Digital Brainwaves

Archive for the ‘Cool Links’ Category

IEATAPETA – International Eat a Tasty Animal for PETA Day

Mar 15, 2010 Cool Links, Whoops...

It’s that time of year again! Today, March 15, is the 8th annual International Eat A Tasty Animal for PETA Day! In commemoration of some of the really stupid and offensive things that PETA has done to advance their agenda, seven years ago, Meryl Yourish started his own “outrageous publicity stunt”:

PETA has started yet another offensive ad campaign. This one really reaches bottom—they are using Holocaust terminology, quotes, and pictures to liken the “slaughter” of animals to the slaughter of the Jews by the Nazis.

I’ve already received a letter from a child of Holocaust survivors who is, of course, extraordinarily offended. But here’s the thing: PETA is known for this kind of outrageous publicity stunt—and that’s what it is, an outrageous publicity stunt—and while I am also offended and outraged, there is absolutely nothing we can do that will make PETA change their ad campaign. I’m sure they knew exactly what they were doing, have a plan in mind, and, if they withdraw the campaign, will do it according to their deadlines and their decisions.

So let’s make up our own outrageous publicity stunt. Let’s designate Saturday, March 15th[, 2003], as International Eat an Animal for PETA Day. Everybody set the date on your calendar, and either go out and enjoy a great steak, or cook one at home. Or cook up some chicken or fish or anything else that PETA wouldn’t want you to eat.

The tradition has kept up every year since. I’ve already started with sausage, egg and cheese on an english muffin for breakfast. I’m not sure yet what is for lunch and dinner, but I bet it’s going to be meaty.

It doesn’t just have to be meat, either. Eggs, dairy… “anything that a hard-core vegan won’t eat works,” says Yourish. “And frankly, if you’re a hardcore vegan and still hate PETA, have some tofurkey in our honor.”

Project52 in 2010

Dec 29, 2009 Blog News, Cool Links

A couple of times in the last few years, I’ve participated in National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo), an alternative to National Novel Writing Month. Last year, I “won” (basically, I did succeed in posting every day), but this year things were so busy in November that I knew I wasn’t going to finish so I didn’t start.

Committing to writing every day is pretty tough, and it’s hard to do when you have a lot of other things going on. As it is, I’ve only posted 9 times since the end of American Idol back in May (for which I blog on each episode). Posting once a week, on the other hand, is a much more reasonable effort to squeeze in to an otherwise hectic schedule, which is what made a blog post I saw two weeks ago catch my eye.

Christina Warren gets the hat tip for pointing me to Project52: “a personal challenge geared toward getting fresh content on your website. The goal is to write at least 1 new article per week for 1 year.” Pretty straightforward, and easy to keep up. The project’s web site is also working on a way of gathering RSS feeds and making participants publicly accountable if they screw up, and no one wants to be “that guy.”

As part of the “refresh” of the new writing commitment, I’m also looking at new WordPress themes to give this place a new look. Keep an eye out shortly after the first of the year.

I hope I’m able to come up with interesting enough writings to keep you coming back this year. I look forward to hearing from readers!

Two Videos

Feb 12, 2009 Cool Links, Politics, Videos

Two videos for you; a fun one and a political one.

First, via Caroline Martin, a fun music video, shot in stop motion with live actors.

Next, by way of Big Hollywood, Penn Jillette (Penn & Teller) comments on a Denver Post editorial by David Harsanyi entitled, “Is dissent still patriotic?”

Your comments welcome, as always.

Digital Brainwaves listed on RocWiki

Dec 28, 2008 Blog News, Cool Links, Rochester

Taking a cue from Dave, I have now listed Digital Brainwaves as an “Everyday Life” blog on the Rochester Wiki, RocWiki.org. Go have a look at not just other Rochester area blogs there, but articles about a great many restaurants, locations, people and events in the Rochester area, with all content created by its readers.

Send Gov. Patterson a soda can (or a dozen)

Dec 22, 2008 Cool Links, New York State, Politics

Bob Lonsberry’s fed up with the state of our state government, and the proposed taxes and fees in Governor Patterson’s budget. So he’s cooked up his own little Boston Tea Party:

We need to get in their face. Young and old, black and white, Democrat and Republican. The college students and the business owners. The folks who resent a tax on downloads and the folks who resent a tax on haircuts. The ones who think an 18-percent tax on soda pop is nuts and the people who think a $1 million tax on nuclear power plants is nuts. Everyone who uses the insurance or the services or the products that have come under nuclear-tax attack by the governor.

We need to stand together – or we will hang alone.

And here’s the first step. Let’s send the governor a present. Because the insane non-diet soda-pop tax has gotten the most media attention, let’s start there. Let’s send him a can of soda.

Not a full can — that would cost us too much money in postage and packaging. We’re going to send him an empty can — that takes the weight down from just under 13 ounces to less than one. If we do it right, i’ll only cost us an envelope and 42 cents postage.

Read the whole column for details and an address to which to send your empty cans.

Now THIS…

Dec 1, 2008 Cool Links, War On Terror

…is the kind of attitude I like from a wounded soldier (in this case, a US Navy SEAL):

Loud rockin’ silenced by Manilow

Nov 25, 2008 Cool Links, In The News, Teh Funny

Via 10NBC in Rochester and MSNBC: Fort Lupton, Colorado judge Paul Sacco seems to have found a good way to cut down on repeat offenders to the city’s noise ordinance: force those determined guilty to listen to Barry Manilow, Barney, and other music less desirable to backyard rockers.

Ten years ago, Judge Sacco noticed something that bothered him. It wasn’t just the fact that so many of the faces in his courtroom were so very familiar to him. There were a lot of repeat offenders.

Now, what really irked him was the idea that many of them were teenagers who simply came equipped with their parent’s cash in hand to help them pay off the fines that he would inevitably impose.

“So they weren’t getting a lot out of it,” he said. That’s when he decided to do something a tad unorthodox. Call it Fort Lupton’s version of the Golden Rule. Judge Sacco says it has really cut down on “repeats.”

What’s the weirdest judicial sentence you’ve ever heard of?

Fly Baby Fly

Nov 14, 2008 Cool Links, Geek, In The News, Spaceflight, Videos

After watching the Space Shuttle Endeavour take off tonight for the International Space Station on STS-126, I’ve been bombing around Wikipedia and YouTube reading and watching about the Space Shuttle. It’s a shame it’ll be retiring in a few years… I’d have loved to be in Florida to see a launch in person some day.

Watching the YouTube videos reminds me of one my friend Dave posted a couple years ago. As he put it, the first 30 seconds give you goosebumps: