Sunday, January 13, 2008
When I was on my internship, my supervisor and I would have our meetings at IKEA. Nothing got the creative juices flowing quite like milling around cheap, brightly-coloured Swedish furniture! Alas, those good times had to end as I moved away to a place that only sells pre-assembled furniture in neutral colours. So, this week when I was surfing a certain popular video sharing website and came across videos of a man living inside an IKEA store in New Jersey, I got giddy!
If anyone has ever tried to get a television show on the air, they will know that the chances of finding your pilot on the TV are as slim as Britney Spears finding her self-respect. (What? Everyone else is doing it.) This is the reason that I don't have cable. With the exception of anything involving Ricky Gervais, by-in-large television programming sucks! And it's all because the viewing audiences demand predictable hour long dramas, half hour sit-coms filled with canned laugther, and copious amounts of advertisements for household cleaning supplies apparently. That means that historically all the really good stuff got tossed by the wayside, never to be seen again.
Enter THE INTERNET - that big bad machine with all its many "tubes" filled with information and entertainment. While I can (and do) rant on about the downfalls of the internet, it is hard to deny that it has given an outlet for artists to share their crafts with little-to-no fuss, muss, and money. It also gives you and me access to some really cool stuff.
Take comedian and film maker Mark Malkoff for instance. He's downright funny but I wouldn't have probably known that if not for the viral video he first posted showing himself visiting 171 Starbucks in one day. Well, he's at it again with a really cool project. As you may have figured out from the clip, Mark has been living in IKEA all of this week because he had to be out of his apartment to have it fumigated. Everyday he posts clips of his adventures on his website Mark Lives in IKEA. From eating to dating to playing in a ball pit with a bulky security guard named Jarvis, you can see it all there.
And thus continues my love-hate relationship with the interweb.
If anyone has ever tried to get a television show on the air, they will know that the chances of finding your pilot on the TV are as slim as Britney Spears finding her self-respect. (What? Everyone else is doing it.) This is the reason that I don't have cable. With the exception of anything involving Ricky Gervais, by-in-large television programming sucks! And it's all because the viewing audiences demand predictable hour long dramas, half hour sit-coms filled with canned laugther, and copious amounts of advertisements for household cleaning supplies apparently. That means that historically all the really good stuff got tossed by the wayside, never to be seen again.
Enter THE INTERNET - that big bad machine with all its many "tubes" filled with information and entertainment. While I can (and do) rant on about the downfalls of the internet, it is hard to deny that it has given an outlet for artists to share their crafts with little-to-no fuss, muss, and money. It also gives you and me access to some really cool stuff.
Take comedian and film maker Mark Malkoff for instance. He's downright funny but I wouldn't have probably known that if not for the viral video he first posted showing himself visiting 171 Starbucks in one day. Well, he's at it again with a really cool project. As you may have figured out from the clip, Mark has been living in IKEA all of this week because he had to be out of his apartment to have it fumigated. Everyday he posts clips of his adventures on his website Mark Lives in IKEA. From eating to dating to playing in a ball pit with a bulky security guard named Jarvis, you can see it all there.
And thus continues my love-hate relationship with the interweb.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
I will be the first to admit that I primarily use the internet for entertainment. I like to laugh and my laptop is usually a lot closer than the nearest Yuk Yuks. However, every now and then I come across a website that reminds me of the power to good that the internet holds. The internet would gain back some of its respect if only a fraction of those porn sites could focus on making sure people get the meat they need on their tables instead of . . . well . . .making sure Bambi gets the meat she need on. . . You get the point!
Recently, I was listening to a radio program that showcased Kiva.org. If you do nothing else worthwhile today, do me the favour of clicking on that link. Their product is completely inspiring. Kiva uses the internet as a tool to work toward alleviating the devestation and desperation of poverty in the third world. And the way that they do it is completely personal and fun!
Recently, I was listening to a radio program that showcased Kiva.org. If you do nothing else worthwhile today, do me the favour of clicking on that link. Their product is completely inspiring. Kiva uses the internet as a tool to work toward alleviating the devestation and desperation of poverty in the third world. And the way that they do it is completely personal and fun!
Basically, Kiva gets lenders like me and you to give them a very small amount of money (as little as $25) that they in turn loan to entrepreneurs in the developing world. Your inner paranoia may be screaming, "Scam!" but you'll be interested to discover that 99.3% of these loans are repayed. (And if Dr. Phil has taught us anything it's if Oprah promotes something it must be great! roflmao
When you go to the site (and I'm confident you will), you'll see that you can browse through all the entrepreneurial projects looking for funding and decide for yourself which one you would like to contribute to. The array of project is astonishing. They range from taxi services to basketweaving to poultry farming.
So, if you have a few extra pounds, dollars, clams, or lumps of dough to spare, strongly consider doing this. In the end, it doesn't end up costing you anything but it helps so much in giving people a purpose in life, a chance to provide for themselves and their families. Don't let Oprah scare you off. Give it a click!
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