Video

31 May

Pixels has it all!

in Video

This short by Patrick Jean is an 8-bit videogame nostalgia piece meets modern CGI all capped off with a post-apocalyptic catharsis.  Enjoy!

12 May

Followers turn lone nuts into leaders.

in Personal, Video, Wisdom

As my last post may hint, I've been on a bit of a crusade these last months towards a more minimalist lifestyle.  Now keep in mind that for an ADD/over-achiever like myself, minimalism is relative.  Nevertheless, I have been trying to practice the art of radical exclusion to the best of my ability.  On of the hardest things for me is trimming down my daily reading list.

The Art of Great Things is one of the blogs that has managed to survive my feed scalpel on multiple occasions, very much for the occasional nugget of wisdom they offer in posts such as this one.  Actually, it is a repost from Jeffrey Tang of a talk given by Derek Sivers on the collision between the American leadership drive and the importance of learning to follow - something I could certainly stand to improve upon:


This is what jumped out at me upon reading what Derek had to say:

“It was the first follower that transformed a lone nut into a leader. There is no movement without the first follower. We’re told we all need to be leaders, but that would be really ineffective. The best way to make a movement, if you really care, is to courageously follow and show others how to follow.

When you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in.”



Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy

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28 Apr

Barbershop Quartet singing the Ewok Celebration Song

in Funny, Sci-Fi, Video

If you've been a long-time reader of this blog, you know by now that I am huge sci-fi fan.  What you almost certainly don't know, is that it takes only mere seconds of a barbershop quartet performance to send me into fits - yes, fits - of pure glee.  Never did I imagine that, one day, the modern commnications marvel that is the internet would come along to deliver both in a single, double-shot package of mirth.  Enjoy!

CRACKERJACK JUNCTION sings THE EWOK CELEBRATION SONG
27 Apr

Fun with Disembodied heads

in Geek, Video, WTF?!
Think holograms are all about greening the planet and military psy-ops?  Pi-sha!  This is what the futuristic renaissance is really about:

Neurosonics Live from Chris Cairns on Vimeo.

20 Apr

We have to get out of LA - it's all comin' down!

in Animation, Capitalism, Corporatism, Intellectual Property, Products, Video

Welcome to Logorama - quite simply the most enjoyable and provocative short I've seen in Donkey's years!  Logorama was directed by the French H5 collective and debuted at last year's Cannes festival.  It later won an Academy award under the “animated short” category.

It's a bit long (about 16 minutes), and definitely NOT suitable for work, but totally worth it.  I watched it and then watched it again.  I think I might grab a third showing after I post this.  Enjoy!



16 Apr

UK’s TalkTalk will not comply with draconian Digital Economy Bill

in Copyright / Copyfighting / Piracy, Entertainment, Intellectual Property, Video

For those who are unfamiliar with such bills, there has been a major worldwide push, lead by those poor, suicidal bastards in the entertainment industries, to force internet service providers (ISPs) to cut off customers after three, unsubstantiated accusations of copyright infringement.  291106riaa

At least one company  has proven willing to stand up for common sense:

After the election we will resume highlighting the substantial dangers inherent in the proposals and that the hoped for benefits in legitimate sales will not materialise as filesharers will simply switch to other undetectable methods to get content for free.

In the meantime we stand by our pledges to our customers:

  • Unless we are served with a court order we will never surrender a customer’s details to rightsholders. We are the only major ISP to have taken this stance and we will maintain it.
  • If we are instructed to disconnect an account due to alleged copyright infringement we will refuse to do so and tell the rightsholders we’ll see them in court.

Not likely to see this level of consumer advocacy in a U.S. ISP anytime soon.  I imagine something a little more like this:

28 Feb

Trent Franks (R – Hell): Black Americans Better Off Under Slavery

in Racism, Republicans, Video

From Satan’s Congressional Representative:

Slavery, said Franks, "is a crushing mark on America's soul, yet today half of all black children are aborted. Half of all black children are aborted. Far more black children, far more of the African American community is being devastated by the policies of today than were being devastated by the policies of slavery."

As Ryan Grim notes, “One hundred percent of African Americans born into slavery, however, were born into slavery.”

Besides, when you start a sentence disparaging something abhorrent, there is no room for a ‘yet’ in the second half. Try these on for size:

  • Racism is really bad, yet …,
  • The European genocide of native Americans was truly awful, yet …
  • I sure am sorry I raped and disemboweled your 11 year-old daughter, yet …

Here’s the video – clip starts about 6 minutes in:

On a side note – and I can’t believe I’m even taking the bait on this ridiculous spew – but Franks is likely referring to this study on the abortion rate, though the study itself highlighted lack of contraceptive access over policy.  Moreover, the comparison is unfair anyway as we have no real data on abortion policy during either slavery or medical prohibition.  How many slaves were forcefully aborted by landowners not wanting to sacrifice their free labor in the name of childrearing?  How many more slaves underwent amateur abortions so as not to incur their master’s wrath?  Just because it is no longer underground and undocumented does not mean it didn’t exist.

25 Feb

Women, Know Your Limits

in Funny, Gender. Femenism & Patriarchy, Politics, Republicans, Video

Almost missed this piece from the National Journal – a profile of Jan Larimer, the GOP’s kinder, gentler face for recruiting more women to the privileged white male party:

Larimer has spearheaded the party's efforts to recruit and train more women candidates. And based on the GOP's efforts this year, the party needs the help … "We're working with the women in Congress ... to empower the women in their states to get involved and to participate," Larimer told Hotline OnCall in an interview at the party's annual Winter meeting in Honolulu.

"Women sometimes need a little more handholding, or they need their friends to help them make a decision. And by our going in and talking to them and recruiting and educating and training them to either get involved in a campaign or become a candidate, we're giving them the tools so that they can do that on their own," Larimer added.

Lest there be any confusion, this isn;t some low-level PR lackey - this is the RNC co-chair! Off the record, Larimer later noted that the GOP is far more gender-evolved today than ever before.  Women can wear trousers, drive cars, and even decide for themselves when they should have dinner on the table.

22 Feb

John Stewart’s Global Dark-ocalypse and the Tea Party’s Intellectual Divide

in Climate Change, Funny, Republicans, Tea Party, Video

Ali A. Rizvi has an excellent piece up at THP on the anti-intellectual faction that seems to be dominating the Teabaggers.

By painting educated, well-earning, science-embracing, articulate, introspective, intellectual citizens as un-American, the Republican party has built an entire base made up of those who not only don't possess these attributes, but enthusiastically abhor those who do. Not only are these factions now split along lines of educational achievement, socioeconomic status, and cultural and religious values, but most significantly, along an "intellectual divide".

The entire article is worth a read.  This is something that’s been increasingly irking me for the last decade.  I mean, it’s one thing to be ignorant – a state of being with which I am more than a little familiar.  But it’s another thing entirely to wear that ignorance like a badge of honor.  I mean, these are the kids that sat in the back of class throwing spitballs at each other and now they’re on the precipice of public office.

The latest inanity, of course, comes from FOXNews wingnuts gleefully pointing to a snowstorm as somehow debunking mountains of data showing a steady rise in global mean temperatures.  Because, you know … it’s snowing.  And, er , it can’t snow when it’s, ya know, warming out.

On a totally unrelated note, I ate eggs this morning.  That means that I will eat eggs every morning.  And THAT means that EVERYONE will too.  Mu-ha-ahahah!!!

Oh, an for my dear friends outside the United States, check out this link to find out how to view the above clip.