Reviews

My favorite blogs and feeds

I’ve wanted to publish a list of my favorite blogs and feeds for some time, so here goes… These are blogs/feeds I read either daily, or at least once a week, and they’re listed in alphabetical order. Some of them are from established news sources, and some are personal blogs. They’re a snapshot of my current feed subscriptions in Google Reader. If you ask how I keep up with them, it’s pretty simple, and only requires about 30-45 minutes a day — pretty much the same amount of time it would take to read a newspaper. Thankfully, some of them aren’t high volume feeds, or I’d be in trouble…

You’re welcome to check them out, of course, and do subscribe to them yourselves if you like them.

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Thoughts

Michael J. Fox campaigns for stem cell research

Michael J. Fox appeared in some TV ads recently, to support stem cell research for Parkinson’s disease. The ads showed him moving uncontrollably, due to Parkinson’s. They were candid, and truthful. I’ve always liked Michael as an actor, and I thought he’s been a real gentleman throughout his ordeal with Parkinson’s. I agree with him, and with the ads. Stem cell research should be allowed, because it holds the potential for so many cures. So I was shocked to hear that Rush Limbaugh — although it shouldn’t be a surprise that he’s callous and inconsiderate — accused Michael of faking it in the ads. I love Michael’s response, which shows, again, how much of a gentleman he is:

“The notion that you could calculate for effect … People out there with Parkinson’s are going, would that we could.”

If I had been in his place, I wouldn’t have minced my words — and perhaps, that’s why I’m not in his place. Bravo to you, Michael! Keep up the fantastic work you’re doing, and I do hope they find a cure for Parkinson’s soon!

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Lists

Skidboot, the dog

If you haven’t heard about Skidboot, the amazing dog from Texas, you’ll definitely know him now, and love him, too:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5249518974978628334

[Thanks, Samy!]

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Lists

A tired kitty, and 155 t-shirts?

What does this all mean? Two great videos from YouTube, of course. Enjoy!

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Reviews

Animation is hard work!

A wonderful video from the late 1930s, a newsreel, has been posted to YouTube. It depicts Fleischer studios in action, making a Popeye cartoon. In this age of computer animation, when things work differently, it’s a real treat to see animators in action, drawing for a change. Golly, cartoons were sure hard to make! We, as spectators, can’t possibly imagine the incredible amount of work that goes on to produce a 7 or 8 minute cartoon, but this video does a pretty good job of setting us straight on that subject. This is why old cartoons are still relevant. The sheer amount of work it took to make them qualifies them as works of art. We should do our best to preserve them and share them with generations to come.

[via Cartoon Brew]

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