Thursday, June 30, 2011
3E approves
The History of Rome. It's great overall, but Mike Duncan really won our hearts when he explained that "the maniple* system was based around the principle of time-release freshness." I have listened through the episodes covering the Second Punic War, and he's up to Constantine, so I don't know if I will catch up before he finishes.
As long as we're doing history podcasts, we also approve of 12 Byzantine Rulers (completed) and BackStory (ongoing).
*spellchecker does not recognize this as a word, or at least it did not until I added it to the dictionary.
As long as we're doing history podcasts, we also approve of 12 Byzantine Rulers (completed) and BackStory (ongoing).
*spellchecker does not recognize this as a word, or at least it did not until I added it to the dictionary.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
i like the part where the puppets get killed
UPDATE: apparently you've got to click one ol extra click. CLICK!
Labels:
death from above,
mastodon,
Metal Monday,
muppets
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
layin' down some knowledge
Guys like this are why people don't like organized religion.
"We got the President of the United States, probably pees sitting down."
"We got the President of the United States, probably pees sitting down."
Monday, June 27, 2011
Ranking the Southeastern Conference by mascot
Please be advised that I do not limit this list to just the guy in a suit on the sidelines, or just the name, but include the whole mascot experience. As such, the rankings are:
1. Florida Gators: The Gators hit most of the important mascot goals. It's immediately recognizable, tangible, and associated with Florida. The Gator mascot logo thing looks tight, and the gator mascot makes for that fun chomp motion. Alligators are vicious beasts, and that's good for a mascot. Florida lacks only an actual alligator (which they used to have) to make them the best mascot ever.
2. Arkansas Razorbacks: Like Florida, but less so. Razorbacks are associate with Arkansas, I guess. The kids' version is named "Pork Chop," which is adorable but I can imagine leads to some uncomfortable conversations. The inflatable Boss Hog is almost as stupid as that inflatable Nebraska Cornhusker. The "running hog" image is solid, and those hats are fun. Razorbacks are big and mean animals, which is a good fit for competitive athletics (particularly for football).
3. South Carolina Gamecocks: The costumed "Cocky" is an absolute turd of a stuffed animal, but actual Gamecocks are awesome, mean animals. Cockfighting is a reprehensible sport, so I suppose I'm endorsing roosters in general here. Also, that nickname comes from the Revolutionary War, which is a plus.
4. Tennessee Volunteers: Tennessee only gets up this high because of the originality factor and because I really like the live Smokey. The costumed smokey isn't particularly impressive, but neither is it particularly objectionable. "Volunteers" also gets points for having a clear connection to the state of Tennessee.
5. Vanderbilt Commodores: Commodores is a distinctive nickname, and it's clearly connected to Vanderbilt University. They are lower than Tennessee because Mr. Commodore is terrible. Old dudes are not intimidating, evenly if they're weirdly muscled.
6. (tie) Auburn Tigers and LSU Tigers: Normally, a generic name like "Tigers" would get these two lower, but a couple of things are in their favor. First, "Tigers" is such a commonly used mascot because tigers are awesome. Second, both teams have live mascots that are among the best in the country. Auburn's stuffed Aubie is way better than LSU's stuffed Mike the Tiger, who looks frightened or perhaps incontinent, but LSU has stronger thematic mascot unity, so call it a tie.
8. (tie) Georgia Bulldogs and Mississippi State Bulldogs: Like a lesser Auburn/LSU. Bulldogs are less vicious than Tigers, and it's an equally generic selection. Georgia's obsession with their mascot's lineage is rather pathetic and probably a telling indication of their own uncertainty and inner doubt.
10. Ole Miss Rebels: It's one thing to be silly redneck neoconfederates, it's another to be silly redneck neoconfederates without convictions. The Rebel Black Bear is just Smokey the Bear in gray. If they had picked Admiral Ackbar or this, Ole Miss would be much higher on this list.
11. Alabama Crimson Tide: At least it's original. But what is a Crimson Tide? Is it frightening? Is it a fungus I should be concerned about catching? How is it related to the silly stuffed elephant?
12. Kentucky Wildcats: Almost as generic as "Tigers," but with a boiled down, less impressive version. Also, their totally non-threatening, personality-free mascot costume was even more weakified to make a kids' version.
1. Florida Gators: The Gators hit most of the important mascot goals. It's immediately recognizable, tangible, and associated with Florida. The Gator mascot logo thing looks tight, and the gator mascot makes for that fun chomp motion. Alligators are vicious beasts, and that's good for a mascot. Florida lacks only an actual alligator (which they used to have) to make them the best mascot ever.
2. Arkansas Razorbacks: Like Florida, but less so. Razorbacks are associate with Arkansas, I guess. The kids' version is named "Pork Chop," which is adorable but I can imagine leads to some uncomfortable conversations. The inflatable Boss Hog is almost as stupid as that inflatable Nebraska Cornhusker. The "running hog" image is solid, and those hats are fun. Razorbacks are big and mean animals, which is a good fit for competitive athletics (particularly for football).
3. South Carolina Gamecocks: The costumed "Cocky" is an absolute turd of a stuffed animal, but actual Gamecocks are awesome, mean animals. Cockfighting is a reprehensible sport, so I suppose I'm endorsing roosters in general here. Also, that nickname comes from the Revolutionary War, which is a plus.
4. Tennessee Volunteers: Tennessee only gets up this high because of the originality factor and because I really like the live Smokey. The costumed smokey isn't particularly impressive, but neither is it particularly objectionable. "Volunteers" also gets points for having a clear connection to the state of Tennessee.
5. Vanderbilt Commodores: Commodores is a distinctive nickname, and it's clearly connected to Vanderbilt University. They are lower than Tennessee because Mr. Commodore is terrible. Old dudes are not intimidating, evenly if they're weirdly muscled.
6. (tie) Auburn Tigers and LSU Tigers: Normally, a generic name like "Tigers" would get these two lower, but a couple of things are in their favor. First, "Tigers" is such a commonly used mascot because tigers are awesome. Second, both teams have live mascots that are among the best in the country. Auburn's stuffed Aubie is way better than LSU's stuffed Mike the Tiger, who looks frightened or perhaps incontinent, but LSU has stronger thematic mascot unity, so call it a tie.
8. (tie) Georgia Bulldogs and Mississippi State Bulldogs: Like a lesser Auburn/LSU. Bulldogs are less vicious than Tigers, and it's an equally generic selection. Georgia's obsession with their mascot's lineage is rather pathetic and probably a telling indication of their own uncertainty and inner doubt.
10. Ole Miss Rebels: It's one thing to be silly redneck neoconfederates, it's another to be silly redneck neoconfederates without convictions. The Rebel Black Bear is just Smokey the Bear in gray. If they had picked Admiral Ackbar or this, Ole Miss would be much higher on this list.
11. Alabama Crimson Tide: At least it's original. But what is a Crimson Tide? Is it frightening? Is it a fungus I should be concerned about catching? How is it related to the silly stuffed elephant?
12. Kentucky Wildcats: Almost as generic as "Tigers," but with a boiled down, less impressive version. Also, their totally non-threatening, personality-free mascot costume was even more weakified to make a kids' version.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
if you're at bottletree tonite...
Tha Captainz bro's band is playing. I didn't find out he was in a new band until the other day. I then promptly had a dream that I went to see them and they covered this song, which is (I'm pretty sure) very, very farfetched.
Illegal alien
I decided then that I could never give anyone reason to doubt I was an American. I convinced myself that if I worked enough, if I achieved enough, I would be rewarded with citizenship. I felt I could earn it.My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant
I’ve tried. Over the past 14 years, I’ve graduated from high school and college and built a career as a journalist, interviewing some of the most famous people in the country. On the surface, I’ve created a good life. I’ve lived the American dream.
But I am still an undocumented immigrant. And that means living a different kind of reality. It means going about my day in fear of being found out. It means rarely trusting people, even those closest to me, with who I really am. It means keeping my family photos in a shoebox rather than displaying them on shelves in my home, so friends don’t ask about them. It means reluctantly, even painfully, doing things I know are wrong and unlawful. And it has meant relying on a sort of 21st-century underground railroad of supporters, people who took an interest in my future and took risks for me.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
so there was this dude. he wanted to be different. so he made music that sounded like this:
and sometimes this!
then he killed this other dude!
they put his ass away!
in prison there are no screeeeamin guitarz. just some faggy keyboardz.
two whole albums of that!
then they let him out and he made some other stuff. whatever.
and sometimes this!
then he killed this other dude!
they put his ass away!
in prison there are no screeeeamin guitarz. just some faggy keyboardz.
two whole albums of that!
then they let him out and he made some other stuff. whatever.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Persistence Hunting
The pronghorn is the second-fastest animal on earth, while the men are merely elite marathon runners who are trying to verify a theory about human evolution. Some scientists believe that our ancestors evolved into endurance athletes in order to hunt quadrupeds by running them to exhaustion. If the theory holds up, the antelope I'm watching will eventually tire and the men will catch it. Then they'll have to decide whether to kill it for food or let it go.
"I've harvested a ton of pronghorn," bellows Peter Romero, a camo-clad, 260-pound New Mexican big-game guide who's standing next to me, squinting into a spotting scope. "But never this way." Romero, who speaks in the calibrated tongue of the modern sportsman, has "harvested" nearly every species in the New Mexico big-game handbook and isn't shy about showing off cell-phone pics of his trophies. He's also Outside's former building manager, and when he heard we wanted to see if a group of marathoners who live and train near 7,000-foot-high Santa Fe could catch an antelope, he offered to help.Fair Chase
Among other services, the tireless Romero showed the runners where to find antelope-hunting permits—they paid $985 for a tag on Craigslist—and explained a few laws the men would have to obey. They'd be required to stay within the roughly five square miles of ranchland we'd received permission to use, and they could pursue only a male antelope with horns taller than its ears. Assuming they actually succeeded in chasing a buck to the point of exhaustion and still felt the resolve to kill it, a licensed hunter would dispatch the animal with a pistol shot. The use of a gun or bow is required, since New Mexico doesn't allow human-hurled projectiles, sticks, or bare hands to be used as hunting weapons.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
sigh
3E Certified Villain Alvin Holmes makes a stupid appearance.
"What is M E A D mead? Wha- Wha- What is that?"
Of course, it failed.
"What is M E A D mead? Wha- Wha- What is that?"
Of course, it failed.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
pulpbard
"Welcome to the Pulp Shakespeare Project, devoted to the reconstruction of William Shakespeare's play A Slurry Tale, which curiously resembles Quentin Tarantino's film Pulp Fiction. There is no way to stop this from happening, so this wiki exists to ensure that it is done well, or as well as it can be."
sample:
sample:
Vincent: And know'st thou what the French name cottage pie?
Julius: Say they not cottage pie, in their own tongue?
Vincent: But nay, their tongues, for speech and taste alike
Are strange to ours, with their own history:
Gaul knoweth not a cottage from a house.
Julius: What say they then, pray?
Vincent: Hachis Parmentier.
Julius: Hachis Parmentier! What name they cream?
Vincent: Cream is but cream, only they say la crème.
Julius: What do they name black pudding?
Vincent: I know not;
I visited no inn where't could be bought.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
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