Foreign Intelligence Brief #363: Al-Jazeera Chief Wadah Khanfar’s Stirring TED Speech
March 3, 2011
As a democratic revolution led by tech-empowered young people sweeps the Arab world, Wadah Khanfar, the head of Al Jazeera, shares a profoundly optimistic view of what’s happening in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and beyond — at this powerful moment when people realized they could step out of their houses and ask for change.
via TED.
New Web Series “Foodies” To Mercilessly Mock Subculture Of Food Fetishists
February 27, 2011
Foodies launches March 9th, and there was much rejoicing.
Smoke Break #814: Baby Shows Us How To Get Drunk Enough To Totally Trash A Bar…
February 21, 2011
This chick wrecked Granville St. last night. I can’t believe she never got carded…
Smoke Break #812: This Is Pretty Much The Best Staff Meeting You’ve Never Attended
February 19, 2011
I was subjected to some real doozies in my day, but this one takes the frozen yoghurt.
Smoke Break #810: The Film Adaptation Of “Atlas Shrugged” Looks To Be Pretty Awful
February 11, 2011
Yikes! The first trailer for the long awaited film adaptation of Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged just dropped…and boy does it ever look suspect. The book – which has turned idiots into conservatives and liberals into libertarians since it was first published in 1957 – is a compelling read, and it has never been too tricky to draw comparisons between its pages and those of the daily newspapers (especially since the financial collapse of 2008). But could the epic ever be made into a film? I’d heard talk of it being a Brangelina project a while back (Pitt as John Galt and Jolie as Dagny Taggart), and then of Charlize Theron taking on the Taggart role (both scenarios worked for me), but alas…no. What I just watched looks like it was squarely intended for the straight-to-DVD shelf, somewhere between “Larry The Cable Guy” and “American Pie 4″.
Smoke Break #807: Absurd New Starbucks “Trenta” Cup Holds An Entire Bottle Of Wine
February 4, 2011
Hmm. For a while there I wondered what would ever compel a seemingly reasonable man to dump out his gigantic cup of coffee and fill it back up with red wine, and then it registered: his parents had named him Rod Cockerham.
Cheers, darling. Our bad.
Smoke Break #806: The Finns Are Going To Kill Ronald McDonald’s Statue Next Friday
February 3, 2011
Some chilling news via TDW:
A group calling itself the “Food Liberation Army” has kidnapped a Ronald McDonald statue from a local McDonald’s and is holding him hostage until such time as their questions concerning quality assurance and food production are answered by McDonald’s Corp. If their questions are not answered by next Friday @ 6:30PM, they will “execute” Ronald.
Something tells me they aren’t messing around…
Smoke Break #804: Micro Documentary On Cool Japanese Motorhead Shinya Kimura
January 31, 2011
Via BoingBoing:
Shinya Kimura’s scratch built motorcycles are beautiful, and this short video profile, directed by Henrik Hansen and shot by Adam Richards, is very well made.
Smoke Break #803: The Disco Fleet Foxes Mash-Up That We’ve All Been Waiting For…
January 29, 2011
Smoke Break #802: The Caminito del Rey Super Freaky Walk Video Now In High Def
January 28, 2011
I first saw this video a couple of years ago, and I may have even posted it, though I can’t seem to find it in our archives. Regardless, it was of such low resolution that it only revealed a smidgen of its total wow. Those who are afraid of heights or have a tendency to dream re-imagined versions of what they saw just hours before should be warned: the HD version is so clear that it will probably freak the shit out of you. For certain, the accompanying music won’t make it any easier on your stomach. The whole thing makes me want to cry, and yet I can’t look away. It’s like an LSD out of body experience that is an inexorable and beautiful as it is terrifying and fraught with real peril.
The Caminito del Rey (or “little King’s walkway”) is located some 350 meters up a vertical gorge near Malaga in Spain. Its three kilometers were built in 1901-1905 to facilitate the commute and supply of hydro-electric workers toiling on the Conde del Guadalhorce dam. It was nicknamed in honour of King Alfonso XIII, who personally traversed it in 1921. Several people have died walking its now evidently decrepit length, and the government of Spain shut it down in 2000. Work is supposed to start on its restoration this summer, so hooray for that.
