Yes, We Can, Mr President-Elect — Just Ask!

I always find Paula Poundstone funny anyway, but this is by far the best commentary on the election that I’ve run across.

Get Our Help While You Can, Obama

by Paula Poundstone

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96890409

Morning Edition, November 12, 2008 · People still seem full of hope after the historic election of Barack Obama. This is America, though, it can’t last. Pleased and proud as we are, Obama hasn’t been on American Idol, so we’re bound to lose interest soon.

That’s why President-elect Obama needs to waste no time in harnessing this feeling and ask something of us. We’ll spend. We’ll save. We’ll do laps. We’ll wear sweaters.

My parents are a part of the “Greatest Generation.” They pulled our nation through the Depression and World War II, and when they heard the call, they collected rubber.

My generation rode out the Beanie Baby crash, ran up both credit card debt and the nation’s weight, and brought us reality TV and the SUV, but it’s not all we can do. We’ve grown up collecting box tops and shoes. We’ve earned free doughnuts by getting our cards punched with every dozen purchased. We’re the “a-thon” generation. We’ve jogged, walked and pedaled thousands of miles because someone said it would cure cancer.

It’s our turn now. Just ask us. We’ve adopted freeways and been up all night with night feedings. We’ll bring an unwrapped gift. We’ll bring canned goods. We’ll collect flip-tops. Yes, we will.

What do you need us to do, President-elect Obama? We could form a bucket brigade to bail out the banks. We could collect Band-Aids, not the useless little ones, for the health care system. We could take shifts forming human pyramids to hold up our crumbling bridges.

The entire country could hold a progressive dinner party to feed the homeless. We could all commit to wearing the same clothes two days in a row to save water, energy and time. I’ll go three, because I care more than the others. We can carry road-mending materials in our cars and fill pot holes during traffic jams. We can put a wishing well on Wall Street.

Our leadership has told us that we have a long, hard climb before us, which I would welcome, because I love the outdoors, and I could use the weight loss, but I have a bad feeling it has nothing to do with climbing.

I’m waiting. I’m punching my glove. It’s oiled and ready. Pitch it in here, sir.

For Doctor Who Fans

David Tennant and Catherine Tate

A small but discriminating audience (in the US; much larger in the UK) who have seen this past season’s Doctor Who will appreciate this comedy skit starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate, this season’s companion.  Be sure to watch it all the way to the end.

Campaign Humor Needed

A friend just noted that Sarah Palin has been both a beauty queen and a moose hunter.

I’m picturing her as “Miss Moose Hunting Season,” wearing a safety orange swimsuit with a banner and a crown, carrying a rifle instead of a scepter.

How long will it take for this image to appear on the internet somewhere?

Take-Your-Cat-to-Work Day

From "Rhymes with Orange"

Song: “Say a Prayer for Lost Information”

Hear it performed!

Say a prayer for all the lost information. / Fight the growing entropy. / We’re on the lookout for divine confirmation; / But you know that things aren’t always what they seem. / If you believe in ancient wisdom, / Then gather up the knowledge still around. / When you receive it, check the checksum; / Make sure it’s what they really handed down. / Say a prayer for all the lost information. / Face the growing apathy. / An endless war rages against degradation / As distant as the local library. / If you believe in ancient wisdom, / Accumulate the knowledge that you’ve found. / When you receive it, check the checksum; / Make sure it’s what they really handed down.

I’m not saying it’s good, just that it exists.

Ah, Berkeley

In the video store the other day — 2 little girls about 4 and 5. The older one was holding a video (I couldn’t see what it was) and, hitting it with each word, said loudly and intensely: “Bam, bam, Walmart!”  The littler one took the video and repeated.

Billy and Lucy contemplate

Billy and Lucy contemplate

Originally uploaded by NVH

Lip Dubbing

Some of these are very funny (though many are not — we are dealing with amateurs, after all). The idea is to be filmed (often in a public place, like on the subway) “singing” along to music on your MP3 player, and then add the music to the video before posting it.  Go to vimeo.com and search for clips tagged “lip dubbing” — works best on a high speed connection (with sound on).  Joining helps — my DSL at home worked better when I joined and could get rid of the animated ads, so the bandwidth was devoted to the clips, but was much better where I first saw it, with a faster connection.

 

Here’s an example from Jakob Lodwick who I think started this:
http://vimeo.com/clip:144562

Or — you don’t have to SING, just do SOMETHING. See http://vimeo.com/clip:138598

Thanks to mroth for telling me about this.

Gmail Paper

Gmail’s newest service: gmail paper.

(April fool’s from Gmail.)

Lucy’s favorite channel is Animal Planet

Lucy’s favorite channel is Animal Planet

Originally uploaded by NVH.

Animal Planet’s counter-Superbowl programming was a day (not just a few hours) of Puppy Bowl III. The hafltime show was the Kitty Show.  Yes, she does watch TV.  Chases things that move on the screen.