ironically, a video I was watching of some guy getting shot to death on youtube brought me to this much livlier video, a digital short produced by the Vancouver Film School's Digital Character Animation program. "Happy" is a great short, flowing animation, and a simple fun plot. Check it. [youtube width="600" height="501"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fccrd8cMKNA[/youtube]

• Created by: Michael Lewicki
• Release: October 2006 (youtube)
• Running Time: 3:19

With Thanksgiving only a week away, Camp Chef brings you yet another new-fangled turkey cooking device for you to get into an argument over with your mother-in-law. The $25 Turkey Cannon will not turn Thanksgiving into fast food (horrible pun, but works everytime). No, its a roasting stand with a speculum curved cylinder attached that you slide the poor bird over and stick in the oven. Oh, yea, you can fill the cylinder with beer, wine, booze, rubbing alcohol, ethyl alcohol, Aqua Dots, or anything else sufficient enough to help ease the pain of having your whole family in your house. I guess spices would work too, like Salvia, or oregeno. Once in the oven, little arrows surround the turkey and turn it beige... this has something to do with the liquid in the cylinder boiling and releasing flavored steam. This is essentially a beefier version of the hick tested, Martha approved, Beer Butt Chicken. p.s. - catch my enthusiasm for Thanksgiving?

• Buy it - Camp Chef
• Via - The hardware Aisle

A Big Happy Anniversary to my boys Andy and Steve!  They are celebrating six years of fur-flying togetherness. I challenge any couple, hetero or homo, to match how much these guys love each other. Now get your asses back to Buffalo soon boys. We miss you guys.

• Andy on flickr (widespreadcub)
• Andy on Livejournal

Grumpybear calls him the godfather, I call him a homewrecker (long story, but I still love him). Either way, Xotec is the man (Pronownce it Ex-o-tech). Once of the forefather Dj's from Buffalo, Xotec spends his time spinning in Rochester with monthly jaunts down to Marcella's (he was here last week). It's really hard to say what he does, some days its house, sometimes its trance, sometimes its rock-trip-commercial-hardcore. X does what he likes and its always freakin gold... see for yourself:

[Click on the Image or here to Download (127MB)]

Freak Dancer resurrection is phenominal... I'm actually listening to it now, and I can't get past the first ten minutes without starting it over. I dunt wanna blow up chris' bandwith so you can click above and download all 127MB of delicous dirty Xotec goodness.

• Track List: (don't be suprised if you never heard these mixes before, most are custom on the fly cut ups. And that's why he's a god)

1. Pop Group vs Adam Sky – We are all Prostitutes (x’s re-edit)
2. AV Helden – Playmates (Jesse Rose remix – x’s re-edit)
3. Fierce Ruling Diva – Rubb it In (x’s Re-Rub)
4. Gaston vs Green Velvet – La La Land Shuffle (x’s re-rub)
5. Klaxons – Golden Skans (Switch rmx – x’s re-edit)
6. David Bowie vs Xotec – Year of Golden Shower
7. Mario Fabriani – Jumpy Jackin
8. Greg Thresher – Adrenaline
9. Miss Kitten – Requiem for Hit (x’s chopped and screwed)
10. Macca vs Wildchild - – The Big Renegade (x’s re-rub)
11. Direkt – 2 Fatt Guitars (x’s re-rub)
12. Dave Spoon vs Stardust – Music Sounds Better at Night (x’s re-rub)
13. DJ Misjah – What it is
14. Tiga – Move My Body (Only for Erol rmx)
15. James Talk / DJ Pierre – Work it DJ (JT’s 303 dub)
16. Trouble Soup vs. Todd Terry – Can you Party?
17. Chris Lake – To the Point (BSOD rmx)
18. Adonis – I’ve Lost Control (x’s re-rub)
19. Soulwax – NY Excuse (x’s “More Cowbell” edit)
20. Metal Fusion – Killing in the Name…
21. DeeJay Punk Roc – My Beat Box (JLC remix – x’s re-rub)
22. Dusty Kid – The Cat (Crookers rmx)
23. Larry Tee – Licky (Herve Goes Low rmx – x’s re-edit)
24. Thomas Schumacher vs David Banner – Heat it Up & Play(Xotec’s KY Warming Massage Gel re-rub)
25. Benjamin Theves – Texas
26. Peter, Bjorn and John – Young Folks (Scumfrog rmx)

• Bits and Pieces: David Bowie – DJ / Golden Years…Conga Squad – Learn to Phonk…Ying Yang Twins - Wait…Groove Armada – I see You Baby…Rapture – Uh Huh Yeah…Cajmere – Perculator…Kraftwerk – Music Non Stop…Christopher Walken as Bruce Dickenson – he’s got a fever!
• djxotec.com
• Ishkur's Review

Just yesterday, Marvel began putting their comics online, even the old ones that you would normally have to pony up top dollar for at a trade show or comic shop. The move was partly to gather more fans, since the younger population spends less time reading paper materials and more time browsing Myspace. Some of the older die-hard fans will be able to check out the origins of their favorite runs, with the original issues of Wolverine, Fantastic Four, Spiderman, and others being posted for viewing. Price of admission into the digital comic store is 59.88 yearly, or 9.99 a month, and the catch is you can only view the issues online. Right now they have 2500 comics up with 20 more added each week. The financial impact on comic shops is unknown, but my guess is that people will still buy the real issues, but will appreciate getting to read the stories online.

•  via - Yahoo! News
• Marvel Comics

Zink is coming just in time for Christmas, neatly packaged in the form of the first Digital Instant Mobile Photo Printer from Polaroid. The title is appropriate because thats what it does: snap a picture with your camera phone or digicam, and send it over to the printer to get a quick but high quality borderless 2x3 inch photo printout. Developed by Polaroid, Zink (Zero-Ink), works with no ink and no toner. Instead, the paper holds tiny micro pigment crystals, that release their colors when heat is applied. This makes for a quick printout and the only refill is the paper. Here's a closer look at how Zink works: [flv width="600" height="415"]http://www.buffawhat.com/files/video/how_zink_works1.flv[/flv] No official word yet on a release, but clues point to an of 2007 drop (read: christmas). Zink mentions the printer could also come with an embedded camera, too, thus reestablishing Polaroid as the instant photo kings they one were.

• Via - Engadet
• Zink

The email you send to your boss because you want to go to that awesome party that your stupid job would otherwise obstruct your attendance of: The picture you upload to Facebook, because Facebook rules your life and demands that you do so: Then, because Facebook also rules the life of your coworkers, someone notices it and figures out that you really didn't have a family emergency. He shows your boss, who chuckles and sends you this reply, with condemning photo attached, and bcc'd to the entire office: Your coworker then, realizes that this is a blogging goldmine, sends this to valleywag, which results in the entire blogosphere reposting it and making you an example of how social networking destroys your privacy and the once foolproof "family emergency email."

• Via - Joe.My.God.
• From - Valleywag

Google's being officially "no" at the moment about an actual Gphone, instead insisting that all the hubbub is really about Android, the open source mobile platform that the've put together. Today was the release of an early look of the SDK, which when released in full in 2008, will allow anyone to develop complete full functioning programs for the Android platform. Along with this, google dropped a few more videos, highlighting a first look at the software in the works. [youtube width="600" height="501"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FJHYqE0RDg[/youtube] Those Android guys are really smart cookies, however video presenters they aren't. No matter, because a few coders were seen wearing Android T-shirts, which forgave them any faults. That shirt is going to be the ultimate geek gift for Christmas (besides the XO, of course) if anyone can get their hands on this.

• Android @Google Code
• Open handset Alliance

I'm an idiot on three parts:

1. I forget that despite my claims to being counter-culture to the queer norm, I really am a big homo who enjoys musical theater.
2. I drudgingly walk past Studio Arena on my way to work at Marcella's. I neglect to realize that a robust theater community has made their home in Buffalo.
3. I waited till the end to see "Bat Boy: the Musical." - Out of my disdain for supermarket tabloids, poorly photoshopped "anomalies," and pop culture kitchfests, I didn't give it a fair chance... until the lights went out and the opening number blew me the fuck away.

Bat Boy in its regional premiere came to Studio Arena by way of Musicalfare, and sadly is no longer playing. I saw it in its closing weekend, last Friday. If Mike [Sawicz] had told me of the handsome bearish actors, or about the "woodland orgy," I'd have been there opening night. To say the show was hilarious is disrespectful. "Bat Boy" was a genius concoction of witty storyline, spot on casting, and clever props, blended together by a powerful rock score.

“Ripped from the headlines of The Weekly World News, Bat Boy The Musical is a classic love story with a serious bite. This delicious twist on the modern day musical comedy tells the amazing story of a strange boy with pointy ears, his struggle to find a place in a world that shuns him, and the love that can create both miracles and madness.” --from www.batboy.co.uk

The story wasn't original, I've seen a million shows and movies, after school specials highlighting the importance of being accepted for who you are. What makes "Bat Boy" so remarkable is that it was told with as much spoof and absurdity as humanly possible. Edgar, a mysterious boy with pointed ears and fanged teeth, found in a cave in West Virginia, and taken in by the town's veterinarian family, much to the dissaproval of the town. In "My Fair Lady Fashion," Edgar learns to speak and is cultured, thanks to BBC tapes, and soon longs for the respect of the town. What he doesn't know is his twisted past, a past that some are eager to keep covered up; even if it means killing a few people. I have to say, the woodland orgy scene was one of the most fulfilling moments of the show, and my evening. I actually missed parts of the scene as I was too busy oggling the handsome and talented Philip Farugia (shame he's married, but god what a voice he has) in sweaty wifebeater, fur kilt, and bear mask getting it on with a badger and a deer. It was also good to see the equally talented Marc Sacco, who I've only heard of and had yet to see him in action. As for the rest of the performers, I had no idea that Buffalo had so many great voices. I can't single out anyone else (I'm new to this, remember?), and it would be biased to filter out just the handsome bears in the cast. Perhaps when I see a few more shows I can get specific. I'm really hoping the success of "Bat Boy: the Musical" brings it to stage once more. It was a refreshing bite of cult-culture [new phrase, so bite it grammar nazi's] I've been missing out on.

• Bat Boy @ Studio Arena
• Cast Bios

Taken 11 Nov '07, 1.07pm EST PST.

Grumpybear just moments before I kick him out of the chair so we can go to the movies. Open houses are really annoying.