I absolutely adore Neil deGrasse Tyson… these videos pretty much sum up why.
-Astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson was asked by a reader of TIME magazine, “What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the Universe?” This is his answer.
“We are all connected; To each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe atomically.”
“After all, what nobler thought can one cherish than that the universe lives within us all?”
-Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson delivers an impassioned plea to the U.S. Congress to hoist America from its economic lethargy by boldly reinvesting in a robust space program. Spread the word: #Penny4NASA
“The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it.”
“When scientifically investigating the natural world, the only thing worse than a blind believer is a seeing denier.”
___Ken Kesey heralded by many as a counter-culture hero of the 1960′s remains a classic American author for his contribution of One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest, released in 1962 and later had its film adaptation debut starring Jack Nicholson in 1975.
“It isn’t by getting out of the world that we become enlightened, but by getting into the world…by getting so tuned in that we can ride the waves of our existence and never get tossed because we become the waves.”
― Kesey’s Garage Sale
Here are some additionally awesome quotes by Kesey…
“You can’t really be strong until you can see a funny side things.”
― One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
“Plant a garden in which strange plants grow and mysteries bloom.”
“I’ve never seen anybody really find the answer, but they think they have. So they stop thinking. But the job is to seek mystery, evoke mystery, plant a garden in which strange plants grow and mysteries bloom. The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer.”
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___In the upcoming 2012 Ohio Senate Race incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown and his re-election campaign has begun running a very clever ad titled, “Both from Ohio.” In the above 30 second YouTube video, Senator Brown stands next to the new Chevy Cruze and advocates that he has “fought to rescue the American auto industry when some were ready to let those jobs vanish.” In the video he appears with a shiny new red Chevrolet Cruze and claims (the datum) he helped protect 848,000 Ohio jobs.
In the ad, Senator Brown lists off the different cities in Ohio where the various pieces are manufactured. Here’s the ad’s transcript:
Sherrod Brown – “I’m Sherrod Brown, and this is a Chevy Cruze, we’re both from Ohio.
The engine block is made in Defiance. The aluminum wheels, Cleveland.
The transmission from Toledo. And its all assembled in Lordstown.
I’m proud to have led the fight to pass the Auto Rescue Package. Helping to protect more than 800,000 Ohio jobs. I approved this message because no matter what you drive, that’s something we can all be proud of.”
Narrator: “Sherrod Brown. He is fighting for Ohio”
___The warrant of the political advertisement is pretty simple. Senator Brown is fighting to keep jobs in Ohio and the Cruze is a direct example of his efforts. According to Factcheck.org’s May piece on the substance of the campaign ads leveled between Senator Brown and his challenger, Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel there has been quite a large array of untrue allegations. While Political Fact Ohio, has also issued numerous checks on the different campaign advertisements further research shows this is indeed a factual piece.
___The ad does not even mention Mandel and specifically heralds the achievements of Ohio’s auto industry. One interesting side-note, involves the integrity of the Chevys manufactured in the last couple of years in Ohio. Back in June of 2012, General Motors recalled 475,418 of its Chevrolet Cruze sedans that were built at GM’s Lordstown, Ohio plant from September 2012 through May 2012. The sedans were recalled to “modify the under-engine shield so flammable liquids are not trapped in the engine compartment.” Taking this into consideration, it does not change that General Motors is building cars in Ohio.
___Ultimately, the rhetoric of the ad is positive and points more at the candidate’s voting record on the Auto Industry Bailout. The campaign ad specifically uses logos with images of the candidate interacting with the car and its various parts. In giant words across the screen we see (the claim) the number of auto industry jobs “saved,” accompanied by upbeat music throughout the ad. At the end, the viewer is left with Senator Brown driving off with a close-up of the Sherrod Brown for Senate bumper sticker. The presentation and infusion of the Chevy Cruze plays into powerful rhetoric seen often this campaign season that the Democratic party is “moving forward” as seen quite literally in this car political advertisement.
What do you think about the Brown campaign advertisement? Any thoughts?
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– -I know I am walking on thin ice here but I want to discuss Adbusters’ recent video campaign against Starbucks. For those that are unfamiliar with Adbusters, they are a Canadian-based, not-for-profit global network of people who want to lead “the” new social activist movement of our time. They are also most notably known for proposing and aiding the explosion of the Occupy Wall Street Movement.
___
___In the above 40-second video, Adbusters take on the colossal Starbucks Coffee Company and urge viewers to think for a second and “Vow never to walk into a Starbucks ever again.” To me the actual video is misguided, irritating, and generally lacking in any real content. Adbusters starts off by jarring the viewer with an explosive snippet from Christian Bale’s infamous Terminator on-set freak out where he went ballistic on the film’s Director of Photography. The guy was moving in the background of the set while he was trying to act (he has since apologized and gone on to make Batman unforgettably awesome in the Dark Knight Rises.)
___Anyways, back to the anti-Starbucks coffee video… they use American indie, dance-punk-rock band Sleigh Bells for the background music, show images of defaced Starbucks logo signs, and footage of a Good Morning America segment discussing the ridiculous size of the Trenta (the colossal drink that actually has more liquid in it then supposedly your stomach can hold in one sitting.) I would argue all the evidence used indicates they are clearly pandering to their base, which one could surmise is a more anti-consumerist, anti-corporate takeover everything, younger demographic.
___The main reason I dislike this video and strategy in general is that the argument seems… misdirected or just COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE. This is most apparent to me in their use of a snap-shot of a brick wall where someone has spray painted, “You ruin our neighborhood, we ruin your wall.” To me this “tag,” is misguided and doesn’t really accomplish anything in the grand scheme of things. When you consider how many times someone actually tweets “#nostarbucks,” I guarantee its used far more in a way to express someone’s disdain when they don’t have Starbucks in their current possession. The video was uploaded to YouTube in January 2011, and obviously has not changed the current American perception of coffee in our local cities.
___Personally, I love local, family owned and operated establishments. They tend to offer a unique feel and typically support local musicians and artists. The Adbusters video doesn’t cut it for me because I think there are way more efficient ways to get a message of “support local coffee shops” then the current video contending the Trenta is fattening and that you are essentially a sheep if you buy drinks from Starbucks.
What’s your take on the video? Do you think a more successful message could have been advocated?
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aaaI’ll admit I enjoy some pretty stupid commercials, especially the ones that air during the primetime Super Bowl slots. In the age of Netflix and Hulu, where commercials are becoming rarer or now even “skip-able,” I find my most recent viewing of the now infamous “1984 Apple Macintosh Commercial” more satisfying than ever. Weirdly enough, I just recently managed to read George Orwell’s dystopian literary masterpiece “1984″ and like most, it really struck a chord in me. I was traveling to Switzerland on a train so the format was perfect, but I kept thinking how badly I would have loved a new cinematic take on it. To my surprise, life had me stumble upon this epic 1-minute piece of entertainment. Now I understand it’s just a commercial, but myself and scores of other talking-heads agree it is one spectacular piece of advertising.
aaaBe it the 2004 20th anniversary edition (where Apple added the iconic white iPod headphones to the heroine) or the grainy 1984 version… I love it. Now taken at face value, its main objective was just a marketing ploy to take on Apple’s main competitor at the time, IBM; but either way it was executed with the kind of great style and grace only real innovators achieve once in a blue moon. The commercial’s presentation is epic in only a way Sci-Fi legend Ridley Scott could have delivered, and the reasoning seemed to resonate with the Super Bowl audience… or at least intrigued them enough to search out more info on the Apple Macintosh personal computer. As the 1 minute commercial spot comes to an end, Apple boldly proclaims…
“On January 24th,
Apple Computer will introduce
Macintosh.
And you’ll see why 1984
won’t be like ‘1984.’”
Culminating with a stark black background with a centered now iconic rainbow Apple logo, the commercial provides visual entertainment and poses interesting questions for us all right now. Did Apple save us from a dystopian information-controlled era? Are we still navigating the waters of those perilous times? Considering pieces of legislation Congress has drafted threatening the very concept of Net Neutrality, it doesn’t seem too paranoid to ask. It’s not really a matter of who owns what type of computer but how and what you can do with them. We already know there is private, professional software that allows unknown entities to track, monitor, and even turn on webcams without the owner knowing. With this in mind, where are we headed? Which company will be there to “save us” when its time?
__Ultimately, who will be the one to throw the hammer through the next screen? It’s hard to say… what do you think? I am not of the belief corporations are necessarily always “bad” and I do see hope with certain billionaire businessmen like Elon Musk and what he is doing with Space X. Regardless, Apple presented a pretty awesome piece of advertising and has proven over and over its profound ability to cement itself in our culture.
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