Strange fact: Tim showed me this video tonight, and I knew straight away that I wanted to share it with everyone here. But moments before publishing it I was reminded of a post I read at MetroDad today, in which he said:
This video reminds me why I love traveling around the world so much. It’s because getting to intimately know people all over the planet always reminds me that, deep-down inside, we’re so much more similar than we are different. It’s something we should all strive to remember every day.
I was reading his site from work, and because I didn’t have any sound I didn’t play the video. Fast forward a few hours, and I was seeing it through a different channel.
The world is getting smaller. And this video is good proof of that.
Here’s another video, along the same lines, by Matt Harding.
Saw this ad at [ embodiment ], along with some great commentary about the devices they used to make it such a successful commercial. It definitely sucked me in!
I’ve always loved the song I Think It’s Going To Rain Today by Randy Newman; it’s usually one of the first songs I play when I sit down at the piano for a self-indulgent “session”. I’m pretty sure I heard Bette Midler perform it first on Beaches, and I love both versions equally for different reasons.
So when I came across this video tonight on An Unsuspecting Notebook, there’s no way I could keep it to myself! It’s simple and beautiful, and puts a new spin on a song I’ve loved for 20 years.
Remember a few weeks ago, when Sarah Silverman was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel’s show? She used the opportunity to announce that she was cheating on him with Matt Damon, and the resulting video became hugely popular on YouTube.
Here’s the clip, in case you missed it:
Jimmy finally responded on his post-Oscars show last night. Some of the cameos in this video are awesome, but I think Brad Pitt and McLovin probably top the list.
As soon as a non-bleeped version appears on YouTube I’ll update this post, but until then it’s mostly “safe for work”.
A massive thankyou to MetroDad for sharing this fantastic short film! I hope everyone can spare 4 minutes to watch it.
Whether you see Valentine’s Day as a chance to shower a loved one in gifts or a good excuse to order an extra-dry gin martini, you’re probably going to think about love at some point today. So watching Chris Vincze’s graceful and very clever short film EVOL is a great way to treat yourself to a lighthearted take on the subject du jour.
To shoot EVOL, Vincze had his two leads, a mopey man and a sweetly bookish woman in the middle of busy London, perform all of their actions backward. Then he reversed the film in postproduction — showing us a couple who find each other because they’re out of sync with everyone else. The technique fits the film’s story perfectly: It’s magical, unashamedly corny, a little disorienting, and constantly surprising. Which, in our experience, is pretty much like falling in love.
For those who don’t know, Hamish & Andy are comedians and radio personalities, with a regular spot on Rove.
Last year Rove did a Mothers Day special, in which all the mothers of the cast filled in for them during the show with hilarious results. My favourite part of the show was when Hamish & Andy hooked their mothers up to earpieces and concealed microphones, and sent them out into the street to do as they were told…
And since I’m in a Youtube mood, everybody really needs to see this fantastic Sarah Silverman clip from her interview with Jimmy Kimmel this week. Since we don’t get his show here in Australia, here’s a bit of background from Wikipedia:
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel often says: “Our apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time” near the end of his ABC television show Jimmy Kimmel Live, a gag lampooning instances where shows cannot feature their last guest due to time constraints. On September 12, 2006, after a segment highlighting the running gag and a lengthy introduction by Kimmel, Damon finally appeared on the show, only for Kimmel to apologetically cut his interview and head to credits, as Damon cursed him.
Got all that? Anyway, Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman have been together for years, and when she went on his show this week she presented him with this surprise:
The text that originated this movie was published on May 29, 1990 with the title “State of the Village Report”, and it was written by Donella Meadows, who passed away in February 2000. Nowadays Sustainability Institute, through Donella’s Foundation, carries on her ideas and projects. The Miniature Earth project was first published in 2001, since then more than 2 million people have seen this website.
The statistics have been updated based on specialized publications, and mainly reports on the WOrld’s population provided by different resources, like UN publications, PRB.org and others. Bear in mind that these are only statistics, and consequently changes might occur after a few months or only after years.
Please see them only as a tendency, and not as accurate.
If we could turn the population of the earth into a small community of 100 people, keeping the same proportions we have today, it would be something like this…
61 Asians
12 Europeans
8 North Americans
5 South Americans and the Carribean
13 Africans
1 Oceania
50 women
50 men
47 lives in an urban area
9 are disabled
33 are Christian
18 are Muslims
14 are Hindus
16 are non-religious
6 are Buddhists
13 practice other religions
43 live without basic sanitation
18 live without an improved water source
6 people own 59% of the entire wealth of the community
13 are hungry or malnourished
14 can’t read
only 7 are educated at secondary level
only 12 have a computer
only 3 have an internet connection
1 adult aged 15-49 has HIV/AIDS
The village spend more than US$1.12 trillion on military expenditures and only US$100 billion on development aid
If you keep your food in a refrigerator, your clothes in a closet, if you have a bed to sleep in and a roof over your head, you are richer than 75% of the entire world population
If you have a bank account you’re one of the 30 wealthiest people in the world
18 struggle to live on US$1.00 per day or less
52 struggle to live on US$2.00 per day or less
Appreciate what you have
And do your best for a better world
In what could be considered his most controversial suggestion ever, Sam Kekovich — Australia’s lamb ambassador — will be calling for Australia Day to be abolished.
In his hugely anticipated 2008 address to the nation Sam will express his desire to have Australia Day scrapped…and replaced with Australia Week.
“It is my solemn duty to inform you that it’s time to abolish Australia Day. Our annual lamb fest hasn’t stopped unAustralianism racing through the land like horse flu through a Japanese jockey club,” Sam says.
“Australia Day has had its day. We need Australia Week — a seven day lamb-athon to properly celebrate our great nation.
“Instead of one public holiday, we need seven. Instead of one lamb barbie, we need 21 lamb meal opportunities - not including snacks.”
In a bold move, Sam plans to take his message straight to the top — to the Prime Minister — and has asked for the help of ordinary Australians to help the message get through.
“I’ll be petitioning our new PM to officially recognise Australia Week,” Sam says.
“Stack the fridge full of lamb, take the week off, and celebrate with me. Any boss that won’t let you is a bum. Just chuck a week of sickies instead — what could be more Australian than that?”
Sam’s call to can Australia’s national day is just the tip of the iceberg, with well known footballers, New Zealand’s Prime Minister and “weed worshippers” all copping a spray in his annual address.
Here’s what he’s had to say in the past:
Australia Day 2007
Australia Day 2006:
Christmas 2005
Australia Day 2005 (in which Sam angers several minority groups in under 2 minutes)
I can’t write too much about our plans here just yet, because I have a few surprises up my sleeve for Tim’s first Australia Day. All I’ll say is that it will be AWESOME, and that there will be no shortage of lamb chops!
