Tech News! (A Crude Experiment in Text to Movie)

With a voice dub and some other things.

Tech News from Radio Free Babylon on Vimeo.

An Xtranormal Job Search - Part II

After my interview, the people doing the hiring discuss the candidates.

An Xtranormal Job Search

I'm on a campaign to find a job by Thanksgiving.

Back from the Blog Expo

It took seeing the new Geico commercial to remind me that I have an xtranormal account, which is a great tool, even the free version. In this little movie, Drew is back from Vegas, reporting to his supervisor on what he "took away" from the blogging and new media conference.

What Do You Do on The Top Side of My House, Fat Man?

I enjoy language. And I enjoy foreign languages, not that I can speak any. And I enjoy taking words in English, dropping them into a translator, converting them to another language, and then converting them from that language back into English. Why? Because I can. And because something always gets lost or found in the translation.

And now, courtesy of Babelfish and Xtranormal, a German guy who speaks passing English (learned in the Oxford tradition, as Germans tend to do when learning English) will recount a thrilling, snowy evening in which he encountered a jolly man in a reindeer-driven sleigh who entered his home and put gifts around the fireplace. Or rather, he will recite for us, "The Night Before Christmas," by Clement Clarke Moore, as translated from his native tongue.

I Promise, I'll Leave Tiger Alone in a Minute

But it's just too easy, and so is Xtranormal.

Rock Lyrics as Spoken Word

Another random, throwaway creation made possible by the fun diversion known as Xtranormal. I heard this on the way to work and decided it would sound good as a poem. It doesn't really. Rarely do rock lyrics translate well when spoken aloud, but this little Lego man puts in a nice effort in what Xtranormal calls the "Australian English Male" voice, one of a few accent options. We'll pretend he's standing in the middle of a street in Adelaide.

Final stanza of "Hump de Bump."



See the real video (directed by Chris Rock) associated with these lyrics here.

Note for the audiophiles: On the original song, after the drum break when the trumpets get going, (which is where this stanza occurs) adjust the balance fully to the left speaker and enjoy the very cool fills that get lost in the regular mix. Rick Rubin, you should've listened to me.

The Boy Who Cried Balloon

Richard Heene, father of Balloon Boy, is a new type of villain for the Reality Age, duping the world into believing that his son was swirling through the Colorado clouds in a runaway balloon.

So, here's our intrepid Lego reporter from Xtranormal to confront this jackass, a man we'd all be happy to never see again. But something tells me he's here to stay.



Crossposted to Radio Free Babylon.

Taco Bell Brainstorm

Saw a spot for Taco Bell recently. Everyone in the room agreed that the commercial was very anti-appetizing. Maybe you just need to be stoned and hungry to appreciate Taco Bell spots. Whatever they're doing, they're doing it wrong. All of the Yum! brands seem to just plain suck. Maybe they are just the eternal second-place also-rans. Pizza Hut, KFC, Long John Silver's, Taco Bell. Maybe it's the association with perennial second-place also-ran Pepsi, I don't know. But here's how they come up with their commercials, I'm pretty sure.



D'oh! They left out "slimy cheese in slow motion."

Modern Love

Yeah, I'm having too much fun with xtranormal.

Ian and Bethany were introduced by a mutual friend on Facebook. They decided to meet in person at the mall.

Social Media Lunch

I finally heard about xtranormal, the site that allows you to make little movies. It's got some bugs, and the voices aren't the best, but it's a lot of fun. My first effort below. My apologies in advance to any gurus out there who might feel offended by this. Actually, I take that back. I'm not sorry at all. The guru/ninja in this video will be known as Richard Head.