And, inspired by the power of the thing, he drew this lovely portrait:

An e-mail from Mike:

I overheard this conversation today, and thought of you:

Starbucks Barista: That’s an awesome shirt, man
Stylish Man: Thanks. I got it in Amsterdam.
Starbucks Barista: That’s better than what most people bring back.
Stylish Man: [Perplexed Silence]
Starbucks Barista: The clap.

I miss Mike.

Blendtec, a company that promotes its industrial blenders by attempting to blend things, attempts to blend an iPhone. I won’t give anything away, but do go see for yourself.

Matt’s friend Devin has the most fun tattoo ever.

The Nietzsche Family Circus pairs a randomized Family Circus cartoon with a randomized Friedrich Nietzsche quote. The result is hilarious and sometimes startlingly profound.

For anyone who doesn’t know, Bill Keane’s The Family Circus is a strange comic to begin with. I started following after I read an Underbelly zine article by Will Pfeifer in which he explains the genuis of the comic strip.

Pfeifer’s commentary on the strip that ran September 23, 1990 is particularly intriguing. From Underbelly:

Keane skipped his usual Sunday forumlas … and went right for the jugular: Billy and Dolly are standing in a field overrun with weeds. Flies buzz around their heads. The sky is dark. A factory and some nearby houses belch smoke. A pick-up in the distance spews more much and blasts a loud “boom boom boom” music (rap?) as the driver tosses garbage from the window. A sickly green stream sits stagnant before the kids, filled with cans, tires, and rotting fish. A sign that reads “No Shooting” stands riddled with bullet holes.

In the midst of this desolation, there is no clever remark from Billy. No innocently humorous ‘Dolly-isms.’ All Dolly, wearing a world-weary variation of the blasé expression, can ask is this:

“Why do babies leave heaven to come here?”

I have no idea what to make of this strip. Did Jean-Paul Sartre write it? Is it a pro-abortion strip? A pro-birth control strip? …

I do have a theory. Unlike in other strips, the telephone poles in this strip have wires. Maybe Keane is implying that Billy and Dolly have stepped out of their idyllic comic world and entered our own. Maybe he’s saying that what they saw was so horrible it led them to question the existence and/or wisdom of God. Maybe he’s saying comic strip kids like Billy and Dolly would rather never be born than live in our world.

Or maybe I’m just reading too much into The Family Circus.

My pet aesthetic? The more the little critter looks like a monster, the more I like him. I mean, if your pet doesn’t look like a monster, what’s the fun of having it roam around your house?

So I was wandering around the world wide webointersphere when I saw him: small, dark, and handsome, with big bright eyes that just won’t quit. Introducing, my future dream pet.

I’m in love.

Charlie Todd, comedian/actor/improvitarian at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, spends his free time pranking NYC. I should have blogged about this when I first heard of it a couple years ago, but I didn’t. So I’m doing it now.

Todd’s Improv Everywhere “agents” act out scenes in real life. Like throwing surprise birthday parties for strangers, boarding subway busses pantsless en masse, or collectively entering a Best Buy store dressed in blue polos and khaki pants. It’s a cool concept. And, except in cases where it goes horribly awry, it’s often funny.

Yeah!

A video produced by Nancy Reagan to encourage the youth of America to put down the dope has just been added to web archivist Ethan Persoff’s website. He’s got a link to the video, lyrics, and a swell promotional picture all uploaded and available for download.

The video features the musical talents of such greats as Whitney Houston, LaToya Jackson, Herb Alpert, Toni Basil and (in her first ever rock video performance) First Lady Nancy Reagan.

David Hasselhoff, the Goodyear Blimp and even Governator Arnold Schwarzeneggar all make brief cameos.

From Ethan Persoff’s website:

“Sort of the ‘We Are the World’ that wasn’t, ‘Stop the Madness’ is the only 80s music video ever to be sponsored by the White House. It’s also a total piece of nearly unwatchable crap. But a beatiful one in every possible sense.”

Link (via Boing Boing)

A clever V for Vendetta parody, made by Steve Scholtz and Heath Milo, is making it’s way around the blogosphere. We couldn’t resist joining the cool kids.

C for Cookie features Elmo, Cookie Monster, Zoe and all of your other favorite friends from 123 Sesame Street.

Zoe’s shorn head is way sexier than Natalie’s, if you ask me.

Link