We've been working on a Top Secret Double Black Classified project. So far... it's been going really well. We've been lucky enough to talk to a pretty cool guy about making a show that would be pretty weird. He's been really "into it" so far. Our dorky references to String Theory and Charlton Heston's "The Omega Man" haven't fallen on deaf ears.

The project involves my new favorite robot puppet, Lil' Tamo:

He was lovingly constructed out of cardboard.

For this project we might be making some new C-Dub rap songs. Only this time, a real live DJ is going to make some beats for us. Tight beats... like this one.

It's been a year since one of America's most famous cities was wiped from the face of the Earth.

My friend Andisheh has an interesting point to make regarding this. He says that we will hear a lot about how a hurricane destroyed New Orleans. When, in fact, it was a man-made disaster. The Army Corps of Engineers has already admitted that the flood damage was their fault. (via andy2000)

Because the levees were "built in a disjointed fashion using outdated data" the Corps admits a "catastrophic failure" in regards to the levees. The term catastrophic failure is a powerful one. It means that not only has a situation failed, but it, and all it's systems have been utterly destroyed in the process. No hope for recovery. NASA uses this same term when a spacecraft is destroyed and the crew lost.

Only the crew of a Space Shuttle knows the risk they take. The only risk the people of New Orleans took was trusting that their government would take care of them.

If you have HBO watch Spike Lee's documentary When the Levees Broke, also there are still people who need homes. Including Ethel Williams, the woman who President Bush visited (read: got photographed with) after the hurricane. He promised her a new beginning. Her old house still sits in ruins. That's how far we've come.

Homestar Runner is 10 years old

Skateboarding, Pitfall style, in an emulated Atari environment. (via metafilter)

I found out last week that a blogoshpere friend of mine has passed away.

His name is Mike Simanoff, the blogger known as Little Toy Robot. We spoke through the ones and zeros of the internet often, and he was one of the very first people to request free stickers from me. I finally had the pleasure of meeting him and his good friend The Lady Crumpet in person at Dragon*Con a few years ago, they were very nice. Mike was a fan of Sealab, and a kind supporter of this website. He was a talented writer, and an avid reader of literature and comic books. A very smart man who made friends easily, and had great taste in music. If you heard about The Kleptones because of me, you can thank Mike, he told me about them years ago. His passing is still unbelievable to me.

Mike passed away last week in his high-rise apartment in Chicago. There is a Mike Simanoff Memorial Blog being maintained by his friends and family.

**update**
Poor Pluto got demoted. (Thanks Max!)
**update**

Astronomers are arguing about whether Pluto should be called a planet or not.

Also, they are arguing about what defines the word "planet." The definition of planet, as it stands, is so broad as to include a couple of currently extra-solar objects floating around out past Pluto. These asteroids and small balls of gas would have to be added to our current planetary line-up, bringing our Solar Family to the Dilly-esque number of 12.

On the other hand, if the definition of planet is to be changed, the fate of Pluto would certainly hang in it's balance. As Pluto meets the bare minimum of requirements under the current definition of planet. (it's round, and it orbits a star, good going Pluto)

The blogosphere is rallying behind Pluto.

Being a fan of Carl Sagan, one of the many things I learned from his teaching is that Science unwilling to be changed by better Science is not Science at all. That's what we call Philosophy.

He's a charming PC, He's still an unlikable Mac.

Back to reality...

Hello fellows. Updates have been sparse and infrequent on clunkyrobot.com. That will soon change. This is our final week of work on the beloved Pleaseeasaur animation. It has been a long hard road, and the home stretch promises to be a little bumpy, but straight and flat. We're kicking it into 5th gear, however, we are saving the turbo boost for any last minute emergencies. Like a renegade Mac Truck driven by an evil clunkyrobot.com wearing an obviously fake mustache.

In other news, Threadless T's has a delightful Nintendo shirt up for sale right now.
check it:

(via boinboing)

Man. We have totally been cramming for the Pleaseeasaur animation. It's a little overwhelming, and I already had one freak out session because I didn't think we could get it done in time. There's two more weeks left till deadline, and we've still got a lot more to do! We're going to make it. We'll just be sleep deprived by the end of it.

One thing that's been keeping us going recently is the new Jurassic 5 album Feedback. It's great! Every time I listen to a song again I find something new about it. C-Dub has spotted quite a few nods to Historic Hip-Hop. The whole album just feels comfortable, like an easy chair. The more I listen... the more it takes care of me, props my feet up, and brings me drinks.

check this track out.

Shows in ATL:

The Rentals @ Masquerade August 7th (This Monday!)

Jurassic 5 @ The Roxy August 9th

---
C-Dub may just have brokered us a sweet Ultra Super-Secret Puppet Project coming up next. A soon as Psaur's animation is in the can, we get to start working on.... ssshhhhhhhh... this.

*update* word around the campfire... fake.

The World Wide Developer's Conference (WWDC) is being held August 7th. Rumor has it, Apple will be releasing a ton of new products. Amongst those most anticipated is the infamous iPhone. Of the millions of "leaked" (read: fake) images of various incarnations of the iPhone, there is this one:

(via engadget)

The thing about Apple's new releases is, you never know what they are going to release until the day they release them. So for now, we can only trust that this is not somebody's photoshop project for art school.

You can now download some Adult Swim shows through iTunes. Enjoy the non-sequitur-ness of Sealab 2021 Season 3 on the "comfort" of your iPod.

I'm not exactly sure why Cartoon Network, or Apple, or whoever... decided to start our iTunes downloads with Season 3... but there are some gems in that season. I would recommend Red Dawn, featuring a cameo from President Kennedy, and our own Ed Mundy. As well as The Order of Neptunati, an episode idea I originally came up with. It's got lots of secret society jokes, and a cameo from Miniature John Wilkes Booth, and The Deathstar of David.

Each episode costs $1.99... and while that might seem steep for an 11 minute episode, can you really put a price on laughter? Well Cartoon Network can, it's just shy of 2 bucks.