Photoshop challenge
Everyone is upset about Topps’ decision to include manipulated photos of Albert Pujols and Jose Reyes as short prints in 2012 series one. I couldn’t care less. I’m not going to collect the set anyway, I don’t like the Angels or Marlins, and I don’t collect Pujols or Reyes. So it doesn’t really matter to me at all.
But it did start the wheels spinning in my feeble brain…what if Topps took that concept and applied it to older issues?
We all know that the Montreal Expos were unethically magically transformed into the Washington Senators Nationals a few years ago by the grand poobah commissioner of baseball, Palpatine Bud Selig. So what if Topps went back in time and Photoshopped some of the old Expos cards into Nationals cards? How awesome would it be to have a 1984 Topps Gary Carter as a Washington backstop? Or a 1987 Topps Andres Galarraga rookie card sporting the Nats’ duds?
I know, I’m terrible. I’m probably the worst Photoshopper on the planet, and there are many out there who are better than I could ever dream of being. So prove it. Take an old Expos card and make it Washingtonian. Or put a 1980s-style Atlanta Braves uniform on Warren Spahn. Or let’s see Frank Howard wearing a Rangers jersey.
If enough people are into it, maybe I’ll throw a prize your way.
Now get to it!
Rubber (2010)
Rubber
Starring Stephen Spinella, Jack Plotnick, Wings Hauser, Roxane Mesquida, Ethan Cohn, Charley Koontz, Daniel Quinn, Devin Brochu, Hayley Holmes
Directed Quentin Dupieux
“Quirky” doesn’t do this film justice. Not really a horror movie, but not entirely a comedy either, Rubber is a surreal film that you must pay attention to in order to understand that you can’t really understand it. A terrible tire named Robert awakens and begins a killing spree, offing everything from a bunny rabbit to a police officer. This murderous Michelin is evidently enamored with a dark-haired woman with a foreign accent named Shelia (played by Roxane Mesquida), but even blows up a mannequin dressed to resemble her as she mocks him through a speaker tied around the mannequin’s neck.
Why does all of this happen? As Lieutenant Chad (Stephen Spinella) so eloquently explains, “No reason.” That’s the point of the whole film: there is no point.
Despite the pointlessness of Rubber, it is a captivating eighty minutes. You really have no reason to miss it.
Random Awesomeness (part 32)
- The Complete Star Wars Uncut [Neatorama]
- My Stoogeum Visit – Don’t Be a Lame Brain!! You gotta go! [Zombies DON'T Run]
- Babe Ruth: Rare and Unpublished [Life]
- 1976 Topps Ron Paul [Cardboard Junkie]
- How Return of the Jedi Should Have Ended [How It Should Have Ended]
- Avengers Art Appreciation Variants [Super Punch]
- Liam Neeson Confirms He’s Filmed a Scene for The Dark Knight Rises [SuperHeroHype]
Jackie & Me by Dan Gutman (1999)
Jackie & Me
by Dan Gutman
HarperCollins, 1999
160 pages
I love baseball cards, and I love stories about time travel. Write a book about a kid who can travel through time using baseball cards, and you’ve got me hooked.
Joe Stoshack is a mostly regular kid living in modern-day Louisville, Kentucky, but when he touches a baseball card he can travel through time to the year the card was made. Dan Gutman has written about several of Joe’s adventures, including meetings with Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, and Babe Ruth. In this book, Gutman’s second in the “Baseball Card Adventures” series, Joe travels back to 1947 when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball.
Not only that, Joe often changes his appearance in his travels. In this particular instance, he wakes up to find that he has transformed into a black kid in 1947! Gutman tinkers with a few historical facts and changes the order of some events to fit the story. For instance, he describes Dixie Walker passing around a petition on the first day of the season to be traded if Robinson is allowed to play for the Dodgers. That actually happened, but not on opening day; Walker circulated his petition in spring training.
Joe learns a valuable lesson, not only about the racism that Robinson faced, but about Robinson’s character in his response to that hatred. Of course, he applies that lesson in his own life when he returns to Louisville.
While written for children (recommended for ten years and older), these are entertaining books even for adult baseball fans. They are light reads and shouldn’t take more than a few sittings to finish–if you can even put it down.
Click here to learn about the play adaptation by Steve Dietz.
Hey Blogspot, your captcha (among other things) is broken.
Because the characters did match.
On this awesome post by dayf (which will get a spot on the next “Random Awesomeness” post, but go ahead and look at it now), I tried to leave a comment fifteen times. I counted.
Here is what the comment would have been:
Thanks for doing this. Saves me the trouble (although I might still try to do another one with the other photo).
Worth its own post? Not really. But it’s the principle of the thing.
Dear Blogspot users,
This is not the first time I have had trouble posting comments on your excellent posts. Sometimes it’s an OpenID “error,” sometimes the characters of the captcha don’t match (but they do), sometimes it just takes five times of clicking “Post comment.” But it’s getting really annoying, and it’s discouraging to me as a reader of your awesomeness.
WordPress is free.
WordPress is better.
I’ve used both. And I will never ever return to Blogspot.
Sincerely,
A WordPress user that reads your content.
Am I the only one that has trouble posting comments on Blogspot? Does anyone have trouble posting comments on WordPress?
Classic monster movies on @Netflix
I have some stuff stacking up, but no time to get to a proper post at the moment, so why don’t you watch some classic monster movies? Here are some legendary titles currently streaming on Netflix (if you don’t have an account, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial here):
- Dracula starring Bela Lugosi
- The Wolf Man starring Lon Chaney Jr.
- Son of Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff (too bad the original and Bride of are not currently available)
- Creature from the Black Lagoon
- The Invisible Man
- The Phantom of the Opera
That ought to keep you busy for a few minutes.
Random Awesomeness (part 31)
- 11 Album Covers With Dead Band Members Removed [mental_floss]
- Where Are They Now? The Kids of Horror Flicks [FearNet]
- 1978 Phillies – The All-Hair Outfield [Dick Allen Hall of Fame]
- Bob Feller once demanded a 25 percent pay cut [Big League Stew]
- Nurses will be in attendance [Frankensteinia]
- #2679 [Cyanide & Happiness]
- Terrifying: Ultra-Realistic Beavis & Butthead Busts [Geekologie]
Scandalous! by Hallie Fryd (2012)
Scandalous!
50 Shocking Events You Should Know About
(so you can impress your friends)
by Hallie Fryd
Zest Books, 2012
224 pages
Sex, drugs, and violence–nothing attracts more attention in our society. Scandalous! takes advantage of that fact and gives a good overview of some of the most salacious events in the history of U.S. pop culture and politics. Starting with the murder of a famous architect in the early part of the twentieth century and ending with the controversial Bush/Gore battle in the 2000 election, author Hallie Fryd accomplishes “her life-long dream to write a non-boring book about history.”
Scandalous! has a little something for everyone. Music lover? Read about Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Milli Vanilli. Political junkie? Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, and the aforementioned Bush/Gore feud are profiled. Sports fans can read about Jim Thorpe, Pete Rose, and O.J. Simpson. With fifty scandals examined in the book, Fryd delivers good balance throughout. Her personal views on issues are rarely displayed in the writing as she informs readers of controversial issues.
Each scandal gets four pages, chronicling the basic facts, the aftermath, and why the issue still matters today. Additionaly, Fryd digs up a quote or two relating to the situation, and other events that are similar in some aspect. For example, the chapter on the klllings of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. has an information box highlighting other murders in the hip hop community.
Even though written with the teenage reader in mind, I found the book both entertaining and educational as I learned about scandals that pre-dated my interest in current events. A fun read, though I would suggest parents read it with their children so they can discuss some of the more intimate issues and why certain actions are right or wrong.
Happy birthday, Edgar Allan Poe!
Celebrate the birthday of one of America’s greatest writers by reading something he wrote. There are quite a few titles to choose from, including “The Raven,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” or my personal favorite, “The Cask of Amontillado.”
Edgar Allan Poe was a true genius with the written word.
Ron Paul and SOPA
I haven’t been following the SOPA debate. It wasn’t until yesterday that I found out Wikipedia was going dark. This morning, I wondered what my main man Ron Paul had to say on SOPA. Of course, he doesn’t disappoint.
Skip to 4:03 to hear what he has to say about the internet censorship bill:
“The government becomes more secretive; at the same time your privacy is being undermined. The Constitution was meant to protect your liberties, your privacy, and the goverment was to be open!“
Random Awesomeness (part 30)
- Back to the Tardis [Ratgirlstudios on deviantART]
- This Year’s Goose Joak Originals [Goose Joak]
- Celeb Jersey Cards #87 Bret Michaels & Aubrey O’Day [Johngy's Beat]
- The new ad from the Colbert Super PAC calls Mitt Romney a serial killer [Super Punch]
- Movie Characters Teaming Up To Sing Lionel Richie’s “Hello” [Geekosystem]
- Bang Tango, ‘I Like It’ – Song Review [Bring Back Glam!]
- 10 of Ben Franklin’s Lesser-Known Feats of Awesomeness [mental_floss]
