Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Summer Solstice Beauty

Launching these beautiful sky lanterns is how the Polish celebrate the Summer Solstice. Awesomely beautiful. There are probably too many trees and such in my part of the world to allow such a thing, but I hope I get to see such an event with my own eyes someday.



I originally found this video on The Daily What. You can read more about Sky Lanterns on Wikipedia.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Bunnywood

In our fast-paced world, who has the time to sit through a two-hour movie? Especially since many of these movies aren't even worth two hours of your life?

Fortunately, Angry Alien Productions has the solution, and what's more, they have bunnies! Now you can watch or re-watch your favorite films in their purest form with bunnies for actors. Films include Fight Club, The Exorcist, Harry Potter, Die Hard, The Shining, Star Wars, It's a Wonderful Life, and the Terminator, just to name a few of our favorites.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

The Last Page of the Internet

I found it! I found it! After millions of clicks and thousands of pages, I finally found the last page of the Internet and its great secrets have been revealed. It's like finally reaching that last page of a mystery novel and finding out who really did the deed.

Finally... I can relax. To save yourself the trouble, you can jump directly to the last page of the Internet. Or, if you are more electrically-minded, you can be environmentally-friendly and switch the lights off before reaching the end of the Internet.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Sherman! Get the WABAC Machine ready!

Mr. Peabody and Sherman
set the WABAC machine
Anyone who's been putting websites up on the InterWebs in the last 10 years has (hopefully) learned a few things about layout design. When the Internet first when color-tastic, people created sites that were not only difficult to look at directly without welding goggles, our eyes were constantly being distracted by galloping unicorns and spinning logos.

And then there were the surprise MIDI files that blared watered-down, neutered, electronic versions of our musical masterpieces in an attempt to create a web-based mood (which, until you found the Stop button, was mostly "Annoyed").If you don't know or remember what I mean, see our earlier post on Web Nostalgia.

But for the most part, we amateur web developers are happy that our old creations rest comfortably in a forgotten HTML cemetery somewhere and no one will ever know that we filled our pages with animated GIFs. Unfortunately, the dead may still live in an archive somewhere and it's still possible to watch them live their old life.

The Wayback Machine is a collection of preserved web pages that dates back to 1996 (back when Tracy Chapman wanted just one good reason to stay and Alanis Morissette confused the world with her definition of Ironic). This project combed the Internet and preserved hundreds of thousands of ordinary and extraordinary webpages in all their embarrassingly bad webdesign glory.

This archive is built with collaboration from the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian, and although it was released in 2001, it already stores over 10 billion web pages.

So visit The Wayback Machine, type in the address for the old Toni Braxton Fan Page you made on Geocities, and see if its been archived. Don't forget your shades, just in case.

Monday, June 13, 2011

ConTXT is eveything

Texting has become a strong part of our modern culture, or at least in areas with cell towers and strong signal bars. Cellphones, Twitter, and Facebook status updates allow people to share and broadcast their thoughts with an information-craving world.

But sometimes (most times?), that kind of raw sharing can take a bizarre, unexpected turn. Random thoughts that probably should stay locked in our noggin get broadcast either accidentally, with little foresight, or with a sense of sarcasm that borders on psychotic. Add a little alcohol to all that, mix well and pour over neurotic ice, and you've got the makings of social network nervous breakdown that therapists have wet dreams about.

Welcome to Texts From Last Night, which lists random, out-of-context text messages sent and received across this nation of ours. You can choose random messages, the best/worst of today, the last week, the last month, or of all time, and you can even sort them by area code. Not surprisingly, many of these texts are about sex, getting drunk, and work (sometimes all at the same time).

Here are some of our favorites:
(317): You tried to convince me you were sober by doing jumping jacks. For an hour.

(267): I only wish the guy being lead around by his cock at the drag show was the weirdest part of my night.

(703): Just woke up wearing a top hat and simpsons boxers. i also found more money in my wallet then what i had before going out, about $1000 more

(401): Renamed my iPod as 'the titantic' so when I plug it in it's says 'the titantic is syncing.'

(516): Thank God they found balloon boy, I was afraid that Michael Jackson was ordering take out from heaven.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Points of View

Take a look at this picture. It's not what you think.

 
I know it looks like a photoshopped image of a hallway with the print superimposed onto of it. But what you're actually seeing in NOT edited. The letters are painted onto the walls so that it *looks* like the photo has been edited. Click here to see how it was done.

Optical illusions like this really amuse me. There's also a movement of street art that creates the optical illusion of 3D depth like this one in Stockholm by Erik Johansson.

  
Both illusions were found on Laughing Squid.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Included Free with this Amusement: a set of Ginsu knives!

Advertising is the greatest artform of the 20th century
-- Marshall Mcluhan

Way back when I was a young writer dreaming of ways I could make a living, I had considered advertising copywriting. It seemed fun, creative, and exciting. In the end, I went with technical writing, but I have always admired the advertising world and the awesome ideas they come up with to promote whatever kind of snake oil people have to sell.

CBC Radio has an awesome show that has forced me to sit in the car in various parking lots across Canada, making me late for whatever drew me out of my Man Cave. CBC's The Age of Persuasion features adman Terry O'Reilly who explores the various twists and turns of the advertising world and its history.

You can listen to the latest episodes on the CBC website (Age of Persuasion with Terry O'Reilly) or subscribed via iTunes (for free!).

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

English is a Beast

So my cousin sent me the link to this blog which is done by his friend's sister (apparently, he was bragging about me being a storyteller and their discussion led to this project. The thought of being bragged about is weird to me).

The blog is called Beasts of English and features artwork and myth about various components in the English language, such as verbs, adverbs, and independent clauses. The artwork is colorful and whimsical and beautiful, and the stories range from tales to simple definitions, but they are all fun to read. There's even a creation myth on the site about how English came into existence.

As a writer and storyteller myself, I have a strong relationship with these beasts, so I look forward to seeing how they take shape in this woman's mind.

The Force is Strong with This One

So for all you Star Wars geeks who wish you could remix  your own movie with classic lines from the series, here's your chance. The Star Wars Soundboard lets you pick lines from all your favorite characters (including the Clone Wars), lay them out on a mixing-board and hear how they sound.

Unlike the Tonal Matrix, you can share your creations on Facebook, Twitter, and other places (including email). I created a mix and put it up on the CEA Facebook page for you to listen to, if you're interested (click here to listen to the mix if you don't have Facebook). Post your creations in the Comments!

But beware my young padewan... Giving in to your darker emotions can lead to the Dark Side... of hilarity!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

They're an Odd Pairing, but they Fight Crime!

Looking to get a new story started, but you can't figure out the right hook? They Fight Crime! is the website to break your writer's block! It seems to generate descriptions for the unlikeliest pairs of heroes that still find enough common ground to fight crime in their town/city/inter-dimensional pocket.

Here are just a few of the amusing descriptions I got when I tried it:
He's an unconventional neurotic boxer with a winning smile and a way with the ladies. She's a transdimensional African-American cab driver who believes she is the reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian queen. They fight crime!


He's an obese Amish gangster trapped in a world he never made. She's a provocative insomniac bodyguard from Mars. They fight crime!


He's a leather-clad native American messiah plagued by the memory of his family's brutal murder. She's a ditzy French-Canadian hooker living homeless in New York's sewers. They fight crime!
Thanks to Suzie P. for the suggestion!

Submitting Amusement

The CEA is also on Facebook! So if you have a site that you find to be amusing and you think it belongs on the CEA, visit us on Facebook and submit your link!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Let's Not Get Crazy Now...

I was walking down Notre Dame street in Little Burgundy when I overheard the following from a bunch of what I assumed were film students setting up a shot:

"I don't think we'd want the Bruce Lee... That would be too much."

There's context, of course, but I think it's funnier to just leave it open-ended.

Tunes for the Tone Deaf

The ToneMatrix is an awesome and addictive tool to create charming jingles and tunes with a few clicks of a button. You layout a set of tonal bricks and they get played on a loop as you create. Each tone is in-tune, so it's virtually impossible to be out-of-tune with it.

Unfortunately, it doesn't allow you to save or record your creations, but you can always record them on your PC using MP3MyMP3, which is what I did. I recorded the session as I placed the tonal bricks, as I made adjustments, and when I removed them all. You can listen to that process here:

At the height of its creation, the tonal matrix looked like this:

Sunday, June 5, 2011

A Moment to Remember a Super Man

I wanted to take a moment to remember the inspirational actor Christopher Reeve who refused to give up on the beauty of living after his tragic accident that left him paralyzed and facing many difficult years.

In this clip, he is joined by actor Tom Welling who plays Clark Kent on Smallville (on which Reeve has just made a cameo appearance). Immediately after the show credits, this clip appeared to promote the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.

Watch for the priceless moment when Welling and Reeve run out of script to follow. It's a heartwarming and genuine moment and I never get tired of watching it.

Web Nostalgia

I'll admit it: I had a couple of webpages at Geocities. I had one that listed Canadian folk bands per province and another one for a local Montreal band called Orealis. I tried to keep the website design clean and conservative, but I also remember that they had a few spinning logos and colour schemes that were closer to colour conspiracies.

If you don't know what I mean, or if you do remember and you want to take a trip down memory lane (against your therapist's recommendations), the Geocities-izer is your time machine. Just submit a current website and it'll get sucked into the 1990's sense of awesome design and animated GIF glory.

For fun, here's what the CEA would've looked like in 1996. Make sure your speakers are set for STUN.

Thanks be to Suzie P. for the link!

Saturday, June 4, 2011

The Joys of Magnets



Some people might argue that these kids have too much time on their hands. To these naysayers, I say that creating beauty is never a waste of time.