Hey Sarah Palin (with lyrics/subtitles)

This is so funny and creative... Don't let them escape to Canada. We need them here.

Must see viral vid

Sarah may have dumped Jimmy, but she scores a KO with this completely funny yet sincere appeal for Jewish grandkids to schlep to Florida to canvas their Nanas.


The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

Palin Revelation: The same Third Wave documented in "Jesus Camp"

First of all, for those interested, there is comprehensive detail on Governor Palin's Assembly of God church at the following link...Again, the bloggers over at TP Zoo put together a doozy.

Crazy ministers? How about one that administered a Witch Hunt in Kenya. Meet Bishop Muthee. How about that YouTube video where the Guv prays for God's pipeline dreams? She and here Lt. Guv were blessed by the "laying of the hands" which makes it totally cool that they flew back to Wasilla on the State's dime. Her rambling speech where she must mention "Alaska" more than 30 times was to graduates of the Master's Commission. Yes, training for Christ's Warriors, the Third Wave. Watch the compilation video from the Huffington Post's Bruce Wilson...


Palin's Churches, Thomas Muthee, Witchcraft and The Third Wave from Bruce Wilson on Vimeo.

We are a troubled nation. Truth has been obscured for quite some time now. I respect all people's quest for spiritual understanding. Training for Holy War is just not a future I want for my children. I have to ask rhetorically, "What would Jesus shoot?"

ZOMG Republican Delegate from Colorado telling it like it is.

He's rather hawkish and seems unaware that Link.TV is actually a Liberal media outlet. It's kind of tragicomic. The host does a great job asking follow-up questions. Fascinating time capsule that deserves to be preserved for posterity.



Now, the Karmic funniness is that this tool was slipped a roofie and robbed by a prostitute for $120k. Who walks around with $120k, in Minneapolis? Randy Moss never blinged as hard. Read More...
Gabriel Nathan Schwartz, 29, a single attorney from Denver, told police he met the woman in a bar and took her to his room at the new Hotel Ivy in downtown Minneapolis

Oasis gets bumrushed in Toronto

Apparently still pissed at the Gallagher brothers for claiming to be better than the Beatles, footage of an assault on them on stage. Crowd cheers.

Off-shore drilling reality

From Slate's Curse of the Black Gold.

Who has received the oil wealth in Nigeria? Not the people who live there. They struggle on $1 a day while having their fishing paradise completely destroyed. Speaking out gets you killed. Sadly, this story does not shock me as I know this is reality. I hope the world does not turn a blind eye forever. Spread...

John Stewart providing his public service

Again, why the MSM cannot perform this role, I do not know. It will bring in ratings. So, there must be some reason why they don't call out video contradictions from politicians and pundits. Allow this video to be the very definition of "viral."

Why the Dead Kennedys had the best logo in Rock.

I’m a wannabe barfly. Fortunately, living in the burbs with toddler boys makes me cherish the rare opportunity to hang out and kvetch. I also demand that my work neighborhood provides the breeding ground for revolutionary, and yes, disruptive solutions to life’s problems. All of which can be accomplished with increasingly early-starting happy hours and beer for less than 3 bucks. Once again, mirroring the plummeting parking prices, the bargain-hunting, pre-funded, wannabe barfly can now hang out a stone’s throw from the Financial District and their better-heeled patrons. Even though my office is above Kate O’Brien’s, I can tell you they’re the worst bar in town with their phony Irish theme, so I never go there anymore. No, you can find me searching for liquid inspiration at either Zebulon or Varnish.

They ain’t perfect. Zebulon has a good kitchen and makes a decent sweet potato fries, but their bar is kind of a joke. The $2 Hefeweissen draft happy hour sure brought the office yups in, but what did this establishment do with this crowd? Served ‘em a drink a minute. Patrons seemed all to accommodating waiting in line for 15 minutes to get a drink. We hung on as long as we could before we decided we had to leave the nearly free as in beer giveaway. Next door at Varnish, you know it’s a tad imposing when passer-by-ers peer in and need to be waved in by the proprietor before they step inside. My friend Josh says they have the best bar bathroom in the city. I would concur, because there are pictures of the space before they got it, and they really did transform it in to a fine gallery with an excellent sound system. And, they have that killer minimalist big bowl sink that dares you to wash your face in its elegance.

As we sidled, I paused to admire the gargantuan collage being assembled on top of a DaVinci’s Last Supper by an older gentleman wearing a Dead Kennedys shirt with a blazer and fedora. This off-kilter vision inspired my tweet about why their logo is the best in rock. This is awarded not because I was a big fan of their music. It was mainly because it was the one logo I used to like to copy so much in the 8th grade. (I was a big-time rock doodler). I can’t draw, but I can sketch logos with a lot of practice on notebook covers since I never actually took notes in school. Plus, it effectively signaled to all that I am not your run-of-the-mill serious Asian American straight-A student. I’d rather fail and change my grade just like the kid in War Games, except that I couldn’t break into the school computer, so I just retook the class in summer school erasing that unacceptable grade. Any way, I figured out the next morning that the aforementioned artist is none other than Winston Smith, the designer of the subject of this post. He is an illustrious cover art designer and quite an Art Criminal. This anti-corporate manifesto is to be admired. Winston, like most designers, do not receive royalties for these logos. Its de facto open source now, as both Jello and Winston's core styles are derivative and Warholian on crack.

Being extended an equally generous offer of an early happy hour special of $3 drafts, coupled with the fact that they have my new fave on tap, Racer 5 IPA, I was blissful again about my work neighborhood and my 2 (sf-sized) block walk to Montgomery BART. Mindful, of course, that the entire block of buildings that house Varnish and Zebulon is slated for demolition next year in order to build a bigger, better bus terminal. Ah yes, progress via wrecking ball.

Let’s rage against this dying of the light and appreciate this moment in nirvana. I’ll admit that I appreciated from afar the few bits of skateboard culture that permeated my suburban Chicago upbringing. This DK logo looked like Anarchy. Its was the Burning Man on its side passed out. It create the illusion of dimension and it’s extrusions are so simple, juxtaposing white and black. The fact that this logo speaks so much about the band even though I was uninitiated into the music is impressive. I knew that coolness was happening over in California, that the rebellion was alive and well with authentic Punk Rock. Of course, 20 years later, Jello Biafra and the other members of the band could never escape the inevitable revenue-splitting issues that haunt every band not named Bon Jovi. Everyone needs to make a living, right? You formed a band and played music, and that was good enough when you’re twenty. In your 40s, its time to strategize your revenue potential and synergize your investment portfolio, right? Can revolutionary rock bands be created like a tech startup? Would it destroy the very essence of rebellion and art that make you great? I know that I can appreciate the slight economic downturn in this boom town. We need breeding grounds and moments like these inspire me to hatch the next user-centric revolution. I now love the music of the Dead Kennedys thanks to my Sonos and Rhapsody, can relive the culture they helped define. I have been passively exposed to the artwork of Winston Smith and can question how collage as an artform is still relavent today. All this in search of cheap beer, in the very neighborhood which I work.

Family Work = Chaos - Mega's Muse: Sonos Controller Takes a Bath

Sonos Controller Takes a Bath
If anyone asks me why they should have a Sonos system... I usually tell them that throughout the $12M of custom electronics I've installed in my career, one product provides the best User Experience. I knew it is toddler-proof, did not know it is water-proof.
Now, if we can only get Sonos to ditch hierarchy-based UI and go voice-search :)

In order to really disrupt music, try slicing the cones of your guitar amp

Do you love music but hate the industry? What's it going to take in order for fans to access the pantheon of recorded music whenever, wherever, and in the highest quality? Its unsustainable for you to package the music with plastic and then dispose the many unsold copies, so that model is over. Alas, we get web sites, apps and services that offer us these morsels of memory for free or nearly free. Great, you say, well, the experiment that is Muxtape and the industry that Pandora has become threatened. I don't see how Muxtape survives, but Pandora should be able to charge for the valuable service to their large customer base, thus placating the investors' concerns.

In the aftermath, Chris Pirillo has convinced me to check out grooveshark. The founders boldly proclaim that they are cleaning up the mess that is the music industry. Godspeed, but there is much work to be done. First of all, fix the metadata. I know most of your users' mp3 collection is a lazy mishmash of Unknown Artist and Track 01, but there are methods to clean this up. And, it makes browsing a chore. Still streaming me 5 million tracks for free or for a text-based ad, I'm not complaining, much.

So, in order to spend an evening listening to every Kinks song I've never heard, I had to fire up ye olde Wikipedia page. The community did a bang up job for Ray and the boys. It was fascinating to learn how Dave Davies came up with the sound that not only launched their career but created the sound that would beget hard rock, heavy metal, punk, new wave, garage rock, grunge, and indie rock.

With a loud, distorted guitar riff — achieved by Dave's slicing of the speaker cones in his Elpico amplifier (referred to by the band as the "little green amp") — gave the song its signature, grittier guitar sound.

So, that's Disruption and Distortion with a capital "D." In order to distinguish their brand amongst the plethora of British pop groups, they used a blade. I like that. The Kinks never enjoyed the commercial success of the Beatles, Stones or Who. But, they started a revolution and history judges memeticians kindly.

Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

The first collaboration by David Byrne and Brian Eno in 30 years.  They truly milk the most out of the most simplistic of chord progressions and song composition.  But, there's a reason I-IV-V A-A-B-A works so well.  Its comforting and speaks to the soul.  The title itself is a helpful reminder to seize the day.  It also speaks to the exponential speed of our connected world today.  I wonder if David can hit these high notes live.  They really are dramatic.

 

louisgray.com: Could UDO Be The Next Killer App?

Interesting story by Mark Dykeman, would like to find out more about where UDO is in development. I believe he's referring to the Internet of Things.
louisgray.com: Could UDO Be The Next Killer App?

D-I-Y Touchscreen for EeePC

This youtuber has a point why this laptop touchscreen mod is superior to a tablet pc. I think this will do as my coffee table UI... Stick one of these in any room where you want control of audio/video/lights what have you. All fer less than $5oo bucks a pop?

Bring back the ballet to modern music

I think that I'm not alone in appreciating the beauty and grace of ballet. But, when you combine it with pop and lock robotics and Italo Disco, I think you've captured the essence of Divine Inspiration. Please enjoy this nugget of refined human movement paired with the wondrous sounds of computers masquereding as synthesizers.

Bill Gates sportin' Apple T-shirt

tenersi occupati dopo la pensione...
Originally uploaded by _Andrish_

Cats and dogs are sleeping together... Saw this on D. Hadzhiev's Friend Feed this morning. Its a decent photoshop job, but even better, a sign that Microsoft needs to reinvent itself. Its time for them to move into more hardware than the Zune and Xbox. Deliver the whole experience before its too late, Bill.

Made veggie taco filling with TVP this morning. Too easy. This stuff is Soylent Green.

Check out our jam on Wednesday Night http://ping.fm/iOWan

New Media Douchebags Explained

Don't hate on everything, or you too, may be labeled as such... Interesting that the first character is a former Multimedia Developer. Is there a backlash from the profession of media creation versus all the horrible production value that many of the Twitteratti still employ? There should be a happy medium no?

1996: Faludi Daze

It was a storefront on Townsend, I had a 13" monitor but a brand spankin new PM7200 in beige. Jonathan Mergy kept the Local H on da stereo way too much, but that's okay because their hit song, "Bound for the floor" continues to be the only one awesome enough to contain the word copasetic (i like to spell it kopasetic) in the chorus. That word is one of englishes bestest sounding words to me.

I'm in one of those Tofleresque Futureshocks. Social media has connected me with high school, college and other old connections, right? So, its only natural to reminisce. The parallel that Local H represents to me is unavoidable. Here's this Chicago-based rocker who has this prolific song-making, pop sense and he can't find a bass player that can keep up. Instead of prolonging the search, he adds bass pickups to his guitar adds a drummer and takes it on the road. This is bootstrapping a business right? One hit single can propel you to headline tours around the continent.

Twitter is being outed by Scoble and Arrington as consisting of a couple of servers manually administered by employees. Us cracked-up twits are like, "wha?" Is that how you spend your $5M-$15M in venture funding, letting your infrastructure whither away? With all the geek talent hangin around SOMA, how does this jibe? I'm tired of hearing about accidental businesses. Sling Media and now Twitter come to define this for me. As an entrepreneur planning out every last freakin' detail of the business strategy, I find this rock star approach to business planning to be offensive. You're right, I am just bitter, and that the DNA of a good plan will produce no red-headed step children, right? But, I'm a rocker like Scott of Local H. Just plug me in to good vintage gear, give me a drummer who can keep up, and let me roll.

Back to 1996, my co-worker and Mac guru was Jonathan Mergy. He decided that the Internet was too damn nice and needed to get angry. So, the whole Comcast/Arrington story is hardly original. Jonathan details that it was an exercise in DNS hosting and ran the thing on a spare Mac IIci with 8MB of RAM and the commercial webserver, WebStar. Well, it got slashdotted by Netscape's home page and we had to live with an overtaxed ISDN line for a while. But, that server kept going, and companies were pissed that searches yielded results to angry rants from their customers. So, what is old is new again. That's why I'm excited about the rest of this year. I'm gonna change the world freeing the consumer from corporate controlled media in that last bastion of the Content Wars... America's living room. Won't you join me in this adventure when we summon all the great thinkers of 1996 and combine them with the thought leaders of tomorrow.

To be or not to be... Machiavellian

After succumbing to a friend's exhortations to read the very thick Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, I came away not only of an understanding of the birth of the digital age but also with the supposition that wars are merely chess games paid for with human lives. After the declassification of Bletchley Park's cracking of the Nazi Enigma codes and revelations that the Allied forces had already cracked the Nipponese encryption even before the Pearl Harbor attack, I wonder how long World War II was allowed to continue and even wondering if it has really ever ceased to exist throughout our Cold War era and into our current War on Terror. I guess my basic question is how long humanity will allow this Machiavellian existence.

Another friend of mine argues that Machiavellian human nature is as fundamental and unchangeable as Newtonian laws of motion. It might have been interesting to discuss that his laws don't apply to quantum mechanics, but the more interesting take-away is that we can never be so sure about the tenets we hold, whether physical or spiritual, and its absolutism.

What was behind the anti-Communist fury that has been propagandized in the USA for at the last fifty years? It was revealed by the AP today, that conservatively 100,000 Korean men, women and children were executed in 1950 in South Korea by their own government simply for being considered leftists. Right-Wing president Syngmun Rhee under the supervision of the US General Douglas MacArthur carried out this atrocity against his political enemies. This story has been suppressed for over 50 years. Did the US really go in to Korea to liberate it from Communists? Or, is it possible that we actually incited the Communist invasion in order to advance other interests that have nothing to do with improving the plight of Korean people. There is a valid debate on the ends justifying the means considering that I, myself, have enjoyed an excellent life here as an American citizen thanks to the quixotic trip of my parents and many others like them. But, clearly my parent's generation knew first-hand the plight of untold victims caught as pawns in this global chess game and chose their path. Where are you on the board? Can you make a move without knowing where your opponent's pieces are?

I've been looking at my own position on the global chess game for a while. Planning a technology start-up and unleashing a technology that moves us closer to an Orwellian future. Recently, I have been noticing that many futurists are very accepting of a world where you can google your shoes. Personally, I'd love to reclaim the countless hours lost looking for matching kicks for my boys just to get out the door. However, the ramifications of such a networked world is chilling when viewed through the lens of the 20th Century. How will Total Information Awareness be managed by the powerful? Having counter-culture thoughts and a cynical belief system has kept me underground. But, a new light shines where there was once, only darkness. Human history has given us many tools to understand ourselves even if we discover there is much more that is unknowable. What do I care if blogging or social network graphs etch my identity on the bathroom wall of human knowledge going forward? What I know now is that we all have the power or as the Romans called it, the potesta to change the world. I'm not afraid to make my move even if I can't yet see the whole board. Maybe it's worth investigating that "faith" thing people have been talking about for quite some time. I'm becoming a believer.