A funny exchange on Twitter

AT&T tried to sell Beelzebub a cable & internet package this week. Laughing my ass off.

Angry Cat is the new Grumpy Cat

Meet Garfi, the Internet's newest feline of fame. His Flickr/Twitter/Facebook pages are blowing up right now because he's so much more bad-ass than Tard the Grumpy Cat ever was. Thanks to great free exposure like the above linked HuffPo piece and Chris Hardwick's Garfi-centric bit on a recent episode of his @Midnight gameshow on Comedy Central, we will no doubt be seeing a lot of Garfi in the coming months. He's a meme in the making.

So the moment I saw a Santa suit photo I thought, "Grinch. Someone has to make him the Grinch." Of course I figured that if I could think of it, someone else has undoubtedly done it already...

Guess not though. FIRST!

Dirty Peanutz has an official home!

OK, folks--if you've enjoyed my plying my twisted humor on these classic Peanuts strips, go on over to check out my new Dirty Peanutz page on Blogger. I'll be posting a new Peanutz strip there every day! If you've been following along, you'll see familiar strips for a while (with a surprise bonus strip coming up soon) and then after those have all been posted I'm moving on to ALL NEW MATERIAL!

Subscribe now to make sure you get your daily fix of beloved children's characters engaged in the most tasteless endeavors you can imagine. I will no longer be posting these creations on this page; to see more you'll have to visit me at peanuttier.blogspot.com.

I found a treasure from the past

In cleaning out some closets last weekend, I unearthed some old sketchbooks I'd forgotten about. Exploring the drawings inside, I was taken on a trip back to the early 1990s. I immediately began snapping photos for my Instagram page, thinking there would have to be at least a handful of folks out there who would dig them. Here's a peek. As you can see, I was a Ren & Stimpy superfan. LOL. For larger images, please click the link above.

While you're there, why not join? Or, if you're a member already, follow me. I really like the Instagram community. No flame wars. No arguments. Just a community of folks who share images and videos of things they appreciate. Check it out.

New header image is up

Hey, gang! I updated that header this morning by incorporating the souvenir log flume photo from this last Six Flags trip. As I mentioned the other day, it's the first souvenir photo from Six Flags that I've actually ever purchased. Now, instead of me and some stranger's kid, it's me along with the wife and two young'uns. Thing is, the laptop is missing from the shot now. That was my favorite part of the previous graphic. Perhaps I'll photoshop one in later. It would make more sense, I think.

Time to learn some new words

If reading Lovecraft isn't enough of a vocabulary builder-upper for you, check this thing out! The title alone is enough to make you feel like an elite member of the bohemian intelligentsia. Here's how I found it:

I'm currently reading through the story "The Last Test," and--as is bound to happen now and then during a Lovecraft reading session--I came upon a word I did not recognize. My Nook informed me that there was no definition for this particular word, so I went online and tried again: "Testudinous..." Google thought I'd made a typo and suggested instead "testudineous," which means "tortoise-like" or "resembling a tortoise shell."

I reversed Google's unwanted correction and searched again. Very few hits. Hm. I moved on to the trusty ol' Ngram viewer (oh how I love that thing!) and searched for it there. Got a few hits, so on a whim I pulled open one of the earliest mentions. It was a reference book entry:

TESTUDINOUS, adj. [L. testudineus, from testudo, a tortoise.]
Resembling the shell of a tortoise.

Again, hm. The Latin spelling is a homophone for the suggested spelling Google gave me. Looks like we have two legitimate alternate spellings of a word, neither of which anyone uses anymore. I Ngram'ed them against one another and found that the -eous spelling was slightly more frequently used in print than Lovecraft's version, reaching an undisputed peak of usage in the early 1890s.

 



So, satisfied with the definition and its bearing on the story (the ascetic doctor's unique and quirky assistant, Surama, "indulged in many a deep, testudinous chuckle," or deep, slow-paced and deliberate chuckles), I turned back to this reference book I found through the Ngram viewer. Wow. What a title! Here's the title page, direct from the scan of the original 1832 printing:

 

 

The best news is that you can read the whole thing through Google Books by following this link. I guarantee you'll find some intriguing words in this book. It's easy to get hooked once you start digging. I swear to you, Lovecraft must have had access to a copy of this book because just about every page yields something I know I've read in his many stories.

 

I'm happy I found this valuable compendium of lexicographical knowledge. Have a look yourself. Expanding your vocabulary is a great way to learn more about the world around you and about yourself. It also allows you to more accurately express yourself. If that's not enough of a bonus, building your vocabulary can only have positive effects on your professional life. Ever heard of anyone getting canned because they have stellar communication skills?

 

If you think this book is surely antiquated and no longer relevant since it was published in the 19th Century, then I have news for you. It's been reprinted several times over the last 180 years. The 2010 paperback version, at 238 pages, is currently available on Amazon for the low, low price of $19.99! What are you waiting for? Grab some new words today!

National Poetry Month comes to an end

I hope you've enjoyed reading some of my favorite poems this month. Hopefully I've exposed you to some new writers during this process. I know I discovered a couple poets this month that I was previously unaware of.

How does one end National Poetry Month with a grand finale, considering all the written beauty we've absorbed this month? How can I top that? Well, I wondered the same thing myself. Here's what I came up with:

What's more beautiful and moving than the words of a poem washing over a page and filling your mind with emotion? When those flowing, emotional words are set to music the emotion can sometimes swell to flood stage. With that in mind I present to you, in no particular order, three of what I consider the most poetic songs ever written.

Chris Rea's "The Road to Hell"

 

 

Nick Cave's "Where the Wild Roses Grow"

 

 

 ...and (best for last)... 

Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"

 

 

 

Follow follow follow

Hey you! Like what you are reading? Subscribe! Make my day! You can now follow via RSS or email. Why not check out my other pages ("Find Me Elsewhere" links in the sidebar) and follow me on some of those sites as well? Come on, what have you got to lose? If you're gonna be screwing around on that fancy tablet or phone all day anyway, why not have fun doing it? Go for a daily ride on the Blog Flume! :)

National Poetry Month #26

Today a fantastic item came through on my Facebook news feed from I Fucking Love Science. It's part poem, part riddle; part religion, part science. I thought it was pretty sweet, so I will share it with you:

He is everywhere, in the heavens and the earth.
He makes the stars shine, yet He cannot be seen.
He is noble, abundant, and fills the universe.
He can lift you into the sky and bring you gently back down.
He can take many forms.
He can help heal; He can help kill.
He can help create, and He can help destroy.

Praise be unto He,
Helium.

Oh, Netflix, what will you do next?

I love that Netflix is getting into original programming now. The Kevin Spacey political drama House of Cards is apparently doing well with both the public and critics. I dig Spacey, so I watched the first couple of episodes. It was neat but not really my thing. Glad it's doing well, though. It's successes like this which will continue to pave the way for other original projects like the new season of Arrested Development that is slated to release exclusively on Netflix on Memorial Day 2013.

It's also opened the door for programming that would never see the light of day on regular cable TV. The original werewolf horror program Hemlock Grove, which sees release in just a few days, is going to make all the adult content on BBC America, AMC and FX look like Romper Room outtakes.

Here's the extremely NSFW Red Band trailer, which warns in advance that the trailer itself contains "mild fornication, fellatio, heavy cocaine use, lesbian necrophilia and violent hemorrhaging." ...Not sure what makes lesbian necrophilia worth pointing out specifically. Is it really any more deplorable than straight necrophilia?

Now that you've seen that, how about a closer look at that werewolf transformation. Note that the mythos of this show has already set itself apart from every other werewolf picture I've seen in that the beast really is quite literally within. Take a look at the show's logo. It gives a further clue as to what sets this show apart from other werewolf lore. Here's that transformation scene:

Yep. It started with his eyeballs being poked out by the new ones developing behind them. Then his wolf teeth pushed all the human ones out. That canine hair didn't grow out of his existing follicles. The hairy body ripped through the human flesh. Ew. Seriously.

As I was watching I asked myself, Really? How does this town explain all the bloody, fleshy, gooey human remains puddles scattered throughout the forest every full moon? Then the clip answered me. Ew. Again. Hey, transforming into a beautiful and deadly wolf makes a guy hungry.

I am not sure I am going to watch this show. I'll probably check out the first episode, but I'm in no rush to do so. I'm curious about the effects more than anything. And to find out how they work with those new twists to the old mythology. Oh, and to find out why the guy's friends aren't fearing for their lives as they witness that transformation.

Netflix deserves kudos anyway for striking out in this new direction. Scoring Spacey for their initial outing into original programming was a major plus for them. Grabbing the Arrested Development helm and running with that is probably a great move too. What's the angle on this one? Appeasing the Twilight crowd and the traditional horror fans all in one? Killer special effects? Pushing the envelope of taste further than even American Horror Story?

Time will tell if Hemlock Grove proves to be a success or a stumbling block. Either way, Netflix has taken the gloves off and is not messing around. It's poised to become a powerhouse in narrative visual media distribution (and creation).

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...

After years of ignoring my MySpace page, I have finally deleted my account. Before doing so, I was sure to download all my blog entries from there. I am currently in the process of transferring those to this blog. They date back to 2007, and there is some very interesting stuff in them. I read through several today as I converted them to this page.

You might also have noticed some rebranding going on. Say farewell to the old McGraw Media Matters (M3) blog. I have noticed that a lot of the stuff I've been posting and basically all of the old MySpace stuff is highly personal, introspective or speculative. Seems like this blog was beginning to shift into more than I had originally bargained for, so I thought it best to simply rebrand it as sort of a catch-all blog instead of a narrowly targeted one. Here you can really get to know me now, more than just professionally.

I hope you enjoy the changes. I am excited to roll out this new image and continue in the new direction. Thanks as always for your readership. Now do me a solid and subscribe please?

More online activity than you can shake a virtual stick at

Can't get enough of me? Yeah, that's what my wife said too. Head on over and check out my Instagram feed at http://instagram.com/shanemcgraw1. I have 393 photos uploaded so far, but only 31 followers. Please take a quick visit. If you like what you see, click the FOLLOW button. It will make me happy. :D 

New online ad for my company's upcoming profitability workshop tour

My 50th MySpace friend KICKS ASS!

Hooray! The father of death metal himself, King Diamond, has accepted my friend request! I am so stoked, you guys. For a long time, some poseur was pretending to be King on MySpace, but that's finally been sorted out & now the King has taken his throne and booted the impostor to the curb where he belongs.

The OFFICIAL MySpace for King Diamond is now run by the one true King. Not run by a label or a fan, but the one and only KING DIAMOND. I'm honored to be on his friend list and eager after 20 years of fandom to finally get the opportunity to see him perform live in April!

There are those bands & musicians that you like and will buy their albums every now & then. There are those you can hear on the radio or Internet radio and say, "Yeah, I like that," but never actually purchase any albums. There are those that you like and might download their entire catalog illegally. There are those you like while you are going through a phase or a mood, which you might forget about for years, then maybe come back to only to forget again a while later.

THEN there are the ones that, since you discover them, become a PART OF YOU. For some reason, these artists make such an impression on you, that you know you will go to your grave humming one of their songs. Their music permeates your soul. It is these artists that shape the lives of their fans in more ways than they can ever know. Their lyrics become part of inside jokes, they inspire poetry they'll never read, they inspire some to begin their own journey into music or some other creative pursuit.

For me, there are three main acts that define this in my life. Electric LightOrchestra, whom I have been a fan of since I first discovered them at about age 8; Manowar, whose "Defender" (FTW version) spoke to me in 1987 like nothing I had ever heard before--I immediately purchased all the albums I could find, joined the fan club, and my lifelong journey with the Kings of Metal began; also in that year I discovered King Diamond. The first KD song I heard was "Abigail." I was intrigued because, once again, I had never heard anything remotely like this, and it was CREEPY AS HELL!

I ran out & bought the Abigail cassette the next day, waited until nightfall, turned out the lights, put on the ol' headphones, and listened to the whole thing, pausing only once to flip the tape over. I was scared shitless by the end of that album. I switched all the lights back on & was too freaked out to sleep for a long time that night. I put the tape away & vowed to never listen to it again because there was something sinister about it.

Then "Them" came out. I heard the first two tracks on the radio the day of the album's release. The DJ instructed me before he played them to turn out the lights for atmosphere. I did so. Once again, the King freaked my shit out. I had tape-recorded the songs as they played, poor reception & all. I listened to them again right then. I was blown away. It was then that I dug out that Abigail tape to give it another listen. What had I been thinking??? This thing was a fucking MASTERPIECE! I ran out the next day and bought "THEM" on cassette. This time I had the added bonus of liner notes & lyrics sheet. Wow. This guy was a freaking genius.

After that night, I sought out old Mercyful Fate albums and vowed to buy each and every King Diamond album from then on. I painted my face and went as vintage King for Halloween that year. He was one of the very few pictures hanging in my locker at school. I was hooked.

The point is, now both the metal bands that helped define who I am are in my friend list. I think that's pretty fucking cool. Hey, guys- Thanks for the last 20 years, and for the back catalog before that. And, of course, all the great shit yet to come. You guys rock! I've only seen Manowar once live, but I hope that King is half as cool as them in person. Manowar was metal enough to hang out after the show for a meet and greet. It was one of the greatest moments of my life, meeting Eric Adams. If I could talk & shake hands with King Diamond, get an autograph, whatever, oh man that would be so awesome. Anyway, enough of me blowing my idols. I'll definitely let everyone know how that show is in April.

And a big thank you, hails and horns to King Diamond, Manowar... oh, and Jeff Lynne, too!

Radiohead: In Rainbows (there lies a pile of crap)

www.inrainbows.com

Oh boy! Hear the hype? You can download a new CD by an alternative pop band that hasn't had a hit for 14 years, and you can name your own price!

I took them up on this offer, even though I haven't heard a peep out of these guys since 1993's "Creep" single. But I figured instead of wasting my hard-earned cash, I'd get it for FREE (that's right! Legally!) and take it for a test spin. Glad I didn't waste any money on this piece of garbage! Now I know why they're giving it away for free. Hell, they'd have to pay ME to listen to that steaming lump of e-crap twice.

Now I know there are those of you who'll disagree with me, and that's your right. I know not every genre of music appeals to everyone. But in my opinion, these guys are a whiny bunch of assholes that seems to not even be able to play a straight melody. This album should be avoided at all costs, unless you need a soundtrack to slit your wrists to.

I'll just stay away next time. Free usually comes with SOME price. In this case, it was just my time. I'd say "caveat emptor," but there need be no caveats here. Go ahead, download it free and try for yourself. If by some chance you LIKE it, then download it again and pay them what you think it's worth. But I've learned my lesson.