Watching ice form, watching paint dry

The University of Michigan has also posted a time-lapse of making the ice at Yost Ice Arena. While Dannation has family and friends who have attended U of M, Dannation bleeds scarlet and gray.

We could post many snide remarks about Michigan here, but Dannation is above name-calling. For example, we would never say, "Ann Arbor is a whore," but it is our duty to point out that the punk rock band The Dead Schembechlers did say just that. (Warning: link has Bad Words suggesting that Michiganders perform certain sexual acts.) We'd also not make a joke asking how many Michigan students it takes to paint the letter M. That's mean spirited, and not what this blog is about.

Election 2008: How not to vote

Stephen Colbert once said that appearing smart is more important that actually be smart. The Onion News Network gives tips on how to pretend that you care about the election:


Today Now!: How To Pretend You [Care] About The Election

(Courtesy of Dave Barry.)

...and that's how ice is made!

AMAZING timelapse of the new ice at Nationwide Arena, home of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

When does the puck drop?

(Tip courtesy of Paul Lukas at UniWatch.)

Will it Blend?

Brilliant. These YouTube videos are the love child of The Late Show's "Will It Float?" and Discovery Channel's How It's Made. The blender makes quick work of hockey pucks, pens, light bulbs, Spam, lighters, and glowsticks. But can it blend Chuck Norris?

Reasons to avoid taxis in Beijing

1. They don't know where they are going. (Dave Barry)
   
2. They think you work for the New York Times and want you to meet their sister. (suggested by Bryce Miller)
   
3. They give you the opportunity to experience Grand Theft Auto in real life:

The Orland Kurtenblog has also collected a series of taxi experiences.

Olympic observations

Mrs. Dannation and I have lost sleep watching the Olympics. NBC has mostly gotten the coverage right. They've hit a good balance with live coverage, tape delay, and human interest stories. The commentators still...well they comment too much. Silence and atmosphere can reveal more insight than stating the obvious.

Other observations:

• Beach volleyball: So the women wear bikinis, and the men don't. No complaints here, but Mrs. Dannation would like to see the men in banana hammocks.
  
• Third member of the broadcast team: This needs to stop. Now. Really, what did Heather Cox "report" courtside? Andrea Kremer has cribbed notes from Jim Gray. Way to make U.S. diver Haley Ishamoto cry. (Links for video of this? I can't seem to search the NBC Olympics site for video clips to see if it's out there.)
• Boxing: Head gear good. Concussions bad.
• Dressage: Riding a horse while wearing a top hat is not a sport. Sorry.
• Gymnastics: Mrs. Dannation is impressed by the gymnasts' buffness. Shawn Johnson will kick your ass, but she may need the assistance of a stepstool.
• Match game: Some athletes fit their ethnic stereotypes. Some do not.
• Bela Karolyi: Big ones, my friend. I refer, of course, to your boots. (Screen shot, anyone?)

Finally, Karolyi had suggested that, perhaps, some Chinese gymnasts were younger than their passports might suggest. The enterprising work of blogger Stryde Hax has revealed that public documents, archived on Google and other web indexing services, have disappeared. The IOC is investigating the matter. (Thanks to Deadspin for the tip.)

For what it's worth, He Kexin's gold medal-winning routine deserves all the superlatives and the medal. However, rules are rules. Sixteen means sixteen, even if you are He Kexin. (The IOC raised the age to 16 in 1997 to combat physical and mental stresses from competition, according to George Johnson.)

Barack: is that a snorkel in your hand, or are you just happy to see me?

We report. You decide.

(Courtesy of Wonkette. Thanks to Dave Barry for the tip.)

Iowa State Fair

U gotta love it when the Iowa State Fair, animals (a snake), and live television (KCCI) collide. In this clip, KCCI weatherman Curtis Gertz is a funny man and a good sport. (sorry, no video embed. Please enjoy a picture of the butter cow instead.)

(Thanks to Dave Barry for the tip.)

Ban August

This is a brilliant idea. August, you bore me. You are a placeholder between the endless sunshine of summer and the perfection that is autumn. You are February with shorts, sweat, sunscreen, and no Federal holidays.

(Thanks to Will Leitch at Deadspin for the suggestion.)

Design-Your-Own Mask

The Vancouver Canucks are inviting their fans to design a mask for their new backup goaltender, veteran Curtis Sanford. (The design page is all flash-driven, hence no cool embed here.) They're opening up the vault on this, giving fans the opportunity to download the goalie mask template and the team logos and colors. Will the winning mask look like this, this, or this?

Thanks to Puck Daddy and Mirtle for revealing this.