Apple has got nothing on American Apparel. The line for the rummage sale in San Diego on May 8, 2010, made an Apple new product launch line seem tiny indeed. Both companies have strong brands—and […]
Category: Society
‘Downfall’ Reenactment 56
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JpmvtPXQR4] Brandon Hardesty has appropriately answered YouTube yanking (or disabling) dozens of “Downfall” parodies. Brandon recreated the “Hitler Bunker” scene for all those people looking to make their own “Downfall” parody. You can laugh at […]
Editors Shrewdly Handled Gizmodo-iPhone Drama Act II
The toughest challenge for any newsroom is being the story. How should editors report about the news when they’re it, particularly if there are legal matters? That’s exactly Gizmodo‘s situation, following a Friday night police raid of editor Jason Chen’s home. Gizmodo waited until Monday to post about the search and seizure of items from Jason’s home, which included four computers and two servers. Gizmodo has responded tactfully from editorial and legal perspectives.
Shield Laws Protect Sources
There seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding among many bloggers, journalists and the general public about the purpose of shield laws. They are not meant to protect journalists. The laws exist to protect journalists’ sources. The shield extends to journalists so they can’t be forced to reveal confidential sources or to have information about their sources forcibly seized.
Busking for London Tube Contest
OK, now this cool. Yesterday, as part of the Rhythm of London festival, a busking competition concluded. Winners will get a free one-year license to busk in the London Tube. Competitors uploaded videos to YouTube (haha […]
Downfall’s Downfall
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/11086952]
If you can view the video clip above, Vimeo has not been compelled to take it down. Gulp, yet. The clip, using new subtitles, is from “Der Untergang“—”The Downfall: Hitler and the End of the Third Reich”. I rented the captivating German film from Nextflix in August 2005. In the original scene, Hilter learns that he has lost the war. Its revision is one of the most successful and visible Internet memes of the last half decade. The scene has been repeatedly parodied, replacing the subtitles so that Hitler rages about something else.
'Damn Gizmodo'
Did you really need to publicly shame the poor guy with his full name and photo? Don’t you think he feels bad enough already? Did that really add anything to the story? You just took […]
A Heavy Burden
Yesterday, I sat around a photography studio for about three hours, while my daughter had portfolio pics taken. This painting of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion intrigued me, in part because of the surroundings. I actually don’t […]
Next Task for Health-Care Reform: Abolish Gene Patents
As a science geek, college biology major (decades ago) and pragmatist, I am appalled that any person or company is granted patents over genes. It’s simply unconscionable to grant ownership over laws of nature, which allowance defies centuries of sound legal prudence. If the Obama Administration and 111th Congress want to do some more meaningful health-care reform, abolishing gene patents would be the right place to start.
There is something so oddly together about where genes started and where they are today. In February 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson uncovered “the secret of life” when identifying the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid, more widely known as DNA. Their pioneering work later led to the Human Genome Project, which when completed in 2003 identified “the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA,” according to official information.
Leave Your Sleep, and Let Your Copyrights Go
On New Music Tuesday, Natalie Merchant returned, with album “Leave Your Sleep”; her first in seven years. The amazing, 26-song collection indirectly comments on the value of public domain.
I was gouged by the Macalope and Lived
I am not the most popular journalist among the so-called Mac faithful. I’ve written some tough stuff about Apple over the years, and most of my analyses proved right long after my public lynchings. One of my posts from summer 2009 set off John Gruber, aka “Daring Fireball.” The blog post was a personal challenge to Apple chief executive Steve Jobs to return to work and do well.
A Mashable Post Mortem
Yesterday, I raked Mashable’s Ben Parr for his assertion that Apple’s then yet unannounced mobile advertising platform posed a credible threat to Google. Now that Apple has announced iAd, and seeing how Ben’s rumor reporting was right about it coming, I circle back for a postmortem. Simply stated: I stand by my assertion that his sourcing was weak and that he didn’t support bold assertions that Apple’s still unreleased mobile ad platform is way ahead Google’s.