A Walk in the Arboretum

~Last Sunday, I took my visiting parents for a walk around Coker Arboretum, a garden on the campus of UNC - Chapel Hill. This being mid-autumn, the arboretum was a bit bare but still had many interesting plants and trees. While I was there, I took a few pictures:

^ This plant has gigantic leaves. They're the size of an adult's head.

^ My parents. Aren't they adorable?

^ Me, underneath a tree.

^ This has nothing to do with the arboretum; Rascal is just here for your viewing enjoyment.

Remi Pac-Man

~I'm stuck in Thesis Hell right now, so this hilarious video, from French prankster Rémi Gaillard, was just what I needed. It made me laugh so hard I got hiccups:

More wedding pictures

Here are links to two online galleries containing a few hundred pictures from Sheilaandjohn's wedding that took place a few months ago. If you look carefully, you may spot yours truly in a tuxedo.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2463458&id=5715653&l=ce64f18dee

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2464047&id=5715653&l=fc626af080

Saturn at Eqinox

~Check out the amazing pictures of Saturn and its satellites and rings, taken by the Cassini space probe, at Boston.com.

Matrix Ping-pong

~Here's some more wackiness from Japan: a truly unusual game of ping-pong:

What the...?

Words cannot describe this video clip. This one's for you, Mom! (warning: brief but entirely justified profanity):



^ Believe it or not, what you just saw was part of an actual movie. Although, to be fair, it looks much more fun than some of the crap Hollywood is putting out these days...

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

~Continuing in the vein of Jane Austen parodies, a friend recently brought to my attention the upcoming novel "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters". Like "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", it takes the full text of the Austen novel, and adds additional (and far more interesting) plot elements, accompanied by new illustrations in the original style. Here's the description from amazon.com:

"From the publisher of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies comes a new tale of romance, heartbreak, and tentacled mayhem.

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters expands the original text of the beloved Jane Austen novel with all-new scenes of giant lobsters, rampaging octopi, two-headed sea serpents, and other biological monstrosities. As our story opens, the Dashwood sisters are evicted from their childhood home and sent to live on a mysterious island full of savage creatures and dark secrets. While sensible Elinor falls in love with Edward Ferrars, her romantic sister Marianne is courted by both the handsome Willoughby and the hideous man-monster Colonel Brandon. Can the Dashwood sisters triumph over meddlesome matriarchs and unscrupulous rogues to find true love? Or will they fall prey to the tentacles that are forever snapping at their heels? This masterful portrait of Regency England blends Jane Austen’s biting social commentary with ultraviolent depictions of sea monsters biting. It’s survival of the fittest—and only the swiftest swimmers will find true love!"

You can watch a hilarious "theatrical" trailer for the novel here:

Looks like fun, but I'm still waiting for Pride and Predator...