This is for my oldest son, Adam, a big James Bond fan (OK, so I am, too). We’re both looking forward to the new Daniel Craig Bond movie, “Skyfall,” this fall. This is the trailer.
Archives for steveklein
The view from Planet Money
I don’t look at the NPR website as often as I should. Here are just a few recent stories and info graphics that help make sense of our lives and world:
- 50 years of government spending
- What America buys
- What America sells to the world
- What America does for work
All four come from NPR’s Planet Money section.
tags: NPR, Planet Money
The essence of science
Here’s how the world works in a nutshell: guess, compute, compare, experiment. This thanks to a lecture by Cornell physics professor Richard Feynman in 1964.
category: steveklein, video
tags: Richard Feynman, science
Help me out with this one
From Gizmodo, this is a science video about fluid dynamics phenomena called “Compressed Experiments,” created by Kim Pimmel and set to the “Katamari Damacy Theme.”
I have no idea what it is, what it means, or what the music is all about. But I think I’m going to play it at the start of my “Writing Across Media” class on Monday at George Mason University and see how the students react!
category: steveklein, video
Studying Torts, part II
The John Tortorella press conference is fast becoming an art form in how not to deal with the press.
‘Away with you stupid asses and fools!’
Talk about a scratchy guy, Martin Luther takes the cake. Luther became so disgruntled with the sale of indulgences by the Roman Catholic Church that he nailed his earth-shaking 95 Theses to the door of a German Church in 1517, ultimately resulting in the Protestant Reformation. If not for the advent of printing press in 1452, Luther most likely would have been just another excommunicated monk burned at the sake, but the mass distribution of his ideas save him from that.
Well, now there’s a website that may be even more annoying that Luther. Want to be insulted? There’s a link for that:
“Are you ignorant of what it means to be ignorant.”
“You are the devil’s most dangerous tool!”
“You hold fast to human dreams and the doctrines of devils.”
“How is it, then, that you drivel like people in their second childhood.”
And that’s just a sampling. Feel free to be insulted endlessly, thanks to Martin Luther.
And Martin Luther is a major player, by the way, in my Comm455/History of Journalism: From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg class in the fall (T/R 10:30 a.m.).
category: steveklein
Do not try this at home
Colombian downhill mountain biker Marcelo Gutierrez posts video of his rides online. This one took place in the foothills of Montserrate the second week of May. It took Gutierrez just 4 minutes and 27 seconds to complete the Red Bull Downhill time trial, which saw him descend 2,000 meters taking in over 1,000 steps in the process. That’s gotta be tough on the forearms!
category: steveklein, video
tags: marcelo gutierrez
No one ever said Torts was easy
When I was a young reporter at the South Bend Tribune covering Notre Dame football, it was Ara Parseghian who taught me how to ask a good question. The great Notre Dame football coach did not suffer fools lightly. Questions ended in question marks and had to demonstrate that you knew what the heck you were talking about.
Still, I wouldn’t call Parseghian impatient. He’d push you to rephrase the question — or at least that’s how he handled me.
Now New York Rangers coach John Tortorella — that’s something altogether different. You can just feel the tension at a Tortorella press conference. There are some pretty good reporters in the New York and national press corps covering the Stanley Cup playoffs, but to watch Tortorella answer their questions, you’d think they were all idiots. Larry Brooks? Jay Greenberg? Stan Fischler? Idiots? Uh, don’t think so, Torts.
Can you spot the Princess phone?
I love these digital future videos. This is one is from 1961 by AT&T. You’ll love the futuristic music and talk about change, modems and data phones.
category: steveklein, video
tags: future
How Raleigh bicycles got Britain’s economy spinning
You probably didn’t know this, but Raleigh bicycles helped to rally the British economy in 1946 following World War II. OK, so maybe I’m giving bicycles more credit than they deserve, but if you want to spin your wheels for a bit, you’ll enjoy this 17-minute short film from 66 years ago.
category: steveklein, video
Are dominos the new handwriting?
I never really got into Nintendo, but these 30,000 cascading dominos tell quite a story in about three minutes if you want to be mesmerized.
category: steveklein, video
Catching a wave
Truth is, if I had my life to live again, I’d be a surfer.
The Guinness World Records recognized Hawaii pro surfer Garrett McNamara for surfing the biggest wave ever ridden — a 78-foot wave off the coast of Portugal.
category: steveklein, video
tags: surfing
Mashable- Watch Bezos’ new super rocket blast its engines. Its about to launch. December 28, 2024Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, is about to test its mettle. Its heavy-lift rocket, New Glenn, will have its first launch test soon.
- How to watch Lions vs. 49ers online December 28, 2024Live stream Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers in the NFL from anywhere in the U.S.
- How to watch Falcons vs. Commanders online December 28, 2024Live stream Atlanta Falcons vs. Washington Commanders in the NFL from anywhere in the U.S.
- How to watch Packers vs. Vikings in Week 17 online December 28, 2024Live stream Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings in the NFL from anywhere in the U.S.
- How to watch Dolphins vs. Browns in Week 17 online December 28, 2024Live stream Miami Dolphins vs. Cleveland Browns in the NFL from anywhere in the U.S.
- Watch Bezos’ new super rocket blast its engines. Its about to launch. December 28, 2024
The place to meet on the Fairfax campus
The George Mason statue is kitty-corner to the Johnson Center and the Mason Pond Parking Deck, where guests can easily park on the first three levels (Fairfax campus map). As soon-to-be emeritus faculty, I'm always happy to meet with friends and my former Mason students on campus.
Alum Kevin McCarthy at work
Film critic and GMU alum Kevin McCarthy encouraged students during his many visits to my GMU classes to pursue internships and "get noticed!" See some of Kevin's terrific interviews on his Nerd Tears website.
The One Thing
So, as Billy Crystal asked Jack Palance in "City Slickers," what's "The One Thing"? To find out, just contact me by email to set up a "Journalism for the Rest of Us" seminar, workshop or program.