Speedflying

Years ago (whoa), Toto showed us the world of wingsuits. My friend recently showed me
"Speedflying." This activity would also be quite the adrenaline rush.




Happy Friday! Check out the poll too!

It's the little things in life...

RANTS AND RAVES: Molson Edition

Hey Folks.
I liked Free-ho's rants and raves post last month so much that I thought I would do one of my own.

RANTS:
-The Increasing Sense of Powerlessness I feel
-NYT Digital Subscriptions
-Perceptions of The Teaching Profession

RAVES:
-Creativity
-Clouds
-"Best Kept Secrets"


Let's Dive Right In!

Werner Herzog reads children's stories

Happy Friday!

I hope you all find these as hilarious as I do. You may know Werner Herzog as the director of Grizzly Man or maybe one of his other films, but you don't have to know anything about him to enjoy this guy's imitation persona interpreting your favorite childhood stories. I never realized how complex and existential children's stories were. I think Madeline is my favorite:



But check them all out, they're all awesome.

Oll Raigth!

Nod to NPR.

So apparently the following video is an intentional parody of the English language (what it would sound like to an Italian with no familiarity to it). I actually do find my brain trying to understand it despite the fact that it's all gibberish. But at the moment it's my new favorite song/dance. Enjoy:

Time-Lapse to Pretty Music

I've been missing the outdoors recently.
Also, I'm auditing a "Visions of California" class and last week we took a pretty in depth look at John Muir.

This video is cool. I need to get out and about. Maybe some Natty Parks? I wanna go to Utah... Anyone wanna go on a trip out west this August?

The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

Thoughts on Earth Day, or A Travel Brochure for Earth

Credit: NASA

A few weeks ago, on a beautiful day, I went for a jog through a nearby park and started thinking about what a nice planet we are so lucky to live on. Our nearest neighbors are a stormy, roiling furnace and a frigid, vacuous desert. The latest survey has found that there are a lot of planets out there, a lot of them may be habitable as well (capable of sustaining liquid water), but still, planets like Earth don't just show up everywhere.

Last year, astrophysicist Stephen Hawking made a mildly provocative statement that there is almost certainly intelligent life out there besides ourselves, but that it would be a mistake to try to contact them. Given what a rare oasis our planet is, maybe Hawking is correct in apparently believing that the plot of Independence Day is the most likely outcome. Hawking bases this on the idea that intelligent, space-faring species will probably act a lot like us. But then, it's not inconceivable that they might come to Earth just to take pictures, talk loudly about how inferior our customs are, and leave lousy tips. As annoying as this might be, interstellar tourism would be a boon to the global economy, which would certainly make people more concerned about conserving our planet's ecosystems.

So what sorts of things might be in a travel guide for Earth?

How denial gets between science and politics

I read this article the other day which made me think a bit about Tim's previous post on polarization. It's a bit of a long read for an article, but it deals with the psychology behind the interesting phenomenon of denial of fact, even under overwhelming evidence supporting said fact—also known as "motivated reasoning" or confirmation bias. This is a counter-intuitive, yet very familiar aspect of human nature.

It's a good read, for me it was most interesting for some ideas that touches on briefly, which is what made me think of Tim's post. First it touches on the widely held perception that the country is becoming more partisan, or polarized. Given that this is an easy scapegoat for anyone wanting to decry American politics, I'm a little skeptical about how much truth there is to this, although the last few years have seemed awfully polarized, It's not getting any better at any rate. The strange part is that this might be happening because of the democratization of information and the media, not just in spite of it. As Mooney writes:

Okay, so people gravitate toward information that confirms what they believe, and they select sources that deliver it. Same as it ever was, right? Maybe, but the problem is arguably growing more acute, given the way we now consume information—through the Facebook links of friends, or tweets that lack nuance or context, or "narrowcast" and often highly ideological media that have relatively small, like-minded audiences. Those basic human survival skills of ours, says Michigan's Arthur Lupia, are "not well-adapted to our information age."

Of course it get's worse. He also cites a study that shows that people tend to judge the trustworthiness of a source of information based on whether their findings agreed with their own values, rather than the source's expertise. So people can essentially write off any information that contradicts their worldview.

Lists; A Good Thing

As many of you know, our blog contains many lists. (I know you were expected a sweet hyperlink that highlighted all the list posts. Frankly I'm too lazy to do that.) I for one am a huge fan of this list. Besides the wonderful music you guys post about, it has not been a great year for pop music. (Justin Bieber featuring Rascal Flatts? shoot me now)

Ok Dave, enough of the crappy intro, what is this post all about?

Here we go. I was going to make a list of all the interesting things I have seen on the bike path next to my house. Sure the guy in the Jesus sweatshirt, or the couple who makes out in the same place everyday at 4pm exactly are interesting, but that is not what our blog is about. Stadium 110 demands insight, insight that I have been failing to communicate to you, the blogosphere.

When I finished my bike ride, I realized; no I don't want to make a list of things that I find interesting, I want to make a list of skills /traits I have been developing and share them with you.

1. Since "reading" is one of the hot topics, I figured I would start with a book recommendation. World War Z is an oral account of the zombie apocalypse that occurs in roughly 2012. Stupid Premise, but oddly enough it is very well written and a very enjoyable read.

2. Photography.
Maybe film school has rubbed off on me a bit, but I am really starting to get into taking photos. Here is one I actually think is pretty decent.
The mountain is a little blury in the background, but I have not touched this photo up at all. Ps This is Camp Shira 2 on Kilimanjaro at roughly 15,000 feet.

3. Ex-girlfriends:

In the media we are lead to believe that breakups can result in friendships. After the mess I was in this year I realize that is very rarely the case. I'm not saying its impossible, but most of the time if you are dumped or if you do the dumping, sh&@t goes down emotionally between two individuals.

4. Everything is cooler when put to movie trailer scores. (Video to follow in subsequent post). The time to compress the video is measured in hours.

5. Spring Concert 2k11
a. (sweet Dave a list within a list)
b. Good times ahead
c. Alcoholic whip cream = game changer.
d. Return of the cobra
e. Warm half-drunk keg to be consumed with breakfast Saturday morning
f. Dinosaur towel?
g. Let's do this.


Well there yah go. It is my sincere desire that this post can be considered one of the "high quality" posts we have all come to expect from one another.

THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN ON THE INTERNET

Welcome to my new time waster.

http://mandaflewaway.tumblr.com/post/2057242738

I hope this never goes away. No matter what I make, it sounds good.

Found on College Humor.