Clip from Samsara, directed by Ron Fricke

Here is a clip from the short film Samsara, directed by Ron Fricke.  I've decided to start accumulating video and data like this to try and calculate the real cost of modern living.  We may save $.73 by buying our bacon at walmart, but what is the real cost of that purchase?  What are the hidden expenses, paid by animals, foreigners in a factory somewhere, and the environment?  I say they're too high, and we've lived in willful ignorance for too long.  It is our duty to know where our food/clothes/electronics come from, and if we're supporting an unethical and unsustainable process it is our duty to change that.  This wordless video says more than I ever could.  Please watch and think about what kind of world you want to live in.

Siberian Ice Drummers

I've always wanted to learn the drums, and while I'm not getting any younger I'm also not getting any richer.  But that's the great thing about drumming in the modern era; anything I can strike with my hand becomes a drum and youtube can teach you to do anything.

Here's an amazing video of Siberian ice drummers, who found that drumming on lake Baikal produced some incredible sounds.  Lake Baikal is one of the deepest and oldest in the world, and they first discovered its potential to make music when someone fell on the ice.  It probably hurt, but we're grateful!

The video is of course from youtube, but if you'd like to learn more here's an article from UK's Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2255943/Listen-Siberian-ice-drummers-use-frozen-Lake-Baikal-incredible-musical-instrument.html

Ylvis - Massachusetts

If you haven't seen the new video from the Norwegian comedy group Ylvis, check this out:


I've spent most of my life in Massachusetts, right outside of Boston.  A lot of people are from right outside of Boston, and I've encountered a lot of people who loathe people from right outside of Boston.  Here is my response to Ylvis' Massachusetts song: I can't tell if they're making fun of us or not.  The facebook post that brought it to my attention cast it in a negative light, but after watching it I found it both familiar and funny.  My only real qualm was with the subject of gay marriage, but I think it's because I'm viewing this as an American that it's unsettling. I thought at first it was implying that being in Massachusetts will turn you gay, as if being gay is a choice that people make.  I think that because the group is Norwegian the statement is more about expressing themselves freely and finding their sexuality, which is allowed in Massachusetts.  Through the lens of an American it seems to be a joke at the expense of homosexuals, but I don't think that was their intention.  

Bård Ylvisåker and Vegard Ylvisåker are Ylvis: The Fox

Here's a fun song from Bård Ylvisåker and Vegard Ylvisåker who are the Norwegian group Ylvis.  It's called "The Fox," and according to Gawker.com this is the song of the summer!  It is pretty hilarious, but what does the fox say?

Giant Boulder Just Misses Car in Taiwanese Mudslide

Incredible!  This driver in Taiwan is lucky to be alive after almost being squashed by a boulder in a mudslide as captured by this dash cam.  It looks like he started to turn away but was also pushed by the mud; this just happened a few days ago.

基隆八斗子土石流第一現場

There are more words to go along with this on these websites: 

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/09/01/dashcam-mudslide-boulder-taiwan-video/

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/08/taiwan-mudslide-close-call/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8wWuH7MIeCA&noredirect=1

120 year-old baby meme

I just invented a new meme, it's called the 120 year-old baby meme.  I got the idea looking at this month's National Geographic.