File this under comedy/satire, Tina Fey has her Sarah Palin impresÂsion nailed. If the video below ceasÂes to work, you can always watch the clip (in betÂter resÂoÂluÂtion, I might add) right here.
Writer David Foster Wallace Found Dead at 46 (Rewind the Video Tape)
HorÂriÂble stoÂry and loss. ApparÂentÂly suiÂcide. Obit here. More extenÂsive NY Times look back at DFW’s career here.
Below, we have a clip of him readÂing a piece that he wrote for Harper’s. Also see our preÂviÂous item: David FosÂter WalÂlace: DeciderÂizaÂtion 2007 Online, which includes a link to the essay he wrote for Best AmerÂiÂcan Essays 2007. You can get yet anothÂer piece of short ficÂtion online here as well.
Animated Poetry by US Poet Laureate
BilÂly Collins, forÂmer US Poet LauÂreÂate and one of AmerÂiÂca’s best-sellÂing poets, reads his poem “The Dead” with aniÂmaÂtion by Juan DelÂcan of SponÂtaÂneous. Take it away:
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
AniÂmatÂed VerÂsion of Howard Zinn’s HisÂtoÂry of the AmerÂiÂcan Empire
An AniÂmatÂed HisÂtoÂry of Evil
The StoÂry of Stuff in 20 AniÂmatÂed MinÂutes
AniÂmatÂed New YorkÂer CarÂtoons: A FunÂny Twist on Einstein’s RelÂaÂtivÂiÂty
Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates Connect with Everyday People (Long Version)
From the new series of Microsoft ads…
The Creator of the Wire on American Urban Decline
The Wire — it has monopÂoÂlized my DVD playÂer since May. As many of you hopeÂfulÂly know, it’s a stunÂning proÂducÂtion. And if you haven’t seen it, do yourÂself a favor. Get a NetÂflix subÂscripÂtion and devote your attenÂtion to it for the next few months.
David Simon (the show’s creÂator) has called his HBO series “a politÂiÂcal tract masÂqueradÂing as a cop show.” In a piece pubÂlished in the UK last week — “The EscaÂlatÂing BreakÂdown of Urban SociÂety Across the US” — he writes more directÂly about the subÂtext that runs throughÂout The Wire. The op-ed gets down to this funÂdaÂmenÂtal truth: “There are two AmerÂiÂcÂas — sepÂaÂrate, unequal, and no longer even acknowlÂedgÂing each othÂer except on the barest culÂturÂal terms. In the one nation, new milÂlionÂaires are mintÂed every day. In the othÂer, human beings [read: BalÂtiÂmore and othÂer cities like it] no longer necÂesÂsary to our econÂoÂmy, to our sociÂety, are being devalÂued and destroyed.”
In othÂer David Simon news, you can catch him in a wide-rangÂing interÂview recordÂed earÂliÂer this week in San FranÂcisÂco. Catch it here. MP3 — iTunes — Feed.
New Yorker Fiction Podcast: Wolff Reads Dog Heaven
In the latÂest installÂment of The New YorkÂer FicÂtion podÂcast (iTunes Feed Web Site), Tobias Wolff (author of Old School) reads Stephanie Vaughn’s short stoÂry “Dog HeavÂen.” If you’ve nevÂer heard him before, Wolff gives his own work and othÂers a very good read (see our earÂliÂer piece.).
Though the podÂcast is not yet availÂable on iTunes, you can lisÂten to the mp3 right here. Also, I’d encourÂage you to check out the varÂiÂous New YorkÂer podÂcasts found in our Ideas & CulÂture PodÂcast ColÂlecÂtion.
Learning Chemistry on YouTube
This is perÂhaps a first: A uniÂverÂsiÂty-sponÂsored video colÂlecÂtion on YouTube that hangs togethÂer and conÂtributes to develÂopÂing a largÂer body of knowlÂedge. The UniÂverÂsiÂty of NotÂtingÂham has launched a chanÂnel called The PeriÂodÂic Table of Videos, which offers a video for each eleÂment on the periÂodÂic table. In total, you will find 118 videos, includÂing the one below that gives you a closÂer look at UraÂniÂum. And, for the record, we’ve added this video set to our comÂpiÂlaÂtion: IntelÂliÂgent Life at YouTube: 70 EduÂcaÂtionÂal Video ColÂlecÂtions. Here it goes:
The Tribe: Now Playing in the YouTube Screening Room
“What can BarÂbie teach us about culÂture? More than you might think. In this short docÂuÂmenÂtary, direcÂtor Tiffany Shlain explores modÂern JewÂish idenÂtiÂty through the unusuÂal lens of the BarÂbie doll. The Tribe was an offiÂcial selecÂtion of the 2006 SunÂdance Film FesÂtiÂval.”
PerÂsonÂalÂly, the film strikes me as rather facile, but what does my opinÂion count next to that of SunÂdance? …
Download Cory Doctorow’s Technology Writings (Free New Book)
A quick fyi: BoingÂBoÂing blogÂger Cory DocÂtorow has released a new colÂlecÂtion of essays called ConÂtent: SelectÂed Essays on TechÂnolÂoÂgy, CreÂativÂiÂty, CopyÂright, and the Future of the Future. As he sumÂmaÂrizes it, the book feaÂtures “28 essays about everyÂthing from copyÂright and DRM to the layÂout of phone-keyÂpads, the falÂlaÂcy of the semanÂtic web, the nature of futurÂism, the necesÂsiÂty of priÂvaÂcy in a digÂiÂtal world, the reaÂson to love Wikipedia, the mirÂaÂcle of fanÂfÂic, and many othÂer subÂjects.” You can downÂload a free PDF verÂsion here, or purÂchase a hard copy here. Also don’t miss the free tech/copyright writÂings by LarÂry Lessig below.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
DownÂload a Free Copy of Cory Doctorow’s BestÂseller, LitÂtle BrothÂer
Free DownÂload of Cory Doctorow’s GraphÂic NovÂels
Lawrence Lessig’s Free CulÂture: AvailÂable in Text or Audio (For Free)
The Future of Ideas: DownÂload Your Free Copy (and More)
Father Guido Sarducci’s Publicizes the Virtues of Art School
AnyÂone rememÂber Father GuiÂdo SarÂducÂci from SatÂurÂday Night Live’s betÂter days? Below, we find him celÂeÂbratÂing the virtues of art school. The clip is funÂny. But it’s even funÂnier when you conÂsidÂer that this was apparÂentÂly a real TV comÂmerÂcial made for the San FranÂcisÂco Art InstiÂtute in the earÂly 1980s. The clip has been added to our YouTube playlist. Also for anothÂer good laugh, see this preÂviÂous bit: Father GuiÂdo Sarducci’s Five Minute UniÂverÂsiÂty.
Thomas Friedman’s Green Revolution: The New Book for the Left & Right
Thomas FriedÂman’s new book has finalÂly hit the stands. IniÂtialÂly, it was going to be titled “Green is the New Red, White and Blue.” But someÂhow it got released with the far less artÂful — though more descripÂtive — title, Hot, Flat, and CrowdÂed: Why We Need a Green Revolution–and How It Can Renew AmerÂiÂca. When FriedÂman came to StanÂford last year, he preÂviewed many of his arguÂments in a talk that you can catch on iTunes. But, to boil it down, his arguÂment is that a “green revÂoÂluÂtion” makes for smart ecoÂnomÂic, nationÂal secuÂriÂty and enviÂronÂmenÂtal polÂiÂcy, and it’s an arguÂment that gets fleshed out in a fair amount of depth in the new work. Despite the unwieldy title, it’s virÂtuÂalÂly a givÂen that milÂlions of copies will be sold. And I wouldÂn’t be surÂprised if it brings about a real shift in the nationÂal debate — that is, if it helps define what a green revÂoÂluÂtion realÂly means and demonÂstrates how it can make nationÂal strateÂgic sense on mulÂtiÂple levÂels. That’s a gift that FriedÂman has. For more on this, check out FriedÂman’s talk today on NPR’s Fresh Air, where he goes into more depth and offers some canÂdid thoughts on the presÂiÂdenÂtial canÂdiÂdates and their enviÂronÂmenÂtal poliÂcies. You can lisÂten here: iTunes — RSS Feed — Stream Here.
Here’s a quick quote from the interÂview: The oppoÂnents have called Green “libÂerÂal, tree hugÂging, girly man, sisÂsy, unpaÂtriÂotÂic, vagueÂly French, and basiÂcalÂly what I’m out to do in this book is to rename Green — it’s geopoÂlitÂiÂcal, geostrateÂgic, geoeÂcoÂnomÂic, innoÂvÂaÂtive, comÂpetÂiÂtive, patriÂotÂic: Green is the new Red, White, and Blue.” …
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
The World is Flat: The #1 Free PodÂcast on iTuneÂsU
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