Categories
animation

In My Particular Case

It turns out, trying to work out what your film is going to be about is a pretty good topic for a film. Check out this interesting piece by Chico Jofilsan in which he talks himself into, out of, and back into making this particular movie and how exactly he went about it and how worrying about how choosing a bad idea can turn into something not that great doesn’t help because sometimes you just have to go for it. The whole thing is a bit meta.

In My Particular Case from Chico Jofilsan on Vimeo.

(via Neatorama)

Categories
Politics video

Dr. Danielle Martin and US Senator Richard Burr Debate Health Care

Back in March 2014, Canadian Dr. Danielle Martin was asked to speak to a US Senate Committee investigation on health care systems, specifically regarding issues such as single-payer and multi-payer systems and wait times.

From a CTV report on the clip:

Martin was invited to testify by the committee chairman, Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described socialist who would like to see the U.S. adopt a single-payer system like in Canada, something Vermont is already doing.

Canada’s health system is really run by the provinces, with federal funding, Martin explained, citing research showing better outcomes for cancer and heart patients in Canada at a much lower cost than the U.S. medical system.

That made her a target for Republicans on the committee, but Martin counter-punched with gleeful spontaneity.

Was it true that Canadians were dying because of health rationing? Not as many, she replied, as the 45,000 Americans dying each year in a health-care system rationed on the basis of someone’s ability to pay.

(via Metafilter)

Categories
Music video

Come and Get Your Love (Official Music Video)

This is the official music video for Redbone’s popular 1974 hit, “Come and Get Your Love”. It was released last week.

From IndianCountryToday:

As an enduring pop hit, Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love” has had millions of plays on air and on YouTube with the pioneering rock band’s visually powerful performance on TV’s “The Midnight Special” in 1974, when the song was released.

That clip begins with a powwow dancer performing in front of the band, introducing millions to a Native traditional dance they had most likely never seen before.

In 2014, the mega-budget sci-fi film “Guardians of the Galaxy” used the song in a key opening scene and on the official soundtrack, garnering a whole new generation of fans.

But the infectious, bouncy song with a message of earthy and universal love never had an official video from the band. Until now.

(Via Miss Cellania)

Categories
Apple

Apple Sets All Time Third Quarter Revenue Record

During Apple’s most recent earnings report call, Tim Cook seemed almost embarrassed to announce that Apple had such record revenue during a worldwide pandemic. But as a shareholder I can’t say I’m disappointed. I’m also excited that they’re once again splitting the stock, this time four to one.

From Apple:

Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2020 third quarter ended June 27, 2020. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $59.7 billion, an increase of 11 percent from the year-ago quarter, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $2.58, up 18 percent. International sales accounted for 60 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Categories
Music

Vocal ranges of the worlds top pop singers

The worlds greatest vocal ranges

Compare the vocal ranges of today’s top artists with the greatest of all time.

This chart shows the highest and lowest notes each artist hit in the recording studio. Hover over the bars to see the songs on which they reached those notes.

From The Loop:

Gonna stop here for a second and acknowledge the English language/UK-US bias, right off the top.

That said, this is still quite interesting. Before you follow the link, take a guess as to who in the pop universe has the biggest vocal range. Challenge is to name anyone in the top three.

I was able to guess someone in the top 10, not top three.?

Categories
humor pandemic

COVID-19 Risk Chart

From XKCD

First prize is a ticket to the kissing booth.

Randall Munroe runs you through risky behaviour in this handy chart that applies for both pandemic and non-pandemic risks. I’m betting that I’ll be doing in-person classes come September. The minister of Alberta Education will let us know as of August 1st — though some teachers believe the decision has already been made and they’re waiting for August to improve the optics. It’s not like it really matters what they “decide” because things will change the moment we have confirmed cases at school — at least I hope so.

As for the chart, I feel like, “Skateboarding into a mosh pit on a cruise ship” should be rated as higher risk than “Getting a Covid test from a stranger at a crowded bar” on the non-Covid risk axis.

(via Kottke)

Update: Apparently at the same time I was posting this the Alberta Government decided to make the announcement early: School is back on in September. It turns out I was right about the decision being already made and this was confirmed by a leak to the Globe and Mail.

Categories
law

Lethbridge police officers temporarily demoted in connection with surveillance of NDP cabinet minister

CHAT News Today

Sgt. Jason Carrier and Const. Keon Woronuk of the Lethbridge Police Service have been temporarily demoted after unauthorized surveillance of Lethbridge West MLA Shannon Phillips and stakeholders in the protections of the Castle region in southwest region.

Carrier was on-duty but on a meal break with two other officers when Phillips entered the Chef Stella Diner to meet informally with stakeholders on the Castle region changes during the morning of April 17, 2017.

Carrier texted Woronuk — who was acting sergeant on duty at the time — with a picture of the meeting and location. Woronuk attended the diner shortly thereafter.

In a conversation between the two uniformed officers as they left the diner after taking photos of the meeting, Woronuk said to Carrier that he, “would hate to see Phillips drive away from the restaurant and there was a reason to stop her,” according to the penalty decision.

In addition to taking photos, Woronuk was involved in setting up surveillance and subsequently following one of the stakeholders while running a police information check on them.

Full article after the jump:

Continue reading “Lethbridge police officers temporarily demoted in connection with surveillance of NDP cabinet minister”
Categories
Art

Watch the Celebrity-Filled Fan-Film Version of The Princess Bride

Westley and Princess Buttercup look at each other

Vanity Fair:

While stuck in quarantine over the past few months, some of the most famous performers in the world worked in secret to shoot a homemade fan-film version of the classic on their phones—which will be shown on Quibi chapter by chapter, day by day, for two weeks starting this Monday.

Filmmaker Jason Reitman devised the idea back in March, seeing it as a way to stay busy during the lockdown while raising funds for the World Central Kitchen charity, which has been helping thousands of restaurants stay afloat during the quarantine by paying them to provide millions of meals to the needy.

The creators hope the footage can also provide some laughter to viewers in a time of hardship. Their scrappy version of The Princess Bride leans into its continuity lapses, utilizes absurd household props and back-of-the-closet costumes, and deploys multiple castings of the same roles to show that in a true fantasy, anyone can play anything.

Super delightful project.

Categories
Art humor Politics

How to more cases than anybody in the world

Categories
Art Disney education

Imagineering in a Box

Working with the Kahn Academy, Disney Imagineering released a free course on theme park design called Imagineering in a Box.

Imagineering in a Box is designed to pull back the curtain to show students how artists, designers and engineers work together to create theme parks. We take a behind-the-scenes look that learners love and make it an active experience through student-driven projects. We do this by weaving together videos and exercises into lessons that culminate in a long form project. The goal is to make students aware of careers they never knew existed and deepen their understanding of the process, concepts and terminology of the creative workplace.

The course is comprised of 32 videos designed to encourage viewers to think about a wide range of skills including story development and conceptual design, math, physics and engineering. Completing the first three lessons, I agree with the write-up… this course, “ignite[s] curiosity, inspire[s] creativity, and cultivate innovation in the minds of students and teachers alike”, all the while creating a fun and engaging opportunity to explore new concepts. They say it’s aimed at middle school or high school so I’m not sure I would present it to my grade five class, but I sure am tempted. I live for this kind of thing.

(via Waxy)