GREETINGS FROM the future of filmmaking. “Right now, if you have a creative idea, you can produce it and get it to an audience for under a thousand dollars. Right now, you can get your very own HD video camera for about the cost of feeding one of those kids in Africa for two months. Right now, if you have a Mac, it ships with everything you need to cut and finish your story. Right now, you can have a screening for more people, more easily, than at any other time in history, and they don’t even have to be in the same room. In the 1960s, film stock, sound equipment, and cameras became (relatively) cheap and affordable. This put advanced tools into the hands of creative people, and lead to the greatest decade of filmmaking in history: 1970s. I think we’re poised for a similar revolution.”
Archive for 2009
June 27, 2009
GLOBAL-WARMING DENIERS on the rise?
TAXPROF: A look at Income Redistribution Under Obama’s Budget.
MATTHEW SHEPARD FOUNDATION won’t take Perez Hilton’s money. Though I doubt much will ever materialize anyway . . . Plus this: “If you’re a gay guy in the news because someone punched you, and the most prominent gay rights organization has asked you to apologize, and a charity who works to end violence against gay people won’t take money from you, I think it’s safe to say you’re a piece of sh*t.”
MICHELE CATALANO: All Michael Jackson, All The Time. Yeah.
NEWS BLACKOUTS: Bill Whittle on the Michael Jackson Effect:
JERRY BROWN VS. GAVIN NEWSOM: The Tale of the Tape.
BEN CUNNINGHAM: Would DHS classify the Tennessee Constitution as a terrorist document? I guess it depends on how much they know about history. Perhaps they should brush up on their Eleanor Roosevelt.
READER MICHAEL BONDOR IS REPORTING VIA IPHONE from the Olympia, Washington Tea Party: “There are about 300 people here. There are many speakers. It’s a warm sunny day. People are relaxed and picnicking (uh..not picketing).”
LIKE ALIEN V. PREDATOR, ONLY DIFFERENT: “Ever wonder what would happen if Care Bears and My Little Ponies clashed? If the Smurfs rose up and fought Gargamel? If Teddy Ruxpin had his own Wes Anderson movie?” Video at the link.
DARREN HUTCHINSON: Indefinite Detention By Executive Order: Another Looming Disappointment for the Left? Hope and Change Same!
CAP AND TRADE: BILL? WHAT BILL?
CLAUDIA ROSETT ON NORTH KOREA: About That “Fire Shower of Nuclear Retaliation”.
RALLYING ON CAP-AND-TRADE: The Tea Party Patriots.
HIGH-TECH TELESCOPES YIELD NEW GALACTIC PHOTOS: A cool picture gallery.
PALIN TO KERRY: “Why the long face?”
PLANS FOR A BIG Birmingham / Shelby County Tea Party on July 4th. At the Verizon Center in Pelham — a town where my dad was once a preacher, about the time I was born.
IN THE MAIL: From Martin Clark, The Legal Limit.
MICHAEL YON IS BACK IN AFGHANISTAN. Remember, he’s supported by reader donations, so if you like his work consider hitting the tipjar.
THE SILENCE OF THE REGULATED. “You’re one of Fred Smith’s, I expect.” Heh.
HOPE AND CHANGE SAME! FBI compounds mystery with secret justification of gag order. “The FBI continues its secrecy binge by filing a classified justification of its use of a gag order on an ISP in the ongoing Doe v. Holder battle. . . . Clearly, the FBI isn’t ready to give up its Bush-era secrecy addition just yet. As we reported earlier, the EFF is also on the Bureau’s case over fact that the internal guidelines that govern its domestic surveillance practices are also secret.” Remember when getting rid of this kind of thing was a matter of fierce moral urgency?
THE ALBANY-TRENTON-SACRAMENTO DISEASE:
President Obama has bet the economy on his program to grow the government and finance it with a more progressive tax system. It’s hard to miss the irony that he’s pitching this change in Washington even as the same governance model is imploding in three of the largest American states where it has been dominant for years — California, New Jersey and New York.
A decade ago all three states were among America’s most prosperous. California was the unrivaled technology center of the globe. New York was its financial capital. New Jersey is the third wealthiest state in the nation after Connecticut and Massachusetts. All three are now suffering from devastating budget deficits as the bills for years of tax-and-spend governance come due.
These states have been models of “progressive” policies that are supposed to create wealth: high tax rates on the rich, lots of government “investments,” heavy unionization and a large government role in health care.
And they’ve done badly. But well-connected politicos with “flexible” ethics have done very well, which no doubt accounts for much of their allure to similar politicos at the national level. . . .
UPDATE: Rand Simberg: Why not try the Austin cure?
But whatever you do, don’t emulate Illinois. “The governor’s attempt to create political chaos by placing high-profile, ‘feel good’ programs on the chopping block is disingenuous. By failing to address the state’s fundamental spending and inefficiency problems, Quinn is setting up Illinois taxpayers for even greater future fiscal disasters.”
MICKEY KAUS: “The U.A.W., now a major GM shareholder, has delivered its final punishment to those auto workers who dared move to Spring Hill, Tennessee and show up the rest of the union by building reliable car without Wagner-style work rules. GM’s new small car will be made in Michigan, and the Spring Hill plant will close. …. P.S.: Nikke Finke has a better chance of making money producing this car than GM does.”