Cool Video Mashup of 2012’s 50+ Most Popular Songs
Regardless of how you feel about pop music, the dreadful corporate control of mainstream radio, the ’14 songs repeated to inifinity’ playlists, and so on … Source: Buzzfeed
Pop Culture & Current Events
I Read Everything on this Hipster Lit Flowchart BEFORE It Was Cool
When the New York Times took on modern hipsters in their article How to Live Without Irony they caused quite a stir for a number of reasons, and the reaction was immediate and extreme (this IS the internet after all!). I leave it to you to peruse the article and determine your thoughts – I am in the midst of reading ‘Retromania’ and certainly have thoughts around creativity in popular art in the current generation, but not so much on the entirety of culture in this regard. Anyway, GoodReads took on creating a literary flowchart for the hipster generation. Check…
Princess Kate is Pregnant and The Onion Wastes No Time Chiming In
By now most of the Western world has heard that Princess Kate Middleton is pregnant, as the official announcement was made on December 3rd: Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby. The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news. The Duchess was admitted this afternoon to King Edward VII Hospital in Central London with Hyperemesis Gravidarum. As the pregnancy is in its very early stages,…
#1reasonwhy – Twitter (and blogs) Discuss Why Only 6% of Game Developers Are Women
When you look broadly across the fields of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), women have made tremendous gains in the decades since I entered undergraduate school. This is excellent – there is simply no reason women shouldn’t have equal representation … so long as the opportunity is equal and fair. But there are some areas where women are terribly under-represented – and not just at higher levels, but at all levels. This article talks about the hostile environment at Goldman Sachs, but recently there has been a great deal of discussion about the lack of women in game design…
Set Aside Four Hours to Check Out Every Apple Commercial … Like, Ever
Apple has created some of the most iconic advertising campaigns in history, including the infamous ‘1984’ and ‘Lemmings’ to ‘Think Different’ to ‘I’m a Mac …’ and more. Of course, there are some real clunkers out there as well. They are all available to watch on youtube – and user EveryAppleAds has rounded up the 485 ads into a single playlist … which will take about four hours to watch! But you can just peruse the list and watch a few here or there. It’s definitely worth checking out! Source: via CultOfMac
Things You Didn’t Want to Know – THIS Is One Serving!
I have generally had two thought patterns about Thanksgiving and eating: when I am thin and health-conscious I choose to eat whatever I want for Thanksgiving dinner and maintain my normal eating and exercise routine otherwise … and when I am neither thin nor health-conscious I choose to eat whatever I want for Thanksgiving dinner because – well, just because. Based on my weight and general eating habits, my portions and servings will vary, but regardless I have certainly never really considered my real-world servings compared to ‘single serving portions’. Over at Greatist, they take a pictorial look at the…
Hostess Bakeries Planning to Close – When Was YOUR Last Twinkee?
Today we heard about the filing by Hostess Bakeries for ‘wind down’, meaning that they are seeking to close operations. The sad news will reportedly impact some 18,000 workers across 36 plants. Hostess has spent all of 2012 in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection working to reorganize operations to find a way to stay afloat. Unfortunately, according to the Wall Street Journal, this year has seen commodity costs rise and demand for products decline. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the major union for the company declared a work stoppage last week that shut down the majority of operations. This sort…
Doomsday Preppers (NatGeo Show Tie-In) for iPad Review
Type of app: Building Management game Platform/where to buy: iPad/iPhone; available in the App Store Developer: National Geographic Games / G5 Entertainment Description: 135 floors to build – how deep will you go? Six types of floors: Shelter, Security, Food and Water, Science, Workshop and Recreation Over 300 products to prep and store Over 150 male and female customizable avatars to choose from Regular game updates to keep you plotting and planning Play with other preppers, including your Facebook friends Major features: I have to confess that I have never seen Doomsday Preppers, which starts its second season on November…
“Ask a Network Head” Answers Why MTV No Longer Plays Music Videos (Parody, NFSW-Language)
It is a common mantra, the irony of MTV standing for MUSIC television despite no longer being a music video (or even music-oriented) network. In this mock-Q&A session the basic question is answered “Why Doesn’t MTV Play Videos Any More?” Check it out, but be warned there are some NSFW-ish elements:
The Blurring of Advertising and Entertainment Continues With #GiftOfRevenge
In my post about the parody video about MTV and music videos, there was actually a fair amount of factual stuff in that video – including that the product shots of smartphones from Apple/Samsung/Nokia are about the only reasons those videos get funding. Product placement is nothing new, and we expect to see things like all-things-Apple on Grimm, hear our radio hosts talk up AT&T 4G service, see randomly placed Pepsi and Dunkin’ Donuts on pretty much every show and movie and so on. But this week on the show Revenge, Target and Neiman Marcus teamed up with the shows…
Election Maps – “Why Is the Map All Red if Obama Won?”
This isn’t in any way a political post, it is just a reflection on how the visual display of information impacts out perception. Look at the image above; it might seem inaccurate to say, based on the image, that ‘most of the country voted for Romney’. But that image is based on land mass, and since our country isn’t uniformly populated, that graph doesn’t really serve the intended informational purpose. Some people might only care about the basic result, such as this one from the New York Times: Others are looking for more, such as the margin of victory for…
Skyfall Film Review
The longest-running film franchise of all time celebrates their 50th Anniversary in style with Skyfall, the twenty-third installment in the James Bond film series. Daniel Craig marks his third performance as James Bond (a.k.a. Agent 007) as Ben Wishaw debuts as gadget guru Q (a.k.a. Quartermaster). Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) helms this film and all the underlying themes amid Audiences get a great mix of surprises, new elements, and familiar fundamentals like the exotic international locations, overt sexual overtones and, of course, the gear, which for Bond personally is surprisingly simple. Unique weapons like a stinging…
Check Out the Intense Trailer for World War Z!
Have you read Max Brooks’ excellent ‘point of view’ zombie book ‘World War Z:An Oral History of the Zombie War’? If so then perhaps you – like me – have been concerned that the movie version would be a mediocre ‘reimagining’ sort of like the butchering of Asimov’s ‘I, Robot’. But based on the new trailer, it looks like the way that the book has been adapted will bring much of what made it good to the screen, but in a way that serves the need for a hero-based narrative. Plus, the zombie hordes look thrilling! Here is the plot…
Forbes Lists the 6 Top Earning Dead Musicians
There is an old maxim about an artist suddenly becoming much more wealthy and famous after death, which has been turned into countless ‘movie of the week’ plots about faked deaths and so on. The reality is the more often than not – famous people remain famous for some time, and unknowns tend to stay that way as well. But there is still considerable interest in those artists who continue to generate loads of revenue for years and even decades after their deaths. Last week Forbes rounded up 6 artists who made more than $5 million in the last year,…
Wreck-It Ralph Film Review
Set in the video game realm, the fast-paced animated adventure-comedy Wreck-It Ralph has touching emotions that succeed where Toy Story started – entertaining audiences while making them care about inanimate objects as strong characters within engaging environments. John C. Reilly voices the main character Wreck-It Ralph, an original character with echoes of Donkey Kong and Hulk who has become tired of his bad guy role in the classic “Fix-it Felix” arcade game. As the game celebrates their 30th year in existence, Ralph takes life-changing steps that take audiences further into the video game realm where electric outlets and cords provide…
Cool Video of James Brown, Michael Jackson and Prince on Stage in 1983!
Sometimes when checking out yet another random ‘list of stuff’ you will find a gem … and here is yet another cool video as a result! It is a 1983 James Brown performance, in which he calls Michael Jackson to the stage and later Prince. Michael and Prince are still reaching the height of their powers, whereas elder statesman JB was about to have his last big hit with ‘Living in America’ the following year. Regardless, it is a magical moment captured on film of sketchy quality, but definitely worth watching! Source: BuzzFeed
The Amazing American Cars of Cuba
I was in Havana last week with two dozen members of my community; we were there as part of a “religious mission”, which meant that we brought down supplies to share with the aging members of the Cuban Jewish Community and spent time learning about the history of Cuba, the Jewish community in Cuba, and even the architecture of Havana. That was the “serious stuff”. For fun, among other things, we spent time “car watching”. I couldn’t believe the American cars from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s that are still on the road. It was nothing short of impressive. Here’s…
Binders Full of Women, Bic Pens For Her, and Satire Product Reviews
Satire is probably my favorite form of humor. Everything and everyone are fair game, from products to Presidents. And with the speed at which social media and the Internet can move, it doesn’t take long for a Tumblr meme or Facebook page to get rolling. The latest trend: fake product reviews on Amazon.com. It started with Bic Pens, and now has spread to binders thanks to Governor Romney’s “Binders full of women” comment. But should Amazon let these spoofs stay live on the product pages? Context is key here. First, let’s look at the “BIC Pen For Her” reviews. Bic…
Watch Ellie Goulding ‘Live’ Streaming Concert on a 24-Hour Loop!
In an interesting change from normal livestreams or recorded video, Ellie Goulding is streaming her concert from The Troubadour in Los Angeles, recorded on October 16th. It is being made available to view on YouTube via LoveLiveTV, starting at 8PM EST and repeating for the next 24 hours. If you are a fan of her music, definitely check this out! Check it out here starting at 8PM EST!
Welcome to OctoNovemCember
The other night we were watching something (or just as likely nothing) on TV, and suddenly a huge Christmas-themed ad for Target came on. I fumbled for my phone to grab an image but failed to snap in time. Fortunately, the Consumerist was on the job! My wife has been working selling fine jewelry since the economic downturn brutalized the tax base and forced schools to cut back on trivial extras such as ‘science’, so this will be her second year dealing with ‘Christmas before Halloween’. In fact, due to the focus of the store she works, there is not…
CBS Cancels ‘Made in Jersey’, NBC Sends ‘Saving Hope’ To Web – How Are YOUR Shows Doing?
The fall of 2011 was a virtual bloodbath with how quickly shows were axed en masse by pretty much every network. So I was surprised that we got all the way into the middle of October before I started hearing about shows getting cancelled. Turns out that it was happening – just a little more quietly and in different ways than before. Let’s start with a traditional axe – ‘Made in Jersey’ got whacked after two episodes due to dismal ratings and abysmal viewership: We have the first official casualty of the 2012-13 season. CBS has pulled low-rated new drama…