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Death throes or triumphant phoenix-like rebirth?

Time will tell...

Fascinating article in this month's Atlantic

I always buy Atlantic when I'm traveling. It's great plane reading and once I get back home I invariably wonder why I don't subscribe.

But enough about me.

Well, not really.

I was down in San Diego for an overnight biz trip (that's hardcore-professional shorthand for business, saves five letters and, as we hardcore pros like to say, "time is $.") and on the plane down I read Don Peck's cover story on the lasting effects of long term unemployment on both society and individuals.

It's one of the most interesting magazine articles I've read in years (another great one here) and manages to intelligently examine the current economic situation and its impact on (at least) our short and medium-term future without getting into politics or policy or any of the other aspects of the recession that cause so many people tune out. It's a brilliant and big picture sociological piece about what happens to society when people can't find work.

It's pretty terrifying. And I highly recommend it.

Here's the short lead-in,

The Great Recession may be over, but this era of high joblessness is probably just beginning. Before it ends, it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults. It will leave an indelible imprint on many blue-collar men. It could cripple marriage as an institution in many communities. It may already be plunging many inner cities into a despair not seen for decades. Ultimately, it is likely to warp our politics, our culture, and the character of our society for years to come.

Click here to give the whole article a well-deserved read.

Enjoy...(?)

We get it

You're geniuses.



Though I still kind of like this one.

I'm going to go out on a limb here...

Based on that plate, it looks like a much worse day to be a pig.*




*Unless the sausage and bacon are also made of chicken?

Okay, so let's waste some time!

Robot Unicorn Attack.

Yeah...

The blog has devolved into a video clip show.

Again.

Sigh.

Um, I love this.

This was pretty great

And part of what, strangely enough, was a pretty good episode of SNL.

Well that's easy, let's declare war on Iran then

Four more years! Four more years!

I actually watched a depressing amount of this interview this weekend and I'm just so disheartened by her.

There are definitely people on the right who, while I disagree with them on almost everything, I at least respect and appreciate their intelligence and considered wisdom.

Then there's Tina Fey's doppelganger.

Sigh.

Just imagine if it had a camera, Flash, multitasking or USB...

Yeah, I'll probably still get one.

Sigh.

So Prince wrote a song for the Minnesota Vikings...

And, that's probably all the explanation you're going to need to have your curiosity piqued to the point of pressing play.



I'm going to go bathe in the cleansing waters of Lake Minnetonka now. Have a great weekend...

More like AWESOME Go*

One of my first blog posts lo those many years ago was excited praise for a little video I'd seen while vacationing in Spain** called, "A Million Ways to be Cruel" by a band I'd never heard of called, OK Go.

The video meme'd it's way to Internet legend status*** and the band followed up with "Here it Goes Again," which managed to log more than 50 million views on YouTube and become one of the most popular Web videos of all time.*****

Now, four years later, they have a new album out and (no surprise) an awesome new video to go with it. Here's "This Too Shall Pass."

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

Boys, you had me at ghillie suits.





*Yep, still got it.
**Me = Jet set
***Because of me?****
****Probably
*****Because of me?******
******Definitely

All hail, Norm MacDonald