Quick hits.

Here are some amusing tidbits that I've stumbled across recently:

- Statetris: It's like Tetris but it uses the US states as its pieces, and you have to drop them in their proper place on the map. It's pretty damn hard, and pretty damn brilliant!

- iConcertCal: I've known about this for a long time, but can't remember if I blogged about it. This is an add-in for iTunes that pulls the artist names off of all your songs, searches the web to see when those artists are performing in your area, and then creates a calendar of concert dates that you can view in iTunes!

- Jessica the Hippo: this one's for my mom - a YouTube clip of a British news report about a South African family who've adopted a wild hippo as a family pet.

- PC EZ Bake Oven: this one's a joke, sadly, but here's a hilarious fake ad.

Enjoy!


And now, here it is - your Moment of Zen:

D'oh!

Remember how after the first season of "The Simpsons" hit, you couldn't go into a store without seeing Bart's face on something? Well, it's looking like with the movie coming out next week, the same thing is about to happen again. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Especially when they come up with things like this:

The Simpsonizer!

Just upload a hi-res close-up of your face, and this program will show what you would look like if you were to appear on the show! It's a little slow, but totally fun. And here, of course, is what yours truly looks like when Simpsonized:

Once more from the top, with feeling.

Y'know, it's not that I haven't had anything to say. It's just that I've had other priorities for awhile. Sorry. It's like they say, the show must go on!



So, the show is up and running. The reviews have been mixed (Reader - good; Time Out - good; Copley News Service - good; New City - good but not online; Tribune - not so good; Sun Times - not so good). But I'm happy with the show. It's tight and funny. I wasn't always sure that my end of things was going to come together, but it did and all's well that ends well. There was a point in there (right after the Executive Producer came to see the show and wanted the whole set repainted) when I was about ready to lay down and cry. Someday I'll learn that I don't have to do everything myself. I'm on the cusp of not being able to do it all myself, as this process demonstrated. But for as long as I can, I probably will. Which means there will likely be more extended dry spells for this blog. ; )

What else is going on? Kelly and I went camping for the 4th of July, and celebrated our 6 month anniversary last Monday. My brother and his family are moving to Virginia and he and my nephew Xavier came over for a visit last Tuesday and Wednesday. We went to Millenium Park,






and the zoo,









and to see Transformers and Harry Potter 5 (in 3D at the IMAX). We also ate at Ed Debevic's and hit the Lego Store and Chicago Comics. A fun couple of boys' days out!

Speaking of movies, this has been the summer of disappointment for me on that front. While I always enjoy myself at the movies, all of the summer blockbusters have left me a little flat (though I still haven't caught Pirates 3). At least Harry Potter made me excited for the new book! I'm rereading all of the earlier ones to prepare.

On the home front, my room is a mess, so hopefully I can get that cleaned up soon. I'm also working on cleaning up my iTunes library (I'm almost up to "D"!), but I'm stymied on my current favorite video game "Titan Quest" and am unable to defeat the final boss. I'm sure you all feel really bad for me.

That's all that's on my mind at the moment. I'll wrap this up for now and hopefully talk to you soon!