Program: WordWeb

Lifehacker's download of the day is an excellent tool for writers (or for people who need help writing). CTRL + right-click a word to bring up a dictionary and thesaurus, as well as additional information you might find useful. Some words even have links to Wikipedia. Very useful when you want to further research an obscure word or etymology.

[WordWeb]

Greek Mythology Genealogy

Here's a link to a family tree of the Greek Gods. Nice.

[Greek Gods]

The Best Political Ad Ever Made

EXCELLENT!!! This wasn't authorized by Obama or his people, mind you. It's an excellent remix of an Apple 1984 Ad.

Website: Photo Archive

500 of the best photos on the internet. Excellent site for new wallpaper images.

[Photo Archive]

OMG! Rage Against the Machine is REUNITING!!!

I don't know how this juicy piece of information got past me, but it did. The greatest band of all time, Rage Against the Machine, is getting back together for this year's Coachella concert (April 29th)! This, after Chris Cornell decided to walk away from Audioslave citing irreconcilable differences. Apparently, the now defunct Audioslave decided to get back with Zack de la Rocha once the proverbial nail was in Audioslave's coffin.

I never did care much for Rage Against the Garden Audioslave. Their sound just didn't seem to mesh with Chris Cornell's ethereal vocals. Nothing against Chris Cornell, but he should really stick to his solo career and leave the heavy, dyspeptic rock to the original members of the Machine.

What is this, 1994? With the Smashing Pumpkins making a comeback, I might need to enroll in college again!

note: Woops. I got so excited, I forgot to add the link to the newspiece.

[Chris Cornell quits Audioslave]

Grungy Gaye Gets It On

Check out this homeless dude as he hits it out of the park at the Apollo theater. Totally awesome.

Website: Scrib'd

It's like a YouTube for Documents, books, articles.... Check it out and sign up now to secure yourself a good nickname. This site is likely to be a big player down the line.

[scrib'd]

The Violence of the Lambs!

Check out this trailer for Black Sheep and chuckle until your diaphragm gets all numb and tingly. This makes Snakes On A Plane look downright amateurish.

Hey Matt Drudge, is this some sort of analogy for the rise of Christian Fundamentalism? Clearly, the scientists represent Atheists, right? Lol.

Need New Wallpaper?

Here's an excellent site with 1,000+ background images. Very, very nice.

[Free Photos and Videos.com]

Wheel of Food

Ever had trouble deciding what to eat for lunch?

Next time, use the Wheel of Food and never suffer from indecision again. Just enter your zip code and wish for the best.

I entered my zip code and noticed it was pretty accurate about the restaurants in the area. It even listed a few new options I would never actually consider. This is a very nice way to solve those office arguments over where to go for lunch.

Looking for a Contractor? Try Service Magic.

We've been in the holds of home renovation for a week or so now. At first, I was fearful of how long it would take to find quality Contractors. My experience here was formerly reserved to doing tedious searches on Craigslist and hoping to get a quality professional who wouldn't lie about his credentials.

This time was different.

I don't remember where I came across the link to Service Magic, but I'm so glad I did. I signed up with them (it's free) and started looking for Contractors in my area. The entire process was quick and painless. Literally 5 minutes after I was done, I got my first call from a contractor! I was astonished. Could this really be someone calling to set up an appointment for an estimate? It was. Shortly after I hung up with him, someone else called. Then I got several more calls during the day. In fact, I had contractors calling me up the yin-yang, all week! I even had one guy call me at 8 AM (needless to say, he didn't get hired).

So far, we've signed on with three contractors, all of whom have been very professional, fully credentialed, and very economical. I highly recommend this service to anyone who needs to make improvements to their home. They even have listings for service people (maids, gutter washers, computer repair persons... you name it).

A couple of days ago, I got a call from a Project Manager at Service Magic who was given the task of working with me to find contractors and make sure they were on task. I was like, wow. And this guy was no slouch. After I ignored his voice mail, he followed up with an email and another call. Service Magic is on the ball. They do their job almost too well!

If you need any kind of service done on your home, this is an excellent place to start.

If anything, the only problem you'll have is making it look like it was hard work finding these people. I'm reminded of the commercial where the woman sprinkles flour on her face to appear as if baking rice crispy treats is actually laborious. Somehow, I doubt flour will do the trick, in this case.

The Best Car Race Video Ever Made

This is absolutely awesome. Filmed with Hot Wheels cars. Ah, beautiful Americana....

RoadRace

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Video: UFC Fight

Okay, this one takes the cake. I happen to love Ultimate Fighting, so when I saw this video I nearly broke my clavicle from laughing so hard.

Website: Picnik

The best online photo editing website I have ever seen. The only flaw I can see with its incredibly simple interface is the way it sometimes overlaps the Firefox toolbar. Not sure if it does in on IE, but it's easy to back out of it by just clicking the logout button.

If you're looking for a simple way to edit digital photos, this is simply one of the very best free tools I've ever seen.

[Picnik]

Movie Review: Idiocracy (2006)

I don't know where to start with this one.

Idiocracy was directed by Mike Judge (who also directed Office Space).

Watching Idiocracy makes you feel kind of dirty. As if you've just watched 84 minutes of America's Funniest Home Videos, Cops, and Jackass, all rolled into one (without the guilt trip). If you see this movie, you will also easily recognize the irony in that last statement.

Idiocracy is about an average military guy, played by Luke Wilson--who happens to be perfect at delivering the dead-pan lines that are called for in this rather witty script. He discovers he's been included in a military experiment because of his average-ness, along with a prostitute (played by Maya Rudolph of Saturday Night Live fame). The two are put into a kind of suspended animation, then forgotten about for several hundred years. When they are finally resuscitated, it's a hilarious, dystopian future where the stupid people have out-bred the smart ones. Now, the morons live in a failed civilization that's on the verge of crumbling. Soon, the two learn they are the smartest people on earth; and it's not long before they're on the run from a society that doesn't appreciate their intelligence.

I admit, I enjoyed the wry sense of humor in this film. The in-jokes are plentiful and range from vulgar to politically incorrect, without ruining the subtle intelligence that lies beneath.

Unfortunately, this film is straight-up racist. It's not bigoted in a racist, philosophical, heavy-handed way, but it's more subtle and lighthearted in its racism. See, in the future, everyone speaks a sort of street speech, a combination of ebonics and gangster slang. There are plenty of minorities in this future world as well (including the President, a former Pro Wrestler), virtually ensuring viewers draw the connection between minorities and low IQ. Mike Judge seems to be forewarning me against myself and it just doesn't seem to work for me. Nevertheless, there is plenty of social commentary here, aside from race, that makes this film a must-view. Some people are saying this film is more controversial than Borat; having not yet seen Borat, I can't say. But I can vouch for the fact that Idiocracy is a smart movie that's getting off on telling its viewers that they're stupid, stupid, stupid.

If anything, my only complaint about this film is that it relied too heavily on stereotypes to crack jokes. Also, the narrator's commentary was a little annoying and unnecessary and would have made for a much stronger, more serious film, had it been removed. Talk about the ultimate in-joke: Mike Judge is calling us all idiots by having to explain the plot to us via a narrator. Clever.

By the end, it all grew a bit tiresome; but it was definitely fun while it lasted.

Sifted: 8.5/10

TV: The Apprentice: LA (NBC)

The world's worst toupee is back! This time he's doing his thing in the world's sanitarium: Los Angeles. Though the show has gone all bi-coastal by moving to the west coast, it's essentially the same show, with just a couple of new twists. This time, the losing teams are forced to camp outside, in a tent, with a makeshift shower and camping kitchen. Apparently, the added hardship is supposed to build tension, somehow. Also, the winning team's Project Manager now has the privilege of sitting in the boardroom while the Trump fires someone. These are interesting changes to the show, but I wonder if the new change in the game will be too difficult to overcome for the losing team.

This week's fired Apprentice:

Martin, the eccentric, southern, professor, attorney.

Meanwhile, it's clear that this cat isn't gonna win. Chalk it up to hair envy:


I do wonder if the bad ratings for the Apprentice:LA are due to a lack of interest in the show or because of bad marketing? I am a huge fan and I didn't even know it was on this last Sunday night (9PM, ET/PT). Fortunately for me, I was able to set my DVR to record it when it's broadcast on another channel Monday night. I set up the series recording to keep me on track from here on out. There appear to be some heavy hitters this time around, and the cast consists of plenty of hotness. Can't wait to see the beach challenge.... At least who gets fired that day shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, after Trump gets a view of their nearly naked bodies bikini-clad carcasses.

TV: Shooting Sizemore (VH1)

A few days ago, I happened to stumble upon the debut episode for Shooting Sizemore on VH1.

Like a train wreck, Shooting Sizemore is the pinnacle of voyeurism. Focusing on the fallen, drug-addled celebrity, Tom Sizemore, and his attempt to comeback from drug addiction and legal troubles with his ex-wife, Heidi Fleiss. This is an ultra-slick, documentary-style program that pulls no punches. Obviously stylized to death by Viacom, it fortunately doesn't lose its grit.

Starting on the day Sizemore is released from drug rehab (for Meth and Heroine abuse), we're privy to a ticking time bomb. Tom's agent has hired a tag-along actor to watch his every move (24 hours a day) and otherwise keep him out of trouble. Having lost his home to bankruptcy, Sizemore ends up in a hotel near the Santa Monica pier.

Will his self-imposed sobriety last? Can he recover from his legal woes? Will he make a comeback and reclaim his once-awesome Hollywood career?

This is a show that has a lot at stake, unlike so much other reality fodder out there. One can't help but feel sorry for Sizemore. There's something familiar about him, something that makes you want to help the poor guy out. But there's also something menacing about him, like a dog that's been abused. You can't help but watch to see who gets bitten.

Website: FreakyDreams.com

If you've ever had a cryptic dream, now you can find out what it means by entering keywords on this website. So that's what it means to dream about a threesome with Jessica Alba and Adriana Lima....

[FreakyDreams.com]

<---- cool Mandala created by Carl Jung.

Website: Urbis

Writers rejoice. There is now a social site for us! Use Urbis to critique others' writing or upload your stuff to have it reviewed. Build credits by giving people feedback. [Urbis]

Website: Healing Food Reference

This is quite possibly the most useful website I've ever run across in the entirety of my existence. Yes, I mean it.

[Healing Food Reference.com]