Category: Miscellaneous

Remember the folks that brought you the election parody cartoon “This Land” last year? Well here is the follow up: Second Term.

This Superman Animated Short by Chris Appelhans wasn’t really what I expected, but all the same, I think it’s great.

I just heard the news that the American border is once again open to Canadian cattle. This will make a lot of Canadian cattle ranchers very happy, but it raises some questions in my mind.

First of all, I’d just like to say that it seems kind of ridiculous that the border was ever closed in the first place because with as much cattle trading that happens between American and Canadian ranchers, it’s not like their cows have any less risk of Mad Cow compared to ours anyway.

Now with the border reopening, it doesn’t mean the threat of Mad Cow is any less than it was before (and don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe it’s a particularly big threat, just that the problem hasn’t actually been dealt with). With all the billions of dollars in government aid, I would have liked to see (or heard about anyway) what advances have been made in solving the actual problem of BSE (Mad Cow) instead of focusing all attention on the closed US border. What is going to happen in the way of reducing Mad Cow now that trade has resumed? Ironically the resumption of trade will probably be less, rather than more, of an incentive to find a permanent BSE solution.

Or lack thereof. The BBC reports that a recent study shows patients undergoing heart operations were no more likely to survive if they were prayed for than if they weren’t.

“[The] study found those who were prayed for were as likely to have a setback in hospital, be re-admitted, or die within six months as those not prayed for.

I can already hear the apologist viewpoint that of course the study isn’t going to prove the power of prayer – God wouldn’t allow THAT to happen because it would throw faith right out the window. To which I might reply, “that God person sure is tricky.”

Of course previous smaller studies have had different conclusions which evidentally God wasn’t worried about allowing our faith to be tampered with. (unrelated note: I find it interesting that the BBC uses the same stock photo for both articles).

Vlogging: like regular blogging but with more video. Check out Rocketboom.com for some great (if irreverent) video blog news.

Video blogs can be downloaded with podcasts! Wired has an article about the budding technology.

Google now lets your have a personalized google homepage. Some of the options available to personalize the page are:

• Your Gmail Messages
• The Stock Market
• The New York Times
• The BBC News
• Google News
• Your Weather
• Wired News
• Slashdot
• Movies
• Driving Directions
• Quote of the Day
• Word of the Day

You have to be logged in to Google to see the page, and I haven’t had much time to try it out, but at first glance I think it’s kind of neat.

Here is a list of interesting links I’ve stumbled upon lately (in no particular order):

• UBUWEB::365 Days Project (an MP3 for every day of the year)
• Tetris Final in Japan (video)
• Goggle Maps Globetrotting (photos)
• Sheep Dash! (reflex game)
• Watermelon Carvings (photos)
• BBC’s Step-by-Step Guide to Charisma (article)
• Chaos Theory (game)
• Good Experience Games (list of games)
• Crazy Ebay Mom (personal story w/ photos)
• Steve Jobs 2005 Commencement Address
• Will Ferrell: Class Day Speech
• Jon Stewart’s Commencement Address

I hope you enjoy some of these links.

I’m heading back to the Hat to visit with my family before my brother and his wife take off to Australia for a year. They are leaving in about 9 days. My sister and her baby, Ryker, will also be in Medicine Hat.

All I can say is what a great week I’ve been having. Today has been especially good because I ran into someone that I’ve been admiring from afar since my first year of University. Obviously I’ve been unavailable up until now so things were a little different when I talked to her today. I was happily surprised when she remembered my name from the one time we had talked previously (way back last fall). We’ll all have to wait and see how things turn out.

I was just reading about the terrorist attacks in London and just have to say how pissed off it makes me. Other than that, there isn’t much to say.

Apparently the attacks are being claimed by an Al Qaida group. Here is a news report with information from some of the people near the explosions.

I’m teaching the New Media Movie Making Camp at the University again this summer. (The photo displayed in the link is of a student silk screening a shirt in the Art Camp – looks like they have a lot of fun in that camp too).

I will be teaching four one week camps that run each week in July. During each camp my students write their own scripts, film, edit, add special effects, and burn their movies to DVD. On Friday, the students’ families are invited for a screening. It’s been two days so far, but so far the students have been fun as usual and I’m really enjoying it again this year.