The highlight of my past two weeks: Remake of Journey's "Separate Ways" video The Web is a beautiful thing for many reasons. You can go online and shop, book a vacation, do research, or watch monkeys sniffing their butts. Let's face it, the best thing about the Internet is the "OMG!" viral videos, jokes, and other goodies that make us laugh. Working on the Web every day, I'm fortunate enough to laugh frequently. The past two weeks, especially, I've discovered some classic doozies -- 99% of them all sent to me via email or Messenger. At the top of the list is this shot-by-shot remake of the 1983 music video "Separate Ways" by Journey. The funniest thing about that one is the picture-in-picture of the original video in the bottom corner -- yes, early '80s music videos were that bad! And on the day of President Obama's inauguration, this little item about Barack and Michelle "fisting" each other popped up. Now, we all know the "Love Doctor" was referring to the couple's fist-bump gesture, but it's still damn funny. Other highlights: watching Batman playing the Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe video game and getting his butt kicked, or reading a touching short love story about a man and woman who meet on a train and pretend to be married, or playing as David Lee Roth in the online game "Assteroidz: Diamond Dave Edition." I've also seen a video of balloon animals (made of Durex Condoms) getting it on, but you'll have to search for that one yourself. Suggested Sites... YouTube: So You Had a Bad Day... - this honorable mention might include some (or all?) fake outbursts from disgruntled employees, but it's still fun to watch. YouTube's Most Popular Videos - the gems. KillSomeTime.com - more than just popular videos -- games, pictures, and jokes, too. JibJab Sendables - send a funny animated eCard, starring a giant-head version of you. Dailymotion - videos from every category.

Directory categories: Surfer's Picks, Video Sharing, Humor Archives, Funny Blogs

Archived under: Entertainment, Internet, Jokes, Video Games, Videos, Yahoo! Directory

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(Photo by Nick Della Mora) On this day in 1958, LEGO patented their famous brick; the toy that kids of all ages still know and love today. Fifty-plus years later, the LEGO empire is much more than just boxes of plastic toys that parents step on in darkened rooms. In recent years, the company has launched a series of successful video games based on three popular franchises: "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones," and, most recently, "Batman." Their theme park, Legoland, has locations in four different countries, and their catalog of LEGO toys includes much more than your basic police cars and dump trucks. One thing for sure about LEGOs -- they're not just for kids. In fact, many adults build LEGO models for their main hobby. To them, they're not just "toys," but rather material to create their art. They spend dozens of hours building elaborate sculptures or "scenes," many of which are custom-built -- meaning built from their own imaginations as opposed to a store-bought kit with instructions. Some LEGO artists like to recreate classic works of art, such as "The Last Supper" or "Nighthawks," or recreate a scene from a classic film like "Casablanca," or maybe piece together a portrait of our new President. The Legoland theme parks have possibly the most detailed sculptures of all, in an area called "Miniland," which features several incredibly-detailed miniature recreations of popular cities and monuments, including Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, and San Francisco. Another form of art created with LEGOs are stop-motion short films. Some are done in the form of movie trailers, like a shot-by-shot recreation of "The Dark Knight" trailer, or are original, such as the award-winning "Star Wars Episode III: Rise of the Empire." Several of these films are most impressive, such as the web favorite, "Spider-Man: The Peril of Doc Ock." But, of course, we also have the amateur hour "films," like the heavy metal Batman Christmas greeting. Animated short films, theme parks, and video games now help make up the world of LEGO. And you can bet your bricks it won't end there. Suggested Sites... Wikipedia: History of LEGO - history of the company, with a link to a timeline. Nathan Sawaya: The Art of the Brick - LEGO master artist who created a full-size replica of Han Solo in carbonite, a portrait of President Obama, and many other amazing works. Flickr: LEGO - results for all photos tagged with "LEGO." SPIKE: LEGO Films - collection of animated LEGO films. Brickshelf - large image database of LEGO creations by enthusiasts.

Directory categories: LEGO, Star Wars LEGOs, LEGO Animations

Archived under: Animation, Arts, Hobbies, LEGO, Movies, Theme Parks, Toys, Video Games

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(Photo by Jamie Campbell) According to Guitar Hero, I rock! And that's just the ego boost I need to continue rockin' my list of bitchin' tunes and shreddin' on my plastic guitar with the brightly-colored buttons. It may sound silly, but these rhythm games are a huge phenomenon. Guitar Hero and Rock Band have sold more than 30 million units combined, with over one billion dollars in revenue. That's a lot of wannabe rockers! Among the pro rockers, though, there are mixed feelings about these games. Some rock legends -- Slash, Ozzy Osbourne, and Ted Nugent -- have embraced them and are featured within the games, and superbands Aerosmith, AC/DC, Metallica, and even The Beatles will all soon have titles dedicated to their music. Other musicians, however, have put this new phenomenon down, saying it's a waste of kids' time, and will only give them skills that lead nowhere. Nick Wheeler of the All American Rejects told Entertainment Weekly, "It's kind of a shame. When I was growing up, kids wanted to be in a band. Now everyone wants to play Rock Band." Well, that may be true, Nick, but how many of those kids in your day actually joined a band? And the idea that anyone who plays these games will never pick up a real guitar is a false one. In fact, guitar sales have seriously increased because of the games' popularity. Will some of those who attempt to play a real guitar be disappointed because it's not as easy as the video game? Sure, but if just one of them sticks with it and learns to play guitar because of a video game, how can you possibly put it down? Look... in my book, it's simple: Would we rather have kids sitting on their butts playing a street hoodlum in a mindless shoot-em-up video game, or rockin' out as they play a rock star and are introduced to killer music? 'Nuff said! Suggested Sites... Guitar Hero: World Tour - released this weekend! Now includes drums and a mic. EW.com: "Rock Band" vs. "Guitar Hero:" Fall's Biggest Music Battle - feature article from Entertainment Weekly about Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour and the whole phenomenon. GameTrailers.com: Rock Band - features a bunch of videos from or related to the game. GameTrailers.com: Guitar Hero III: Legend of Rock - same as above. YouTube: Guitar Hero Official Channel - provides several behind-the-scenes videos of Guitar Hero: World Tour.

Directory categories: Guitar Hero Series, Rock Band Series, Guitarists, Musical Video Games

Archived under: Entertainment, Gamers, Games, Guitar Hero, Music, Musical Instruments, Musicians, Rock and Roll, The Beatles, Video Games

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Here we are again! Seems like it was just yesterday, and yet, it's been more than two weeks since we last caught you up on all the doings in the Yahoo! Directory. We've been scouring the virtual world because, like the old TV show, "You Asked For it!" So we've given it to you, all sorted and organized and pre-screened for your protection. It's all the stuff you want to know more about... or will want to know more about -- trust us. The great thing about working on -- and browsing through -- the Directory is that it's like a big party: You get to meet new friends and connect with old ones. For example, video games. Who doesn't love video games? (I don't, but that's another matter....) But because you love 'em and can't get enough of the hottest and latest games, we added sites for Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Hell's Highway, LEGO Batman: The Videogame (a video game based on a stiff plastic toy?), FIFA 09 (because the only thing more boring than real soccer is virtual soccer), and both NBA 2K9 and NBA Live 09. Good times! And movies! Now that we've moved out of blockbuster season and on to Oscar contenders, we've added such classics as "Sexdrive," "Notorious," and "RocknRolla," as well as more adult fare (no, not that kind; get your mind out of the gutter) like "Religulous" and "Rachel Getting Married." But we haven't neglected you stay-at-homes. There's new content on such TV shows as "Survivor: Gabon," "America's Next Top Model 11" (11? really?), and "Sanctuary." And when you need news, we're here to help you find it, so we freshened up our content on O.J. Simpson, the "Bailout Bill," and the late, great Paul Newman. That's it for now. See you next time when we review What's New! Suggested Sites... Yahoo! Directory: Upcoming Movies: October - even with "High School Musical 3," they look pretty good. Yahoo! Directory: Upcoming Movies: 2009 - it's never too early to start avoiding some of these. Another "Christmas Carol?") Yahoo! Directory: 2008 Presidential Debates - we didn't mention this one above, but the games are a lot of fun. Yahoo! Directory: Viagra - didn't mention this, either, but we're sure all those MLB playoff commercials got you thinking. Yahoo! Directory: Electronic Literature - because there's nothing more convenient than hauling a laptop out to read a book.

Directory categories: Video Games, Sports Video Games, Paul Newman Tributes, LEGO Batman, O. J. Simpson 2007 Robbery Case

Archived under: Dead Celebrities, Elections, Entertainment, Games, Movies, Paul Newman, Reality TV, TV, Video Games, Yahoo!, Yahoo! Directory

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Welcome back to This Week in the Yahoo! Directory -- or perhaps we should say "This Month" in the Directory. Regardless of the time since our last meeting, we've been working harder than a Wall Street stock ticker here, and we'd like to share a fraction of our findings. Of course, "sharing" is redundant, since what we do reflects what you're interested in. Like us, when you learn something, you want to share it, which is obvious in our Mommy Blogs and Education Blogs categories. We've also noticed that you can't get enough of video games (honestly, don't you people do anything else?). And since you're all over Gears of War 2, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09, NHL 2K9, the ungrammatically emphatic TNA iMPACT!, and Mario Super Sluggers, we did your homework and located the best sites about them. Now that the summer blockbusters have come and gone, you're probably wondering what movies you'll be seeing come fall. Well, we know, and we'll bet that while pictures like "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," "Nights in Rodanthe," and "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" will hold your interest, we can almost guarantee such instant "classics" as "An American Carol," "Bolt," and (our old nemesis) "High School Musical 3" will be candidates for the "how soon can we get this into the stores?" file. Of course, everything isn't all that lighthearted. We've been here to provide quality information on Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna, Ike, and Josephine, and will continue to do so throughout the rest of the season. And when musician Richard Wright, author David Foster Wallace, and voice-over king Don LaFontaine passed away, we found sites about their lives and work. So until the next time, that's all from the Yahoo! Directory -- the world's favorite source of aggregated information for over a tenth of a century. Suggested Sites... Yahoo! Directory: Video Game Cheats - well, it's not like you're looking over your neighbor's shoulder, is it? Yahoo! Directory: Upcoming Movies - be the first on your block to know all the next hits and flops. Yahoo! Directory: Hurricane Preparedness and Safety - forewarned is forearmed. Yahoo! Directory: Authors - information for homework or just pleasure. Yahoo! Directory: Voice Actors - in a world where you only hear actors and not see them...

Directory categories: Blog Directories, Video Games, Movies, Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Tropical Cyclones, Rock and Pop Music Artists

Archived under: Authors, Babies, Blogs, Books, Celebrities, Children, Childrens Health, Dead Celebrities, Disasters, Education, Entertainment, Flops, Games, Hurricanes, Movies, Music, Musicians, Parenting, Video Games, Yahoo!, Yahoo! Directory

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