Toxic Shock Syndrome: September 2009

9/28/2009

Fail To the Redskins

The Redskins have finally gone and done it. They've become the worst team in the NFL. They allowed the lowly Detroit Lions to end their 19 game losing streak. When the worst team in the league beats you, then you become the worst team in the league. It's shameful. I saw this coming. I can no longer be a Redskins fan. I've already promised Fletch that I won't force him to be a Redskins fan. I'm giving serious consideration to canceling my season tickets next year. The SD Chargers need fans and I'm looking for a new team to root for.

Articles from the Washington Post:
A Debacle From Top to Bottom - Mike Wise
In Big Picture, Focus Disappeared Long Ago - Thomas Boswell
Worst D.C. Sports Moment of 2009 - D.C. Sports Bog by Dan Steinberg

9/27/2009

LEGO Eiffel Tower Part 3 of 3

Completed LEGO Eiffel Tower
Originally uploaded by chronic-shock

I finished part 3 of the set yesterday. Build time for part 3 was approximately 2.5 hrs. Total build time of the entire set was 10 hrs. The tower stands 3.5 ft. Fletch is half the size of the tower. This was the largest and most challenge set I've ever built. Now I've got to find a place to display it!

9/26/2009

Sesame Street does ‘Moustache’ with Jonah Hill

Sesame Street does ‘Moustache’ with Jonah Hill:

Elmo and Jonah Hill team up to briefly explain the wonders of the awesomely sweet moustache. Oh my gosh!

Sesame Street does ‘Beard’ with Edward Lear

Sesame Street does ‘Beard’ with Edward Lear:

Here, we have an old-school Sesame Street animation for b-for-beard featuring a limerick by Edward Lear.

There Was an Old Man with a Beard

There was an old man with a beard,
who said, ‘Alas, it is just as I feared! —
Four larks and a wren, two owls and a hen,
Have all built their nests in my beard!

—Edward Lear

A Message from The Dudely Lama of Dudeism to all Dudeist Priests

Hi Dudes,
This is just a note to let all our ordained Dudeist Priests know about some recent developments at Dudeism (The Church of the Latter-Day Dude).

First off, Dudeism was featured prominently in a funny Volkswagen ad campaign. You can read about it and watch the video here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/aug/12/volkswagen-dudeism-the-big-lebowski

We've also launched our first holy book: The Tao Dude Ching. It's a reworked version of the Tao Te Ching (the holy book of Taoism) using dialogue and story elements from The Big Lebowski.
You can read it here for free: http://www.dudeism.com/tao

If any of you are interested in appearing as a Dudeist Priest on TV, in a magazine article, or in an upcoming documentary, check out this article at the Dudespaper:
http://dudespaper.com/your-fifteen-marmots-of-fame.html/

That's it for now! But a there's a lot more new developments coming up soon.

Take er easy,
Oliver Benjamin
The Dudely Lama of Dudeism

9/24/2009

Fletch and Furry Daddy

64/365: Fletch and Daddy
Originally uploaded by chronic-shock

I thought this would be a great beard progress pic. It's just me and my son chillin' on the couch. Check out how huge my face fur is. Damn! Seeing my beard in a different medium rather than the regular looks in the mirror really puts it in perspective. I might have competition worthy facial hair. A couple months back I bought The Facial Hair Handbook by fellow BTUSA member and world champion Jack Passion in preparation for my next beard competition. I didn't get very far into reading it before leaving it in the seat pocket on a plane during a flight to Albany, NY a few weeks back. I've asked Santa for another copy.

Life-Size Lego House Built...and Demolished

Image via Wikipedia

Damn shame nobody wanted this one of a kind masterpiece (pun intended).

Life-Size Lego House Built...and Demolished - ShelterPop
Shared via AddThis

James May's Lego House is Demolished - Daily Telegraph

James May and his full-size Lego house nobody wants - Daily Mail

9/14/2009

A Clockwork Orange - 50th Anniversary AFL Referee Uniforms

NFL Refs Make MNF a Tangerine Dream. Orange on orange AFL referee jerseys. My favorite color combination.

Shared via AddThis

9/13/2009

Hail to the Redskins

With the NFL season starting this week, I thought I'd give a "shout out" to my favorite team, The Washington Redskins. I've been a fan my whole life, and I lived a majority of my life in Atlanta! The Redskins were once a proud franchise. They've been to five Super Bowls, and have won three of them during the tenure of Joe Gibbs 1.0. I'm a proud season ticket holder. But since Gibbs retired the first time, the team has gone downhill. And since Danny boy bought the team, the decline has been swift and the team is a laughingstock. Right before the season started the Washington Post did an expose on the Redskins. Here is a list of the articles and interactive graphic (the graphic is especially fun):

Redskins Fans Waited While Brokers Got Tickets
For Redskins Fans, Hard Luck Runs Into Team's Hard Line
Once Again, Redskins' Public Trust In Jeopardy
A Decade of Snyder The Decider [interactive graphic]

Good luck this season. Hail to the Redskins!

12 Outdated Technology Terms That You Shouldn't Use During An Interview

I ran across this article that I found interesting. If you know any of these words, then you need a refresher course in technology "buzzwords". Don't put any of these words on your resume. I used to commute with my neighbor before my office moved in July. He and I would sit on the subway and make a game of trying to use outdated tech words in our conversations. My favorite is "information superhighway". See #12 in the article. :0) We found it hard to use "searching" instead of "Googling".

9/12/2009

BYU WTF?

If you know me, you know I grew up a Mormon (a.k.a. LDS). Why am I bringing this up on my beard blog? Well, because I found an interesting post on Beard Revue-you can't have a beard at BYU! Under the Dress and Grooming Standards section, the Bringham Young University honor code clearly states: “Men are expected to be clean shaven; beards are not acceptable.” That's totally bogus. Beard Revue suspects this code is in reaction to rise of the counter culture movement in the US and the rise of popularity of long hair and beards in the 1960s.

Still, if you’re a Cougar, there is the option of a beard waiver. You must “visit a BYU Student Health Center doctor by appointment. The doctor will fax his recommendation. The student then needs to come to the Honor Code Office to fill out some paperwork and receive the letter allowing the growth of the beard, if approved. If a yearly beard waiver is granted, a new Student ID will be issued after the beard has been fully grown, and must be renewed every year by repeating the process.”

Ironically, many of the early LDS leaders had beards. Even the man the school is named after was adored with facial folicles. See the links below for pics of the hirsuted Mormon brethren.

Brigham Young: http://tinyurl.com/qgt9rc
John Taylor: http://tinyurl.com/r6nx3s
Lorenzo Snow: http://tinyurl.com/qtqztn

9/07/2009

I'm Available for Weddings

One thing that got lost in the shuffle of my son's birth was that I was ordained as a Dudeist Priest on July 19. Dudeism is an official religion based on the "The Dude" character from The Big Lebowski. As an ordained Dudeist Priest, I can perform my priestly duties and minister over religious ceremonies in most U.S. States (laws vary), and assorted other countries. So I can preside over a wedding, funeral, or any kind of celebration with pride and authority. My schedule is currently wide open. My fee is quite reasonable, it's FREE!