Tuesday, April 27, 2004
"Are you listening? Then sing it back..."
As shown in the above photo, Jimmy Eat World is hard at work in the studio on their upcoming album. Their site is being redone, but you can look at photos of the studio, and they're keeping a blog updated with all the news.
For those of you unfamiliar with Jimmy Eat World, they are an indie/alt rock&roll band from Arizona, who got started almost ten years ago, worked their way up to a major label contract, got bumped from their major label, toured and built up an underground fanbase that allowed them to record another album on their own. Then, they shopped it around until another major label picked them up. Their songs can go from the rockingness of the Foo Fighters or Weezer to the beauty of Coldplay. Lyrically, they have a maturity and a non-depressing attitude that most bands in their vein don't. Anyway, they rock so that you don't have to.
Abridged Discography (okay, their last two albums, haha):
• 2001 - Self-Titled (formerly Bleed American) - It's more rock and pop. Good stuff.
• 1999 - Clarity - It's more mellow and artsy. More good stuff.
Labels: music
Floyd's Web Review:
www.khaaan.com
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is the quintessential space opera of the 1980s, far beneath the epic status of Star Wars, yet far above the inaneness of any Corman production. There was nothing like popping an ABC-edited copy of this thing in the VCR and watching it with a big bowl of popcorn and Totino's frozen pizza (after being unfrozen). And of course, the melodramatic acting of Shatner as he taunted Khan, played by Ricardo Montelban, and the scarcastic bickering of Spock and McCoy.
This website encapsulates the emotion of that movie in a roughly ten-second Flash animation.
Labels: geek stuff
Monday, April 26, 2004
"I'm Batman"?
It seems that England now has its own crime-fighting duo. Or at least a citizen-helping duo that can push your car to the nearest petrol (US: gas) station, chase streakers off a football (US: soccer) field, or help protest the name change of your favorite pub.
Labels: geek stuff
Thursday, April 22, 2004
There's an article on Slashdot about the longevity of CD-ROMs – some people are afraid that they may not actually last decades on end as the manufacturers have said, and so are exploring alternative storage methods.
Such as converting the file to a string of 1s and 0s and making some form of hardcopy, like an optical code or punching holes in cardboard, haha. And of course, posted comments descended into goofiness. One guy suggested encoding it into the DNA of cockroaches. But my favorite was this, by a clever individual named Burpmaster:
"Better yet, take the entire string of ones and zeros and convert it to a single large number. Place a decimal point at the beginning of the number. Next, you need a stick and a knife. Taking the number you calculated as a fraction of the stick's length, very carefully make a cut that distance away from the end of the stick.
Now you have your file stored on a nick on a stick!"
Genius! That one made me laugh a lot.
Labels: science/tech
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
If you use an RSS-type Newsreader, you can get andyscates.com updates with the following url:
http://www.andyscates.com/weblog/atom.xml
...which is actually in Atom format, but I think most RSS readers will read them. RSS is this thing where you can get all your newsfeeds in one place. There are different programs to do this, and some of them integrate into your browser. Also, My Yahoo! now has the ability to add RSS feeds.
Technology. What up.
Well, now that Lord of the Rings is done, and Star Wars is almost done, you have a new series of movies to get excited about:
C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia
Yep, and there's seven of them, so we could be seeing these things come out for a while (assuming they make all seven). The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is scheduled for a Christmas 2005 release. They're being directed by Andrew Adamson (he did Shrek, but Narnia is live-action), special effects (not digital visual effects) are being done by Richard Taylor and Weta Workshop (they made all the non-digital stuff for Lord of the Rings), and Lewis' stepson Douglas Gresham is in as co-producer to make sure everything goes okay. Also, it's being shot in New Zealand.
I just can't wait for Septilogy Saturday, haha.
Labels: geek stuff
Weird dream.
I dreamt that I was the last non-smoker on Earth, and that the tobacco companies decided to concentrate their entire marketing force solely on me.
So here I am, holed up in a classroom in the corner of the second-floor of my home church in Lexington, TN. There is a camera crew outside in the hallway, and there are police outside on the street looking up at me, and they have their guns out. All I have is a slingshot, and I don't even have any rocks – all I have is what's in my pockets, and I can't get my tube of Blistex to stay in the pocket of the slingshot so I can sling it at the cops. So I jump out the window on the other side of the building where they're not looking.
Fortunately, I'm wearing anti-gravity shoes (see pic), which have a separate steering handle, and I scoot back to Nashville, which is now only a couple of miles away (apparently they moved Lexington (and Vanderbilt) to just west of Franklin).
In other news, I still haven't found the wasp in my apartment.
Labels: dreams
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Wasps. Why did it have to be wasps?
While drinking my coffee this morning, I heard a low buzzing sound in my apartment, and there it was: a big red wasp. So I went to my room, grabbed a shoe in right hand and my leather coat in my left (as a make-shift shield), and returned to the den to slay the beast. But he was nowhere to be found. And yet, I know he's still there, lurking about, waiting for me to return, so that he can go for my face.
Actually, he's probably just aimlessly wandering around looking for a place to make a nest, and he just happened to wander into my apartment.
If only Ben the 3/4" Wolf Spider were still alive, I bet he'd take care of that wasp.
Labels: life
Monday, April 19, 2004
Random site updates. Some new pics. I added my not-quite-polished essay on OT salvation, if you want something to read.
Plus, I think I have the comment system set up now (thanks to Comment This!), so people can comment on my blogs. Hooray!
Here's something really fun: The Postmodern Generator – It's a webpage that randomly generates an essay in the style of postmodern literary deconstructionist gobbledygook that the scholars love to use now-days. It's fun – every time you hit 'refresh', a new essay is generated. It is quite amazing how many words can be used without actually saying anything.
My TV decided to work again, and so I watched Matrix Revolutions again last night. It's still not all that good. Granted, I think it's better than the second one, at least it doesn't have a gratuitous rave scene in it, but it's just nowhere near as good as the first one. I wonder if parts 2 and 3 would seem any better if I had seen them immediately after my first viewing of part 1. Hm. But still, the lines and the pacing just seemed cheesy. Two things I did like about it: (1) When they fly above the clouds and see the sun. Well, I guess only Trinity saw it, but anyway... (2) Hugo Weaving. It's like he knows that the script is dumb, but he decides to have fun with it anyway. (3) Also, I'm glad I wasn't on the front row of the IMAX theater again (we got there late to the premiere last fall). The effect on my neck watching MR on that thing was like watching a tennis match. Oh well. At least the Return of the King DVD comes out next month.
Current music: Lost Prophets - Start Something
Current book: Bruce Shelley - Church History in Plain Language
Current sauce: Bertolli Mediterranean Olive
Friday, April 16, 2004
Weird dream.
So, I'm wandering around this street in Washington, D.C., and this guy comes up to me and says that he's Ronald Reagan. The conversation goes like this:
RR: Hi, I'm Ronald.
AS: Hi, I'm Andy.
RR: Nice to meet you, Alex.
AS: No, it's...
At this point, his four secret service handlers come up and lead him away. The head guy says, "Thanks, we have trouble loosing this guy all the time."
AS: Nice to meet you, Mr. Reagan.
RR: No, it's Alex.
AS: Bye, Alex.
Real nice guy. Then I dreamed they closed the White House for the day, and so I had to leave.
Labels: dreams
Thursday, April 15, 2004
BREAKING NEWS!
Dateline: 1945
Nazi scientists use alien technology against Allies!
That's right, folks – this artist's rendition of a Nazi flying saucer proves it! I discovered this image while doing research on the Internet – and if it's on the Internet, it must be true! Right?
(posted by Jerry the Killer Donut)
Labels: science/tech
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Floyd's Art Review
Okay, I'm pretty sure this is blasphemous. It's kinda hard to figure out though... it's kinda like a train wreck – repulsed, yet unable to look away...
This is dumb. I don't know anything about art. Art is stupid. I'm not going to review it.
I think I'm going to go get some nachos instead. Mmm... nachos...
(posted by Floyd)
Well, I got new glasses.
The sun is shining again.
In other news, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra is now available for pre-order on Amazon.
Okay, so about my glasses. I got two pairs – they had a special running. Anyway, so I've discovered that my left ear is about 3/16 of an inch lower than my right ear. That's slightly disconcerting, but apparently not that uncommon. What's weird though is that I've always looked in the mirror and tilted my head so that my ears were level. Now apparently I've discovered that I've had my head crooked for all these years, when it's been my ears all along. Yet another pillar of my life has been torn down, haha.
Labels: life
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
So, I broke my glasses and have to get new ones. I feel dumb walking around with taped-up glasses.
In other news, there is precipitation of a 'wintery-mix' sort going on in Nashville, and it's gross.
Monday, April 12, 2004
BREAKING NEWS!
Dateline: 1977
Japanese vessel dredges up remains of plesiosaur!
It is true? Are plesiosaurs still living amongst us today? Or at least amongst our fish? Is it truly a plesiosaur, or is it just a rotten shark as the narrow-minded scientists claim? Is the same species of creatures that populates Scotland's famous Loch Ness? The same leviathan that Job apparently was not able to put on a leash for his daughters? We may never know – the remains were thrown back into the depths of the very ocean from whense it came – thanks, no doubt, to the same vast global conspiracy that...
No, they are watching. I must say no more.
Plesiosaur or shark?
Or something even more sinister...
(posted by Jerry the Killer Donut)
Labels: science/tech
So while almost asleep the other night I heard on the NPR newsbrief (I like to fall asleep to classical music), the words "yankovic" and "found dead" – naturally I assumed that Weird Al had died. But it ended up that it was his parents, not him. They died from carbon monoxide poisoning from not having opened the flue on their fireplace. Anyway, I'm glad Weird Al's not dead, but I hate it for him. So keep Al and his family in your prayers.
Friday, April 09, 2004
hi, floyd paenut here. i work for andyscates.com. you may also recognize me from andy scates' epic sci-fi films, the Space Trip! series. anyway, you will occasionally find me posting stuff here. i'm supposed to be reviewing things, like movies and music and whatever. so i should probably review something. what can i review? let's see... i'm going to review this napkin here.
REVIEW: Chick-fil-a Napkin
Appearance: The Chick-fil-a napkin is approximately 6.5" x 4.5", with a single major fold that opens into a 6.5" x 7.5", with a 4-ply system made from a 13" x 15" piece of tissue paper. The paper appears to be bleached, but recycled, as there are the tell-tale flecks in the paper. It is embossed with the Chick-fil-a logo and a border that encompasses the edge of the completely unfolded napkin.
Performance: The napkin appears sturdy enough for reasonable dining use. It is fairly smooth to the hands and mouth, and adequately removes food, liquid, and oily substances from said body parts.
Conclusion: The Chick-fil-a napkin is satisfactory for single-use purposes. I recommend that if you stop by a Chick-fil-a, that you should pick one up. (Score: 8/10, Retail cost: complementary)
(posted by Floyd)
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Okay, this is going to be the way cool early-summer movie:
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
It takes place in the 1930s. This guy flies a P-40 fighter against giant robots. And there's a mad scientist too! I think there is, anyway. I don't know. I hope there's a mad scientist.
Geek update. 
Yeah, so Star Wars: Episode III is like a year away. Hoo-boy. Everybody contain your excitement. There was a rumor it was going to be called "The Creeping Fear" or something goofy like that. What'd you expect? Well, at least we'll get to see Darth Vader and Chewbacca in this one. And at least this fall we'll finally get Empire Strikes Back on DVD. Anyway, here's some random pics, new and old.
Anakin Skywalker doing his best "this ring is too heavy for me, Sam".
It's a wonder he doesn't burn his pants with that thing.
Bail Organa as the man who killed Inigo Montoya's father.
Obi-wan with his space-paper and space-japanese-import.
(Okay, I really don't know if it's japanese or american. It sure ain't corellian.)
Mon Mothma. Many Bothans died to bring you this picture.
Tarkin. Rumor has it that he's either CG or is wearing a prosthetic forehead on his real head.
Maybe the guy that played Gollum will play him. (This may be a fake photo.)
New trooper.
What were you expecting?
Old pirates like to hug.
So do wookiees.
The imfamous head-bonk scene.
The imfamous buffet outtake. Wait a minute...
Pics (c) Lucasfilm, of course. Go to starwars.com or grilled-sarlacc.com for more.
Labels: geek stuff
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
So, one time I had this dream. I think it was from last fall.
Aliens were coming to invade our planet (of course), and so we tried to hide as many people as we could in these underground bunkers (just like in Deep Impact). Anyway, I was one of the last people to get inside, and Security Chief Garibaldi (from Babylon 5) checked my ID and let me in.
At this point, the dream cuts to after the aliens have left. We look around outside, and everybody that wasn't able to get in the bunkers is still there, although they're wandering around in a daze, quite disoriented.
However, to propel the narrative, I knew what actually was going on – these weren't really the same people that got left outside. The people who were left outside were disintegrated by alien ray guns, which left nothing but their skeletons. These dazed people were, in fact, re-animated copies of the disintegrated people, built around the very skeletons of the people they were copies of, as if someone had come after the ray gun incident and tried to rebuild all the people who were destroyed. Or something like that.
Anyway, these people are gradually recovering their memories, and gradually becoming more like the originals. I try to convince this one girl that she isn't really who she thinks she is, but is a copy of who she thinks she is, since the original person was disintegrated by ray guns. Of course, she won't believe me.
At this point, several of us are at my grandparents' house, where we discover a skeleton in the basement, which immediately, when exposed to air, starts to reconstitute itself like all the others. So we run upstairs.
However, the skeleton has become a woman who is not very happy. She is wearing a business suit and is carrying a diamond-hard glass broadsword, with which to kill us with. So we run out to the carport.
At this point, I wake up. The End.
Incidentally, the next night I dreamt I had my own battalion of clone troopers.
Labels: dreams
Monday, April 05, 2004
Alrighty, then.
I have a weblog now, just like countless other netizens across this vast round globe that we like to call "That Big Round Thing Under Nashville". No, actually I made that part up. Sorry. Nobody calls it that.
So, well, something newsy... Okay, I can't think of anything, so here's the Nate the Snake story. Again.
Once upon a time, there was a snake named Nate. Nate lived in the woods, but he found his life to be dull and purposeless. So he prayed to God that He might show Nate his purpose, and finally one day, God spoke to Nate.
"Nate," said God, "I want you to go the desert, and there you will find a Great Lever. You must protect this Lever with your life, for if it is thrown, the world will be destroyed."
So Nate obeyed God and went into the desert, where he began his vigil of guarding the Lever.
Days became weeks. Weeks became months. Months became years. After twenty years of uneventful duty, Nate became despondent once again and prayed to God.
As he finished his prayer, he looked up to the horizon and saw a dump truck hurtling out of control straight for the Lever. Nate knew that he must stop the dump truck from hitting the Lever or else it would be the end. The dump truck drew closer, and Nate still had no idea what to do.
Suddenly, at the last moment, Nate threw himself in front of the dump truck. The dump truck skidded across his little body, killing him instantly, but fortunately it caused the dump truck to veer to the side, narrowly missing the Lever, and it disappeared into the other horizon.
And the moral of the story is "better Nate than Lever." (author unknown)
