Posts Tagged: Watch

Listen / Procrastination / Read / Watch — No Comments
22
Sep 11

You’re So Vain

When You Awake is the kind of site I would dream of creating. It is a compilation of photos, music, videos, and concert information all twisted together with cowboy boots, leather, and nostalgia for the heyday of folk and rock ‘n roll. With contributors “reporting” from London, New York, and Los Angeles, When You Awake is a refreshingly un-ironic resource for people that want a daily dose of high-quality music and a moment to pause and stare at photos of a young Joni Mitchell hanging out with Mama Cass and Eric Clapton (oh, to be young at that time…).

They have a “video of the day,” consistently featuring some of the Best Artists of All Time, like the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, the Beatles, the Doors, Neil Young, performing their work live.

The best feature, however, is their “Twang Series,” mixtapes created by the people at When You Awake, featuring the work of a particular artist (Allman Brothers, Nick Drake, the Kinks, to name a few), but performed by other incredible artists. I mean where else are you going to listen to Blind Faith’s version of Buddy Holly’s “Well All Right,” next to Humble Pie’s version of Buddy Holly’s “Heartbeat”? I’m going to guess nowhere else.

When you awake, take a listen.

- Anna

Inspiration / Listen / Wear — No Comments
10
Aug 11

Time For A Chat

Maybe right now is a good time for a talk. Maybe it’s time for a moment to stop and listen and reflect, to give and take some suggestions. Maybe with the streets of London aflame, the world stock markets cratering, and political parties fighting wars of attrition, it’s the right time for a chat.

Start that conversation at the Do Lectures, a speaker series of “ideas and energy”, as the organizers say. From the beginning, the Do Lectures have tried to hew to a slightly more down-to-earth set of values than the TED giants. Beginning in the earthy valleys of Wales, the Do Lectures have always been small, and always encouraged the audience to ask questions of the eclectic presenters.

The first round in 2008 featured a professional forager, a beekeeper, and a man who builds mountain biking trails. Though they have gotten more high-profile as the years have progressed, and now even feature a series in California wine country, the Do Lectures have tried to stay close to their quirky roots- this year’s speakers include energy entrepreneurs, midwives, ecologists, and surfers.

Spark your own discussions with our 3-part series on Detroit, America’s most interesting city.

-Matt

Inspiration / Opinions / Read — No Comments
5
Aug 11

Al Jazeera, Give it a Whirl

Maybe it was the endless coverage of the debt ceiling debacle. Maybe it was my thinning schadenfreude towards the Murdoch scandal. Whatever it was, somehow I started watching Al Jazeera English, a 24 hour streaming news channel and the sister agency of Al Jazeera, the Arabic news channel.

Obviously, Al Jazeera has controversial connotations in the United States, where its willingness to feature “dissenting viewpoints,” is frowned up on and its cultural base is framed as closer to that of America’s enemies than that of the West. However, Al Jazeera English is a fascinating confluence of East and West, with headquarters in Doha and a geographically rotating source of news, with broadcasting centers in Doha, London, and Washington, DC, as well as news outlets in Gaza and Harare.

The mission of Al Jazeera is “to give voice to untold stories, promote debate, and challenge established perceptions,” for the more than 1 billion English speaking people, who may or may not have a Western worldview.

While seeing coverage on American issues was interesting (notably absent “lifestyle” articles), the range and angle of the topics that they cover is fascinating and should make each and every American news junkie think again.

Just compare Al Jazeera’s “Most Viewed” as of 8/2/2011 to CNN’s and the New York Times:

Al Jazeera

  • In Pictures: The start of Ramadan
  • Islamophobia, Zionism and the Norway massacre
  • Mobile biometrics to hit US streets
  • Gaddafi forces ‘launch Zlitan offensive’
  • Military hawks upset with debt deal
  • Protesters across Syria come under fire
  • Unsafe at any speed?
  • Has the Arab Spring arrived in Israel?
  • Israel ‘sees border talks if PA drops UN bid’

CNN

  • Syria: ‘Brother of a whore’ tossed like trash
  • Space shuttle Columbia part found in Texas
  • Man detained after jumping White House fence
  • Obama signs debt ceiling bill, ends crisis

New York Times

  • Tea Party’s War on America
  • Ancient Moves for Orthopedic Problems
  • Who Falls to Addiction, and Who Is Unscathed?
  • Reaping Millions in Nonprofit Care for Disabled
  • Putting an Antebellum Myth to Rest
  • Pearls, Finer but Still Cheap, Flow From China
  • The President Surrenders
  • Study Sheds Light on Auditory Role in Dyslexia

There are exactly two articles in the American news outfits that even mention another country and the Chinese article appears to be about the Chinese market for pearls and how it is affecting the American one. It is not that this is inherently wrong, but it does contribute to the overall reputation that the United States is totally unaware of how it comes off to the world.

I will stand by my apple-pie-news-source staples, but hey, give Al Jazeera English a whirl. You might learn something new about what’s going on in America.

-Anna

Procrastination / Watch — No Comments
19
Jul 11

Dream of the 90s – The Best of Nickelodeon Returns!

Doug. Rocco’s Modern Life. All That. Kenan and Kel. Salute Your Shorts. Guts! The Adventures of Pete and Pete. Legends of the Hidden Temple.

This list should be sending waves of nostalgia through your body as we speak, transporting you back to a time when the most important thing in the world was not trying to impress the opposite sex, finding a job, or worrying about which healthcare plan to buy, but the inalienable right to plop down in front of the TV and watch cartoons for hours.

Good news, my fellow children of the 90s. Our time to soak in the quaint life lessons of Clarissa Explains It All or Doug’s weekly shenanigans has come once more.

Starting next Monday July 25th at midnight, Nickelodeon will begin rebroadcasting its hit shows from the 90s again. But this time as adults we can watch our favorite childhood shows without worrying about those pesky parents whisking us off to bed despite our most eloquent protests, which more often than not consisted of screams of “Why not?!” or “But I wannnnnaaaaa watch Doooouuuggggggg!”

On a side note, in an interesting twist it seems that Facebook was actually good for something and the enormous interest that these shows generated via comments, likes, and fan pages caused executives to sit up and take notice.

We also have a bunch of pioneering Nickelodeon interns for pitching the idea to corporate executives. So a big tip of the hat to those interns. For their sake I really hope that they got jobs and didn’t just have their idea implemented without any credit.


TeenNick – The 90's Are All That Promo by TheBumperMan13

-Eugene

Procrastination / Read — No Comments
9
Jun 11

Talking Yourself Up

Photo Credit

In “The Art of Conversation,” British journalist Catherine Blyth tells the story about a party to which U2 frontman Bono was invited. Unable to attend, he sent a bagpiper to play instead.

Though there are few things able to cut off a chat quite like a Scotsman piping, we all dominate conversations from time to time. To our rescue comes your phone, an unlikely hero in the quest for a better rapport.

With the new smartphone app Talk-o-Meter, a quiet room, and a flat surface, you and your fellow talker can chart out the flow of your conversation. As the talk progresses, the app charts out an estimate of how much time each participant has been jawing away.

The German company that designed the app calls it an example of “gentle biofeedback” that will lead even the most die-hard talkers to tone down. The timing seems appropriate. A poll by British tea producer Clipper showed that 70% of respondents believed that the skill of face-to-face conversation has been degraded by our digital chats through Facebook, Twitter, and text messages.

Even the political realm- infamous for its voluble talkers- seems to be suffering from a shortage of quality conversation. Researcher Brian Till wrote the book “Conversations With Power”, in which he interviewed world leaders who he felt had used the power of talk to their advantage. Former Brazilian president Fernando Cardoso explained the philosophy that made him one of the country’s most dynamic politicians. “You have to listen more than you think.”

That might be the lesson of Talk-o-Meter, after all.

-Matt

Procrastination / Watch — No Comments
6
Jun 11

Teddy Catches A Fish

I’ll be honest, I don’t particularly like kids.

I’m not sure how to behave around them as they are highly illogical beings. I suppose that’s why I don’t like hanging out with people when they are blindingly drunk and I’m still sober. There tends to be a lot of confused babbling, random yelling, some crying, and even throwing up – not unlike a small child.

But, I will admit that the unfiltered innocence of children encountering the world or experiencing things for the first time is refreshing. It offers a moment of respite from the overwhelming cynicism, sarcasm, and general snarkiness that we must accept on a daily basis.

So for a dose of childish curiosity, watch Teddy catch his first fish.

-Eugene

Watch — No Comments
31
May 11

What Are You Listening To?

Photo Credit

Have a look at this surprisingly entertaining video of a man asking strangers on the street what they’re listening to.

It’s an interesting opportunity to break into the mind of an individual wrapped in a musical bubble as they encounter the world.

When asked, most people smile and appear genuinely happy that someone took the time to ask what song was currently soundtracking their perception of the events around them.

Given the ubiquity of portable music devices, it seems nearly everyone from every walk of life has one now and the interviewer does a great job of hitting nearly every demographic group.

Take a few minutes to watch video below as it will certainly bring a smile to your face.

-Eugene

Listen / Procrastination / Watch — No Comments
18
May 11

Holy Ghost! – Wait and See

Musicians Alex Frankel and Nick Milhiser are the band Holy Ghost!, and when they set out to make a music video for their song “Wait and See”, they decided to ask their dads to step in.

“My dad was appalled at the sizing options at American Apparel,” Frankel said in an interview, but nonetheless they managed to persuade the family patriarchs to perform on-camera as their sons.

The concept worked because, as Frankel says, “the joke wasn’t on them — that it was actually kind of making fun of us getting older and still living like teenagers.”

Take a look below.

Holy Ghost! – Wait & See from DFA Records on Vimeo.

For an insight at other up-and-coming musicians and the music they love, take a look at these recommendations from the band Weekends over at Pluck Magazine.

 -Matt

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