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This video should accompany the definition of non sequitur. The more I watch it the more hysterical I find it. The look on the reporter's face is priceless especially since what she REALLY wants to say is, "Alrighty then, you are a moron." [youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=CMNry4PE93Y]
All this reminds me of the following joke:
How many kids with ADD does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
...
LET'S RIDE BIKES!
[Thanks Munira]
This may be something only I find interesting, but on a micro level, what's the difference, in terms of strictly actual strategy and grass roots organization irrespective of politics or partisanship, this year between Obama and McCain? The difference rests with Twitter.
Don't get me wrong: the primetime TV spots, radio ads, mass mailings, phone canvassing and all the other traditional forms of campaigning are important. However, in an increasingly digital age with the decentralization of news and communication, the winner will be decided by those who can successfully leverage the Internet. As any student knows today, JFK was able to defeat Nixon in large part due to his ability to first exploit an advantage with televised debates, and thus ushering in an era marking the central importance of television for politicians. A similar revolution today is taking place. But instead of JFK and the TV, it involves Obama and the Internet.
Barack Obama has an active Twitter page with over 39,000 followers. Again, this is on a micro level, but it is a good representation that demonstrates how the Obama campaign "gets it" and is arguably running the first bellwether digital campaign that has successfully grabbed the Internet by its proverbial horns. Rather than letting itself be "Swiftboated" and its message controlled and twisted by others, Obama's presidential campaign is utilizing the vast array of vehicles of communication that are available online, be it social networking sites or user-generated content, and transforming it into a well-oiled hive-mind: E pluribus unum, or "Out of many, one." And that one being a particular message dictated by Obama's camp.
For a campaign or politician that doesn't "get it," the usage of Twitter would probably draw a complete blank (I have a hard enough time explaining the service to friends). However, Twitter can be described by a traditional political definition: Sound bites. Each Twitter update is essentially series of short sound bites, which are easily digestible, bloggable, and uhm, forwardable (you get the point). While 39,000 followers (or subscribers rather) is merely a blip, just picture the impact of 39,000 stones being tossed into a pond and the ensuing ripples. The impact can be exponential.
And on top of all this, the service is also FREE thus freeing up valuable campaign funds and resources.
I really hope political science professors are taking note of this BRILLIANT entry. Class is in session suckas.
[Note: I know that the soapbox is starting to get scuffed from all the times I've been stepping up onto it, especially as of late. I promise this isn't a frequent thing--just every four years or so. I'll soon go back to posting about absurd YouTube videos shortly, so don't go away!]
ESPN's Paul Jackson recounts an unbelievable tale of a marketing promotion gone bad for a then dismal Cleveland Indians baseball team in 1974 during a home game against the Texas Rangers. The Indians fans, fueled by an near endless supply of 10 cent beers where general delinquency with fans running across the field degenerated into havoc where essentially the inmates or fans "wielding chains, knives and clubs fashioned from pieces of stadium seats" took over the asylum and faced off against the Rangers players. The game was eventually forfeited with a phalanx of both teams--the players armed with baseball bats for protection--and "bench players forming a rearguard" escaping the chaotic stadium.
The 25 Texas players quickly found themselves surrounded by 200 angry drunks, and more were tumbling over the wall onto the field. The Texas Rangers had been ambushed.
Then the riot began. Indians manager Ken Aspromonte, his own defining moment upon him, realized that the Texas franchise might be on the verge of decimation. He too ordered his players onto the field. The bat racks in the home dugout emptied as the Indians mounted their own rescue.
10 cent beer night has to take home the award for both the worst and the best promotion ever, depending on which side of the field you are on.
The bases were yanked out and were never returned, which are probably hanging on the wall of a few Cleveland homes. In the most obvious statement of that year, American League president Lee McPhail, after the subsequent investigation, stated "There was no question that beer played a part in the riot."
Read more here.
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A few years later the Chicago White Sox would have a fan riot of its own due to a promotion gone bad that resulted in a forfeit. A local DJ cooked up an "anti-disco" (disco being the rage during this era) event where fans could exchange disco LPs for a discounted ticket of $0.98 (the frequency of the radio station, naturally). The records were then placed in a crate that would be blown up.
When the crate on the field was filled with records, staff stopped collecting them from spectators who soon realized that long-playing (LP) records were shaped like Frisbees. They began to throw their records from the stands during the game, and the records often struck other fans. The fans also threw beer and even firecrackers from the stands. ...The large box containing the collected records was rigged with a bomb. When it exploded, the bomb tore a hole in the outfield grass surface and thousands of fans immediately rushed the field. Some lit fires and started small-scale riots. The batting cage was pulled down and wrecked, and the bases literally stolen, along with chunks of the field itself. The crowd, once on the field, mostly wandered around aimlessly, though a number of participants burned banners, sat on the grass or ran from security and police. People sitting in the upper deck could feel it sway back and forth from the rioters.
Watch the local news coverage (Thank God for YouTube) of this event with onsite video. It's pretty fucking wild.
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=MpQfCcsqQ0E]
This violent anti-establishment fueled rage aimed against disco music may have sparked the beginning of the end of that genre, however ironically what song today at the stadiums gets people most jazzed? YMCA, led by the Yankees ground crews (poor saps).
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=4fVIjPY5fRo]
On the 25th anniversary of this incident Keith Olbermann interviewed DJ Steve Dahl, the guy if not directly responsible, then at least the public face of the fan riot. Unrelatedly, check out the smoking hot brunette wearing the white top in the background of the interview. I'd dance to Stayin' Alive with her any day:
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=8a_hBR9YuNw]
What's particularly interesting in all this is that utility player Rusty Torres was involved in both the Disco Demolition Night and 10 cent beer riots, as well as another fan incited forfeit in 1971 as a player for the Washington Senators on their last home game.
The weddings began in a handful of locations around the state at exactly 5:01 p.m. Pacific time, the first minute allowed by last month’s decision by the California Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage. Many more ceremonies will be held on Tuesday when all 58 counties around the state will be issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Read more here.
I just may have to dust off the ol' long board for this event. Or does someone have a bike I can borrow?
Emulating similar experiments in Paris, London, and Bogotá, Colombia, New York City will close off to traffic a 6.9-mile route from the Brooklyn Bridge to East 72nd Street on three consecutive Saturdays, giving New Yorkers to a chance to explore and enjoy “car-free recreation corridors” — well, for six hours a stretch, at least.[...]
The route will run from Lower Manhattan to East 72nd Street via Centre Street, Lafayette Street, Fourth Avenue and Park Avenue. Major crosstown routes — including Chambers, Canal, East Houston, 14th, 23rd and 59th Streets — will remain open to traffic. Buses that ride along the 6.9-mile route will be rerouted during the street closings — which have been scheduled for Aug. 9, 16, and 23, from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m.
I think it's about time the government aggressively explore ways to make this City more friendly for pedestrians and non-internal combustion engine operated modes of transportation such as bicycles, skateboards, roller blades, and for Ben and his new girl, tandem bikes.
The question is how do we do this without penalizing the working and lower-middle class who are responsible for transporting the goods and products that keeps everyone happy in this city? I know this is a complex issue, but I want a SOLUTION NOW! RIGHT NOW! AND WHERE ARE THOSE GODDAMN HOVERBOARDS?!?!
Read more here.
Europeans are perhaps even more entranced than Americans by Mr Obama's message of “change” and “hope”. They are also being forced to rethink some of their deepest prejudices about America. How can the land of “Stupid White Men” produce a Barack Obama? And how can Europe go on feeling quite so superior to America when it treats so many of its own minorities so badly? The French parliament has only one black person representing mainland France.
The Economist's recent Lexington column reflects on the potential hurdles facing Obama and McCain in rebuilding America's relationship with Europe, although our neighbors across the Atlantic are currently swept up in "Obamamania" where according to a new Pew poll taken in France and Germany, 80 percent believe that Obama will "do the right thing in foreign affairs" compared to 30 percent for McCain. Of course, what that "right thing" is gets to the heart of "possible future tensions" that may arise from some of Obama's positions on issues ranging from Israel (maintaining the status quo) to his schizophrenia on free trade where he "declares himself a free-trader" but then "saturates the airwaves with ads denouncing NAFTA."
That said, in the choice between McCain or Obama, the concerns the Economist (which was decidedly pro-Hillary) has towards an Obama presidency is overshadowed by what an overall improvement, I believe, Obama will be over McCain and most certainly Bush.
Read more here.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKQ-xj5C2m8] Andy Green, the driver behind the wheel of the car that broke both the landspeed record and the speed of sound in 1997 at Black Rock Desert in Nevada described the experience as "the hardest thing [he'd]ever done: like trying to balance the point of a pencil on the end of your finger."
And the car may be fractionally different in shape from one side to the other. It's a hand-built car. We measured it as accurately as we could, but the tiniest difference, the thickness of a few coats of paint, can make the shock waves form earlier on one side. It happens with aircraft when you take them supersonic, but tiny corrections with the controls can fix that. With the car, it's the wheels that have to take the differences in load, and you start to realise the magnitude of the forces involved when a tiny difference can translate to an extra ton of load on one of the front wheels. Once you get well over Mach 1, life gets much easier. It's getting there that's the challenge.
Read more here.
Adolf Hitler's nephew William Patrick Hitler fought against the Axis during World War II as a US seaman. After the war, he disappeared to Long Island, New York with his wife.
I was to discover that the Hitler bloodline was carried on through William Patrick's four sons - one of whom died in a road accident in 1989 - and that the brothers had decided in a remarkable pact not to have children themselves in order that Adolf Hitler's genes would die with them.
Fascinating stuff. Read more here.
Answer a few basic questions about your weight, exercise, and health then find out how long you could survive in the vacuum of space!
What a curmudgeon!
How did you feel when you heard that Buckley died this year? I thought hell is bound to be a livelier place, as he joins forever those whom he served in life, applauding their prejudices and fanning their hatred.
Entertaining interview with this vocal ever critical writer.
Read more here.
I probably shouldn't advertise this website. Even with my extensive expertise in the field of Interneting, I don't know how this site has continues to remain available. A friend of mine informed me over the weekend about this website where you can watch uninterrupted streaming (think high quality YouTube) videos of lots of movies...including some that are still in the theaters, as well as TV shows. Some of them have Chinese subtitles which may suggest a certain country of origin in terms of how movies that theoretically should only be accessible at your local movieplex can be watched online. I know what you're thinking. MRod, Shut the fuck up! What is the website's address?!? Or as N may or may not have said, "I want to watch the Sex and the City movie but I don't want to pay for it!" So without further adieu...feel free to leave a comment or send an email if you want me to send you the URL.
The saga of whether Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea and code for Facebook from a few of his classmates for whom he was working for on their site ConnectU appeared to have come to a conclusion earlier this year when both parties reached a settlement. But it looks like ConnectU is gearing up for another round in the courtroom after they hired the big guns at BSF or Boies, Schiller & Flexner (I worked there once for a couple months as a file monkey) as well as "stock fraud expert Sean F. O’Shea."
What exactly does that mean?Most documents in the case are sealed and neither of the parties are talking to the media. But the late-game lawyer swapping and addition of Mr. Shea to the ConnectU counsel table, suggests a new direction in the case. Since the Facebook-ConnectU settlement was likely part-cash, part-stock, one possibility is that the ConnectU founders feel misled by the value of the equity portion of the settlement and believe that fraudulent representations about its value were made to them.
Read more here.
RELATEDLY
BSF founder David Boies, now married to his third wife, appeared to be quite the playa back in the days: While studying law at Northwestern he conducted an affair with the wife of one of his professors, leading to his banishment from the campus. The woman, Judith Fillman, later became his second wife.
Joystiq reports on a Wii promotion that recently occurred at the bar Sutton Place where women battled each each in a Wii Sports boxing tournament TO THE DEATH with the winner taking home the Nintendo Wii gaming system.
And even though she had never played the Wii before, the Asian girl won, natch.
Read more here.
You would think with ALL the assistants and aides at his disposal whose job is to basically spoon feed President Bush that he would know the correct manner to address the Pope of all people, especially if he made a similar gaffe when meeting the Pope previously.
Even so, an eyebrow or two arched today at the way Mr. Bush addressed Pope Benedict XVI on meeting him in Rome: “Your eminence, you’re looking good,” Mr. Bush said, the A.P. reported.We’re not talking about the Fernando-esque second clause, which was unobjectionably friendly if perhaps a tad over-familiar in tone. It was the “your eminence” part. That’s supposed to be how you address Catholic cardinals. Popes are “your holiness.”
You may think this isn't such a big deal, but imagine the knee-jerk reaction everyone would have, especially those at Fox News and Co., if someone addressed Bush, as this item points out, as "Governor."
Bush is just lucky the Pope didn't smite him right there on the spot with a "↓↘→P"!
Read more here.
A question asked in my political science 101 class back in the days is "But who watches the watchmen?" The watchmen in this issue being the mainstream news media. Who watches them and holds them accountable? The answer today is a "broad network of self-appointed watchdogs, including organized groups like Media Matters and individuals." These groups and vocal individuals are holding the media accountable for their insinuations, innuendos, and any inaccurate coverage of this year's presidential campaign. In addition, the media's predictable attempt at both reporting on and incorporating a particular cultural and youthful vernacular, which has infused Obama's campaign with a certain energy and vibrancy, has been erroneous at best and offensive at worst.
The Obama campaign, both naturally and by design, has ushered some aspects of African-American culture into the mainstream. On one occasion, Mr. Obama brushed off his shoulder in a gesture signifying dismissal of criticism, silently reminding his audience of a song called "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" by the hip-hop artist Jay-Z. The episode generated big attention in news media.
"This campaign has shown that people are excited to use black language for the first time in presidential politics," says Sarah E. Lewis, a faculty member at Yale University School of Art, and doctoral candidate focusing on representations of African-American culture. "But as they do it, often they're putting their feet in their mouths because they don't fully understand the culture."
Ah, the old white man's burden of trying too hard.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ixVBlA6zFk]
Read more here.
[Thanks N]
Curbed says:
Per a Parks Department press release that just hit the inbox, this Saturday from noon to 4pm a 70-foot waterslide will be set up near the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park.
When I read this my inner voice went into an operatic falsetto and said, "Awweeesommeeee!"
I'm quite not sure why this isn't on the front page of the New York Times right now.
Many of you are aware that I am a card carrying member of the ACLU (American Crocs Liberty Union) and have defended Crocs and Croc-wearers in the past here on my soap box that I call a blog. Recently I've been compelled to elaborate on this matter further. If you are new to this thread and before you put your foot in your mouth with comments about how I am "teh stupid," please read my previous (Part 1) thoughts on this issue first. Otherwise, lets jump right into it with our Croc wearing feet:
So I'm aware that hating on Crocs is as popular as Crocs are unpopular. Everyone walks all over them and treat Crocs like the perennial whipping boy of footwear. And yet like all persecuted revolutionary movements Crocs manage to maintain a loyal following of revolutionary freedom feetdom fighters, if you will. Revolutionary radical groups rally and form around certain nonnormative principles and theories, just like the way Crocs (ergonomically) conform around one's feet and envelopes it in, not ideology, but biodegradable rubber. Croc proponents happen to rally around the seemingly non-radical principles of practicality, comfort, and as you'll soon see, versatility: ideals that certainly cause less violence than other revolutionary concepts, and in fact, as podiatrists will testify to, accomplishes more good than harm. I personally think that is quite a "feet" to be applauded rather than stomped on. Nonetheless there are those who continue to hold animus towards crocs, such as the usually perceptive Ms. Simko who states, "Try as I might, I just don’t understand the cult following of Crocs."
Cult? Peoples Temple was a cult. Branch Dividian was a cult. The Manson Family was a cult. Alcoholics Anonymous IS a cult (it's true). Crocs wearers are merely slaves of utility and air circulation. And unlike cults which are narrow minded and exclusionary, Crocs embrace all lifestyles and people from all "walks" of life. In addition to its benefits I've previously highlighted, Crocs are also versatile as demonstrated by this photo sent to me by Randy. Crocs also come in a business casual appropriate black color. My creative director was on to something after all.
If all this makes Crocs a cult, then I'm drinking that Kool Aid.
"But what about appearance?" asks Ms. Simko and others. "Doesn't that rank??"
I thought this line of argument was addressed and resolved with the age of minimalism where the philosophy of "less is more" and the concept of multi-functionality dominated. Clearly Crocs represent the culmination or apex of that legacy. Surely in the 21st century this isn't a radical notion.
I'm not asking you to run out today and buy Crocs. Change can be difficult. All I ask is that before you judge, try first walking in their Croc wearing feet. Someday progress against anti-Crocism will be measured in "feet" rather than inches and will be eventually defeeted and erased. That is my dream.
RELATEDLY
Don't forget to check out this video of Water Buffalos versus Lions versus Crocs.
[Take a shot for every pun intended and unintended you find in this entry. You should be soundly drunk by the end.]
