Archive for March, 2007

Top 5 Stop-Motion Recreations of Video Games

Yes, you read the title correctly. Thanks to the advent of YouTube and it's brethren, anyone with a camera and some free time can put video up for the world to see. So it's almost inevitable that people would re-enact their favorite video games with food, people, and various objects in stop motion.. First, a medley of classic arcade games from EatPES.com. [youtube]nhbt9z4fkWo[/youtube] Now let's get serious - old skool racing games might not have the realistic graphics of today's Gran Turismos and whatnot, but they made up for it by really testing your skill. It's hard to avoid other cars when you only have a few pixels to maneuver in. Here's a recreation of that Atari classic, Pole Position (credit goes to NOTsoNOISY.com): [youtube]ywqu_8RIDvU[/youtube] Super Mario Brothers 3 was one of the most amazing games of all time - what other video game has cured a poor mute boy? This video shows the first level, done in Lego. It's so good it's hard to believe it's real. From YouTube user jmehatesyou. [youtube]qHvb_3TVAfA[/youtube] This one is short. Using candles as pixels in Pac Man might seem strange, but just think - this is the only version so far that required the animator to risk mild to moderate burns. Also, when your significant other catches you wasting hours setting this up, you can always claim you were preparing for a romantic dinner, and not being a huge nerd. [youtube]wKbJvM7VbQc[/youtube] Finally, here's by far the best--using an entire building to play Tetris and other games. It doesn't count as stop-motion, you say? Well, they are creating a series of frames which then create the illusion of motion, so close enough. Besides, they wired a building to play Tetris! By my official scoring table that means they win every top 5 list for all eternity. [youtube]2pjPapxUrx0[/youtube] This is actually an edited clip, you can see more at Project Blinkenlights.

I’ll Swallow Your Soul, Swallow Your Soul

Just in case you needed more proof that the Olsen Twins were pure evil check out this pic. What's that Satan drink the blood of newborns, you got it dude!

Just Say No Kids

If any of you kids out there are thinking about playing rock and roll music, just say no. Look what playing guitar for so many years has done to Eddie Van Halen. Don't end up like him kids, stay in school, music is a dead end street to creepy old guyville and believe me it's a lonely place to be. So the next time you think about joining a rock band because it's the "cool" thing to do, why don't you join an accounting firm and really be cool. Click the read more button to see a computer generated image of what Eddie Van Halen will look like in another 10 years.  

How I imagine bad records are born

Don't you hate it when you buy a new CD b/c you really love one song and then you get it and it has like four good songs and 9 shitty songs? And the songs you like you really like, but the songs you dislike you really hate? Like, what was going on? Did the band get lazy? Did they get rock amnesia? Did they get lame disease? Okay, I will admit that the last one was pretty lame by any standards.  I apologize. And how does one get rock amnesia? One minute your band is really rocking out, and then all of a sudden and out of the blue like you forget how to play anything except Coldplay or Limp Bizkit (I guess that would depend on your genre, which band you would start to play). I mean, you are rocking out, and then all of a sudden you look at the drummer and say, "hey, let's try rocking it like Coheed and Cambria, that would be cool". That is when you find a new band, by the way. Cause you're mediocrity is sealed in one of those giant Tupperware containers that lady used to keep her kids in to keep them children for ever on Erie Indiana. If you just got that reference, you are truly an awesome person and should be given mad props. So, here is how I think it must go: Said band is sitting around. They have like, three solid tracks, a few tracks that are kinda rockin and some lyrics that someone wrote while they were drunk/tired/high/highly caffeinated/etc. The lyrics seem OK, but def are not up to the standards of the other "solid" tracks the band already has. But....they don't feel like writing anything else, so, they must be good. Oh, wait, that's not how it is, they must actually lay down the "negotiable" tracks while drunk/tired/high/you get the point and then somehow think that they are good enough to hand in with the rest of the record. They must not even listen to them again. I think that it goes like this: they say, "oh, man, we rocked so hard last night, lets not even ruin the vibe of these tracks by listening to them again" And then the person who arranges the album doesn't care, it's not their music, they probably don't even listen to it, either. They just pick the track order at random unless the band specified differently. So, the record gets published and then people like me buy the album and regret it. I definitely don't regret the songs that rock on this particular album, but I do hate the ones that suck so bad. So bad. But, you know, this whole little scenario is all made up in my head, I have no idea how a record is produced or anything. But for the crappy ones, I figure this has to be close. And, if you are crying because I made fun of one of your favorite bands, your taste in music sucks. Grow up.

Prepare to run!

While I plan on posting my 3rd and final installment on how to get fit (hopefully by the end of the week), I thought I'd share a site I just ran into. It's US Track and Field's running route sites, and it's frickin' sweet. It uses google earth to allow you to input your running route and it will give you all sorts of info such as distance and elevation. Go try it out.