This is a pre-recorded episode of Blogography from Thursday, May 31.
I'm pretending it's Sunday so I can whip out some bullets that will post when the most magical day of the week appears!
• Health Food... Why is it every time I find a new food I like that I have to go looking at the Nutrition Facts, only to find out that eating it will kill me? The Schwan's Man had a brand new item called "Grilled Cheese Toastwiches," which have all the deliciousness of a grilled cheese sandwich, but without the back-breaking labor of having to put cheese between slices of bread and heating it up. Nope, with Grilled Cheese Toastwiches, you just pop them in the toaster! Sweet! At least they were, until I found out each piece has 25% of the daily amount of saturated fat you should eat in a day. This sucks ass! Especially since I've already had three pieces today. I guess that means I am 75% closer to death.
• Kaleidoscope Toons... Posting yet another couple of frames showing progress with my DaveToon video. This is another scene I worked on while I was on vacation. Much of the video has lots of animated elements, so I was trying to come up with some simpler scenes to break things up a bit. Believe it or not, these always end up taking far more time to animate than the ones with far more going on. I have no idea why...
In the final video, I had planned for the kaleidoscope background to have some kind of filter applied to it... possibly one that makes it look more "dreamy." But the more I look at the scene in motion, the more I question a need for a filter, because the bright colors are a nice contrast to the black suits. =Sigh= I can see that completing the animation for this project is going to be just the beginning...
• World Round... As I was updating my travel map to reflect my recent vacation, I noticed that my trip to Egypt means I can check another continent off my list. Granted, it's not a lot of Africa to have seen, but it still counts! That leaves just three continents left to see: South America, Australia, and... ANTARCTICA?!? South America and Australia will almost certainly happen one day, but Antarctica? Doing a little research, I find that it's not as difficult as I had first thought to visit, because there are tour ships that go there. All it takes is money. Lots of money. The good news is that it would be an automatic two-for-one trip, because all the tours leave from South America. The bad news is that the cost is also two-for-one... first you've got to spend the money to get to Cape Horn, then you've got the cost of the ship tour on top of it. Does anybody have around $15,000 burning a hole in their pocket to finance my Antarctic adventure?
• Members Project... American Express has unveiled "The Members Project," which is a program whereas cardholders can submit ideas for a prize up to five million dollars so they can make a positive impact on the world. It's actually a pretty cool idea, and they lined up some all-star talent to advertise it in a commercial. You get Martin Scorsese directing, who also appear in the spot along with Andre Agassi, Sheryl Crow, Ellen DeGeneres, Alicia Keys, and skateboarder Shaun White. The odd part is that the commercial is interrupted by a guy from "the office next door" who is named "Tim." This is the same guy that does the video introduction at the Members Project website...
"People fought wars just so we could eat pizza on the wrong night!" —Norris Michelsky
But here's the thing... "Tim" isn't just some random guy. I'm pretty sure it's actor David Alan Basche, who has been in a number of television and movie projects, including one of my favorite shows ever, Oh Grow Up! In many ways, this makes him a bigger star to me than any of the "big-name" stars in the commercial, which is why it cracked me up when I saw it. I also get mad that Oh Grow Up! hasn't been released on DVD, but that's beside the point.
• Cattlecar Galaxica... I was very disappointed to learn that, in addition to Veronica Mars being canceled, Battlestar Galactica is ending after the upcoming fourth season. If there's one piece of good news about it, the decision to end the show came directly from the producers. They saw that the story was heading to an ending, and decided to take it there rather than draw things out until nobody cared anymore. I sure hope that some decent shows arrive for the new Fall TV season... because if this keeps up, there won't be anything on for me to watch.
Well that wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be... I should pretend it's Sunday every day!
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I could be wrong Dave, but I think that you can head to Antarctica form here in Tasmania. This is the port where the research vessels depart from, and now I think there is a flight you can take.
This would have the added bonus of knocking over two continents at once.
It concerns me that you’ve used the phrase “This sucks ass” more than once in the last few months. Just had a friend get back from a ship tour to Anctartica which departed from somewhere in the very southern tip of South America. Her pics and stories are absolutely amazing….I mean, stunning. Watched Globe Trekker last night on Argentina….an amazing country that reaches all of the way down south. Can we go with you?
Antartica is one of the places on my ‘dream list’… When I win the lottery (see that’s positive thinking) we’ll all go!
If I had 15,000 to spare I’d probably send myself to Antarcitca. If I had 30,000 to spare though, you could surely come along!
I will send you a dollar toward your trip.
I suppose we could start a “Send Dave to Antarctica” campaign, but I’d have to be sure that you’d really go and not just spend all the money we’re sending you on toasted cheese sandwiches.
See, my fear of becoming a vegetarian is not necessarily because I would NEED meat but because I’d end up eating things like cheese-heart-attack-witches and mini quiches all day long! Oh and chocolate cake…definitely ;).
While I’m sure Antarctic is an interesting destination, I’m just aiming to get off the East Coast some day.
I’m so jealous of your travels!
Food for thought…Read the nutrition facts BEFORE you buy the item. It’s much easier to avoid bad foods when they’re not already in your home.
Live long, Dave…and may the Force be with you.
Anything from the Schwan’s Man is a nutritional time bomb, I think. I don’t let him stop here anymore.
While you are in Aussie take a flight “to” Antarctica as per Antarctic Flights.
Australia is beautiful. You should definitely go there. Someday I would love to go back now that I am older and would appreciate it more (now I sound old!)
That Schwans man kills me. He has the most deicious foods but not any of them are healthy. I suppose the frozen vegetables are ok, but who wants to buy that when you have choices like the grilled cheese heart attack sandwiches?
For the American Express idea contest, I submit:
disposable credit cards. They are made from natural wood and vegetable fibre and when they get wet or even a bit worn (say, after a few weeks) they disintegrate. Several advantages. You don’t build up debt. They are great for the environment. They don’t wear a hole in your pocket or wallet. OK, do I win a $million or what?
I’m thinking that once you butter the two pieces of bread and slap the American ‘cheese’ (processed cheese food) in there, you are probably at your 25%.
I try to limit my day to 700% of the daily fat allowance, but I do make exceptions.
Yeah, I’m already in mourning over the demise of BSG, but I respect their decision and am waiting impatiently to watch the fantastical final episodes leading up to the conclusion.
I think ending BSG is a good idea. It gives them a reason to kick Cylon ass in every episode. Season 3 has some long dry stretches.
My dad took a trip to Antarctica and he LOVED it. Yes, it was pricey. But it was the best trip he ever took, and he was as well traveled as you are, Dave. Save yer pennies and GO!
Wait!? BSG is ending?? Horror of horrors! I mean, I only watched via Netflix, but…
I go away on holiday and finally a decent internets so I can read back through your blog… only to find out it’s a world gone made and they’ve cancelled Veronica Mars!!!
What’s with that! Damn them to hell…. 🙁
RMB