January 03, 2004
Style vs Substance revisited
There were some interesting comments left over my
previous post about blog designs, and some excellent debate via email*.
Madfish Willie and others asked about my thoughts on color in blog design. Without going into a lot of theory about color and how to use it, I'll just mention a few personal opinions and invite your views.
Exceptions can always be found. If I said that blue should never be used in a blog, someone would point out that blue looks quite nice here.
White is cold and sterile, which is good for serious blogs or professional business sites. It makes for a crisp look, and is easily dressed up with a few small graphics and goes with any contrasting color.
Black is the other extreme, and like white any color can be used for contrast. A little more care should be taken here though because using too many bright colors turns the look into something resembling a Lite Bright, which is hard on the eyes.
In both of the above cases, I feel that using an off-color of white or black is often more effective. An extrememly light dove grey or deep charcoal is more interesting, even if it's not instantly obvious to the eye. As an example, when we painted the master bedroom in our home, I used the palest grey I could find on the walls. You couldn't even tell it wasn't white until I painted the window trim and closet doors pure white. The contrast was remarkable.
And that pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject. Less is more and subtle is better.
That said, it is possible to go too soft on the colors. I'll use our home again as an example, this time the kitchen. My wife picked out a very nice wallpaper full of grey-blue and grey-green. Plenty of color without being too dark or gloomy. There were also small bits of pink in the wallpaper, which I decided to use as the highlight color. My wife freaked out when she saw the paint I brought home for the trim in the kitchen, because it was bright bubblegum pink. It was just enough to jump out and catch the eye as a highlight color. Too much of it would make the room look like an explosion in a pepto-bismol factory.
My blog is another example of how I do this. Mostly soft grey and green, but the blues used for the date line and the banner up top are both pretty bright for contrast. Imagine those same blues (and the reds I use for links) on a straight white background. The page would look entirely different.
To my eye, pastels are easier to look at. Even bright colors like yellow and orange should be softened, especially if they're the primary color. Mookie did that on her blog, imagine the difference if she would have used a bright yellow or purple in her color scheme.
Contrast is important, and there are two ways to get it. First is by light on dark - black on white is the most obvious example, but white on dark grey, or dark blue on light blue work well. The second way is by colors - yellow on blue or brown on light grey - the idea in all cases is to make it easy for the eye to distinguish between design elements.
I've always heard that dark green is the most restful color for human eyes, but I've never been able to make it work as an effective background color. And just because this is Rocket Jones, I'll mention that according to government studies, the best visibility is obtained for rockets when painted black, white and red in large areas.
So there it is. I'm pulling on my flame-proof overalls, so feel free to let me have it in the comments.
* Madfish Willie was rather incensed by my opinions, but being men of the world we agreed to settle our differences the next time we're both in Tijuanna. We're going to meet at Rosarita's Cantina for lunch and the pony floorshow, followed by a switchblade duel to first blood. I expect we'll have enough tequila in our systems that the duel ends up in a draw, both of us managing to cut ourselves with our own knifes while trying to impress the working girls.
Posted by: Ted at
12:30 PM | category: Munuvian Daily Tattler
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Actually, Ted, I pretty much agree with everything you said (new Redskins coach notwithstanding). That's why my blog is pretty muted.
Posted by: Victor at January 03, 2004 04:49 PM (16A49)
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"Too much of it would make the room look like an explosion in a pepto-bismol factory."
Ted, I almost died laughing when I saw this line. Several years ago I painted my living room. I thought I had a kind of a dusty rose color based on the paint chip. When I came into the room the next morning, the sunlight streaming in the uncurtained windows, my fiest thought was "Oh, s---, it looks like a Pepto-Bismol factory blew up."
(Once I added curtains, furniture, and grey lampshades, it isn't nearly so violently pink, and I have grown to love it, especially since I am so not a girly girl that a pink room surprises all who see it.)
My next blog face lift will be pink, maybe with some lime green and lots of blinking text. ;-)
Posted by: Nic at January 03, 2004 09:58 PM (16A49)
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Painted my daughter's bedroom pink when she was 4. I painted it 3 times before we got a shade we could stand. Pink takes on a very different look when it's on 4 walls vs a 1 inch paint chip.
I agree with your less is more aproach. And I like to think that I have made decent use of blue as well!
That said, I have probably never not read a well written blog because it was ugly. I will click off of good content for two reasons - anything that moves or flashes and anything that makes noise.
Posted by: StMack at January 04, 2004 09:33 AM (CSxVi)
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I vote for "non-obnoxious." Nothing should blink. Actually, I used to, back in the early days of the web, point out the "hideous site of the week."
Perhaps I should pick that up again. Non blogs, of course.
hln
Posted by: hln at January 04, 2004 07:32 PM (yJyUC)
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Never ever ever use blue text on a black background. Possibly the worst combination there is for readability.
Basically, I agree with you. Not that I think that your site (or mine) is the epitome of blog design, just that it's fairly well organised and easy to read.
Acutally, the current incarnation of Madfish Willie's isn't too bad. A bit busy, perhaps. And I don't like having any sort of image behind the text. But otherwise pretty good.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 04, 2004 08:05 PM (kOqZ6)
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OK, OK, I give in--how does my site measure up to your scrutiny...?
Not that it would change anything, so NYAH! ;-)
--TwoDragons
Posted by: Denita TwoDragons at January 04, 2004 08:16 PM (NSELC)
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Pixy: Thank you for your unsolicited compliment.
Mr Jones: Your whole last paragraph is a misstatement... no, it's a downright, bald-faced lie. I was
not incensed with your opinions, you are entitled to your your opinion. However, you damned well bet I'm incensed now. I certainly didn't agree with most of your opinions in the post in question. I thought my comments to your post were well thought out and had strong reasoning behind each point that I made. Apparently you thought so as well, or I would not have recieved such a lengthy private response from you. I had really hoped to continue that discussion on a private basis, but you had to put that little punch in at the last paragraph. As far as I am concerned, you are full of shit. I didn't design my blog for your approval. I didn't design it to solicit or listen to your opinions on whether or not you feel it is a successful design. As previously stated, I designed it for my own personal amusement and entertainment, no one else's. I think as much of your opinion as I do of any other "expert" opinion. They all suck and more often than not, they are totally wrong! Please don't feel obligated to visit my unsuccessfully designed site. You surely are not there for the content, as you yourself have pointed out. I certainly won't feel obligated to return here under any circumstance.
That's about all I care to say right now without getting really shitty about it and possibly stepping on someone else's toes.
Next time, keep your friggin opinions to yourself unless you are asked for them!
Posted by: The Bartender at January 04, 2004 10:47 PM (MIrBq)
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Denita -
Personally I like your site. The one thing I might change is the background you use with blockquotes... I'd use a simple solid colour instead. It's just that I don't like anything that makes text hard to read, since I spend 12+ hours a day in front of a computer screen.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 05, 2004 02:03 AM (kOqZ6)
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Willie, apparently you don't 'get' my humor either. Lighten up.
Posted by: Ted at January 05, 2004 05:16 AM (2sKfR)
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Denita, I like your design. You've got a lot going on, but everything fits together well and nothing distracts and dominates. It's also well defined between the various bits, which makes it easy to read. I hadn't noticed the texture behind the block quotes before, but I think italics are harder to read in general (and that's coming from someone who uses italics entirely too much myself).
Wow. Can I submit just that last sentence fragment in parens to the Bonfire?
Posted by: Ted at January 05, 2004 09:08 AM (blNMI)
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Ted - Good point on italics. At home, with a 1600x1200 display and anti-aliased fonts, they work fine. At work, with a 1280x1024 display and non-anti-aliased fonts, they are noticeable harder to read.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 05, 2004 08:22 PM (kOqZ6)
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Since I was a reasonably successful web developer (in my own niche) before I joined the rank and file of this man's (person's?) Air Force, I wanted to weigh in. Even if I am a freaking week late.
I always tackled design from a usability point of view. If a design was clean, simple and intuitive for the user, then it's likely to be (commercially, statistically, whatever) successful. In my work, that always meant having a good, obvious organization of content and then creating a layout that facilitated finding the information the user wants quickly (studies suggest 2 clicks or less).
Balance that against clutter. For all it's strengths and popularity, the common blog format (IN MY OPINION) is too cluttered. Too many lists of links, random graphics, months of posts make a page hard to digest and and a poorly organized archive system makes it even more likely that content will be missed.
On text styles: I like using italics, but I hardly ever use bold. IMO, the important thing is to be consistent with how you use them (links, movie & book titles, etc) and be consistent with your layout. For instance, on my site, if I bold body copy, it looks the same as my headings.
But the original discussion was about colors, no?
I agree with Pixy about the background/text combo. It's OK for highlight text to be a different color (headings, links, anything you want to call out), but copy text should never be anything but black or white (keeping in mind that white text may not print properly on some printers if the browser isn't set up to transvert the color).
And I totally agree with Ted about using subtle shades for the background. light shades of white and black relieve eye strain and make it more likely that a user will get more than 2 paragraphs into your 3 page rant.
One helpful thing I always did was choose a color family before I ever did any layout. Choose a background color, a text color, and 2 or 3 highlight and lowlight colors to use for textboxes, headings, etc. And then stick to your choices. (Incidentally, that's why I was so stoked when style sheets came into being. That also gives you an idea of how long it's been since I was doing this stuff.)
And a word about obnoxious "toys":
There used to be an IBM commercial where the CEO went to the web department of his company. He had seen a website with an animated flame and he kept saying, "Can we get fire?" as though it was atomic technology. Unless you're running The Hamster Dance, nothing animated. It takes attention away from the real content.
And in the name of all that's Holy, no background music. A page could have a picture of tomorrow's lottery numbers tatooed on Brittney's naked body and a background MIDI would still make me click 'back'.
Posted by: Alan at January 06, 2004 05:35 PM (d9NoY)
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Thanks for the critique, Pixy and Ted! I'll relay the info along to Hubby and see if he can change the background on the blockquotes. I agree with you 100 percent, I think that Eric did it that way to break up things a bit but perhaps it would just be better to use a very pale shade of grey instead.
--TwoDragons
Posted by: Denita TwoDragons at January 06, 2004 06:56 PM (Ggueb)
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December 28, 2003
Style vs Substance
What follows are some personal thoughts about blog design. My opinions carry no weight except what you give them, and it doesn't mean anything if you agree or disagree.
If I mention someone by name, no personal insult is intended, neither is any perceived sucking up.
I've been working with computers for a long time. I've sat down and punched many a deck of the old IBM cards (do not fold, spindle, or mutilate). Most of my experience has been on the big monstrous mainframe computers, which are no longer all that big or monstrous. They just seem that way compared to the PC's of today.
People today are spoiled by PC's. They are incredibly flexible and powerful. My users can't understand why I can't change fonts in the middle of printed output from our mainframe. They can't grasp the complete and total control you've gained thanks to Apple and Microsoft. And they don't understand how little of that flexibility has migrated upwards to the big boys.
I remember the days when monitors were green letters on a black background, or amber letters on black. It was a huge day when we got monitors and software that allowed us eight whole colors! Geeks doing the happy dance, not a pretty thing to see.
But that giant leap for pocket-protector-kind also hammered home a lesson we'd all learned without realizing it. We instantly became color-crazed, highlighting and underscoring and color coding, and our screens looked like something out of an acid-trip flashback. They were so loud and garish that the information on them was lost in the background. It took us a while to figure that out.
I used to train new programmers, and one of the things I would do is give them the specs to a new screen and function to do - their first ever using color. This was actual work that would be incorporated into our systems, but never anything that we needed in a hurry. Inevitably, what came back would sear your brain and make you want to claw out your eyeballs. And I would go over the nightmare with them, showing them where color worked, and where it didn't, and what to do and what not to do.
The most important thing is the information, not the way it's presented.
That sentence above is the point I've been meandering towards. Take a look at the blogs by Rachel Lucas or Bill Whittle or Instapundit, and what you might not immediately notice is their crisp clean style. Their blog designs manage to be distinctive and attractive without getting in the way of the content. And that is what we should all be striving for.
That doesn't mean your blog design has to be sterile. Check out Candy Universe for an outstanding example of balancing an eye-catching design with easy readability. Remember, these are personal opinions, I know some folks don't like light text on a dark background. I'm talking about the whole here, not details.
On the other end of the spectrum (opinion alert!) are Madfish Willie's Cyber Saloon and Snooze Button Dreams and Tiger: Raggin' and Rantin', to name three I'm most familiar with. Each has different things that make their designs less than successful to me.
Madfish Willie takes every toy, gimcrack and script trick he can find and incorporates it into his blog design. He's a fountain of good information, but I find that the content of his site gets lost in the bells and whistles. I can't even load his blog from work (at lunchtime) because the firewall times out waiting for all the doodads to load. To me, it's too much.
Snooze Button Dreams is approaching that point as well, but seems to be more low-key about it. He knows way more about this stuff than I do, but it seems like he's constantly trying to tweak his latest script so that it works for everyone regardless of browser or version. His blog is rapidly approaching the point where it won't load in a reasonable time either.
Tiger's design is... just... too much of everything. I can't really pin down any one or two things, but there's just so much happening text-wise that it's difficult to read. Once I'd learned his format it became easier to focus on his posts, but someone visiting your blog shouldn't have to learn how to work around the design to get to the good stuff.
I still read these blogs every day, but when you're trying to entice folks to plan a return visit it just makes sense to make it as easy as possible for the visitor. Don't let the content get lost in the design of your blog.
Update: To clarify my thoughts about Snooze Button Dreams, Jim has stayed very close to a standard template with a simple design. The problems I'm having with his site (and I admit I don't understand the 'why' of it) is in the numerous scripts that he runs in the background (Java?). Check out his blogroll for instance, you click on one category to expand it. Very nifty, but it has to reload each time I access his site, and the firewall is fussing about it. My solution is to wait until I get home to check out his site, I do the same for Madfish Willie's. I really like his proposed designs, especially this one.
Posted by: Ted at
12:56 PM | category: Munuvian Daily Tattler
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So (slightly afraid to ask)... where does my site fall on the spectrum?
Posted by: Daniel at December 28, 2003 08:04 PM (0njbH)
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It doesn't matter what I think Daniel - I meant that! But I find your blog to be very readable.
Posted by: Ted at December 28, 2003 08:39 PM (2sKfR)
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I loved amber. I just did some Googling and found my first computer:
http://oldcomputers.net/compaqiii.html
My trick for keeping pages simple is to not learn new technology. I keyed in my first html code using DOS text editor on a 286 laptop, and I haven't progressed much from there.
Posted by: Nic at December 28, 2003 08:41 PM (16A49)
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I'm a little hesitant about asking because I know you'll probably get a lot of these, but how about a quick review of my site?
I'm a little surprised by your comments about Snooze Button Dreams. It looks like a nice clean design. Almost everything loads slowly with my primitive connection though, so it's hard for me to tell.
One problem I have with Tiger's blog is there's something weird about the way it scrolls (hard to describe) and I occasionally find other sites like that. It's a little annoying.
Posted by: Lynn S at December 28, 2003 08:43 PM (EhDj0)
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Lynn S., you didn't ask me, but yer blogs looks good to me. I wonder if it's a good idea to have the title banner written in calygraphy....
Oh, and ditto on the Snooze Button Dreams note. It looks like a pretty crisp set-up to me. Are there a lot of bells and whistles that I'm not seeing in IE 6.0???
Posted by: Tuning Spork at December 28, 2003 09:08 PM (K4f22)
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I agree with most of your opinion. Except Candy Universe. to dismiss the objection light text on a dark background (readable only in small doses) as a mere detail, invalidates your statement that you're taling about the whole. A detail that for many makes a site difficult to read has to be considered as having a significant impact on the whole.
Posted by: StMack at December 28, 2003 09:35 PM (CSxVi)
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Also little details like typing and proof reading count too. Sorry for the lack of both in the comment above!
Posted by: StMack at December 28, 2003 09:37 PM (CSxVi)
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Calligraphy? The title on my page is in Times New Roman Italic. I used TNR because almost everyone has it and italics because I wanted something more elegant than a plain font.
Anyway, thanks for the comment. It is appreciated.
Posted by: Lynn S at December 28, 2003 10:08 PM (yPyKG)
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Mack, I know a lot of people don't like light text on black, but I also know it's perfectly acceptable to many. Some folks don't like blue, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't ever use blue in your blog design. You've got me wondering though, I'm sure somewhere someone has done a study about it. Google is my friend.
Posted by: Ted at December 28, 2003 10:21 PM (2sKfR)
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Lynn, I love your design because it's almost minimalistic. That's just a personal preference of mine. The programmer in me would nitpick about the spacing between your individual posts, because you have a gap between the end of one post and your 'posted by' line, followed immediately by the previous title. Put that space between the 'posted by' and the title to gain that little bit of separation.
Like I said, it's a minor nitpick that only an old mainframe programmer would notice.
Posted by: Ted at December 28, 2003 10:35 PM (2sKfR)
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Who doesn't like blue?!
Posted by: Jennifer at December 28, 2003 10:41 PM (LwntN)
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Lynn S.; Weird Misunderstang Alert: I wasn't accusing you of using calligraphy, I was suggesting that you might want to! mheh.
Strange how language can be a uniter
and a divider...
Posted by: Tuning Spork at December 29, 2003 12:30 AM (K4f22)
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...and how the word
Mustang could end up being so misspelled...
Posted by: Tuning Spork at December 29, 2003 01:12 AM (TRonT)
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Thanks for the feedback, Ted. I had no idea my scripts were causing problems. Something for me to contemplate now.
Posted by: Jim at December 29, 2003 04:18 AM (fkewd)
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Jim - your scripts don't work in Mozilla (some, anyway), but as I've said, they at least do the right thing when they break.
Otherwise it's a nice clean design. (I love the new black&white design too.)
I agree with Ted on most of this; if I'm reading your blog, I don't want anything that distracts me from reading. Hence my rant a while back on the evils of the thingy tag. Scrolly thing. You know.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at December 29, 2003 04:52 AM (jtW2s)
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Shouldn't we all just read Tufte and be done with it?
Posted by: Daniel at December 29, 2003 07:55 AM (Oc6V9)
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If you can find a copy of it, get Web Pages that Suck and Son of Web Pages that Suck (or just go to the website itself. Lots of good ideas on what not to do in there.
Posted by: Victor at December 29, 2003 08:05 AM (L3qPK)
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Oops. Funny how the same sentence can be read to have two different meanings. I've actually thought about some kind of graphic for the header but just haven't come up with anything.
Ted, thanks. My design is minimalist because I have a minimum of knowledge about how to do stuff. :-) I've actually thought about the spacing problem but just never bothered to do anything about it.
Posted by: Lynn S at December 29, 2003 08:58 AM (EhDj0)
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Damn. I need to quit using the word "actually" so much.
Posted by: Lynn S at December 29, 2003 09:00 AM (8WU7p)
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I make my living as a designer mostly of stuff that gets printed on paper. One bit of advice I gave to a young designer whose portfolio I was reviewing was, "Just because you can do something in PhotoShop, doesn't mean you should." I think this advice would probably apply to web site design as well. Since the purpose of a weblog is to convey information, judge every design question and every bit of technological candy by the standard of "Does this help or hinder the communication?"
Posted by: StMack at December 29, 2003 09:08 AM (UquFN)
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YES!!! StMack put it much better than I did. My wife did a brochure once for her business, and then a professional helped her refine the design. His suggestions were subtle but incredibly effective.
I think I also need to say that a busy design isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it works, but I don't know enough to say exactly why. Kinda that 'I know what I like' thing.
Posted by: Ted at December 29, 2003 09:33 AM (blNMI)
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Lynn, actually, women who say 'damn' are kinda sexy.
(sorry, I couldn't resist!)
Posted by: Ted at December 29, 2003 09:35 AM (blNMI)
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I probably should have read this before I redecorated, huh?
I think Candy Universe is gorgeous. I'm partial to those sites with a nice retro pic up at the top, cheesecakey or whatever. ScorpioGirl (http://www.scorpiogirl.co.nz/) is one such.
Posted by: LeeAnn at December 29, 2003 02:34 PM (HxCeX)
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Ted, could your proxy at work be forbidding script pages? That would explain why you're getting a hang for my sidebar. I could get around that by putting the script in line but I wanted it centrally located so it could be referred from wherever it's needed.
Also, i just removed some scripts yesterday (for the random tagline). Could you check and see if this makes a difference for you?
Posted by: Jim at December 30, 2003 11:02 AM (IOwam)
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Jim, I'm sure it's my work server because I can load you fine from home (cable modem). It's odd but there is a pattern at work, because *almost* all 'radio weblogs' are blocked too.
Posted by: Ted at December 30, 2003 12:37 PM (blNMI)
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I doubt that it's forbidding script pages, or it would block the MuNu blogrolls.
It's probably just poo.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at December 31, 2003 01:00 AM (kOqZ6)
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I must say, I was more than a little "miffed" when first reading your post. First, I'll be just a little sarcastic, then I have some serious discussion.
If my site is so "unsuccessful", what are doing coming back to it? To me that pretty much says it all to me... you came back a second time and many times after that, so something I did was "successful". If it's based only on my "content", then you are as sick as I am and in need of immediate mental health care.
Is it my general site layout that makes my site design unsuccessful or is it the load times? My site hasn't always loaded as slow as it's loading right now. My doodads are internal calls that have nothing to do with the load times. For the most part, they are an enhancement of the functionality of the site eg. the expanding comments and extended entry scripts. One exception is the random toasts which load last after everything else on the page. That one I could live without, but it's not
the culprit in slow loading. The main factor is the banner graphic at 75kb, but I'm not taking that out. I have added and subtracted different graphics over the last several weeks but nothing that has a huge overhead. I may cut down on them or I may not, I haven't decided.
I find that the external call for the blogrolling script slows it down to a crawl. The external call for the MuNu script slows down the load time too. Those two scripts ALWAYS hang the site load.
Let's see what else would cause slow loading... the actual number of posts on, or total length of, the page. I have seven days set up in my config file. Sometimes that runs into 30+ posts. I ran across a post over at Wizbang tonight that I am going to use to change the number of posts to a more managable number, say... 15-20. Then I will use my "Recent Posts" to give access to the 15-20 posts that just scrolled off the page. A wonderfully brilliant solution and use of a totally useless piece of coding heretofore not utilized very effectively... even if I do say so myself.
I could debate this with you for hours [BTW: I've seen Tufte's site and it sucks IMHO] and would like to hear your theories on colors, because I know that have a subcontious effect on people. I have no garish color schemes or background images or textures (except during a holiday period) and my color scheme compliments the actual layout of the site. If you have a difference of opinion on that point, I would certainly debate you on it.
In my opinion, part of the blogging "experience" is to enjoy the personalization of each particular site design. I have sites I go to just because I think they are "pretty" [for lack of a better term], not because they have great content. I have trouble going back to a site that is a template, out of the box, white screen with gray dotted lines. I go to some sites that suck and load so slow that even I have a problem with it, but I like their content. So, to me, it's all a trade off.
If it was all about the content, we would be typeing black letters on a white background. My first personal computer was a Tandy 1000HX with one 720 3.5 drive. I learned DOS from the command line. I built a couple of two and three page sites back when the designs were really atrocious (95ish), so I understand what you say about design implmentation. I just have a different opinion of what makes a site successful. Is load time the determining factor? It certainly is a big factor, but a smaller factor everyday with high bandwidth becoming more available.
Mostly, this is a personal web site, something I use for MY enjoyment and entertainment, not anything people are paying to see or that I am trying to derive any income from. So, the first thing I satify is my own personal idiosyncracies (sp?). If that happens to coincide with someone's idea of entertainment, great! If not, so what?
What would YOU do to make my site design more "successful"? You tell me. Really.
Posted by: The Bartender at January 03, 2004 03:50 AM (v32pv)
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i've been online for like an hour trying to find out what a hoya really is. if you could
email me back and pretty please tell me what a hoya is, that would be wonderful. thanks!
Posted by: Bali at January 08, 2004 12:14 AM (Q3W1k)
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December 04, 2003
I'm still not going to stop and ask directions
Kudos to fellow
Munuvian Simon for the link to the
Blogosphere map of Munuviana (aka Munuvia)!!! Tres cool. I suspect that if Simon had anything to do with it, our inclusion involved the promise of
crocodile-skin boots and/or
HK hookers in
rugby shirts. He seems like a guy who can solve multiple problems with one fell swoop.
Update: Pixy has informed me that Susie is the one who led the coup. All hail the Mater Cartographica!
Posted by: Ted at
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In fact, it was Susie who led the rebellion against Shah James Lileks.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at December 04, 2003 11:00 AM (jtW2s)
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Yes, I can't take the credit. I am simply a foot soilder in the Munuvinan army. Those bribes are what I offer Pixy every time I have a question....
Posted by: Simon at December 04, 2003 07:27 PM (UKqGy)
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December 03, 2003
BestOfMe Symphony
Jim at
Snooze Button Dreams has a neat new gig going on. Follow
this link for full details, but here's a brief:
This post compilation meme is structured like the Carnival of the Vanities but concentrates on the best posts from the history of weblogs. Post submission criteria are very simple. The post must be at least 2 months old and the submitter must think it is a very good post. How easy is that?
Posted by: Ted at
05:28 AM | category: Munuvian Daily Tattler
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Thanks for the plug, Ted!
Now, where's your submission? ;-)
Posted by: Jim at December 03, 2003 07:09 AM (IOwam)
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November 29, 2003
oooooh-kay
I was jes' chillin' last night and caught an interesting program on TV. Listed as
Bram Stoker's Burial of the Rats, it stared Adrienne Barbeau and lots and lots of other scantily clad ladies. And rats. Although they're not treated all that kindly (there are a couple of rat deaths), they are an integral part of the story. Did I mention scantily clad ladies? We're talking serious leather bikini's and topless dancing. And rats. And scantily clad ladies.
It was on the Showtime Beyond channel, Victor.
Posted by: Ted at
07:53 AM | category: Munuvian Daily Tattler
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1
Rats automatically turn the cheesiest movie into artsy-fartsy cinema.
Posted by: Victor at November 29, 2003 12:24 PM (16A49)
2
Poor rats...I hope they bit the crew when they tried to kill them.
Posted by: Serenity at November 29, 2003 02:20 PM (3XIYy)
3
Poor rats...I hope they bit the crew when they tried to kill them.
Posted by: Serenity at November 29, 2003 02:20 PM (3XIYy)
4
Poor rats...I hope they bit the crew when they tried to kill them.
Posted by: Serenity at November 29, 2003 02:21 PM (nPqz7)
5
Like you said, oooooh-kay.
Weird.
Posted by: Jennifer at November 29, 2003 02:58 PM (uS8GD)
6
Well, it was Bram Stoker, so that also makes it literature.
I looked into it a little further, and it was a made-for-TV Showtime production. That explains the maximum boobage. Apparently these weren't normal rats either, groups of them could strip a skeleton clean quick enough to make piranha jealous.
Posted by: Ted at November 29, 2003 05:58 PM (2sKfR)
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November 27, 2003
Giving Thanks
Today and every day, I'm thankful for all of my online friends and visitors who stop by. Your comments and encouragement mean more to us than you know. I also appreciate the time and effort you put in when you post to your own blogs. Reading you is like visiting with friends.
The blogosphere is an inside-out universe, where we can pour out our hearts and souls for all to see, writing things we wouldn't dream of saying to friends at work or church. Yet for all this honesty, the most common external details of our lives are hidden from each other. I may have a good idea of your fears and hot-buttons, even of your kinks, yet I don't have a clue as to what kind of car you drive or what your voice sounds like.
I'm richer for having known all of you. Thank you, and have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Posted by: Ted at
08:03 AM | category: Munuvian Daily Tattler
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1
Happy Thanksgiving, Ted.
Posted by: Jennifer at November 27, 2003 01:28 PM (nHjxO)
2
Thanks, Ted. Same to you and yours.
Posted by: Victor at November 27, 2003 01:56 PM (16A49)
3
LOL I read it too fast and saw "richer" as "tired" and thought "omg, we're being dumped!"
Been inhaling my own cooking fumes too long.
Happiest of Thanksgivings, Ted. You make us smile.
Posted by: LeeAn at November 27, 2003 02:08 PM (HxCeX)
4
That pretty says it all! Happy Thanksgiving Ted!
Posted by: Tuning Spork at November 27, 2003 02:32 PM (MuqMw)
5
"inside out"..yes, I think that fits.
Thanks for having such an enjoyable soul to read.
Posted by: jim at November 29, 2003 03:23 PM (lN8eP)
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November 25, 2003
It takes a village to raise a child
And y'all are letting me down!
Mookie started her '
Dead Guy of the Day' posts, and so far she's only gotten a couple of comments about being a troubled child. Heck, I already knew that.
So the parenting gene kicked in (translation: my wife told me I'd better deal with my child), and I'm steering her morbid sense of humor towards a quest to learn more about capital punishment and the debate surrounding the issue. Hence the recent descriptions about methods of execution and even a little bit about her personal feelings on the subject.
Which is more than you folks are doing. C'mon people, in modern society everyone else is responsible, so if she grows up sick and twisted then she's a chip off the ol' block it's your fault too!
While you're there, engage her by leaving thoughtful comments. Challenge her, make her think. And don't forget to give her hell about her spelling and grammar too. Heaven knows she doesn't listen to me anymore, and lately that frightens me.
Posted by: Ted at
09:57 AM | category: Munuvian Daily Tattler
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1
Ted,
I am over 50 and my spelling still sucks.
What I do when I write longer posts is write them first in a text editor (I use Textpad) that has spellcheck. When I am done I just cut and paste the spellchecked text.
I usually puts the links in later because that is easier to do that way with Movable Type.
Textpad is shareware I think, you can download it for free and if you like it the cost to register is not steep.
Posted by: Starhawk at November 26, 2003 12:35 AM (JSfgi)
2
I've been after her to use her spell checker, and she does sometimes. I can tell when she has, because she'll have perfect spelling while using the wrong words: "what ever" instead of "whatever" or "affect" when she means "effect". Drives me crazy.
(short drive)
Posted by: Ted at November 26, 2003 07:14 AM (Qj620)
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November 23, 2003
Don't worry, he won't bite
Say hello to Goddard the Rocket Dog up there at the top.
At least, Goddard is what I'm leaning towards right now. Do you have a suggested name for our intrepid canine? If you do, leave it in the comments.
Posted by: Ted at
02:14 PM | category: Munuvian Daily Tattler
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1
You could name him after the Basselope from Bloom County, since the pic reminds me of one of Berke Breathed's cartoons...
D*mn--what was that character's name?! It's onthe tip of my tongue...
--TwoDragons
Posted by: Denita TwoDragons at November 23, 2003 03:37 PM (ped5z)
2
Dad, I'll say it like I always have...Now I know why I am so weird, I take after you...
Posted by: Robyn at November 23, 2003 03:44 PM (gWcjd)
3
How about LOX?
Yours,
Wince
Posted by: Wince and Nod at November 23, 2003 05:12 PM (bCnAV)
4
Name him Duncan. Why? Just because. Lol, he is cute though.
Posted by: Tasberry at November 23, 2003 07:21 PM (D+OdG)
5
I don't care what you name him, but I'd like to take him to Club Medicated this week and put him in my weekly meeting with my supervisor!
Her glasses are so dirty, I doubt she'd notice it wasn't me!
Posted by: Dawn at November 23, 2003 08:33 PM (0zfIx)
6
Goddard being the monicker of the mechanical canine companion to Nickelodeon's Jimmy Neutron Boy Genious (I have 2 young children so I know this) I think the name fits well!
Posted by: StMack at November 23, 2003 08:41 PM (CSxVi)
7
Well, either Goddard or Tsiolkovsky. Since I don't know that I spelled Tsiolkovsky right, I say stick with Goddard.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at November 23, 2003 10:00 PM (LBXBY)
Posted by: The Bartender at November 24, 2003 01:41 AM (7IFne)
9
You could name him after me, since the resemblance is uncanny.
But Goddard is good too.
Or Neo-Icharus.
Posted by: LeeAnn at November 24, 2003 09:38 AM (HxCeX)
10
if it's a boy I'll call him Gordon
if it's a girl I'll call her Gordon
I just like the name Gordon
brought to you by the BNL song "Steven Page Is Having a Baby"
Posted by: Rachael at November 24, 2003 03:25 PM (2sKfR)
11
I think Goddard works great.
hln
Posted by: hln at November 24, 2003 10:26 PM (yJyUC)
12
I thought of the Basselope also. I think his name was Rosebud.
Posted by: Anonymous at November 25, 2003 01:03 PM (3eprK)
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November 14, 2003
Sore Loser Good Sport
As agreed, I've posted the St. Louis Blues logo at the top of my page since they beat my San Jose Sharks last night in overtime.
Congrats Heather!
Posted by: Ted at
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November 09, 2003
Collins and the Challenge
Well, it must be the
Geritol clean living curse of satan (screw you prince of darkness, I'm too pissed to capitalize your freakin' name), because today the Oakland Raiders
actually almost looked like a professional football team. They
beat rolled over like a dead dog against the Jets.
I'm going to eat a heapin' helping of crow now, and post my Jets Raiders jokes. I said I'd rework them where possible, so the second part will be the ones that just can't be changed because they're too Jet-specific. Yeah, I'm still slamming them some, because they still suck. Just not as bad as the Raiders.
God invented the Raiders so Cincinnati fans would have someone to make fun of.
BillÂ’s toe was invited to the Raiders training camp next year. ItÂ’s already the right color.
They considered playing some Raiders home games in Puerto Rico next year, but the Puerto Ricans said they didnÂ’t need pro football that bad. Raiders fans suggested Vieques. During the shelling.
The Raiders are to football what Marc Gastineau was to sportsmanship.
And modern dance, come to think of it.
The Raiders play like theyÂ’re channeling Linda Lovelace.
Al Davis felt the need for a change, so he hired Barry Manilow to write a new fight song. They didnÂ’t use the song, but fit him for a uniform in an effort to toughen up the defense.
ThereÂ’s three things you can count on from the Raiders this year. First, they suck. After that first thing, who cares what the other two are?
And their cheerleaders, jeez. They look like a cross between the tackling dummy and Carol Doda.
I mean, if the dumbest half of the Jets cheerleaders joined the Raiders squad, the average IQ of both groups would go up.
It’s just a rumor that President Bush has given the Air Force permission to shoot down the Raiders team plane in the interests of “National Dignity”.
After the disaster that this season has been, Coach Callahan is concerned that his career is over. Word is that heÂ’s currently in talks with Madonna.
Last year to this year - there hasnÂ’t been that big a dropoff since the last two minutes of Thelma and Louise.
The Raiders are trying a new slogan this year: “Homeless America’s Team”
The Queer Eye for the Straight Guy team offered to redesign the Raider uniforms, but backed out after discovering that ‘tight end’, ‘split end’, and ‘wide receiver’ were football positions and not job descriptions. Several players were reportedly disappointed. And embarrassed, because they thought the same thing.
Of course it’s spelled differently, but did you know that the phrase ‘Oakland Raiders’ is phonetically the same as the French words for ‘fight to the last man’?
Gannon might become the new spokesman for AARP. I guess Bill will have to look for a new gig.
Part of the problem with the Raiders offense is that, after watching the coaches diagram a play, half the team doesnÂ’t know if theyÂ’re supposed to be the hugs or the kisses.
The Raiders are positioning themselves to be the dominant team in that new league starting next year – the AARPFL.
Jets Jokes (and personal attacks against John Collins)
They took x-rays. Collins is not playing with a corked head.
Admit it. You miss Pete Carroll.
What exactly do you call that color? Sea green, putrid green, gan-green? The last time I saw that color, I was changing a baby diaper.
The waiting list for season tickets is long, but look at the bright side John. ItÂ’s probably like the New York voter registration, and half those folks are already deceased.
Collins bitched about having to pay to be on the waiting list for Jets season tickets. But look at how much money he's saved not having to buy Super Bowl tickets for the last 35 years.
While interviewing Vinnie TestaverdeÂ’s new girlfriend, she shyly admitted that she thought sheÂ’d have to be an archeologist in order to see a bone that old.
Face it, things can’t be going well when four of your best players leave to join the Redskins. That’s as bad as having your lifeboat rescued – by the Titanic.
A guy walks into a bar with a dachshund under his arm. The dog is wearing a Jets jersey, helmet and is holding Jets pom poms.
The bartender says,"Hey! No pets allowed in here! You'll have to leave!"
The man begs, "Look I am desperate. We're both big fans, my TV is broken, and this is the only place we can see the game!"
After securing a promise that the dog will behave,and warning him that if there is any trouble they will be thrown out,the bartender relents and allows them to stay in the bar and watch the game.
The game begins with the Jets receiving a kickoff. They march downfield stop at the 30,and kick a field goal.
With that the dog jumps up on the bar,and begins walking up and down the bar giving everyone a high-five.
The bartender says,"Wow that is the most amazing thing I've ever seen! What does the dog do if they score a touchdown?"
"I don't know," replies the owner, "I've only had him for four years."
Joe Namath proved that you can wear panty-hose and still be a man. John proves that all over again each and every day.
Remember that ditch they dug in front of John’s driveway? It was actually a 4” wide trench, but when you’re a Jets fan, every obstacle seems insurmountable.
I know exactly what that feels like.
Posted by: Ted at
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Yeah, thanks for that. I take offense to the remark about the Raiderettes, the rest is pretty accurate though.
Posted by: Ross at November 10, 2003 12:50 AM (/Setc)
2
Like I said, they were all originally Jets jokes, but I had to rework them. Actually, who cares about the Raiderettes? I think they should just show more shots of the black hole, the fans are much more entertaining.
Posted by: Ted at November 10, 2003 05:37 AM (2sKfR)
3
lol Ted, that was great. "4 inches wide" - nice -
Posted by: jim at November 10, 2003 09:19 AM (lN8eP)
4
It's amazing that with all those spikes, the guys in the black hole haven't started to kill themselves yet.
Posted by: Ross at November 10, 2003 12:37 PM (BDMq7)
5
Collins bitched about having to pay to be on the waiting list for Jets season tickets. But look at how much money he's saved not having to buy Super Bowl tickets for the last 35 years.
Now that some funny shit.
Posted by: Collins at March 15, 2005 12:59 AM (YkSuu)
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November 06, 2003
(not) completely forgotten
Collins had set up a challenge before
going haitian he disappeared.
Details are here, but basically each week if his beloved Jets won the game then he would rag the other team and designated fan or vice versa, and links would be provided.
It went according to plan for exactly one week, when Rob of Left & Right treated John like a red-headed stepchild. Then life got interesting for John, and the challenge went by the wayside.
Everyone seemed to just let it lie, but I already had some killer jokes prepared for him. I was confident then, before the Raiders started looking like a team in the new AARPFL. So on sunday, I'm going to watch the game, and if the Raiders beat the Jets, I'm going to slam Collins and his Jets according to the original plan. And if the Jets whup the Raiders, well, I'll rework the jokes where possible and do my drunken mick impersonation, showing no mercy to the Black & Silver.
Bill, Wind Rider, Paul or anyone else who talks to John occasionally, point him this way next chance he gets. I'm thinking about him.
Posted by: Ted at
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Hey, "Jet" jokes..that should be right up your alley Ted.
Posted by: jim at November 06, 2003 04:58 PM (lN8eP)
Posted by: Car Price Quotes at May 06, 2004 06:49 PM (yxurB)
3
Was looking for aupairs and google turned this site up
Posted by: ben at December 21, 2004 02:04 AM (vVsL3)
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October 27, 2003
October 26, 2003
Zulu time
As part of the international
Munuvian community, I've decided to change my date and time stamp to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), also called 'zulu' time. If everyone Mu does this, then all the Munuviana posters will be synchronized, regardless of their local time zones. If not, then oh well, it's not a big deal, and I may change back.
Susie did it too, and there's more about zulu time
here and
here.
Posted by: Ted at
01:30 PM | category: Munuvian Daily Tattler
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I don't think I'm going to switch... I have enough trouble with military time, have to take off the shoes, add twelve, carry the three....
Posted by: LeeAnn at October 26, 2003 04:47 PM (HxCeX)
2
I actually like the local times unique to each blog. Let's me get an idea of where (when) everyone is... adds perspective.
Posted by: Tuning Spork at October 26, 2003 06:10 PM (6YotS)
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October 24, 2003
Tour de Munuviana
Daniel said he hoped this would become a regular feature. The rest of you rolled your eyes and said “ohmigod no” under your breath. This is what happens when you don’t speak up.
Jennifer interviewed Daniel. Due respect guy, but half the questions gave you the chance to strut your stuff and instead you went all 90’s touchy-feely with it. You don’t have to impress the ladies with your intelligence, because they already knew that, and we know they knew that because the other half of the questions basically translate to ‘how horny are you?’ except for one ‘how well hung are you?’ question.
Things definitely took a turn towards Eros this week as Jen posted about beastiality and Helen discussed hair care and the law of diminishing cleavage. Which reminds me of a joke:
Q: Why donÂ’t women wear shorter skirts?
A: Because theyÂ’d need two hair-doÂ’s.
Hey, I promised last time that Jim would get top billing. Life lesson Jim. Never trust anyone except members of the federal government.
(IÂ’m contractually obligated by the IRS to include that last statement in personal correspondence once a day. But by 2008, my back taxes will be paid off and I can tell them to never trust anyone except members of the federal government.)
Jim pronounces creek correctly too.
Then we have Don of Anger Management. I’ve been trying to figure him out for a while now, and just when I think I’ve got it, he goes and writes something brilliant and off-the-wall. Psst Daniel, I think Don asked the ‘shoe size’ question.
New fish bloggers: Simon, Tom, Chuck, and Willie, let the vicious backstabbing attacks begin please let me welcome you. I look forward to getting to know you. What national flag would you fly? Yes, that’s a real question and it does make sense and I do want an answer. Thank you. (I already heard from Simon. Tom, Chuck and Willie, I assume U.S. – but let me know, mm’k?)
Tiger, I donÂ’t get it. Sorry.
Heather points out a link-o-rama where you can see pictures all of the various lady bloggers you read. She also talks about mustard, rants a little about Peta and their transparent concern for your waistline, and gets serious about the new nuclear reality.
Helen, all I can say is that although a little introspection is good, itÂ’s easy to get too deep into what it all means. I'm just sayin', ya know?
Stevie talks about cows. Frequently.
Mr. Green doesnÂ’t post often, but when he does itÂ’s worth reading. Chicks dig him too.
LeeAnn gets a new job. With all the talk of raises and knees, maybe I should have put this up with Jennifer and Helen. She also observes a practical physics lesson.
Mookie is heavily indebted to mom and I for getting her the new Barenaked Ladies CD. She celebrates with nightmares (actually it sounds a lot like my life – thanks) and blood sport.
Victor scores big points about fools and consequences, before going into shock. HeÂ’s been good about displaying the winnerÂ’s logo in our inter-Munuvian hockey whoopass jamboree.
Cherry is the quiet sort.
TimÂ’s been quiet too. Busy people with real lives. What a concept.
Tuning Spork gets the debate going with his posts about the best position players in baseball in various eraÂ’s.
Over at Practical Penumbra, Susie is trying to rally folks to prevent the League of Liberals from claiming victory with a post about the evils of capitalism. Huh? When did they add a category for theater of the absurd?
SheÂ’s over at Munuviana doing the same thing. Pixy chips in too.
Pixy has a scientifical mind, which allows him to creatifically thinkerize and edumacate us downside-uppers in “The Way The World Works”. Pay attention to him.
Werd. (still attempting to boost street cred)
Posted by: Ted at
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1
Hey, where'd my comment go?
Anyway, Ted, what's with the pongs?
Posted by: Pixy Misa at October 24, 2003 10:20 AM (jtW2s)
2
Sometimes when I publish these link-filled posts I get timed out or 'server not found' errors. If I back up to try to publish again, does it re-pong everyone?
Posted by: Ted at October 24, 2003 10:28 AM (ULW3r)
Posted by: Susie at October 24, 2003 01:35 PM (0+cMc)
4
Oh man, Ted. That's harsh. Which question did I answer too 90s touchy-feely?
Posted by: Daniel at October 24, 2003 04:12 PM (Oc6V9)
5
inter-Munuvian hockey whoopass jamboree
That's pretty good, Ted. Accurate, too.
Posted by: Victor at October 24, 2003 09:06 PM (FNHVL)
6
What is there to get? It is a blog about a kangaroo that makes excuses each day about why he can't or didn't blog. I mean it is the most inane blog in the blogosphere. You should check each day to see what kind of excuse the kangaroo came up with or don't. You do have that choice.
Posted by: Tiger at October 25, 2003 12:46 AM (hE8Oe)
7
Have all you Sharks and Caps fans noticed what my ATL Thrashers are doing? Without Heatley?
Yeah, what's up? The South is rising again...
Posted by: Daniel at October 25, 2003 01:34 PM (Oc6V9)
8
Daniel, I carefully reread your interview to make sure I wasn't just in a bad mood or jealous about all the Mu-babes throwing themselves at you or anything.
About the only real quibble I have is that you told several great and impressive lies (hit a home run to win the state title, etc) and then followed it up with an immediate "just kidding". Sheesh. Before the 90's, guys were supposed to lie to impress the ladies. It was expected. Women factored it in when they evaluated potential husband material (Paul, this could be another of your great series - pre-90's vs now).
Other than that, it was jealousy.
Posted by: Ted at October 25, 2003 11:32 PM (2sKfR)
9
Oh, about the hockey... I fully expect to be regularly humiliated by the Sharks this year, and I don't have the solace of rooting for an 'expansion' club anymore.
I hope Atlanta can keep it up, they've had a rough go of it already.
Posted by: Ted at October 25, 2003 11:36 PM (2sKfR)
10
Ted, you back-pedal worse than a politician.
Posted by: Jennifer at October 26, 2003 05:01 PM (SuW/0)
11
Jen, it comes from shooting off my mouth before I think. And as often as I do it, you'd think I'd be *better* than a politician at back-pedalling.
I'll work on it.
Posted by: Ted at October 26, 2003 05:47 PM (2sKfR)
12
:-) Now are you going to sign up for an interview or what?
Posted by: Jennifer at October 26, 2003 10:01 PM (akbm6)
13
This time zone stuff is really throwing me off.
Posted by: Jennifer at October 26, 2003 10:03 PM (akbm6)
14
Jen, sure, sign me up. I honestly don't see the point though, there are lots of interesting people on your list. I'm boring.
Posted by: Ted at October 26, 2003 11:36 PM (2sKfR)
15
Don't be silly. It'll be fun. :-)
Posted by: Jennifer at October 27, 2003 12:02 AM (rZmE1)
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October 21, 2003
I needed this
Grand-Mu Pixy Misa over at
Ambient Irony has posted the
funniest thing I've read in a long long time. Make sure you click the links.
Posted by: Ted at
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October 19, 2003
Tour de Munuviana
When I do
Rocketing Around the Blogosphere, I tend to link non-Munuvians. Thanks to
Victor (
again!) for the inspiration, I'll start doing an occasional post like this that is mainly, but not necessarily exclusively,
Munuvian.
First things first, but not necessarily in that order. We've got trolls! Mr. Green had the first run-in with one JadeGold and soon many Munuvians were involved. Rather than try to make sense of the running battle, I'll just link to a few and let you sort it out for yourself. Lots of non-Munuvians on the link list at Heathers place too. They've also set up the Gold Enclave of Privileged Capitalists, complete with graphics supplied by Jennifer and Cherry. Woot! (can a privileged capitalist say that?)
Later, Mookie got her own troll. I know the gentleman (notice I didn't say 'boy') in question, and I am not happy.
In other MookieNews, there are recent reports of not just one, but two many other Mookies out there! Be afraid. Also, just to embarrass her (which is one of my favorite parental perks), I'll announce now that although she was born in Landstuhl, Germany, Mookie was concieved in Luxembourg.
Victor attended the Tour of Hope ceremony this weekend. He posted some excellent pictures as well. If you haven't already, do go see.
Our resident Rat-meister also set up an informal wagering system for us Munuvian hockey fans. Losers must display the logo of the winner's team for a day.
Uber-traveler Lady H continues her globetrotting ways. She's in Atlanta, was there time or inclination to set up a visit with Daniel?
Pixy gets into an analysis of Cowboy Bebop, which is a famous Anime series. I always thought 'anime' was Japanese for 'crappy cartoon', but my opinion has changed some in the last year. I've seen a couple series where the story was so good that you forgot the quirks of Japanese animation. Unfortunately, I've also seen popular series (Trigun comes to mind) where my original opinion is just reinforced.
Nobody ever answered my question. What's the difference between Manga and Anime?
Susie gets my vote for best blog banner out there! She also thinks Daniel is adorable. Jennifer agrees, but says she knew it first.
Jen also claims that there is in fact water in Iowa. Sorry dear, that's not water, it's creamed corn.
Tuning Spork is still out there, because he leaves comments. But he's not posting much. My guess is it's the combination of the Cubs losing, beautiful fall weather, and idiotarians. Guess he picked the wrong day to quit smoking, eh?
Over at Chez Cheese, LeeAnn blogs about panty liners and the importance of accuracy. For some reason, I kept hearing those scenes from Memphis Belle in the background... "Steady... steady... right in the pickle barrel!" Make sure you read the comments, but don't touch the cars or you might set off the alarms.
Mmmmm. Carrot cake, courtesy of the official mascot of the Alliance.
Stevie never ceases to amaze me.
Anger Management's Don posted this link about the unedited communications when man landed on the moon. Priceless.
Jim, being the last kid picked when we chose up teams, gets this single solitary mention. Mainly because otherwise he'll get mad and take his blog home. Actually, it's just because I'm tired of all this linking. You're up at the top next time guys - for a small financial consideration - because I am part the Gold Enclave of Privileged Capitalists.
Posted by: Ted at
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Creamed corn! I laughed out loud.
hln
Posted by: hln at October 19, 2003 09:05 PM (g+waq)
2
Manga are comic books. Anime is cartoons (the word "anime" comes from "animation").
Posted by: Pixy Misa at October 19, 2003 09:48 PM (LBXBY)
3
And again, no one seems to ever mention my most pretigious munu blog
Abject Apathetic Procrastination. I am sensing some unspoken bias against kangaroos is going around the blogosphere.
Posted by: Tiger at October 19, 2003 10:35 PM (TqY1l)
4
Yeah, Missouri is SOOOO much cooler than Iowa, Heather. :-p
Posted by: Jennifer at October 19, 2003 10:51 PM (rZmE1)
5
Tiger, I'll mention AAP if you tell me what
pretigious means.
Posted by: Victor at October 20, 2003 07:27 AM (L3qPK)
6
Pixy, is that really the difference? Wow, I thought it was some obscure and subtle difference that anime enthusiasts argued over. Like Trekkies and their Picard vs. Kirk thing.
Posted by: Ted at October 20, 2003 04:56 PM (2sKfR)
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October 13, 2003
Air Munuviana update
The basic airframe is done! Today I'm working on the electronics bay which will house the altimeter and safety switch. I'm building light but strong, so the main body tube is cardboard, the nosecone is plastic, and the fins are 1/8" birch plywood. The adhesive throughout is good ol' fashioned Elmers yellow carpenter glue, which is plenty strong enough for this rocket.
She's a sleek little sweetie, there's a picture in the extended entry. That's a 3.5" diskette on the ground next to her for scale.
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Posted by: Ted at
01:34 PM | category: Munuvian Daily Tattler
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1
Nice fence!
Posted by: Susie at October 13, 2003 02:23 PM (0+cMc)
2
Yes, the fence is lovely. :-)
Cool rocket, too.
Posted by: Jennifer at October 13, 2003 05:58 PM (rZmE1)
3
Thank you. I'd tell you that I worked hard on that fence, but all I did was write a check to guys with more time and skill than I. They caught a copperhead (poisonous snake) when they were tearing down the old fence too.
I did do the picket fence around the front yard myself.
Posted by: Ted at October 13, 2003 07:05 PM (2sKfR)
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October 09, 2003
Air Munuviana
I've been promising previews of the decals and logos for our community-inspired rocket. The description and main decal pages are in draft form, and should be ready to post today or tomorrow, and I think I've got a surprise or three for you.
In the meantime, here's the Logo that will run up the side of the rocket. I hope you like it.
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Posted by: Ted at
07:49 AM | category: Munuvian Daily Tattler
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Fabulous! Absolutely fabulous!
Posted by: Victor at October 09, 2003 09:04 AM (L3qPK)
Posted by: Jennifer at October 09, 2003 09:06 AM (0SrUW)
Posted by: Daniel at October 09, 2003 02:46 PM (Oc6V9)
Posted by: Susie at October 09, 2003 05:25 PM (0+cMc)
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October 08, 2003
Collins found
Spork, you work in a printing plant. Something else Collins could probably use is a stack of 'Get Out Of Jail Free' cards. Maybe you can put that adhesive along one edge and make a whole pad of them, so he can just pull one off whenever he's arrested.
Good idea checking the police blotters, but I bet it was a bitch finding the right John Collins.
Seriously though, good job Bill, Michele, Stevie, Paul, Susie, Jen, and everyone else who helped track him down. My apologies if I've forgotten anyone.
Posted by: Ted at
07:30 AM | category: Munuvian Daily Tattler
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October 02, 2003
Immanent boobage
Do some good with that stack of folded Georges, gentlemen.
The second annual Blogger Boobie-thon is underway. Billed as "the charity drive that gives you a little something in return", monetary donations are being accepted for research into breast cancer. Pictorial donations are being posted on the photos page. Yes, it's for real.
Guys, explain to a stripper why she's not getting a tip from you and she just might flash you a freebie for being such a sweetie.
There has been some speculation about 'the picture' that Jennifer sent to me and nobody else. Since this is for a good cause and all...
If you promise you'll go visit and donate, then I'll let you have a peek at some genuine Munuvian erotica.
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Posted by: Ted at
07:37 AM | category: Munuvian Daily Tattler
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