funnier to laugh WITH (versus AT)

did you know...
(1) the White House now has it's own Flickr [photo] stream?
(2) "...we also have to talk to our enemies"

the above pic (and quote) was taken for Obama's "remarks" at the White House Press Correspondent's dinner, which were quite amusing. i've saved you the trouble of finding it, as you can watch it below:

my favorite line?
"I do have to say, though, that this is a tough holiday [mother's day] for Rahm Emanuel because he's not used to saying the word 'day' after 'mother'."

bwa-hahahahaha!

and if you don't want to see something ridonkulously cute + progressive, don't go here (and definitely DON'T read the caption). you like how i just baited you? muchas thanks to my pal Kana for spotting (+ sharing) the Flickr stuff first.

and now for the [semi] serious point of this post:
as i mentioned in the subject line above, i'm quite enjoying being able to laugh WITH the current President/White House (VS much of the AT we sadly had to do before). lately though, much of the right-wing has been up in arms, claiming that *mainstream* comedians aren't making enough fun of the current administration, claiming a liberal bias there as well. frankly, i think there's something more inherent than a bias, but i've already once talked about that.

there is no comedic bias to the left (after all, they were ALL OVER the last democrat president for his shenanigans), but rather, there's just not as much to make fun of with Obama. he's really not that funny a guy (the above self-attempts at humor aside, which make him pretty frakkin cool). in fact, Barry's quite a boring guy. he's like your smart (bordering on nerdy), yet often boring, dad, who finds he is constantly trying to tell his kids (read: US as Americans) to wash their hands, check the air in their tires, and be more responsible. and he'll try to repair up our house while he's at it.

sad that we have to be told such things, and we have so much fixing to do. but i'm glad we've got someone (more) mature + responsible at the helm (a jab at the last TWO guys before Barry...but mostly at the last one). we're in quite a mess, on a few fronts. and to be clear, i don't put all the blame on past leadership. some (a LOT) of it is on us, for letting this shit get so bad. it was a vicious cycle. we have to change. and a lot has to be done.

the least we can do is laugh a little together along the way.

hardy har har.

week in review NY(C)

did i mention that Week in Review NY(C) is going strong?

[14.May.2009]

why the (C)? because we started out in the NY burbs (where i live)...and have since moved into the more urban environs of Manhattan proper another few meets and we'll beat out the now-defunct Singapore branch. we're coming for your next Cincinnati!

for those who have NOT yet read/heard my rambling/bitching (+ some random pics), the premise is a simple one...drinking and drawing. furthermore:
-friends get together at a different bar/restaurant weekly.
-the news from the previous 7 days are reviewed,
-a center story is chosen as "what happens",
-the rest of the week's major stories are also doodled
-much fun is had by all (really just an excuse for friends to meetup on a regular basis)
-this is a weekly happenstance from previous lives (cincinnati and singapore)
-official (never updated) site weekinreview.org, the original group in LA

anywho, here are some samples drawRings from WIR NY(C):

[22.Jan.2009]

[30.Jan.2009]

[6.Feb.2009]

[31.Mar.2009]

[14.April.2009]

[28.April.2009]

so what are you waiting for? go join the facebook group, and/or get your own chapter started (you know you want to...i'm talking to YOU...my loyal readers in AL/INDIA/SF/TN/MA).

and that's all she drew.

the week (or so) in pictures.

it's that time of week again. where i clear out a few select pics seen in my passing musings...

i actually came across the above in a recent Time [cover] article, "Is the Party Over?"
...more than anything else, it's the image of the sad elephant that struck me. any other political comments i'll leave for another post.


sad (?) mailbox :|

mouse cool[NES]:

awesome weekly blog-comic:

great progressive panel storytelling (go Power-girl go):

(thanks Geekanerd)

dark lord meets dark knight:

...as big a Batman fan as i am, V would TOTALLY win here.

PHENOMANAL movie:

(thanks Lunchbag Art for these last two)

apartment in Hoboken i'm NOT moving into:

amusing DVD cover:

practicing Rockstar:

...muchas thanks to my Rockband buddy Capt. Shanan Sabin, pictured above, on many levels - for the amusing pic, for letting be occasionally borrow his PS3 in Cinci, but mostly for defending democracy while my guitar gently weeps.

news at eleven.

location [un]aware.

there's been quite a bit of off-and-on press about "location" aware services, like Loopt, Google Latitude, and such, and their implications as a "social compass." still in the midst of my "social media blackout," i pondered here for a bit this morning (when my best thinking happens).

quick FYIs for the non-geek readers (hi mom!*):
Loopt is a mobile phone app that allows you to see where all your other friends are (on their mobile phones via GPS/cell-tower triangulation), assuming they're "in" your Loopt network - an invitation/opt-in service.

Google Latitude is a similar service, but revolves around your "Google account" - gMail, iGoogle, gChat/gTalk, etc. such that when you're logged in (most likely via your PC), it pulls down where you are (based on IP), or via GPS/cell-tower triangulation if you're on your mobile
------

naturally, there's been the reactionary response to the privacy implications of all this...the potential room for abuse, etc. and then of course, to the contrary, there's been the "early adopter/technologist" POV...to lean in, see the possibilities (standing on street corner bored, randomly seeing which of your friends are in the area for the opportunistic meet-up)

which wins?

well the services ARE here, and adoption IS increasing, as consumers become more and more OK with sharing/knowing what everyone is doing in semi-realtime. Facebook and Twitter have already made us more conducive/willing to think about such once-outrageous notions of being "always on" (something which a respectable # of technologists/early adopters, myself included...question the validity of). but these geo-social services are never going to really show their usefulness until their scale within your social sphere.

maybe the compromise is not being always on, but choosing WHEN to be on. when you're on your PC, the default should be to broadcast your location, bc you're probably already "on" (your chat/skype is likely already up, etc). and while your mobile phone is also always on (and it's increasingly becoming a tiny computer), but i respectfully agree that the default switch should be "off." this defeats the frequent meetup opportunity, but still lets you somewhat passively choose to declare where you are.

not the most profound post, i know. especially seeing as how this is pretty much already the state of the world, i'm either (1) right, or (2) just using a long post to expound on what is already going on.

oh well, it's what i was thinking about this morning. deal with it. i still live here, and you are still there.

*(who perhaps these services are most valuable to. so she always knows where/what i'm up to =)

a trekkie torn...

i'm definitely going to see it this weekend, but can already feel the inner conflict stewing between "cool Raman" and "geek Raman"



or to put it more concisely (in Klingon*): "Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam!" OR "Hov leng ngotlhwI'Hey yIHoH"

*(i don't really speak Klingon, i just Googled it, honest.)

McDonalds...

...thinks i understand Hindi*

*(and wants me to drink their McCoffee)