Chewbacca

I can't remember where I saw this, but I saved the link. For all you Star Wars fans out there:

Turns out Chewy is catching up with the times.

Man, that makes three sci-fi posts in one afternoon. My true colors really show through some times.

Stevie Wonder

I saw Steveie Wonder on TV the other day, and it reminded me to go back for these.

My friend Meg's boyfriend has a blog, and some of its good. He posted these videos a while ago. (He's also where I first heard about xkcd) I had seen the first Stevie Wonder one before, but not the Herbie Hanckock or the performance of Superstition. Here are the Stevie ones in their full YouTube glory:

Sesame Song:

Superstition:

And while we're talking about Stevie Wonder, who can forget that bacon feeling.

Source.

Inspiration

You know those inspirational posters (and the subsequent parodies from Dispair) that far too many people bought? The ones that don't actually inspire anyone? Well, I saw these, and while they're not exactly the most clever things I've ever seen, many of them are just amusing enough for the dork part of me.


I think I saw this on Blank Baby somewhere, but I can't find it offhand at the moment. I'm pretty sure its there though, so I guess I owe Scott McNulty (also of TUAW) thanks for this one.

Source.

Star Wars Last Supper

I'm not sure if this is sacrilege, but it is indeed brilliant. Yup, its exactly what it seems to be, a re-creating of The Last Supper using Star Wars characters.


Source.

Junior Senior

So on Pitchfork today, they published a little article on the new Junior Senior video:

All in all, its pretty good, but my favorite part would have to be the end. ASIANS TRYING TO SING IN ENGLISH ON A CARNIVAL RIDE!

Asians + Western pop culture = HILLARIOUS

This is the video that first made me fall in love with Junior Senior:

and after seeing them a few years back on campus at MSU, I was sold. They put on a great show (and Senior even had a bad case of the flu that night), and were supremely nice guys when we got to talk to them after the show.

People in Michigan talk weird.

I've noticed some of these things, and I do some of them. Some of them drive me nuts (its not Meijer's, its Meijer, goddammit!), but all of them are hilariously true.

I present to you the Michigan Accent Pronunciation Guide.

Some samples include:

Company names as possessives

"Melk"

"Parrty Storre"

Most of it explains specific pronunciations, and oh man are they accurate. It makes us appreciate how we talk, and how weird it really is, because we don't really have a strong accent in the way a lot of other parts of the country does (think Texas), but man, do we enunciate weird.


Source.

The Amazing Screw-On Head

I like Mike Mignola. I've only read some of Hellboy, and I liked the movie, and now I like The Amazing Screw-On Head. Its almost enough to make me upgrade my cable so I can get the Sci-Fi Channel.

You can watch it on the Sci-Fi channel's website (liked above) or on YouTube: Part one, part two, and part three.

If you want to (I know I did) you can grab them off of YouTube like so (via LifeHacker). I used the method the second commenter suggested, and it worked great.

While I'm on a Star Trek kick...

While I'm on a Star Trek kick, check it out: they can heal bones with ultrasound. Its not quite as advanced (obviously), but it still reminds me of stuff like the dermal regenerator on Star Trek, where they can just wave it over an injury and that's all it takes to heal.

Source.

Life on Mars

So the Russians are planning a virtual trip to Mars.

In order to simulate a trip to the red planet, they're taking volunteers to be locked up in and airtight capsule for 500 days. That's 18 months, with no way of getting out:

[quote]"If supplies run out, there'll be absolutely no asking for a re-fill; the doors of the "space ship" will be sealed for the whole 18 months of the experiment."[/quote]

There are simple requirements for volunteers:

[quote]"being of fairly young age, in good health, fluent in English and having a University diploma"[/quote]

Of course, they have to pass the medial and psychological exams after that, but that's still suprisingly undemanding.

Source.

Beam me up, Scotty.

More than a year after his death resulting from Alzheimer's and pneumonia, Jimmy Doohan, the man who played Mr Scott on Star Trek is finally making it to space.

According to his wife,

[quote]"He finally gets his wish, I can't think of a more fitting send-off than having some of his fans attend this, his final journey."[/quote]

His ashes join those of Timothy Leary and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry among the stars. On this launch will also be the remains of Star Trek writer John Meredyth Lucas.

I personally always liked Scotty. Not as much as Mr Spock, but those two characters were always the two I really appreciated, especially in a few of the movies. They took their roles and made them into performances.

When he died, it made me sad to think that he will no longer be around, but its good to see him finally make it to space.

Source 1, Source 2.

Steve Wozniak and Buzz Aldrin

So Steve Wozniak, the inventor of the first Apple Computer and Segway Polo enthusiast, and Buzz Aldrin, one of the first men on the moon, are going to the south pole.

As if that wasn't already strange enough, they're driving a Hummer. A Hydrogen-powered Hummer. How fucked up is that?

One of the guys at work said that "it sounds like a bad premise for a buddy movie". And interestingly enough, they're filming it IN 3D for a James Cameron film.

Source