Michael Horn made this great video of the Death Star in Earth’s orbit and various spacecraft flying throughout San Francisco. Pretty well done.

Michael did an interview about the video on The Official Star Wars Blog.

[via Laughing Squid]

The question has to be asked.  It was a close race and anyone that saw it had to think “holy shit how did Phelps make up the distance at the final lunge?”  That was my thought.  Still, he won and on Saturday night during the relay it amazed me how many people were pumped up for that race.  A swimming race, no less.

At this downtown Portland bar, people were chanting “USA! USA! USA!” at the start of the race, banging their tables during it and yelping after Phelps secured his eighth gold medal.  It was a moment of pride for an American athlete the likes I have never seen in my life.  Ever (born months before 1980 Miracle on Ice).  Perhaps not since Michael Johnson in Atlanta 1996 has the country rallied around one particular individual, you know just to see if they’ll live up to the lofty expectations.

But did Phelps win the 100m Butterfly? At this point does it even matter?  I say it doesn’t.  Of course, the crowd on Saturday would have been considerably less animated if Phelps lost his previous race.  But it’s an interesting conspiracy theory, nonetheless.  Someone needs to call Mulder and Scully and get on this.

Sports Illustrated has a nice frame by frame look at the last seconds of the race.  For his part, Milo Cavic seems to be taking his loss with an Olympian-amount of humility and pride. He and his country should be proud of him.

Curiously, Omega sponsors Michael Phelps and also created the timing system used in the Olympic Pool.  It’s accurate down to the 1000th of a second, which is more accurate than the pool itself.  Meaning that the pool lengths aren’t guaranteed to be even, so the race is timed to the 100th second.  It goes without saying that Omega has a vested interest in the success of Phelps.

Still, who really cares?  In a year or month from now no one will remember any of this, only that Phelps is arguably the greatest Olympic athlete of all time and has all but assured he will be Athlete of the Year.

I still think Mark Spitz could outswim him though, given that he swam with a mustache and a quasi-afro and Phelps is all sleek, shaved and benefits from Speedo’s swimwear technology.  A debate for another day.

Yes please. That is all. Click the beauty below to enlargen her and here to go to her website and enter for a chance to win a threesome, which is sadly nothing more than watching Vicky Christina Barcelona with ScarJo and one other person.  Still, that’s kinda awesome for the dudes and dudettes.

Let’s just say there would have been a riot if Bo Jackson from Tecmo Bowl wasn’t number one.  Thankfully, the good people at Complex had the common sense to do the right thing.  Others on the list include Randy Moss from NFL 2K, Jerome Bettis from Madden 99, Barry Sanders from Madden 92, and Mike Vick from Madden 04.  But then it got me thinking.  Is Bo Jackson the obvious choice?  I mean is that like having a music list with The Beatles at number one?  Should we be a little more creative?  Probably not, since you can’t deny greatness.  And Bo Jackson was certainly great - able to break off 90-yard touchdown runs in under 5 seconds.  [Complex]

You know those emails asking for money from some rich guy in Nigeria?  Or better yet when some drugged out homeless dude still wearing his lunch on his stained white T-shirt tells you he’s trying to get money for a bus ticket to see his family?

I couldn’t help but think of those scenarios when I came across this website called My Cousin and John Stamos. It seems the cousin is trying to get $518 for a plane ticket to attend John Stamos’s birthday party in Los Angeles. He’s up to $340.

I just hope he brings a gift or buys some good shit.  [via The Candy]

The folks at Gorilla Mask have unearthed a funny Richard Pryor skit from his television show in 1977 that would make a funny SNL skit even today.  This is how you do relevant sketch comedy.  Take some contemporary pop culture item, like Star Wars and then mix it up with something people can relate to.  In a way it’s what SNL doesn’t understand since they are always going for the obvious lampoon instead of the off-the-wall bizarre.

Had SNL been around at the same time at the Richard Pryor Show, they probably would have gone for a funny light saber fight.  Anyway.

I’ve been enjoying the photography collection of Charles W. Cushman.  He gave all of his photographs to Indiana University, his alma mater.  It should be noted that he was an amateur photographer, but that doesn’t make the photos any less compelling.

He donated 14,500 Kodachrome color slides; the photographs in this collection bridge a thirty-two year span from 1938 to 1969, during which time he extensively documented the United States as well as other countries.

Here you can view his photographs as well as read contextual information about Cushman’s life and work.

In a word, many of these photographs are just dazzling, especially because they seem cut from another time or place.

Then again 1940’s America probably was.

If only all conflicts could be settled in bikinis on the beach by attractive women.  One would think the supposed ceasefire between Russia and Georgia would ease tensions between the two countries, enough so that they could have a friendly match during Olympic Beach Volleyball.  Ah, but the match only heightened the tension.

Unfortunately for the Russians, Georgia decided to import their players from Brazil, which is like beach volleyball capital of the world.  That’s just low.

“We were not playing against the Georgian team today,” sniffed Natalia Uryadova after losing 12-15 in the third and deciding set. “We were playing against the Brazilian team. If they are Georgian, they would have been influenced [by the war], but certainly they are not.”

Alexandra Shiryaeva, her slightly less sulky team-mate, quickly tired of comparisons between the match and geopolitics.“There was no politics in this game - these girls are Brazilian. I don’t suppose they even know who the Georgian president is,” she said.

Oh snap!  As if killing peace keepers and civilians weren’t enough.  But they’re right.  Beach volleyball is no place for geopolitics, especially when it’s so difficult to ascertain exactly what the hell is going on in South Ossetia.

[Minor aside: Yes, Russia is being painted as the bad guy by the traditional media since Georgia is a pro-USA democracy.  But none of the reports have parsed what exactly brought on the tension between the two countries and how South Ossetia, a breakaway republic for the past 20 years,  fits into that tension. Can anyone explain?]

But back to the war at the nets.  The two Georgian players have only visited the country twice!  Twice!  They promise to visit the country after the Olympics to say thanks because the two were drafted by President Saakashvili’s wife, who’s an avid beach volleyball player.

Doesn’t this trivialize the Olympics?  I mean would it be fair if the US offered citizenships to Kenyan runners?  Or began importing Chinese table tennis players?  When the spirit of the Olympics (which includes fighting wars during the games) is compromised by offering athletic positions to more dominating players from other countries than what’s the freakin’ point.  I get that even professional athletes compromises the Olympic Spirit, but this takes things to a new low.

Hope you’re happy Georgia.

The comedian was better than we probably ever gave him credit for, and as we looked back at his catalog over the weekend, it was clear to us that he was pretty funny.  Even making such dreck as Mr. 3000 somehow watchable.  Also, we haven’t stopped thinking about that handshake from Oceans 11. That was an intense handshake.  See all of other great moments here.

Actor Jason Schwartzman and director Wes Anderson go shopping at Borders in Michigan. It’s sorta charming watching them make their way through the music and movies offering suggestions for things to listen to. I won’t ruin it for you, but the two have pretty good taste in music and Schwartzman earned my affection (if he hadn’t already for Rushmore) when he called Levon Helm of The Band a beautiful drummer.

Truer words my friend, truer words.

Possibly the best part of their shopping experience is how both of them haven’t seen hardly any of the movies they pull off the shelf. Or when Anderson sheepishly calls 300 a “violent” and “a bit much” of a film.

And then the President was like, everything looks good from hear and Misty May-Treanor was like, can you believe those opening ceremonies?  Be gentle I like a little tap and then Kerri Walsh was like we are so totally taking the gold medal.

Those were some good times.