Dr Suess ABC read in Jamaican Patois

.. Hehehe

.. Everyone's a comedian

This is what happens when you're taking a photo and someone sneaks up behind you and scares absolute crap out of you just as you're pushing the button.

Funny motivational posters

I'm sure these are pretty much everywhere online already but these were sent around at work today and I thought I'd share them with you.. :)

Slap all your troubles away..

.. with the Slap Chop



.. and Rap Chop, the brilliant remix:

Shadow Hair, Mr Extreme and the not-really-super heroes

Shadow Hare and Dark Guardian ... just two of the masked men and women seeking to fight for justice and the American way.

It's certainly not a bird, or a speeding bullet, or a plane. It looks more like a guy in a silly lycra outfit.

Wearing masks and the full superhero get-up, a band of "real life superheroes" are patrolling the world's cities trying to clean up the streets.

So claim the comic book-like crime-fighters, a loose association of costumed do-gooders who say they are taking up the fight for justice for ordinary people.

Boasting names like Dark Guardian, Citizen Prime, and Green Scorpion, the mainly US-based characters say they need to wear outfits to protect their identities from the evil-doers they attack.

Most have MySpace pages where they reveal the philosophy of their superheroism.

Florida superhero Amazonia wrote why she was prompted to strap on the black Zorro-like mask and defend her city, Ocala:

"I finally had enough of seeing the gangs terrorizing the downtown section of my city. They would mug, beat and otherwise harass senior citizens and women.

"So I took up the mantle of Firebird and set out to do what I could to help others."

Many of the superheroes say they are armed with weapons such as stun guns, which can be legally carried in the US.

"Shadow Hare", a 1.7 metre, slight-of-stature 21-year-old Cincinnati resident who carries handcuffs, a stun-gun and pepper spray, boasts: "I've stopped many evil doers ... such as drug dealers, muggers, rapists, and crazy hobos with pipes."

Many of the superheroes' good deeds are of a civic nature - such as volunteering with charities or feeding the homeless.

But some make more bolder claims of actual crime-fighting.

Shadow Hare said he dislocated his shoulder two years ago while helping a woman who was being attacked.

He also said he was working with a San Diego-based superhero called Mr Extreme to "track down a rapist".

On his MySpace page, Dark Guardian writes of the moment he saw two men with baseball bats waiting to beat someone up outside their house late at night.

"I park across the street from them. I wait and watch them. I make sure they see me so they know someone is watching, soon after they leave.

"I didn't have to go and fight two guys with bats to stop a crime. I just made my presence known and they decided to stop what they were trying to do."

On another occasion he writes of confronting a deranged man trashing a store.

"I stood in front of him and made sure everyone got out of the store. I tried talking him down. The store had already called the cops.

"Once the police came he cooperated and was hauled away. If he came at me or anyone else this story would end differently and I would have been in court myself because I had my knife at the ready.

"Glad it ended the way it did."

Some superheroes also formed together under different banners to tackle crimes in unison, such as the Allegiance of Heroes.

One such group, titled the Justice Society Of Justice, claims to offer "twice the JUSTICE as the leading competitors!".

An online "Superhero Registry" lists members of the "the Real-Life Superhero community", outlining their speciality (for example public service or crime-fighting), where they patrol, whether their identity is secret and if their status as a superhero has been confirmed.

The website states the superheroes are not just role-playing, but that this is "a movement among ordinary people to make the world a better place in an extraordinary way".

"There are always those who will take something less seriously, but the Real-Life Superhero community is generally composed of sincere, well meaning people who have finally decided to go out and make a difference."

The heroes wear costumes to inspire others, protect their privacy, and "conceal vulnerabilities in one's protective gear", the site says.

People can also make their own submissions to be added to the registry but acceptance usually requires evidence of heroic activities through "media documentation of such activities, or testimonials from established Real-Life Superheroes".

On his MySpace page, superhero Dark Guardian also writes of the weight of expectation on real superheroes.

"What I got most out of being a Real Life Superhero is living up to the name. I have to be the living embodiment of a superhero. With that comes great responsibility.

"I have walked away from being a Real Life Superhero before , but I couldn't give it up. It is who I am. It is what I believe in.

"And it will help change the world."

But police appear not to have warmed to the idea.

"We expect people to report crime to the police and not put themselves in jeopardy," New York Police Department spokesman Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne said in an article about the "superheroes" last year.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/shadow-hair-mr-extreme-and-the-notreallysuper-heroes-20090504-asau.html?page=-1

Sydney's curious case of the cereal intruder

Caught on cerealcam ... the brekkie bandit.

A mystery intruder has been plundering cereal and sleeping on the couches for weeks at one of Sydney's marketing agencies.

Staff at the The Marketing Store were perplexed and slightly amused when, almost daily, they would arrive at their Ultimo office to find a trail left by their unwanted nocturnal visitor.

"My office was the starting point for it,'' said the agency's Asia Pacific president Doug Chapman.

"I'd come in and I'd notice somebody had been sleeping on the lounge or doing something in my office.

"All the cushions would be on the floor and it would be all messed up. I kind of wondered whether it was someone bonking on the lounge.''

Even more peculiar, was the absence of large amounts of cereal - about six bowls a night - from the stocks in the office kitchen, and evidence that the showers had been used.

Fingers were initially pointed around the office.

"I put the word out through the office but nothing eventuated,'' he said.

"About four weeks ago I came in and it was in a particularly bad state - there were some tablets lying around, and some tobacco or weed on the floor.''

After reporting the matter to the building landlord and checking security passes, the company ruled out an employee, concluding the intruder had to be entering the building overnight.

But office security cameras never managed to point in the right spot to detect anyone, Mr Chapman said.

While the company hires creative people to promote clients' brands, it was a moment of genius from the woman who runs the kitchen that snared the unwanted visitor.

She came up with the idea of hiding a camera in a cereal box.

"She knew we were either huge eaters or someone was stealing cereal,'' Mr Chapman said.

"She got a cereal box and hid a small camera inside and put it on a benchtop in the kitchen.''

The camera was linked to a computer and activated by motion sensors, snapping clear photos of the intruder on his next visit and emailing them to staff, Mr Chapman said.

They showed the man slipping into the office via an overhead ventilation panel (the office is on the building's fifth and top floor) and then leaving via the fire escape.

On his next visit, the intruder was greeted by a security guard. The company called police, warned the man, but decided against pressing charges.

"We didn't want to press charges but we did warn him - told him it's a bit off-putting for the girls, and those who have to work late night.

"We took it very seriously ... although it was a little funny getting the daily updates.

"But we knew he wasn't stealing anything ... he could've easily taken computers, he didn't take any drinks.

"He was a particularly neat guy. He'd come in at 4am, have breakfast - and it was a hearty breakfast, six bowls - clean up after himself, shower and then leave.

"He'd made his home here.''

The company doesn't know what the man's motives were - he wasn't interrogated - but it didn't appear that he was a typical vagrant.

"He was fairly young, in his mid 30s, and very clean cut for someone that was supposedly homeless.''

The company's office in Ultimo is situated close to a number of university and TAFE campuses, and also near a lot of students accommodation.

The Marketing Store's intruder mystery was revealed on marketing blog Mumbrella.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/sydneys-curious-case-of-the-cereal-intruder-20090504-as6h.html?page=-1

Swinging Gymnastic Fantastic

This looks like awesome fun!

Monkey Magic

Monkey Magic
“In the worlds before Monkey, primal chaos reigned.

Heaven sought order,
but the phoenix can fly only when it's feathers are grown.

The four worlds formed again and yet again,
As endless aeons wheeled and passed.

Time and the pure essences of Heaven,
the moistures of the Earth,and the powers of the Sun and the Moon all worked upon a certain rock
- old as creation,
and it magically became fertile...

Elemental forces caused the egg to hatch.
From it then came a stone monkey...

The nature of Monkey was irrepressible!

Yoda hat for babies

Last week when we were in Sydney we met with my cousin Stephen and his family and got to talking about making a yoda beanie for his 7 month old to wear while in his backpack carrier.

Looks like it's already been done. There's another million dollar idea down the gurgler :)

Presenting the yoda baby hat.

Super Furry Animals ~ Golden Retriever

.. a great song from a great band.

Banksy in New York

He is best known for his graffiti art but for his first official New York show, the British artist Banksy has turned his hand to moving figures.

The Village Pet Store And Charcoal Grill is set in a faux pet supplies shop, complete with actors playing assistants, and features animatronic fish-fingers swimming lazily around a goldfish bowl, hot dogs frolicking in terrariums, a monkey wearing headphones and watching television and an aged, bald and miserable Tweety swinging back and forth in his cage.




Nuggets features two bite-sized chicken pieces pecking at a single-serving carton of tomato sauce, watched over by mother hen. Big Cats shows what appears to be a leopard resting on a branch in a cage which, on closer inspection, turns out to be an ingeniously arranged fur coat.

Juxtaposed with the animatronic displays are real pet supplies, packages of luncheon meat and odd foodstuffs, such as quail eggs and pork titbits.

The animatronic hot-dogs have reportedly sparked complaints from people unhappy about seeing two hot-dogs performing a sex act. Other passers-by have complained about the lack of space for the caged leopard and monkey.



New York had been buzzing with rumours that the elusive artist was in town, as giant rat murals appeared throughout the city before the show's opening last week. In a written statement, Banksy said: "New Yorkers don't care about art, they care about pets. So I'm exhibiting them instead."



He added: "I wanted to make art that questioned our relationship with animals and the ethics and sustainability of factory farming but it ended up as chicken nuggets singing."

Banksy's graffiti is so valuable that the surfaces on which it is daubed have been removed and the work sold. The actress Angelina Jolie spent £1 million on a work by the artist at a London auction last year. In this show, nothing is for sale and nothing is signed.



The New York Times said: "Banksy's statements, like much of his pranksterish oeuvre, should be taken with a grain of salt. But there's no denying the show's attention to comically pointed detail."

Stephan Ludwig, the chairman of Dreweatts auctioneers in London, thinks Banksy might have moved into sculpture "partly in response to his street work being taken off the streets and sold at auction".



The Village Pet Store is on show at 89 Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York, until October 31. Go to www.thevillagepetstoreandcharcoalgrill.com/

Mooning Mooncakes!

.. this was sent around at work today (thanks Siew Yee) and I had to post it. For an asian thing, this seems particularly aussie, don't you think?

Was (Not Was) - Walk The Dinosaur

Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom
Boom boom acka lacko boom boom
Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom
Boom boom acka lacko boom boom

Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom
Boom boom acka lacko boom boom
Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom
Boom boom acka lacko boom boom

Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom
Boom boom acka lacko boom boom
Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom
Boom boom acka lacko boom boom

It was a night like this forty million years ago
I lit a cigarette, picked up a monkey, start to go
The sun was spitting fire, the sky was blue as ice
I felt a little tired, so I watched 'Miami Vice'

I walked a dinosaur, I walked a dinosaur

Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody walk the dinosaur
Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody walk the dinosaur

Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody walk the dinosaur
Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody walk the dinosaur

Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom
Boom boom acka lacko boom boom
Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom
Boom boom acka lacko boom boom

I met you in a cave, you were painting buffalo
I said I'd be your slave, follow wherever you go
That night we split a rattlesnake and danced beneath the stars
You fell asleep, I stayed awake and watched the passing cars

I walked a dinosaur, I walked a dinosaur

Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody walk the dinosaur
Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody walk the dinosaur

Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody walk the dinosaur
Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody walk the dinosaur

One night I dreamed of New York
You and I roasting blue pork
In the Statue of Liberty's torch

Elvis landed in a rocket, rocket, rocket ship
Healed a couple of leapers and disappeared
But where was his beard

A shadow from the sky, much too big to be a bird
A screaming, crashing noise louder than I've ever heard
It looked like two big silver trees that somehow learned to soar
Suddenly a summer breeze and a mighty lion's roar

I killed a dinosaur, I killed a dinosaur

Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody kill the dinosaur
Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody kill the dinosaur

Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody kill the dinosaur
Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody kill the dinosaur

Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody kill the dinosaur
Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody kill the dinosaur

Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody kill the dinosaur
Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody kill the dinosaur

Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom
Boom boom acka lacko boom boom
Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom
Boom boom acka lacko boom boom

Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom
Boom boom acka lacko boom boom
Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom
Boom boom acka lacko boom boom

Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom
Boom boom acka lacko boom boom

.. read the Was (Not Was) entry on Wikipedia

Brilliant Rube Golberg machines

Team building weekend in Port Dickson

This weekend 30-something members of the Systems department of our company travelled to Port Dickson for some team building exercises. The good folks from my department met up at 8am Saturday for breakfast first before heading off on the hour and a bit drive to PD. I haven't had chicken porridge very much, but I'm sure having it again. Delicious!



Once we arrived in PD we checked into the Palm Springs resort, had some lunch and then hit the track for some seriously non-serious go-carting. This was only the second time I've carted, and it was a blast.



After a bit of a break we headed down to the pool area for some team games, which was surprisingly fun, considering that the descriptions of the games provided made it sound like we had all been invited to a 6 year olds birthday party.

After dinner we subjected ourselves to drinks and apparently singing, though I'm not so sure how my rendition of 'Easy' contributed to team morale at all.



Some partied all night, I crashed exhausted. Sunday we had a bit more of a relaxed time and went to the beach for a bit before making our way back to KL.

All in all, a great, though exhausting weekend.

for the geek girl in your life..

found here

Super crowded wave pool in Japan!

Late night tigers and frogs

Well, I was looking forward to a quiet, cozy friday night, particularly after Micah and I went out for dinner Thursday night and got home around 2am after some delicious chili frog and probably a few too many tiger beers (not too mention some really ordinary pool playing). But alas, like all good plans, there were forces at hand that were focussed on upsetting my simple Friday night goal.

It all started coming unglued when I was, against my will, invited to the Havana bar for the characteristic 'beer or two'. I should have seen it coming, but I was helpless, out of my depth, a rabbit in the headlights. I don't know who's idea it was to buy sambuca shots, but I will find them, somehow.

Anyways, the plans were set, we were going to karaoke. So we picked our way up Jalan Bukit Bintang, towards Ktv.
This rabbit in the headlights found himself in a rabbit warren of dimly lit karaoke booth, each equipped with a wild assortment of some of the worst music ever created, performed by someone who in good likelyhood does not even know the song they were re-recording for our group sonic butchering. I'm happy to report that we did not shy away from such a challenge.

We wailed, we crooned, we stood and postured on the table and on the chairs. We drank vodka and coke and attempted at times to sing tunes we had never heard before, and the end result should never be heard again. The lyrics prompt that was meant to be our lifeline seemed to have a mind of it's own, at times hesitating as if not sure if it really ought to go on, and then racing across the screen to catch up to where it was meant to be.

Shocking, but shockingly fun. I don't even want to think what time we got home.

Lip Dub

A fun lip dub video of Harvey Danger's Flagpole Sitta. The video is made by a company called Connected Ventures, a group of people who work for Vimeo, CollegeHumor, Busted Tees, and Defunker.

floating battery-powered jellyfish for your pool

I want to buy a pool just so i can have bunch of these cool floating pool lights drifting around in it. What's the collective noun for jellyfish?

A Smack... a smack of electric jellyfish floating in my pool.