Saturday, December 22, 2007
Oh, pranks. Remember the days before called ID when you could call a random stranger and ask for "Mr. Wall". Of course, when they inform you that there is no "Mr. Walls" there, you ask the practical question: No walls? Then what's holding up your house? They never see it coming! And then there's the real life pranks; the fodder that April Fools Day is made of! Tacks on the teacher's chair, anyone? Well, thanks to the internet pranks have been taken to a whole other scale. If you want to relive some of that pranky greatness and discover some interwebby goodness all at the same time, check out Improv Everywhere.
This website comes from a dedicated group of pranksters who take pleasure in causing mass confusion with involving large numbers of people. These "missions" are carried out in NYC with volunteers gathered through their e-mailing list. The website offers videos, written accounts, audio, and even merchandise for sale.
One of my favourites was Mission: Best Buy. Basically, IE instructed a group of people to show up in a designated location, each wearing a royal blue polo shirt and khakis - the exact uniform of Best Buy employees. Then, about 80 of these people entered a nearby Best Buy. If asked directly, they told the truth, saying, "No, I don't work here," but otherwise they did try to help customers who needed assistance. Let's just say the police ended up showing up but it was hilarious.
Other noteworthy missions include:
Mission: Fake Ben Folds
IE ended up doing some episodes for NBC. You got to give them E for effort and A+ for awesome. Still not sure what it's all about? Think Just for Laughs Gags only actually funny.
This website comes from a dedicated group of pranksters who take pleasure in causing mass confusion with involving large numbers of people. These "missions" are carried out in NYC with volunteers gathered through their e-mailing list. The website offers videos, written accounts, audio, and even merchandise for sale.
One of my favourites was Mission: Best Buy. Basically, IE instructed a group of people to show up in a designated location, each wearing a royal blue polo shirt and khakis - the exact uniform of Best Buy employees. Then, about 80 of these people entered a nearby Best Buy. If asked directly, they told the truth, saying, "No, I don't work here," but otherwise they did try to help customers who needed assistance. Let's just say the police ended up showing up but it was hilarious.
Other noteworthy missions include:
Mission: Fake Ben Folds
Mission: No Shirt [see video above]
Mission: McDonalds Bathroom Attendant
Mission: Cell Phone Symphony
IE ended up doing some episodes for NBC. You got to give them E for effort and A+ for awesome. Still not sure what it's all about? Think Just for Laughs Gags only actually funny.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Read and Release
With all this talk of internet this and online that, do people still read books anymore? Believe it or not the worldwide web has probably helped more than hindered the popularity of books. You can find some sweet deals at Chapters or Amazon and have them shipped right to your door. You can even go to your local library's website in most cities and have books put on hold for you. There's tons of sites that review books. There's even online book clubs. But one of the neatest websites that I have ever seen pertaining to books is BookCrossing.
Have you ever picked up a book in a public place that someone has left behind? Have you yourself ever left a book behind in a coffee shop or subway station when you were finished reading it? It is fun to pass books along. BookCrossing has made that process even more entertaining.
When you register an account on their site, they provide you with tags that you print out and stick in your books. Each tag has a number and instructions for anyone who sees the tag to log on to the website. So, if someone picks up your book for a quarter at a churh yard sale, eventually they'll notice the tag and log in to the website. When they do, they make a note on the book's file with info about where they found the book and they can even review the book. Then, when the book finds its way into someone else's hands, the new person does the same. This leaves you with a paper trail of the history and whereabouts of your book.
The site has become popular with book lovers everywhere and, of course, offers a community aspect for those brave enough to take their nose of that book. If you do happen to check it out, look me up. My username over there is Hippychickali.
Have you ever picked up a book in a public place that someone has left behind? Have you yourself ever left a book behind in a coffee shop or subway station when you were finished reading it? It is fun to pass books along. BookCrossing has made that process even more entertaining.
When you register an account on their site, they provide you with tags that you print out and stick in your books. Each tag has a number and instructions for anyone who sees the tag to log on to the website. So, if someone picks up your book for a quarter at a churh yard sale, eventually they'll notice the tag and log in to the website. When they do, they make a note on the book's file with info about where they found the book and they can even review the book. Then, when the book finds its way into someone else's hands, the new person does the same. This leaves you with a paper trail of the history and whereabouts of your book.
The site has become popular with book lovers everywhere and, of course, offers a community aspect for those brave enough to take their nose of that book. If you do happen to check it out, look me up. My username over there is Hippychickali.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
She's Got A Ticket to Ride
Computer gaming has come along way in a short time. No longer do we have to hunker down for a few hours as we install a basic game onto our computer, inserting one floppy disk after another. Now, all we have to do is basically turn on the computer and a wide arrange of games are at our fingertips. But, like much of the internt, many of these games suck. While they might provide minor distraction, they grow old fast, regardless of how impressive the graphics are.
One simple game though that is a constant standby for me to pass the time comes from the Days of Wonder website. The name of the game is Ticket to Ride and, like its award-winning board game counterpart, this multiplayer game promises to be a good time. While you can buy a membership for added features, I've been using the free membership for years now without fail.
Ticket of Ride is an easy game to learn but provides enough strategic options to keep you interested. The idea is that you are in charge of a train company and are trying to create routes between cities (either in North America or Europe) to gain points. This game is fast moving and, unlike other online games, the players take it seriously and keep it going. And like most online games, you are given a platform to chat with the other players while the game unfolds. The website also has a community access, offering a forum for players.
While you're on the site, check out some of the awesome wares they have for sale. Days of Wonder happens to be one of the finest manufactuer of board games you will ever find.
Monday, December 17, 2007
He Had to Have It!
I tube. You tube. Everybody tube! Aww...YouTube, the home of thousands of people who are less than a fraction of a celebrity combined! I always think it's so cute when these emo kids buy a $20 webcam with their allowance money so that they can make videos to share their pain with the world. They get a few hits - mostly from people mocking them - and all of the sudden they are YouTube "celebrities".
If you have enough time though - after mocking the emo kids - you can really find some entertaining clips. That is why the very first piece of interwebby goodness that I have for you comes from YouTube. If you haven't discovered it already, I encourage you to watch an episode or six of the What the Buck Show.
Michael Buckley is the man behind and in front of this celebrity news/gossip/bashing/commentary type program. He doesn't discriminate; he manages to offend everyone including himself at one point or another with his almost-daily show filled with catch phrases that he admittedly stole from other people.
If you look up (look waaaay up), you'll find an episode from last week aptly titled "Jesus Hates THE VIEW - Loves TRANNIES":
If you enjoyed this video, you might want to check out more of the What the Buck Show. Due to the success of this bitching and moaning, Michael has since started a website - BuckHollywood.com. This is his own personal website where you'll find many special things like "150 Ways to Say Vagina". He's also started a second YouTube channel (overkill, perhaps).
Overall, Michael Buckley is just plain funny. Even if you don't watch the shows he talks about or know the celebs that he harasses, it's still fun to watch this slightly gayer version of my husband at work.
The Inaugural Post
I can remember when Al Gore first invented the internet. I would tingle all over as I listened to the high pitched squeals of my computer connecting. I would stare in awe as my computer screen very slowly filled with animated gifs. It was a simplier time then. Questions about global warming and unjust wars were unheard of. Instead, the toughtest question one came across was a/s/l? And you were never asked it in real time. Oh no! You had the pure joy of reloading the page of the chat line incessantly to see what total strangers, usually Australian, had to say.
As the years go by, the internet can do more and more things. Just today, my very own internet made me a sandwich! But even with all the social networks, 3D multiplayer games, and various products owned by Google, most of the new and shiny seems to have rubbed off. While I use the internet everyday and it's undoubtedly become a way of life, it is almost a chore to use a search engine. "Surfing the web" has been replaced with "wading through the endless swamp of crap". (Not as catchy, I know.) I don't even need bookmarks any more because I seem to have my own little piece of the web that consists of half a dozen websites at most.
So, when I do actually come across something that makes me laugh or something that is so bizarre that it's entertaining, a little bit of that modem-squealing, animated-giffy, interwebby goodness is reclaimed. And that's what brings me to this blog. I have taken it upon myself to retreive those gold nuggets and share them with you, my soon-to-be faithful readers. This is the stuff that the internet was built on!
. . . Well, actually, that might have been porn.
As the years go by, the internet can do more and more things. Just today, my very own internet made me a sandwich! But even with all the social networks, 3D multiplayer games, and various products owned by Google, most of the new and shiny seems to have rubbed off. While I use the internet everyday and it's undoubtedly become a way of life, it is almost a chore to use a search engine. "Surfing the web" has been replaced with "wading through the endless swamp of crap". (Not as catchy, I know.) I don't even need bookmarks any more because I seem to have my own little piece of the web that consists of half a dozen websites at most.
So, when I do actually come across something that makes me laugh or something that is so bizarre that it's entertaining, a little bit of that modem-squealing, animated-giffy, interwebby goodness is reclaimed. And that's what brings me to this blog. I have taken it upon myself to retreive those gold nuggets and share them with you, my soon-to-be faithful readers. This is the stuff that the internet was built on!
. . . Well, actually, that might have been porn.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
