2005 Year-End Google Zeitgeist
Considering all that has occurred in 2005, we thought it would be interesting to study just a few of the significant events, and names that make this a memorable year. (We’ll leave it to the historians to determine which ones are lasting and which ephemeral.) We hope you enjoy this selective view of our collective year.
The teaser trailer for Mel Gibson's Apocalypto was released last week. At about 1:46 into it, this single frame appears.
Judge Rejects Teaching Intelligent Design
"That was a real drag," said Michael J. Behe, a professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University who was the star witness for the intelligent design side.A "real drag?" The star witness gives quotes like that?
Peter's Evil Overlord List
or "The Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord"
Some of my favorites include
SPJ criticizes radio station’s sale of naming rights
The Society of Professional Journalists urges Clear Channel radio group to stop allowing its stations to sell naming rights to their newsrooms. WIBA, a Clear Channel radio station in Madison, Wis., sold the naming rights for its newsroom to a local bank.
The top 10 weirdest USB drives ever
USB drives comes in thousands of designs and colors, but these 10 are extraordinary weird. Or what do you think? Go ahead, check them out. They are weird! Promise. Hehe.
OCC trustees oust student paper adviser
Bosley rebutted the two reasons she was given for not being renewed as newspaper adviser — that the paper contains too many errors and that student staff, because they use Macintosh computers, are not being prepared for the real world.
This amazing animated Christmas display, synchronized to a rousing rendition of 'Wizards in Winter' by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, was constructed in 2004 by Carson Williams of Mason, Ohio using programmable light controllers and software made by Light-O-Rama of Garfield, New Jersey. The music was broadcast on FM radio so viewers could listen to it as they drove by the house in their cars.
What Is On George Bush's iPod?
Ever wondered what the most powerful man in the world listens to in his spare time? In a rare departure from formal media interviews, George Bush has revealed what is on his personal IPod. Andrew Wilson reports on the President's favourite tunes.This is a streaming Windows Media video.
eBay: 8-Ft LEGO Rebel Attack Cruiser
This one-of-a-kind 8-foot LEGO Rebel Attack Cruiser model was designed by LEGO Master Builder Erik Varszegi for display at Star Wars Celebration III, San Diego Comic-Con, LEGOLAND California and several other national LEGO events to promote the final episode in the Star Wars saga. Megan and I saw it at Comic-Con and were blown away by both the size and the detail. You can see our picture in our Comic-Con photo gallery, but we couldn't back up enough to get the whole thing in the frame. Better pictures are found by following the link above.
It is now being auctioned off with a signed certificate of authenticity from George Lucas and 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to Habitat for Humanity’s hurricane relief efforts in the southeastern United States to aid families who are rebuilding their lives in the wake of the natural disaster.
There are six days remaining to bid, so make sure you've got at least $31,000. But shipping is free!
TV glitch mars Xbox 360 Kong game
Fans wanting to get the best out of the King Kong video game should avoid the version for Microsoft's new Xbox 360, the game's maker Ubisoft has suggested.Ouch. This is just sad. However, the headline is misleading, as there is no "TV glitch."
...
"When you play on an Xbox or a PlayStation 2, you start to see that it is beautiful," he said.
The Ubisoft boss said the team who made the game used certain settings on high-definition TV screens. It did not occur to them that there would be a problem with standard televisions, which are what most people use to play console games.
Not so long ago, in candy stores not so far away, anyone could snag a bag of Masterfoods' limited edition Star Wars dark chocolate M&M's. But since their release in collectible packages in April, the ten-week window of the promotional product has long since closed, leaving many craving more. And now some speculators have stepped in, tasting some sweet profits.This article is slightly out of date now, since
dark chocolate M&M's were re-released in late September through early November. What is still relevant, though, is they were impossible to find. I snagged 1-1/2 lb. at M&M's World when we were vacationing in Las Vegas, but once they're gone, it'll be tough (impossible?) to go back to boring old milk chocolate.
Video Journal # 22 - 20 Hours in San Diego
When we were at the 2005 San Diego Comic-Con, I attended the session for Superman Returns, featuring Director Bryan Singer. That session and the events surrounding it are recounted in his video journal on BlueTights.net. It does not reveal most of the footage that was previewed to the audience, and neither does the recently-released teaser trailer. But it's a fun little video nonetheless.
A Web Exclusive!! The 2005 edition of the Hargreaves family Christmas newsletter - The Informer - is available online! It is a 532KB PDF file, which translates into a 1-2 minute download for you dial-up users but unnoticable to you broadband users. Whether it loads in your browser window or launches Adobe Acrobat/Reader, don't forget that you can zoom in if it displays too small for your taste. This is a reward for all you blog readers who may or may not get a print version in your Christmas card (as if visiting this site isn't reward enough...)
Informer 2005
Christmas House Video