If it weren’t for Science Cheerleader, we may have never known how great I look in a Santa costume.
Archive for the ‘holidays’ Category
Dr. John’s Holiday Greeting
Friday, December 25th, 2009Ultra Amazing Mega SuperBuy!
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
Parents shopping on a shoe-string budget should check out their local Toys R Us. Sales as high as one cent are providing big savings for families and sending ripples through the high-chair manufacturing industry. Don’t miss out on this amazing SuperBuy! Thanks to Jodi for spotting this.
Thanksgiving at Harvard (or MimeFeast 2009)
Thursday, December 17th, 2009John Ohab meets John Bridge
Harvard is pretty much overflowing with statues of old Puritan dudes named John (see: My Trip to Harvard).
The Cure for the Holiday Shopping Blues
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009This was written for ScienceCheerleader.com and copied here for my parents and the other two people who visit my website every day.
Can’t decide on a holiday gift for Granny? Don’t know what to get your 10 year-old brother, Billy? Tired of wasting money on Barbies and video games that may not last through the New Year? I say, give your loved ones a gift that keeps on giving: a do-it-yourself experimental hydrogen fuel cell car that runs on water!
That’s right! The Fuel Cell Car & Experiment X7 Kit provides a playful introduction to one of the most significant technologies of the 21st Century: reversible hydrogen fuel cells. Each kit comes with a full-color, 16-page manual with easy, step-by-step instructions for assembling and using the car. In addition, the kit contains scientific explanations on how fuels cells work, the intricacies of fuel cell car design, and potential alternative energies for automobiles.
Most importantly, the kit is appropriate for anyone aged 10 and up, which means you’ll never be stuck wondering what to get that friend or family member who always seems to have everything. While other kids are showing off their boring skateboards and lame iPhones, yours could be harnessing the power of water. Don’t miss out!
Get the The Fuel Cell Car & Experiment X7 Kit today!
Michael Dunfest 2009: Happy Valentine’s Day
Saturday, February 14th, 2009
Michael created this card years ago, but it illustrates an important point: the world would be a much better place if every day were Valentine’s Day.
Michael Dunfest 2009: A-Muse-ing
Friday, February 13th, 2009
Little known fact: this Xmas card was actually the inspiration for the South Park character Mr. Garrison and his puppet Mr. Hat.
Littler known fact: it was also the inspiration for Santa Clause.
Believe it.
My Halloween Costume: Prologue
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008
I don’t want to spoil my surprise Halloween costume, so I’ll just give you a little hint. I’m going to be Borat in his green bathing suit. Here is a picture of me doing a little concept clearance at Virginia Beach this summer.
Four Days After Christmas
Monday, December 29th, 2003One of my Christmas gifts was Balderdash, the self-proclaimed “Hilarious Bluffing Game” that you might remember from dozens of nights with Jasonand Brandon during our youth. While some of our classic definitions will be posted in the future, this journal entry will only detail the humorous contributions from our most recent Balderdash game. You see, the *new* Balderdash includes four new categories–movies, people, laws, and abbreviations–in addition to the usual list of obscure words. On Saturday, Ashwini, Brandon, Javan, Jen C, Jenny G, Pejman and his two cousins Sal (aka The Fatty’s) and Sarah, Richard, Vivian, and I all gathered at Javan’s new house for a fun-filled, though highly competitive holiday contest. Below I’ve listed what I consider to be some of the funniest moments during the game.
Movies
Six Lessons from Madame LaZonga:- A 1967 drama involving a young French maiden and a chimney sweeper. (Javan)
- Madame LaZonga runs a finishing school for unruly girls in 1920’s America. (Vivian)
- A young woman attends boarding school and learns she is heir to the throne. (Brandon)
- The story of a man that became a legend when he became a bear. (John)Buford’s Beach Bunnies:
- Harry Buford got rich selling barbecued rabbit sandwiches and now wants to leave the business to his son. (correct)
- An animated film of rabbits that escape from the farm to find themselves on an enchanted beach. (Jen C.)
Definitions
trichobezoar:
- A gesture that also performs magic tricks. (Jenny G.)
Laws
In the outback of New Zealand, it is still illegal to light…
…wood. (Pejman)
…fires on an animals back. (Bun)
…one’s pipe from the fire of the chief. (correct)
People
Lita Nahas:
- Discovering her sexuality at a young age with her wheelchair-bound half-brother half-orc…brother, she went on to develop a method of colon cleansing that minimized anal irritation. (Bun)
- a Mexican/Greek goddess. (Richard)
Abbreviations
I.O.O.F:International Opposition to Old Fortresses (Jenny G.)
Inland Ohio’s Opera Foundation (Jen C.)
I Onced “Oopsed” For three hours. (Bun)
International Organization of Obsolete FrenchmanI.F.S.B:
International Flatulent Shark Beaters (Richard)
Indian Freedom Salt Bath (Sal)
I hadn’t played Balderdash for a couple of years, so it was particularly satisfying that I dominated every aspect of the game and won in glorious fashion. In fact, Saturday marked the first time in my entire life that I actually knew a definition (for the word “glabrescent”, meaning “without hair”). As always, it was great seeing everyone together, and it was a clear reminder of why we’ve remained close throughout college and beyond.
* Go Figure of the Day: The MS Word spellchecker didn’t recognize “trichobezoar” as a word.
* Movie Quote of the Day: “She likes music.”
Christmas
Saturday, December 27th, 2003Christmas Day followed a similar pattern as previous Christmas’: wake up, open presents, listen to Nat King Cole while reflecting on how fortunate we are to receive such thoughtful gifts, fall asleep on living room floor, wake up to the sound of Marty watering the backyard patio in only his shorts and Reeboks, Marty yells “Hey, do you want some fruit?”, eat one too many pieces of Marty’s grapefruit, go to Jen’s house and watch Dustin play his new video game, return home for MG’s Christmas dinner, eat several plates of food, drink too much wine, fall asleep on living room floor, wake up at midnight with Richard sitting next to me reading The DaVinci Code, say “What happened to me?”, go back to sleep, wake up with Richard sitting next to me reading The DaVinci Code, hang out with Javan and Pejman, go to sleep.
I also enjoyed spending some of Christmas Day with Jen C. and her family, and most importantly, I had the opportunity to reacquaint myself with Shadow, our favorite happy-fun canine friend. You might remember Shadow from when he got scared by lightening and took off running down Warner Road before being saved by Richard’s heroics. Look for Shadow, Jak, and an array of other silly dogs on my upcoming “Dumb Dogs” webpage.
* Marty O. Quote of the Day: “Jen was having a great time. You could walk up to her with anything, and she’d eat it!”
* Lindsay O. Quote of the Day: “Mom, that seems like a gift you should have given John when Devon and I were not in the room.”
* George W. Bushism of the Day: “We need an energy bill that encourages consumption.”
* Movie Quote of the Day: “I don’t know, Margo!”
Christmas Eve
Thursday, December 25th, 2003Well, my 23rd Christmas is in the can, and yet it’s still unclear exactly when or why Pejman began slowly transitioning the holiday’s official name from “Christmas” to “Chrimmas” to “Krimmas” to “Krimmus” to “Grimmus” to “Grimmucide”. Perhaps it’s better we don’t know. I suppose as long as we remember the true meaning of Christmas then people can call it whatever they want.
Christmas Eve was at my mom’s house this year, and as expected, the food was absolutely ridiculous. We spent the night with the Campbell family, who you might remember from every single Christmas Eve since 1980 or from any of the 10 summer vacations in San Diego or from any of 20 trips to Pinetop. It was great catching up with Brian and Kelli and to hear that everything is going well in their lives. Interesting things to note in this picture include but are not limited to: Brian and I wearing the same exact Christmas outfit, a guest appearance by Devon’s “blanket”, and whatever face Lindsay is making.
As with every other Christmas Eve, I had trouble getting to sleep because of residual childhood anxiety about potential presents combined with a bit of a “stomach ache” from the inordinate amount of holiday cookies I ate after dinner. As a child, I remember lying in bed just waiting to fall asleep… this went on for hours until around 3 AM when I started to hallucinate and eventually passed out from mental exhaustion. My slumber was short, however, as I usually woke up around 5 AM and again played the waiting game (not very fun unless you have more than one player) until the rest of the family got out of bed. I’ve since shaken this habit, though not from maturity; rather, my circadian rhythms have been thrown off by complete absence of any light in my bedroom and my waking times are now randomized on any day from 7 to 11 AM.
* George W. Bushism of the Day: “The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorize himself.”
* Movie Quote of the Day: “Shitter was full!”