update about weekends

so i’ve basically decided that weekends are a no-go for the posting. sorry, for the single reader of my blog, for not posting on the weekends. everyone needs a life though!

more posting to come soon, though! don’t you fret!

heath ledger

Heath Ledger passed away yesterday, as many people know. He was pronounced dead yesterday at 3:30pm. He was a mere 28 years old.

He just finished his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight–the new Batman movie. Heath Ledger’s father, Kim Ledger, told the media that this role really disturbed him. Heath Ledger called the Joker a “psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy.

He began not sleeping well, and started taking sleeping pills. The same pills found around his bed when his body was discovered.

An autopsy is being performed later today, and overdose is the possible cause of death.

Heath Ledger starred in movies like 10 Things I Hate About You, The Patriot, and Brokeback Mountain, as well as the upcoming film, The Dark Knight.

Ledger’s family said his death was “very tragic, untimely and accidental” and that he was “a down-to-earth, generous, kindhearted, life-loving, unselfish individual extremely inspirational to many.”

[update] @ 12:17pm. Thurs, 24.01.2008 Heath Ledger’s apartment was searched and no illegal drugs were found, ruling out the possibility of an illegal drug overdose. the possibility of a drug overdose, however, still remains. his apartment had 6 different prescription drugs, including an antihistamine and sleeping pills. the results of the autopsy are still inconclusive and could take up to two weeks to have a final cause of death.

reports also indicate that he was found in his bed around 1:30pm tuesday alive and snoring, just 2 hours prior to his death.

slow news day in the tech world

dear reader,

i went out to find a “techy” article to write about and inform you about today. i checked my normal niches, and the big players (CNN, NY Times, etc.), and turned up very disappointed and empty-handed.

alas, i went to my fall-back point. hypebot. even hypebot was having a slow day. what should i do?

i found a semi-interesting article regarding file sharing, i.e. P2P, in the European Union. There’s apparently a PRO-P2P group in Europe that’s encouraging sharing of music and especially movies. They’re attempting to show that sharing files is not stealing, and that it should be encouraged, and not shunned. check out their cause at iwouldntsteal.net.

mascot productions

i am a member of the group mascot productions, a comedy group from Ohio University. We make videos of hilariousity (yes, i made up a word) for your entertainment.

i now digress, and share with you the epic story of mascot productions, in the form of a short story.

There lived once a group. This group was small, and grew. As this group grew, they evolved. They entertained the masses, and were enjoyed by many.

mascot productions, a story.

Formed by 7 members, myself (mike “crofty” crofts), timily luken, michael sensky, jake young, jeremy bookmyer, matthew klodor, and drew murphy, mascot productions existed as an idea formed out of the ashes and dust of former lives. the first movie, dubbed “mascot episode 2.1″ (viewed here) was birthed from an idea. this idea was not only a mere idea, but it was a conscious growing of thirst for fulfillment of their personal lives. the original actors in “mascot episode 2.1″ were jake, mike, and crofty.

the members of mascot productions fail to acknowledge this as their first video.

the next video in a long line of disappointing videos came with the idiotic, and slightly sane video dubbed “Mac vs PC Commercial” in attempt to parody the Mac vs PC commercials (the video, which cannot be viewed on the mascot productions website, can be viewed here).

following up on this sad excuse for a video, the group released a string of bloopers for the previously mentioned disappointing video (the blooper reel can be seen here).

the future looked promising for mascot productions. their previous videos were failures, their previous videos were disappointments, their previous videos stank of moldy cheese and toilet water. the next in a string of mildly upsetting videos was an educational, informational video called “squashet ball” (viewed here). this video was originally made to fund a local pub, and to recreate mike’s sad excuse for a life. this video, however, can be seen as a great way NOT to watch american sports.

“squashet ball” was immediately followed by “tree watchers” (seen here). mascot productions did not, under any circumstances, want the be associated with “squashet ball,” because it was made with some british guy. “tree watchers” explores your mind, your head, and your brain as it dives into science. originally dedicated to bill nye the science guy, “tree watchers” was a video that brought timily luken from the shattered remains and depths of his soul. it really makes you think.

ending season one with a promising and humiliating video, the group trudges along with “expedition: wal mart” (holy crap! watch this season ender here). the group needed the morale boost, and “expedition: wal mart” was the perfect way to bring mascot productions up from the pits of dispair into a new form of self-pity and -loathing.

season two has proved even more promising than the depths of self-loathing, with three videos sure to brighten your day and bring a smile to your face. the first, a preview of what to come in season two, called “season 2 preview” shows short clips of upcoming videos from mascot productions, and can be seen here. the next video was in celebration of halloween, and shows the downfalls of allowing timily to knock on your door and allowing crofty to act. this video really makes your thought cells tingle and vibrate ever so slightly, and therefore is appropriately dubbed “mascot halloween video” (viewed here). the latest and greatest from mascot productions is a hilarious video that is hilarious and also humorous. the video explores censorship in today’s culture and can make your brain think. sometimes you think, too, but mostly just your brain. it is dubbed “american censorship” (it can be explored, violated, and attended here).

mascot productions loves you, and wants you to love them back. if you don’t, they can’t eat, and eating is essential for life, most days.

we here at mascot productions care about you, the consumer. but more importantly we care about ourselves, the producers (obviously we’re more important. why would our word start with “pro” and yours with “con”?!). we need support, and we can’t do that without the consumer, you, who loves us, the producers.

i forgot what we were talking about…could we please start over?

forgive me…

i’m sorry, but i have to take a break from the blog for the weekend. i’ll be posting again on monday with some new technological advancement, or the way to cure cancer, or something. i have a visitor this weekend, so i won’t be attached to my computer like i normally am.

while i’m away, here are some articles for you to digest and read, hopefully not in that order:

1. is technology the saving grace of the music industry?
2. spacecraft flies by mercury; takes never-before-seen-pictures
3. scientists clone embryos from skin cells

i hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading!