Doctors Talk About Healthcare System Reform

"Health, Money and Fear" is a really terrific 48-minute video that discusses an overhaul of the entire healthcare system. As told from the perspective of a number of practicing doctors. It is not limited to just dealing with the Insurance industry.

blip.tv/file/2266267

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckSyGD6uoR0

A Look At The Heart Of Fox News

While doing my nightly review of Ain't-It-Cool News, I came across a story about a documentary called "OutFoxed", which takes a look at Rupert Murdock and his sub-company, the Fox News Channel. Below are the eight YouTube segments of that video. I think you will find this information quite revealing.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXNvDD13hoY
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkncRJZgPEk
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkJYxBSldBU
www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5J-nYLJHJg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYWm0ycnLN4
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9y3tO-lIpI
www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-hLxTL8wMo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTEWTzqtZAw (audio disabled)

Is Obama the Anti-Christ?

Here's a clip from the Rachel Maddow show citing a poll taken of New Jersey conservatives. The second half of the segment discusses that results that show 1 in 3 Jersey conservatives either think President Obama "is" or "might be" the Anti-Christ. Contains an interview with Frank Schaeffer, author of "Crazy For God" which is highly critical of the "evangelical subculture".

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show#32886436

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Robert Reich Discusses The Public Option

Here's a short video on Facebook that clearly explains the so-called "Public Option" component of health care reform. Delivered by former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich.

www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=160544446109

Blog Examples From SquareSpace

SquareSpace is a customizable blog publishing platform, similar to Movable Type, WordPress and TypePad. Here is a link to their "examples" page, where you can dive into a number of interesting blogs.

www.squarespace.com/examples

Cute Animation From Kansas City Art Students

My friend Steve Mayse, an instructor at the Kansas City Art Institute, directed me to a great little video some students at the school had created. Their effort "Dried Up" is a professional-quality piece of stop-motion animation. I think Steve gave them some input on their set construction technique. You're sure to appreciate the thought and care the kids put into their production.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdCUvFXQzSk

A Song For People Who Loath Facebook

Do some things about Facebook really irritate you? Musician Kate Miller-Heidke can relate, and has written a little ditty to express your feelings about this all-too-popular online service.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7MuwPlOiNQ

Wonderful Nature Videos At Babelgum

If you like nature and topics related to the environment, the Babelgum website has a collection of brief (and not so brief) documentaries for you to take in. Many of them are very well done and enjoyable to watch. Be sure to click the "Browse Videos" button to see a list of the 3283 selections there.

www.babelgum.com/channel/ourearth

Political Fact Check - Obama Addressing Students

Back in September 2009, there was a lot of fuss about a televised address President Obama was going to make to school children around the nation. Some critical sources said that this was the first time any US President had made such an address. To set the record straight, other presidents have also done this, with the acceptance of the citizenry for the most part. From PolitiFact.

www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/sep/03/arne-duncan/barack-obama-not-first-president-address-school-ch

Have An Issue And Need Some Signatures?

Are you trying to gain support for a social issue and want to collect signatures to show the support you have? If so, then Care2 has a website for you. On it, you can set up a petition and solicit people to add their names to the list. Conversely, you can see what other petitions are currently circulating. If you come across any you resonate to, you can add your voice to the crowd.

www.thepetitionsite.com

Cartoon - Why The USA Needs Universal Health Coverage

Here is a simple, straightforward explanation of why we need universal government-run health insurance.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jng4TnKqy6A

Where On Earth Do Babies Come From? (Birth Rates)

Relating to my recent entry about expanding populations, here are some statistics about which countries are producing the most babies, per citizen. It's a good indicator as to which areas have expanding populations and which have lower growth.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_fertility_rate

Support For People With Questionable Ethics

Well, I suppose it had to happen. Businesses out there service nearly every conceivable social niche. But here's one that's a bit unexpected. A professional lying service. The Alibi Network covers for you if you don't want anyone to know what you're actually up to. Having an affair? Don't worry. The experts at the Alibi Network will provide you with everything you need to give the impression that nothing is out of the ordinary. Go ahead. Give it a try!

www.alibinetwork.com/index.jsp

Making Your Photoshop Lifestyle Better

There are all sorts of Adobe Photoshop users out there at different levels of experience and competence. Most of these folks, including myself, want to increase their knowledge know-how when it comes to using this amazing program. The 10 Steps website helps Photoshop users along by giving them tutorials, resources and plenty of inspiring images to contemplate and emulate. Are you a digital artist? If so, roam the pages and see if 10 Steps can add to your abilities.

10steps.sg

How To Keep Your Cat Off The Counter

Blender Defender is one person's inventive solution to keep his cat off the kitchen counter. The creator of this behavior-correcting system rigged together several pieces of hardware to produce an effective deterrent to his overly-curious pets. For the most part, it requires a motion sensor, a blender and a strobe light. The site will show you the rest. If nothing else, you'll love the videos and dream of having one of these items at your command. "Down Kitty!"

www.plasma2002.com/blenderdefender

World Demographics Are Changing

There has been a lot of talk from time to time about how cultures of the future will have a different mix of ethnic groups from those of today. In the USA it is easy to see a steady increase in the number of hispanic citizens. Sometime in the not too distant future, hispanic individuals will account for the majority of people in American. This movie, however, focuses on the rise in numbers of Islamic people across the world. That scares some people, especially those who are currently in the majority today.

I've discussed this video with several friends and they seem to think the numbers sited are questionable, along with the conclusions offered. Also, the mythbusting website "Snopes" rates this video as "Mostly False". The important thing to take away from this motivational video is not so much the information, but more the perspective of the people who made it.

www.metacafe.com/watch/2796221/changing_demographics

www.snopes.com/politics/religion/demographics.asp


Changing Demographics - Amazing videos are here

Conservapedia - Making Things Right

I guess Wikipedia simply isn't good enough. As you may know, Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia with entries written by online users. Everyone is free to provide and edit information. To keep material factual Wikipedia is moderated and forces its contributors to accurately site their sources.

Now, however, there is a new online reference that wants to clean up the mish-mash of information created by random citizens. Conservapedia wants to limit itself to a strict Conservative world view. Nothing else is acceptable. So, if you want to disregard everything Conservatives don't want to discuss or admit exists, this is the place for you. I understand the founders are even re-writing the Bible to rub out anything a Liberal might gravitate to.

www.conservapedia.com/Main_Page

Great 3-D Futuristic Illustrations

Think Syd Mead. Think Blade Runner. Think Jacob Charles Dietz. Jacob Dietz is a highly-proficient 3-D illustrator that has a fetish for futuristic, sci-fi scenes. The kind of stuff that belongs in video games, movies and book covers. If you like fantasy worlds full of flying cars, mega-skyscrapers and spandex-clad citizens, you should rush to his site right now. I think he'll sell you his models and textures. And maybe even some prints.

site.jacobcharlesdietz.com

AdPunch - A Running Commentary On Recent Ads

AdPunch is not a site simply showing all the recent noteworthy ads that have been published. Operated by several advertising enthusiasts, it selectively comments on ads the editors take interest in. A site good for consumers and creatives alike.

www.adpunch.org

GoGirl - Male Convenience Comes To Women On The Go

GoGirl is one of those products that is a brilliant oddity. In short, it is a pink plastic funnel that allows ladies to tinkle like a man. Or something close to that. This item helps women cope with many of the undesirable situations they find themselves in when it comes time to finding a suitable place to relieve themselves. Personally, I don't know anyone who has tried this, (or will admit to trying it), but it looks like a good idea, in theory at least.

www.go-girl.com

Seriously "Out There" Human Haircuts

People, on occasion, like to experiment with new hairstyles. These, however, go way beyond the call of duty. A collection on Oddee of super-wacked-out trim jobs. I'm guessing most of you (not even me) would EVER do this to yourself.

/www.oddee.com/item_96572.aspx

Weird Dog Haircuts And Dye Jobs

Three sites showing the crazy ways people decorate their canine companions. Good Lord!

www.dogguide.net/blog/2008/05/no-im-not-kidding-15-photos-of-dogs-with-dye-jobs

declubz.com/blog/2009/03/26/weird-dog-award-or-it-seems

geniusbeauty.com/humor/bizarre-dog-haircuts

Art And Copy Trailer - From Apple

A film about advertising, "Art and Copy" focuses on creative powerhouses from the 1960's forward. If your line of work is marketing-related, you'll appreciate this look back at advertising history.

www.apple.com/trailers/independent/artcopy

Healthcare Explained On Napkins

This is a very simple and straight-forward explanation of the healthcare system and subsequent reform attempts on a series of napkins. You'll get it!

www.slideshare.net/danroam/healthcare-napkins-all

Healthcare Napkins All

View more documents from Dan Roam.

Daily Show Clip - Fox News: The New Liberals

This is a great segment from sly Jon Stewart at the Daily Show. August 19, 2009. Jon shows clips from Fox news criticizing Liberals for certain actions, then shows Fox personalities doing the exact same thing. Only only logical conclusion is that Fox News has now gone Liberal. Oh, the hypocrisy!

www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-august-19-2009/fox-news--the-new-liberals

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Fox News: The New Liberals
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

The Trunk Monkey - We All Need One

A series of 4 commercials from the Suburban Auto Group that show the clear advantages of having a trained monkey in the rear compartment. Very funny!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-fB34sTmls

Charts - How Men And Women Argue

The geniuses at Maxim Magazine have it all figured out. Finally, two easy to follow charts explaining just how Men and Women think during an argument. It's all so clear now.

www.maxim.com/humor/stupid-fun/83602/how-men-women-argue.html

The Wickedness Of The Liberal Agenda

Writer John Gray takes us through "A Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican" and shows us all the great things Liberals have given us. In spite of being told by media pundits that Liberals are awful people, Joe has a pretty good life because of them. See if you agree.

www.recreatingtampa.com/2009/08/13/the-wickedness-of-the-liberal-agenda

Damn Cool Pics Blog

Another blog with all sorts of eye-catching images to explore.

damncoolpics.blogspot.com

Chomsky - Manufacturing Consent - Final Chapter

Here is the final segment of Noam Chomsky's video "Manufacturing Consent". It talks about our social and political future and the choices we need to make. I very much agree with what is being said on the clip and suggest that you give it a serious viewing.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3BmFf58UPg

Very Conspiratorial Video - On Facebook

A friend of mine called my attention to this video about the United States' presence in Iraq. It very much comes across like a conspiracy theory, but like all good conspiracy theories, it makes a pretty convincing story. This one is very Chomsky-esque. Listen at your own risk.

www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=111557732551&ref=share

Anti-Reform Mobs - A Note On Facebook

Here's a note I came across on Facebook, briefly making points about the various organized anti-reform activities going on in America. Worth taking note of, I think.

www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=114807440137&id=12301006942&ref=share

How Will America Eventually Come To An End?

Things change. Like Rome, the American civilization will eventually dwindle and be replaced by some other super-state. How is that going to happen? An article at the Slate website ponders this issue and lets you choose from 144 possible scenerios.

www.slate.com/id/2223851

www.slate.com/id/2224425

sdn.slate.com/features/endofamerica/default.htm

Toyota's Violin-Playing Robot - Wow!

They're not just making cars over there in Japan. Toyota and Honda are in the business of developing robots, too. This video show s a demonstration of a robot playing a song on a violin. Incredible. Makes you ask yourself, just how smart and capable do we want these things to be?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzjkBwZtxp4

Nao - Robot Behavior Getting More Sophisticated

I think you'll be quite impressed with the Nao robots in this video. They know how to perform tasks, have complicated motor skills and can communicate with each other. Here comes the Robot Revolution.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2STTNYNF4lk

Time Lapse - One Year Of Hair Growth While Walking

Traveler Christoph Rehage made an amazing video while taking an extremely long hike. Over the course of a year, while walking 4500 km through Europe and Asia, he photographed himself every day and complied those images into a video. A pretty ambitious effort with enjoyable results. See what you think of this hearty world roamer.

vimeo.com/4636202

The Longest Way 1.0 - one year walk/beard grow time lapse from Christoph Rehage on Vimeo.

Spricket24's "Glowing Monkeys"

I simply like listening to this girl. She's funny. Fortunately, she talks about stuff I am interested in. Here she goes on about how scientists have introduced a special gene into monkeys that make them glow in the dark. You remember the glowing bunnies, right?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQU3saOisNw

Idiocracy - Why The World Is Getting Dumber

Here's the opening sequence of Mike Judge's cult film "Idiocracy". Briefly it demonstrates that idiots breed faster than smarter people, and that will lead to a hillbilly-like society of really, really low IQ citizens. (I think it's already happening) After you see this, go see the whole movie. Parts of it will remind you of WALL-E.

www.metacafe.com/watch/2682654/idiocracy_opening_sequence


Idiocracy - Opening Sequence - Amazing videos are here

Brawndo Commercial - It's Got Electrolytes

For Idiocracy fans, here's one of several "in your face" commercials that someone made. Fun and outrageous!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbxq0IDqD04

NINE - The Hot Italian Trailer

The movie trailer for "Nine", based on Fellini's "8 1/2", looks stylish and thrilling. See if it doesn't thrill you in some manner

www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_5_lzags3I

Embedding is disabled. Click the link above.

Geekologie - Stuff For Your Geekish World

I'm guessing there are other websites out that are devoted to "I'm a Geek and fiercely proud of it" lifestyle. But, Geekologie takes a good stab at providing the totally-commited Geek with the mind candy he or she needs to be happy. (Perhaps they should have called it "Nerd Diversion") As such, it's full of gadgets, entertainment and techno-gossip that will excite even the most obsessed "Dungeons and Dragons" brainiac.

www.geekologie.com

Links To High-Speed Photography Galleries

This page contains a list of links to high-speed photography sites on the web. Note: several of this sites are no longer out there. However, the ones that are still in place have some pretty dazzling shots on them.

hiviz.com/links/links_gall.htm

Awesome Snow Crystal Gallery

Photographer Kenneth G. Libbrecht spends his time doing something few people have the patience for: photographing snowflakes. Even more ambitious than that, he often manufactures the snowflakes himself. Go to his website and see the intricate array of snowflake forms, and read how he goes about his painstaking tasks. Isn't nature wonderful?

www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals

Sensitive Light - Beautiful Smoke

I fell in love with the images on this site the minute I saw them. You will too! So elegant and serene. We've all seen patterns like this drifting up out of an ashtray. But never has smoke been captured so beautifully. Once you've seen them, I'm sure you will hunger for more.

sensitivelight.com/smoke2

Links to other artistic smoke sites:

fireflyforest.net/firefly/2007/07/28/art-smoke-photos

Liquid Sculpture - High Speed Water Droplets

Here's one of those photography sites that is specialized and super-cool. Martin Waugh's passion is to capture water droplets immediately after impact with a super-fast strobe. To enhance the effect, he uses colored liquid and backgrounds. The result is a unique shape, frozen in time, that will capture your imagination. Very beautiful work.

www.liquidsculpture.com/fine_art/index.htm

Supernatural Chicago

Here's a plug for my friend Neil Tobin. He does a show at the Excaliber night club that revolves around things that have gone bump in the night in and around the Windy City. It's an intimate performance, with some audience participation that combines spooky (but historically factual) stories with demonstrations of magic. It's all good fun and Neil will leave you wondering how the outcomes to his psychic challenges could possibly turn out the way they do. Many people leave the show with questions that haunt them for hours. Come enjoy the unexpected and the mysterious. Friday nights.

www.supernaturalchicago.com

Comic-Con: Bring Your Stormtrooper Costume

I've gone to the International Comic-Con 3 or 4 times now. It's super-incredible (if you like geeky forms of entertainment)! It fills up the San Diego Convention Center from end to end and is divided up so: 1/3 independent illustrators, 1/3 comic book memorabilia sellers, 1/3 publishing companies. Comic-Con is the place where fantasy fans can see all the latest stuff set to hit the shelves and theaters long before it does. Roaming the floor is really a trip, because so many people are in costume. It's like Halloween. If you're into pop culture creativity, this experience is for you!

www.comic-con.org/cci

I Must Go See "Burning Man" - Lotsa Videos

The annual "Burning Man" event in the Nevada desert is evidently a spectacle to behold. Out of nowhere a small city of free spirits and highly inventive artists assembles on the barren, dusty landscape. For a week, people create and do the most amazing things. It's a big hippie tribe where everyone is friendly and uninhibited. If you go, be sure to bring plenty of water.

www.youtube.com/verify_age?&next_url=/watch%3Fv%3DBdDTymRJMrg

Burning Man documentary "Dust and Illusions" - requires age verification
- - - -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Fqm8l4l-bk



www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY1WnGUM0wQ



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwqXzWZJULg



www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmv-wAxQ6Rw



www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh1-Jn51k3c



www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yM7Pd1Cpv0



www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZHkZPGotKE

Branson, MO - The Film

Goodness! Somebody actually made a film about Branson, Missouri. If you aren't familiar with Branson, it's sort of a wholesome alternative to Las Vegas, where mostly old folks go by the busload to see performers such as Andy Williams and the Osmond Brothers. It's quite the Mecca for those who are nostalgic about musicians from the American Bandstand era. Located in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, near Springfield, I made many trips to the Branson area during my youth.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhnS1pJkaJ8

JPG Mag - Put Your Photos On Display

My Facebook friend Laura Boston-Thek displays a lot of her location photographs on the JPG magazine website. The site claims to feature the work of close to 230,000 registered users. Why not take a look at some of their images and decide if you want to join as well.

www.jpgmag.com

FFFFound - Random Design Images Of Interest

FFFFound is a weblog that allows users to post various design images they find to be noteworthy. It's a random collection of shots regarding the usual design stuff: art, photography, posters, packaging, products, books, furniture, architecture, etc... A good place to spend some time browsing for new ideas.

ffffound.com

ArnoldBucks - California's IOU Program

A humorous page talking about California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to deal with their financial crisis by issuing IOU's. There's a video and a one dollar "ArnoldBuck" for you to print out and attempt to use.

www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/Arnoldbucks

Real Giant Robots In Japan

To celebrate Mobile Suit Gundam's 30th anniversary, the anime company has built a 1 to 1 scale statue of it's famous giant robot outside of Tokyo. Seems to be right at home in the Japanese landscape. Let's just hope they don't build a lifesized Godzilla.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM6nUX57gCg

Graphic Design Tools Of The Past

Here's one for graphic designers of all ages. If you old-ish like me, you will instantly recognize these objects because you once used them. If you started designing after 1984, when the MacIntosh was introduced, you will probably scratch your head, wondering what these relics are all about. "The Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies" is a collection of objects that designers, like myself, used on a daily basis during the 1970's and 80's. Looking back, it seems we worked in more of a Fred Flintstone world, than a George Jetson one. Anyway, have fun and see how many of these items you can identify.

www.drawger.com/?what=shows&show_id=32