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There’s More Than One Way To Stuff A Turkey

[ 1 Comment ]Posted on November 26, 2009 by admin in Holidays

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

Let’s take a moment to think about the 45 million turkeys that gave their life in the war against our hunger today. And after doing so, commence to shootin’ ‘em again.

We shared some more somber Thanksgiving thoughts here today, but if you were looking for somber, you’d be reading the emo blog whimperings over at xanga.com, right? We know you really just want something to kill the time while you do your best to appear mentally and emotionally present at your family dysfunctions for today, so we’ve rounded up some flash games you can play while you pretend you’re just checking text messages or whatever. We’ve observed before that there’s an odd tendency for Flash games to focus on doing cruel things to helpless animals, and Thanksgiving is no exception. First up, and probably least cruel, we have Turkey Fling, in which – you guessed it – you fling a turkey. Probably not as gratifying as Santa Toss, but there’ll be plenty of time for that in December. A little higher on the cruel curve we have Turkey To Go. If your bald turkey doesn’t collect feathers fast enough, he’s totally forked. And of course, no themed game roundup is complete without a first person shooter, so we have the aptly named Turkey Shoot. Careful though, they do. And if you’re an elficidal vegetarian who loves rave music but hates Christmas, you’ll love Xtreem Xmas Turkey. As a headless turkey armed with a medieval halberd, you slaughter angry elves, before they slaughter you. And if you’re such a Flash game-obsessed twit that you even get your cooking tips from Flash interactives, we have Cook A Turkey. So have fun, kiss grandma for us, and have a great Thanksgiving. Whatever you’re doing, you’re probably having more fun than the estimated 45 million turkeys being devoured across America today!

Getting A New Angle On Things Is Easy When You’re From The Fourth Dimension

[ 1 Comment ]Posted on July 20, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion

Monday, July 20th, 2009

A kid from A-Square confronts his spheres and talks about hypercubes to help give your otherwise two-dimensional morning a new perspective.


A Three-Dimensional Representation
Of A Four-Dimensional Object

Although we originally started our Monday Demotivators to add a little dimension to your Monday morning, we’ve fallen a little flat this week; all we have is this simple game in which you guess the shape of a three-dimensional object as it passes through your two-dimensional field of view. This game will be familiar to anyone who’s familiar with the book Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, which Isaac Asimov described as “The best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions.” This, by the way, was one of my favorite books when I was young. I was admittedly a rather annoying kid; as a seven or eight year old, I had no idea what the big deal was about Roald Dahl and Dr Seuss books, I was busy designing model rockets and wondering what the fourth dimension was like, and if it ever passed through our dimension like the sphere in Flatland. Don’t get me wrong, I was a pretty dumb kid too. Once, after some “preliminary field tests” using the front porch, I jumped off the chicken coop using a large umbrella as a parachute. This didn’t turn out so well, as you might imagine. But since we’ve got you imagining, imagine this: although any discussion of Möbius Strips will inevitably be one-sided, when you start talking about the fourth dimension, things get a little crazy. Try to imagine that if Read the rest of this entry »

Tired Of Video Games? Hack Your Brain With Ping Pong Balls Instead

[ Add A Comment ]Posted on July 13, 2009 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Worried that you have an Internet or video game addiction? Maybe you should try doing drugs or something.

Due to the recent discovery of the tragic and perhaps incurable First-Person Shooter Disease (see the clip at left), we’re taking a break from the mindless Flash games usually highlighted in our weekly Monday morning time-wasters to take a more serious look at the damaging effects of video games and the Internet. While in the west we’re still debating whether or not there’s some kind of addictive disorder related to surfing and gaming, the Chinese have not only decided there is, they’ve set up boot camps to deal with the problem. After doing a little informal research, it becomes clear that they’re on the right track. The three most noteworthy gaming-related deaths were all Asian*; a Chinese gamer who killed someone over an imaginary sword, a Korean man who died after a marathon gaming session at an Internet cafe, and a Vietnamese kid who killed a woman for video game money. So let’s look at alternatives to sitting at the computer. How about self-induced hallucinations without drugs? Or better yet, with drugs? If, like me, you don’t feel like actually doing drugs, the book The Beyond Within is a fascinating look into LSD. The BBC video version is also available on YouTube, but if you don’t have 90 minutes to waste this morning, maybe check out this insightful two-minute video from the Canadia Wildlife Service that explores the dramatic effects of various drugs on spiders. And remember, it’s not just video games and drugs that are bad for you, Facebook causes brain damage too. Read the rest of this entry »

Post-Holiday Padiddling

[ 2 Comments ]Posted on July 6, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion

Monday, July 6th, 2009

No holiday weekend road trip is complete without a healthy round of Padiddling, Punchbuggy, and Cow Counting. This week’s Monday Demotivators celebrate the four day weekend.


Why Do Game Developers Hate Granny?

This week’s Monday morning productivity inhibitors will take a (ahem) back seat to the fact that the more clever amongst you have sneaked in a four-day weekend. Which means you already are demotivated. And perhaps facing a day on the freeways to get home. If you have a carload of family or friends on a weekend excursion, the way there might not be so bad, but the way back can be excruciating. That’s when a healthy game of Punchbuggy or Padiddle can come in handy. Hopefully though, you’ll be home long before any Padiddling is required. If you happen to have a carload of kids (or immature adults like myself) on board, maybe some classic road trip games like Highway Bingo or Counting Cows are in order. Okay, maybe not so “classic”. Personally, I’ve never heard of “Counting Cows”. Anyway, those are print-it-yourself games; you could always buy some reusable bingo games, they’re cheap, and according to GasBuddy.com, gas prices are $1.50 lower than a year ago, so you should be able to afford a measly $6.91. And if gas prices still aren’t low enough for your tastes, you can always make your own. And finally, for those of you who come here on Monday morning for the silly Flash games, maybe you’d like to vent your holiday road rage (or frustrations with grandma) by playing a nice game of Mad Monday Road Rage or Squash The Granny. Me, I’ll probably be padiddling well into the night, and asking Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet?

Monday Morning Meticulously Mapped Out?

[ 1 Comment ]Posted on June 8, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Axis if we care. Our plot to disrupt the day you’ve carefully charted for yourself involves graphic depictions of death, birth, crime, and…Wikipedia?

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with the information and sensory input at your disposal these days? We’re here to help. Overwhelm you more, that is. In our ongoing plot to derail your Monday morning, we’ve touched on fleshmaps, facebook maps, why Ian can’t get a date maps, infographics, flowcharts , and million dollar graphics. So you’d think we’d be done, right? But no. Here we have 50 more examples of ways to visualize data, brought to you by WebDesignerDepot.com. Of all of the examples presented, I probably found TuneGlue the most useful; it visually cross-references musical artists and their work in a very simple interface, with Amazon links. By the way, a lot of those tools in that link made pretty graphs, but were in most cases visualizing things normal people don’t care about. And there’s definitely a flaw in the plan when a graphic actually makes it harder to understand complex information rather than easier. So check out 5,000 years of Middle East history in 90 seconds, or BreathingEarth, where you can watch deaths and births in real time and ponder your emissions. Even better, WorldClock displays everything from oil consumption to US crime stats in real time. And lastly, have you ever wondered what Wikipedia would look like if it were in book form?

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