iGetit

In a significant improvement over the original ad, Siri tells John Malkovich a better joke that would have rang a bell with my granddad. [Gizmodo]

And a few selections, like "All About Scabs", "C is for Chafing", and "Pets Who Want to Kill Themselves" are among the bizarre works of lit in the Weird Book Room.

"Knowledge will give you power, but character respect."
- Bruce Lee

Up to code

Meanwhile in Brazil... I wonder why the demolition contractors were wearing swimsuits...? [bOING bOING]

And a wry defacing of prints ads obviously makes this depressed copywriter feel better.

"Litigation is the basic right that guarantees every corporation its decade in court."
- David Porter

In the key of sea

Throw yourself in the Internet time machine, set the dial for early, watch Shrimp and enjoy a catchy riff.

Also a seeming bit throwbackward, these fluorescent stereographic drawings make for interesting viewing.

"Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul." - Douglas MacArthur

Call it progress?

New developments of note in the world... meet Melvin the Magical Mixed Media Machine (aka, Melvin the Machine), the self-contained traveling Rube Goldberg device. Amazing how technology just keeps making things smaller and smaller, and life better and better.

And this ambiguous "true-false" answer struck me as creative and funny.

"Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more." - Mark Twain

Stress test

A classic Slinky is put to the test, "running" on a treadmill, to see how it does away from its native habitat (stairs). Interesting to slide your mouse pointer along the position bar to see how it moves all over the place. (Thanks Raygun)

And what color do you associate with the word "dangerous"? Or the word "playful"? Or "narcissist"? Cymbolism wants to know, so take a minute if you have one and cast a few votes.

"Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch; nay, you may kick it about all day like a football, and it will be round and full at evening." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Speed

Might have time for a quick compilation of the world's fastest everything, including clapping, stamping, cup stacking, and shooting.

And some good photos in this trip around the world via an all-request edition of the Atlantic’s "In Focus".

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle

Pub crawler

A charming, easy-to-watch animation, Pub Dog is a vignette about a ne'er-do-well hound making mischief among the people.

Also evocative, these so-called "Bandwiches" include favorites such as, “Beach Boys: Grilled chicken breast, mustard, lettuce, SPF-50 sunscreen aioli, crispy fried peyote bits, white bread".

And if you're hungry for data, here's an interactive graphic on eating habits around the world. What's healthy, anyway?

"Desperation is a necessary ingredient to learning anything, or creating anything. Period. If you ain't desperate at some point, you ain't interesting." - Jim Carrey

Cascade of thousands

Sixty walls of 990, plus an extra 600, equals a cascade of 60,000 dominoes with a flourish of color. [bOING bOING]

And chase your dreams while playing the “Perfect Strangers” game, from a time I can't — and probably would rather not — remember.

"Adversity is the first path to truth." - Lord Byron

Throw back

Dudes hanging out and tossing around some vinyl records in a series of pretty well-contrived trick shots. (And not even a scratch...?)

And after all these years, the progenitor of FPS games "Wolfenstein 3D" is finally available for productivity boosting in your favorite web browser. [Mashable]

"A hero has faced it all: he need not be undefeated, but he must be undaunted." - Andrew Bernstein

Misguided missile

Amazing real-life dashcam clip of a Ferrari running a red light at well over 100 mph and t-boning an unfortunate victim on Singapore city streets. Death toll = three. [BI]
And there's also this unrelated moron in the Chicago suburbs who smacks up his Lamborghini in a most embarrassing way. [Jalopnik]

Speaking of fast Italian cars and things that can be difficult to watch, "Gifolas Cage" is a seemingly endless collection of Nic Cage gifs.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

Pop art

If you buy in to fire and explosions as an artform, check out this artist's latest "performance" entailing 40,000 rockets exploding at once. [Gizmodo]

Managing a blog means the joy of managing mountains of comment spam, which if properly sorted out can make for amusing reading, or so "Greetings I Am So Excited I Found Your Weblog" would seem to indicate.

"The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work." - Emile Zola

Cutting remarks

Best accent ever? This kitchen knife infomercial voiceover guy is semi-comprehensible at best, yet loaded with entertainment. I'm not sure which is more amusing — the unique accent that sounds like a robot running out of battery, or the unfathomable script...

And funny though it may be, why make fun of these Goths on OK Cupid...?

"Belief in oneself is one of the most important bricks in building any successful venture." - Lydia M. Child

Metal to the pedal

Bear metal band Red Fang (mis)uses its meager video budget to much avail.

And Blown Covers, New Yorker covers you were never meant to see.

"Even a mistake may turn out to be the one thing necessary to a worthwhile achievement." - Henry Ford

Re-illustrated man

An enthralling stop-motion animation of Hemingway classic "The Old Man and the Sea" unfolds at the artist's pentip right before your eyes.

And a sendup of album covers that look like unusable stock photography made with—perhaps unsurprisingly—stock photos dug up via simple web search.

"A fool flatters himself, a wise man flatters the fool." - Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

What's old is new again

Potentially amusing video series "Old Jews Telling Jokes" returns with all-new, even older jews telling even older, funnier jokes. [bOING bOING]

And another flashback via Lists of Note, William Safire’s Fumblerules of Grammar, each humorously self-contradictory yet a useful, effective, and lighthearted grammar guide.

"From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put." - Sir Winston Churchill

Ven diagram

A day in the life of Venice, Italy, from dawn 'til dusk, neatly done timelapse with camera angles that make much of it look almost a video game.

And contrastingly, Sh*t My Students Write says a fair bit about the quality of our education system.

"What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul." - Joseph Addison

Game over

Classic games being chopped, minced, and generally violently abused, in a music video set to dubstep.

And an eye-opening array of derivative products at Not Official Merch, ranging from cutting societal statements to celebrity mocking and beyond.

"In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy." - William Blake

VW PSA: Laura Monk & High Cotton

My good friend's dear friends Laura Monk & High Cotton have a Kickstarter project to help them finish and promote their new CD.

As Mike puts it:

"These are good people, with 'real jobs', who perform simply for the love of Americana music. It would mean a lot to me if you would pass the link around. Help if you can (as Laura says, "no amount is too small") and thanks in advance."

Check it out, give a little if you enjoy, and spread the word.

Thanks,
\/ \/\/

P.S. — Watch the video, but also check out the sample of their new song, Lost in Space, further down the page. The full version will be included on the upcoming CD.

A picture is worth a thousand notes

An animator created this pretty impressive piece of digi-musical artwork with nothing more than a $5 iPad app. And the fifth month he rested. [Mashable]

"Inanimate object doing silly things" and "black-and-white portrait of famous rapper superimposed with misattributed quote" are among the amusing text-only Instagrams in this Twitter feed.

"A mind always employed is always happy. This is the true secret, the grand recipe, for felicity." - Thomas Jefferson

You make me dancin'

Well-put-together compilation of Rita Hayworth "Stayin' Alive" via scenes from some of her popular movies.

And Warren Buffett Doing Folksy Things, pinned for all to see.

"I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past." - Thomas Jefferson

Curb appeal

Imagine stumbling late one night into this upside-down house in Austria—fully furnished including the indoor plumbing—that has become an instant tourist attraction. [bOING bOING]

Also on the down and down, AntipodeMap.com is a Google Maps-based website to help you figure out where you would end up if you "dug a hole to China". (Actually, it's most likely somewhere in the Indian Ocean.) [Mashable]

"The universe never did make sense; I suspect it was built on government contract." - Robert A. Heinlein

Catawompus

Three months effort to make this ridiculous (but entertaining) vid of a coupla guys doing battle with a cat in the Matrix.

And some strange and unique plush toys are the result when you make them a literal translation of children's drawings.

"He knows not his own strength that has not met adversity." - Ben Jonson

And introducing...

A video montage of famous actors and actresses in their debut roles holds some nostalgia for moviegoers of all ages. [Flavorwire]

And some art from people who aren't artists, Context-Free Patent Art is randomly culled from a wealth of video game-related patents.

"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." - Leonardo da Vinci

Perchance to dream

Momma cat comforting her sleeping baby is a mite too much.

And an examination of the “emotions of life in advertising” through animated GIFs.

"Purpose is the place where your deep gladness meets the world's needs." - Frederick Buechner

Double-OD

All of the 193 utterances of "Double-O" from all 23 James Bond films compressed into one mindbending minute.

And the bizarre photo evidence of a woman's apparent attempt to transform herself into a human Barbie doll.

"Show me an elitist, and I'll show you a loser." - Tom Clancy

Ur so major

Filmmaker Casey Neistat approached the hazards of texting while walking in New York City from the lighter side, though he did miss this one major danger, captured on film by KTLA.

Everything from "Ban buttons" to the "Panic button" and then some, at the Button Museum.

"I was wondering why the Frisbee was getting bigger, then it hit me." - Henny Youngman

Dog eat dog

Watch as Rasta the Vizsla stalks a wolf on a deserted golf course. The vid is at full speed, not slowed down, and the soundtrack is an "absolute must" to get the effect. [bOING bOING]

And if you think you have chores and household expenses, take a peek inside the super-sized life of the Duggar family (19 kids), by the numbers. (For example, 35 loads of laundry, $3,000 worth of groceries a week.)

"We must make the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of our real selves." - Thomas Merton, Trappist Monk

Just say yes

Another amazing ad, from the team that brought you Chuck Testa—now it's the official commercial for the Roller Kingdom in Reno, NV. Hilarious bit of marketing genius.

And a convenient and giant-sized logical fallacy poster to help you combat those flawed arguments. Or at least help you understand why you are so annoyed.

"A man that hoards up riches and enjoys them not is like an ass that carries gold and eats thistles." - Sir Richard Francis Burton

Sinker pitch

Watch clueless movie executives reject pitches for "The Shining", "E.T." (who’s described as a "little brown turd") and "Back to the Future". Laugh-worthy, and a telling commentary on the state of Hollywood.

And the importance of correctly spelling the word "cologne", especially in your tweets. [bOING bOING]

"Sometimes the most positive thing you can be in a boring society is absolutely negative." - Johnny Rotten

Made from dirt

Artist "paints" filth-based masterpieces on the windows of dirty cars. [bOING bOING]

And malicious use of webpage styles lets you make most any website a full-on 3D monstrosity.

"Genius ain't anything more than elegant common sense." - Josh Billings

Piece it together

Must have been a strenuous slicing and dicing effort to produce "Don't Stop Believing", sung by the movies.

For those who just have to know, religious affiliations of superheroes. And going the other way, the Church of the Latter-Day Dude and other religious groups born out of pop culture.

"The core of my personality consists of many selves." - Hans Bender

Big chicken

Terrified kid makes for tragicomedy as he's relentlessly chased by a pack of chickens. (Just drop the food already...)

And a couple dozen PoS toys you tossed that are worth a bundle, or so says these listings on eBay.

"Reality is never as bad as a nightmare, as the mental tortures we inflict on ourselves." - Sammy Davis, Jr.