Archive for the ‘Browsing’ Category

Years ago, a 6-foot tall dog in a suit and a hyperkinetic rabbity thing were the heroes of a dark, surreal, and funny comic book, a somewhat-less-dark-but-still-surreal-and-funny Saturday morning cartoon, and one of the most popular video games of the 90's (which was back to being dark, surreal, etc). And now, despite LucasArts, they're back.

Max: Good lord, he's buck naked.

Sam: So are you.

Max: Yeah, but I'm cute and marketable.

It wasn't easy. "Sam and Max Hit the Road" was a hilarious game that followed a missing sasquatch all over the country and every tourist trap along the way. The dialogue was funny, the solutions to puzzles were generally bizarre, and the unique graphical style and jazzy soundtrack made it fun to play. When LucasArts announced in 2003 that a new Sam and Max game was coming out, fans rejoiced. Those would be the same fans that flooded LucasArts with letters and petitions after it was announced, in 2004, that the game was cancelled because there wasn't a market for it (although it was listed as one of the most anticipated games by a bunch of gaming magazines and Web sites that clearly didn't know any better).

Sam (holding a bomb): Max, where should I put this so it doesn't hurt anyone we know or care about?

Max: Out the window, Sam. There's nothing but strangers out there.

Sam: I sure hope there was no one on that bus.

Max: No one we know, at least.

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Voyeurs, take note: now you watch the same person in two different places at once! What a timesaver!

To demonstrate a) the amazing potentials of the online 3D world Second Life, b) the amazing flexibility of some Intel thingamabob, and c) that New Yorkers are capable of ignoring anything, acclaimed virtual designer Versu Richelieu is spending 72 hours in a storefront window at 5th Avenue and 39th Street living her life entirely through a computer. She is also inside Second Life, where her avatar is busily designing a copy of the street she's on in real life. Got all that?

For the next three days she'll be ordering her food and entertainment online, demonstrating the usefulness of computers and probably boosting her WoW levels to some ridiculous, Cartman-killing number. I stopped in and watched as she whipped up a street sign and some traffic lights. It was sort of like watching God, if God wore Lennon glasses and was into urban renewal. Versu stepped away from her creations and answered a few questions.

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Try as the media might, I just can't get interested in the Diaz and Timberlake vs Paparrazzi story. I don't know which side to root against, so I'll wait until the TV movie.

Making fun of the shows on The Discovery Channel may not be as much fun anymore if they're asking for it, but I'm willing to give it a try. I'm thinking Stephen Colbert lightsabering Mike Rowe, just to kill two birds…

More after the jump.

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I was sitting in an exotic night spot, watching brightly dressed dancers gyrate to the pounding beat of whatever the latest pop tune was. And, as usual in these situations, I was sitting off to the side and talking to the other non-dancer.

Second Life much like the first, even to my behavior in bars. This is Cabridges Fanwood, a balding, bearded, potbellied avatar, which suggests I'm either secure in my self-image or I have no imagination, or both.

The part that wasn't usual was that I was actually sitting at my computer, watching a 3D avatar of myself talk to another 3D avatar in the online game Second Life. The look and feel of the place was much as if I had been playing Grand Theft Auto but decided to abandon my stolen car and just go clubbing for awhile. My new buddy, Schnorkie, was a pleasant-looking 20-ish blonde woman, apparently.

"Hey, welcome to SL. It's the next big thing, you know?"

"How could it be the next big thing when it's been around for three years," I asked.

She laughed. It was easy to tell because her avatar rocked back and forth in her chair like I'd just shot her in the head. "It's not really advertised much, but big things have been happening in here lately and the press is starting to take notice. It's getting kind of annoying, really."

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Since much of my waking time has been taken up lately with hunting for and telling other people about merchandise relating to Firefly and Serenity, I went ahead and whomped up a site for it.

SerenityStuff.com focuses specifically on merchandise, whether official or fan-made, with availability and personal reviews and photos whenever possible. News on new stuff (like the Zippo lighter and Serenity ornament coming out soon, or the

Just in time for the holidays, BabyBushToys.com is here with a full line of toys for children who aren't quite as gifted as you were hopin they were.

As it says on the site, "Many of today's children's products are focused solely on finding 'the right answer.' All of our toys have multiple correct answers, except some that don't even have answers. Or questions."

With toys like "Twisty Thing, That is Red" (similar to a Rubik's Cube without all those confusing colors) and the "L'il Looming Disaster Pillow," your child will enjoy hours of non-challenging fun!

Doohan Space Flight Delayed

A rocket which will blast the ashes of Star Trek star James Doohan into space has had its take-off delayed because of engine trouble.

The Falcon One was to take the remains of Doohan, who played engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott aboard the fictional Starship Enterprise, from California into space next month but the launch is now scheduled for January instead.

Charles Chafer of Space Services Inc says, "They had an engine test they didn't like so they will do another month of testing."

Got my Serenity one-sheet poster from the movie site and it wasn't exactly as described. It was listed as being signed by Joss Whedon, and this was true.

It was also signed by the rest of the cast except for Alan Tudyk, Ron Glass and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

I may have let out a girly scream.

Can't afford the framing it deserves, not before Christmas and the annual car collapse (which also happens every year but the dates change depending on when we have the most cash on hand and which car's failure would cause us the most inconvenience) so I threw it into a $20 poster frame and stuck paper between the poster and the cardboard. After Christmas it'll get the acid-free archival treatment.

Sigh.

I'm having a geeking out moment. Bear with me.

Of course now I have to stalk Ron Glass and Chiwetel Ejiofor. And David Krumholtz and Michael Hitchcock and Sarah Paulson and Yan Feldman and Raphael Feldman and Nectar Rose and Tamara Taylor and Glenn Howerton and Hunter Ansley Wryn and…

Fight Club: The Return of Hobbes

In the film Fight Club, the real name of the protagonist (Ed Norton’s character) is never revealed. Many believe the reason behind this anonymity is to give "Jack" more of an everyman quality. Do not be deceived. "Jack" is really Calvin from the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. It’s true. Norton portrays the grown-up version of Calvin, while Brad Pitt plays his imaginary pal, Hobbes, reincarnated as Tyler Durden.

I really don't know what to say about this…

Now this is just creepy.