If you want to understand the basic philosophies that keep inequality and discriminatory hierarchies embedded and supported in societies through the use of justifying mythologies and repressive, often violent policies, even in societies that are ostensibly or lean towards democracy, this video from the guy at Innuendo Studios simply and straightforwardly encapsulates them.
It’s important to note that capitalism is largely an economic system, not a political one, and that it is possible to do forms of capitalism that are more equalitarian, including through regulation and consumer protection (the latter tending to keep more people alive to be able to participate in both democracy and capitalism.) As the video notes, it’s not a battle between the two specifically. It’s about how people regard the nature of human beings and violence, which comes from what they are taught in their culture and sub-cultures.
And this coda video of his I think I have to add here:
Author John Scalzi talks about his new novel, The Collapsing Empire and writing life in general in an interview with The Nerd Reactor.
Scalzi also explained how book contracts work to a, I believe they are called Dreaded Elk or something like that, at a signing he did. It’s a good accompaniment to Hurley‘s piece and just funny:
Greetings new followers! I’ll try to have actual content for you.
Recently I got introduced to some web series work by actress, writer and producer Joanne Gaskell that I believe one could call geekerrific. (Don’t hurt me.)
The biggest, best known one is Standard Action, a satirical fantasy series that takes place in a world that is D&D-ish, down to characters talking about experience points and charisma scores, makes fun of its own low budget by using light-based special effectgs and puppets with remarkable effectiveness, and throws in reference points from everything from The Princess Bride to Doctor Who. The first season follows the formation of an adventuring party of outcasts that set about on a rescue effort. The second season involves what happens when the adventurers meet the entity behind what happened in the first season, and the last, third season (so far,) ventures into a multi-verse. There may also be an online comic attached to the series. Here’s the first episode of the first season:
The second web series is One Hit Die. It is similar to Standard Action, and can be said to take place in the same universe, but the style is a little different as the series breaks the fourth wall and has the characters periodically talk to the camera about their thoughts, like a reality show or fake documentary shows like The Office. One Hit Die has a short, introductory first season, an additional two part short called Crushmas and then a longer second season entitled One Hit Die: Legend of the Lich Lord. Here’s the first episode of season one:
And lastly, Gaskell was part of producing a three-part short story for The Gamers web series, a series which has been going on for some time now. The short entry is called The Gamers: Natural One, and involves a non-gamer put to the test by his girlfriend’s family. Here’s the first episode:
Not every joke is a hit or a great choice, but they are creative, fun, with enjoyable characters and a good attitude. Enjoy!
No, I did not fall off a boat into the ocean. Working on several things, have them up soon.
In the meantime, enjoy Jennifer Hudson and James Corden hamming it up performing public domain songs, because it was a Monday, and we could all use some nice singing:
For those of you who find the topic of fiction publishing utterly boring, here are some silly videos:
First, Alanis Morissette and James Corden update the lyrics of Morissette’s iconic song “Ironic”:
Second, Sesame Street tackles “Game of Thrones” in one of the best parody sketches they may have ever done:
And finally, actor McCauley Kulkin revisits his most famous character from his child actor days, Kevin from the hit movie “Home Alone” as a rage-filled Uber-like driver for a web series called “Dryvrs”:
And his co-star in that movie, actor Daniel Stern, responded to the video as his thief character Marv from the movie:
So this is a compilation video of all the Dubsmash videos of the friendly competition between the cast of Marvel’s Agent Carter and Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that began as innocent fun during the 2015 San Diego ComicCon and blossomed into a voting competition for charity with prominent guest stars, that ended up raising over $125,000. It’s the power of the Internet, when it’s doing good and providing time-wasting entertainment where actors act like your old high school buddies. Enjoy!
I’m excavating a lot of stuff (so many links,) so in the meantime, have some humorous videos:
Alex Boye, an old-time musician, got together a bunch of his friends to provide their own take on the song and music video for Mark Ronson’s “Up-town Funk” hit, featuring the singing of Bruno Mars:
Comedy group Nacho Punch made a very funny movie trailer for the thriller that is Daylight Saving:
Comic Lauren O’Brien does some spot-on impressions for her video Celebrities Stuck in Traffic:
And an innovative and fun short film imagines what happened to the original Power Rangers, with quite a cast playing the roles (it has a lot of in-series plot points.) It’s called Power/Ranger Unauthorized:
The Open Window 