Praise The Guild

September 14, 2007

“If I get a mention in someone’s blog, it’s the best feeling”, Felicia Day says in an interview by WoW Stratics, so I thought I’d write a small post about it. Felicia Day is the writer, producer, and star of the new and popular sitcom “The Guild“. I started watching The Guild a few days before the second episode was released on YouTube, and immediately fell in love with all the characters.
The interview also mentions the other very popular sitcom Lonelygirl15, and after a quick comparison, The Guild is certainly better, perhaps because I can relate to The Guild as I’m one of many addicted World of Warcraft players. I wish for the best of luck in the future for Felicia Day and The Guild.

You can watch the first webisode here:


Web 2.0 doesn’t leave porn behind

August 10, 2007

WIRED’s commentary Regina Lynn writes that Web 2.0 leaves porn behind, but some of the major communities such as YouTube is also for pornographic material. As kevjumba, the most popular comedian on YouTube, says “Any girl who talks about sex or gonna show her tits is gonna get thousands of views, even is she has nothing smart to saw. I have like 5 subscribers, it’s really bad, like no one watches my videos, but I guarantee you, if I had huge tits or a nice butt, I would have thousands of subscribers. I hate you no-talented hot girls!” – 6 month after he made this video, kevjumba had 50.000 subscribers. He had something smart to say.

Google has a major community with a lot of hidden porn in it. Just look at the Top 10 on Google Video.

2. Woman in Shower
3. Girl caught by boyfriend
4. Webcam Girls Go Wild ( full)
7. Naked Nude Teen Girls
9. SEXY SEXY SEXY … WOW!

Perhaps this isn’t exactly pornography, but pornography isn’t allowed on neither Google Videos or YouTube. However the YouTube template is used on pornsites including community. Then there’s the animé and manga communities, both are used in ecchi and hentai.


YouTube debates – modern communication reaches the politicians ears!

July 30, 2007

The President of USA is someone who has influence beyond the Earth, who has influence on the Earths entire population, so I thought, perhaps I should start looking into what presidential candidates that were running this time. YouTube and CNN has a feature for just that. On www.youtube.com/debates normal YouTubers is able to question the candidates. I thought that this way is genius, because it”s very rare that normal citizens of countries are able to stand in front of a high-ranked politicians such as Bush, or these senators and ask them about how they are going to help the nation.
I reach question 5, and the subject hits race. Question 6: Class. Question 7: Gender. All the candidates that spoke on these questions, on all the questions are all agreeing that the last eight years (Perhaps even the last 24 years, except candidate Clinton, who is very proud of her husbands achievements) has been disastrous, and that USA has indeed shameful moments. Obama speaks of “Corridors of Shame”, certain areas of USA that could be mistaken for Africa.
Candidate Edwards is against gay marriage, but won”t cite religion as reason to deny gay rights, and I believe that”s revolutionary, but it”s still odd.
As I started to watch these videos, I had a hard time telling them apart. Are they all the same? But as the questions went on, the difference is quite clear. Until now, we might be better of with a black man and a woman instead of that monkey, that USA currently uses as president. Gravel is a bit sensitive, isn’t he? “The only thing worse than one soldier dying in vain is more soldiers dying in vain”, he yells. I think he is a interesting character in this political game, but I don”t mind that Anderson (The person directing YouTube questions to politicians) don”t give him that many questions. Gravel is very unhappy about it, and yells “Is this fair?”, but does make a funny joke about it in question 18.

In question 25, a guy asks “What is your stance on nuclear power?”, and I believe that candidate Edwards mentions that we haven”t found a good nor safe way to dispose nuclear waste, and I wondered what much money are the hosts of nuclear power plants spending on finding a good and safe way to this? I believe that we have an enormous energy crisis at the moment, as we are still questioning whether it is natural or us creating these green house effects!
Question 27 is rather interesting, and Obama definitely handles the situation perfectly and doesn’t have to answer the actual question, “would you agree to be paid the minimum wage?”.
This debate certainly made me think, and apparently these candidates all qualify for being president of the USA for the time being. I have a term during such times, “Campaign Promises”. Candidates promise their nation about what they’ll do to make it all better, but never actually keep it. I hope, for once, that they’ll keep the promises and do something about the problems we have. I believe that USA could be our ’saviour’, if they do it right.
In all, 38 questions has been answered and more to come on 17th of September.

I read something quite interesting just now. Apparently, only two GOP (Grand Old Party, Republican Party) candidates have agreed to participate in the upcoming show in September YouTube/CNN debate. More to come!


The Free Hugs Campaign

July 23, 2007


The Free Hugs Campaign was origally started by one man, Juan Mann, from Austrualia, in 2004. In 2006, Juan Mann uploaded a video to YouTube showing himself walking down Pitt Street Mall in Sidney, holding a sign with the words “Free Hugs” written on it. Shimon Moore, the lead singer of Sick Puppies filmed the event, and used his own music in the video.
During the campaign, the police forced Juan Mann to stop the “free hugging”, as Juan Mann had not obtained public liability insurance worth $25 million for his actions. Juan Mann and his companions used a petition to convince local autherities to allow them to continue hug other people, without the insurance. They reached 10.000 signatures, and thereafter they were allowed to hug people again.
Participants of the Free Hugs Campaign decided to declare an official International Free Hugs Days, which will be the first weekend after the 30th of June every year. On Saturday the 7th of July this year, or more specifically on 7/7/07. The purpose of the day is to promote the Free Hugs campaign. The organisers are hoping that hundreds of people around the world will be distributing free hugs on this day. That day is also known as 777, the YouTube Gathering day in New York.
Today, this is an international campaign, and the International Free Hugs day is used for it’s purpose. I’m quite upset that it’s actually illegal to hug strangers without proper insurance in Australia, however I can’t talk for other countries. In the right perspective, it sounds like being in Hell. When I watched the campaign by Juan Mann, I was deeply inspired. It has reached more than 16 million views on YouTube, also it was being published on famous “Goodmorning America” show. Many has followed his example, and uploaded videos of themselves giving away free love and hugs in their homecountry.


Are we that different?

July 7, 2007

I found an interesting video on YouTube just now called “Stop the Clash of Civilization”. I believe that it’s rare we find such manifestos like this. This definitely had an impact on me, and I hope that it will on others, especially those the video are talking to. I must admit that I learned something about Middle Eastern culture, something I thought I already knew, so I’m thankful that somebody sits down and creates something like this.

Avaaz.org is a community of global citizens who take action on the major issues facing the world today. The aim of Avaaz.org is to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people shape global decisions. Avaaz.org members act for a more just and peaceful world and a globalisation with a human face. You can read more about the Avaaz organization here.

Actually, we do find many organizations that fights against poverty, war and such. And that is basically the problem. There are too many organizations. I believe that when we send millions of dollars to Africa, more than half are used on transport, workers, bribe and corruption, and if we have hundreds of organizations using a lot of money on these things, Africa ends up with nothing but hunger and poverty. If we emerged the organizations – and perhaps enforcing military to transport the money instead of paying bribe to terrorists and countries trying to take their share, the poverty has a much larger chance of stopping. Otherwise, I believe that sending millions of dollars to foreign countries doesn’t help much. Poor Africans has no education to spend the money properly, and sending them seeds is moronic too. They don’t actually plant the seeds, they eat them. So what are they going to do with coloured paper? Eat it? The only thing that actually worked was when China, many many years ago, sending workers down to make rail tracks and at the same time teaching the Natives how to be better farmers, but one time just wasn’t enough. We could have spend a billion dollars to teach hundreds of Africans how to farm properly, make schools and simply create a better environment instead of sending 100 billion dollars in cash. Denmark, my home country, once gathered a lot of money, and shipped every penny down there, and they were all used on AIDS medicine from USA. What’s up with that?

Stop the idiocracy, and start using your brain. You choose!


Wearetheweb.org

May 20, 2007

Did you thought that “Weird Al” Yancovic was nerdy in “White and Nerdy”. You got it all wrong. Wearetheweb.org fights for net neutrality and Internet freedom, and I suggest that you do it too.

“We love the Internet”

A Net Neutrality Message for Everyone: We Are the Web
The issue of net neutrality is reaching a boiling point, and the results will affect every Internet user in the US. We Are the Web is here to raise awareness with the help of some of the web’s biggest names: Leslie Hall, The Tron Guy, and Peter Pan.
This is happening in Europe too!