Google Archives - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

May292013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

How Google Sees It: Michele Bachmann Hasn’t Changed Much

Funny Stuff

When last I checked on the Google instant search results for soon-to-be former Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann -- during her failed bid for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination -- she wasn't looking too good. And now that she has announced she's not going to seek re-election to her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, I thought I'd see if her image has improved over the last few years. Nope. It seems that in addition to still being crazy and hot, Bachmann is now a racist. That's a shame. We'll always have the corn dog at least.

Dec272011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

The Best of the Man in the Gray Flannel Suit — 2011

Blogstuff

It's been another fun and challenging year heading up my little internet concern, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. As always, I want to take this opportunity to thank those of you who stop by regularly and even share my content with others. This is not a money-making operation for me, so it's gratifying to know that if my site went poof tomorrow there'd at least be a few of you who would notice for a few minutes. The biggest happening around these parts is that I finally launched a more permanent site, of which this blog is now but a section. If you haven't done so yet, please stop by the home site, browse around, and tell your friends and enemies! OK, enough schmaltz and plugs. I wrote a lot of stuff this past year, some of which was actually pretty popular. Here are the ten mo...

Oct122011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Damn Gumby, you scary!

TV & Radio

Today is the celebration of Gumby creator Art Clokey's 90th birthday. If you check out the Google home page today you can see a Gumby-inspired doodle. There's also a new site called Gumby World that has a wealth of information on everyone's favorite little green slab of clay. I loved Gumby growing up -- still do -- and I especially cherish the classic 1950s episodes. They were kid's stuff for sure, but some of them had a really trippy and slightly creepy side to them. Take, for instance, this 1957 episode called "In the Dough." It starts off in typical fantastical fashion as Gumby and Pokey are invited into an oven to see how baked goods are made. But when the dough seems to turn on the pair, shit gets real. Check it: Related articles Google Celebrates Art Clokey's Birthday ...

Sep152011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

How Google sees it: Michele Bachmann Isn’t Looking So Good

Funny Stuff

I know it's way too soon to know who will win the 2012 presidential election, much less the Republican nomination. Rick Perry is certainly on a hot streak, but we all know that can change in a minute. That said, Michele Bachmann has a bit of an uphill climb ahead of her. Her poll numbers have been slipping in recent days, and pictures like these certainly won't help her much: Things are only getting worse for Bachmann, if Google is any indication: Hard to put a positive spin on Bachmann's campaign woes when she's apparently thought of as: an idiot, Israel (??), crazy, hot, stupid, nuts, a moron, batshit crazy, or evil.

Sep122011 by Chris Holmes13 Comments

Why I pulled the plug on Disqus

Blogstuff

Note: Since this post was published in September 2011, Disqus has sufficiently improved their product that I have decided to re-enable it. But in the interest of intellectual honesty, I'm leaving this post intact. Regular readers of this site may notice that I am no longer using Disqus to handle my commenting. And if you haven't noticed, well, that's one of the reasons why. Allow me to explain. I installed Disqus to replace the native Wordpress comment functionality on this site, oh, at least a few years ago. My little blogger head was filled with the promise of even more interactivity and ease with regards to commenting, as well as more traffic.I liked Disqus enough that as recently as April 2011 I listed it as one of my 10 favorite Wordpress plugins. The thing is, ...

Sep52011 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

Happy 65th birthday Freddie Mercury

People

You have been and always will be missed, Farrokh Bulsara (aka Freddie Mercury). Has it really been almost twenty -- that's 20 -- years since you left us? Well thanks to awesome tributes like the latest Google doodle -- featuring the Queen classic "Don't Stop Me Now" from the Jazz record -- you will also always be remembered. This is so cool I won't even quibble over the fact that Freddie didn't sport a mustache when this song was released, and therefore the part with him riding the tiger is incorrect. Aren't you glad I didn't bring that up? On a more serious note, please take a minute today to at least stop by the website for the Mercury Phoenix Trust -- helping in the fight against AIDS. Related articles Remembering Freddie Mercury: 5 Videos to Celebrate His 65th Birthda...

Aug192011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Here’s some stuff I enjoyed this week

Internet, Links

Here’s a fresh batch of some quality interweb finds I’ve come across over the last 7 days or so: You've read endless commentary on the Miami University football booster scandal involving Nevin Shapiro, why not read the original investigation by Charles Robinson? (Yahoo! Sports) A very cool photo gallery by Natsumi Hayashi, the "levitating girl" from Tokyo (Geekologie) Will Google+ be able to unseat Flickr as the premiere destination for photographers on the web? (TechCrunch) A fascinating gallery of photographs taken by the East German Stasi (secret police) during the Cold War era. (Conscientious Extended) You'd swear this article on the role of police patrols and the impact of broken windows in a neighborhood wasn't written almost 30 years ago, it's so relevant (The Atlan...

Aug52011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Here’s some stuff I enjoyed this week

Internet, Links

Here’s a fresh batch of some quality interweb finds I’ve come across over the last 7 days month or so: Awesome internet meme of the day -- Retro Spider-Man, bringing that classic '60s animated version of our favorite webslinger back to life in the internet age (Know Your Meme) Yet another way to get the most out of Spotify -- a ridiculous collection of shared playlists (ShareMyPlaylists) Not even the discovery of a fourth moon around Pluto can get it back in the big kids' club. (Defective Yeti) An extremely detailed and thoroughly riveting account of the operation to kill Osama bin Laden (The New Yorker) Productivity + internet = No Productivity (The Daily What) 21 Google+ circles you can actually use (HappyPlace) A giant list of movie references seen in The Simpsons (J...

Jul262011 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

How Google sees it: Barack Obama vs. John Boehner

Funny Stuff

Two of the most powerful men in the free world -- President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner -- took to the nation's airwaves last night to continue their economic slap fight, in what will prove to be one of the low points in American political history. It's too early to say who won (although I get the feeling the rest of us lose, again), but Google has already rendered a verdict. Barack Obama is... John Boehner is... Not surprisingly, both Obama and Boehner are gay (thanks as always, Google). It's hard to say who comes off worse though. I mean, Obama is the antichrist, but then again he is a cactus and is my new bicycle. Boehner, on the other hand, is a douchebag, a loser, and of course orange. Hmmm, this is just too close to call. Related articles Boehner ...