Frankenfood For Thanksgiving

Your corn is sweeter, your potatoes are starchier and your turkey is much, much bigger than the foods that sat on your grandparents’ Thanksgiving dinner table.

Reports Wired

I’m honestly not sure how to feel about this. Wired plays it off like it’s a great thing that we are mutating the DNA of crops, and genetically engineering our animals.

Doesn’t anyone think that all these hormones and chemicals are also increasing the cancer rate?

What about things like autism, ADHD, aspergers, and all the learning disabilities that have sky rocketed in the last 30 years.

What about the obesity problem, take the corn example for one. Corn has gone from 5% sugar to 35% sugar! Doesn’t that worry anyone?

Men Who Stare At Goats

Men Who Stare At Goats by Jon Ronson

The book examines connections between paranormal military programs and psychological techniques being used for interrogation in the War on Terror. The book traces the evolution of these covert activities over the past three decades, and sees how they are alive today within US Homeland Security and post-war Iraq. It asks why were Iraqi prisoners-of-war blasted with the theme tune to Barney the Dinosaur. Why have 100 de-bleated goats been secretly placed inside the Special Forces command centre at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and how was the US Military associated with the mysterious mass-suicide of a strange cult from San Diego?

The title refers to attempts to kill goats by staring at them. Based off of the ideas out of the First earth Battalion Manual.

There is even a possible moving coming out, starring George Clooney

first earth battalion manual

CNN Uses Star Wars Technology For The Election

If you are a CNN watcher, especially on election night then I’m sure you already saw or have at least heard about the hologram that CNN used as a TV first to boost viewership.

I found the idea interesting and tried to dig around to find out a little bit more about it.

The original company that developed the idea is SportVU, an Israeli-based company funded by  private investors, the Israeli Government and the skywalker fund, of which I can’t find any meaningful information, SportVU was started as a new way of filming soccer games *

The idea is to create a matrix type effect for instant replays, and a more in depth interactive feel for the viewer. Although from what I have read they have never actually used it for that.

a SportVU designer, Gal Oz said

it can look even more realistic. Hurley said the blue glow around Yellin and Will.i.am was added intentionally to avoid confusion.

“We could have had a much crisper, more realistic shot, almost to the extent where the viewer at home would have had no idea even that the person wasn’t really there,” Hurley said.

“You don’t want to have the effect where it looks so good that for every future live shot, you have people on the blogs saying, ‘Oh they’re not really there–they’re in a studio, faking the moon landing.

This is a step into the new “reality” of Television where people will have to question whats physically real and whats manufactured real.

For more background you can read this.

Screwed, The Undeclared War Against The Middle Class

Last week I took a trip to half priced books looking for Mac System admin books. But i ended up checking out the clearance shelve and found some real gems.

I picked up this book by Thom Hartman, Screwed, The undeclared war against the middle class for $2.

A great read, I’d give it 4 out of 5, so it’s not quite a must read.

Some of his ideas are to liberal for me, and Hartman (writing this book during the Bush 43 administration) seems to think that just electing democrats will turn the country around.

But his ideas about creating a middle class and why it’s crucial to the health of a nation are brilliant. He gives historical example after examples of how the decisions by Nixon,Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, and Bush 43 have intentionally killed our middle class and moved our industry overseas to prevent the majority from pulling themselves out of poverty in the United States.

To have a true middle class, a majority of the people in a nation must be educated and economically secure and must have full and easy access to real news so they can make informed decisions. page 9

Starbucks Profits down 97%!!

The story from MSNBC reports that profits from Starbuck are down 97% last quarter. Down from $158 million to just $5.4 million.

Know you know the economy is hurting for real,

forget the bailout talk,

ignore the talking heads on cable news,

disregard talking points about how huge financial firms don’t have enough liquidity,

it’s hitting everyday life, when people can’t afford to treat themselves to a cup of coffee.

In a way it’s ironic, people can’t afford over priced coffee,

but in another way it’s probably a more honest economic gauge then all those fancy polls on cnn

President Obama and “Change” Psychology

We are set up to be disappointed by politicians.

For over a year we make our candidates travel the country like a mobile circus, going from town to town giving pre-written speeches about issues that are most relevant to what ever crowd is before them at that given moment.

One minute it’s all about jobs, the next about how we are going to end the Iraq war, the Next town is all about health care.

We make our politicians tell us such exuberant lies in order to gain our fickle support. In one breath we praise them as the Change America needs and the next breath condemn them for being less then perfect.

The only way to even enter the gates at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is to except millions of dollars in “Support” from lobbyist and corporations in order to power the behemoth marketing campaigns. That often turns their candidate into the sideshow instead of the main attraction, compared to the media blitz that is aggressively targeting people in their name.

By the time they reach the finish line and accept the keys to the white house we have forced them to compromise their character, integrity, and honesty, and they not only occupy the white house , but they unpack all the political I.O.U.’s that come with them.

I get that the message of change is addictive, But lets at least not have a short memory, Bush battled it out with Gore in 2000, over who would “change” Washington the most.

How’d that turn out?

Now that Obama has won, how much can he really change anyways? Can one man fix our Health Care System, Social Security, Balance our Budget, and Improve our Educational System?

Isn’t it unfair to lay the burden on changing a nation into the hands on one person. After all, we have helped America get where it’s at today, warts and all.

We the people are more responsible for our sad state of affairs then our government. Government only has the power that the people give them. So when government fails it’s a bigger reflection of society.

I hope Obama makes the changes necessary to get our country back on track, but I hope even more that all of those people who were made aware of politics and got involved for the first time, don’t stop being involved now that their man got elected.

We need new leadership in our country built from the ground up, instead of the corporation down. And while I’m doubtful that any real change will happen in the Washington, other then sweeping the floors and painting the walls in the White House, Here is a list of things I’d like to see changed.

Michael Crichton Dies of Cancer

I just read author and filmaker Michael Crichton died unexpectedly last night. He was privately battling against cancer, according to a statement released by his family.

Crichton’s works often focused on the use and abuse of emerging technologies which spiral out of control and endanger people, as was the case in “Prey,” “Sphere,” “The Andromeda Strain” and “Timeline.” The author’s medical background also played a role in his work, leading to the award-winning television series “ER.” His most recent novel, 2006’s “Next,” dealt with genetics and law.

I feel inspired to pick up one of his books

New Music // Snow Patrol, Jonezetta % The Classic Crime

Heres some new music that has come out in the last couple of weeks. I think at this moment I prefer the Classic Crime. But to be fair I have only given snow patrol 1 listen through so things could be changing.

A Hundred Million Suns by Snow Patrol

Take Back The City

Silver Chord by The Classic Crime

Abracadavers

Cruel To Be Young by Jonezetta

Awake