Because you haven't seen enough YouTube videos.
Showing posts with label Internet video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Internet video. Show all posts
January 28, 2008
January 17, 2008
January 10, 2008
Every Candidate Should Answer Questions At Google
Edit: I should have used Google before writing that title. Other candidates that have appeared at Google.
I linked to a video of Barack Obama answering questions from Google employees in the last post that I have heard of but never watched. I finally watched it, both 25 min. parts.
In the campaign, we hear stump speeches, pundits, and occasionally an informative debate, the best of which might allow each candidate to speak for a few minutes at a time. There is a lot of attention paid to each candidate, but sometimes little information.
Unless you live in Iowa or New Hampshire, you probably aren't going to have the chance to go to a town hall meeting and hear a candidate talk in-depth for an hour or two on policy and philosophy. The video of Obama's Q&A session from a few months ago was interesting for that reason, because it gave him a forum to elaborate on some of his policy interests, governing philosophy, and most important to me, his decision making process. It took place in a laid-back environment away from the mass media and before the primaries, and the talk was as unguarded as one could expect from a politician.
There is no one moment that blew me away, but he said a lot of things that seemed rational and well-reasoned. The cumulative effect made me feel more comfortable about him being elected President.
If you want a good sample, forward to 18:30 in this video and watch the rest (6 minutes).
I was already leaning towards him, so there is some bias there. The clip (and whole video) is worth watching though, and it has the type of information that I think will be difficult to get from any candidate at this point in the campaign.
If you have 10 min. of a video of another candidate to suggest, post it in the comments. I will watch it, whoever it is.
I linked to a video of Barack Obama answering questions from Google employees in the last post that I have heard of but never watched. I finally watched it, both 25 min. parts.
In the campaign, we hear stump speeches, pundits, and occasionally an informative debate, the best of which might allow each candidate to speak for a few minutes at a time. There is a lot of attention paid to each candidate, but sometimes little information.
Unless you live in Iowa or New Hampshire, you probably aren't going to have the chance to go to a town hall meeting and hear a candidate talk in-depth for an hour or two on policy and philosophy. The video of Obama's Q&A session from a few months ago was interesting for that reason, because it gave him a forum to elaborate on some of his policy interests, governing philosophy, and most important to me, his decision making process. It took place in a laid-back environment away from the mass media and before the primaries, and the talk was as unguarded as one could expect from a politician.
There is no one moment that blew me away, but he said a lot of things that seemed rational and well-reasoned. The cumulative effect made me feel more comfortable about him being elected President.
If you want a good sample, forward to 18:30 in this video and watch the rest (6 minutes).
I was already leaning towards him, so there is some bias there. The clip (and whole video) is worth watching though, and it has the type of information that I think will be difficult to get from any candidate at this point in the campaign.
If you have 10 min. of a video of another candidate to suggest, post it in the comments. I will watch it, whoever it is.
October 17, 2007
Down With Bears! Vote Colbert!
Steven Colbert is running for President! In one state. I'm moving to South Carolina to vote for him. For one, he's the only Presidential candidate who understands the danger bears pose to our homes, our families, and our way of life. I'm looking at you, Sugar Bear. Two...there is no two. Bears are the gravest threat to humanity in the world. Reason number one is reason number enough to vote for Steven Colbert.
Colbert's presidential announcement
Update: Uh oh. He's already involved in his first scandal.
Colbert's presidential announcement
Update: Uh oh. He's already involved in his first scandal.
Keyword Project
For the past several days, I've been going through every post I have written, over 1,350, and adding keywords to each post. I also fixed dozens of links and deleted about 50 extraneous posts.
I am 99% finished. I've been adding the keywords in reverse chronological order, so I'm at the first handful of posts I wrote four years ago. The indexing system was created on the fly so it is inconsistent and not as good as if I had the time to plan it out, but I think it will serve some use.
One of my first posts four years ago was a link to this video, We Drink Ritalin. Not only does the original link work (trust me, this is amazing by itself), but the video is still very funny.
I disabled the RSS feed before I started, so either you will get one new post after I restore the feed, or 1,300.
I am 99% finished. I've been adding the keywords in reverse chronological order, so I'm at the first handful of posts I wrote four years ago. The indexing system was created on the fly so it is inconsistent and not as good as if I had the time to plan it out, but I think it will serve some use.
One of my first posts four years ago was a link to this video, We Drink Ritalin. Not only does the original link work (trust me, this is amazing by itself), but the video is still very funny.
I disabled the RSS feed before I started, so either you will get one new post after I restore the feed, or 1,300.
June 20, 2007
Lord of the Rings: The Musicial!
I don't know whether to laugh or order tickets. I watched a few video clips, and none of them have any emotional resonance. The songs are bland and I'm not sure it's possible to combine an epic mythology with the silly, fleeting aspects inherent in musicals.
The set is absolutely gorgeous though. Watch clip #2 on the site. The visuals are almost as cinematographic as the movies, which is amazing for a play.
What this play really is though is the first test of LotR fans' nerdosity. (I know it's not a word, but it should be). It has been a few years since the movies. Will LotR have the same cultural resonance that Star Wars did, where fans devoured spin-offs and related merchandise for years after the movies?
My guess is no, for reasons that have nothing to do with the movies and everything to do with how it is less likely nowadays for people to find identity in just one or a few groups.
This is my definition of (cultural) group identity: something that you take pride in being part of or having an interest in, along with an awareness that there are other people that share your interest.
The second part is important because twenty years ago, it must have been more difficult to find people that shared an obscure interest. If you liked an unknown band and knew no one else you did, wouldn't you feel a little lonely? There was probably a gravitation towards national cultural phenomenons, like Star Wars or Dallas, because it was easier to have that feeling that there were other people with the same interest. You could put a "I Shot J.R." bumper sticker on your car and know at least some people would get it.
It's a nice feeling. I remember seeing a Homestar Runner bumper stickers and feeling a little happy seeing it. I felt positive about the mysterious person who owned that car, like we shared a bond.
My guess is that today, with all of the media choices available, and the ease in finding people who share our interests, that we belong to many more groups than people twenty years ago. At the same time, this makes being part of a particular group less special. I love the LotR movies, but I don't have the psychological need to be part of the LotR group that I likely would have had twenty years ago. There are dozens of TV shows, interests, and bands that I like that help satisfy my need for connection.
That's why I think the cultural phenomenon of Star Wars will never be repeated. There will be more wildly popular movies like Titanic or LotR, but none of them can have the long-lasting psychological impact that they could have had twenty years ago.
The long-lasting part is the critical word. In the short-tern, I do think The Matrix, LotR, and so on were as beloved as Star Wars was initially. But there are so many new movies and TV shows out there, along with ways to connect with people, that there is no psychological reason to devote yourself to just one. The same way that it is easier to find a group, it is easier to leave one too.
(On a side note, I realized as I was writing this why I try so hard to encourage my friends to share some of my interests, usually a TV show or movie that I love. I feel a little disconnected to them if they haven't seen or heard something I like a lot, as if I joined a club that they're not members of.)
The set is absolutely gorgeous though. Watch clip #2 on the site. The visuals are almost as cinematographic as the movies, which is amazing for a play.
What this play really is though is the first test of LotR fans' nerdosity. (I know it's not a word, but it should be). It has been a few years since the movies. Will LotR have the same cultural resonance that Star Wars did, where fans devoured spin-offs and related merchandise for years after the movies?
My guess is no, for reasons that have nothing to do with the movies and everything to do with how it is less likely nowadays for people to find identity in just one or a few groups.
This is my definition of (cultural) group identity: something that you take pride in being part of or having an interest in, along with an awareness that there are other people that share your interest.
The second part is important because twenty years ago, it must have been more difficult to find people that shared an obscure interest. If you liked an unknown band and knew no one else you did, wouldn't you feel a little lonely? There was probably a gravitation towards national cultural phenomenons, like Star Wars or Dallas, because it was easier to have that feeling that there were other people with the same interest. You could put a "I Shot J.R." bumper sticker on your car and know at least some people would get it.
It's a nice feeling. I remember seeing a Homestar Runner bumper stickers and feeling a little happy seeing it. I felt positive about the mysterious person who owned that car, like we shared a bond.
My guess is that today, with all of the media choices available, and the ease in finding people who share our interests, that we belong to many more groups than people twenty years ago. At the same time, this makes being part of a particular group less special. I love the LotR movies, but I don't have the psychological need to be part of the LotR group that I likely would have had twenty years ago. There are dozens of TV shows, interests, and bands that I like that help satisfy my need for connection.
That's why I think the cultural phenomenon of Star Wars will never be repeated. There will be more wildly popular movies like Titanic or LotR, but none of them can have the long-lasting psychological impact that they could have had twenty years ago.
The long-lasting part is the critical word. In the short-tern, I do think The Matrix, LotR, and so on were as beloved as Star Wars was initially. But there are so many new movies and TV shows out there, along with ways to connect with people, that there is no psychological reason to devote yourself to just one. The same way that it is easier to find a group, it is easier to leave one too.
(On a side note, I realized as I was writing this why I try so hard to encourage my friends to share some of my interests, usually a TV show or movie that I love. I feel a little disconnected to them if they haven't seen or heard something I like a lot, as if I joined a club that they're not members of.)
February 20, 2007
February 15, 2007
Very Precious
Barry White teams up with Gollum and Smeagol.
This Original Gansta/Gandalf mash-up is pretty good too. (Explicit language. Both links from BoingBoing).
This Original Gansta/Gandalf mash-up is pretty good too. (Explicit language. Both links from BoingBoing).
January 08, 2007
October 26, 2006
Calling All Math Majors
I've been thinking about the flash video below that explains the ten dimensions. The way the dimensions are defined, there can be no more than ten dimensions, because the 10th dimension is the infinity of all the infinite universes. But I remember reading of some string theories that propose the existence of more than 10 dimensions, most notably 11 or 26. Are these other definitions just different ways of categorizing the same thing, like instead of "5, 6, 7" it's "5a, 5b, 5c, 6a, 6b, 7a..."
Do I even want to know? Sometimes I like asking questions more than the answers. Questions are easy. Answers are hard. When I think about researching my own questions, part of my brain goes, "Woah, hold on there, Einstein. We haven't had our second nap yet Why don't you go grab that duck feather pillow there, and we'll think about this in an hour."
Do I even want to know? Sometimes I like asking questions more than the answers. Questions are easy. Answers are hard. When I think about researching my own questions, part of my brain goes, "Woah, hold on there, Einstein. We haven't had our second nap yet Why don't you go grab that duck feather pillow there, and we'll think about this in an hour."
The 10th Dimension
If you watch one flash animation of the 10th dimension, make it this one. A lucid explanation matched with lucid design.
October 25, 2006
I Love Keith Olbermann
He has a talent for giving scathing yet eloquent critiques that manage to avoid descending into a polemic rant because of the truth behind his accusations. This one deals with the Bush administration use of fear as a political tool. It's 10 min. long, but it's worth to at least watch the first 5 minutes.
September 15, 2006
August 19, 2006
May 25, 2006
The Washington D.C. version of "You Know You're A Redneck When..."
You know your legal defense is is trouble when...
Your supporters defend you by using a video clip from the Colbert Report.
Your supporters defend you by using a video clip from the Colbert Report.
May 01, 2006
Stephen Colbert's Speech at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner
February 15, 2006
LED Throwies
My sister's super-talented boyfriend, "fi5e", and his friend "resistor" came up with this: LED throwies. (Sorry, Evan, but there's no way I'm writing "fi5e" or "resistor" without quotes.)
August 03, 2005
March 30, 2005
January 25, 2005
The Aristocrats
If you are on the borderline between going to heaven and hell, why not remove the guesswork and laugh at this.
South Park's Version of "The Aristocrats." (explanation in link)
If you want to get fired, this is the perfect video to play with the speakers turned all the way up.
South Park's Version of "The Aristocrats." (explanation in link)
If you want to get fired, this is the perfect video to play with the speakers turned all the way up.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)