Mike P. Lewis, Author at Loo.me

Green Chairs – Perfect for City Living

Posted on October 3, 2006

I spent much of my summer on a roof basking in the hot DC sun. While i love living in the city, i also love grass and the feel of soft grass. I think my problems are now solved with the Grow Chaise or the Nomad Grass Lounger. These are just what a man needs to bring nature into the city.

There are several designers making green furniture and i mean not just the color. Frankly, if you live in the city, this is the best thing next to a park.
Matt Studio, the designer behind the Nomad (above) creates all sorts of works that bring together the individual and their surroundings. Ths is not unlike the philosophy behind Emily Plinton who designed the lounge to the right. She believes that beauty can lie in unexpected places. Amen to that. Now i just need to get one of these on the roofdeck next to the kiddie pool.

(found that dean likes these too)

Atlas Shrugged and Angelina

Posted on October 2, 2006

Note: Spoiler Alert below jolie

According to this latest press release, they are going to make a movie of Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged and Angelina is going to play Dagney. Great book and she’d be a good Dagney

I wonder who will play the millionaire playboy Francisco D’Anconia the badass capitalist Hank Reardon, or the man behind the plot John Galt who is a brilliant physicist and philosopher and creator of “Galt’s Gulch” where the brilliant minds of the world go.

Its important to note that Dagney hooked up with all 3 of these guys, so whoever gets to play them is going to get some action. The word is that Brad Pitt wants to play Reardon even though Galt eventually ends up with her.

Like Movies and Want to Waste Some Time?

Posted on September 29, 2006

It’s Friday and you know what that means – new movie releases! To honor the day, i’m going to post about some movie sites i’ve seen recently

The Doubler Double Features!

To my parents: “I learned it from watching you!”My parents showed me how you can maximize the value of your$7 movie ticket by going to multiple shows back-to-back. We’d walk out of one and ask “so what next?” The accidental doubler is great, but over the years, we’ve begun to actually plan our lineup is before hitting the theater. You can imagine my happiness when i found the Double Feature Finder online which takes this to the next level. Check it out here. It lets you choose your theater and then it will sort through the times and lineup your double-feature. As they say on the site, “never sneak into movies again”

Dark Movie Finder

This is an interesting little online game which is also a clever little ad for M&M’s Dark Movies new dark chocolage candies. In the game, there’s a large painting and in it there are 50 movie titles from a “dark” film hidden (there are also little M&M guys). Each movie title is represented by a visual riddle. To play you scroll around the painting until you figure out a visual clue, double-click, type your guess and so on. For example, the picture to the left shows Blade and Silence of the Lambs. Some of the other movies in the picture are: The Birds, The Fly, Invisible man, Wicker Man, Candyman, and so on. Enjoy and feel free to post what movies you found in there in the comments. (game is here)
Online Movie Quiz

This is just a classic time waster. The site is a movie quiz which poses 20 questions to you. Each question has 4 pictures from a movie which don’t reveal any plot or major characters. You then have to guess from a list of 10 movies which film it is (here). I found that if i was familiar with the movie, i could usually get it right. If i wasn’t, i could usually guess correctly 75% of the time. But 100% of the time, i was pretty sure my time was being wasted and my life was becoming more and more worthless.

Best Venn Diagram Ever

Posted on September 28, 2006July 13, 2009

Found this great diagram while reading this presentation. Times i’m truly happy versus times i’m wearing pants. 🙂

Ridiculous Videos, Vol. 2

Posted on September 28, 2006

A little man dancing a fantastic dance. I wonder where this guy is now. He should be much more famous. I like the little dramatic touches he puts in the performance.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx-NLPH8JeM]

David Hassellhoff is kind of a big deal. Well, maybe in Germany. Here’s a totally ridiculous music video called “Get in My Car” where he plays Michael Knight (in KITT) and tries to pick up chicks and take them home. At least i think he’s Michael Knight although he makes a Baywatch cameo. Whatever it is, it’s awesome

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibEdNCLyirE]

In the fantastic movie Major League, the Indians did some pretty crazy things, but that was a movie. This video below of the Chicago Bears is real.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-V-qEO7OlY&eurl=]

The first volume of Ridiculous Videos is here

Big Bad Texas Gator

Posted on September 27, 2006

Here’s a story of a very large alligator in Texas. Not the biggest ever, but still pretty damn large.

Here’s a picture of it taken a KTBS helicopter flying over Lake Conroe in Texas with a whole deer in its mouth! Think of how large it has to be to fit an entire deer in its mouth.

Carrying deer

The alligator was found between Athens and Palestine, Texas near a house. How would you like to meet this fella in the dark? Never let it be said that they don’t grow them big in Texas. Game wardens were forced to shoot the alligator as he clearly could devour an entire family for lunch. Gator stashing deer

Apparently, the locals could hear the bellowing in the night.

Neighbors had been saying around the street that they had seen a mammoth alligator in the waterway that runs behind their house, but every story was dismissed as exaggerations. “I didn’t believe it,” Charles Rogers (on neighbor) said. This past Friday they realized the stories were, if anything, understated. Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens had to shoot the beast.

This last picture is of Joe Goff, 6’5″ tall, a game warden with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, walks past the 23’1″ alligator that he shot and killed in the Rogers back yard.

Huge gator

iPhone Is On Its Way

Posted on September 26, 2006

This is the guy that Apple sued because he always get it right. So this is probably the real deal:

Apple iPhone to be Cingular-exclusive at launch
By Ryan Katz, Senior Editor

September 26, 2006 – Apple and Cingular have signed an agreement that will make the US’ largest cell phone provider the exclusive carrier of Apple’s forthcoming phone, sources report. Apple’s iPhone remains on track for an early 2007 release.

As previously reported, Apple’s phone will feature a candy-bar design with a 2.2-inch display and 3 megapixel camera. Robust iTunes and iSync support will also be delivered with the phone.

Apple’s exclusive contract with Cingular is said to be good for the first six months, sources report, meaning other providers will be able to sell the phone in the second-half of 2007. Cingular had an exclusive on the Motorola ROKR—the first phone to feature iTunes—when it launched last year.

Sources say Apple is in talks with providers in other parts of the world on exclusive deals, but are short on specifics. O2 had the exclusive on the ROKR in Europe, however, suggesting that provider may again be tapped to launch Apple’s phone.

Meanwhile, insiders say Apple is internally estimating that shipments of the iPhone will top a staggering 25 million in 2007 alone. Motorola’s RAZR, by contrast, has sold more than 50 million units since its launch in late 2004. Apple is betting a phone with Apple’s iconic design, elegant interface, and iPod-matching functionality will be a strong draw for users who currently carry both devices on them.

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0609cingulariphone.html

Clinton Making Gore His Bitch Again

Posted on September 26, 2006

We're all bitches! Here’s what i’m picturing in my head: Bill Clinton sitting around this spring with his shirt unbuttoned (one button too far) watching TV. On the tv, there’s a story about Gore’s comback and a review of the very good and disturbing movie The Inconvenient Truth. His immediately thought is, “shit i can’t have that bitch showing me up. That’s my VP!” So, like only the 2 term president could do, he whipped out his rolodex, got his peeps together and started a big “initiative” to put Gore in his place.
The initiative though is pretty awesome. The stated mission of the Foundation is to “strengthen the capacity of people throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence.” To advance this mission, the Foundation is focused on four critical areas: 1) health security; 2) economic empowerment; 3) leadership development and citizen service; and 4) racial, ethnic and religious reconciliation. The Foundation works principally through partnerships with individuals, organizations, corporations, and governments, often serving as an incubator for new policies and programs. To participate you have to agree to put forth cash or action prior to joining which is probably the best way to get anything done. Here’s a good clip of Clinton talking about it on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kr29Lx8dUpg]

Gore’s got to be pissed. He’s spent the past 3 years working on green projects and meeting with scientists, experts and “smart people” to put togehter his latest book and slideshow which is the basis of the movie. Hell, he even wrote a book 14 years ago about the environment (Earth In The Balance) back when being “green” meant being a good gardener. Now, Clinton swoops in and becomes the man when it comes to making a difference. As they say, anyone can be a critic, execution is what matters and aparently he. is. rocking!

Now whenever people think about global warming and helpign the environment, suck it clinton it’s all about the Clinton Initiative. Read the latest about Richard Bramson’s 3 billion pledge from the CNN article:

Clinton praised Branson, calling him one of the “most interesting,” “creative” and “genuinely committed” people he had ever known.

Branson said he was inspired to contribute after a meeting with Al Gore, who served as Clinton’s vice president and has been highly visible in raising awareness about global warming and environmental issues. Gore was scheduled to speak Thursday afternoon.

Quoting Clinton even though Gore did all the work. Poor bastard. I love what Gore’s being doing, and it kind of pains me that Clinton’s getting all the credit and clinton being perceived as the man in this arena. Oh well, i guess some things never change.

Paris Hilton, Blogs and Being Derivative

Posted on September 25, 2006

Nice Belt Clip I read an interesting post last week about why Paris Hilton is such a successful celebrity (here). The reasoning being is that she’s one big walking hyperlink. Meaning, all she does is constantly point the reader/viewing/listener to something else. She endorses, name-drops, evangelizes, and critiques other things. Look at the example of her recent DUI arrest:

“I had one margarita (and) was starving because I had not eaten all day,” she said. “Maybe I was speeding a little bit and I got pulled over. I was just really hungry and I wanted to have an In-N-Out Burger.”

On record, in the press, she’s aligning herself with the (awesome) burger chain In-N-Out. Sure, as a celebrity she doesn’t carry any weight alone, but because she attaches herself to other items and things, she’s becomes interesting and (perhaps) relevant.

What made this perspective intriguing is that this is to what’s happening in the blogosphere. Many blogs in and of themselves aren’t that interesting, but it’s what they point to and reference that provide the value. Look at this post by the sports blog Deadspin – it’s just a list of links to other posts. You track through enough blogs and eventually you get to something with substance.

Another good post which addressed this was Malcolm Gladwell’s which talked about the derivative nature of blogs and media at large. He argues that:

We need derivative media sources (blogs) to help us make sense of what we learn from primary sources.

There’s plenty of interesting and original material out there and blogs by their nature will reflect, expand, and enhance that. Paris Hilton, in my mind, is then a necessary piece of our world. Of course, she doesn’t’ do it well, but the definitely are some celebrities and blogs that do it well and are just as enjoyable as any primary content.

Knight Rider is Coming Back