Nothing lasts, but nothing is lost.

Turtles are cool! Of all the animals I've seen in the sea, they are the ones I could follow and watch forever.

Of course, I suspect that I feel this way, because every other opportunity for me to see a whale-shark has been thwarted for one reason or another (e.g., bad timing, cancelled trips, living in Ohio)

But, I digress... back to the turtle.

Turtles are held in high regard, even sacred, in many cultures. In the Far East, the turtle shell (carapace) is seen as a symbol of heaven while the underside (plastron) is symbolic of mother earth. Some Native Americans believe that the earth on which we live was made from the mud found on the back of a turtle's shell. What ever the story is or what people believe in, you can't disagree that you're hit was awe when one of these majestic creatures slowly and purposely swim by you.

For me, the turtle embodies my thoughts of how one should live their lives. Turtles are thought to be slow creatures and are never in a rush.. they operate at their own pace, getting to where they need to be when they need to be there. What should we get out of this? Easy... go with the flow and be happy and content with the pace which life is taking you. Life is a journey, enjoy it as much as the destination.

In my magical world, turtles would be willing to share their secrets... because, chances are, they have many.

(http://www.explodingdog.com/title/nothinglastsbutnothingislost.html)

Here's my current desktop image that I've taken from explodingdog.com. It only relates to this short post in that there is a turtle in it.

And, for the record, I would never condone turtle servitude. I like to think that the turtle, pictured above, has taken it on himself to help his friend along his journey.

Here's some video for fun.

(For those of you that don't see the video, click here.)

I was looking through archives and I noticed about the same time last year, I blogged about turtle legend. I blame spring fever and my need to get some diving in.

Three pretty cool words all in one movie title.

If you know me, I love movies. I mean I'll pretty much watch just about anything. Why? Because, I'm a loser.

Plus, throw in the the fact that Sherrie is normally my movie watching partner, chances are I'll have a pretty well rounded repertoire. Just so we're clear, Sher's the one to add culture and class to my normal movie line-up (e.g., "Shoot 'Em Up", "Time Bandits", and "A Time to Remember")

In 2009, there's a whole bunch of movies I would like to take time out to see; however, one has caught my eye enough that I couldn't help but highlight it here.

(pop-out, if you're seeing this through rss.)

I mean it has three words that'll get most any heterosexual guy pretty excited, i.e., "Lesbian", "Vampire" and "Killers". So, you know you can't go wrong.

The movie has already been release in Germany and is slated to be in the UK, on March 20th. When will it be in the US? I dunno, but I'm sure Google has the information somewhere in it's information hungry belly.

If you're a movie lover too, friend me on flixster, or if you're unfortunate to be my friend on facebook, check out our compatibility.

An adventure in stop motion video.

Last night we put together a little stop motion video made from legos and the kids' imagination.

Tools we used:

• Canon Digital Rebel XT Camera
• Mini Tripod
• Paper
• Crayons / Markers
• Legos
• iPhoto '09
• iMovie '09
• and unbridled imagination

Overall, we took over 200 pictures, but ended up only using 115.   

The process of using both iPhoto with iVideo (both within the iLife '09 Suite) was pretty straightforward and simple.

THE STEPS

Basically, I imported the images into iPhoto creating a new event, then I opened iVideo and created a new project.

I set the following Project Properties (found in File -> Project Properties... ) as follows:

Then, I opened up for the photo browser, selected the images and dragged them into the iMovie project work space.

Then using the Voiceover button (shortcut key "O"), had Sher and the kids do their narrative magic.

Lastly, added some titles, transition and published the darn thing.

THE RESULTS

The result is this video, which is the kids' version of how Spongebob and Patrick first met.

Enjoy...

The link to the video is here.

Drawing... with your voice

Here's a fun distraction, check it out. It's Zefrank's voice driven drawing tool.

It's a little flash application that allows you to control a brush with sound. A low volume sound guides the cursor counterclockwise; a medium-volume will straighten the line; and, a high volume sound will lead the cursor clockwise. It's actually kinda neat.

Eventually the whole family was howling at the computer trying to do our own vocal etch-a-sketch-like artwork.

Here's Vivian's masterpiece as it developed.

Here's what you get when you play Damien Rice's "The Blower's Daughter" to the tool.

You know, if you don't know Frank, you're missing out.

Follow him at http://twitter.com/zefrank and visit his site often for some happy distractions.

My current state of affairs...

This pretty much sums up how I feel right now.

"Why Am I Still Sick?" from explodingdog.com.

I dream of tree houses...

This explodingdog image describes how I'm feeling today.  It is titled "I dream of treehouses but I am afraid of heights". 

Here's the actual page.

Technorati Tags: challenges,face your fears,attack attack,don't back down,you only get out of life what you put into it.

Rob Zombie is at it again.

I'm not a big Rob Zombie fan, although I've seen all of his work. 

He's putting together a new movie, Tyrannosaurus Rex. 

What's it about? 

Who knows...  but I would be willing to bet there will be a lot of blood, violence, and nudity.

Would I see this movie? 

Probably, but only because of this poster.

Technorati Tags: Rob Zombie,sex,blood and violence,horror film,Rob Zombie makes money from making crap,I'm the sucker willing to see his crap,Tyrannosaurus Rex

For all you guys who like...

to put protective skins on your iPods, iPhones, etc. check this out.  It's BMW's GINA Light Visionary model.  What is this beast?

GINA stands for "Geometry and Function in 'N' Adaptations".  What's all that mean?  Who knows... all I know is that it looks cool.  Essentially, a skin is wrapped around the car's skeleton, which is a carbon fiber and metal frame.  With this you achieve an exterior more fluid and less "rigid" than what we're so used to seeing with vehicles.  So, the door bends open... just like our bodies, when we lift our arms our skin follow naturally.

The headlights are especially cool, instead of a pop-up lamps or a constantly exposed lamp cavity, this BMW's headlamps are hidden behind skin eerily resembling eyelids.

Check out this video as well.

All it needs now is a hydrogen fuel cell, wings, underwater capabilities, a hot brunette in the passenger's seat... and I'm there. 

Technorati Tags: BMW Concept Car,GINA,Car Skin,Pretty effin' sweet ride.

I'm a bad blogger. I've been lazy...

or, super busy.  I can't figure it out yet.  It's probably a little of both.  Either way, I have a whole lot of drafts sitting in my queue, and have no desire to finish them.

Instead, I've been reviewing other people's blogs (Yes, iJustine's) and stumbled across an awesome webcomic site, http://xkcd.com/.  "A Webcomic of Romance, Sarcasm, Math, and Language." 

While I sit here waiting for things to compile, I peruse through Randall's comics...  he's made me laugh out loud several time.

Technorati Tags: xkcd.com,webcomics,fun

We Gotta Do Something!

This hit the spot for Friday morning pick-me up.

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

I'm still laughing...

Technorati Tags: Forgetting Sarah Marshall,Think Green,We Gotta Do Something,Funny Video,Being a Tool like Al Gore

A great two minute diversion...

Technorati Tags: Julian Beever,Chalk Drawings

This weekend is for the girls...

"What about for the boys?", you might be asking.  To which I answer... "maybe?!"  but only if you're into beefy men or a handful of very beefy women.

Maybe... 

Not so much...

 

Let me explain.  This weekend, Columbus is host to three big "Man Meaty" Events.

The most popular and probably the one most people will be going to is The Arnold Classic, now known as Arnold Sports Fesitival.

Originally an event dedicated to men's body building, this 20th anniversary festival has grown to fill up both the Columbus Convention Center and the Nationwide Arena.  They now have over 18 categories of events and sports.  Event include Archery, Cheerleading, Gymnastics and Table Tennis, just to name a few.

Also being hosted at Nationwide Arena this weekend is the UFC's Pride of a Champion.  It's the middleweight championship between Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson.  And this is a fight to watch.  The two men are forces to be reckoned with, Silva with his speed and crazy fast combos, Henderson with his brute teeth shattering strength putting them together in the cage Saturday Night, is definitely something to watch.

Last, but definitely not least, The Ohio High School Athletic Association is having their Wrestling State Championships over at Value City Arena.  What's nice is that we have some local talent competing this year, from Hilliard Darby and Davidson, Upper Arlington and Grove City.

Can you say, holy moly?

Personally, I'm just excited to see Columbus is bringing in some money with events like this.  I'm a little weary of the downtown infrastructures being able to handle all the hustle and bustle.  Not to mention Columbus' finest being able to handle all the testosterone.

Either was it's good for us.  Bring some money in to local business, show that Columbus is just as good as any other big city for providing entertainment and hosting big events.

Will I be going out?  Probably not.  I've very much the "Beta Male" as Christopher Moore describes. 

 

Plus, I've got a new puppy to worry about at home.  We're working on potty training.  Fun, Fun, Fun for the Jude Man.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention another event this weekend.  Every 1st weekend over every month the Short North hosts The Gallery Hop.  It's a time to celebrate art, enjoy good food, shopping and take in the Columbus atmosphere.

 

Technorati Tags: Arnold Classic,Arnold Sports Festival,Ultimate Fighting,UFC,Pride of a Champion,Ohio High School Wrestling,Ohio Wrestling State Championships,Short North,Gallery Hop,Christopher Moore,Beta Male,Columbus Events,Columbus,Ohio

Exploding Dog

by far, this is the site that i could spend forever on.

http://www.explodingdog.com/

And, today, this is my favorite pictures...  hint hint.

http://www.explodingdog.com/title/areyougoingtoeatthat.html

Sam draws the pictures... I just admire them.

Technorati Tags: art,images,explodingdog