Now lawn inflatables move, with penguins that pop out of igloos and Santas and snowmen that wave. What’s next? How about inflatables turned mid-air balloons? Use helium, hot air or much more powerful fans keeping tethered characters aloft. The hot-air system would probably need flaming gas jets, which might not be too safe, but, hey, if you want to make Read More …
Want a picture-perfect snowman? Sure you could use a real carrot and assorted stones. But suppose you could freeze food-dye colored water to make even better features? Kind of like a Mr. Potato Head kit for snowmen (and women) with dissolvable, re-creatable parts, including lips, mustache and fangs. (Eyeballs can also be dropped in drinks Read More …
If YouTube can sell to Google for $1.65 billion, how much would a site of short quality videos be worth? Imagine a conglomeration of the best bits from Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, Late Night With David Letterman, and all sorts of sitcoms and cartoons. Not whole shows, just quick clips. Be fun to Read More …
Goofy idea. You know how deceased TV series have reunion shows? Of course, you do. Well, how about a reunion of deceased TV characters? Characters that got bumped off, rubbed out, erased, scriptwise and screenlifewise. Mrs. Hoober(?) from Desperate Housewives, George’s fiancee from Seinfeld, Shannon from Lost, the possibilities are many. They’d meet in some Read More …
It’s a dream of mine to design a miniature golf course and make it as unusual as possible. One simple but diabolical idea is to have a circular green that rotates with the hole simply in the center. Better not hit it straight toward the hole. So do aim left or right, to allow for your angular Read More …
Instead of making flat scenes like movies seem three-dimensional, these 2-D glasses would make real things look flat. Would help artists, perhaps, put things into better perspective. Whoa, what if you then looked at a painting or photograph … would it look 1-D? Wouldn’t that be like a dot or invisible? (Hey, isn’t that quip better than making the obligatory Read More …
OK, I’ve found on the Web exploding golf balls, clubs that deliberately snap, nudie tees, and bark-backed hillbilly putters. But how about these ideas? The I-Didn’t-Touch-It! putter that, at the push of a button, blasts enough air to send that one-inch gimme right into the hole. A club shaped like a foot, just for laughs, or kicks. A club Read More …
Ingredients: One house, with two upstairs windows; big black trash bags or large pieces of cardboard or poster board; large white, yellow or orange trash bags (for eyes). Simple idea: Block out the entire window using dark trash bags or cardboard EXCEPT for holes cut in the shape of giant eyes. Cover the eye cutouts Read More …
Let’s call this program / utility “Blank Paper.” Using a mouse or graphics pen, not only can I write or draw on it, but so can you. Even at the same time. Let’s play Tic-Tac-Toe or Hangman, for starters. Let’s just have fun doing a sketch together. It could be a great teaching tool for Read More …
NBC’s My Name Is Earl has a great concept: Misjudged but semi-lovable jerkwad gets hit by car after winning the lottery, knocking this bit of sense into his brain: Better make amends for your rotten life, or karma will get you. Well, why not find a real-life Earl, and have him make up his real life of Read More …
Doh! Elementary, my dear Bart-son! Homer with pipe and deerstalker cap wandering the moors, trying to sharpen his wits by indulging in Duff beer. *Urp!* Knowing Homer, the murder victims will all turn up alive — or turn out to be murderers. His archnemesis is Mr. Burn’s brother, Maury R.T. Burns.
You start out as fly, and have to avoid fly swatters and bug sprays for like 15 minutes. Then you die of old age, and get reincarnated as a roach. Nothing can kill you, except for feet, so after like 20 minutes you die of old age, and get reincarnated as a little fish. And Read More …
My family used to play an add-a-letter game called “Ghost” on long car trips. One person says a letter, the next person adds one. The trick: There has to be a word that starts that way, and you lose if you end a word. Gets you searching those mental vaults for odd words that will Read More …
Remember the XFL? Wrestling czar Vince McMahon tried to make a go of spring football without the pro wrestling gimmicks. It flopped. Should have had (a) mad fumble-recovery like scrambles at midfield each half instead of kickoffs, and (b) mascot fights at halftime. Beaks, feet, fur, even heads go flying.
Here’s how my son, Alex, became the Invisible Man one Halloween. Suspended a hat in midair on top of two black coathanger wires. The wires were attached to a setup he wore on his head. A skinny piece of wood ran across that to simulate shoulders. That in turn held up a sweater with big enough holes to Read More …