Tuesday, April 21, 2015

New Music Evolving

My big thing recently, apart from the family and work, of course, is music at work.

I sit in an awesome office with some of the nicest chaps on the planet, but sometimes I just need to crawl into my own headspace and think.

English: Garbage in 2005.YouTube is an upcoming platform for music (but I digress)  as is SoundCloud and Grooveshark. Facebook is one of the more unusual places I've gotten latched onto a new singer, and in this instance at least, I am very happy I did. as it led on to another talent and then another!

My first surprise was when Garbage (left), a band I have always loved, posted a video on facebook of Kawehi covering one of their classics. I had to listen and was impressed:



After I had listened to it a few times I let it play in the background and then it led to another awesome artiste, KHS:



So whats next?

I'll keep you updated, unless, of course you have some music for me to listen to! Post it in the comments...

kthanxbai!

Jumblerant

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

There's A New Kid In Town

Monty Python, Benny Hill, The Two Ronnies and Tommy Cooper are all great British comedy acts. Today we have international super stars such as Ricky Gervais, Eddy Izzard and of course, Craig Ferguson.

Group shot of the Monty Python crew in 1969Yes, I am a big Craig Ferguson fan-boy. His books are amazing. His 'to-camera' pieces are heartfelt and awesome in their logic, and he seems to be just a nice man! So when it was announced that he was going to stand down from his nightly I felt very sorry for whomsoever was going to fill his shoes.
English: Scottish comedian and talk-show host ...
Let me get this straight right now, Craig is exceptionally talented, and it's not just me who thinks so Robin Williams, of blessed memory, thought he was astounding too


Who to choose? So much talent out there!

The key person must be an up and coming comedian who has guts, can be funny in person, yet can lead a team of writers, producers and the audience, into a funny place, and stay there every night of the week.

There are not many people out there who could do that: Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler. These are people who have already proved themselves in one way and another, so they're not hungry any more. And even if they are hungry Jon Stewart is in need of a replacement soon!

The network turned to the UK and found a very funny, very young man, who, it seems, is highly capable:




It looks to me that Tom Hanks likes him too.

This James Corden is a keeper!


kthanxbai! Jumblerant

Monday, February 23, 2015

SkyMall is dead. Long live Skymall

To misquote the late, great, Mark Twain "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated". 

Happily this isn't in connection to me, but about the beloved and adored, if not respected, SkyMall catalogue.

Whenever I have gotten onto an internal flight in the beautiful US of A, I have always searched for the SkyMall catalogue. It fills me with wonder at the ludicrousness of the items in it. 

Do you want a Bigfoot garden ornament? They have it.





Or a glow in the dark toilet seat? They have it.



Whats that? I didn't quite hear you. You want a Bigfoot garden ornament for Christmas? They have it.



In light of all of the above, do you know anyone who would appreciate, let alone pay for, an Armadillo Beverage Holder? Well, they've got that too.


Thanks SkyMall. 



You rock. 





kthanxbai!

Jumblerant

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Star Wars or Star Trek?

'And yea, for the internet was created. Thusly the Geeks and the Nerds did celebrate. And they asked, forsooth, one timeless question; Star Wars or Star Trek?'

Its the age-old question that still needs answering! So where can we get answers? We can go to Wikipedia, the place where all answers are stored, with the page 'Comparison of Star Trek and Star Wars', or if the World's Encyclopedia doesn't give you the answer, we can go to Business Insider, and their article about why supremacy goes to Star Wars.

Still not satisfied? Gizmodo.com has a great article about the different warring abilities of each side. I think the real answer is actually in each of us, and that is where Science Fiction wins!

Some awesome fan fiction video footage that sheds a visual light on the argument:



Personally, I'm off to read MHI another time, its may not be Star Wars or Star Trek related, but it is awesomeness in print.


kthanxbai!

Jumblerant

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Hi-Tech and Not So Hi-Tech

A wearable defensive exoskeleton is the stuff of science fiction in some of our greatest stories. These garments are as varied as Batman's cape, King Arthur's armour and Iron Man's... well, whatever it is he wears.

So why can't our brave soldiers have such awesomeness when they go into battle? Now they can:



And then we have the sad demise of Radio Shack. A store I frequented even though I have never lived in America!

John Oliver, a fellow Brit, has an interesting view on how the fall of such a great company has been taken by the American media. NSFW!!



And then, after all this technology, a man flies from up on high and lands without a parachute. Exceptionally low-tech...



kthanxbai!

Jumblerant

Monday, February 9, 2015

Cody Lovaas - Still A Rising Star

A while back I wrote about the very talented Cody Lovaas, and that he was a rising star. After last weeks post about music stars of today having a decent head on their shoulders, I decided to look him up on YouTube.

His new, original songs seem to be as good as anything else out there, if not better, so I am surprised that he isn't getting more attention:







What do you think?


kthanxbai!

Jumblerant

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

I'm No Rocket Surgeon

Kids today don't know how good they have it;



They do get some things though, and I'm impressed to see that their cynicism against the fashion and advertising industries is more than a flash in the pan.

Colbie Caillat - Try, 38,350,678 views on YouTube



And of course, All About That Bass - 'every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top'



Meghan Trainor, All About The Bass 567,890,447 views on YouTube.

Yes,

Half a BILLION views. Her message is definitely getting across.

kthanxbai!

Jumblerant

Monday, February 2, 2015

Super Bowl 2015 Lip Sync

The Super Bowl is over and we each have our own feelings about who on, and how they won. To me, nothing sums up the Big Game better than this awesome lip sync battle.

Will Ferrell is wearing the required slouch-on-a-couch wear whilst Kevin Hart is still casual, but respectful in jeans and a t-shirt. Jimmy Fallon, as a true elder statesman of late night TV, is wearing a suit.

With a mere 185,000 views so far, I'm happy to sit back and watch it go sky-high.





And then there is this little gem of an advertisement. A call to 'wham bam thank you dam' all the dams in America.

Weird, but interesting nonetheless:



Oh, and if you want to see a lip sync fail of somewhat epic proportions, please allow me to introduce to you, Ms M Carey:



kthanxbai!

Jumblerant

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

I Don't believe in Coincidence

I smiled when I saw the title of this youtube film and then smiled a lot more when I got to see the whole thing:



So that was fine, and I nearly moved on to other pointless things, when i saw this cartoon in my inbox:




Which made me think that there was a sign out there for me to share it with you all.



kthanxbai!

Jumblerant

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy New Year, 2015

Well it is finally here, 2015 has touched down, so as we always do, lets look back to see what happened in the past on 1st January...

[Cue swirly background and hippy music from the '60s. Then realise that 1985 was but 30 years ago and realise just how old you are...]

January 1st 1892, the immigration station on Ellis Island in New York Harbor opened. The gateway to the United States for so many millions of hopeful immigrants, this would be the first landfall for the immigrants from wars in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

January 1st 1985, the UK's first phone call from a mobile phone.

Michael Harrison, the son of Vodafone's first chairmen Ernest, nipped out from a New Year's Eve party to make the historic call, using the mother of all bricks: the Transportable Vodafone VT1.

Vodafone Transportable VT1

January 1st 2003, Joe Foss, the leading fighter ace of the US Marine Corps in WWII passed away. 

Mr Foss was a 1943 recipient of the Medal of Honor, recognizing his role in the air combat during the Guadalcanal Campaign. 

In October 1942, VMF-121 pilots and aircraft were sent to Guadalcanal as part of Operation Watchtower to relieve VMF-223, which had been fighting for control of the air over the island since mid-August.

On October 9, Foss and his group were catapult launched off the USS Copahee escort carrier and flew 350 miles north to reach Guadalcanal.

The air group, code named "Cactus", based at Henderson Field became known as the Cactus Air Force, and their presence played a pivotal role in the Battle of Guadalcanal.
Foss soon gained a reputation for aggressive close-in fighter tactics and uncanny gunnery skills. 

Foss shot down a Japanese Zero on his first combat mission on October 13, but his own F4F Wildcat was shot up as well, and with a dead engine and three more Zeros on his tail, he landed at full speed, with no flaps and minimal control on the American-held runway at Guadalcanal, barely missing a grove of palm trees.
On 7 November his Wildcat was again hit, and he survived a ditching in the sea off the island of Malaita. 

Joe Foss DM-SD-03-09574.JPG


In postwar years, he achieved fame as a General in the Air National Guard, the 20th Governor of South Dakota, President of the National Rifle Association, and the first commissioner of the American Football League, as well as a television broadcaster.

What I find truly amazing about Mr Foss, is that he was a decorated fighter pilot who shot down 26 enemy aircraft. His name became folklore in wartime USA and still, all of his decorations when put together come to this;

So whenever you see someone strutting around your local mall or high street wearing much, much more than this, be aware that there is the faintest possibility that they are fakers - stolen valor merchants.


kthanxbai!

Jumblerant