352: Gondor needs no GPS

File this under "things that have amused me today":

1) Go to Google Maps.
2) Get walking directions from "The Shire" to Mordor"
3) Profit:

319: Coppers

Law & Order: UK proves that every show, no matter how serious, should have a blooper reel.

(see also: Criminal Minds' gag reels)

273: Fairytale

2008.

(Part of a warped-fairytale photoset for a digital photography course in college.)

257: Giggles

I get enraged every time I hear Michele Bachmann talk (irresponsibly) about the HPV vaccine, so I need some giggles, and I'll share them with you, Internet.  Enjoy:

252: Cautionary spam

Found this screencap I saved in 2009; I think it speaks for itself.

There was no further information.  No link to a spammy website, nothing.  Just an admonishment to Always be ready.

Still, though, nothing will ever beat this capture, offered without additional commentary:

245: Posterity

So, it's Friday, and I spent the afternoon bored out of my mind, waiting around the emergency room for a bunch of medical students to identify the cause of some pain in my grandmother's hand, so I know I'm in need of a giggle. I am, therefore, sharing a voice memo I made last Friday night of my friend and erstwhile roommate addressing you, the Internet, at Vancouver pub The Wolf and Hound. Enjoy:

210: Phonetic

Have I mentioned before how much I like old Victor Borge routines?  Because this never gets old:

164: Punny

I feel slightly awful about laughing aloud at this.  It's so dumb!  And yet I chuckle!

160: Like, nine feet tall?

Today's entertainment: possibly the greatest story ever told, Criminal Minds star Matthew Gray Gubler's NYC anecdote will live in my Youtube favorites forever.  My favorite thing about this video, from a Paley Center panel, is that every time I watch it, I notice something new.  This time, it was Paget Brewster (and her amazing, perfect bangs) hanging on Gubler's every word.  Beware some profanity and prepare to be entertained.

140: Rapturous

So rumor has it the world's ending tomorrow.  I'm skeptical, but I am enjoying the Rapture-infused tweets, especially from Mike Augustyniak, WCCO's morning meteorologist and my very favorite:

And then there's Damon Lindelof, executive producer of LOST:

Now, I have my own opinions about what will probably not happen tomorrow (i.e., I will probably still be throwing random photos up with pathetically minimal commentary come next week), but in the event that the Rapture does not, in fact, occur, I can't imagine how awkward it's going to be for family profiled in this New York Times article.  I hope they get some college scholarships.

But I also hope the world sticks around for a few more millennia; after all, we've all been promised a Star Trek sequel and I'm still on the library waitlist for Mockingjay.  These things are important, really.

108: They say of the Acropolis where the Parthenon is...

I've got a definite case of the Mondays, so rather than even attempt to come up with a real blog, I'll just share this clip from QI that always makes me laugh so hard I nearly cry.



I adore Stephen Fry.

091: Won't get fooled again

This wasn't actually an April Fool's Day prank...

...but it should have been.  (More info here.)

048: Truer words

The Jeopardy! IBM Challenge was highly entertaining, even if Team Humans didn't manage to pull out a win.  If nothing else, Watson's victory over J! superchamps Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter gave us this:

[here]

Between that and the many, many Skynet, HAL, and Deep Blue jokes on Twitter over the last few days, I'd say the IBM Challenge was a hit.  Thumbs up, Jeopardy! and IBM.

037: Superb Owl Sunday

Wil Wheaton and friends noted on Twitter that today would be more interesting if, instead of the Superbowl, people were talking about a Superb Owl.  So, in honor of that premise, here's a photo of a really great owl:

(via Flickr)

Go owls!

013: Winter Wonderland

Yet more snow, falling in very aesthetic huge, fluffy clumps for an hour or so.  Very pretty, and made the roads utterly disgusting to boot!  Ah, the joys of winter.  It reminds me of this old Puke & Snot routine, "A Lovely State," off Are You All Right? (warning: some not-work-safe language).



I can't get as irate as that fictional transplant. It's more of a heavy, resigned sigh than anything else.

On the bright side, there's only five months until summer!

007: All a-Twitter

Offered without comment, except to say that between this and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, I totally have a crush on Josh Groban.

005: The Very Depths of Winter

Snow on Monday, subzero windchills Tuesday, more snow today. Somewhere around mid-January is when I despair of ever again leaving the house wearing just one pair of socks and dream of the day the long underwear goes back into storage. But lest you think Minnesotans don't enjoy the winter, I direct you to the poem written by Peter Moore (read on Moore on Sunday by his father, the late, great local newsman Dave Moore) about this time of year:

A Great Winter Sport
The best part of winter, the best part by far,
Is kicking those ice chunks that form on your car.
No matter our ages or races or genders
We all enjoy booting that slush off our fenders.
It's deeply fulfilling, that contact and sound
Of boot hitting chunk and then chunk hitting ground.
It makes you feel better, it makes your day brighter,
It makes your Tercel about twenty pounds lighter!
And boy, what a workout! We all could be hunks
By starting each morning with kicking some chunks!
So next time you spot one, no matter how awesome,
Don't wait and think maybe you might let it thaw some;
Go after it mister! Attack it with zeal,
And manfully give it the back of your heel!
It may take you weeks, but of course that's good, too:
The winter goes faster with something to do!

from Gone Writing

This runs through my head every time I clear the accumulated mush off my car. And yes, it really is that satisfying.

P.S. If you don't know what these "ice chunks" are, I suggest the photos here for reference.