purely CG music video of a very funky multi-stringed instrument with built in robotic 'hands' so this machine could play itself. It is the most imaginative and likely cool thing I have seen this year. Check out this clip here.
Once in a while, ol' Sluggo (that's me, the six year old part of my personality) finds something so cool that captures my imagination so completely that I just get shut down and smile. And I say "Woah" a lot. Such was the case when I saw a clip of Animusic a break on PBS. It was a purely CG music video of a very funky multi-stringed instrument with built in robotic 'hands' so this machine could play itself. It is the most imaginative and likely cool thing I have seen this year. Check out this clip here.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Thursday, March 16, 2006
The Scented Candle
All right, kiddies. Its story time. Get cozy.
Once upon a time (back in January) I was hanging out in the folks house when my mother comes home with some scented candles that she'd picked up at the BBB.
So I made a mental note to myself to check into that, because I like scented candles. Turns out that they smell nice.
So a few days later, I walk into one of the rooms where everyone is hanging out and I see one of them on the table. White. Vanilla. In a small glass container. So I wade through the crowd to the table. And with everybody watching, I grab the candle and put it up to my nose to have a nice sniff.
Only it wasn't a candle. It was my sisters glass of milk. Which went up my nose and all down my shirt. With everybody watching. I laughed so hard I think I shot milk out of my nose. This worked out nicely, because I didn't want the milk there in the first place.
The moral of the story? Maybe it is "Look before you sniff". Or perhaps it is "Now is a good time to check for lactose intolerance". Mostly, I's say it is "Learn to laugh at yourself, or you might be missing the biggest joke around". So many of us think that we, ourselves, are hilarious. Why not enjoy it when you inadvertently prove everyone right?
All right, kiddies. Its story time. Get cozy.
Once upon a time (back in January) I was hanging out in the folks house when my mother comes home with some scented candles that she'd picked up at the BBB.
So I made a mental note to myself to check into that, because I like scented candles. Turns out that they smell nice.
So a few days later, I walk into one of the rooms where everyone is hanging out and I see one of them on the table. White. Vanilla. In a small glass container. So I wade through the crowd to the table. And with everybody watching, I grab the candle and put it up to my nose to have a nice sniff.
Only it wasn't a candle. It was my sisters glass of milk. Which went up my nose and all down my shirt. With everybody watching. I laughed so hard I think I shot milk out of my nose. This worked out nicely, because I didn't want the milk there in the first place.
The moral of the story? Maybe it is "Look before you sniff". Or perhaps it is "Now is a good time to check for lactose intolerance". Mostly, I's say it is "Learn to laugh at yourself, or you might be missing the biggest joke around". So many of us think that we, ourselves, are hilarious. Why not enjoy it when you inadvertently prove everyone right?
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
The Quote List: Part One
I've had a request to post some of the more absurd, silly or downright outrageous quotes that I have collected over the years. Like this blog, I try to capture a balance of inspirational, amusing and randomness with these small snippets. Also note that many of the quotes here are from my friends and family. So if you happened to say something stupid or inspiring, maybe you might see it here.
...
Children are unpredictable. You never know what inconsistency they are going to catch you in next.
- F. P. Jones
Hey, the word 'fruit' on this box of Kellogg’s Froot Loops one too many 'O's in it.
-Mark Johnson (early 1989)
I have hundreds of iguanas.
-Holly Johnson (9/30/00)
Don't you think it would be cool to see some of your organs before you die.
-Aimee Ohlsen (8/29/00)
Television has brought murder back into the home, where it belongs.
-Alfred Hitchcock
There is nothing wrong with being a genius. Some of the world’s smartest people were geniuses.
-Loralee Jessen (11/8/05)
Are there two Elvises?
-Katie Johnson 8/3/94
Can skunks be de-stink-atized?
-Katie Johnson (8/11/99)
It would be hard to say which is the more miraculous, to make a stone to speak, or to make a philosopher stop speaking.
-Sozomen
I’m excited about my public spleaking class.
-Katie Johnson (2001)
No little girl can be happy unless she has faith in her daddy.
–Marge Simpson
Every man is a moon and each has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.
–Samuel Clemens
When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.
–Charles A. Beard
Man must understand his universe in order to understand his destiny…Who knows what mysteries will be solved in our lifetime, and what new riddles will become the challenge of future generations?
-Neil A. Armstrong
To go places and to do things that never have been done before, - that’s what living is all about.
–Michael Collins
Don’t get stuck in the stagnant swamp of self-pity.
–Neal A. Maxwell
Happiness is not getting something, rather happiness is being something.
–Marvin J. Asthon
Christmas: It's kind of like a holiday.
-Mark Johnson (12/25/99)
I've had a request to post some of the more absurd, silly or downright outrageous quotes that I have collected over the years. Like this blog, I try to capture a balance of inspirational, amusing and randomness with these small snippets. Also note that many of the quotes here are from my friends and family. So if you happened to say something stupid or inspiring, maybe you might see it here.
...
Children are unpredictable. You never know what inconsistency they are going to catch you in next.
- F. P. Jones
Hey, the word 'fruit' on this box of Kellogg’s Froot Loops one too many 'O's in it.
-Mark Johnson (early 1989)
I have hundreds of iguanas.
-Holly Johnson (9/30/00)
Don't you think it would be cool to see some of your organs before you die.
-Aimee Ohlsen (8/29/00)
Television has brought murder back into the home, where it belongs.
-Alfred Hitchcock
There is nothing wrong with being a genius. Some of the world’s smartest people were geniuses.
-Loralee Jessen (11/8/05)
Are there two Elvises?
-Katie Johnson 8/3/94
Can skunks be de-stink-atized?
-Katie Johnson (8/11/99)
It would be hard to say which is the more miraculous, to make a stone to speak, or to make a philosopher stop speaking.
-Sozomen
I’m excited about my public spleaking class.
-Katie Johnson (2001)
No little girl can be happy unless she has faith in her daddy.
–Marge Simpson
Every man is a moon and each has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.
–Samuel Clemens
When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.
–Charles A. Beard
Man must understand his universe in order to understand his destiny…Who knows what mysteries will be solved in our lifetime, and what new riddles will become the challenge of future generations?
-Neil A. Armstrong
To go places and to do things that never have been done before, - that’s what living is all about.
–Michael Collins
Don’t get stuck in the stagnant swamp of self-pity.
–Neal A. Maxwell
Happiness is not getting something, rather happiness is being something.
–Marvin J. Asthon
Christmas: It's kind of like a holiday.
-Mark Johnson (12/25/99)
The Curse of the Sudoku
Back in the days when I was cynical Mark, my main philosophy was that "Life is merely the exchange of one bad habit for another". I'm not as inclined to believe it lately, but a new addiction has surfaced. Late last year, I stumbled across Japanese Sudoku number puzzles. And I'm hooked. The object is to place the numbers 1 through 9 in each row, horizontally and vertically as well as in each box. Each row or box may only have one of the same number. I usually get my fix from here.
Back in the days when I was cynical Mark, my main philosophy was that "Life is merely the exchange of one bad habit for another". I'm not as inclined to believe it lately, but a new addiction has surfaced. Late last year, I stumbled across Japanese Sudoku number puzzles. And I'm hooked. The object is to place the numbers 1 through 9 in each row, horizontally and vertically as well as in each box. Each row or box may only have one of the same number. I usually get my fix from here.
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