...boats against the current...

mediaite: CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Asks Atheist Tornado Survivor If...

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:58:21 -0400

mediaite:

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Asks Atheist Tornado Survivor If She ‘Thanked The Lord’

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Thu, 16 May 2013 22:15:52 -0400

wilwheaton: jenniferdeguzman: He said Star Trek is too...

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:52:23 -0400

wilwheaton:

jenniferdeguzman:

He said Star Trek is too “philosophical”? Screw that noise.

mechcanuck:

I don’t know when this interview happened but I AM SAD AND ANGRY NOW

The philosophies in Star Trek are kinda part of the actual setting. If you don’t get that, why are you allowed to make Star Trek movies.

Sigh. The whole point of Star Trek is that it’s philosophical. If you don’t want philosophical Science Fiction, there’s plenty of that for you to enjoy, but Star Trek is philosophical. Philosophy is part of Star Trek’s DNA, and if you’re given the captain’s chair, you’d better damn well respect that.

Good job, Jar Jar Abrams. I’ll still rage watch the movie though.

George R.R. Martin on writing women:

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:37:15 -0400

Interviewer: There's one thing that's interesting about your books. I noticed that you write women really well and really different. Where does that come from?
George R.R. Martin: You know, I've always considered women to be people.

best-of-funny: subaroosmiles: Vader’s Little Princess X

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:35:21 -0400

best-of-funny:

subaroosmiles:

Vader’s Little Princess

X

Hyperbole and a Half: Depression Part Two

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:08:26 -0400

Hyperbole and a Half: Depression Part Two:

cohenstr:

She’s back, and it’s worth a read.

I found this link on Facebook. Don’t know much about Hyperbole and a Half, but this is probably one of the most accurate depictions of depression I’ve ever seen.

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Wed, 08 May 2013 10:48:51 -0400

odditiesoflife: The Real Abandoned Overlook Hotel Unlike the...

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:06:15 -0400

odditiesoflife:

The Real Abandoned Overlook Hotel

Unlike the fictional Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, this hotel is really named the Overlook. The abandoned hotel is located in the small, wine growing town of Bernkastel-Kues in Germany. Other than it has been unoccupied for about 13 years, there is no information as to why the hotel was closed. All of the furniture remains and it looks as if everyone there simply left. There are rumors that the hotel is haunted. According to urban explorers who frequent the spooky site, cameras malfunction, sounds can be heard throughout the premises and items seem to move around the hotel by themselves.

That Guy With The Glasses Secrets: Marathoning Lewis' videos and others

Wed, 01 May 2013 06:35:25 -0400

That Guy With The Glasses Secrets: Marathoning Lewis' videos and others:

tgwtgsecrets:

Everyone, marathon as many of Lewis’ videos as you can until those ads come back. I don’t want to see him sad anymore because of Blip not giving him the ads for his videos that he deserves for all the hard work and dedication he brings to them and his fanbase.

So…please…watch as many videos of…

So for the eight people or so who actually follow my blog, go over to http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/ to check this out. If comics are your thing, watch Linkara’s videos. Truth be told, I don’t even like comics all that much, but watching Linkara analyze them while throwing in some jokes makes for entertaining viewing. You can tell he’s passionate about it. There’s also some great reviews of TV shows and movies by Brad Jones and Obscurus Lupa, not to mention the site’s main draw, Doug Walker as the Nostalgia Critic. Also, the Nostalgia Chick is a great reviewer who adds insightful comments, mostly with a feminist perspective. I know these aren’t everybody’s thing, but I personally enjoy them as much as any quality TV show, and I want to see the producers do well and be successful with their content that they’ve worked hard to create.

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Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:00:22 -0400

When it is time for students to fill out evaluations.

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:37:02 -0400

professor-anonymous:

lindsayetumbls: bombsfall: A quick editorial cartoon about the...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:36:12 -0400

lindsayetumbls:

bombsfall:

A quick editorial cartoon about the intersection of self-pity, entitlement, rape, territoriality, misogyny and fear of women. You see it all over the place online in the form of Men’s Rights Activists (of whom there are a few reasonable non-misogynists), Men Going Their Own Way, Pick Up Artists, and dudes touting the “Red Pill”, because The Matrix is a good movie. Look any of these up if you have the stomach for it. These are extreme examples, but watered-down forms of these ideas are everywhere.

In lurking their blogs and youtube channels for a while, I’ve noticed that beyond the standard patriarchal chauvinism there is this deep fear of women - what they will do to me, how they will reject me, how they will use me, how they are changing society in a way that does not favor me, how they are making men into something I don’t like, how they are making themselves into something I don’t like, that they won’t give me what I want, and that they won’t give me what I think is rightfully mine. This goes beyond fear of feminism- this is fear of women at its purest. And that, to quote a puppet, leads to anger and hate. It’s sad.

I am a feminist. I think there’s enough ice cream to go around, but it does mean those of us with 3 scoops might have to give one or two up. Also, The Matrix is a fun movie but probably not anything you should be basing a philosophy on.

While I like the cartoon, I think the zero-sum game attitude is false and another systemic notion that needs to die a thousand deaths. Any measure of equality isn’t robbing the “nice guys” of the world of anything. No one has to give up any scoops, although it might seem that way to the whiners.

Also, LOVE the bit about the Matrix. ;)

I hate to admit it, but this really explains a lot about some of my past attitudes toward women. I still fight off that nagging, self-pitying douchebag that lurks around one too many corners in my psyche. There are far too many injustices already at work in the world and this “nice guy” mentality bullshit is one of them.

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Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:02:09 -0400

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:46:21 -0400

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Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:41:47 -0400

edwardspoonhands: THIS. IS. INFURIATING. I know that Good...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:21:12 -0400

Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames.

edwardspoonhands:

THIS. IS. INFURIATING.

I know that Good Morning America isn’t news, I know that they don’t matter, and I know that it doesn’t matter what they think about online video. But after watching this puffy hatchet job, I could not not post about it. Let’s just go through this point by point.

Jenna Marbles is the “Queen of Clicks.”
This is a seemingly innocuous phrase, but it’s indicative of the attitude here, making Jenna’s success not about the significance of what she does, but about a meaningless activity that other people do “clicking.” It removes all significance from the interaction people have with Jenna. This is what we call a backhanded compliment.

“So Many teens and tweens hanging on her every word.”
This is GMA’s attempt at attempting to make this story relevant to the people (moms) who watch their show. Except they miss the point that MOST OF THOSE MOMS WATCH JENNA MARBLES! They have no idea…NO IDEA of Jenna’s reach because (apparently) they have NEVER USED AN INTERNET.

Which is pretty insane considering that apparently she has “over a billion followers” on YouTube. This is a fact that can be checked and found wanting with a very limited understanding of reality (never mind the internet) since only 750 million people in the world SPEAK ENGLISH. So unless /everyone/ who understands her “follows” her, your stat is deeply incorrect (which this is, she has a billion views, not a billion followers.)

“She may just be the most famous person you’ve never heard of.” Another backhanded compliment.

Next we compare her facebook to JLaw and her instagram to Oprah…more attempts to connect with the issues moms in America really care about.

“And all for making videos about, well, nothing.” REALLY?! DID YOU WATCH ANY OF THE VIDEOS?! First, comedy doesn’t have to be about something. But more importantly, Jenna’s videos aren’t about nothing, they’re about culture and sexism and growing up. Hiding in amongst all that “nothing” are often poignant insights.

And now we arrive at the interview portion, which is the most frustrating for me, and has to be much worse for Jenna. They intersperse Jenna’s comments with the most inane and out of context clips they can find, and then ask Jenna a total of TWO QUESTIONS.

1. What does it feel like to get a bunch of views? Which is innocuous.

…and the kicker…

2. Do you think you deserve to have as many fans as you do?

Which is just…makes me…on fire…flames!

The only way to ask that question is if you, as an interviewer, have made your mind up that the person does NOT deserve their success. And in the end, that’s how the entire segment feels to me, a bunch of people making fun of a creator who they are threatened by and who they do not understand. And of course they’re threatened by it, Jenna Marbles (on her own, with a cheap camera) can make a video that gets more viewed by more people than an episode of Good Morning America.

Instead of talking about anything interesting or criticizing Jenna for legitimate reasons (which they could have done) GMA spent five minutes making fun of one of the most influential creators that exists in the world right now. But what’s worse is they didn’t make fun of her for legitimate reasons, they made fun of her for NOT MATTERING…for not being important…for being a meaningless cultural blip that they’re certain will just disappear. You wanna talk about something ridiculous…it’s you GMA, not Jenna.

Again, I don’t care that GMA doesn’t care about online video. I’m happy flying under the cultural radar for another few years, doing interesting things without legacy media paying attention (or, even with them actively attempting to marginalize us.) But I couldn’t watch this load of BS without commenting on it.

So Jenna, while I don’t agree with everything you’ve ever said, you absolutely deserve your success. You are innovative, intelligent, and hilarious. GMA is acting like you’re the new girl in school that all the cute boys like better than them and, guess what, you are.

—-

TL;DR - GMA ran a mean-spirited, blatantly incorrect, five-minute hatchet job that completely misunderstands one one of the most influential and intelligent creators of media in America.

Well, I don’t know about “one of the most influential creators in the world,” but certainly on YouTube.

I definitely feel that TV media doesn’t take YouTube seriously because it poses a threat to them. I spend more time watching YouTube and online videos than I do broadcast TV.

tiefighters: Super Trooper in Iceland Photos by Rocket &...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:01:55 -0400

tiefighters:

Super Trooper in Iceland

Photos by Rocket & Wink || Website || Facebook

judhudson: awkward-elevator: Swedish Chef Ramsay Oh god, I’m...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:39:00 -0400

judhudson:

awkward-elevator:

Swedish Chef Ramsay

Oh god, I’m in tears, specially the last one.

That’s true, Walt, but I’m kind of a douche. That is...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:48:00 -0400

That’s true, Walt, but I’m kind of a douche. That is the ultimate introvert’s conundrum.

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Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:11:55 -0400