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EASY LISTENING SUNDAY

I think a central ingredient of our humanity--that inimitable quality which says we are not mere animals, but unique in some way--is the very complex and often conflicting desires and emotions that govern our lives day in and day out. Human individuals are constantly in a dialectical relationship with themselves, whereby two opposing actions or forces occupy the same space that can sometimes create an emotive singularity.

For example, when animals are hungry, they will search, some hunt, and consume the end product. This process for animals is yes, an evolving one depending on their changing habitats and surroundings, but for the most part, the menu if you will, was worked out eons ago. The only thing the animal is concerned with is which item on that menu is most immediately available.

I on the other hand, when feeling the sensation of hunger earlier this evening weighed the following thoughts: I had a rare craving for some McDonalds, but such a meal would not compliment my recent, and generally successful attempts to eat healthy. Moreover I wanted to go to the gym before dinner and desired a filling yet quick snack that would also enable me a quick burst of energy. All these factors occupy a singular place in my mind. If you consider that this thought process was applied to something so primitive and necessary, then just imagine what is occurring when you're pondering more abstract matters, say those that govern feelings arising from our interactions with others that can result in feelings of "love" on one end, and "hate" on the other. However at times, both diametric emotions can find themselves joined at the hip in an emotional singularity.

It is our ability to both love and hate one person, or to wish someone's departure and simultaneously wish for them to stay, or to desire to be both with or without you that is ultimately our distinguishing characteristic.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBqr113GecU]

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MAN WITH WORLD'S LARGEST FACE TUMOR HAS "SUCCESSFUL" SURGERY

Update: Just to clarify for those confused, the screenshot below is an after image.  To see what he looked like before his surgery check out the videos linked in this entry.

Arnold Schwarngsznager wishes, just wishes he had a tumor as rockin' as this local Chinese man. This event occured last month but somehow passed beneath my radar.

With tumors on his face and head that would make even the most compassionate of souls like Mother Teresa say "Damn B! What is that?!" Huang Chuncai, 31 bravely underwent a potentially life ending surgery to get part of his 33 pound tumor removed. Yep, not only is it a tumor, but it's 33 pounds of it, too.

The operation was a success--but in yet another example demonstrating that God, if s/he exists, has a twisted sense of humor--as a result of the removal of some of the tumor, he has now lost his balance and cannot walk properly, which was one of the central reasons given by the doctor leading to the decision to operate in the first place (aside from the fact HE HAS ELEPHONIC TUMORS ALL OVER HIS ENTIRE FUCKING FACE). As I've learned recently, some guys have all the luck and for others, life sometimes just ain't fair.

Anyway, here's the video with uber tumor survivor (Say that 10 times fast in a row). And Angelina Jolie's really taking her interest in the nonwhites of the world to another level because here's a YouTube clip of her comforting Huang Chuncai.

[Er, thanks Munira?]

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PHOTO UPDATE

These photos are from the past couple weeks. I finally made it to the Mets' stadium.  Nosebleeds, but for 10 bucks, that ain't too bad.

Ah, the comforts of nearly verticle seating in the upper seats.

Dr. Stan is a Mets fan.

The crowds.  Heh.

This may be one of the scariest photos I've ever taken of my friends.

This may be the WORST popsicle I've ever tasted.  It was so gross I couldn't finish it.

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EASY LISTENING SUNDAY

The story behind this song is pretty poignant and sad.  I'll leave it up to you on this easy listening Sunday to Google it. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ae2uidckqE]

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NEWS I FIND INTERESTING

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BIZARRE HIP HOP VIDEO

Tired of the played out tropes in hip hop music videos--you know, the bling, the girls, the Cristal, the guns, the machismo?  Well, this video has something you've NEVER seen in a hip hop video...or any music video for that matter, unless you've previously already seen male rappers give birth, not to the next beat or seminal verse, but to an actual baby. Even if you dont like rap, watch this video for the first 33 seconds.  You'll either thank me or hate me later.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKJb4iZ3eoQ]

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ARE WE JUST A COMPUTER SIMULACRUM?

I've always been fascinated by the notion that we may all just be a simulation running in some advanced being's computer. Or rather, even that computer's simulation's simulation. The Times has a great article on this. An Oxford professor Nick Bostrum has advanced a theory that it's more likely than NOT that we are all just a computer simulation not unlike say, all the various iterations of Sim video games or World of Warcraft: we're not biological at all, but rather just a series of bits and digital zits. Bostrum contends that advanced human civilization will have the computing power that enables them to recreate ancient or past civilizations virtually, including fully functioning digital individuals. The length of time it takes humans to achieve this amount of computer power is irrelevant.

If civilization survived long enough to reach that stage, and if the posthumans were to run lots of simulations for research purposes or entertainment, then the number of virtual ancestors they created would be vastly greater than the number of real ancestors.

There would be no way for any of these ancestors to know for sure whether they were virtual or real, because the sights and feelings they’d experience would be indistinguishable. But since there would be so many more virtual ancestors, any individual could figure that the odds made it nearly certain that he or she was living in a virtual world.

The math and the logic are inexorable once you assume that lots of simulations are being run.

Woa. There are obvious critiques, whch the article covers, but it also illuminates an answer, if tongue in cheek, to one of the great questions in life: Why does God allow bad things to happen?

How could God allow so much evil in the world? For the same reason there are plagues and earthquakes and battles in games like World of Warcraft. Peace is boring, Dude.

To read more click here.

Update: BoingBoing has more on this.

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SAVE FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS

I came across a bit of new--well, news if you read between the lines--that suggests that HBO might. not. renew. the. greatest. show. currently. on. television. No, not Cathouse. I'm talking about Flight of the Conchords ("FotC"). "But Matt!" you say, "What about the Hills?!"

Yes, I realize that the new season of the Hills just started, which promises to include frequent appearances by my favorite character, Lo from the original Laguna Beach series. Nonetheless, I heart FotC more than anything else on the tube right now. I will admit my fascination with the Hills is mainly because I have such a Tiger Beat crush on white girl extraordinaire LC and I can see the show for the shallow, contrived beast that it is. But what a hot beast it is. On the other hand, I find FotC to be incredibly smart, hysterical and in a way relevant to utter romantic nerds such as myself. There's no other show like it, as I've stated before (Wow, how self-absorbed and meta to self-link).

It would be huge mistake and incredibly short-sighted of HBO if it decides to not pick FotC up again for another season. To adopt the terminology of the NBA's draft day commentators--the day when the professional teams engage in a more pricey version of the playground game of picking players--this HBO show has tremendous upside, baby. It's too quirky to neatly wrap up in a 5 second clip or sound bite, however like the Knick's sophomore player David Lee, the talent and energy becomes quickly evident when viewed in person. In his rookie year, he transformed from an unknown nobody to a fan favorite to one of the team's few stalwarts and an "untouchable" player in trade discussions. I think FotC has the same analogous potential for HBO.

HBO, please do not cancel Flight of the Conchords! Let this comedic Australian duo soar by signing them up for another season!

Update: SAVED!

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AN UPTIGHT SERVER

Double entendre: a word or phrase open to two interpretations, one of which is usually risque or indecent.

I hate it when a server goes down.

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EASY LISTENING SUNDAY

Summer is almost over, but the weekly Easy Listening Sundays aren't.  This week's segment is a mellow one from circa 1995 courtesy of Tony Rich Project.  The lyrics pretty much speak for themselves. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CA2Pi4gYxQ]

And the live version:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_AG7DFuDRY]

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I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD EVER SEE 'RIHANNA' AND 'DIONYSIAN' IN THE SAME SENTENCE

I've always been fascinated by the notion of the virulent quality of the summer 'jam.'  By summer jam, I'm of course referring to that one song that somehow dominates the airwaves and clubs during the hot months of June, July and August.  One particular common trait among summer jams is the inanity of the lyrics, although the Thong Song--that paean to the thong--is rather brilliant. Relatedly, check out this essay where the author explicates Rihanna's summer jam "Umbrella" and explains why it was this summer's jam:

Rihanna’s song reminds us that umbrella is a cool word. It’s fun to say “umbrella,” which comes from the Latin meaning “little shadow,” by the way. Also, it is double fun to say cool words in different and surprising ways. We normally think of umbrella as a three syllable word. Rihanna has made it four. Um-bur-el-la. It is also fun to say parts of words and sometimes just to make sounds. And that is what Rihanna does. It makes up the entirety of the “hook” of the song. She sings, “under my um-bur-el-la, el-la, el-la, eh, eh, eh.”

Those last three sounds are important. I don’t think “Umbrella” could have been a summer jam without the “eh, eh, eh.” She makes it a guttural sound that comes from the back of the throat, or maybe from down in the esophagus somewhere. As a friend pointed out, it is the same sound that comes out of the throat of the Cranberries’ lead singer in the song “Zombie”. Now “Zombie” wasn’t a summer jam but it was a huge hit and I think that had a lot to do with the noises. If anything, the Cranberries woman went a little overboard with the “eh”ing. Rihanna reigns it in and gives us an “eh” trinity, which is appropriate. The summer jam has to be tight.

When I first heard this song, I would have never predicted that it would be the monster that it became simply because the Jay-Z intro is terrible, te-ra, te-ra, te-ra, eh, eh, eh. I would presume that a summer jam would need a heavy pop beat that instantly surrounds and infects the listener with its mind numbing pop injection.  "Umbrella" doesn't quite fit this model.  However, I think I agree with this author's point about the guttural quality of the "eh-eh-eh," but in addition, I contend that the final missing link in understanding how such an asinine song became a contagious hit is that the "el-la, el-la, el-la, eh, eh, eh" repetition made it a sing along that even Helen Keller could mimic.

[Thanks Kzar!]

And if you're reading this--you know who you are--for the last time: NO, I don't think you resemble Rihanna at all.

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