Sometimes, when theres nothing going on you get some of the best useless stuff on the news. So here are some of the best of the news you don't need to know.
Physics in the realm of Hollywoodland - MSNBC
I'm more of a statistics geek myself, however, I do appreciate the debunking of myths by physics. Yes, I should be taking Sci-Fi so seriously, but I can't help wondering if it's actually possible.
Miller to Launch Low-Calorie Craft Beers- Fox News
Easy now. The 12oz low-cal craft beers have 110 calories compared to Miller Lite's 96 calories. However, the craft beers are supposedly a higher quality beer.
Arbocide, He Wrote- New York Times
Killing a tree in New York City is apparently a very serious crime. It may warrant a $15,000 penalty and time in jail.
Boy In Trouble for 'South Park' Comments- WCVB/TV Boston
Eleven years old and already quoting South Park. They grow up so fast. Seriously though, who sues an 11yr old for quoting South Park.
There were some real news today. 80,000 less jobs last quarter. Hooray! More free time! 81 Percent of the country believes we're going in the wrong direction. The other 19 percent has a GPS system. Today is also the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Slow News Day
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Coolest Furniture Ever
For many of us post-graduate 20-somethings, we have not had the experience of really owning the place we lived in.
Pre-college, we were beholden to our parents. In college, we could change our rooms only as much as the school allowed. Also, there is very little you can do with the square foot of space the dorms had.
But now, some of us are starting to pay for our own rent, which means we can put as much crazy crap in your apartment and nobody can say a thing.
So today, I present the 3 coolest pieces furniture you could never own before...
Ball Pit
Really, who needs a traditional sofa when you can make a giant ball pit instead?
I first discovered this while reading XKCD (best. webcomic. evar. btw.). Creator Randall Munroe wrote a comic about a ball pit and then actually made one in his apartment.
Apparently, it's pretty simple. All you need is some basic fencing and balls. Lots of balls.
Unfortunately, this isn't the cheapest venture you'll ever embark on. Regular balls cost something like 20 cents a peice, but the recommended crush proof balls go for about double the price. On average you can expect to pay the price of a good coach to make a decent sized ball play-pen.
Still intrigued? You can use this convenient "How many playpen balls would it take to fill your apartment?" calculator to figure out an exact quote.
It may be pricey, but having a ball pit is extremely awesome. And as the XKCD comic says, "We're grown-ups now, and it's our turn to decide what that means."
Giant Posters
My parents were squares and didn't let me put anything I thought was cool (ninjas, robots, etc.) up on the walls. Well, now that I'm older, not only can I put ninjas fighting robots on the wall, I 
can make them huge by using the rasterbator (haha, I said rasterbator :x).
What this website (and standalone program) does is it takes any image -- even small, low-quality images -- and pixelates them to any size you want. The result is a gigantic mural that looks just like TV static up close, but from afar, looks perfect.
The best thing about the rasterbator is that the program is free and that you can print the poster using your printer at home.
Bean Bag Furniture
A bean bag chair is something I always wanted growing up, but never had. To this day, I still want one.
When you go looking for a bean bag to buy, Target and other furniture places are probably the worst places you can go. The bean bags they have are cheaply made and the filling is an uncomfortable foam. If you're looking to buy one, it's probably worth spending the extra cash and getting a high-end bean bag from Sumo. I've never sat in one, but they look awesome and the people at Penny Arcade (another nerdy reference :x) recommend them.
However, if you're looking to save some money and up the coolness factor, you can make your own giant bean bags. This instructable shows you step-by-step directions for making bean bags the size of sofas. It isn't too expensive and it's a cool weekend project to do. I tried to make one of these bad boys, but I couldn't find a good foam supplier. I think I'm going to give it another go this summer though.
So if you're finally moving into your own place, really make it your own by investing in some unique, big-kid, furniture! Seriously, it'll make you totally hipster.
NBC's New Schedule
This is the time of the year that all the major TV networks reveal their plans for the upcoming fall season. Having just gotten back from Cartoon Network's (I heart my job sometimes) Upfronts (which is when networks present their upcoming schedule to advertisers), I can tell you that I'm excited about TV being back in full swing in general. One of my favorite networks, NBC, unveiled its new schedule yesterday, and they have a really interesting season coming up.
Highlights:
* The Office is getting a spin-off. New cast, new locations, same executive producer Greg Daniels. It will premiere in the winter. I don't like this at all. I trust Greg will bring the same quirky humor to this series as he has done for the original American version, but eh.
* Speaking of the Office, a special episode will air right after the Super Bowl XLIII next February, followed by a new episode of the spin-off.
* Live from New York, it's.... Thursday Night Live??? SNL Thursday Night Live is a 4-week series that will air in the fall, leading up to the elections.
* Friday Night Lights (one of the best shows on TV) is returning for a third season. The only catch: the 13 new episodes will air on DirectTV first starting October 1, then air on NBC starting Feb '09.
* Heroes fans rejoice! Season 3 will return Sept 15 with a three hour special-- 1 hour clip-show, and 2 hour season premiere.
* Scrubs is gone from NBC, but rumor has it that it is moving to ABC. Stay tuned for that.
Here is the complete schedule:
Fall 2008:
Monday: Chuck, Heroes, My Own Worst Enemy
Tuesday: The Biggest Loser: Families, Kath & Kim, Law & Order: SVU
Wednesday: Knight Rider, Deal or No Deal, Lipstick Jungle
Thursday: My Name is Earl, 30 Rock, The Office, The Office, ER
Friday: Crusoe, Deal or No Deal, Life
Saturday: Dateline, Knight Rider [r], L&O: SVU [r]
Sunday: Football Night in America, NFL Sunday Night Football
Winter / Spring 2008-09:
Monday: Chuck, Heroes, The Philanthropist
Tuesday: The Biggest Loser: Families, Kath & Kim, Law & Order: SVU
Wednesday: Knight Rider, Deal or No Deal, Law & Order
Thursday: My Name is Earl, 30 Rock, The Office, The Office Spinoff, ER/Celebrity Apprentice
Friday: Deal or No Deal, Friday Night Lights, Life
Saturday: Dateline, L&O: SVU [r], Law & Order [r]
Sunday: Dateline, Merlin, Medium, Kings
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Do It For The Kids ..?
Oprah is known for having pretty interesting topics on her show.
But for her Thursday, April 3rd show, guests Thomas Beatie and his wife will be on to talk about their first child that they are expecting in the summer.
But here's the catch: Thomas is the one who is five months pregnant.
Thomas and his wife will be on the show to discuss his decision to carry their child. His wife is unable to carry a child due to a hysterectomy. Thomas was born with female reproductive organs:
I am transgender, legally male, and legally married to Nancy. Unlike those in same-sex marriages, domestic partnerships, or civil unions, Nancy and I are afforded the more than 1,100 federal rights of marriage. Sterilization is not a requirement for sex reassignment, so I decided to have chest reconstruction and testosterone therapy but kept my reproductive rights. Wanting to have a biological child is neither a male nor female desire, but a human desire. (boingboing.net)
Road Construction Blues
If you live in or drive through Palisades Park/Leonia you know that driving through the west part of town (Broad and Grand Aves) is a hassle. It took me half an hour today to get back from Hackensack, what would otherwise be a 10 minute drive. I'm starting to think the government in our towns is in cahoots with Exxon. Folks, relief isn't coming any time soon. Sources say that the road construction will last into late this year or early next year.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
April Fools' Online
One of the best things about April Fools' Day is surfing the web.
Lots of websites do crazy things that are generally harmless but funny.
If you want a nice list of this year's best April Fools' Day websites, check out April Fools' Day On The Web. They list all the websites that are pranking today and allow people to vote it up or down.
My (and everyone else's) favorite is Youtube rickrolling everyone.
My Sassy Girl
My Sassy Girl is a HI-larious Korean romantic comedy about a really dysfunctional couple, and it is one of my favorite movies. I reacted the same way I always do when Hollywood takes an international hit and decides to re-make it: with disdain that they're going to ruin the movie and dumb it down for the American audience. To make matters worse, when they announced the cast, I didn't think Elisha Cuthbert, who is no Ji-Hyun Jeon, was right for the lead role. But, the newly released trailer for the American My Sassy Girl (being released later this year) actually makes the remake look decent. Perhaps it's cause most of the scenes in the trailer are from the original movie, but whatever. Here are the trailers for the 2 films, for your comparing pleasure.
My Sassy Girl (2001)
My Sassy Girl (2008)
