Uncategorized – Page 6 – Van Clayton Powel

"To My Fellow Zillionaires: The Pitchforks Are Coming"

Billionaire entrepreneur Nick Hanauer has a message for his fellow plutocrats. A few tidbits:

“I have been rewarded obscenely for my success, with a life that the other 99.99 percent of Americans can’t even imagine.
… I’m not the smartest guy you’ve ever met, or the hardest-working. I was a mediocre student. I’m not technical at all—I can’t write a word of code. What sets me apart … is a tolerance for risk and an intuition about what will happen in the future. … And what do I see in our future now? I see pitchforks.
… the problem isn’t that we have inequality. … The problem is that inequality is at historically high levels and getting worse every day. Our country is rapidly becoming less a capitalist society and more a feudal society.
And so I have a message for my fellow filthy rich, for all of us who live in our gated bubble worlds: Wake up, people. It won’t last.”

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014.html#super

TASTE WITH OUR EYES FIRST

“Artistic food deemed tastier, scientists and chef show“ "You Are NOT What You Eat" - food on table

First time this really struck home for me was during our 3 years living in Japan. Man, do they know about presentation! And they didn’t need some Western scientists to do a study to figure it out ;-))

“Psychologists and food scientists tested an idea favoured by some top chefs [and found that] …diners prefer a visually attractive dish, say it tastes better and they’ll pay more for it, an experiment cooked up by a chef suggests.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/artistic-food-deemed-tastier-scientists-and-chef-show-1.2682423

COUNTRY MUSIC SONG TITLES by Nelson DeMille

From Nelson DeMille’s book Up Country, which has absolutely nothing to do with country music:
country music song titles

“Get Your Tongue Outta My Mouth ‘Cause I’m Kissing You Goodbye”

“How Can I Miss You If You Won’t Go Away”

“She’s Out Doin’ What I’m Here Doin’ Without”

“I’m So Miserable Without You It’s Like Havin’ You Here”

KILLER WHALES ATTACKING SEA LIONS IN PRINCE RUPERT

Saw this a few months ago. Still worth posting.

Song video #2: BILLY (He's Red-Lining)

A friend was living a pretty intense life. This was for him. (Lyrics below the video.)

BILLY (HE’S RED-LINING)

Burning down the highway on a good-looking Harley
Running from a lover’s goodbye
Leaning on the corners like he leaned on his lady
Leaning ‘til the sparks are flying
Tattoo on his arm is of the Reaper waiting
Waiting for somebody to cry
Oh no, Billy don’t care if he dies

He’s red-lining (Oh yeah, but he’s running free)
Red-lining (Never be what you want him to be)
He’s red-lining (Right out of control)

Pulling on the throttle ‘til he can’t hear the voices
Screaming at him, burning inside
Everybody wondering what happened to Billy
He used to be his Momma’s pride
But all he got at school was a major in dealing
Good lays and a kilo of lies
Oh yeah, Billy’s a king of disguise

He’s red-lining (Oh yeah, but he’s running free)
Red-lining (Never be what you want him to be)
He’s red-lining (Right out of control)

Billy hit the corner with the wind in his helmet
Screaming out a final farewell
Demon underneath him at a hundred and twenty
Carried Billy right into hell
Nobody’d believed he’d ever make it to thirty
Many thought he’d die any day
And oh yeah, Billy he’d liked it that way

He’s red-lining (Oh yeah, but he’s running free)
Red-lining (Never be what you want him to be)
He’s red-lining (Right out of control)

TALKING ANIMALS – KINDA

Dude called DJ Shamrock pieced together these excerpts from the BBC show ‘Funny Talking Animals – Walk On The Wild Side.’
Normally, I can’t stand talking animals bits (or dream sequences in movies), but this definitely got me chuckling.
“Alan! Alan! Alan!” (*Thanks to Judy for the heads up on this piece that has apparently been around for quite a while. Ahead of the loop as always, Van.)

UKRAINE – 2 SIDES in CARTOON FORM

Always interesting to look at an issue from as many sides as possible. Especially in this ‘modern’ world of propaganda-style mass media. So, 2 different cartoons on the situation in Ukraine from 2 very different perspectives:

WESTERN UKRAINE
Ukraine-Visit-Russia

CRIMEA REGION
Ukraine-Pro-Russia-Cartoon

*Can’t find the name of the artists who drew these. Let me know if you find them and I’ll add the credits.

AMAZING DANCE ROUTINE by Kenichi Ebina

Japanese dancer Kenichi Ebina does an amazing ‘dance-ish’ routine on the TV show America’s Got Talent. Maybe this was 2013? Never seen the show but this routine is remarkable. Great to watch on a day you’re thinking “Human beings are so fucking stupid and useless and they’re destroying the environment and …”

EDWARD SNOWDEN LIVE INTERVIEW at SXSW

A live-feed interview with Edward Snowden and the American Civil Liberties Union at SXSW (the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference) in Austin Texas, March 2014.

Using technology for the enlightenment of the world. As opposed to the way the NSA uses it.

(Audio is not great quality because of how many proxies they had to use to stream the video.)

And a bit of practical advice to go with it: Encryption Works: How to Protect Your Privacy in the Age of NSA Surveillance

LOW VITAMIN D – a SYMPTOM of POOR HEALTH, NOT a CAUSE

“Low vitamin D levels are a symptom of poor health – not the cause, according to a systematic review of previously published scientific studies. The new finding casts further doubt on the role of vitamin D supplements in disease prevention, even as millions of Canadians pop pills of the sunshine drug each day.”

Supplementation is rarely as simple as many would have you believe.

By Adriana Barton in The Globe and Mail, Dec. 08 2013: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/report-questions-effectiveness-of-vitamin-d-supplements/article15804477/