Mission Mission

MrEricSir posted these videos about Swan, AKA the Pigeon Whisperer, who we mentioned a few of days ago. The documentary was directed by one of his best friends and ex-coworkers of 30 years.

Turns out Swan’s real name is John Ratliff. He was once a gifted television news reporter and father of four until schizophrenia overtook his life and moved him into the streets, where he has rejected any help from his family and friends. It’s really an amazing and tragic story that you should set aside some time to watch today.

[via MrEricSir]

You’ve seen Portlandia by now right? If not, I think you’d better watch all of their web clips right now.

Say, someone should pitch a sketch to Portlandia showing people posting on a blog about how they are surprised you haven’t heard of it yet.

Our buddy Jen Gann wants him to blurb her new book, Back Tuck:

Buy the book here. And do visit the Tim Allen Blurb This Book Facebook Group, if at the very least just for the badass Tim Allen video I posted a little while ago.

Thanks to all the community support, Noisebridge hackerspace is here to stay for a while.

But what exactly is a “hackerspace”, you ask? Aren’t hackers just a bunch of Australian terrorists that are trying to destroy America? Don’t worry, these hackers are the gentle kind. They just like making stuff, and would much rather show you how to correctly solder a circuit than steal your facebook password.

KQED recently took a look inside the Mission’s own Noisebridge, which happens to be one of the pioneering facilities of it’s kind in the United States. Check out their video for a tour, interview with the co-founder, and a bit of the history of hackerspaces.

Previously:

Noisebridge in Trouble

Fucking Science, How Does it Work?

Right now I’m trying really hard to think of something better than local songwriter Wolf Larsen’s latest music video, which features a bunch of howling kids from Oakland’s ACORN Woodland Elementary School, but… no dice.

The song is called “Wild Things” and as far as I can tell, it has nothing to do with that lame movie starring Neve Campbell and Denise Richards.

Link for you folks on RSS.

[thanks Megan Keely!]

Last Tuvan throat singing post of the weekend, I promise.

In case you missed last night’s Tuvan throat singing extravaganza at Kaleidoscope, Genghis Blues: the movie which made it all possible, is screening tonight at the Roxie at 7:15pm. Best of all, after the movie Kongar-ol Ondar will be performing!

The Genghis Blues Review last night was totally packed, but it was an awesome time. Kongar-ol Ondar did some traditional songs, but also took us back Tuva future with this folk-rock inspired number:

He also invited local singer and vocal teacher Karina Denike up to, uh, feel his diaphragm.

Local filmmaker Christopher F. Smith has a new project that deals with something that we’ve discussed much on this blog: if graffiti and street art are in fact “art”, and thusly imbued with value, how seriously should we enforce the laws that exist to prevent it? Despite the rhetoric that a lot of commenters take on our site, (for and against graffiti) I really don’t think it’s that black and white for any of us. Check out the teaser below, learn more about the project here and consider helping them along and getting in on the debate.

KilRoi Was Here

Judging by the chatter I’ve been hearing lately, the Grateful Dead are about to get cool again, so, enjoy:

[via Hippy Kitchens]

Curbed editor Sally Kuchar sent us an amazingly useful video about pork products and Four Loko.

Check it out below, but first, a disclaimer:

If you are at all interested in turning a carnivore into a vegetarian or turning a possible immigrant to this country away forever this video may be of use to you. However, if you have recently eaten food or if you plan to try to eat some food sometime today or if you are pregnant or hungover or have any kind of negative reaction to realizing how disgusting we all are you may not want to watch this video. In addition, if you value the time you have on this world and don’t want to spend it watching videos made by white trash bozos act as if they’re funny because they’re only pretending to be white trash bozos, then you may want to walk away from the computer and kiss someone.

(Thanks Sally!)

Last night at Amnesia, Emperor Norton’s Jazz Band introduced this as a 1930′s Louis Armstrong classic, but you probably know it as the 90′s remake “Buddy Holly” by Weezer.

They perform every first Sunday at Amnesia if you want to catch them next time and join the sing-a-long.