U2 at Live Aid, 1985
Let me indulge in a brief bit of nosÂtalÂgia for a sec. SomeÂhow my once wayÂward friends and I scored tickÂets to Live Aid back in 1985, which meant that we got to spend a scorchÂing day at Philly’s JFK StaÂdiÂum, watchÂing live acts that includÂed Led ZepÂpelin, Eric ClapÂton, CrosÂby, Stills, Nash & Young (leavÂing aside a campy Bowie and JagÂger video). But someÂhow what still stands out for me are two acts piped in from LonÂdon’s WemÂbÂley StaÂdiÂum — U2’s 12 minute verÂsion of “Bad” (below), which launched the band into interÂnaÂtionÂal starÂdom, and, yes, Queens’ set: BohemiÂan RhapÂsody & Radio Gaga, HamÂmer To Fall & Crazy LitÂtle Thing Called Love (also below), and We Will Rock You/We Are the ChamÂpiÂons.
The President’s Guide to Science
Aired first in SepÂtemÂber, this BBC proÂducÂtion asks famous sciÂenÂtists to offer imporÂtant words of advice to the next AmerÂiÂcan presÂiÂdent. What does ObaÂma need to know to make smart deciÂsions about key issues rangÂing from nuclear proÂlifÂerÂaÂtion to cliÂmate change?
Top Ten Versions of Leonard Cohen’s Classic “Hallelujah”
Hat tip to Bob for tipÂping us off to this colÂlecÂtion put togethÂer by The MirÂror in the UK. They take Leonard Cohen’s clasÂsic “HalÂleluÂjah” (lisÂten below) and then bring you the ten best covÂer verÂsions. On the list, you’ll find verÂsions by Bob Dylan, John Cale (founder of The VelÂvet UnderÂground), Rufus WainÂwright, Jeff BuckÂley, among othÂers.
Get Wikipedia on Your Mobile Phone
A LifeÂhackÂer post remindÂed me to spread the word about the newish mobile verÂsion of Wikipedia. SimÂply bookÂmark this page (mobile.wikipedia.org) on your wireÂless device, and you can then research all of your quesÂtions on the fly. When did the French finalÂly get rid of RobeÂspierre? What’s the gist of EinÂstein’s speÂcial theÂoÂry of relÂaÂtivÂiÂty? Where is Bhutan? You can figÂure it all out wherÂevÂer you are.
I’m not sure how this mobile page looks on varÂiÂous mobile devices. But I can report that it looks a‑ok on the iPhone. iPhone users can also use the new Wikipedia Mobile app that’s now availÂable in the iTunes store.
Atlas Shrugged Updated for the Current Financial Crisis
Ayn Rand’s clasÂsic gets dustÂed off and humorÂousÂly brought into 2008 over at McSweeney’s. Worth a read.
As a side note, you may want to revisÂit the New York Times 2007 piece, Ayn Rand’s LitÂerÂaÂture of CapÂiÂtalÂism, which talks about the influÂence that Atlas Shrugged (and its free marÂket phiÂlosÂoÂphy) has had on ForÂtune 500 CEOs and parÂticÂuÂlarÂly Alan Greenspan, the forÂmer head of the FedÂerÂal Reserve, who helped archiÂtect the deregÂuÂlatÂed bankÂing sysÂtem that’s now unwindÂing around us. BelatÂedÂly, Greenspan would acknowlÂedge a “flaw in the modÂel” that he “perÂceived is the critÂiÂcal funcÂtionÂing strucÂture that defines how the world works” — which is a fanÂcy way of sayÂing “on secÂond thought, maybe the free marÂkets don’t always regÂuÂlate themÂselves.” And there we have it, anothÂer utopiÂan ideÂolÂoÂgy colÂlides with realÂiÂty. Not the first, and it won’t be the last.
40 Inspirational Film Speeches in 2 Minutes
Woody Allen on The Dick Cavett Show Circa 1970
Bad clothes, realÂly bad TV sets, not so good hair, and some briefly good comÂeÂdy — that’s what you get when Woody Allen hits the Dick Cavett Show in or around 1970. Watch it below, and get othÂer segÂments here, here, and here. And find it on our YouTube Favorites.
Animated Aurora Borealis
While workÂing on the InterÂnaÂtionÂal Space StaÂtion, AstroÂnaut Don PetÂtit creÂatÂed this remarkÂable video of the auroÂra boreÂalis (othÂerÂwise known as The NorthÂern Lights). How? By stitchÂing togethÂer a large sequence of still images that he took from space. It makes for some good viewÂing.
via NYTimes DotEarth
Google Brings Magazines To The Web
Just last month, Google announced that it was bringÂing the masÂsive LIFE MagÂaÂzine phoÂto archive online. Two milÂlion phoÂtos are already uploaded, and anothÂer 8 milÂlion will be comÂing online soon.
This week, they’ve made a new announceÂment. The upshot? Google has reached an agreeÂment with magÂaÂzine pubÂlishÂers to digÂiÂtize their hisÂtorÂiÂcal archives. This will bring milÂlions of artiÂcles to the web, and you’ll be able to access them through Google Book Search. Old media keeps comÂing over to new media.
Among the titles, you’ll find New York MagÂaÂzine, PopÂuÂlar SciÂence, PopÂuÂlar MechanÂics, MothÂer Jones, RunÂners World, Ebony, Men’s Health, VegÂeÂtarÂiÂan Times and more.
PS Google has also postÂed the top search terms of 2008. It’s a winÂdow into the ZeitÂgeist. Have a look.
A Short Introduction to The Great Depression & The New Deal
Eric RauchÂway, an AmerÂiÂcan hisÂtoÂriÂan at UC-Davis (and an old grad school colÂleague of mine), pubÂlished a timeÂly book earÂliÂer this year, The Great DepresÂsion and the New Deal: A Very Short IntroÂducÂtion. And it sets him up perÂfectÂly to talk about an hisÂtorÂiÂcal moment that’s now back on our minds.
RauchÂway appeared last week on EconÂTalk (iTunes — Feed — MP3), a podÂcast that’s getÂting some play lateÂly, and spent a good hour surÂveyÂing the ecoÂnomÂic criÂsis that all othÂers will be meaÂsured against. The conÂverÂsaÂtion starts with the afterÂmath of World War I, where John MayÂnard Keynes saw the ecoÂnomÂic probÂlems beginÂning. (Read online his 1919 book, The EcoÂnomÂic ConÂseÂquences of the Peace.) Then, it moves through the 1920s, the stock marÂket crash, Hoover’s attempts to restore staÂbilÂiÂty (which weren’t as bungling as his hisÂtorÂiÂcal repÂuÂtaÂtion now sugÂgests) and finalÂly FDR’s New Deal and the effects of World War II. If you have an hour, you’ll learn a good deal.
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