Whale Wars: Eco-terrorism meets reality TV?
November 17, 2008 by Brian James
Greenpeace co-founder Paul Watson established the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in an effort to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans. Each winter the Sea Shepherd team and a group of volunteers head out to sea to protect these animals. Through innovative direct-action tactics, Watson and his fellow conservationists expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. Their most recent campaign focused on protecting the illegally hunted whales of the Antarctic. However, this time Discovery Channel was on board to capture it all in an action-packed seven part series called Whale Wars.
From stink bombs to flash grenades and hostages to capsized boats, Whale Wars captures the battles and the controversy surrounding not only the whaling industry but the Sea Shepherd’s “no holds barred” strategy. International whaling laws are interpreted by various countries and organizations in different ways. Over 20 years ago, Japan withdrew its opposition to the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling. Just one year later, the Japanese announced a large-scale scientific whaling program designed to “assess” whale stocks.
Many conservationists like Watson don’t buy it and question the scientific validity of Japan’s research program. Is it nothing more than a front for whaling? Activist groups like Watson’s Sea Shepherd Conservation Society claim that Japan’s whaling practices violate international law. On the other hand, Japan claims the direct-action tactics of Sea Shepherd are illegal, in essence a form of eco-terrorism.
So who’s more in the wrong and less in the right? The Japanese or the “radical” Sea Shepherds? You be the judge. Tune-in to Animal Planet Friday nights at 9PM ET or head over to iTunes and watch the first episode for free. Warning: this show is addicting!
How To: Take A Sick Day When You Are Not Sick
October 15, 2008 by Marc Schindler
(From Lilit Marcus, Editor-in-Chief of SavetheAssistants.com, a Web site devoted to helping people navigate the unpleasant office environments.)
1. Always call your boss to tell them you’re not coming in; never e-mail. “An e-mail just seems really fake”. Some companies your boss might say, “Great: you’re on e-mail. Just work from home today,” which negates the purpose of taking your elective sick day.
A telephone call comes off as a little more truthful and a little more urgent. When you call, try to time it so that you can leave a voice mail — talking about the fact that you’re sick opens it up to the possibility of follow-up questions and debate.
2. Don’t be too specific. “Say ‘I have a migraine’ or ‘I have food poisoning,’ but don’t go into details. A lot of people get caught up in the details of the lie and feel like they have to specify what their symptoms are and such. But the more you talk, the faker it sounds. If you have the stomach flu, you’re probably too busy barfing to answer a lot of questions about your condition.”
3. Food poisoning is a good fake ailment. ”It’s quick; it lasts a day; people get grossed out by it; and it’s happened to them. So food poisoning is the way to go. Plus it’s really non-specific. It doesn’t say anything about a recurring condition that’s going to happen again. It’s a fluke. No one knows why it happened or what it was that they ate, so it’s a really good mystery disease.”
4. Don’t post your exploits from your sick day on Facebook. Remember this story? Don’t get caught in your lie by putting too much information where people can find it. [Read more]
Bike Rollercoaster by Lagombra
July 16, 2008 by Brian James
Check out this Bike rollercoaster outside an art center as part of Designhuis’ Bicycle exhibition in Eindhoven, Netherlands. This 2 meter peaking thrill ride was created by artist Anders Jakobsen, aka Lagombra, with the use of a chainsaw and scaffolding. So far only one brave bicyclist has been able to complete one full run. If you’re lucky enough to be in the area stop by and give it a shot.
More pictures after the jizzump.
(via iconeye)
For touring bands… Anything is better than the van… Right?
July 10, 2008 by Brian James
I’ve played in bands since I was in 6th grade. My first “tour” was done in a Ford Explorer hitched to a rented U-Haul trailer. We got kicked out of our hotel in Gary, Indiana for launching fireworks out our window, drinking underage and having a stripper in our room from the strip club next door. That night the five of us ended up sleeping in the good ol’ Ford Explorer at a truck stop in what was then the murder capital of the United States.
BetterThanTheVan.com… Why couldn’t you have been around then? With this new site, touring bands can search, find and connect with gracious, welcoming and warm hearted people willing to house them for free. BetterThanTheVan is currently available in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France and Germany. What a great idea. Really. Sometimes the internet disgusts me, but it’s sites like this that make me all warm inside.
Indabamusic.com - An Online Virtual Recording Studio
May 21, 2008 by Brian James
Remember when you first heard Such Great Heights by The Postal Service? Remember how perplexed you were when you found out that Ben Gibbard and James Tamborello wrote and recorded those songs by sending recorded tracks on DATs back and forth through the US Postal Service? Well aspiring rock stars, here is your chance to follow in the steps of these musical innovators with the help of a new creative startup called Indaba Music.
I recently signed up at Indabamusic.com and it truly is a computer savvy musician’s dream come true. It’s a virtual recording studio and musician watering hole where musicians, composers, arrangers and lyricists can collaborate on songs together without ever stepping foot into the same room. The site offers a range of tools for uploading, editing and mixing audio tracks. Users can record and mix up to 12 tracks, which is pretty awesome for an online recording platform requiring no downloads.
Another neat feature of Indaba Music are the rich media and blogging tools that allow artists to communicate with each other as well as their fans. With that said, this innovative music site isn’t just for musicians. Fans have unlimited access to artists and their creative process, enabling them to engage with the artist like never before.
Don’t think this is legit? Indaba Music is already home to both professional and amateur musicians including Grammy award-winning producers. Sign up and look for me. Let’s see if we can pump out some hits!
CD-Recycled 45rpm - Making CDs into LPs
May 8, 2008 by Brian James
Vinyl records died decades ago and the CD is on it’s way out, leaving the music industry in shambles. However, a project by Aleks Kolkowski uses a vintage record cutter to carve grooves into CDs and DVDs, creating a playable record. At the 2008 Futuresonic Festival, Aleks invited visitors to bring digital tracks (mp3, etc) to have carved into these playable CD-Recycled 45s. Pretty neat. Now all I need is a vintage record cutter!
Unlock cell phones with the Universal SIM Unlock Card
May 6, 2008 by Brian James
Still have another year on a T-Mobile contract, but you’ve always wanted an iPhone? For a small fraction of the cost of a cell phone, you can now unlock almost any cellular device using the Universal SIM Unlock Card. This SIM Unlock is a thin piece of FPC that sits between your SIM card and the cell phone’s SIM socket, allowing you to use the phone with “unauthorized” SIM cards and essentially making your phone an open-source device.
“No more Test-Point. No more opening phones.. No more waiting for logs.. No more Server delays & errors.. No more Cracks & illegal hackings.. No more damaged phones.. No more lost warranty because of phone modifications.”
A small incision (sound familiar - MDA?) is required for the card to work but for $22.99 it’s worth a shot.
Purchase the Universal SIM Unlock Card over at USBfever.com.
No service? How to fix your MDA PocketPC!
May 5, 2008 by Brian James
So I know the MDA is an old phone and I’m sure you’ve all heard about the poor reception and service of this cell phone. Many reviews said the MDA was better as a pocket PC than a cell phone. I recently acquired an MDA for free from a friend. The phone received no service bars inside any building. After a little research, I found a solution. Thanks to a courageous member of the Howard Forums, my phone now receives full bars virtually everywhere in New York City; indoors and outdoors. How did I do it?
If you’re still rocking the older version (2006) of the MDA and you have poor service you may want to try this: [Read more]
