The 'Princess Bride' Reunion (Photo)

Last month was the 24th anniversary of the release of 'The Princess Bride'.  I'll give everyone a moment to recover from realizing that they're old.


Moving on.  It was one of my favorite movies growing up.  It was one of the few movies that my siblings and I saw in the theater.  We usually didn't have the money for all five of us to go to the movies.  We waited for it to come to the local dollar theater.  By then, little Steven Dellisanti had been repeating lines from the film so frequently, that we had already known half of the script.

'The Princess Bride' is truly a rare film in Hollywood history.  Not only was it a star studded motion picture.  It was a small budget ($14 million) creative masterpiece.  It was a movie that ushered in the era of independent films.  It also was a respite for families from the testosterone heavy Schwarzenegger fronted blockbusters of the time.

'Entertainment Weekly' managed to gather the surviving members of the original cast for a photo shoot last month.  The result was quite touching.  Included in the photo are lovely memorials for Peter Falk, who died in June, and Andre the Giant, who passed away in January of 1993.

If you look closely, you can spot Miracle Max's hat, an R.O.U.S., and the sword Inigo's father made for Prince Humperdink.

Generally, I find these "celebrity reunions" to be downright corny.  But, this one is top notch.

A Match Made In The Lab (Photo)

It's obvious.  They're perfect for each other.  

I think they're both over compensating for small penises, though.

(Source)

Tat Tuesday: Think Before You Ink (Video)

If this video proves anything, it's that there are plenty of unscrupulous tattoo artists in the world.  An artist with a reputation to uphold would refuse to do any of the following tattoos.  A mediocre tattoo artist looking to make a quick $200 (off of someone who may or may not be intoxicated) will be more than happy to draw up some of these ridiculous designs and make you look like a complete fool.





A point of advice I have given in the past is to find a design that you want to have as a tattoo.  Post it up on your bathroom mirror.  Take a good hard look at it every time you walk into the restroom.  When you have that tattoo, you're going to have to do the same.  If, after six months of looking at that picture, you like the picture or design as much as you did on day one....get the tattoo.

If not, you just saved yourself a couple hundred dollars, and a life of regret.

In Lieu Of "Mashup Monday"...

...I thought I would recommend a short documentary about my favorite mashup artist.

I have posted numerous articles about Gregg Gillis over the last two years.  Gillis, who goes by the moniker Girl Talk, is an icon on the mashup scene.  He gave up a lucrative career in biomedical engineering in 2007 to pursue music full time.  If you take the time to listen to him, you can easily tell that he takes an engineer's approach to his craft.

Gillis plays no instruments.  He's not a DJ.  He doesn't use vinyl or CDs.  His tools are a Saran Wrapped laptop, and the limits of his imagination.

Regardless of your tastes in music, take five minutes of your time to listen to his work, and you'll consider yourself a fan.

Morgan Spurlock, the filmmaker behind 'Super Size Me', has a new weekly program exclusively on Hulu called 'A Day in the Life'.  On the program, he follows someone, generally a different celebrity, for 24 hours, to give you a glimpse into their life.

In one episode this season, a crew followed Girl Talk as he prepared to headline a show at a music festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  Here is a short clip.



Unfortunately, you can only view the full program if you have a Hulu Plus subscription.  I watched it on Sunday afternoon, and it was amazing to see how complicated some of his shows became.  He has to prepare as many as 400 samples in advance, and plan exactly where to place each one within a 45 minute performance.  There is a clip of him practicing on his tour bus, and it's simply mind boggling.

You can view the program here online.  I recommend watching it for any fan of music.

You can also download a copy of Girl Talk's latest album, 'All Day', here.

Photo Of The Day II

This is a screen capture of last night's 'Dancing with the Stars'.  Cher was in the audience to support her son Chaz Bono.  During last night's performance, he received his highest score of the season - a 21.

It's clear to see that mama was proud of her little boy.

My Little Girl Is A Genius

It's bizarre how her little mind works.  She asked a question about the "big penny" she had in her hand.  It was so mind blowing I had to record it and post it on YouTube.  Take a look:



She also said it looks like a "paint factory".  I haven't quite translated that one, yet.  Her thought process is just staggering sometimes.

We have had her intelligence level tested by a psychologist within the last few months.  When it came to reasoning and logic, she tested on a 9 to 11 year old level.  She was making correlations on the test that were stumping a couple of us.

For example, there would be six pictures on a page, two sets of three.  On the surface, none of the pictures had any relation to each other.  She would say (for example, I don't remember any specifics), "The balloon flies and the bird flies".  And her memory.  My lord.  She was able to remember, and repeat back, a sequence of five or six numbers in a row.  She's only three.

I started teaching her how to play chess yesterday.  We focused on the names of the pieces and how each piece moved.  She still has a hard time grasping the concept of strategy.  We play Tic-Tac-Toe, and you can tell that there are times that she understands that she needs to block me.  Other times, she's just blindly dropping Xs.

Still she makes Mommy and Daddy extremely proud.

Quote Of The Day

Malcolm X, at a protest  in Manhattan, February 13, 1963.

“If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” 


 - Malcolm X

Protest Sign Of The Day

Isn't it, though?

Photo Of The Day

Today Is National Coming Out Day

If there is someone in your life you could safely tell, today would make a great excuse to break the ice.

I publicly came out two years ago today, in an article on this site.  I firmly believe that you should never be forced to come out of the closet.  You should only do so when you are at a point in your life where you feel safe and secure enough to do so.  (I was 34 when I came out.)

On a personal note, coming out was the most freeing feeling I have had in my life.  It was as if a two ton weight had been lifted from my chest.  Your life changes so dramatically once you're out.  It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Be safe, and remember:  Whether you them or not, there are millions of people supporting you.

Glenn Beck: Wall Street Protesters 'Will Drag You Into The Streets And Kill Everybody'

Glenn Beck has a history of saying some pretty ridiculous things on his programs.  However, what he said yesterday on his radio program really takes the cake.

In the opening minutes of the broadcast, he made his disgust for the demonstrators crystal clear.  He started his show by mocking the "human microphone" method of communication used at the General Assembly at the protests.  As he started speaking, his in studio cohorts screamed his words into their microphones.  His producer then yelled, "We demand shorter sentences".

Former Rep. Alan Grayson Schools Panel On Occupy Wall Street

On last Friday's 'Real Time with Bill Maher', the subject of the Occupy Wall Street protests came up.  One of Bill's regular guests, self-described libertarian and author P.J. O'Rourke jokingly said, "Or is it simply that the Occupy Wall Street people, like us, flunked Econ (Economics 101 in college)?"

Former Democratic Congressman from Florida, Alan Grayson, who up until that point in the program, had largely remained silent, stepped up in support of the demonstrators.  To say the least, he put O'Rourke in his place.

His standing ovation was well deserved.

Tweet Of The Day

Mikey Welsh is the former bassist for the band Weezer.  He played on their "Green" album.  He tweeted the following on September 26th.  A second tweet said, "correction - the weekend after next".

He was found, dead, Saturday in a Chicago hotel room by hotel personnel, after he didn't check out of his room.  He was in town to watch his former bandmates perform Sunday night at Chicago's RIOTfest.  According to CNN, cause of death is yet to be determined, pending autopsy.

Protest Sign Of The Day

Tea Baggers Criticize The Occupy Demonstrations

How ridiculous.  If you Google "Down With Evil Corporations", you'll see hundreds of Tea Party sites over the last week, which have posted this photo, criticizing the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Corporations are a necessity in a Free Enterprise marketplace.  They offer legal protections for the owners of a business that aren't available to a sole proprietorship.  Also, a business must be incorporated to offer stock options to interested parties.  They are a necessary evil.

The Occupy Wall Street protesters are not against corporations per se.  They are against exorbitant corporate greed.  When Bank of America institutes a $5.00 monthly fee to use your debit card, there is a problem.

When Wall Street rewrites qualifications for home loans, then plays the stock market to where they are essentially betting against your ability to make your mortgage payment, there's a problem.

When a company would rather lay off thousands of employees, than lose 3% profit for the year, there is a problem.

When teachers salaries have dropped 20% since 2008, but CEOs get wealthier, there is a problem.

There are ethical, moral corporations in the world.  There are many that are immoral.  Sadly, we cannot boycott them all.  We must clothe ourselves, eat, communicate and use transportation on a daily basis.

To suggest that since the Occupy demonstrators are rallying against corporate greed, that they should rid themselves of any corporate attachments is ludicrous at best.  A large part of the Republican right already thinks of those involved in the movement as "dirty hippies".  With this recent photo floating around Facebook, we're now made to look like corporate savvy hipsters.  Well?  Which is it?  What do they want from us?

Do they expect us to camp out in the streets naked, unshowered and without makeup?  Do they want us to communicate with tin cans and string?  Are we really supposed to buy this rhetoric?