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22 Apr 08 Even ‘The Simpsons’ is sounding the bell

Via CyberJournalist.net:

Oof.

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21 Apr 08 Breaking News!


Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early

Sorry, just thought we all could use a little injection of humor. This comes after reading a profile piece on The Onion by Virginia Heffernan in the NY Times. Best quote:

“If you can’t trust your shadowy overlords to keep a secret, what is the purpose of voting in a puppet democracy?”

Awesome. Back to your regularly scheduled program.

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13 Apr 08 News reporting can be dangerous stuff

Time for a little levity, though painful levity.

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09 Apr 08 50 greatest comedy sketches of all time

One of the few movie critics whose opinion I trust, Nich Schager, points us to IFC’s collection of the ‘50 Greatest Comedy Sketches of All Time.’ Below is number eighteen:



This isn’t particularly journalism related, but I point this out for two reasons.

One, it’s damn hilarious and worth some time and a walk down memory lane. The collection includes genius bits spanning over 50 years of sketch comedy with gems like Monty Python’s ‘Spanish Inquisition’ to SNL’s 1978 ‘Olympia Restaurant’ sketch which had John Belushi spouting, “Cheezborger! Cheezborger!”

The second reason I point this out is that it is a fine example of a sort of Journalism 2.0. Granted, it’s movie news but it is still a relevant point. Not only can you read the snippets about each clip, written by various critics and movie buffs culled from all points of the cinematic spectrum, but you can watch each and every clip thanks to the advent of YouTube and embedded movie players. This adds such a rich layer to what IFC, and in the future other journalists, will be able to do with the advances in Web techology.

The article may have worked in print, but the way they presented here just makes sense. Think about all of the times you’ve read these types of ‘50 greatest of all time…’ articles but couldn’t for the life you remember what clip, movie or song the article was talking about.

Yeah, those times are over. Stuff like this is just the tip of the iceberg, to use the cliché. Web 2.0 rules!

Oh and of course #1, with a bullet, is Monty Python’s ‘Dead Parrot. ‘ If you’ve never seen it, here it is for you. Swallow any food you are chewing, don’t drink anything and watch.

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03 Apr 08 Metrics

I just noticed this video of a Bill Maher episode I posted on YouTube has almost 400,000 views and over 5,000 comments.


Kooky. Now if I only I could harness the power of the dark side.

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03 Apr 08 Maximum Overdrive

Semi-truck crash in Edmonton.

Here’s the YouTube version with a local news organization (though it’s not as good because they are yammering over the whole thing):

The Internet and technology age really makes for some dramatic news.

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30 Mar 08 Stop-motion, cardboard Tron

I think the title is pretty self explanatory.


Tron
by freres-hueon

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29 Mar 08 Random amusment

This still makes me laugh. Just some random amusement. (Make sure the sound is on, ‘The audience is listening.’)

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24 Mar 08 Hillary’s spotty memory about her trip to Basra

D’oh!

Nice cover from the Clinton aide. Not unlike Romney’s memory of his father “meeting” Martin Luther King Jr.

Here’s another video for a little more context.


Interesting, to say the least. Kind of makes you wonder what other things she remembers.

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18 Mar 08 I miss Mega Man

I’ve played Rock Band only once, but I know that the following video is ridiculous.


Dude has to be drummer in real life. If not, he sure as heck should be. Personally, I prefer the singing portion of Rock Band.

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17 Mar 08 St. Patrick’s Day movie tribute

From Slate.com, ‘The Worse Leprechaun Movies Ever Made!’



I disagree with Leprechaun in the Hood however, that was cinema gold. Gold, get it? Huh, huh? Man, tough room.

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17 Mar 08 Big Dog, the robo-dog/mule-thingie

There is something incredibly creepy about this.

Hat tip: Boing Boing

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16 Mar 08 Star Wars (Sweded)

Sweded #

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08 Mar 08 The Middle East @ work

From American Public Radio:


Camel ride hits a few bumps from Marketplace on Vimeo.

The same type of thing happened to my mom and I in Thailand, though not quite as extreme because we are Thai. Woo American capitalism. You were right Thomas Friedman, the world really is flat! And it is not necessarily a good thing.

Watch until the last shot, it’s golden.

The rest of the series about how money works within Sharia law is intersting.

Here’s the thing, in Sharia law, you can’t make money from the lending of money. Basically you can’t charge interest, which makes things like loans and mortgages difficult for those that follow Sharia.

Now most people know how I feel about religion, but to those that don’t, this basically sets the tone. When your religion dictates your financial decisions, I think you need to rethink your priorities.

However, in this case, it actually forces those that follow Sharia law to make more sound financial decisions and stay out of debt. The reality here is that all financial companies should, morally, emulate what these companies are doing.

Clearly there are ways to get a house, get a student loan or invest in a mutual fund without going into debt or investing in companies that make profit through debt. Perhaps there is something to learn from the Muslim world, even if you disagree with everything else about it.

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05 Mar 08 The most amazing machine you will see today

The mechanized tree harvester! Now I’m not into deforestation, but these things are awesome.



Let’s just hope that Valmet, Komatsu and John Deere don’t decide to make automated, driverless versions. That’s all we need is these killing machines going ‘Maximum Overdrive‘ on us.

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