Dr. Phil's Dreamwidth Journal

Friday 14 December 2012

Peter Jackson's The Hobbit. In IMAX-3D. One quick glance at the trailer and they've got the LOTR Dream Team together again. A few people have joked that some of the Dwarves look like Klingons, but I think that's always an inevitable possibility when you're dealing with tough hairy men with beards.



I am geeked. Ready to go tonight...

Dr. Phil

... And This Is A Public Performance!

After yesterday's Samuel L. Jackson reading Go The F**k To Sleep, now we have Werner Herzog reads Adam Mansbach & Ricardo Cortes book "Go the F**k to Sleep":

Why is this so funny? I think it touches a nerve of understanding. And I am touched that Real Named People are embracing this. I mean, these are people I'd pay to hear them read the phone book -- and they're having this much fun? Delightful.

Dr. Phil

As You May Recall

Back in October, Grand Valley State University put out a LipDub video of Styx' Come Sail Away. Now the mad genius of Grand Rapids promotions, Rob Bliss, he of last summer's giant waterslide, has done one for the city of Grand Rapids MI.

I give you, Don Maclean's American Pie:


Newsweek Calls Uncle

The best part? Newsweek had published a piece calling Grand Rapids one of America's dying cities back in January. They are now calling for a truce. (grin)

To the Grand Rapids crowd:

First off, we LOVE your YouTube LipDub. We're big fans, and are inspired by your love of the city you call home.

But so you know what was up with the list you're responding to, we want you to know it was done by a website called mainstreet.com--not by Newsweek (it was unfortunately picked up on the Newsweek web site as part of a content sharing deal)--and it uses a methodology that our current editorial team doesn't endorse and wouldn't have employed. It certainly doesn't reflect our view of Grand Rapids.

Anyway, it's not my favorite version of the song, but the LipDub is great fun -- and look at all those people with guitars!

Dr. Phil

No Apologies Here

As I mentioned the other day, one of the most impressive Super Bowl ads was the two-minute Chrysler 200 ad "Imported From Detroit". It didn't pull punches and it didn't apologize for being from Detroit. If anything, it suggested that being forged in Detroit is a positive, not a negative.



The more I think about it, the more I like this ad. Except for five years in White Plains NY outside New York City and three years of high school in Greensboro NC, I've spent my whole life along the Great Lakes. And at this point, over half my life has been spent in Michigan. Up and down economies, progress and Rust Belt. And a lot of people, including a lot of movers and shakers from the East and Left Coasts, are ready to write off Detroit and Michigan. Hell, Newsweek declared Grand Rapids to be a dying city -- Number 10 on their list of ten. This was a shock to West Michigan, which has sort of basked in the knowledge that things are much brighter over here than in Detroit. GR Mayor Heartwell responded with a letter to Newsweek saying that they didn't know what they were talking about.

And the Chrysler 200 ad did about the same thing.

How Does One Roll With The Punches?

Monday night FOX-TV premiered their next big new cop show, The Chicago Code. The hook is that it is about a war between a bright new police superintendent and a corrupt alderman. What? A Chicago show about crime, murder, corruption and rigged city bids? I'm shocked, shocked I tell you. I'm sure Chicagoans might feel the same way that Detroiters do about Detroit 1-8-7. On the one hand, the latter surely reinforces stereotypes about Detroit as the Murder Capital and a decaying city. On the other hand, there's Hamtramck! And you can see the love some of the characters have for the old city. After all, New York has survived all the countless murders of several incarnations of Law & Order plus CSI: New York, Philadelphia has survived Cold Case and, perhaps even more germane, Baltimore survived the stellar Homicide: Life on the Streets.

In other words, a little publicity is good, especially if they spell your name right.

And in that spirit, Chrysler certainly poked America on Sunday and said, "Detroit. Deal with it."

Dr. Phil

Ca-ca-ca-catalog ca-ca-catalog at the University of Washington iSchool

A friend of mine linked this on Facebook: "Librarians Do Gaga". It's cute and catchy -- and even includes the Famous Nancy Pearl. (If you have to ask, you're no library geek -- grin.) And it's not the first university library YouTube video I've provided links, too. (double-trouble-grin)

Students and faculty from the University of Washington's Information School get their groove on.

Directed, edited, and produced by Sarah Wachter.
Lyrics by Sarah Wachter.
Lyrics available here.
More info available here.
Now captioned for the Deaf and hearing impaired.

Vocals and sound editing by Laura Mielenhausen.

Enjoy!

Dr. Phil

More Of The Story

In response to yesterday's LJ post about GVSU's LipDub video, there is a nice article that will show up in today's Grand Rapids Press which came via my email preview. It gives a lot of detail about the shoot, including that they took ten takes, they used Take #7, and ran over Louie the Laker in Take #1.

( If You're Having A Nice Day and Don't Want To Get Angry, DON'T Click Here To See The Cut or Read The Comments In The Grand Rapids Press Article )
Takes Deep, Calming Breath

Anyway, good job GVSU! Good job!

Dr. Phil

Climbing The Ziggurat or There Is Video Of Everything

This via The Register in the U.K..

Those of who you who get a bit wobbly at the top of a stepladder are strongly advised to look away now, because here's a helmetcam vid of just how you get to work when your office is at the top of a 1,768ft TV mast:

What I find amazing is that every time you leave one section, the hand- and footholds become less and less substantial looking.

Then you have to do the work.

Then you have to climb down.

(grin)

Dr. Phil

My Physics Classes Are SO Getting Linked To This

Not only clever lyrics, but impressive graphics skills. Even on TI Graphing calculators!


I Will Derive

Thank you, Michelle!

Dr. Phil

Lots Of People Commenting On The Old Spice Ad(s)

Seems the new Old Spice dude is quite the hot ticket online, including lots of viral mini-spots in character. I especially am fond of the reveal of the motorcycle at the end:



Well, You Just Knew There Were Going To Be Parodies

But this one is academic -- I've already posted it to my class' Facebook group. (grin)



Go University Libraries!

Dr. Phil

We've All Been There, Right? Right???

So there's this new Toyota ad running on TV which really annoys me. It's about "Erica", the woman who has the new pastry business. Seems that she bakes in her apartment kitchen -- first thought, has this kitchen been licensed? -- and has to use mass transit to carry her cakes to the customer. She needs a new Toyota Corolla -- I guess there's no point in buying a much cheaper used one (see comments in the next section) if she really needs a car for her BUSINESS.

Anyway, her friends feel her pain and so they get together and buy her a NEW Toyota Corolla.

What? (sound of needle scratching across record player) Huh? You mean a group of maybe six people have split the cost of a fucking NEW CAR and gave it to Erica? WTF? From US News & World Report:

2010 Toyota Corolla
Based on analysis of 28 Corolla reviews and test drives.
Avg. Paid:         $15,060 - $19,511
MSRP:              $15,450 - $20,150
Invoice:           $14,445 - $18,437

If it really was six people, they'd be ponying up $3000 EACH. Who the hell has a bunch of friends in the city who will drop three grand on you for a lark? THIS is supposed to be a feel good moment of common experience for past, present and future Toyota owners?

This is INSANE.

Toyota Corolla - What the Auto Press Says

The 2010 Toyota Corolla ranks 19 out of 30 Affordable Small Cars. This ranking is based on our analysis of 28 published reviews and test drives of the Toyota Corolla, and our analysis of reliability and safety data.

The Corolla is still a great option for those who want dependability, comfort and value. But it doesn't have the versatility, style or power of the top-scoring cars in the class.

Undeniably, the 2010 Toyota Corolla is a comfortable and fuel-efficient option. But in a large and competitive class or sporty and funky compacts and hatchbacks, the Corolla doesn't have much to set it apart. Nor is it the cheapest. And, with the recent recalls, the Corolla's reputation for reliability is slipping. However, there is one bright spot: the Corolla is a 2010 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick.

Okay, so Toyota isn't going to quote US News & World Report in their ads. But this chummy media savvy approach? Not working for me.

Erica needed a reliable 2010 Corolla to grow her pastry business. She got the surprise of her life. Every Toyota has a story. Share yours at... (Toyota's Facebook page)

By The Way

This ad seems to have replaced the stupid Toyota ad which touts how they've been spending all this money per day now to make great safe and reliable cars. To me, the subtext of this message isn't "Oh we're so sorry that we betrayed your trust while we were ramping up our market share to make more money" but rather "You were all such idiots to have trusted us before, but now you have to believe that we have your best interests at heart so you should junk your old Toyota clunker before you get hurt and spend a lot more money with us and get a new one... before the recalls start."

Cynical? Sure.

Now lest you think that I just have it in for Toyota, being an admitted GM/Chevy owner, I recently railed about the Chevy/Chevrolet debacle at GM, and I thought the GM "Look At Us We Repaid The Loan From The Government" ad was disingenuous and slimy, as most Americans immediately thought of the REST of the bailout money which far outweighed the emergency loan necessitated because the banking industry lost their collective minds -- conspiracy types assumed the bailout money was used to repay the load...

So I hate all the stupid ads. (evil grin) The Stupid -- it hurts.

Dr. Phil