Augmented Reality

Augmented (hyper)Reality: Domestic Robocop from Keiichi Matsuda on Vimeo.

We think that the commercial world is the purveyor of our private lives now...the future is bleak. Augmented reality will be a new platform through which we will once again be bombarded by the ever-present hand that is capitalism.

Keiichi Matsuda, an architecture student in Berlin posits more optimistic possibilities. It is the kind of imaginative ingenuity that conceives a very plausible near future; innovation at its best. The possibilities are very exciting!

This technology may seem a bit overwhelming but it is the future. Read the original post on Dornob (see an additional cool video)- I agree that we would probably have thought the internet would be an "information overload", had we been presented with it a few decades earlier. I mean, WOW! My kids will be interacting this way decades down the line. Crrrazy!

Beauty of the Underdog

So I'm sure you've all seen this as it has been the buzz of pop TV this week but I must post this as it has really affected me in a significant way.

Susan Boyle blew everyone away with her performance on Britain's Got Talent. Check out the video. Words do not do her justice. This situation makes me step back and think about how I would have responded to her appearance. I don't think most people are so cruel to judge her physically just to boost his/her own self-esteem (keyword: most). It is more logical to conclude that people are so conditioned by the social standards of how one is to look, act, and think that one cannot give another the same fair shot that he/she would expect for themselves. I think Susan Boyle's performance on the show was a great social experiment.

You see the judgemental sneers and cynical attitudes of nearly if not all of the people in the audience, judges included. It is so apparent it oozes off every one's faces; disgustingly so. When the first few notes are sung, everyone melts. Now...I would like to think that I would not judge a person by his/her looks but quite honestly I probably would have been cynical at the least.

So why do we give her merit only after she has proven her talent? I'd say that the overwhelming emotional response had by all is a result of 1.) the beauty of her singing voice, 2.) the confidence and joy had by Susan Boyle from the moment she stepped on stage, 3.) the power of how everyone can relate to how she must have felt. We can all empathize with the insecurities caused by feelings of doubt. To all the "Susan Boyle's" out there, keep your head up high and fuck everyone that does not have the capacity to see the beauty of the underdog!

Osborne

Lovin' Osborne's Fire off of his new Hovercraft EP. DL it from RCRD LBL here. There's a few more downloads if you like his sound. Wait A Minute (extended) is available for download as well. Here's an article on Beatportal w/ music video. Enjoy!

Overseas Contingency

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Moment of Zen - Overseas Contingency Operations Budget
comedycentral.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Check out The Daily Show's March 31st episode. Funny shit. I thoroughly enjoyed this Moment of Zen.

I think that this subject of "rebranding" as John Stewart so humorously put it, is a topic of note. Obama is doing the right thing to take these fear-inducing terms like "war on terror" that Bush strategically used so frequently throughout his administration, and label them for what they are.

Where the Wild Things Are

My favorite story growing up. Cannot wait!

Lebron-mazing!

R U Professional - Mae Shi

I recently discovered Mae Shi. I absolutely love this song/video. Never thought I'd connect w/ an artist that loves Christian Bale as much as I do...

Obama For Change

Remember to vote this Tuesday! Obama supporters - pass this video along to all your friends and family!

Earth Hour 2008

Join the effort to make a difference this year. Earth Hour is an ingenious idea to bring people together to save energy and reduce global carbon emissions.

If you're like me you feel like the little efforts you make at home and work on an individual level do not add up to much of a difference but something like this really makes a tangible impression on the realness of the climate crisis we are facing as well as the realness of the impact you can make to reverse the warming trend. Sign up and let's together make a change!

Recycle Cell Phones

The Secret Life has a page dedicated to informing those of us who are interested in being less wasteful.