Coffee Klatch

Ever since Facebook opened up their system to outside development, there have been all kinds of apps being developed and spread all over the place. Many of them (dare I say “most?”) are frivolous at best and irritating at worst. Some, however, are pretty cool. LibGuides and LibraryThing have got their own apps right in Facebook. There’s a music app that will actually show your iTunes library and allow you share your library with a friend and even send them a musical “poke!”

But one of my favorites is Scrabulous! It’s an online Scrabble game that you can play with friends or even random strangers in Facebook. Most of the games take a while to play, since people don’t always check their Facebook stuff that often. That can lead to a game with only a few moves a day. Fortunately, you can have multiple games going at one time. And if you’re looking for a pickup game, you can find someone else who’s online right now and wants to play a faster-paced game right now.

All the normal rules of Scrabble apply and there is a built-in dictionary and even a handy 2-letter word list. You’ve got a button for a popup tile distribution list when you need it and a complete list of the moves so far in the game. And since it’s an online interactive type of medium, of course there’s also a chat box, which is saved throughout the game, so you never lose the communication even when you don’t make a move for a couple of days.

Afterwards, you can see your record and even bring up past games, viewing the move lists, chat archives, etc. Pretty sweet!

(If you’re a Facebook user and enjoy Scrabble, add the Scrabulous app and invite me to a game.)

People have long complained about the quality of network television, but since I’ve been watching NFL football this fall, I’ve gotten to see more commercials for various TV shows than I used to see. Outside football season, the only time I usually watch network TV is for the morning news, when there are more car commercials than TV show commercials.

So I’ve noticed lately that the vast majority of prime-time shows on network TV involve people committing terrible crimes and people trying to catch them. Sure, there’s an element of solving a mystery and meting out justice, but there’s also a major element in every episode where you’re seeing the crimes being committed or the results of their crimes. I don’t care how much you enjoy the mystery element; what goes through your eyes into your head STAYS THERE. When you’re watching these scenes on TV that show people torturing or killing someone else, that’s imprinting itself on your mind and coloring your way of looking at the world. Unless you destroy brain cells, that will always be a part of you.

Sometimes these prime-time crime drama shows involve sex as well, either peripherally or as the core of the program. It seems like most of the newer comedies are like that also. The same is true of sex as of violence–fill your mind with it and it will color your relationships and your way of looking at the world.

The final result is that violence and sex are continuing to insinuate themselves into the minds of our people and the mentality of our culture. And we wonder why crimes are still high and why people treat each other poorly.

What *I* know is that there are plenty of commercials aired during football games that I don’t want my kids to see. More on NBC than FOX this year, but either way, I still feel obligated to distract my kids so they don’t see those commercials.

And with so many of these kinds of shows on network TV getting great reviews and high viewerships, there’s no reason for the networks to stop making them. Instead, there’s more reason to continue developing spinoffs, which will perpetuate the downward spiral of TV and society.

There’s another cool show on the Discovery Channel that I need to recommend. While Mythbusters is one of my favorite shows, this one is just about as good. It doesn’t have as much personality as Mythbusters, but it’s always really interesting. It’s called “How It’s Made.” Okay, technically, it’s on the Science Channel, but that’s just a subdivision of the Discovery Channel.

What’s so interesting is that they take you behind the scenes and show you how common, everyday objects are made (go figure!). Each episode covers four different things. Some of my favorite episodes have been about buttons, breakfast cereal, trombones, bread, holograms, and canned corn.

You can watch a few of their features in their online video gallery (watch the bread one!). And here’s the Episode Guide.

(Another new favorite is “Dirty Jobs,” but that’s a topic for a later post.)

The third movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean series finally hit the cheap theater near us. The whole family went to see it for $5 TOTAL! Gotta love that. And I think this last one is my favorite of the three, but I blogged about that when I saw the movie opening weekend.

Here’s a really good article that explains how HD-DVDs work (with how HD itself works thrown into the mix). It’s really interesting. What I like best is the comparison between regular DVDs and HD-DVDs. They make it easy to understand and use good pictures as well.

As with many of these really helpful articles, it comes from HowStuffWorks.com. The article is called “How HD-DVDs Work.”

You’ve probably heard that the Simpsons Movie is coming out this summer. Specifically, this Friday. The website has lots of fun things, including making your own Simpsons-style avatar and, of course, games. Seems like every movie has a website where you can play games related to the movie.

Anyway, there’s also a related website where you can upload a photo and “simpsonize” it. The website is pretty busy and often slow. I had to try several times just to get the page to load. Also, I haven’t been successful in saving the image I created or even emailing it to myself. I had to to a PrintScreen and paste the image into MS Paint and cut out just the image. Anyway, that’s what’s displayed here. I had to work hard to find a picture that would work. It has to be a closeup of the head and shoulders, with decent contrast and a big enough size. They tell you all that on the site, though.

If you Simpsonize a photo of yourself, please comment on my post here with a link to your new picture.

Today I went to see the new Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, today and, frankly, I was disappointed.

It’s not just that there was so much missing that was in the book or that there were quite a few inconsistencies even within the movie. I understand when elements of a book have to be omitted to keep the movie moving along or within a certain time frame. But it seemed more like they took a bunch of the plot points from the book and made a movie out of them.

It’s also not that I’m not fan, because I own and have read all the books, have pre-ordered the last one, and own the first four DVDs. This last movie just wasn’t as good as the others. Having just read the book again, I felt there was an awful lot that should have been covered in the movie that wasn’t. And I guess it just didn’t “grab” me. There were a couple moments that were humorous or interesting, but so much of the movie just felt strung together and uninspired.

So there you have it. My overall opinions after one viewing. And without any spoilers. You’re welcome to have your own opinion and to share it in comments here.

One of the funniest ad campaigns that Bud Light has come out with is the “Real Men of Genius” series. I’d seen several commercials and then one day I heard one on the radio. Turns out there are TONS of these! While the video versions are funnier, the audio-only are still really good. Some of the early ones were called “Real American Heroes.” The TV versions that I remember were Mr. Really Bad Toupee Wearer and Mr. Way Too Much Cologne Wearer.

On their website, they don’t have any of the TV commercials, but they have a few of the radio versions.

You can even get a 2-CD set of the audio versions of these commercials at the BudShop.

Here’s a list of all the commercials I’m aware of:

Mr. 80 SPF Sunblock Wearer
Mr. After Halloween Costume Shop Salesman
Mr. Airport Baggage Handler
Mr. All You Can Eat Buffet Inventor
Mr. Artificial Tree Maker
Mr. Backyard Bug Zapper Inventor
Mr. Bathroom Stall Dirty Joke Writer
Mr. Boneless Buffalo Wing Inventor
Mr. Bumper Sticker Writer
Mr. Ceremonial First Pitch Thrower Outer
Mr. Chinese Food Delivery Guy
Mr. Company Computer Guy
Mr. Cruise Ship Entertainer
Mr. Department Store Mannequin Dresser Upper
Mr. Discount Airline Pilot Guy
Mr. Dishonest Cable TV Hooker Upper
Mr. Driving Range Ball Picker Upper
Mr. Exotic Cowboy Boot Wearer
Mr. Fancy Coffee Shop Coffee Pourer
Mr. Fantasy Football Manager
Mr. Footlong Hot Dog Inventor
Mr. Frozen Turkey Helpline Guy
Mr. Furniture Assembly Manual Writer
Mr. Gangsta Rapper Posse Member
Mr. Garden Gnome Maker
Mr. Gasoline BBQ Starter
Mr. Giant Foam Finger Maker
Mr. Golf Ball Washer Inventor
Mr. Hair Gel Over-Geller
Mr. Holiday Gift Regifter Guy
Mr. Hot Dog Eating Contest Contestant
Mr. Humongous Pumpkin Grower Guy
Mr. In The Car Nose Picker
Mr. Indecisive Food Orderer Guy
Mr. Inspirational Poster Writer
Mr. Jean Shorts Inventor (Jorts)
Mr. King of the Karaoke Mic
Mr. Mail Order Bride Orderer
Mr. Major Highway Line Painter
Mr. Movie Theater Ticket Ripper Upper
Mr. Multi-Colored Sweater Wearer
Mr. Next Day Carpet Installer
Mr. Nosebleed Section Ticket Holder Guy
Mr. Outside The Stadium Peanut Seller
Mr. Over The Top Carb Counter
Mr. Over-Zealous Foul Ball Catcher
Mr. Paranoid of the Ocean Guy
Mr. Pet Toy Designer
Mr. Pickled Pigs Feet Eater
Mr. Pontoon Boat Maker
Mr. Push-up Bra Inventor
Mr. Putt Putt Golf Course Designer
Mr. Really Bad Toupee Wearer
Mr. Really Big Golf Club Maker
Mr. Really Loud Cell Phone Talker Guy
Mr. Really Stinky Breath Breather Outer
Mr. Really, Really, Really Bad Dancer
Mr. Restroom Toilet Paper Refiller
Mr. Silent Killer Gas Passer
Mr. Supermarket Produce Putter Outer
Mr. Tiny Dog Clothing Manufacturer
Mr. Tiny Thong Bikini Wearer
Mr. Ultimate Philadelphia Sports Fan
Mr. Underwear Inspector No. 12
Mr. Way Too Much Cologne Wearer
Mr. Way Too Proud of Texas Guy

And here’s a blog I found where you can get most of them: http://thefuntimesguide.com/2004/10/bud_light_real.php

So there you go.

Here are a couple funny videos from YouTube:

The American Film Institute (AFI) has again published a list that film buffs are talking about. Last year it was the Top 100 Most Inspiring Movies. This year it was the Top 100 Movies of All Time. They first created this list 10 years ago and they’ve now updated it for the 10th Anniversary. Yes, there were some changes.

First, here’s the Top 10 of the list:

1. CITIZEN KANE
2. THE GODFATHER
3. CASABLANCA
4. RAGING BULL
5. SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN
6. GONE WITH THE WIND
7. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
8. SCHINDLER’S LIST
9. VERTIGO
10. THE WIZARD OF OZ

Citizen Kane is AGAIN at the top of the list. Raging Bull and Vertigo are new to the Top Ten list (in 1997, they were ranked #24 and #61). The Graduate and On the Waterfront WERE in the top ten, but have moved down to #17 and #19. Films that are new to the Top 100 list are The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (#50), Saving Private Ryan (#71), Titanic (#83), and The Sixth Sense (#89). Visit the AFI website for more trivia and info about the list.

And visit the AFI’s Top 100 Interactive Tour to see them all in groups of ten (requires Flash).