Obama Impersonation

Story of Stuff

I was just running through a few emails and came across link from Caleb Walker.  It's a little video called Story of Stuff. This is a video that not only should everyone see, but they should watch it at least once a week to combat the constant brainwashing that we receive in this country.  The kind of brainwashing constructed by our friend Victor LeBeau

“Our enormously productive economy…demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption…we need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate.” – Victor LeBeau, Retail Analyst Post WW II

who I guess we could refer to as the father of consumptionism.  I particularly enjoyed the notion that our national happiness peaked in the 1950's and also the part about Planned Obsolescence and Perceived Obsolescence and that 99% of what is produced is trashed in six months.  So, next time you're in the mood for shopping, maybe you should take twenty minutes, watch the video and ask yourself, "do I really need this?" 

A-political

So I feel like I've been posting a lot of really politcal, sorta serious type stuff lately. So, I thought I'd put something up that's just plain old fun. In the tradition of Rube Goldberg, here's a little good, clean, subway fun. It's called The Machine. Enjoy.

The Machine from mudlevel on Vimeo.
Also, if you're wondering what Banksy has been up to, look no further. His newest feat is The Village Pet Store.

Brilliant...enough said.

Hedge Fund Manager: Goodbye and F---- You - News Blog - Daily Brief - Portfolio.com

Howard Zinn breaks it down.

Spend the Bailout Money on the Middle Class
This is a great explanation of what's going on with our economic "bailout" aka corporate welfare and a great reminder that our "big government" truly does work for the corporation and not the populous.  And if you were wondering what latent racism was up to, here's a nice little article from the Times. 

Truly Frightening

DISCLAIMER: What you are about to see will possibly scare the living crap out of you. For all of the debates, discussions, interviews, vetting, it doesn't hold a candle to downright stupidity and assumption. This people are picking their President not based on policy, not based on temper, negotiation skills, foreign policy...any policy for that matter. They are picking the white guy and his running mate. And why? Because he's not black, and he's definitely not a terrorist. And the scariest part...I'm pretty sure this footage is from Pennsylvania. My state. Please, if you're watching this. Vote. Vote for the real reasons, not latent racism, fear, or stupidity. Vote Obama.

So Funny I almost peed

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

A little wisdom on the Daily Show

I though her last comment on the show was incredibly well put. Hopefully Obama was listening and he'll step it up a little.

something to fall asleep to...

Metamorphosis from Glenn Marshall on Vimeo.

don't forget to....

The deadline to Register in Pennsylvania is October 6th. So if you haven't, Do it NOW!

From the Campaign Trail.

A little something to make you smile. 

refreshing insight

during a presidential season it's easy to get jaded by all the spin and rhetoric being hurled at us and generally flying right over or right around our heads. I have to give a nod to Caleb Walker's last post about two of the current candidates and the reference to how really ridiculous things have gotten pertaining to simple lack of thinking for oneself. Just as a side note, after reading this post I overheard someone outside a certain local watering hole actually say to one of his friends (in some type of political/argumentative context); "You're a fucking Obama, man!"

This is what we're up against people. Read more...here

Or if you're link-disabled. Here's the whole darn thing.

I’m a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.

--

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you’re "exotic, different."

Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story.

—–

If your name is Barack you’re a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

Name your kids Willow, Trig, and Track, you’re a maverick.

—–

Graduate from Harvard Law School and you are unstable.

Attend five different small colleges before graduating, you’re well grounded.

—–

If you spend three years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend eight years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate’s Health and Human Services committee, spend four years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran’s Affairs committees, you don’t have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather girl, four years on the city council and six years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you’re qualified to become the country’s second-highest ranking executive.

—–

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising two beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you’re not a real Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you’re a Christian.

—–

If you teach responsible, age-appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option, in sex education in your state’s school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you’re very responsible.

—–

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family’s values don’t represent America’s.

If your husband is nicknamed "First Dude," with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn’t register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

—–

OK, much clearer now.

good advice

every once in a while i'll bookmark something then completely forget about it.  this is one of those times. 
10 Unbeatable Tips for Overcoming Micro-Addictions | Zen Habits

Nike Windbreaker Critcal Mass = Death of Counterculture?

Okay, so here's a complete bite off BikeSnob's last posting, but the only reason I'm doing it is to illustrate a previous post of my own regarding hipster culture and particularly the trend of fixed gear bicycles and their involvement in the trend/anti-trend of the hipster-nation, death of counter-culture that is now upon us.

Nike Windrunner Ride L.A. from Veesh on Vimeo.
I find it hilarious that a bunch of "i don't like to use the word 'hipster' because, cause, uh..." types would knowingly engage is a shameless, Nike marketing promotion for, of all things a new windbreaker! Maybe it was really cool, maybe I'm wrong, and the only way anything cool/good happens is through corporate sponsorship. Are we all just selling out? I mean, I like certain brands just as much as the next guys, but c'mon, a Nike sponsored fixed gear critical mass? What's next a Hummer sponsored alleycat? See for yourself. And thanks to BikeSnobNYC for the tip off.

driving distracted

Upon BikeSnobNYC's request, I am sharing the following PSA. Enjoy

the next big thing...

deepLocal
although clearly in it's infancy, this looks like it could grow to be pretty cool, and definitely advantageous to Pittsburgh, much needed endeavor to court and maintain a population of people under 40.

Hipsters...caught on tape.

This is a pretty good analysis of the current hipster epidemic. Told from the obviously anti-consumer perspective of any decent adbusters article.

a little friday morning bike porn.

Okay. This is just about the coolest thing I've ever seen. It's definitely topped the list for today, and possibly the week. Enjoy

Beverly Hillbillies

Rising Oil Prices Swell Profits at Exxon and Shell - NYTimes.com

Does anyone else see a problem with this? Personally, I can't wait til we run out of oil!

Pittsburgh Wiki and Richard Chen

My experience has led me to believe that Pittsburgh has a demoted sense of self-worth. And to be completely honest I think it had lasted quite effectively until a few years ago with the Steelers won the SuperBowl. Finally, the dam broke and Pittsburgh has realized that it may actually have something very unique to offer the rest of the country. Courtesy of PopCity, two articles have demonstrated, at least to me, that Pittsburgh is on the up and up. Apparently, there is a new restaurant being open by Richard Chen called Richard Chen's Pan Asian Cuisine. This guy is a pretty big deal, he's the Exec. Chef of the Wynn Hotel in Vegas and he's bringing in Simon Lewis from the UK to "...be part of Pittsburgh's restaurant scene." In other Pittsburgh news, check out the Pittsburgh Wiki. An interesting Wiki concept to focus on traffic and transportation issues throughout the city. All this leads me to think it may be worth sticking around for a while.

what's in a name?

You know your name is too common when the actual "you" doesn't show up on a google search til about the twelfth page. Ironically, there's an oncologist who lives around the corner from my parents who is stealing my thunder. Jackass.

coffee talk

Amsterdamize...dont' ya think?

thought I'd share. Nicked from Amsterdamize
what a beautiful way to spend a sunday...too bad I'm cooped up for the next few hours.

sao paolo her i come.

Came across a cool site called ScribeMediaArts &Culture They've got a nice vid about a couple of brothers from Sao Paolo that are doing the street art ------> gallery thing, Think Michel Gondry meets Dumbo meets kids book illustration. The piece below the video of there work on a full subway car is great! Also they caught a little bit of Martha Cooper at the end of the show at Deitch Gallery. Which seems amazing in its own right(haven't had a chance to poke around it yet)

july 4th politico

Drinking coffee, poking around slate.com and came across this guy. Paul Combs, he's got a great comic style and some pretty good wit. This one in particular made me laugh. It's good to know that cartoonist are out there, they're paying attention, but sometimes it makes you feel a little helpless that we have all this "freedom" (expression, speech, press, etc). and sometimes it doesn't seem to change anything.
ps. vote obama!

how to ruin your Sunday

Photographers » Blog Archive » Caught in a rebel offensive in eastern Chad | Blogs | Reuters.co.uk

just in case you're getting bored with the whole "war on terror". Change the channel, check out the war in Chad. It's just like the war in Iraq but, a little less glamorous and clearly not as news-worthy.

Hello...You There!!

Well, this is just brilliant! You know good design when you see it, because you say "damn, why didn't I think of it." Here's a great taste of functional, socially constructive, proactive design.

HelloYouThere.

Veer

Veer: Elements for Creativity
just poking around old bookmarks and came across Veer. There seems to be more and more of these types of sites popping up, there's also Behance which is pretty nice, but a little too much of itself. And there's also Trunkt which is a nice "more sophisticated" Etsy type thing.

Specter

Came across Specter via Wooster Collective (as always). He has a great, and diverse style. Sometimes subversive, sometimes playful, sometimes absurd, but always thinking. Hope you like it.
Oh, also. It's a flash site, so poke around.

Cans Festival Wrap Up...

here's the official wrap film from last months Cans Festival in England. In case you're not familiar, basically they closed off an unused tunnel and let in about a dozen or so stencil artists. After the first day, they let the public come in with their own stencils. The result was, well, saturated! And really, who says Europe is more progressive that the U.S. We do this shit every weekend...not!

One of the featured favorites was "world renowned" BANKSY. You can check a flickr-roll here.

nicked from wooster collective.

getting down to business.

70 Amazing Business Cards - Fubiz™


nicked from cool hunting....

New Music...

I'm not a big music purchaser. Most of the stuff I listen to I've either had for years or have come across from friends willing to share. But I had to pounce on the new My Morning Jacket. It's a rare band that still understands the notion of the album. With the way pop music swallows up singles that become overplayed while the rest of the album is 9 other tracks that fill space, its refreshing to have confidence in a band like MMJ. You can check out the Sunday NYT's article here.

Alex Trochut

Wow. This guy is AMAZING!

we're going to shanghai.

Just found a couple of things that make me want to go to Shanghai. Planet Shanghai and this from Wooster Collective on the grafitti in the city too. A nice interview with three shanghai graf writers.

speechless.

post worthy

I've been searching, lazily, for a post worthy subject. And alas, Composition's new website rings through. There is nothing on this site that isn't awesome, including the site itself. just beautiful.

bubble project

Bubble Project
Bring it to an advertisement near you...

SHERMAN

Here's the latest addition to our family. I really have no way of describing how awesome this little monster is, but hopefully the pictures will do a bit of justice.

Enjoy!

Pittsburgh Music Fest Sponsored by American Eagle.

Perhaps our fair city is finally coming into to it's own. Just heard about this festival through the grapevine. Sounds pretty cool. Tickets are gonna be $50 for two days, and thankfully it's not at The Starlake Amphetheatre, its actually in the city and SouthSide Works.

Save the world with a carrot!

Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

It's been a while, but I finally found something worth posting. This was nicked from www.zefrank.com
Thanks Ze.

speaking of wanderlust

so i just posted the latest bjork video. well if she ever made a mountain bike video, it'd look like this.

wanderlust...do you have it?

I couldn't find any sites that would allow me to embed it, but here's a sneak peak at Bjork's new Video for WANDERLUST in it 2D entirety. Enjoy

Via WoosterCollective.

the donation of this work to the street is truly selfless.

R.I.P. Nigel

Last night we lost a good friend...our big, lovable, orange tabby Nigel. He is missed already, but here are a few choice pictures to remember him.

Salt...

you know, i've noticed that there's a trend in my last few posts. perhaps it's been the dregs of winter coming through, or maybe its the state of affairs in my life right now. But, the last half dozen posts just seem really salty. I think I'll try to work on that.

even four years ago...great.

a nice price...

apparently i'm in the wrong business. nice price tag... I mean, it's nice, but cutting aluminum and powder coating ain't exactly rocket surgery. Nice racket you've got.

what a dick.

but he's such a friendly liar.

things i won't get to do.

some people say life is all about choices, but I think they neglect the truth in that statement which is cause and effect. the only choice you really get to make is what to do or not to do...next. and then ultimately those choices will add up. The true lesson here is to not get frustrated about where the choices you have made have gotten you and what they have gotten you. Quite frankly, i'm trying to not be upset with the fact that the choices that I've made will not allow me to get here

Pimp My Ride.

I'm paraphrasing...but basically this. The President of Shell Oil is saying that in the next few years he wouldn't be surprised if there were civil conflicts, in this country, because of the price of gas at the pump. After talking to his constituents in SoCal where the Rodney King riots were, they said essentially the tension in the hood is about at the same threshhold as it was just before the LA riots.
If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.

this just in...

sunshine returns to pittsburgh after months in exile. I had the great opportunity to spend the entire day outside on Sunday. Unfortunately my camera was in the car, so I apologize for the "less than great" cell phone photos. but hey, it's better then using your imaginations...right?

happy easter

good morning, happy easter and all that jazz. Hope everyone has a chance to take a break, enjoy some peace and quiet and maybe a chance to reflect on what its all about... not easter per se, but the big picture. Like Serj Tankian, not saving the world, but at least thinking about it. Him and Tom Morello have a good thing going. I think its called the Axis of Justice. They've got a podcast out as well. In the midst of all this conspicuous consumption, a backlash is inevitable. I just read in News of the Weird that there's a mushrooming of McCulture in India's middle class right now. People are blowing there entire salary on Gucci and Prada while India has the highest population of brutaly poor citizens, diamond encrusted gucci dog bowls are for sale even while there are more strays in India than anywhere else in the world. Anyone else see a problem with this? Well anyway. Happy Easter, Yeah Jesus, and certainly, God Bless America!!

crazy people

My goodness are there a lot of crazy people! Some of them are harmless, but still take the oxygen out of the room.

connectivity

I've been thinking a lot about connectivity and motivation lately. Perhaps motivation to stay connected? It seems everywhere you turn you're losing contact with another person, time catches up to you and you're suddenly too busy, even in this day and age to really connect, even with all the technology out there...text messages, email, this twitter thing that I'll be obsessed with for the next 24 to 48 hours...how does this happen? If you're out there...connect. Or at least try something.

motivation...

dear potential readers...blogging should perhaps happen frequentlier.

I think mostly it was I waiting for some motivations... like this. I wants it!

mother russia

i found this photoset in a relatively unlikely spot (over at Fixed Gear Gallery). There was no way I could resist posting it. Some of these photos are absolutely hillarious!

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a live veiwing of a fresh banksy piece and ...the whole love thing in the Netherlands...