get er goin
Posted on October 18th, 2009 at 10:43 pm by jaz

just thought this was an interesting way to get funding for a wacky project.

and a fairly simple framework to actually create… like “why didn’t we build this?”

i’ve heard of more useful permutations that connected small businesses around the world with backers. microfinance stuff. but this is just for silly fun stuff… like perhaps building the world’s largest kalimba sound system to promote world peace…

http://www.kickstarter.com/

“Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Week To Quit Sniffing Glue…”
Posted on October 16th, 2009 at 2:19 pm by Steve

Incredible! Thanks to Larry Coen on Facebook, I discovered the film Zero Hour. It turns out that Airplane! (one of my all-time favorite films) is almost a scene-for-scene remake of Zero Hour, with jokes added. Some enterprising YouTube user has compiled some of the same scenes for your viewing pleasure:

Eyesore of the Month
Posted on October 15th, 2009 at 4:17 pm by Steve

James Kunstler posts his architectural Eyesore of the Month. The gem above is his April, 2009 entry, from Johannesburg, South Africa.

Stirring Words…
Posted on October 15th, 2009 at 11:40 am by Steve

…if only we could somehow convince our political leaders of the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson. In response to a draft of the constitution, Jefferson wrote to James Madison,

I do not like… the omission of a bill of rights providing clearly and without the aid of sophisms for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies, restriction against monopolies, the eternal and unremitting force of the habeas corpus laws, and trials by jury in all matters of fact triable by the laws of the land and not by the law of nations.

Protection against standing armies! Restriction against monopolies! The eternal and unremitting force of the habeas corpus laws!

I can’t even imagine what a country like that would be like!!!

sesame street pitch film 1969
Posted on October 15th, 2009 at 9:50 am by jaz

i’m beginning on the path of illustrating a children’s book with my friend katrina, here in tokyo… so i’ve been looking at a lot of kid’s things again, or for the first time.

this pitch video, part 1 of 3, is a little bit slow… but the dialogue of the muppets, their surprisingly snide or sarcastic remarks and analysis of the show itself are worth it. and the TV show exec muppets getting eaten by a monster is pretty awesome (part 2).

in part three at 2:35 :

“wait, these kids can’t read or write can they… then how’s about we call the show ‘Hey Stupid’

Bad Signs
Posted on October 9th, 2009 at 8:10 pm by Steve

No, seriously:


Just where is THE GLASS THANK YOU, anyway?

Stay classy, Cambridge eateries!

Alfred Nobel Did Invent Dynamite, After All
Posted on October 9th, 2009 at 3:56 pm by Steve

John Caruso says it better than I possibly could. I urge you to read it as his blog, but for posterity (and convenience), I reproduce it here in its entirety:

What it takes to win a Nobel

President Obama 'orders Pakistan drone attacks'

January 23, 2009 – Missiles fired from suspected US drones killed at least 15 people inside Pakistan today, the first such strikes since Barack Obama became president and a clear sign that the controversial military policy begun by George W Bush has not changed.

Security officials said the strikes, which saw up to five missiles slam into houses in separate villages, killed seven "foreigners" – a term that usually means al-Qaeda – but locals also said that three children lost their lives.

————

US air-raid kills over 100 civilians in Farah

May 5, 2009 – Residents of the Bala Boluk district in western Farah province on Tuesday claimed more than one hundred 'innocent people' have been killed in the Monday's air offensive by the US forces. […]

Following the militant attack, locals say, the American forces bombarded Grani village, inflecting huge casualties to non-combatants.

Dr Atiqullah, a resident of the village, told Pajhwok Afghan News the bombardment destroyed the whole village and some of the mutilated bodies were beyond recognition.

He said they had so far retrieved 123 dead bodies from beneath the debris of the destroyed homes by using tractors.

————

Obama warns Iran: 'come clean' on nukes

September 25, 2009 – Backed by other world powers, U.S. President Barack Obama declared Friday that Iran is speeding down a path to confrontation and demanded that Tehran quickly "come clean" on all nuclear efforts and open a newly revealed secret site for close international inspection. He said he would not rule out military action if the Iranians refuse. […]

"Iran is on notice that when we meet with them on Oct 1 they are going to have to come clean and they are going to have to make a choice" between international isolation and giving up any aspirations to becoming a nuclear power, he said. If they refuse to give ground, they will stay on "a path that is going to lead to confrontation."

————

Nobel prize win 'humbles' Obama

October 9, 2009 – US President Barack Obama has said he was "surprised and deeply humbled" to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, less than 10 months into his presidency. […]

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the Norwegian committee said in a statement. "His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population."

————

Obama's acceptance speech:

I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.

Now, these challenges can't be met by any one leader or any one nation. And that's why my administration's worked to establish a new era of engagement in which all nations must take responsibility for the world we seek. We cannot tolerate a world in which nuclear weapons spread to more nations and in which the terror of a nuclear holocaust endangers more people.

No, really: Barack Obama just used his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech to reiterate his threats against Iran.

UPDATE: Best headline so far: "Some Analysts Warn Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Complicates War Efforts".

Boston TV Circa 1979
Posted on October 1st, 2009 at 12:45 pm by Steve

Testing 1 2 3

Burned into my brain forever:

  • “It’ll be fun to find out!”
  • “My name is Karen… My name is Karen
  • “I can walk like a pengiun!”
  •   Next Entries »