Craig Ferguson explains why everything has gone wrong

Mr. Ferguson is the host of the Late Late Show on CBS. He has sort of taken the late show monologue into new territory. I think he's pretty clever and also very personal. He once opened a show with a twelve minute long monologue on overcoming alcoholism and why he won't make fun of celebrities who are going through personal issues. Anyway, the last line here that gets bleeped out is "now we have the fucking Jonas brothers!"

Shatner covers Palin

William Shatner reads verbatim a portion of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's resignation speech. I think Conan was right - she speaks in poetry!

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britian

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain plays the theme from "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly".

KOW!

KOW! is a band from central Florida. Unknowingly, we grew up with having one of the most impressive groups I've ever heard. They were just someone in our music scene. I still play KOW! for people, and they are always asking me where they can get some.....

Passing Legislation - KOREAN STYLE!

In this interesting video clip, we see how the South Korean government follows the traditional democratic principle of brawling with fellow legislators in order to discuss and pass laws. If only we could be so organized in the United States, we might finally have something done regarding universal health care.

Watch the video here.

Berditschew - the exhibition

Remembering Through Art: The creation of a “Mind-room” where the Past meets the Present …

Before 1941, Berditschew was the centre of Jewish culture in the Ukraine. Twenty thousnd Jews lived in the town when the German troops began their occupation.
When the town was liberated in 1944, fifteen Jews were still alive.
At a remote, unused airport runway, thousands of them were shot.
Between 2007 and 2009 the research team visited Berditschew regularly searching for information regarding the horrific events which had taken place.

The exhibition is not about the factual re-telling of events but rather seeks to engage the visitor on an emotional level through the combined use of photographs, moving pictures and sound.

http://www.berditschew.com/

Editing Sarah Palin

This really sings to my heart. The Literary Editor of Vanity Fair takes the red pen to a recent speech by the famous ex-governor of Alaska. The difference is drastic. Although this copy is a bit like seeing sausages getting made, it is interesting to look at. And I applaud the editors for not trying to change the message of the Governor, but rather focusing strictly on syntax and grammar.

Read the edits here.

The Pen Story

The PEN Story

Source: www.youtube.com

This is the PEN Story in stop motion. We shot 60.000 pictures, developed 9.600 prints and shot over 1.800 pictures again. No post production! Thanks to all the stop motion artists who inspired us.

History of the Wilhelm Scream

And here is the history of the Wilhelm Scream. I can relate to what these directors feel. It was probably a lot more fun to use before everyone knew about it. Such is the way things are...

The Wilhelm Scream

The Wilhelm Scream is a copy and paste job that sound editors have been throwing into movies since the 1950s. It's been used in over 130 movies and is a bit of a joke between Hollywood sound editors. It's interesting to see how there are little things hidden in plain sight.

New York City Cops Take Down Superman without Kryptonite

Batman and the Statue of Liberty were involved too.....

Story

RoboGeisha

I agree with Ed's last post. DANGER!!!

I'm not sure if this is a real movie or not, but I know what I'm buying Tehila for next Hanukkah.....Bust MachineGun


HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! Fried Shrimp...TENGU MILK!!!!!

ROBOGEISHA!!!!!

Danger!

World Domination

Forget about the Chinese.....Here's an article about a mega-colony of ants.

Ant mega-colony takes over world

Matt Walker Editor, Earth News A queen and worker Argentine ant have many, many relatives A single mega-colony of ants has colonised much of the world, scientists have discovered. Argentine ants living in vast numbers across Europe, the US and Japan belong to the same inter-related colony, and will refuse to fight one another. The colony may be the largest of its type ever known for any insect species, and could rival humans in the scale of its world domination. What's more, people are unwittingly helping the mega-colony stick together. Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) were once native to South America. But people have unintentionally introduced the ants to all continents except Antarctica. These introduced Argentine ants are renowned for forming large colonies, and for becoming a significant pest, attacking native animals and crops. In Europe, one vast colony of Argentine ants is thought to stretch for 6,000km (3,700 miles) along the Mediterranean coast, while another in the US, known as the "Californian large", extends over 900km (560 miles) along the coast of California. A third huge colony exists on the west coast of Japan. The enormous extent of this population is paralleled only by human society Entomologists reveal the ant colony's true size While ants are usually highly territorial, those living within each super-colony are tolerant of one another, even if they live tens or hundreds of kilometres apart. Each super-colony, however, was thought to be quite distinct. But it now appears that billions of Argentine ants around the world all actually belong to one single global mega-colony. Researchers in Japan and Spain led by Eiriki Sunamura of the University of Tokyo found that Argentine ants living in Europe, Japan and California shared a strikingly similar chemical profile of hydrocarbons on their cuticles. But further experiments revealed the true extent of the insects' global ambition. Read the rest of the article here.

Fireflies - Selection, Predators, Pulses and Light

LINCOLN, Mass. — Sara Lewis is fluent in firefly. On this night she walks through a farm field in eastern Massachusetts, watching the first fireflies of the evening rise into the air and begin to blink on and off. Dr. Lewis, an evolutionary ecologist at Tufts University, points out six species in this meadow, each with its own pattern of flashes.

Along one edge of the meadow are Photinus greeni, with double pulses separated by three seconds of darkness. Near a stream are Photinus ignitus, with a five-second delay between single pulses. And near a forest are Pyractomena angulata, which make Dr. Lewis’s favorite flash pattern. “It’s like a flickering orange rain,” she said.

The fireflies flashing in the air are all males. Down in the grass, Dr. Lewis points out, females are sitting and observing. They look for flash patterns of males of their own species, and sometimes they respond with a single flash of their own, always at a precise interval after the male’s. Dr. Lewis takes out a penlight and clicks it twice, in perfect Photinus greeni. A female Photinus greeni flashes back.

“Most people don’t realize there’s this call and response going on,” Dr. Lewis said. “But it’s very, very easy to talk to fireflies.”

You can read the rest of the article here.

Koreans, stress, and death

When living in Korea, I learned that it is not uncommon for Koreans to take their own lives. It felt like it happened much more than anywhere I had ever heard before. I wonder if these are the ties of Confucianism that are still connected to Korea's modern culture? That if one has lost respect, it is better to take one's life than live with shame.

Here are 3 recent stories I've read:

New York

Celebrities in the Media in Korea

Los Angeles