PS22 sings "Just Dance"

Conan Meets His Neighbors

Auto-Tune The News #5

This is a little weird, but watch it all the way through. I think you'll get a kick out of it.

Conan's Budget Surplus

PS22 sings "Viva La Vida"

Conan steals a statue

One Man Acappella "Allstar"

Security in Places of Worship

This is a really interesting and timely articled released by Stratfor yesterday. I posted it on Facebook yesterday, but I wanted to put it here as well due to the nebulous nature of The Book.

Security at Places of Worship: More Than a Matter of Faith

Conan investigates North Dakota's budget surplus

The kids of PS22 sing "Don't Stop Believing"

Tour of JerryWorld with Martellus Bennett

MartyB takes you on a tour of the new Cowboys Stadium. When the stadium was first announced, people started calling it JerryWorld, after Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones. The stadium held it's first event, a George Strait and Reba McEntire concert, on June 6, 2009. The stadium cost over $1 billion to build, and will be the home of the Dallas Cowboys and the Cotton Bowl.

Wax Fonz & Wax Tom Cruise

Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier

Great article from Popular Mechanics on the next generation of aircraft carriers. More than anything else, aircraft carriers are the difference makers in geopolitics.

Supercarrier 2015: How to Build the World's Most Powerful Warship

Spinal Tap on Conan

Their new album Back From The Dead comes with a surprise.

George Friedman on Iran's Election

I'm always interested to hear what Friedman has to say on geopolitical issues. I don't always agree with him. I think the speed of the results and the size of the majority were pretty shady in the Iranian election, but I also agree with Friedman that the media tends to over-hype the opinions of people who live in major metro areas.

John Carter of Mars

Andrew Stanton, the director of Finding Nemo and WALL•E, has found the leads for his first live action endeavor, John Carter of Mars. Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins, who recently co-starred in Wolverine, will be playing John Carter and Dejah Thoris, respectively.

Taylor Kitsch



























Lynn Collins

























John Carter is the star of a series of pulp adventures, the Barsoom series, written by Edgar Rice Burroughs between 1912 and 1964. Burroughs is more famous for his other pulp creation, Tarzan. Carter was a veteran of the American Civil War who found himself transported to the planet Mars. The novels follow his adventures with the native species of the Red Planet.

Conan and Slash check out Craig's List guitars

This was the best clip from last night. The people at NBC apparently don't agree. They didn't make it one of their easily accessible clips. Now, I've gone in and selected the correct section, but I can't figure out how to embed it. So, if you want to check it out, you'll just have to click through on this one. Sorry.

Conan and Slash

P.S. - I promise this isn't a Rick Roll.

Conan works with a Hollywood stunt trainer

Top 25 Songs of 2008 Mashup

Flo Rida - Low
Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love
Alicia Keys - No One
Lil Wayne - Lollipop
OneRepublic - Apologize
Jordin Sparks - No Air
Sara Bareilles - Love Song
Usher - Love in This Club
Chris Brown - With You
Chris Brown - Forever
Chris Brown - Kiss Kiss
Ray J - Sexy Can I
Rihanna - Take A Bow
Rihanna - Disturbia
Rihanna - Don't Stop The Music
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl
T.I. - Whatever You Like
Natasha Bedingfield - Pocketful of Sunshine
Ne-Yo - Closer
Colbie Caillat - Bubbly
Mariah Carey - Touch My Body
Madonna - 4 Minutes
Pink - So What
Finger Eleven - Paralyzer

Bored College Kids

What will they think of next? Oh, I have an idea. Let's wait till our roommate goes out of town for the weekend. Then we'll make life-size, cardboard replicas of everything in his room, including the furniture. Then we'll hide all of his real stuff, and put the cardboard versions in their places. Legendary!

Yes, this actually happened

Conan and the Focus Group

Conan's show has always appealed to a younger audience. He decided to do a bit with real focus groups of senior citizens to see what they thought of Late Night. Funny stuff.

Hammer Dance Flash Mob

100 Best Movie Lines in 200 Seconds

Conan, Canoes, Conando

I've got two clips for you today.

First, Conan and Andy decide they'll float down the Los Angeles River in a canoe.




Second, Conando makes his Tonight Show premiere in the telenovela Noches de Pasion.

Chapter 4 - The Immovable Movers

Dagny remembers a recent visit to United Locomotive Works. She went to get answers regarding the consistent lateness of Taggart's locomotive orders, but all she gets are excuses. While she's at the factory, she sees an expensive machine tool rusting in a corner. The tool didn't break, they just didn't use it enough, it rusted up, and they couldn't be bothered to clean it.

Dagny returns to the office, and Eddie tells her that their rail contractor, Dick McNamara, has suddenly closed shopped and canceled all his contracts. No reason was given. Even though she knows it will be almost impossible to replace McNamara, Dagny puts on a brave front for Eddie.

Dagny heads home to her penthouse apartment. She puts on Halley's Fourth to distract her from her worries, but then she notices the front page of the paper. Francisco d'Anconia is in New York. A married socialite recently tried to kill her husband. She told the police she had been having an affair with d'Anconia, and she shot her husband to be free from him. Now d'Anconia is in town, but he refuses to comment on the matter.

-----

James wakes up drunk in his apartment. We meet his lady friend, Betty Pope. She's an unattractive socialite. They don't actually like each other all that much, but they're in the same social stratus and people are "supposed to be" in relationships, so they're together. James talks about the day's Board Meeting, where he plans to sink Dagny for pulling all the good resources off of the San Sebastian Line. Then he gets a call and learns that the San Sebastian has been nationalized by the Mexican government. It seems like someone predicted that...

-----

James addresses the Board. He tells them the San Sebastian situation is no big deal, because he saw it coming and pulled everything with value out of Mexico. He also tells them that he'll get compensation for what was taken through his Washington contacts. Two board members who signed off on the original deal are marked as scapegoats, and the matter is closed.

-----

Orren comes to James' office, and they decide that d'Anconia must have some angle that will save his investments from the Mexican debacle. James tries to get a meeting with d'Anconia, but Francisco refuses because James is "boring".

-----

The National Alliance of Railroads votes to institute the Anti-Dog-Eat-Dog Rule, which will eliminate "destructive competition". The Alliance can designate "no-compete" zones. If two railroads are already operating in a zone, then the one with seniority gets to stay. The other have nine months to vacate the zone. The rule means that the Phoenix-Durango Line must yield to Taggart in nine months. Orren Boyle was the driving force, and now it will be James' turn to pay him back. James goes straight to Dagny's office after the vote to gloat about the destruction of Dan Conway and his company.

-----

Dagny goes to visit Dan Conway and tries to convince him to fight the Alliance's ruling. Conway has resigned himself to his fate. He'll just focus his efforts on a less prosperous state like Arizona, and he may even try to take up fishing. While he doesn't agree with the ruling, he tells Dagny he joined the Alliance of his own volition. When he joined, he was agreeing to follow the rule of the majority, and the majority has sacrificed him. Dagny can't understand or accept Conway's stance.

-----

Ellis Wyatt, the Colorado oilman, barges into Dagny's office. He's angry about the Alliance's decision, and tells demands sufficient rail service from Taggart when the Phoenix-Durango Line shuts down. If Taggart ruins Wyatt, he'll do his best to ruin them in the process. Wyatt clearly expects to hear excuses from Dagny, but instead she promises to give him everything he has asked for. Taggart will meet, and even exceed, the service he currently gets from Dan Conway.

-----

Dagny visits Hank Rearden to tell him she will now need her new rail in nine months, instead of twelve. He tells her she'll get them, but he's going to make her pay for it. Dagny says she wouldn't expect anything less. They come to a realization that they are completely different from the other people they deal with. They think the goal of a business should be to make a profit, and the business owner should never be embarrassed of that fact. Better, or faster, work should always demand higher prices. Rearden says "We are the movers", and thus the chapter's title refers to Hank and Dagny. They move the economy, but they refuse to be moved by the opinions and morals of others.

80's Hits for Ragtime Piano

I always love a great YouTube video.

Behold, I give you Scott Bradlee:

Jimmy Fallon & the Saved By The Bell Reunion

I haven't really been watching the new Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. I've seen an episode here and there, and I hear really good things, but I'm a Conan guy. The two things I knew about Fallon's show: The Roots are his house band (which is awesome), and he's been trying to put together a SBTB Reunion on his show (this year marks the show's 20th anniversary). Well, yesterday I read a blog about Mark-Paul Gosselaar appearing on Late Night that evening. When asked about the Reunion, all he would say is that people should tune in for that night's show. I set the TiVo to record, and I'm glad I did.

Apple WWDC 2009

In two hours, we'll know the specs on the third-generation iPhone....I think.

I think we'll probably get a 16GB version and a 32GB version. I'm doubtful on the 4GB version.

I think we'll get a better camera, and it will record video. I don't think they'll be a forward-facing camera for video-calls.

I think the processor and the RAM will both be improved.

I think we'll get a compass. I hope we get an FM transmitter.

I don't think they'll go to the rubber backing, or install a glowing Apple, or switch to OLED.

I do think the battery performance will be better.

I think they'll probably announce an estimate on Snow Leopard's release. (e.g. 1st Quarter 2010)

We might hear something about 3G coming to the MacBook, but I think WWDC will be all about iPhone and Snow Leopard this year.

-----

The big announcement I would love? Apple Tablet.

I want something that's bigger than an iPhone, but smaller than a MacBook (and cheaper). This niche is currently occupied by Netbooks. Apple could flip the paradigm with one announcement. I just don't think that announcement will come today.

Lonely Planet comes to the iPhone

I love Lonely Planet. I think their travel books strike the perfect balance between being informative and interesting. I always buy their books when I'm going somewhere unknown, and sometimes even if I'm just dreaming about a destination.

Honestly, travel guides were one of the first things I thought of when I first started hearing about the iPhone. There were some free apps when the app store first opened, and of course you can go to any travel website as long as you're on the network. Until now we've been waiting for a full featured, iPhone specific answer to carrying around an actual book.

The wait is over.

















I'm planning on downloading the San Francisco version as soon as I can find some WiFi (it's too big to download over 3G). The San Fran guide is free this week, to coincide with Apple's World Wide Developers Conference. The guides are regularly $16 for those of us in the US. Read the article from Wired, and I'll try to watch for his follow-up once he's actually used his guide in NYC. Maybe someday I'll use one in some far-flung land, and I'll be able to write my own review.

Conan at the Foley Stage

Conan visited the Universal Foley Stage last night. That's where they make sound effects. I hoped Conan would tell why it's called "Foley", but he didn't, so I looked it up. Jack Foley invented the process you'll see in the clips. He worked on Show Boat, Spartacus, and a ton of other movies. So, yeah, enjoy Conan being zany.

Casting for the Thor movie

I've always thought Thor was a cool character. Maybe it's because Norse mythology has never gotten the same amount of limelight in the US as the Greeks and Romans. I'm a huge fan of the two Marvel movies that have been released, and I'm really looking forward to their attempt at tying the whole world together in an Avengers movie. Anywho, here's the casting for Thor, so far:

Thor - Chris Hemsworth
























Loki - Tom Hiddleston
























Odin - Brian Blessed



















Kenneth Brannagh is directing, and I have really high hopes that he'll be able to capture an entirely different tone from Hulk or Iron Man.

In the Year 3000

In The Year 2000 was always one of my favorite Conan bits, and I thought it was even funnier when they continued to talk about "the future" in the actual years 2000-09. We only had to wait till the third episode of the Tonight Show to see this classic make the jump.




Also, a bonus from Late Night. Check out Colbert and Conan doing the old school In The Year 2000.

Chapter 3: The Top and The Bottom

The most expensive bar in New York City is located on the roof of the city's tallest building, but it's designed to feel like a dump in a cellar. Remember our buddy James Taggart and his incompetent friend Orren Boyle? They're having a shady meeting at The Top, and guess who else is there. Paul Larkin and Wesley Mouch, Hank Rearden's friend and Washington lobbyist, respectively. The purpose of the meeting is to take Hank down. They're mad that Hank owns the best iron mines in the country, and he keeps it all to himself instead of sharing. James agrees to get his friends in DC to deregulate Hank's mining interests, in the name of monopoly busting. Orren plans have the National Alliance of Railroads pressure the Phoenix-Durango Railroad into closing, which will eliminate Taggert's competition in Colorado. Paul and Wesley's roles aren't discussed, but they're obviously double crossing Hank Rearden.

-----

Dagny is in her office reminiscing on her rise through Taggart Transcontinental. She started working at a station when she was 15, while her brother James was given a cushy job in PR when he turned 21. She remembers the origin of the San Sebastian Line. Francicso d'Anconia was a Latin American billionaire who had never endured a failed business venture. He bought a huge plot of worthless land in Mexico, and months later named it San Sebastian, the largest copper mine in the world. James Taggart and Orren Boyle both invested millions of dollars into the project, site unseen. San Sebastian still isn't producing much copper, despite the entire world's assurances that it will start any day. Dagny threatened to quit when the San Sebastian Line was approved, but she stayed when she realized she didn't have enough power to stop it.

Back to the present, James is angry that Dagny has moved the worst equipment in the Taggart system to the SS Line. Dagny explains she has removed everything of value from the operation, in preparation for the takeover of the Line by the Mexican government. James calls this preposterous and demands she put better equipment on the SS. When she tells him to choose where which line should suffer for the sake of the SS, James' lack of a spine shows itself anew. He says he's going to tell the Board, and storms out of the office.

Dagny heads down to the Taggart Terminal to go home, and talks to a newsstand operator. He's a connoisseur of the world's cigarettes. He finds them so fascinating because cigarettes are controlled fire, so a man with a cigarette is controlling nature. He then bemoans the fact that most of the world's cigarette brands have disappeared, with only half a dozen remaining.

-----

Eddie likes to eat dinner in the employees' cafeteria at Taggart Terminal. Even though it's deep underground, it's designed to feel bright and open. He sits with the Mystery Worker, who often eats at the same time as Eddie. The MW is Eddie's sounding board, and they talk about all the craziness with Dagny, James and the San Sebastian Line. Eddie mentions that the new Rearden Metal tracks will be laid by Dick McNamara, the only contractor in the country who Dagny trusts. The MW asks about Dagny, and Eddie says she her life consists of work, sleep, and listening to Richard Halley's music at home.


***So, I'm usually pretty bad about paying attention to chapter titles, or track titles, or episode names. As soon as Rand started describing the cafeteria, I realized the title of this chapter was referring to the dichotomy between the dark and dank bar the magnates visit, "The Top", and the bright shining Taggart Cafeteria, "The Bottom". This led me to revisit the two previous chapter titles. Now I realize that "The Theme" is referring to the the theme of the Halley Concerto that Dagny hears early in the first chapter, and hums later on. "The Chain" is the bracelet of Rearden Steel that Hank made for his wife, and that she didn't exactly appreciate.

Conan steals a tram

I know lots of people don't like to stay up late enough to watch the talk shows, or just don't want to spend an entire hour on them. So, I think I'm going to start posting funny clips from Conan on a regular basis. This clip is actually from his first episode, both because it's really funny and they haven't loaded any clips from last night onto Hulu yet. This is the tram bit I mentioned yesterday.

What I'm Watching - Conan O'Brien

Conan is awesome. If you're old and haven't been able to stay up past 11, now is your chance to check him out. Last night marked his first episode of The Tonight Show, and it was exactly what Conan fans were hoping for. If you were a fan of Jay Leno, be prepared for something completely different.

People watched Jay for the easy joke. "Wow, that economy is tough, right?" The first 5 minutes of Conan's debut was a recorded bit where he ran all the way from NY to LA.



Then he spent another 5 minutes on a bit where he hijacked a tram tour at Universal Studios and took it to the streets of LA. At the end he bought all 200 people on the tram presents from the dollar store. If you like smart comedy, give Conan a shot. He's weird, he's goofy, he's self-deprecating, and he went to Harvard. To give you an idea of what he's capable of, I've got one more clip from Late Night with Conan O'Brien. This is the kind of thing you can expect from Conan if you check in on the Tonight Show from time to time.

What I'm Playing (or will be) - NCAA Football 10

I love football, and I love football video games. I think I've purchased every year of both Madden and NCAA Football since....1995? 96? This is how an entire generation of America has learned the ins and outs of football. Someday, probably in the next 10 years, we're going to see an interview with the next Bill Walsh, Steve Spurrier or Bill Belichick, and he's going to credit Madden and NCAA Football with helping his create his innovative new take on the sport. Anyway, here's an awesome trailer that EA put together for E3. Check it out.

EDIT: Not sure why the embed isn't working. Guess I'll just have to link to their site.

Trailer