Yeah, I can ramble a bit, but when someone says "Citizen Journalism" it kinda gets my back up a bit. It's not that I don't think the person on the street can't contribute to the ongoing dialogues and diatribes about everything from the crucial to the mundane. It's simply that, almost all the time, it ain't journalism. And with Twitter, there's even less of a chance... but I digress... give a listen.
No, not quite Wonder Woman's invisible plane, but I've got to admire someone who comes with up a cool idea and actually goes through with what must have been an incredible amount of effort all in the name of art. I wonder how this car would look in the middle of field or just driving down the street... kinda like a rip in space.
I can't believe I'd never seen this before. If you're a fan of rotoscope animation (the style that was used most recently in Waking Life, but right back to the 1930s) you'll really dig this clip. Rotoscoping mimics live movement without making someone wear a blue suit with little white balls stuck all over it for a computer to read. And hell, it's Tom Waits, so it's infinitely cooler than anything out now even thirty years later.
While everyone has seemed to catch on to rip-off of microscamming that are gift cards, it seems that the fad has not faded and, indeed, may be taken in another direction. Casinos in Alberta are instituting a Casino Card system which is under the auspices of "capping" problem gamblers at a specific level. The next logical step, however, is Casino Gift Cards.
Let's face it, the gift card has become the easiest out during the holiday season. It's too gauche to give cash, so give plastic. Now though, instead of passing a Walmart or Target card to a family member, give them 20 pulls on a slot machine.
Some of the complaints that are filing in from around Alberta include the concept of advertising on the cards themselves. I wonder if the cards will have to contain a back and white warning, at least half the size of the card, that warns against the health hazards of gambling.
Maybe they could show the diseased lung of a gambler. Maybe they could give interesting stats about how secondhand gambling will kill children in cars. Maybe they could gather opinions from 3 out of 4 dentists who recommend sugar-free gambling for patients who choose gambling. I just hope someone starts up a "Green Gambling" group that complains about the use of plastic in making the cards.
Anyone who's read lovehatethings or listened to the podcast knows I'm a regular visitor to Vegas and any other casino that gets in my way. And while I empathize with "problem" gambling, just like any other addiction, no piece of plastic or self-imposed limitation is going to impact wide swaths of gamblers. While I would loathe to consider my province banning casinos, I do think that the solution is evident. If enough people are concerned, have a referendum and ban it... can I get odds on the over/under of that vote?
I know that when some of you see the word Otis, you think about elevators. I also know that many people think of Otis Redding with a certain reverence without knowing why. Some artists we accept by default through knowledge passed down as though canon of popular music is a sacred, unchanging brick wall.
The song "Try a Little Tenderness" is "a love song written by "Irving King" (James Campbell and Reginald Connelly) and Harry M. Woods, and recorded initially on December 8, 1932 by the Ray Noble Orchestra (with vocals by Val Rosing) followed by both Ruth Etting and Bing Crosby in 1933. Subsequent recordings and performances were done by such recording artists as Little Miss Cornshucks (1951), Jimmy Durante, Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart, Frankie Laine, Percy Sledge, Earl Grant, Al Jarreau, Nina Simone, Etta James, Tina Turner, Three Dog Night and John Miles and Andrew Strong." (wikipedia)
This performance is 42 years old. And though the song isn't that long, Otis Redding shows why he kicks ass and his style and energy are timeless. If the only version you've heard is the bastardized Chris Brown version, do yourself a favor and share the power, energy and soul of a frontman without equal - Otis Redding.
Some meanderings on the concept of hockey cards as universal ID documents... they'd just be so much handier. Plus, you could trade them with people as business cards. And (a second totally unrelated topic) how the concept of design is failing the local Chinese food takeout menus. I don't even know what I'm ordering any more - I'm going to Taco Bell.
A blithe dissertation about the corner I've been painted into by the arrival of a new Star Trek film that is an old Star Trek film... can I look forward to past. Space, the well-trodden frontier. These are... were... and are again the voyages of the Starship Enterprise... again.
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Ruminating on the Swine Flu's viral invasion, nebulous language to achieve one's political ends, and what could be the death of the animated sitcom... with "Bob and Doug" and "Sit Down and Shut Up".
I don't necessarily like to crosspost my work at DyscultureD over to lovehatethings on a regular basis, but I figured, for those that follow from their own Posterous site, this would be of interest.
Thanks to Garry and Sachin for putting aside some time to talk to DyscultureD last week. Hear what the guys are up to and where Posterous may be going in the near future.
The direct link to the podcast via the web is here, or you can subscribe via iTunes.
I hope you enjoy the interview.
Many Canadians are all too familiar with this classic cartoon from the National Film Board, but for the benefit of the unitiated, I submit for your perusal, The Cat Came Back. If you just can't quite appreciate the storyline, you'll probably find the music quite infectious. It's sometimes years between seeing this short for me and I usually smile a nostalgic smile every time. Hope you enjoy it.