The Power of Theater

Epic Theatre Ensemble, one of my clients, created this moving video to talk about their recent productions & honors and shows how theater can be a powerful tool for changing lives...

Chart Wars

I found this very interesting video of Alex Lundry on Blip.tv (Conservative Political Pollster, Microtargeter, Data-Miner, and Data Visualizer according to his twitter account), talking about the political power of data visualization which he calls Chart Wars.

"A funny thing happened during this summer's health care debate: a chart that purported to show the organizational structure of the Democratic health care reform proposal took over the media cycle and triggered a partisan visualization volley.

Since then, the original chart has frequently been used as a provocative protest sign and is now the subject of a congressional investigation.

What was it that made this data visualization so powerful and politically potent? How can your organization or your cause harness data visualization as a messaging medium? With these health care chart wars as a backdrop, this presentation will show you how to be a smart consumer of data visualizations and infographics"

Urban Farming : Hydroponics in NYC

New York City has thousands of empty rooftops; flat, unused, full sun, vacant land. It’s enough space to feed 15 million people. Check out this video about state of the art urban farming techniques.



"Keeping agriculture sustainable increasingly means keeping it local. Besides the environmental benefit of reducing reliance on fossil-fuel guzzling transportation, eating local food is a more seasonal and often healthier experience. With concern about food security growing, it might turn out to be safer, too. The folks in charge of the Science Barge, a new urban farming experiment in New York, are bringing local food production closer than ever. In this video Vanessa Rae learns about the floating greenhouse facility, which is designed as a demonstration of how urban space, especially rooftop space in big cities like New York, can be used to efficiently produce food. Self-powered by solar panels, wind turbines, and a biodiesel generator, the Science Barge uses state of the art computer technology and an agricultural technique called hydroponics to grow fruits and veggies using much less water and space than field farming. Watch out, city slickers. Farm country is coming to your neighborhood."

via River Wired.

Must Watch - Food,Inc

Must Watch on Sprword.com show many documentaries telling about parts of reality that global medias do not usually question or talk about and that stay unanswered by governments.

One of them is Food, Inc. by filmmaker Robert Kenner. "He lifts the veil on The USA's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment.
We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here."

H2Oil - Alberta Oil Sands Industry

The Canadian animation company La Moustache has created these 3 animated sequences for the new documentary H2oil. The documentary, produced by Loaded pictures exposes the Alberta Oil sands industry was made entirely under AfterEffects. Art Direction and animation by Dale Hayward and Sylvie Trouvé. Illustrations by James Braithwaite. Narrated by Catherine Kidd.

Extracting bitumen from tar sands (Oil sands) is a very high energy intensive process, requiring industrial scale heating (using natural gas) and 4 barrels of fresh water to produce one barrel of oil. So clean water resources shrink very quickly, along with the burning of natural gas to create another carbon emitting fuel, and it goes on. For more details about this environmental disaster, check out the animation.

For a fairly neutral overview of tar-sand mining check this link.

Who's looking out for the Insurance Companies?

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

Yesterday was The International Day of Peace

Somehow I missed that this was happening yesterday, but at least you can see what it was all about in the 24 Hour Peace Day Broadcast that's still available and you have plenty of time to prepare for next year!...



Find out more about the International Day of Peace HERE.

Selling Sex

We all know that advertisers use sex as their default tool (ahem) for selling stuff when they don't have any smarter ideas, but when 100+ recent "sexy" ads are strung together by Creative Bits it's actually shocking to be reminded how sexist and pointless so many of them really are...



The individual ads have also been compiled on their blog HERE. Definitely take a moment to scroll through, it's fairly overwhelming.

ALR on Tour: Skull-A-Day at Gel 2009

Earlier this year I was invited to go to NYC to give a talk on my Skull-A-Day project at the 2009 Gel Conference. Each year Gel (which stands for Good Experience Live) brings together a really diverse range of folks to share what they do in just 20 minutes. The talks are usually very inspiring and guaranteed to get you thinking. While only a small number of people can attend in person, they kindly put the talks online as well for all to see. Definitely go check em all out, they're well worth your time. I was honored to be included this year and I'm already scheming about how to get back there next year by offering a workshop of some sort. I'm open to suggestions! Here's the video of my talk:

Noah Scalin at Gel 2009 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.

Save The Date: 24 October - An International Day of Climate Action

350 introduces a day of international climate action: 24 October...

Gaza: This Is Not A Reality Show

Eight human rights organizations in Israel have come together to produce this video to mark the second year of closure of the Gaza Strip...

(English)


(Hebrew)

Got Humans ?

Do you have a lush green planet with a self sustaining ecosystem? Then you need humans! In just a few short years we will destroy it for you. [FYI contains Not Safe For Work language]

via

Mass consumption visualized.

Artist Chris Jordan talks about his large scale photographs documenting and visualizing our mass consumer culture...

Chris Jordan at Gel 2007 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.

Life, Inc.

Douglass Rushkoff discusses the corporatization of life in America in relation to his new book Life, Inc....

Life Inc. The Movie from Douglas Rushkoff on Vimeo.

Painfully Funny: Vendor/Client Relations in the Real World

This one pretty much speaks for itself if you're in this business (or a lot of others)...



Thanks Anne!

What do Starbucks & Walmart have in common?

An introduction to the Stop Starbucks campaign from Brave New Films...

A Gaythering Storm

A brilliant parody/response to the ridiculous & hateful anti-Gay Marriage "Gathering Storm" video...

A Gaythering Storm from Jane Lynch

If you haven't seen it, here's the original commercial...




via

UPDATE: My friend Phil just pointed out the equally entertaining parody made by Steven Colbert...

50 Cars or 1 Bus

A Swedish bus company takes the environmental math of cars vs buses literally...



via

Heavy Metal in Baghdad

I just saw this documentary about the only heavy metal band in Iraq and was surprised to discover how moving it really was. It gives a glimpse into the reality of day-to-day life in post 9/11 Iraq that definitely needs to be seen by more people in the US...

A literal ocean of plastic bags...

Another great animated short from the folks at Free Range Studios to promote the anti-plastic bag campaign of Save The Bay...

Mascots Strike Back

The Anti Advertising Agency provided the dialog used in this new video as a Creative Commons licensed download four years ago...


Product Placement from Matti Niinimäki on Vimeo.

Tribute to Obama

Mustafa Topaloglu is a Turkish folk song singer. He did this song as a tribute to U.S. President Barack Obama. The song is both in Turkish and in English, if you wait 'til the end you'll see subtitles. Enjoy :

Linkage: From Self-Erasing Paper to Self-Imposed Homelessness

Xerox's answer to recycling: paper that erases itself! via

Innovative campaign makes you into a homeless person (image shown).

Disney may need to sue themselves for copyright infringement. via

One for the true design geeks: "Helveticaca" Onesies (image shown).

And a few longer articles worth reading...

Ode on the mainstreaming of social entrepreneurship.
and a medicine hunter's support of indigenous cultures.

Mother Jones on the future of sustainable food in the US, fake farmer's markets, and bio-fuels VS rainforests.

New York Comes Alive

A sweet little live-action animated film using actual interviews of New Yorkers...


The Lost Tribes of New York City from Carolyn London on Vimeo.

Thanks Carlos!

Target Women: Barbie

Yet another great entry in Sarah Haskin's Target Women series on Current, just in time for Barbie's 50th birthday...

The invasion of the Miniscule Blue Helmets!

Dutch artist Pierre Derks is following the travels of an army of little men with blue helmets that's been appearing all over the world. His Miniscule Blue Helmets on a Massive Quest site is documenting their appearances on a world map along with photo and video evidence of their presence. In February 500 of the troops took over a phone booth in Delft (images shown). Where will they end up next? I have a feeling their first US visit is in not far off...

Turkish Obama in Garanti Bank Ads

Istanbul, Turkey : U.S. President Barack Obama is all over the city, all over the country, in the streets, on the radio and on TV. This is of course a fake. This is a commercial for the Turkish Bank Garanti, promoting a loan interest support of 1.19 %. They shot the commercial as if the real U.S. president was himself promoting this bank. This is so cheap. I'm pretty sure most of the uneducated population here, in Turkey, believe it's the real one. Note the resemblance with Shepard Fairey's Obama.

Capucine Saves The World

What do you do when your adorable French child becomes an internet video sensation? Use your new found power to help a good cause AND make another cute video!...




Thanks Mica!

Don't Divorce My Friends

A simple and powerful reminder from the Courage Campaign of why the supreme court needs to invalidate California's Prop 8. Add your signature to the petition before March 2nd HERE.




via Eliza

Call for Entries: DoGooderTV Nonprofit Video Awards

If you've made some great video in 2008, there's a contest for you...

Video submissions are now being accepted for the 3rd Annual DoGooderTV Nonprofit Video Awards, co-sponsored by NTEN: The Nonprofit Technology Network and See3 Communications. Nonprofit organizations and foundations are encouraged to submit their videos at www.dogooder.tv/contest2009!

This year's theme, "Everyone's Doing It", is meant to include submissions of all shapes and sizes, from organizational vlogs, to staff-produced web clips, to high-end, professionally produced videos.

According to Michael Hoffman, CEO of See3 Communications, "2008 was a great year for video, and we continue to see incredible growth each year in the number of nonprofits using video. With camera and equipment costs down, organizations have nothing holding them back from using video as a communications tool. We've seen some really innovative, powerful videos this year, and we hope the DoGooderTV Nonprofit Video Awards will highlight that."

Last year, more than 160 entries were received from over 100 nonprofit organizations. The top winning videos were from the Humane Society of the United States, Greenpeace International, and the Center for Constitution Rights. The winning videos receive thousands of views and publicity online and offline.

Video submissions will be accepted until March 26, when a panel of judges will select the finalists in each category. The public voting period will open on April 7 and end on April 26. The winners will be announced at NTEN's annual Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) in San Francisco, which takes place April 26-28, 2009. Winners will be featured on The Nonprofit Times website.

Details HERE

Linkage: From Green Screams to Green Goodbyes.

How strong are your state's gun laws? Virginia, where I live only got 18 out of 100 points!

Artist Linda Hesh helps you make a statement with where you put your butt (image shown) via

The Yes Men Fix The World in a new documentary.

House your computer in recycled cardboard...maybe one day. Thanks Leah!

Raising Awareness vs. Direct Action a guide for donors. Thanks Mim!

Green frights on a pedal powered roller coaster (image shown) Thanks Justin!

Edible diapers are the greener choice (and happily not real). via

Dust to human powder Dust: The greenest form of burial? Thanks Robert!

Bush Sings!

This delightful accompaniment to Bush's farewell address by Henry Hey is all the more enjoyable knowing he's no longer president...

Target Women

My sister recently turned me on to the excellent Current TV segment Target Women in which Sarah Haskins comments on advertising that focuses on women in her own special way...



Watch more episodes HERE.

League of Space Pirates Fights Corporate Evil

I thought you might appreciate getting a glimpse of my newest project: League of Space Pirates...



If you're intrigued and would like to be kept up to date on the latest developments be sure to get your own Space Pirate name and sign up for the mailing list HERE.

Smells Clean

The Reality campaign continues its series of entertaining "Clean" Coal commercials...

Green Christmas

MC Lars wishes you a Green Christmas...



Thanks Mica!

Amnesty : You Are Powerful

Here is Amnesty International U.K.'s latest film called "you Are Powerful". It was created for the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Agency : Mother. Music : R.E.M - Until the Day is Done
From Dailymotion.


Here is another video of the Declaration of Human Rights re-interpreted in this nice motion film created by Seth Brau. A very nice mix of illustrations and typography. Produced by Amy Poncher. Music from Rumspringa.



Source : Human Rights Action Center.

Frosty The Coalman

You missed your chance to see this catchy holiday ditty on the oxymoronic American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCE) website, but thankfully YouTube has kept it alive in all its greenwashing glory...






For an alternative view on "clean" coal take a visit to Reality...

Free Will Power

Free.Will.Power is a new campaign from NARAL Pro-Choice America which focuses on recruiting more young people to the cause by using a host of Web 2.0 tools. A series of videos was produced to promote the initiative, one for each word of the campaign title...

Prop 8 : The Musical

Created and written, six weeks later than he should have been, by-Marc Shaiman Directed and Staged by: Adam Shankman; Produced by Adam Shankman, Marc Shaiman and Mike Farah. Starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, Andy Richter, Neil Patrick Harris and many more.

Found here.

Food Security: Bill Moyers interviews Michael Pollan

Bill Moyers recently interviewed Michael Pollan (author of In Defense of Food and Omnivore's Dilemma) on the state of food security in the United States. Sadly he's not interested in the job of Secretary of Agriculture. You can watch the entire thing or read the transcript on the PBS website HERE or in 5 parts on YouTube...

CheatNeutral

CheatNeutral allows you to offset your infidelities by funding others to be faithful. Sounds ridiculous? That's the point. The creators of the site want to point up the problems with the idea of carbon offsets by parodying it with an analogue that easier for most people to understand:

Jealousy and heartbreak are a natural part of modern life. And sometimes, no matter how hard we try, it's just not possible to be faithful.

At Cheatneutral, we believe that we should all try to reduce the amount we cheat on our partners, but we also realise that fidelity isn't always possible.

That's why we help you neutralise your cheating. Your actions are offset by a global network of fidelity, developed by us. By paying Cheatneutral, you're funding monogamy-boosting offset projects - we simply invest the money you give us in monogamous, faithful or just plain single people, to encourage them to stay that way.

This video tells more of their story and response to their business idea...


What's your take on carbon offset/carbon credits: An effective tool for environmental change or a way to feel less guilty about business as usual?

Stephen Speilberg and Friends on Voting

And the get out the vote videos just keep coming. This one by Stephen Spielberg and MySpace is theoretically non-partisan which makes it less appealing to me (You really don't care how people vote, just that they do? I think not.)


If you missed the register to vote version (that this one references) you can see it HERE.


From 5 More Friends
Thanks Julien!

Attention California Voters: NO on 8 & YES on 2

My friend Jess at Roughstock Studios has made a lovely poster to remind California voters to vote NO on the anti-gay marriage Prop 8. Download a printable version on her site HERE.















And The Humane Society with Freerange Studios encourage California voters to vote YES on Prop 2 via this entertaining video...

Errol Morris's Obama Interviews

Documentarian Erol Morris created a series of People in The Middle for Obama shorts for People for the American Way...



Visit the People in the Middle for Obama site to all of see the individual interviews.

via Boing Boing

Vote Wassup '08

The popular commercial from 1999/2000 gets an excellent modern day update (by the original performers) with a political twist...



from 60 Frames
via Boing Boing

Yes We Carve!

Yes We Carve is definitely one of the more entertaining side-effects of having our elections so close to Halloween. The group encourages folks to show their support by carving Obama themed pumpkins! They even have an appropriately modified "O" logo. The site features daily images as well as free stencils, contests, and more. This video shows a selection of the submissions...

Happy Days Are Here Again

Ron Howard (and friends) are willing to go to great lengths to get you to vote for Obama this year...



from Funny or Die!

via BoingBoing

Made in China

Not long ago, Sara Bongiorni wrote a book about trying to live without using anything manufactured in China called "A year without `Made in China'" not so much as an idealistic stance against fair-trade, job loss or trade deficits, but just to see if it could be done.

In this short film, independent filmmaker Prajna Core explores the same theme through a fast-paced collage of items Made in China found around Prajna's home.

It's not my fault!

The folks at MoveOn.org have created a great little customizable parody news video to remind you that your vote is important this election. Here are a few screen shots from the one I got from them.

Make one for your friends HERE.

Beware of 9/11

A recent episode of Current's SuperNews reminds us of what we really have to fear...



Thanks Leah!

Naomi Klein on Colbert Report

Author Naomi Klein (No Logo) talks about her recent book The Shock Doctrine with Stephen Colbert...



Thanks Jeff!

Journalist Amy Goodman Arrested at RNC

Journalist Amy Goodman, of Democracy Now!, was arrested at the Republican National Convention on Monday. She was charged with conspiracy to riot, but was released today. More details HERE.

The Power of Signatures

Beautiful animation from Amnesty International...



Thanks Diego!

Did you eat your Raisin Brhams today?

Love this commercial parody promoting arts education from Americans for the Arts...



via Osocio

I Met The Walrus

"In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace. 38 years later, Jerry has produced a film about it. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack"

Greenhouse Gorillas?

I'm not sure what to make of Gorilla in the Greenhouse, a new animated online kid's series, from SustainLane.



It's nice that kids are being sold something other than materialism, but do fantasy/reductionist versions of eco-issues actually inspire children to activism? And will this have any more effect than the old Captain Planet?



or Toxic Crusaders?

The Power of Nightmares

The Power Nightmares is an incredible UK series about the origins of the Neoconservative and Islamic Fundamentalist movements and their eerily similar tactics. It was serialized in McSweeney's excellent DVD magazine Wolphin, but is also available for download online via Archive.org.

PART I

The Real Bee Movie

The Vanishing of The Bees is an upcoming documentary about Colony Collapse Disorder and how it affects bees and humans alike...

Ms. Pac-Man: Feminist Hero?

Ms. Pac-Man: Feminist Hero is a short film by Mark & Ari...


Thanks Mica!

In the ideal world...

The Job is award winning short film from Screaming Frog Productions...



Thanks Chris!

Urban Forest Project

My friend and fellow socially conscious designer Mark Randall of World Studio/World Studio Foundation, talks about his Urban Forest Project:

Bollywood Style Safe Sex Video

The "Condom Song" in Telugu from the Nrityanjali Academy, Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India...



Thanks John!

RIP George Carlin

George Carlin was a great satirist whose dirty mouth will be missed. Here's some of his very NOT safe for work Seven Dirty Words routine...





Thanks Mica!

Your Backyard Farmer

The ultimate local food is what you grown in your own yard, and for folks in Oregon a new service makes that even easier. Your Backyard Farmer actually provides farmers that come and cultivate your own yard and turn it into a mini organic produce farm for your family...

Community Graffiti

Artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada makes urban murals of everyday people...

Secret Life of Cell Phones

The Secret Life of Cell Phones is a mini-documentary from Inform on the environmental reality of our cell phone addiction ...

via Inhabitat

F*&@# Planet Earth!

A funny take on the truly lovely Planet Earth series (warning: contains NSFW language!)...


Thanks Leah! Via Current

Take The Reaper Bowling

A great classic PSA from Australia...

Body of War

Body of War is a new documentary about what happens to a soldier who returns home paralyzed after fighting in Iraq...




Thanks Melinda!

Buy Daryl Hannah's Biodiesel El Camino

Apparently Daryl Hannah is selling her biodiesel car (along with a pump & station!) via her website, details to come on December 20th. While you wait you can watch her show about sustainable living: Love Life.

Thanks Xtine!

Iraqi Journalist Killed

I was extremely saddened to hear of the death of Ali Shafeya Al-Moussawi, an Iraqi correspondent for Alive in Baghdad. Alive in Baghdad is one of the only outlets for Iraqi journalists to give a real view of daily life in their country via weekly videos. Ali Shafeya was killed in his home by Iraqi National Guard force. Get more details and find out how to help Ali's family HERE.

How Much Advertisers Pay For Your Attention

Good Magazine has put together this nice little video showing the actual costs of some of the myriad ads you can encounter in NYC everyday. Of course their own magazine is filled with ads, so perhaps this isn't meant to be a critique after all...




Thanks Mica! Via 5min

Richie Bush

If you haven't read a copy of artist/activist Peter Kuper's depressingly funny parody of a Richie Rich comic book featuring George W. you can watch an animated version HERE.

Vote for an Ecospot

You have until November 9th to vote on Current's contest for creating a new environmental PSA: ":60 Seconds To Save The Earth." Celebrity judges whittled the entries down to 20 semi-finalists and now the final choice is up to you. Watch the entries and make your choice (after logging in) HERE.

P.S. My friend Leah made the one titled "I did noth'N" so I would be remiss if I didn't say she would very much appreciate your vote!

How to Shut Down McDonald's

Steve Lambert of the Anti Advertising Agency "shut down" all the McDonalds in Manhattan on September 15th. Find out the details HERE and check out this press conference featuring "Ronald McDonald" explaining his actions...



via StayFree!

Coffee Bikes

Good magazine tells the story of how a Portland coffee roaster helps coffee growers in Rawanda with bicycles...



Thanks Vickie!

King Corn Trailer

King Corn looks like it will be an excellent companion to the book Omnivore's Dilemma. Watch the trailer here...



Thanks Chris!

Lessig on Corruption

Writer/Professor Lawrence Lessig explains on Danish TV why he's switched his focus from copyright issues to the issue of government corruption...




Thanks Russ!

Kleenex Strikes Out

In a follow up to their previous hijacking of a Kleenex commercial in NYC the folks at Greenpeace follow the film crew to Chicago as part of their Kleerkut campaign to encourage Kimberly-Clark to stop using old growth forest trees in their paper products...

Work It Out

Dancer/Choreographer Bill Shannon developed a unique performance style in response to his bilateral hip deformity that requires the use of crutches. His work challenges stereotypes about disability and is also just plain cool. Check him out in this recent Rjd2 video...

Shock Resistance

I just can't get enough of Naomi Klein. She recently worked with filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón to create a short film which explains the basic premise of her new book The Shock Doctrine.
Not only is it visually powerful and beautifully executed but it ends with a hopeful message.

San Diego Mayor on Gay Marriage

Footage from a recent press conference where San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders explains his decision to support marriage equality...



via StayFree!

Henry Rollins' Ember of Rage

Henry Rollins talking in Israel about his experiences volunteering with the USO...



via Glumbert

Thanks Melinda!

Read A !#&% Book!

This is the controversial parody PSA rap video "Read A Book" which has been running on BET recently... NOTE: This is really, really not work safe (language-wise).

Food Fight!

The Farm Bill Food Battle site, gives information on the current plan to revise the allocation of food subsidies in the US and encourages folks to support a fair Bill (rather than one that focuses on giant agribusinesses). Which side of the battle are you on?...

Not again.

When the current Iraq war started someone (I wish I could remember who) told me that we would see Iran targeted for a war next, and apparently, according to FOX, that time has arrived...

Kevin Nealon is NOT a vegetarian.

While I'm generally not a fan of PETA's marketing tactics, this new video featuring actual vegetarian Kevin Nealon (from Weeds and SNL) is quite entertaining...



You can also seen an amusing PETA interview with Mr. Nealon here.

Thanks Mica!

Pennies and Dimes

This is a video I created for the band Gaskets for their recently released Loose Change album/DVD, it's created entirely with public domain footage from the Prelinger Archive. and made under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Here's Teddy Blanks, one half of the duo, with the story behind the song/video:

“Pennies and Dimes” is a song that was written when I was close to graduating college and entering what people call the ‘real world’. It deals with my own anxieties about the prospect of making a living as well as some of the frustrations I had with corporate consumer culture, informed by many of the ideas discussed in the “Design Rebels” class I took with Noah. It seemed fitting that Noah direct the video. He expertly cut together a hilarious selection of economic cartoons and food packaging assembly-line footage into an ironically optimistic visual accompaniment to an overtly cynical song.

Lewis Black on Gun Violence

Comedian Lewis Black has made this short video for the Brady Center which is hosting an anti-gun violence video contest (warning this site has audio when you first open it). Current submissions to the campaign can be seen here.

NYC 2057AD

According to designer/director Stephen W. Brandt's short animated film "nyc 2057ad" the future of dating will be determined by your personal corporate sponsor. Watch it here.

Tsunami Orphan Music Video?

Actually these are the credits for a new documentary AmmA, about orphans in Sri Lanka, which is in its final stages. To find out more at Simba Share.

Foodometer

Watch Your (Fo)odometer is a succinct video explanation of the benefits of eating locally by artist Molly Schwartz. It accompanies an essay on fast food by Donna Schaper on TheNation.com.


Thanks Jessica!

The Joy of Balloon Hats

I've been obsessed with the Balloon Hat project for many years and am hoping their recent foray into web video (despite being sponsored by an alcohol company) will expose this great bit of art/activism to an even wider audience. This introduction explains what it's all about...




More videos can be seen here.

For The Love of Public Transit

Ralf Youtz was comissioned by Good Magazine to compose this sweet love song for public transit and perform it while riding on the new arial tram in Portland, Oregon.

While we're feeling all warm and mushy about public transportation let's not forget Billy Strayhorn's unforgettable tune Take The A Train, as performed by Ray Nance.



Award for best lyrics in an ode to public transportation would have to go to the Muppets for this rousing number which describes the subway as 'the biggest travel bargain in town - the longest running show underground'
Take it away, guys...

Drug Testing vs. Soap Testing

Check out this awesome bit of bizarre news, turned into humorously positive marketing for the excellent Dr. Bronner's soaps...



via WFMU

The VideoVets Project

As part of their latest anti-war campaign, The VideoVets Project, MoveOn.org has collected 20+ interviews with actual Iraq war veterans and their families willing to speak out. Now they're asking for visitors to the site to help decide which are the most powerful and eventually they will be turned into a TV commercial by Oliver Stone. You can watch them all now and vote here or sample one below...