Animusic

My father-in-law told me to look up some neat videos he saw on PBS, and I'm glad I found them. These videos are fascinating, and the music is pretty awesome, too! I'm showing Animusic 2 to my middle-schoolers today, and they are actually sitting here watching it, bodies and mouths completely still, in awe!

It's really neat how computer animation allows people to "build" machines like this that you could probably never build in real life... and then do something with them. This one reminds me of the ball sculpture at the Clay Center on steroids.

Sicko

I just watched Sicko. Wow! What an eye opener. I don't do movie reviews -- I leave those for the Film Geek -- but I just have to speak out about this one.

Ironically enough, I was stuck at home with a sick kid, which is about the only way I'm going to get time to watch a movie (or be able to wrestle the remote away from those determined to keep it on Spike or Noggin 24/7!) I like Michael Moore's movies, but I do admit, he sometimes exaggerates and omits info in order to make a point. (That's kinda how it goes when you want to make a point, so I don't consider that a bad thing in his work. It's like anything else, you watch it, but it's still up to you to learn all you can and consider all angles of the issue before you make your mind up.) I was really expecting this movie to be a little over-the-top, exaggerated, and making the problem out to be bigger than it really is.

However, I found it all to be a pretty logical take on the healthcare management industry, its corruption, and its ugliness. I'm not completely sold on socialized medicine, but the movie makes a lot of good points about why it works for other countries. (I still think our country is too greedy to make it work. Leave it to America to screw up a great idea.) Moore's movie centers around a group of 9/11 volunteers who have health issues stemming from 9/11, and who have been refused coverage. You won't believe where they finally get treatment they need, and how much it ends up costing them!

Of course, I'm watching this after getting royally screwed by my own insurance company. My middle son, Joseph, recently had to have surgery for an impacted tooth. The insurance company refuses to cover it because the doctor checked the box for "surgical extraction" and not "impaction." Even though he states in his paperwork that it was a badly impacted tooth and that immediate surgical removal of the tooth was medically necessary, because he didn't check that box, the insurance won't cover it. Seriously... that's the explanation I got when I called the insurance company to see why it wasn't covered. It all came down to which box was checked.]

The letter we got said:

Dear Mrs. Burch:

We have recieved a claim for a surgical procedure and are unable to provide coverage for this procedure because it costs us money. We highly recommend that next time your son has a dental issue, you get him to down a bottle of Jim Beam, grab a pair of pliers, and pull his tooth your own damn self.

Good luck with that!

Sincerely,
McHealthcare-Mart

Or something like that. (Good thing he didn't have a life-threatening illness! I would hate to see what they would recommend for a heart transplant!) So, yeah, I'm bitter, especially after so much of the family income goes straight to those bastages who say they can't pay for this sort of thing. I am tempted to take that amount of money each month and save it on my own. Even if our employers didn't match our contributions, we would at least be able to take our money and pay for our own medical expenses. Of course, it would wreck us in the case of catastrophic illness, but if they're not going to cover anything anyway, it's kind of a draw.

But I digress. After watching Moore's movie, I'm even angrier at the fact that this sort of crap goes on all the time and people aren't rioting in the streets. Regardless of how you feel about socialized medicine, I think that one thing should be obvious to everyone -- we need to fix the healthcare problem, and it needs to happen right now.

Even if you're not a Moore fan, I would highly recommend checking out this movie. Then, go out and do the research on your own and decide what you think should happen with our healthcare situation. And then, by all means, get out and do something about it. At the very least, vote. We've got to stop accepting the screwing that we get by politicians and corporations and start making this country a place where the common man (and woman) can afford to live in excellent health and happiness. We have no excuse for accepting anything less. This is America! If we can't afford healthcare, even for people who work fulltime and make decent money, something's definitely wrong.

Fan: A Love Story

by Lori Samsel

Another artistic animation found while surfing around on Youtube. This one all my WV friends should be able to relate to, because it's been HOT around here! Apparently, the girl in the video is hot, too, and she is looking for ways to cool off. I love the simplistic, curvy line drawings reminiscent of Andy Warhol's early blotted line drawings (the shoes!) I also like the metaphors that are represented in thought bubbles. Very clever! I am definitely going to share this with my students when we start our own animation projects.

Mind-bogglingly brilliant kinetic sculpture

These sculptures are all wind-powered and they move like living creatures. They're amazing! They actually walk! And they're HUGE! Now I have to see them in person.

If you want to see how it works, watch this video:

Oy, it's so humid!

Oy, It's So Humid Video

Oy, It's So Humid lyrics - Two Live Jews lyrics

Two Live Jews Music Videos

Music Video Codes by VideoCure

Happy Birthday, Sgt. Pepper!

June 1 marked Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band's 40th birthday, and I totally missed it. Here's the trailer from "Yellow Submarine" to make up for it.

It never ceases to amaze me how I can throw this movie on for a crowd of jaded 12-18 year-olds (usually before studying surrealism) and they almost unanimously love it. People in the hallways will stick their heads into my classroom to see what's going on, and I will hear people singing songs from the movie for weeks afterward.

It's good stuff.

Salvador Dali on "What's My Line"

Doll Face

A very creepy, but cool short film.

This American Life TV Show Trailer

I am so excited about this TV Show!!!! You might be familiar with the always-fascinating radio show "This American Life" on NPR. If you're not, you should be. Each week's show has a theme, like "Kid Logic," or "Phones" or something like that. And each episode is broken up into interesting stories that follow the theme. The show is an hour long, and it airs each week (Fridays, I think) on NPR. (I listen via podcast.)

So, now, it's going to be a TV show and it's debut is scheduled for March 22 on Showtime. I can't wait! Eee!

Peace Crane Project

This is why I love my job -- I get to do silly things like this!

This is a commercial of sorts, made to play at the CCHS Student-Made Film Festival to get kids interested in the Peace Crane project. It's my first-ever attempt at stop-motion animation, and it probably stinks, but I had fun so it's all good.

Incidentally, there will be a crane-folding workshop for the Peace Crane Project tomorrow (Friday) at 3:00 at Ellen's Ice Cream on Capitol Street. The cranes will be used in an installation by artist Amy Williams at Taylor Books to promote a peaceful end to the war in Iraq.

You know, if you fold 1,000 cranes, you get a wish. I lost count. Do you automatically get the wish when you get 1,000 cranes, or do you have to fold 1,000 and then make an official wish?

The Be Good Tanyas

A college friend (Hi, Christina!) turned me on to this group last weekend. I love them! Warning: this song will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. (Guess I should have put that warning at the top of the post, huh? Bet you've already clicked!)

... and it breaks my heart...

Very cool video!!! I love Regina Spektor.

I like how it's all black and white and then at the very end, they start throwing pigment around. It reminds me of the Indian celebration of holi.

Christmas Video Redubs

Nothing says Christmas like redubbing favorite classic Christmas videos! 10 Zen Monkeys has 6 favorite classics, re-dubbed with all-new dialogue for your downloading enjoyment (Youtube.)