Cognitive Surplus

Aside from a few sleepless nights watching [Adult Swim], it’s rare that I’ll ever watch television. I grew up infront of a TV set, to grow up with a 4 button controller with a D-pad in my hand, to grow up infront of a monitor with a mouse and keyboard. That’s what I call Evolution!

There is a really interesting video of a lecture given by Chris Shirky at OpenLeft.com that was posted today. Just good meaty, short lecture to gnaw on. It’s about Cognitive Surplus, how society has dealt with excess time on their hands until given the means to properly deploy that energy and time. Good stuff.

Cats and mass emails from Aunts…

Ok guys…you know how there’s always been [quite stereotypically] that one aunt or uncle, or quite possibly net savvy stepfather that forwards along a mass email wrought with angels, jokes, animated gifs and virii? Well, after a good night of booze on the town, I happened to have an aunt hip enough to send along a decently good video link. In fact it’s funny and hip. A pure breath of fresh air.

An Engineer’s Guide to Cats. Enjoy 5 stars

Just Super

Ok, I wish I really had something to say. I realize I haven’t updated in a month. A whole month. I’ve spent this month finishing up classes, and doing whatever else young men do when they’re not blogging.

I just wish I had some anecdote to say, but it wouldn’t be as funny as it was when I first concocted it in my head. As the beats used to believe, the first thought is the purest. However - I do believe editors are a big boon in this world. As well those not afraid to turn down manuscripts. Man.

In the name of Cheesus!

God reminds us of his presence sometimes in big profound ways. More often than naught, he reminds us in small ways. A sunset, a flower, a Cheeto shaped like Jesus. Steve Cragg, youth minister and snack lover from Texas, in what sounds like news straight out of the Onion, discovered the religious icon shaped Cheeto. It has been nicknamed “Cheesus” and is kept in a small box.

Read the full Steve Cragg story here

Garfield minus Garfield

Pure Genius. Garfield minus Garfield is a concept I wish I had thought of myself. It’s what happens when you take Garfield out of the equation, leaving only Jon and his dimwitted lines. At times it is quite startling and almost profound, other times it’s ghastly and downright hilarious as he makes remarks to nothing as if in conversation. “You forgot my birthday.”

Brings to me ponder even further the psychoanalytical side of Garfield. Who is Jim Davis? Is he Garfield of Jon? Does Jim feel that he has silly ideas and that he’s under scrutiny for them? Or does he simply feel that he’s surrounded by idiots and needs to feed? I’m not altogether sure. I wonder if there is any professional psychologist’s reading in to the strips.

The South Shall Rise Again…

Being big on movies, especially those of the B ilk, I come across some real crazy stuff sometimes. So it was only a matter of time until I come to know of Charles E. Cullen. This guy is great - he writes, directs, produces, and stars in his own films. A regular Donald G. Jackson he is, producing such dandies with the titles of CURSE OF THE MUMMY CAT, and even a zombie flick entitled THE SOUTH SHALL RISE AGAIN. Spectacular stuff, decked out with the cheesiest special effects, perhaps worth the $12 he asks for them.

This is the guy B horror/action flick indie directors want to be. Starring in your films as a badass, riding horses, wearing long coats, and just generally acting like you’re a badass mouthing off one-liners that’d make Bruce Campbell proud. 

It’s guy’s like Cullen, with that “grab the VHS camcorder and shoot” attitude, that I find to be the most inspirational filmmakers of all. Few will ever see their films, even fewer will ever take notice, but they keep on marching on with their self produced DVDs for sale. Kudos!

http://cullenstudios.net

Home on the Eastern Range…

Back in December I wrote about Coke’s advertising in Russia. FAILURE! It seems that bad decisions are being made all over the world. Assuming you believe that the Chinese gov’t isn’t above paying/threatening its citizens in to spreading propaganda, then you’ll believe that China is starting to learn just how easy it is to be BURNED in this day and age. An eco-activist and newsreporter was recently due to an overly obvious photoshopped photograph of antellope running under a train’s bridge - of which was of national controversy just last year.

This photograph in question had actually won an award from the Chinese gov’t.

Read about the antellope, the Chinese, and their photographic scandals here….

indie gossip in the mist

Ok, so both of my items may be a late (one item later than the other.) It’s just not that often that anybody gossips about indie music - it’s almost always about big pop stars. Well, it’s about time we had a respectable pregnant person to talk about…well no longer pregnant anyway, in fact the baby was born just days ago. I’m talking Kori Gardner’s, of Mates of State, new baby June.

 There…not much to it, really. I mean, it was born, and there’s no “law suit” or questioning of her ability to raise the child properly. Rather quite boring actually. That’s probably why we only gossip about cracked out celebrities, because it gives us something to argue about.

At any rate, surprisingly enough…I finally saw THE MIST tonight at the dollar show. It’s alright. Sincerely, it was pretty good. Acting was passing, what’s his face played Capote in INFAMOUS was really good in it. The ending well done. It was only a shame that the CG monsters really killed the suspension of disbelief. Should have taken a clue from Shamalyan on this one and just not shown us the monsters at all. Otherwise, for any horror fan, that bears their way through everything that the genre has to throw at them, it’s a good watch. Deserves 7/10 or so.

Last week at the dollar show I caught Michael Clayton. Now that is a damn fine film. George Clooney is the man, seriously. It’s a suspenseful, tightly scripted, no surprises but no let downs either, straight up grim as hell, brutally honest film. So much more than a legal thriller. 10/10, good sirs.  So few movies have ever left me all shook up afterward.

Oh and speaking of which…working on script for my own. Now let’s hope I get it filmed.

Isn’t it Ironic?

Just a decade after their own Anti-Trust suits, Microsoft is accusing Google of Anti-trust over talks of acquiring Yahoo. MS claims their filing suit is in the name of “fair competition” while courts say a Microsoft acquisition of Yahoo might not be so legit either.

Read the full story here 

Stuff is enough

Today, a colleague of mine turned me on to an excellent 20 minute Flash presentation about the dangers of consumerism, The Story of Stuff. It covers the whole process, from tree to dump, and the explains quite well why such a linear process is dangerous. Each phase is represented by a symbols, clicking them at any time during the presentation (when they’re visible above the speaker’s head that is) will bring up extended information on each - as well as a listing of organizations specialized in each.

Watch it @ http://www.storyofstuff.com/