Virtual Insanity

Happy MLK day, America.

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:58:00 -0500

This is my favourite photo of Dr. King.

Lyndon Johnson looks exhausted but MLK seems energetic and is looking directly at the President which says to me “conviction and strength”. MLK was very intelligent and it’s hard to imagine how the Civil Rights Act could have passed without such an iconic leader.

Happy MLK Day, America.

Good Point Huffingtonpost.

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:26:00 -0500

And Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum could only convince 25% of that 5.4% to think they could be President. BFD.

#datshitcray nbaoffseason: “I could shoot 4 for 12 and I’ll...

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:33:41 -0500

#datshitcray

nbaoffseason:

“I could shoot 4 for 12 and I’ll still hit the game winner like that s*** gravy”

No, really, DWade was 4 for 12 before he when glass for the game winner, all while LeBron, who was 13 for 23 with a ridiculous 35 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks, stood in the corner and watched. Don’t worry, they both celebrated the win together by turning to Cam Newton on the sideline and giving him a taste of his own Superman touchdown celebration.

Not a big deal to me but I’m sure Bayless, Woj, Whitlock and the rest of the LeBron-haters will magnify, dissect, and beat this topic to death tomorrow.

And they probably won’t mention how badly LeBron got robbed on a dunk a few minutes before that.

@Suga_Shane

The Award for Most Ridiculous Holiday Movie goes to...

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:39:00 -0500

WAR HORSE!

This is ACTUALLY a movie and it’s directed by Steven Spielberg!

If you’re looking for a good laugh check out the trailer on YouTube.

WARNING: There are no actual macho gun blazing human-horse hybrids in the movie but once you see the trailer you’ll get the picture…

It's a shame Kim Jong-Il outlived Christopher Hitchens

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:24:00 -0500

It was tragedy that the world lost Christopher Hitchens last week.

He was a brilliant, provocative academic who had a razor-sharp wit and could deliver a cleverly veiled insult like no other (and did so countless times in many debates throughout his career).

People have been poking lots of fun at footage of North Koreans in hysterics, mourning the loss of Kim Jong-Il and I think Hitchens would have taken the high road on this issue seeing as its no laughing matter.

True, people who are close to the regime and live in the capital, Pyongyang, may be genuinely upset that their provider is gone, however the majority of people are weeping out of fear, not sadness.

Showing disrespect to Kim Jong-Il aka. the “Dear Leader” is a heinous crime in North Korea and is punishable by death or a lifetime in one of 22 labour camps, which is practically the same thing.

Hitchens loathed the North Korean regime for the horrible atrocities they systematically committed against their own people and he even visited The North once. He spent his entire career as a crusader for free thought, the kind of free thought that doesn’t exist in North Korea.

I recommend the VICE Guide to North Korea if you want to understand why the North Korean’s have reacted with such hysteria. WARNING: Its not funny and it will shock you.

You're a mean one

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:28:58 -0500

The BBC reported today that North Korea has threatened South Korea with “unexpected consequences” if the South goes ahead and lights up a 30 metre high structure that resembles a giant Christmas tree.

The lights from the structure can supposedly be seen from inside North Korea and it amounts to “psychological warfare” according to the North, which got me wondering… when did the Grinch become a chief adviser to Kim Jong-Il?

Maybe if living conditions weren’t so horrendous in North Korea, giant well lit Christian/Christmas symbols wouldn’t be so threatening to the regime but who knows? Maybe Kim Jong-Il will channel the Grinch, get in “the Christmas spirit” and have a sudden change of heart just like the Grinch does in the end. He could start by freeing the 200,000 political prisoners trapped in top-secret labour camps…

You’re a mean one, Kim Jong-Il.

I’m still in shock over the Chris Paul trade being vetoed...

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:21:00 -0500

I’m still in shock over the Chris Paul trade being vetoed by the NBA. In all his 20+ years as Commissioner I don’t think David Stern has ever been more despised by fans than right now.

nbaoffseason:

DENIED!

Times are tough and the CBC wants you to know it

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:48:00 -0500

I was shocked by how tragic the headlines on cbc.ca were today (picture). It seems the world is going to hell in a hand basket and I should be concerned about:

- the Government

- the Environment

- Immigration/Humanitarian policy

- The economy

- Inequality

- Car insurance in Ontario

- A horrible crime in BC

- RIM, the BlackBerry

- law, punishment and order

What the CBC missed in the headlines ~~while it was trying to depress you~~ was that scientists found the most “Earth like” planet they’ve ever found and it’s 600 light years away.

The headline on Al Jazeera English was that we discovered “earth’s twin”, an exaggeration, but a horrifying premise nonetheless. With all the ~~first world~~ problems going on today, according to the CBC, a twin is probably the last thing we need!

We would double our problems and the amount of people, plus it would only give the CBC double the amount of ~~depressing stuff~~ news to report on. no thanks.

i’m glad we’re separated twins, for now at least.

Derek Fisher Needs (another) Miracle.

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:40:00 -0500

The NBA and “the players” are in ugly, intense last minute negotiations to try and salvage the 2011-2012 season today. I hope Derek Fisher (the leader of the players union) channels the Derek Fisher of past and pulls off a buzzer beater to save this season.

All signs point to ‘no’ but when I watch this I just don’t believe that Derek Fisher is the kind of guy to give up when the going gets tough. #OccupyNBA

Fat Joe isn’t known for being the most articulate or...

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:15:32 -0500

Fat Joe isn’t known for being the most articulate or lyrically gifted rapper but I gotta give props for his pragmatic take on gay people in hip hop.

chainletter2:

Fat Joe interviewed about gay people in hip hop and it’s awesome. Highlights include “I’m a fan of ‘Yo I’m gay. The fuck?’”, “Lady Gaga, I don’t know if she gay but she runnin with that gay shit FOR REAL”, and “If yo gay? Rep ya set”

"Greenwashing" Fail

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:59:00 -0400

Question: How on earth can petroleum be considered “Mother Nature’s Fuel”?

Answer: It cannot.

Greenwashing is as a marketing strategy that positions products and services to consumers as “environmentally friendly”.

It’s a way of saying to customers,

“hey friend, don’t feel bad about the impact of your consumption on the environment. Buy our product because it won’t hurt the environment ~~all that much~~”

This is a nifty display of “greenwashing” at my local gas station.

I think by “greenwashing the gas station” Husky Energy is trying to make people feel better about burning fossil fuels, trapping more carbon the atmosphere, contributing to global warming and supporting oil companies sometimes. Not an easy task for an advertiser seeing as Al Gore already guilt tripped everyone pretty hard on that if you ask me.

Check out this photo gallery from National Geographic of the Alberta Oil Sands and see if you agree with Husky that petroleum is “Mother Nature’s Fuel”.

I made the internet!

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:20:00 -0400

Rick Mercer is a boss.

His rant this week on bullying and the recent media attention that its been receiving is epic and I couldn’t agree more.

Gay adults needs to have the courage to be role models - and I don’t mean Hal Johnson from Body Break or Oprah celebrity type ‘role models’ - I mean average and grown up role models like firefighter, teacher, bus driver, secretary, crazy lunch lady, scientist, doctor, mom, dad, entrepreneur.

I felt I had to do something to put my money where my mouth was on this issue so I submitted my ‘coming out’ story to a network called ‘imfromdriftwood.com’ that shares the stories of people who ‘came out’ in the hopes of saving other LGBT youth who may be considering suicide.

I got an email today saying my story went up on their site.

My story is a little sappy but check it out.

If you have a ‘coming out’ story then what are you waiting for? Submit it.

If I’ve learned anything from these recent events, it’s that the LGBT “at-risk, tech savvy youth” who love Lady GaGa are on the internet and in light of the recent suicides who knows?

You could just save a little monsters life.

#OccupyNBA

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:07:00 -0400

OK. I’m starting to go a little crazy.

It’s close to the end of October and usually around this time of the year I’m already getting giddy and telling others about how the Raptors have a real shot at the NBA Championship this season.

I have the same delusion that Leaf’s fans have but my affliction pertains to the Raptors.

I’ve decided to start my own form of protest and have decided to post a video of my favourite Raptors players/plays/moments, every day, until the lock out is over.

I feel it will help take the edge off.

Post #1 - Damon Stoudamire (aka. Mighty Mouse) making Ron Harper look silly.

Come back NBA! #occupynba

The UAE should have more BlackBerry outages

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 22:14:00 -0400

According to the World Health Organization traffic accidents are the leading cause of death in the UAE and there’s typically a fatal accident in Abu Dhabi every two days and an accident every three minutes in Dubai.

I can attest to this.

While I was in the UAE I got to witness their ~~maniacal~~ “relaxed” driving practices for myself. That’s why I was happy to see this little bit of good news in light of the recent global BlackBerry service outage (courtesy the boygeniusreport.com)

According to The National (the UAE’s national paper) during the service outage,

Traffic accidents fell 20% in Dubai and 40% in Abu Dhabi. Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim from the Dubai Police department said his force saw the largest decrease among young drivers and men…

Imagine if the UAE instituted a BlackBerry ban during 1 hour of high traffic everyday?!

That will never happen however the effects of this event just may be decisive enough to change current attitudes and behaviors among people in The Emirates.

The bottom line: countless lives could be saved if people focused on the road and not their BlackBerry’s.

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:18:00 -0400

In the social media world companies must engage in a dialogue with their clients and this becomes important when companies do something to anger their clients.

RIM CEO, Mike Lazaridis uploaded this video the other day in light of the recent global BlackBerry service outage that has ~~made people freak out~~ inconvenienced customers the last few days.

Two thoughts on the RIM video:

1) STOP READING SO BLATANTLY AND LOOK INTO THE CAMERA!!!

2) There was a big opportunity missed to provide hyperlinks embedded into the video to direct users to a service status update page/per region.

South Park does a great job of mocking these types of apologies by skewering former BP CEO, Tony Hayworth.

Techy savvy protestors

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:34:00 -0400

Last night the Globe and Mail website was hacked, presumably by Occupy Wall Street protestors, and the captions next to each celebrity snap shot were hilariously altered to provide readers with a much more critical message.

This one was my favourite.

You can definitely tell Sofia Vergara is demanding higher taxes. The champagne bottles mixed with her physical form just screams social justice.

washingtonpoststyle: The most commonly-used words in last...

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 01:47:40 -0400

washingtonpoststyle:

The most commonly-used words in last night’s GOP presidential debate on the economy. As in June’s debate, “people” and “going” were the top words.

I love Wordles, semiotic analysis AND US Presidential politics so how could I not re-blog this?

I tried to piece the most prominent words together and the substance of the debate can be summed up in one scrambled sentence,

“People want jobs right now know the government want tax country. The American economy need to think of one plan, get back to right percent spending, President.”

Open letter by a superfan for hire.

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:07:00 -0400

Dear Dream Job at MLSE,

It’s me, Ken. Remember me?

Sure you do!

I used to think about you all the time when I’d do my homework and watch the Raptors. You know I even watch those late 10:30 games when they’re in LA…

I know you remember that time when Vince Carter passed it to himself off the back board for a windmill slam dunk and Chuck Swirsky signed my Converse Weapons…

Well Dream Job, I’m back.

I can’t get you and the Raptors off my mind and I want to get in touch.

I’ve been so busy working on my skills and experience and I can finally feel it - we’re ready for each other.

With your ability to excite and inspire others combined with my leadership experience and dedication to success I just know we’re going to be a big hit.

Let’s connect, I’d love to catch up soon.

Best,

Ken. #14

@kpdavie

flavors.me/kendavie

Respect to @NICKIMINAJ

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:52:00 -0400

Some artists shy away from being role models and refuse to set a good example for their fans but not Nicki Nicki. She puts education first.

Also, @suck_mah_tw33ts better hope her teachers don’t have Twitter.

Nicely done Barbz.

Look 'em in the eye

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:06:00 -0400

These two front covers do a great job of capturing what I like to call, the “crazy eyes”.

Eye contact and facial expressions are such crucial components of non-verbal communications - communicating without words - that it often says more to an audience about a candidate than the actual substance of their speech.

When I see the “crazy eyes” I usually think of Jack Nicholson in The Shining when he goes on an axe-murdering rampage, culminated with the famous line,

“HERE’S JOHNNY!!!”

I also get the same vibe from Michelle Bachmann & Tim Hudak so beware of politicians giving the “crazy eyes”

Follow me @kpdavie