Muppets on the web

It's so cool to see the Muppets with web-specific content!

Moonwalking

Watch this!

Hillary's Goodbye (& Gender Equality)

I watched Hillary's speech on Saturday at the National Building Museum via CNN at my conference in Minneapolis. I normally get drawn into these speeches but from a purely political perspective; I want to hear what was not said more than what actually was said.

That being said, Hillary had my emotional attention from the moment she took the stage. It was the first time she truly spoke to me about the significance of her campaign with respect to gender equality in the United States. And her acknowledgment of the gay supporters of her campaign (see Associated Press video highlights of the speech below) -- not once, but twice -- managed to incite a surge of pride even in me, an Obama supporter.

We have a long way to go to attain gender equality, where men are equal to women and vice versa, in the United States (thinking of it merely as making women equal to men is insufficient, really -- think about paternity leave for fathers whose spouses are working, for example). But, as Hillary suggests, there are now 18 million little cracks in that glass ceiling.

• The full text of Hillary's June 7, 2008 speech at the National Building Museum.


• The full video of Hillary's June 7, 2008 speech at the National Building Museum

Highlights of Hillary's speech

Laughing Babies

These commercials play on CNBC a lot during my morning breakfast. They never fail to get me smiling, no matter how groggy I am, so I thought I'd share them. They're also interesting because they appear to be videos picked up from YouTube uploads from "everyday people." Has anyone else seen mainstream media advertisements that do this?

Also, in case you're wondering who does the voiceover, it's Stockard Channing (took me forever to place the voice...). Now, if only AIG would do better than a 30 on the Corporate Equality Index.

AIG Laughing Baby Ethan Commercial

AIG Laughing Baby Jack Commercial

Disturbing Video about Train Riding in Japan?

"Disturbing" is the only word I've got for this one... (watch video)

glumbert - Rush Hour Squeeze

• "Transit Overcrowding Could Always Be Worse" (Governing.com: 13th Floor, 21 April 2008)

Ser Ken Robinson on Presentations (and, Do Schools Kill Creativity?)

Presentation Zen is a blog that I enjoy checking out every once in a while -- it focuses on how to successfully convey a message verbally and visually, and helps me think about my own presentations from a different perspective.

Two weeks ago, I presented in front of an audience of all my organization's board members and volunteer leaders across the U.S. as part of a panel of presenters; all of us were asked to use PowerPoint. I was thrilled to put all of my latest thoughts and musings to use, and moreso because I wouldn't have to go after a certain panelist -- a faith leader and coworker who is the most gifted oral presenter I've ever worked with. When it comes to moving an audience along from point A to point B (or, worse, points C or D), working without visual cues is quite a feat, and he can do it and make you feel like you own it, too.

A February post from Presentation Zen goes into some pointers about public speaking by Sir Ken Robinson (Sir Ken Robinson on public speaking).

I'm including a video of Sir Robinson's presentation at TEDTalks. Watch it -- and try to figure out how he intrigues you and connects with you.

My presentation went extremely well, I would say. But I'm glad I had PowerPoint.

Sir Ken Robinsin: Do Schools Kill Creativity?

P.s.: If you're up for some levity, check out this YouTube video: "Life after death and PowerPoint."

Aaja Nachle!

Worldwide release is today -- I'm so excited to finally see this (with subtitles)!

• "Madhuri charms audience in 'Aaja Nachle'" (30 Nov 2007, Reuters India)
• Aaja Nachle - Yash Raj Films

Larry Lessig and the Creative Commons

People who know me know that I'm slightly obsessed with presentation skills -- there's nothing worse than putting forth a body of work or ideas that nobody can understand or connect to (though I have to wonder whom I'm connecting with, here)...

My friend Brennan got me hooked on TEDTalks, which basically challenge the most brilliant and successful people in the world to sell an idea in 18 minutes. If you haven't checked them out before, do it! There's so much up there from so many fascinating people, you're bound to find something that piques your interest.

I stumbled across a particular presentation by Larry Lessig through one of my recent-favorite blogs, Presentation Zen. Mr. Lessig is the creator of Creative Commons, a licensing system designed to allow content creators more flexibility in how their work should be used. Flickr makes it easy for its users to choose which license works for them; I've set my default license so that anyone can use my "work" with attribution as long as they also use the same license -- hopefully forcing them to use a more liberal license than they might have otherwise chosen.

Anyway, in this TEDTalk, Mr. Lessig argues (convincingly, I would say) why our current copyright system lacks common sense in modern times. But, sadly, I have no idea what software he used for his presentation (Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" used Apple's KeyNote software).

Larry Lessig: How creativity is being strangled by the law

• "Larry Lessig Presents at TED: Nails It" (8 Nov 2007, PresentationZen.com)
• TEDTalks Video: "Larry Lessig: How creativity is being strangled by the law" (Mar 2007, Ted.com)

And, for fun, some Seth Godin posts:

• "Sorry to talk so long..."
• "What you can learn from the primaries"
• "How to make a PowerPoint chart"

FreeRice.com -- Learn to Fight Hunger

FreeRice.com tests your vocabulary, and for each word you get right, 10 grains of rice are donated to the U.N. The effort began in early October and appears to be growing tremendously.

It's a sister site of Poverty.com, which is funded by the creator of TheHungerSite.com but seems intended to raise the dialogue of each country's financial commitment to ending poverty worldwide, dating back to a March 2002 agreement.

From FreeRice's FAQ:

"The rice is paid for by the advertisers whose names you see on the bottom of your vocabulary screen. This is regular advertising for these companies, but it is also something more. Through their advertising at FreeRice, these companies support both learning (free vocabulary for everyone) and reducing hunger (free rice for the hungry). We commend these companies for their participation at FreeRice."

I haven't seen anything about this in the corporate social responsibility world yet (I have been a little lax on keeping up as of late), but it's awesome to see that several companies have stepped forward as sponsors.

If you're like me and you're looking for a measurable way to make a difference, this is easy. Being a word-lover, I find it's addictive. And I'm studying for grad school admissions tests, so why not?

If you use it, make sure to disable Adblock Plus on the site -- clearly, the ads are essential!

Lastly, if you haven't already, sign the One Campaign declaration:

• "Learn to End Hunger" (9 Nov 2007, Nonprofit Technology Network)
• "What's the Word? We Can Help Feed the Hungry" (4 Nov 2007, Washington Post)


• YouTube Video: ONEbyONE

Take Action against Hate Crimes

If you haven't seen this video from HRC on YouTube already, you really should (if you're reading this on Facebook, you'll have to view the original post to see it).

Then, go to www.hrc.org/fighthate to let your Senators know you support this legislation. The bill passed in the U.S. House in May.

Also, I think I'm in this video (see if you can find me -- or my doppelganger -- towards the end, tell me if you think it's me or not!)

New York Times vs. Googlezon

The New York Times ended its subscription Times Select service on Tuesday [Times to Stop Charging for Parts of Its Web Site (18 Sep 2007, nytimes.com)] opening up [most of] its vault of its archives to the masses in the de rigueur, advertiser-supported fashion of the web.

"Our projections for growth on that paid subscriber base were low, compared to the growth of online advertising." - Vivian L. Schiller, senior vice president and general manager of NYTimes.com

Googlezon 1, NYTimes Goose-egg (if you haven't seen it, make sure you check out the Googlezon video)...

Now, as a general rule, I love free content. But I'm a little curious as to who actually clicks on ads. I rarely even notice text ads tacked onto search results, or on websites I frequent that use Google AdSense. I abhor most banner ads, particularly the epilepsy-inducing variety, and, even worse, the non-pop-up pop-up ads. Give me a good entertaining commercial or spiffy product placement....


Diet Coke - "Loft"

But, clearly other people click on the ads, or we wouldn't see Google gracing the cover of the Economist...


I'm a little curious as to what parts of NYTimes aren't going to be free access -- why not make the whole site free?

"In addition to opening the entire site to all readers, The Times will also make available its archives from 1987 to the present without charge, as well as those from 1851 to 1922, which are in the public domain. There will be charges for some material from the period 1923 to 1986, and some will be free."

Oh, well. NYTimes for the masses!

The Truth About Hate Crimes Laws

Tomorrow, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a key hate crimes bill. The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act would extend the ability of law enforcement officials to investigate and prosecute crimes motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Crimes such as the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard in October 1998.

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Federal statistics show that one out of every six hate crimes are based on the victim's sexual orientation. This is the best chance we have at passing this crucial legislation.
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In order for this bill to pass, your member of Congress needs to hear from you! Find your representative and call the Capitol switchboard at 202/224-3121. Ask to be connected to your member of Congress and urge him or her to vote for the hate crimes bill.

Song for the Week: Amy Winehouse - Rehab

Credit for this one goes entirely to Addie, of course :)

Traditional.

Brought to you by Canada. Blame Canada!

Google TechTalks

I hit some paydirt, today, thanks to Treehugger.com.

Back when I was lucky enough to visit the Googleplex, we passed through a room where they told us about these TechTalks. I imagine they told us this, but it didn't quite register that they post these on Google Video.

So, if you think you'd actually care to know a little more about Facebook as compared to other social networking sites, check out this video.

• Treehugger: Google TechTalks: Climate Change, Carbon Trading and Biofuels
• Other Google TechTalks
  

Kiwi!

Keith Olbermann makes a point

Calling all progressives...

I just arrived in Minneapolis, where I will be working solidly until the polls close on November 7 to elect Patty Wetterling and Amy Klobuchar to the U.S. House and Senate. I am fortunate enough to have a job that actually paid for me to work on this crucial election. And I've done this before -- it's not very complicated, it's just many hours of hard, pound-the-pavement work.

Here's the thing. We have 9 days until voting day. And, if you've been paying attention to the political news of the last few weeks, you know that overall Democrats have been significantly favored to Republicans at the national level, and that we saw a slight dip in favor of the Republicans last week -- particularly as President Bush signaled a *change* to the course in Iraq:
-- and, for the fun of it

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXYiaDSo6C0
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXYiaDSo6C0

And what about Missouri? Pundits are calling the Talent / McCaskill campaigns too close to call (check out Congressional Quarterly Weekly's breakdown of the tight races, MO is at the top).

Historically, Republicans have relied on their massively sophisticated get-out-the-vote machine to essentially render any tight/close public opinion polls useless -- it doesn't matter what the public thinks if only one side comes out to vote! Unfortunately, America Votes' progressive voter GOTV machine ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14894961 & http://www.americavotes.org/DefaultPage.aspx?catID=11397 ) is in trial phase and isn't set up in Missouri this year (not surprising - just 6 months ago most political pundits were writing Missouri off to Talent... we've come a long way!).

So what should we Missourians do? Now doesn't appear to be a time of need in terms of financial assistance (I'm personally a bit appalled at how much money has been spent on this Senate race -- http://www.tray.com/cgi-win/x_statedis.exe?DoFn=&rb=2006&State=MO ).

Progressive Missourians need to volunteer for at least one day of the 8 that we have left. If you can, take a day off work. Your volunteer time is absolutely essential.

Campaigning doesn't require you to be able to speak eloquently or comprehensively about a candidate, but it does require you to get out and do one simple task repeatedly for several hours (you'll either be calling Democratic voters (phone banking) or going door-to-door (canvassing) with a written script to remind people to vote or, if you're so inclined, you can drive elderly or lower-income people to the polls in your area or another area).

You may be thinking that none of this sounds very fun. It's actually more fun the more you do it (and stop worrying about how well you're doing), but this isn't about having fun. How many of you know people who don't vote? There is never really a good excuse not to vote, but particularly with the minimum wage and stem cell initiatives up on the ballot we have a lot at stake (if you want me to talk about those, give me a call).

http://www.claireonline.com/volunteer/ - click here to sign up to volunteer. You may, at some point, find yourself communicating with a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House -- these are the coordinated campaigns that House/Senate members often run for efficiency and maximizing coverage in a district.

If you've never done this before, now is the time to do it. Make sure you vote on November 7, and make sure you can say that you did your part in 2006.

Washington DC fights the Wisconsin Marriage Ban

Join us at Halo at 6 PM on October 17 for a student/young professional friendly fundraiser for Fair Wisconsin.

www.fairwisconsin.com/dc

For those of you that don't know, I worked for Action Wisconsin during the 2004 election cycle, the precursor to the Fair Wisconsin campaign against this amendment. We have been preparing for this vote for *two years* and have the best chance at beating one of these amendments at the ballot box!

Check out this Fair Wisconsin ad....



And a few more...

Lessons in Effective Communication Strategies

I really appreciate the leaps and bounds that the environmental/social justice communities have taken in terms of effectively communicating the seriousness of the issues we're facing. Like below.



Oddly enough for me, after a red-eye flight from Denver into Washington, DC (no less) on the morning of September 11, 2006, I had a full day of public speaking training at work. I had spent the weekend putting together my first halfway-decent PowerPoint presentation (IMHO) and salivating over what I could remember (or could find online) of Al Gore's presentation (which you can see in "An Inconvenient Truth").

Now, they made a movie of Al Gore giving a 90 minute presentation on Apple's KeyNote software:



Does anyone know how to find out how the movie did, in total? My Google skills
are failing me, at the moment...

St. Louis craziness

everyone was telling me that StL had a crazy storm. But we have crazy storms every year. How was I supposed to understand it was this crazy??

You Can Sleep When You Are Dead

If this is what viral marketing is going to contribute to the world, give me more!!

• "You're supposed to add water to your Folgers?" (10 July 2006, NYTimes)


• TolerateMornings.com

Björk, just because we love her

Addie shared this with me during freshman or sophomore year of college, that's how old this is (2000-2001). But that doesn't mean that it is any less enjoyable, by any means....

Björk goes beserk on a reporter....

You wanna preach??

Totally agree with Towleroad on this....

Alma Mater Pride

Once upon a time, I was an RA for a substance-free floor at the rather substance-laden (at the time) Washington University in St. Louis. Although I went into the experience with a little trepidation, I had the pleasure of being an RA for a rather talented and engaged group of fresh-persons...

One of the floor favorites was Ms. Eleisha Eagle. I always wondered what she was up to, because she left after that first year. Now I know. And I am happy for her. My favorite: "Darla".


Now, I kinda feel bad for Fluffy, who also went to WashU....

Dr. Wafa Sultan

you may or may not know that i was raised in a household with a hindu father and a muslim mother, both immigrants. i don't portend to know what is right and what is wrong when it comes to religions, particularly something as complex as the current state of islam. but there's something about this video, of someone who barely has anything important except something to say, something that becomes so clear... is it the importance of freedom of expression and open dialogue?

• Video Clip of Dr. Wafa Sultan on Al-Jazeera TV (21 Feb. 2006 - MEMRI TV)
• For Muslim Who Says Violence Destroys Islam, Violent Threats (11 Mar. 2006 - NYTimes.com)
• Intriguing commentary from the blogosphere