Google Idol

Go to Google Idol. Watch, vote, enjoy, watch again. It's everything that is right about the internet.

Personally, I recommend Anthony & Kelly, performing Since You've Been Gone, by Kelly Clarkson. It's gold Jerry, gold!

Sorry For the Absence

I apoligize profusely for not updating NegativeMode for the past week (save Steak and BJ day). I was in Chicago. Not that being in Chicago would necessarily prohibit me from blogging, but in this case, it did.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful St. Patty's day. I was lucky enough to spend mine in Kincade's with thousands of my closest, tightly packed in friends. I consider it a pretty good day when I can drink in a bar all day, watch March Madness, and do who knows what afterwards. Good times.

Maybe I'll write more about the trip later ... maybe not. We'll see. Let me tell you this though, and I can't be more serious about this statement: You have not lived until you've heard PositiveMode play Breakaway, by Kelly Clakrson on the accordion ... MINDBLOWING!

Important Holiday Today, VERY Important

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Pop Art: Love It You Ingrates

Time again for another NegativeMode installment of Obscure European Artist (who's art I think is cool ("OEAwaitic")). Today's OEAwaitic is Julian Beever. Mr. Beever is an English sidewalk artist who creates 3d illusions on the sidewalk using a strictly 2d medium (he also does some wall murals and fine art paintings, and while they're all well and good, they not nearly as cool/impressive as the sidewalk art).

Anyway, here are two galleries of his pavement work. Maybe you've seen his work before (it's been floating around the internet on various webpages), but I think it's worth looking at again. I doubt this will cause as much of a brouhaha as the last OEAwaitic I posted about on here (although this OEAwaitic is named Beever), but enjoy nonetheless. Here are two of my favorites:

(the above one is made all the better by the guy wearing a Tony Blair mask)

Black, White

Did anyone else here watch Black, White last night on FX (aside from those of you reading from Afghanistan)? I did. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a reality show where a white family from California is dressed up/painted to look like a black family, and a black family from Georgia is dressed up/painted like a white family. The families then live life as the opposite race in L.A. While this is going on, they actually live together in the same house (they aren't in costume while living together), share their experiences, and coach each other on being a member of the other race.

First, the make-up warrants mentioning. I'm really on the fence about how well "disguised" these people actually are. I think the kids are definitely passable. As for the parents, I'm not so sure. The black dad, in white-face, looks an awful lot like Eddie Murphy on that famous SNL skit where he dresses up as a white dude ("White Like Eddie"). It's really hard to judge what you would think in "real life" though. It's not like you'd actually walk up to a complete stranger and say "Hey, you look a whole lot like a black guy pretending to be white." So, I guess the make-up works.

As far as the show itself, I thought it was very interesting. I'm sure it's highly edited and contrived, but nonetheless, to me, it was an interesting look at race relations in the United States (even the confrontations between the two families when they aren't dressed up). As a cracker myself, I was downright embarrassed by the white parents. They seemed particularly out of touch to me. Their daughter, on the other hand, had a great attitude, really trying to immerse herself into a new culture. As far as the black family, I haven't really formed an opinion about them yet.

Finally, the thing that really stood out to me from the first episode was the differences not between the races, but between the generations. The children seemed much more accepting of all people and all cultures, while the adults, although not "racist" were certainly more aware of race. It seemed like the kids (18 and 16) were much more indifferent about race, saw past skin tone, and focused on people as people. Of course, that's a product of the vastly different times that both generations grew up in.

I could go on for a while, but I'm just rambling now, so I'll end with this: check out the show, at the very least, you'll be entertained. If you watched it last night, I'd love to hear your comments. . . .

EDIT: Here are the metacritic reviews of Black, White.

Singing the News and Interest Free Boobs

The Plastic Assets credit card, offered by the Bank of National Credit, allows aspiring young women to earn credit on all of their purchases towards a new set of breast implants. What a fantastic reward system. Those airline miles are so hard to redeem, why not work towards something we could all use, like bigger boobs? And it's not like this would in any way signify the end of civilization as we know it. Really, it's just a great new credit card for husbands to give their wives, college students who don't have any real income, or big spending hollywood stars. I think I'll apply for one for the future Misses ASAP. Make sure you read the testimonials for this great new card. (The site is a joke, but I, for one, think it's a fantastic idea.)

While we're on the subject of fantastic ideas, check out The Aural Times. It presents the day's top news stories in song. Now, I don't know about you, but I just hate reading the news, or worse yet, listening to those droll news announcers on TV and radio. Singing news makes all the difference. As a good example, listen to this song about the german cat that was found to have a deadly strain of the bird flu. Talk about a deadly melody!

Hammertime

MC Hammer has a blog. It's at www.mchammer.blogspot.com. It really is Mr. Hammer and he is incredibly verbose. I didn't take the time to read it, as I have actual stuff to do, but I think you should ... and then tell me what he has to say. I don't know what it is, but there's something that I like about that dude.

Another Time Waster -- You've Been Warned.

Apparently, this week NegativeMode has turned into a forum for spreading the joy of various time-wasting flash games. Sorry, but I've been too busy to really write anything. Anyway, here's today's addictive, time-wasting flash game: Splash Back.

Enjoy. We will return to our regularly scheduled programming shortly.

A Mayor For the Ages

I don't have anything to say again today, but in my never-ending quest to entertain, or, at the very least, provide a break from the monotony in your days, here's a picture of one of my favorite characters of all time, Mayor McCheese. I don't really know what happened to him, but man, was he cool. He'd have my vote in any election (I wonder if he was Democratic or Republican -- probably not Green).

If you're really bored, play this game. I thought it was stoopid at first, but man, like all flash games, it's pretty addicitve.

Free Flapjacks For Friends!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 28th is National Pancake Day ("Shrove Tuesday"). In honor of the holiday, IHOP is giving away free pancakes from 7 am - 2 pm. Click here for details (not the picture, which is lying to you about it's clickatude):

On February 28, 2006 from 7 AM to 2 PM IHOPs across the country will celebrate National Pancake Day (also known as Shrove Tuesday) by offering our guests a free short stack of pancakes*. This is going to be our biggest one day celebration in our history.

National Pancake Day has a rich history that stretches back centuries and has always been a time of celebration. National Pancake Day always falls on Fat Tuesday and this year it will be a celebration at IHOP.

So gather your friends, family and neighbors and come to your local IHOP and enjoy a short stack of pancakes on us. All we ask is that you consider making a donation to a great charity like First Book or other local, worthy cause. Where else would you celebrate National Pancake Day than IHOP? See you there.

* Limit one free short stack per guest. Valid for dine-in only, no to go orders. Not valid with any other offer, special, coupon, or discount. Valid at participating restaurants only, while supplies last.

NegativeMode = Emcee Squared?

This photo was recently uncovered from some of Einstein's lost papers. Damn that Einstein was a smart dude. Amuse yourself here.

Your Lonely Nights are 1/4 Over!

That thing to the left of this text that looks very similar to part of a dismembered (drawn and quartered maybe?) man is actually a pillow. It's sold at Overstock.com and it only costs $24.99.

More importantly though, it raises a lot of questions (in my mind at least). First and foremost, does anyone else think this pillow if pretty freaky? I can understand being used to sleeping in the bed with someone, but why not just turn a regular pillow sideways or use a blanket or something? Why use a quarter of a man. The most important parts are missing anyway (I realize that is highly debatable).

Second, would it be gay for me to sleep with that pillow (not that there's anything wrong with that)? Maybe, as a man, I really enjoy female company in my bed and can only get a truly restful sleep when there's a pretty lady beside me. Would it be okay for me to get this pillow to help me sleep? I think not, but maybe that's just silly and homophobic.

Anyway, for those of you who have trouble sleeping at night without another in your bed, this one's for you. Also, please order me one. Thanks.

An Undershirt for the Common Man

Back in May of 2005, I wrote about mens undershirts being called "wifebeaters" and whether or not that term would ever dominate everyday usage. I opined that we were, at the very least, twenty years away from using this slang to refer to a men's undershirts (or "a-frames" if you want to be more accurate). Well, maybe we're more than that.

Boston discount retailer Building 19 recently advertised a sale for "wifebeaters," and let's just say the reaction was less than positive. According to this article from WCVB-TV in Boston (where I also got the picture from), the flier went to far, and upset advocates for domestic violence victims. None of this is surprising, of course. Perhaps if Building 19 had been a regular reader of NegativeMode, they would have known that society isn't ready to publicly accept the widely used "wifebeater" in corporate communications. Nevertheless, I'm sticking to my prediction that twenty years or so down the road, you will see "wifebeater" on packages of undershirts ... just not yet.

Today's Entertainment

I don't really have anything to say today. I've been watching the first season of Lost, and that's really all I can think about. That show is like heroin. So if you're bored and looking for something to do (which is why I assume you are here), play this game, called Blueprint. It is addicting and incredibly frustrating (at least, it was for a simpleton like me). That should keep you busy for a while. If you're here looking for witty comments from me, sorry, I'm fresh out today.

Also, good luck to anyone out there taking the bar exam today.

Far Out Man

If you like drugs of any sort (or are currently on drugs of any sort) then you may want to check out this webpage. Also, if you're a hippy artist, you may like it too.

Happy President's Day.