thinglets: Retro Canadian Game Shows

Okay... first off, if anyone outside of Canada ever thought they saw a cheap game show, they were never in the Great White North during the 1970's. Grand prizes included toaster ovens, dinner for twos, and the cash sometimes almost went to triple digits. Included below are some clips from some of the cheesiest games ever played on television.
 
The Premier Episode of the Mad Dash

 
Check out Alex Trebek's 'fro in Pitfall (admittedly this show had a budget)

 
Definition actually lasted until the 80s, but still brings the cheese

 
Pay Cards was produced in Canada and syndicated to the US... so you know it was good!

thinglets: 3D Road Art Kicks Asphalt

I've always been amazed by some of the perspective that artists are able to convey on a ground level flat surface in a small contained area, much less an entire street. The dailymail link includes video on how a couple of these amazing works were created and gives a great insight as to the process involved. Does it say anything about me in that now I want to live on these streets?

thinglets: Burjeoning Big Ass Building

Are you one of those people, like me, that watches documentary shows on building bridges, tunnels and skyscrapers... no one reading this on a blog gets to call me a geek without taking a hard look in the mirrored walls of this behemoth in Dubai. Yeah, I know, the outlandish architecture going on there is hardly news anymore, but a few weeks ago Burj Dubai hit its mark of 818m or 2684ft.

Check out the site for a whole bunch of pics and schematics with information on filling up the lake around the building and other finishing projects.

The pic below just shows how large this structure is. If you're really into this stuff, further Google searches will turn up a ton of information.

Burj Dubai

thinglets: I'm sorry Posterous, but I had to post this as well!

I don't know how to couch this in clever or witty banter. I don't know how to ask for your forgiveness in unleashing this on you. That I know something like this exists makes my world a bit less innocent.

And so I present... The Incredible, Edible Anus!

"The chocolates are small anuses, no "cheeks" or other body parts attached. The seem to only come in chocolate or solid silver. They are certainly a curiosity and would be a great gag gift for your less than conservative friends or even gifts for a wild bachelor or bachelorette party. Just remember they are chocolate so be sure to keep them in a cool dry place."

As the associatedcontent.com article states upon heading to chocolate anus site:

"it is easy to forget you are at a website that sells chocolate anuses."

A thousand pardons my blogging brothers and sisters. I feel shamed and guilty and not worthy of sharing the same web as you, but the site is called lovehatethings.

chocanus

thinglets: Ministry of Vodka

Forget about a Food and Drug Administration or Health and Welfare, Russia's got a serious idea in creating a state Alcohol Agency being dubbed the Ministry of Vodka by citizens. While some people may consider this silly or just plain depressing, I, for one, salute the AA for its work in promoting Russian alcohol domestically and around the world.

"The head of the new state alcohol agency -- gleefully dubbed the Ministry for Vodka by the press -- is advocating cutting taxes on vodka to make the country's national tipple more accessible, the Izvestia daily reported."

Perhaps overshadowed by state groups responsible for the military or borscht, this move shows that the Russian government is willing to commit all necessary resources to a vital industry. I wish that Canada would create ministries devoted to donuts, hockey and beer. I wish the US would create departments devoted to mom's apple pie, baseball and advertising. You can never legislate too much of a good thing.

"Igor Chuiyan, the former head of state alcohol monopoly Rosspirtprom, has been appointed head of the new federal agency for alcohol market regulation, or Rosalkogol for short."

I wish Parker Brothers sold Alcohol Monopoly in North America. I could buy a $2 bottle of ripple on Baltic Avenue and $400 bottle of scotch on Broadway.

alcohol monopoly

thinglets: Breaking News... Eggs Contain Egg

While I know the litigious-minded proliferation of the western world with regards to out-of-court settlements with big corporations, the fear-mongering has become absurdly ridiculous when on a carton of eggs that contains pictures of eggs and a rendering of a chicken, the company has to list the allergy advice: CONTAINS EGG.

Have we been absorbed so far as consumers into the Sham-Wow death grip that in the future we will need our peanut butter to warn us of peanuts, our orange juice to warn us of oranges and our cucumbers to carry a label that says "contains cucumber"?

I also like the claim of "free range" eggs. It's good to think these eggs were allowed to graze openly on the lush plains well before they were packed. I know that PETA has been advocating for eggs to have a minimum of two weeks on the range before they are packed and subsequently boiled alive and dipped in dye for Easter festivities.

Eggs Contain Egg

thinglets: Shazbot! Cheryl Mork Sentenced for 3rd through 8th DWI

I don't know if she drank so that she could help see Orson, but apparently Cheryl Mork of Saratoga, Wisconsin just couldn't stay sober (and out of her car) long enough to get convicted for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, or 7th offence of drunk driving. Instead, they had to package them all together in a tidy bundle that resulted in 3 years in prison, 180 days in jail, and 5 years extended supervision.

During her sentencing Mork apologize by sitting face first in a chair and saying, “I’d just like to apologize to my fellow human beings for putting their lives in danger.” Although she didn't add, "especially that 7th and 8th time 'cause I was really shitfaced! Na-Nu! Na-Nu!"

She was sentenced by Wood County Circuit Court Judge Zappen Jr., whose actions really hold little interest to me other than the fact that it has become my new favorite tongue twister... try it 5 times fast!

thinglets: The Car of the Future Ready in October

I never thought that I'd fear the idea of zipping around like so many characters from 60s sci-fi movies, but does this car look safe to anyone. Don't get me wrong, it's looks ultracool, but will this last five minutes on roads with ice, snow, or in temperatures of -20? Doesn't it look like one could just kick the axles right off this thing?

I certainly admire that the "all-electric three-wheeled two-seater" will apparently be ready in October '09 for a relatively decent price point of $25000-$45000 and "get the equivalent of 200 mpg and go 100 miles on a charge."

I really do admire the effort, but unless I'm driving this thing on the Salt Flats I'm not feeling too confident.

car of the future

thinglets: Frog Genocide

If the stats developed by the UN are right, and the BBC hasn't misrepresented them at all, and I can wrap my head around this number, there are 1,000,000,000 (that's one billion folks) frogs culled to get to the world's plates every year:
 
"Frogs legs are on the menu at school cafeterias in Europe, market stalls and dinner tables across Asia to high end restaurants throughout the world," said Corey Bradshaw from Adelaide University in Australia.

 "Amphibians are already the most threatened animal group yet assessed because of disease, habitat loss and climate change - man's massive appetite for their legs is not helping."
 
Now while I don't want to even think about the numbers for chickens, cows, fish, or pigs, I've only got one thing to say. If you can watch Kermit sing "It's Not Easy Being Green" and ever want to eat a frog again, you have no heart... or you may be the Swedish Chef.