<brain>imagination</brain>

If I had money to spend on $35 shirts, I’d buy these tees.

Mike Tobias — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:33:23 +0000

I can lock down my wallet for many things, but @johnnycupcakes is not one of those things. I’ve got a huge connection to his brand – after all, I own 15 JC shirts. Every Halloween he releases themed and special edition tees. If I can’t buy these shirts, I think some of 2009′s shirts at least need a mention on my blog.

Big Kid Jason - Johnny released a mascot early this year, the Big Kid. He’s a jolly fellow with a retro cartoon vibe. Now he’s got a costume, and it’s Jason from Friday the 13th.

Slasher Crossbones – a new version of the original crossbones. I love the oozing frosting and sprinkles.

Both tees are $35, and you can purchase in one of the 3 Johnny cupcakes stores or online (shipping $8.)

@goooooootenberg | A project to change how you get your laughs online.

Mike Tobias — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 01:26:06 +0000

So I’m working on an exciting project in the comedy writing biz. It’s called Gutenberg Lampoon (@goooooootenberg.) It will be a comedy blog network delivering articles and video content to you, and inviting you to submit your own pictures, articles, and videos.

Yeah, we’ve seen this before. So how will it change how you get your laughs online? It’ll change the way you interact with these articles, pictures, and video: how they’re organized, how you add your own content, and how it’s shared. So, in a sense, we’re building the community side of the online comedy world, giving you better tools to find, watch, read, and submit funny stuff.

So we’re gearing up for a 2010 launch. And once you join our community, you’ll be able to start submitting your best damn content to win prizes and the glorious attention of going viral. Visit Gutenberg Lampoon to sign up your email address for updates and the chance to join the community before our official launch. And you can visit our Twitter, blog, or Facebook page.

Audio Visuals – 3rd Instllmnt with Of Montreal, Wild Beasts, & Arctic Monkeys

Mike Tobias — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:17:22 +0000

Audio Visuals is the part of my blog where I find visually exciting music videos of great songs. Or just mediocre videos of bands I really like…

1. Of Montreal :: Id Engager

This first vid is perfect for this series. Stop motion, doodling – on top of a great sound, this music video is awesome. My favorite song from Of Montreal is “For Our Elegant Castle.” I found this band on Nylon’s summer playlist, and gotta say there are tons of great artists on that list.

2. Wild Beasts :: The Devil’s Crayon

Discovered Wild Beasts via Said the Gramophone, and I’ve been digging their sound since I heard “All the King’s Men.” Probably the coolest I’ve seen hell.

3. Arctic Monkeys :: Crying Lightning

I’m a little obsessive when it comes to the Arctic Monkeys. So in honor of their soon-to-be-released new album, I give you the vid to “Crying Lightning.” The AM sound has been progressing towards the Hendrix era of rock, and this video is like an acid trip. Enjoy.

Jude Laws’ baby mama Samantha Burke wants things private

Mike Tobias — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:39:37 +0000

…but if you insist, you can speak to her publicist, read her blog, or buy her upcoming book “Life as Jude Laws’ Baby Mama.” Okay, not really. It’s still what I expect from Samantha Burke after she holds a press conference to announce she wants privacy. Last time I checked, you don’t hold press conferences if you want less media attention.

[via Huff Post]

Why so socialist? – Obama Joker posters up in LA

Mike Tobias — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:48:05 +0000

There’s a street campaign against Obama’s health care plan. It’s a poster depicting Obama dressed up as Heath Ledger’s portrayal of DC villain The Joker. The Obama Joker Posters have sprung up across Los Angeles.

No one said it was going to be a pretty fight, but I fully support government run health care. Or at least change. We can’t pretend that the health care system works. There is no prevention programs and too many people are dropped from their plans when they get sick. This is not right.

Jump to an article about the posters and Obama’s socialism>>

Jump to Huff Post BIG NEWS page for Barack Obama>>

Update: Found this great picture on Flickr of the posters on an actual landmark.

Why I’m wielding a shotgun: ABC Family’s “Legally Blondes” must be stopped, and the only way is violence.

Mike Tobias — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 06:40:36 +0000

Who’s with me? Fine, I guess we can’t stage a coup. I’m just worried that average American youth are going to watch ABC Family’s “Legally Blondes” and like it.

Now the movie originally went straight to DVD last April, where it may have died next to some copies of “Ice Princess.” But ABC Family has dared to buy the rights to syndicate it on their channel, and most likely play it 40,000 times. (Starting last night.)

And that’s when things start to erode even further. Suddenly America is in four wars, more people are starving, earthquakes, Andy Dick has a career again, and Obama turns out to be Kenyan instead of American. Then everyone’s going to be like, “We should’ve listened to Mike when he was wielding a shotgun and yelling crazy things from his drunken stupor.”

The synopsis is that these two blondies are relatives of Elle Woods, the main character from the first movie. They go to a prep school and find things are difficult. They then abandon their BFF and gay buddy to join the bitchy click, grow closer to the super cute guy failing a math, and then turn bitchier than the bitches they hated. Along the way, they learn wizardry and discover their dogs are horcruxes. Afterwards they skip school to spend the day in Chicago before having to destroy Voldemort and their bestfriend’s father’s car.

Or something like that…

My rating for Legally Blondes: Dangerous for Our Youth.

Jump to an article that’s actually serious about the movie>>

Do you think Lou Dobbs should be fired?

Mike Tobias — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:32:12 +0000

My vote is yes. Lou Dobbs should be released from his post at CNN. Free speech is one thing, but Lou Dobbs is tossing bales of hay into the racially-fueled ‘birther‘ fire. It’s ludicrous to question President Obama’s legitimacy as a U.S. citizen, but the man continues to support the notion.

But we’ve heard crazier from Coulter and Glenn Beck; Lord knows we’ve heard some nastiness from Limbaugh. So what makes Dobbs different?

Read this Huff Post article titled Lou Dobbs a “Publicity Nightmare” for CNN and decide for yourself.

Sundays = Coffee, Art, and Tunes.

Mike Tobias — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 18:30:38 +0000

The Coffee: QT Hazelnut with some sugar.

The Art:

Kristina Collantes :: Black Bottom Warbler :: water color and Photoshop

The tunes:

RIAA, you bastards: The RIAA Slaps Student Joel Tenenbaum with $675,000 Fine

Mike Tobias — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 05:02:59 +0000

If Joel Tenenbaum had $675,000 I’m sure he’d be buying a Ferrari, or at least the largest music collection on the planet. Instead, because he illegally shared 30 songs, Joel Tenebaum will be paying the RIAA $675,000.

The organization spent $1 million to make an example of the poor bastard.

It makes me sick because the RIAA is not starving or protecting the artistis; they’re just being assholes to normal people that we can’t characterize as criminals. It’s sad that I can steal 2 CDs from Walmart and never have to worry about being in Joel’s position. If I were to get caught, sure, I should be punished. But not hung on a bloody cross in front of the store to warn others.

And here’s what the RIAA says:

“We are grateful for the jury’s service and their recognition of the impact of illegal downloading on the music community. We appreciate that Mr. Tenenbaum finally acknowledged that artists and music companies deserve to be paid for their work. From the beginning, that’s what this case has been about. We only wish he had done so sooner rather than lie about his illegal behavior.” Full post>>

Jump to the TorrentFreak article about the story>>

Or visit the Joel Fights Back, a website created to chronicle and support his efforts in court.

That Whole iPhone/GV Thing That Made @arrington Give Up His iPhone

Mike Tobias — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:27:13 +0000

UPDATE: This ridiculous episode continues with Apple expecting developers to refund app customers out of their own pockets. READ.

UPDATE: Fast Company comes out with an article titled ‘Seven (More) Reasons to Ditch Your iPhone‘

@willgcrawford, @therealecar and I (@miketobias) had lengthy conversation about telecommunication companies. We all agreed that there is too much power given to this utility. These companies should not be restricting applications like Google Voice, an app that allows you to set up a 10-digit phone number, make free calls to other users, and send free text messages.

News broke recently that the Apple app store will not have Google Voice in its catalog. The reason? It resembles existing apps on iPhone…

It’s something that angered a lot of people.

So here’s where we’re at…

New iPhone 3GS. Sprint says screw you on MMS and Data Tethering. We’ll get to it when we get to it.

Termination fees to upgrade.

Large price tags. You may be able to get a $99 iPhone, but that data plan empty your wallet.

Fragile devices.

And finally this GV bullshit.

So in regards to that whole iPhone/GV thing that made Michael Arrington give up his iPhone, I say he’s dead right to boycott the world’s most popular mobile device.

Jump to Post>>