Monday, June 11, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Skeptical Response to Kony 2012
Hey good folks of the interwebs. You've probably already seen the viral video regarding Joseph Kony and the pleas for donations to the Invisible Children of Uganda. What you probably haven't seen are the critical and skeptical responses to the viral movement. I'd like to share some of them here.
Kony 2012 exploded so quickly through social media like Facebook and Twitter that it became enough of a meme to grant an entry in the Know Your Meme database. It's a good place to start, but here's a little graphic meme that illustrates the problem in an absurd and yet still serves as a primer to the issue. Here's a strangely astute response to the issue from a notable YouTuber, Skweezy Jibbs, know for his colorful rants:
I also enjoyed The Juice Media's most recent Rap News feature relating to the issue. If you haven't seen any of these, I highly recommend going back through their videos and watch a few. I think this is one of the most intelligent and entertaining independent news review sources available, after The Daily Show of course.
Kony 2012 exploded so quickly through social media like Facebook and Twitter that it became enough of a meme to grant an entry in the Know Your Meme database. It's a good place to start, but here's a little graphic meme that illustrates the problem in an absurd and yet still serves as a primer to the issue. Here's a strangely astute response to the issue from a notable YouTuber, Skweezy Jibbs, know for his colorful rants:
I also enjoyed The Juice Media's most recent Rap News feature relating to the issue. If you haven't seen any of these, I highly recommend going back through their videos and watch a few. I think this is one of the most intelligent and entertaining independent news review sources available, after The Daily Show of course.
Finally, here are some words on a page that call into the question not only the validity of the Kony 2012 movement and the Invisible Children campaign, but also the skeptical responses and casual dismissal of it.
My suggestion, if you're inclined to take any action, would be to avoid the Invisible Children charity and instead donate to a more reputable organization like one supported by GiveWell or one of my favorite secular organizations, Doctors Without Borders.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Couple of Things
Hey there folks. I have a couple of things to share with you today.
First up, if you're not playing Realm of the Mad God right now you should be. It's fast paced, easy to play, and you'll be addicted quite easily. You can even play it in your browser. Go try it out, now!
Second, if you haven't seen the viral ad for Dollar Shave Club already, go check it out. I hate to admit it, but this kind of ad campaign works for me. I might just end up signing up, if the shipping and handling isn't too bad, but only after I work my way through my current pile of Costco blades.
Cheers
First up, if you're not playing Realm of the Mad God right now you should be. It's fast paced, easy to play, and you'll be addicted quite easily. You can even play it in your browser. Go try it out, now!
Second, if you haven't seen the viral ad for Dollar Shave Club already, go check it out. I hate to admit it, but this kind of ad campaign works for me. I might just end up signing up, if the shipping and handling isn't too bad, but only after I work my way through my current pile of Costco blades.
Cheers
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Express Your Love Day
Hello again folks. Hope you're all having a good Express Your Love Day, whether you're expressing it to a significant other, your family, pets, or even yourself.
If you're looking for a last minute card to give that special someone, might I recommend one of these excellent options from The Oatmeal.
XKCD's recent comic sums up most of my feelings about this time of year.
Australian songsmith Tim Minchin isn't afraid to offer his opinion on what true love is all about. Here are a couple samples. Enjoy...
If you're looking for a last minute card to give that special someone, might I recommend one of these excellent options from The Oatmeal.
XKCD's recent comic sums up most of my feelings about this time of year.
Australian songsmith Tim Minchin isn't afraid to offer his opinion on what true love is all about. Here are a couple samples. Enjoy...
Monday, February 13, 2012
Abe Lincoln, Vampires, & Space Nazis
"May you live in interesting times"
- Curse of dubious origin...
We do indeed live in interesting times, if one were to judge by they subject matter of our media. In particular, here are a couple very interesting trailers for new films that I do plan on watching. That's all for now. Enjoy.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
What Happened to 2011?
How quickly a year can go by and without a word from the egotists. If my confederates are anything like me then they got bogged down with their own daily lives and had trouble summoning the energy to do anything at the end of the day more than play video games and watch old seasons of TV shows on Netflix.
Honestly, I did think of posting on current events or random thoughts from time to time, but they just never seemed quite important or relevant enough to follow through on. So I never did. It will probably happen again, but I'm going to try and be less selective of the stuff I put up here, in an attempt to breathe some life back into the blog.
So for today I decided to post on what I've been reading lately. This last gift giving season was one of books and eBooks for me. I have joined the world of smart phones, iPads, and eReaders. I already had a significant stack of books on my shelves that I hadn't gotten to yet, but instead of reading those I dove into new ones.
Last year George R. R. Martin finally published the fifth book in the Song of Ice and Fire series. In anticipation of its release and the premier of the HBO series based on the books I worked my way through the first four books for the second time. These were the first books I got for my iPad, mainly because the hard-backs I own are thick and heavy and impractical for travel. Once I finished them I was finally ready for "Dances with Dragons". I picked up the eBook and devoured it in a few short weeks. I was satisfied, although still longing for some resolutions which will continue to elude us for some time.
Over the summer my wife and went to The Amazing Meeting 9, a science and skepticism convention in Las Vegas, and I picked up a few books. While there and on the trip home we both read "The Physics of the Buffyverse", by Jennifer Ouellette, and "The Physics of Star Trek", by Lawrence M. Krauss. They were entertaining and interesting, but there was quite a bit of overlap in them.
The last book I completed was "The Most Human Human", by Brian Christian. This was a surprisingly good read. It blends computer science, philosophy, sociology, and poetry in a mind-expanding way. It definitely changes the way I look at human interactions.
Right now I am just starting several books at once. I haven't really settled into one in particular yet and alternate reading a chapter in each. On my nightstand are "Catch-22", by Joseph Heller, "Just a Geek", by Wil Wheaton, and "36 Arguments for the Existence of God: a Work of Fiction", by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein. The last one is an interesting work, in that it is self referential. The main character is an author who wrote a popular book by the same title, and had become the new face of atheism. The book's success is due to the appendix in which the author catalogs 36 typical arguments for the existence of God along with critical analysis, pointing out logical fallacies, and responses to each one. The actual book includes this very appendix, which is a great resource.
That's it for now. What did you read last year?
Honestly, I did think of posting on current events or random thoughts from time to time, but they just never seemed quite important or relevant enough to follow through on. So I never did. It will probably happen again, but I'm going to try and be less selective of the stuff I put up here, in an attempt to breathe some life back into the blog.
So for today I decided to post on what I've been reading lately. This last gift giving season was one of books and eBooks for me. I have joined the world of smart phones, iPads, and eReaders. I already had a significant stack of books on my shelves that I hadn't gotten to yet, but instead of reading those I dove into new ones.
Last year George R. R. Martin finally published the fifth book in the Song of Ice and Fire series. In anticipation of its release and the premier of the HBO series based on the books I worked my way through the first four books for the second time. These were the first books I got for my iPad, mainly because the hard-backs I own are thick and heavy and impractical for travel. Once I finished them I was finally ready for "Dances with Dragons". I picked up the eBook and devoured it in a few short weeks. I was satisfied, although still longing for some resolutions which will continue to elude us for some time.
Over the summer my wife and went to The Amazing Meeting 9, a science and skepticism convention in Las Vegas, and I picked up a few books. While there and on the trip home we both read "The Physics of the Buffyverse", by Jennifer Ouellette, and "The Physics of Star Trek", by Lawrence M. Krauss. They were entertaining and interesting, but there was quite a bit of overlap in them.
The last book I completed was "The Most Human Human", by Brian Christian. This was a surprisingly good read. It blends computer science, philosophy, sociology, and poetry in a mind-expanding way. It definitely changes the way I look at human interactions.
Right now I am just starting several books at once. I haven't really settled into one in particular yet and alternate reading a chapter in each. On my nightstand are "Catch-22", by Joseph Heller, "Just a Geek", by Wil Wheaton, and "36 Arguments for the Existence of God: a Work of Fiction", by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein. The last one is an interesting work, in that it is self referential. The main character is an author who wrote a popular book by the same title, and had become the new face of atheism. The book's success is due to the appendix in which the author catalogs 36 typical arguments for the existence of God along with critical analysis, pointing out logical fallacies, and responses to each one. The actual book includes this very appendix, which is a great resource.
That's it for now. What did you read last year?
Monday, November 29, 2010
Be About It : Game of Thrones!
I got so pumped up that I've had to rewrite this three times now: HBO has released the latest teaser footage for its upcoming EPIC series Game of Thrones, the best fantasy series ever. Shooting since June, the new show has been teased out with details of the kind hardcore fans crave, and have only served to get devotees slathering. Here's the latest 60-second spot:
The entire HBO production blog has more awesome vids and production stills. Check em out and Be About It! January cannot come too soon.
The entire HBO production blog has more awesome vids and production stills. Check em out and Be About It! January cannot come too soon.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
YaarrAahaahaaggrraahah!
Have you ever wanted to watch every single scream Arnold Schwarzenegger did during his acting career in one long solid cut? Well now you can.
Personally I think he did his best screaming in "Total Recall". After that I just don't think his heart was in it.
Personally I think he did his best screaming in "Total Recall". After that I just don't think his heart was in it.
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