22 TV Themes in 7 Minutes

These guys perform 22 TV theme songs in 7 minutes.  They hit a lot of good shows so just watch and you'll find out.  If you don't know the song, they were kind and put the show's name right there on the screen.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Ireland! Guinness! Sheep!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I'll be taking you on an armchair trip to Ireland.  Ireland is a beautiful country located just west of Great Britain.  As far as one could tell, the dental care in Ireland has not been affected by this proximity.

Tito, the Nissan Note

We will begin our trip in Shannon, where much of the air traffic from the west arrives.  The Shannon airport is small in comparison to other airports, but it serves its purpose.  For this tour we will be driving a Nissan Note, code named "Tito," which is a manual transmission four-seater compact (and the driver sits on the right).  As we land, there is a light, but constant drizzle which is typical of Ireland. 

Dabbling in Photography: Episode 2

A while back I walked around Columbus (or as it's sometimes called C-bus, or simply the 'Bus) and took some photos of the buildings.  I still don't know a whole lot about taking pictures so if they are blurry or something, blame incompetence. 

The arch outside the library.

Lots of shadow, perhaps a different time of day would work better.

First Christian Church has a halo, kind of.

Many a perp ends up here...

An alleyway in downtown.

Adventures in Lisbon

Lisbon at dusk

Lisbon is an amazing city with loads of history and incredible sights.  Ancient Lisbon was originally built by native peoples on two hills overlooking a sheltered bay leading the Tagus River out to the Atlantic. Lisbon became a trading port with the Phoenicians and Greeks and it Greek it was known as Olissipo.  Later, in Roman times, Lisbon was part of the Carthaginian empire and after the defeat of Hannibal in the Punic Wars, the Iberian Peninsula became a Roman Territory.  After the fall of Rome, the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by Germanic tribes and controlled Lisbon until the Moors invaded in 711 from North Africa.  In 1147, the Moors were expelled from Lisbon and it was returned to Christian rule.  In the Middle Ages, Portugal began to explore and in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries Lisbon was a major center for the Age of Discovery expeditions.  As a premier nautical power and pioneer in the world Portugal and Lisbon were the beneficiaries of this exploration and much of Lisbon's art and architecture reflects this golden age of the Renaissance.

Why Is Everything Always Set in New York or L.A.?

The Chicago River at night, perfect for TV

Chicago is the "Second City," but on television, it is definitely behind New York and Los Angeles.  But I wanted to know just how far behind, so I looked up the current television lineup for all the network shows and determined their settings (I did not count reality shows, news programs, or game shows).  Many shows locations are unknown, such as The Simpsons, but others do have a setting.  What I found out was somewhat startling:  Chicago tied for dead last in the number of shows set at a location.  Here is the location list from most to least:

1. Los Angeles/California: 11 [90210, Brothers and Sisters, FlashForward, Melrose Place, NCIS: Los Angeles, Numb3rs, Private Practice, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, The Mentalist, Trauma]
2. New York/New Jersery: 9 [Mercy, 30 Rock, Castle, CSI: NY, Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, House]
3. Virginia/D.C. : 4 [Bones, NCIS, The Cleveland Show, The Vampire Diaries]
4. Miami/Florida: 3 [Cougar Town, CSI: Miami, Miami Medical]
5. Pennsylvania: 3 [Cold Case, Three Rivers, The Office]
6. Indiana: 2 [Parks and Recreation, The Middle]
7. Chicago: 1 [The Good Wife]
8. The Rest Where a Location is Known: 11

To me, this was very surprising as Chicago is the third largest city in the United States as well as having previously had a fair number of shows set there (Perfect Strangers, Family Matters, Chicago Hope, ER, etc).  What was perhaps the most startling to me was that Indiana had two shows set there.  Granted they are both in fictional towns, but come on, the Hoosier state rarely gets any TV love so I'm counting this. 

Remember When Phil Hartman Played Regan on SNL? Me Neither.

Those guys on Funny or Die managed to pull of a reunion of the last six presidents even though two are dead.  Listen for a cameo voice over by Ron Howard for extra points!

Funny or Die's Presidential Reunion from Will Ferrell

Adventures in Photography: Messing Around Without Knowing What I'm Doing

Recently, I've been dabbling in photography and I realized a couple of things when looking at the photos I've taken: 1.  I don't know what I'm doing and 2. The Puggle is a predominant theme.

Disapproving Puggle...

Puggle in the sun

Colts pride!

Bounding in the snow

Funny ears

Ok Go.... Watch This Video

You may already know the band Ok Go for their one take video on the treadmills, but this one is far more impressive. The timing involved for their Rube Goldberg machine is amazing and that alone makes the video worth watching (it also helps that it is a good song). If you are curious about how this was made you can check out Wired for details.

Cool Video of Tokyo at Night

tokyoglow-low from Nathan Johnston on Vimeo.

More TED Talks

As Puggling has posted before, TED puts on various presentations by famous (and not so famous) folk about very interesting topics, usually aimed at improving the world we live in.  Here is one such talk by a former Microsoft guy who has a HUGE variety of interests.  Topics range from penguin poo, to nuclear reactors to T. Rex bones.  Enjoy!

For a more serious topic on what needs to be done.  Bill Gates (you may have heard of him) gives a presentation on energy usage.

Too Fat to Fly? Yes, Fatty Deluxe, Yes.

Many fliers have had this same experience.  You arrive at your seat only to find that half of it is taken over by a person who is best described as "rotund."  What can you do?  You paid for a whole seat and only get half and the other half is taken up by mounds of Crisco.  Well, the debate over what to do with fat fliers has been mainly focused on the rights of the tubbo in question and there are two sides to this story.  Yes, it does suck that a person is too big to be in one seat, but the person in the seat next to them is equally, if not more, inconvenienced by the offending bulge.
Admitted fat guy and flier, Kevin Smith (who also is a director of funny films like Clerks and Mallrats and un-funny films like Jersey Girl), was recently kicked off a Southwest flight for being too fat.  This case highlights some of the complexities of this issue.  Smith claimed he could get the armrests of the seat down which means that he could fit in the seat.  This is an acceptable method of determining who is too big to fly and who can get their tons of fun on the plane.  If you can get the armrests down, you don't impede on the other passengers.  This is actually a serious issue.  Overloading an airplane can mean difficulties in take-off and landing and seriously hamper fuel efficiency.  As American waistlines have expanded, airlines have noticed that they use significantly more fuel.  So, how to know if you're too fat to fly?  Here is a simple list that will let you know:

1. You have been featured on a newscast, but they only showed you below the neck.
2. Your choice of fashion is consistently in the "muumuu" category.
3. You use one of those Jazzy scooters at Walmart and you are not handicapped.
4. You regard a flight of stairs as "daunting."
5. You have had multiple diabetes scares.

If you fit one or more of these above, you need to purchase two (or more) adjacent seats on an airplane and probably warn the pilot to really put the pedal to the metal on take-off because you Shamu, are a fat ass.

Cool Ideas on How the World is Changing

Goodbye Nuclear Weapons, See You in Iran!

Yesterday, the United Nations Security Council, with President Obama as its chairman, voted to strengthen the restrictions on nuclear technology, making it more difficult to convert peaceful applications into weapons programs.  This, however, is still a matter of enforcement which has been a persistent problem for the United Nations in the past; its coffee and doughnut budget has been exceeded for every year of its existence.  Iran is at the heart of this matter, even though President Obama was very general in his comments during the meeting, but glared at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad because "he knows what he did." 

One Quarter of the Afghan Vote Was Cast by Pack of Wild Monkeys; Situation Dire

Well, Afghanistan, you've got a mess on your hands.  A lot of mess.  A quarter of your votes could be tainted!  That's Chicago bad.  The good/bad news is that this isn't the worst of your problems.  The top general in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has essentially stated that the situation is dire in the remote nation. 

Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Avast!  Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day!  A day where people of all stripes can unleash their inner pirate and express their scurvy selves.  If you need any help, check out www.talklikeapirate.com for great ways to get in that pirate-y mood!  So, in observance of Talk Like a Pirate Day, let us get into character: arrrrrr!  Now, enjoy some pirate-y videos!

Imma Let You Finish Afghanistan, but Iran Had the Craziest Election of All Time

In what we can only imagine as a scene out of Michael Jackson's Bad, clashing rallies erupted in Iran.  Today, in Iran, is Quds Day which is a major day for the Iranian regime (not unlike ten cent wing day).  It is an occasion for people to show their support for the Palestinians and opposition to Israel.  This rally by the opposition is the first major one since July and there have been reports that former president Mohamad Khatami was attacked by the paramilitary group the Basij. 

No Missile Shield for You!

Today, the U.S. announced that it is scrapping the Bush era missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic and replacing it with a different system to first be deployed aboard ships and potentially then in Southern Europe.  This move will likely appeal to Russia who had vehemently opposed the Bush plan and liked to do some sabre rattling about it.  There is no word on whether or not this move was accompanied by a large shipment of vodka and beets to St. Petersburg. 

Health Care Reform Protests: Send Me Your Tired, Ignorant and Stupid.

With the recent town hall events of August and the bill that came out of the Senate Finance Committee, health care reform is as contentious as ever.  People are mad and dammit, they aren't going to let ignorance get in their way!  So what are the critiques of universal health care?  People are claiming all sorts of things.  A big one is that this is socialism.  Socialism!  Just when you thought we'd defeated that back in the 80s, it rears it ugly head.  Another critique is that it will cost too much and another is that well, Obama is a fascist. 

Graveyard of Empires: Well, Crap...

In a recent speech to foreign policy experts, former U.S. national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, warned that if the U.S. does not halt the Taliban insurgency, things in Afghanistan will quickly go pear shaped.  Well, shit.  While a laudable goal of installing credible institutions and making a real, functioning country, is one that is likely worth pursuing, it will be a difficult road.  For instance, it only took 300 special forces troops to bring down the Taliban in 2001.  That just goes to show that the government there had tenuous control at best and the amount of man power needed to eliminate an insurgency will be very high.

Like Scrabble? Like Beating the Crap Out of Your Unsuspecting Opponent?

Then this Scrabble strategy video is for you!  We here at Puggling came across this while spending some quality time at MentalFloss.com.  The general strategy in this video is how to play mind games and mess with your opponent and well, we here think this is a good way to win and piss off your friends.  We don't recommend this for family game night, unless you come from an ultra competitive family.  Enjoy!