Must Watch - Must Listen: Best of the Web 2011

Truly an awesome video.  Actor/Director, Luc Bergeron spliced together some of the best video clips from over the past year and created this masterpiece.  Being a blogger, it struck a chord with me.  Check it out, it's really great.  You may even recognize some of the clips.

Director and song information after the jump...

American Horror Story's Best Episode Yet!

You may remember me talking about American Horror Story a couple of months ago, or you may not.  Regardless, the show is now one of mine and Ryan's favorites.  We finally had the chance to watch Wednesday's episode, and I'm telling you, it was the craziest episode EVER!  I couldn't have said it any better than this fellow blogger here...

Craziest episode EVER! When Violet wasn’t able to leave the house, YOU KNEW SOMETHING WAS UP, but I kept thinking it was Tate doing some weird shit. Then… then…. well, I STILL can’t stop thinking about it, dreaming about it, screaming about it. “YOU TOOK SO MANY, VIOLET!” Oh, it’s just too sad. And don’t talk to me about SPOILER ALERTS. Life happens in real time, baby, and I’m not going to hold off BLOGGING until you find time to watch your dvr. VIOLET IS DEAD, you’re going to have to deal with that fact sooner or later. I know I’M still reeling. - James St. James

2011 Movie Montage

Check out this nifty movie in review from hatinhand . It's a movie montage featuring 166 different movies over the past year.  How many do you recognize?

The 2011 slate of releases, from The Adjustment Bureau to Zookeeper.

This is where a cathartic and overarching statement would succinctly sum up the year's displays of creativity, passion, ingenuity, and bravado, but the only thing that comes to mind is: weird shit. Lots of weird shit. 

War horses and evil clowns. Hobos with shotguns and super-powered Nazi hunters. Cancer comedies and a silent warrior in a scorpion jacket. Iconoclasts, conspirators, madmen, and crusaders. And a badass David Tennant. What's not to like? Something for everyone.

Kiss of the Week - Issue No. 003

When I started my "Kiss of the Week" series in 2007 on Peter's Daily Blog, I never thought I would get as far as I did with it.  At the beginning I was only posting photos of two hot guys kissing, but later incorporated a "Quote of the Day" with it - and the rest is history.

Over the next few months I will be posting my original posts and slowly introducing the series to my current blog BLADE 7184 readers.  So without further ado, here's the third issue, originally posted on July 07, 2007...

Let's Play Banking

Quoted: President Barack Obama on Unfairness

"Keep in mind, when President Clinton first proposed these tax increases, folks in Congress predicted they would kill jobs and lead to another recession. Instead, our economy created nearly 23 million jobs and we eliminated the deficit.  Today, the wealthiest Americans are paying the lowest taxes in over half a century. This isn’t like in the early ‘50s, when the top tax rate was over 90 percent. This isn’t even like the early ‘80s, when the top tax rate was about 70 percent. Under President Clinton, the top rate was only about 39 percent. Today, thanks to loopholes and shelters, a quarter of all millionaires now pay lower tax rates than millions of you, millions of middle-class families. Some billionaires have a tax rate as low as 1 percent. One percent.

That is the height of unfairness. It is wrong. It’s wrong that in the United States of America, a teacher or a nurse or a construction worker, maybe earns $50,000 a year, should pay a higher tax rate than somebody raking in $50 million. It’s wrong for Warren Buffett‘s secretary to pay a higher tax rate than Warren Buffett. And by the way, Warren Buffett agrees with me. So do most Americans — Democrats, Independents and Republicans. And I know that many of our wealthiest citizens would agree to contribute a little more if it meant reducing the deficit and strengthening the economy that made their success"

- President Barack Obama at a speech in Osawatomie, Kansas on Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Art By Dots: Hero

Artist, Miguel Endara created a masterpiece titled, "Hero". Composed of 3.2 million dots, Endara taped the process as he drew the portrait of his dad.

Check it out, it's unbelievably amazing!



Music by Bonobo - Noctuary
Created and Produced by Miguel Endara
miguelendara.com

Hey Rudolph!

Celebrity Voices Recite Twas The Night Before Christmas

Celebrity impressionist Jim Meskimen's tribute to movie, film and political stars reciting Clement C. Moore's immortal "A Visit From St. Nicholas".

Of course leave it to a lunatic to leave this comment on his YouTube page:

"YOU ARE SATAN ONLY SATAN CAN HAVE THIS MANY VOICES. YOU NEED TO BE NAILED TO A CROSS AND BE CURED FROM ALL YOUR DEMONS"

I Quote That - Paint

And This Is Our Chihuahua...

...or better yet, Chihuahuas. LOL.  Just kidding, my angel, because I know You'll be waking up soon and reading this.  If only we could teach Nacho and Lady how to use the puppy pads.  Puffs and Duchess are the only ones that know. ugh.

You can catch more of these by artist Christopher Rozzi by clicking pic

Must Watch: Muscle-ripped Guy Becomes a Hot Chick over a Span of Two Years

I'm speechless, I really don't know what to say.  He was so hot as a guy, but.... as a girl, he's even hotter.

Seriously speaking though, it has to be difficult being transgendered in today's society.  I really don't know much about it to say anything, which is even more reason to read about it.  

Much like the gay community, they too are bullied, beaten, and persecuted for who they are.  Although, I tend to think they go through much more difficult situations and heartache than gay people.

I just wish we lived in a world, where there was no judging of one another.

OMG Hilarious! - Monsters

Alien Worlds

According to Space.com, astronomers have discovered more than 700 alien planets beyond the solar system, and the count is rising all the time. Some are large and hot, and others are smaller and cooler, but scientists are still on the lookout for an Earth twin.

They just got closer, with the announcement Dec. 5 of a planet found by NASA's Kepler space telescope to lie in the habitable zone around its star where liquid water, and perhaps life, could exist.

click on picture to visit space.com

Blade's Box of Jams: Track #11 - We Are Young

Currently listening to...

fun.

It doesn't matter what people say online, everyone who saw Glee last night was introduced to a song they never heard before, or if they did, never really paid attention to it until they watched last night's episode.  

The reason artists agree to have their songs sung by the cast of Glee is for exposure.  Whether its a legend, or an up and coming artist, they all want it.  Imagine all the purchases made through iTunes last night. One you tube commenter wrote, "Yeah glee brought me here as well. Like both versions, prefer this version. Bought all three. love Jannelle Monae. Love fun. Love glee."

I'll be honest, the moment I finished hearing Glee's version of the song, I researched it and found the original. "We Are Young" is sung by the band fun.; It is an American indie pop band based in New York City.  Feel free to join their Facebook or Twitter here.  You can also catch last night's performance by Glee after the jump. But for now, let's listen and watch the moving video by fun.

For those of you who are saying "why did I just spend 4:11 minutes watching?' You watched a moving piece of art. It is showing us, as old (the apple) and tonight we are going to be young. As we grow old, we retain the youth inside us and tonight it comes out. We shed (or cut) off that skin and show off our youth once more. That is what the video is about. It's telling us, no matter how old you are, tonight, we are young. So let's set the world on fire, we can burn brighter than the sun. Tonight - Cynix7

Glee's version of the song was very emotional for both Ryan and I, because we know the characters of the show, and what they're going through. So for us, it is going to be bittersweet to see some of them go at the end of the season.  The version after the jump introduced us to another fabulous artist, and for that we are grateful.

On February 5th, A Legend Will Rock America's Largest Stage...

Madonna will take center stage at halftime of Super Bowl XLVI, flanked by Cirque du Soleil performers in what traditionally is one of the year's most watched shows.

The NFL announced Sunday night, in a press release, that the Michigan-born singer would headline the halftime show on February 5, 2012, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

She follows other high-profile acts in recent years, including the Black Eyed Peas and Usher during the most recent edition of pro football's championship game at Cowboys Stadium in Texas. [source]

OMG Hilarious! - Kissing

What a Hot Mess: Waitstaff Walks Out on Chef and Local Restaurant

I knew that Ryan's birthday was coming up, and wanted to plan dinner for his birthday.  One of the three choices was The Rainforest Cafe, Dave & Busters or The Ruggles Grill.  

We had previously mentioned the Rainforest Cafe to our friends, but we hadn't told them of Ruggles as an option.  When it came down to having dinner at Dave & Busters or Ruggles, we decided on the latter.

So you can imagine my surprise when I came across this article on Facebook this morning.  The Ruggles Waitstaff Stages Walk-Out, Alleging Non-Payment of Tips.  What a Hot Mess!

According to the article, 

"This past Saturday night at Ruggles was a busy one. There were nearly 200 customers packing the restaurant at Westheimer and Montrose, with a skeleton crew of only five waiters out of a normal 10-man crew. And at 7 p.m., all five of those waiters -- as well as Ruggles's general manager -- walked out, closing the restaurant behind them."

"We told the customers there was a gas leak," said Jeremiah Villarreal, 28, a University of Houston sports medicine student who had been a waiter at Ruggles since June.

Lucky for us, we planned dinner for Sunday, because we couldn't make dinner on Saturday. And two, Dave & Busters ended up being the best choice.  We had a great time, and played some arcade games afterwards.

The article has since been udpated, with the owner/chef, admitting that he owes "about $14,000 to $15,000 to catch everybody up."

Source: Ruggles Grill

If The World Were A Village of 100 People: Issue No. 14 - Food

This is the 14th poster out of the 20 posters I have shared with you over the past several months.

Every week I have been asking, "What if the world were a village of 100 people?"  And by using statistics based on the spread of the population in the world, Toby Ng Design created these posters as another way of looking at how our world is today. 
 
If you missed any of the previous issues, click here.

School Portrait

No matter what you do, you cannot tell the girl with the ginger hair to stop smiling.  Directed by Nick Scott and Produced by Michael Berliner, this cute short film will make you smile and laugh.

The film, titled, "School Portrait," features students coming in to have their school pictures taken.  Unbeknownst to them, the photographer will do what he can to keep them from smiling.  And he does this by having the kids say things like, "The banking crisis means I will never afford a home" or he tells a little girl, "there isn't a pet heaven".  Sounds cruel, I know, but it's actually quite funny.

OMG Hilarious! - Expected

I Quote That - Walk Away

Cello Wars: The Phantom Cellist

I'm sure none of you have ever seen something quite like this.  Those who have been in a high school band, college, or elsewhere would probably appreciate this video more.  I actually enjoyed it, it was pretty cool.

The guys behind the video never expected it would take them 70 days to put this together, but it did.  It took more than 7,000 frames, 72 audio tracks, 24 hours of filming through the night in front of a green screen, the most props and costumes they ever used, several broken bows and strings, and over 1,000 hours of editing and rendering -- they felt like they had taken on the entire EMPIRE! 

So without further ado, The Piano Guys and Steven Sharp Nelson present to you...

Cello Wars: The Phantom Cellist

 

Pets Love Christmas

Isn't This The Truth? The Many Levels of Drunkeness

OMG! Isn't this the truth?!? If I was given a nickle for every time I started crying, spoke in tongues, or did exotic dances, I'd be filthy rich by now.  Looking at this bottle, and it's many level of drunkeness, I'd say I've been here many of times, especially to the point where I'm saying, "I'm fine, I'm fine." LOL.

Sunday Funday: Dancing Video of the Day - Part III

Man, I'm on a roll with these Sunday Funday videos.  I've seen several pop-up on Facebook this week alone.  Here's one of my favorites. :-)

Let's me just say, hot, hot, and hot!  I could have easily posted this under Treasure Trail Fridays too!

Without further ado, here's your Sunday Funday hottie dancing to Nelly Furtado's, "Glow".

The Many Bodies of Christian Bale

Wow, it truly is amazing how a movie can make you do something as crazy as this.  Christian Bale went from 184 lbs in 2002 to 121 lbs in 2004.  Check out the losses and gains the star incurred over the past decade.

Image courtesy of Buzzfeed

OMG Hilarious! - Dog Died

Computer Love, Love, Love, Love, Love, Love

Can you find love online?  Yes, you can.  Look at Ryan and I.  We're at 6-1/2 years and counting. :-)

I posted this video on Facebook over a year or two ago.  Once again, it goes to show why I started blogging again.  I can't find things I posted on Facebook older than year or more.  Memories, kind words, loving comments, ridiculous shenanigans (all gone).  

Luckily, someone on Facebook posted this video online the other day, and I can store it on my blog forever.  It is absolutely adorable, never mind that the guy is hot.

Putting that aside, Jacob, the 21 year star in the video, became a YouTube sensation with over 500,000 hits within a matter of days. He uploaded the video you're about to see, as a love confession to his online friend, Anthony in sign language. It literally melted the hearts of millions within weeks!

Jacob and Anthony have been together since April, 2010, and are still madly in love. In a recent interview, they both confessed that neither is deaf or hard of hearing. Anthony says he is a fan of sign language, and wanted the opportunity to converse with the deaf. Jacob took notice of this, and took the time to learn as well, "For me, sign language is an art form. It is like teaching your hands to dance! From our very first date, Anthony and I started to learn sign language; we spent an entire evening together, discovering each other."

The beginning of the video was a completely private moment between them. Anthony remembers his reaction when he saw it for the first time: "Even if you do not know sign language, it is clear that every gesture has a sexual meaning. When I saw it, I was left speechless. He was so adorable, so personal, so beautiful ... "

Asked on why they decided to upload something so personal on the internet, they stated, "We see it as an expression of gay love, as many people try to connect gays with sex. The responses were amazing, but we do not think they were posted only because they see a delicious boy without a shirt using sign language. We think the reason it has become successful is because of the message. "

"The video means a lot to us, and has given many people the opportunity to see what real love between two boys consists of. We are glad we gave the world a chance to smile. "



and now, time for the video...

The song playing in the background is performed by Aaron & The Gays, and it's titled "Computer Sex".  Lyrics are after the jump...

Get More Out of Google

Hack College has come up with the following Infographic that I have posted on my blog on a permanent basis (located on the left sidebar).  It provides tips and tricks for students wishing to do online research.  

A recent study has found that 3 out of  students don't search Google efficiently, hell, I know people that could use help with Google.  One example, "Don't ask Google questions. Think about how an answer would be phrased, and search for that(ie, never search for 'What is the air speed velocity...')."

Yes, you have people who are Google masters, and know every Google trick in the book, but most of us don't, so this definitely does help.  Give it a try if you're doing a research paper, project, or just simply at home searching for useless information.  Enjoy.

Freaky, The Scary Snowman Returns

If you missed him last year, that's okay. Fear no more, Freaky, The Scary Snowman has returned for Season 2!  

Watch as Freaky scares a woman walking her dog, a woman jogging, and an old lady who Freaky  thought was going to have a heart attack. Freaky also scared a bunch of girls, with some great reactions and screams.

Text Me Your Naked Pic

LMAO!  Who hasn't come across someone who has asked them for a pic?  Not just any pic, but a naked pic?  Yeah, you see it on Grndr, instant messaging, Skype, from the person you met at a bar, or chat rooms (wait, do those still exist?).  But how many of you have actually sent it?  Maybe you should have taken it in this direction... LOL.

Poster of the Week - Issue No. 37 - Intimidation

Continuing alphabetically, I bring you this week's poster, "Intimidation".

It's Purely Animal - Issue No. 38 - Jerry Needs No Help

I absolutely loved watching this! See Jerry fetch his own ball.

The creator of this fabulous machine had this to say:

I built the ball machine because I thought my dog Jerry, might like it and that it would be something fun for me to build. So after two years of on and off work, with many safety features such as IR proximity sensors to protect Jerry and my son from the machine, I finally complete.

Far from being a replacement for me, I was always right there with him enjoying his fun. And with all the troubles that I went through to build the ball machine, I still end up throwing more balls than that the machine could count! According to the computer, he played with the machine by himself only 3 times in his life.

I recently put this video on YouTube to keep alive my earlier memories of him and (hopefully) provide some "humorous distractions" for anyone that might drop by.

Please enjoy the video.

Oh Steven, Oh Steven

Vampire Diarie's most gorgeous guy, Steven R McQueen takes his dog for a run, and he looks absolutely fine doing it.