Saturday, April 30, 2011
Gas Prices
It's annoying that our press will obsess about this issue which, while real, has no short term policy response. So, basically, fretting about something nobody can do anything about.
Friday, April 29, 2011
This week's Trends: tornadoes, weddings, and saxophones
Each weekday, we at YouTube Trends take a look at the most interesting videos and cultural phenomena on YouTube as they develop. We want take a moment to highlight some of what we've come across this week:
Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends
Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "Jersey Shore Gone Wilde."
- We saw incredible and dramatic footage from tornadoes this week in Alabama and Missouri.
- We looked back at the 10 most watched NBA highlights from the 2010-2011 season on YouTube.
- We discovered three little girls you would NOT want to pick a fight with who had trending videos.
- We asked if George Michael's "Careless Whisper" has become the cover song of the month.
- On the day of the Royal Wedding, we looked back at 10 popular Romance and Wedding videos from the month of April.
- And we asked how one duo's switch to hip-hop covers helped make their videos some of the most shared this month:
Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends
Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "Jersey Shore Gone Wilde."
Party with NFL Rookies - on YouTube
Football fans will have the chance to get an up-close look at the new crop of NFL rookies this Saturday, April 30, live on YouTube. We’ll be hosting an exclusive live stream of the 2011 NFL Players Association Rookie Debut party, beginning at 10pm ET live from Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. The live stream will be on the NFL Players Association’s YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/nflplayers
Former Pro Bowl running back/kick returner Brian Mitchell and three-time Super Bowl champion linebacker Willie McGinest will host the party, with appearances from dozens of football players from the past, present and future - including St. Louis Rams running back and Super Bowl champion Marshall Faulk.
Some of the expected attendees (and high draft picks) include: Blaine Gabbert, Patrick Peterson, and last year’s Heisman winner running back Mark Ingram of Alabama and linebacker Von Miller of Texas A&M.
Check out the live stream during the event for exclusive backstage access, interviews and performances - then return to the channel later for plenty of on-demand coverage of the event.
Enjoy the party!
Andrew Bangs, sports manager, recently watched “Epicly Later'd Dylan Rieder (PT 1 of 4)."
Former Pro Bowl running back/kick returner Brian Mitchell and three-time Super Bowl champion linebacker Willie McGinest will host the party, with appearances from dozens of football players from the past, present and future - including St. Louis Rams running back and Super Bowl champion Marshall Faulk.
Some of the expected attendees (and high draft picks) include: Blaine Gabbert, Patrick Peterson, and last year’s Heisman winner running back Mark Ingram of Alabama and linebacker Von Miller of Texas A&M.
Check out the live stream during the event for exclusive backstage access, interviews and performances - then return to the channel later for plenty of on-demand coverage of the event.
Enjoy the party!
Andrew Bangs, sports manager, recently watched “Epicly Later'd Dylan Rieder (PT 1 of 4)."
SUPERBUS
Reader t sent this article in about a Cleveland BRT-type system.
I've got nothing against BRT, and it certainly has the potential to have some of the benefits of rail at less cost, but the problem with BRT in practice is that there are always ways of doing it cheaper. So you start with the light rail line plan. That's too expensive. So, ok, you consider a full BRT plan with fully dedicated lanes, signal priority, etc. But then some politically connected people start complaining about the loss of a lane for automobiles in their neighborhood. Suddenly...you don't have dedicated lanes throughout the route. And, then, well, those electronic arrival signs get the axe due to more budget concerns. The point is, it's really easy to go from "cheaper version of light rail" to "just another bus system" as the process goes on.
I've got nothing against BRT, and it certainly has the potential to have some of the benefits of rail at less cost, but the problem with BRT in practice is that there are always ways of doing it cheaper. So you start with the light rail line plan. That's too expensive. So, ok, you consider a full BRT plan with fully dedicated lanes, signal priority, etc. But then some politically connected people start complaining about the loss of a lane for automobiles in their neighborhood. Suddenly...you don't have dedicated lanes throughout the route. And, then, well, those electronic arrival signs get the axe due to more budget concerns. The point is, it's really easy to go from "cheaper version of light rail" to "just another bus system" as the process goes on.
The Beatification of Pope John Paul II to be Live Streamed on YouTube
This Sunday, May 1st, at 1:00am ET / 9:00am CET, people across the globe will be able to attend the Beatification ceremony of Pope John Paul II via a live stream on YouTube. The live stream of Pope John Paul II’s Beatification will be available on YouTube’s Live browse page at (www.youtube.com/live), a YouTube channel created specifically by the Vatican to celebrate the pontiff (www.youtube.com/johnpaul2). The channel contains hundreds of videos documenting his pontificate. The stream will also available through the Vatican Player (www.vatican.va/video) which will be on several other Catholic sites that link to it.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the Beatification ceremony in person in Saint Peter’s Square. In addition, the YouTube live stream will enable an online audience across the globe to hear and see the ceremony at 1:00am ET / 9:00am CET.
At 2:00am ET / 10:00am Pope Benedict XVI will preside over Holy Mass, culminating in the Beatification of Pope John Paul II. The live stream will end at 4:45am ET / 12:45 CET with the weekly Marian Prayer, where Pope Benedict XVI will give a personal message that focuses on the Beatification of Pope John Paul II.
When the stream has ended, the entire ceremony will be uploaded on www.youtube.com/johnpaul2, giving both those who missed the beatification, and those who saw it, a chance to witness the ceremony on YouTube.
The YouTube Team
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the Beatification ceremony in person in Saint Peter’s Square. In addition, the YouTube live stream will enable an online audience across the globe to hear and see the ceremony at 1:00am ET / 9:00am CET.
At 2:00am ET / 10:00am Pope Benedict XVI will preside over Holy Mass, culminating in the Beatification of Pope John Paul II. The live stream will end at 4:45am ET / 12:45 CET with the weekly Marian Prayer, where Pope Benedict XVI will give a personal message that focuses on the Beatification of Pope John Paul II.
When the stream has ended, the entire ceremony will be uploaded on www.youtube.com/johnpaul2, giving both those who missed the beatification, and those who saw it, a chance to witness the ceremony on YouTube.
The YouTube Team
HAMP'd
As I've said many times, if the economy fails to turn around sufficiently in time for the election it will in large part due to the failure of HAMP. It was bad in that it screwed a lot of individuals and failed to help enough, but it was also bad because it failed to help the macroeconomy.
Fixing The Problems Everyone Pointed Out At The Time
I don't know why so many architects design buildings that do not accommodate people in a pleasing way and do their best to ignore their surroundings.
Even In The Most Hellish Of Urban Hellholes
Mandated parking minimums lead to ugly empty parking lots.
Won't Sink In
I'm kind of reminded of the Bush Social Security privatization plan, which aside from everything else that was wrong with it would have had a couple of trillion in transition costs. It was difficult for this little fact to ever sink in.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Liquid Sky
Sadly, this kind of petty official insanity is always gonna happen. It's easy to enforce a stupid rule. It's hard to exercise judgment. Simpler to train staff to stupidly enforce the stupid rule.
NYLON Young Hollywood Comes to YouTube
This May, NYLON’s Young Hollywood issue comes to YouTube for the second year in a row. Visit the NYLON channel for coverage of the hottest young stars including Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, Chloe Moretz, Lucy Hale, and not one, but two Harry Potter witches. Check out exclusive interviews only seen on YouTube and behind the scenes footage from the NYLON photoshoot, and here's a video to get you started:
For their Young Hollywood issue, NYLON magazine visits film sets all over the world and shoots the newest screen stars just as they're beginning to blaze. With NYLON + YouTube's Young Hollywood videos, you can:
From Harry Potter's Nataia Tena to Mad Men's Kiernan Shipka and The Vampire Diaries Kat Graham, you'll see the next generation of stars like never before - up close, personal, and with a killer rock 'n roll soundtrack. The Young Hollywood issue is also on stands now!
Lee Hadlow, Ad Programs Associate, recently watched "YOUNG HOLLYWOOD 2011 - HAYDEN PANETTIERE."
For their Young Hollywood issue, NYLON magazine visits film sets all over the world and shoots the newest screen stars just as they're beginning to blaze. With NYLON + YouTube's Young Hollywood videos, you can:
- Learn about Scream with Emma Roberts
- Get a boxing lesson with Rory Culkin
- Go behind the scenes at a fashion shoot with Chloe Moretz
- Howl with the cast of MTV's new show Teen Wolf
- Go backstage at The View with Hayden Panettiere
- Watch Lucy Hale try out some of Spring's biggest beauty trends
From Harry Potter's Nataia Tena to Mad Men's Kiernan Shipka and The Vampire Diaries Kat Graham, you'll see the next generation of stars like never before - up close, personal, and with a killer rock 'n roll soundtrack. The Young Hollywood issue is also on stands now!
Lee Hadlow, Ad Programs Associate, recently watched "YOUNG HOLLYWOOD 2011 - HAYDEN PANETTIERE."
Almost Like There's Some Sort Of Conspiracy...
Enjoy your public school system while you still have it.
The Philadelphia school district may have to cut 3,800 positions in order to close a $600 million deficit. Another proposal to make up for the loss of almost $300 million in state funds this year includes eliminating free transportation to and from school.
That means no busing or free SEPTA transpasses for any students except those in special education students and those attending charter schools.
That's because state law requires the district to provide transportation to and from charter schools. But students who attend public and parochial schools next year could have to pay their own way.
Galtian Overlord Fail
Yes I'm on repeat...but the economy doesn't have to be like this. The people in charge have the knowledge, power, and ability to fix things. They have chosen not to.
A Man A Plan A Canal Panama
No the afterbirthers will never quit.
I don't think it's true of him either, but the case that John McCain doesn't qualify as a natural born citizen is actually a bit stronger. There's at least a real argument there, while with Obama it's that he's black.
I don't think it's true of him either, but the case that John McCain doesn't qualify as a natural born citizen is actually a bit stronger. There's at least a real argument there, while with Obama it's that he's black.
Bringing Brazil’s Carnival to the world
Our consumer marketing team here in Brazil has a slogan: Go where the passion is. And in Brazil, there are few things people are more passionate about than Carnival—an annual spring festival that incorporates parades, music and dance in an enormous, nation-wide celebration. This year, our team of five decided to tackle a huge challenge: take the party global by launching a Carnival channel on YouTube and live stream a full six days of coverage to the entire world.
When we began the project in October 2010, we knew we had to work quickly and efficiently if we were going to have this ready five months later—especially since we were such a small team with big goals for a brand new project. One of our biggest obstacles was figuring out how to bring the true Carnival music experience to YouTube—not just a few shows here and there, but really capturing all of the celebrity performances, parades and spontaneous street dances that occur all over the state of Bahia during the six days of celebration. We quickly realized we were going to need a lot of support on the ground in order to coordinate all of the logistics, such as camera placement, so we enlisted the help of more than 100 freelance professionals. Another challenge was orchestrating video translations so people in other regions could share in the excitement in their native language, which we did by asking Googlers to put their 20 percent time toward the endeavor.
On more than one occasion, I thought we were in way over our heads, but when I saw the famous Brazilian singer, Ivete Sangalo, streaming live on YouTube in a performance broadcasted to more than 15,000 cities in 200 countries worldwide, I knew we’d connected the world with the passion of the Carnival.
Despite the chaos involved in organizing the live stream, the results of the project were well beyond our expectations. During the six days of Carnival, people from 200+ countries watched more than 11 million views of the live stream and 21,000+ subscribed to the YouTube channel. As a small team with big goals—and the resources and freedom to achieve them—we aim to remain as nimble and efficient as we were during Carnival, with people’s passions as our guide to projects that will have the biggest impact.
Posted by Lauren Pachaly, Consumer Marketing Manager, Brazil, recently watched "Harmonia do Samba's Carnival performance of Uma Chance."
When we began the project in October 2010, we knew we had to work quickly and efficiently if we were going to have this ready five months later—especially since we were such a small team with big goals for a brand new project. One of our biggest obstacles was figuring out how to bring the true Carnival music experience to YouTube—not just a few shows here and there, but really capturing all of the celebrity performances, parades and spontaneous street dances that occur all over the state of Bahia during the six days of celebration. We quickly realized we were going to need a lot of support on the ground in order to coordinate all of the logistics, such as camera placement, so we enlisted the help of more than 100 freelance professionals. Another challenge was orchestrating video translations so people in other regions could share in the excitement in their native language, which we did by asking Googlers to put their 20 percent time toward the endeavor.
On more than one occasion, I thought we were in way over our heads, but when I saw the famous Brazilian singer, Ivete Sangalo, streaming live on YouTube in a performance broadcasted to more than 15,000 cities in 200 countries worldwide, I knew we’d connected the world with the passion of the Carnival.
Despite the chaos involved in organizing the live stream, the results of the project were well beyond our expectations. During the six days of Carnival, people from 200+ countries watched more than 11 million views of the live stream and 21,000+ subscribed to the YouTube channel. As a small team with big goals—and the resources and freedom to achieve them—we aim to remain as nimble and efficient as we were during Carnival, with people’s passions as our guide to projects that will have the biggest impact.
Posted by Lauren Pachaly, Consumer Marketing Manager, Brazil, recently watched "Harmonia do Samba's Carnival performance of Uma Chance."
Lighting Taxpayer Money On Fire
This is going to be a giant FAIL.
The Christie administration, lenders and a new developer have reached a deal to revive the vast Xanadu entertainment and retail complex, which sits forlorn and unfinished along a stretch of New Jersey highway after having burned through two owners and $1.9 billion, people involved in the negotiations said Thursday.
...
The new developer, the Triple Five group, will invest more than $1 billion in the seven-year-old project. And Gov. Chris Christie has agreed to provide low-interest financing and to forgo most sales tax revenue for a period of time, according to those involved in the negotiations, who declined to be named because they did not want to be seen as upstaging the governor.
8 Is Late
I'm thinking about the problems of my local orchestra, but this applies generally to other similar artistic endeavors. I don't have kids, work at home, and live in the city within easy distance of theaters/orchestra/etc... and I find the standard 8 o'clock start time - which means home by 11ish - to be a bit late. I'm curious if earlier starting times for such events would more appealing for people, especially the work in the city but need to commute back to the burbs crowd who might be more likely to stick around after work.
Gonna Go Back In Time
It's just ridiculous to assume that a doctor would remember a baby that was born several decades ago, even a mixed race black kid with a funny name born in Hawaii in 1961.
Overhead Wires Are Worse Than Hitler
Yglesias:
I was fascinated when I came across people, mostly West Coast transplants on the East Coast, who hated overhead wires intensely. Some people raised in places where they're all buried find them bizarre and hideous.
Though it's hard to comprehend (at link) how adding some solar panels to an existing pole/wire network would be so disturbing.
It would be interesting to see if people actually preferred a pastoral view free of the accoutrements of electrification but I doubt anyone actually prefers that. Instead, the customary interjections of technology into the suburban landscape are normalized while any deviation from the postwar pattern is anathematized. Had people 100 years ago had this attitude, I suppose nobody would have telephone service or electricity at all.
I was fascinated when I came across people, mostly West Coast transplants on the East Coast, who hated overhead wires intensely. Some people raised in places where they're all buried find them bizarre and hideous.
Though it's hard to comprehend (at link) how adding some solar panels to an existing pole/wire network would be so disturbing.
Democrats Are Always Othered
Bill Clinton was a big white southern Bubba and he was also given the treatment. Obviously it's something the Right pushes, but frankly it starts with Maureen "Democrats are women except for Democratic women who are men" Dowd. They are not like you is the message that our press sends loudly every presidential campaign.
I don't give Saint McCain credit for much, but it does seem like he really did tamp down those impulses in his campaign. 2008 was not nearly as ugly as it could have been.
Onward to 2012...
I don't give Saint McCain credit for much, but it does seem like he really did tamp down those impulses in his campaign. 2008 was not nearly as ugly as it could have been.
Onward to 2012...
Galtian Overlord Fail
I spent several years thinking of creative new ways to write "George Bush sucks." Now I spend my days thinking of new and creative ways to write that our Galtian overlords don't care about unemployment and are obsessed with nonexistent inflation.
You Could Try 12th, 13th, 15th, Or 16th
I get that major road closures are disruptive, and certainly worth telling newspaper readers about, but does it really make sense to devote the lede paragraphs of an article about a street festival to the disruption to drivers?
It's not as if Broad St. is the only route through town. For your North/South driving needs, you can go to one of the many parallel roads on the street grid. It really isn't a big deal.
At 1 p.m. Friday, cars, pedestrians, and bicyclists with any common sense will have to take a detour through the heart of Center City to make way for a 200-ton crane that will lumber onto Broad Street between Locust and Pine.
Once the crane is in position, a chandelier-type contraption, recently shipped here from France, will be suspended from it. Then, at sundown, a troupe of 18 aerialists from Lyons will be lifted 100 feet into the air and, hanging from the chandelier, will practice their routine, playing twinkly music and spinning in circles.
Passersby who get to see this preview of Saturday's performance by Le Compagnie Transe Express are likely to be transfixed. Anyone in a hurry trying to drive down the Avenue of the Arts, however, is bound to be less amused. And beginning at 1 a.m. Saturday, it's going to get worse. The street closing will expand, detouring all traffic along Broad between Chestnut and Lombard.
It's not as if Broad St. is the only route through town. For your North/South driving needs, you can go to one of the many parallel roads on the street grid. It really isn't a big deal.
Galtian Overlord Fail
A 1 percent inflation target is, well, nuts. I don't know if this is what Bernanke wants or if it's the only way he can keep the lunatics who fear zombie unicorns at bay, but a 1% inflation target essentially neuters the Fed, making any traditional expansionary monetary policy extremely difficult.
Slow growth, low inflation, high unemployment. Heckuva job Galtian Overlords.
Slow growth, low inflation, high unemployment. Heckuva job Galtian Overlords.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
What China Doesn't Understand
Earlier this week, Chinese manufacturer YongNuo announced a new flash: the YN-565EX.
It's got full manual mode, a built-in slave, a PC jack, a modeling light -- and is compatible with both Nikon and Canon's proprietary light-based TTL triggering systems.
It may well be a great flash -- or it could be a piece of crap. But it won't get any kind of a serious look here for one simple reason: China's manufacturing and distribution system is sufficiently borked to make product quality control and customer service damn near impossible.
Which is a shame, really, considering how well they could be doing… Read more »
The Slow Mo Guys are April’s “On The Rise” winners
Congratulations to The Slow Mo Guys, who took an early lead and went on to win this month’s edition of On The Rise, the program where you decide which up-and-coming YouTube partner gets a spot on the homepage. The Slow Mo Guys will be featured on the YouTube homepage today, thanks to your support and votes.
A quick history on The Slow Mo Guys: Gavin Free and Dan Gruchy have been experimenting with high-speed cameras since 2004. Whether documenting birds of prey swooping, droplets colliding, or the effects of taking a ball to the face, these friends take on the world at a slower pace.
Here’s more from The Slow Mo Guys themselves:
If you’re enjoying our monthly blog series and want to see more rising YouTube stars, head over to our “On The Rise” channel and check out our playlists on the browse page. Check back next month, as your channel may be the next one featured!
Devon Storbeck, Account Manager, recently watched "The Slow Mo Guys - Fly Eats Fly in Slow Motion."’
A quick history on The Slow Mo Guys: Gavin Free and Dan Gruchy have been experimenting with high-speed cameras since 2004. Whether documenting birds of prey swooping, droplets colliding, or the effects of taking a ball to the face, these friends take on the world at a slower pace.
Here’s more from The Slow Mo Guys themselves:
"I have loved watching stuff in slow motion ever since I was a kid. I used to watch fight scenes from movies frame by frame on VHS so I could see all the action. When I got the opportunity to work with high speed cameras I saw this as my opportunity to film as many things as possible in super slow motion. I have been doing it for about 6 years now as a profession, but only recently got a computer powerful enough to deal with such massive files for my own show! Looking at things in slow motion makes you realise what you actually miss out on when you see things at "human speed". Sometimes you see something completely unexpected, sometimes can see how stuff works and sometimes stuff in slow motion just makes you laugh! It has been a great honour to participate in YouTube's On The Rise contest. I would like to thank everyone who voted for us and to welcome all our new subscribers!" Gavin Free
If you’re enjoying our monthly blog series and want to see more rising YouTube stars, head over to our “On The Rise” channel and check out our playlists on the browse page. Check back next month, as your channel may be the next one featured!
Devon Storbeck, Account Manager, recently watched "The Slow Mo Guys - Fly Eats Fly in Slow Motion."’
World View heads to Africa: Rwandan President Kagame takes your questions
YouTube World View has traveled to North America, Europe and the Middle East to offer you the chance to interview the most powerful leaders in the world. Today, we’re introducing our first World View interview with an African leader, Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Starting now, you can submit questions to President Kagame on any topic, like Rwanda’s economy, technology policy, how the country has grown over the 17 years since the genocide or the issue of regional integration. You can also ask questions as wide ranging as issues related to the future of Africa and its young people. Go to www.youtube.com/worldview to submit your question via video or text, as well as vote on your favorites. You can also tweet in your question - make sure to use hashtag #askkagame in your tweet, and it will automatically be added to the World View queue.
On May 5th, the President will sit down for a special interview with Khaya Dlanga, a YouTube partner and one of South Africa’s leading video bloggers. During the interview, President Kagame will answer a range of the most popular questions submitted by you. The deadline to submit your question is May 3 and the final interview will be available on May 7.
Ory Okolloh, Google Africa Policy and Government Relations Manager, and Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics Manager, recently watched “Karim Massimov: A Question for World Leaders”
Starting now, you can submit questions to President Kagame on any topic, like Rwanda’s economy, technology policy, how the country has grown over the 17 years since the genocide or the issue of regional integration. You can also ask questions as wide ranging as issues related to the future of Africa and its young people. Go to www.youtube.com/worldview to submit your question via video or text, as well as vote on your favorites. You can also tweet in your question - make sure to use hashtag #askkagame in your tweet, and it will automatically be added to the World View queue.
On May 5th, the President will sit down for a special interview with Khaya Dlanga, a YouTube partner and one of South Africa’s leading video bloggers. During the interview, President Kagame will answer a range of the most popular questions submitted by you. The deadline to submit your question is May 3 and the final interview will be available on May 7.
Ory Okolloh, Google Africa Policy and Government Relations Manager, and Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics Manager, recently watched “Karim Massimov: A Question for World Leaders”
Awesome
Thanks for electing an evil Republican governor...
In a pre-School Reform Commission budget briefing, Philadelphia School District Chief Financial Officer Michael Masch said that to close a $629 million budget gap, the district will lose about 16 percent of its workforce - 3,820 jobs. That includes a reduction of 1,260 teaching jobs, or about 12 percent of the teaching force. It's not yet clear how many layoffs that will mean.
The district will also lose full-day kindergarten. It's going to a half-day program, as was in place years ago. Kindergarten is actually not mandated by the state - though everyone offers it, Pennsylvania doesn't require children to attend school until age 7 in Philadelphia, and even older in the rest of the state. That doesn't mean that cutting K is a good idea, but it's possible because it's not required.
Better Press
I hoped to be proved fucking wrong, as usual, but judging from people on the twitter Helicopter Ben is getting questions about oil, gas prices, inflation, and only one about whether the Fed can do more about jobs.
...and as for the answer basically...Not Gonna Do It.
...and as for the answer basically...Not Gonna Do It.
ZOMG
The virgin eyes of suburbanites are being destroyed by boobies.
Norristown isn't even really a suburb, it's a satellite city, not that it really matters. Suburban innocence lost...
...odd, I swear when I read that earlier there was something about 'appealing to suburbanites' or similar in the article. Anyway, point is just dumb framing of something.
Far from Center City or Off-Broadway or any of the places where you'd most expect it, an experiment in the avant-garde is under way in gritty, workaday Norristown.
There in the county seat not necessarily known for its edgy cultural offerings, theatergoers are being exposed to full frontal nudity.
Everyone involved concedes that while that sort of thing wouldn't rate a mention in New York, for Norristown, it is different.
Norristown isn't even really a suburb, it's a satellite city, not that it really matters. Suburban innocence lost...
...odd, I swear when I read that earlier there was something about 'appealing to suburbanites' or similar in the article. Anyway, point is just dumb framing of something.
LEAVE REPUBLICANS ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE
I'm not sure if supposedly mainstream reporters don't, for example, understand that old people won't actually be able to get health care with a $15,000 voucher, if they really just don't give a shit about old people getting health care, or if they just think it's impolite to point out that Republicans don't want old people to have health care. I don't get it.
Bernanke Presser
The questions should focus on "why the hell do we have so much unemployment and why aren't you doing more about it," but my guess is they'll be more along the lines of "will the deficit steal my bicycle" and "ZOMG INFLATION!!!!!!!?!?!!?"
Freak Show
On the twitter machine Chris Bowers wrote, "if you are too young to know what politics was like in the 1990's, today gives you a pretty good taste." I do think people forget just how crazy and stupid our national news media were then. It was truly insane. Literally any claim about the Clintons would be aired.
We've had some insanity since, and certainly the consequences of that insanity have sometimes been worse (Iraq war), but we really haven't matched the sheer lunacy of the Clinton era.
We've had some insanity since, and certainly the consequences of that insanity have sometimes been worse (Iraq war), but we really haven't matched the sheer lunacy of the Clinton era.
Live from space: You talk to Commander Mark Kelly and the Endeavour Crew
Update 5/18: The interview time has been moved to 6:00am ET on Thursday 5/19, and can be seen on youtube.com/pbsnewshour.
UPDATE 5/13: Pending the launch of STS-134 on May 16 at 8:56am ET, this interview will be conducted on Thursday May 19 at 7:24am ET. Check here for more info.
UPDATE 4/29: NASA has scrubbed the launch attempt today due to a technical problem. We'll provide an update here on the live streamed launch and live interview, and you can follow NASA updates here.
We’ve always jumped at the chance to bring the wonders of space a little closer to home. We’ve announced a Moon office, a Moon race and an expedition to Mars, and brought many nooks and crannies of the universe to Google Earth—Sky, Moon, Mars, NASA images and a Hubble tour, to name a few.
On Friday, April 29, the crew of STS-134 will launch into space for the final mission of Space Shuttle Endeavour and we want to give you the chance to connect with them. On May 2, NASA Commander Mark Kelly and his crew will take your questions live from space on YouTube. PBS NewsHour will live stream the interview from its YouTube channel with veteran space reporter Miles O’Brien curating and asking your questions to the crew.
Starting today, you can visit www.youtube.com/pbsnewshour to submit a video or written question for the crew of STS-134 to be used in the live interview and vote for your favorite questions. You can also submit questions on Twitter with the hashtag #utalk2nasa. Don’t be shy—if you’re most curious about how to prepare for a spacewalk or wondering if the astronauts have a speech prepared for an extra-terrestrial encounter, this is your chance to find out. Here’s a video from PBS and Miles O’Brien to inspire you:
A few suggestions before submitting your questions:
You have until Saturday April 30 at midnight ET to submit your questions. The top ranked questions will be used in the live interview on Monday, May 2 at 2:15pm ET / 11:15am PT.
To get the full experience of STS-134, you can also watch a live stream of the shuttle launch on Friday April 29 starting at 3:47pm ET at www.youtube.com/pbsnewshour. Both the launch and the interview will be available for archived viewing.
Houston, we’re ready for lift-off.
Ginny Hunt, Public Sector Program Manager, recently watched “STS-134: Legacy of Endeavour.”
UPDATE 5/13: Pending the launch of STS-134 on May 16 at 8:56am ET, this interview will be conducted on Thursday May 19 at 7:24am ET. Check here for more info.
UPDATE 4/29: NASA has scrubbed the launch attempt today due to a technical problem. We'll provide an update here on the live streamed launch and live interview, and you can follow NASA updates here.
(Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog.)
On Friday, April 29, the crew of STS-134 will launch into space for the final mission of Space Shuttle Endeavour and we want to give you the chance to connect with them. On May 2, NASA Commander Mark Kelly and his crew will take your questions live from space on YouTube. PBS NewsHour will live stream the interview from its YouTube channel with veteran space reporter Miles O’Brien curating and asking your questions to the crew.
Starting today, you can visit www.youtube.com/pbsnewshour to submit a video or written question for the crew of STS-134 to be used in the live interview and vote for your favorite questions. You can also submit questions on Twitter with the hashtag #utalk2nasa. Don’t be shy—if you’re most curious about how to prepare for a spacewalk or wondering if the astronauts have a speech prepared for an extra-terrestrial encounter, this is your chance to find out. Here’s a video from PBS and Miles O’Brien to inspire you:
A few suggestions before submitting your questions:
- Video questions are preferred, and should be a max of 20 seconds long
- Speak clearly and film in a place with minimal background noise. Keep the camera as still as possible and ask the question directly to the camera
- Look through NASA videos on YouTube about STS-134 to learn more about the mission and crew
You have until Saturday April 30 at midnight ET to submit your questions. The top ranked questions will be used in the live interview on Monday, May 2 at 2:15pm ET / 11:15am PT.
To get the full experience of STS-134, you can also watch a live stream of the shuttle launch on Friday April 29 starting at 3:47pm ET at www.youtube.com/pbsnewshour. Both the launch and the interview will be available for archived viewing.
Houston, we’re ready for lift-off.
Ginny Hunt, Public Sector Program Manager, recently watched “STS-134: Legacy of Endeavour.”
The Yurps Would Kill My Daughter
Nice to see that little Rick Santorum is still the despicable human he always was.
ICE
Hopefully they do stop deporting people who have been here since they were little kids and don't have any ties to their country of birth.
Better Than Ezra
Ezra Klein, 2007
PPACA my ass.
Medicine may be hard, but health insurance is simple. The rest of the world's industrialized nations have already figured it out, and done so without leaving 45 million of their countrymen uninsured and 16 million or so underinsured, and without letting costs spiral into the stratosphere and severely threaten their national economies.
Even better, these successes are not secret, and the mechanisms not unknown. Ask health researchers what should be done, and they will sigh and suggest something akin to what France or Germany does. Ask them what they think can be done, and their desperation to evade the opposition of the insurance industry and the pharmaceutical industry and conservatives and manufacturers and all the rest will leave them stammering out buzzwords and workarounds, regional purchasing alliances and health savings accounts. The subject's famed complexity is a function of the forces protecting the status quo, not the issue itself.
PPACA my ass.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
What Do They Cover Again?
Not my town, but if I were a DC rseident looking for information about today's election I'd be a bit peeved that it barely registers on the WaPo's site.
There is a big picture of Trump, so there's that.
There is a big picture of Trump, so there's that.
Pop Talk
Steve Simels, NYMary, Will Bunch & Charles Pierce join Susie Madrak to talk music tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Listen in to Virtually Speaking.
Could be a hot one!
- C. Truth
Could be a hot one!
- C. Truth
Is He A Dumbass Or Does He Just Play One On The Teevee
I'd don't really like meeting politicians, except for the seemingly few who are willing and able to stop being "on" and act like normal human beings, but I've met a bunch over the years and what I'm almost always struck by is that they come across as being a lot more intelligent than I would have expected. I don't mean that I assume all politicians are dumb, I mean that our political discourse is often so dumb that people operating within its confines usually sound pretty damn dumb.
So, no, I don't know if they actually think spending caps are a good idea, and are therefore idiots, or if they're just dancing.
So, no, I don't know if they actually think spending caps are a good idea, and are therefore idiots, or if they're just dancing.
We Subsidize Giant Oil Companies
It's something so absurd that it's hard to believe it's true. I do credit the administration for seeing "high gas prices" as an opportunity to point this out.
DNR
One thing I think is often forgotten is that when you're healthy and 40 the idea of taking extreme measures to save your life is a bit unpleasant sounding, but when you're facing death at 75 your attitude about such things can change...
He Who Dies With The Least SexyTime Wins
I don't think Douthat's concept of hell is "gun to the head" morality, it's about everyone else being punished for being naughty, and him getting the grand reward for being nice. He doesn't emphasize hell as something we should believe in to prompt us to do the right thing, he just needs to know that someone is keeping record of all of the times he rejected Chunky Reese Witherspoon's advances and rewards him accordingly.
Music Tuesday: R.E.M. video premiere, Blitz the Ambassador’s new album and more
It’s Tuesday, and music fans, we’ve got a feast for you. We’re featuring one full-length album premiere and two innovative videos -- one of which is an exclusive premiere on YouTube. But don’t worry -- we’re not ignoring the great music hitting the streets this week: albums from Steve Earle, EmmyLou Harris, Of Montreal, Prefuse 73 and more. We’ll have a playlist of the week’s freshest sounds later this week; be sure to check back to youtube.com/music to watch it.
Michael Stipe and Jim McKay Pick Their Favorite Videos
R.E.M. premieres their new video “Every Day Is Yours To Win” on YouTube today. The video, a pastiche of clips found on YouTube a la Kutiman, was co-directed by Jim McKay (you may know him from his work on a little HBO show called The Wire). It’s an exercise in humanity, finding and treating with great kindness the surprisingly intimate moments uploaded to YouTube. In honor of its release, longtime friends McKay and R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe assembled a captivating playlist of their favorite YouTube videos; find it on the homepage today.
Blitz the Ambassador “Native Sun”
“Live from Accra city, that’s my city, that’s beyond what they call gritty.”
When Chuck D gives a shout-out on your record (“It’s not where you from; it’s where you at....”), you could say you’ve made it as a hip-hop artist. Ghanaian-born Samuel Bazawule may not be a household name, but if his new album “Native Sun” is any indication, he should be. “Native Sun” is one of the most organic marriages of African music and hip-hop we’ve heard -- an effortless release that incorporates Afrobeat, highlife and kora music into old-school hip-hop. It’s a warm and danceable record with a social conscience, and it speaks to anybody who’s lived between two cultures -- as more and more of us do. We’re thrilled to premiere it a week before the release date.
Jib Kidder’s “Blue”
When we read an interview with Sean Schuster-Craig, aka the audio/visual artist Jib Kidder, in which he talked about his video-making ethic as an extension of the dream world, we were hooked. (“Dreams are like a collage made by your subconscious out of the raw materials of your inner experience,” Schuster-Craig told a blog earlier this year.) His music is a collage, too: a folk-art endeavor made from the found sounds of our digital world. Both the song and video for “Blue” repurpose material from his label’s archives, and they are meticulously crafted and strangely full of heart.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Foo Fighters. Wasting Light Live from 606.”
Michael Stipe and Jim McKay Pick Their Favorite Videos
R.E.M. premieres their new video “Every Day Is Yours To Win” on YouTube today. The video, a pastiche of clips found on YouTube a la Kutiman, was co-directed by Jim McKay (you may know him from his work on a little HBO show called The Wire). It’s an exercise in humanity, finding and treating with great kindness the surprisingly intimate moments uploaded to YouTube. In honor of its release, longtime friends McKay and R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe assembled a captivating playlist of their favorite YouTube videos; find it on the homepage today.
Blitz the Ambassador “Native Sun”
“Live from Accra city, that’s my city, that’s beyond what they call gritty.”
When Chuck D gives a shout-out on your record (“It’s not where you from; it’s where you at....”), you could say you’ve made it as a hip-hop artist. Ghanaian-born Samuel Bazawule may not be a household name, but if his new album “Native Sun” is any indication, he should be. “Native Sun” is one of the most organic marriages of African music and hip-hop we’ve heard -- an effortless release that incorporates Afrobeat, highlife and kora music into old-school hip-hop. It’s a warm and danceable record with a social conscience, and it speaks to anybody who’s lived between two cultures -- as more and more of us do. We’re thrilled to premiere it a week before the release date.
Jib Kidder’s “Blue”
When we read an interview with Sean Schuster-Craig, aka the audio/visual artist Jib Kidder, in which he talked about his video-making ethic as an extension of the dream world, we were hooked. (“Dreams are like a collage made by your subconscious out of the raw materials of your inner experience,” Schuster-Craig told a blog earlier this year.) His music is a collage, too: a folk-art endeavor made from the found sounds of our digital world. Both the song and video for “Blue” repurpose material from his label’s archives, and they are meticulously crafted and strangely full of heart.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Foo Fighters. Wasting Light Live from 606.”
Austerity Forever
I'm not sure what it will take for our Galtian Overlords to recognize that you can't shrink your way to prosperity.
Shuck
Susie Madrak finds a Pentagon paper (via digby).
The report says Americans are overreacting to Islamic extremism, underinvesting in their youth, and failing to embrace the sense of competition and opportunity that made America a world power. The United States has been increasingly consumed by seeing the world through the lens of threat, while failing to understand that influence, competitiveness, and innovation are the key to advancing American interests in the modern world.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Guest Post: Brad Trent's Ocean Master Session
I'm back in Maryland, decompressing from a 12,531-mile road trip and getting my next few shoots lined up. Fortunately (and to give me a few days to get back into the swing of things) we have one more guest blogger: Brad Trent, who is pictured at left.Not only was Brad the subject of the most widely read post on Strobist in 2010, but he has uncorked what can only be characterized as a Magnum Opus of a guest post today. Even broken into two parts, it is ... significant.
Part one, chock full of no fewer than 22 process images, inside. Read more »
Watch Out Duke Boys
Haley Barbour not running for president provides a reminder that politics in America has changed. For a long time the archetype of the American politician was the big boisterous Barbourous southern guy. Not anymore.
The Price Is Too Damn High
Can't find the original article, but came across this while surfing the tubes for some information about orchestra ticket prices.
That's from 2005. It looks like the cheapest per seat subscription price for the coming year is $15, which isn't too bad (seats are high up, but they're fine), they do have community rush tickets for every show, and also a good student ticket program. So it isn't all bad. But, yes, for the most part the ticket prices are too high. Even if we assume they're set correctly at a current year revenue maximizing level, it's probably smart to set them a bit lower than that if doing so can attract some new customers...
Given the escalation of ticket prices for orchestral concerts in the last few decades, plus the expanding number of entertainment options, the mystery in classical music is why times aren't even tougher than they are. Quite by accident a couple of months ago, I came across a routine Philadelphia Orchestra press release from Nov. 23, 1975, announcing a subscription program. Tickets were listed at $2, $3.50, $4, $4.50, $5, $7, $7.50, $8 - with the top ticket price a big $8.50. A complete listing for the season shows the highest ticket for a regular subscription concert was $10.50. Converted into 2005 dollars, that would mean the top ticket price to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra today should be $39.33.
Of course, it's not. The highest ticket price next season will be $122 - an escalation three times the inflation rate.
That's from 2005. It looks like the cheapest per seat subscription price for the coming year is $15, which isn't too bad (seats are high up, but they're fine), they do have community rush tickets for every show, and also a good student ticket program. So it isn't all bad. But, yes, for the most part the ticket prices are too high. Even if we assume they're set correctly at a current year revenue maximizing level, it's probably smart to set them a bit lower than that if doing so can attract some new customers...
Maybe I'll Vote For Him
Sadly, Romney can't gaffe us into actual peacetime, but if he wants to run as the peace candidate...
Modern America
Someone on NPR regarding Gitmo detainees (rough quote):
You had the difficulty of determining who was telling the truth and who was just trying to win a happy meal.
Getting Sick Will Impoverish You, Too
I get that relatively wealthy celebrity journalists have a bit more financial wiggle room than most of the rest of us, but they don't seem to realize that one serious illness can bankrupt just about anyone.
Chunky Reese Witherspoon In Hell
I think we all construct our basic worldview, consciously or not, to some degree based on 'how we want things to be', but I actually don't want people who fuck more than I approve of or who were raised in a different ethnic-religious tradition than I was to experience an afterlife of eternal suffering and damnation. So I guess Ross and I want the universe to work a bit differently.
Secularism is Anti-Christ
One somewhat annoying thing about being a secular atheist in this country is that we don't actually get credit from religious people for fighting for their freedom to believe and worship any way they want. Our mere existence seems to give religious leaders something to do other than fight with each other. If we went away, they'd get back to persecuting each other.
Optimism!
CNBC today:
WSJ, July 2009:
Marketwatch, April 2010:
FT, Feb. 2009
Bloomberg, March 2009:
Four Years Later, Housing Market Shows Signs of Life
WSJ, July 2009:
Signs of Life in the Housing Market
Marketwatch, April 2010:
Signs of life in the zombie housing market?
FT, Feb. 2009
US housing market shows signs of life
Bloomberg, March 2009:
Signs of Life from the Real Estate Market
Morning Thread
Benjamin Franklin's sister did not live a charmed life.
"She had one child after another; her husband, a saddler named Edward Mecom, grew ill, and may have lost his mind, as, most certainly, did two of her sons. She struggled, and failed, to keep them out of debtors’ prison, the almshouse, asylums. She took in boarders; she sewed bonnets. She had not a moment’s rest."
Poor Jane's Almanac
Link to the NY Times.
"She had one child after another; her husband, a saddler named Edward Mecom, grew ill, and may have lost his mind, as, most certainly, did two of her sons. She struggled, and failed, to keep them out of debtors’ prison, the almshouse, asylums. She took in boarders; she sewed bonnets. She had not a moment’s rest."
Poor Jane's Almanac
Link to the NY Times.
Screening Room now showing short films from the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival
Are you a film festival fanatic? Do you love keeping up with the latest indie hits? Are you at least somewhat interested in hearing David Duchovny voice a polar bear that’s BFF with Leonardo DiCaprio? Of course you are!
Since not everyone can make it to New York City for the 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival, YouTube, Tribeca and American Express have teamed up to bring the festival to you.
From today through May 17, check out the YouTube Screening Room for short films from both past and present Tribeca Film Festivals. Here’s a snapshot of the first set of films you’ll see:
The Beaufort Diaries
Beaufort is just a small town bear, living in a lonely world... What happens when an arctic refugee finds himself adrift in LA-LA Land? Behold Beaufort's rocket rise to stardom, his inevitable crash and burn, his enduring, inspiring friendship with actor Leonardo DiCaprio, and his painful journey to redemption and bear-awareness.
Brink
Jeremy has been in love with his best friend, Evelyn, since before he can remember. He decides to profess his love for her through a simple, thoughtful letter… but there's a strong chance they will never see each other again.
Ignorant Bliss of the Sun and Moon
The Ignorant Bliss of Sun and Moon follows a down and out Everyman as he cycles between bouts of self-destruction and momentary bliss. When luck finally comes his way, his life is at least momentarily transformed and he's finally able to realize something useful on earth.
Loose Change
Just because you don't remember, doesn't mean you forget. A Brooklyn tenant is in for a big surprise when his senile landlord finally remembers him.
Mr. Stache
Mr. Stache always believed he had an inner mustache. Now he’s wearing it on the outside. Where it makes way more sense....Mr. Stache is the 2010 winner of "My Movie Pitch," a contest launched by American Express on YouTube to help bring unique independent movie ideas to life.
Check out the YouTube Screening Room again on April 29 to catch the next installment of Tribeca award-winning short films.
Kinzie Kramer, Associate Product Marketing Manager, Entertainment, recently watched “Charles Bradley - The World (Is Going Up In Flames).”
Since not everyone can make it to New York City for the 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival, YouTube, Tribeca and American Express have teamed up to bring the festival to you.
From today through May 17, check out the YouTube Screening Room for short films from both past and present Tribeca Film Festivals. Here’s a snapshot of the first set of films you’ll see:
The Beaufort Diaries
Beaufort is just a small town bear, living in a lonely world... What happens when an arctic refugee finds himself adrift in LA-LA Land? Behold Beaufort's rocket rise to stardom, his inevitable crash and burn, his enduring, inspiring friendship with actor Leonardo DiCaprio, and his painful journey to redemption and bear-awareness.
Brink
Jeremy has been in love with his best friend, Evelyn, since before he can remember. He decides to profess his love for her through a simple, thoughtful letter… but there's a strong chance they will never see each other again.
Ignorant Bliss of the Sun and Moon
The Ignorant Bliss of Sun and Moon follows a down and out Everyman as he cycles between bouts of self-destruction and momentary bliss. When luck finally comes his way, his life is at least momentarily transformed and he's finally able to realize something useful on earth.
Loose Change
Just because you don't remember, doesn't mean you forget. A Brooklyn tenant is in for a big surprise when his senile landlord finally remembers him.
Mr. Stache
Mr. Stache always believed he had an inner mustache. Now he’s wearing it on the outside. Where it makes way more sense....Mr. Stache is the 2010 winner of "My Movie Pitch," a contest launched by American Express on YouTube to help bring unique independent movie ideas to life.
Check out the YouTube Screening Room again on April 29 to catch the next installment of Tribeca award-winning short films.
Kinzie Kramer, Associate Product Marketing Manager, Entertainment, recently watched “Charles Bradley - The World (Is Going Up In Flames).”
Sunday, April 24, 2011
But Since We're Not Building Many Of Them
Truly the "cheapest" way to improve access to quality for transit to people is to build more stuff where there is transit. Some places we don't because of basic nimbyism. Some places we don't because of the conflict between park-n-ride lots and TOD. Some places we don't because limiting the supply of housing in desirable areas keeps housing prices of existing houses high.
As I've written before, I think concerns about the negative impact of urban gentrification are often overstated, but the one concern I do have is if poor people are increasingly pushed out of areas with decent transit access. Hasn't yet happened here in the urban hellhole, but in another 20 years?
As I've written before, I think concerns about the negative impact of urban gentrification are often overstated, but the one concern I do have is if poor people are increasingly pushed out of areas with decent transit access. Hasn't yet happened here in the urban hellhole, but in another 20 years?
SUPERTRAINS To Nowhere
We certainly build roads to nowhere, or almost nowhere anyway, and the building of those roads spurs development along them. We're unlikely to go back to building trains to nowhere at any scale as a means of spurring development, at best we can perhaps try to preserve rights of way.
Sunday Bobbleheads
This Week has a bunch of people on to talk about Jesus, though strangely no Catholics.
Face the Nation has 2 Dems and 3 Republicans, accurately reflecting the current power balance in Washington.
Meet the Press has a conservative Democrat, and an ultra-conservative Republican.
Document the atrocities!
Face the Nation has 2 Dems and 3 Republicans, accurately reflecting the current power balance in Washington.
Meet the Press has a conservative Democrat, and an ultra-conservative Republican.
Document the atrocities!
i(i-1)
NYT Ethicist on paywall ethics.
Best part, re the "the letters" she gets:
They all come from New York Times loyalists, who say that quality journalism is worth paying for.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Assholes
In regard to this, normally these assholes go after imagined deadbeats on unemployment and single mothers who should be punished for their sins. Now they're decided even foster kids are responsible for their situations in life and shouldn't get any more of those "generous" handouts.
Our Bastards
Yes, this is part of the media painting the great Saint McCain as heroic no matter what he does, but it's also part of the media's willingness to follow along with whoever our government designates as the official Hitler of the week. That Gadhafi has gone from Hitler, to trusted ally and recipient of lovely arms shipments, and then back to Hitler so fast is interesting but not surprising.
Wanker of the Year Nominee
State Sen. Bruce Casswell
"Under a new budget proposal from State Sen. Bruce Casswell, children in the state’s foster care system would be allowed to purchase clothing only in used clothing stores.
Casswell, a Republican representing Branch, Hillsdale, Lenawee and St. Joseph counties, made the proposal this week, reports Michigan Public Radio."
Maybe Wanker of the Decade?
"Under a new budget proposal from State Sen. Bruce Casswell, children in the state’s foster care system would be allowed to purchase clothing only in used clothing stores.
Casswell, a Republican representing Branch, Hillsdale, Lenawee and St. Joseph counties, made the proposal this week, reports Michigan Public Radio."
Maybe Wanker of the Decade?
Friday, April 22, 2011
Rough day at the office
We had a solar panel blowout and sunlight leaked out everywhere. Crews are still trying to contain it now, but large amounts of sunlight have already been released and will probably get into the water supply.
Enjoy the weekend.
Enjoy the weekend.
An update on Google Video - Finding an easier way to migrate Google Video content to YouTube
[Cross-posted on the Google Webmaster Blog]
Last week we sent an email to Google Video users letting them know we would be ending playbacks of Google Videos on April 29 and providing instructions on how to download videos currently hosted on the platform. Since then we’ve received feedback from you about making the migration off of Google Video easier. We work every day to make sure you have a great user experience and should have done better. Based on your feedback, here’s what we’re doing to fix things.
Google Video users can rest assured that they won't be losing any of their content and we are eliminating the April 29 deadline. We will be working to automatically migrate your Google Videos to YouTube. In the meantime, your videos hosted on Google Video will remain accessible on the web and existing links to Google Videos will remain accessible. If you want to migrate to YouTube now, here’s how you do it:
If you’d prefer to download your videos from Google Video, that option is still available.
As we said nearly two years ago, the team is now focused on tackling the tough challenge of video search. We want to thank the millions of people around the world who have taken the time to create and share videos on Google Video. We hope today's improvements will help ease your transition to another video hosting service.
Posted by Mark Dochtermann, Engineering Manager, just watched "SJRI: Stanford Juggling Research Institute," which he recently migrated from Google Video to YouTube.
Last week we sent an email to Google Video users letting them know we would be ending playbacks of Google Videos on April 29 and providing instructions on how to download videos currently hosted on the platform. Since then we’ve received feedback from you about making the migration off of Google Video easier. We work every day to make sure you have a great user experience and should have done better. Based on your feedback, here’s what we’re doing to fix things.
Google Video users can rest assured that they won't be losing any of their content and we are eliminating the April 29 deadline. We will be working to automatically migrate your Google Videos to YouTube. In the meantime, your videos hosted on Google Video will remain accessible on the web and existing links to Google Videos will remain accessible. If you want to migrate to YouTube now, here’s how you do it:
- We’ve created an “Upload Videos to YouTube” option on the Google Video status page. To do this, you’ll need to have a YouTube account associated with your Google Video account (you can create one here). Before doing this you should read YouTube’s Terms of Use and Copyright Policies. If you choose this option, we’ll do our best to ensure your existing Google Video links continue to function.
If you’d prefer to download your videos from Google Video, that option is still available.
As we said nearly two years ago, the team is now focused on tackling the tough challenge of video search. We want to thank the millions of people around the world who have taken the time to create and share videos on Google Video. We hope today's improvements will help ease your transition to another video hosting service.
Posted by Mark Dochtermann, Engineering Manager, just watched "SJRI: Stanford Juggling Research Institute," which he recently migrated from Google Video to YouTube.
This week's Trends: mobs, ads, and Passover
Each weekday, we at YouTube Trends take a look at the most interesting videos and cultural phenomena on YouTube as they develop. We want take a moment to highlight some of what we've come across this week:
Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends
Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "Super Mario Proposal."
- We featured YouTube's top 10 most-viewed flash mobs of all time.
- We examined how T-Mobile's "Royal Wedding Entrance" took off with viewers and discovered popular ads from other countries around the world.
- We heard how a tornado... stole a man's hamburger.
- We saw unexpected hail videos were popular in Mexico.
- We witnessed dramatic tornado footage from America's Southeast.
We closely followed the events in Syria, tracking on the scene videos of reported violence and widespread protests. - For Passover, we pulled together 5 popular videos from a recent trend: Jewish holiday a cappella.
- And we enjoyed this surprising, lip-synced music video from some soldiers overseas:
Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends
Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "Super Mario Proposal."
Backlash
The problem is that there are not enough Democrats who are unapologetically outspoken in favor of women's rights. This is, in part, because DC-based consultants tell candidates to shut the fuck up about it. Yes, informed voters know that Team D is the party to vote for if you care about that issue, and except for some assholes in the House it's basically true, but abortion is one of those issues that a lot of not very political people will bother to vote on if someone shows some leadership.
Birther America
I don't know if that many Republicans are really birthers, or if they just like giving asshole answers to pollsters, but if the NYT paid to ask the question then it's a bit puzzling why they'd send it down the memory hole.
Jobs
Yes I'm repeating myself on the off chance that somebody might hear me, but nobody cares about the deficit. When the economy is bad they hear about the deficit, at least when Democrats are in power, and they relate the two, but they don't actually care about it.
We've massive long term unemployment. Millions of people chucked out of their homes. Entire communities being destroyed. There are real problems to be fixed, and they haven't been.
We've massive long term unemployment. Millions of people chucked out of their homes. Entire communities being destroyed. There are real problems to be fixed, and they haven't been.
More Privacy
As my quote in the article makes clear, I really don't think the "truth" of Trig Palin's birth is any of our business. Or, to put it completely bluntly, if the often unstated theory that Palin was covering up her daughter's pregnancy was true, it really wouldn't be any of our business. There aren't ever entirely clear lines with this stuff, and I'm not claiming I am the final authority on where they should be, but this violation of privacy of her then-young daughter over something which allegedly happened before she was running for president would tell us... what?
The Trig Truther rumors were swirling right about the time that...the news of Bristol's actual pregnancy was released. In fact I got a couple of emails from people in Alaska saying, in effect, "ignore this Trig crap, but Bristol is actually pregnant." So if the point is Palin is a big "family values" hypocrite, or something, because of the actions of her daughter, well, we got that story anyway.
In the post-Lewinsky period I thought that basically any sex-related scandal was fair game for any members of the GOP. They'd opened the door. I still think a giant gulf between what you preach and what you practice makes certain things fair game. Gay anti-gay politicians should be outed, and those who cast stones shouldn't be surprised if they get hit with a few, too. Sex scandals we will always have with us, and in the age of the internet there's no way for the supposedly responsible press to suppress them. But ultimately I'm all for leaning more in the direction that... it's just none of our business.
The Trig Truther rumors were swirling right about the time that...the news of Bristol's actual pregnancy was released. In fact I got a couple of emails from people in Alaska saying, in effect, "ignore this Trig crap, but Bristol is actually pregnant." So if the point is Palin is a big "family values" hypocrite, or something, because of the actions of her daughter, well, we got that story anyway.
In the post-Lewinsky period I thought that basically any sex-related scandal was fair game for any members of the GOP. They'd opened the door. I still think a giant gulf between what you preach and what you practice makes certain things fair game. Gay anti-gay politicians should be outed, and those who cast stones shouldn't be surprised if they get hit with a few, too. Sex scandals we will always have with us, and in the age of the internet there's no way for the supposedly responsible press to suppress them. But ultimately I'm all for leaning more in the direction that... it's just none of our business.
Happy Charles Krauthammer Day
I'd be more on the mood for celebrating, except he still has his job and hundreds of thousands of people are dead.
Water
One thing I've long been a little curious about is the potential for a region of the US to run out of water. Scare stories pop up here and there, sometimes linked to a specific drought, sometimes told as a long term structural story, but I never have enough knowledge to make any judgments on the claims.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Or Maybe Canada?
Some people say the Washington Post editorial board is basically a murderous cult hellbent on taxing poor people to pay for the murder of others abroad.
Some people.
Some people.
Life in a Day - coming to theaters this summer
On July 24, 2010, thousands of people around the world uploaded videos of their day to YouTube to take part in Life in a Day, a historic cinematic experiment to create a documentary film about a single day on earth. From over 80,000 submissions, executive producer Ridley Scott and Oscar winning director Kevin Macdonald have crafted a 90-minute feature film that paints a surprising, moving and entertaining portrait of the world today.
The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and was simultaneously live streamed here on YouTube. However if you missed it, or want to see it again on the big screen, worry not. National Geographic will be bringing ‘Life in a Day’ to theaters around the US on July 24th, 2011 - the first anniversary of the day the movie was shot.
To whet your appetite, the official trailer for ‘Life in a Day’ has just gone live.
For those outside the US, stay tuned for information about international releases in the coming months, and remember, you can subscribe to the official ‘Life in a Day’ channel to be the first to hear news and updates from the team.
Tim Partridge, Marketing Manager, just watched “The ‘Life in a Day’ trailer.”
The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and was simultaneously live streamed here on YouTube. However if you missed it, or want to see it again on the big screen, worry not. National Geographic will be bringing ‘Life in a Day’ to theaters around the US on July 24th, 2011 - the first anniversary of the day the movie was shot.
To whet your appetite, the official trailer for ‘Life in a Day’ has just gone live.
For those outside the US, stay tuned for information about international releases in the coming months, and remember, you can subscribe to the official ‘Life in a Day’ channel to be the first to hear news and updates from the team.
Tim Partridge, Marketing Manager, just watched “The ‘Life in a Day’ trailer.”
It Wasn't That Long Ago
Clinton passed a tax increase to reduce the deficit. He was rewarded for his efforts by Democrats being destroyed in subsequent elections and eventual impeachment. The tax increase, combined with a booming economy, led to the US government having a surplus. At this point, the greatest threat to the union was suddenly...a budget surplus. This, of course, could only be remedied by massive tax cuts for rich people.
There's no point in worrying about budgets 5 years from now. You can't control future Congresses.
There's no point in worrying about budgets 5 years from now. You can't control future Congresses.
About That No Fly Zone
The twitter machine tells me "Pres. Obama approves use of drones in Libya; missions are starting, says Defense Sec. Gates - Reuters."
Threadless T-Shirts BTS
Grover over at Photoshelter did a cool behind-the-scenes look into the one-man photo department at Threadless Tees, AKA Strobist reader Sean Dorgan.
Sean is self-taught and does all of the cool, better-than-they-have-to-be T-shirt shots for the site. (Most sites just import the design files into the web page, or at best shoot the empty shirts on white paper. Bleh.)
I have corresponded with Sean occasionally as he has grown from a newb flasher into someone who is doing some pretty neat stuff in the name of hawking cool, community-designed T-shirts. I was not at all surprised to see that beat-to-crap Tejada beauty dish he started out with, late in the vid either.
This should go without saying, but if your company has some sort of need for photography you might consider stepping up to the plate with your camera like Sean did. Worst case, you might rescue yourself from your cubicle a few hours per week.
Props to the increasingly education-oriented folks Photoshelter, and to Sean for raising the bar for Threadless.
-30-
(Via A Picture's Worth)
All We Have To Do Is Change The Name From War To Peace
This is truly dumb. The Republicans want to destroy Medicare and replace it with something else entirely which is nothing like Medicare. That they keep calling it "Medicare" does not change the fact that it is not, in fact, Medicare.
More Day Games
Still when there are afternoon games I it seems that there are actually a lot of apparent baseball game attendees who are wandering around the hellhole before or after games, that fans are making a day of it in the city. Unlike football and its 3 home games per year or whatever, with 80ish games per year baseball stadiums do have the potential to actually bring some cash into the city if people linger.
Same Everywhere
I know there are needier individuals than relatively well-paid orchestra musicians, but here we have another example of rich incompetent Galtian overlords fucking everything up and then trying fix things by screwing the help.
Word Salad
I guess I can be comforted by the fact that the uncustomarily high level of gibberish suggests that maybe he doesn't actually believe this crap.
So those were all investments that we made in the first two years. Now, the economy is now growing. It’s not growing quite as fast as we would like, because after a financial crisis, typically there’s a bigger drag on the economy for a longer period of time. But it is growing. And over the last year and a half we’ve seen almost 2 million jobs created in the private sector.
Because this recession came at a time when we were already deeply in debt and it made the debt worse, if we don’t have a serious plan to tackle the debt and the deficit, that could actually end up being a bigger drag on the economy than anything else. If the markets start feeling that we’re not serious about the problem, and if you start seeing investors feel uncertain about the future, then they could pull back right at the time when the economy is taking off.
So you’re right that it’s tricky. Folks around here are used to the hills in San Francisco, and you’ve driven -- I don’t know if they still have clutch cars around here. Anybody every driven a clutch car? (Laughter.) I mean, you got to sort of tap and -- well, that’s sort of what we faced in terms of the economy, right? We got to hit the accelerator, but we’ve got to also make sure that we don’t gun it; we can’t let the car slip backwards. And so what we’re trying to do then is put together a debt and deficit plan that doesn’t slash spending so drastically that we can’t still make investments in education, that we can’t still make investments in infrastructure -- all of which would help the economy grow.
In December, we passed a targeted tax cut for business investment, as well as the payroll tax that has a stimulus effect that helps to grow the economy. We can do those things and still grow the economy while having a plan in place to reduce the deficit, first by 2015, and then over the long term. So I think we can do both, but it does require the balanced approach that I was talking about.
If all we’re doing is spending cuts and we’re not discriminating about it, if we’re using a machete instead of a scalpel and we’re cutting out things that create jobs, then the deficit could actually get worse because we could slip back into another recession.
Something to read
The Management Myth (via)
I'm actually pretty grumpy, and sad about Sarah Jane, but, alternatively, there is always tickling a penguin.
Signed,
Not Atrios
I'm actually pretty grumpy, and sad about Sarah Jane, but, alternatively, there is always tickling a penguin.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Nothing To See Here
Move along folks.
CANTON, Pa. - Operators have lost control of a natural gas well in rural northern Pennsylvania, leading to a spill of fluids used in the drilling process.
Bradford County emergency officials say thousands of gallons of tainted water have spilled from a Chesapeake Energy Corp. well site near Canton since early Wednesday.
Losing It
Occasional reminder that the Social Security retirement age is already increasing to 67 under current law.
Minor point, but often seems to be "forgotten" in the debate.
A lot of people are pretty old in terms of capabilities at 67. Some people not. But very few able to do a physically taxing job well at that age very well.
Minor point, but often seems to be "forgotten" in the debate.
A lot of people are pretty old in terms of capabilities at 67. Some people not. But very few able to do a physically taxing job well at that age very well.
Shock Polls
To the surprise of no one not working for the Washington Post editorial page, people like Medicare and like taxing rich people. But this does not matter, as our betters know that Medicare is evil and rich people have sensitive feefees and will go Galt if we make them pay taxes. So it will be courage, not hypocrisy, which explains the sudden lack of importance of opinion polls.
Really Unpopular Complicated Expensive Technological Solutions For A Nonexistent Problem
I continue to be amazed at these idiocies.
Or you could, you, just increase the damn gas tax. Is there some possible future where gas mileage in cars has increased so much, or electric cars are a significant portion of the fleet, when it ceases to be a viable funding mechanism? Sure, but we're nowhere near that. What we are in is in situation where politicians think that they can't raise the gas tax but think that they can add on an entirely new, expensive, and invasive systems for collecting more money that voters will just love.
Also, too, if you really are desperate to institute a mileage tax for no good reason that I can see, you can just have someone check the odometer at an annual inspection.
Aside from revenue collection, the gas tax has the additional benefit of encouraging people to drive cars with better mileage, along with charging more for heavier vehicles which do more damage to the roads. It's a pretty good tax!
Falling gas tax revenue from more fuel-efficient vehicles has driven the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to look for volunteers to experiment with technology that could lead to new ways of paying for highways.
About 500 urban and rural motorists will begin testing gear in July that contains GPS links to track distances traveled.
The experiment underscores Minnesota's need for new sources of revenue to pay for highway construction and maintenance.
Or you could, you, just increase the damn gas tax. Is there some possible future where gas mileage in cars has increased so much, or electric cars are a significant portion of the fleet, when it ceases to be a viable funding mechanism? Sure, but we're nowhere near that. What we are in is in situation where politicians think that they can't raise the gas tax but think that they can add on an entirely new, expensive, and invasive systems for collecting more money that voters will just love.
Also, too, if you really are desperate to institute a mileage tax for no good reason that I can see, you can just have someone check the odometer at an annual inspection.
Aside from revenue collection, the gas tax has the additional benefit of encouraging people to drive cars with better mileage, along with charging more for heavier vehicles which do more damage to the roads. It's a pretty good tax!
Mysteries
15 months or so after the pivot, I still have no idea why we're talking about "the deficit" instead of "jobs."
THE TRAIN WILL KILL US ALL
I will never understand the extreme concern with safety given that trains travel in a completely predictable manner unlike, you know, cars.
Some activists have expressed concerns about the rail line running through some South L.A. neighborhoods at street level where many school kids cross. Metro workers say they’re putting the system through its precautionary paces during the testing phase and they’re visiting schools, churches and businesses to discuss safety.
Northern hemisphere spring brings the return of Live Green
The first signs of spring around YouTube HQ include the return of our Live Green program, presented by Garnier Fructis, which kicks off today.
Whether you’re seeking out natural beauty tips, healthy menu options, or recommendations on how to live a more sustainable lifestyle, you’ll find plenty to inform and inspire you at this specially-curated destination. Think of Live Green as a well-tended garden, planted with great video content from our top eco-focused partners.
We’ll be adding more content to Live Green through the coming months, so check in often and see the many different ways that you can take positive steps for yourself and your world at www.youtube.com/ytlivegreen.
Lilian Leitersdorf, Marketing Programs, recently watched “World’s Greenest Homes: Grass Roof Bungalow”.
Whether you’re seeking out natural beauty tips, healthy menu options, or recommendations on how to live a more sustainable lifestyle, you’ll find plenty to inform and inspire you at this specially-curated destination. Think of Live Green as a well-tended garden, planted with great video content from our top eco-focused partners.
We’ll be adding more content to Live Green through the coming months, so check in often and see the many different ways that you can take positive steps for yourself and your world at www.youtube.com/ytlivegreen.
Lilian Leitersdorf, Marketing Programs, recently watched “World’s Greenest Homes: Grass Roof Bungalow”.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Music Tuesday: Record store clerks cut loose in YouTube and Coachella highlights
It’s Music Tuesday, and new albums are hitting the shelves from Gorillaz, Eliza Doolittle, Lenka, I’m From Barcelona and many more artists this week. Over here, we’re still recovering from the epic cascade of music that was Coachella. Relive the festival -- and check out this week’s offerings on youtube.com/music.
Record store clerks cut loose in YouTube
Before there was YouTube, people went to record stores to discover new music. The good news is, they still do -- and record store clerks remain some of the best tastemakers out there. So we’re starting a new, occasional series in which we invite influential independent music sellers to share their favorite videos with us. We kick off the series just days after Record Store Day with Amoeba Music, California’s premier tune-peddlers. They share their own original content -- who doesn’t want to find out what’s in ?uestlove’s shopping bag? -- as well as other awesome video finds: salsa great Celia Cruz in Africa, Miles Davis in action, and an excellent, weird video from psych pop outfit the Fresh & Onlys.
Coachella Highlights
You’re back at work, you’re rehydrating, you’re massaging your neck after craning to see Kanye float above the crowd...or chances are, if you weren’t in the desert in Indio, California this weekend, you might have been checking out the music festival live on youtube.com/coachella. It was an epic event, and with cameras on three stages, there was so much to see it was almost befuddling. But in case you missed it, guess what? We’ve got highlights.
Vacationer “Trip”
And now, notes from the underground. This video showed up in our inbox last week -- we’ve got very little information on the band, Vacationer (except that they’re from Brooklyn, natch), but when we heard the glitchy-but-catchy, flat-shoed sound of “Trip,” we started to get hooked. Then there’s the guy moon-walking next a waterfall in the video, plus exotic birds showing off their plumage in slow motion. Trust us; this is entrancing.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “DaVinci - Blame Game.”
Record store clerks cut loose in YouTube
Before there was YouTube, people went to record stores to discover new music. The good news is, they still do -- and record store clerks remain some of the best tastemakers out there. So we’re starting a new, occasional series in which we invite influential independent music sellers to share their favorite videos with us. We kick off the series just days after Record Store Day with Amoeba Music, California’s premier tune-peddlers. They share their own original content -- who doesn’t want to find out what’s in ?uestlove’s shopping bag? -- as well as other awesome video finds: salsa great Celia Cruz in Africa, Miles Davis in action, and an excellent, weird video from psych pop outfit the Fresh & Onlys.
Coachella Highlights
You’re back at work, you’re rehydrating, you’re massaging your neck after craning to see Kanye float above the crowd...or chances are, if you weren’t in the desert in Indio, California this weekend, you might have been checking out the music festival live on youtube.com/coachella. It was an epic event, and with cameras on three stages, there was so much to see it was almost befuddling. But in case you missed it, guess what? We’ve got highlights.
Vacationer “Trip”
And now, notes from the underground. This video showed up in our inbox last week -- we’ve got very little information on the band, Vacationer (except that they’re from Brooklyn, natch), but when we heard the glitchy-but-catchy, flat-shoed sound of “Trip,” we started to get hooked. Then there’s the guy moon-walking next a waterfall in the video, plus exotic birds showing off their plumage in slow motion. Trust us; this is entrancing.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “DaVinci - Blame Game.”
Mmm mmm good - YouTube videos now served in WebM
If you travel abroad frequently, you know that charging your electronic devices is not always an easy task. Power adapters for cellphones and computers don’t always fit into local power outlets, meaning you have to pack converters. Think of video on the web in a similar way. Currently, there are countless devices used to record videos and hundreds of different video file formats. Even more, certain web browsers that you use to view video online only accept certain ‘codecs’ - or programs used to encode, transmit and playback video files - and others require plug-ins (converters) to integrate the video file with the browser.
Despite these complexities, one of our key aims is to deliver great content to you wherever you are - regardless of device, browser or other technical specification, so you never have to remember that complicated “power adapter converter” to watch a video.
To that end, all new videos uploaded to YouTube are now transcoded into WebM. WebM is an open media file format for video and audio on the web. Its openness allows anyone to improve the format and its integrations, resulting in a better experience for you in the long-term. As we work to transcode more videos into WebM, we hope to reduce the technical incompatibilities that prevent you from accessing video while improving the overall online video landscape.
Transcoding all new video uploads into WebM is an important first step, and we’re also working to transcode our entire video catalog to WebM. Given the massive size of our catalog - nearly 6 years of video is uploaded to YouTube every day - this is quite the undertaking. So far we’ve already transcoded videos that make up 99% of views on the site or nearly 30% of all videos into WebM. We’re focusing first on the most viewed videos on the site, and we’ve made great progress here through our cloud-based video processing infrastructure that maximizes the efficiency of processing and transcoding without stopping. It works like this: at busy upload times, our processing power is dedicated to new uploads, and at less busy times, our cloud will automatically switch some of our processing to encode older videos into WebM. As we continue to transcode the remaining inventory, we’ll keep you posted on our progress.
In keeping with our goal of making videos universally accessible, we will continue to support H.264 as an important codec for video on YouTube. We are also committed to continuing to develop our HTML5 video player that we announced last year, and if you’d like to join the opt-in trial, you can do so here.
The world of online video is incredibly complex and dynamic. Yet, our goal is to ensure that nothing stands between you and the great content you’ve always enjoyed. We’ll continue to invest in new video technology that improves the experiences for all users, builds a better infrastructure for online video, leads to greater access of information and spurs continued innovation.
James Zern, Software Engineer, recently watched "HTML5 Video Accessiblity and the WebVTT File Format".
Despite these complexities, one of our key aims is to deliver great content to you wherever you are - regardless of device, browser or other technical specification, so you never have to remember that complicated “power adapter converter” to watch a video.
To that end, all new videos uploaded to YouTube are now transcoded into WebM. WebM is an open media file format for video and audio on the web. Its openness allows anyone to improve the format and its integrations, resulting in a better experience for you in the long-term. As we work to transcode more videos into WebM, we hope to reduce the technical incompatibilities that prevent you from accessing video while improving the overall online video landscape.
Transcoding all new video uploads into WebM is an important first step, and we’re also working to transcode our entire video catalog to WebM. Given the massive size of our catalog - nearly 6 years of video is uploaded to YouTube every day - this is quite the undertaking. So far we’ve already transcoded videos that make up 99% of views on the site or nearly 30% of all videos into WebM. We’re focusing first on the most viewed videos on the site, and we’ve made great progress here through our cloud-based video processing infrastructure that maximizes the efficiency of processing and transcoding without stopping. It works like this: at busy upload times, our processing power is dedicated to new uploads, and at less busy times, our cloud will automatically switch some of our processing to encode older videos into WebM. As we continue to transcode the remaining inventory, we’ll keep you posted on our progress.
In keeping with our goal of making videos universally accessible, we will continue to support H.264 as an important codec for video on YouTube. We are also committed to continuing to develop our HTML5 video player that we announced last year, and if you’d like to join the opt-in trial, you can do so here.
The world of online video is incredibly complex and dynamic. Yet, our goal is to ensure that nothing stands between you and the great content you’ve always enjoyed. We’ll continue to invest in new video technology that improves the experiences for all users, builds a better infrastructure for online video, leads to greater access of information and spurs continued innovation.
James Zern, Software Engineer, recently watched "HTML5 Video Accessiblity and the WebVTT File Format".
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