Rated FA for FUCKIN AWESOME

First Sonic the Hedgehog, because he has been awesome since I was 4 years old.



Next up Neil Patrick Harris, because he has defined Awesomeness in a whole new way. This might be the most epic video I have seen in a long time: We got NPH, sexy stewardesses, a Spider-Man reference and a suit within a suit within a suit - all packed into a broadway-style presentation. I really don't get along well with musicals, but this is FABULOUS i mean awesome.



(...and even if Brooke Shields makes for a pretty cringeworthy drawback, NPH saves the day.)

I'm just procrastinating learning for the exams, thank you

This quote totally sounds like something I'd do. I would! And it would be awesome.
Also, if your half the Scott Pilgrim fan I am you should really check out this Vimeo profile; it shows some interesting Making-Of material about the movie. I love Making-Ofs!

Two girls moved above this guy's appartment. Thanks to thin walls or whatever, he is able (or forced) to listen to everything they say, do, watch or listen to. While still pretty funny, those chicks are probably too dumb to breathe - if all of this is actually true then Paris Hilton is fuckin Marie Curie.

One day, when I'm a grown-up and a rockstar and have lots of money, I'll probably be able to afford one of my dream guitars: The Gretsch G.Love Electromatic Corvette. Makes me swoon every time I look at it. I am also currently working on my dream drum kit, but more on that on another occasion (if anyone cares, that is).

'10 Common Medical Myths' - perfect for people who believe that losing weight is harder than gaining it, who like cracking their knuckles (like me) or like eating around midnight (also me). The actual truths behind those myths don't necessarily make anything easier, but still.

'8 Places To Get Free Stock Fotos For Your Website' - The title says it all. Interesting for everyone who blogs, designs webpages or just likes pretty pictures. I have known this list for quite some time now but never consulted it so far, although I'm sure I will find a decent use for it someday.

My Regularly Recurring Song of the Day:


                        

Musicians to fall in love with - Part 1

I've listened to a lot of female musicians in the last few weeks, I don't really know why. I just kind of stumbled upon one after the other, and I have begun to seriously adore some of them. Of course, you have to share this adoration with me.

Now, initially I wanted to start with someone else, but I watched Easy A yesterday and heard an amazing song that I recognized from somewhere. The song is called Trouble Is A Friend and is performed by Australian singer, songwriter and part-time actress Lenka.
The song is beautiful with its straight beat and mellow, almost haunting sound layers. It has sort of an eerie mood to it, I think, but there's something about it that makes me listen to this song on permanent repeat. As I said, it might be the drums, but also Lenkas voice is very calming and just beautiful (a theme you might find again in later posts), and the lyrics are wonderful. They remind me very much of another great musician I will cover later.

Go check out the track here or watch a live version of it below, but beware: I love live performances in general, but here I absolutely prefer the album track. It just brings a very different vibe and depth across that Lenka, even with a very good live band, can not recreate. But hey: female drummer!



Besides: You might know Lenka from her song The Show, which got heavy coverage in several tv shows and commercials. I found a cool live performance, this time with a female guitarist. Not that that's important.

Something With Numbers

Wow. Coincidences happen at the most inopportune times, I guess.
I've been looking for this song for ages but I just couldn't remember the name of the band or the song. Now I just casually stumbled upon it.

Damn.

Sunshine Playlist: Part #4

There is one video game in particular that young folks grew up with (including me) during the early 2000s. Delivering awesome gameplay, a kickass soundtrack and almost endless replay value, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 is probably one of the best critically acclaimed, most beloved and most fondly remembered games of all time.

 I'd press start on you anytime, baby. Cause that's how I roll. Get it? 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE, you rascal!

Hell-OOOO Nurse!

So I just watched the latest Nostalgia Chick video which was about the 'Smurfette Principle'. I'm not gonna go much into detail, let's just say that it's another very well made video about very interesting subject (women in media, basically).
But what I really took away from the clip (probably not her intention tho) was a craving for one of the greatest animated cartoons ever created: The Animaniacs.

 

 With Yakko, Wakko and Warner-Sister Dot!

It's one of those cartoons I basically grew up with. It was whacky, all over the place and at the same time incredibly intelligent. It was actually partly way to clever for kids to understand, so if you watched this show as a child, there will be many jokes (even kinda naughty ones!) that you most definitely will have missed. The Nostalgia Critic already went into detail about those naughty moments, check out his hilarious video.

What I want to talk about is the intelligence of the cartoon and the sheer effort put into the show itself. Have a look at this song straight out of the cartoon:

'Modern food technology has the answer!'

Yakko starts listing ingredients of modern sweets and candy bars, revealing that basically everything they eat is filled with chemical 'enhancements' and sugar. But, being the little rascals they are, the Animaniacs really don't mind and - representing the modern society children for a moment - state that they love eating sweets and will stuff them inside their bellies until their 'insides start to rot'. Subtle.

In my opinion a show needs a good amount of balls to denunciate its main audience like that - and of course the whole food industry that nourishes those children and their families.

Now, regarding the aforementioned efforts, check out the music itself: The rhymes are superb, the musical score (as was usual for the Looney Toons and Steven Spielberg) is absolutely brilliant, and as much as you need to get used to the voices, you can't blame them for not knowing how to sing. To me, listening to those songs is not only a very informative experience, but also very pleasant and a feast for the ears.

Another example for the wit of the songs is this little ode to Christmas in which the Animaniacs end every verse in a different word combination that resembles the french Noël. Seriously, what kid is supposed to get that except the ones who just happen to grow up bi-lingual?

One last video - The ultimate Animaniacs Classic: The Nations Of The World!


'... GERMANY, now in one piece!'

Epic.


Other great Animaniacs songs:
- The US-Presidents
- The Senses ('The sense of SMELL's the way to tell that you need to change your socks.')
- The Intro (pure nostalgia, makes me dance every time)

Zombie Cows

I'm an avid gamer, and I'm especially a fan of the old-school adventures by LucasArts (you know, all the Indys, the Monkey Islands, Day Of The Tentacle,  that kinda stuff). Not only did they provide great story telling, incredible visuals (The Dig is still one of the most beautiful games I've ever played, and it's nearly 15 years old) and superb, often groundbreaking music - they also managed to cram in a load of challenging (but always logical) puzzles and some of the best dialogue ever seen in video games. Only few other adventures kept me coming back as much as they did (the Broken Sword series being the most prominent one), and everytime those games deliver as much fun as they did years ago. Now, LucasArts isn't that much of an adventurer anymore - especially since that 3D bullcrap that were the latest Monkey Islands. They went on and let Telltales do their work, with mostly good results (Sam & Max); they only disappointed in terms of puzzles and visuals (Tales of Monkey Island).

Oh yeah, and that logo that I grew up with had to go too. Morons.

I recently bought The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition during the Steam Christmas Sale just to experience the greatness of the game with upgraded visuals and music, and while of course the initial nostalgia and excitement over the new features kept me busy for a while, I had to realize that, of course, it didn't have as much as an impact as it had the very first time I played the game. Still a worthwhile experience (and I paid just the right amount not to regret the deal).
Anyway, while I was browsing the Steam Sales List I stumbled across two games made by the indie game developer Zombie Cow called Ben There, Dan That! and Time Gentlemen, Please! - gotta love their naming policy.

Oh look its a cow

 
I won't go into too much detail about the story of the games (TGP is the immediate sequel to BTDT), but let me tell you this: if you loved the adventures released during LucasArts' prime, you can experience it all over again by playing Zombie Cows masterpieces. Seriously, they are that good. The humor had me smiling throughout every single minute of playing, the visuals may be simple but absolutely adorable, and the puzzles sometimes even make fun of themselves.
Well, it's obvious that the games never take themselves too seriously from the minute you start the game. But the humor is so faceslappingly outrageous and exploitable to the genre's strenghts that it's impossible not to love it - you have to play it to understand what I mean. And the first part is for free as well, so there's no excuse not to! Also, with a price that low for the sequel (about 3€!) you really can't do anything wrong with buying it. Seriously, you won't even get a pack of cigarettes for that! Or a pack of condoms! Even a trip to the cinema is more expensive and offers LESS fun than that game. So think about it.