Philanthropoly*

Does the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have a philanthropoly on global health development? The Economist poses that question (more or less) in this piece centering around malaria research. (By the way, don't you imagine that there are an innumerable amount of slightly awkward photos of Bill and Melinda like the one accompanying this story.)

* Yes, I did just coin that word so be sure you reference accordingly boys and girls.

To Be or Not To Be, Redux

Can't imagine seeing this as a kid, would have thoroughly freaked me out.

(via)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Coloring Me Excited

The first trailer is up and its quieting some doubts and making me hopeful . . . "I thought it was closer" - classic Indie!

Watch the Trailer on Yahoo! Movies

Like Hope, But Different

This is one of the many reasons I love the internet, and should in all honesty turn it off if I hope to get any work done from home. Obviously its a rift on the now ubiquitous will.i.am, Yes We Can viral video (which besides being a nice bit of editing doesn't really appeal to me as I'm not especially prone to the logical fallacy of an appeal to authority), but obviously made by some "average joe" and his friends. Regardless of which way the politics in these things skews I love that the internet provides a forum for them to be distributed.

Also still funny.

Second Skin

For a variety of reasons I never started playing MMORPG's. A turn of events which for all practical purposes I must admit has been undoubtedly extremely good for virtually every area of my life and whatever small amounts of growth and development I have managed to piece together over the past five to six years. Because, I am quite certain that I would become very quickly and extremely hopelessly addicted if I ever started to play one of them. The closest I've ever come is a couple years ago over the Christmas holidays when my brother and I snagged one of those $1.99 trial versions of World of Warcraft just to see what it was like . . . . oh boy, we came very close to some sort of disturbing "how the paladin stole Christmas" or something because for a few days/nights there we didn't do much else. And of course, like every male around my age I know (of) people who are hopelessly addicted to one of this breed of game to the dire detriment of their marriages, relationships, jobs, health, etc. But even with all of that I am incredibly interested in these games - in how they work, in who plays them, in how you play them, in experiencing them, in getting immersed in them and all their wonderfully intoxicating seemingly endless minutiae. So, while I'm still determined to steer clear of their sirens song (although my brother and I have made an agreement that once (or maybe if) we get established into some sort of respective profession and find ourselves there for at least four years we'll join up and see what happens) I am very interested to see the forthcoming Second Skin which tells the story of seven gamers who have not only been lured in by the song but are themselves now singing along. From the trailer it looks to be a pretty balanced, fair, humane treatment of the subject and the individuals (the stereotypes have been done ad nauseum) and who knows maybe it will convince me to take a pass after all.

"It's not the years, its the mileage"

I love the Indiana Jones films, they have for me always been more fun to watch and rewatch than the Star Wars films that positioned Harrison Ford to be Indie - I've always been more interested in the mysteries of the past than the possibilities of the future. So, while I'm excited about the forthcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull I'm also a bit nervous, I mean, its been 19 years since The Last Crusade - a period of time which the new film will supposedly take into account by setting itself in the early 50's and swapping out nazi's for commies as the bad guys - and while Sean Connery fessed up to being too old to have another go around as Indie's dad, Harrison is hopefully still spry enough to pull it off convincingly. Also, Shia LeBeouf . . . . i don't get it? However, it will be nice to see Marion Ravenwood again. So, cross your fingers and brush up on your crystal skull (who knew it was so pervasive in pop culture) knowledge before May 22.

PS - While I think I knew it existed, why have I never seen this.