Bad film, good laugh

"My friend, can your heart stand the shocking facts of grave robbers from outer space?"

Check out this film from the 1950s, possibly the worst ever made. Also insanely funny.

Link to watch on YouTube.

Rethink: Sunday

Make a direct and tangible difference in the lives of entrepreneurs in the developing world by microlending through Kiva. This organization allows you to loan to a restauranteur in Rwanda, a furniture maker in Mongolia, a farmer in Uganda, or any of the thousands of participating entrepreneurs in the organization.

Rethink your approach to tackling poverty, and change someone's life today.

Rethink: Friday

Fill your day with a little more intelligent content. Here are two easy ways to start:

Instead of usual gaming sites, try out some quizzes at Sporcle. Geography and history quizzes are a great place to start.

Instead of videos of cute cats on youtube, explore the content at TED, where influential thinkers from all over the world share their ideas and inventions. Talks by Hans Rosling, Malcolm Gladwell, and Pranav Mistry are worth checking out.

Inform: Friday

I challenge you to research the crisis in Burma. Over the past ten years, the military regime in that country has systematically wiped out over 3000 villages, inhabited by minority ethnic groups, in an act of brutal genocide. Hundreds of thousands are displaced within the country, and over a million have fled Burma altogether. This country has the worst child soldier problem in the world, with an estimated 20% of the army comprised of children. The country has been described as a cross between the harsh government control of North Korea and the disastrous humanitarian situation in Sudan. Massive numbers of people have been killed, detained, raped, forced into slave labor for the military, have stepped on landmines planted in by the military, or have had their houses and villages burned down. This crisis is too serious to be ignored.

For more information, check out http://www.uscampaignforburma.org.

Listen: Monday

Hey Soul Sister, by Train.

Listen: Friday

Ten Mile Stilts, by the Wailin' Jennys.

Stare: Friday

Another Escher-esque photograph. Gorgeous composition.

Question: Friday

If there was another Caitlin, with my exact DNA, who lived my exact life, would she and I be the same? Is there something more to a person than their genetics and experiences, or are we shaped entirely by things we have little control over?

(Guess which Star Trek movie I just watched...)

Stare: Wednesday

If M.C. Escher designed a building, it would look something like what this photo captures:

Watch: Monday

If you haven't seen it yet (and even if you have), check out all three parts of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, combined here on Hulu.

And now, back to homework.

Browse: Saturday

Check out http://www.sporcle.com/ for a fun and semi-educational way to spend time. It's a great tool for when you just want to procrastinate.

Recommended quizzes:

Common English words

US/UK words

Movie quotes

US presidents

Advertising slogans

Quote: Saturday

"Naturally the common people don't want war... But after all it is the leaders of a country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along... All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger." -Hermann Goering.

Goering said this in 1936; it still applies.

Inform: Friday

You should be following this story:

Hundreds of Afghan votes declared invalid

After the recent democratic election in Afghanistan, there is significant evidence of widespread voter fraud. In some provinces, the number of votes signify that more than 100 percent of eligible voters cast ballots on election day. The linked article also says that "'The result sheet in one ballot box indicated 550 ballots for a candidate, but there were only 35 ballots in the box,'... Other ballot boxes contained hundreds of votes for certain candidates, but none were folded, "proving they were not cast through a ballot box slot,' the commision said."

Stare: Friday

This photo is my desktop background.

Check it out at this link.

Watch: Friday

Here's the incredibly creative music video for Strawberry Swing by Coldplay. All the animation in the video is handdrawn in chalk by the design team, called Shynola. See link beneath the video for an amusing interview with one of the designers about the process of making this video.

http://www.coldplay.com/post_popnews.php?id=448

Quote: Thursday

"What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture." ~Neil Postman

Neil is referring to George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, authors of 1984 and Brave New World, which are both novels that portray disturbing visions of mankind's future.

Watch: Thursday

Check out this talk by Malcolm Gladwell, author of the books Blink and The Tipping Point. He has wonderful insight about the way the world and people around us work, in ways that we never imagined.