Wedding trip: Completed (pictures later).
Dog: not lost (details later).
Gray: Relaxing with The Princess and The Warrior (posts later).
posted by Gray at 8:36 PM | | link

I'm heading to MS for a wedding this weekend. Hopefully, we won't get picked up by any hurricane winds (or even worse, DJ Hurricane-produced winds).

I'll be road-testing the new toy. Not sure about this one yet... but I think it's pretty cool. (Don't worry, I got it for really cheap)
posted by Gray at 1:43 AM | | link

Random Treasure:
I hadn't thought about this for a while, but in researching the ad agency that's producing the new IKEA ads (Spike Jonze did a new TV spot, and Wes Anderson is slated to produce 3 others for the 4th quarter), I found a video of the Aeon Flux-like spot they did for Checkers a couple of years ago.

It's not often that you find that perfect combination of animation, cleavage, high-performance automobiles and bacon cheeseburgers... Click and enjoy!

posted by Gray at 8:37 PM | | link

Okeydoke. Comments are working again. The good people at YACCS required that I update my comment code, and I was a little behind the times. Seems to be back up to speed now, though.

I'm still not sure what the deal was with half of my page disappearing, though...
posted by Gray at 1:32 PM | | link

The Jurassic 5 video continues to get airplay. This pleases me. Unfortunately, 80% of the time when I pass MTV, I see this video by the inappropriately punctuated "Cam'ron" with "Juelz" someone and "Freeky Zeeky." Absolutely horrid. Why do so many hiphop fans have to like such CRAP?

...and what do they follow it up with? The equally craptacular pairing of Ludacris and Mystikal. I can't win.

Anyway, most of the evening has been devoted to rockin' the old NES games on my monitor courtesy of my Dreamcast, its VGA adapter and some clever emulation software. Next objective is MAME on the DC so I can throw down with some big screen Samurai Showdown 2 action. Oh baby!

Oh, and "Fastlane" had a bunch of Bullitt references tonight. Cool points for that... and for the obligatory lower-back tattoo on evil babe-of-the-week.
posted by Gray at 3:30 AM | | link

I'm checking out this "Haunted" show on UPN; I made a last-minute decision to tape it when I noticed Mark Snow's name in the opening credits. So far, it's showing similarities, both thematic and musical, to "Millennium," which Mark also worked on.

Like the hero of that series, this guy's also named Frank, but he's no Lance Henriksen, and there's no cool, mysterious, world-ruling society evident yet.

So, in closing... music: good; show: meh...
posted by Gray at 12:00 AM | | link

Mmm... giant Lego Star Destroyer...

This is the kind of stuff I could only dream about when I was little. Flash forward 20 years, and I suppose my 8-year-old former next-door neighbor will have one of these at Christmas. *envy*
posted by Gray at 9:40 PM | | link

Ahh, my old friend tinnitus. It has been so long since you visited me last!* Please don't be such a stranger in the future.

I hit my first non-free concert in a while tonight, and boy howdy did it ROCK. Lemme break down for ya (in order of appearance):

Peaches (and Mignon) - I had never heard of this act before the summary I got from Millie yesterday, and even her words did not do justice to the images I saw and the sounds I heard tonight. Umm... she wears hot pants, see... and... forget it. You must see Peaches for yourself. Take your camera.

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - The stage barely contained all the ROCK that these Texas boys dished out tonight. Bonus points for swapping tasks. 'The guy who usually sings' occasionally took over the drum stool (managing to break a snare drum at one point), allowing the drummer, who resembled a beefy Rob Lowe, to rock the mic and play some guitar. Also worth noting is the fact that some songs were played with nary a bass guitar, but 3... non-bass guitars. I spoke with 'The guy who usually sings' afterwards, and he appeared to be pretty appreciative. (he was the only one in the lobby... I guess he's "The Friendly One") Oh, also, they claimed that one song was about smokin' a bunch of crack. I can't understand the words anyway, so what do I care?

Queens of the Stone Age - I didn't know all the songs, but that didn't prevent them from rocking my socks for nigh on 2 hours. About a third of the way through the show, a mysterious extra singer suddenly appeared. I'm assuming it was either Mark Lanegan, who guests on the album, or an evil robot. Whichever the case, the guy could wail. Two encores from these guys, and the 4 hours of musicality finally came to an end.

So yeah, it was a good concert. Worth the $20 to me. Check it out if it hits your town and you like to ROCK.
posted by Gray at 1:39 AM | | link

A moment of silence and a box of glazed in memory of William Rosenberg, the founder of Dunkin' Donuts, please.

Of course Krispy Kreme still reigns supreme, but you've gotta acknowledge the fine work that Mr. Rosenberg's company has done in the science of donutology. He will be missed.
posted by Gray at 2:25 AM | | link

Happy Friday, folks. Nothing too exciting in Snowmanland... just a bit of productivity today, and now a couple of hours of fresh cartoons and comic books to end the day.

I might venture outside again once it gets dark. Apollo 13 IMAX starts today. Whoop!
posted by Gray at 6:34 PM | | link

Ahoy! It be Talk Like A Pirate Day today, and I hope ye all be celebratin' properly! ARRRRR!
posted by Gray at 9:42 AM | | link

I must admit, "Fastlane" is a pretty cool show. Now I'm not saying that it's a good show... but it's definitely cool. Eyecandy out the wazoo. Cars, girls, guns and whathaveyou. We'll see how the episodes that aren't directed by McG look.

Oh, and they played "Me So Horny" in a party scene a few minutes ago. Bonus points for that. The highlight of the whole hour was probably the Ford GT40 used in the opening scene, though. Wicked cool ride.
posted by Gray at 9:59 PM | | link

H-Dog still be keepin' it real in tha Midstate Crib... and you KNOW this, MAN!
posted by Gray at 12:18 AM | | link

Far Beyond Amusing:
It happened 2 times, 3 times... Gray thinks: "Wow, they sure do play that M&M song a lot at the gym. It's almost like it comes on whenever I walk in the door." Jokingly mention it to the guy who works there. "Yeah, they play the same songs over and over." *takes no action* *is comfortable with this rut* It happens 4 times... then 5 times. It happens EVERY TIME I GO WORK OUT. He's STILL "Cleanin' out his closet!" SONOFA...! Does no one care? Is EVERYONE absolutely that damned brainwashed that they want to hear the same 8 songs EVERY night? I finally had to insist that there be an emergency channel changectomy when they started to play that False American Idol lady's song. NOT WORKOUT MUSIC.

If I hadn't been soothed by Cee-Lo in the car and then Merle Haggard on TV when I came home and sat down, I might have gone back to put a brick through the gym window in the middle of the night (a brick with some good mix CDs attached).

NP :: Merle Haggard - "Okie From Muskogee" (on ACL)
posted by Gray at 10:58 PM | | link

I haven't even read this article on Tarantino's Kill Bill in its entirety... but hey -- check out Uma with the sword and the Dragon jumpsuit! This movie is sounding better and better. Its coolness will most likely be second only to Once Upon A Time In Mexico.
posted by Gray at 7:50 PM | | link

Zatarain's Scampi Mix + frozen pre-cooked scrimps from Sam's = The Shiznit

Tasty! Call me Justin Wilson Jr.

(No, not many posts... sorry. Trying to do actual work for a while. I'm sure none of you will have any trouble finding other ways to waste time on the web without my guidance.)

NP :: Dan the Automator - Wanna Buy A Monkey?
posted by Gray at 2:49 PM | | link

This is one of the "greatest" web sites I've "seen lately."

[ The Gallery Of "Misused" Quotation Marks ]
posted by Gray at 1:30 PM | | link

GOD BLESS AMERICA!
posted by Gray at 1:51 PM | | link

Wow. I really can't believe David Lee Roth's performance on Last Call. He's still entertaining, and he's still in shape, but DAVE... let's be realistic about the voice, holmes.

He didn't really sing any of the 2nd half of "Mean Streets." Maybe it's supposed to be a highly-accurate reenactment of 1983-era Van Halen. He wasn't exactly a font of lyrical clarity at the US Festival, either. I've got the bootlegs to prove it.

Oh well, even if he can't hit all the notes, at least he's still keeping it LOUD.
posted by Gray at 2:41 AM | | link

My friend Mark is on his way to being a superstar. Check him out at iFilm in Harassment Week. It's funny. I promise.
posted by Gray at 4:26 PM | | link

This is one of the greatest hoax reversals I've ever read. [ Nigerian Scammer vs. Captain Kirk ]
posted by Gray at 12:58 PM | | link

Dream Police: That must have been at least the 3rd "Chased by Giant Spiders" dream in the past couple of months. I'm not sure, but I think they all involved some friends and I being trapped inside a school. Hmm, have fun with that one, amateur analysts. At least in this one, we got to slide down a wicked cool fire pole that was about 3 or 4 stories high. There was a big goofy dog at the bottom, not unlike Scooby-Doo.

How was your night?
posted by Gray at 8:27 AM | | link

Media Reminder: Jurassic 5 concert on MTV at 8pm, EST tonight. They play for the first half hour or so before "Tweet" takes to the stage. Then you can go watch Scrubs.
posted by Gray at 6:25 PM | | link

I hope that Wednesday went as well as possible for everyone out there... Here's something cool and rockin' to cheer anyone up: the video for Jurassic 5's new single, "What's Golden" is online! They claim it will be running every hour, on the hour, on MTV2 tomorrow, but I don't get any such channel. So, for the rest of us, click and enjoy!

[ "What's Golden" :: WMP / Real ]

"Take that, F. Scott Fitzgerald!" - Conan O'Brien, on the success of Sarah Vowell's new book on Amazon.com
posted by Gray at 1:24 AM | | link

The Blue Man Group and Dave Barry have both taken a break from their usual levity to create touching tributes to this day.

[ BMG's Exhibit 13 ]
[ Dave's column ]
posted by Gray at 10:57 AM | | link

One day on the job at The Pink Palace in Memphis, and my sister is suddenly a font of Memphian trivia.

Points of interest:
- The man who built the Pink Palace was originally attempting to have the biggest (and presumably, the pinkest) house in all of Memphis. He eventually ran out of money, and the museum was the end result.
- This same man was also the founder of the almighty Piggly-Wiggly chain of grocery stores (found in 16 southern states, according to their site), and there is a replica of the first store inside the Pink Palace.
- There is an annual Running of the Weiner Dogs in Germantown, TN. This, I informed her, was the type of thing that visits must be planned around. Hopefully future trips to Memphis will be filled with more local color. THE BAR HAS BEEN RAISED, ASHLEY.
posted by Gray at 5:16 PM | | link

I just applied for a super cool job. Wow, would I like to get an interview. Happy thoughts, people... think happy thoughts for the Snowman.

NP :: Alice In Chains - "Frogs" (Unplugged)
posted by Gray at 11:58 AM | | link

Just in case any of you forgot... Alice In Chains were FREAKIN' AWESOME.

Hey YOU! Yeah, you... over there listening to Lifehouse! Go buy AIC Unplugged! Do not defy me!
posted by Gray at 11:58 AM | | link

Well, I'm posting this 45 minutes late, so I don't get the 9.9.02 timestamp, but earlier, as I played a little bit of Sega Sports Tennis 2K2 to pass the time before Queens of the Stone Age took to the stage on Letterman, I noticed the date, and was reminded that a mere 3 years ago, on the memorable 9.9.99, the ill-fated Sega Dreamcast was launched with much hype and one super-swank commercial during the MTV Video Music Awards. The moral of this rambling linkfest? Never take a job as a hardware developer at Sega unless it's 1985 and you're working on the Genesis.

Hmm... I need to find that commercial somewhere. It rocked. I believe that was the night that Li'l Kim showed up in 'the pasty.'
posted by Gray at 12:57 AM | | link

D'oh. Interesting Job #3982 at Local Media Entity #8721 doesn't go to Gray Whitten. At least he didn't waste any valuable words in the email.
posted by Gray at 10:34 PM | | link

Plan your lives, kids:

[ List of Season Premieres @ AICN ]
posted by Gray at 6:39 PM | | link

It's been a pretty good day. Beautiful weather outside necessitated a little GBA/Castlevania time on the patio before I went to work out. I was suspicious that they might be shutting down my gym (in favor of one of their new, larger clubs) when I noticed 2 clocks and the stretching chart missing from the walls... but the cute manager-type gal assured me that that wasn't the case. Mystery. I guess the...walls need cleaning?

oooh...new Nissan Z commercial. That is an excellent TV spot. Photos of personalized plates on Zs from across the nation. Cool music. Perfect.

Speaking of TV commercials, I've just realized that the weasel-tongued guy in the Verizon spot is also he who has his Dew snatched by the flying Firebird pilot and is ALSO the guy with the accent I can't stand who talks about wanting a cheese sandwich on some other commercial.

...and what's the point of the Volkswagen spot with the 2 guys at the gas station? The only thing I get from it is, "So...are they gay, or what?" Sorry, Volkswriters... that one went over my head.
posted by Gray at 10:25 PM | | link

Lyrical Excellence: "I could use some competition, but they're not makin' me much..." - Cee-Lo Green

NP :: Cee-Lo - "One For The Road"
posted by Gray at 12:53 AM | | link

Since I have to maintain my hold on all Ludacris-based web searches (allowing me to promote the far superior hip-hop stylings of the Jurassic 5, as longtime readers will remember), here's a link to the whitest news story ever written. It gives some information on why you no longer see Mr. 'Cris peddling Pepsi on the airwaves. It seems that The Factor was a factor in this episode.

Speaking of the promotion of J5, it looks like they're actually playing some music on MTV! A J5/Tweet concert airs on 9/10 @ 10 a.m. and 9/12 @ 8 p.m.
[ 2$Bill Concert ]
posted by Gray at 7:25 PM | | link

Hot diggity dog, this is great geeky trivia:

Q: Which Jedi are seen surrounded by the battle droids at the end of the arena battle in Episode II?
A: [ click to find out ]
posted by Gray at 2:13 AM | | link

If I were an alien that landed on Earth and found my way into an Office Depot, I would carefully examine all of the wonders contained therein, eventually noticing a plastic multi-pack of Canon inkjet cartridges. After exhausting all of my ingenuity and technology and still failing to open this package, I would probably decide that it held the darkest secrets to this new world, intended for no being to lay eyes upon, and that the makers of such an insidious containment device should not be trifled with. Frightened for my life and the lives of my little alien children, I would get back in my spacecraft and go home.

Seriously... could they make these things any harder to get into?
posted by Gray at 10:21 PM | | link

MONKEY NEWS FLASH:

Evidence adds up that monkeys can count.

"Get those accounting department bums out the door and roll those abacuses in here! Where are those bananas I ordered?! Those counting monkeys are gonna be here any minute now! Jiminy Christmas, you people are slow! Mess with me, and I'll replace you ALL with animals!"
posted by Gray at 5:44 PM | | link

“That's the kind of bold flavor they enjoy in Albuquerque!”

(no hunger strikes required to prevent this move)
posted by Gray at 4:47 PM | | link

THE GREATEST AUTO DEALER COMMERCIAL OF ALL TIME is coming this month. Don't even try to resist.
posted by Gray at 1:48 PM | | link

We might get that sequel to Unbreakable after all:

"I keep struggling with whether to do it or not ... it's hard because I feel a little upset that it split audiences, [but] I'd love to see what that guy's life is like now. How does he orchestrate his life so that he doesn't touch people? And then [his] wife doesn't know, but his kid knows that dad's a superhero -- that's so f'ing fun! I'd love to do that!" - M. Night Shyamalan in EW

I know Unbreakable really did divide audiences, but I enjoyed the heck out of it and loved the style of the flick. I, for one, would be there opening weekend for this one. From what I understand, the first movie has done very well on DVD, so maybe this will come about.

NP :: N.E.R.D. - "Lapdance"
posted by Gray at 1:10 PM | | link

An evening of bitter mediocrity topped off with a tasty slab of excellence. I had to leave the house just to make sure I didn't get any of that "False Idols" finale on me, and then I was foolish enough to watch the Shallow Hal DVD that I'd rented. I would say "Eh..." sums it up pretty well. Not enough Jack Black being Jack Black. Too much script or something, I guess. Oh well, at least I got to see Brooke Burns for my $0.99.

Whatever the case... on to the excellence. Conan's on, and we got to see Triumph at his most vicious on the red carpet before the MTV VMAs, then Triumph's press conference regarding his near-throwdown with M&M. More excellence: Janeane Garafalo was the first guest. More harassment of MTV. Tom Kenny showed up, and the assault switched to Nickelodeon and foul-mouthed midgets. I don't know about the musical guest, but it's a pretty great show so far.

(Then I glance over at the 2nd monitor and see Paula Abdul on Kilborn. Sorry, Paula. I don't care how Straight Up you used to be, you've fallen to about 3 notches below Cold Hearted Snake now. Any involvement with "American Idol" is an immediate BAN.)
posted by Gray at 1:43 AM | | link

If anyone would care to buy me one of these, either as a gift or in exchange for services, you will quickly ascend to the top of my list of friends.

(Note to Sheryl: That new album's doing pretty well, baby... now you know where to send a little bit of that next royalties check. *wink*)
posted by Gray at 7:35 PM | | link

Women and "CHR" (Top 40 crizap) radio [ PDF ] -- I think most of the people in this study are completely opposite of me in every way possible (gender included, obviously)
posted by Gray at 1:47 PM | | link

Must read about The Mack later.

NP :: Avalanches - Breezeblock Mix
posted by Gray at 1:20 PM | | link

Alrighty... finally got a few pictures up from DragonCon, including the cool shot of me with Mike and Kevin (aka Tom Servo) from MST3K. They are funny, funny guys.

NP :: Massive Attack - "Protection"
posted by Gray at 1:45 AM | | link

Random Annoyance: The first sentence in the TV spot for The Transporter is quite obviously spliced together from about 4 different pieces of dialogue (that's my theory, anyway).

"I was wondering... if you wouldn't mind... transporting something.......for me."
posted by Gray at 8:38 PM | | link

Hey kid...pull my finger.
posted by Gray at 8:29 PM | | link

Strange Moment: Watching "24" just now (6pm - 7pm) and I hear a certain Sigur Ros song ("Hjartad Hamast") playing faintly. Strange, I don't remember leaving Winamp playing...though I know that album is, in fact, in my playlist (and I sometimes leave it going for hours at a time). Double check... nope, not an mp3. Definite bonus points to "24" for picking some of the coolest background music possible.
posted by Gray at 6:14 PM | | link

Here are your all-day TV-watching options in the Eastern USofA today, listed in order of desirability:

FX - "24" continues in realtime until midnight.
TNT - "Law & Order"
Cartoon - "Tom & Jerry Slamfest"
VH1 - "Behind the Music"
TNN - "V.I.P."
SciFi - "Star Trek"
TLC - "A Baby Story" (?)
Animal - "The Jeff Corwin Experience"
A&E - "Murder, She Wrote"
WGN - "Jerry Lewis Telethon"
E! - "True Hollywood Story"

"24" and "Law & Order" are so much cooler than all the rest of those, there should be about a dozen line breaks after the first two entries.
posted by Gray at 9:12 AM | | link

Read too many movie rumors and you start making up your own, apparently. I dreamt something about how The Fast and the Furious 2 (which was about to be released in Dreamland) was suddenly renamed Phone Number. This didn't make any sense to me at all. Also, I think they must have decided to take over another movie that was being made, mid-production, and make that one The Fast and the Furious 2, instead.

Fortunately, I wasn't actually dreaming about the stars of TFatF... just a bunch of speed boats for the most part. Big Willie Style.
posted by Gray at 8:19 AM | | link

You have no idea how cool the gambling scenes in God of Gamblers are...
posted by Gray at 10:46 PM | | link

Hot damn! Look what comes out on DVD this week! None other than The Mack! [ Amazon Details ]

This fine film is a tutorial in the ways of 70's style and a rulebook for would-be pimps everywhere. Highly entertaining. Also, it's got Richard Pryor in it.
posted by Gray at 3:35 PM | | link

It's DragonCon weekend... I'll post up a few pics I took yesterday soon. I think I'm heading back tomorrow to see the guys from MST3K talk about what they've been doing in recent years, and to try and get Mike Nelson's new book signed.

Well, bless their little hearts at Amazon... looks like Kevin Murphy of MST also has a new book out. Cool. Must...own...

In other news, please note the enlightening Link Wray story on CNN today. It's a nice read. Please click the link and edumacate yourself if you're not familiar with Link. I really regret not going to that show this summer now.
posted by Gray at 2:00 PM | | link