(Message)

Humanity for the most part tends to go about it's business here on earth, paying little attention to the huge universe outside of our atmosphere. But there have been three memorable efforts to cast little packages of information out into the void, like messages in a bottle. I find it inspirational and moving that these tiny bundles of data were hurled outward in the hopes of creating a tiny legacy for humanity, a kind of "we were here" proclamation to whomever might be out there, even though the odds of the messages being found at all border on the impossible.

The Pioneer Plaque













The Voyager Golden Record
















The Arecibo Message

(XTC)

The british band XTC is phenomenal. Their stunning 9th album, Oranges & Lemons, is my favorite pop album of the last 20 years.


I found this great clip of them performing "King For A Day" on Letterman:


Here's the original music video version:



Everyone's creeping up to the money god, putting tongues where they didn't ought to be, on stepping stones of human hearts and souls, into the land of "nothing for free." Well the way that we're living, is all take and no giving, there's nothing to believe in, the loudest mouth will hail the new found way, to be king for a day. Everyone's licking up to the new king pin, trying to get way up with a smile. Sing for your supper boy and jump to a finger click, ain't my way of living in style. 'Cause the ladder gets longer, and ambition gets stronger, I can't satisfy the hunger, that bad old moon has got you in its sway, to be king for a day. You're only here once so you got to get it right. (No time to fuss and fight.) 'Cause life don't mean much if measured out with someone else's plight. (In time you'll see the light.) 'Cause the way that we're living, is all take and no giving, there's not much to believe in, the loudest mouth will hail the new found way to be king for a day.
© 1989 Virgin Music (Publishers) Ltd.

(Hooray)

This blog is officially ONE MONTH OLD!!!! Special thanks to my readers. I never would have thought that I'd have 'regulars' at this early stage of the game. Thanks for bookmarking me!


Past highlights:
A great clip from The Colbert Report
Independence Day article sparks my first 'global dialogue'
My first content suggested by a reader
teh bouncing 8008135!!
The crazy karaoke dance party, starring Dr. Phil
Comedian Brian Regan on Pop Tarts

(Pharmacy)

I work in an inpatient hospital pharmacy.


Here's a link to a funny collection of vintage advertisements for drugs...

(Oil)

People, I hate to come across as a pessimistic doom-prophet, but very bad things are going to happen on a global scale starting very, very soon. The high gas prices that you are experiencing are just the first hint of the beginning. While the American populace keeps it's collective head in the sand like an ostrich, a day of reckoning is fast approaching - the absolutely perverse and vulgar shame of our wasteful consumption-based culture is going to tumble down like a house of cards.

PEAK OIL: LIFE AFTER THE OIL CRASH


".....Civilization as we know it is coming to an end soon. This is not the wacky proclamation of a doomsday cult, apocalypse bible prophecy sect, or conspiracy theory society. Rather, it is the scientific conclusion of the best paid, most widely-respected geologists, physicists, and investment bankers in the world. These are rational, professional, conservative individuals who are absolutely terrified by a phenomenon known as global "Peak Oil."....."

(Aldrin)

Today's post is a salute to astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

















Buzz Aldrin is so much cooler than you it's not even funny. Although he was the second man on the moon, he was THE MAN on the moon. In the news recently for having stared down a UFO, Buzz continues to amaze. Heck, he even has his own action figure. And he has managed to give us 50 years of Buzz Aldriny coolness while suffering from Bipolar Affective Disorder the whole time.

The coolest thing about Buzz Aldrin, however, is that he will not hesitate to kick your ass if necessary. (No charges were filed.)



Aldrin: Now, obviously, the three of us were not going to blurt out, 'Hey Houston we got something moving along side of us and we don't know what it is, you know, can you tell us what it is?'. We weren't about to do that, cause we know that those transmissions would be heard by all sorts of people and who knows what somebody would have demanded that we turn back because of Aliens or whatever the reason is, so we didn't do that but we did decide we'd just cautiously ask Houston where, how far away was the S-IVB?

(Interesting)

Here are a few interesting web sites:





NEATORAMA

(Idiot)

I need to get back on my regular mission, which is finding funny and entertaining stuff on teh interwebs so you don't have to. So, without further ado, I present this classic of the web: a man in a banana suit lighting himself on fire. Linkie Winkie.


At least he has the sense to make it into a kind of public service announcement at the end - "Fire is baaadd...kids...Don't play with matches."

(Linkie Winkie)

Here are some more images from my trip back east...

(Seattle)

I'm back in Seattle, after an amazing week of family fun back east. I need to go to sleep, so enjoy these pictures of clouds I took on the way back here...

(Rock)

Last night I had the tremendous good fortune of singing onstage at Lucky's Lounge in Boston.















My old friend Alex MacDougall has a regular gig there and I went to see him with my sister Judy, brother-in-law Al, niece Corie, cousin Stephanie, Al's nephew Gerry and Steph's friend Jessica.

Lucky's has scrumptious food and we all enjoyed the majesty of a killer set of Rock and R&B music by Alex's band.
















I used to gig with Alex and the guitar player Kevin Belz, way back in the day - and I got up and did a Paul Simon number to a very enthused, wild and crazy crowd.



A large group of schoolteachers were getting their ya-yas out, having stopped by as part of a birthday celebration for a guy named Declan. It was one of the oddest and most varied crowds I had seen at a Boston rock show.
















A splendid time was had by all.

(Scooter)

On a scenic drive with my folks, I saw this ultra-cool scooter for sale in New Hampshire:















I have a scooter club that I'm trying to get off the ground called "Heck's Angels" , back in Seattle. If you're in the area, please join - our motto is "Born To Be Mild".


My scooter gets 135 mpg and I've tricked it out with some neat customizations, including a stereo. The red one in NH, however, is 150cc (mine is 50cc) and the bodywork/roof make it truly droolworthy.




































In this photo, I'm thinking of just starting her up and making a break for it. But I don't think it would be too hard for the police to identify. Oh well.

****** Addendum (07/24/06)******
It's called the Diamo Velux and retails for 3999USD.

(Birthday)

It's my Mom's birthday!!!!!!

(Thunderbird)

It's so good to be back here that I decided to buy a brand new Ford Thunderbird.
BTW, I'm single, ladies. Wanna ride shotgun?















Confession: it really belongs to my uncle.

Thanks to cousin Stephanie for the pictures!

(Family)

Well, I didn't die, so my swan song will have to be another day. Jetblue is the best airline ever - that was my first flight with them and it rocks. The landing gear worked fine this time. I got here early saturday morning (Westford, MA) and have been enjoying being with my family. My dad has been into genealogy and later in the week I'll be showing you some Murphy stuff that goes waaaay back...




Loretta, Me, Jim & Judy

Al, Judy, Me

Drunken cracker behaviour

(Boston)

I'm flying to Boston tonight and will be there until the 23rd... I'll update the blog from over there.














Planes sometimes go down, so if mine (JetBlue 498) does, your mission is to forward this message around the world:

"And in the end,
the love you take
is equal to the love
you make".

And think of me when you hear the B side of Abbey Road...

(Accident)

This is one of the worst car accidents I've ever seen:

http://www.sparkvideos.com/badaccident.shtml

It seems to be in the Los Angeles area. I hope nobody was seriously hurt. The couple in the Mustang seem to have been saved by their airbags. Drive carefully, folks - your vehicle is subject to Newtonian physics and is usually surrounded by idiots gabbing on their cell phones...

(Meals)

Obesity is a hot-button issue in America. In New England, the Fluffer Nutter sandwich and it's place in the culture are being debated. Fast food restaurants are under intense scrutiny for facilitating the 'epidemic'. Hospitals are installing gigantic chairs, beds and lifts to manipulate their elephantine patients.

For those who have given up the battle, there is valuable resource in place:




It's the perfect portal for folks who have ever asked themselves "I wonder where I can get myself a fifty pound cheeseburger?"












Many of the featured meals are provided free if they can be eaten within a certain period of time. So get out there and stuff your pie-hole, America, time's a wastin'!

Oh, and if you're ever in Seattle, look me up - we'll go and get an Extreme Stadium Burger at The Ram.

BBbbBbrrrrrrrRrrrrRrPp.

(Roommate)

Got a roommate? Want to drive them crazy? Here's a list of

380 Ways To Freak Out Your Roommate.

27) - Hide a bunch of potato chips and Ho Hos in the bottom of a trash can. When you get hungry, root around in the trash. Find the food, and eat it. If your roommate empties the trash before you get hungry, demand that s/he reimburse you.

5) - Steal a fishtank. Fill it with beer and dump sardines in it. Talk to them.



87) - Buy Sea Monkeys and grow them. Name one after your roommate. Announce the next day that that one died. Name another one after your roommate. The next day say that it died. Keep this up until they all die.

266) - Walk, talk, and dress like a cowboy at all times. If your roommate inquires, tell him/her, "Don't worry, little buckaroo. You'll be safe with me."

(Gaming)

Videogames have reached an astonishing level of sophistication. The term 'game' barely even applies to many of the current crop; they have become virtual realities, entire worlds into which one can disappear.

Such elaborate, valuable and stimulating pastimes, when viewed through the distorted lens of 'The Man', become another threat to our way of life. That's right folks, Mario wants to eat your children...



My take on this issue is that videogames are cathartic. Every video beasty that I chop up with a sword lowers the odds that I'll someday snap and go on a kill-crazy rampage in real life.



Just look at him, with his 'gang signs' and his jaunty Kangol 'M' cap.
He must be stopped....

(Comedy)

I think that Brian Regan is one of the funniest people alive. This is one of his classic bits about Pop Tarts.



I wonder if this doggy was in the audience that night.

(Photoshop)

Here's a great gallery of pictures from a Worth1000 photoshop contest:
Band Name Literalisms

Can you guess the name of the band in this picture?



Can you groan a little louder?

(Airlines)

I have an idea for the airline industry.
I've always felt that they should have Anesthesia Airlines. It would be the ultimate way to fly.



The way it works is you go into a comfy departure lounge and are put out completely. When you are brought back to consciousness, you are in a comfy arrival lounge at your destination.

In between, you are loaded into the plane on racks of cots and are attended to by a staff of anesthesiologists.

The plane wouldn't need a whole lot of amenities and could be stuffed to the gills. Added bonus: if the plane crashed, none of the passengers would suffer (or even know!) Subjectively, trips taken via this method would feel like teleportation!

"Excellent idea. An added benefit to that is that you cannot eat before anethesia so you wouldn't have to eat the airport food! " - Variant E

There's a story in a similar vein by Stephen King called "The Jaunt" (but it's about actual teleportation, not an airline.)

(Bunny)

One of my readers, peanutbutterjellytime, got this cute list of rules in an email from her sister, Amber.

They are The Bunny Rules.


1) - The bunny is not allowed in the house.
2) - OK, the bunny is allowed in the house, but only in certain rooms.
3) - The bunny is allowed in all rooms, but has to stay off the furniture.
4) - The bunny can get on the old furniture only.
5) - Fine, the bunny is allowed on all the furniture, but is not allowed to sleep with humans, on the bed.
6) - OK, the bunny is allowed on the bed, but only by invitation.
7) - The bunny can sleep on the bed when-ever he wants, but not under the covers.
8) - The bunny can sleep under the covers by invitation only.
9) - The bunny can sleep under the covers every night.
10) - Humans must ask permission to sleep under the covers with the bunny.