Random!

Yep, it's more random stuff to finish out the weekend.

1. I think I've heard of this site before, but I didn't check it out until this weekend. Cover Browser can show you hundreds--maybe thousands--of comic book covers from all across the comic spectrum. While I am not a comic fanatic, I (like many American males) am certainly familiar with them. I've never collected comics, but I did buy some graphic novels back in college. (Everybody experiments in college, right?)

What I found particularly valuable about this site, however is not the amazing variety of comics you might choose to look at. Rather, it's some of the humorous categories that the webmaster has uncovered. For instance, did you know that Superman's identity has been revealed a shocking number of times . . . and in an increasingly ridiculous set of circumstances?

2. Do you remember the Coca-Cola "Happiness Factory" ad from the last Super Bowl? Well, there is a sequel to it now out that recently debuted in the Web-verse.

You can watch the entire 3 minute clip over on WWYG?! Omnimedia, but I've got to say that Coke must be the most powerful brand name in the world if they don't care about the message that this clip gives about the product in question.

The original "Happiness Factory" clip gave you the impression that the mysterious creatures living in the Coke machine were well meaning drones who only wanted to get you a cold Coke fast. The music was cheerful and everyone seemed pretty damned pleased with themselves. But, in this new advert-epic, when things go wrong, we get a more disturbing look in the depraved world of Coke creation.

First of all, by spending over three minutes in the world of Coke, we can clearly see that the mysterious beings that deliver the Coke are much creepier than they should be. What was once viewed as whimsical now appears to be grubby, slimy, nasty little of all shapes and sizes just galumphing around in the inner crevices of a vending machine.

It's supposed to be a quest to find the source of Coke or something, but I couldn't escape the feeling that as our hero ventures deeper and deeper into the center of the Cokeverse, things get scummier and dirtier. This is a product that you are pouring into MOUTHS, Coca-Cola company! Hygiene would seem to be of primary importance, no?

And, finally, PLEASE tell me why belching is the mysterious force that causes the willowy Coke tree to revive itself and begin juicing out the (now suspicious looking) brown Coke liquid. Gross!

. . . ___ ____ makes three

[The captions read, from L to R--David (Dad), Lynda (Mom), Sarah (Me), Grace (sister), Babby (isn't here)]

I found this in Sarah's cubby at daycare when we picked her up this afternoon. I don't know when she drew it, but it is recent. And it is all true.

We just started telling people last week. Lynda is into the early days of the second trimester. Given our past history, we didn't want to jump the gun on informing people until we were comfortable and (as) certain (as we can ever be) that things are going to be fine.

So . . . how are things with you?

Making an omelet . . .

This morning, I found something interesting for you to look at and enjoy.

Thanks to The Presurfer, I saw some interesting photographs made by German artist Martin Klimas.

Klimas drops ceramic figurines and takes photographs at the moment of impact. His pictures are taken using a strobe-light type camera that clicks the shutter when it hears the sound of shattering.

You can read more about his technique, and see some of his photographs via this link.

Though I am surely influenced by the Asian style of these particular figurines, I think Klimas' pictures have a sort of "Matrix" stop-motion feeling to them.

Taking it Easy

About two weeks ago, I was picking up the girls from Vacation Bible School in New Albany. I had to take them to a noon dentist appointment.

I saw a guy roller-blading down the sidewalk, on a Monday. Who knows if he had a job, had the day off, was unemployed, was on vacation. But as he slid down the decline preparing to cross the street that I was driving on, he just busted a 1970s disco roller skate move, twirling in place in a kind of joyful fluidity that grabbed my attention.

Here I was, in mid-day, transitioning from the grind of office work, getting my kids to get their teeth cleaned, then I'd drop them back at daycare and return to the cubicle for a few more hours of profitable anonymity. Average, banal, ordinary.

And here was RollerBladeDude, busting his move, unconcerned and enjoying himself.

I tried to carry that image with me, reminding myself to take it easy, to breath more slowly, to focus on the moment, rather than dwelling on what's been done before and what still remains to be done ahead.

I've often had this problem, thinking outside of myself too much. Worrying about anything, everything. It was a problem when I was a young boy in school. Maybe because I had older siblings I could watch them ahead of me and project myself forward to when I faced those challenges. More than anything, I was just an anxious, worrying kid that was afraid of doing something wrong, of creating disappointment. This anxiety was enough of an issue that my parents signed me up for a summer session of weekly talks with a psychologist.

These talks were very informal affairs, just him and me sitting in his office talking about the week gone by. I don't really even remember him specifically asking me what caused my anxiety or focusing on the things that make me get upset. We just talked, though I'm sure those things came up and he got my impressions on things. Maybe talking through my week, pulling it out of my perspective, having someone else objectify my experiences allowed me to gain perspective of my own. Maybe I just grew up a bit, but in the end, we met weekly for the summer months and then it was over.

I do feel that I loosened up some after that. I didn't project my worries out into the future quite as much. I still worried then and still do today, but I took it all better in stride. Nowadays, I've got LOTS more to worry about than school projects or living up to the previous examples of my siblings. I guess it's proof that things are better if I can do all the things I now do without being overwhelmed.

I guess I just kept on growing and learning that you worry about the stuff you can control and do your best when you can. But, if you're just out and about on a weekday, living your life and doing your thing, don't pass up the opportunity to twirl on your roller blades and have a little bit of fun.

Keeping up appearances

Hey Ya'll. How's it going?

I'm pretty good, really. My life is normal and ordinary and uneventful right now, which is more than I can say for others that I know and my thoughts and prayers go out to them this week.

I have been neglecting WWYG?! lately, simply trying to come up with an idea, a reason for blogging. I haven't been able to come up with much and I have to learn to accept that. I am aware that my daily life is not always suitable for presentation.

But, the internet is always out there, filled with idiocy, some interesting stuff, and other things I can't even begin to guess. So, let's take a look at recent stuff that I thought was worth a few minutes of ocular review.

Thanks to a new blog that I recently heard of (The Presurfer), I can fill you in on some very interesting bathroom signs from around the world. Everybody's gotta go, right? But how you go about informing people WHERE to go can provide some nicely creative moments. Check out the visual list here. One of my favorite signs is displayed below:

For the LOST fans out there, there was some big news a few weeks ago. Harold Perrineau is going to be back for Season 4 of our favorite Mystery Island show. Be sure to get your earplugs ready for lots of "WAAAALLLLTTTTT!"
And for more LOST stuff, check out this video listing of stuff from Comic Con 2007. I'm too lazy to search it all out for you individually, but you can find interesting links and some tantalizing stuff about season 4 within. I've listened to the podcast audio and I'm ready for February to arrive.

Yes, I am suffering a bit from post-Potter depression. Yes, clicking on that link WILL take you to mildly spoileriffic materials. And, yes, I am currently reading The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman to try and fill the void. (Though I am also planning to fill the void by reading Deathly Hallows again as soon as my copy is returned to me from GY, my coworker who is sharing it with her daughter.)

Speaking of Harry Potter (and then I'll try and stop, I promise), I was checking page proofs and listening to the audio book for HP & the HBP today when the word "satsuma" came up once again. (Sometime like "Arthur Weasley looked up from the satsuma he was peeling.") I have often wondered exactly what a satsuma was, but have never bothered to look it up before today. I imagined that it was a vegetable or something.

Well, I was getting in the right direction, but it's not a vegetable. As you probably already know, a satsuma is another word for a tangerine.

But what's interesting about the website I just linked to is that there are some rather odd Pop Culture references listed for satsumas. And consider that someone had to put those there when the entry was written. Clearly I'm not the only one wasting my time on the internet.

Until next time . . .