Two (And More!) Great Cartoons

I found two great cartoons while browsing through some of the links on BoingBoing today. One of them was the classic One Froggy Evening, the cartoon that introduced Michigan J. Frog on a public replete with malaise, begging for something new. It's a great short: wonderful animation, terrific story, a subtlety to the artwork that's likely lost on the children it targets, and it's all done with no dialog. If there were ever a case to be made that modern animation suffers, this would be Exhibit A. Case Closed!

But more importantly, I found Tree for Two, the cartoon pictured above. The Big Cartoon Forum lists this as a significant Sylvester cartoon, but for me it's so much more.

I used to have this cartoon on betamax. And, not surprisingly to anyone who knows me, I used to watch it constantly. And, not surprisingly to anyone that knows me, I knew all the parts of this cartoon: the dialog, the comedic timing, the flaws in the tape -- all the nuances you pick up with repeated viewings. Then, one day, my mom taped over this cartoon with Another World, or something equally crappy, and I was distraught, thinking I would never see it again. It wasn't that I loved this cartoon so much, but because there was a small piece in it that I'm positive slipped right past the censors. And I don't want to ruin this cartoon for anyone, but once I tell you it'll be stuck in your brain forever, like the arrow in the Fed Ex logo. But at the same time, I've been waiting since my teens to show this to someone! So, with my humblest apologies to Sylvester fans the world over, here it is:

At 1:48 into the cartoon Sylvester quite clearly says "What the fuck". Now it might be a coincidence. But it's clear as day. And, hilariously, somewhat appropriate to the situation.

The BoingBoing post references Cityrag as compiling a video list for the 50 greatest cartoons of all time, and it's definitely worth a look. Funny how it hadn't occurred to me to look for cartoons on YouTube before now -- but this should not come surprisingly to anyone who knows me.

Link to One Froggy Evening
Link to Tree for Two
Link to 50 greatest cartoons on Wikipedia
Link to 50 greatest cartoon video list on Cityrag (via BoingBoing)

10 Ways

One of the most difficult things about this blog is finding things to say about some of the sites I come across. 10 Ways seems almost to defy description. At its heart it's about experimentation with a visual medium, but it definitely transcends the static pictures it plays with. The image above, from Information, uses the idea of photomosaics to suggest that images underlie other images. Philosophy aside, I could spend hours here.

Link to 10 Ways
Link to 10 Ways:Information

Psychic Tests

Though not a big believer in psychic phenomena, I do have a few experiences that leave me scratching my head. Plus, I like spending my time fooling around with this kind of stuff. And who isn't curious about ESP?

There are a number of different tests here, mostly "guess the card" and remote viewing. They do a good job of breaking down the odds of how well you've done, and then you get to rank yourself against others at the end. I think I tend to do better when I'm really drunk or really tired, so I'll post an update if I'm successful at completing the tests in either of those states.

I also heard a rumour that they'll pay you for research if you exceed the norms, but I can't say with any validity whether this is true.

Link (via Linky & Dinky)

Virtual NES

I think people forget to hearken back to our halcyon days of youth, where graphics were cumbersome and sound effects were tinny, but where gameplay reigned supreme. I had an old-school Atari 2600 which, at the time, was the zenith of home video game systems -- and sure beat the hell out of our Telstar console. But next to systems like ColecoVision, it was a definite step down. A few years later, Nintendo would emerge as the leading video game console, crushing the other competitors under its flimsy white and grey plastic heels.

I remember renting NES consoles every weekend and staying up all night playing games. And although I do find it kind of disturbing that I can now play upwards of 350 NES games in java on my computer, I do like the idea that I don't have to scrounge through yard sales, pawn shops, or classified ads to look for used cartridges.

(My NES currently sits under our TV, right next the PS2. My Atari console is still MIA.)

Link

10 Minute Mail

Need an e-mail address fast? This site has taken over from Mailinator as my new favourite disposable e-mail site. 10 Minute Mail provides you with an e-mail address that expires in 10 minutes -- but you do have the option to renew your address for another 10 minutes if the mail you're expecting hasn't arrived. Perfect for those times when you need to register for some crap-ass service but don't want to give up your real address.

Link

Holiday Excuse Generator

It's that time of year again. And in addition to working, volunteering, and living your life, you've also got to squeeze in shopping, social functions, and parties with every group of friends you have. So if you need an excuse to help keep your sanity or prevent alcohol poisoning, this one's got you covered. It has the option of sending your excuse out once it's generated, and has some cute eye candy to keep you interested while it's finding your perfect excuse.

Link

Make Your Own Ginger Ale

Believe it or not, I found a recipe to make your own ginger ale. Using only five ingredients, you too can be sipping delicious homemade ginger ale in front of a crackling fire. It sounds super easy and like a lot of fun -- I'll post an update if I try it.

My mom has a ridiculous story of my grandmother and her homemade rootbeer, but I didn't see any soda-like confections coming out of her kitchen. Maybe she was a closet bootlegger.

Link

Update: It turns out I posted too soon. There are all kinds of WikiHows on brewing your own soda pop, and they all use the same techniques. Maybe I should have a pop-tasting party at my place this summer.

Link to cream soda recipe
Link to rootbeer recipe
Link to cola recipe

Hungry for a Month

This guy decided he was going to spend $1 a day on food for a whole month. Nothing super special to the writing, but it's a really interesting idea. Y'know, like lent or something, except you're giving up food instead of M&Ms. But I guess M&Ms are food, so you'd better hope they cost less than a dollar and can feed you for a day.

Link

All the TV You Need

sI found some links similar to this a couple of months ago, but they got taken down because of Fox and their stupid complaining. The complaining didn't solve anything, of course, because the links were still out there waiting to be picked up by someone.

And now someone's picked them up. Go quickly and watch all your favourite Simpsons, Futurama, and Family Guy episodes (among others)! Then mail me a DVD of them, would ya?

Link

Free Online File Conversion

Zamzar is a very user-friendly site that provides a file conversion service for files up to 100Mb in size. It's very easy to use: browse to the file or files (multiple files have to be the same type), choose the filetype you want to convert to, provide your e-mail address, and blammo! The files get e-mailed directly to you! And with even stupid Hotmail -- I mean Windows Live Mail -- offering 2Gb of space right now, this shouldn't cause anyone any hardships.

Link

The Hug Shirt

One of the coolest uses of modern technology I've heard about, and one that I hope will pave the way for cooler and even better stuff.

The hug shirt is designed to transmit a hug from one wearer to another. There are sensors under the red parts of the shirt that record things like body temperature, pressure, duration, and heartrate. The data is then transmitted by Bluetooth to your cell phone, which is then sent to your friend's phone, and by Bluetooth to his shirt.

Wild enough for you? This is definitely one of the better arguments in favour of me owning a cell phone.

Link

The Art of Willard Wigan

I was fortunate enough to see a micro-miniature show at the Dunlop Art Gallery in 1997. I'd actually seen some of the works on the internet before I saw them on display. It was bizarre to think that sculptures that small could ever be created.

Then I found Willard Wigans. The work he does is baffling, and rich with ten times the detail of anything I'd seen either in person or on the internet. Pictured at right is King Henry VIII and his six wives, all in the eye of a needle. For something so amazingly finite, it's almost as though you could look at it for hours and continuously find something new.

Willard has photographic prints of his work for sale, but for me it's enough to look at the pictures on his website and let my eyes bug out in wonder. (NB - not that I need any help in letting my eyes bug out.)

Link

Two Winter Time Wasters

This first game, Snowcraft, has been around since 1998. I remember spending my lunchtime playing it while I worked at SEDA. I eventually completed the game, but it was very frustrating. In fact, this game is as frustrating as it is fun.


The object is to defeat the green team by hitting them with snowballs. It takes three hits to remove a player, and they do pause to wipe snow off themselves when they're hit. To move your players, just drag them around the screen. Release the mouse button to throw a snowball: the longer the button's held down, the further you can throw.

In Snowball, you use the arrow keys to control a snowball rolling down a very long hill. It gets larger and harder to control as it rolls, and you can absorb dogs, people, and other objects as you grow. Hitting a tree with reduce your size, and hitting a house will stop the game. You can see my best score in the picture.

Two simple, addictive games for your continued amusement. If I don't hear from you I'll forward your mail.

Link to Snowcraft
Link to Snowball

Dark Side of the Rainbow

This is what the internet is all about.

Remember a few years ago when A&E played The Wizard of Oz and told you exactly when to start your copy of Dark Side of the Moon? And it seemed like a really cool idea, but you didn't have a copy of the album because you always thought Pink Floyd kinda sucked? Well now someone has kindly done all the hard work for us and simply uploaded the movie complete with Pink Floyd soundtrack to Google Video.

I've read about this a lot in the past, and although Pink Floyd maintains that it's all just coincidence, fans have compiled more than 100 links between the movie and the album. I hope it's as interesting as I've been led to believe.

Link

xkcd

I have to admit that I've been addicted to this web comic since the first day I saw it. The art might not be that good, but the comics themselves are as clever as anything I've seen. I read through the archives on the first day, and there was a startlingly good mix of gut-shaking funniness and tear-jerking poignancy.

I think this cartoon is my favourite. And pretty much sums up my life's philosophy.

Link (via BoingBoing)

Dicewars

I guess it's time for playtesting to be over.

This is a highly addictive Risk-type game played with dice instead of armies. The number of dice on your land determines the strength of your attack: if you roll higher than your opponent, then you win the territory. Armies are replenished randomly at the end of your attack, one per connected territory.

There's a lot of luck involved, but maybe that's part of its charm. It's definitely part of the frustration. Although you can play with up to eight computer opponents, be sure to try some of the lower levels: it's sometimes a lot tougher to defeat two or three opponents than seven.

Link (via Games1.org)

When you want a restaurant in your home

Sometimes what you want from a restaurant is not someone else doing the cooking (although I always seem to want to have someone else do the cleaning!), it's a specific dish that the restaurant makes. Of course, it's irrlevant to those of us in Regina to have access to Olive Garden recipes, but there is a host of other things to be found here - so search away.

http://www.copykat.com/

Because you need to know.

I was going to give you all this link
http://cmgm.stanford.edu/pbrown/mguide/index.html
because I think it's something everyone should know. But then I thought of who might or might not be reading this blog, and I've decided to go with this:
http://members.tripod.com/~spows/cow.html

Snowflake Maker

In the middle of a scorching summer heatwave, nobody wants anything more than to think about an ice-cold winter. Which is why this post about the snowflake maker is coming at just the right time.

I suppose you could make real snowflakes yourself using the method they show you, but what good would that be? You'd have your kitchen table littered with tiny scraps of paper, hundreds of snowflakes hung from pipe cleaners, and no way to display them to thousands of people a day. No, this is definitely better and more convenient.

After you're done cutting your masterpiece, the site allows you to e-mail your snowflake out to people, or even to download an EPS to use in your own projects. You can also visit the gallery, where similar options are available for more than eleven million snowflakes! For what it's worth, the one in the picture is #11985365.

Link

Warn the World

There may come a time when you need to serve notice on someone. Maybe that time is now. Or not, I'm just sayin'
http://www.shipbrook.com/onnotice/