But do I have to move to South Carolina to vote for him?

So by now I'm sure you've heard that Stephen Colbert has announced his candidacy for President of the US in South Carolina. Better yet, he's running as both a Democrat and a Republican, so there's truly something for everyone in this campaign. Thank god THAT decision is over. Now if I could just decide what to wear tomorrow ...

Arrrrrrrrrrr!

Avast, mateys! 'Tis the 19th of September, which, as ye know, is Talk Like A Pirate Day! Here be links to add to yer booty:

The Official Site

The UK Site

The Australian Site

Some news coverage

An instructional video:



YARRRRR!

Ah-Choo

When a baby panda sneezes, a mama panda says, "WFT?"

Roll Me Another Tea

Watch a pilot pour iced tea while barrel-rolling his airplane!


(Clip seen on James Fallows' blog, where he talks mostly about China but has recently talked a bit about flying and aeronautics - specifically, how and why JFK Jr. lost his bearings and crashed)

PowerPointing toward an MBA

From the Chronicle of Higher Ed's blog:

If top business-school applicants need a break from GMAT prep and essay writing, they should browse the Web for inspirational quotes and clip art.

The admissions office at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business is requiring for the first time this year a PowerPoint presentation — or something like it. "In four slides or less," the online instructions say, "please provide readers with content that captures who you are."

Sounds terrible, right? Actually, apparently not.

Those readers, it turns out, are sort of bored with essays. The new requirement will give admissions officers a better sense of their applicants, says Rosemaria Martinelli, associate dean of admissions and financial aid. Plus, she says, "it will make my job of reading a million applications much more enjoyable."

She has been thrilled with what she’s seen already: lots of photos and poetry. One current student, in a test run, wrote a play featuring a Greek chorus questioning him about his application, according to the Associated Press.

This seems like a great idea, if it's carried off right. Of course, at lower-tier schools I'll bet you'd see lots of shite like Aleksey Vayner's video resume:

Barababababarabababa

I heard this song - "See You at the Lights" by the 1990s - yesterday on the Current and I was immediately, happily plagued by the chorus. Try it; you'll like it.

Bonus embarrassing information: when I heard the band's name, I thought they'd named themseves after a tax form, not the - duh - decade just passed.

The Internet Has Crashed

Old Music Is New Again

The Young@Heart Chorus is a singing group of elderly men and women in Northampton, Massachusetts, which performs "songs by bands like the Radiohead, OutKast and Nirvana [that] take on a new dimension when performed by these 23 foot-stomping senior citizens. [Coldplay's] Fix You or the Clash's Should I Stay or Should I Go become about life and death."

Video Blog of the Day: No Class

So Paris Hilton's in jail today. Let it never again be said that America is not a meritocracy! What? She'll only get richer from this? Oh.

Anyhow, it's still satisfying to see her get ripped by Sarah Silverman. Watch and cringe. It's almost enough to make a guy feel sorry for her.

(Via the Superficial.)

Video Blog of the Day: High Class

This compilation of female portraits in Western art is fascinating at several levels, from the technical execution and the music to the choice of sequence and the overarching beauty of the subjects. The video strikingly demonstrates that current American conventions of beauty (ultra-skinniness=beauty) are as recent as they are probably ephemeral.

Bears, Hyenas, Walruses

iTunes is now selling higher-quality, higher-priced songs without digital rights management built in. Slate has taken the trouble to see if the average listener can tell the difference between the 128kbps and 256kbps versions of some well-known songs. Click the link to watch the video analyzing the startling differences.

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Clumsy

Hate me because I could keep smiling after wiping out during the evening gown phase of the Miss Universe pageant.

(Aside: How on earth did she not just pop out of that dress? I've seen car crashes with less impact that her fall.)

(Via the Superficial, where even I can learn information that Elise doesn't yet know.)

Wildebeest

The usual story: baby water buffalo attacked by lions, baby water buffalo nearly succumbs, whole freaking herd of water buffaloes come back, WFHWB fights off the lions one by one, baby water buffalo saved.

Via Gulfstream.

The British Government

This brilliant video makes a song out of Bush's infamous "Sixteen Words" ("The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa," from his 2003 State of the Union).

Let's just say it's the most positive effect those words have ever had. (The little scene with multiple Ann Coulters and Condi Rices lined up on either side of Nixon repeating Bush's words is particularly good.)

Whoa. Dude.

Went and saw Spiderman III last night, about which all I have to say is: Meh. Pretty special effects, gawd-awful dialogue, random plot. I cannot recommend.

BUT: if you like (good) CGI, awesome robots, and old-fashioned ass-kicking, you should totally watch this short. Because damn, it is well done.

No Fair Chi-ting

From Pharyngula, a beyond-hilarious video of a martial arts "master" who claims to be able to use some sort of force (no, not "muscles") to defeat opponents. See what happens when he faces someone who doesn't buy into this supernatural foofaraw.

Braaaawk It Up, Folks

I say we send the fat white chickens to Iraq to stop the squabbling.

The greatest show that never was

A little mea culpa for the lack of postitude around here lately. I've tried about three times to post this bugger, so we'll see if this time works. I hope so, because it's the most awesome TV Pilot that never got picked up EVAR. Ben Stiller made it in '99, and it stars Jack Black as a genius astronaut, Owen Wilson as his talking motorcycle, and Ron Silver (as himself!) as their evil nemesis. What more do you need to know?

My Humps

Until tonight, I had never heard the Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps," and I still haven't. But I have heard Alanis Morissette's cover of it, and it rules.

(Via the Superficial.)

Help the Police

The five songs I've listened to the most in my lifetime (in more or less order):
1. The Pixies, "Little Eiffel" (first year of college)
2. Nirvana, "Smells like Teen Spirit" (first and second year of college)
3. Radiohead, "Airbag" (continuously since 1997)
4. Public Enemy, "Bring the Noise" (junior year of high school through college)
5. N.W.A., "Fuck the Police" (junior and senior years of high school)

Thank goodness that British comedian Adam Buxton has made it safe to listen to that last golden oldie around the kids:


(Via Daddy Types, where you can also see the complete revised lyrics.)