Happy Weekend! Now here’s what to do with it

No Pants Ride

That’s right.  It’s the ninth annual no-pants ride.  Last year 1,200 pantsless riders took to the New York Subway in the middle of a snowstorm, and 1,000 took to other subways nation, and world, wide.  Get your cheeks out and feel the freedom on Sunday.

Happy New Year!

Hope you all had a Happy Hannukah, Christmas, Kwanza, and Festivus and the new year is shaping up well for you.  Obviously we took some time off to be with our families and friends and celebrate and relax a bit (something we’re good at).  We’ll be back soon, so get set for a 2010 filled with Fine Taste.

-The Taste Testers

A Fine Taste Advent: Day 24

Why yes Kermit, there is.

- The Taste Testers

A Fine Taste Advent Day 23

Wtf, Bob Dylan?  I mean, really.  WHAT?

This man gets stranger and stranger.

-The Taste Testers

A Fine Taste Advent: Day 22

Watching the Muppet’s Christmas Carol in a sort of obsessive fashion, one could live their whole life without knowing that the Muppet’s Family Christmas Special even existed.  And while we love the Muppet’s Christmas Carol, it would be a damn shame to live life without its lesser known, Sesame- and Fraggle-enhanced cousin.  Because of this.  Video after the jump.

- The Taste Testers

History 3,000 Years in the Making

As a historian, I sometimes wonder if archeologists aren’t just totally making things up when they find artifacts on digs.  When there’s first-person accounts of what happened during a particular time period, that’s one thing.  When we’re piecing together a story from pottery fragments, that’s quite another.  After the jump is a look at what archeologists will think of the Beatles in 3000 years.

Love Plus

And sorry for my lack of posts the past few days.  I, uh, have some excuse or another.  Like, actually having a lot of work to do on Friday and then finding out I’m a new guest blogger for Kimberly Wilson (check out my “$ense and $ensibility” posts on her blog every Monday starting January 4th) and then getting ready to go home for the holidays and then that whole snow storm thing (which didn’t cut out my internet or anything, I just wanted to play in it).  Right.  Anyway.

A friend sent me this news story last week and I just saw it on MSNBC this morning. A 27 year old Tokyo man has married a video game character.  I could go on and on about my dissertation research on Japanese pop culture and art and how this is totally representative of the otaku culture and young Japanese people not being able to express real feelings to others, hence the rise of a hierarchy of anime and video game characters that fit into nice categories people can understand and also the rise of the kawaii and the juvenilization (is too a word) of young women, but I’m tired and have to wake up ridiculously early to catch my flight tomorrow.  So I’ll leave it there so I can go watch some anime now.

-Kaks

Too much time?

Okay, so I get all those clips with the fake previews, like the best one yet – for The Shining. But the difference with this?  Those aren’t clips.  Those are costumes.  And actors.  And sets.  That is dedication to two minutes of preview genius.

Both videos after the cut for the lazy (like, you know, me)

- Willa

A Fine Taste Advent: Day 21

Kaks loves John Barrowman  (and if you don’t, she says you’re no longer her friend).  So she was really excited when her mother sent her a link to what promised to be a youtube video of John singing Christmas songs.  Yippee!  Until she realized it was from the BBC’s 2007 “Christmas Voices” and her mother sent the clip where Lesley Garrett joins in and makes it one of the most awkward performances ever.  And yet, John can overcome anything… *sigh*

Video after the jump:

I refuse to take the blame

I would like to apologize, deeply and wholeheartedly, for my conspicuous absence last week.  It’s just that my final papers really weren’t made easier by the fact that party cat lives in my head.  At least, that’s what I’m telling my profs.

- Willa

A Fine Taste Advent: Day 18

Get this – instead of an “Advent” calendar, the BBC has posted an “Adventure” Calendar for all Dr. Who fans in the universe.  Amazing.  And such a great use of your time.

-The Taste Testers

PS – Everyone convince Willa that she should totally go as Rose Tyler to a new year’s eve costume party in England where the theme is important people from the 00’s.  She can be Rose and her date for the night can be the Doctor – it’s perfect!

Pretty appropriate

My brother said when he saw this he thought of me.  Nice.

A Fine Taste Advent: Day 17

A good friend of the blog sent an email that said “If I had any money at all, you would be getting these for Christmas”  She followed this with another email saying “Also, I just realized how sexual some of these could look if inappropriately placed…”.  That made us like them all the more when I clicked on the link.  As we all know, we like gingerbread (and Lebkuchen ).  We like yoga.  And we love naughty things.  So these cookies would be very much appreciated if you’re going to perhaps leave a little something under the tree for your favorite bloggers.

- The Taste Testers

In a Galaxy far, far away…

…geeks might actually get some with this bed.  Or not.  I’m pretty sure geekiness crosses galactical borders.  Though, Han can show me his smuggling compartments any day.

Thou burly-boned fly-bitten barnacle!

“[Thou] leathern-jerkin, crystal-button, knot-pated, agatering, puke-stocking, caddis-garter, smooth-tongue, Spanish pouch!”

Get thee to the Shakespearean Insulter for some seriously good one-liners.

-Kaks