Happy 4th of July!

Stopmotion Fireworks by PES (watch HQ for sure)

Updates & Information on the Green Revolution in Iran

...because I thought it'd be useful to have gather/organize my twitter updates in a medium that is more stable and less easily spammed. The main purpose of these posts are to spread awareness and information, promote free speech and human rights. If anyone wants to add to it, send me linkz!

Where to go for Information

Anonymous has proven to be more than just an internet meme and troll by hosting forums on a protest website. They organize information on the protests, post advice, instructions, and materials for people that are interested in supporting the cause ( Pirate Bay has changed their logo to lead to the site.) Recently posted (Jun17 10:58pm) was a current event news brief which included specific updates which ended in a hopeful note:

"It seems that the Green Revolution has garnered the support of Hashemi Rafsanjani, Nateq Noori, Tabatabayee and other prominent clerics and politicians. The Rohaniyone Mubarez organization that which has in its ranks pretty much most of the clerics except for the ones in power and includes Mr. Rafsanjani and Mr. Noori has declared their support for the annulment of the election and holding of new elections. Ayatollah Montazeri has yet to declare clear support."

The website has also posted a Worldwide Protest Event (yes, you can attend it on facebook too)

For more general information, you can always count on Wikipedia! I'm sure the page on Iran Election 2009 is going to be controversial (and have somewhat disputed accuracy), but it still offers an expanse of frequently updated and reviewed information.

And, if TL;DR texts are scaring people off, Washington Post streams a few short 'n sweet videos about "what is happening in Iran." Also, Wall Street Journal has posted a slideshow of pictures of mass protests from the streets of Tehran to last night's soccer game.

What you can do to help

1. Set up a proxy on your computer. This allows information to continue to flow out of the country where it has been blocked or slowed. Basically- keep Iranians connected! Instructions here.

2. Seed free speech (or rather, documentation of violence) by downloading/seeding Iranian video torrents

3. Ask Google to change their logo for one day as a way to increase awareness across the web by voting or contacting Google Press.

4. If you are on Twitter, you can show support by changing your location and timezone to Tehran, Iran ( both a gesture of encouragement AND a way to inundate authorities trying to monitor information coming out of Iran) and by overlaying your icon with green, done easily here and added to a green wall of support here.

5. Spread the links found here to other people! Information is powerful :)

Also, http://whereismyvote.org/ is looking for a web developer to help them better organize their site- "PHP, CSS JAVA, DRUPAL." DirectMessage them on twitter for details.

Misc.

New York Times has been liveblogging the events and conversations concerning Iran, offering an up to date perspective on what is going on.

Articles (1-TEDblog, 2-MSNBC) discussing the massive twitter/socialnetworking response to the Iran conflict. Is this just a web fad or if it has potential to be a serious source of information dispersion? I guess only time will tell.

Eeven though this isn't breaking news, here's a beautiful motion graphic short: "Iran, a Nation of Bloggers (2008)" Very reminiscent of the animation used in the film "Persepolis" which I highly recommend to anyone interested in learning more about Iran's political past from a civilian's perspective. (imdb, watch online!)

& Soapbox:

Though I can't promise complete accuracy, I assure you that I'm wading through the mountains of information being splooged all over the twitter and trying to find valid sources. Keep in mind, however that in an anonymous information war, credibility is never certain. Anyhow, like I said before, the main goal is to spread awareness of the situation. The Iranian people deserve to be heard!

Mmm, Walt Disney's Head on a Platter

Obsession of the week: David O'Reilly, animator extraordinnaire!

I like that even though he toys with abstract/absurd images, he still manages to achieve some sense of realism and poignancy. After stalking him on Vimeo , I've come up with a list of MUST-SEEs for all you bored internet fiends.  First, ????? (my favorite) a clip from a previous film collaboration. 

Yes, that is Walt Disney's head.  Yes, you can have one of your very own. Take up OReilly's challenge and create something fun out of it. (Download- 3D WALT DISNEY HEAD.)

Next, Please Say Something  is a short film about a cat and mouse in a "troubled relationship." This has been winning all kinds of awards (Golden Bear at 2009 Berlinale, Best German film at Oberhausen).  I love the way he uses sound in this short- he seems to channel everything I love about David Lynch.

There's also Son of Rambow - an episodic depiction of how a young  illustrator sees the world, Floaters - a short starring the bio- debris that floats around in your eyeball jelly (is that awesome or WHAT?), BANG - some explosive graphics for an M.I.A song, which apparently COME OUT OF THE SCREEN AND SHOOT YOU if you wear 3-d glasses, Identity - is his logo a pooping dog or a flying duck? The world may never know!, and his iPhone app of a kitty hologram.

You can follow David on Twitter or go to his website for more info/works/stuff.

New Jersey Iced Tea

An Alex Dinur recipe:

1 part Bacardi Coconut Rum
1 part Smirnoff Watermelon Vodka
1 part Publix Pina Colada Mix
1 part Red Wine
1 part Jose Cuervo Tequila

Half of a Lime
Whipped Cream (whatever is left in the can)
Dash of Tobasco Sauce

Mix well

Enjoy!

Hoooooooray Beach! Hooray Beer!

Woke up around ten with the SUN ACTUALLY SHINING (huzzah!) so we ran down immediately to the beach (and stayed there till... now.) Cracked open a Corona and started rereading Fear and Loathing. It's been my first summer pleasure read three years in a row, which I figure by now can be considered a tradition. But that actually didn't last too long- sitting thisclose to the ocean and hearing its alluring roar called me away. We caught some hella sweet waves man- like totally- alternating between kayaking, body-boarding, and free floating. At first the lifeguard wouldn't let us take the equipment out because of the red hazard flags that were flying, but when he admitted that the flags were just waiting to be changed from yesterday's madness, I think he realized he couldn't stop us. We're persistent. And sneaky.

Despite the crashing waves, there was a fisherman out about waist-deep in water, just chillin' with his pole. Trying to be friendly I asked him if he'd been seeing many fish today, to which he responded "Yep, and wherever there are fish, the sharks follow. Oh, but don't worry or nothin' thems just the small ones." Oh, pleasant. This didn't actually freak me out much until we kayaked out near the sandbar and then completely ATE IT when a wave crested on our boat. I thought it would be fun idea to swim back to shore, but all I could picture beneath the deep emerald waves were hungry marine animals, circling, just biding their time.

Other than that, I bought a mango habanero hot sauce (advertised as 100% pure pain!) in a specialty store and Peter fucked a pig. Great day, this was.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!