Today’s public service announcement is insane. I, for one, welcome our new book overlords.

When I was a little boy, there was a program called “Anslagstavlan” (The bulletin board) on Swedish TV. It was a 5 minute segment where the government informed you of important things. Public service announcements have come a long way since.

This one made me laugh (and yet appreciate why it was done, and that it’s very well done):

Directed by Tyree Dillihay, music by Bomani “D’Mite” Armah, animation by Six Point Harness.

Found via MeFi & Jarko.

Digg This [?]   /   Bookmark or spread the word →

1 Comment » Published by Pär, August 20th, 2007
Filed under Soapbox

Vinay Gupta has dreamed up and constructed the Hexayurt. It is a shelter designed for refugees and other people with a small housing budget. A Hexayurt only costs a few hundred dollars in materials, and can be built in just a few hours.

Adding to the excitement, the Hexayurt is entirely free. Open source housing. All the information you need to build one is at The Hexayurt wiki.

Start by watching a video about the Hexayurt. Then read up on the project at appropedia.org.

Found via treehugger.com (where Hexayurt won the Participate! competition)

Digg This [?]   /   Bookmark or spread the word →

No Comments » Published by Pär, August 16th, 2007
Filed under Soapbox

Paris DJs have cooked up a simply awesome podcast with Turkish psychedelic folk funk. Available for your audial entertainment right here: www.parisdjs.com.

Tracklist

Selda feat. Kardaslar – Nem Kaldi
Mustafa Ozkent – Dolana Dolana
Cem Karaca Ve Apaslar – Gilgamis
Mavi Isiklar – Ask Çiçeçi
Ozdemir Erdogan Ve Orkestrasi – Uzun Ince Bir Yoldayim
BariŞ Manço – Lambaya Püf De
Yabancilar – Ağıt
Selda – Yaylalar
Ali Atasagun – Ne ZormuŞ Unutmak (A Hard Day’s Night)

Digg This [?]   /   Bookmark or spread the word →

No Comments » Published by Pär, August 16th, 2007
Filed under Podcasts

A highly relevant and just a tad distressing photo gallery from the BBC website shows how the world is changing, thanks to rapid global warming.

It makes you wonder about the human mind, and human behaviour.

People won’t take global warming seriously until they’ve experienced the effects personally. Until their house has been buried in a mudslip caused by excessive flooding, until the summer becomes so hot that it’s almost impossible to breathe, until raised sea levels cause entire cities to be wiped out.

I guess it’s embedded in human nature. We don’t fix things until they’re broken.

From the gallery:

More pests

Tree-eating wood beetles are likely to benefit from a warmer climate and reproduce in ever-increasing numbers.

These images show damage to White Spruce trees in Alaska caused by the pests.

Image: Gary Braasch ©

Related: Gary Braasch’s photos of global warming effects →

Digg This [?]   /   Bookmark or spread the word →

No Comments » Published by Pär, July 22nd, 2007
Filed under Soapbox

Best news of all week! Moller International are working on a skycar that holds big promise for the future of flying cars.

Quoted from the site:

The M200X volantor has completed over two hundred successful test flights. It has been extensively hard-tooled so that derivatives not requiring FAA certification are now available.

Recreational and utilitarian models include:

• Demonstrators for use over one’s own property (M200D)
• Versions that operate within ground effect–approximately 10 feet AGL (M200G)
• Experimental or homebuilt variants (M200E)
• Rescue configuration capable of docking with skyscrapers (Firefly 3)

Depending on the number of orders received the prices could vary between $125,000 for the M200G to $450,000 for the Firefly 3.

It looks like a jacuzzi made sweet, sweet love with a saucer and a vacuum cleaner. But damn, the thing can fly!

Digg This [?]   /   Bookmark or spread the word →

No Comments » Published by Pär, July 20th, 2007
Filed under Future, Soapbox