Monday, December 31, 2012

Happy Birthday to Me!

My birthday isn't actually until April, but that's when Diana Krall is coming to Strathmore.

Until then, recordings will have to do. These are some beautiful videos. Sorry about all the ads & crap on the screen, it't the price for free content to have to click the stuff away when it pops up. :/




Sunday, December 30, 2012

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Conscientiously Objecting to "Low Prices"

TMI: following the latest published evidence that WalMart is a corrupt enterprise that sustains itself by corrupting new markets, Leamur has resolved to no longer shop at WalMart.

This Frontline episode is almost 10 years old now. Nothing new here about WalMart, except I'm just done with them.


There is no such thing as a free lunch, remember that one? WalMart's "low prices" cost.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Leamur has not had enough holiday yet....

Dance like it's gonna be posted on YouTube!


Party like it's Christmas morning! (the ER is open 24/7/365 after all...)


Don't forget the Peace on Earth, goodwill towards People Are Awesome!

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Monday, December 24, 2012

Merry Madagascar!

Leamur loves Julian! ;)



Shiitake mushrooms! No more Mr. Cute and Cuddly...


It's the holidays, y'all! Let's get some elves up in here!


Peace out!

Sunday, December 23, 2012

The Nostalgia of a Seasonal Classic...

...is an essential ingredient of Holiday Spirit. Don't you think?

So 'natch, the daughter of a ballet teacher turns to The Nutcracker during the Holidays. Holla if you were a waltzing Flower as a child! ;)

Ballanchine...got creative, took liberties, however you see it, but this is nevertheless a beautiful and accessible presentation of The Nutcracker.


I can't believe it was so long ago, but checking with the Kennedy Center shows that the Kirov Nutcracker we saw with the (awesome) scary black snowflakes was back in 2003!


(If you were good, you got to be a snowflake.)


ps - yes, that is Macaulay Culkin!

Friday, December 21, 2012

The beginning of the end of winter nights....

The shortest day of the year in 2009:


The music here is hauntingly familiar because it's from Gattaca (which IMO totally deserves its cult-fave status, btw):


Vancouver, which Philip K. Dick described as "the most beautiful city in the world":


Night in all its glory, gorgeous ASKAP telescope timelaspe:


Thursday, December 20, 2012

Dubstep Christmas Lights

Not to be missed, this is the Cadger's awesome 2012 Christmas show:


Shorter, but similarly awesome, by the Delaney's:

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Movement and Pose in Space and Sound and Silence...and in Competition...and at Weddings...and on TV...

"Dancing about Sculture" from the Barber Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Birmingham. (England, not Alabama)


The University fo Birmingham took 1st place at the 2011 Bhangra Showdown:


So I'm watching this and thinking "What fun! I wanna do that!" Sure enough, the Good Indian Girl is here to help:
"We've all been in that situation. You're at the wedding, the reception, and the hip hop starts giving way to some Bollywood and Bhangra and you're not quite sure how to dance to it." [ohyeah, happens all the time, I hate that! ;) ]



And if you're really good, you can get from Atlanta, Georgia, all the way to compete on Indian television. (which is as bad as American football for all the junk they paste over the screen while you're trying to watch. :/ )

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Sunday, December 16, 2012

The Evolution of Energy Innovation

Note that this is a link in a chain from wind power...


Saturday, December 15, 2012

Listen! Change is in the wind...



"Trust yourself, and believe."


His first TED talk:

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Crack or Whack?

You be the judge. Is this woman on crack, or just whack?


This is the follow-up. I think the lesson here is that enlightenment is relative.


So next Fail (or even Epic Fail), remember Donna the Deer Lady and that it could be worse...

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Happy Birthday, Angel-Pie!

The birdies are all singing it:


Dora and her friends all wish you a happy birthday, too!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Happy Birthday, Imogen Heap!

Not really videos, just fan slideshows:




"...in an instant of great white gravity..."


Thursday, December 6, 2012

Who Killed The Electric Car? (Is it really dead?)

The sad life and death of the EV1, the RAV4 EV, and the Honda EV Plus:


I was told by a freind that the tax incentives make the EVs more affordable. He was going for a Leaf. I'm more interested in the Volt:

...but just don't know how to make it happen anytime soon. Here's a comparison between the Leaf and the Volt, which seems to favor the Leaf:

...And between the Prius plug-in and the Volt, which seems to favor the Volt, except maybe price-wise, and makes good points about evaluating your vehicle use when choosing:


After owning a cursed 1994 Taurus wagon, I swore I would never again in life own a Ford, but they do have an option, too:


Of course, converting the Caliber is theoretically an option, too, but I don't know if I'm up to it.

Remember, polar bears need us to figure this out:

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Parenting Rocks









Ellen sympathizes:


See? Parenting rocks. And when it doesn't there's always chloroform.


Tuesday, December 4, 2012

From Crunchy Moms Yesterday to LA Moms Today

The video:


The making of:


Just a totally different perspective on mom-ness, right?


Monday, December 3, 2012

Munch a Bunch uh Crunch!




Don't forget the dads!


Different kind of crunchy, but too awesome to leave out:

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Gratitude

Realization (this guy has an amazing story):


Dance:


Vision:

Saturday, December 1, 2012

World AIDS Day

Annie Lennox at Zeitgeist UK 2012 (this past May), talking about the pandemic, especially in South Africa and as it relates to women and children:



World AIDS Day website.

WebMD's restrospective slideshow of the AIDS pandemic.

"It's really possible. It's not impossible." (eradication of pediatric aids website)

Friday, November 30, 2012

Songs in a Dying Language

Today is St. Andrew's Day.







Julie Fowlis's USA Spring Tour kicks off in Virginia in April. She'll be at Strathmore April 15th.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Modern Love (awww!)

The gloves come off in the fight for marriage equality:



There's always dissent...

Rachael! Dancing! 2 of Leamur's fav things!

Rachael with the DWTS Guru, Tony Dovolani:


With Paula Deen!


With Emmitt Smith!


And cooking (sort of, it's guac) with John Salley!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Saturday, November 24, 2012

OMG, Leia is a Disney Princess now!







Stitch will finally have a princess pal!

Friday, November 23, 2012

"Anyway, I had this incredible fantasy life."

We saw this (live, the musical, not the movie). I think it was 1983 in New York...



No video uploaded to utube alas, and Amazon doesn't have the DVD (dammit), but here's the song At the Ballet:


In case you had forgotten that Trisha Yearwood is awesome (sadly, I had):

My eyes are not dry. Miss you, Mom.



Thursday, November 22, 2012

TMI: Leamur is thankful for Public Service Announcements

What a hairdryer is for:


Proper zombie-killing technique:


Avoiding the hazard of unimaginative cosplay:


Everyone should know: Satan's got perfectly toned abs and rocks a C-cup.

And, no, you don't. Not even close.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Ready for Thanksgiving?

Wednesday was ready:


MC-Hammer-as-a-Turkey was ready:


The Minions are ready:

(Yes, I know you think that had nothing to do with Thanksgiving. But what about the part about all being engineered fromt he same strand of mutant DNA? That part's like Thanksgiving, right?)

Johnny Carson and Doc Severinsen were ready in 1979:


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

"Dont give up on the poor kids, because you never know what's going to happen."

Bill Strickland tells an inspiring story -- with Herbie Hancock's accompaniment -- of how he's paid it forward, beautifully:


He is up to 5 of these centers now.


Monday, November 19, 2012

"Margaret Thatcher was my mother."

"It's kind of easy to patronize the past to forgo our responsibilities in the present."



Saturday, November 17, 2012

100,000 Children in Foster Care in the US

Today is National Adoption Day: "a collective national effort to raise awareness of the more than 100,000 children in foster care waiting to find permanent, loving families."

The POTUS's proclamation of National Adoption Month:
NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH, 2012

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

As a Nation that believes all children deserve the chance to reach their full potential, we have a fundamental responsibility to ensure each of them grows up knowing the love and protection of a permanent family. During National Adoption Month, we give voice to children who are still waiting for that opportunity, celebrate the bond that unites adoptive parents with their sons and daughters, and recommit to providing every child with the care and security that will nurture their development and well-being.

Later this month, many Americans will also mark National Adoption Day by completing a foster care adoption and embracing a new member of their family. Driven by reasons unique to their households but united by the spirit of compassion that moves all who choose to adopt, these parents will take up our country's most important task -- the work of raising our sons and daughters. As we celebrate the contributions of adoptive parents across our Nation, let us also strive to eliminate discriminatory barriers that would separate foster children from a loving family. Adoptive families come in many forms, and it is essential that all qualified adults have the opportunity to care for a child in need.

My Administration remains committed to helping every child find a loving home. We have partnered with faith-based and community organizations across America to help connect children with adoptive parents, and we continue to work with State, local, and tribal governments to improve child outcomes; enhance safety, permanency, and well-being; and support adoptive families. I was proud to sign the Affordable Care Act and the International Adoption Simplification Act, which have made it easier for families to adopt, as well as the Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act, which will help reduce the length of time young children are without families. We have built on those efforts as part of the National Adoption Campaign, which continues to bring adoption and foster care into our national conversation.

Thousands of children living in America hope for the comfort and safety of a loving family. This month, we pay tribute to the dedicated professionals who help make those children's dreams a reality, sharpen our resolve to find a permanent home for every child, and celebrate the stories of all whose lives have been touched by adoption.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2012 as National Adoption Month. I encourage all Americans to observe this month by answering the call to find a permanent and caring family for every child in need, and by supporting the families who care for them.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA


Hear from the kids:

Friday, November 16, 2012

Not Karma, just Cool

This one's gorgeous (but sad):


Twisted (but...well, no, really just twisted):

Not Karma:


Just...Cold:



This is Cool Karma:

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Interview with Louise Erdrich

Luoise Erdrich talks with PBS Newshour host Jeffrey Brown about her National-Book-Award-nominated "The Round House":

Watch Conversation: Louise Erdrich, Author of 'The Round House' on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.



Reading a clip from the book:

Watch Louise Erdrich Reads From Her Novel 'The Round House' on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Make Cheesecake, Not War

In the Busken vs Frisch Pumpkin Pie War, the Busken brothers prank a Frisch's Big Boy:


To stay out of the pumpkin pie wars, here's a demonstration of how to make "punkin" cheesecake, with crushed ginger-cookie crust:

(watching this lady gives me such kitchen-envy!)

Friday, November 9, 2012

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Wayback Machine: The Kids in the Hall

The Head Crusher!


The Doctor!


The Chicken Lady! (in a strip club, so NSFW)


On America:


Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Saturday, November 3, 2012

FRONTLINE: Big Sky, Big Money

In case you missed it this week. Not to be missed:

Watch Big Sky, Big Money on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.


Friday, November 2, 2012

Karma-nimation







We don't actually get to see this one get his comeuppance, but it's got to be coming, right? Right?!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Descendants

Beautiful (& haunting!) animated short:

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!

Lindsay Stirling's Halloween bit'o'fun:


SYTYCD fun:


Classic animated fun:


Tuesday, October 30, 2012

From Data to Mind Control

When you get past the accent ("an electronic faahk-book", lol), the CIO of Proctor & Gamble has some intriguing things to say about the data and analytics needs & wants of a company with greater than 70% market penetration of the world.

Digitize. Visualize. Simulate. In real time.


(Thanks to Fritz Nelson of Information Week for pointing this out.)

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Crepes!

Short video of how easy it is to make crepes:


The full episode, featuring OMG orange souffle crepes with Gran Marnier (!) is here.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

TMI: Leamur's Christmas present will make her cry

Still makes me cry every time:




*Sigh* Only 2 months to go...

Greg (Wall Street's Conscientious Objector) Smith: The Book

Book review in WSJ. (Apparently the book is more of a memoir than an expose.)

60 Minutes interview:


The resignation-by-op-ed.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

In Keeping with the Theme of Too-Rich People Behaving Stupidly...

One of my fav movies from back-when...

Henry Kravis: "Debt can be an asset. Debt tightens a company."
Ross Johnson: "Does wonders for the sphincter, too."

PBS Author Interview: Sheila Bair (Bull by the Horns)

She probably wasn't allowed to title it "Bullshit by the Horns". ;)

Watch Former Regulator Bair Recounts Stories of Financial Crisis on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Zeitgeist '12 was not all butterflies and rainbows...

Van Jones had some not-all-that-positive stuff to say, too...about politics, what else?

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Finding the future with Google's Larry Page

Dude's voice is almost too mellow, but he has some interesting things to say (that aren't all self-promotion):

Friday, October 19, 2012

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Finding Hidden Art

In light of the recent theft of some great and famous artworks, I think this TED Talk by Maurizio Seracini about hte use of science by art historians is somewhat comforting:



Saturday, October 13, 2012

The instrument unchained: Nina Simone

How It Feels to Be Free:


Interview on BBC:


Bio.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Attack of the Halloween Movies

I'm not into scary movies, myself, except maybe the sf ones, but Angelina loves them.

This one's got Ethan Hawke:


Silent Hill Revelation:


The Possession:


Arcane symbolds, spooky children, and wide-eyed women, oh my!

This one coming out in the Spring or so is more my speed:


Friday, October 5, 2012

Publication Bias, Fraud, and Other Systematic Lies in the Name of "Science"

"This is a disaster. We cannot know the true effects of the medicines that we prescribe if we do not have access to all of the information."

A misled doctor's TED Talk seems timely in light of the new study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (New York Times article link).

Here's Ben Goldacre's previous TED Talk ("intellectual S&M activity" lol ):

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

The Implications of Posing

Soial psychologist Amy Cuddy on the politics of body language:



Thursday, September 27, 2012

Making It Up as We Go Along

Why Eyewitnesses Get It Wrong, by forensic psychologist Scott Fraser:


"All our memories are reconstructed memories."

Daniel Kahneman (love this guy, you don't want to skip this) puts this in a more personal perpective:

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Look Again: Objectless Space, Evidence, The Action of Time on Space

Antony Gormley's TED Talk:


"It is about re-asserting out first-hand experience in the present time."

Thursday, September 20, 2012

TMI Confession: Leamur watched the X-Factor

I blame the late start to the fall TV season and Britney Spears, the dorky-cute-est superstaahh ever.

Despite my love for bluegrass & folk, I tend to avoid pop country music, so this may be the one and only time you ever see country music here on RFoRC, but I really really liked this guy. Great voice, great performer, just wow.

Here's Tate Stevens (great name for a country star, too, right?) singing at a farewell party:


And here's his X-Factor debut:


Diamond and Panda were adorable, too.

For Those Anywhere-but-Here Days....

Popplagio (Sigur Ros)


Prototype (Sepiamusic - NSFW, the pole & all, y'know)


The Keeper (Bonobo, feat Andreya Triana)


Take Me with you (Serge Devant feat. Emma Hewitt)


The Infinite Variety (Alucidnation)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

How to Multitask

Learn a language and translate the internet at the same time? Ok, I'll bite.

DuoLingo


I'm trying German. Ugly language, but I can already understand a bit of Spanish and it just annoys the French if you try to speak their language anyway.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Might as well be dancing...

Yoav



You might want to avoid this very trippy vid if you have epilepsy...


Live "Beautiful Lie:

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Tim O'Brien Coming to WolfTrap

So, I got to thinking "Gee, I wonder who else Erica Cantrell/Mel Bay interviewed who has an upcoming performance in this area?"



With Chris Thile at Grey Fox 2011:


With The Chieftains (!):


More Celtic songs, in Austin in 2007:


On the violin:



To finish, House of the Rising Sun:


Refer to Tim O'Brien's website for further tour info. (November 8th at the Barns of WolfTrap!)

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Lindsey Stirling

So here's a kid (I'm old, remember) who dances while she plays, adapts/orchestrates songs she likes for her violin performances, directs her own videos, the whole package PLUS.

Dubstep(-ish) Violin
Crystallize
Electric Daisy


Skyrim (with Peter Hollens)


Transcendence & Shadows (these are just cool videos, period)



Sold Out show Tuesday, September 25th at The Hamilton. And almost everywhere else. Sorry, maybe next tour...

Friday, September 7, 2012

How did you spend your summer vacation?

I also want to draw attention to this interesting post by an epidemiologist who blogged from the refugee camps in South Sudan, Ruby Siddiqui. Full text is linked here for those of us too apathetic to click the link.

Emergency epidemiology-what does this mean?
By Médecins Sans Frontières
Posted: August 21, 2012

‘Mortality rates in a refugee camp in South Sudan are nearly double the threshold for an emergency, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned’ said a BBC report on 6th July 2012. ‘In Yida camp, [MSF data show] at least five children dying each day, most from diarrhoea and severe infections’, August 2nd, MSF press release. But where did these numbers come from? Getting good data might not seem the first priority in an emergency but it is essential to understand and respond appropriately to the needs of the population affected. I am an MSF epidemiologist and have just returned from the Jamam refugee crisis in South Sudan (I have documented my experiences here). In early May 2012 we started receiving reports of refugees fleeing Blue Nile state, Sudan and crossing the border into the world’s youngest nation, South Sudan. The refugees were escaping fighting and bombing by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) targeting rebels allied with the South Sudanese (Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA)-North). These refugees, weakened by months on the run, hiding in forests and caves and eating nothing but leaves were arriving in Upper Nile State, South Sudan, in shocking conditions, sometimes beyond medical care. And then in June 2012 the rains came, turning Jamam refugee camp into a muddy swamp.

MSF was already working in two refugee camps in Upper Nile State (Jamam and Doro) and another in neighbouring Unity State (Yida), supporting a total of 120,000 refugees since January 2012 that had fled the same fighting. Agencies were already struggling to provide enough clean water and shelter to these refugees. This was certainly a challenging environment. I have never seen children so malnourished that they are literally skin and bone or people drinking from muddy pools. My role was to understand the scale and severity of the emergency. This is measured through the mortality rate. I needed to somehow measure what proportion of the camp population was dying every day. These data would guide the nature and size of our intervention. And ensure we gave these refugees the most appropriate help.

The MSF epidemiology team interview families at a transit camp near Jamam, South Sudan after the start of the rainy season. Image Credit: Ruby Siddiqui/MSF There are several approaches for measuring mortality such as the classic 30×30 retrospective cluster sampling survey where 30 clusters (villages, wards, districts) are randomly selected and 30 households within each cluster are interviewed. Although this technique is useful for capturing the mortality rate at a single point in time, it does not indicate whether the rate is increasing or decreasing and may not be relevant to the current situation if the recall period is large.

So we elected to set up prospective surveillance in which we visited every household within the camp weekly. As well as monitoring mortality rates, with this system we could monitor the health status of the refugees more closely. We could refer any sick people to the MSF clinic, monitor the nutritional status of children aged less than five years using mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) measurements and trace children defaulting from the therapeutic feeding programmes before their condition deteriorated.

Such a system relies on solid training of outreach workers, local people that are trusted by the local population and able to communicate in their language. We identified 46 such people, all from the local population, most of whom were not literate but could all count. Although it was at times challenging to train these outreach workers, sometimes requiring two rounds of translation (English-Arabic and Arabic-Ingassana or Magaja) and re-designing of surveillance forms such that they required no writing, these teams were bright and understood quickly what they needed to do. And by forming them into teams in which there was a mix of men and women, all local languages were represented and at least one person was literate we were able to discover quickly that the crude mortality rate was 1.8 per 10,000 per day and the under-five mortality rate was 2.8 per 10,000 per day. Both rates were well above the emergency threshold, defining this as a severe situation. Almost 3 children were dying in the camp every day and 65% of deaths were due to diarrhoea. We were able to respond to these shocking findings by decentralising clinic services, setting up oral rehydration points throughout the camp and promoting safe water and hygiene practices at every household visited. The international media quoted our findings in headline news that demanded that governments and international agencies paid attention to this refugee crisis.

And now we have seen mortality rates dip below the emergency thresholds. There is still much to do. We need to identify and protect against the main morbidities in this population, remain vigilant against malaria and cholera for which the conditions are perfect and moreover continue to advocate for the transfer of these refugees out of the Jamam swamp. And as long as we continue to supervise strongly and are provided with a vehicle when needed (always a major challenge in MSF projects!), the prospective surveillance system will continue to provide the real-time health data that enables us to respond quickly and provide timely care to this population who have been through so much.

Ruby Siddiqui
Ruby Siddiqui is an epidemiologist based in the Manson Unit, MSF’s clinical research unit in London, United Kingdom. She has just returned from working on the refugee crisis in South Sudan. She supports MSF field projects with medical surveillance and monitoring, outbreak investigation and evidence-based decision-making (including routine data analysis, surveys and operational research).

Obama's 2012 DNC Nomination Acceptance Speech

Thursday, September 6, 2012

"What works in the real world is cooperation."

Bill's speech:

Learning from and about Social Networks

Here's a great TED talk about the value of social networks. (Real and actual ones. If you're looking for something about FB, consider yourself mocked.)

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Michelle's Speech

Math for Patterning Behavior

Police departments have started using computer models for predicting crime to allocate resources, even in D.C. This TED Talk describes in general terms how that's done:

Thursday, August 30, 2012

"Banjo Summit" at the Birchmere October 30th

'A Gathering of 5-String Masters' featuring Bela Fleck, Tony Trischka, Bill Keith, Noam Pikelny, Richie Stearns, Eric Weissberg, Pete Wernick & more!

So, in order:
Bela Fleck (beautiful, I love Celtic tunes):


Tony Triscka (and here's a bonus history of the song Sally Goodin from Richard L. Matteson, Jr.):


Bill Keith:


I can't embed funnyordie's piece on Noam Pikelny with Steve Martin ("I had King Tut, I had...King Tut.") and Ed Helms, so here's something else (sort of):


Richie Stearns:


Eric Weissberg (but NOT Dueling Banjos, so he's barely audible, alas):


Pete Wernick, aka Dr. Banjo, with Jeff White:


Sunday, August 26, 2012

More Upcoming Music: Casey Driesson

Casey Driesson is coming to Strathmore Mansion October 26th!

Check out the vid in the link to Strathmore's tix page above, then...

With Bela Fleck & the Flecktones (coming in about half-way thru, but it's great until then, too):


This one tickles me, he's playing on the way down Telluride in a gondola (gorgeous background scenery, dammit, now I wanna go to Telluride!):


Sugarfoot rag:

Sunday, August 12, 2012

The Incredible Shrinking World

We are caged in bubbles...



"...you couldn't get a functioning democracy, if citizens didn't have a good flow of information..."

Explains a lot, doesn't it?

Friday, August 10, 2012

Water Art

OK, this is beautiful and unusual, but the music is horrible, sorry, you probably want to turn off teh sound for this one.



This one is done with several colors, and adds a technique of transferring the painting to paper. :o The music's a little better, no vocals at least:


Wednesday, August 8, 2012

The Antidote to Suck

So, when I see things like that poor guy yesterday who got his iStuff & everything else hacked, erased, etc., I think it's natural enough to think "aw, $4!+, people suck", but nobody wants to stay in that headspace, so fortunately, there's an antidote, brought to us by failarmy:

(Aw, man, *I* wanna play tennis with lightsabers!)

And others:



People can suck, be fearless, be awesome. It's a choice.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Public Service Announcement: Beware Your iApple Stuff

Back it all up, people. Read this very scary account in Wired, and then take appropriate measures to protect yourself. This guy was probably targeted because he's a Wired writer, but someone will just want to try this to see if they can do it, and you could be the next toast-ee.

Here's the link.

Good luck.

Friday, August 3, 2012

TMI: Leamur is not a morning person

Background: Quick video summary of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's stages of grief.



I travel this journey every morning.

Denial:
bzzzzz...bzz...bzz...bzzzzz What the eff is that? No. Already? No, it can't be that time yet.
bzzzz...bzz...bzz...bzzzzz I do NOT have to get up yet. I need Snooze. Oh, shit, which one is snooze? Green? Yellow? Right, it's the yellow one on the bottom, that's snooze.
[snooze activated, head hits pillow with a thud. Tink sighs. I reach over, figure out where her head is & rub her.]

Anger:
bzzzzz...bzz...bzz...bzzzzz DAMmit! Already?! That so did not feel like 10 minutes. I hate this, it's still dark out, just when you get into a good sleep this happens, where's the effing snooze? bzzzzz...bzz...bzz..--
But I hit snooze already!!!..--oh, alright.
[burrow deeper into covers, snuggle Tink, she gives a little groan]

Bargaining:
bzzzzz...bzz...bzz...bzzzzz Aw, crap. Can I afford to do this once more? Maybe if I use the all-in-one instead of the shampoo and conditioner in two steps...Did I put my clothes in the bathroom already? Do I have a micro-meal, so I don't have to--- bzzzzz...bzz...bzz...bzzzzz I'll make it work. Snooze, snooze, there it is.
[thud, snuggle, Tink sighs pointedly and with emphasis this time]

Depression:
bzzzzz...bzz...bzz...bzzzzz I can't face it, I can't. I'm going to be late. Again. It's not like anyone cares. The inevitable snooze owns me.
[roll over & rub Tink a little. She rolls onto her back because I'm supposed to rub the belly already. I do for a bit & then stop & start to nod off again. Tink licks my face to tell me I'm not done yet. I rub her belly some more then turn away so she can't get to my face to make me keep going.]

Acceptance:
bzzzzz...bzz...bzz...bzzzzz Oh, man, I should've been up a half hour ago. Green is dismiss. Right. Done. OK, Tink, yes, more belly rubs. Yeah, sure, scritches there, too. Mmm-hmm.
[rub Tink a bit longer, get vertical, drink some water & take some vitamins, think how nice horizontal was, yearn for horizontal, fall to horizontal again with the excuse of scritching Tink some more, realize that she knows what I'm up to and that this is scritching as an excuse to stay horizontal, finally get up and stagger to bathroom.]

So now you know too much about my mornings. And why I can't ever get married. No one but Tink would put up with all that.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Sunday, July 22, 2012

PBS/NOVA on Concussions

Please try to ignore poor Neil being his goofy-cute but not always charismatic TV-persona:

Watch Phoenix Mars Lander, Brain Trauma, Mammoth Mystery, Judah... on PBS. See more from NOVA scienceNOW.



Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to play football...

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Beasts of the Southern Wild Background Stuff

Official Trailer:


I loved the movie, which I saw in Annapolis Sunday night with JMax. Looking up stuff to try to persuade a friend at work to take his daughter, I found some interesting background stuff.

The acting was specatacular. This "sneak peek" is an interview with the actors who played Hushpuppy and Wink. Dwight Henry, the actor who played Wink, is not a professional, he's a baker. This is how he was selected for the role:


Further background, including the inspiration:

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Go see this movie. You won't be sorry. This goes double if you're a Daddy.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Thursday, July 12, 2012

For Blanka, who loves Truth. And Movies, sometimes.

Background: The novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was written in 1962 by Ken Kesey. The (classic) film, released in 1975, was directed by Milos Forman, who had immigrated from still-communist Czechoslovakia in 1968. (He also directed Amadeus, which was also great.)

Personal background: I was very moved during the Velvet Revolution by watching days of huge crowds gathered peacefully on the streets of Prague. This was about 6 months after I (finally) graduated from college and about a month after I had moved into my apartment on St. Paul Street, across from Penn Station, a couple blocks south of North Avenue in Baltimore. (So, not the best neighborhood, you couldn't park on the street without getting your window busted & my landlady put bars on the building's windows shortly after I moved in, but I was young and it was just me & a cocker spaniel and a cat, so what did I care?) Day after day on the news, I saw so many people staying so sane, and there were stories of the PA equipment being used to locate parents of misplaced children and so forth. I recall being very impressed that so many people had gathered so peacefully, and I even remember thinking that if that many people gathered in Los Angeles (just pulling an American city out of the air), it would be a riot. (The L.A. Riots happened 3 years later in 1992, around the time of what the BBC calls here "The Velvet Divorce".)

Finally, the post itself: This talented film director of classic films, Milos Forman, has pointed out in the New York Times that all of the name-calling of President Obama's platform and accomplishments as "Socialism" isn't just the ho-hum hyperbole we expect and ignore in an election year. It isn't just inaccurate. It is a profound "misunderestimation" (to throw out a classic Bush-ism) of world history, and ignoring such nonsense just because we know it's nonsense (and assume everyone else does) isn't right.

Thank you, Mr. Forman, for speaking up. We needed to hear that from an authentic voice such as yours.

Obama's Response to ACA Approval by the SCOTUS



Article in Forbes by Michael Waldholz.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Classic Method to Chill With

Roll It Up


Funny Break (live, turn it up))



And if you've got some time, you can have Better Living Through Circuitry:


Thursday, July 5, 2012

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Listening as Independence

Happy Independence Day!

Independence is in context.



Evelying Glennie's biography from the TED page:

Why you should listen to her: .Evelyn Glennie's music challenges the listener to ask where music comes from: Is it more than simply a translation from score to instrument to audience? How can a musician who has almost no hearing play with such sensitivity and compassion? The Grammy-winning percussionist and composer became almost completely deaf by the age of 12, but her hearing loss brought her a deeper understanding of and connection to the music she loves. She's the subject of the documentary Touch the Sound, which explores this unconventional and intriguing approach to percussion. Along with her vibrant solo career, Glennie has collaborated with musicians ranging from classical orchestras to Björk. Her career has taken her to hundreds of concert stages around the world, and she's recorded a dozen albums, winning a Grammy for her recording of Bartók's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, and another for her 2002 collaboration with Bela Fleck. Her passion for music and musical literacy brought her to establish, in collaboration with fellow musicians Julian Lloyd Weber and Sir James Galway, the Music Education Consortium, which successfully lobbied for an investment of 332 million pounds in music education and musical resources in Britain.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

WIN from The Network

Truly. Winwinwinwinwinwinwin!!!!

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Friday, June 29, 2012

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Introducing: Beauty



Kudos to Shawn Reeder for documenting beauty.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Ideas Worth Spreading (or not): The True Job Creators

"If the median household income had kept pace with the economy since 1970, it would now be nearly $92,000, not $50,000."



Things that make you go hmmm...: The TED folks found this too "political" to post on their web-site, but then posted it to YouTube after some finger-wagging. The TED Talk that identified Native Americans on reservations as prisoners of war and suggested we should honor the Laramie treaties and give the Lakota territory back was not too political to post (thankfully), but this Rich-Guy-Copernicus pointing out that the economy does not really revolve around rich guys is too political. Tch!