Burgers or Biofuel?

Burgers or Biofuel?

Santogold in Concert: not the same as MIA

I was invited to a Santogold concert recently and although I had not heard of "Santa Gold" before, I decided to check her out. The concert was a blast and left me wanting more. When I got home I searched for the artist on youtube. Unfortunately, I could not find any "Santa Gold" music videos. I consulted Google and found a posting on answers.yahoo.com that explained that there is no such thing as Santa (*tear*), but "Santogold" does exist.

The friend who invited me to the concert explained that Santogold has a sound similar to M.I.A.'s. Santogold explains how this is flattering and true to a certain extent, but how she and her peer fundamentally differ:




LES Artistes by Santogold:


Paper Planes by M.I.A. for comparison:


Hear the difference?

Random tidbit: according to a youtube comment, Santogold's LES Artistes video was inspired by Alejandro Jordowski's "El Topo" (The Mole), a mystical western movie. From what I have read about El Topo, I would describe it as funny, violent, satirical, sacreligious and likely worth watching with others - discussion will ensue. I wanted to watch the whole movie on youtube, but could not find it. I watched a 40 mintue program about Jordowski on youtube and clips from "El Topo" instead. I was not satisfied *sigh*, I still want to watch the movie. The interview managed to keep my attention, but it was not what I was looking for - nevertheless, I learned Jordowski is pretty crazy! (in a semi-good way).

urtak: collaborative public opinion

urtak is a website devoted to gauging public opinion through the internet. Site users are asked to give their opinion to various issues by answering yes or no questions that are randomly given to them through the site's interface.

This polling site is somewhat unique because it forces users to answer questions in a random order and also because the users create the questions that are answered on the site.

Check out the site and tell me what you think about it. I find the information about the site's users particularly interesting. Who is urtak shows that 45% of respondents believe in God, another 45% have shot a gun, and 22% are racist as of post date.

Interesting... add your opinion to the mix.

I press the buzzer: What I learned from Dar Williams

Listening to NPR's Weekend Edition, I caught an interview of singer/songwriter Dar Williams. She is a genius. I make this conclusion based on the songs introduced during the interview and her sources of inspiration which include museums and academic research.

I found the song "Buzzer" to be particularly powerful. The song is about a participant in Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments. The buzzer in the song refers to an electric shock participants in the Milgram experiments were asked to give students who answered questions administered to them incorrectly. Participants continued to shock students even after they pleaded with them to stop.

Williams forces the listener to consider how people acquiesce in systems of power. The buzzer is a metaphor for complicity. If I don't agree with unfair working conditions, cruelty to animals, energy waste, etc. what does it mean if I continue to buy clothes manufactured in eastern lands under unknown conditions, consume dairy products produced by animals in filthy, cramped and otherwise unsavory environments, and drive my personal vehicle when I could use public transportation?

I think I have pressed the buzzer too. We all do.

The link to Dar's interview includes a written synopsis, three songs you can listen to including "Buzzer", and of course her full interview. The lyrics to buzzer can be found here.

$7000/year

The average world income in 2005. The median income was $1,700 i.e. half of the people in the world make less than $1,700/year. How does your income compare?

I just noticed the image has stacks of $1 bills. I suppose that would make $1,700 look bigger than if it was in a larger denomination.

Check out globalist.com to learn more (I haven't been to this site, but it's the reference of the article linked above).

I will give you $1000 if you quit right now

That is the offer the internet shoe giant Zappos gives its customer service representatives after their first week of training according to Bill Taylor's blog on the Harvard Business Publishing website. Zappos believes that anyone who would accept this offer really isn't committed to the Zappos mission. 10% take the deal.

Is it ethical to take the job with the goal of earning the severance pay and leaving? A 'vacation' week worth $1000? Of course it is unethical, but you are welcome to disagree...

Washington Post: Study Links Gene Variant in Men to Marital Discord

article

Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist at Rutgers University who studies romantic love [posits] "Knowing there are biological weak links can help you overcome them."

A man who knows he has this allele, she added, might be able to use the knowledge to ignore tugs of restlessness he might feel in his marriage: "You can say, 'Oh, it is just my DNA, and I am going to ignore it.' "

I ignore my DNA all the time. DNA, I'm not talking to you!