Jose Canseco, former MLB baseball player, steroid scandal rat-whistleblower, and self-promoter extraordinaire stepped into a boxing ring for a fight of the has-beens against Vai Sikahema, a former NFL running back-punt returner. The result? A one round knockout for Sikahema. The only down side to the video clip is that Stephen A. Smith opens his mouth and talks about this and that in his analysis.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSodr6K93OU]
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#148. Inventing a magnetic pulse transfer controlling device. #149. Ambidextrous drawing skills by artist Hyona Angela Chung:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czINJRwqPDA]
Although I'm not quite sure how I feel about the New Age-y music score. Actually I know how I feel about it. It's annoying. I am adding banning New Age music to the agenda in the next Asian Conference. Also, am I the only one that watched this and when it ended thought, "Huh. She drew...wolf man. There is a wolf man sitting in her studio."
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This is for all you GEEKS who are salivating at the thought of seeing the upcoming Batman movie and making group field trip plans to IMAX to see it. This is a good article on Scientific American on whether Batman's wits and physical abilities is attainable in real life and the sort of training that would require to become Bruce Wayne's alter ego. SA sat down with "E. Paul Zehr, associate professor of kinesiology and neuroscience at the University of Victoria in British Columbia and a 26-year practitioner of Chito-Ryu karate-do" who is publishing a book on this very topic to discuss this matter."
How long would Bruce Wayne have to train to become Batman? In some of the timelines you see in the comics, the backstory is he goes away for five years—some it's three to five years, or eight years, or 12 years. In terms of the physical changes (strength and conditioning), that's happening fairly quickly. We're talking three to five years. In terms of the physical skills to be able to defend himself against all these opponents all the time, I would benchmark that at 10 to 12 years. Probably the most reality-based representation of Batman and his training was in Batman Begins.
Read more here.
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Me: So what do you want to do today? Kzar: I mean, I would like to see Jeff Koons at the Met.
Me: You don't even like Jeff Koons!
Kzar:I know. I was going off about him last night.
A few crap-phone photos from last night's rooftop party, which I classed up by bringing a six pack of MGD. I thought it would go well with the wine and cheese.
Over looking green Central Park.
Catching the firework show over Central Park. As some things go like Megan Fox, the IAC building, and your mom, it was more impressive in person than as seen here in its pixilated variation:
Sir Charles Barkley may have been ferocious in his heyday under the basket for the 76ers and the Suns, but in this old clip of him at the golf tee his swing is decidedly the very opposite of ferocious. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s50K65PNeBU]
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One of my favorite documentaries of all time is Werner Herzog's documentary Grizzly Man which focused on Timothy Treadwell, a self-proclaimed "American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, amateur naturalist, and documentary film maker" who spent 13 seasons (illegally) living amongst grizzly bears in Alaska's Katami National Park until, along with his girlfriend, he was mauled to death and eaten by a neighboring bear. Treadwell was making his own documentary at the time and Herzog incorporates much of Treadwell's raw tapes--Treadwell's multiple takes are particularly fascinating--and material. An audio recording of the attack survived which provides much of the film's "will he air it or not" compelling but macabre tension.
The producers of Grizzly Man have gone back to the original material left behind by Treadwell and created an eight-part series which will air next month on Animal Planet. Unfortunately Herzog won't be involved in this second look, which is disappointing because I really enjoyed his editorial take on Timothy Treadwell which highlighted the ego that drives someone to think they can tame nature.
Read more here.
Scene: Small crowd on rooftop party watching the firework show over Central Park. Lots of "oohs" and "aahs." Nate: I'm twittering this!
Sorry about lack of updates last night/this morning ya'll. My excuse? I got drunk last night, came home, and then passed out.
Please feel free to e-mail (matthew [dot] rodriguez [at] gmail.com) me with anything of note.
[Thanks Jeff for the nice party yesterday.]
Ahh, this video of Bert and Ernie rapping MOP's Ante Up (yea, that song from the movie You Got Served) is so funny. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21OH0wlkfbc]
[Thanks N]
The ever spare but eloquent Garfield minus Garfield states the truth:
Ashlee Dupree has a sex tape out?
Kottke just turned me on to my new favorite word, Mamihlapinatapai, which is listed in the Guiness Book of World Record as "the most succinct word" and which Wikipedia claims is the among the toughest to translate. In short:
It describes a look shared by two people with each wishing that the other will initiate something that both desire but which neither one wants to start. This could perhaps be translated more succinctly as "eye-contact implying 'after you...'". A more literal approximation is "ending up mutually at a loss as to what to do about each other".
Brilliant.
I can't believe the Germans don't have a word for this.
1. In India, taking lean back to an extreme level on a motorcycle: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klteYv1Uv9A]
2. Piloting a RC jet through a highway tunnel (more impressive than it sounds trust me) with the nice Top Gun touch in the end:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-QJLOVLg7M]
3. AND THIS IS RIDICULOUS: sandal surfing in Saudi Arabia while hanging out of a fast moving car:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qukUmDfoDpc]
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Due to inflationary pressures the Economist revised their GDP forecast for South Korea "to 4.4% in 2008 and 4.2% in 2009 (from 4.5% and 4.3% previously)."
This is what happens when a guy tries to order iced coffee from a fascist coffee shop:
I just ordered my usual summertime pick-me-up: a triple shot of espresso dumped over ice. And the guy at the counter looked me in the eye with a straight face and said “I’m sorry, we can’t serve iced espresso here. It’s against our policy.”The whole world turned brown and chunky for a second. Flecks of corn floated past my pupils, and it took me a second to blink it all away. “Okay,” I said, “I’ll have a triple espresso and a cup of ice, please.”
He rolled his eyes and rang it up, took my money, gave me change. I stood there and waited. Then the barista called me over to the bar. I reached for it, and he leaned over and locked his eyes with mine, saying “Hey man. What you’re about to do … that’s really, really Not Okay.”
Read more here.
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I recently received an invitation to join an anti-Obama group on Facebook. On their page, the organizers inform their members:
OBAMA OPPOSES: Reauthorization of the Patriot Act Privatizing Social Security Death Penalty Three Strikes Laws School Vouchers Adding Nuclear Power Plants Drilling for oil in ANWR or offshore
That made me chuckle because, uhm, I applaud and support Obama BECAUSE he opposes those measures and policies.
