wait, how do you say it again?

mahmoud ahmadinejad has been guilty of:

a. demanding that the occupying regime be wiped off the map.
b. asserting that the holocaust was a myth.
c. claiming that iran's nuclear program is for electricity generation and not for nuclear weapon development.
d. launching a gas rationing program to decrease iran's energy consumption.
correct answer: e. all of the above.

do you think that someone like this would have won with 63% of the votes?
correct answer: nah. me neither.

my hats off to the iranians...
the voter turnout in the 2009 elections was 10 million higher than any other election in the 30 years that iran has had elections despite the massive propaganda campaign to discourage people from even participating in the elections.

supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei said the record voter turnout in friday's election showed iranians value "resistance against oppressors," according to cnn.

what's even more interesting to consider is that there were 40 million votes cast and ahmadinejad was announced as the winner only two hours after the polls closed even though ballots in iran are hand counted.

so now can you understand the feeling of disappointment with the election results and the consequent feeling of frustration and the need for protests?
correct answer: yeah. me, too.

Everything (Album Version) - Murs

videotapez.

radiohead is awesome. no further explanation needed. i thought this rendition of videotapez was special. very rarely do music videos successfully display the theme of the song so needless to say when i saw this one i was impressed. this video gently rearranges the irrelevant nonsense in your life and places things in perspective. if you're not touched it's probably because you don't have a heart anyway.

so then it doesn't really matter now, does it?

delegation of authority.

i'm adorning this one with the disclosure that " i love jay-z as much as the next person but," jay-z's new single, "death of audio tune" sounds like that uncle at the family picnic who's older than everybody there but loves talking about how things were different in his day.

well of course.

i must admit that when i first heard "i'm sprung" i expected t-pain to be more attractive and i attribute this deception to the audio tune. so i understand jay-z's frustration however, 2009 is a much different place than 1996 when jay-z first entered the rap game and even if thirty is the new twenty, the unapologetic lyrics and complementary beats reflect nothing less than an old man's rigidity. audio tune is providing opportunities to those most deserving(i.e. justin timberlake, lil wayne, kanye west) and i'm all about affirmative action.

bada bing.

since i'm on the subject, microsoft revealed it's version of a better search engine [than googgle] entitled "bing" about three weeks ago.

but it's still a search engine and i didn't hear many complaints about how google just wasn't accurate enough. most people just internalized their internet search failures (as they should) and realized that it was not the search engine that was inefficient but rather the search terms that they were using.

so back off microsoft. the last thing we need is more technology making us lazier, more reliant, and less able to think critically for ourselves. do you know what the national act average score is? 21.1 for 2008 decreasing from 21.2 from 2007. not that the average from 2007 is anything to get excited about, but you get my point.

however...

the bing commercial is the realest commerical on tv right now and if your mind works at all like the storyline of the commercial you'll resent google for a moment. but only for a moment.

and i must admit...
i found this song faster with bing than google but i googled bing instead of binging bing.

--

*if you don't recognize the guy in the picture, you should bing it...or google it. whatever.

for $2000.

these commercials have been out for minute but since microsoft hasn't found a reason to stop airing them i decided to give them one.

these commercials are particularly aggravating because they give no justification whatsoever as to why anyone wouldn't take $2000 to buy a mac instead of a pc. the producers of the commercial give the "individuals" $2000 to buy any laptop of their choice with the only rule being that it must be under $2000.

hmmm.

if i had the opportunity for 30 seconds of fame along with the option of purchasing any computer of my choice and the only stipulation is that it must be under $2000 and i have the option of selling it in the future and purchasing the mac that i really wanted...i would probably agree to this commercial, too. it's obvious that all the "individuals" in these commercials really want macs because if they didn't they would never bother to price them.

so then does that mean that under any other circumstances i would purchase a virus-laden pc fully equipped with glitches out the wazoo over a more technologically advanced and hipper mac? i doubt it.

can we step it up over there at microsoft? you guys aren't even trying anymore.

stimulating.

obama signed into law the $787 billion american recovery and reinvestment act in february. in it he promised the program would create or save 3.5 million jobs, according to cnn.

since february, the act has created 150, 000 jobs. and as you can imagine, the party animals over at the gop are going nuts.

the white house says as a result of the expedited pace, the recovery plan will create or save more than 600,000 jobs in the second 100 days.

relax. a total of 150,000 jobs in four months is an average of 37,500 jobs a month. which averages out to about 750 jobs a state. considering how hard it's been for everyone i know to find a job i'm proud of you guys, even if i'm the only one.

but if you're not impressed. let's take a look back.

how long did it take former president bush to create only 3 million jobs?

correct answer: all of his eight years!

no wonder republicans are so skeptical.

but can this newly elected democrat do it?

the last time a democrat was in office he created over 23.1 million jobs by the end of his eight year term in 2000. the largest job creation by a united states president in history. needless to say, i'm hopeful.

si se puede.

phrases of the day.

ftw

fml

wtf

so many shorthand phrases have been surfacing with the increase in the use of online social networks to communicate that it may be difficult to keep up with what they all mean or when may be the appropriate time to use them.

the wall street journal revealed today that in an effort to maintain its snug hold on its market share amidst the recession, apple will be releasing it's new 8 gigabyte iphone for only $99 on june 16th. place ftw here.

if you have already switched from your existing lower priced phone and cheaper phone service plan to purchase what would have been called the new and exciting iphone a year ago, the phrase "fml" fits accordingly in this instance.

apple also announced that it will be releasing several new notebooks some of which will be reduced up to $300 below their current prices. this means that if you previously purchased the macbook air for $1,799 it is now available to everyone else for $1,499.

if you are a developer for apple's top rivals, such as palm or research in motion, wtf may be appropriately inserted here.

while apple has not fully grasped the concept of maintaining the happiness of it's existing customers, it sure knows how to make those who haven't yet jumped on the apple bandwagon very happy.

history lesson.

tomorrow marks the 20th year anniversary of the tiananmen square massacre. and although i was too young to remember the significance of the event at the time, this was an incredible event in world history as thousands of chinese demonstrators lost their lives protesting for reform within the communist chinese government.

what i found today to be even more interesting was that these events even received international attention. it was a matter of brilliant timing on the part of the demonstrators as most international media had arrived in the country anticipating the advent of soviet leader, mikhail gorbachev. however, gorbachev was not even able to enter into tiananmen square as planned due to the massive gathering of protesters allowing them the full attention of the media.

this was also the event that put cnn on the map. at the time cnn was only 9 years old its 24 hour news credibility was challenged by more long-standing networks. but here's the gotcha: no other network at the time had 24 hour news coverage so cnn was the only one able to catch the events as they were unfolding nonstop therefore establishing themselves as a legitimate source for american and world news.

----

"honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress."

-mahatma gandhi

hooked.

cnn reported today that the navy is investigating how $30,000 went missing in the rescue of the captain of the maersky alabama in april.

well duh.

i mean that was the whole objective of the pirate attacks, right? it's a sunk cost now. let it go.
but thanks for informing everyone who may not have known already how much cash is usually carried on one these ships and endangering the journeys of future captains.

who?

the world health organization announced today that it is still considering increasing its pandemic alert level to phase 6 because of the growing worldwide cases of the h1n1 virus, according to cnn.

nice try you guys.

like all other pop culture fads, the american people have grown tired this, too. we have moved on to more exciting topics. not that you need to hear it, but just as a courtesy to you i will say it anyway: sorry, please try again soon.

lost at sea.

according to the bbc today, an air france plane carrying 228 people from brazil to france "has vanished over the atlantic after flying into turbulence" on sunday.

france's president, nicolas sarkozy, has said the chances of finding survivors were "very small".

how do you loose an entire plane of people?

sounds like a conspiracy to me. so then the question becomes not how? but who? yes, who exactly was on this plane and at the center of a major conspiracy plot endangering the lives of 227 innocent passengers?

i don't know. but i think it's worth finding out because now that international flights are going to be cheaper he or she at least deserves a thank you.

it is a game.

i'm not gamer but i'm guessing that the end goal of creating a video game is to make it seem as true to life as possible. game developers now are taking the meaning of reality to a whole new level. these games are so true to life that they should have the labels "inspired by actual events" or "based on a true story" appear right before the first scene.

cnn lists games dating all the way back to 2001 but here are a few of my more current favorites:

somali showdown
a multiplayer game that simulates a pirate attack on a cargo ship.

hero on the hudson
players become pilot chesley sullenberger and attempt to navigate a plummeting airliner to a safe water landing. successful attempts are adorned with applause. unsuccessful attempts results in a sinking plane and gurgling sounds.

swinefighter
players try to save the world from the spread of swine flu.

trillion dollar bailout
players try to boost the economy by choosing between awarding government cash to shady corporate fat-cats or struggling homeowners.

made off
players get their chance at a ponzi scheme of their own and try to outscam bernard madoff.

so the next time someone makes a reference to these tragic events of our american history and they tell you it's not a game. check 'em. because now it is.

a picture is worth...

what's the opposite of conventional? nothing about this says demure nothing lasts forever but be honest babe it hurts but it may be the only way black is beautiful i'm like a bird latitude i'll only fly away i don't know where my home is a la carte timeless how you get so fly from not being afraid to fall out the sky interdependence vantage motivation responsibililty peace courage it's okay strength generosity it's a bird it's a plane promise opportunity determination future hope resolute tenacity cavalier imagination imagine all the people living for today serenity you may say i'm a dreamer but i'm not the only one dream on certainty move on the birds and the bees birds of a feather i know why the caged bird sings soar no bird soars too high if she soars with her own wings birds have nests i used to have a complex about getting too complex birds sing snow melts roses unfold faith what's the opposite of stagnant? and i think it's gonna be a long long time till touch down brings me round again beauty desire inspiration triumph wisdom you'll never walk alone three little birds don't worry about a thing every little thing is gonna be alright grace i'm as free as a bird now and this bird you can not change i'm so high even when i'm coming down it's been a long time coming but i know a change is gonna' come i want to get away i want to fly away but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush fascinating i don't get many compliments but i am confident i'm still learning though actually i just do what comes naturally phoenix passionate i'm nice with metaphors but these are similies pain is weakness leaving lovely please don't shoot me down cause i'm flying i'm high up what's the opposite of ordinary? oh with a u as in u-nique