[ Private Pass - Citi cardmember access ]

What the hell is this?, originally uploaded by reyn1979.

If you follow me on-line in various places, you may have noticed the Café Chimp has faded to be replaced by Oriental Bento Colonel Sanders (Kombo 5 on the menu), I love this for so many reasons:

1. This is an actual product sold at KFC in Indonesia
2. Apparently the word "Oriental" isn't offensive to Indonesians. Not sure what it means to them, perhaps just East Asia (China, Korea, and Japan)
3. The Colonel is clearly wearing a Chinese outfit, but "Bento" is a Japanese word
4. It says "Bento" but it is clearly a bowl

What this isn't is Dragon Ball Z's Master Roshi drinking tea (good guess Koosh), but such a wonderful mix of confusion, and I'm glad to see that it isn't just Americans who get mixed up with east Asians and can't tell them apart.

I'm sure I'll get bored of this at some point, but the more people I let in on the fun, the longer I think Oriental Colonel will be around, so enjoy!

I know I'm not the only one wondering what the * is for after the Playstation Network's tag line above, but did everyone else have "* Fun not guaranteed and price may change whenever we want" run through their mind?

Yo Gabba Gabba! is a fun live-action program for young children ages 1 and up. Join our host DJ Lance Rock as he introduces us to friendly toy monsters in a magical land full of music, dance, colorful cartoons, and simple life lessons that will get you and your children up off the floor to learn and dance along. Just say the magic words! YO GABBA GABBA!!

[ Find Out More About Yo Gabba Gabba! ]

So says Nick Jr, I think it's more of a mass hallucination. I guess the Ska band "The Aquabats" were tired of not getting their music played on Baby Einsteins, or they decided the world was ready for a hip-hop kids show, any which way I'm not sure if it's the craziest thing I've seen since the '70s, or my new favorite show...

New onesie: Poopsmith, originally uploaded by Yaty Yasir Kearns.

That's my daughter sporting a Poopsmith Onesie.

Is Barak Obama "black enough"?

She disputed the notion that Obama's upbringing in Hawaii was much different than hers in Chicago's predominantly black South Side.

"We are not that far apart," she told the Sun-Times. "He was raised in his grandmother's home, and his grandmother is from Kansas, eating tuna with pickles in it. The same conversations that we had around my kitchen table, we have at her house on Christmas. We are not that far apart. It's just that it feels like people have benefitted from us feeling and believing that we are far apart."

[ Forum Puts Obama's Heritage in Focus | The Trail | washingtonpost.com ]

Ah, so you can tell if the childhood tuna has pickles in it. But doesn't everyone put pickels in their tuna fish salad? Or am I "black enough"?

[ The Simpsons Movie ]

Props to Alykat

"It's extraordinarily creepy, especially at night. The deceptive quaintness, hundreds of tall trees without any underbrush, the seriously pot-holed driveway, the dreariness. Honestly, it looks straight out of Silence of the Lambs. You can almost hear the muffled screams of restrained psychotics, the dull thuds of autistic headbutting, the weird gurgling, humming and shrieks of the severely disabled, and the almost palpitable swirling madness. If St. Elizabeth's nuthouse gave you chills, then Chestnut Lodge is what comes next."

[ Chestnut Lodge asylum, Rockville, Maryland ]

Ooooo creepy. There's even more on that page, but they seem to be trying to creep it up. Googling Chestnut Lodge turns up more creepy stories, but ultimately it's just about a sanitarium where creepy and insane things happened. Why do I care? I live about 1 block away, oh and they are going to do this to it:

Oh, now it's fancy schmancy.

The Chestnut Lodge site is located in the center of historic Rockville along West Montgomery Avenue. The main lodge was originally built in the late 19th century and maintained as the summer resort destination, Woodlawn Hotel. Great care will be taken to return the lodge to a more original appearance of circa 1886-1889 while providing necessary improvements and alterations for residential use. The lodge itself will house 7 luxury condominiums, 4 2 story units and 3 single level units with underground parking. The treed front lawn along West Montgomery avenue will be preserved.

[ Chase Communities ]

Odd, no mention of the crazies there, but still it looks like it is going to be very nice. Though what does this remind me of? Oh yeah.

I live on the Internets, many of my friends do as well. Some of my friends and family don't. And sometimes I brings things back from the Internets and have to explain them to the people in meatspace.

Exhibit A

How do I explain this one? I ordered a lovely onesie with the baby "Trogdor the Burninator" on it for my future baby (to arrive in early Febuary), but I'm certain I will get questioned about what on earth this is. I think I can explain it here to those who visit the Internets, but don't necessarily live here, or live here but haven't yet experienced some of the odder corners of cyberworld.

Clearly you can find the Wikipedia and look up the entry on Trogdor, but let me sum it up for you:

1. The US government wants to make sure that it can wage war even after a nuclear strike, so they invent the first of many Internets called ARPANET.
2. Some brainy scientific types in Swizertucky who do the Nuclear thing wanted to read each others papers
3. A guy or two in Chicago decided that pictures were nicer than just words
4. Macrodobe used to be more than one company, and one of them decided that we needed their interactive CD product on the Internets, but it was big so they acquired another company and it became Flash
5. Flash is kinda dumb for most everything except Homestar Runner
6. The Homestar Runner is kinda dumb, but his friend/nemisis Strongbad is clever
7. Did I say clever? Perhaps I meant he's kinda Jaka Sembung
8. But funny (funny peculiar that is)
9. He likes to doodle, and doodle, and doodle
10. Geeks like his doodles and go way too far
11. I'm a geek
12. I bought a onesie

And now you are caught up on how it all happened, and what I've gotten myself into.

Oh, and HSR has a wiki dedicated to it (the HSR that is).

My wife's country and my motherland are about as far apart in the world as you can get. One never sees news stories involving the Irish in Indonesia, or Indonesians in Ireland. Or do they?

An Irish company is poised to turn Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam's Sabang port into one of Asia's largest and most competitive container ports. Dublin Port is investing in the facility, which is strategically located on Weh Island at the mouth of the Malacca Strait, one of the world's busiest waterways.

[ The Jakarta Post - Dublin Port to turn Sabang into one of Asia's largest ports ]

Well what do you know?

If your commute involves 395, you've likely been asking yourself what the freak are they building next to the Pentagon:

I've heard all sorts of theories, but today I finally remembered to google it. Turns out it is just a new memorial, the Air Force Memorial to be specific. And the models/plans look pretty hot actually.

Canned haw is our advantaged product, and canned haw is incredible canned product. Our Canned haw gets widely recognition by Chinese people. Haw is a specially Chinese fruit. We select best quality fresh haw then processed canned haw. Because fresh haw tasted will be little tart, but as the canned haw , the syrup in the canned will add more sweet, so it will be suite for eating after dinner. If you like sweet and tart same time, please enjoy our canned haw .

[ Canned haw|china canned fruit manufacturer ]

These guys:  are some sort of Hallmark creation called Hoops and Yoyo.

Haven't a clue what they are, or what their purpose is, but I find them rather addicting.

Props to Karen for introducing me via their cries for coffee in this e-card:

Since 1985 Super Dickmann's has been the biggest among the chocolate foam kisses.

Who doesn't know the slogan "Man, they are Dickmann"? Under this motto Super Dickmann's from Storck quickly became Germany's most popular chocolate foam kiss.

[ Storck - Part of Your World - Super Dickmann's ]

Not the oddest candy around, though:

• Oddly Named Candy on Candy Addict
• Stupid Candy on Stupid.com (note: site will cause seizures)

And if Japanese candy is still your thing, head over to the Japan Candy Blog, or just Candy Blog in general for all sorts of candy goodness.

And let us not forget the Candy Cam, which is how I got on this digression in the first place.

5 Realistic hi quality fart sounds,ringtones or notifications for your pocket PC, wind your workmates up with this brilliant soundset

[ Handango Pocket PC Software: 5 FART LOL Ringtones and Notification Sounds by Touch Tunes ]

Since I can't remember who asked me, this is how you dance like Sailor Moon:

[ Welcome to Pizzahut ]

Why does this not seem like the same Pizza Hut that I've been to?

Can you google just your initials, in photos, and come up with mostly pictures of yourself?

If you are one of these fine people you can:

• Jennifer Love Hewitt
• Lyndon Baynes Johnson
• George W Bush
• Michael J Fox
• Martin Luther King Jr.
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• John F Kennedy
• Robert F Kennedy
• Richard M Stallman

I wonder who else?

Oddly OJ Simpson doesn't make the list. Sure the google for OJ pulls him up, but his initials are OJS, right?

Update: A word of caution, google has indexed many nudie bits, and some of these may (depending on your google settings) involve some. Plus others you may try may involve some too. Apparently sometimes google can't determine if something is of the unclothed variety.

FLCL is a unique and somewhat esoteric production whose myriad oddities are often bewildering. This is compounded by the suckerpunch pace at which the plot progresses. Its hyperactive, occasionally juvenile, and illogical style can be misinterpreted, generally causing strongly polarized opinions of its value.

I love egg, do you? New episodes! New to me, at least. Don't know what you think about I Love Egg? Then set aside some time to fully experience the I Love Egg phenomenon.

I know what your are saying, another flash-based series of adventures of eggs and a catchy soundtrack to go along. But it's really more than that. There's a whole accompanying site in Korean with pictures of giant coffee cups. There's my original post with the I Love Egg theme song. There's the UK based shop of goods with no way to buy anything. They even have wallpapers.

By this time next year, I think that the whole world will Love Egg, but you'll be able to say you heard it here first.

Cosplay just grows and grows:

Cosplay Lab features tens of thousands of anime, manga, video game, J-Rock, sci-fi and fantasy costumes created by people just like you from all over the world. It's your one-stop shop for maintaining your entire costume collection, organize cosplay skits and photoshoots, meet other cosplayers, get info on upcoming anime conventions, and way more! Join for FREE and elevate your cosplay.

[ Cosplay Lab ]

What surprises me is the unique set of skills and interests that would seem to be required for a hobby like this. I guess 2 or 3 folks might have those, but enough to make a slick community website like this? Next thing you know people will be paying $5 for a cup of coffee just to experience a certain life style...

Afghanistan is not part of Iraq!

...mentioning that the U.S. talked about bringing troops home from Iraq in 2006, despite my constant corrections that I was actually in a different country with a different name, to wit Afghanistan.

[ Paravonia ]

And drunk ladies hanging out at bars don't know much about current events...

Props to Karol

So what is the war on terrorism really about?

The White House has approved a classified new strategy, dubbed Muslim World Outreach, that for the first time states that the United States has a national security interest in influencing what happens within Islam. Because America is, as one official put it, "radioactive" in the Islamic world, the plan calls for working through third parties--moderate Muslim nations, foundations, and reform groups--to promote shared values of democracy, women's rights, and tolerance.

[ USNews.com (4/25/05) ]

What I can't figure out is should I be happy? Sad? Indifferent? As an American shouldn't I be upset with state sponsored religion of any type? As a Muslim shouldn't I be upset with the US meddling?

Though, perhaps it's not the US using moderate Islam, but God using the US to fund Islam...

I'm rather curious to hear the opinions of my readership (small as it may be).

But all studies show you will eventually return to normalcy.

[ iloveegg ]

And interestingly the UK version seems to be less abstract, and the Korean version requires a software installation so I didn't go there.

Props to the Persian Dispersion.

I may have thought I'd see this on a Microsoft website someday:

ph34r my l33t skillz

[ Microsoft's parent's primer to computer slang ]

But never placed there on purpose, by Microsoft.

As seen on Joe Grossberg and Slashdot.

Odd, no mention of Micro$oft or 114m4 or Micro$ofty 114m4Z...

Which reminds me, I should be wary of my Sidekick II and it's evil H4X0R calculator:

Note the "secret" message typed in the calculator...

A.San did point out that there is only one true way to discover if your kid is a hacker.

Ashley said something about a design she's working on being freaky. I beg to differ, this is freaky:

Mr. Cage isn't promoting pachinko palaces in these ads as much as a company that makes the machines that take the money from the customers who go into those palaces.

[ Japander.com ]

Of course so are:

• Domokun
• Spong Monkies
• Ninjas

But these are all old, where are today's fun freaky websites?

Why can't I get this out of my head?

Correct me if I am wrong, but are you asking for a challenge?

[ Coming Soon! The biggest name is Web Advertising!! ]

"The Bible also indicates that women are second-class citizens who were put on Earth to serve men, which is central to hip-hop thinking."

[ Weekly World News ]

I guess when you think about it, the Weekly World News is just old-school Onion...

Update: I should reveal the source: IndoMerchant

A model wears a design by Jose Miro during the last day of the Pasarela Cibeles fashion show in Madrid Thursday Sept. 23, 2004.

[ Yahoo! News - World Photos - AP ]

I can't imagine why this would do anything for anybody, anywhere.

So you thought that the choice of your company's name or flagship product was a bit out there, guess again...

"LaOX" is a coinage consisting of "Lar," the ancient Roman tutelary god of the household, and "Vox," voice or sound, meaning "the voice of the tutelary god of the household calling for happiness."

[ LaOX Company Information ]

(Of course this is like Stop #1 on my tour of Akihabara if and when I get there...)

Random info quiz

[ unabridged ]

1: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says:
important, it's certain to demonstrate a tendency to change over time. People

2: Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?
Triple Grande Hazelnut Cap from Starbucks

3: What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Michael Crighton's Congo

4: WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what time it is:
3:10PM

5: Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
3:39PM

6: With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
Construction next door. Coworker typing. Other coworker putting cup down. Other coworker typing. Siren in the distance. Buzz of AC unit.

7: When did you last step outside?
About 10 minutes ago to get the above mentioned coffee

8: Before you came to this website, what did you look at?
My T-Mobile Sidekick

9: What are you wearing?
Jeans, Short-sleeve button down (yellow and black), black socks, black shoes, requisite underwear

10: Did you dream last night?
Haven't a clue.

11: When did you last laugh?
Earlier today

12: When did you last smile?
Earlier today

13: Seen anything weird lately?
Define weird

14: What do you think of this quiz?
Kitchy

15: What is the last film you saw?
In the theater? Starsky and Hutch. On DVD? Lost in Translation. On TV? The above mentioned Congo.

16: If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?
I'd buy back my debt.

17: George Bush:
Lives right around the corner

“If you go to the monkey hospital, I bet you’d get free email. Monkeys would be doing the surgery, and you’d die every time ... but you’d get free email.”

[ David Kearns ]

Don't you hate it when all the really cool games only come out in Japan?

[ 動物番長 ]

If only I could figure out enough about this game to tell what is going on...

Update: I took the time to translate the name of the game, and now it all makes sense. When oh when will they release “Animal School Gang Leader” in the US?

Update: Of course if you live in Japan, you can get it from Amazon.com

Try beating your head against the Takagism. “What is it?”, you ask.

[ KooshMoose ]

I finally got it. Ring #2 was a friggin' pain. The history page wouldn't come up 19 out of 20 times, so it was of little help. But I didn't have to cheat and I still "won".

Still unanswered:

• What did I drink?
• What time is it?
• What thirst is there besides the thirst of the throat?
• How was the bed different from usual?
• If I know that the bed is different, why don't I know if this is a hotel?
• Since I am shut up, do I usually open up?
• What is a Takagism?
• What city is out the window?
• What is a stale CD player?
• How does one have a ring with a sculpture?
• For what a metal stick uses?

When you see this video featuring the “spongmonkeys” what is your first thought?

I know mine is “these guys could sell some serious toasted subs”

Update: Quizno's website is back, and tweedle-chinchilla and tweedle-squirrel are on the site. And they have the mutant freak commercials up for all to see.

Update: Arizona's AZ Central cracks the story wide open.

3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749

[ autopron.org ]

Of course, since I'm color blind I can't even see the larger sideways pi, or the sexy font that they use.

Courtesy: The Haitian Sensation

Someone should tell Hawai'i that Crack Seed sounds a bit odd to the rest of us...

Crack seed, a popular local snack in Hawaii, comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, and flavors. Also known as Li Hing Mui or See Mui, crack seed is actually a variety of dehydrated and preserved fruits. If you've never tried this local favorite, read on!

[ Crack Seed Center ]

Update: Crack Seed certainly sounds much more appetizing than Clam Jerky, however.

Bloggy, bloggy

[ Blog by Al Chumley ]

Who is this guy, and what is his deal?

Designing fonts in Redmond "Microsoft has learned of a mistake in the Bookshelf Symbol 7 font ... we failed to identify, prior to the release, the presence of two swastikas within the font. We apologize for this and for any offense caused." From a statement released in December by Microsoft senior vice president Steven Sinofsky.

[ CNN.com ]

And before you say, come on I'm sure it's not really a swastika, or maybe it's that backwards swastika that is a hindu religeous symbol, or whatever:

Way to go, Microsoft. I'm sure someone accidentally put a swastika in there. Twice.

Update: If this offends, you can remove it with a Microsoft “tool”.

Everybody gets the day off. No, I mean everybody. I don’t want to see any poor saps working at Denny’s or Wal-Mart during Pizza Party U.S.A. – we’ll pass legislation making it illegal to wear a nametag on Leap Day. The only people allowed to work will be the mail carriers charged with delivering the pizzas to neighborhoods around the nation (and each will receive a copy of the Shins’ Chutes Too Narrow for their trouble).

Then, at noon on Feb. 29, citizens from around the nation will travel to their local community centers, present photo I.D. (to prove they chipped in), and receive in return: – Three slices of pizza 

• A 16-ounce soda. And no diet soda, either
• this is a pizza party, people!
• $2 in quarters for the video games

[ The Morning News ]

It will never work. If everyone has the day off, who made the pizza? Who is checking IDs?

Main Entry: dictionaraoke
Pronunciation: 'dik-sh&-"ner-A-O-ke
Definition: Audio clips from online dictionaries sing the hits of yesterday and today. The fun of karaoke meets the word power of the dictionary.

[ Dictionaraoke Mirror Site ]

Courtesy of Dari

If you're Makembe, you laugh and hang on for the ride.

Rock musicians and food lovers Dweezil Zappa and Lisa Loeb are hitting the road in search of musical and culinary adventures. From dining on Southern specialties with the Indigo Girls in Atlanta, to chowin' down at the Zappa family's breakfast pancake party, this dynamic duo is out to find good times and great food. Join them as they discover new regional culinary delights with famous chefs and friends across the country.

[ Food Network, courtesy Dari ]

When did Dweezil and Lisa Loeb get married? Do they have any kids? How messed up are their kids going to be? Will they have weird names? So many questions, so little answers.

AP - Adding that seventh earring before going to work for the county could get you into piercing trouble. Administrators have decided that three earrings per earlobe is the maximum amount of "facial jewelry" employees will be allowed to wear in Orange County offices, and that all other facial piercing will be forbidden.

[Yahoo! News - Oddly Enough ]

Now this is repressive. Especially since nose piercings can be so sexy. But I will have to agree that tounge piercings can make it hard to understand some people.

Five-month-old monkey Chap, dressed in a Santa Claus outfit, welcomes visitors at an amusement park in Tokyo December 19, 2003. According to the Chinese astrological calendar, the upcoming year is the year of monkey. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

[Yahoo!]

Following up on comments from last weeks “Killer Saved from Sword by Victim's Family”:

I'm not sure that this is an exorbitant amount. I'm sure that many a business man has a life insurance policy that pays this amount. (Which I believe is not allowed by Islam).

It's not just law in Saudi, but any country or region that claims to live by Islamic Law. And rich people can't get away with it, unless the blood money is accepted by the deceased family.

I think I'll al