Ted Leo and the Pharmacists cover Tears for Fears

Part of an awesome series called Undercover from the AVClub. They had 25 songs and twenty-five artists to cover them. I highly recommend you check them out.


Ted Leo And The Pharmacists cover Tears For Fears

Video from Glenn Beck's rally.

Check this out, from illiterateelectorate.com




Update:


Final Update, from New Left Media

The real battlefield is the mind

...with a Sigur Ros-esque soundtrack?!?
h/t jenci

View on ExposureRoom

New 1st rule on the Internet: if you don't know it, google it first.

New 1st rule on the Internet: if you don't know it, google it first.

5 Min Lecture on How the Internet Changes Perceptions of Time

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This was very interesting. My favorite tidbit: people can only really listen to one speaker for about 9-10 mins before losing interest.




Perceptions of Time, Pre- and Post-Web from ReadWriteWeb on Vimeo.

Saturday Album Recomendation

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Baths album "Cerulean" is one of the best electronic albums I've listened to this year. And this video is undeniably awesome! Check 'em out and enjoy!


Lovely Bloodflow from BATHS on Vimeo.

Beck's Followers Don't Get Logic

From HuffPo:

Ricky Thomas, 43, a SWAT team police officer from Chesapeake Beach, Md., brought his 10-year old son Chase to the Beck rally. "I wanted my son to see democracy in action," Thomas said.

He said he wants government to stay out of people's lives. He acknowledged that he works for government, but said it's "a part of government that helps people when they are in trouble."

Beck, and his Tea Party ilk,  have railed against Social Security, Medicare, health care reform, the Americorps,  the Department of Education, welfare... basically every program that has ever been designed to help people in their everyday lives... not just when the SWAT team's needed.  Now, I respect Mr. Thomas's contribution to law enforcement, and I'm glad that he helps people when they are in trouble... but Beck really doesn't represent that.

I think my friend DCDebbie summed it up best:

"The poorest among us are some of the richest of the world." says #DoucheBeck, who made $32 million in 2009.

Goldline, arguably one of Beck's largest sponsors is under investigation for fraud. 
Today's rally was originally planned as a promotional event for Beck's new book.
It cost Beck nothing to put on the rally. How? Because it was paid for by the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, with the noble goal of providing scholarships for deceased veterans' children.  The event is estimated to cost $1million. All proceeds will go to the SOWF after costs are recouped. $5 million has already been raised, so that's at least $4million for the scholarships. Great right? Why didn't beck pay the $1 million himself? Then all the proceeds would have gone to the scholarships. Instead he's just enjoying the ride, getting all the free publicity he can stand. For a guy who makes over $30 million a year, $1million is a drop in the bucket. For kids trying to make something of their lives through education after the loss of a parent, $1 million is the world.


Beck is a media demagogue, who cares more about himself than helping those in trouble. That's why he's so against social justice.
But his followers just don't see it.

Wicked.

Pretty crazy video.


Columbus - Lovemachine from The Crystal Beach on Vimeo.

Watch "Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue" With Some Buds.

These guys give a classic memory from my childhood the MST3K treatment, to varying degrees of success.

Coheed and Cambria! Memphis Bound!

Can't wait. The geeky fanboy in me loves their progressive-metal sci fi storyline schtick.
Hope they play some old stuff like this classic.

Laughter is the Second Best Medicine in the World... Next to Real Medicine...

Jon Glaser and Jon Benjamin are "The Fuggettabuddies", just doin some zingers.

F* Me Ray Bradbury

Via Boingboing

"Rachel Bloom from Upright Citizens Brigade has a not-safe-for-work ode to the greatest sci-fi writer in history."

Yeasayer - Madder Red

I don't care what all you naysayers say, I'm a fan of this song and this album. Add Kristen Bell in a bizarre video and I like it even more.

YeeeeeeeeSSSSSSsssssssss!!!!!

NooooOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOooo!!!!!



Aurora Kitteh Cuppy Cakes from Alphabomb on Vimeo.

bwahahaha!

Obama is the Leopard King? (3:15)

Freak Out vs the 1st Amendment: A Nontroversy

We're all being pwned by our own stupidity.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

h/t Ben Pullins

Anderson Cooper Keeps Getting Interrupted by Rep Gohmert

Rep Louie Gohmert demands you look at the BIG GAPING HOLE!!!!!!!!

Heathen Child

Via Pitchfork:
Nick Cave project Grinderman in what should have been the remake of Clash of the Titans.

Animated Video about Time Orientation

This animation put to a Philip Zombardo lecture is awesome, I particularly am interested in that North/South dichotomy.


via Ezra Klein

Check out more at Cognitive Media

Always Applaud Good Behavior

And always call out the deplorable. Which is what Chip Forrester did today. 
From PostPolitics:

“Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester is calling for the state GOP to renounce state House candidate Mike Sparks for posting anti-Semitic material written by a Nazi sympathizer on his campaign Facebook page and providing a link to other bigoted YouTube videos.

 “Sensible Tennesseans have no tolerance for anyone who would propagate garbage like that,” Forrester added.”

 Screenshot:

I applaud Mr. Forrester and the Democrats for calling out this type of behavior.
Question is, will Republicans do the same?

Double Rainbow: The Meme Continues to Evolve

Double Rainbow by Canadian metal band Horizons:


via Paste

Can't Tell Me Nothing with Zach Galifianakis

h/t Little Lauren
Two of my favorite people: Zach Galfianakis and Will Oldham having their way with pop culture.

Menomena - Taos (Live on KEXP)

Their new album kicks ass. Check it out.

PBS Has Shaped My Life

I saw this the other day, and while I enjoyed it, I wasn't going to post it. Now I just can't help it.



via Ezra Klein

Things I have in common with Fred Rogers: My dad is also from Latrobe, PA and my mom's name is Nancy. Oh yeah, and I had a granddad who let me know how special I was and how much I was loved.
And it was a beautiful day in my neighborhood today. I hope it was in yours as well.

Arcade Fire Unstaged update- New vids!

Again, for those who missed it or those who just wanna see it again, here are some added vids from the Arcade Fire's performance at Madison Square Garden last week directed by Terry Gilliam.  I wish I could be at the Ryman to see 'em tonight. The previous videos are at this permalink. Also again, I don't know how long these embeds will be active so watch em while you can. I'm fairly certain that they will pull them once they have packaged it to sell.

Enjoy!

The Theory of Relativity is a 'liberal' Idea?

Apparently so. That is, if you believe whatever Conservapedia says:

"The theory of relativity is a mathematical system that allows no exceptions. It is heavily promoted by liberals who like its encouragement of relativism and its tendency to mislead people in how they view the world."

Then they go on to show 24 'counter-examples' to show that the Theory is incorrect. Now I'll be honest, I am not going to deconstruct their counter-examples at this time without a little research (except for the one that uses the Bible as a source). Maybe with some more studying I'll get there.

But first a real quick refresher course on what the Theory of Relativity actually is:

Theory of Relativity – The Basics

Physicists usually dichotomize the Theory of Relativity into two parts.

• The first is the Special Theory of Relativity, which essentially deals with the question of whether rest and motion are relative or absolute, and with the consequences of Einstein’s conjecture that they are relative.
  
• The second is the General Theory of Relativity, which primarily applies to particles as they accelerate, particularly due to gravitation, and acts as a radical revision of Newton’s theory, predicting important new results for fast-moving and/or very massive bodies. The General Theory of Relativity correctly reproduces all validated predictions of Newton’s theory, but expands on our understanding of some of the key principles. Newtonian physics had previously hypothesised that gravity operated through empty space, but the theory lacked explanatory power as far as how the distance and mass of a given object could be transmitted through space. General relativity irons out this paradox, for it shows that objects continue to move in a straight line in space-time, but we observe the motion as acceleration because of the curved nature of space-time.

So I did what I usually do and turned to Google! What I found out was that this was not a new thing, and in fact had largely been going on since the theory was first expounded upon by Einstein. And guess what? It was considered a Marxist plot (even by Hitler)!

“Their strong opposition was not due to a lack of understanding, but rather the reaction to a perceived threat… Anti-relativists were convinced of their own ideas, and were really only interested in pushing through their own theories: any explanation of relativity would not likely have changed their minds.”          ------ Albert Einstein 

..This theory could have blossomed and flourished nowhere else but in the soil of Marxism, whose scientific expression it is…”  ---------Adolf Hitler

All this seems to fall in line with conspiratorial world view espoused by conservatives quite regularly. First there was Galileo, then Relativity, fluoridation, evolution, and now climate change. This stems from a desire to quash scientific ideas that might oppose their world view/power. Though to be honest many of these conservatives seem to simply be confusing the Theory of Relativity with the Theory of Moral Relativism as their reason for opposition. (I love the part about how the movie IQ popularized Einstein's theory! It's that darn liberal Tim Robbins' fault! ha!)

I'll end with this quote from Einstein:

“Conspiracies theories tend to do well in uncertain times: they create order in chaos…."

Sunday Funday

The Morning Benders perform "Excuses" with a bevy of extra help at Different Stokes Studio in San Francisco. If you haven't checked out their album "Big Echo", you should do so.... now.


h/t Ben West

Arcade Fire Live from Madison Square Garden Vids.

UPDATE: more videos from the concert here.

Alright! Here's the current posted vids from Thursday night's webcast of Arcade Fire from Madison Square Garden, directed by Terry Gilliam!  I don't know how long these embeds will last so enjoy them while you can.

Political Hurdles for Lofty Pipe Dreams

From the genius/insane Terror Island:

WTF!!!???!!! Not Safe for Anywhere

I hated pretentious art kids in college (not all art kids, mind you, just the pretentious untalented ones), and although they did some crazy shit, they never did anything like this. Although the nudity is minimal, there are things in this video that some people do not want to see. You are warned!

WTF?!?!?!?

Arcade Fire: Live from Madison Square Garden Tonight!

The Arcade Fire will be webcasting a live show from Madison Square Garden tonight at 9c/10e. And get this, it'll be directed by Terry Gilliam! I'm not sure if that will have a ton of impact (unless he's writing in time travel or somesuch, but by the sound of his reaction, I'd say probably not), but this is going to pretty neat. Yep. Neat-O.

Tennessee's Gubernatorial Sideshow

If you are unaware, last night there was a gubernatorial "debate" in TN.  It turns out it was probably way more interesting and crazy than anything else in the world.

"Okay! Just got back from a gubernatorial debate between Basil Marceaux, Crazy June Griffin and Green Party candidate Howard Switzer here in Nashville. James Reesor was invited but declined and the entire thing, as you may expect, was a fucking CIRCUS. Really, I’m not sure where to start because I’m still trying to wrap my head around what just happened."

 "For starters, they tried to open with the Pledge of Allegiance, but Basil refused to say it to the flag that was on stage because it had gold fringe (one of his platforms, remember?) They delayed the debate while they tried to find another flag, but in the end, he just left the room during the Pledge. Then he came back in and everyone had to repeat the Pledge to a picture of the American flag on someone’s CELL PHONE in the corner of the room."

"There’s probably too much to try to relay, but there were some golden quotes from Basil (such as “I’m like MacGuyver, I’m gonna put down traps for the Mexicans….they’re coming too fast!” and “I’m not gonna let them pass a law making women go topless… If you want me federal government, come see me! I’m a Marine, I deserve a flyover.”) The entire thing was hilarious, but then I came away feeling like I’d just kicked the shit out of a handicapped kid on the playground."

Read the full account at Wonkette: http://wonkette.com/417188/basil-marceauxs-exploiters-staged-a-debate-and-it-made-lincoln-douglas-look-like-a-conversation-between-two-retarded-baby-pandas#ixzz0vl4ZTECg

Found Sounds: Gary Wilson - “You Think You Really Know Me”

From beck.com:

"Gary Wilson self recorded “You Think You Really Know Me” in his parent’s basement in the mid 70’s, pressing only 300 copies."

You can read more about Gary at beck's website.


Gary Wilson - You Keep On Looking by planned_obsolescence

Gary Wilson - Chromium Bitch by planned_obsolescence

Gary Wilson - Loneliness by planned_obsolescence

Gary Wilson - I Wanna Lose Control by planned_obsolescence

Gary Wilson - Loneliness by planned_obsolescence


h/t Andru Bond

Your Friendly Neighborhood Outfielder

I don't even care about baseball that much, but I love superpowers.



EMBED-Spiderman Style Baseball Catch - Watch more free videos

LOST Epilogue

New clip from the upcoming DVD extras!!!!!  

                          

Asshole

From boingboing
















OK, maybe we should bomb 'em.   (kidding.)

Title: Nunya (Beeswax)

Subject: The Netherfriends.

I know, right?

I hear it's pretty intense in the sequel: Incepticons: Revenge of Labeouf.

TN Animals: White Raccoon!

Found in Knoxville, TN

"Wolfe said because of an overpopulation of raccoons and the presence of raccoon-strain rabies in East Tennessee, TWRA regulations forced him to euthanize the albino raccoon."

awwwwwwww........

How To Hide Your Guns!

Apparently there is no limit to the money you can bilk out of fearful, gun loving patriots.
That's right, there's someone else who's figured out something as good as gold! And his name is, I-Shit-You-Not, Sam "Sharkman" Adams. (I'm sure you can tell from the video on his website that he must be half-shark?) Patriotically named Sam has some concerns to share with you. Heck, if you're a paranoid, conspiracy wingnut, you probably already share these concerns!

"If you’re like me, you’re not just worried about hiding your guns but gold coins and other valuables as well. The truth is, you should be building an emergency preparedness plan for your family or loved ones right now in the event of a terrorist attack or civil unrest. (I cover all this in the book)

But one warning before I continue…

If you’re shocked by straight talk about the nature of the crisis facing our country, this book may not be for you. And if you’re a liberal and are offended by talk about God and country, this is definitely not for you.

But I do give you step by step examples you can implement immediately to secure your guns, gold and other valuables. With this new-found knowledge you’ll remain one of the few armed citizens when most of the pathetic sheep are rendered defenseless.

I have to warn you… this information is likely to send shockwaves through the liberal media, so be discreet about how you use it and who you tell about it." 

In fact he cautions:

I do have one additional request. Please do NOT post this on Facebook or any social media. I don't want this to go viral and frankly don’t want ANY additional publicity.

In other words, us dirty libruhl's gonna make fun of your dingbat "Rockwellian" paranoia.
Remember, just because your paranoid, doesn't mean their not after your guns!
Now, go make Sharky rich!

Read more at Wonkette.

Bright Eyes: Coyote Song

Conner and Company's new Arizona Immigration Law protest song.



Check out more details at Pitchfork

Call me crazy, but I wanna see these guys.

Check out more Mucca Pazza at their website.

Food Stamps Cut to Feed the Rich

Ezra Klein has a great piece on the recent cut in Food Stamp benefits. They were cut to help pay for Medicare and prevent the firing of teachers. It's a tough decision, but not compared to some of the other options that could be available.

"Bernie Sanders put up an amendment last month to cut about $35 billion in oil and gas subsidies. It failed. Republicans are arguing to extend Bush's tax cuts for the rich with no offsets, and they may well succeed. But food assistance for poor families? You can get the votes to slash those."

 Which is extremely ridiculous because, as he points out, food stamp spending is  the most reliable and cost efficient methods of economic stimulus.

You Weren't There: A History of Chicago Punk, 1977-1984 Anarchy in Chicago

From PitchforkTV

Racist Rhetoric Against the Left is Back in Fashion!

Another 2nd Amendment, anti-immigration, anti-welfare racist.




And I quote:

"Barack Hussein Obama, Mmm, Mmmm, mmm. You've been called the chosen one, the Messiah, an African god, a post-racial president, Barack the Magic Negro."

First you notice the emphasis on the middle name, trying to stress a tie to Obama as other or foreign, especially hitting on the intense pop-cultural chord of Saddam Hussein . I guess that's really more just xenophobia.
But then it gets downright cookoo. Obama has probably been called all those things. However, only one of those was by his supporters, the rest were used by right-scream-media talkers like Rush Limbaugh, Rush Limbaugh, and Rush Limbaugh.

There are even internet smear campaigns that take people's remarks out of context in order to claim that liberals actually believe this nonsense. (Remind you of anyone else?)

The only one he was called by supporters? Post-racial.
But I think it's important to note that the media questioned if Obama would/could be a post-racial president, and mostly the echo chamber of the right likes to repeat the talking points touting him as failing to live up to this goal. But in fact, Obama admitted in 2007 that just being the first non-white president couldn't transform the political environment that much.  But like every other time he has admitted that race was a problem in America, the screamers call him racist.

Another low point is at the 3:10 mark, when this cowardly (notice how his name isn't on-screen and he doesn't introduce himself) reactionary says

"Who are the pissed off people in this country? Well the pissed off people sir, are the white people. It's the white people stupid. It's taken 50 years of having things shoved down our throats, that we've now had enough."

Hmmm, 50 years ago? What could he be talking about?  Disgusting.
I also find the phrase "shoved down our throats" interesting, because that's the same language that was used by people afraid that poor blacks might get health care. Is this a new racial dog whistle?

I know this one guy isn't representative of everyone in the Tea Party, but this type of hate can be found in huge dosages.  And instead of acknowledging it and purging this racism, the Tea Party denies it, and at best ignores it, if not embraces it. It is a cudgel and a crutch. It is the Southern Strategy. And the GOP and the right-scream media are helping. The bogus Sherrod scandal, the bogus New Black Panthers menace, and the ACORN hoax. It just goes on and on. So much for post-racial American politics. But I'm sure Megyn Kelly and Michelle Malkin et al will blame Obama again. Because, of course, racism never existed before a non-white President was in office.

h/t BobCesca