Posts

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Gmail Auto Log-out Problem

Three friends of mine are travelling the South Pacific (currently they’re in New Zealand). One of them mentioned to me that he is having trouble accessing gmail from his laptop. I was wondering if anyone has heard about anything like this:

Whenever anyone tries to access their gmail account from our laptop it logs in and then automatically logs out and shuts down that window. I think an add-on has been enabled or disabled to some how to prevent this gmail thing from working.

I think their best bet will be to contact the gmail team and see if they have any suggestions, although my gut tells me it’s a malicious script/virus. What do you think?

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Backmasking on The Paul & Jan Crouch Show

Youtube has a copy of the backmasking episode of The Paul & Jan Crouch Show. Paul Jr. plays clips from Rock and Roll music both forward and backward. Much like the examples on my backmasking page, the examples are hard to decipher until the listener is primed as to what he or she should be hearing.

Part 1
Update: The videos have been pulled — see below for a new YouTube video.

The next part focuses on the album artwork and the symbols and general symbolism that musicians apparently use to promote a satanic agenda. It also talks about famous satanist Aleister Crowley.

Part 2
Update: The videos have been pulled

Part 3 focuses on backmasking and gives examples of both intentional and unintentional messages within Rock music.

Part 3
Update: The videos have been pulled

Part four has more examples of backmasking and a little misdirection about what some psychologists believe about the human subconscious.

There’s actually two dangers, as far as backward masking. One is, yeah, I know a lot of kids play their albums backwards—more for a joke, but they get these messages. What’s even scarier and it’s still a little controversial, but I do have some documentation from psychologists that believe the subconscious mind is probably the most incredible computer ever—you know, God did a great job when he invented our self sub conscious. That’s why we don’t have to breath at night when we are sleeping, our subconscious takes over, that’s when it’s the most active and anything that’s stored in our subconscious forward can be recalled backwards just as easily and this again, backwards masking is a form or subliminal suggestion.

Part 4 continues with more examples and then ends with Stairway to Heaven. Paul Jr. takes a more extensive look at the song than just the little section I have posted on my page.

Part 4
Update: The videos have been pulled

Part 5 continues with Stairway to Heaven. The lyrics that Paul Jr. describes are slightly different than the ones I hear and as a result, the ones he tells them to listen for, are the ones they hear.

Part 5
Update: The videos have been pulled

I’m not trying to setup a straw man argument, but I found it interesting to learn that years later Paul Crouch Sr. would find himself in his own scandal involving a settlement to a former employee who accused Paul of sexually harassing him. (Wikipedia entry on Paul Crouch).
Update: Here’s another copy of one part of the video:

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McDonald’s Subliminal Advertising

With a wide spread of PVR adoption comes a new form of “subliminal advertising”. Ads that last only 1 frame (that’s 1/24th of a second) probably aren’t able to influence viewers even subliminally, however, the following McDonald’s ad works because it is noticeable enough that someone watching on TV might pause, rewind, see the ad and then talk about it or better yet, post it on YouTube and create an instant viral ad.

(via)

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Downtown Calgary and SF

Downtown

My trip to San Francisco was pretty awesome and I think it’s my new favorite city—in the United States anyway. Here’s a photo I took from the plane coming into Calgary. And here’s my San Francisco Flickr Set (it’s a work in progress as I continue to sort through the nearly 500 photos from last week).

I’ll write more about my trip later including a glimpse into the Social Media Club event where we were lucky enough to meet Jimmy Wales and listen to him speak a little bit about social media and Wikipedia. (Also thanks for the t-shirt SMC). I also really enjoyed trying out the The World Café format, a way in which the best ideas in the room can be shared with everyone through smaller discussions that leads to one large one.

It was disappointing to have to leave so soon, but I’m sure another adventure is just around the corner.

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Spiders on Drugs

A couple of weeks ago I watched the video Spiders On Drugs.

It’s a parody of the old Hinterland Who’s Who show that you may remember if you watched Saturday morning cartoons in the 1980’s here in Canada. Hinterland’s Who’s Who would come on between shows—I used to hate them, “enough with the stupid animals I want to see cartoons!”

This interesting read is the story of Andrew Struthers who made the video and his narration of what happened after he posted it on YouTube.

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If You’re Going to San Francisco…

On Sunday I’m taking off for a few days in the California sun. No, I’m not off to MacWorld, but I am going to San Francisco to take part in a Social Media Club round table discussion.

Chris Heuer (SMC Co-Founder) will lead a roundtable discussion on blogs, podcasting and all the cool things we want to do and would like to see happen in 2007. SMC is working to connect Social Media groups all over the world, so it’s a great way to take a part in universal efforts to spread the Social Media love.

I’m really looking forward to it, for one thing, my skin is getting a little pasty white up here in the Great White North—but also it will be a great opportunity to make some interesting new friends south of the border. Maybe it’ll even inspire me to start my own podcast.

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One Red Paperclip

One Red Paperclip is a site about one man’s successful attempt at trading one red paperclip for something bigger and better until, 14 trades later, he had a house. File under, “why didn’t I think of that?”

Coincidentally, because of the One Red Paperclip guy’s challenge to CBC’s The Hour, the show went to Yahk, BC and on the way they did a couple of shows in Calgary. It was one of those Calgary episodes that I was on.