Aquarium Memories

the world's largest aquarium // ATL.GA from stillmotion on Vimeo.

During the summer of 2008 I lived in Atlanta and worked as an intern in the Exhibits department at the Georgia Aquarium. It was a very surreal experience with all of the behind the scenes access - getting to walk through the life system rooms, view the tops of the massive tanks and share a hallway with their first manta ray while she was acclimating after her move.

The weedy sea dragons were my favorite hands down, but the touch tank was pretty awesome too. This video really brings back all the memories of the gorgeous tanks and exhibits. Maybe someday I'll go back for a visit.

simons cat : santa claws

Well, once again its time to put up the Christmas tree! I know its early, but I have people coming for Thanksgiving, and not for Christmas. So this way its not just me and Smith who get to enjoy it. Harve and Polly may have a direct impact on how long it actually stays up though.... don't worry, we only have plastic non-breakable ornaments for this very reason.



// from here

if animals could talk

nerd alert : the manhole

// download black and white version here

 So, last week in my Steve Jobs post i referenced the first pixels in my possession... and here they are.

Though this review covers the Masterpiece edition (which i did play later) - I played the original black and white version on my dads mac when I was 3. It was a long time ago - but I remember the lines, characters, music and sound effects like it was yesterday.

01/ manhole $12.00  //  02/  animal in your teacup $21.95  //  03/ anchors away $15.95  //  04/ walrus' hat $19.95  //  05/ dragons sneakers $85.00  //  06/ sailor tank $52.00  //  07/ mister elephant $89.00  //  08/ book of manhole covers $25.22  //  09/ teacups $10.00

Should I comment on how ironic it is that the game is now available as an iphone app? It is truly amazing to me that I can literally travel through time, back to the memory my dads old office in Arlington Texas, and play a game that I haven't been able to run on a computer in over 15 years.

// download the App

So let me preface this review with one important thing - this is a kids game (and I highly recommend it for children). As an adult, while it is clever and entertaining, unless you have a highly nostalgic association with this game you will not find it very mentally demanding.

You are confronted with a manhole, and a fire hydrant... click your way through the underground world and meet an array of characters including a dragon, rabbit, alien, penguin, rhino, elephant and walrus. figure out the shortcuts through the world and make sure to check all the drawers and corners for little extras.

I think the App was great - but if you want to experience this game in all its computer screen glory - it's available for PC over at gog.com for $5.99

5/6 Toes // Overall

1 // Graphics 

The original in 1988 was available originally in black and white, then color - and then the remastered edition. the fact this games graphics were addressed 3 times and each time they were extremely high quality for the time period i give this a high rating.

0.5 // Storyline and Characters

The characters are cute, and each have a little personality for you to enjoy. The storyline, well there really isn't any- its more exploratory than plot driven - which doesn't matter if you are a kid.

1 // Soundtrack and Sound Effects  

There is a definite soundtrack to this game - that changes with your location and the character personalities. There are also very nostalgic early computer sound effects such as "bonks" and "drips" that might take you back to your AfterDark years (if you remember that...)

1 // Length of Game and Price  

Since the game has no plot, you could argue it is infinitely playable. But you will probably run out of things to do after an hour or so. but for $1.99 i don't think I'll complain.

1 // Replay Value  

As the first game I ever played, this replay was priceless. If you remember this classic you won't be disappointed with another run through. I might just keep it on my phone for those moments when i need something to do, or a mood elevator.

0.5 // Puzzle Difficulty   

Um - there aren't any puzzles so I will base this purely on the little wormholes in the game - for a kid it will be challenging to figure out how to get where they want to go!

Simon's Cat

here at the h&p household, we looove Simon's Cat cartoons...



The latest one struck a personal note... we hope it will shed some light on all of our unintentional typos lol. check out more great videos (we recommend this one) at simonscat.com

five dollar shake

a little love for one of my long time honeybunnies, Pulp Fiction
 ... mmmmm that $5 shake tastes like a cult classic.

01/ Five Dollar Shake by Dave Perillo  //  02/ uma tank $15.99  //  03/ two shakes of a lambs tail $900.00  //  04/ bad mother checkbook cover $12.00  
 05/ jules needlepoint $6.00  //  06/ royale with cheese $12.99  //  07/ extra pulp $10.00

patty cake

harve & polly are cats.. so i guess there's no shame in the occasional cat video post.

nerd alert : tron

i know its not oscar worthy, but Tron: Legacytotally rocked my world.
also I have a super huge crush on Jeff Bridges...(and his kick ass in-game living quarters)

01/Atari Classics$29.95  //  02/ pac man journal $8.00  //  03/ pong doormat $40.00  //  04/ ghost chair $410.00  //  05/ pixel couch $n/a  //  06/ all your base stamp $12.99  //  07/HappyLite$31.99  //  08/ my brothers frame $250.00  //  09/ motorcycle screen $52.00  //  10/ q bert pillow $45.00  //  11/Identity Disc$24.27  //  12/Arcade Game$3,699.99  //  13/ tokens $3.50

from the to-die-for Daft Punk Soundtrackto the totally awesome bike design - i was hooked from start to finish... and who loves the blue orange color combo that dominated the screen? um, this girl.

so though I havent played this video game - i know i wont regret this upcoming purchase.

no toes yet! I'll be sure to let you now how it goes.

twitter moods

i'm not one for twitter - not really my thing (...yes i do have a blog.... touche)

but aaaanyway, i saw this study about the general mood of the nation based on information taken from twitter. and since i know you can't resist a good infographic. enjoy.