Finally, a president who understands technology. Oh, and human rights. And climate change, foreign policy, and the Constitution.

Kristina Keyton,
Pharmacy Technician Instructor*

Being the web-guy at the office, I like to stay au courant with the things going on in the world wide web (almost as much as I like peppering in the phrase “au courant” into my blog posts).

It seem that not only has change come to the White House but also to whitehouse.gov. Brandishing a new easy-on-the-eyes website, Obama and company are poised to make the web an integral part of their “transparency” initiatives. The new site embraces current digital trends by implementing a blog and RSS feed! Mr. President, I salute your dedication to technology. Blog steady sir, blog steady.

*Kristina Keyton is not a real person but part of a mock man-on-the-street interview featured on the onion.com

Over the long weekend, I took a mini-road trip to sunny San Diego, home of the world famous Zoo, Sea World and…an art museum? Yup, not only do they have an abundance of beaches and imported wildlife, they host plenty of art exhibitions as well.

With two locations Downtown and another in La Jolla, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) is currently hosting four traveling exhibitions. The most notably inspiring of the four for me was Human/Nature: Artists Respond to a Changing Planet, which is organized by the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA), MCASD, in partnership with the international conservation organization Rare. 

The concept is rooted in the questions, “Can art inspire conservation?” and “Can conservation inspire art?” Eight artists were sent to eight UNESCO-designated World Heritage sites around the world for two mini-residencies, where they developed projects, often with the collaboration of the local communities and artisans. From Dario Robleto’s sculpture of feathers formed from the stretched tape of sound recordings from extinct birds, to Rigo 23’s arrangement of traditional wood carvings into weapons of mass destruction, the dynamic from one artist to the next is fascinating and inspiring. Sitting and feeling bad about the destruction of our planet is one thing, but this project takes it another step by making tangible the human reactions to these changes.

The exhibition runs through February 22. For more information, click here.

What’s a penny good for these days? Well, Pumped for Change, a non-profit org out of South Florida, is betting that pennies can make positive change in the lives of homeless citizens in their community. Through The Million Penny Project™, P4C is raising funds and awareness around homelessness; with a goal to raise one million pennies ($10,000) for each participating partner charity.

Here’s a peek at the new PSA spot they just released.

Welcome the first of many presidential-puns to be used throughout the next 4 years. Today our great nation watched history unfold as America swore in her first African-American president.  Whether you voted for Barack Obama or the Old Angry Guy, you cannot help but marvel at the impact this election had on our nation’s history.

That being said, “Let the comedy begin…” With Bush out of the White House millions of comedians are now out of material. Talk about a recession! But enough beating around the Bush. With the biggest Comedic Depression looming over us since they canceled Perfect Strangers, leave it to the The Onion to stand in the gap! The Onion offers cleverly crafted mock news in the same spirit as The Today Show and The Colbert Report. Great for your lunch break or morning cup of coffee.

All joking aside, our nation stands at the threshold of a new era of government. At a time where skepticism in our democratic system is at an all time high, President Obama has been given the daunting task of fixing our nation’s shattered confidence. Just like an onion, he must peel back the layers of doubt and cynicism that have been making us cry for years. Although I admire his courage, I do not envy him. Only time will tell if America can smell what Barack is cooking.

Through the years, great actors have played the role of President in countless films. In 1998’s “Deep Impact”, it was Morgan Freeman who bravely led the nation while a comet was headed for collision with earth. Today, with America on its way to a “Deep Recession” Barack Obama has an ever more challenging and real scene to play. But could Obama’s real-life casting as the American President, be linked to actors such as Freeman, Cosby, Smith and Poitier; collectively preconditioning the nation, and the possibly the world, for the long-overdue reality of an African-American president?

This New York Times article maps out an interesting connection.

In the past 50 years — or, to be precise, in the 47 years since Mr. Obama was born — black men in the movies have traveled from the ghetto to the boardroom, from supporting roles in kitchens, liveries and social-problem movies to the rarefied summit of the Hollywood A-list. In those years the movies have helped images of black popular life emerge from behind what W. E. B. Du Bois called “a vast veil,” creating public spaces in which we could glimpse who we are and what we might become. Read the full article

We’ve seen many recording artists make comebacks. Most recently, Britney Spears has relaunched her image and her music career. And I can remember at least a half dozen incarnations of Madonna.

But now, it seems the most unlikely of comebacks is well underway. Stanley Kirk Burrell, aka MC Hammer, rose to fame in the late 80s with some tight dance moves and some very wide pants. But plagued by overexposure, rampant parodies and ultimately bankruptcy, the hammer fell down hard and has been laying low for almost a decade… until now.

Re-emerging (almost) stronger than ever, Hammer is tearing it up with DanceJam.com — a great site that celebrates all things dance and allows Hammer fans of all ages to share video clips of their own interpretation of the “Hammer Dance”.

You can also find him on Twitter, with over 20,000 followers! And just recently, he appeared in a tv spot for ESPN.

Seems no one can “stop” the Hammer.

“Remember when your heart sank just a little when you realized the Pink Panther movie wasn’t a cartoon?”

-Team Art of the Title

We’ve all heard the old saying, “You never forget your first impression,” this maxim rings true in the halls of cinema and television. Don’t Believe me? Three words: Charles in Charge. Now whether you loved or loathed the show isn’t important, but I’m willing to bet that in the last 3 seconds you’ve envisioned awkward teens going down the stairs and perhaps sang, “Charles in Chaaarrge… of our days and our nights…”

Who can deny the importance of a good title sequence? Some may view title sequences as they view ending credits. Good for nothing, to be ignored, fast forwarded through, a useless waste of Tivo space. 

Title sequences are like a good first impression. When done right, they set the stage for the future. Enticing you with visions of what could be, opening horizons to endless possibilities. When done wrong, they annoy. 

ArtOfTheTitle.com showcases the best of the best in movie and tv title sequences. In some cases, they even feature ending sequences.  Every genre is represented quite nicely including classics like Raging Bull, Once Upon a TIme in the West, and even Kung Fu Panda.

Watch and discuss.

And I’m not talking about Kool-Aid. This website for the glassware line from Luigi Bormioli is easy to navigate and features large, gorgeuos product shots. In fact, I was led to believe I’d never be able to afford a set of such luxurious vessels, but in doing a quick Google search I was surprised to learn that I could pick them up from my local Target. Ah, the power of great photography and clean layout! One downside: the flash functionality may make your head spin a bit.

First there was the Subservient Chicken, then Whopper Freakout. And now Burger King is at it again, serving up its latest viral campaign - Whopper Virgins.

This time, the King’s ad men are documenting villagers from far away lands as they try fast food for the very first time.

A lesson in foreign relations, BK burgers seem to bridge all culture and language barriers; bringing smiles and higher blood pressure to all who sink their teeth into the seasame seed bun.

And it seems American consumers are eating it up too… Comscore reports the microsite welcomed 242,000 unique visitors in December alone.

Roots Multi Touch Tangible Installation Teaser from BricK Table on Vimeo.

Roots, an interactive installation, is a prime example of the beautiful & evocative work that can be done using Processing, the open source programming language born at the MIT Media Lab that allows artists, designers and architects to program images, animation, and interactions. Processing has been used by firms like Motion Theory to create TV commercials of companies like Nike, Budweiser, and Hewlett-Packard and bands such as R.E.M., Radiohead, and Modest Mouse have featured animation created with Processing in their music videos.