Hey, Og, I just wanted to comment on your blog entry but since you turned off comments, I’ll do it by posting to mine.

I was simply amazed that none of the news media I had a chance to check
yesterday seemed to have mentioned the tragic date. Worse, none of the people,
except for a Russian friend, I talked to remembered it either.

Last year, Joi Ito wrote an Op-Ed piece for the NYT on this subject titled An Anniversary to Forget. He presents a very intelligent and authentic observation about the rememberance of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings from a Japanese point of view. Perhaps I can also provide one from an American-born-Japanese perspective, as well.

In August, 2002, I had the opportunity to be in Japan. On the date and time
of the bombings, a whole bunch of air sirens went off. I looked at my wife all
puzzled: everyone on the streets were just going about their business as usual.
There was no panicking. This wasn’t an emergency. So, we resumed our walk. Only later, when we returned to my Uncle’s home where we were staying in Nagano, did I find out what that was all about–the anniversary of the bombings. I was embarassed that I even had to ask.

Now, it might be misconstrued from what I wrote above that the Japanese are blasé about the whole event, but that’s incorrect. The bombings have changed the Japanese forever in many ways, from loved ones who were killed to childhoods ruined or destroyed, etc. However, tell me if you know anyone who truly enjoys celebrating death? You can only grieve for so long and then you have to focus yourself on the present and the future. The Japanese will certainly never forget that date in history–even if it’s as subtle as sounding the alarms–but people have moved on with their lives.

Tags:
Japan,
atomic bombs,
Nagasaki,
Hiroshima,
Joi Ito,
Og Maciel

Apparently, Mel Gibson was busted for a DUI arrest. If driving under the influence wasn’t bad enough, he was apparently throwing out anti-Semitic remarks in the process. He’s since apologized for his behavior, but that’s not what really worries me. What worries me is this:

Is Mel too deeply involved in some method acting for a new role where he plays an anti-Semitic Muslim terrorist, or was he just losing his mind?

Also, to give credit where it’s due, the title of this blog entry is a take-off of an Adam Sandler song (which, sadly, I can’t find a reference to–Google, you have failed me!) … who, by the way, is a Jew. Okay, that was a complete non sequitur.

(via substitute)

Tags:
Mel Gibson,
anti-Semitism,
Osama Bin Laden

It’s June again, which means graduation time, which means commencement speeches! This year, Stephen Colbert gave a great commencement speech at Knox College on June 3, 2006 (via John Scalzi). The money shot of his speech is about learning to say “yes-and” instead of “no-but”. This is incredibly valuable advice.

In case you’re asking “who’s Stephen Colbert,” he’s most recently generated buzz around his 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner speech (Transcript, Google Video).

If you want to see more, here are some great commencement speeches from 2005.

Tags:
inspirational,
graduation,
speeches

Yes, that’s a real screenshot; I just took it a few minutes ago. No, I didn’t Photoshop it — that’s really what it said. And, yes, looking outside my window right now, it’s snowing. In April. Believe it.

Update: It snowed again, on April 5th, 2007, too.

You might remember the last time I wrote about folks using Yahoo! IM to perpetuate Nigerian 419 scams. My friend, Joe Grossberg blogs about them posting profiles to JDate, a Jewish dating site.

The gem of Joe’s blogs isn’t always found in the entry itself. It’s in the interaction between the readers and Joe, himself. I mean, only Joe can say this with a straight face:

[…] I hope this blog hasn’t turned into a “cargo cult” of booty.

Go read his blog. He’s funnier, smarter and better looking than I am. Leave him a comment, maybe he’ll throw you back a pearl, like the one above. I’m definitely looking forward to it.

Tags:
Joe Grossberg,
Nigerian 419 scam,
booty

I previously wrote about Penn Jillette’s brilliant NPR essay, where he demonstrates his genius. However, there’s lots of other examples of this, such as his New Years Eve Mac Vomit Penn article. Here’s a teaser:

[…] Kelli had told Mac King that it was impossible to drink a gallon of whole milk in a half hour. Mac didn’t believe that. She bet him 75 bucks he couldn’t do it. As we were finishing up dinner, Mac arrived with a gallon jug of milk and a video camera. He was going to take Kelli’s money and his wife wanted video of it, since she was home with their daughter.

Why did I wait 3 years to link to this? Because, just recently, someone who obviously didn’t know that Mac lost this bet, uploaded a video to YouTube. For those “visual learners” out there who won’t read Penn’s story, here’s the lesson for you:

(The notes on the video suggest this video was recorded on 1999-03-15, at “Ramapo College of New Jersey, Oak Hall Parking Lot” — way to represent!)

Go on, bet your dumb friends an easy $100 that they can’t drink a gallon of milk in half an hour. If you want to be really evil, have a fresh gallon of milk ready nearby before you offer the bet, so they can’t back out because “we’ve got to go get the milk and I don’t feel like it.” Just make sure to throw down a tarp or have a bucket handy. You know why …

Tags:
Penn and Teller,
Penn Jillette,
milk,
prank,
YouTube,
video

Tien Mao over at the Gothamist interviewed The Notorious MSG, a trio of Asian bad-boys who pack heat in their pants and deliver funky beats and Chinese food eats.

The interview is a bit goofy, but it’s full of some funny stuff, like this:

Names, ages, where are you from, and where do you live now?
In 1993, we all left the ghettos of Asia to come to New York City’s Chinatown. We came here with a dream. And that dream is to blow-out people’s asses with our hot n’ spicy music. We recommend you clench your cheeks ‘cuz it’s gonna hurt.

We are:
Hong Kong Fever, 25 Hometown: Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong
Down-Lo Mein, 24. Hometown: Ping-Tung, Taiwan
The Hunan Bomb, 23 Hometown: Inchon, South Korea

If you’re intrigued, check out their official site (sadly, it’s a Flash monstrosity) or their MySpace page which has some of their songs and videos.

Tags:
music,
ghetto,
chinatown

Is Ilana Yahav the new Ferenc Cako, whose sand art performance at the Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival 2003 (SICAF) made its way around the web? She’s another dribble-and-wipe-sand-on-a-projector artist, which still fascinates and amazes me. You can see a sample of Yahav’s work titled “Just Imagine” over at Google Video.

(via pjaol)

Tags:
sand art,
Ilana Yahav,
Ferenc Cako,
SICAF

Okay, since blonde is my favorite color, this caught my eye this morning:

(Photo credit: AP)

Check out that “silky, blonde fur” (quoting this AOL News article). That’s a Kiwa hirsuta, from the family Kiwaida. Apparently Kiwa is the goddess of shellfish in Polynesian mythology. I wonder if she’s depicted as a blonde, too. (Doubt it.)

(via John Scalzi)

Tags:
blonde,
furry,
crustacean,
science

I just couldn’t resist linking to this … because there’s nothing like watching a pair of computer generated breasts bouncing around on your screen. (Link may be NSFW (not safe for work)! You’ve been warned.) Go for the “FF+G” on level 4 “Extreme” activity level. Whee! *dizzy* (via jwz)

Funny thing is, this is ridiculously good marketing … I’d never heard of them before but the next time I’m shopping for sports-bras, I will definitely check out a Shock Absorber sports-bra. The true test will be if their product actually delivers what it promises from the computer simulation. Anyone here own any of these bras? What size are you and what support levels have you tried? Any complaints? Do they machine-wash well? Are they durable?

Tags: breasts, boobies, bras, sports-bras