Crikey’s Rundle had to say (annoyingly behind the Crikey paywall but well worth the read) about the low down on how crap this election here in Australia is. With nine days to go, I’m despondent about the state of kanga democracy. Australians deserve better. The state of this election is shameful.
Have I got that right? I mean have I got that right? Cos I don’t know how the election looks from over there, but from over here… it looks like sh-t. Beyond sh-t. Meta-sh-t.
I’ve often bemoaned the fact that more innovative architecture seems to have fled my Canadian homeland to be replaced with boring commercial buildings maximizing rental receipts. Especially for public architecture, I wish we’d get as brave as this:
The Bjarke Injels Group (BIG) won the competition for the design of Kazakhstan’s National Library , a flowing twist of metal and glass shaped like a Möbius strip! Stellar. It’s a continuous circulation möbius Strip, as the result of 2 interlocking structures: the perfect circle and the public spiral.
Love this post on swimming against the academic stream . God knows I can relate (though am nowhere near as clever as this guy)…
Unfortunately that’s an incredibly inefficient way to gain knowledge. I basically wander around stepping on every rake in the grass, while the A Students memorize someone else’s route and carefully pick their way across the lawn without incident. My only saving graces are that every now and again I discover a better path, and faced with a completely new lawn I have an instinct for where the rakes are.
OK, not sure who thought of this idea, but I absolutely love it. Personally, I use and abuse the excellent TaskPaper for my own GTD flogging (can haz iPad verzion pleaz?), but Epic Win is sheer brilliance : Your task lists as a role playing game. Brilliant.
Done right, this could unbelievably popular. WTB now. Apparently, the twitter feed for the app says it is awaiting approval in the Apple app store at the moment. Do wonder how it’ll work and sync with my desktop needs though…
Kinda freaking awesome, a choose-your-own-adventure YouTube zombie serial. Makes me wanna script, shoot, and chop my own kung fu, zombie, sorcerer, samurai, ninja masterpiece myself (with dinosaurs, of course).
And if you make it to the end alive and live and if you live in kiwiland (like you could miss those accents… ;-) ), you can enter to win a year’s supply of Hell’s Pizza once you know the magic email. Seriously though, did this not look like it was all sorts of fun to make?
I didn’t bother watching it, largely because I didn’t need to as I figured the outcome was a foregone conclusion, but have to say this is an amazingly disappointing election. It’s about popularity, not policies and any idea that either of these parties is being progressive is laughable. Now Labor has slid in the polls after a disastrous climate policy announcement, perhaps we’ll see some changes, but I don’t think anyone summed up the debate better than this morning’s Crikey:
OK, I have to admit I love hearing stories about people who realize their own power in the face of oppression (seriously, I didn’t just take that job at AI for my ego). And let’s face it, domestic abuse is a real problem in so many countries, so kinda absolutely lurv the idea of intimidating gangs of stick wielding pink-saried women - gulabis - giving wife abusers the what for.
Unsurprisingly, the leader of the movement has a long list of charges pending against her, much as you’d expect of any self-respecting, modern day Robin Hood. I also love the fact she goes village to village on a bicycle.
Fantastic visualization of how the US subsidizes fossil fuel production versus renewables. Really would love to see this for Canada and especially Australia (where the question of renewables is much on my organization’s and the electorate’s mind heading into a federal election.).
One point that should be made: Not all fossil fuel subsidies are evil. For instance, low income home heating assistance is actually something good even if it falls under those auspices. But it’s clear from the graph that for a more independent and sustainable future, America has a ways to go. ANd most of the renewables subsidies are from ethanol-based subsidies (which is really just propping up the farming sector).
Have to admit, really impressed with this ad from the WWF. Sadly, I might have ignored it if it was a less compelling visual animation. Think they should extend the style to a bunch of their other ads actually. Works well.
Props to the Electronic Frontier Foundation who has been fighting the good fight the last twenty years protecting peoples’ rights online and making the digital domain a better, safer more rights-respecting place for all of us. Definitely an organization that deserves your support, attention and donations to continue the critical and very seminal work they’ve been doing.
via BoingBoing .