It would’ve been more logical to use the Zachary Quinto Spock, but it’s still amusing.
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Photo courtesy of NYC Pride.
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Getting News from NMA
These days, whenever I hear about some kind of breaking news, my first question is “Has it been turned into a wacky Taiwanese animation yet?” The irreverent animators at NMA TV cover everything from the Greek debt crisis…
…to entertainment “news”…
(I like how they worked Bieber’s “Baby, baby, baby” into the piece)
…to human interest stories…
(Gotta love the “Asian student” vs. “White student” comparison, in that piece. I’ve posted a frame from that segment below.)
…to editorials, where they go beyond animation and insert some live action with a flesh-and-blood commentator playing the role of a younger, more coherent and cuter Andy Rooney:
I wonder how long it takes to produce one of their segments. I’ve worked at shops where they did 3D animation, but that was over a decade ago when the tools and computers were considerably more primitive. I also wonderif (and how) they make money.
Until Thursday, November 3rd at around 4 p.m. Eastern, Scott Berkun’s book, Mindfire: Big Ideas for Curious Minds, will be available in various ebook formats (PDF, ePub, mobi) for free-as-in-beer. All he asks for in exchange is that you join his mailing list, which sends out a single email each month containing his best posts. I think that’s a fair deal.
Mindfire is a collection of Berkun’s essays and articles, all of which you can find online on his site or other places. If you’ve never read his work before – I would also recommend Confessions of a Public Speaker, especially if you have to do presentations or speak in front of an audience – it’s a great introduction to his writing; if you’re familair with his stuff, it’s many of his gems gathered into one place.
Here’s the Mindfire’s table of contents, which should give you an idea of what’s in it:
Warning
PrefacePart 1: Gasoline
1. The cult of busy
2. Wants vs. Beliefs
3. How to be a free thinker
4. How to detect bullshit
5. Should you be Popular or Good?
6. There are two kinds of people: complexifiers and simplifiers
7. Are you indifferent?
8. Does transparency matter?
9. How I found my passion
10. How to be passionatePart 2: Sparks
11. On God and Integrity
12. Hating vs. Loving
13. The surprise inspiration of death bonus: Your quota of worry and how to shrink it
14. How to make a difference
15. Why you must lead or follow
16. Why the world is a mess: a theory
17. The size of ideas
18. Book Smarts vs. Street Smarts
19. Why does faith matter?
20. Can you be great, with grace?Part 3: Fire
21. How to give and receive criticism
22. How to learn from your mistakes
23. How to keep your mouth shut
24. Creative thinking hacks
25. Dr. Seuss and wicked constraints
26. Why smart people defend bad ideas
27. Why you are not an artist
28. How to convince anyone of anything
29. Attention and Sex
30. A strawman for everythingEpilogue
How to Help This Book in 60 Seconds
Notes and References on the Essays
Acknowledgements
Index
Colophon
If Mindfire sounds interesting to you, this is your chance to get it for free – just download it before the deadline passes!
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Scary Movie of the Day: Shark Pool!
Rather amusing. Part of me wishes that someone would actually make this movie.
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Your Chicago Suggestions, Please!
Creative Commons photo by Trey Ratcliff. Cllck the photo to see it on its Flickr page.
I’ll be in Chicago from Saturday, November 12th through Sunday, November 20th. It’s part birthday present to myself, part taking advantage of a deal on travel and hotel, part “Hey, I’m mobile and can work from anywhere, right?”, part chance to visit some clients and developers based in the Windy City, and there may or may not be a girl involved.
If you have any suggestions as to what I should see, recommendations for places to eat that truly say “Chicago” or want to catch up during the weekdays, let me know (and that goes double for you, Robertson J. Strickler). Feel free to post your suggestions and recommendations in the comments.
The Onion News Network’s fake morning talk show, Today Now!, has a high-larious segment that helps parents of “overly feminine little boys” take the “difficult problem” of choosing the right Hallowe’en costume. It features Anna Stephenson, author of Actually, He’s a Boy: A How-to Manual for Parenting an Effeminate Child, who shows concerned parents that “with a little creativity, we can disguise your girly son as a normal kid.” It’s an inspired and seasonally appropriate example of cringe comedy.
A couple of people I know, while enjoying the clip, did remark that there is a sad part to the piece: the people it’s targeting will probably take it seriously. There’s always that risk with satire, especially in this day and age.
Happy Hallowe’en!