Blendtec is a little company that makes kitchen appliances, most notably some uncommonly powerful blenders. Faced with the question of how to market their blenders, Blendtec decided to do something… different. You’d best take a moment to steady yourself before pressing the “play” button, especially if you own an iPod. (more…)
I may be the last person on earth to learn about this. Back in late June, Senator Ted Stevens (R, AK) regaled the Commerce Committee with a nearly 11-minute rant about his opposition to a proposed net neutrality amendment to a communications bill. That may not sound very interesting, but it was Sen. Stevens’s… unique attempt at explaining the workings of the Internet that brought this otherwise obscure speech to public attention. (more…)
Repent, brothers and sisters, for the sin of rampant consumerism! Repent, for the Shopocalypse is near!
Reverend Billy is the creation of Bill Talen, an activist and performance artist from New York City. As head of the Church of Stop Shopping, Billy tours with the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir and preaches a message of revival — revival of the days when local merchants were the way people shopped, and when big box retail chains weren’t shutting down main streets all across America and around the world. Borrowing the style of charismatic televangelists, Talen carries the word of the God that is Not a Product forth into the hostile environments of mega-malls and Wal-Mart Supercenter parking lots. He has also been known to exorcise Starbucks cash registers.
If you’re at all concerned with keeping small businesses alive in the face of the big-box juggernaut, Reverend Billy should at least be good for a laugh and a nod of agreement. If you’re of a more activist mindset… well, I understand he could use a few good tenors in his choir.
(Props: AnomalousNYC’s photo entitled Can I get an Amen?)
Due to the fact that at least 98% of the stuff on “modern rock” radio stations sucks ass, I listen to a lot of classic rock and oldies on my car stereo. On the way back from the grocery store this evening, the local classic rock DJ hit me with a bit of disturbing news: former Bad Company front man Paul Rodgers is standing in for Freddie Mercury as lead singer of Queen for that band’s worldwide reunion tour.
Don’t get me wrong, here. Bad Company was a good band, justly famous for hits such as “Feel Like Making Love.” Queen, however, is legendary; Freddie Mercury is a legend.
Queen’s choice of stand-in singers is comparable to replacing Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator with Elmer Fudd — they may both be single-minded killing machines, but they’re hardly in the same league.
An anonymous gamer has used Gary’s Mod for Half-Life 2 to make a mind-boggling Rube Goldberg death trap using the game’s advanced physics system. Watch the device in action on Google Video.
You could argue that this person has way too much time on his hands, but the results are certainly impressive. My favorite HL2 fan video to date is still “A Few Good G-Men,” however. 
(Props: ColdForged)
