MetaFilter posts tagged with michael

Capitalism Is Evil

philip-random — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:25:38 -0800

Director Michael Moore now wants nothing less than the complete overthrow of the modern capitalist system. Michael Moore's latest is called CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY and the first reviews are starting to filter in from Venice where it just premiered. Thus far, the verdict seems split: "Pic's target is less capitalism qua capitalism than the banking industry, which Moore skewers ruthlessly, explaining last year's economic meltdown in terms a sixth-grader could understand. That said, there's still plenty here to annoy right-wingers, as well as those who, however much they agree with Moore's politics, just can't stomach his oversimplification, on-the-nose sentimentality and goofball japery."

Bike vs. Cars War

nometa — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:39:24 -0800

In light of the recent tragic death of a cyclist in Toronto, even normally well-balanced MeFites have polarized in the bikes vs. cars “war”. But according to Guillermo Penalosa, the fight is really about better urban design. He helped to radically reinvent the transit and parks infrastructure of Bogata, making it of the best cycling cities in the world. The recent changes to Broadway in New York were influenced by Bogota's success. Gil now advises the Project for Public Spaces and is Executive Director of Walk & Bike for Life. Their solution to the pedestrians vs. cars vs. bikes battle is simple: better urban planning (previously on MeFi) that gives everyone their own safe space. Not sure if your city's infrastructure is up-to-snuff? Apply the 8/80 rule. In the meantime, keep safe out there.

Science Fiction VS Scifi

GavinR — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:34:03 -0800

Harlan Ellison tears up the debate and J. Michael Straczynski speaks up on the topic. Oh, yeah there is also Herb Solow as well and his wife Yvonne (WTF) speaking on the subject "Science Fiction" over "SciFi". None of them saw SyFy coming back in 1997, that's for sure! (SLYT) Also, here is the Newsweek article mentioned at the start of the segment.

Circling the lonely moon by yourself, the loneliest person in the universe, weren't you lonely?

miss lynnster — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:10:44 -0800

Astronaut Michael Collins – "I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their planet from a distance of 100,000 miles their outlook could be fundamentally changed. That all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument silenced. The tiny globe would continue to turn, serenely ignoring its subdivisions, presenting a unified façade that would cry out for unified understanding, for homogeneous treatment. The earth must become as it appears: blue and white, not capitalist or Communist; blue and white, not rich or poor; blue and white, not envious or envied."

You See, In Order to Save the Village America, We Have to ...

WCityMike — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:24:25 -0800

Michael Scheuer, the former chief of the CIA's "bin Laden Station", and the initially anonymous author of Imperial Hubris, pulls an O'Reilly on yesterday's Glenn Beck broadcast:

"The only chance we have as a country have right now is for Osama bin Laden to deploy and detonate a major weapon in the United States [...] only Osama can execute an attack which will force Americans to demand that their government protect them [...] with as much violence as necessary."

Earlier this month, Scheuer even wrote a speech he proposed bin Laden give. Disturbingly, bin Laden recommended Hubris in a September 2007 speech; if he's still alive, let's hope he doesn't follow Scheuer's media appearances. The video has spread off of political blogs onto sites nearer the mainstream, but mounting calls of treason are rendered a bit hyperbolic when compared with Article III and with U.S. v. Gadahn, the country's first treason indictment since 1952 and the only one post-9/11 ... not to mention reminiscent the worst of the right.

October 25 2009 isn't THAT far away...

hippybear — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:45:12 -0800

It's time to start planning for this year's Thrill The World! Ever since I saw Jennifer Garner totally save a party doing the Thriller dance, I've wanted to learn it, just in case... Now anyone can learn it! Callous MeFites might have already seen myriad versions; how many have danced it themselves? Shake off the dust of the crypt by shaking your bootie. You know you want to... It'll make you feel good.

Viva La Vida - A Copy of a Copy?

spaceboy86 — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:28:35 -0800

Did "Auto-Tune the News" guy accidentally write Coldplay's Viva La Vida? Michael Gregory, aka Auto-Tune the News guy (previously) talks about how his shower singing was turned into something eerily similar to Viva La Vida. The Creaky Boards claim their song was plagiarized by Coldplay; Michael claims to have been plagiarized by the Creaky Boards.

Michael Jordan Declares Support for Chicago Olympics

jon_hansen — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:49:01 -0800

The push for Chicago as the 2016 Olympic-host city is gearing up, and even the usually reclusive Michael Jordan has publicly declared his support. Jordan also appears in this recently released ad that features testimonials from other former Chicago Olympians such as Jackie-Joyner Kersee, Greg Louganis, and many more.

Natasha Richardson Dead at Age 45 From Fall at Ski Resort

WCityMike — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:06:48 -0800

Actress Natasha Richardson died yesterday at the age of 45 after a fall while taking a beginner's lesson at the Mont Tremblant Ski Resort, located 80 miles northwest of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. After starring with Liam Neeson in the 1994 Jodie Foster film "Nell," she married him later that year and would later have two sons, Micheal and Daniel. Richardson was born into a family with a very long history of actors and actresses. Her grandfather was Michael Redgrave, and Michael's daughter Vanessa married director Tony Richardson, a union that brought about Natasha and her sister, actress Joely Richardson (best known to some as Julia in Nip/Tuck). (Natasha's aunt is actress Lynn Redgrave.) Her father, who had a "quiet–if not completely closeted–gay life", died of AIDS at age 63; his wife Vanessa made large contributions to AIDS-related charities, and Richardson became very active organizing and planning fundraisers and other related work for amFAR. An hour after the fall, Ms. Richardson reported she was "not feeling well," and was taken first to a local hospital, then to Montreal's Hopital du Sacre-Coeur, then to NYC's Lenox Hill Hospital, where she passed away. Richardson began her career as a four-year-old flower girl in her father's 1968 film "The Charge of the Light Brigade", and acted throughout her adolescence, breaking into larger-scale starring roles as Mary Shelley and Patty Hearst, as well as the starring role of Kate in "The Handmaid's Tale." She became known to the Disney-watching crowd as the "nasty wife" in the Lindsey Lohan "Parent Trap" remake, as well as a role in Jennifer Lopez's film, "Maid in Manhattan". Richardson has been said to have had "talk and die syndrome," but this is simply a referral to "the fact that we always worry about people with head injuries that don't show up immediately, which is why we like to observe people after a head injury for 24 hours." Scientific American's interview with the chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center indicates that she may have had an arterial dissection in a blood vessel in the brain, possibly leading to a brain stem stroke; an epidural hematoma; or an arteriovenous malformation. While it may be entirely unrelated to the nature of Ms. Richardson's injury, Iraq war veterans have been having similar yet non-fatal experiences where they walk away fine from a brain injury only to feel the effects at a later point. This was covered in Popular Science's August 2008 issue, in a story called "Shock to the System." In it, neuroscientist Ibolja Cernak [...] "believes that blasts may do more than just rattle the head; the shock waves also compress the torso, which may cause pressure waves to ripple through blood vessels like miniature tsunamis, rushing into the brain and damaging tissue." One wonders whether the testing gadget used to monitor for brain trauma might be adapted in the future to civilian use in sports with possible risk of brain injury such as skiing, boxing, etc., in order to prevent the kind of circumstances that may have caused Ms. Richardson's death.

Jimmy Smith Park

xorry — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:26:05 -0800

Jimmy Smith Park. Breadcrumbs so you can find your way back: Jimmy Smith Park -> About -> Rivers Park -> Dreams about Drunks -> The evolution of previously.

For Sale: King of Pop

Ugh — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:20:56 -0800

In April, an extraordinary auction will provide an unprecedented look into the private world of Michael Jackson. More than 2,000 items, ranging from personal effects and costumes to pieces from Jackson's private art collection as well as fittings and furnishings from his Neverland ranch, will be up for sale. The auction is so extensive, a six-volume book was printed just to detail every lot. If you're so inclined, you can register to bid (pdf).

Supersize Him

billysumday — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:17:39 -0800

"I’ll get right to the good stuff: for the entire month of February, 2009, I, Michael J. Nelson will eat nothing but bacon. Nothing, my friends, but bacon." [prev. mefi+bacon]

Steele becomes RNC Chair

billysumday — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:15:51 -0800

Michael Steele, former Lt. Governor of Maryland and one of only a handful of semi-prominent African-American leaders in the Republican Party, has just been elected RNC Chair. He beat out Katon Dawson, Chair of the South Carolina GOP, who had recently resigned his membership from an all-white country club, by a vote of 91-77. Some argue that the RNC Chair race was all about race. Other candidates who withdrew their names from contention were Chip Saltsman, infamous for putting the song "Barack the Magic Negro" on a holiday mix CD, and Ken Blackwell, another prominent African-American Republican who tipped the scales by throwing his support to Steele.

It Don't Matter if You're Black or White (Furred)

WCityMike — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:05:35 -0800

You know, sometimes, you want to read about an upcoming economic nightmare, sometimes, you want to read about Obama's transition team, sometimes, you want to read about the Rifleman's Creed, and sometimes, you just want to see squirrels dance to Michael Jackson (SLYT).

Terror takes the sound before you make it...

Ambrosia Voyeur — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:29:14 -0800

Yet another Thriller cover. One man. 64 channels of a cappella. SLYT

Spy Music

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:18:04 -0800

Spy music! Whether it's Lalo Schifrin's theme for Mission Impossible, or Jerry Goldsmith's theme for Man from U.N.C.L.E., or the greatest of them all, John Barry's iconic James Bond theme, you know it when you hear it. Now, for my money, the best spy music in recent years wasn't from a spy movie at all, but an animated superhero film: the action-packed theme and soundtrack for The Incredibles, in which the very talented Michael Giacchino was clearly (and brilliantly) channeling John Barry. And of course, you'll all want to head over here and see what your fellow MeFiers have lately been doing with the genre. [note: see hoverovers for link descriptions] And why did so many of your fellow MeFiers suddenly start posting "spy music" to MetaFilter Music? Ah, well, I knew you were wondering! You see, it was one of last month's MeFi Music Challenges, suggested by stavrosthewonderchicken! Yay!. And we need more of you MeFiers to supply us with good Challenge ideas. OK? OK!

Renaissance Dude

celerystick — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:31:57 -0800

Michael Bluejay: ...... Who says he almost always rides a bike, tried to expose the cult he was born into, (Aesthetic Realism), is concerned about pedophiles in the nudist community, played with the Ben Folds Five, and can tell you really really effective ways to save electricity? Why, its some guy called Micheal Blue Jay and his densly information packed web site of practical millenial knowledge and other fascinating factoids. Kind of Ben Franklinesque.

Second to the right, and straight on 'til morning.

miss lynnster — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:08:23 -0800

Night time at Nev erl and.

Michael Dudok de Wit

kudzu — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:07:59 -0800

Michael Dudok de Wit : Animator His website is under construction. He also contributed in T.R.A.N.S.I.T.

Thriller. The Ultimate version.

filmgeek — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:11:53 -0800

In the year 1982, Michael Jackson releases Thriller, which according to the Guinness Book of World Records[wikipedia], is the greatest selling album of all time. The 14 minute music video [youtube] was the longest/most expensive at the time, and was directed by filmmaker John Landis.[imdb] Details of the video here[wikipedia] Now onto the show. [all youtube links] Thriller with Legos. At a wedding. The tv show Good Morning America on the wedding version. At walmart. At another wedding. In Final Fantasy. More animatics. Professional dancers. More dancers. And More. Yup, more here. Even more dancers. Sigh. Even more dancers. And it's not just for 2 year olds. College students too. Penn State's Blue Band. The Bollywood Version. They even do it in Prison.

The Internets is Serious Business

revmitcz — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 14:52:40 -0800

"Dear Internet, I'm Sorry..." Meet Michael Crook, being billed as "the most hated man on the internet". First coming in to view when taking a really bad idea to it's ridiculous extreme, he appears on Fox's Hannity & Colmes to lambast members of the military for being "worthless pukes" and whining about their compensation. One site decides to give him a taste of his own medicine, which he clearly didn't like.

365 Days II: 365 MORE Days, The Bloodening

Rev. Syung Myung Me — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 10:54:34 -0800

It's BACK! Otis F. Odder (of The Bran Flakes and Comfort Stand Recordings is reviving his 365 Days project on the WFMU Beware Of The Blog! Hot damn! He opens it with the complete recordings of the Michael Mills Satanic Messages Radio Show and the complete Beatles Forever recordings (previously excerpted in the first incarnation). (Previously on Me Fi)

Party Boy in a Cage

dr_dank — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 20:24:37 -0800

Michael Alig , the once-king of the "club kids" speaks with New York magazine regarding his ten years in prison and recent denial of parole.

Freedom?

Lord_Pall — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 06:22:57 -0800

I couldn't have said it better.
(single link, youtube, political, beautifully done)

Parenti's new book

mickeyz — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 16:03:41 -0800

Michael Parenti has written a new book called The Culture Struggle and talks about it here.