Reverend Tyson Goes Hard

It's been a while, I know.  But I simply could not let this one pass by.



What I would love is for all of you to watch all of this.  But if not, at least give a bit of attention to what Dr. Tyson says around 38:23.  It's the same message that was the thesis of his Senate testimony a few weeks ago.  I feel it's the most important message regarding the state of our economy I've heard since 2000.

I had this argument with someone a couple of weeks ago.  An iPhone, as useful as it is, is NOT true innovation.  And without true innovation, we have no reason to complain.



peace.

Even "God" Loves Science

Well, at least a guy who played him a couple of times does.

In case you haven't noticed, Morgan Freeman has been headlining a fantastic series on The Science Channel for the past couple of years called Through the Wormhole. On the show, they've tackled a number of difficult and sophisticated questions posed by scientists, theorists, and philosophers throughout the ages. Now in its third season, the show has been quite innovative in their ability to make scientific inquiry engaging and entertaining.

The best part: all of the episodes are also on youtube for free! Yes!

peace.

Reverend Tyson Takes It to the Hill

A few days ago Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson testified before Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee. Here is the testimony and q&a in its entirety.

For some reason, I can't stop thinking that Dr. Tyson should be sitting not in the testimony seat but rather as a member of the committee itself. I hope the people in Congress have the enthusiasm and foresight to take some real action based on the Dr.'s remarks. This stuff is d*mn important.

peace.

The American President

This right here is why Obama is such a threat to the conservative agenda.

from The Huffington Post

Before Andrew Breitbart's unexpected death, the conservative blogger and journalist had promised to release video footage of President Barack Obama that he said would change the election. Now, BuzzFeed has unearthed the video it believes Breitbart was referring to, according to the site's editor-in-chief, Ben Smith.

If this is indeed the footage in question, it's not particularly controversial.

In the 1991 video, which BuzzFeed licensed from WGBH Boston, a young Obama is shown speaking in support of Harvard's first tenured black law professor, Derrick Bell. Bell was staging a protest over the lack of female black professors at the school, and was taking an unpaid leave until Harvard hired a woman of color.

As Bell said at the time, "My major effort in teaching is to convince students ... that they should be ready and able to take risks and make sacrifices for the things they believe in, and their real success in life will come from making those sacrifices and taking those risks, regardless of outcome. The best way to teach that is to practice it."

In the video, Obama, who was then president of the Harvard Law Review, is shown praising Bell, while the professor stands nearby and a crowd cheers. Obama recalls how Bell spoke at an orientation for first-year students, and instead of lecturing the students, encouraged conversation.

More here.

All I can say about this video is that politicians don't EVER do stuff like this. Leaders do. And no matter what we think about Obama's policies, we have to admire someone who commits to an effort such as this. Not bad for a "community organizer".

peace.

Rhymes of Our Lives

Especially now, this song means a great deal to me.

Things haven't been ideal lately. In those instances, I always try to value the good times, because they're always around.

peace.

Welcomed Distraction

So, there's a very good reason I haven't posted in a couple of days. This:



Netflix has decided they would make the Playing Shakespeare series available to their online streaming customers. I really picked the wrong time to be busy.



peace.

Feeding the Habit

So, for the past three months I've been without access to cable television (Yea, I know. Woe is me...). It's been a difficult time. I suppose I have an addiction to a constant stream of information and stimulus that may or may not be healthy. I don't think it's adversely affected me. I mean, I would much rather be out with my family and friends, performing, going to concerts or other cultural events, or even riding my motorcycle than sitting at home vegetating to Fear Factor. But, I would prefer the option of tuning in to MSNBC, CNN, or even the Discovery Channel during the interim. No matter how flawed they might be, they are providing information to the community that should be considered and processed.

Since I've been sans-cable and sans-satellite, I have been able to find marginally adequate alternatives such at Netflix and Hulu (I still can't find any Mythbusters episodes!). However, I have to give the most credit to a website called Live Times - The Live News Chat Blog. On this fantastic site there are links to live streams of MSNBC, CNN, Current TV, Al Jazeera, BBC News, and half a dozen other television news organizations. Although it isn't perfect, (The feed frequently has pauses and hiccups that disrupt the programming, although that may be due to overloading the household bandwidth.) this site has allowed me to hang on to some sense of connection to the world. I still feel like I know a little about what's going on out there.

So I offer a big thanks to the folks over there at Live Times. Thanks for keeping me in the loop.

peace.

"...An Honorable Man."

Regardless of your political beliefs, I need you to recognize the sheer rhetorical brilliance of this right here.

This is why the Republicans are going to have such a tough time this year. They're all longing with the American people in prose and "Mark Antony" here is attempting to uplift them in verse. There aren't many people who can pull off this kind of thing. You gotta admit, he's a bad man.

peace.

Decisions, Decisions

Tomorrow I'm speaking with a group of high school kids about my experience of making comedy and what it is to make a joke. (I have no idea!) It's going to take every fiber of my being not to tell this one as an example.

If I did, I'm pretty sure I'd be kindly escorted off the campus.

peace.

Itchy

It's getting close to riding season again, which means I'm up until 4am watching stuff like this on youtube.

I can not wait. C'mon spring.

peace.

Boonie Tunes

So, I've been checking out the work of this cat Boonie Mayfield for a few years now. This is his newest venture.

Boonie Mayfield (or Boon Doc as he's often called) is an emcee/producer from Colorado who's been racking up the miles with his production tutorials on youtube. This cat is quite talented, indeed. I've watched quite a few of his videos and I've been impressed with not only his musical impulses but his sense of humility as well. He always seems to be having a good time with what he does. So when I saw he was starting up a web series, I had to make sure to peep.

All things considered, I think he's off to a good start.

peace.

Reconstruction

from The Atlantic:

In just over two weeks, Japan will be observing the one-year anniversary of the disastrous magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that struck its east coast in March of 2011. The destruction was unprecedented and the loss of life and property were staggering -- more than 15,800 are confirmed dead, with another 3,300 still listed as missing nearly a year later. Photographers documented the many faces of this tragedy and have now returned to give us a look at the difference a year can make, re-shooting places that were photographed during and immediately after the quake.

Have a look at the before/after pictures.

My first thought when I saw these was, "Wow! Look at how far they've come in only a year. Good work, Japan!"

My second thought was, "Dammit."

peace.

...And We're Back!

So, I've been gone for a bit. Pardon the interruption. And if you've visited since I took my hiatus and read some of my old stuff, I really appreciate it. Thanks for stickin' with me.

So let's see. Where were we?



How about this for some fun ridiculousness?

I'll finish up with Rocky Rivera at the end of the month, then on to March!



peace.