esteban was eaten!

Seven links, stories, points, or statements from around the nerd world I inhabit. The number assigned to each story is arbitrary — you can decide which is the most important on your own.

1. It just keeps getting better in that White House.
2. A slideshow of the oldest, rarest, and most expensive jeans on the planet.
3. Alex brought this to my attention, yesterday. I am still completely flummoxed by how stories like this are allowed to just float away with no classic American media attention (like CNN couldn’t take a break from talking about Alex Rodriguez or the Brady-Bundch to mention “oh yeah, our cell phone system is profoundly flawed”).
4. Microsoft rocked it with the first two “I’m a PC” commercials that featured 4.5- and 7-year old little girls proving PC’s are easy to use. Add a little boy, though, and it’s just kind of annoying.
5. “By 2013 we’ll have some Earths to announce”? I’m sorry, I must have misunderstood you… can you please say that, again?
6. The “Acid in the Ice Cream” collection by Zach Johnsen is wonderful — anytime a person’s body explodes, I’m in.
7. Dear Santa Claus…

bull-da-da     [buhl•daw•daw]

-noun 

1. that which is brilliant because it does not know it is stupid.
2. that which is unintentionally ironic
3. Justin Brown

-adjective, bull-da-dier, bull-da-diest

1. unintentionally ironic
2. brilliant specifically because it does not know its own stupidity
3. extremely similar to Justin Brown

EXAMPLE: bulldada.

Seven links, stories, points, or statements from around the nerd world I inhabit. The number assigned to each story is arbitrary — you can decide which is the most important on your own.

1. I’m subbing in English today. It’s a jeans day but nobody told me so I’m sitting here, dressed like a teacher. Blech.
2. I dug this article about who, historically, defines each position on a basketball court (summary: Cousy, Jordan, Pippen, Malone, Wilt). The thing that I liked most about it, though, is thinking about what this sort of article could look like in another ten years. If people continue to avoid playing/being listed as Center and there’s another dozen guys who play new, unbelievable made-up positions like Lebron (is he a “power guard”?) or Wade (“shooting guard” for three quarters then “point guard destroyer” in the fourth) or someone like Bowen or Battier (“defensive wing”?)… will these current, unchanging labels of basketball lineups fall by the wayside? I wonder. Also: nobody was/has come close to Jordan at shooting guard, so I’ll argue that he can’t even be considered for this.
3. I’m a better person for having seen this custom R2-D2 ghetto blaster. Designed by Bill McMullen who (just curiously) became one of my favorite people in the history of humans — honestly, some of his other art is just as cool.
4. All jokes aside, this concept could totally be a movie wherein a bunch of college kids save the world thanks to Sony and Microsoft.
5. Chris Scarborough’s “real life anime” photography is neat. I like this one a lot more than all the others, though.
6. It’s Moon Base time, motherhubbard.
7. Hey, CFL bulbs… got some news for you… you’re OUT.

Seven links, stories, points, or statements from around the nerd world I inhabit. The number assigned to each story is arbitrary — you can decide which is the most important on your own.

1. We can accomplish unbelievable things like mirrors that don’t reverse text in the reflection… but still no dinosaurs. *sigh*
2. I love these sorts of articles (they do seem to crop up like every six weeks, without any real impetus for filing) but I am confused as to why “Star Trek” was mentioned as the pop culture example of a universe “full of life”. CNN is getting Abrams money under the table.
3. Another very good idea about which I’m furious, as I never would have even so much as an inkling about thinking of this but after seeing it, it’s so simply obvious. There needs to be a word for that phenomenon — obvious ignorance? Maybe something in Latin, that way I’ll sound smart. Aperio sero translates as “to make clear at a late hour”. I think that works. That idea is a total aperio sero.
4. Quickly and easily improve on the already impressive products from the IKEA catalog.
5. This isn’t real, is it? Boston.com, you’re playing a joke on little old me, right? This can’t be real. Speaking of which… anyone wanna go for coffee? I don’t drink it but I’m sure they have something else available.
6. This at least lets me know that pills aren’t the problem; cross it off the list.
7. As if you needed more incentive to check out the Gama-Go shop, they are having a stimulus deal on all Men’s and Women’s wallets through tomorrow. Buy any wallet and it comes with a $5 bill inside.

Seven links, stories, points, or statements from around the nerd world I inhabit. The number assigned to each story is arbitrary — you can decide which is the most important on your own.

1. During this season, Stephon Marbury has made roughly $150,000 per day. Oh, by the way: he hasn’t played one second of one game and he’s not injured. That’s nice work if you can get it… I GUESS.
2. Cool stop-motion simulated oceanic life video using only bent wire — no soldering or welding involved.
3. Would you even consider flying, again? Ever? Is it even conceivable that you could see the exit for an airport on the interstate and not go crazy, after this? I wouldn’t even be able to say the word “southwest” in reference to the course heading, if I survived a plane crash wherein the craft broke into three pieces and nine people died around me.
4. I was interested in a Seth Rogen/Evan Goldberg-written, Stephen Chow-directed GREEN HORNET movie starring Rogen and Chow. Then Chow dropped out as director and we were all worried. But my interest? Um, it’s back.
5. Italy is for more than just food and history, now.
6. What in the world is on Joe Biden’s forehead, in this picture?
7. I have no immediate urge to go to Disney World (nor a family with whom to travel) but hey, the recession isn’t all bad.

Remember CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER? You should. It’s a pretty cool movie. Harrison Ford doing Harrison Ford things, a bevy of action and political business, very 90s technology and story points, Willem Dafoe, James Earl Jones, and a solid gaggle of That Guys (Joaquim de Almeida, Miguel Sandoval, Benjamin Bratt, Raymond Cruz, Greg Germann, Ted Raimi plus more).

Anyway:

• Remember the scene when Jack Ryan and company are in Colombia and the drug cartel traps them in a sidestreet and annihilates most of their caravan with rockets and gunfire?
• How about the part where the F-18 drops a bomb on the druglord’s mansion? That’s pretty memorable.

Do you remember those? Of course you do.

Well, clearly, so did the writers/producers of JAG.

While subbing today, I was rewinding THE THIRTEENTH WARRIOR for the English class to watch and while it was rewinding, the television reverted to USA Network and JAG was on. I am not up to date on JAG nor have I ever met anyone who was but two things leapt out at me:

• The shot of the F-18 flying away after dropping the bomb, from CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER, is in the credits of JAG.
• There is a scene where several JAG officers are in a caravan of white Suburbans, driving through a relatively delapidated South American city… and though there is definitely some “original” footage in this JAG sequence, at least 45% of it was recycled footage (not recreated — exactly recycled, unaltered, and inserted into JAG) from CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER.

My mind froze like Windows 2000. When I came to, I wrote this.

[Update from later: I got home around 4. What came on AMC at 5 PM? CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. Zoinks.]