Whoa! Getting linked at slashdot.org is a sure-fire way of getting massive hits, isn’t it? Since yesterday, a steady stream of geeky visitors has been checking out the pics I took from my visit to Apple HQ last year.
Update: I must add that the “Anonymous Coward” that posted a link to my site was not me and remains anonymous to me.
Asimov’s daughter, Robyn, reviews the movie adaptation of I, Robot.
A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I had a week-long stretch of late-night karaoke singing sessions. Off-key, out-of-tune and out-of-range, we belted out cheesy ballads and disco tunes with gusto. We were using one of those newfangled karaoke machines that score your singing from a scale of 1 to 100. My wife and I had this thing figured out. Just as long as we enunciate every lyric displayed on the screen for the entirety of the song, no matter how awful our singing, we would get a fairly high score, like somewhere in the high 90s. So, happily we carried on.
American Idol should have killed off karaoke singing. The embarrassing parade of delusional singers featured on the show should’ve served as a dawning realization to many that not everyone can sing, including themselves. But no, just like my wife and I, many continue to sing to their heart’s content. I doubt that even creating such a thing as a “Simon Cowell” edition of a karaoke machine would put a stop to bad singers. A “Simon Cowell” machine, of course, would spit out trademark Cowell insults, such as “That was ghastly!” or “Horrendous!” after it accurately indentifies bad singing. Heck, knowing people, it just might become a hit. Bloody masochists!
Related topic: Top 25 Songs That Should Be Banned from Karaoke
Update: Hey, this past Sunday’s Chronicle Datebook does a cover story on Karaoke!
I’ve no green thumb, but there I was yesterday in the backyard, doing an Indiana Jones by hacking down weeds taller than me. Short Asian man that I am, that’s not saying much but, believe you me, these weeds were tall, as in 7 feet tall. I had on an El Torito birthday sombrero to protect me from the sweltering sun as I pruned the mutant plants’ bamboo-like stalks. They may have actually released defensive spores or something because my exposed forearms were itching for a while there. As for why the weeds grew to be that big… well, hardly anyone goes in the backyard. Sometimes months go by before I venture back there. If anyone is looking for a spooky, atmospheric place for a shoot, boy, I’ve got the place for you.
Haven’t had time to write lately. I’ll take this time to note some happenings in the blogroll:
Ernie A redesigns his weblog… Phisch does a cute little hula number in her new layout… Ms. Siraulo finds her sanity and opens up a blogspot site due to her former host being down. Hmmm, this means all the other Dekarabaw sites are no more. (ibalik?)… Before I forget, Filipino artists, designers and photographers, do sign up at Freelance Philippines where you can post your profile and search for projects. It is set up by Happy of Bulletproof Vest fame… Anyone know why SuperBlessed is down?