Archive for March, 2008

Rating three websites

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

Unnatural Causes

I would rate the site a B-

There is no focus and nothing compelling me to search deeper into the site if I am not already a convert. The site is preaching to the choir rather than trying to sway people through argument. It is dark and dangerous and not a nice place to be.

Compare it to this: Story of Stuff

You could argue that the Story of Stuff is even more sad but the site looks happy and engaging. I would not have looked deeper into the website if it was not so open and airy. It felt fun and so I watched the excellent Flash movie. You will also note that navigation is out of the way of the content.

The focus of the site is clear. While there are probably twice as many links as I would like, they do not seem overwhelming. I love the links on the left with the icons.

I would rate the storyofstuff.com an A- (too many links and not a clear distinction between them).

But wait! There is more…

Free Range Studios

So the folks who crated storyofstuff.com have an excellent website.

  1. Nav on the top is clear, separated from the rest of the content and companycentric.
  2. The Flash file loads while you are getting oriented to the site and does not detract from you reading once it has finished loading and begins to play.
  3. The Flash content is subtle (map mask is great!) and informative.
  4. Featured projects are easy to digest and not overwhelming (they do not list 6 with long descriptions).
  5. Call-to-action (sign up for newsletter/podcast)
  6. Nice length of text for the “who we are and why we are so good” marketing text
  7. Fluff links are regular hyperlinks and relegated to the bottom right to show they are not important

While the background image emotes it is a bit dark and heavy. If the soil were lighter and maybe a bit of red/yellow I think it would accomplish what they desire while at the same time make their site feel a bit happier ;)

Overall it is one of the best and informative websites I have seen in a while. I rate it a solid A

What is all the hoopla about?

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008


FOX Lies!! Irresponsible Media! Barack Obama Pastor Wright

  1. This is a time for self examination

—-

I have been watching the firestorm over Rev Wright with interest. I just can not get my head around the fact that we as a nation are so far apart on these issues. When I hear what was said, my reaction is, “Yeah, so what? Everything he is saying is accurate. The ‘AIDS was created’ thing is an understandable stretch but I believe it even if it has not been proven.”

  1. Our atomic bombs killed +200,000 – The committee rejected the use of the weapon against a strictly military objective because of the chance of missing a small target not surrounded by a larger urban area. The psychological effects on Japan were of great importance to the committee members.
     
  2. The USA supported South African Apartheid – There should be no issue with this statement since it well documented.
     
  3. We have supported the colonization of Palestine – …the British government supported Zionist plans for a National home for the Jewish people within Palestine with the condition that nothing should be done which might prejudice the rights of existing communities there.
     
  4. Our government has shipped cocaine into this country – … the Contra drug links included… payments to drug traffickers by the U.S. State Department of funds authorized by the Congress for humanitarian assistance to the Contras, in some cases after the traffickers had been indicted by federal law enforcement agencies on drug charges, in others while traffickers were under active investigation by these same agencies.
     

I teach my 5 year-old that if he does something wrong there will be a negative consequence. There is a price to pay for doing bad things. It is as if these people who are upset about what Wright is saying do not want to pay any price for past deeds. They do not contradict what he is saying. They do not say his facts are wrong. What they say is that his speeches are filled with hate and he is Anti-American.

Yes, and what is wrong with that? I am still not sure where the problem lies. If I point out the bad things that have happened in the past, isn’t the correct response to try to make amends for those past misdeeds and to promise not to do them again? Instead these people seem to want to say the messenger is not being nice. Why should he be nice? We are killing tens of thousands of people in our crazy wars. Individuals spend more on our pets than our government spends on AIDS.

So with that in mind, I collected a short list of Wright-related YouTube videos that I find interesting. I hope you do as well.

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Obama Speech: ‘A More Perfect Union’


BBC Recap of Barack Obama’s Speech on Race in America


Mike Huckabee on Barack Obama’s Speech on Race


Hillary Reacts to Obama’s Speech on Race


Chris Matthews emotes over Obama’s speech on race


Students React To Barack Obama’s Speech on Race

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I always like to decide for myself so… Here are a few sermons for you:


Rev Jeremiah Wright’s Message


Jeremiah Wright – Hillary Clinton ain’t never been called a N…


Jeremiah Wright and World Wide AIDS Day at TUCC


Jeremiah Wright on Fox

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And here are a few more Trinity links I think are worth watching:


Fact Check: Barack Obama’s Church


Fact Check: Reverend Otis Moss on Obama’s Faith


Trinity Dance Minstry Praise Compilation (full dance)

Republicans are getting tripped up

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

Ulan writes:

Consensus on Counting the Innocent: We Can’t
As if to make my point.

“What the debate demonstrates is that we know almost nothing about the number of innocent people in prison.”

If Republicans are serious about law and order, should they not be at the forefront of making sure the laws are followed and applied equally? Fiz says Obama is “race-baiting” but fails to note that a disproportionate number of folks in prison are people of color. Republicans seem to be OK with that.

I am not OK with it. I believe we should be getting folks to NOT go to jail. That may involve teaching them in better schools. It may involve getting them jobs that pay enough to meet the bills. It can mean a lot of things. One thing it does not mean is building more prisons and saying stuff like; “That is just their nature.”

Where is your compassion for your fellow human being?

—-

Fiz replies

Re: fails to note that a disproportionate number of folks in prison are people of color.

Maybe we should get to the root cause of why they are committing the crimes that put them there. Could be, as we’ve all be educated here lately, because of people like the wrong Rev. Wright preaching hate of America and whites. Seems to be far more prevalent then I would have liked to have thought.

So if you’re taught to not like whites, hate America and don’t try to get along because whitey will just screw you, well, that could be a cause. So then every time something bad happens you’re looking for someone discriminating against you. It’s the whole victim mentality.

—-

Ulan replies

Re: It’s the whole victim mentality.

What’s your point? You have identified a problem. I agree with you, it is a problem! The issue is how to change it.

I also find it funny that you take no responsibility for past actions. Wright grew up in an era when he could not vote, had to sit in the back of the bus and was denied equal opportunity to compete. “Whitey” (as you like to call them) was, in fact, the culprit. To say Wright should not be scared is as ridiculous as telling the USA to forget about 9/11. We can spend over $1 trillion avenging the lives of 3,000 but seem stuck on the concept of spending money to correct past racial injustice.

My whole point is that Republicans say one thing but never back it up with action. Talk about hot air…

  • Right to life but then abandon all connection once the child is born
  • Equal opportunity but abandon public education
  • Lower taxes but then raise them by going to war, taking on debt and sticking it to us at the pump
  • Safer country but recruit for al Qaeda by messing up Afghanistan and Iraq
  • Smaller government but spend more than Democrats

Honestly, I can not find a single thing Republicans say is on their platform that they actually follow through on. The problem is the Republicans need to speak using code words for what they want but keep getting tripped up on the words they actually use. I would have much more respect for them if they just said the truth:

  1. We want white people to have all the power
  2. We want women to be subservient to men
  3. We want people of color to ask permission for everything
  4. We want gays to go back in the closet (so we can find them when we want to have fun)
  5. We want immigrants to work for as little as the folks in China, have no rights and be subject to summery deportation
  6. We want everyone to be Christian (not Catholic though!)
  7. We want to help rich white people become richer (and would love it if we could make rich people of color become poorer)
  8. We want to spend as much as possible on war
  9. We want to use the USA Government to enrich ourselves (rich white men only)
  10. We want the USA to be the strongest country in the world so we can do whatever we want anywhere in the world

Oh yeah…

And we want everyone to think we are the smartest people on the planet so they keep taking orders from us for 100 more years…

PS: We want to celebrate the Good Old Days™ of colonization and slavery without feeling bad. Life was good back then when white men ruled supreme. Equal pay for equal work be damned! Freedom should belong to the white man! Think of how fun it must have been to be Washington or Jefferson who could travel with your respectable wives and have sex with any person of color they chose. All the better when their sex toy had a child since that was one more free worker for the plantation!

Yeah, Republicans miss the Good Old Days™…

Ready – Rough Cut

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

 
icon for podpress  Podcast Video [0:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is a very rough cut. More to follow…

Obama Speaks

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

John Stewart on Race


A More Perfect Union


Super Tuesday


South Carolina


New Hampshire


Yes We Can Video


Iowa


Obama at yearly Kos


Democratic Convention 2004

Our Next President – Barack Obama!

Tuesday, March 18th, 2008

His finest work yet! Bravo Obama, Bravo!!!

I am here because of Ashley!

What’s Wrong With Our Popular States?

Thursday, March 13th, 2008

“…people living in more diverse areas evince less trust for others — no matter what their race. Maybe it shouldn’t surprise us that while white Democrats in rural states are apparently willing to accept the notion of a racially transcendent candidate, those living in the shadow of postindustrial atrophy seem to have a harder time detaching from enduring stereotypes, and they may be less optimistic that the country as a whole would actually elect a black candidate.”

Excellent article! Wow!

I would add that Clinton’s message of fear and code words for the scary “other” taking control resonates with those whose lives have been shaped by fear. When you are rural, even if you are poor and uneducated, you are in control of your destiny. When you have left a large city due to decline and crime, you fear that which you do not know. And it is easy for Clinton to appear as a strong, stable, unifying choice – even if she is not.

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What’s the Matter With Kansas? – Today Kansas is the sort of place where the angry, suspicious worldview typified by Fox News or the books of Ann Coulter is a common part of everyday life… The reason I say there’s something “the matter” with all this is that, in becoming more and more conservative, Kansas is voting against its own economic interests. Large parts of the state are in deep economic crisis—in many cases a crisis either brought on or worsened by the free-market policies of the Republican party—and yet the state’s voters insist on re-electing the very people who are screwing them, running up colossal majorities for George Bush, lowering taxes and privatizing and deregulating, even when these things are manifestly unhealthy for the state.

iPhone OS Development

Tuesday, March 11th, 2008

I could not agree more with the folks over at ipodhacks.com. With the release of the new iPhone SDK and the low barrier to entry ($99 fee and you must own a Mac), I think we are on the cusp of a major shift in computing.

Exciting times indeed!

sched.org

Monday, March 10th, 2008

I find this very interesting. Organizing data in a way that makes it useful. Yes!

International Women’s Day

Saturday, March 8th, 2008

Catalina Claro – It Doesn’t Feel Good

It doesn’t feel good
It doesn’t hurt
I can’t explain it
Without words

You’re like a sunrise
You’re like a sun
You’re like the young bird
That hasn’t sung

I can’t look at you
You’re so beautiful
I can’t look at you
You’re so beautiful…