Vote for Mr. Splashy Pants
Mood:  irritated
Now Playing: Romeo et Juliet, written by Hector Berlioz, performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch conducting
Topic: Fun and nonsense
Greenpeace is apparently trailing a bunch of humpback whales, and has decided to hold a naming contest. Here's your chance to vote. To quote Mike, who sent me the link, you know what to do.

Haunted Hump Day Humor
Mood:  spacey
Now Playing: Duke Ellington
Topic: Fun and nonsense

It's Wednesday - and it's Halloween! Woo! One of Corporate Satan's most favorite of all holidays. As Halloween, or Hallowe'en, falls mid-week this year, it's going to be tough for all of the ghouls and goblins to make it out for trick or treating. So, dear ol' Corporate Satan will attempt to remedy that by handing out a few treats in the blog today.

Let's start off with something truly scary - the thought of Alex Rodriguez joining our beloved World Champion Boston Red Sox. If that doesn't send chills down your spine, I don't know what would. However, you can help ward off the greedy, slap-happy Mr. Not-tober, by signing the petition at Don't Sign A-Rod.com. (In the interest of full disclosure, that's a site I whipped up today.)

Now then, let's progress from the depths of that particular hell to something more charming: Arcade Attack!, a very odd movie from the '80s (wait, that's redundant). Be sure to watch the video clip from the movie - pinball game characters vs. space invaders. Must see TV, indeed!

Speaking of the trippy '80s, I know of no other way to introduce this next clip other than saying what it is, "Merv Griffen and Don Rickles meet Nina Hagen." Words cannot describe. You'll just have to watch it.

Continuing the video clip theme, with trippy overtones, here's an ad for the RAZR phone that was nixed by Motorola...after having dropped $800,000 on it. Not sure if it'd make me buy the phone, but it was interesting - and probably as effective as most ads.

As for commercials...this one for Nissan looks good AND features The Clash's version of "Pressure Drop." I'm torn - I'd have never bothered to look at the ad if I hadn't heard The Clash (score one for Madison Ave.), but I'm never going to buy that vehicle (score one for me), and I'm left wondering, WWJD? Yes, what would Joe Strummer do if he he were still alive? Would he have OK'd the use of the song, or for that matter the use of "London Calling" in the Jaguar commercial and the recent promos for the Giants vs. Dolphins game in London? The old punk in me wants to say, "No way, man!" However, the aging realist says, "Well, maybe...Joe was also practical." This could turn into an entire post about my '70s and '80s musical heroes shilling for corporations via the licensing of their punk anthems, but, that'd just make me sad. So, go put on The Clash, hoist a beer to Joe, and re-experience that great music.

To close out this post, here's an excerpt from The Greatest Prank Call Ever! You riehle, really need to listen to this. It's a wonderful mid-week treat.

Special thanks to Mike for the Arcade, Prank, and Nina videos!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Have a safe and wonderful night. 

Rocky Mountain High in the Mile High City
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: background office chatter
Topic: Fun and nonsense

A great sports weekend all around - especially in the rarified air of the Mile High City, where my beloved Boston Red Sox were once again crowned World Series Champions, sweeping the Rockies, and where my equally beloved Green Bay Packers rode the arm of Brett Favre to a thrilling overtime victory against the Broncos on Monday Night Football. As Mike Klis of the Denver Post wrote this morning, "Please, somebody pack up the national stage and get it out of town."

Not that I don't like the city of Denver or the state of Colorado - I love the scenery, the biking, and have great freinds who live there - it's just that it was a great weekend to beat up on two of their pro sports teams.

And, as a bonus, my alma mater, the Badgers of the University of Wisconsin, steamrolled the Indiana Hoosiers, 33-3. Too bad the UW hockey wasn't playing against Denver or Colorado College - that would have been a true aligning of the stars.

The Red Sox have a victory parade planned today in Boston. I won't be attending, but I did stop by for a photo of Fenway Park yesterday. Little did I know that there was a celebration with players, fans, and media going on on the other side of the Park.

While I missed that celebration, I did enjoy some fine Duxbury oysters and Lucien Albrecht Cremant d'Alsace sparkling brut rose, just around the corner at Great Bay with Jess. I got turned on to the great $1/oyster special at Great Bay thanks to a recent Globe article. I'll be making stops at the other spots that offer cheaper prices, too - can't pass up bivalves for a buck! By the way, the Duxburys were great - smooth, silky texture with a good meaty core, a touch of brine, but not salty. As Jess commented, "They envelop the tongue." Now there's a thought.

On that note, it's back to work. More musings later. Cheers and Salut! 

World Seried Time!
Mood:  energetic
Now Playing: Red Sox leading the Rockies, 13-1
Topic: Fun and nonsense

Greetings from cool and rainy Boston - host of Games one and two of the 2007 World Series. Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, is about 2.5 miles my home - one and a half blocks to Beacon Street, then straight down Beacon to Kenmore Square, bang a right on to Brookline Ave., and you're there. As I'm writing this, it's the bottom of the sixth inning, and the Sox are up 13-1. I'm thinking, I can go to bed before the game ends, and not wake up to find a shocking turn of events tomorrow. Let's hope.

And now, a couple notes on the Series, from my local perspective. 

During the pre-game blather by Buck and McCarver, they showed a picture of the Challenge Burger from the Eagle's Deli, in Brighton, MA. That's 5 lbs. of beef, 20 slices of cheese, and 20 slices of bacon, and it comes with 5 lbs. of fries. The Eagle's is about four blocks from home. I've eaten there once - for pancakes. Nothing to write home about. But, for late night burger pigging out, I'm sure it's fine.

Now, the seventh inning. Can McCarver not second guess every move and non-move by the manager?!?!?!?

I was back and forth past Fenway a few times today, but didn't get to hang out, or get too close. I can say that Kenmore Square, home of the Citgo sign you see over the Green Monster, is a mess - still torn up from all of the on-going construction.  It wasn't too bad at 9:30 AM, and I'm glad I got through it a bit before 5 PM tonight. I'm sure the driving has worsened as the day went along - so many pedestrians to avoid. Lots of folks wandering around not watching where they're going. 

It would be great to go to the games here, but I'm not willing to part with that kind of cash, nor trade sins of the flesh for tickets...not that most of the offers on craigslist are for guys. (But MissO will have more to say on that topic soon.) We'll see if anything turns up for game two.

OK, time for the bottom of the seventh. I think I may need to hit the hay, secure in the knowledge that the Sox won't blow this one.

Niters.

Post-Hump Day Humor, and do I ever need it
Mood:  not sure
Now Playing: Red Sox leading the Indians in game 5...Go, Sox!
Topic: Fun and nonsense

A mixed up week, to be sure.

Monday and Tuesday in Tucson, looking in on Mom as she continues to recover from her foot surgery of last month. She's in good spirits, but still in a wheelchair for getting around. I was able to take her to a number of medical appointments, as well as taking her out and around the neighborhood for some fresh air. We also took a drive up Mt. Lemmon for a great afternoon on Monday. Mom hadn't been up their since before my father died in 2004, and hadn't seen the reconstruction that has taken place after the devestating alpine fires of 2003. The homes up in Summerhaven seem to be all brand new since the fire, and the roads were completely redone by mid-2005. Mom had a great time going up, and it was pretty easy getting her in and out of the car and chair.

I flew back to Boston on Tuesday, hitting the office on Wednesday AM. What did I come back to? A new boss and new job responsibilities as part of another corporate re-org. No one's leaving, just a reshuffling. So, I now have my 23rd boss in less than nine years, along with a number of open questions as to what exactly I'll be doing.

Thankfully, to take my mind off my job situation, my debit card was declined at Costco. "What the F?!?!," I asked. "I *know* there's enough dough in the account." Sure enough, there was, and is; however, upon calling my bank, I was told that my debit card had been canceled because VISA reported that one of their merchants had a security breach, which compromised a number of debit cards. There was no fradulent activity on my card, thankfully. And, I don't mind the card being canceled under these circumstances, but the fact that VISA won't/doesn't have to tell the bank which merchant had the breach does upset me. If I'm spending money and providing sensitive information someplace, and that establishment isn't keeping things safe, I think I have the right to know. When the breach happened at TJX it was national news. When the Boston Globe accidentally wrapped its papers with sheets of user credit card numbers, it published a front page notice. So, where's the disclosure of information here? Maybe the Globe should get an alert about this.

On the lighter side, however, here are some things to take my mind off of the above. Thanks to Mike and Nick for sending, or providing me with impetus to track down a few of the videos - ah, fine memories. So, without further adieu, here you go:

Bill Watterson, of Calvin and Hobbes fame,  reviews the new biography of Peanuts creator, Charles Schulz. I doubt I'll read the book, but the review provides some great insight of one cartoonist by another. Watterson's known as being highly reclusive, he did, however, respond to one inquiry we sent him in my days at Kitchen Sink Press - and he did a book intro, and a bit of a grouch. It'll be interesting to read a bio on him at some point.

Speaking of Peanuts, Nick sent this link: Peanuts if done by Charles Bukowski. Great stuff. Perhaps something like this was rolling around in Schulz's brain when he was working on the strip?

Also on the Peanuts theme, check out Blue Peanuts - a good mash-up video of Peanuts cartoons and dialog from Blue Velvet.  You might need to log-in, as there's some office inappropriate language. OK, maybe in your office, not mine.

I've got that original on a VHS from back in the early '90s. On that same tape came two other mash-up gems:

The Archies performing "God Save The Queen," by the Sex Pistols.  Yeah, tough to get a better match-up of packaged bands ;-) I love the end bit of Betty talking up Sid Vicious.

Apocalypse Pooh - wherein our favorite bear with not-so-much-brain and his pals find themselves in a very different spot than the 100 Acre Wood. Oh, bother.

Finally, this came from Mike - a fun mirror prank from a German Candid Camera-style show. You don't need to understand German to get the gag, but it'd add a bit. (I don't, and I still enjoyed it.)

OK, time to wrap up this entry, and get ready for bed while the Sox take a 7-1 lead into the bottom of the 8th. 

 

Friday funnies
Mood:  energetic
Now Playing: Daphnis and Chloe - Erste Suite, by Maurice Ravel
Topic: Fun and nonsense

Funny ad from Holland about the benefits of bicycling. Thanks to Niecey for sending. It's good that she remembers her old uncle. Some other very funny ads on the new, and appropriately named, VeryFunnyAds.com. Most are, of course, from Europe - one can show a lot more skin there.

Have a great weekend! 

Look! Up in the sky...it's a bat!
Mood:  hungry
Now Playing: office chatter
Topic: Fun and nonsense

For comics geeks and logo junkies - here's an index to a very good history of Batman (or Bat-Man) and Superman logos, as written by Todd Klein, letterer and logo designer extrordanaire.  Four or five parts to each character's logo history, so bookmark the index for easy reference.

Thanks to Mike for the tip. 

Speaking of Superman, last night I watched Hollywoodland on DVD. It's a dramatic retelling of the death of George Reeves, the star of the 1950s Superman TV show and serials. The movie stars Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, Adrien Brody, Bob Hoskins, and a few others. The premise and cast sounded good, as there has always been a shroud of the unknown hanging over Reeves' alleged suicide. However, the movie falls completely flat in the telling - so many good opportunities for sass went right by - and left so many dangling plot threads, that you'd think the script had bypassed the editor's desk. Even comics geeks can take a pass on this one. 

I may have to go buy a pet now
Mood:  amorous
Now Playing: Heaven Or Las Vegas, by the Cocteau Twins
Topic: Fun and nonsense

It's been a Dita sort of week. A "what now?" you ask. A Dita Von Tease kind of week - and that's never a bad thing.

First, I got to see Miss Von Tease's award-winning (seriously) acting in The Death of Salvador Dali, a short indie film. Very enjoyable. Very well done. And, the soundtrack by Felix Brenner is outstanding. I met him this past spring when the Boston Pops were doing the east coast premeire of his piece, "Transacoustica." The following week, the Pops performed it again, this time with Paul Oakenfold doing a live remix with live rock & roll drums added in. The original orchestral piece was wonderful, but the remix was absolutely fantastic. (Thanks to Margo and Scott for hosting the viewing and for the copy of the soundtrack.)

Anyhoo, back to Dita. She plays Salvador Dali's wife, Gala, in the movie - which, befitting Dali, is a bit surreal. Well worth viewing and listening to the soundtrack.  

The next Dita moment of the week, other than the occasional day dream, came in the form of a PETA ad campaign - sent along to me by Mike. Dita's staring in both a sexy photo campaign, as well as in a "behind the scenes" video clip, as seen below. 

If I had a pet, I'd certainly get it fixed now. 

Clearly, PETA has realized that sex sells a message. In addition to Dita, they've used Pam Anderson, and just this week rolled out a campaign with a nude Alicia Silverstone. Again, never a bad thing. (It looks like the vegetarian diet may have helped trim a few pounds off of our former Batgirl...)

While I can't say that I always support PETA iniatives, they do know how to run an eye-catching ad campaign.

Oh, and remind me to tell you of my meeting with Miss Von Tease...*sigh*

Yes, this town is nuts for the Sox
Mood:  cool
Now Playing: Red Sox vs. Twins
Topic: Fun and nonsense

In case there was any doubt how nuts Boston is for the Red Sox,  I give you the following:

That's right, the article is about the upcoming mortgage rate increase, and the accompanying photo? It's from the Red Sox game - well, after the game, when it was learned that the Orioles had come from behind to beat the Yankees, thereby clinching the American League East for the Red Sox.

Now, I'm sure that this was just a mistake - the site editor was probably so overwhelmed with Red Sox photos that it just seemed natural to attach one to each article, regardless of the story content.  Either way, it's a funny combo.

As for the celebration itself, I'm not sure how to feel about the below image.

I'm thrilled that Dice K is celebrating - he deserved it after his outstanding 8-inning effort last night; however, Korbel?!?!?!? WTF?!?!?!!? You've just won the American League East for the first time in 12 years, and the team is handing out Korbel for the celebration? It's not champagne, it's sparkling wine from California, and it's horrible. They may call it "American Champagne," but if it's not from Champagne, France, it's not champagne. I can see holding off on the Dom Perignon until winning the World Series, but how about some Moet & Chandon White Star at the very least? That said, if the team is just going to shake it up and spray it - and not drink it - then I guess Korbel would be a thrifty alternative - no sense wasting actual, good champagne (even though they do that at F1 races in Europe...of course).

The Death of Me
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Fun and nonsense

Having some fun with our own HTML Gear. Sadly, I can't post this poll on MySpace. Looks like I need to come up with a new product spec at work.

Again, just fun, not a death wish.   Feel free to vote and leave a comment here, if you'd like.

Cheers!