Today's Mighty Oak


Written: 2/6/2012

You don’t vote on civil rights.  One of the purposes of government is to make sure that minorities are treated fairly and properly, and not held hostage by the whims of the majority.

You don’t vote on civil rights.  Thinking so is asinine and moronic.

You don’t vote on civil rights.

New Jersey, which is posed to pass marriage equality through its legislature is faced with Gov. Chris Christie.  He has promised to veto the bill, because he wants the people to vote on it. He’s been called out on this idiotic statement by lots of people, including the NAACP and the ACLU.  Let’s take a look at a map to remind us of why we should not be voting on civil rights:

 

On the other side of the country, check it out as State Senator Murray argues this point against a Republican colleague.  And while we’re on the topic, how would you like it if we filed a referendum to vote on your marriage?  The Stranger is trying (tongue in cheek, I believe) to get the state to vote on the marriage of anti-gay Attorney General McKenna.

All my best,

The King of Spades



Happy Monday everyone!  Let’s see what we have today:

First up, this ad aired only in Canada during the Super Bowl, but I really like it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0qZYqdsYAg

Interesting ad from Copyranter:

What a strange caveat.

Lego is releasing LotR sets, and I’m super excited for them, as well as the inevitable video games.  Check it out here.

Amazing post from Literally Unbelievable:

I still need to see Thor and Captain America, but here is the preview for Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, and I’m already making plans to go see it:

Another ad from Copyranger, kind of awesome, would be cool to see this run in City Paper:

I love the toast to Jared in this:

And this ad has been making its rounds, I think it’s fairly well done (or at least a good idea, the art needs some work), although a objectifying to women, I hope there’s a male counterpart in the campaign:

And finally, every presentation you’ll sit through, ever:



OK Go’s next video (courtesy of Chris Baty):



Mini update for everyone:

First up, amazing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4nkJ-tB29U

But I got scared when he was just holding it with his chin at the end!

I’ve never been a fan of the Susan G. Komen foundation, mostly due to their sue-happy nature (any other charity that has the audacity to use the phrase “for a cure” or apparently the color pink faces a lawsuit).  However, they recently dropped all funding for Planned Parenthood, a partnership which provided cancer screenings for women, all because one Republican in congress thinks their money goes to abortion.  So let’s recap, again, what all Planned Parenthood provides (women, men and families):

And finally, some brevity:



Okay, big update, here’s what we have, hope you enjoy:

I’m thinking last year’s Star Wars ad (for VW I believe) will be better, but I’m excited for this, if nothing else, the promo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ntDYjS0Y3w

Courtesy of Copyranter, coupled with the fact that only 39% of American’s believe in Evolution:

Ogilvy is a giant of a ad agency, and Copyranter pulls out a great quote:

If all else fails, I drink half a bottle of rum and play a Handel oratorio on the gramophone. This generally produces an uncontrollable gush of copy.

How much do I love Sesame Street:

Clintus posted this awesome pic on his blog, check it out.

I also don’t usually link to food type things, but this looks delicious:

This also comes from Copyranter (I’ve been clearing out my RSS feeds) and he found it from Australia:

Ragan reports on an awesome interview given by the CEO of Morgan Stanley:

Morgan Stanley’s employees need an attitude adjustment.

At least that’s what CEO James Gorman thinks of his staff who are aren’t happy with recent 20 to 30 percent pay-cuts among senior executives. He also limited cash bonuses. In this Bloomberg Television interview, he outlined three reasons his employees shouldn’t be upset with a smaller salary.

1. They’re “naïve” and should read the newspaper.

2. Compensation shouldn’t define their overall level of happiness. If it does, “you have a problem which is much bigger than the job.”

3. Life’s too short. “If you’re really unhappy, just leave. I mean, Life’s too short.”

This man is amazing!  But is it sad that just using some common sense is now considered amazing?  Check out the article at Ragan to see the interview and read more.

 The most amazing peephole ever:

I have mixed feelings about this, but I think we should keep the leap second.  There’s something quaint about the atomic clocks lining up with the solar calendar.

This video is about the ad world, but much of it applies to clients trying to describe what they want:

Need to figure out what to eat and drink together?  Check out Foodpairing.

Joseph Gorden-Levitt lends his talents to autotune the news:

It’s macabre, but I like it, I just think it should have been a :30 spot.  So great idea, but sloppy execution.  But still, powerful:

That’s it for now, I’ll be back with more soon!

 



So, here’s what’s going on with SOPA/PIPA, from the PR Breakfast Club:

Representative Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who heads the House Judiciary Committee, expects his panel to resume consideration of the House bill in February. Even President Barack Obama has not exactly killed it.

Rep. Smith will most likely adjust the House bill so it can get an consensus. The same will be done in the Senate. And since President Obama has received campaign donations from Hollywood and the internet industries, according to the Washington Post,  he will try to find a way to satisfy both sides of the coin.

But what did we learn from the dark?  Joho fills us in:

First, This is our Internet. We built it. We built it for us, not for you. We get to turn off the lights, not you.

Second, we are better custodians of culture than are culture’s merchants because we understand that culture is what we have in common. We feel pain every time something is held back from this Commons.

Third, just as we can make someone famous rather than having to passively accept the celebrities you foist upon us, we can make an idea politically potent. Going dark was the self-assertion with which political engagement begins.

Fourth, there’s a growing “we” on the Internet. It is not as inclusive as we think, it’s far more diverse than we imagine, and it’s far less egalitarian than we should demand. But so was the “we” in “We the People.” The individual acts of darkness are the start of the We we need to nurture.

Even my own little protest had a little impact, which I was thankful for.  I love the fourth point above, about the ‘We’ of the Internet.  Maybe it’s a step closer to online equality and an information utopia.

Slog weighs in on the economics of SOPA/PIPA here.

And I’ll close out with a quote shared by Clintus by MG Seigler:

The best way to combat piracy is to remove barriers, not put up new ones



Quick update for everyone, lots of videos this time around too:

First up, 10 misconceptions:

Awesome new shirt from Pittsburgh tees.  Check it out.

This is pretty awesome, there are giant roots installed at historic sites in Mexico as a giant art project.  Pretty cool.

Awesome cover of Adele’s Set Fire to the Rain, and I think I may like this better than the original:

An insulting law (the same type was ruled unconstitutional by the courts in Florida) was taken back, after another lawmaker decided to make it more fair.  The law would require anyone applying for public assistance submit to a drug test, and the other lawmaker added a provision making lawmakers submit to the same test.  Florida struck it down, since it violates the idea of  unlawful search and seizure, but before that happened, through the testing, it was learned that only 2% of those applying for aid in Florida were drug users, compared to 10% of the general Florida population.

Star Wars Uncut was finally released!  People from around the world were asked to submit 15 second clips, and the whole movie was pieced together:

And finally, check out this awesome experiment used with Google image search.

I’ll be back soon with more, have a great one!



Good gravy, here we go again, another big update to Joomla, the software that runs the site.  Let’s see if I can break it this time!

Update: Everything seems to be running okay.  Still have some things to work out behind the scenes, but you shouldn’t see any changes!



Sad news for us, but she has made so much progress, it’s good that she will take the time to continue her recovery:

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