Category: SOI Blog

Categories
Internet Media

All Your Base Are Belong to Us!

aybabtu.pngFor some reason I was reminded of this video, must have spotted a reference to it again. It’s one of those internet phenomena, virally transmitted throughout cyberspace.

For those who’ve never heard of it, it was an opening to a poorly translated Sega Genesis video game from way back in the 80’s. The phrase “All Your Base Are Belong to Us” was picked up as particularly funny and inserted into various still images, thus a video with music was created with the opening of the game and these images. I still find it pretty funny.

I just discovered a new one that’s called Zero Wing Rhapsody, a parody of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody on the Official All Your Base web site.

link iconhttp://allyourbase.planettribes.gamespy.com/index.shtml

link iconhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_your_base

Categories
History

“Washington Crossing the Delaware” painting

While listening to Washingtons Crossing by David Hackett Fischer, I learned some interesting things about this famous painting including:

The painting is huge, 20 feet wide and 12 feet high.

Painted in 1851 by a German-born Emanuel Leutze.

The first copy was damaged by a fire, restored then destroyed by a bombing raid by the British during WWII.

A second copy was completed in 1851 and sent to the US, and is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

Read the introduction to the above book about the painting here:

link iconhttp://blog.oup.com/oupblog/2006/02/washingtons_cro.html

link iconhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_crossing_the_delaware

buy iconWashingtons Crossing

Categories
Entertainment Everyday Things Sports

Sport Stacking?

I saw these plastic cups being sold in a Toys-R-Us store billed as some sort of game. Sure enough, it’s all the rage with kids, stacking plastic cups, who’d a thunk it? And of course it originated in California. Here’s a video of a world record stacker.

link iconhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_stacking

Categories
History Media

What do you get when you cross Nazis and Bing Crosby? Answer: Audiotape.

Reading an industry mag the other day this one opening paragraph blew me away. So much in just a few sentences, it really intrigued me. Here it is:

At this year’s NAB, I finally heard the bugle sounding “Taps” for tape, that thin ribbon of oxide-coated polyester first descended from Nazi-era paper audiotape used to broadcast German propaganda; then ferreted in a duffel bag by an American serviceman after the fall of Berlin to an LA company called Ampex, then re-engineered in 1948 with Bing Crosby’s money as a U.S. radio recording medium, and then transformed by means of rotary recording into a TV recording medium by NAB 1956, again with Der Bingle’s loot.
Digitial Content Producer June 2006

link iconHere’s the entire article, but probably boring reading for non-industry types.

link iconMore detailed history info here at Wikipedia.

Categories
Everyday Things History Random Thoughts Uncategorized

A.M. & P.M. What do they stand for?

My son asked me the other day what a.m. and p.m. mean. Of course I could tell him what they mean, but what do those letters stand for. Turn’s out they’re Latin of course! My first guess for p.m. was close, “post meridian” but couldn’t come up with the a.m. A.M. is ante meridiem (a.m., from Latin, literally “before midday”) and post meridiem (p.m., “after midday”).

link iconhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12-hour_clock

Other great time related info courtesy of the US government
link iconhttp://time.gov/exhibits.html

Categories
Entertainment Media

Sean Connery passed on Matrix, Lord of the Rings roles

connery.jpgWhile watching the special features of “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” Connery made the comment that he was originally offered roles in “The Matrix” and “Lord of the Rings” but turned them down because he didn’t understand the script. After regretting those decisions he chose to do “League” despite not understanding the project.

link iconhttp://www.notstarring.com/actors/connery-sean

buy iconThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Widescreen Edition)

Categories
Internet Media Technology

Personalized Internet Radio

On this site, you suggest a favorite song or artist, and it builds a radio station based on the style of music. You can help refine the station to your liking by giving a thumbs up or down to selected music it plays. Very smart.

link iconhttp://pandora.com/

BTW, it’s free.

Categories
Internet Random Thoughts Science

Diet Coke and Mentos guys again

Those guys that put together the Mentos / Diet Coke explosion extravaganza have got another experiment. This time it’s the Domino Effect. Check it out.

Categories
Books Government History

Donald Rumsfeld’s resume

220px-Rumsfeld1Regardless of your opinion of Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of Defense, he has a very impressive resume.

Attended Princeton on a Navy ROTC scholarship.
Navy pilot and flight instructor
Two and a half terms in Congress
Nixon’s cabinet
Ambassador to NATO
Secretary of Defense under Ford
CEO of a several of Fortune 500 companies

Gleaned from Bob Woodward’s book “State of Denial”

http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/rumsfeld.html

wikipedia entry

Categories
Everyday Things History Humanities

“Close, but no cigar” origin

I was wondering about the origin of some of these sayings we use everyday. And the fact that, at least in the US, they are universally known. For example this jewel, “Close, but no cigar” I suspected had some origin at a carnival, but this site traces when the phrase was actually recorded in print or media. Seems we can thank screen writers for this one, which would make it’s ubiquity understandable.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/close-but-no-cigar.html

Here’s another site that discusses word origins.

http://www.word-detective.com/