As you may know from some of my recent posts: A) I eagerly did my online farewells to the 43rd President (a bit too eagerly, perhaps), and B) gladly welcomed the Barack Obama, our 44th President, as my new President. I’m still quite giddy about it, and I find the President’s Internet presence to really cool. It is absolutely fabulous.
Posts Tagged: YouTube
24
Dec 08
Holidays on Ice
Last night, I went out with my friend Scott to ice skate at Horton Plaza. It’s an annual tradition in San Diego; however a lot of people here can’t skate. I just do the San Diego thing and deal with it – for a while.
Happy whatever festive occasion you choose to celebrate. Happy Holidays from ShindoTV.
31
Jul 08
Toyota Robot plays trumpet
Perhaps this is where Data got his musical ability – distant ancestral memory.
My friend Andrew sent this to me, though I’m not sure if this is necessarily proof that Japan is better than the US.
Note: Toyota seems to lack imagination when it comes to naming their robots. Honda named theirs Asimo, which is a clever acronym, but also evokes Isaac Asimov.
28
Jun 08
Definitely Made For Tracy Ullman
I’ve had too many hours of BBC America viewing punctuated with commercials from the Tax Lady, AKA Roni Deutsch. She is perfect to be spoofed by Tracy Ullman. I could see her creating a character based on this informercial attorney.
28
Jun 08
What The Buck: Are You Addicted To the Internet?
Internet addiction? What’s that? Hear Buck explain.
Ironically, a lot of recovery support is online.
14
Jan 08
Violently Happy?
I got this piece of Bjork news from my friend Sharon. It takes courage to approach Bjork, as a photographer in Auckland, New Zealand found out. Like the incident in Bangkok over a decade ago, Bjork was apprehended by a member of the press at the airport. She, of course, didn’t take too kindly to his picture taking.
There will probably be a vid of this incident later on YouTube, but it involves torn clothing (the photographer) and Bjork falling on the ground. All I have to say about it is that he should have known better. To quote Perez, “Don’t mess with Bjork. She’ll fuck you up!”
Here is the now classic vid of Bjork attacking a reporter in Bangkok:
8
Jan 08
Books on ShindoTV: Punching In
What kind of people work at UPS, Starbucks, Gap, or the Apple Store? Alex Frankel finds out for sure as he joins these brand name retail environments in a one year period and chronicles his experiences in Punching In: The Unauthorized Adventures of a Front-Line Employee. Barbara Ehrenreich did this kind of undercover writing in Nickel and Dimed. While Ehrenreich’s aim was to expose the hardships of low wage jobs that fail to provide living wages, Frankel examines corporate culture and how it shapes the employees who sell the product directly to the customer.
Frankel’s jobs take place in the San Francisco Bay Area, though he flies to New York City to interview for Whole Foods. While more locations nationwide would have made for an interesting read, the ubiquitous nature of the corporations featured in the book is enough.
The companies that did not hire Frankel provide some insight about these employers and their hiring practices. Home Depot and Whole Foods, among many, use a computerized personality tests in their online applications. Unicru is one of those wonderful combinations of psychology, statistics, and programming that help employers find that perfect applicant. He tries to game it on several applications, but are his efforts foolproof?
As he works at the various jobs, Frankel finds that the companies hire different types of people, but there are some common denominators. The employees are joiners on some level and the companies work to create a culture of employee loyalty. Of all the places he works for, Frankel feels the most affinity for UPS. We get to learn what makes “the brown” so sexy along with the workplace subculture. He speaks very well of them, but the same can’t be said for Enterprise Car Rentals (spookily cult-like, bait and switch) or the Gap (mind-numbingly boring). Starbucks (inauthentic) and the Apple Store (true believers) provide the climax and denouement to the McJob narrative. While he’s never really a joiner to begin with, Frankel gains insight to these employees and roles they play in the theatre of retail.
Punching In is a fascinating read, hard to put down, and makes a excellent companion to Nickel and Dimed. I’m strongly considering using it in the classroom this coming semester.
Video trailer courtesy Alex Frankel’s website. Hear him talk about Punching In.
25
Dec 07
No More Santa
Ever faced the moral dilemma of telling your kids there is no Santa? You shouldn’t have even led them to believe the fat man in the red suit lives in the North Pole and goes on a frantic global mission to deliver presents to middle class white kids.
Here’s a brief short film by Psychic Bunny about how one man decides to tell his daughter the truth about Santa Claus. No, it’s not right, but funny nontheless. Enjoy the Christmas satire.
