Double your Bacon fun, Flashmob Hammertime, and North Korea

Jun 9, 2009 by Dan Taylor    5 Comments    Posted under: News

Since neither of these three topics could really deserve an entire post of their own (at least not with a heavy does of over embellishmen, which eventually leads to, STFU), I’m gonna lump perhaps the three most random topics together in one here.  First up: Bacon.

Who doesn’t love bacon?  Ok, vegans and vegitarians aside.  Let me rephrase, what omnivor doesn’t love bacon?  Smell it yet?  Let me say it one more time: Bacon.  Yum.  I’m not even sure where my affinity for bacon comes from, or any one else’s for that matter.  If you actually have a think about what bacon is, and what gives it it’s flavor.  Well, umm….yeah, it’s kinda disgusting.  Perhaps the reason bacon brings a smile to just about everyone’s face is what bacon signifies.  I believe bacon to be one of the very true, core, roots comfort foods.  Think about all your associations with bacon.  Got a bad one?  Me neither.  Bacon is what mom made on sunday mornings.  Bacon is what you have on the side at that greasy spoon diner where the waitress comes by every 10 minutes and doesn’t ask, she just refills your coffee.  Now that’s good ol’ fashioned Americana.  Bacon.  Alternatively, as my friend Mr. Winemaker reminds me, bacon can also be enjoyed best on fresh ass (do NOT click here if you’re at work or easily offended).

Apparently the folks over at Boca Java think bacon is scrumdidilyumptious as well, as I recently discovered their Boca Java’s Maple Bacon Breakfast Roast. Yes,you read that correctly.  No, your eyes are not deceiving you.  I don’t think I could write the description any better myself,

Reminiscent of a hearty Saturday morning breakfast around the table, this sweet, savory coffee delights the senses with the smell and taste of home! Maple Bacon Morning has a base that’s full-bodied and complex, and it’s a delicious way to rise when the rooster crows!

…and you know they wanted to write ‘when the cock crows’, but the legal department ix-nayed it.

But wait…there’s more bacon in store!

If Maple Bacon Morning blend didn’t get your motor running, how about having a juicy slice of bacon right in front of your eyes at every website you visit throughout the day?  Thanks to bacolicio.us you now can!  A rather, yet genious idea, the bacolicio.us guys have simply written a script that places a floating .png image of bacon over any website you want.

Personally, I think that turnthescrew looks greatly improved with a slab of freshly sizzled bacon smack dab in the middle of the articles.  Suggestion – use bacolicio.us to freak you co-worker out by placing a slab of piggily goodness over his/her blog, and/or I’m sure the boss man would LOVE to see that image.  Maybe a screenshot and intercompany email?  Errr…well, maybe on your last day.

Stop – Hammertime!

Because I could find no words to describe the sheer awesomeness of this video, I’ll let it speak for itself:

Get ‘em while they’re hot – real deal North Korean propaganda for sale.  In the U.S.?

And in perhaps the most ‘ummm…WTF?’ news I came across today, it appears that the government of North Korea is deriving income from California based personalized gift seller CafePress.com.  Who knew Kim Jong Il had such artistic talent?

It appears as though the Korean Friendship Association, an official state run organization dedicated to, “Defending the independence and socialist construction” of North Korea, has a CafePress shop where they sell the normal CafePress offerings (Mousepads, Tshirts, Hoodies, Trucker Hats, etc.), all carrying propaganda imagery glorifying the government.  Remember, this is the government that starves their people, imprisions American journalists, and has recently stepped up their desire to play with the big boys and their nukes.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, sanctions prohibit American companies from importing “goods of North Korean origin … into the United States either directly or through third countries, without prior notification to and approval of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.”  Ok, due to the nature of CafePress’s business, and how they operate, it’s clear that the goods are not coming directly from North Korea.  However, the same government agency also states that American businesses are bared “from engagin in transfers from the Government of North Korea.”  Which begs the question – if these items are selling on CafePress, a business that takes a cut from profits generated, where’s the rest of the cash going?

Mediabistro sent an email over to CafePress asking for the low down, they got a response from the company’s PR Director Marc Cowlin.  In his email Mr. Cowlin explains, “I can confirm that checks are not sent to North Korea or any government agency.”  Cowlin also responded to requests from WebNewser stating that he’d “forwarded the emails on to the owner of the [CafePress] shop”, thanked them for bringing the matter to his attention, and added, “we’ve sent the information on to our content usage team for review — they will determine if it is in violation of our policies or law.”

Who knows, maybe CafePress is simply sending a check to an unassuming middleman that is then passing the funds on to Kim Jong Il’s regime?  Perhaps, but if these items are turning any sort of profit, something tells me that CafePress may or may not have simply turned a blind eye.  You be the judge.

Back to basics

May 19, 2009 by Dan Taylor    No Comments    Posted under: News

For quite some time now, I’ve deviated from how this humble blog started out: a collection of my interests, thoughts, etc.  Granted, a lot has changed since I started this thing way back when (I’m looking at you twitter – and oh, who’s laughing now Altchiler?), but unfortunately so did the way I ran this thing.  There are plenty of folks that I know that make money from their blog, running advertising, using affiliate links, paid blogs, etc. but to be completely honest, non of that really interests me.  I’ve spent a lot of time fiddling with fancy templates, changing this code, altering those links, and yes, it’s taught me a lot about how css and xhtml work, but I think I’ve lost sight of the prize: to put my opinions out there.  And yes, I did do a few alterations to this newest template – but no where even close to some chop jobs I’ve done with past templates.

Maybe it has something to do with one of the things I do for a living, where it’s my job to write in a way that reports the news, covers recent developments in the field, etc., but that’s not really what a personal blog should be about.  That’s not to say that if I find something interesting, I’m not going to write about it, even if it is a press release, but rather, I want this platform to stand as a location where I can simply put my thoughts out there.  If anyone is listening, great, if not…well, in the end, that’s fine too.  I’m tired of trying to be the ‘expert’ on any one specific topic, because at the end of the day, I AM one of those rare people that have a lot of interests, and luckily for me, I tend to be halfway decent at whatever I put my mind to.  With that said, this can also be a blessing and a curse, as I often feel a ‘jack of all trades’ but a master of none.  I’ll never forget the day that my high school music teacher Connie Zweifel said to me, “You’re going to have a really hard time in the future, because you’re so good at so many things, you’ll never be happy to settle on just one.”  Can I get an amen to Connie?

So I make this promise now, both to myself, and to anyone out there reading:  I’m getting back on track with turnthescrew.  This blog will no longer be about just social media topics.  It will no longer be about video.  It will no longer be about photography.  It will no longer be about design.  It will be about all of them – and more!

To those of you that have had a regular read over the years, thanks.  To those of you that may just be tuning in – welcome.

CW 47 Friday Funnies

Nov 21, 2008 by Dan Taylor    2 Comments    Posted under: Humor

Comin’ back atcha with the weekly installment of Friday Funnies.  Without further adieu:

http://www.nytimes-se.com/ – ah if only the NY Times really would read like this.

http://adam.pra.to/public/pics/Killer_Biscuits_.JPG – note to self – NEVER buy biscuits in San Diego.

http://blog.twitad.com/ – Hmm, this requires further review.  If you’re not already – Follow me on Twitter

http://www.davezilla.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/wonder-sauna-hot-pants-lg.jpg – Seriously, who thinks/thought up this shit?

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/11/19/google-voice-browser-baffled-by-scottish-accents-86908-20906707/ – having lived in the UK for a year and spoken with a number of North Englanders and Scots, it was only a matter of time before this came to the forefront.

http://ranajune.com/post/58196230/omfg – did someone mention Cheezburger?

http://www.ridelust.com/road-rage-101-tips-to-piss-off-other-drivers/ – Are you fucking kidding me?  As a seasoned driver of the Belt Parkway, the Long Island Expressway, and the New Jersey turnpike, all I can say is Are you fucking kidding me?  Douschbags.  the rest of the site is kinda cool though.

http://static.pyzam.com/img/funnypics/2/busted.jpg – Becks is like any other red blooded male.  With an ass like that who WOULDN’T look?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJUBFkVrk9s& – are you KIDDING me?  What marketing team was stoned at 3am and came up with this brand name?  Say it with me now….Tiddy Bear.

http://www.yesbutnobutyes.com/archives/2008/11/candy_wrapped_b.html – mmmm…Bacon.  I love bacon, is that site still around? Apparently so, but sadly, a pail comparison of what it used to be.  That was one of the first sites I landed as a client while working at bla-bla.com.

http://www.freakingnews.com/pictures/41000/Gonzo-Journalism–41262.jpg – will the real Gonzo please stand up?

Enjoy and have a GREAT weekend!  Ooo look, it just started snowing outside.  Which is better than snowing inside.

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Wassup 2008

Oct 30, 2008 by Dan Taylor    6 Comments    Posted under: Video

Ok, really quick one here, but I think this is pure genius.  Whether you’re standing in the Red Line or the Blue Line next Tuesday matters not to me.  The important thing is that you vote.

With that said, Brian sent this over to me a few days ago, and I just have to comment on 60frame’s brilliant film.  To understand this, you’ve got to be old enough to remember the circa 2000 Anheuser-Busch Budweiser commercial featuring the Wassup crew:

Fast forward 8 years:

Like I said, it could be a McCain ad, or an Obama ad.  It matters not, but the brilliance of reaching back 8 years to re-create a popular ad, and wrap it around a message of WTF happened, is simply brilliant.

Boomers going digital

Sep 12, 2008 by Dan Taylor    6 Comments    Posted under: Technology

According to a recent report by the NPD Group, baby boomers are a key demographic segment for digital products and marketing.  The study, “Entertainment Trends in America” reveiled that Baby Boomers who stream video are 15% more likely to buy a CD, DVD, or movie tickets (I can only guess that they’ve not yet mastered the art of the torrent).

While once only popular with youth and teen segments, baby boomers have come of (the digital) age, and are enjoying more and more online participation.  Recent consumer surveys found that 61 percent of baby boomer Internet users (aged 44-61) had visited streaming or downloadable video (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.), and 41 percent had visited social networks (linked-in, Facebook, and MySpace).

“There’s an ongoing misperception that certain Web activities are the exclusive domain of young people,” said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for The NPD Group. “That misperception could cost the entertainment industry, in terms of lost opportunities to target valuable consumers.”

The study also went on to find that more than half of all Web users surveyed (57 percent) visited social networking sites within the past three months.  ‘Young’ internet users (13-34 year olds) are far more likely to visit social networks and more often, but baby boomers that visited a social networking site did so on average 8 times over the previous three months (slightly less than once a week on average).

Getting down to the dollars and cents, NPW found that boomers who regularly use social networking or streaming video sites were more likely to buy CDs, DVDs, and/or movie tickets.

“As more consumers of all ages spend more time online, there’s potentially going to be less time for them to consume entertainment content in traditional ways,” Crupnick said. “These findings underscore the growing need for entertainment companies to promote and distribute digital entertainment content online, in order to keep pace with the changing needs and desires of consumers of all ages.”

It may come as no surprise that boomers have already mastered the art of email and web surfing, as the results were nearly universal across all age groups.  Online shopping came in with nearly similar results with 8 out of 10 users making an online purchase sometime during the past three months.  Teens and young adults reported a slightly lower score however, possibly due to lack of plastic (credit cards).

The survey was done by the NPD Group of Port Jefferson, NY, and included over 11,000 consumers, with results balanced to reflect the internet –connected US population of age 13 or older.

The website is down

Jul 2, 2008 by Dan Taylor    1 Comment     Posted under: Technology

This one simply made my day.  Whether your a System Admin or a regular user, if you don’t get at least a chuckle from this one…umm…you must be dead.

Enjoy!