Category: humour

the irony of YOU in YouTube

On By Rick McIn humourLeave a comment

Victor Keegan has the best lines I have read about the GoogTube deal: “Content is king, but the king has yet to be voted a stipend …

The curious thing about YouTube is that the people who ought to be paid (individual content creators) aren’t actually campaigning for it, while corporate providers are threatening legal action over clips pirated on YouTube – even though normally they are only too happy to pay a media platform to show clips of films or TV shows to generate interest in watching the whole thing or buying it as a DVD.”

(via Paid Content)

While this is wryly humorous … I’ve posted a number of home videos on YouTube and am more than happy to have them make $.01 / page view in exchange for their hosting service.

Nancy Robertson – actor

On By Rick McIn humour, TVLeave a comment

Dana’s been schoolin’ me about Corner Gas, the Canadian sitcom set in Saskatchewan.

My favourite character is Wanda played by Nancy Robertson, the real life wife of star Brent Butt.

Nancy Robertson – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

200px-NancyRobertson2.jpg

Dave Barry is funny

On By Rick McIn books, humourLeave a comment

Just finished Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits — absolutely hilarious. His grocery list could crack me up.

In December 2005, Barry said “he will not be resuming his weekly column, though he would continue some features such as his yearly gift guide, year in review, his weblog, as well as an occasional article or column.”

Dave Barry\'s Greatest Hits

Big Mac index, Tall Latte index

On By Rick McIn economics, food, humour, travel1 Comment

starbucks_latte_price.gifI don’t eat Big Macs — they have no taste — but a travellin’ man is always checking price vs purchasing power. I saw a standard muffin sold for US$3 in San Francisco, then $4.50 in a Las Vegas casino deli.

Economist magazine started the Big Mac index in 1986 and it is still referred to widely.

But Dana would be keener on the Starbucks Tall Latte index, introduced by Economist in 2004.

The graphic shows 2004 prices. You must subscribe to Economist on-line to get the up-to-date statistics. That’s to keep the poor (who might disagree with their pro-globalization, pro-Starbucks editorial policy) ignorant.

PS

I’ve often told people that Starbucks was owned indirectly by big tobacco. That’s wrong — in fact, the company is zealously non-smoking at all outlets, even in China.

jogging the Las Vegas Strip

On By Rick McIn humour, product endorsements, travel, traveloguesLeave a comment

Running The Strip each morning, I have time to ponder.

If mankind should disappear off the Earth, alien archeologists will certainly rank Las Vegas the finest ruins of them all.

You could spend a lifetime trying to visualize what was going on in these fantastical, gargantuan resorts.

Of 2,763 rooms in the Mirage Hotel, mine is one of the best. (I assume. Haven’t seen the rest.)

Of course casinos nickle and dime you to death. And not only in the slots. No free internet. Phone calls steep surcharge. Weight room an extra $20 / day.

But this is an astonishing fantasy world to visit. Like a decadent dream.

vegas-strip.jpg
original photo – out helicopter window – on Flickr

» next travelogue post on this trip – weather forecast in Vegas

getting your news from The Daily Show

On By Rick McIn government, humour, TVLeave a comment

New research confirms what we already knew — The Daily Show is as “substantive” a source of US political news as the real news shows.

Using the entire half-hour programs as the basis of analysis yielded the same results: there was just as much substance to The Daily Show’s coverage as there was on the network news. And The Daily Show was much funnier, with less of the hype—references to photo ops, political endorsements, and polls—that typically overshadows substantive coverage on network news, according to the study.

The Daily Show is as substantive as the “real” news

Fox News is actually funnier than The Daily Show, but Fox is trying to be serious.

daily.jpg