The Stuff

Grounds for Sculpture is a huge outdoor museum in Hamilton, New Jersey, and it’s become a tradition for my friends to go there on Black Friday. They have a bar on premises that serves fancy Belgian beers which is always a plus.

Here’s a sampling of this years photos:

Animal sculpture by Dana Stewart:

Hey! Happy Thanksgiving to all you United States Americans!

Last time I drank Wild Turkey around the Thanksgiving holiday I ended up in jail. Jail, I can assure you, is not boring, but it is miserable and humiliating.

So, have an exciting time this holiday, but not at the potential expense and misery of yourself and others. Never drink and drive.

BTW, you can mitigate any potential boring situations tomorrow by following this handy list:

1. Have your notebook computer handy with plenty of games and DVDs to amuse yourself with. Substitute notebook with PSP, Game Boy, iPhone, etc., if you have one. Always remember to bring your power cord, controller, blank CDRs, and anything else you might need.
2. Give a hoot: read a book.
3. Drive to your destination solo, so you can escape whenever you need to.
4. Hide all those boring board (bored) games and card games.
5. Take full advantage of the turkey Tryptophan myth, and take a long, socially acceptable nap. Remember: napping is a form of time travel, that can get you through the most boring situations.
6. Offer to walk the dog (remember: at night your don’t have to clean up the poop).
7. Smoke?

I’m out of ideas for now — off to do something fun.

Here’s something special from BBC’s Children in Need telethon: a miniature Dr. Who episode where Dr. #10 meets Dr. #5.

Donate to Children in Need.

Concept war: 2 girl body = Daft Punk - Harder Better Faster Stronger vs. Daft Hands - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.

VS.

The hands might be the original, but my vote goes to the robot ladies.

Thanks to The J-Man for passing along this article, by Virginia Heffernan, about the early years of Sesame Street: Sweeping the Clouds Away. Apparently the first years of Sesame Street are now available on DVD, but they come with a warning, as they aren’t appropriate for the children of today:

Just don’t bring the children. According to an earnest warning on Volumes 1 and 2, “Sesame Street: Old School” is adults-only: “These early ‘Sesame Street’ episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child.”

Say what? At a recent all-ages home screening, a hush fell over the room. “What did they do to us?” asked one Gen-X mother of two, finally. The show rolled, and the sweet trauma came flooding back. What they did to us was hard-core. Man, was that scene rough. The masonry on the dingy brownstone at 123 Sesame Street, where the closeted Ernie and Bert shared a dismal basement apartment, was deteriorating. Cookie Monster was on a fast track to diabetes. Oscar’s depression was untreated. Prozacky Elmo didn’t exist.

The article is worth reading if you were born between 1965 and 1975, and remember the early ’sodes, especially if you have children of your own. The world has really changed since the early 1970s. I don’t think the children of today will be prepared for the misery they’ll face later in life.

JAXA (sounds like some XML module for Java) is Japan’s version of NASA. JAXA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, has released some exciting Earth rise photos taken by their Kaguya (Selene) moon orbiting exploration satellite dealie.

There’s also high-def images and video of the moon. Very cool.

With other countries like Russia, China and India interested in going to the moon (they’re all after the Tritium), and the U.S.A. spending our money on war, the U.S.A might lose the space race. These photos are evidence that we are slipping.

Maddox has a new article called Fashion tips for women from a guy who knows dick about fashion. As usual the article is biting and hilarious. Maddox takes on Crocs shoes, red lipstick, Fidel Castro hats and ironic t-shirts. He should get a guest spot doing DOs and DON’Ts for Vice Magazine.

If Jesus was alive today the first thing he would do is get a crew cut, shave his beard, and buy suit and a Hummer with a snow plow in the front and push the liberals back into Canada where they belong. Nah, I’ve read the bible, and I don’t think he would do that. What he might do is join Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping in their crusade against consumerism. Morgan Spurlock, the guy who made Supersize Me, has a new documentary about Rev Billy that looks like it’s worth seeing.

Here is the trailer for What Would Jesus Buy.

Sadly, it will probably only play New York and LA, and the people who really need to see it never will.

Me: I’m a Christmas junkie, and while I have no debt, and no mortgage or fancy car, I do own an egregious amount of DVDs.

Check out this Alien Abduction Lamp! Now that’s the type of lamp I would love to buy (especially when I’m drunk at the mall on my day off, or bored and waiting for my prescription to be filled at Target).

Black Black is still my favorite gum. Some say it’s an acquired taste — a spicy taste I acquired immediately. Aside from being from Japan, the cool thing about Black Black is it has caffeine in it. I think it’s the least boring gum in the world.