You can argue with a few of the lines ("This is Sparta!" doesn't belong on the list for sure), but it's still a cool video. I'd say that I recognize about 95 of the lines, even though there are many movies that I haven't seen.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
100 great movie lines in 200 seconds
Via NewMexiKen:
You can argue with a few of the lines ("This is Sparta!" doesn't belong on the list for sure), but it's still a cool video. I'd say that I recognize about 95 of the lines, even though there are many movies that I haven't seen.
You can argue with a few of the lines ("This is Sparta!" doesn't belong on the list for sure), but it's still a cool video. I'd say that I recognize about 95 of the lines, even though there are many movies that I haven't seen.
Penn Jillette juggling broken bottles
There is something strangely disconcerting about this video of magician Penn Jillette juggling broken glass bottles (hat tip to @brianarn for the link).
I'm not sure what it is about the video that creeps me out... maybe it's the a minute and three seconds of total silence. Maybe it's seeing Jillette's mouth moving in super slow motion, obviously saying something. Maybe it's just Jillette.
But, yeah, the video creeps me out.
Oh, and before the video, I saw a commercial featuring Bear Grylls, the star of Man vs. Wild. I always refer to Grylls as the fake survival expert since he's faked numerous scenes. I prefer Les Stroud of Survivorman.
I'm not sure what it is about the video that creeps me out... maybe it's the a minute and three seconds of total silence. Maybe it's seeing Jillette's mouth moving in super slow motion, obviously saying something. Maybe it's just Jillette.
But, yeah, the video creeps me out.
Oh, and before the video, I saw a commercial featuring Bear Grylls, the star of Man vs. Wild. I always refer to Grylls as the fake survival expert since he's faked numerous scenes. I prefer Les Stroud of Survivorman.
Orlando Magic player to change shoes for NBA Finals
Mickael Pietrus of the NBA Finals has worn the same type of shoes all year long. He has worn this type of shoes while his team reached the playoffs. He wore this type of shoes as the Orlando Magic knocked off the defending champion Boston Celtics and dethroned "King James" (Lebron James) and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But now, he has to change up.
Because those shoes that Pietrus wore? They are Kobe Bryant brand shoes. And he is playing against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
"I have [Kobe shoes] at my house, but I'm going to play with Michael Jordan shoes," Pietrus told the Orlando Sentinel (via ESPN).
Well Jordan has six titles and Bryant only has three. So it seems like a no-brainer to me.
But now, he has to change up.
Because those shoes that Pietrus wore? They are Kobe Bryant brand shoes. And he is playing against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
"I have [Kobe shoes] at my house, but I'm going to play with Michael Jordan shoes," Pietrus told the Orlando Sentinel (via ESPN).
Well Jordan has six titles and Bryant only has three. So it seems like a no-brainer to me.
The Tank Man of Tiananmen Square
Twenty years ago this Friday, one of the most famous images (or rather four images of the same event) ever taken was caught on film in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. A man, who became known as "Tank Man" stood in front of a row of tanks. Even to this day, virtually nothing is known about the man, even down to what his name is.
The New York Times tracked down the four photographers whose pictures have been shown over and over and TV and in magazines to get their recollections of the event.
As Arthur Tsang Hin Wah, the man who took the photo for Reuters, said, "I am glad that it still has impact after 20 years. Four different versions but one same focus."
The New York Times tracked down the four photographers whose pictures have been shown over and over and TV and in magazines to get their recollections of the event.
As Arthur Tsang Hin Wah, the man who took the photo for Reuters, said, "I am glad that it still has impact after 20 years. Four different versions but one same focus."
Dave Eggers speaks the myth of print's importance
Best selling author and all-around smart guy Dave Eggers (if you haven't read What is the What you have to -- now).
At a recent speech at the Author's Guild in Manhattan, Eggers said:
Of course, the writer of a Splice Today article says that Eggers "has his head up his ass with regards to the decline of print media."
At a recent speech at the Author's Guild in Manhattan, Eggers said:
The written word—the love of it and the power of the written word—it hasn’t changed. It’s a matter of fostering it, fertilizing it, not giving up on it, and having faith. Don’t get down. I actually have established an e-mail address, deggers@826national.org—if you want to take it down—if you are ever feeling down, if you are ever despairing, if you ever think publishing is dying or print is dying or books are dying or newspapers are dying.
Of course, the writer of a Splice Today article says that Eggers "has his head up his ass with regards to the decline of print media."
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Bing has a ways to go before slaying Google
The chart below is the amount of blog posts that compare the new Microsoft search engine Bing to Google.
There are a couple of caveats, however -- Google has been around for seemingly forever now, at least in internet time. It is by far the largest search engine in the world, and anything that Google does creates buzz in the technology blogosphere. Also, any post that references Bing will invariably also mention Google (as I did in this post).
People are also trying to figure out what Google Wave will be, what it means for the internet and whether it is just another example of Google slowly becoming Skynet.
Also, ultimately, the only number that will matter is whether or not people use Bing. All I can say is that it is at least better than that epic trainwreck that was Cuil.
There are a couple of caveats, however -- Google has been around for seemingly forever now, at least in internet time. It is by far the largest search engine in the world, and anything that Google does creates buzz in the technology blogosphere. Also, any post that references Bing will invariably also mention Google (as I did in this post).
People are also trying to figure out what Google Wave will be, what it means for the internet and whether it is just another example of Google slowly becoming Skynet.
Also, ultimately, the only number that will matter is whether or not people use Bing. All I can say is that it is at least better than that epic trainwreck that was Cuil.
Keyword popularity across the Blogosphere
This chart illustrates how many times blog posts across the Blogosphere contained the following keywords.
Can social media networks stand in for real life friendships?
Paula Rice of Island City, Kentucky said that the social media network Eons gave her "a reason to keep on going” according to the New York Times.
Rice is 73, retired and was lonely.
Rice is 73, retired and was lonely.
“One of the greatest challenges or losses that we face as older adults, frankly, is not about our health, but it’s actually about our social network deteriorating on us, because our friends get sick, our spouse passes away, friends pass away, or we move,” said Joseph F. Coughlin, director of the AgeLab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.An interesting read.
I don't think that Obama will be getting an invitation to the Clinton's Christmas Party
Sure, President Barack Obama made Hillary Clinton his Secretary of State. But the infamous rift between Obama and the last Democratic President, Hillary's husband Bill Clinton, is still there.
And this, according to Taegan Goddard, probably won't help that ice thaw.
Speaking of Clinton, Obama said, "We had to figure out how to deal with a former president who was just lying, engaging in bald-faced lies."
And:
And this, according to Taegan Goddard, probably won't help that ice thaw.
Speaking of Clinton, Obama said, "We had to figure out how to deal with a former president who was just lying, engaging in bald-faced lies."
And:
When Obama was asked by the author if Clinton got in his head, he replied: "Yes, but I got into his."It's all in Renegade: The Making of a President by Richard Wolffe. The book was released today.
Twitter a one-way mode of communication?
Is Twitter a one-way mode of communication?
That's what a study from Harvard Business Publishing hypothesizes.
The study of 300,000 Twitter accounts found that that top ten percent most-prolific Twitter accounts accounted for 90 percent of all the Twitter posts. Which is amazing.
However, the study also show, "A typical Twitter user contributes very rarely. Among Twitter users, the median number of lifetime tweets per user is one."
This suggests, to me, that they didn't just do a poll of active accounts. There must have been a significant amount of accounts where people start an account, think, "I don't see what the fuss is about" and quit. Or they decide to shed the name and start a new account with a new name (even though it is incredibly easy to switch names in the "settings" menu).
The study writes:
It would be interesting to see how many of the tweets sent out where "@ replies," or replying to the original author.
That's what a study from Harvard Business Publishing hypothesizes.
The study of 300,000 Twitter accounts found that that top ten percent most-prolific Twitter accounts accounted for 90 percent of all the Twitter posts. Which is amazing.
However, the study also show, "A typical Twitter user contributes very rarely. Among Twitter users, the median number of lifetime tweets per user is one."
This suggests, to me, that they didn't just do a poll of active accounts. There must have been a significant amount of accounts where people start an account, think, "I don't see what the fuss is about" and quit. Or they decide to shed the name and start a new account with a new name (even though it is incredibly easy to switch names in the "settings" menu).
The study writes:
To put Twitter in perspective, consider an unlikely analogue - Wikipedia. There, the top 15% of the most prolific editors account for 90% of Wikipedia's edits. In other words, the pattern of contributions on Twitter is more concentrated among the few top users than is the case on Wikipedia, even though Wikipedia is clearly not a communications tool. This implies that Twitter's resembles more of a one-way, one-to-many publishing service more than a two-way, peer-to-peer communication network.I'm not so sure if a study of those "top ten percent" of Twitter accounts wouldn't prove otherwise.
It would be interesting to see how many of the tweets sent out where "@ replies," or replying to the original author.
Using Twitter in the classroom
One teacher at the University of Texas at Dallas has been utilizing Twitter in his teaching, according to an article in Read Write Web.
Rankin uses a weekly hashtag to organize comments, questions and feedback posted by students to Twitter during class. Some of the students have downloaded Tweetdeck to their computers, others post by SMS or by writing questions on a piece of paper. Rankin then projects a giant image of live Tweets in the front of the class for discussion and suggests that students refer back to the messages later when studying.People are using Twitter for a number of different applications, many that the founders of Twitter surely never anticipated.
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