31 August 2014

Literally

I'd just had a dream where we were discussing literal versus figurative speech and it was actually pretty funny.

One character was saying, “I've known people who've never said anything literally. One day I said to one of them, ‘Go sit on your dick and take a picture , 'cause *fuck you*.’ And he comes the next day like, ‘I'm really sorry, I'd tried but I just couldn't get it up there.’ And then he hands me a picture of him trying it.”

[WTF face]

My dreams are weird, I know.

10 August 2014

Bill's Excellent (Yacht) Adventure

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/i-m-on-a-boat--bill-gates-vacations-on--330m-yacht-193011058.html

The New York Daily News captured some photos of Gates aboard "The Serene," a $330 million dollar yacht that Gates and his family are renting for $5 million per week. The Russia-born Scheffler is an interesting figure himself, famous for battling with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who tried to nationalize and "redistribute" Stolichnaya's wealth. According to Business Insider, Serene is the third most expensive yacht in the world.



And I'd thought Bill Gates was giving a majority of his wealth to his and his wife's foundation. It's like, when I'd heard he was vacationing on this behemoth, it disenchanted me some.
He could very well have enough to do both the foundation and "splurge" on this, but it's still a wonder if he could do more.
Then again, should he do more? Would doing more make the beneficiaries of the foundation become more dependent on it?

29 June 2014

The Digital ID "Revolution"

Estonia will hand out digital ID cards to non-residents
http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/29/estonia-digital-id-for-non-residents/?ncid=rss_truncated

Every time I hear about Estonia and it's forwardness with basically all things technology and the government, it actually doesn't frighten me. I've been a person who's said "I have nothing to hide". There are things I don't talk about openly, yes, but for things especially regarding government laws and rules, I just don't play.
I've talked about/ranted about people not obeying traffic rules, and things like that in what people may call "government overreach" I see as perhaps people just not wanting the government to catch them doing what they should not be.
This is, at least, some of the time.
I'm actually thinking about getting a one of these digital IDs, partly for the sake of being a giant nerd, and partly just to make the point people make out "privacy" to be so much more of a big deal than it really should be.

18 June 2014

Racism, Insensitivity, or The Way They Are?

Stitcher (@Stitcher)
Is Univision's World Cup commentary racist? via @NPR stitcher.com/s?eid=34422976… #WorldCup2014

Being a Black person, I've encountered the various ways Spanish-speakers can refer to me, and the invariably non-PC way they refer to all Asians as chinos even though they may now where they're actually from and how to refer to them.

Some say the way they're talking is them being playful, like the various nicknames they give people like gordo, flaca, or morenito, but I definitely see the point of calling the players these "nicknames" or monikers instead of their names.
They should have more professionalism, though, regardless of eighteen-hour shifts.

08 June 2014

Grab Your Big Pouch

http://youtu.be/_-fOJgsUEPU

I had seen this commercial on live TV maybe only twice, but on Internet streaming it's popped up a little more. 

Every time I see it, I think a few things:

1) This Big Pouch Man character is quirky and pretty attractive. When he's upside-down you don't see it, but the moment he uprights himself in the back seat, you can see it, especially in the eyes.
2) His character is also kind of creepy. It almost seems they're making double-entendres with the product. This is fine, and I'd giggled. Simultaneously, is the character of the driving test guy supposed to be a teenager or an adult still living with mum? Perhaps it's that California's driving test age is
18, in which case it's "fine"?
3) The creepiness is kind of hot. 

Because the commercial is just barely kind of edgy, that might be why it's not gotten as much airtime, seemingly, on live television, but I'm glad for the Internet and it's archival of human creation, destruction, and weirdness.