Curiosities & Diversions

Space… the final frontier

It’s true, I’ve always preferred Star Trek to Star Wars. But most of the Star Trek movies have… well… kinda sucked. Wrath of Khan is badass and First Contact is the Picardian equivalent. But other than those two… I could probably take or leave the rest.

That said, I am now officially stoked for the new J.J. Abrams version. It looks wicked awesome. You can see trailers on the official site and, if you’re impatient to see the new trailer (coming to the site tomorrow but screened this weekend in theaters preceding the new Bond film), someone surreptitiously recorded it and it’s now posted on YouTube (found on BuzzFeed).

QWOP

This the most utterly stupid thing I have seen in a long time, and so of course I am borderline obsessed with it.

Basically what you have here is a Flash game where you’re supposed to be running the 100m dash, but the physics and controls are terrible. I’m guessing the game was an experiment that failed, but it failed so comically that it became a strange kind of success.

Speaking of success, I have managed to develop a technique with the game that is somewhat successful, enough so that I was able to achieve a record distance of 13.8 meters. (The fact that the score is kept in distance, not time, is your first clue that something is amiss here.)

Think you can beat it? Give it a try.

My secret is that I gave up on trying to run for real. Basically I keep one leg out in front and just inch the trailing leg up far enough to gain ground without tipping over backwards. Start by holding down W and O simultaneously until you’ve moved as far forward as one stride will take you, then tap Q and P simultaneously a bit to move the back leg forward, but not so much that you teeter backwards. Then repeat holding W and O, tapping Q and P, etc. It’s still not easy, but forward movement is possible, and with it comes a strange, pathetic sense of accomplishment. I still haven’t gotten enough momentum going to hear more than the first couple of notes of what I assume is “Chariots of Fire,” though.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who hates the Toyota ads

My new favorite site, BuzzFeed, shows us that everyone on Earth seems to hate the Toyota “Saved by Zero” commercials. I really like the song, too. But not this godawful version of it. Fortunately it’s so different (as well as so bad) that it doesn’t really taint the original.

That creepy anthropomorphic zero doesn’t help.

Just in case you’ve somehow escaped having to see it…

Compare that abomination with the original ’80s classic.

But, on the other hand, were it not for all of this, I never would have discovered the “literal video version” of “Take On Me.” Freakin’ awesome! “Pipe… wrench… fiiiiiiight!”

A special comment from Keith Olbermann that everyone should hear

I know a fair number of liberals who reject Keith Olbermann for his blowhard tone (reminiscent of Limbaugh, Hannity, etc.) despite the fact that they might agree with his stance on the issues. But even if you find Olbermann objectionable (for whatever reason), you should hear what he has to say about California’s dreadful passage of Proposition 8.

This just in: Hell has frozen over

For once I agree completely with a segment on Fox News. I found this over on Wonkette.

As I mentioned earlier today, I supported Ralph Nader, for a time, in the 2000 election. I’ve pretty much had it with him ever since then. Gore lost Florida by a few hundred votes, and it’s worth noting that in that same election, over 90,000 Floridians voted for Nader. There are plenty of arguments you can make as to what was the turning point in Bush’s “victory” in 2000, but in my mind, this has always been the one: Ralph Nader’s 90,000 votes in Florida. End of story.

Except it’s not the end of the story. For a third-party candidate, Nader actually had a respectable showing nationwide in that election, even buoying interest in the Green Party. But since then he has continued to run ever more irrelevant campaigns, with rapidly dwindling support. Yet he persists, not so much deluded that he might actually win the presidency — he knows he can’t — but deluded that what he’s doing isn’t having a net negative effect on the country.

And then there’s this, the piece from Fox News last night:

Uncle Tom??? Are you kidding me? Ralph, please go away. You have nothing left to contribute to this country.

And now back to our usual inanity

If you’re getting tired of my political rants, my dissing of Sarah Palin, my man-crush on Barack Obama, then welcome back to business as usual here at room34.com.

Three words: Ho. Ly. Crap. Although I played my fair share of Super Mario Bros. in the late ’80s, I was too old for the Saturday morning cartoons. But now my son isn’t, and they’re selling them on DVD at Target.

I always enjoyed the little quasi-calypso ditty that accompanied Mario’s journeys in the Mushroom Kingdom, but until now I never realized there were words.

Do the Mario!
Swing your arms
From side to side
Come on it’s time to go!
Do the Mario!

Take one step
And then again
Let’s do the Mario!
All together now!

You got it!
It’s the Mario!

Do the Mario!
Swing your arms
From side to side
Come on it’s time to go!
Do the Mario!

Take one step
And then again
Let’s do the Mario!
All together now!

Come on now!
Juuuust like thaaaaat!

I can actually stand to listen to Sarah Palin like this

If she does get elected, I hope she hires this pianist to accompany her whenever she gives a speech.

Originally seen here courtesy of Da Neural MC. (Don’t ask.)